Critical Thinking Versus Memorization

Judge Abu1-Qasim bin Zaytun

After the destruction of the dynasty in Marrakech, in the mid-13th century, Judge Abu1-Qasim b. Zaytun traveled from Ifrigiyah to the East.

• He made contact with the pupils of the imam Ibn alKhatib.
• He studied with them and learned their method of instruction.
• He became skilled in intellectual and traditional matters.

Then, he returned to Tunis with a great deal of knowledge and a good method of instruction.

He was followed back from the East by Abu ‘Abdallah b. Shu’ayb ad-Dukkali, who had traveled from the Maghrib to Ibn Zaytun.

He studied with Egyptian professors and returned to Tunis, where he remained.

His method of instruction was effective.

The Tunisians studied with both Ibn Zaytun and Ibn Shu’ayb.

Their tradition of scientific instruction was steadily continued after generations.

• Eventually, it reached Judge Muhammad b. ‘Abd-as-Salam, the commentator and pupil of Ibn alH ajib.

It was transplanted from Tunis to Tlemcen through Ibn al-Imam and his pupils.

Ibn al-Imam had studied with Ibn ‘Abd-as-Salam under the same professors in the same classes.

Pupils of Ibn ‘Abd-as-Salam can be found at this time in Tunis, and pupils of Ibn al-Imam in Tlemcen. However, they are so few that the tradition may come to an end.

At the end of the 13th century, Abu Ali Nasir-ad-din al-Mashaddali traveled east from Zawawah and got in touch with the pupils of Abu Amr bin al-Hajib.

He studied with them and learned their (method of) instruction. He studied with Shihab-ad-din al-Qarafi in the same classes.

He became skilled in intellectual and traditional matters. He returned to the Maghrib with much knowledge and an effective method of instruction.

He settled in Bougie.

His tradition of scientific instruction was steadily continued among the students of Bougie.

Imran al-Mashaddali was one of his pupils. He frequently went to Tlemcen.

He settled in Tlemcen and propagated his method there. At this time, in Tlemcen and Bougie, his pupils are few, very few.

Fez and the other cities of the Maghrib have been without good instruction since the destruction of scientific instruction in Cordoba and al-Qayrawan.

There has been no continuous tradition of scientific instruction in Fez. And so it was difficult for the people of Fez to obtain the scientific habit and skill.

The Scientific Habit

The easiest method of acquiring the scientific habit is through expressing oneself clearly in discussing and disputing scientific problems.

Some students spend most of their lives attending scholarly sessions but do not talk nor discuss matters.

• Instead, they are concerned with memorizing.

Thus, they do not obtain the habit of science and scientific instruction even if some of them think that they have obtained the habit.

But when they enter into a discussion or disputation, or do some teaching, their scientific habit is found to be defective.

Their deficiency is caused by only the lack of instruction, together with the break in the tradition of scientific instruction.

Their memorized knowledge might be very extensive.

• They think that scientific habit is identical with memorized knowledge.
• But that is not so.

This is attested in the Maghrib (in Morocco) by the fact that prescribed period for students in college is 16 years, while in Tunis it is 5 years.

Five years is the shortest in which a student can obtain the scientific habit he desires.

In the Maghrib, the period is so long because of the poor quality of scientific instruction there.

• This makes it difficult for the student to acquire the scientific habit

The institution of scientific instruction has disappeared among the Spaniards.

• This is because Muslim civilization in Spain has been decreasing for hundreds of years.
• The only scholarly discipline remaining there is Arabic philology and literature, to which the Spanish Muslims restrict themselves.

The tradition of teaching these disciplines is preserved among them. Thus, the disciplines as such are preserved.

Jurisprudence is an empty institution among them and a mere shadow of its real self.

The enemy has gained control over most of it, except for a few people along the coast who are more concerned with making a living than with the things that come after it.

Scientific instruction is very much in demand and greatly cultivated in the East, because of the continuity of:

• an abundant civilization and
• the tradition of scientific instruction there.

The old cities, such as Baghdad, al-Basrah, and al-Kufah, were the original mines of scholarship. They are now in ruins.

However, God has replaced them with even greater cities.

Science was transplanted from the early centers to:

• the non-Arab Iraq of Khurasan
• Transoxania in the East
• Cairo and adjacent regions in the West.

These cities have never ceased to have an abundant and continuous civilization. The tradition of scientific instruction has always persisted in them.