CENTRE FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

“THE DIFFERENCES PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN BARRIERS AND ISLAMIC BARRIERS”

NAME: NUR AZLINI BTE ABD. YAZID @ AZIZ

MATRIC NUM: 082760

COURSE: CRITICAL THINKING

GROUP: 3

INTRODUCTION

Critical thinking1 is the general term given to a wide range of

precognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to

effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth

claims, to discover and overcome personal prejudices and

biases.

In critical thinking, there is a barrier which is having many

perspectives. Depends on dictionary2, barrier is anything that

prevents people from being together or understanding each

other. It is meaning barriers are also a resistance in life we

have to face it. It is also an obstacle, problems and inhibit. It is

completeness that means our knowledge must complete to

make an argument. It is also a cognitive skill that comes from

leaning.

1 Introduction to critical thinking by Gregory Bassham page 12 CAMBRIDGE Advance Learner’s Dictionary 2nd edition page 93

Barriers have many perspective which is an Islamic

perspective and non-Islamic perspective. Here we will see the

differences between these two perspectives.

BARRIERS TO CRITICAL THINKING

The preceding section raises an obvious question: If critical

thinking is so important, why is it that uncritical thinking is so

common? Why is it that so many people including many highly

educated and intelligent people find critical thinking so

difficult?

The reasons, as you might expect, are quiet complex. Here is

a list of some of the most common barriers to critical thinking.

Relativistic thinking, bias, powering emotion, superstition,

egocentrism, sociocentrism, conformism, wishful thinking,

stereotyping and unwarranted assumption3.

3 Introduction to critical thinking by Gregory Bassham page 11

Relativistic thinking crucial to understand why this is a trap,

because once one has fallen into it, it is very difficult to see any

point in studying critical thinking at all. Relativism is the view

that truth is a matter of opinion. Subjectivism is the view that

truth is a matter of individual opinion. The other common form

of relativism is cultural relativism. This is the view that truth is

a matter of social or cultural opinion. In other words, cultural

relativism is the view that what is true for person A is what

person A’s culture or society believes is true.

Biases are the tendency to over rate over estimates oneself.

The idea of considering oneself better than others. Over

confidence can be an obstacle to a genuine personality

development. Over confident is not self confident. Critical

thinkers must be honest in admitting our own strange and

weakness. We as a normal human must have honest self-

evaluation.

Egocentrism is an egoist or egoistic. There are those who

consider and regard their own ideas, interest, and values as

superior to others. The result would be they become selfish and

self-centered. They would not as a result of suffering from this

barrier able to see the good and corrects argument from other

people. Many of us however suffer from this barrier. There are

two common form of egocentrism which are self interested

thinking and self serving bias.

Sociocentrism is group centre thinking. This is thinking

that over emphasize the importance of one at group. One can

become irrational and unreasonable of a result of over

emphasizing group important. Sociocentrism can be in two

forms which are group biases and conformism

Group biases are take place when we consider our own

group society, ride, nation as being better than others.

Over powering emotion is about the lost of reasoning sense

when the emotion is too strong for them to control. For

example, when someone become anger and cannot control their

self, no doubt they will commit suicide. Moreover, it can end up

with killing, fighting, and murdering.

Self deception means when you hide the truth from yourself.

It means that you are cheating on yourself. It is an attitude of

mind which has developed in certain people to the effect of

ignoring the truth and the real fact knowingly deep inside his

heart or mind. He knows it all false and one day sooner or later

he has to accept the real fact. For instance, Fuad know that

drinking wine is not good for health but he still want to drink

that water.

BARRIERS IN ISLAMIC PERSPECIVE

In Islamic perspective, arrogance is one of the worse

behaviors that were hated by Allah. When someone being

arrogance they will make them stuck to think critically. As in

Qur’an verses that mention Allah will not give them the path of

rectitude. In contrast, the barrier of egocentrism will make a

person to be selfish because they do not want accept any ideas

or opinion from other people. The result, they do not able to be

a critical thinker due to the undeveloped mind.

Takabbur means arrogance that unpleasantly proud and

behaving as if you are more important than, or know more

than, other people. Arrogance (takabbur) has been mentioned

about sixty times in Qur’an. In all these places it has been

condemned, as it is one of the main causes of going astray and

denying messages of Allah. For example in Qur’an verses

mention “it is in this way that God sets a seal on every

arrogant, self exalting heart.4”

Taqlid and Ta’assub is one of the matters of barrier that hinder

tafakkur. When someone put too much concern on their

traditionalism it will make them difficult to be a good thinker.

In Islamic perspective, who put too much concern on their

4 Verses (Ghafir : 35)

traditionalism and do not follow the rule of God, they will be

punish and Allah will not give them hidayah to be good thinker.

This is because not all the traditionalism follows the rule of

Islam. While in conventional barrier, relativistic thinking is

different with Taqlid and Ta’assub. This is because it more

concern on what the society or individual think and not based

on Qur’an and Sunnah.

Taqlid and Ta’assub mean traditionalism and blind following.

Traditionalism means the belief in or act of following

traditional ideas and ways of doing things. Allah says in

Qur’an : “ But when they are told, (follow what God has

bestowed from on high), some answer, (Nay, we shall follow

only that which we found our forefather believing in and

doing ). Why, if their forefather did not use their reason at all,

and were devoid of all guidance?”5

5 Verses ( Al-Baqarah: 120 )

The different between over powering emotion and lusts and

desires (hawa’) is when someone over emotional anything can

be happened and will make them commits suicide, killing and

others. In contrast, in Islamic perspective hawa’ happen when

satan conquer such person to do something out of our mind

and also do not have a close ‘ibadah towards Allah.

Lust and Desires ( Hawa’) , “ And since they cannot

respond to this thy challenge, know that they are following only

their own likes and dislikes: and who could be more astray than

he who follows but his own likes and dislike without ny

guidance from God.”6

“Hast thou ever considered the kind of man who makes his

own desires his deity?”7

6 Verses ( Al-Qasas:50 )7 Verses ( Al-Furqan:43 )

The difference between self-deception and al-I’arad is self

deception happen when ones do not want ignore the truth on

one matter. While, al-Farad is that we turning away from

believe in Qur’an and Sunnah that comes from Allah.

Al- Farad is turning away from the truth. “So long as we keep

their hearts and their eyes turned away from the truth, even as

they did not believe in it at the first instance: and so we shall

leave them in their overweening g arrogance, blindly stumbling

to and fro.” 8

The difference between wishful thinking and reliance on

conjectures is that wishful thinking believes in something not

because of any good evidence but wish to be true. While,

reliance on conjectures is more focusing on conjectures that

can never be change.

Reliance and conjectures, Allah says: “Now if thou pay heed

unto the majority of those who live on earth, they will but lead

thee astray from the path of God: they follow but other people’s

8 Verses ( Al-An’am:110 )

conjectures, and they themselves do nothing but guess.”9 Allah

reminds us that conjectures can never be a substitute for truth.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, barriers have many perspective depends

on the scholars. Sometimes it can be benefit to us, but

sometimes it can bring us to harm. We as a Muslims should

follow our Shariah in our daily life. Whatever happens in our

life comes from Allah. Everything has their reason and their

miracle. We as a knowledgeable human must have a good

critical thinking and do not judge something by its cover. Try to

accept another idea and not being biases because it is

forbidden in Islam.

9 Verses ( Al- An’am: 116 )