The Concept of Revelation and the Ideology of Islamic Thought Renewal: An Analysis of the I‘jāz ‘Ilmī Narrative

Often, efforts to modernize Islamic thought stumble into the trap of reductionism, especially within the i‘jāz ‘ilmī narrative that attempts to reconcile revelation with contemporary scientific discoveries. This action, though pure in its intention, often unconsciously undermines the authority of revelation itself, transforming it into merely a catalog of verifiable scientific predictions. Existing research tends to praise or merely describe this phenomenon, yet rarely critically explores its deeper epistemological and theological implications for the ideology of Islamic thought renewal. This study employs a conceptual analysis approach and a critical literature review of classical and modern texts. Findings indicate that the i‘jāz ‘ilmī narrative ironically dismantles the integrity of revelation rather than strengthening it, if the exegetical methodologies applied are selective and hasty. This can subtly give rise to a form of distrust toward the truth of revelation without external validation. Therefore, this study calls for a reconstruction of the epistemological framework of contemporary Islamic thought, so that it can safeguard the authenticity of revelation and scientific progress without succumbing to the confusion of reductionist thinking.

I‘jāz ‘Ilmī, Revelation, Thought Renewal

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