Transcending the Dichotomy of Knowledge

Big statements often do not arise from long strings of words, but from a clear vision of life. The deeper one understands the nature of existence, the simpler the language one uses. This is the case with the statement by K.H. Imam Zarkasyi: ‘One hundred per cent religion. One hundred per cent general.’ It is brief, yet it contains a worldview about knowledge, education, humanity, and even civilisation. The statement was not an administrative answer about curriculum composition. It was a declaration about how to view knowledge. President Soeharto once asked Kiai Imam Zarkasyi, ‘What is the percentage of religious lessons and what is the percentage of general lessons at Gontor?’ He answered with a sentence that erased all boundaries: ‘One hundred per cent religion. One hundred per cent general.’ At first glance, it sounds paradoxical. But the paradox only arises for a mindset accustomed to dividing things into two opposing poles. Kiai Imam Zarkasyi was not answering a question about subject composition. He was correcting a way of thinking that had long separated knowledge into two realms, as if they were different in essence. If all knowledge comes from Allah, there is no reason to separate it into sacred knowledge and secular knowledge. The difference lies only in the object of study, while the ultimate goal remains one: to know the truth and to serve Him. Kiai Imam Zarkasyi was essentially rejecting the dichotomy of knowledge that has long fragmented the consciousness of Muslims. The division between religious knowledge and general knowledge does not originate from Islamic teachings, but from a historical construction that slowly separated revelation from life. As a result, religion was narrowed to the affairs of the mosque, while science was considered to only manage the world. In fact, Islam never recognised such a separation. All knowledge is born from the same source, walks towards the same goal, and finds its nobility when it leads people to know Allah. The epistemology built by Imam al-Ghazali in Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din is often summarised by scholars in the expression: ’Kullu ’ilmin syar’iyyin ’aqliyyun wa kullu ’ilmin ’aqliyyin syar’iyyun.’ This expression encapsulates al-Ghazali’s view that Sharia cannot be understood without reason, and reason reaches its perfection when guided by revelation. Therefore, the nobility of a science is not determined by its category as religious or general knowledge, but by the extent to which it leads people to know Allah, establishes public welfare, and maintains the order of life desired by the Sharia. This view aligns with the thought of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, who asserted that the crisis of modern education is not a lack of knowledge, but the loss of adab towards knowledge. When knowledge is separated from the meaning of divinity, it produces intelligent people who have lost wisdom. When knowledge is returned to tauhid, every discipline becomes a path to knowing Allah. Thus, Kiai Imam Zarkasyi’s answer was not merely an educational slogan. It was an affirmation that tauhid is the foundation of the entire edifice of knowledge.