‘Sunnatullah’ in the holy Qur’an as a fundamental principle of tawhidic epistemology

This article investigates concept of ‘Sunnatullah’ in the holy Qur`an as a basic principle of Islamic theory of knowledge. It defined as the immutable Divine pattern and law in the created world, which provides the rational premises for systematic inquiry. Generality and consistency are the basic characteristics of laws to produce the measurable Knowledge. While modern science is yet to develop general theories to measure and predict future directions of social changes and historical events, the holy Qur`an persistently emphasizes that there are immutable patterns which govern both human and social domains. The holy Qur`an asserts that: "every nation has its fixed term of life (Ajal), when their term is reached, they neither delayed a moment nor advanced." [Q. 4:34]1. It is well known that fixed term of life is for living organisms, but how a nation has fixed term of life? This problematic question poses further other critical questions about nature of laws which govern life of nations, civilizations, social interactions, and historical events. In which way social and historical pattern are different from the natural laws; and how it can be measured? Adopting the analytical method of theoretical approach, this article attempted to address these questions. Concept of ‘Sunnatullah’ in the holy Qur`an, its types and basic characteristics are investigated. The article concluded that careful study of Sunnatullah in the holy Qur`an enables to uncover the basic principles of Tawhidic epistemology and provides an alternate to the secular epistemology which dominating the entire enterprise of the modern science. Sunnatullah in Qur`anic view introduces itself not only as epistemological principle that describes the physical world, but also as moral principle which governs social changes and historical events.