THE VIRTUOUS CIVILIZATION OF ISLAM

Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud

ABSTRACT

It should be admitted that the basic analytical and civilizational framework employed in this paper shall be the one formulated by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas which to our mind not only reflects the consensus of the majority of the Islamic authorities of the past but also contains many new and fresh insights to address properly our basic contemporary intellectual and civilizational challenges. The primary aim of this paper is to connect the positive relationship between the worldview of Islam rooted in the fundamental Prophetic mission, with a certain defining spirit, purpose and character. This relationship, deplorably, has largely been taken for granted by traditionalists, ignored or forgotten by the general public, and in some instances, purposely rejected by educated segments of Muslims worldwide—whose worldview has been critically affected by the deepening impact of philosophical secularization since the 19th century onwards. Forgetting, taking for granted, ignoring, and rejecting these important aspects have perhaps inadvertently led many modern Muslims to emphasize on the relatively less fundamental elements of the Islamic civilizational enterprise, namely the positivistic, socio-political, and materialistic aspects; and not on the more fundamental ones, such as the high-order intellectual, spiritual and ethical-moral virtues. This leads them to not only misplace their own greater achievements demonstrated by the Prophet (d. 8 June 632 CE) and the earliest generations, but also simultaneously distort the most fundamental spirit, purpose, and character of the religion and civilization of Islam and the Prophetic mission. This deplorable attitude, which reflects what al-Attas has consistently identified as a serious loss of adab, and confusion and error in knowledge, is manifested in most educational, cultural, and development discourse, planning, and institutions of Muslims worldwide.