Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Thinking Tools 4

In the name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful

Other thinking tools developed by De Bono are PMI, CAF, and C&S

Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI)

The aim of PMI is to broaden our thinking.  Every idea, no matter how simple or ridiculous it may be, has its strengths and weaknesses.  Some people like to make judgment on ideas put forward by their friends or foes without thinking of the possible strengths and weaknesses first.  This may lead us to make wrong decision for we tend to be biased towards our family and closed friends.  Therefore, with PMI, we can avoid making rash decision.  PMI allows us to expand our attention and prevents us from seeing only the negative side of everything that we didn't agree with.

Before embarking on anything, we should list as many as we can the advantages of doing it (PLUS), and the disadvantages of doing it (MINUS) and the interesting points about doing it (INTERESTING).  Interesting point is neither good nor bad, but interesting.  For example, you are thinking whether you should do Master degree or not.  So, you should list as many plus points, minus points and interesting points as possible.  It is very easy to think of plus and minus points but hard to come up with interesting points...May for doing master degree, the interesting points would be to view doing master degree as match making endeavor; to be a perpetual student; to have fun; etc.

Consider All Factors (CAF)

This thinking tool is important to ensure we have thought of all the possible and relevant factors before making  decision.  Suppose you are offered a job with a bigger salary but you have to move to another town.  Before accepting the job offer, you should ask as many right questions as possible to help you to think of all relevant factors.  

Possible questions might be about cost of living in the new town; the working conditions; promotion opportunity; what kind of people you are going to be dealing with; your family; school for your children; etc.

Consequences and Sequel (C&S)

The objective of C&S is to direct our focus on the effect of choices that we have made.  When we choose to do something, there are consequences of our actions.  These consequences can be immediate, short-term, medium-term or long-term.  Our choices are directly related to our responsibility.  This means that since we are free to choose, we are responsible for the consequences of our choices.  Therefore, before making decision we should be able to predict the possible outcomes and we should be prepared to shoulder the responsibility that comes with the choice.

C&S has these characteristics:
  1. It reminds us that our choices have consequences
  2. Therefore, we need to make responsible choices
  3. Our choices lead to a sequence of effects
  4. We use C&S for the purpose of focusing our attention to what might happen as an effect of the choices we have made
  5. By deliberately thinking on the effects of our choices, we can lessen the fear of making the wrong choices or the fear of making decision
  6. The consequences of our choices may change over time

Why philosophy for thinking

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

What better way to learn about the possible effects philosophy can give to the mind than to engage in conversations with those who have experienced doing philosophy for the most part of their lives.  Conversation does not only mean face to face communication but also, and most importantly, it involves the reading and interpretation of written texts to find out their possible meanings.  One of the prominent philosophers is Russell.  He (1959) wrote one chapter on the value of philosophy in his book ‘The problems of philosophy’.  Russell asserted that philosophy is able to train our mind to think critically and liberate it from dogmatic thinking.  Moreover, he maintained that contemplation and speculation in attempts to explain possibilities in philosophy enhance our creative thinking which enable us to view things from various perspectives which lead to enrichment in our imagination.  Russell asserted that
It is exclusively among the goods of the mind that the value of philosophy is to be found; and only those who are not indifferent to these goods can be persuaded that the study of philosophy is not a waste of time.  Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from tyranny of custom. It greatly increases our knowledge of what things may be. Philosophy is to be studied for the sake of the questions because these questions enlarge our conceptions of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind is also rendered great, and become capable of that union with the universe which constitute the highest good (Russell, 1959).

Al-Ghazali’s (1978) critical evaluation of philosophy concludes that the method of philosophy can be a measure of knowledge.  He wrote in qistas al-mustaqim (Just Balance) that a person cannot rely on religious leaders to solve his problems all the time.  There will be times when he has to use his own reasoning to evaluate knowledge.  He suggests that philosophical method of reasoning is a just scale to measure knowledge so that one can get away from blind imitation.  Ibn Khaldun (1967) agrees that philosophy “sharpens the mind through orderly presentation of proofs and arguments, so that the habit of excellent and correct arguing is obtained”.  Likewise, Hamka (1995) concurs that philosophy is a tool to exercise the intellect.  He further states that so long as man continues to think and ask questions and to wonder about the secrets of life and existence, philosophy will not stop.  Ibn Rushd (1976) posits that intellectual reasoning is a religious obligation.  Since intellectual reasoning is a method of philosophy, he concludes that the study of philosophy is also a religious obligation. 
Kaloti (1974) reports that Afghani urged Muslims to include philosophy in their education for it could enhance the intellect to perceive intellectually and to deliver the Muslims from weaknesses of the mind.  Afghani’s disciple, Abduh claimed that intellectual bewilderment that plagues the Muslim community is a consequence of the lack of rational thinking (2004).  He asserted that philosophy, which enhances rational thinking, was taught and learned at the Ash’ari’s school. However, Muslims at that time never shunned the Ash’ari’s school.  Through philosophy ideas were generated “from pure reason and the philosopher’s only concerned is to gain knowledge, to satisfy their intellectual curiosity in elucidating the unknown” and to comprehend the intelligible (p: 37).  He further claimed that the expulsion of philosophy in the Sunni Muslim world had stopped the progress of knowledge.  Seyed Zafer ul Hasan (1931), a professor at the Muslim University Aligarh, argues that a person who studies philosophy
develops the habit of thinking for himself– thinking impartially, systematically and comprehensively to get clear on the profoundest problems of man. The study, therefore, develops his rational faculties more than any other branch of study. He sees things better than others; his reasoning becomes sounder and his judgment more profound. These qualities certainly help in the conduct of life and in all its concerns (p. 5).

Similarly, Manzoor (1989) blames the poverty of Islamic thoughts to the banishment of philosophy in the realm of Islamic thoughts and education.  This is because the decline of Islamic intellectual rigor occurred soon after the decline of philosophy for he claims that philosophy is responsible to train the mind to be able to think well and to produce ideas.  The critical and analytical tools provided by philosophy are essential to the activities of the mind.  Moreover, philosophy helps in intellectual training which could lead to the productions of possible ideas and solutions of the Muslim’s problems.  Even though Manzoor (1989) does not say it explicitly, however, it can be deduced from his writings that he believes that philosophy also trains the mind to be creative for he said that without philosophy, intellectual products of Islamic thought also stagnated.  The production of intellectual products, ideas and solutions to the present problems of the Muslim requires imagination and creativity. 
Philosophy, according to Nasr (2006), with its logical and rational tools hones the intellectual prowess of past Muslims which enabled them to absorb learning from many cultures but not without critical analysis and evaluation.  With great intellectual accomplishment, past Muslims were able to build great civilization with many of the arts and sciences.  Therefore, he suggests that “Islamic philosophy should be called back to provide the necessary intellectual instruments” to enable Muslims to face problems of the present world (p: 47).  Nasr’s view is shared by Musa Asy’arie (1999).  He asserts that thinking is a tradition originated from the practice of Prophet Muhammad.  However, the existence of thinking is doubted by Muslims, the consequence of which Muslims became consumer of civilization, not producer of civilization.  Therefore, he suggests Islamic philosophy as a methodology of thinking which is essentially needed as means to face the complexity and plurality of the present time.  

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Thinking Tools 3

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Brainstorm

Was introduced by Alex Osborn, who was an advertising executive, in 1941.  He found the conventional meeting style inhibit the generation of new ideas.  Therefore he proposed some rules for the purpose of stimulating new ideas.  In order to trigger and to come up new with ideas, they have to be given freedom to think and freedom to act.  He explains that brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members".  The following is the rules that he had come up with

  • No criticism of ideas
  • Go for large quantities of ideas
  • Build on each others ideas
  • Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas
He discovered that significantly more ideas can be generated when these rules were followed.   Further, amassing lots of ideas helped in producing original ideas which were practical as well as realistic.


The new rules stimulate idea generation because all ideas are accepted without criticism.  This way people will not afraid of being judged as stupid or wrong.  Sometimes wild, silly and funny ideas could trigger production of ideas that work.  


Brainstorming can be used in a group or by oneself.  

Brainstorming helps in the production of the following:
  • Cool Advertisements
  • Strategies and methods in Marketing
  • Procedures in Research and Development
  • Techniques of doing researches 
  • Patents
  • New products
  • Creative and report Writings
  • Services
  • Processes
  • Engineering components
  • Government policies
  • Factories
  • Management methods
  • Company structure and policy
  • New industries

SCAMPER

Brainstorming session can help in producing more ideas if all the members in the session are focused on the same thing. SCAMPER method can help in parallel thinking.

S ~ Substitute = Thinking is focused on substituting whole/part of product/process for something else. By looking for something to substitute we can often come up with new ideas.  Typical questions: What can I substitute to make an improvement? What if I swap this for that and see what happens? How can I substitute the place, time, materials or people?
.
C ~ CombineThinking is focused on combining two or more parts of our product/ideas to achieve a different product/process or to enhance synergy.  Typical questions: What materials, features, processes, people, products or components can I combine? Where can I build synergy?

A ~ AdaptThinking is focused on parts of the product/process which could be adapted or think how we could change the nature of the product/process.  Typical questions: What part of the product could I change? And in exchange for what? What if I were to change the characteristics of a component?

M ~ ModifyThinking is focused on changing part or all of the current situation, or to distort it in an unusual way. By forcing ourself to come up with new ways of working, we are often prompted into an alternative product/process.  Typical questions: What happens if I warp or exaggerate a feature or component? What will happen if I modify the process in some way?

P ~ Put to Other UseThinking is on how we might be able to put our current solution/ product/process to other purposes, or think of what we could reuse from somewhere else in order to solve our own problem. We might think of another way of solving our own problem or finding another market for our product.  Typical questions: What other market could I use this product in? Who or what else might be able to use it?

E ~ EliminateThinking is on what might happen if we eliminated various parts of the product/process and consider what we might do in that situation. This often leads us to consider different ways of tackling the problem.  Typical questions: What would happen if I removed a component or part of it? How else would I achieve the solution without the normal way of doing it?

R ~ Rearrange/ReverseThinking on what we would do if part of our product/process worked in reverse or done in a different order. What would we do if we had to do it in reverse? We can use this to see our product/process from different angles and come up with new ideas.  Typical questions: What if I did it the other way round? What if I reverse the order it is done or the way it is used? How would I achieve the opposite effect?

Source: Creative Tool

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Thinking Tools 2

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Concept Fan
Concept fan is a thinking tool to find various alternatives of solution to problems.  The goal is to find solutions which are original and new.  The solution which is already done or obvious is rejected.  In order to fine novelty solutions, we look back and try to look at the problem at a broader perspective.

First, draw a circle to the right of a piece of paper.  Write the problem that we want to solve in the circle.
Draw a line which radiates from the circle and write possible solution on that line.  We can draw as many lines as possible and on each line wrote the possible solution.

We may decide that the solutions are not practical or would not work, so we look back at a broader perspective, the possible cause of the problem.  After that we repeat step 1.  We do this steps until we find solutions which are new, practical and effective.

Picture from mindtool.com

Monday, May 23, 2011

Lateral Thinking

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

According to De Bono, lateral thinking is creative thinking process.  It is aimed at producing new ideas through thinking out of the box .... instead of digging the same whole deeper, it attempts to dig different holes. Lateral thinking
  • aims at producing alternatives which are original, novel, beyond the common
  • is non-sequential...does not follow the regular sequence but jump out of the ordinary 
  • is thinking outside of the logical progressive sequence into divergent pathways that might seem wrong
  • is directing attention to different focus of concern
Parallel Thinking
Thinking process which is focused on solving the same problem or thinking about the same thing at any moment of time.  Meaning, all members in thinking session are trying to find alternatives to solve the same problem.  The focus of thinking changes one after another.  In parallel thinking, all views presented by the members of thinking session are put down in parallel...no judgment and ranking on ideas...

Introduced by De Bono in 1985.  It explores problem or object of thought in multiple perspectives and concerns primarily with 'what can be' instead of 'what is'.  Parallel thinking deals with one issue or one object at a time.

Six Thinking Hats
Based on parallel thinking, a lateral thinking tool.
A tool for effective meetings, problem solving, decision making, producing new ideas, design evaluation
can be used for personal purposes, in school, in business and in families for solving problems and making decisions
Different colored hats help ensuring members thinking on the same issues ... helps in parallel thinking  
Directions of thinking can be identified by the color of the hat
The members in thinking session wear only 1 hat at a time

Benefits of 6 Thinking Hats
  • Decisions seem to make themselves
  • Focused thinking
  • Improved exploration
  • Improved creativity & innovation
  • Foster collaborative thinking
  • Provides a common language
  • Helps people work against type, preference
  • Removal of ego from decisions (reduce confrontation)
  • Allows a switch in thinking without threatening ego
Blue Hat
  • Blue hat is unique as it thinks about thinking
  • Control or organization of thinking process
  • Thinking sessions usually begin & end with blue hat
  • Normally, session leader uses blue hat
  • Instructions for thinking
  • Controls the sequence or use of other hats
  • Brings in discipline and focus
  • Saves time
Open with The Blue Hat

  • Why are we here?
  • What are we thinking about?
  • Definition of the situation or problem
  • The background to the thinking
  • What we want to achieve?
  • Where we want to end up?
  • A plan for the sequence of hats
  • Time for each hat session and time allowed for each individual
Close with The Blue Hat
  • What have we achieved?
  • What decision have we reached?
  • What do we do next?
  • Summarizes the following: 
      Outcome
      Conclusion
      Design
      Solution
      Next steps
White Hat
  • Neutral, objective information
  • Facts & figures
  • Two tiers of facts -Believed Facts & Checked Facts
  • Excludes one’s own opinions, hunches, judgments
  • Removes feelings & impressions
  • Report of opinion of someone else
Questions to be asked & answered under White hat:
  • What information / facts do we know?
  • What information is missing?
  • What information / facts would we like to have?
  • How are we going to get the information?
  • What is relevant?
  • What is most important?
  • How valid is this?
Red Hat
  • Emotions & feelings influence thinking & red hat acknowledges this fact
  • Emotions come in three ways: Background emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, love etc. ,Initial perceptions (eg. having insulted by someone etc.), Emotions after a map of situations has been put together Hunches, intuitions, impressions
  • Doesn’t have to be logical or consistent
  • No justifications, reasons or basis
Questions to be asked & answered under Red hat:
  • How do I feel about this right now?
  • How cold or warm do I feel about this?
  • How am I reacting to this?
Black Hat
  • Cautious and careful
  • Logical negative –why it won’t work?
  • Critical judgment, pessimistic view
  • Separates logical negative from emotional
  • Focus on errors, evidence, conclusions
  • Worst-case scenarios
Questions to be asked & answered under Black hat:
  • Is this true?
  • Will it work?
  • Why it won’t work?
  • What are the weaknesses?
  • What is wrong with it? 
Yellow Hat
  • Positive & speculative
  • Positive thinking, optimism, opportunity
  • Benefits
  • Best-case scenarios
Questions to be asked & answered under Yellow hat:
  • What are the good points?
  • What are the benefits?
  • Why will this idea work?
  • Why is this worth doing?
  • How will it help us?
  • Why can it be done?
Green Hat
  • New ideas, concepts, perceptions
  • Deliberate creation of new ideas
  • Alternatives and more alternatives
  • New approaches to problems
Creative & lateral thinking Questions to be asked & answered under Green hat:
  • What are some possible ways to work this out?
  • What are some other ways to solve the problem?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Good Thinking

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Good thinking is multi-dimensional--it means that in order to achieve good result, we should combine critical, creative, ethical and spiritual thinking in the endeavors to solve problems.

Critical Thinking
Facione (2006) reports that his study in 1990 found that there was a consensus by a panel of experts that critical thinking is thinking that has the following core skills: analysis, interpretation, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation skills. Another study was done by Pennsylvania State University and the findings were the same.  The meaning of each sub-kill also was the result of the same study.  The panel of experts define interpretation as “to comprehend and express meaning or significance of a wide variety of experiences, situations, data, events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules, procedures and criteria” (2006: 4).  They define analysis as “to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among statements, questions, concepts, descriptions, or other form of representation to express belief, judgment, experiences, reasons, information, or opinion” (p: 5).  Evaluation is defined as
to assess the credibility of statements or other representations which are accounts or descriptions of a person’s perception, experience, situation, judgment, belief, or opinion; and to assess the logical strength of the actual or the intended inferential relationships among statements (Facione, 2006: 5).
 The meaning of inference according to the experts is
to identify and secure elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; to form conjecture and hypothesis; to consider relevant information and to educe consequences flowing from data, statements, principles, evidence, judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts, descriptions, questions or other forms of representations (Facione, 2006: 6).

Explanation is defined by the experts as “stating and identifying reasoning in terms of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, and contextual considerations upon which one’s results were based; and to present one’s reasoning in the form of cogent argument” (Facione, 2006: 6).  The last core critical thinking skill, self-regulation is defined as
self-consciously to monitor one’s cognitive abilities, the elements used in those activities, and the result educed, particularly by applying skills in analysis, and evaluation to one’s own inferential judgments with a view toward questioning, confirming, validating, or correcting one’s reasoning or results (Facione, 2006: 7).

Creative Thinking
Torrance (1979) develops a framework of creative thinking which consists of four elements which are fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality.  Fluency is being    prolific in producing ideas or alternative solutions to a problem.  Fluency presupposes comprehensive understanding of subjects studied.  In order to achieve fluency one has to be able to compare, convert, define, describe, explain, paraphrase, predict and summarize ideas and subject studied.  Flexibility means being able to produce ideas that demonstrate multiplicity of thoughts which can generate a diversity of possibilities.  It involves seeing things from multiple perspectives and using different approaches and strategies. Being flexible is being able to change, adapt, demonstrate, distinguish, apply, extrapolate, interpolate, interpret, and predict.  Elaboration is a process of improving ideas by supplying more details.  Adding more details and clarity to ideas will enhance the conceivability and understanding of the topics.  In the elaboration process, one should be able to appraise, critique, determine, evaluate, grade, judge, measure, select, and test.  Originality means being able to produce new and novelty ideas.  It involves synthesis of ideas by combining them together in a different way.  Being original is being able to compose, create, design, generate, modify, rearrange, reconstruct, and revise ideas.   

Ethical Reasoning
Ethical reasoning is a cognitive process of clarifying and justifying moral actions, ideas and beliefs.  It is also the process of analyzing and evaluating reasons for and against moral beliefs and actions from opposing ethical perspectives.  Fasko (1994) found that skills needed to do ethical reasoning are the same as the skills of critical thinking.  Ethical reasoning requires interpretation; clarification; evaluation of information in the context of the inquirer and the other persons involved; formation of hypotheses; and flexibility that is awareness of social condition, change and specific situation—sensitivity to context.  Lipman (2003) explains that thinking that is sensitive to context is thinking that recognizes exceptional circumstances and sensitive to particularities and uniqueness.  For example, lying is always wrong but in a particular situation, to save one’s life, lying is unavoidable and considered the right action. 
Ethical reasoning also involves considering alternative ways of behaving; being empathic; evaluating intentions; and considering possible consequences of actions for all parties involved.  The aim of ethical reasoning is to make correct moral judgment before choosing how to act or a way of living.  In addition, it aims at recognizing our own moral contradictions and self-interest through deep contemplation of our own feelings and judgments and making connection between our moral judgments and ethical principles.  At the societal level, ethical reasoning aims at describing what is and what should be, that is, to describe present moral condition and to offer alternatives explanations and prescriptions of better and more accurate moral solution based on sound ethical principles. 
           
Spiritual Thinking
Spiritual perception is the perceiving of signs in the natural world and human experiences and the Revelation as indications of the existence of God and His attributes.  Spiritual thinking is a method to achieve spiritual cognition.  Spiritual thinking begins with the urge to know and find the truth.  Man’s strategy for living is depended on his understanding of the world.  Man’s attempt to understand the world starts with observation of the material world and human experiences.  His quest for understanding yields knowledge of the world and human experiences.  However, knowing through observation and empirical investigation does not provide the whole truth about existence.  According to Iqbal (2006: 12 – 14), man’s life is a journey from the material to the spiritual world. 
The forward march of his life depends on the establishment of connection with reality that confronts him.  It is knowledge by sense perception and understanding that established this connection….The onward march of his spirit depends on his reflective observation on knowledge of nature to awaken his consciousness that nature is a sign.

This reflective observation is stimulated by questions such as from where is this originated? What is its purpose? Is there a message in this?  These questions form a link between the material and non-material world.  It is a first step towards realization that there are other sources of knowledge.  Therefore, spiritual thinking is thinking about perennial questions and questioning one’s assumptions of metaphysical, epistemological and ethical belief which are fundamental to one’s life.  The answers to these questions form a configuration of meaning for one to make sense of the world. 
Hamka (1995) and Iqbal (2006) posit that philosophy is a handmaiden to understand religion and to strengthen religious beliefs.  Nasr (2006) argues that there is harmony between philosophy and spiritual vision.  This is not to claim that through spiritual thinking man can gain knowledge of the metaphysical world for the intellect can only think of the data and information gathered by the senses.  But, through spiritual thinking man is capable of making a conclusion that the universe is an indication of the existence of a Superior Being which is God.  Reflecting on the universe also makes one realizes some of God’s attributes such as God the Most Creative Creator (al-Ghazali, n.d.).  The evidences of the connection between doing philosophy and spiritual thinking are experiences of individuals who have found that the universe and human experience is replete with indications of the existence of God. 
For example, Hofmann’s (2001) deep concern with the problems of human experiences in ethics and morality in the west makes him questions the conclusion made by the Western sociological thought that value is relative which is against his understanding of philosophical anthropology.  Related to the question of values, Hofmann also pondered on the question of the existence of God. After thoroughly and critically analyzing works of philosophers, such as Wittgenstein, Pascal, Swinburn, and Kant, he concludes with the conviction of the existence of God. The consequence of this conclusion is to know God. This directed Hofmann to another question of how God discloses Himself to human beings. This question led him to acknowledge the need for revelations. Using philosophy as an approach in search for truth, he made a conclusion that embracing Islam is the logical consequence of the truth he found.  Convinced with the role philosophy played in bridging the rational and the spiritual thought, he wrote a book titled “On the role of Islamic philosophy” published in 1983 and another book dedicated to his son titled “A philosophical approach to Islam” published in 1985.  Hofmann’s search for truth using philosophical approach made him to conclude that “a typical attitude of an agnostic is not an intelligent one; that man simply cannot escape a decision to believe; that the createdness of what exists around us is obvious; that Islam undoubtedly finds itself in the greatest harmony with overall reality” (Hofmann, 2006).

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Just so You Know

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Dear Students,

If you want to read more on the dimensions of thinking from the Qur'anic perspective, you can photocopy my thesis or you can ask for a soft copy from me.  I have saved the document in pdf file, but you must promise me that you will not distribute it to others because the university is in the process of publishing it.  

Thank you.  

Sami Yusuf Asma Allah



This is my favorite...gives me goose bump and touches my heart every time I listen to it.  Feels that Allah is so near looking at me so tenderly with love and ever ready to give and forgive if we just ask HIM to

Sami Yusuf - Healing



Break time...May Allah heal our physics, mind and soul

Thinking Styles in the Qur'an

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Prof Jamal Badi and Mustapha Tajdin have listed 15 thinking styles in the Qur'an.  I select only 4 thinking styles.

Hypothetical Thinking
The aim is to provoke the intellect to accept the truth for the truth is clear.  It is also used for exploring the truth and as a impetus to engage in deep thinking in order to understand.

"Have they themselves been created without anything that have caused the creation or were perchance their own Creator" (al-Tur: 35-36).

Rational Thinking
It is correct reasoning and sound judgment which aims at
  • minimizing fuzziness and imprecision; 
  • striving for consistency and avoiding contradiction; 
  • questioning, doubting, criticizing, justifying, to find truth; 
  • avoiding conjecture; striving for achievable goals; 
  • practicality in using means to help attain goals.
Rational thinking in the Qur'an is to
  • prove and affirm the existence of Allah, His oneness, His attributes; 
  • to prove and affirm the Day of Judgment; 
  • and to attack faulty reasoning of those who deny the existence of Allah, and to refute their arguments and misconceptions.
"Had there been gods besides Allah, then verily both would have been ruined.  Glorified is Allah, the Lord of the Throne, above all that evil they associate with HIM" (al-Anbiya': 22).

Metaphorical Thinking
"a figure of speech or analogy for understanding something by seeing something in terms of something else."
It is also called a parable.  Parables in the Qur'an can be described as penetrative diction, closer to reality, motivational forces, preventive measure, and as a source of enlightenment.  Purpose of using parables in the Qur'an:
  • Stressing and affirming the Oneness of God (al-Zumar: 29)
  • Proving something which is beyond the reach of human mind such as resurrection (Fussilat: 39)
  • Encouraging and promoting good deeds (al-Baqarah: 261)
  • Discouraging evil acts by making them appear ugly in the sight of human kind (al-Ankabut: 41)
  • Warning us not to be misled by our life's materialistic temptations (al-Hadid: 20)
  • Comparing the status of those who are guided with those who are misguided (al-An'am: 122)
  • Glorifying Allah and His Attributes (al-Nur: 35)
Conceptual Thinking
Two types of conceptual thinking:
  1. Conceptual expansion - constructing, stretching, extending, modifying, and refining concepts to fit new situations and thus creating new meaning - for example, concept of worship is stretched to include all halal things which are done to achieve Allah's pleasure
  2. Conceptual combination - combining two concepts together to produce new ideas or meaning where a non-existent concept is brought into being - example, the rope of Allah (Habl Allah) which refers to Islam or the Qur'an

Why Think? ~ 2

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful


Attainment of Wisdom
One of the benefits of thinking well is it may assist in the attainment of wisdom.  We have demonstrated that the end of good thinking is wisdom.  Wisdom is the perfection of human intellect and character (Miskawayh, 1968).  Therefore, wisdom is of great value; and a person who is given wisdom is indeed blessed.  Allah makes clear in the Qur’an that the duty of the prophets is to teach mankind the Scripture, wisdom and to purify them which mean that teaching for wisdom is one of the highest aims of Islamic education.
Our Lord! And raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise (al-Baqarah: 129).

Manifestation of Thankfulness (Shukr)
Another value of good thinking is the manifestation of thankfulness for being endowed with ‘aql which makes man superior than other creations.  This means that the intellect is the greatest favor that Allah has bestowed onto human for it differentiates man from the brute beasts.  That is why every human being is obligated to be thankful (shukr) to Allah (al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah: 152; an-Nisa’: 147; al-Qasas: 73; al-Mu’minun: 78; an-Naml: 73) for “being alive and endowed with a soul”, an immaterial substance that leads man to realize that life in this world is for a purpose, which in turn leads him to believe in God through a logical process of thought (Asad, 1980: 132).  Allah is pleased with those who are thankful to Him (al-Qur’an, Ali ‘Imran: 144; az-Zumar: 7; al-Qamar: 35).  Thankfulness is manifested by using the favors according to the purposes they are created and to be thankful is an obligation for every individual Muslim (Saiyidain, 1999; al-Ghazali, 2006).  If a person received a priceless gift from his or her loved one, but that person never even opened the gift let alone used it for his or her benefit, then the person is disrespectful of his or her loved one and made the loved one felt unappreciated.  What is more, the gift is a total waste of resources; and wasting resources is the act of the devil. 

A Form of Worship
Deep thinking or contemplation is one of the highest forms of worship (Badri, 2000) if it is done for the sake of Allah and with good intention.  Ibn Rushd (1976) and al-Aqad (n. d.) conclude that deep thinking is an obligation for every Muslim man and woman.  This conclusion is made based on the great emphasis the Qur’an made on thinking and the beneficial effects thinking has on spiritual, intellectual and emotional development. 

Intellectual Emancipation
The fact that there are so many verses that urge readers of the Qur’an to think convey the message that Islam demands its followers to be intellectually and spiritually active.  The reality that Muslims all over the world are intellectually dependent on Western knowledge and thinking shows that many Muslims disregard the teaching of Islam or have been reading the Qur’an without understanding, that is without using good thinking.  The effect is the tendency to view the Qur’an, on the one hand, as just a religious book for the enhancement of religious life which is considered private and separated from the worldly life.  On the other hand, some Muslims make simplistic argument that the answer for every problem can be found in the Qur’an but never once plunge themselves into studying the Qur’an thoroughly to find methodology of delivering the ummah from the present predicament for the fear of making wrong interpretation.   The consequence is the propensity to imitate blindly from other cultures without critical evaluation or much thought.  In order to alleviate the guilty feeling for not being able to provide Islamic solution, some Muslims give religious flavor to solution adopted from Western thinking and try to find justification from Islamic sources to force the solution to fit in the Islamic belief. 

Defense of Islamic Belief
The present Muslims encounter with ideologies such as Liberal Islam, feminism, religious pluralism, humanism, materialism, empiricism, secularism, and other ideologies which maintain that their way is the right way to the truth. Not only that, millions of information travel through media at the speed of light into Muslims’ home everyday.  Muslims are overwhelmed with choices.  Some Muslims, because of weakness in thinking, fall prey to these ideologies and make wrong choices.  The present Muslims need good thinking like never before.  Good thinking makes one to be selective in choosing.  It acts as filter of information so that false knowledge is sifted out.  Through critical analysis and evaluation; and creative choosing of information; together with moral policing of ethical thinking and remembering of God’s scrutiny; one can be and feel save from being influenced by alien ideologies and worthless and dangerous information.  Lang (1997) agrees that “critical analytical method is absolutely necessary” for preservation of religion among Muslims.

NOTE TO READERS: Please do not copy, print, or share without permission.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Qur'anic Terms for Thinking

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful
  1. Nazar - to consider
  2. Tabassur - insight
  3. Tadabbur - pondering
  4. Tafaqquh - to fully understand, to grasp, to comprehend
  5. Tadhakkur - to bear in mind, to take to heart, to remember, to receive admonition
  6. I'tibar - to learn, derive or take lesson from the history of other nations and the experiences of others and not to repeat their faults
  7. Ta'aqqul - to use one's mind the right way
  8. Tawassum - to contemplate or reflect
Barriers that Hinder Tafakkur, Creativity
  1. Ignorance and not being aware of the truth
  2. Turning away from the truth
  3. Traditionalism and blind imitation
  4. Lust and desires
  5. Arrogance
  6. Hypocrite 
  7. Realiance on conjectures
  8. Conscious rejection of the truth after being convinced about it
  9. Giving the live to the message of God
  10. The role of satan in influencing human perception
Conditions for Islamic Creative Method
  1. Aims are determined by Islamic law
  2. Creativity should not contradict Islamic law
  3. Creativity should lead to more knowledge about The Creator
  4. Creativity that can lead to scientific advancement for social progress
  5. Creativity that can strengthen the Ummah
  6. Creativity that can enhance the clarity of Islamic message and causes it to spread world wide
Characteristics of Islamic Concept of Creativity
  1. multi-dimensional; incorporating physical, mental, spiritual, and theological components
  2. related to the role of vicegerency; therefore, must consider responsibility, accountability, taqwa, humility, and gratitude
  3. practical and reflect the spiritual dimension of human
  4. consider the interest and needs of the community
Taken from Creative Thinking by Jamal Badi and Mustapha Tajdin.

What is Thinking?

In the Name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Can those who do not know anything (there is nothing in their mind, no word, no concept, no info) think?  In order to think, we must have some deposit of words and concepts in our mind.  We cannot think in a vacuum.  Meaning, prior knowledge is very important and the necessary prerequisite for thinking to happen.  When I ask you what thinking means, you try very best to make connection between the word 'thinking' and the words and concepts in your mind so that you can make a logical connection between those concepts in your mind  to explain the meaning of thinking.  

Thinking is simply relating and connecting ideas or concepts in our mind in order to understand something or to solve problems.

Through our 5 senses, we load data and information into our mind.  Then our mind processes the data and information by connecting them to the already existing information in our mind to form knowledge.  The process that is done in our mind is thinking process.

NOTE: It very important to understand the meaning of data, information, knowledge and wisdom...I will discuss these concepts in class, inshaAllah.

Tafakkur is an Arabic word for thinking deeply about something; pondering and contemplating which crosses the border from the material world to the spiritual world in order to understand spiritual messages.

A person has to go through three stages of tafakkur before he/she could perceive spiritual messages in the universe.  
  1. the collection of data from the universe via sense perception.  
  2. the interpreting and understanding of the collected data through rational thinking in order to attain knowledge.  At this stage, the data is observed, investigated and experimented in order to describe and explain scientifically in detail to understand its nature and the benefits and harmfulness it may bring to human, the environment, and other creatures.  This empirical study is an “indispensable stage in” attaining spiritual perception (Iqbal, 2006: 14).  The end results of this thinking process are philosophical and scientific knowledge, theories, laws and their applications.
  3. stage is the stage of spiritual insight.  At this stage, man realizes and perceives in knowledge of the universe and human experience that there are messages and evidences of the existence and greatness of Allah. The bridge between rational and spiritual perception is asking philosophical questions such as what are the purposes of existence, how am I to live, can there be life after death.  Reflective thinking on these questions establishes a link between rational and spiritual thought (Iqbal, 2006).  Through spiritual thinking one perceives and concludes that his self, the universe, and human experiences are signs which point towards God which affect him to recognize and acknowledge God's existence and His Attributes.  At the point where one realizes all existences are signs which signify the existence of God and His Attributes, reflective thinking (fikr) is converted to contemplation (zikr) (al-Edrus, 1992).  Ibnu Qayyim (2009) reports that Hasan al-Basri said that knowledgeable people consistently do zikr (remembrance of God) with fikr (thinking).  Ibnu Qayyim asserts that fikr and zikr is seed of knowledge.
NOTE TO READERS:  The explanation of Tafakkur is my own-this is a part of a paper which will be published soon.  Therefore, please do not copy without permission.

Human mind is limited to think of the spiritual world because the unseen cannot give effect to our 5 senses, therefore, we Muslims must think only on the creations of Allah in order to know HIS attributes.  Creations of Allah includes physical things, abstract things which we know through logical thinking and experimentation, and also events that have happened through out history.  


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Why Think? ~ 1

While reading the Qur’an, one will stumble upon hundreds of verses that keep reminding reader over and over again to use his/her intellect to think.  These verses provoked the readers to think by questioning readers in a negative form for not using their intellect and for not thinking.  The fact that there are hundreds of verses that mentioned about the intellect in action shows that thinking is necessary and strongly encouraged.  The Qur’an does not merely ask but provoke, challenge and appeal to readers to use their intellect.  As early as verse 44 in the second chapter of the Qur’an, readers are provoked by a negative question, afala ta’qilun (will you not use your intellect?).  There are 13 verses which question readers negatively for not using their intellect, afala ta’qilun which means “do you not think” (al-Qardhawi, 1998); “have you no understanding” (Pickthall, 2001); or “will you not use your reason (Asad, 1980).  Al-Qardhawi explains that Allah asks man in the negative form to motivate man to think of the signs of Allah in order to know Allah and to be convinced of the belief in Allah.  Another 11 verses are in the verb form of ta’qilun which means “you would use your reason” (Asad, 1980); or “you may think or you may understand”, which are used interchangeably by al-Qardhawi (1998) and Pickthall (2001).

Henzell-Thomas (2005) disagrees with the word reason used by Asad (1980) for it gives the connotation that thinking is only at the rational level by the lower intellect.  He prefers to interpret ta’qilun as “you may understand” for the assumption behind understanding is thinking which include both rational thinking and spiritual thinking.  The word ta’qilun which is mentioned 11 times in the Qur’an comes after verses that present Allah’s clear signs so that human may think about those signs which are the Revelation in Arabic language, Allah’s creations, and history of human experiences to arrive at the truth with certainty.

So We said: Strike the (dead body) with part of the (Sacrificed cow), thus Allah brings the dead to life, and He shows you His signs so that you may understand (al-Baqarah: 73).

Thus doth Allah Make clear His Signs to you: In order that ye may understand (al-Baqarah: 242).

O ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you; they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by (the utterance of) their mouths, but that which their breasts hide is greater. We have made plain for you the revelations if ye will understand (Ali Imran: 118).

We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may understand (Yusuf: 2).

We sent not before thee (any messengers) save men whom We inspired from among the folk of the townships - Have they not traveled in the land and seen the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? And verily the abode of the Hereafter, for those who ward off (evil), is best. Have ye then no sense? (Yusuf: 109).

In addition to verses that motivate human to think, the Qur’an also contains verses that warn people who do not use their intellect.  The phrase la ya’qilun mentioned in the Qur’an means literally “they do not use their intellect” but Asad interprets the phrase as “they do not use their reason” (1980).  Yusuf Ali (1998) interprets la ya’qilun as “people without understanding”, “they lack wisdom” and “those who understand not”.  The negative la ya’qilun is to convey Allah’s abomination for those whose do not use their intellect to think (al-Qardhawi, 1998).  

The parable of those who reject faith is as if one were to shout like a goat-herd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they have no sense. (al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah: 171).

For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the deaf and the dumb, those who understand not (al-Anfal: 22).

And there are those of them who hear you, but can you make the deaf to hear though they will not understand (Yunus, 42).

Besides the verses that are directly related to the use of the intellect, there are hundreds of verses in the Qur’an that mention about the function of the intellect that is thinking (al-Sharqawi, 2003). Such activities are tafakkur (deep thinking or contemplating), tadabbur (pondering or careful examination), nazr (theoretical or abstract thinking), tabassur (insight), tadhakkur (remembering), tafaqquh (comprehensive understand), i’tibar (to learn lesson from history of human experiences in order not to repeat their mistakes), ta’aqqul (correct application of the mind), and tawassum (reflective thinking).  What follows are some of the Qur’anic verses on thinking.

Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me. Say: Are the blind man and the seer equal? Will ye not then think? (al-An’am: 50)

And had We willed We could have raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust. Therefore his likeness is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out. Such is the likeness of the people who deny Our revelations. Narrate unto them the history (of the men of old), that haply they may think (al-A’raf: 176).

Will they then not ponder on the Qur’an, or are there locks on their hearts? (Muhammad: 24).

Have they not considered the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and what things Allah has created, and that it may be that their own term draw nigh? In what fact after this will they believe? (al-A’raf: 185).

Say (O prophet): this is my way; resting upon conscious insight accessible to reason, I am calling you all unto God, I and they who follow me (Yusuf: 108).

His people argued with him. He said: Dispute ye with me concerning Allah when He hath guided me? I fear not at all that which ye set up beside Him unless my Lord willeth aught. My Lord includeth all things in His knowledge. Will ye not then remember? (al-An’am: 80)

Behold how many facets We give these Messages, so that they might understand the truth (al-An’am: 65).

Behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see (Ali Imran: 13).

Lo! Therein verily are signs for those who read signs (al-Hijr: 75).

Even though ‘aql can perceive spiritually but it has limitations.  ‘Aql can only make conclusions based on data and information gathered by sense perception.  This means that ‘aql cannot think of the essence of God but only His attributes.  Objects of thinking that is suggested by the Qur’an are its messages; phenomena of the visible world; history of human experiences; and the invisible world.  We have mentioned that they are hundreds of verses that urge readers to think.  Surely the abundance of exhortations and reminders to think convey significant reasons for good thinking.

DEAR READERS,
This essay is a part of my paper which will be published soon.  So, please do not copy, print or share it without permission.  

The Intellect

In the name of Allah The Glorious The Beneficent

Literally, the Arabic word ‘aql (the intellect) means binding or withholding (al-Mawrid al-Waseet Concise Arabic-English Dictionary, 1996).  Haeri (1989: 51) explains that the Arabic word al-‘aql is
derived from the root ‘aqala which means to be endowed with reason, to possess intelligence, to comprehend, to understand.  The intellect, in its highest sense, is a sublime power which receives the unveilings of pure light.  In its lowest sense, it is the power of ordinary reasoning.

Al-Attas defines ‘aql as “an innate property that binds and withholds the objects of knowledge by means of words” (1980: 14).  From the ethical perspective, ‘aql means binding or withholding a person from following his or her base desires.  When angels ask “Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed Blood?” (al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah: 30), Allah responded by saying that “He has taught Adam the names of all things”.  This may mean that ‘aql that Allah has given to man is capable not only of retaining and conceptualizing meanings but also capable of ethical thinking or arriving at ethical knowledge which could prevent him from engaging in immoral activities such as killing and murder.  Al-Sharqawi (2003) agrees that ‘aql withholds a person from venturing beyond the ethical boundary to prevent his self from destruction.  Moreover, Crow (1999) asserts that the main constituent in the meaning of ‘aql is ethical spiritual intelligence which is the prerequisite for the achievement of wisdom. 
‘Aql or the intellect is the source and fountainhead of knowledge as well as its foundation (al-Ghazali, 1962). Al-Ghazali beautifully describes the relationship between knowledge and the intellect as fruits that spring from trees, light from the sun, and vision from the eyes.  According to al-Isfahani, the intellect is not only capable of rational perception but also capable of spiritual perception (Mohamed, 1995).  

Functions of ‘Aql
‘Aql has a potential for understanding meaning of and attaining knowledge from the data fed into it through sense perception.  The data perceived and gathered through the senses is transferred to the intellect where it is retained and stored in memory.  Sense perception is like input devices of a computer through which data is loaded into the computer’s memory ready to be processed by the computer’s central processing unit.  Data perceived by the senses is retained in the retentive imagination.  Thinking process started when the perceived sets of data is matched to the sets of related data stored in memory in order to recognize it.  This set of related data is called information.  Thinking process involved in order to recognize information perceived by the senses is recalling which not necessarily involves understanding.  Information is useless until it is put into context and processed by thinking faculty. Knowledge is a result of interpreting and understanding a body of information. Understanding meaning of and attaining knowledge from the information perceived by the senses requires thinking.