In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon His chosen servant, the paragon of human perfection, Muhammad, as well as his household and companions.

Every person should have a system and method by which he can verify knowledge in order to distinguish justified and valid beliefs from opinions and conjecture. What makes something true? Why do we accept certain matters as fact and not others?

Said system and method would allow for consistency in dealing with matters. One thing we observe is that people will hoard all supposed facts that support their view, but discard other facts that oppose it. When confronted with this, they are left speechless and try to wiggle their way out of the discussion. How to avoid all of this then? One word: epistemology.

The definition of epistemology on Merriam-Webster is as follows: ‘’The study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity.’’

So what does this Islamic method of discerning what constitutes as knowledge look like? Although found in many books, a famous text in which it is explained succinctly is The Nasafi Creed. There revolves some dispute around the actual author of the text, but the text itself is one that is accepted by the Sunni scholars. The proof for that is the exhaustive amount of commentaries and glosses that have been penned on it.

The following is a summary of what Imam al-Nasafi wrote regarding epistemology. In order to make it digestible, I have opted to discuss this in points. It is incumbent upon every Muslim to memorize these points and discuss them with every interlocutor they might face. If you cannot agree upon epistemology, any following discussion will be futile.

  1. We believe that things are actually existent and knowledge of them can be ascertained. We do not negate realities of things, claiming that all could be an illusion or simulation. Nor do we believe that the essence of a matter is in accordance with our belief, e.g. if we believe X to be Y, only then is it so.
  2. Based on investigation and observation, we say that the means of acquiring knowledge are either:
    a. external to a person: This will be a truthful and accurate report
    b. internal. If so, it will be an internal faculty that is:
    i. perceptive: that would be one’s reason.
    ii. imperceptive: that would be one’s senses.
  3. As for accurate reports (2a), they are of two kinds:
    1. mass-transmitted reports. This is such a report that is recurring among such a large number of people, that their colluding with each other to lie is inconceivable. Such a report brings about self-evident knowledge, such as our knowledge of the existence of former kings in past times and distant lands.
    1. reports of a Messenger supported by miracles. Such a report brings about deductive knowledge, meaning that knowledge is attained after investigating the proof. The knowledge attained thereby is similar to knowledge that is attained through self-evident knowledge (the former type), in terms of certainty and conviction.
  4. Reason (2b-i) is, like mentioned prior, also a means of attaining knowledge. The knowledge attained can either be:
    1. self-evident, e.g. the whole of a thing is greater than a part of it.
    1. inferential, meaning that it requires deduction, e.g. if you see smoke, you will know there is fire that causes it.
  5. The senses (2b-ii) are five: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. By each of these senses one is informed about that for which the sense was made. Senses refer to the ability (of sight, hearing etc.), not the body parts by which the function (i.e. the eyes, ears etc.).
  6. imperceptive: that would be one’s senses.

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