This book aims to demonstrate that the modern idea defining epistemology as a branch of philosophy with only two sources for knowledge - reason and sense perception or, in other words, rationalism and empiricism - is wholly insufficient as a complete description of the true nature of knowledge. It will do this by focusing on the contrasting epistemological positions of modernity and Sufism and, in particular, on those aspects of knowledge which are required for the understanding and interpretation of the meaning of reality. It is also clear that beliefs, and the knowledge employed in justifying and explaining them, lead to certain values and these values lead, in turn, to the institutionalization of specific types of behaviour. The institutions that develop around these values go on to form the core of the cultures and civilizations that grow up based on those beliefs. In this way, the beliefs inherent in Sufism, and the areas of Sufi knowledge that elucidate them, may well be able to contribute to social cohesion and harmony in the modern world. The Sufi model we will be looking at, with regard to both theory and practice, is that of the contemporary Sufi Master, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Sufi, and the conceptual framework adopted in order to examine these issues is existentialist, by which we mean that evidence for the validity of particular epistemic truths can only truly be ascertained from the actual results produced by the values and institutions that are born out of those truths. The community we will focus on is the one established in Cape Town by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir. The main institutions around which it functions are the market, the mosque, the college and the Murābiṭūn movement. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir's zāwiya, the place where he lives and holds his meetings, is a hive of constant activity and, based on this, our aim is to highlight the contemporary practical implications of the Sufi epistemology which underlies his work.

Tidak tersedia versi lain

Tidak Ada Data