The Three Rationalities, and Creating the Alternative Desired Future for Islamic Civilization

Examination of the circumstances of Islamic communities shows that some of them suffer from “acute crises” such as religious extremism and religion-based terrorism. Even stable Islamic communities either have the potential for the emergence of extremism or face a decline of spirituality and issues caused by their own native experience of capitalism. The question is what is the root and solution of this crisis. Such crises in the Islamic civilization are caused by becoming distant from rational traditions, which is described by some as decline of civilization or decline of rationality. Therefore, the solution is to return to rational traditions.
In general, there are three rationalities in Islamic tradition referred to as the three rationalities: a) eternal wisdom, b) Ijtihad rationality, and c) strategic reason. Eternal wisdom is a metaphysical concept and a type of existential rationality; however, ijtihad rationality is an intermediary methodological rationality acting as a comprehension tool. Strategic rationality, on the other hand, is an instrumental rationality in practical situations for resolving issues in the face of actual forces.
This paper attempted to study and explain some of the theoretic possibilities for creating a peaceful general area in the new Islamic civilization based on the constructive and defendant role of the three rationalities and their developmental, constructive, and underlying functions. This paper was formulated based on a combination of historical, critical, and discursive methods. Critical interpretation methods was used to analyze historical texts and events while the model of crisis resolution was based on a form of perspective-based future study.