Approaches to integration of knowledge : a study of al-Ghazali and Alwani’s views

Abstract EN

This research aims to study the approaches to integrating scientific and Islamic knowledge based on the views of two selected Muslim scholar, namely Al-Ghazali and Alwani.

A considerable amount of research has been produced on knowledge integration, yet there is still a lack of study in exploring the ‘processes’ of integration.

Hence, this research highlights this particular aspect from both traditional and contemporary perspectives.

Qualitative in nature, the data for this work was collected from the writings of the selected scholars and analyzed in order to find out how the integration is achieved.

As a result, this study finds out two distinctive approaches to integration: Firstly, in al-Ghazali’s view, integration is an external and complementary factor where Islamic knowledge and science maintain their own entity but the later complements the former as a supportive tool; secondly, Alwani sees the integration as an internal and essential matter where a knowledge evolves as a result of a mix of scientific reading of the Quranic texts as well as reading of the nature based on Quranic worldview.