Islam & Higher-Order Thinking: An Overview

by Mohd Zaidi Ismail

Capitalising on the understanding of thinking as "the mental act of putting into meaningful order what one has already known in order to attain what one is still ignorant of," a formulation which is well-established in the religious, intellectual, and scientific tradition of Islam, this small monograph is aimed at a balanced and holistic exposition of thinking.

Apart from scrutinising and explaining the relation of thinking to knowledge, the monograph also demonstrates that, should one subscribe to such a formulation, one would then not have to prefer thinking to the exclusion of memorisation, on the one hand, and similarly, one would not then have to face the dilemma of siding with creative thinking at the cost of marginalising the critical one, on the other hand.

In short, just as memorising is an indispensable, necessary condition in thinking, so is logic related to creativity as modes (or aspects) of thinking. The monograph also seeks to show that in both mental acts - memorisation as well as thinking, whether critical or creative - imagination plays a great, instrumental role.

Genres: Islam

44 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Kini menjawat Timbalan Ketua Pengarah, Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM).

Reviews

[Emmy Hermina Nathasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend reading this for beginners!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a a great introduction to Islamic epistemology. The chapters are short, and were initially articles written by the author for a column (IKIM Views) in The Star. Therefore, the concepts, while clearly explained, are a bit brief.

However, it splendidly establishes the basic understanding of the right framework on thinking, its processes and definition of knowledge, before encouraging readers to seek for more. After all, one has to start with what one has already knew in order to arrive at what one has yet to know. Inshaallah.

[Ira Nadhirah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apa yang aku faham adalah, higher-order thinking tu consists of critical thinking and problem solving. And the methods as explained in this book (1) arranging into correct and meaningful order (2) what one has already known in order to (3) attain what one is still ignorant of. So, aku membayangkan contoh yang paling dekat adalah, my problem solving job. Arranging into correct and meaningful order - cari jalan sesuai untuk menyelesaikan masalah client dengan cara yang betul. What one has already known - berdasarkan nas undang-undang yang diketahui samada melalui pembelajaran di universiti yang ingat-ingat lupa mahupun tunjuk ajar yang berpengalaman. Attain what one is still ignorant of - dapat penyelesaian kepada masalah yang timbul yang sebelum ni tak pernah tahu mahupun terfikir. So, that is the very basic of it that i could catch. Aku ecpected more dalil dalil dan nas Al Quran mahupun hadis sebab tajuk dia ada perkataan 'Islam'. Tapi mungkin fokusnya lebih kepada hasil tangan scholars.

[Daniel Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Higher order thinking is a necessity for muslim. Islam is an academic and intellectual religion, not merely a teaching that fully demands blind faith. The scholars had pointed out how we as human need to utilise the faculty of thinking, and the proper way to use it.

[Jim Hesnen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory book to bring you into the world of Islamic Epistemology. Be reminded this book is only an overview and readers are advised to read its reference materials and other sources to satisfy your epistemic curiosities.

[Mohamed Asraf · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5. This books establishes what thinking is as "the mental act of putting into meaningful order what one has already known in order to attain what one is still ignorant of" which had been the background for thinking inquiries of the Islamic Golden Age especially by Ibn Sina and Al-Ghazali.

Knowing is a progress from “what-has-already-known” to “what-is-still-unknown”. Through this, human got to stay curious and explore the unknown.

This book helps to understand why it is important enhance our thinking models always and how it can improve our educational system by utilizing Higher Order Thinking skills.

[Khairul Anwar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seperti sampel-sampel minyak wangi yang diberikan untuk menayangkan hebatnya bau yang dicipta, buku ni membujuk pembaca untuk lebih mendalami tentang tradisi keilmuan islam setelah habis pembacaan.