quranic hermeneutics

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T H ~USLIMORLD Vol. LXXXIX. NO. 3-4 Tulv-October, 1999

THE HERMENEUTICAL DIMENSION OF SCIENCE:A CRITICAL ANALYSIS BASED ONSAID NURSIS RISALE-I NURThe Positivist View of Social Science

Although modern science has only been in existence for a few hun-dred years, there is scarcely any aspect of daily life which it has not af-fected. The practical importance of science was first recognized inconnection with war.Later, the application of science in developing ma-chine production and familiarizing the population with the use of technol-ogy had important political effects. The triumph of science is due to itspractical results. Science as technique conferred upon man a sense ofpower. It became an instrument with which to control and dominate na-ture. Eventually, the scope of the power impulse encompassed all fields.So-called theoretical knowledge itself is conceived in terms of the will todominate that which exists, both human and non-human.

It has been argued that just as the natural sciences have been utilizedto master the forces of nature, social sciences should also be developedand applied to control and manipulate society. Natural science was thoughtto possess the unquestionable methodology of truth. Since it had beensuccessfully applied to physical nature, it reasonably couId be extended inthe realm of human relations. Thus, the development of social sciencehas been dominated by the successful model of the natural sciences? adopt-ing and following the procedures, the inductive methodology and crite-rion for testing hypotheses and theories that proved successful in the naturalsciences. The prevailing attitude among social scientists was that theirdiscipline was on the way to becoming an objective science of individualsin society. In order to remain objective, the social scientist illegitimatelyreduced the moral and spiritual dimensions of social reality to its materialeffect or ~ a r r i e r . ~ence, social sciences paid their price of admission tothe objective sciences by a tacit agreement to ban both moral and spiritualcomponents from their explanatory concepts.

From the positivist perspective, values are subjective, and the subjec-tive is virtually synonymous with the private, idiosyncratic, and arbitrary.

I. R. Al-Faruqi, Islamizing the Social Sciences, in Sock1and/lrarud Sciences, ed. I. R.H.G. Gadamer, Puth andMethod(Lond0n: Sheed and Ward, l988), 5.

Al-Faruqi and A.O. Naseef (Jedddah: Hodder and Stoughton,1981), 9-10.Al-FWuqi, SOC/b/~ ~ d N h ~ d 9 1 k i 7 ~ ~ ~1.

270


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YAMINE B. MERMER 271Thus, it is important for social disciplines, if they are to be genuine sci-ences and not simply pseudo-sciences, to establish the laws governing so-cial reality. The use of the inductive method in the field of socialphenomena is independent of the personal biases of the observer or theway he or she considers the realization of the phenomena observed. Theobservers personal biases are irrelevant to his or her predictions in thesphere of social life. There is no need for personal interpretation to makedeductions from data; it is sufficient to allow the facts to speak for them-selves. Eventually, it was realized that this presumed objectivity was, infact, an illusion. Data of human behavior are alive, they are not impervi-ous to the prejudices and biases of the observer. Value-perception is it-self value-determination,i.e. it takes place only when value is apprehendedin actual experience... The perception of value is impossible unless thehuman behavior is able to move the observer.4The Recovery of the Hermeneutical Dimension of Science

At the center of this dispute is the meaning of understanding and itsuniversality. The issues concern not only a philosophic understanding ofthe social sciences but also the practice of these disciplines, i.e. the typesof questions addressed and the ways of interpreting and understandingsocial phenomena. The question is particularly crucial when it is a matterof understanding, interpreting, and explaining social phenomena in a so-ciety other than ones own. How is it possible to understand and interpretsomething alien (activities, beliefs, practices, institutions, etc. ) withoutfalsification or distortion?

Such questions have caused increasing doubt about the methodologi-cal self-understanding of the social disciplines that had been shaped bylogical positivism and empiricism. Many social scientists began to ques-tion the intellectually imperialistic claims made in the name of inductivelogic and the claim that the natural sciences alone provide the model andstandards for what is to count as genuine knowledge. In contemporary re-examination of the social disciplines, the hermeneutical dimension, withits emphasis on understanding and interpretation, has been rediscovered.Sciencesdescription of the world is indeed an interpretation of the world;it inherently reflects the scientists vision of reality.

Modern science is necessarily positivistic. Hence, it is virtually use-less as a model for the Muslim scientist. To develop his own science, theMuslim has to clearly define the Islamic vision of the world and thenelaborate an Islamic methodology of interpretation and understanding.


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272 THE MUSLIM WORLDThe works of Said Nursi provide one illustrative model for how that mightbe achieved.

Nursis critique is radical in the sense that it gets at the roots ofwhat he perceived was the fundamental problem with science. The basisof his critique is ontological; he contended that modern science is basedon a misunderstanding of being. In other words, the scientific vision ofreality is wron g5 This, he contended, is true for both social and naturalscience. Natural science is no more objective than social science; its dataare not dead but well and alive for interpretation. Nursis writings con-tain a clear exposition of the hermeneutical phenomenon. He reminds usthat the universe and the things in it are signs fdydo pointing to theMaker and making Him known. They are constantly changing and throughthat unceasing activity, reciting Gods Beautiful Names and glorifyingHim. For Nursi,

The activity of Divine Power in the universe and the constant floodof beings is so meaningful that through it the All-Wise Maker causesall the realms of beings in the universe to speak. It is as if the beingsof the earth and the skies and their actions are words and their mo-tion is their speech. That is, the motion and decline arising fromactivity is speech glorifying God. And the activity in the universe,too, is the silent speech of the universe and of the varieties of itsbeings. They are being made to speak.6

When science claims to explain the world, it presumes an understand-ing of beings and the language they speak. On the other hand, materialistscience asserts that natureknows nothing of humans and is alien to them,and that humans are alien even to themselves.7 The problem is, if thethings we confront are so alien and strange, i.e. if they have nothing incommon with us, how is it intelligible to speak of understanding? As H. G.Gadamer notes, In modern science... the way in which the knowing sub-ject is adequate to the object of knowledge is without justification. g Howcan science understand and do justice to something that is alien? Nursinoted that alienness is the corollary of the materialistic worldview. Hecontended that the universal affinity between beings and events can onlybe established through their relationship with God. Thus, whether thesubject is physics or anthropology, the problem is structurally similar: How

Said Nursi, T he Words, in Risae-lfVwCo//ec/ion (Istanbul: Sozler Publications, 1992),Said Nursi, Th e Letters,in Risa/e-iN/rCo/ec/im ( Istanbul: Sozler Publications, 1994),339-Gadamer, TrUh p w / l k ~ h o ~45.

a Gadamer, Du/h andMe/hor;!417.Said Nursi, AZ-Ma/hnawi-dHra5i-Jn-N[7rfAnkara: Nur Matbaasi, 1958),107, in Arabic.

143-45;Rkde-iNurKu//uya/i(Istanbul: Nesil Basim Yayin, 1996),49-50.40; Rrsa/e-iNur Kuf/uya/i481.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 273is it possible to understand alien phenomena without imposing blind anddistortive prejudices upon them?

Self-Perception: The Determinant of VisionAccording to Nursi, there are two visions: the true {haqd vision taught

by the prophets, and the false (bsfijlj vision. Mans vision of reality is con-comitant with his perception of his own self. The I,, Nursi told us, hastwo faces. In the first face, the I knows its real nature; it knows that it isowned. In the second face, the I assumes that it owns itself. The realnature of the I is indicative (Am->, i.e. it shows the meaning of thingsother than itself. o It is a sort of scale, much like a thermometer that indi-cates the degrees and amounts of things; it is a measure that makes knownthe absolute, all-encompassing and limitless Attributes and Names of God.To seek true tawhid one has to surrender to the reality that the I is likea mirror, it has an indicative /had>meaning only, it should give up claimingownership of self. When the Iknows it does not own itself, it hands overeverything else to the Owner of all things. Understanding the world is,therefore, the direct projection of self-perception.

The I knows itself to be a bondsman of God. It knows that its exist-ence is dependent upon another, that the continuance of its existence isdue solely to the creativity of that other. I ts ownership is illusory; it isaware that it is only with the permission of its owner that it has an appar-ent and temporary ownership. But if the I forgets the wisdom of itscreation, it views itself in the light of its nominal h5.d and apparentmeaning and falsely believes that its meaning is in itself only. 2 While inthis position, the I falsely assumes its existence is essential and inde-pendent, pretending that it owns its life and claiming to be the real mas-ter in its sphere of disposal. Using itself as a yardstick, the I compareseveryone and everything with itself; it divides Gods sovereignty betweenthem. For the one who claims Iown myself must believe and say Ev-erything owns itself. It is ascribing partners to God on a vast scale,13illustrating the meaning of S91:10, To assign partners to God is verily agreat transgression.

lo Nursi tells us that he derived the term Zwrfl rom Barf (letter) and the term %mifrom >kinword). A h a d he explains, is a tool that serves to express the meaning of another,it has no meaning in itself, Whereas, an isinhas a meaning in itself. See Nursi, MAfafhawi-a/-Xrdv~an-Niri;70. See also Nursi, The F/ashes, 155-56.Nursi, The Words, 57-59; Ri>a/-/Nczr Ac//h$whI 241-42.Nursi, ~ / - A f ~ ~ ~ f f a ~ v ~ - ~ / ~ ~ r ~ ~ i : ~ R ~ N I z r i ;07.

l3 Nursi, The Words,560-61; Risa/e-i izr X~i/h>af~:42 .


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274 THE MUSLIM WORLDHermeneutics: A Primordial Vision

From this outline of Nursis explanation of the I,, it is clear that un-derstanding and interpretation are shaped by ones vision, which itself isthe projection of ones self-perception. It follows that hermeneutics is notonly universal, in the sense that it underlies all human activities, but alsoontological in the sense that, ultimately, the perception and understand-ing of things reflects the basic position of the I , , i. e. ones perception andunderstanding of ones own self, and, thus, of being. The Ithat knows ithas only a har- (ind icat ive) meaning, knows that all beings also have aharfimeaning and that they bear the meaning of another. It realizes thatbeings are signs (dy2@; they are like mirrors. Just as darkness is the mir-ror to light, and however intense the darkness is, to that degree it willdisplay the brilliance of the light. So, too, these beings act as mirrors inmany respects by reason of the contrast of opposites. For example, beingsmirror the Makers power through their intrinsic impotence; they reflectHis riches through their inherent poverty, and His everlastingness (baqa)through their ephemerality (?ha). All proclaim the Divine Names andAttributes through their impotence, poverty and deficiency. l4

One who does not want to see the I for what it really is appropriatesthe qualities and potentialities (fitrah) given to them. Consequently, theyattribute the properties seen in things to the things themselves. They thinkof the world and all things in it, including themselves, as possessing anintrinsic nature, an essence in itself, as though things have, together withcontingent properties, an independent fixed core persisting in time. Be-cause they perceive everything as independent of its Creator, they imag-ine that the properties and functions of a thing proceed from the thingitself, as though it were distinct from all its properties. But, in fact, if theproperties were taken away, nothing would remain. l5 Therefore, the claimthat things have essences and attributes which determine the special func-tions of each thing16 s essentially a claim that things determine them-selves. There is no thing apart from its essence and attributes.

Nursi held that the properties and functions of a thing are modes ofbeing of that thing. The expression things and its properties is merely aconvenient way to express a concept. Nursi said that, in reality, a thingand its property are created together and cannot be separated. All thingsare contingent; there is no part of the thing which is more persistent orstable than its properties or what happens to it. What appear as essen-

l4 Nursi, The Letter4 286-87;Risale-i Nur Kufhkati458.l5 B. Russel, History of Wedern Phi/osopby (London George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1948),l6 Averroes, Incoherence of the i ~ , , h e r e n c e - T t ~ b ~ f u ~rans. S. Van Den Bergh224.(London:Luzac and Co, 1978),318-19.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 275tial' or accidental properties are, in fact, all created. The reality of every-thing is based on the Divine Names. As Nursi said, "the Divine Namesconstitute the true reality of things, while the essences of things are onlymanifestations of that reality. '17 Beings in themselves, i.e. with respect totheir apparent, ismi meanings, are transitory and accidental. They donot possess in themselves anything that can perpetuate and sustain theirexistence. If the Self-subsistent One (Qayy7m) did not sustain them for amoment, they would cease to exist. l8

With respect to their harfimeaning, beings are signs of God; they arecharged with various duties. Each being is a witness (sh2hid to its Makerand it is existent by virtue of its connection to the Giver of Existence

With respect to the harfimeaning, everything, whether in partor whole, gains universality through its connection with its Maker. Withthe severance of that connection, however, all things become particu-lars. Each will be like an orphan, alien to all the rest of beings.20Thingsare not horizontally related to one another. Each being is vertically con-nected to its Maker and, through that connection, is connected to all therest of beings. If things were horizontally or casually related, i. e. if theywere causally related, it would be possible to deduce the effect from thecause independent of experience. That is to say, it would be possible toderive the effect from the cause through a purely rational process, i.e.without referring to past observation. Obviously, this is impossible, forthe mind can never find the effect or any hint of it in the supposed causeby even the most accurate scrutiny or examination.21Causation is, there-fore, merely an opinion. It is no more than a prejudiced belief corollaryto the ismf vision.Harfi Logic vs Ismi Logic

It is important to be clear what is meant by the term 'causation'. It isnot just that every contingent thing must have a cause, but also that itsexistence is necessitated by that cause. Everyone sees the world throughtheir own mirror; whoever claims to be the creator of their deeds willinevitably interpret the simultaneity of causes and effects as causation.They will be bound to attribute effects to causes and thus to claim thatcauses are efficient: they produce the effect and sustain it in existence.

l7 Nursi, The Word6 655; Risale-iNurKu/hya/i 286.I8 "Verily, t is God (alone) who upholds the heavens and the earth, lest they cease (toexist):l9 Nursi, The Word$ 493; R3a/e--iNurKh!hpa/i211.2o Nursi, M-Mafhnawf-d-ra5Aan-NZrx 107; 271.21 D.Hume, An Enquiky Concern& Human fiders/andhg (Oxford Oxford University

And if they should fail, no one can sustain them thereafter. (See Qur'an 3541).

Press, 1978), 29.


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276 THEMUSLIM WORLDThe consequence of this model of the world is that empirical knowledge isnecessarily connected to the causal relations between objects and events.22According to this view, the logic of scientific discovery is inductive. Inother words, it infers universal statements (laws, theories) from particu-lar statements, such as accounts of the results of experiments and obser-vations. These inductive universal statements, it is claimed, constituteknowledgepar excelence.

From a logical point of view, universal statements cannot be inferredfrom particular ones, no matter how numerous they are. Inductive infer-ences can only be justified if the causal relationship between cause andeffect is necessary, i.e. a purely logical truth. However, the relation be-tween cause and effect is empirical and can only be established aposte-riori We observe constant simultaneity, but this is not the same as causalconnection. Temporal succession is no evidence of causal relations. Thelogic of induction proceeds as follows. First, it conjectures, without justi-fication, that induction is valid, then concludes that causation is true.Whereas, from the point of view of logic, it is the other way around, i.e.induction can be justified only by proving that causation is true, that therelation between cause and effect is necessary.

As Nursi saw it, universality is only possible through direct connec-tion with the Creator. Each particular thing or event is connected to allother things and events in space and time through its connection to itsCreator. Thus, with respect to the harfivision, each particular is univer-sal. The so-called laws of nature, Nursi said, cannot be defined as exis-tent; they are mental, imaginary constructs. Imaginary constructs cannotsustain external reality.23

This conception of the world does not deny the uniformity of the world.Order is itself a proof of unity; each relation between cause and effect isitself a sign pointing to the Maker and ascribing all the rest of creation toHim. The crucial point is that these relations are vertical and directly con-nected to the Maker. The remarkable ordering of the universe proceedsfrom Gods Wisdom. The rules and ordinances of the sharia of creationproceed from the Divine Attributes. The laws of nature are horizontal;they denote the relationship that is imagined to exist between individualthings themselves. Nursi clearly established that the uniformity of thesequence of cause and effect in no way justifies belief in a causal nexus;on the contrary, the uniformity of the sequence of cause and effect is anevident sign &ya) pointing to God and making Him known with His Namesand Attributes. 24

22 Averroes, fncoherence of he hcoherence-Tah&Xut af-tahgfut, 319.23 Nursi, The Words, 528; Rikde-iNur Kufhyati; 228.

Nursi, The Pzshq in fl%a/e-iNur CoAectIon (Istanbul:S6zler Publications, 1995),243;f ? J s&? - iN f f r Xuflf>ati(Istanbul: Nesil Basim Yayin, 1996), 682.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 277Inductive logic is the logic of the kmlvision. It claims to explain the

world by ascribing it to causes and multiplicity. However, Nursi demon-strated in detail how the unity and interrelatedness of beings in the uni-verse reject such a claim. Indeed, beings display such qualities thatsupposing all causes gathered together and each had the power to act andpossessed will, they still could not produce them.

0 men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom,besides God you call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met to-gether for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anythingfrom them, they would have no power to release it from the fly.Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition!(22:73).

Beings, which are miracles of Divine Power, are each in the form of afocus of the Divine Names. When the qualities manifested on each beingare not directly ascribed to the Creator, assumptions arise, .such as thatconcealed within each being, even in a fly, there is an infinite creativepower, and a knowledge encompassing all things, and even an absolutewill with which to govern and control the universe. When every singlething is not attributed to the Omnipotent One and if the connection ofthings with Him is severed, it becomes necessary to attribute divinity toeach cause.25

Nursi used evidence from the universe to prove that causation is adogma of the ismfvision. He demonstrated from many different perspec-tives and contexts that there are insurmountable difficulties in acceptingcausation and associating partners or equals with God. Moreover, he ob-served that in each thing, each particle even, there are two witnesses(shihi$ to the Makers necessary existence and unity. One is that to-gether with its absolute impotence, each particle performs vital and vari-ous duties. The other is that, together with its lifelessness, each conformsto the universal order, thus displaying a universal consciousness. That isto say, through its inherent impotence, each particle testifies to the neces-sary existence of the Absolutely Powerful One, and through its conform-ing to the order within the world, each testifies to His unity.26Thus,everyparticle is a sign of Divine Oneness. With the mode of their being, theyrecite the Creators Names. They perform well-ordered, universal dutiesof glorification and worship. Each particle, each being, opens up windowsonto knowledge of God.27

In conclusion, Nursi wrote that each object and eachvertically connected to its Creator. It is related to all the

event is directly,rest of beings, in

25 Nursi, The Word4 303;R&a/e-iNur KXhyati 123.26 Nursi, The Word4 305;Rh-ale-iNur Kiilhyati; 124.27 Nursi, The Word4 306; Rikale-iNur Kulhyati;


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278 THE MUSLIM WORLD

impotent, unconsciousCause makes

space and time, through that vertical, necessary connection. Each particu-lar is a universal through its connection to the Creator. Universality existsonly in relation to the Creator. If causation is assumed, and beings andevents are not directly attributed to a single Maker, then from the point ofview of logic, universals are reduced to particulars. Logically, universalstatements, which constitute knowledge, are unjustifiable. In other words,it is logically impossible to claim knowledge whiIe accepting causation. Ifthe purpose of science is the search for universals, then there is only onereasonable alternative: give up the ismi logic,which according to Nursi,is illogical and unreasonable, and adopt instead the universal h z f i ogic.

This conclusion is of paramount importance to Nursis argument. Fol-lowing h x f i logic, which is based on the fact that beings and events areessentially signs of God as is repeatedly and emphatically expressed in theQuran, Nursi demonstrated that causation is a dogma, a false conjecture/zann).28 n doing so , he also showed that causes, effects and their rela-tions all point to the existence of the Necessary Being and His Unity, andmake Him known with His Names and Attributes. That is to say, the refu-tation of causation opens the way to knowledge: the knowledge of God,which is one of the most fundamental goals in the creation of man. In-deed, according to the meaning of I created not jinn and men except thatthey may (know and)29worship Me, (51:56)the purpose for placing manin this world and the wisdom implicit in such a divine act is the knowingof the Creator of all beings, believing in Him and worshipping Him. 30It is important to realize that to refute causation does not mean thatthe investigation of the world should be abandoned. To the contrary, theworld is an evidence that must be used to confirm iin$n (belief). The hmfimethod urges us to search for and carefully consider causes, for they arethe signs of God and the means to bringing home knowledge of God.

Irtful, purposeful andbeneficial effectllusory causal relation-1 I 11 1 I I

Horizontal RelationConjecture (zann) Unjustified

For,most of them follow nothing but conjecture: (and,)behold, conjecture can never be a29 Ibn Abbls interpreted&pa buduh sLr)ar~Xh See S.M.N. Al-Attas,h/ZmAndSecu/anm30 Said Nursi, al-lyatul Kubra,rh Risale-iNu/ XUfiyd (Istanbul: Nesil Basim Yayin,

substitute for truth. (See Quran10:36)See also 2:78; 4:157; 524; 3:23; 3:28.(Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1993),146.1996), 95.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 279

The Makeruimpotent, unconsciousCause is

sign of God

Vertical Connection Universal KnowledgeOf God

The Harfi Method: A Method Extracted From The QuranIn previous centuries, Muslim theologians proved the unity of the

Necessarily Existent One and expounded knowledge of Him through as-serting the impossibility of causation. They showed that knowledge ofGod cannot be gained while claiming a necessary connection betweencause and effect.

In Nursis view, the knowledge of God gained by means of theologyfkafdm) s incomplete, insufficient. It fails to provide a complete knowl-edge and sense of Divine Presence. However, the knowledge of God ob-tained from the Quran affords a constant sense of the Divine Presence,without condemning the universe to non-existence, or casting it into abso-lute oblivion.31 It rather releases the universe from purposelessness, and

31 The r ~ a ~ ~ a ~ ~ - I l / - v f f c ~ ~ ~ s c h o o lf Sufis, in order to truly affirm divine unity and enter Godspresence in the highest degree said: There is no existent but Him. They relegated the universeto the level of imagination and cast it into non-existence, and only then fully entered the divinepresence. The v a ~ ~ ~ ~ u / s ~ i f ~ l s c h o o lf Sufis, in order to experience Gods presence andaffirm His unity fully, said: Nothing is observed but Kim. They thus forgot the universe anddrew the veil of oblivion over it, and only then fully experienced the divine presence (L, p.392).


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280 THE MUSLIM WORLDemploys it in Gods name. Every thing becomes a sign fdya) and a win-dow opening onto knowledge of God. 32

Nursi demonstrated an argument of Gods Oneness and Unity, notonly in the totality of the world but in every single thing. He showed howeach thing is a sign, a pointer that makes known the Necessarily ExistentOne through His Attributes and Names. Furthermore, he demonstratedwith the same argument, not only the Necessary Existence of the universesMaker and His Unity, but also His all-encompassing knowledge, limitlesspower, infinite will and mercy and His other Attributes.

The method Nursi formulated is fundamentally different from themethod of scholastic kaldm. The theologians argued that the model ofbeings coming about through the causal efficacyof their originating causes,only ending with the First Cause, could not be reconciled with the notionof a freely creating deity. Their argument was that because God is anomnipotent agent, He must be responsible for the creation of everythingin the world. They asserted that the thesis that things possess causal powerwhich is a necessary consequence of the things nature or essence is there-fore incompatible with the Quranic concept of God. 3 3 This method isadequate to test for consistency with lawh~bbut it does not provide uswith a logic of knowledge. It is persuasive only if one has already ac-cepted translating causal language into language referring to Gods ac-tions. The ha -- vi si on ,however, supplies the method required to justifythis translation.The starting point of the bar- method is the universe. It employs theuniverse falem-ishahJda) as witness to I L ~ w ~ J ~nd demonstrates howbeings are signs witnessing the unity of their Maker and making Him knownwith all His Names and Attributes. This method is ontological: t is con-cerned with establishing the nature of beings as signs. Its ontology istawhid& it may be expressed as There is no god. All beings are wit-nesses to the Quranic truth of There is no God . . . The fawhJXepiste-mology but God is a necessary result of this ontology. Logically, if Thereis no god is right, so must but God be. The truth of There is no Godcan be observed fmushahada) in the universe; it can be confirmed andwitnessed. But God cannot be witnessed directly, but it is deduciblefrom There is no god. Moreover, if There is no god but G o d is truethen Muhammad is His messenger also must be right, for the truth ofthe Prophets message is itself evidence of the truthfulness of hisprophethood. As a result, the creed of Islam There is no god but God and

32 Nursi, The Letters, 388-89;Rikale-iNur Kzilhyati; 503.33 Oliver Leaman,An hifroduction foA~e&r.a/hIamii-PhiYosophy Great Britain: C ambridgeUniversity Press, I985), 4-86.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 281Muhammad is His messenger, which summarizes the message of Islam,is confirmed /tas& with all the senses, That is, although the Muslimbelieves in the Unseen / l i n ~ - u zYghayb), his belief is based on onto-logical confirmation; it is founded on proofs as numerous as existing be-ings. Thus, belief in the truth of revelation supported by the testimony ofall the cosmos is knowledge.

The harfimethod proceeds under the guidance of numerous verses,which provide the required scriptural basis for a Quranic methodology.

It is God Who has created you, and then has provided you withsustenance, and then will cause you to die, and then bring you to lifeagain. Can any of your (God) - partners do any of these things? Lim-itless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything towhich men may ascribe a share in His divinity! (30:40).Now those whom they invoke beside God cannot create anything,since they themselves are but created. (16:20-21).

Will they, then, ascribe divinity, side by side with Him, untothat which does not create anything since they themselves are cre-ated? (7:191).

He (it is Who) has created the skies without any supports thatyou could see, and has placed firm mountains upon the earth, lestit sway with you, and has caused all manner of living creatures tomultiply thereon. And We send down water from the skies, and thusWe cause every noble kind (of life) to grow thereon. (All) this isGods creation: show me, then, what others than He have created!

And yet, some choose to worship, instead of Him, (imaginary)deities that cannot create anything but are themselves created, andhave it not within themselves to avert harm from, or bring benefit to,themselves, and have no power over death, nor over life, nor overresurrection! (2.53).

Or do they (really) believe that there are, side by side with God,partners that have created the like of what He creates, so that this actof creation appears to them to be similar to His? (13:16.)34

(31: 0-11).

It is important to understand and appreciate that the hadmethoddoes not deny the existence of causes and effects, nor does it deny thatthere are relations between events.35 The point is rather that these so-called causal relations are not horizontal but vertical; the uniformityand order we observe in the world is wrongly attributed to causation.The confusion is to mistake causality for causation. Causation is the pro-

34 Further relevant verses include: 16:17-22; 6:73; 3427; 5:13; 35:40; 56: 58-59; 6:63-64;35 Nor did the theologians; see al-Ghazlli, A f l y Z r a/- ! (The cn2erion ofknowfedgq),ed .

56: 68-69.S. Dunya (Cairo 1961), 8.


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282 THE MUSLIM WORLDduction of the effect by causes. Causality is the principle that nothingcan happen without being caused. Causality is a universal, apribr iprin-ciple in the sense of being f itr i(every act must have an agent), whereascausation is not. A well-ordered act necessarily points to a proficient agent,a skilful master, but it is not evident how lifeless, conflicting, deaf andblind causes can be the agents of wonderful effects. Whichever effectyou consider, it contains such meaningful art that let alone its common,simple cause, if all causes were to gather, they would declare their impo-tence before it.

As suggested, there is nothing in beings to suggest that they have anyrole in creation. The creation of a single thing necessitates perfect, infi-nite power, knowledge and will. Since an infinite number of absolutegods is illogical, the creator of one thing must be the creator of all things.He must possess infinite qualities. Hence, there is no reason why Heshould be in need of partners.36 Since the existence of such partners isprecluded by logic, to claim otherwise is arbitrary. Since there is no indi-cation that could induce the truth of causation empirically or logically, itis meaningless. 37

Nursi stressed the fact that although causes are apparently adjacent totheir effects, the reality is that there is a great distance between them: thegreatest of causes has no actual power with which to bring about the mostinsignificant of effects. Effects have been tied to causes so that great num-bers of the Divine Names may be manifested. When it is realized that thehorizontal relation between cause and effect is only an illusion of the ikmivision, it becomes clear that there is a vast distance from causes to thecreation of effects,38 s Nursi put it. It is in this distance that the DivineNames may be witnessed.

Nursi utilized the harfimethod for knowledge from the very logic andstructure of Quranic verses. For example,

0 mankind! Worship your Sustainer, Who has created you andthose who lived before you, so that you might remain conscious ofHim Who has made the earth a resting-place for you and the sky acanopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby broughtforth fruits fo r your sustenance: do not, then, give God any com-peers. (2:21-22).39

36 Nursi, The Word4 434; Risa/e-iNurKi/h>ati 190-91.37 Nursi, The Word4 635; Risde-iNur Kdhyati; 276; The F/ashes, 383; Risa/e-i.Nu/38 Nursi, The Word$ 435; Risde-iNurKli/!>ati; 191.39 Se e Quran 7:lO; 14: 32-34; 16: 14; 16: 66-69; 22: 63-65; 24: 43-45; 31:lO; 31:31; 35:3; 35:12;

KU/h>zVi; 763.

40: 79-81; 80:24-32, etc.


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Y A MI N E B. MERMER 283This verse ties causes (rain water) to effects (fruits) and concludes

with, for your sustenance.This aim and the benefits of sustenance dis-charge ignorant and lifeless causes and hand them over to an All-WiseMaker. The Quran repeatedly stresses the fact that causes themselves arecreated and cannot produce anything.

Now those whom they invoke instead of God cannot create any-thing, since they are themselves but created. (16: 20-21)

Have they, perchance, feet on which they could walk? Or havethey hands with which they could grasp? Or have they eyes withwhich they could see? Or have they ears with which they could hear?(7:195).40

Also, the adornment and skill on the face of effects41 indicate a WiseMaker who wants to make His power known to conscious beings and de-sires to make Himself loved and worshipped as mentioned at the begin-ning of the verse, 0mankihd? worsh@your S~staiher.~~t is obvioushow distant the causes that apparently result in rain are from thinking ofliving beings, having pity and compassion on them, and considering theproduction of their food. Indeed, the Quran invites us to ask questions touncover the veil of causes and to investigate the reality behind them.

Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and sendsdown for you water from the skies? For it is by this means that Wecause gardens of shining beauty to grow. (Whereas) it is not in yourpower to cause (even one single of) its trees to grow! Could there beany divine power besides God? Nay, they (who think so) are peoplewho swerve (from the path of reason)!

Who is it that has made the earth a fitting abode (for living things)and has caused running waters (to flow) in its midst, and has setupon it mountains firm, and has placed a barrier between the twoseas? Could there be any divine power besides God? Nay, most ofthose (who think so) do not know (what they are saying)!

Who is it that responds to the distressed when he calls out to Him,and who removes the ill (that caused the distress), and has made youinherit the earth? (27: 60-62).

Who is it that provides you with sustenance out of heaven andearth, or who is it that has full power over (your) hearing and sight?And who is it that brings forth the living out of that which is dead,and brings forth the dead out of that which is alive? And who is itthat governs all that exists? (10:31).43

See Quran7: 194; 13:14; etc.41 See Quran 13: 4; 35: 27; etc.42 The Quran directs our attention to the benefits attached to things. It shows us the mercysent to us through causes. Then it reminds us to be thankful for it , e.g., 5:6; 58 9; 7:lO; 8:26;

16:14; 1678; 22:32; 23:78; 30:46; 32:9; 3592; 36:72-73; 67:23;etc.43 See Quran656; 3:16; 2443; 26:75; 28:71; 29:63; 3199-31; 353 ; 3540; 36:80; 39:21;etc.


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284 THE MUSLIM WORLDThat means rain is sent to assist living beings by virtue of a Compas-

sionate Creator who creates beings and guarantees them sustenance. Hence,in the distance between cause and effect, the Divine Names, such as Com-passionate, Sustainer (Raz&?q),Giver of Life, Omnipotent, Omniscient,Disposer (Mudabbz$, Wise may be witnessed. 44

The Quran speaks of the universe in order to make known God withHis Attributes and Names. It explains the meanings of the book of theuniverse to make known its Creator. It instructs man concerning the signsof creation, and teaches him how to look at beings and events, each ameaningful word, as bearing the meaning of another; to look at them onaccount of their Maker. In other words, the Quran and its students speakof the universe for the sake of God: That is the gist of the harfi vision.The Hermeneutical Problem

The world is not neutral so that it would be possible to make it speakand interpret it arbitrarily, as the relativists suggest.45The world speaks.But it does not speak, as the objectivists claim, a man-made anguage; itspeaks neither Aristotelian, nor Galilean, nor Newtonian, nor Einsteinian.The relativists have been critical of the so-called correspondence theoryof truth. Indeed, objectivists have distorted the concept of tru th by claim-ing that human reason was its source. They have mistaken the fact thathuman reason is able to understand the truth for its being the source ofthe truth. As philosophers themselves assert, human reason is contingentand limited.46 Only He Who fashions the universe can inform man of real-ity and the purposes of creation.

God does not abandon Himself, His existence, and unity, to the testi-mony of His creation. Just as He speaks and makes Himself known throughHis creation, He also makes Himself known and loved through speech.Since the Wise Maker, Who fills the cosmos with His miraculous creations,has endowed all beings with tongues speaking of His perfections, surelyHe will speak with man through revelation. He will inform Him of Hispurposes and of the meaning of His creation. 47

The world speaks; it is meaningful. It speaks the language of theCreators Names and Attributes. Only revelation may interpret its speechand translate it in accordance with mens intellects and understanding ina form of divine descent (fanazzuldf-izYdhzpya). Man needs both revela-

Nursi, The Word!435-37;Risafe-iNurXIj;/iVaafi;91-92.45 R. Rorty, Conithirgenw L-ony, andSo/dar& (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1989), .46 Gadamer, Tru/handA4ethod 241-45.47 Nursi, The Word$ 593; Risale-iNur Kulhygti 257.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 285tion and the intellect in order to understand the truth. Although both areindispensable to obtaining knowledge, their quiddities are fundamentallydifferent. While revelation is the source of truth and knowledge, intellectis a tool that serves to understand revelation and thus truth. As Nursi said,the intellect commands that revelation be followed because everythingthat revelation says is reasonable. But again, the intellect on its own can-not reach the truth.48

In the search for truth, somehow, we begin with our present experi-ences. But we need a basis, a criterion according to which we can inter-pret those experiences. Our minds do not operate like cameras; ourexperience of reality is not immediate. All judgements about facts con-cerning the things in the world reflect the subjects worldview; they aremoral. Understanding itself is a kind of moral judgement. The process ofunderstanding involves, together with facts, general principles of infer-ence. These apr-ori- rinciples constitute ones logic. Basically there aretwo logics: the harfi logic, which is in conformity with reality, and theism~*logic, hich is the erroneous logic of the I that pretends to beindependent of its Creator. Therefore, revelation is indispensable in at-taining reality.

According to h a d logic, the source of the problems of the ismivisionappears to be the dogma of experience. By erroneously dividing the worldinto physics and metaphysics, science reduces the reality of things to theirmaterial value. It claims that the reality of empirical facts consists in itsdescription of them. But how does the scientist know that his perceptionof the facts corresponds to the riafityof the facts? Who interprets experi-ence and according to what?

The world is out there, but our interpretations of the world are not.An interpretation is true if it conforms to the riafityof the world. Onlythe Maker knows reality, only He can impart to man the knowledge ofthat reality. The scientists description of the world is his belief of themeaning of the facts. This belief is true if it corresponds to the reality ofthe facts. Now, if the truth of this belief is a correspondence of the mindwith something outside the mind, how can the mind ever know it hasattained the reality of the facts out there?

Science asserts that a belief is true when it corresponds to a certainassociated external fact, and false when it does not. This criterion is defi-cient because a belief is an interpretation of the corresponding fact; it isnot a neutral, objective statement. It is either harfior &mi Given thatthere is a fact corresponding to a certain description, how do we knowthis fact conforms to the reafityof the fact?

48 Nursi, The Words,397;Rkde-tNtirKfllhpat?,71.


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286 THE MUSLIM WORLDAs an example, assume the objects of a belief are two terms and a

relation. Let water and plant be our object-terms and growing ourobject-relation. We water the plant and it grows. There are at least twointerpretations corresponding to this same fact. (1)The kmfinterpreta-tion: Water causes plants to grow. (2)The bar-interpretation: It isGod Who causes plants to grow with water, as the Quran teaches us.49Nursi taught that the scientific definition of truth and falsehood is defi-cient. Both descriptions correspond to the same associated fact, both con-form to the criterion of correspondence. Both cannot be true at the sametime because they are incompatible. To decide which is true, a cn2erzbnof eafityis needed.

Nursi posited that the harfimethod provides the required criterion ofreality. What we observe about the two statements above is that waterenters the plant and later the plant grows. These two events are contigu-ous but distinct. They follow each other in time but, as philosophers ofscience admit, we do not actually seewater make the plant grow.50Weonly see two consecutive events. Let us consider the assertion water causesplants to grow.

1. VenZcafion: To verify this statement, we should be able to per-ceive water in action. If water is the agent, it should be demonstratedempirically. However, we can never see water making the plant grow.We conclude that this statement is not empirically verifiable because thereis no external object-relation (growing) corresponding to the horizontalcausal relation between water and plants.

In opposition to the zkmiinterpretation, the second statement, It isGod Who causes plants to grow with water is elicited by experience andis justifiable. Indeed, we deduce from eqerience that the agent IS tramscendentaland thus by definition not observable.

2. &stzZcat~On: The first argument is that of succession. However, aswe have seen, no number of cases of growing following watering canestablish that water causes the growth of plants. To justify a proposition A causes 3, it is necessary to show that the relation between A and B isa necessary relation. Logically, there is no reason why an event should beascribed to its antecedent in time; this is the same as attributing it to itsneighbors in space because space and time are fully equivalent. They areunified into a four-dimensional continuum in which here and there,

49 He it is Who sends down waters from the sky: and by this means We bring forth variouskinds of plants. (20:53). See Quran2:22; 2:164; 6:99; 14:32; 16:lO; 16:65; 2263; 30:24; 31:lO;32:27; 3527; 41:39; 43:ll; 80:24-32; etc.Russel writes: Such propositions as A causes B are never to be accepted, and ourinclinations to accept them is to be explained by the laws of habit and association.. t is rash tosuppose that we perceive causal relations when we think we do... there is nothing in causeexcept invariable succession. HJ~~OTYf WesfemPhiiosoph3;v, 95.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 287before and after are relative. In this four-dimensional space, the tem-poral sequence is converted into a simultaneous co-existence of all things.

The second argument claims that plants do not grow in the absence ofwater. From this fact, it is logically impossible to deduce that water causesplants to grow.51 In addition, plants do not grow in the absence of sun-light, soil, air, the world, the solar system, etc. According to this argu-ment, the whole cosmos is needed to make a plant grow. As we havedemonstrated, this is only possible if they are all attributed to One Om-nipotent, Omniscient and All-Merciful Being.

According to Nursi, then, the kmfinterpretation is arbitrary in thesense that it does not describe reality correctly and thus has no cognitivevalue. It is neither empirically verifiable nor logically justifiable. There-fore, the ismiinterpretation cannot legitimately appropriate experiencebecause experience itself invalidates the ikmi interpretation. The harfiinterpretation, however, is logically justifiable and elicited by experience.

3. &ls%52b&ty*Falsification is therefore a meaningless criterion. Afalsification of the statement water causes plants to grow, would be toshow that plants can grow in the absence of water. However, no oneclaims that he does not get his physics from experience. The problem isnot that we should have a starting point other than experience. The prob-lem is in the interpretation of experience and the logic underlying it,because interpretation is always based on a logic, either ikmior harLIsmi. logic is circular. It accepts causation as dogma prior to observation,then bases its interpretation on this dogma. In the above example, forinstance, ikmflogic takes it for granted that water is responsible for thegrowth of the plant, not because of any empirical or logical reason, butbecause it defines water as effective cause. In the harfi logic, there isno dogma; nothing is taken for granted as created. &rfi logic observesthat water or any other cause possesses none of the qualities needed tocause a plant to grow. It proceeds to find out what is responsible for theplant to grow with water.

Nursi taught that the harfi interpretation is a logical interpretation ofobserved fact. It is logically justifiable that one responsible for the growthof the plant can only be the one who possesses the qualities necessary tomake the plant grow, and thus the qualities needed to make the wholecosmos. A plant cannot exist on its own, independent of the cosmos; theyexist together. Whoever is responsible for the plant must be responsiblefor the cosmos. The har-method demonstrates that both water andplants,and indeed all causes and effects, are signs making their Creator known.

51 See my Materialist Science: The Negative Science, A/XS 12:2 (1995): 261.52 For a detailed discussion of the impossibilities that the alternative thesis entails see myInduction, Science and Causation,*/s/mic S~udes 5 3 (1996): 257-58.


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288 THE MUSLIM WORLDThe universe is full of signs leading to knowledge of God and witnessingto the truth of Revelation. (All) his is Gods creation: show Me, then,what others than He may have created! (31:ll).The Hermeneutical Circle

Understanding is directly related to ones vision and therefore to onesself-perception. If one views himself in the light of the imn-vision, hewill not study the universe under the guidance of revelation. He willunderstand the functioning of the universe but will not realize that it isfull of signs indicating the Maker and making Him known; he will notsee its reality.

If , on the other hand, one views himself in the context of the harfivision, he will understand that the intellect is a valuable tool that HisMaker has given to make Himself known. He will employ that tool, not onbehalf of the soul (nefi),but on behalf of the heart (qalbbjin order to knowand worship his Creator. Heeding revelation, the intellect becomes in thehand of the heart (reasoning heart)53 ike a key unlocking the infinite trea-sures of mercy and wisdom contained in creation.

The intellect is a tool54 which is employed either on behalf of theheart or on behalf of the nefs, The n e h i s active; it continuously castsdoubts and false claims into the heart. This is its fi h*duty.The creationof the nefsis essentially good; if it is known for what it is, it can beemployed to help the heart progress in the path of reality. The nefsmakesthe heart feel the need to repulse its false claims with the help of theintellect by witnessing to the truth of There is no god. The nefsis puri-fied in this process.

The heart is a universal mirror of the Besought One (Samaadj and ascale for measuring the Divine Attributes and Names. 55Theheart innatelyknows its Lord (Rabbj. It looks to the hereafter and to the Divine Names.The nehobstructs the way of the heart. It loves itself56 nd the zkmj tran-sitory aspect of the world. It urges man to worship things other than God.But the world and its beings are ephemeral, they cannot answer mansneeds. Moreover, man feels sorrow and grief on their separation. Thesesorrowful metaphorical loves make his heart weep and cry Y/uve nutthose that set (6:76). hus, he is impelled to seek his true object of loveand worship. This is the way in which the process of purification of thenefsbegins. The innately contradictory dispositions of the n e ha nd of the

53 See Quran 22:46.54 Nursi, The Word$ 39; Risa//r-iNurKii///j.atl;.55 Nursi, The Wurdj, 140-41: R1sde-ifvurK5!!Pati;47-48.56 Have you ever considered (the man) who makes his own desires his deity? (25:43).See

also Quran 45:23.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 289heart provide the thrust needed to start the search for truth and confirmit. This way, both the heart and the nehfulfi ll their duties of worship.57

The duty of the intellect lies in executing the search for truth underthe guidance of Revelation. Using the harfimethod, the intellect provesthe truth of There is no go d and silences the nefs. It shows that thecosmos is full of signs witnessing to God.58Then the heart confirms thetruth and says but God. It withdraws from the ephemeral and gives upall metaphorical beloveds.

-nlellecloperaling onbehalf01 the heaI1

The Reasoning Heart ( H d i l o g i c )

heart (obstructedbythe dominant nefs)

intellect operating onbehalf of the nefs

The Reasoning Nefs ( Ismi logic )

57 Nursi, The Words 508-509; Rk&-i Nzu Ilifl4yafl; 18-19.58 Nursi likens the intellect to a broom that sw eep s the claims of the nch away from the

heart, a guardian of h & J and a in~g2hiYrotecting h x h under the commandership of theheart. Nursi, hikde-i.iZhPafJ;336.


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290 THE MUSLIM WORLDTruth and method are fused.59We validate the truth of tawhidthrough

proofs and method. But we do not prove the truth, we confirm it withthe heart. Nursi told us that proof is only an opening through which theheart sees the truth of fawhid Proof is like a broom that serves to sweepaway the illusions of the nefsthat may land on the mirror of the heart andprevent it from reflecting the truth. Proof itself cannot support universaltruth, only iinandoes. 6oThe intellect uses the trarfimethod to repulse theclaims of ownership of the neb by proving their falsity with There is nogod. Thus, it validates the truth of fawhid The heart, which knows itsLord innately, then confirms the truth of revelation, There is no god butGod. It follows that the circle of interpretations that proceed under theguidance of revelation is essentially open. There is no god but God servesas the touchstone for determining which descriptions or interpretationsconform to reality and which do not.

Absolute TruthI I

World of WitnessingUniverse =signs

I

firfi Hermeneutical Circle

59 In his Tru!h andA4ethoo: Gadamer is emphasizing not the mn/imct/unbut the disjunctionbetween Truth and Method; he is playing off Truth against Method.Nursi, A/-Mathnawi-a/- mbi-an-AGn;246.


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292 THE MUSLIM WORLDNursi believed the ikmivision could not justify the relation between thesubject and its object, nor the relation between things in general. It can-not provide the link which mediates the particular and the universal,because if there are no necessary horizontal relations between things therecan be no universality. All things are deemed to be alien to each other.This point is fundamental for the scientific method a well as for philo-sophical hermeneutics.

As discussed above, science can neither justify its claim to knowledgenor possibly ground its logic of knowledge. All truths involve universals,and all knowledge of truths involve acquaintance with universals.63Withregard to the hermeneutical dimension of science, it is clearly unintelli-gible to speak of understanding something which is essentially alien andstrange, and has nothing in common with the interpreter. In the contextof the rkmivision, all understanding is an arbitrary and distortive activ-ity. Interpretation and understanding in the context of the kmi*vision sspeculative and, indeed, dogmatic. As Gadamer admits, hermeneuticshas to see through the dogmatism of a meaning-in-itself in just the sameway as critical philosophy has seen through the dogma of experience.64We can conclude from Nursis understanding of the I hat the dogma ofa meaning-in-itselfthe ikmimeaning, underlies all kmiunderstandings.Beyond Hermeneutics

The Muslim scientist can develop a Quranic methodology only to theextent he internalizes the Aarfivision; it is not possible to advocate analien vision. The Muslim scientists goal must be to grasp the spirit of theharfivision, confirm it and internalize it. The wider his scope of theharfivision, the better he will read the creational signs of God and themore he will comprehend their multifarious glorifications of God withHis Beautiful Names. His methodology will improve and his results willbe more insightful. He will witness to the various manifestations of theDivine names in different spheres. To the extent he confirms the resultsof his investigations and testifies to their truth with all his senses, hiscertainty hap$ will increase, and his rh2n will be renewed; hencethe wisdom of the Prophets saying, renew your 1b2nby means of Thereis no god but God. This will result in further internalization of theh r - ision, and so on.

If man only consisted of a mind, it would be sufficient to understandthe harfivision intellectually. But the ha& vision is not a theoretical

63 Russel, Probfems ofPhAosophfi 53.Gadamer, 7 h f handMefho4 430.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 293matter, and man also possesses senses and faculties charged with dutiesof worship, such as the heart, spirit, ne& and others. The Muslim scientistsduty, indeed the Muslims duty, is to drive all those senses and facultiestowards reality on the different ways of worship particular to each of themunder the command of the heart. 65 That is why it is not sufficient to sim-ply rationally comprehend the truth. It is necessary to confirm it with allthe senses. Confirmation culminates in acting in the direction of ascer-taining the truth, as the Beloved Prophet (SAAS) said, ih dni s hat whichis firmly lodged in the heart and actively corroborated by the deed.

Acting in accordance with the truth, confirming the truth of revelationwith ones mode of being, deeds and actions is not an arbitrary process.One must follow the sunnaof the Prophet (SAAS) to purify the neh. Justas the harfimethod is used to repulse the false claims of ownership of theneh with There is no god but God on the intellectual level, so too toconfirm the truth of Muhammad is His messenger and comply with thesunna in ones conduct is to reject the claims of the n eh on the level ofpractice. These two types of purification of the nehmutually consolidateand strengthen each other. They are inseparable aspects of the hardvi-sion, just as the two parts of the confession of ihd..,There is no god butGod and Muhammad is His prophet, cannot be separated. As Nursiexplained, they prove and comprise each other.66

In fact, Nursi saw two dimensions in the sunnaof the Prophet (SAAS):ihdn (belief) and ama/ action).Ama/ that is borne out of ik2d.n s mean-ingful worship; ihdn that is grounded in and confirmed by &ma/ ieldscertainty hap$. In the hardvision, following the sunnais not blind imi-tation; each compliance with a practice of the Prophet (SAAS)is a confir-mation of ihdnwith ones deeds and is in itself a means of contemplation(ahkkud. 3afakkincreases certainty, which in turn improves ones fol-lowing of the sunna. The sharia, said Nursi, has many degrees that unfoldaccording to ones level of certainty. Following the sunna has two aspects:contemplation (tahkkud and compliance with the Prophets conduct.

Following the practices of the Prophet is vital for it directly recalls theProphet (SAAS), and that recollection and remembrance is transformedinto recollection of the Divine Presence. The moment the sunna is con-sciously complied with, even in the apparently least significant dealings,such h a b h d acts become meritorious acts of worship in compliancewith the sharia. Through commonplace action, we think of the Prophet(SAAS). We recall the Owner of the sharia, then our hearts turn to Godthe Lawgiver (Shk..? nd we gain a sense of the Divine Presence.67

65 Nursi, The Word4 511; RIsaZe-iNur KLsjj/;yat/;20.66 Nursi,The Letter4 394;RisaZe-iNur KZhyati; 505.67 Nursi, The ifashe4 80-93; isaZe-iNur KU&!!yafi607-13.


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294 THE MUSLIM WORLDFor instance, to say In the Name of God# when one begins eating is

remembrance, and All praise be to God at the end is thanks. Thanks isthe result of reflection. Within thanks is a pure rhh?, a sincere affirma-tion of Gods Unity. Reflection is to perceive and think of those gifts ofmercy, which are valuable wonders of art and miracles of Gods power. Itis to affirm that causes are only apparent; they are like tray-bearers of thegifts of Gods mercy.68 To say Praise be to God is to proclaim that thosegifts are bestowed directly by the hand of power. With saying this andbelieving it, one surrenders every thing, particular and universal, to thehand of power, He recognizes the manifestation of mercy and indeed ofmany other Beautiful Names, in every thing. He announces through thanksa true zhdn and sincere affirmation of Divine Unity (rawhid and entersthe presence of God.69

Hence, Islamic harfisciences are, from one point of view, tafakkkurisciences. Their aim is to develop the Quranic methodology required forinterpreting the shahad3 (testimony) and rasb13Zt (glorifications) of be-ings, and extract the Divine Names. In other words, their purpose is toprovide the methodology and material required for making tafakkku~romanother point of view, harfisciences are applied sciences. They are con-cerned with putting the results of tafakkurinto practice according to theQuran and the SUAW~witnessing to the testimony of beings to the Truth,and as khahfi (vicegerent) join in their glorification of God.

Accordingly, the aim of harfiscience is to make God known with allHis Divine Names. Since knowledge of God is a result of tafakku4 it isnecessary to develop a universal methodology for making fafakkkurunderthe guidance of revelation. Clearly, the success of this enterprise is directlydependent upon the scientists degree of certainty and the scope of theunfolding of the vision of the Quran in his inner world. The scientistsreading of the universe under the guidance of revelation will improve inproportion to his commitment to the harfivision. As we have seen, theinternalization of the results of scientific investigations can be realized byexperiencing the manifestations of the Divine Names in ones life, and thisis best accomplished through following the sunna of the Prophet (SAAS).The scientists experience of reality will then improve his reading of theworld. This way, scientific activity itself becomes a means of worship.

Nursi, Me Word& 17; Rikde-iNiirKu/hjatiatl;4.69 Nursi,TheLetter4 431; Risa/c-iNur KuYhjati; 521-22.


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YAMINE B. MERMER 295Conclusion

Nursi developed an original methodological basis from which it is pos-sible to examine the prevailing rsmi*paradigm. His work also enables usto deal effectively with the problems besetting both historical and con-temporary Islamic thought by providing the means to attain truth and tounderstand and analyze phenomena under the guidance of revelation.

We have dealt here mainly with the hermeneutical and methodologicalaspects of the hzfivision, which is universal and applicable to all sciencesas to all aspects of life. However, in order to appreciate the importance ofNursis formulation of the harfivision, which is a revival of the Quranicvision, it is necessary to reject the positivistic dogmas of the dominant west-ern cultural paradigm with which the Muslim mind is infested.

How many of us doubt the objectivity of positivistic natural science?We have been repeatedly taught that science is objective because it istestable; scientific systems are demonstrably valid ways of interpret-ing the world. The evidence? Technology. If technology works, sciencemust be right; science is vindicated on the basis of the success of tech-nology which is measured by the stick of the domination and power ofcontrol it provides. The dominant obsession with instrumental technicalcontrol has distorted our concept of knowledge such that we fail to real-ize that this vindication of science cannot legitimize the cognitive claimsof science. By deconstructing the prevailing ismi paradigm to its bareelements, Nursi brought to light its invalidity, and through the same pro-cess he establishes the exclusiveness and universality of the Quranic vi-sion. He demonstrated that the universe cannot be used as evidence forthe positivistic claims of modern science. The universe is Gods creation;it is full of signs indicating His Unity and making Him known. Nursishowed how the Muslim should use the universe to witness to the truthof revelation.

Contrary to what is commonly believed, natural science is neitherempirically verifiable nor logically justifiable. Causation (the principle thatcauses produce the effect) is merely a conjecture of the kmivision. Likethe theologians, Nursi stressed the fact that causation is the antithesis offawhib!However, the method he followed was different from that of thetheologians and the philosophers. It is a method extracted from the Quranicverses. This method teaches us how to read the universe as signs, witnessthe truth of revelation and confirm it.

By demonstrating that the relation between cause and effect is nothorizontal but vertical, Nursi showed how each cause and each effect is asign (2ya)pointing to the Attributes of their Maker and making Him knownwith His Beautiful Names. He thus proved that the only way to attainknowledge of reality is to study the universe under the guidance of revela-


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296 THE MUSLIM WORLDtion. All other claims to knowledge are false; they cannot be justified.One may know many branches of science, or may have learned how touse and benefit from the rules of the ordering of the universe, yet remainignorant of their reality and of the wisdom of humankinds own creation.Only revelation can provide us with the cri2erion ofrea//;fi.:hich is vitalfor the realization of felicity fsa kda) in this world and in the hereafter.

Ankara, Turkey YAMINE. MERMER

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