ULÛM-I ISLÂMIYYA (ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE)

The knowledge which Muslims have to acquire and learn is called “Ulûm-i Islâmiyya” (Islamic knowledge). It is fard to learn some of this knowledge. It is sunnat to learn some other branches of it, and it is mubâh to learn even more of it. Islamic knowledge is mainly divided into two branches. The first one is Ulûm-i naqliyya. This is also called “religious knowledge.” This originates from four sources called “Adilla-i Shar’iyya.” Religious knowledge is also divided into two: the Zâhirî (external) branches of knowledge and the bâtinî (internal) branches of knowledge. The first ones are called the Knowledge of Fiqh or Ahkâm-i-islâmiyya; the second ones are called the knowledge of Tasawwuf or Ma’rifat. The Ahkâm-i-islâmiyya is learned through murshids and through the books of Fiqh. Ma’rifat flows from murshids’ hearts into (other Muslims’) hearts.

The second branch of Islamic knowledge is Ulûm-i ’aqliyya (experimental sciences). The branch dealing with living creatures is called Ulûm-i tıbbiyya (science of medicine), and the branch dealing with non-living creatures is called Ulûm-i hikemiyya. The branch dealing with the sky and stars is called Ulûm-i falakiyya. The knowledge dealing with the earth is called Ulûm-i tabî’iyya. The subdivisions of Ulûm-i ’aqliyya are mathematics, logic and experimental knowledge. They are acquired by perceiving through the five senses, by observing through mind, experimentation and calculation. These fields of knowledge help us to understand and better practise religious knowledge. They are necessary for this reason. They change, increase and improve in the course of time. For this reason, it has been said, “Takmîl-i sınâ’ât is fulfilled by talâhuk-ı afkâr,” which means, “improvement in arts, science and technology is realized by adding to one another’s ideas and experiments.”