Understanding Realism from the perspectives of Philosophy and Islam

Philosophical Realism is a theory that claims that whatever we see in the world is real, existing on its own and is not an illusion or mental framework. It is opposed to the skeptic and solipsist theory which claims that anything outside one's own mind is not real, rather it is fictitious. Idealism is a theory which claims that the reality is influenced by our thoughts and ideas. There is an Islamic point of view about the reality of essence and existence which is different from the philosophical Realism theories of essence and existence. All the theories come with their own set of limitations. In this article we have tried to address these limitations. We have also introduced to the readers a detailed explanation of Islamic Realism and how it addresses such limitations. In doing so we have introduced a novel methodology of addressing Realism in its correct perspective.