Transcript Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

In the Name of God
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Speech:
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Introduction
Overviewing his books
Explanation of one of book
Getting familiar with Ideas
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Seyed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas was born in 1931 in bogor,
Indonesia.
He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly
rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences
And also knows theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and
literature as well.
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His genealogical tree is backed to the Imam Hussein, the
grandson of Mohamed.(PBUH)
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the pioneer in suggesting the idea of Islamization of
knowledge.
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the founder and director of the International
Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)
which established in 1987 in Kuala Lumpur.
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the author of twenty-seven book on various aspects
of Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on
Sufism.
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· (1959) Rangkaian Ruba'iyat (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan
Pustaka).
· (1963) Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the
Malays (Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute).
· (1969) Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of the 17th Century Acheh (Kuala
Lumpur: Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society).
· (1970) The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri (Kuala Lumpur: University of
Malaya Press).
· (1970) The Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription (Kuala Lumpur:
Museum Department).
· (1972) Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu (Kuala Lumpur:
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia).
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· (1993) The Meaning and Experience of Happiness in Islam (tr. into Malay
by Muhammad Zainiy 'Uthman as Ma'na Kebahagiaan dan
Pengalamannya dalam Islam, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC; and into German by
Christoph Marcinkowski as Die Bedeutung und das Erleben von
Glückseligkeit im Islam, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1998)
· (1994) The Degrees of Existence
· (1995) Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the
Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam (Kuala Lumpur:
International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)).
· (2001) Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin (Kuala Lumpur: International
Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)).
· (2007) Tinjauan Ringkas Peri Ilmu dan Pandangan Alam (Penang,
Malaysia: Universiti Sains Malaysia).
· (2011) Historical Fact and Fiction.
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Islam and Secularism
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Written more than twenty years ago.
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The book is one of the most creative and
original works of a Muslim thinker in the
contemporary Muslim world.
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The author deals with fundamental problems
faced by contemporary Muslims and provides
real solutions
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The book contains 5 chapters.
“The Contemporary Western Christian Background”
And in this discussion he explains how secularism finds
its way in Christian.
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“Secular-Secularization-Secularism”
In this chapter he explains briefly and deeply about the
history of secularism.
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“Islam: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of
Ethics and Morality”
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The Muslim Dilemma
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The DE westernization of Knowledge
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In the chapters four and five he shows the necessity of
Islamization of contemporary knowledge
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All in all
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Numerous original and profound ideas are contained
in this book. such as the concepts of din,‘adl, hikmah,
adab, ma‘na, and ta’dib, and their significance in the
development of an Islamic system of education.
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He believes that our knowledge is not out of
us, that is, our knowledge is within our mind.
But the items and stuffs that we study and
read are out of us.
He believes that nowadays the big issue for
Islamic societies is language.
It means the way that we convey and transfer
the meaning.
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For instance, the Language of Glorious Quran is
Arabic but this language is not the same as what
we had it before Islam. In fact Holy Quran turns
the previous language to Islamic language. And
Islamization is undeniable.
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The problem is that we are affected by secular
thought. And this thought changes the meaning
and concepts of the words.
For example the word revelation (Vahy) is totally
different from the word inspiration (Elham)
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Our conception of the word Salat(ritual act) is
not what the western people understand of
it.
Because salat is not pray(Doa). Pray or doa
means speak to God with the words that we
want. But salat means speak with the words
that God has ordered.
Result
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By passing years we will invite people to our
understanding of Islam not Islam as such. So
these misunderstanding will result in straying
people.
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So the first and significant step is to correct
our language.
Lots of our conception is unclear for laymen
and people.
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Preparation
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In western thought you can change the world
every moment to improve the life. But a big
question is remained unanswered “what is
the goal?”
That thought is unable to answer the
question.
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According to him, human has to eliminate
some of the unnecessary sciences in order to
focus on vital sciences.
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The essential knowledge is religious one.
Because we have one chance to live and just
religious science can answer the question
about death and fatal and life.
Thank You for
Your Listening
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Seyed mustafa Mirfendereski