Epistemological Question and Its Impact on Building Stable Social and Cultural Consciousness: Analytical Study on Saying of Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him): "Ask Me before You Lose Me"

Abstract

The educational system depends on a set of indispensable foundations: a qualified cognitive source that manages the educational process, a society conscious of the importance of knowledge, and a stable environment. If these foundations are absent, efforts are to be directed toward establishing them to create an educational system that leads to a balanced society governed by values and permeated by knowledge. As for the means of knowledge transmission, they are numerous, the most significant of which is cognitive inquiry, being the initial spark for launching the scientific progress and the primary catalyst for the dissemination and circulation of knowledge. Furthermore, it facilitates an environment for scientific dialogue; for every question necessitates an answer, and the answer itself opens another door, and thus the ladder toward knowledge is formed. The more the question is built upon robust scientific foundations, the more it produces advanced stages in the scientific race.

      From the foregoing , we could discern the insistence of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Talib (Peace Be Upon Him), on spreading the cognitive inquiry and making it available to all on  the slogan: “ Ask me” . He initiated this from the very beginning of his governance, as it was in his first inauguration speech in Mecca. When he moved to Kufa, he remained committed to this cognitive structure throughout the duration of his rule (Peace Be Upon Him) until the time of his martyrdom; thus, the conclusion of his life was “ Ask me” .

     Therefore, this procedure by the Commander of the Faithful (Peace Be Upon Him) constitutes a research phenomenon that has not been sufficiently highlighted. Consequently, we decided to investigate it according to the contexts in which it was repeated and the incidents that accompanied it. We found it to be an educational system that establishes the building of a society in which values are organized, forces are balanced, and the principles prevail. We examined the importance of cognitive inquiry according to the Commander of the Faithful (Peace Be Upon Him) between stimulating the mind and building the scientific awareness of a balanced society; we found many indications from him (Peace Be Upon Him) pointing to that. Furthermore, since matters are not fully clarified except by their opposites, the second part of the research studies the absence of cognitive inquiry and its effects on the scattering of consciousness and the enforced ignorance of society. All of this was studied on the slogan that the Commander of the Faithful (Peace Be Upon Him) continued to repeat from the time he assumed governance until the end of his life. In every instance, he added a scientific and methodological foundation to it, leading to the construction of an educational system that produces a balanced society. This project, outlined by the Commander of the Faithful (Peace Be Upon Him), had its impact on the Islamic scientific renaissance, for which Kufa formed one of the pillars with Basra and its outskirts; this can be explained by the cognitive system he ignited in them, which relies fundamentally on inquiry and scientific dialogue.