What this means is that the leadership of the Ummah has been unable to determine the proper approach for bringing about the change needed to lead it toward its true objectives. After pondering the matter at length, looking at it from different perspectives, and considering objectively the attempts of the Ummah in the past to extract itself, we are convinced that the process of change must begin in the thought of the Ummah. This is because thought naturally precedes deeds, whether they prove to be correct or faulty. Only sound thinking will result in sound reconstruction, and only sound thinking will deliver the Ummah from the crisis which threatens to strangle the life from it. Therefore, we may state confidently that the desired process of change is based on the thought of Islam and guided by its teachings, a process rooted in Islamic doctrines, values, and ethics and deriving its essence from Islam's sources.
Islamic thought is a general term, and interpretations of it differ.
Since its definition is crucial, this book seeks to provide a definition which precisely delineates its method, identifies its principles, and anchors its basic concepts. The book begins with a critical discussion of the traditional methodology of Islamic thought, which is followed by a look at its fundaments and sources. The discussion then moves on to the subject of this methodology's performance in terms of the comprehensiveness of its scope and means. Finally, a general comparison is made between Islamic and scientific methodologies. Thereafter, the author deals with the social sciences and humanities from the perspective of the Islamization of knowledge.