1.
Rebuilding the
Social Science on
Islamic Foundations
Part 1
Dr. Asad Zaman
English version of Lecture at Islamia University of Bhawalpur,
Tuesday, 6th Sep 2022; Original Urdu Lecture : http://bit.ly/AZuRSS
Followup to Previous lecture at GSCWU on 5th Sep:
http://bit.ly/AZbIES1

2.
The REAL
Battleground is
KNOWLEDGE
• Not guns, bombs, and armies – these are secondary.
• Pre-Islamic era was the Age of Ignorance.
• The FIRST Wahy to our prophet:
Read in the name of thy Lord who created; [He] created the human being from blood clot. Read in the name of thy Lord who
taught by the pen: [He] taught the human being what he did not know
God gave mankind knowledge, which enlightened the world for over a 1000 years.

3.
What Was this
knowledge?
This day I have perfected for you your religion
and completed My favor upon you and have
approved for you Islam as religion
Say: In the bounty of Allah (Quran) and in His
mercy (Deen)-- in that they should rejoice; it is
better than that which they gather
The knowledge which has been given to
us is COMPLETE and PERFECT.
It is better than any knowledge which
could be created by human beings – it is
better than all the knowledge gathered by
unbelievers.

4.
Historical Evidence of Power
of Knowledge
Ignorant and backwards Bedouin, at the bottom rank of
civilizations, became leaders of the world after acquiring this
knowledge.
They created a brilliant civilization which enlightened the
world for a thousand years.
See: What the World Lost Due to the Decline of the Islamic
Civilization – Summary of book by Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi
http://bit.ly/azrdm

5.
What does our university
education teach us?
• ALL our courses are based on knowledge created by West.
• There is little or no overlap between our education and the
Quran.
• NATURAL CONCLUSION: Knowledge of Quran is USELESS for
our modern lives.
• Conclusion is UNACCEPTABLE for Muslims. BUT, what is the
solution?
• What HAPPENED to the POWER of the REVOLUTIONARY
knowledge given to Muslims DIRECTLY by Allah T’aala??

6.
Two Dramatically
Different Claims:
God’s complete and perfect message brought
mankind out of darkness and ignorance 1450
years ago. This knowledge created a civilization
that enlightened the world for a thousand
years.

7.
East Versus West
Mankind was in darkness and ignorance until
the sun of REASON rose in Europe five
centuries ago, ending their dark ages. In the
light of reason, Europeans made spectacular
progress, creating an advanced civilization of
unparalled excellence. They conquered the
world, and continue to dominate in wealth and
power, due the tremendous power of the
knowledge they have created.
Image by vwalakte on Freepik

8.
How to Reconcile
Conflicting Claims?
• European Solution: Knowledge of Islam was
wonderful for its own time. BUT, it is now
OBSOLETE. Anyone who wants to progress
TODAY must follow the path of the
Europeans, and learn their knowledge.
• But FAITH in Islam says that the Quran is
complete and perfect. It can never become
obsolete.
Conflict between the Head and the Heart:
HEAD: Our eyes show us the power of
European knowledge.
HEART: We feel the power of the message of
the Quran.

9.
Solution to conflict is
DIFFICULT.
• It requires re-learning HISTORY.
• We have been taught EUROCENTRIC history in our Western
education
• Eurocentric history glorifies the achievements of the West,
and reduces to ZERO the value of all OTHER civilizations.
See: The Deadliest Weapon: Fabricated History
http://bit.ly/AZDeadly

10.
Why does history matter?
• History is the conquest song of the victors.
• It always glorifies the winners
• It always diminishes and belittles the losers.
Learning such a history creates a SUPERIORITY complex in
victors, and an INFERIORITY complex in the losers.
The GREATEST problem facing the Ummah is this
INFERIORITY complex!

11.
Extreme Example of Inferiority Complex:
Nothing is left. Rotten culture, does not even know shame
We are 1000 times worse than all others. Bad weights, Timber Mafia,
Black Market, Goats, Mixtures in Drugs and Milk, etc. etc. The West has
NO CONCEPT of these things. LYING is not conceivable to them!
Hassan Nisar does not know anything about the West – he has an
idealized and glorified image of them and their culture.
For ANSWERS, see: http://bit.do/azic

12.
This is the superior civilization?
It was in her role as U.N. ambassador in 1996 that Albright uttered the most
infamous words of her career, in an appearance on “60 Minutes.”
The show’s correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Albright about the effect that
U.N. sanctions were having on Iraqi society, saying, “We have heard that a
half-million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in
Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?”
Albright responded with chilling equanimity: “I think this is a very hard
choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.”
Newsweek excerpt with video: http://bit.ly/WorthyKills

13.
How did Hassan
Nisar get these
ideas?
The MOST IMPORTANT skill for students to learn:
The history of IDEAS.
Meta-level thinking: Beginning of the path towards wisdom.
Thinking about thinking. Why do I have the thoughts that I
do?
What has shaped my thinking?
I am the thought of someone else, but I am
thought by someone else.
The surface of the mirror shows my face, but
behind the mirror is someone else

14.
To learn the origins of our thoughts,
we must study European history!
• WHY?
• Because, by early 20th Century, European ruled 90% of the
globe.
• Colonization creates an inferiority complex. The colonized
imitate the colonizer, and consider them superior in all ways.
• World Wars 1 and 2 sapped the powers of Europe, and led to
success of freedom movements.
• BUT, colonization of minds CONTINUES vie Western education.
• Colonization of minds = Learning to think like Europeans.
• To understand ourselves, we must learn how Europeans think.

15.
Meta-Analysis of European Ways of Thinking
Western Thought
Philosophy, Science,
Social Science
Meta-Analysis: Learning how
history shaped European thought
Western Education
Learning to think
Western thoughts
Brainwashing: You are taught how to think
Independent Thinking:
Freedom to think OUTSIDE the box

16.
European History
• Emperor Constantine imposes one version of Christianity on Roman
Empire. Council of Nicea 325AD in Iznik, Turkey.
• Trinitarians forge documents and lie, to get their version of
Christianity accepted.
• Arian Heresy (denies Godhood of Christ) rejected and suppressed.
• ALL thought other than orthodox Christian though rejected. Libraries
burnt.
• DARK AGES OF EUROPE BEGIN.

17.
Islam and the World: The Rise
and Decline …
Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi: Islam and the World: The Rise and
Decline of the Islamic Civilization and it’s effect upon the World.
Brief Summary: http://bit.do/azrdm
The world was in darkness and ignorance, until the coming of
Islam.
Darkness and Ignorance = Law of the Jungle.
The Powerful have the right to whatever they can get with
power.
The Wealthy have the right to do whatever the please.
The poor and the powerless have no rights at all.

18.
The Miracle of Islam –
http://bit.do/azmmm
Ideas with no precedent in history.
1. All human beings are equal in the eyes of God.
2. Power is given to enable the powerful to help
the weak.
3. Wealth is given to enable the wealthy to help
the poor.
Bible: I still have much to tell you, but you cannot
yet bear to hear it. However, when the Spirit of
truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For
He will not speak on His own, but He will speak
what He hears.

19.
Islamic Spain: Al-Andalus 711-
1492
• Seven Centuries of Astonishing Progress, in all branches of
knowledge
• Compare to three centuries of European progress.
• Ibn-e-Khaldun: Advanced civilizations wallow in luxuries,
and are overcome by barbarians.
• European barbarians re-conquered Spain. Toledo School of
translators started translation of thousands of books in
Muslim libraries, ending the dark ages of Europe. The light
of Islam reached Europe.
• Renaissance of Europe starts from thirteenth century

20.
What caused the European
Renaissance?
• increased interaction between different cultures (Islamic
Civization)
• the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts (Arabic
texts)
• the emergence of humanism (borrowed from Tolerance of
Islam)
• different artistic and technological innovations (borrowed)
• the impacts of conflict and death (Crusades)
THOROUGH and CONTINUING effort to ERASE contribution of
Muslims

21.
The Greek Strategy:
http://bit.ly/AZGreek
When borrowing from Muslims, move credit back
to Greeks, or forward to European borrowers.
There was an infinitely wise set of Greek scholars,
who discussed every problem under the sun!
Schumpeter: There is a 500 year gap in economic
thought – mankind stopped thinking about
economics from the Greek/Roman period to the
Renaissance of Europe!!
Adam Smith borrowed from Persian school of
thought
Copernicus copied/plagiarized from Ibn Al-Shatir

22.
Impact on Muslim Youth
• Our ancestors never did anything worth while. How can we
achieve anything?
• Ibnul-Haytham: inventor of Scientific Method, Father of
Optics.
• Medical Textbooks of Ibn-e-Sina taught in Europe for
centuries.
• Newton: I have been able to see so far, because I have
stood on the shoulder of giants.
• These giants were from the Islamic tradition.
“Theft of History” – Jack Goody

23.
Back to European
Thought

24.
How did the TRINITY shape European
thought
• The ability to LIE for the sake of “Truth”
• Paul abandoned the commandments for
proselytization. Christianity modified and
adapted to cultures.
• The development of the AXIOMATIC
METHOD. A collection of AXIOMS is
declared to be truth, beyond question,
discussion, or debate. Even if AXIOMS are
absurd.
• Example: Economic Theory of Human
Behavior is ABSURD. All of modern
economics is built on this absurd theory.

25.
Influx of Islamic Knowledge into Europe
Battle of “Science” and Religion.
Incoming knowledge was against Catholic Doctrines. Catholic Church did its best to resist. The Spanish
Inquisition burnt people with heretical doctrines. Case of Galileo is famous.
Copernicus, a priest … feared church persecution. His close friend and fellow canon, Scultetus, was named a
heretic and underwent ten years of trial, imprisonment, and torture in Rome. Copernicus prudently waited until
he was on his deathbed, before sending the book for publication – C. K. Raju: Is Science Western in Origin?
More Details: http://bit.ly/AZPlag

26.
Importance of Origins of Science
Immanuel Kant: All rational men are
worthy of respect. Only European males
are rational – all others are inherently
incapable of rational thought. Hence,
they can be treated like animals.
• The Greatest Moral Philosopher of
Europe!!
Max Weber: Europeans are uniquely
capable of science. All other civilizations
are inferior, in this respect.
• Weber’s ideas are the basis and
foundation of modern social science.
Kant: Misogynist & Racist: http://bit.ly/AZKant

27.
Breakup of Church and
Religious Wars
• Martin Luther published 95 theses attacking Catholic
Church in 1517
• More than a century of religious warfare between
Protestants and Catholics.
• Massive death and destructions. In some areas, more than
a third of the population died. Created general anti-
religious mindset in Europe.
• The impact of religious wars in Europe has had massive
influence on the ENTIRE body of knowledge created by
Europeans.

28.
Trauma of Loss of Faith
• Something which nearly everyone had believed, turned out
to be wrong.
• How to rebuild the ENTIRE stock of knowledge, starting
from ZERO, on CERTAIN foundations?
• Descartes: “I think, therefore I am”. Start thinking from a
position where nothing is known. How can we learn
something?

29.
End of Part 1 --
• Trauma of Loss of Faith in Christianity led to the necessity of
rebuilding the entire stock of human knowledge on new foundations.
• These new secular foundations were seriously flawed, because they
dispensed with Christian morality, and replaced it by a very short-
sighted self-seeking set of values.
• This is why we need to rebuild the entire stock of human knowledge
on the sound foundations of Islamic epistemology.
• More detailed account will be given in Part 2.

30.
Rebuilding
Social Sciences
on Islamic
Foundations
Part 2
For Part 1, see:
http://bit.ly/AZbRSS1
Dr. Asad Zaman
English Version of Lecture at Islamia
University of Bhawalpur, 6 Sep 2022

31.
Summary of Part 1:
• Trauma of Loss of Faith in Christianity led to the necessity of
rebuilding the entire stock of human knowledge on new foundations.
• These new secular foundations were seriously flawed, because they
dispensed with Christian morality, and replaced it by a very short-
sighted self-seeking set of values.
• This is why we need to rebuild the entire stock of human knowledge
on the sound foundations of Islamic epistemology.
• More detailed account will be given in Part 2.

32.
Descartes and Imam Al-
Ghazali
Descartes borrowed from Al-Ghazali. Both start out from a
position of complete doubt about everything. The arguments
and conclusions are SUBTLY different.
al-Munqidh min al-Dalal: God tells us that when we wake
up after death, life on this Earth will appear in a different
light. “We have removed your veil, and today your sight is keen”.
There is NO path to certainty.
When these thoughts occurred to me they penetrated my soul
… This malady was mysterious and it lasted for nearly two
months. … At last, God cured me, but not by arguments and
reason. It was the effect of a light cast into my heart. That
light is the key to knowledge!!

33.
Descartes copies, but misses
the main point.
• Starting from a position of complete doubt, how to get to
knowledge?
• Senses are not reliable: I could be dreaming.
• BUT, he takes some aspects of REASON as reliable (contrary
to Ghazali)
• “I think therefore I am” – my existence is certain –
regardless of doubts about reason. Fallacious logic (but
continues to be basis of Western thought, just like TRINITY).
• My existence must have been created, so GOD exists. GOD
is not a deceiver, so we can trust our senses.

34.
European Theories
of Knowledge
• Continental School of Rationalists:
Primacy of reason. Descartes, Kant,
Liebniz.
• British School of Empiricists: Primacy
of the senses. Hume, Locke, Berkeley.
• 20th Century Logical Positivism: ALL
knowledge comes from observations
and logic.
This position continues to be the basis of
European thought.

35.
Imam Al-Ghazali:
Marvels of the Heart!
• Enlightenment of the Heart is the key to all knowledge!
• Descartes, and all Western philosophers, explicitly reject the heart.
• WHY? Because the heart misled them on the matter of religion!
• Re-imagine the Descartes experience: I am in complete doubt about
everything, including my own existence. What will reassure me?
• When I reflect on myself, I feel my breathing, my beating heart, my
skin sensations, smells and sounds. “I feel, therefore I am”.
• Much stronger and more reliable than weak logic. Descartes argument
is FAULTY. Use of word “I” already presumes existence.

36.
Heart is the CENTRAL
instrument of cognition
Quran (7:179)They have hearts they do not understand with, eyes
they do not see with, and ears they do not hear with. They are like
cattle. In fact, they are even less.
Quran (22:46) Have they not travelled in the land, and have they
hearts wherewith to feel and ears wherewith to hear? For indeed it is
not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts, which are within the
bosoms, that grow blind.
Hadeeth: Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh
which, if it be sound, all the body is sound and which,
if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the
heart.

37.
Eastern versus Western Knowledge
East
Enlightenment of the HEART,
(supplemented by senses and
logic) is the key to all knowledge
West
The BRAIN supported by eyes and
ears (but NOT the HEART) is the
source of all knowledge.

38.
Three Factors Which Shaped
Western Minds
• Religious Wars => Loss of Faith => Heartless Knowledge.
• Industrial Revolution => Market Mentality: Everything for sale.
• Conquest of Globe => Superiority Complex; Racist Views.

39.
Epistemology: Theory of
Knowledge
• What is Knowledge? Answer was CHANGED by the West!
Julie Reuben: Making of the Modern University: Intellectual
Transformation and the Marginalization of Morality. For a
summary, see: http://bit.ly/AZmme
Knowledge encompassed spiritual, emotional, rational truths.
BUT, in early 20th Century definition of knowledge was
changed. SCIENCE was the only source of valid knowledge. All
other types were just ignorance and superstition, not worthy
of the name “KNOWLEDGE”!!
Abandonment of character development as goal of education.
Replacement by purely technical education.

40.
Skipping Over Analysis
=> SOLUTIONS??
Our minds have been shaped by the same
three poisons:
Loss of Faith => Emphasis on pleasure, power,
profits as life-goals
Market Mentality => Consumer Society:
everything for sale.
Global Domination => Inferiority Complex
HOW to free our minds?

41.
Focus on the
OPPOSITE
Extremes
• Do not look for balance!
• We must push HARD to
achieve freedom.
• We are so deeply trapped
that there is no danger of
breaking free.

42.
FIRST PRIORITY:
Breaking the spell of Western Knowledge

43.
Setting Priorities
Western Education: Science is the only valid form of knowledge.
What can science teach us about how the universe was created?
NOTHING – that is META-Physics, not science. Questions about
origins of universe go beyond observations and logic. Only what
is present in the universe can be observed.
The Most Important Question: What is the best way to spend the
precious few moments that we have been given of LIFE? How can
we develop the potential for excellence within ourselves?
SCIENCE has no answers to these questions.

44.
COMPARE:
Science: Study of the External World
Islam: Study of our Inner World

45.
Rapidly Developing Fields of Knowledge:
Built on Islamic Foundations
Islamic civilisation is committed to two basic principles:
oneness of God and oneness of humanity.
Islam does not allow any racial, linguistic or ethnic
discrimination; it stands for universal humanism.

46.
Islamic Psychology:
https://isip.foundation

47.
Islamic Economics: http://bit.ly/AZie2019
Islamic Economics
Islamic
System
Generosity
Social
Responsibility
Success in
Akhira
Cooperation
Capitalist Economics
Capitalism
Greed
Individualism
Worldly
Pleasures
Competition

48.
Multiplexity: Maratib-
al-Uloom
Decolonizing Social Sciences: From Uniplexity to
Multiplexity Lectures 1 to 8
Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk
Available from YouTube – search by title.

49.
Real Statistics: A
Radical Approach
Conventional statistics studies
numbers in isolation, to learn
about properties of the set of
numbers.
REAL statistics considers the
numbers as CLUES to the real
world. These clues must be used to
acquire knowledge of the real
world. The clues are NEVER
sufficient, and must be
supplemented by additional
knowledge about the real world.

50.
Rebuilding the Social
Sciences
• Extremely destructive Religious Wars in Europe led to
abandonment of “scholastics” or “schoolmen” approach to
social science, based on the Bible.
• INSTEAD, secular social science was created.
Religion = Faith + Way-of-Life (DEEN)
Christian Deen was replaced by Social Science. Social Science
is the DEEN of the West, built on rejection of Christianity.
We have our own Deen based on Islam. This MUST be used to
construct an alternative to Western Social Science.

51.
Some
References
for Social
Science.
The Puzzle of Western Social Science: Since social
science is based on study of experiences of
societies, it must be dependent on WHICH
society. How can Europe generalize its
experiences, and assume they are UNIVERSALLY
valid? http://bit.ly/AZpss
The Origins of Western Social Sciences: Explains
that Social Science emerged to answer questions
which became open after rejection of
Christianity. Answers provided by Social Science
to these questions are in conflict with both
Christianity and Islam. http://bit.ly/IR3owss

52.
Uloom-ul-Umran:
Islamic Alternative
to WSS
Study of Social Change, based on
methodology of Ibne-Khaldun
Key driver of change is community,
united by common identity.
For details of how this
methodology differs from the one
currently in use in Western social
sciences, see: http://bit.ly/AZUUU

53.
The Ghazali Project for
Revival of Islamic Civilization
The Central Problem: The Modern Mu’tazila –
http://bit.do/aztmm
The Solution: The Ghazali Project: http://bit.ly/AZGhazali1
1. Deliverance from Doubt: Building strong faith
2. Incoherence of the Philosophers: Rejecting Western
Wisdom.
3. Ihya-Uloom-ud-Deen: Rebuilding the stock of human
knowledge on Islamic Foundations.

54.
Concluding Remarks
• The Central Battleground is that of Knowledge.
• Colonization of Minds, created by Western
Education, trains us into believing that Western
Wisdom is superior to the Quran.
• The Quran provides complete and sufficient
guidance for our modern problems.
• We need to rebuild the stock of knowledge on
Islamic foundations.

55.
Links to Relevant Materials
These Slides: http://bit.ly/BuildSS
Improving Our Educational Systems Part
1: http://bit.ly/AZbIES1
Improving Our Educational Systems Part
2: http://bit.ly/AZbIES2
Rebuilding the Social Sciences Part 1:
http://bit.ly/AZbRSS1
Rebuilding the Social Sciences Part 2:
http://bit.ly/AZbRSS2
Original URDU talks in Bhawalpur
Improving Our Educational
Systems: http://bit.ly/AZuIES
Rebuilding the Social Sciences:
http://bit.ly/AZuRSS
For a list of all conference talks in
2022, see:
http://bit.ly/AZtalks2022