Unpacking the Muslim Mindset: History, Epistemology, and the True Purpose of Islamic Universities

Abstract

This study examines the concept of the university within Islamic educational thought and its relationship to the aims of Islamic education. It aims to reformulate the orientation of the Islamic university through the concepts of adab, taʾdīb, and the unity of knowledge within a coherent tawḥīdic worldview. This qualitative library research employs a historical-philosophical approach combined with critical-hermeneutic analysis of foundational works and recent scholarly articles. Data were analyzed through the reconstruction of the genealogy of Islamic educational institutions, epistemological interpretation of knowledge and adab, and critical evaluation of the modern university. The findings indicate that mosques, kuttāb, madrasahs, and major centers of Islamic learning historically developed within an integrated conception of knowledge that connected intellectual learning, ethical formation, and devotion to Allah. In contrast, the crisis of the modern university involves not only disciplinary fragmentation but also the loss of adab, reflected in confusion regarding the proper hierarchy of knowledge, human beings, and reality. The study implies that Islamic universities should function as institutions of taʾdīb that cultivate professionally competent, morally responsible, civilization-oriented graduates and produce knowledge grounded in a tawḥīdic worldview.