Islamic Epistemology from Al-Buti’s Perspective: Criticism of Positivism in the Preface to the Book of Kubra al Yaqiniyyat al Kawniyyah

Abstrak

This research is motivated by the hegemony of Western materialistic positivist epistemology, which reduces science to the empirical realm, triggers an epistemological crisis, and delegitimizes metaphysical truths. The study addresses how Shaykh M. Said Ramadhan Al-Buti’s Islamic epistemology critiques materialistic positivism and evaluates its methodology as an effective antithesis. The objectives are to analyze Al-Buti’s manhaj ilmi, evaluate his critique of positivism, assess its methodological effectiveness, and outline its implications for contemporary Islamic theology in counteracting atheism. The framework relies on Al-Buti’s integrative epistemology, synergizing the senses (al-hiss), reason (al-’aql), and valid news (al-khabar al-sadiq) to achieve certainty (al-yaqin). Employing a qualitative literature study with philosophical-epistemological, historical-sociological, and dialectical-critical approaches, the primary data source is the Preamble of Kubra al-Yaqiniyyat al-Kawniyyah, supported by secondary literature on science philosophy. Data collected via critical reading and proposition extraction were analyzed using descriptive-analytical, comparative, and dialectical-critical methods. Results demonstrate that Al-Buti’s manhaj ilmi rejects the reason-revelation dichotomy by establishing proportional standards of proof based on the object’s nature (empirical for physical matter; analytical-transmissive for metaphysics). His critique successfully falsifies positivism by exposing internal contradictions within its verification principles and taxonomic reductions. Critical reflection reveals that despite suspending qiyas mantiqi, Al-Buti’s methodology remains a highly effective counter to modern positivism. Its implications offer a philosophical resolution refuting scientism and establishing a sound argumentative foundation for faith education. In conclusion, Islamic theology possesses an independent, objective scientific methodology that dismantles Western positivism's monopoly on truth while restoring the authority of revelation and reason.