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Abstract
The philosophy of metaReality and, in particular, ideas of transcendence can ‘underlabour’ for the re-enchantment of Islamic praxis, ethics and law by helping to uncover in a systematic, non-arbitrary way the spiritual objectives (maqāsid) inherent in the basic beliefs, practices and obligations of Islam. The commonly accepted elements of the Islamic legal pathway (Shari'a), such as the obligation of marriage, far from being inhibiting, can help humans access the dialectical pulse of freedom and the emancipatory meaning inherent tendentially in human relationships. Thus, the Islamic Shari'a, underlaboured by the philosophy of metaReality, rather than a symbol of legal backwardness and inflexibility, can be conducive once again to greater personal ontological wholeness and collective human flourishing.
Notes
1 Bhaskar Citation2000.
2 Tillich 1953, 67–76.
3 Wilkinson Citation2015, ch. 1.
4 Kamali 2008.
5 Averroes [1179] Citation2001.
6 Ziai Citation2008, 55–76.
7 Wilkinson Citation2015, chs. 1–6.
8 Kamali 2003.
9 Qur'an 21:107.
10 Kamali 2008.
11 Inevitably, as the novel application of a contemporary philosophy to an ancient spiritual tradition, this article will throw up as many, if not more, questions than it answers, to which myself and others can in due course respond. There are also features of this article that are predicated to a certain degree on the a priori acceptance of the truth of Islamic belief; at such moments I crave the non-Muslim reader's indulgence.
12 Wilkinson Citation2013.
13 Bhaskar [1975] Citation2008.
14 Wilkinson Citation2015, ch. 4.
15 Bhaskar Citation2002a, xiv.
16 Bhaskar Citation2002a.
17 Wilkinson Citation2015, ch. 4.
18 Hartwig Citation2012, xiii, citing Bhaskar Citation2002a, lvii.
19 Bhaskar Citation2002a, 4–5, my emphasis.
20 Bhaskar Citation2002a, 5.
21 Bhaskar Citation2000.
22 Bhaskar Citation2002b, xiii.
23 Russo and Russo, dir., Citation2006.
24 Bhaskar Citation2002b, xiv.
26 Cf. Qur'an 10:19.
27 Bhaskar 2012, 9.
28 Qur'an 15:29; 32:8; 38:72.
29 Qur'an 38:72, commentary in brackets by CitationJalayan [1505] 2013.
30 Bhaskar Citation2002b, xi.
31 Bhaskar [1993] Citation2008.
32 Qur'an 59:9; 79:40.
34 Cf. Qur'an 49:13.
35 Qur'an 2:156.
36 Qur'an 49:13.
37 Norrie Citation2010.
38 Qur'an 49:13.
39 Qur'an 49:11.
40 Şentürk Citation2002.
41 Qur'an 2:30–34.
42 Qur'an 3:27.
43 Qur'an 67:1–2.
44 Cf. Bhaskar 2002.
45 Qur'an 2:35–36.
46 Qur'an 49:13.
47 Kamali 2008.
48 Bhaskar [1993] 2008, 405.
49 Kamali 2008.
50 Qur'an 23:5–7; 24:30–33; 70:29–31.
51 Şentürk Citation2002.
52 Qur'an 2:219; 5:93–94.
53 Qur'an 2:219.
54 Qur'an 5:87.
55 Al-Oadah Citation2014.
56 Baig Citation2015, 90.
57 Ramadan Citation2009.
58 Kessler Citation2013.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Matthew L. N. Wilkinson
Matthew L. N. Wilkinson is Visiting Fellow at the UCL Institute of Education, London. Matthew specializes in Islamic theology and philosophy of Islam-in-education. He is Director of the Curriculum for Cohesion project which is developing a practical educational philosophy for understanding the interface of faith and faith-based communities with the institutions of education and law in democratic society. His book, A Fresh Look at Islam in a Multi-Faith World: A Philosophy for Success through Education, has recently been published by Routledge.