As\nwe entered 2021, and with the COVID-19 pandemic still preoccupying us, we are\nalso approaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back, it is clear that towards the end of the 20th century, and\nas we progress further into the 21st century, people at large have been\nconcerned with skills which are necessary for navigating this century\nsuccessfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much discussions and deliberations have thus been conducted since then\nand among those that have attracted people\u2019s attention are the lists of skills suggested\nby the World Economic Forum (WEF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, comparing the two lists WEF offered in 2015 and 2020,\nskills which relate to the human mind not only constitute half of the skills\nenlisted but also occupy the lists\u2019 some topmost positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are such mental skills deemed indispensable for contemporary Muslims\ntoo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How should they deal with this question?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a way, they need to be convinced first about the importance of Mind\nbefore they could fully appreciate the significance of developing and refining such\nskills which are associated with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, \u201cmind\u201d as a term, together with the concept it projects,\nhas a long history in the West, most probably beginning from as early as the\nlate 17th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a number of studies have shown, its proliferation is concurrent with\nthe secularisation process in the West during which such terms and concepts as\n\u201csoul\u201d and \u201cspirit\u201d became less favoured, if not entirely be dispensed with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, the term is now widely understood to mean something physical\n(i.e. the brain) or, at best, something epiphenomenal\u2014that is to say, something emerging out of a\nphysical entity and yet is neither physical nor spiritual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question therefore arises whether the aforementioned is exactly what\n\u201cmind\u201d means in Islam?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this respect, it serves our present purpose well to learn from\nsimilar discourse in the past among learned and outstanding Muslim\npersonalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We thus find that a significant number of them like Imam al-Ghazzali (d.\n1111) and al-Sayyid al-Sharif Ali al-Jurjani (d. 1413) were cognisant of the\nfact that there are a number of terms employed in the Islamic Intellectual\nTradition to point to what is spiritual in man, of which the prevalent four are:\nal-<\/em>\u02bbaql<\/em> (intellect\nor mind), al-qalb<\/em> (heart), al-nafs<\/em> (soul or self) and al-ruh<\/em>\n(spirit). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of such difference in terms, and\nrecognising that this might bring about confusions, such scholars find it\nnecessary to emphasise that all the terms, despite being different, actually refer to the same spiritual entity or\nbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, even though the referent of the terms is\none and the same being, each of the terms signifies something specific or\nspecial about the referent which is not captured by the rest of the terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this way, it is explained that the\nreferent is called \u201cspirit\u201d when considered in its essential reality as\nsomething belonging to and originating from the Realm of Divine Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is called \u201csoul or self\u201d when considered as\nsomething forming a mysterious union with the human body, acting as the\nlatter\u2019s governor and thus giving rise to human character and personhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is called \u201cheart\u201d because, in line with\nthe original meaning of the term in Arabic, it revolves and is dynamic,\nbordering at times on instability, although when it is able\u2014by God\u2019s leave\u2014to prepare itself to become\nthe locus of divine guidance, it could attain to the station of tranquillity\nand serenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, it is referred to as \u201cintellect or\nmind\u201d because it is involved in the act or activity which the term \u02bbaql<\/em>\nbasically connotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What then is the act or activity which the\nword \u02bf<\/em>a-q-l<\/em> signifies? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Actually, the act meant is that of tying or binding, yet not\nphysically but rather non-physically, not always outwardly but certainly inwardly.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has to do with one\u2019s tying or relating on two levels, which are\ninterrelated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first level involves the tying and associating of (1) words with\nwords, (2) words with ideas, as well as (3) ideas with ideas, all these\noccurring in one\u2019s inner self and relating to a reality either external to or\npart of oneself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, such acts of tying are what \u201cthinking\u201d (fikr<\/em> and tafakkur<\/em>)\nessentially involves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second level involves the tying or binding which pertains to ethics\nand morality, and in this regard, it boils down to the idea of self-control and\ncharacter-building, particularly when one is able to foresee the consequence of\none\u2019s own act or situation and in accordance with such foresight, one takes actions\nwhich are deemed appropriate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This foresight constitutes another form of thinking which is termed tadbir<\/em>\nor tadabbur<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to realise that the act of\ntying, relating and associating performed by and in the human self almost\nalways leads to the self having a certain framework which then informs its view.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n As such, the human mind is also spoken of as\nbeing possessed of view or vision (basirah<\/em> and ru<\/em>\u2019<\/em>yah<\/em>) which may not be in line with his ocular\nvision or eyesight (basar<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When such vision concerns fundamental matters\nof utmost significance, it is now widely held in contemporary parlance to be\n\u201cworldview\u201d or \u201cmindset.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, another term which has been widely\nused in the Islamic Intellectual Tradition to point to thinking and reflection\nis nazar<\/em> which, dependent on contexts, may also mean optical vision or\nview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the two visions\u2014the spiritual or intellectual vision vis-\u00e0-vis the physical sight\u2014might be confused, Muslim\nscholars had attempted to delineate their differences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The aforementioned Imam al-Ghazzali, for\ninstance, had enumerated seven stark contrasts between the two visions in his work,\nMishkat al-Anwar<\/em> (The Niche of Light), with the primary aim of demonstrating\nthe superiority of the intellectual vision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is to be noted that further analysis of\nthe imports of the two aforesaid terms for thinking\u2014that is, tadbir<\/em> and tadabbur<\/em>\u2014reveals an intellectual perspective that is so comprehensive as to be retro<\/em>spective,\nin<\/em>spective, intro<\/em>spective, and pro<\/em>spective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No wonder why the Prophet Muhammad (peace be\nupon him) once declared: \u201cNo mind is as good as tadbir<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, such vision as formed in the\nhuman mind is intimately connected with knowledge (\u02bbilm<\/em>), which is\nactually another meaning of the term \u02bbaql<\/em> in Arabic, as explained by\nmany authoritative scholars of Islam and Arabic Language such as al-Raghib al-Isfahani\n(d. 1108), Imam al-Ghazzali, and Majd al-Din Muhammad al-Firuzabadi (d. 1413\/4).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relation of knowledge with mind in Islam is\nso pronounced that a person\u2019s progress in knowledge is regarded as being\nsynonymous with a person\u2019s advancement in intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned earlier, present-day Muslims\nhave to relearn all the aforementioned if they are really serious about\nappreciating the human mind and nursing as well as polishing skills deriving\nfrom it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we entered 2021, and with the COVID-19 pandemic still preoccupying us, we are also approaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. 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