Contemporary fideism in Islam

Thus far in my examination of anti-rationalist fideism in Islam, I have critically assessed and ultimately rejected both classical traditionalist and scholastic fideism. Despite the objections and criticisms that can be leveled against it, however, anti-rationalistic fideism dominates contemporary Islamic thought. Many Muslims today view philosophy with suspicion, if they do not outright reject its operation in the religious domain. Many of the reasons that they cite were addressed in my examination of classical and scholastic fideism in Islam. Several Muslims think that philosophy is simply impermissible and forbidden from a religious point of view. One can find numerous fatwas (legal opinions usually issued by scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) attesting to this. ¹ Other Muslims who might be sympathetic to the permissibility of philosophizing about Islamic belief nevertheless maintain that it is of little use in the religious domain since it cannot provide any definite answers to ultimate questions about God, humanity, the universe, etc. For instance, in one of his public lectures, the popular Islamic preacher, Yasir Qadhi, describes philosophy as a “science whose basic premise is flawed.” ² This basic premise, he explains, is that “via man’s intellect, the ultimate truths of life can be arrived at.” ³ He then proceeds to dismiss philosophy on the grounds that only Divine Revelation can provide us with the ultimate truths about life. ⁴