TUHAN..DIA KEKASIHKU

Tuhan

dia kekasihku

kau pun tahu

apakah dilangit itu

ada kesembuhan

yang bisa kupetik untuk dia?

ada tuhan?

ada?

Tuhan

hulurkanlah

kesembuhan

yang dilangit itu

jangan biarkan dia menangis

jangan biarkan aku menangis

tuhan

dia kekasihku

kau pun tahu

reza

DISTORTED THINKING

Discover and change the following 15 types of distorted thinking

• 1. Tunnel vision Example: ‘I expect it’ll be another boring party’. It is being stuck in a mental groove. In particular you look for that which confirms your fear or prejudice, remember it from the past and expect it in the future. You ignore other points of view or the possibility of alternative solutions.

• 2. Awfulizing Example: ‘I can’t bear going on these awful buses’. This attitude is saying that it’s unacceptable if things aren’t as you would prefer them to be. You take the negative aspect of a situation and magnify it. To handle this, recognize when you use words like terrible, awful, disgusting, etc. and in particular the phrase ‘I can’t stand it’. Examine their rationality.

• 3. Black & White Thinking Example: ‘You’re either for me or against me’. Things are black or white, wonderful or terrible, a great success or a total failure, brilliantly clever or really stupid, a certainty or a complete mystery, friend or enemy, love or hate - there is no middle ground, no room for improvement, no room for mistakes. Judgments on self and others swing from one emotional extreme to another and are easily triggered. It is important to remember that human beings are just too complex to be reduced to dichotomous judgments, and that all qualities fall somewhere along a continuum, containing elements of either extreme.

• 4. Generalization Example: ‘I’ll never be any good at tennis’ after one poor game. In this distortion you make a broad, generalized conclusion, often couched in the form of absolute statements, based on a single piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, you expect it to happen over and over again. If someone shows evidence of a negative trait, this is picked up on and exaggerated into a global judgment. This inevitably leads to a more and more restricted life and your view of the world becomes stereotyped. Cue words that indicate you may be over-generalizing are: all, every, none, never, always, everybody and nobody. To become more flexible use words such as: may, sometimes and often, and be particularly sensitive to absolute statements about the future, such as ‘No one will ever love me’, because they may become self-fulfilling prophecies.

• 5. Assumption Example: ‘Nothing can change the way I feel’. Making an assumption, presupposes knowledge that you do not have. Assumptions are often popular beliefs that have been adopted without examining their basis in fact, such as ‘I’m over the hill now that I’m forty’. Making decisions based on assumptions may lead to disaster, as when an executive assumes that a new product will sell well, having made no market research. Often, taking things for granted causes people to be blind to possible solutions - assuming no-one can help them, a couple’s marriage may go on the rocks, when they could seek counseling. Question: what leads you to believe this? Why do it this way? Who says? What alternatives are there? What would happen if you did? What would happen if you didn’t? As a practical matter, all of us must proceed with the business of living by relying on ‘maps’ of the world which we have taken on trust and which we have not tested and often cannot test. To supplement personal experience, we absorb a constant stream of reports, descriptions, judgments, inferences and assumptions coming from a multitude of sources. From this abundance of stored information, you piece together a mental ‘model’ of the world and its workings that literally becomes your world view. However, people do vary considerably in the extent of their misinformation and in the degree to which they actively seek out new information, take opportunities to correct or update their mental models, and expose themselves to new experiences.

• 6. Projection Example: ‘I know he doesn’t like me’. Making false assumptions about what other people think depends on a process called projection. It is like mind-reading – putting words into peoples’ mouths. You imagine that people feel the same way you do and react to things the same way. If you get angry when someone is late, you assume that another will feel the same way about you or others, in that situation. If you don’t like yourself, you assume others also think that way. The answer is not to jump to conclusions about what other people think and feel.

• 7. Negative thinking Example: ‘We haven’t seen each other for two days - I think the relationship is falling apart’. You read a newspaper article about some misfortune and wonder if that could happen to you. Predicting negative consequences is a defense, to protect oneself from disappointment by expecting the worst. Consider, what are the realistic odds of that happening?

• 8. Self-consciousness Example: ‘Quite a few people here seem smarter than I am’. This is the introverted tendency to relate everything around you to yourself, to think people must be judging you, or to think that everything they do or say is a reaction to something about you. It is the habit of continually comparing yourself to other people, based on the underlying assumption is that your worth is questionable. You are therefore continually forced to test your value as a person by measuring yourself against others. If you come out better you have a moment’s relief; if you come up short, you feel diminished. Your worth doesn’t depend on being better than others, so why start the comparison gamble?

• 9. Blame Example: ‘It’s your fault we’re in debt’. If you see yourself as externally controlled, you see yourself as helpless, a victim of fate or ‘the system’. You don’t believe you can really affect the basic shape of your life, let alone make any difference in the world, so you try and manipulate others to take care of your interests. Someone else is to blame and is responsible for your pain, your loss, your failure. The truth is that we are constantly making decisions and every decision affects and steers our lives. It is your responsibility to assert your needs, to say no or go elsewhere for what you want. In some way we are responsible for nearly everything that happens to us, including our distress and unhappiness. Taking responsibility means accepting the consequences of your own choices. Ask yourself: ‘What choices have I made that resulted in this situation? What decisions can I now make to change it?’ The opposite distortion is also very common - the fallacy that makes you responsible for the pain or happiness of everyone around you. You carry the world on your shoulders. You have to right all wrongs, fill every need and balm each hurt; if you don’t you feel guilty and turn the blame on yourself. Blaming yourself means labeling yourself inadequate if things go wrong. With this viewpoint you are very easily manipulated. The key to overcoming this fallacy is to recognize that each person is responsible for himself - taking responsibility doesn’t imply that you are also responsible for what happens to others. Remember, part of respecting others includes respecting their ability to overcome or accept their own pains, make their own decisions and be in control of their own lives.

• 10. Unfairness Example: ‘It’s not fair, he should take me out more often’. The consideration of unfairness results from resentment that the other person does not want or prefer the same as you, or that events do not turn out in your favor. The person gets locked into his or her own point of view, with a feeling of ever-growing resentment. Be honest with yourself and the other person. Say what you want or prefer, without getting involved in the fallacy of unfairness: that people and situations shouldn’t be the way they are.

• 11. Emotional reasoning Example: ‘I feel depressed, life must be pointless’. You believe that what you feel must be true - automatically. If you feel stupid then you must lack intelligence. If you feel guilty then you must have done something wrong. If you feel angry, someone must have taken advantage of you. However, there is nothing automatically true about what you feel - your feelings can lie to you, they can be based on misconceptions. If your feelings are based on distorted thoughts, then they won’t have any validity. So be skeptical about your feelings and examine them as you would a used car.

• 12. Manipulation Example: ‘If we had sex more often, I’d be more affectionate’. The only person you can really control or have much hope of changing is yourself. When you pressure people to change, you are forcing them to be different for your own benefit. Strategies for manipulating others include blaming, demanding, withholding and trading - in order to make the other feel obliged. The usual result is that the other person feels attacked or pushed around and resists changing at all, or feels resentful if they do. The underlying fallacy of this thinking style is that your happiness depends on controlling the behavior of others. In fact your happiness depends on the many thousands of large and small decisions you make during your life.

• 13. Shoulds Example: ‘You should never ask people personal questions’. In this distortion, you operate from a list of inflexible rules about how you and other people should act. The rules are right and indisputable. Any particular deviation from your particular values or standards is bad. As a result you are often in the position of judging and finding fault. People irritate you, they don’t act properly or think correctly. They have unacceptable traits, habits and opinions that make them hard to tolerate. They should know the rules and they should follow them. Of course, the answer is to focus on each person’s uniqueness: his or her particular needs, limitations, fears and pleasures, and consequently different values. Personal values are just that - personal. You are also making yourself suffer with shoulds, oughts and musts (or their negatives). You feel compelled to do something or be a certain way and feel guilty if you don’t, but you never bother to ask objectively if it really makes sense. Some people beat themselves up constantly for being incompetent, insensitive, stupid, too emotional, etc. They are always ready to be wrong. The psychiatrist Karen Horney called this the ‘tyranny of the shoulds’.

• 14. Got to be right Example: ‘I’ve been doing this longer than you, so I know what I’m talking about’. In this distortion you are usually on the defensive, needing to prove to yourself and others that your views, assumptions and actions are all correct. You never make mistakes! If you’ve got to be right, you don’t listen. You can’t afford to – listening might reveal that you are wrong sometimes. Your opinions rarely change because if the facts don’t fit what you already believe you ignore them. This makes you lonely, because being right seems more important than an honest, caring relationship. The key to overcoming being right, is active listening - making sure you really understand what’s been said to you, to appreciate the other’s point of view and what you can learn from it, which is effort better spent than in devising rebuttals and attacks. Remember that other people believe what they are saying as strongly as you do, and there is not always just the one right answer.

• 15. Heaven’s reward Example: ‘I worked and raised these kids and look what thanks I get’. This distorted thinking style accepts pain and unhappiness because ‘those who do good are rewarded in the end’. You expect all your sacrifice and self-denial to pay off, as if there was someone keeping score. You feel hostile and bitter when the reward doesn’t come. In reality the reward is now. Your relationship, your progress toward your goals, and the care you give to those you love, should be intrinsically rewarding. If not, you need to rearrange your activities to provide some here-and now reward, dropping or sharing the activities that chronically drain you - Heaven is a long way off and you can get very tired waiting. The best way to practice identifying Thought Distortions in everyday life, is to take particular notice of one of the distortions for one day, and notice whenever it is used - by others or by yourself! Frequently, several Distortions are combined in a statement, or a statement fits into several categories of Distortion.

Different Types of Thinking

• 1. Critical thinking - This is convergent thinking. It assesses the worth and validity of something existent. It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis. When teachers try to get several learners to think convergently, they try to help them develop common understanding.

• 2. Creative thinking - This is divergent thinking. It generates something new or different. It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.

• 3. Convergent thinking - This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

• 4. Divergent thinking - This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives. When fosering divergent thinking, teachers use the content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique thinking among students rather than a common view.

• 5. Inductive thinking - This is the process of reasoning from parts to the whole, from examples to generalizations.

• 6. Deductive thinking - This type of reasoning moves from the whole to its parts, from generalizations to underlying concepts to examples.

• 7. Closed questions - These are questions asked by teachers that have predictable responses. Closed questions almost always require factual recall rather than higher levels of thinking.

• 8. Open questions - These are questions that do not have predictable answers. Open questions almost always require higher order thinking.

ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY

By John L. Esposito and John O. Voll

• The relationship between Islam and democracy in the contemporary world is complex. The Muslim world is not ideologically monolithic. It presents a broad spectrum of perspectives ranging from the extremes of those who deny a connection between Islam and democracy to those who argue that Islam requires a democratic system. In between the extremes, in a number of countries where Muslims are a majority, many Muslims believe that Islam is a support for democracy even though their particular political system is not explicitly defined as Islamic.

• Throughout the Muslim world in the twentieth century, many groups that identify themselves explicitly as Islamic attempted to participate directly in the democratic processes as regimes were overthrown in Eastern Europe, Africa, and elsewhere. In Iran such groups controlled and defined the system as a whole; in other areas, the explicitly Islamic groups were participating in systems that were more secular in structure.

• The participation of self-identified Islamically oriented groups in elections, and in democratic processes in general, aroused considerable controversy. People who believe that secular approaches and a separation of religion and politics are an essential part of democracy argue that Islamist groups only advocate democracy as a tactic to gain political power. They say Islamist groups support “one man, one vote, one time.” In Algeria and Turkey, following electoral successes by parties thought to be religiously threatening to the existing political regimes, the Islamic political parties were restricted legally or suppressed.

• The relationship between Islam and democracy is strongly debated among the people who identify with the Islamic resurgence in the late twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Some of these Islamists believe that “democracy” is a foreign concept that has been imposed by Westernizers and secular reformers upon Muslim societies. They often argue that the concept of popular sovereignty denies the fundamental Islamic affirmation of the sovereignty of God and is, therefore, a form of idolatry.

• People holding these views are less likely to be the ones participating in elections. Many limit themselves to participating in intellectual debates in the media, and others hold themselves aloof from the political dynamics of their societies, hoping that their own isolated community will in some way be an inspiration to the broader Muslim community.

• Many prominent Islamic intellectuals and groups, however, argue that Islam and democracy are compatible. Some extend the argument to affirm that under the conditions of the contemporary world, democracy can be considered a requirement of Islam. In these discussions, Muslim scholars bring historically important concepts from within the Islamic tradition together with the basic concepts of democracy as understood in the modern world.The process in the Muslim world is similar to that which has taken place within other major religious traditions.

• All of the great world faith traditions represent major bodies of ideas, visions, and concepts fundamental to understanding human life and destiny.Many of these significant concepts have been used in different ways in different periods of history. The Christian tradition, for example, in premodern times provided a conceptual foundation for divine right monarchy; in contemporary times, it fosters the concept that Christianity and democracy are truly compatible.

• In all traditions, there are intellectual and ideological resources that can provide the justification for absolute monarchy or for democracy. The controversies arise regarding how basic concepts are to be understood and implemented.A relatively neutral starting point for Muslims is presented in a 1992 interview in the London Observer with the Tunisian Islamist leader and political exile, Rashid Ghanoushi: “If by democracy is meant the liberal model of government prevailing in the West, a system under which the people freely choose their representatives and leaders, in which there is an alternation of power, as well as all freedoms and human rights for the public, then Muslims will find nothing in their religion to oppose democracy, and it is not in their interests to do so.”

• Many Muslims, including Ghanoushi himself, go beyond this and view democracy as an appropriate way to fulfill certain obligations of the faith in the contemporary world.The Islamic tradition contains a number of key concepts that are presented by Muslims as the key to “Islamic democracy.” Most would agree that it is important for Muslims not simply to copy what non-Muslims have done in creating democratic systems, emphasizing that there are different forms that legitimate democracy can take. Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami, in a television interview in June before that country’s presidential elections, noted that “the existing democracies do not necessarily follow one formula or aspect. It is possible that a democracy may lead to a liberal system.

• It is possible that democracy may lead to a socialist system. Or it may be a democracy with the inclusion of religious norms in the government. We have accepted the third option.” Khatami presents a view common among the advocates of Islamic democracy that “today world democracies are suffering from a major vacuum, which is the vacuum of spirituality,” and that Islam can provide the framework for combining democracy with spirituality and religious government.The synthesis of spirituality and government builds on a fundamental affirmation at the heart of Islam: the proclamation that “There is no divinity but The God” and the affirmation of the “oneness” of God.

• This concept, called tawhid, provides the foundation for the idea that one cannot separate different aspects of life into separate compartments. Ali Shariati, who made important contributions to the ideological development of the Islamic revolution in Iran, wrote in On the Sociology of Islam, that tawhid “in the sense of oneness of God is of course accepted by all monotheists.

• But tauhid as a world view . . . means regarding the whole universe as a unity, instead of dividing it into this world and the here-after . . . spirit and body.” In this worldview, the separation of religion from politics creates a spiritual vacuum in the public arena and opens the way for political systems that have no sense of moral values. From such a perspective, a secular state opens the way for the abuse of power.

• The experiences of Muslim societies with military regimes that are secularist in ideological origin, such as the Baath Arab Socialist regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, reinforce this mistrust of separating religious values from politics.Advocates of Islamic democracy argue that the Oneness of God requires some form of democratic system; conservatives contend that the idea of the sovereignty of the people contradicts the sovereignty of God; often the alternative then becomes some form of a monarchical system.

• The response to this is an affirmation of tawhid, as expressed by a Sudanese intellectual, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, in the October 2000 edition of Islam 21: “No Muslim questions the sovereignty of God or the rule of Shari’ah [the Islamic legal path].

• However, most Muslims do (and did) have misgivings about any claims by one person that he is sovereign. The sovereignty of one man contradicts the sovereignty of God, for all men are equal in front of God. . . . Blind obedience to one-man rule is contrary to Islam.” In this way, it is argued that the doctrine of tawhid virtually requires a democratic system because humans are all created equal and any system that denies that equality is not Islamic.

• There are a number of specific concepts that Muslims cite when they explain the relationship between Islam and democracy. In the Qur’an, the righteous are described as those people who, among other things, manage their affairs through “mutual consultation” or shura (42:38 Qur’an). This is expanded through traditions of the Prophet and the sayings and actions of the early leaders of the Muslim community to mean that it is obligatory for Muslims in managing their political affairs to engage in mutual consultation. Contemporary Muslim thinkers ranging from relatively conservative Islamists to more liberal modernists to Shi’ite activists emphasize the importance of consultation.

• There would be little disagreement with the view of Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shi’ite leader who was executed by Saddam Hussein in 1980, who said in Islamic Political System, that the people “have a general right to dispose of their affairs on the basis of the principle of consultation.” What this meant for the constitutional system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was influenced by al-Sadr’s thought, was affirmed by President Khatami in last June’s interview: the “people play a fundamental role in bringing a government to power, in supervising the government and possibly the replacement of the government without any tension and problems.”

• Another basic concept in the development of Islamic democracy is “caliph.” In contemporary discussions, traditional political usage of the term caliph has been redefined. Historically the term caliph was used as the title of the monarchs who ruled the medieval Muslim empire. When medieval Muslim political philosophers spoke of the institutions of caliphal rule, the caliphate, they were were analyzing the political institution of the successors to the Prophet Muhammad as the leader of the Muslim community.

• However, this concept of the caliphate was something that developed after the death of the Prophet.In the Qur’an, the Arabic words for caliph (khalifah) and caliphate (khilafah) have a different meaning. These terms in the Qur’an have the more general meaning of steward and stewardship or trustee and trusteeship. In this way, Adam, as the first human, is identified as God’s caliph or steward on earth (2:30). Muhammad is instructed to remind humans that God made them the caliphs (stewards or trustees) of the earth (6:165). In this way, in the Qur’an, the term caliphate refers to the broad responsibilities of humans to be the stewards of God’s creation.

• By the late twentieth century, long after the last vestiges of the political caliphate had been abolished by the reforms of Ataturk in Turkey in 1924, Muslim intellectuals began to see the importance of the concept of all humans as “caliphs” or God’s stewards. As the intellectual dimensions of the late twentieth-century Islamic resurgence became more clearly defined, Ismail al-Faruqi, a scholar of Palestinian origins, outlined an ambitious project in a small book, Islamization of Knowledge.

• The concept of the caliphate involved responsibilities for all humans, in all dimensions of life, but especially the political: “Rightly, Muslims understand khilafah as directly political. . . . Islam requires that every Muslim be politicized (i.e., awakened, organized, and mobilized).” The implications of this reassertion of a more explicitly Qur’anic meaning of human stewardship for Islamic democracy were spelled out by the South Asian Islamist leader, Abu al-Ala Mawdudi in The Islamic Way of Life: “The authority of the caliphate is bestowed on the entire group of people, the community as a whole. . . . Such a society carries the responsibility of the caliphate as a whole and each one of its individual[s] shares the Divine Caliphate.

• This is the point where democracy begins in Islam. Every person in an Islamic society enjoys the rights and powers of the caliphate of God and in this respect all individuals are equal.” In theory and concept, Islamic democracy is, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, quite well developed and persuasive. In actual practice the results have been less encouraging. Authoritarian rulers such as Ja’far Numayri in Sudan and Zia al-Haqq in Pakistan initiated formal programs of Islamization of the law and political system in the 1980s with results that were not encouraging for democracy.

• A military coup brought a combination of military and civilian Islamists to rule in Sudan in 1989 and despite the proclaimed goal of creating an Islamic democracy, the regime’s human rights record in terms of treatment of non-Muslim minorities and Muslim opposition groups is deplorable.International human rights groups have also been critical of the treatment of non-Muslim minorities in Iran, where the Shah was overthrown in 1979. During its first decade, the Islamic Republic set narrow limitations on political participation.

• However, the end of the nineties saw the unprecedented presidential election victory of Mohammad Khatami, who had not been favored by the conservative religious establishment. He was reelected by an overwhelming majority again in 2001. Although there are continuing grounds for criticizing Iran in terms of its repression of opposition and minorities, increasing numbers of women and youth are voting in elections. Instead of “one man, one vote, one time,” the “one man” is being joined by “one woman” as a voting force.

• Beyond the formally proclaimed Islamic political systems, there has also been an increasing role for democracy with an Islamic tone. In many countries, Muslims who are not activist Islamists have participated in electoral processes and brought a growing sense of the need for morality and Islamic awareness in the political arena.

• In an era when politics in many countries is becoming “desecularized,” leaders of Islamic organizations play important roles in electoral political systems that are not explicitly identified as Islamic. When the military regime of Suharto in Indonesia was brought to an end, the person who became president in 1999 as a result of the first open elections was Abd al-Rahman Wahid, the leader of Nahdat ul-Ulama, perhaps the largest Islamic organization in the world. He did not campaign on a platform of Islamizing the political system, even though he participated in the democratic system as a clearly identifiable Islamic leader. When he was removed as president this year, it was by a process of orderly replacement, and neither his followers nor his opponents engaged in religious warfare.

• Similarly, Islamically oriented political parties have operated successfully in the secular electoral politics of Turkey, with the leader of one such party, Necmettin Erbakan, serving as prime minister briefly in 1996-1997. Although in succession, the Islamically oriented Turkish parties have been suppressed and many of their leaders jailed, the response of the people in the parties has simply been to form new parties and try again within the political system rather than withdrawing into a violent underground opposition.

• The Turkish experience reflects the fact that many Muslims, whether living in formally secular or formally Islamic states, see democracy as their main hope and vehicle of effective political participation. One important dimension of this participation is that despite conservative Muslim opposition to the idea of rule by a woman, the three largest Muslim states in the world -- Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan -- have had or now have elected women as their heads of government. None of these women was explicitly Islamist and one was directly opposed by an Islamist party.In this complex context, it is clear that Islam is not inherently incompatible with democracy. “Political Islam” is sometimes a program for religious democracy and not primarily an agenda for holy war or terrorism.Islam and Democracy (Oxford University Press, 1966) has been translated into a number of languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, and Indonesian.

PERCEPTION

• Perception

• Perception is the process by which we receive and interpret information from the world around us. The world around us consists of various kinds and levels of physical energy. Our knowledge of the world comes through our sense organs, which react to these energies. Certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation stimulate our eyes.

• Our ears sense certain kinds of mechanical vibrations in the air. Our noses and tongues are sensitive to certain chemical stimuli. Sense organs in our skin respond to pressure, temperature changes, and various stimuli related to pain. Sense organs in our joints, tendons, and muscles are sensitive to body movement and position. The sense organs change the various environmental energies into nervous impulses, which go to the brain.

• Through the psychological process of perception, the patterns of energies become known as objects, events, people, and other aspects of the world. The process of perception does not reveal objects and events of the world. We see light and colour, but there is no light or colour in the electromagnetic waves that stimulate the eyes. In the same way, there is no music or noise in the vibrations that stimulate the ear.

• The brain organizes and interprets nervous impulses from the eyes as light and colour, and impulses from the ears as sound. Together, the sense organs and the brain transform physical energy from environmental stimuli into information about the events around us.

• When looking at the illustration on this page, you may first see only a complicated pattern of dark and light areas. As you study the pattern, your first perception may change, particularly if you are told that a bearded man is in the picture.

• After you have seen the man, it will be almost impossible not to see him when you look at the picture again. This picture emphasizes two important points about perception. First, stimulation of the sense organs alone does not determine the nature of what is perceived. Second, perception is a dynamic process of "working on" sensory data to produce perceptual objects and events.

• The "work" involves many physical, physiological, and psychological factors. Factors affecting perception Various factors influence what and how we perceive. Our perceptions are influenced by the ways our bodies are structured to receive and process stimuli from the environment. Our perceptions also reflect our emotions, needs, expectations, and learning. Receptors. Each sensory system, such as vision, hearing, or touch, has its own specialized body parts.

• These parts are called receptors, and they change energies from the environment into nervous impulses. The human eye, for example, has two major kinds of receptors in the retina (the light-sensitive part of the eye). These receptors are called rods and cones. The rods respond to the intensity of light, but not to different frequencies of light (different colours). The cones do respond to different frequencies of light, and are called colour receptors.

• The rods allow us to see in dim light, and the cones enable us to see colours and sharp detail in bright light. Thus, the particular ways that receptors are structured and function help determine the perceptual effects related to them. The brain. Certain physical and functional features of the brain also determine some aspects of perception.

• The part of the brain that serves vision has different kinds of cells that respond only under certain conditions of stimulation. Some of these cells respond only when a light goes off. Others respond when a light comes on, but they stop responding if the light stays on. Such cells also are arranged in special ways in the brain, and this fact is related to how we perceive. For example, some cells are arranged in columns or in clusters. Such arrangements are related to how we perceive edges and forms.

• Experiments suggest that some cells in the brain allow us to perceive movement. Thus, the structure of the brain is an important element in perception.

• Learning, Emotion, and Motivation.

• Much evidence points to the conclusion that early experience, learning, emotion, and motivation are important in defining what and how we perceive. Part of this accumulating evidence comes from experiments that compare how people in different cultures perceive things. The perception of such things as form, colour, pain, and touch may differ from culture to culture, depending on habits and customs, and training of children. A simple example of how learning can affect perception is provided by reading the phrases inside the two triangles in the illustration on the next page.

• Did you fail to see the duplicate word in each phrase? Most people do, and some continue to do so even with many repeated readings. In learning to perceive words and sentences, we learn not to perceive each letter and word separately. Instead, we become able to scan the overall pattern and "fill in" the remainder. A poor reader is more likely than a good reader to see the duplicate word in each phrase.

• Some illusions are related to learning and past experience. An illusion is not a false perception, as many people believe, but one that is inconsistent with another perception. Since perception does not literally reveal the environment, no sensory system is closer to some absolute truth than any other. We tend to check visual illusions against touch, but touch can involve illusory effects, too. Look at the two triangular patches of grey containing black and white detail in the illustration on this page.

• If you see the patches as being different shades of grey, you are experiencing an illusion. The patches are the same shade of grey. Emotions and motivation can have an important effect on perception. Sometimes a severe emotional disturbance can prevent perception completely, as when emotional shock causes individuals to lose their hearing temporarily. We are more likely to perceive those aspects of our environment that are related to our motives. For example, motivation can affect the perceived characteristics of objects. To hungry people, food may appear larger or more colourful than usual.

• Understanding Perception.

• Types of Perception.

• Perception has three levels of complexity: (1) detection, (2) recognition, and (3) discrimination. Detection refers to whether people can sense that they are being stimulated by some form of energy. For example, a light may be so dim they can barely detect its presence. Recognition means being able to identify as well as detect a particular pattern of stimulation. Discrimination means being able to perceive one pattern of stimulation as different from another. For example, a person may hear slight differences between two similar musical tones.

• The field of study that deals with levels of perception is called psychophysics. Experimental psychologists investigate the relationships between the physical properties of stimulus patterns and the perceived effects of the stimuli. For example, they may study the relationship between sound frequency and the perceived pitch of sound. Principles of perception.

• There are a number of general principles that help us understand the process of perception. One of the most important is the principle of closure. It tells us that we have the general tendency to perceive things as complete and unified. We tend to "fill in" parts that are missing, or parts that conform to an overall impression.

• The principle of constancy states that despite changes that occur in stimulation, we have a strong tendency to perceive objects as constant in size, shape, colour, and other qualities. For example, an orange will be perceived with its characteristic colour under different kinds of light.

• The opposite of the principle of constancy is also important. Sometimes an object or pattern of stimulation will remain constant, but the perceived effect will vary. Look at the grey and black cubes in the illustration on this page. At one moment you will see three complete cubes, and at another you may see five. Another important principle relates to perceptual context.

• The perception of an object or event depends in part on the context (surrounding conditions). Look at the two rectangles containing the words World Book in the illustration on this page. The words are printed with the same ink. Do they look the same? Background intensity and colour may affect the colour and intensity of elements upon it.

• To most people, grey surrounded by black appears brighter and somewhat larger. This effect is called visual induction. Notice, too, that the effect is opposite to that observed with the two grey triangles with black and white detail. In this case, the grey with black detail appears darker rather than brighter.

EPISTEMOLOGI ISLAM

MODEL EPISTEMOLOGI ISLAM

• Dalam kajian epistemologi Barat, dikenal ada tiga aliran pemikiran, yakni empirisme, rasionalisme dan intuitisme. Sementara itu, dalam pemikiran filsafat Hindu dinyatakan bahwa kebenaran bisa didapatkan dari tiga macam, yakni teks suci, akal dan pengalaman pribadi.[1]
  
  
• Dalam kajian pemikiran Islam terdapat juga beberapa aliran besar dalam kaitannya dengan teori pengetahuan (epistemologi). Setidaknya ada tiga model system berpikir dalam Islam, yakni bayâni, irfâni dan burhâni, yang masing-masing mempunyai pandangan yang sama sekali berbeda tentang pengetahuan.[2]
  
  
• Epistimologi Bayani.
  
  
• Bayani adalah metode pemikiran khas Arab yang didasarkan atas otoritas teks (nash), secara langsung atau tidak langsung. Secara langsung artinya memahami teks sebagai pengetahuan jadi dan langsung mengaplikasikan tanpa perlu pemikiran; secara tidak langsung berarti memahami teks sebagai pengetahuan mentah sehingga perlu tafsir dan penalaran. Meski demikian, hal ini bukan berarti akal atau rasio bisa bebas menentukan makna dan maksudnya, tetapi tetap harus bersandar pada teks.[3]
  
  
• Dengan demikian, sumber pengetahuan bayani adalah teks (nash), yakni al-Qur`an dan hadis.[4] Karena itulah, epistemologi bayani menaruh perhatian besar dan teliti pada proses transmisi teks dari generasi ke generasi.[5] Ini penting bagi bayani, karena –sebagai sumber pengetahuan-- benar tidaknya transmisi teks menentukan benar salahnya ketentuan hukum yang diambil. Jika transmisi teks bisa di pertanggung-jawabkan berarti teks tersebut benar dan bisa dijadikan dasar hukum. Sebaliknya, jika transmisinya diragukan, maka kebenaran teks tidak bisa dipertanggung jawabkan dan itu berarti ia tidak bisa dijadikan landasan hukum. Karena itu pula, mengapa pada masa tadwîn (kodifikasi), khususnya kodifikasi hadis, para ilmuan begitu ketat dalam menyeleksi sebuah teks yang diterima.
  
  
• Berdasarkan hal tersebut, bahwa bayani berkaitan dengan teks, maka persoalan pokoknya adalah sekitar lafat-makna dan ushûl-furû`. Misalnya, apakah suatu teks dimaknai sesuai konteksnya atau makna aslinya (tauqîf), bagaimana menganalogikan kata-kata atau istilah yang tidak disinggung dalam teks suci, bagaimana memaknai istilah-istilah khusus dalam al-asmâ’ al-syar`iyah, seperti kata shalat, shiyam, zakat.[6]
  
  
• Selanjutnya, untuk mendapatkan pengetahuan dari teks, metode bayani menempuh dua jalan. Pertama, berpegang pada redaksi (lafat) teks, dengan menggunakan kaidah bahasa Arab, seperti nahw dan sharâf. Kedua, berpegang pada makna teks dengan menggunakan logika, penalaran atau rasio sebagai sarana analisa.[7]
  
  
• Pada jalan yang kedua, penggunaan logika dilakukan dengan empat macam cara. Pertama, berpegang pada tujuan pokok (al-maqâshid al-dlarûriyah) yang mencakup lima kepentingan vital, yakni menjaga keselamatan agama, jiwa, akal, keturunan dan harta. Caranya dengan menggunakan induksi tematis (al-istiqra’ al-ma`wi) dan disitulah tempat penalaran rasional.[8]
  
• Kedua, berpegang pada illah teks. Untuk menemukan dan mengetahui adanya illah suatu teks ini digunakan sebuah sarana yang memerlukan penalaran yang disebut ‘jalan illah’ (masâlik al-illah) yang terdiri atas tiga hal, (1) illat yang telah ditetapkan oleh nash, seperti illat tentang kewajiban mengambil 20% harta fai (rampasan) untuk fakir miskin agar harta tersebut tidak beredar dikalangan orang kaya saja (QS. Al-Hasyr, 7). (2) illah yang telah disepakati oleh para mujtahid, misalnya illah menguasai harta anak yang masih kecil adalah karena kecilnya. (3) al-Sibr wa al-taqsîm (trial) dengan cara merangkum sifat-sifat baik untuk dijadikan illat pada asal (nash), kemudian illat itu dikembalikan kepada sifat-sifat tersebut agar bisa dikatakan bahwa illah itu bersifat begitu atau begini.[9] Cara kedua ini lebih lanjut memunculkan metode qiyâs (analogi) dan istihsân, yakni beralih dari sesuatu yang jelas kepada sesuatu yang masih samar, karena karena adanya alasan yang kuat untuk pengalihan itu.[10]
  
  
• Ketiga, berpegang pada tujuan sekunder teks. Tujuan sekunder adalah tujuan yang mendukung terlaksananya tujuan pokok. Misalnya, tujuan pokok adalah memberikan pemahaman materi kuliah pada mahasiswa, tujuan sekunder memberikan tugas. Adanya tugas akan mendukung pemahaman kuliah yang diberikan. Sarana yang digunakan untuk menemukan tujuan sekunder teks adalah istidlâl, yakni mencari dalil dari luat teks; berbeda dengan istimbât yang berarti mencari dalil pada teks.
  
  
• Keempat, berpegang pada diamnya Syâri` (Allah dan Rasul saw). Ini untuk masalah-masalah yang sama sekali tidak ada ketetapannya dalam teks dan tidak bisa dilkukan dengan cara qiyas. Caranya dengan kembali pada hukum pokok (asal) yang telah diketahui. Misalnya, hukum asal muamalah adalah boleh (al-ashl fî al-mu`âmalah al-ibâhah), maka jual beli lewat internet yang tidak ada ketentuannya berarti boleh, tinggal bagaimana mengemasnya agar tidak dilarang. Metode ini melahirkan teori istishhâb, yakni menetapkan sesuatu berdasar keadaan yang berlaku sebelumnya selama tidak ditemui dasar/ dalil yang menunjukkan perubahannya.[11]
  
  
• Epistemologi Irfani.
  

• Pengetahuan irfan tidak didasarkan atas teks seperti bayani, tetapi pada kasyf, tersingkapnya rahasia-rahasia realitas oleh Tuhan. Karena itu, pengetahuan irfani tidak diperoleh berdasarkan analisa teks tetapi dengan olah ruhani, dimana dengan kesucian hati, diharapkan Tuhan akan melimpahkan pengetahuan langsung kepadanya. Masuk dalam pikiran, dikonsep kemudian dikemukakan kepada orang lain secara logis. Dengan demikian pengetahuan irfani setidaknya diperoleh melalui tiga tahapan, (1) persiapan, (2) penerimaan, (3) pengungkapan, dengan lisan atau tulisan.
  
  
• Tahap pertama, persiapan. Untuk bisa menerima limpahan pengetahuan (kasyf), seseorang harus menempuh jenjang-jenjang kehidupan spiritual. Setidaknya, ada tujuh tahapan yang harus dijalani, mulai dari bawah menuju puncak (1) Taubat, (2) Wara`, menjauhkan diri dari segala sesuatu yang subhât, (3) Zuhud, tidak tamak dan tidak mengutamakan kehidupan dunia. (4) Faqir, mengosongkan seluruh fikiran dan harapan masa depan, dan tidak menghendaki apapun kecuali Tuhan swt, (5) Sabar, menerima segala bencana dengan laku sopan dan rela. (6) Tawakkal, percaya atas segala apa yang ditentukan-Nya. (7) Ridla, hilangnya rasa ketidaksenangan dalam hati sehingga yang tersisa hanya gembira dan sukacita..[12]
  
  
• Kedua, tahap penerimaan. Jika telah mencapai tingkat tertentu dalam sufisme, seseorang akan mendapatkan limpahan pengetahuan langsung dari Tuhan secara illuminatif. Pada tahap ini seseorang akan mendapatkan realitas kesadaran diri yang demikian mutlak (kasyf), sehingga dengan kesadaran itu ia mampu melihat realitas dirinya sendiri (musyâhadah) sebagai objek yang diketahui. Namun, realitas kesadaran dan realitas yang disadari tersebut, keduanya bukan sesuatu yang berbeda tetapi merupakan eksistensi yang sama, sehingga objek yang diketahui tidak lain adalah kesadaran yang mengetahui itu sendiri, begitu pula sebaliknya (ittihâd)[13] yang dalam kajian Mehdi Yazdi disebut ‘ilmu huduri’ atau pengetahuan swaobjek (self-object-knowledge).
  
  
• Ketiga, pengungkapan, yakni pengalaman mistik diinterpretasikan dan diungkapkan kepada orang lain, lewat ucapan atau tulisan. Namun, karena pengetahuan irfani bukan masuk tatanan konsepsi dan representasi tetapi terkait dengan kesatuan simpleks kehadiran Tuhan dalam diri dan kehadiran diri dalam Tuhan, sehingga tidak bisa dikomunikasikan, maka tidak semua pengalaman ini bisa diungkapkan.[14]
  
  
• Persoalannya, bagaimana makna atau dimensi batin yang diperoleh dari kasyf tersebut diungkapkan? Pertama, diungkapkan dengan cara I`tibâr atau qiyas irfani. Yakni analogi makna batin yang ditangkap dalam kasyf kepada makna zahir yang ada dalam teks.[15] Kedua, diungkapkan lewat syathahât, suatu ungkapan lisan tentang perasaan (al-wijdân) karena limpahan pengetahuan langsung dari sumbernya dan dibarengi dengan pengakuan, seperti ungkapan ‘Maha Besar Aku’ dari Abu Yazid Bustami (w. 877 M), atau Ana al-Haqq dari al-Hallaj (w. 913 M).[16] Karena itu, syathahat menjadi tidak beraturan dan diluar kesadaran.
  
  
• Epistemologi Burhani.
  
  
• Berbeda dengan bayani dan irfani yang masih berkaitan dengan teks suci, burhani sama sekali tidak mendasarkan diri pada teks. Burhani menyandarkan diri pada kekuatan rasio, akal, yang dilakukan lewat dalil-dalil logika. Perbandingan ketiga epistemologi ini adalah bahwa bayani menghasilkan pengetahuan lewat analogi furû` kepada yang asal; irfani menghasilkan pengetahuan lewat proses penyatuan ruhani pada Tuhan, burhani menghasilkan pengetahuan melalui prinsip-prinsip logika atas pengetahuan sebelumnya yang telah diyakini kebenarannya.[17] Dengan demikian, sumber pengetahuan burhani adalah rasio, bukan teks atau intuisi. Rasio inilah yang memberikan penilaian dan keputusan terhadap informasi yang masuk lewat indera.[18]
  
  
• Selanjutnya, untuk mendapatkan sebuah pengetahuan, burhani menggunakan aturan silogisme.[19] Mengikuti Aristoteles, penarikan kesimpulan dengan silogisme ini harus memenuhi beberapa syarat, (1) mengetahui latar belakang dari penyusunan premis, (2) adanya konsistensi logis antara alas an dan keismpulan, (3) kesimpulan yang diambil harus bersifat pasti dan benar, sehingga tidak mungkin menimbulkan kebenaran atau kepastian lain.[20]
  
  
• Al-Farabi mempersyaratkan bahwa premis-premis burhani harus merupakan premis-premis yang benar, primer dan diperlukan. Premis yang benar adalah premis yang memberi keyakinan, menyakinkan.[21] Suatu premis bisa dianggap menyakinkan bila memenuhi tiga syarat; (1) kepercayaan bahwa sesuatu (premis) itu berada atau tidak dalam kondisi spesifik, (2) kepercayaan bahwa sesuatu itu tidak mungkin merupakan sesuatu yang lain selain darinya, (3) kepercayaan bahwa kepercayaan kedua tidak mungkin sebaliknya. Selain itu, burhani bisa juga menggunakan sebagian dari jenis-jenis pengetahuan indera, dengan syarat bahwa objek-objek pengetahuan indera tersebut harus senantiasa sama (konstan) saat diamati, dimanapun dan kapanpun, dan tidak ada yang menyimpulkan sebaliknya.[22]
  
  
• Derajat dibawah silogisme burhani adalah ‘silogisme dialektika’, yang banyak dipakai dalam penyusunan konsep teologis. Silogisme dialektik adalah bentuk silogisme yang tersusun atas premis-premis yang hanya bertarap mendekati keyakinan, tidak sampai derajat menyakinkan seperti dalam silogisme demonstratif. Materi premis silogisme dialektik berupa opini-opini yang secara umum diterima (masyhûrât), tanpa diuji secara rasional. Karena itu, nilai pengetahuan dari silogisme dialektika tidak bisa menyamai pengetahuan yang dihasilkan dari metode silogisme demonstratif. Ia berada dibawah pengetahuan demontratif.[23]
  
  
• Penutup.
  
  
• Tiga epistemologi Islam ini mempunyai ‘basis’ dan karakter yang berbeda. Pengetahuan bayani didasarkan atas teks suci, irfani pada intuisi sedang burhani pada rasio. Masing-masing mempunyai kelebihan dan kekurangan. Untuk bayani, karena hanya mendasarkan diri pada teks, ia menjadi terfokus pada hal-hal yang bersifat aksidental bukan substansial, sehingga kurang bisa dinamis mengikuti perkembangan sejarah dan sosial masyarakat yang begitu cepat. Kenyataannya, pemikiran Islam saat ini yang masih banyak didominasi pemikiran bayani fiqhiyah kurang bisa merespon dan mengimbangi perkembangan peradaban dunia. Tentang burhani, ia tidak mampu mengungkap seluruh kebenaran dan realitas yang mendasari semesta.[24] Misalnya, burhani tidak mampu menjelaskan seluruh eksistensi diluar pikiran seperti soal warna, bau, rasa atau bayangan.
  
  
• Karena itu, Suhrawardi (1154-1192 M) kemudian membuat metode baru yang disebut iluminasi (isyrâqî) yang memadukan metode burhani yang mengandalkan kekuatan rasio dengan metode irfani yang mengandalkan kekuatan hati lewat kashaf atau intuisi. Metode ini berusaha menggapai kebenaran yang tidak dicapai rasional.[25] Namun demikian, pada masa berikutnya, metode isyraqi dirasa masih juga mengandung kelemahan, bahwa pengetahuan iluminatif hanya berputar pada kalangan elite terpelajar, tidak bisa disosialisasikan sampai masyarakat bawah, bahkan tidak jarang justru malah menimbulkan kontroversial. Muncullah metode lain, filsafat transenden (hikmah al-muta`aliyah), yang dicetuskan Mulla Sadra (1571-1640 M) dengan memadukan tiga metode dasar sekaligus; bayani yang tekstual, burhani yang rasional dan irfani yang intuitif.[26]
  
  
• Dengan metode terakhir ini, pengetahuan atau hikmah yang diperoleh tidak hanya yang dihasilkan oleh kekuatan akal tetapi juga lewat pencerahan ruhaniah, dan semua itu kemudian disajikan dalam bentuk rasional dengan menggunakan argumen-argumen rasional. Bagi kaum Muta`aliyah, pengetahuan atau hikmah tidak hanya memberikan pencerahan kognisi tetapi juga realisasi; mengubah wujud penerima pencerahan itu sendiri dan merealisasikan pengetahuan yang diperoleh sehingga terjadi transformasi wujud. Semua itu tidak bisa dicapai kecuali dengan mengikuti syariat, sehingga sebuah pemikiran harus menggaet metode bayani dalam sistemnya.[27]
  
  
• Namun demikian, untuk masa mutaakhir ini, metode Muta`aliyah mesti juga dipertanyakan. Sebab, persoalan keagamaan tidak hanya berkaitan dengan teks, rasio, ilham dan pengamalannya dalam bentuk praktek-praktek ritual melainkan juga mencakup kehidupan sosial, politik, sains-sains modern yang empiris dan bahkan teknologi tinggi (high technology). Epistemologi-epistemologi Islam klasik sudah tidak memadai untuk menghadapi kemajuan-kemajuan tersebut. Artinya saat ini diperlukan epistemologi baru dan inilah tantangan bagi calon intelektual muda muslim.
  
  
  
  NOTA
  Bakar, Osman, Hierarki Ilmu, terj. Purwanto, Bandung, Mizan, 1997.
  -------, Tauhid dan Sains, Bandung, Pustaka Hidayah, 1996.
  Buthi, Dlawâbith al-Mashlahah fî al-Syarî`at al-Islâmiyah, Beirut, Muassasat, tt.
  Ibn Rusyd, Fashl al-Maqâl Fîmâ Bain al-Hikmah wa al-Syarîah min al-Ittishâl, edit. M. Imarah, Mesir, Dar al-Ma`arif, tt.
  Jabiri, Bunyah al-Aql al-Arabi, Beirut, al-Markaz al-Tsaqafi al-Arabi, 1991.
  -------, Isykâliyât al-Fikr al-Arabi al-Mu`ashir, Beirut, Markaz Dirasah al-Arabiyah, 1989.
  James, William, the Varieties of Religious Experience, New York, 1936.
  Jamil, Fathur Rahman, Filsafat Hukum Islam, Jakarta, Logos, 1997
  Katz, Steven K., Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis, London, Sheldon Press, 1998.
  Khalaf, Abd Wahab, Ilm Ushul Fiqh, terj. Madar Helmi, Bandung, Gema Risalah Pres, 1996.
  Muthahhari, Murtadha, Menapak Jalan Spiritual, terj. Nasrullah, Bandung, Pustaka Hidayah, 1997.
  -------, Tema-Tema Filsafat Islam, Bandung, Mizan, 1993.
  Nashr, SH, Tasawuf Dulu & Sekarang, terj. Abd Hadi, Jakarta, Pustaka Firdaus, 1994.
  Nikhilananda, Swami, Hinduism It's Meaning for the Liberation of the Spirit, New York, Harper, 1958.
  Qusyairi, al-Risâlah, Beirut, Dar al-Khair, tt.
  Rahmat, Jalaluddin, “Hikmah Muta’aliyah Filsafat Pasca Ibn Rushd”, Jurnal Al-Hikmah, Bandung, edisi 10, September 1993.
  Syâthibi, al-Muwâfaqat fî Ushûl al-Ahkam, III, Beirut, Dar al-Fikir, tt.
  Usman, Iskandar, Istihsan dan Pembaharuan Hukum Islam, Jakarta, Rajawali, 1994.
  Yazdi, Mehdi Hairi, Ilmu Hudhuri, terj. Ahsin Muhamd, Bandung, Mizan, 1994.
  [1] Swami Nikhilananda, Hinduism It's Meaning for the Liberation of the Spirit, (New York, Harper, 1958), 4.
  [2] Lihat al-Jabiri, Bunyah al-Aql al-Arabi, (Beirut, al-Markaz al-Tsaqafi al-Arabi, 1991). Al-Jabiri ini Guru Besar Filsafat Islam pada Universitas Muhammad V, Rabat, Maroko.
  [3] Al-Jabiri, Ibid, 38.
  [4] Abd Wahab Khalaf, Ilm Ushul Fiqh, terj. Madar Helmi, (Bandung, Gema Risalah Pres, 1996), 22.
  [5] Al-Jabiri, Bunyah, 116.
  [6] Ibid, 58-62.
  [7] Ibid, 530.
  [8] Lihat al-Syâthibi, al-Muwâfaqat fî Ushûl al-Ahkam, III, (Beirut, Dar al-Fikir, tt), 62-4.; al-Buthi, Dlawâbith al-Mashlahah fî al-Syarî`at al-Islâmiyah, (Beirut, Muassasat, tt), 249-54.
  [9] Abd Wahab Khalaf, Ilm Ushul Fiqh, 127-35.
  [10] Fathur Rahman Jamil, Filsafat Hukum Islam, (Jakarta, Logos, 1997), 139-141. Urain lengkap tentang detail-detail Istihsan, lihat Iskandar Usman, Istihsan dan Pembaharuan Hukum Islam, (Jakarta, Rajawali, 1994).
  [11] Abd Wahab Khalaf, Ilm Ushul Fiqh, 154.
  [12] Al-Qusyairi (w. 1072 M) mencatat ada 49 tahapan yang harus dilalui, Abu Said ibn Abu al-Khair mencatat 40 tahapan, Abu Nashr al-Tusi mencatat 7 tingkatan, sedang Thabathabai menulis 24 jenjang. Lihat, al-Qusyairi, al-Risâlah, (Beirut, Dar al-Khair, tt), 89-350; Husein Nashr, Tasawuf Dulu & Sekarang, terj. Abd Hadi, (Jakarta, Pustaka Firdaus, 1994), 89-96; Muthahhari, Menapak Jalan Spiritual, terj. Nasrullah, (Bandung, Pustaka Hidayah, 1997), 120-155.
  [13] Mehdi Hairi Yazdi, Ilmu Hudhuri, terj. Ahsin Muhamd, (Bandung, Mizan, 1994), 51-53. Uraian tentang kasyf, lihat al-Qusyairi, al-Risâlah, 75.
  [14] Mehdi Yazdi, Ilmu Hudhuri, 245-268; William James, The Verievities of Religious Experience, (New York, 1936), 271-72; Steven K. Katz, Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis, (London, Sheldon Press, 1998), 23;
  [15] Jabiri, Bunyah, 295-6.
  [16] Ibid, 288.
  [17] Al-Jabiri, Isykâliyât al-Fikr al-Arabi al-Mu`ashir, (Beirut, Markaz Dirasah al-Arabiyah, 1989), 59.
  [18] Lihat Ibn Rusyd, Fashl al-Maqâl Fîmâ Bain al-Hikmah wa al-Syarîah min al-Ittishâl, edit. M. Imarah, (Mesir, Dar al-Ma`arif, tt), 56.
  [19] Al-Jabiri, Bunyat, 385 dan seterusnya. Disini dijelaskan sejarah panjang silogisme demonstratif, mulai dari Aristoteles sampai al-Farabi, dan hubungan burhani dengan persoalan bahasa.
  [20] Ibid, 433-436.
  [21] Osman Bakar, Hierarki Ilmu, terj. Purwanto, (Bandung, Mizan, 1997), 106.
  [22] Ibid
  [23] Sebagai perbandingan, lihat Ibn Rusyd, Fashl al-Maqâl, 56-67.
  [24] Murtadha Muthahhari, Tema-Tema Filsafat Islam, (Bandung, Mizan, 1993), 43.
  [25] Mehsi Aminrazavi, Pendekatan Rasional Suhrawardi, 76 dan seterusnya. Lihat pula Osman Bakar, Tauhid dan Sains, (Bandung, Pustaka Hidayah, 1996), 29 dan seterusnya.
  [26] Jalaluddin Rahmat, Hikmah Muta’aliyah Filsafat Pasca Ibn Rushd, Jurnal Al-Hikmah, (Bandung, edisi 10, September 1993), 78.
  [27] Jalaluddin Rahmat, Ibid.
• A Khudori Soleh
  

MALAYA AND RACES

• INDEPENDENCE OF MALAYA AND THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA.
  
  3.1 RACIAL PROBLEMS
  
  
• Malaya consists of a ‘"plural society" which was formed by different races with various backgrounds and customs. In The Malaysian Development Experience, Changes and Challenges book that published by INTAN, states that Malaya is "a colonial creation with ethnic groups living side by side but never mixed". Many factors have caused this situation.
  

• The first can be traced back to the "divide and rule" policy during British colonization. This kind of administration greatly limited interaction and communication among the different ethnic groups and segregated them according to their economic functions.
  

• The Malays were known to be farmers and fishermen and lived in the rural areas or kampung. Since there were also Malays who were involved in the government sector as ordinary officers and clerks, they were perceived to be dominant in politics and the first group of people that the British negotiated with.
  

• Most of the Chinese were involved in the commercial and mining sectors and were found mainly in urban areas. The Indians, on the other hand, worked as labourers in estates and plantations. Hence, these two races were perceived to be more dominant in the economics of the country. The education system, as it was long before we know it today, also varied according to the different ethnic groups in terms of syllabus, curriculum and methods of dissemination. There was no such thing as a standardized education system back then.
  

• While the Malays and Indians felt that a minimal amount of literacy was sufficient, the Chinese were vying to strengthen their bond with China through education, since most of the teachers and textbooks were imported from China. The same concept was practiced in Tamil schools. Since these vernacular schools comprised a single race, lessons were conducted in its respective language, such as Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Due to the inconsistencies and differences in the education system, there existed barriers and gaps among the different races in Malaya.
  

• The Japanese occupation only widened the rift between the races, especially the Chinese and Malays. While the Malays were given better treatment by the Japanese who were in need of their support, the Chinese were tortured and brutally mistreated. This led to the formation of the Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) to fight the Japanese. To ward off attacks from resistance groups which comprised mainly Chinese, the Japanese instigated the anti-Chinese feeling by forming paramilitary units which consisted mainly of Malays, and thus, further widened the gap among the two races.
  

• When the Communists began their violence in the 1948, the British were forced to declare a state of Emergency throughout Malaya. It was during this period that inter-racial relations became worse since the British had formed forces, comprising mostly Malays, to fight the guerilla groups led by the Communists, who were mainly Chinese. All of these factors caused a great division in the Malayan society and much effort had to be taken to resolve the problem.
  
  

• 3.1.1 Efforts Towards Racial Unity
  
  
• In 1949, the Inter-Racial Relations Committee (Jawatankuasa Hubungan Antara Kaum) was formed, to enable leaders of various ethnic groups to find a solution to the existing racial problems.
  

• The committee, comprising Dato’ Onn bin Jaafar, Tan Cheng Lock, E.E.C Thuraisingham and 12 other members proposed that non-Malays be involved in local politics and more opportunities be given to the Malays in the business and industrial sectors.
  

• The committee also proposed that greater racial tolerance and understanding be fostered in the hope of achieving racial unity. In 1951, the British government formed the Member System, with the hope of achieving racial unity. The member system was similar to the Cabinet system as we know it today, and enabled people from various ethnic groups to get involved in the administration of the government and hold portfolios in areas such as Home Affairs, Agriculture, Land, Mines and Communication, Education, Health, Forestry, and Works and Housing. Although the more important portfolios in areas of finance and defense were still dominated by the British, the involvement of leaders of various ethnic groups enabled co-operation among the different races.
  

• Education also played an important role in paving the way towards racial unity in Malaya. In 1949, the Central Advisory Committee took form with the main purpose of unifying the local education system and implementing it. However, the committee failed to achieve its goal and its proposal that English be made the sole medium of education in schools in the Holgate Report was vehemently opposed by the Federal Legislative Council. Although the committee did not achieve much, it was a clear indication that the British were indeed making an effort to unify the multiracial society through education with one medium of instruction.
  

• Another committee which was established one year later, produced the Barnes Report, which recommended in 1952, that the syllabus of all primary schools be standardized and taught in English and Malay, while secondary schools retain English as their mode of instruction.
  

• Led by Dr W.P.Fenn and Dr Y.T. Wu, the British formed yet another committee to study the status of Chinese vernacular education in Malaya to incorporate it into a unified education system. The result was the Fenn-Wu report, which agreed to a national education system, but at the same time, proposed that Chinese medium schools be maintained.
  

• Finally, in 1952, the Education Ordinance based on the Barnes Report was approved. The Chinese and Indians were not in the least bit happy and resisted the new ruling. However, the long-awaited decision on the national education system was only seen in the Razak Report after much deliberation and ethnic bargaining. The report was subsequently approved by the Federal Legislative Council on 16th May, 1956.
  

• (Details of the Razak Report can be read in Chapter 6)

THE UNIVERSE, PERCEPTION AND CONCEPTION

• Every doctrine and every philosophy of life is indispensably based on a sort of belief, an evaluation of life and a sort of interpretation and analysis of the world.

• The way of thinking of a school in respect of life and the world is considered to be the basis of the entire thinking of that school. This basis is called the world conception of that school. All religions, social systems, schools of thought and social philosophies are based on a particular world conception. All the goals which a school presents, the ways and methods which it brings into existence are the corollaries of the conception of the world that it entertains.
  

• The philosophers say that there are two kinds of wisdom: practical and theoretical. Theoretical wisdom is to know the existing things as they are. Practical wisdom is to find out how one should lead his life. This 'should' is the logical result of 'how they are', especially those 'how they are, with which metaphysical philosophy deals.

• Conception of the World and Perception of the World

• Evidently we should not confuse the conception of the world with its sense perception. Conception of the world has the sense of cosmogony and is linked with the question of identification. Unlike sense perception, which is common to man and other living beings, identification is peculiar to man, and hence conception of the world is also peculiar to him. It depends on his thinking and understanding.
  

• From the point of view of sense perception of the world, many animals are more advanced than man, because either they are equipped with certain senses which man lacks, as it is said that birds have a radar sense, or their senses, although common to them and man, are sharper than the senses possessed by man, as is said of the sight of the eagle, of the sense of smell of the dog and ant and of the sense of hearing of the rat. Man is superior to other animals because he has a deep conception of the world. Animals only perceive the world, but man can interpret it also.
  

• What is identification? What is the relationship between perception and identification? What elements other than perceptional ones are part of identification? How do they enter identification and from where? What is the mechanism of identification? What is the standard by which correct and incorrect identification are judged?
  

• These are the questions which require a separate treatise, and at present we are unable to take them up. Anyhow, it is certain that perception of a thing is different from its identification. Many people view a scene and all of them see it alike, but only a few of them can interpret it, and they too often differ?
  

• Varieties of World Conception
  

• On the whole there are three kinds of world conception or world identification or, in other words, man's interpretation of the universe. It can be inspired by three sources: science, philosophy and religion. So we can say that there are three kinds of world conception: scientific, philosophical and religious.
  

• Scientific Conception of the World
  

• Now let us see how and to what extent science helps us form an opinion. Science is based on two things, theory and experiment. For the discovery and interpretation of a phenomenon first a theory comes to the mind of a scholar and then on its basis he carries out experiments in the laboratory. If it is corroborated by the experiment, it gains acceptance as a scientific principle and remains valid till a better and a more comprehensive theory appears and is corroborated by experiment. With the appearance of a new and more comprehensive theory, the old theory becomes invalid. That is how science discovers the cause and the effect of a experiment. Then it again tries to discover the cause of that cause and the effect of that effect. This process continues so long as possible.
  

• The scientific work has many advantages and disadvantages as it is based on practical experiment. The greatest advantage of the scientific discoveries is that they are specific and particular.
  

• Science can impart to man a lot of information about a particular It can give a volume of knowledge about one single leaf of a tree. Furthermore, because it acquaints man with the particular laws governing each thing, it enables him to control and use things his advantage, and thus promotes industry and technology.
  

• Though science can teach man thousands of things about a particular thing, yet the knowledge imparted by science being specific, its scope is limited. Experiments place a limitation in it. Science can go forward only to the extent it is possible for it to make an experiment. Obviously it cannot experiment with the entire creation and all its aspects. Science can go forward in pursuit of causes and effects only to a certain extent and then it reaches the stage of 'unknown'. It is like a powerful searchlight which illuminates a limited area, and does not throw light beyond its range. No experiment can be made on such questions whether this world has a beginning and an end or is it infinite from both sides? When a scholar reaches this point, he consciously or unconsciously resorts to philosophy to express his opinion. From the stand point of science this world is an old book the first and the last pages of which have been lost. Neither its beginning is known nor its end. The reason is that the scientific conception of the world is the outcome of the knowledge of a part of, not of the whole. Science informs us of the position of some parts of the world, not of the features and the characteristics of the whole of it. The scientific conception of the world held by scientists is like the conception of an elephant acquired by those who passed their hands on it in darkness. He who touched the ear of the elephant thought that it was like a fan; he who touched its leg thought that it was like a pillar and he who touched its back thought that it was like a raised platform.
  

• Another drawback of the scientific conception of the world is that it cannot be the basis of any ideology, for science is inconstant and changeable from its practical aspect, that is the aspect of showing reality as it is and inviting faith in the nature of the reality of creation. Scientifically the features of the world change from day to day, because science is based on a combination of theory and experiment and not on self-evident rational truths. The theory and experiment have a temporary value only. As such the scientific conception of the world is an inconstant and changeable conception and is not fit to become the basis of faith. Faith requires a more stable or rather an eternal basis.
  

• The scientific conception of the world, because of the limitation imposed on it by the tools of science (theory and experiment), is unable to answer a number of questions, the definite answer of which is essential for an ideology. Such questions are: From where has this world come? Where does it go? From the viewpoint of time has the world a beginning and an end? What is its position from the viewpoint of place? Is or is not the existence, on the whole, something good and meaningful? Is the world governed by some essential and unchangeable norms and laws, or does no such thing exists? Is the creation on the whole a living and conscious unit or is man alone an accidental exception? Can an existing thing become non-existent or a non-existing thing become existent? Is the restoration of a non-existing thing possible or impossible? Is the exact re-creation of the world and history in all their details possible even after billions of years (Theory of recurring in Cycles?) Is unity preponderant or multiplicity? Is the world divided into material and non-material, and is the material world a small part of the entire world? Is the world rightly guided and perceptive or is it imperceptible and blind? Are man and the world in a state of reciprocity? Does the world show reaction to the good and bad deeds of man? Does there exist an eternal life in the wake of this transient life? There are so many other similar questions.
  

• Science does not answer all these questions, for it cannot make an experiment with them. Science can answer only limited and particular questions, but is unable to draw a general picture of the world. We give an example to make our point clear.
  

• An individual may have a local knowledge of a big city. He may know a part of it in detail and may be able to draw a picture of its roads, lanes and even houses. Another person may have a similarly detailed knowledge of another part of the city, and a third, a fourth and a fifth person may know other parts of it. If we collect information from all of them, we may get enough information about each part of the city. But will this information be enough to have a complete and overall picture of it? For example, can we know what shape the city is; whether it is circular, quadrangular or of the shape of a leaf? If it resembles a leaf, then a leaf of which tree? How are various areas of it connected with each other? What sort of automobiles connect them? Is the city on the whole beautiful or ugly? Evidently we cannot get all this information.
  

• If we want to have such information and for example if we want to know the shape of the city or want to know whether it is beautiful or ugly, we should ride an aircraft and have an overall aerial view of it.
  

• As we have said, science is unable to answer the basic questions necessary to form a conception of the world. It cannot provide an overall picture of the whole body of the universe.
  

• Leaving all this aside, the value of scientific conception of the world is practical and technical, not theoretical, while an ideology can be based on theoretical value only. Had the reality of the world been as depicted by science, that would have constituted the theoretical value of science. Its practical and technical value lies in the fact that irrespective of its depicting or not depicting reality, it enables man to perform fruitful tasks.

• Modern industry and technology demonstrate the practical value of science. It is really amazing that in the modern world while technical and practical value of science has increased, its theoretical value has been reduced.
  

• Those who are not fully conversant with the role of science, may think that along with its undeniable practical progress science has also enlightened the conscience of man and has convinced him of the reality as depicted by it. But that is not a fact.
  

• From the foregoing it is clear that an ideology requires that kind of conception of the world which (i) may answer the basic questions concerning the universe as a whole, not only a part of it; (ii) may be an eternal and reliable conception, not a transient and passing one; and (iii) may have a theoretical and realistic value also not merely a practical and technical one. Thus, it is also clear that the scientific conception of the world, despite of its other merits, lacks all these three requirements.
  

• Philosophical Conception of the World
  

• Though philosophical conception of the world is not as exact and specific as scientific conception, it is based on a number of principles which are self-evident and undeniable by the mind. These principles proceed logically and are general and comprehensive. As such they have the advantage of being firm and constant. Philosophical conception of the world is free from that inconstancy and limitations which are found in scientific conception. Philosophical conception of the world answers all questions on which the ideologies depend. It identifies the overall shape and features of the world. Both the scientific and philosophical conceptions are a prelude to action, but in two different ways. Scientific conception is a prelude to action because it enables man to control nature and introduce changes in it. Man by means of science can use nature to his advantage as he wishes. Philosophical conception is a prelude to action in the sense that it determines man's choice of his way of life. It affects his reaction to his encounter with the world. It fixes his attitude and gives him a particular outlook on the world and the creation. It either gives an ideal to man or takes away an ideal from him. It either gives meaning to his life or draws him to absurdity and nothingness. That is why we say that science cannot give man a world conception that may become the basis of an ideology, but philosophy can.
  

• Religious Conception of the World

• If we regard every expression of an overall view of the world and the creation as a philosophical conception, not taking into consideration whether the source of this conception is a guess or reasoning or a revelation from the unknown world, religious and philosophical conceptions belong to the same domain. But if we take their source into account, philosophical and religious conceptions of the world are undoubtedly two different things.
  

• In certain religions like Islam, religious conception of the world, has taken a philosophical or argumentative colour and is an integral part of the religion itself. The questions raised by religion are based on reasoning and proof. Thus Islamic conception of the world is rational and philosophical. Besides the two merits of philosophical conception, namely eternity and comprehensiveness, religious conception of the world unlike scientific and purely philosophical conceptions, possesses one more merit of sanctification of the principles of world conception.
  

• If we keep in view that an ideology, besides requiring faith in the eternity and inviolability of the principles held sacred by it, requires a belief in and adherence to a school of thought, it becomes clear that its basis can be only that conception of the world which has a religious colour.
  

• From the foregoing discussion it may be inferred that a conception of the world can be the basis of an ideology only if it possesses stability, philosophical broad thinking and the sanctity of religious principles.
  

• How to Judge an Ideology?
  
• A perfect ideology is that which:
  (i) Can be proved and expressed in a logical form; in other words, is logically and intellectually tenable;
  (ii) Gives meaning to life and removes nihilistic ideas from the mind;
  (iii) Is inspiring;
  (iv) Is capable of giving sanctity to the human and social goals; and
  (v) Makes man accountable.
  

• If an ideology is logically tenable, the way is paved for its being accepted intellectually and there being no ambiguity about it, action as suggested by it becomes easy.
  

• An inspiring ideology makes its school attractive and gives it warmth and power.
  

• The sanctification of the goals of a school by its ideology, makes it easy for the adherents of this school to make sacrifice for its cause. If a school does not declare its goals to be sacred, it cannot create a sense of adoration and sacrifice in regard to its principle, nor can there be any guarantee of the success of such a school.
  

• The accountability of man declared by a conception of the world, commits the individual to the depth of his conscience and makes him responsible to himself and to society.
  

• Monotheistic Conception of the World
  

• All these qualities and characteristics which are an essential requirement of a good conception of the world are found in monotheistic conception. It is the only conception which has all these characteristics. Monotheistic conception means the realization of the fact that the world has come out of a wise will and that its system is founded on mercy, munificence and all that is good. It aims at leading the existing things to a perfection befitting them. Monotheistic conception means that the world is 'mono-axis' and 'mono-orbit'. It means that the world is 'from Allah' and returns' to Allah'.
  

• All the existing things of the world are harmonious and their evolution proceeds towards the same centre. Nothing has been created in vain and without having a purpose. The world is being managed under a series of definite systems known as 'Divine law'. Among the existing things man enjoys a special dignity, and has a special duty and a special mission. He is responsible for his own promotion and perfection as well as the reform of his society. The world is a school, and Allah rewards everyone according to his intention and valid effort.
  

• Monotheistic conception of the world is supported by logic, science and sound arguments. Every particle of the world is a sign of the existence of an All-Wise and All-Knowing Allah and every leaf of a tree is a book of spiritual knowledge.
  

• Monotheistic conception of the world gives to life a meaning, a spirit and a goal. It puts man on a way to perfection on which he continues to march forward without stopping at any stage.
  

• Monotheistic conception of the world has a special attraction. It gives vitality and vigour to man. It puts forward lofty and sacred goals and produces selfless individuals.
  

• Monotheistic conception of the world is the only conception of it which gives meaning to the responsibility of people to each other. Similarly it is the only conception that saves man from falling into the abyss of absurdity.
  

• Islamic Conception of the World
  

• Islamic conception of the world is monotheistic. Islam has presented monotheism in its purest form. From Islamic point of view, Allah has no like of Him and nothing can be compared to Him: "There is nothing like Him." (Surah As-Shura42:11)
  

• Allah is absolutely independent. All depend on Him, but He depends on none: "You are in need of Allah. And Allah! He is Absolute, Laudable."( Surah Al-Fatir 35:15)

• Allah is aware of everything. He can do whatever He likes:
  "He is fully aware of everything." (Surah As-Shura 42:12)
  "He is able to do all things." (Surah Al-Hajj 22:6)
  

• Allah is everywhere. Every place, whether it is above the sky or in the depth of the earth has the same relation to Him. To whatever direction we stand, we face Him: "Wherever you turn, there is Allah's countenance" (Surah Al Baqarah 2:115)
  

• Allah knows what is in the hearts of people. He is aware of their intentions and aims: "Indeed We have created man and We know what his soul whispers." (Surah Qaf 50:16) Allah is closer to man than his jugular vein: "We are nearer to him than his jugular vein." (Surah Qaf 50:16)

• Allah has all the good attributes and is free from every defect: "Allah's are the fairest names." (Surah Al-Araf 7:180) Allah is not a material organism and cannot be seen with eyes: "Vision does not comprehend Him, but He comprehends all vision." (Surah Al-Anam 6:106)

• From the stand point of monotheistic and Islamic conception of the world, the universe is a creation and is looked after by Divine will and attention. If Divine attention were withheld for a moment, the whole universe would be annihilated in no time.
  

• This world has not been created in vain or in jest. There are many advantages implied in the creation of man and the world. Nothing has been created unbecoming and futile. The existing system of the universe is the best and the most perfect. It manifests justice and truth and is based on a sequence of causes and effects. Every result is a logical consequence of a cause and every cause produces a specific effect. Divine destiny brings a thing into existence through its specific causes only, and it is a chain of causes which constitutes the Divine destiny of a thing.
  

• Divine will always operates in the world in the form of a law or a general principle. Divine laws do not change. Whatever changes take place, they are always in accordance with some law. Good and evil in the world are related to man's own conduct and his own deeds. Good deeds and bad deeds, besides being recompensed in the next world, have their reaction in this world also. Gradual evolution is a Divine law. This world is a nursery for the development of man.
  

• Divine destiny is supreme in the whole world. Man has been destined by it to be free and responsible. He is the master of his own destiny. Man has his special dignity. He is fit to be the vicegerent of Allah. This world and the Hereafter are but two interconnected stages like those of sowing and harvest, for one reaps what one sows. They may also be compared to the two periods of childhood and old age, for the latter period is the outcome of the former.