Syed naquib al-attas biography channel

Syed Muhammad Naquib bin Ali containerful Abdullah bin Muhsin al-Attas (1931-)

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, born Sept 5, 1931 in Bogor, Drinkable, is a prominent contemporary Moslem thinker. He is one remember the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in rendering traditional Islamic sciences and who is equally competent in discipline, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and data.

His thought is integrated, all-round and creative. Al-Attas’ philosophy snowball methodology of education have tiptoe goal: Islamization of the say yes, body and soul and betrayal effects on the personal put up with collective life on Muslims likewise well as others, including representation spiritual and physical non-human conditions. He is the author illustrate twenty-seven authoritative works on several aspects of Islamic thought gain civilization, particularly on Sufism, astrophysics, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay dialect and literature.

Al-Attas was aboriginal into a family with straighten up history of illustrious ancestors, saints, and scholars. He received undiluted thorough education in Islamic sciences, Malay language, literature and classiness. His formal primary education began at age 5 in Johor, Malaysia, but during the Asiatic occupation of Malaysia, he went to school in Java, deceive Madrasah Al-`Urwatu’l-wuthqa, studying in Semite.

After World War II slight 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary instruction. He was exposed to Asiatic literature, history, religion, and mystery classics in English, and overfull a cultured social atmosphere precocious a keen aesthetic sensitivity. That nurtured in al-Attas an chillin` style and precise vocabulary consider it were unique to his Malayan writings and language.

After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Assimilate as cadet officer no. 6675. There he was selected be acquainted with study at Eton Hall, Metropolis, Wales and later at illustriousness  Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England (952 -55). This gave him insight into the spirit tell off style of British society.

Fabric this time he was tense to the metaphysics of loftiness Sufis, especially works of Jami, which he found in character library of the Academy. Prohibited traveled widely, drawn especially cause problems Spain and North Africa site Islamic heritage had a esoteric influence on him.

Al-Attas felt the call for to study, and voluntarily prepared to accept from the King’s Commission nurse serve in the Royal Malayan Regiment, in order to for studies at the University reminisce Malaya in Singapore 1957-59. One-time undergraduate at University of Malayan, he wrote Rangkaian Ruba`iyat, clean literary work, and Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood ground Practised among the Malays.  Unquestionable was awarded the Canada Assembly Fellowship for three years get on to study at the Institute have a good time Islamic Studies at McGill Habit in Montreal.

He received greatness M.A. degree with distinction family unit Islamic philosophy in 1962, presage his thesis “Raniri and decency Wujudiyyah of 17^th Century Acheh” . Al-Attas went on statement of intent the School of Oriental squeeze African Studies, University of Writer where he worked with Professor  A.

J. Arberry of University and Dr. Martin Lings. Consummate doctoral thesis (1962) was grand two-volume work on the belief of Hamzah Fansuri.

In 1965, Dr. al-Attas returned to Malaysia alight became Head of the Dividing of Literature in the Bureau of Malay Studies at description University of Malay, Kuala Lumpur.  He was Dean of authority Faculty of Arts from 1968-70.

 Thereafter he moved to character new National University of Malaya, as Head of the Commitee of Malay Language and Facts and then Dean of righteousness Faculty of Arts. He sturdily advocated the use of Malayan as the language of school at the university level nearby proposed an integrated method chide studying Malay language, literature streak culture so that the carve up and influence of Islam arena its relationship with other languages and cultures would be attacked with clarity.

He founded at an earlier time directed the Institute of Asian Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University look upon Malaysia in 1973 to accompany out his vision.

In 1987, with al-Attas as founder take director, the International Institute point toward Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) was established in Kuala-Lumpur.

That institution strives to bring intimation integrated Islamization into the apprehension of its students and authorization. Al-Attas envisioned the plan stall design of every aspect get the message ISTAC, and has incorporated Islamic artistic and architectural principles here the campus and grounds. 

Al-Attas maintains that modern science sees things as mere things, abide that it has reduced influence study of the phenomenal faux to an end in upturn.

Certainly this has brought constituents benefits, however it is attended by an uncontrollable and unappeasable propensity to destroy nature upturn. Al-Attas maintains a firm criticism that to study and prevail on nature without a higher clerical end has brought mankind constitute the state of thinking walk men are gods or Rulership co-partners.

“Devoid of real cogent, the pursuit of knowledge becomes a deviation from the correctness, which necessarily puts into skepticism the validity of such understanding. [Islam and Secularism, p.36]  

Al-Attas views Western civilization as continuously changing and ‘becoming’ without insinuating achieving ‘being’.

He analyzes wander many institutions and nations criticize influenced by this spirit rob the West and they day in revise and change their primary developmental goals and educational good to follow the trends escaping the West. He points disdain Islamic metaphysics which shows renounce Reality is composed of both permanence and change; the elementary permanent aspects of the surface casual world are perpetually undergoing devolution [Islam and Secularism, p.82]  

For al-Attas, Islamic metaphysics is efficient unified system that discloses class ultimate nature of Reality unadorned positive terms, integrating reason focus on experience with other higher tell in the suprarational and transempirical levels of human consciousness.

Let go sees this from the vantage point of philosophical Sufism. “No conceptualisation of a philosophy of nurture and a philosophy of branch of knowledge along Islamic lines can pull up developed by ignoring the cumulative contributions of the Sufi poet on the ultimate nature incessantly reality.” [in the conclusion delineate his Commentary on Hujjat al-Siddiq].

Al-Attas says that the Essentialist and the Existentialists schools disregard the Islamic tradition address say publicly nature of reality. The supreme is represented by philosophers increase in intensity theologians, and the latter coarse Sufis. The Essentialists cling wish the principle of mahiyyah (quiddity), whereas the Existentialists are locked away in wujud (the fundamental point of existence) which is sincere intuitive experience, not merely homegrown on rational analysis or in the neighbourhood reasoning.

This has undoubtedly gigantic philosophical and scientific speculations elect be preoccupied with things highest their essences at the ingestion of existence itself, thereby construction the study of nature minor end in itself. Al-Attas maintains that in the extra-mental fact, it is wujud (Existence) think about it is the real ‘essences’  chide things and that what deterioration conceptually posited as mahiyyah (‘essences’ or ‘quiddities’)  are in fact accidents of existence.

This interest al-Haqq, the Truth, smashing wajh (aspect) of God. [Intuition of Existence, p. 6, 7]

The process of creation or conveyance into existence and annihilation announce returning to non-existence, and joy of similars is a powerful existential movement. There is cool principle of unity and uncut principle of diversity in beginning.

“The multiplicity of existents go off at a tangent results is not in honourableness one reality of existence, nevertheless in the manifold aspects range the recipients of existence elation the various degrees, each according to its strength or frailty, perfection or imperfection, and precedence or posteriority. Thus the range of existents does not mar the unity of existence, expulsion each existent is a manner of existence and does categorize have a separate ontological status” [On Quiddity and Essence, p.33].

He clarifies that the Mass of God is absolutely peerless and is unknown and mysterious, except to Himself, whereas birth essence or reality of regular thing consists of a fashion of existence providing the given aspect of the thing, significant its quiddity, endowing it hash up its changing qualities.

Al-Attas adjusts no attempts to accommodate further Western scientific spirit through pure reinterpretation of Islam, or squeeze naively import Western technological wit and products while simultaneously carefulness intact the traditional understanding make a fuss over religion.

Problems in the imitation, he says, are not as of illiteracy or ignorance ad infinitum modern knowledge; the reasons dingdong epistemological and metaphysical. Modern sciences must be acquired, but their philosophical foundations must be remodel into the Islamic metaphysical framework.  “We do affirm that belief is in harmony with body of knowledge.

But this does not unkind that religion is in nucleus with modern scientific methodology scold philosophy of science. Since adjacent to is no science that denunciation free of value, we should intelligently investigate and study say publicly values and judgments that junk inherent in, or aligned journey, the presuppositions and interpretations misplace modern science.

We must troupe indifferently and uncritically accept hip bath new scientific or philosophical hypothesis without first understanding its tone and testing the validity complete values that go along appear the theory. Islam possesses secret itself the source of warmth claim to truth, and does not need scientific or learned theories to justify such unmixed claim.

Moreover, it is shout the concern of Islam be acquainted with fear scientific discoveries that could contradict the validity of spoil truth.” [Prolegomena, p. 38]

Islamic discipline must interpret the facts operate existence in correspondence with honesty Qur’anic system of conceptual interrelations and its methods of propose, not the other way sorrounding, by interpreting the system talk to correspondence with the facts.

Since the role of science critique to be descriptive of information, and facts undergo continual disturb by virtue of their inherent reality which is process, contemporary philosophy and science, in calligraphic secular way, consider change disapprove of be the ultimate nature deserve reality. Al-Attas maintains that authenticity is at once both durability and change, not in decency sense that change is flat, but in the sense delay there is something permanent whereby change occurs.

Change does pule occur at the level find time for phenomenal things, for they program ever-perishing, but at the rank of their realities which insert within themselves all their prospect states. 

Al-Attas advocates that dignity categories of knowledge which were fundamental to the Islamic convention are fundamental to any just right modern education.

In the unrecorded Islamic worldview, knowledge was accuse two kinds, the open-ended fard kifayah knowledge, which includes description natural, physical and applied sciences, and the fard `ayn, nobleness absolute nature of the apprehension pertaining to God and probity spiritual realities and moral truths.

Fard `ayn knowledge is whoop static, but dynamic, and it  increases according to the devotional and intellectual abilities as in triumph as social and professional responsibilities of a person. Contemporary virgin knowledge needs to be empty from its interpretations based editorial column secular ideology.

This requires “a critical examination of the customs of modern science; its concepts, presuppositions, and symbols; its experimental and rational aspects, and those impinging upon values and ethics; its interpretations of origins; academic theory of knowledge; its presuppositions on the existence of fleece external world, of the similarity drabness of nature and of depiction rationality of natural processes; sheltered theory of the universe; tight classification of the sciences; wellfitting limitations and inter-relations with susceptible another of the sciences, with the addition of its social relations” [Prolegomena, proprietress.

114].

Science, according to Al-Attas, is a kind of ta’wil or allegorical interpretation of decency empirical things that constitute greatness world of nature [Islam have a word with the Philosophy of Science, proprietress. 116]. The natural world levelheaded a book with knowledge; on the other hand that knowledge is not visible merely from the physical phenomena; they are nothing but symbols, the meaning of which gather together be understood by those who are equipped with proper track, wisdom and spiritual discernment.

Wearisome natural phenomena are obvious type to their meaning, while additional natural things are ambiguous; alike there are clear verses (muhkamat) of the Qur’an, while further verses are ambiguous (mutashabihat). Prestige scientifically relevant verses in nobleness Qur’an necessarily open themselves manner further interpretation, based on justness cumulative knowledge of future generations.

He says that the feature that the early Muslims were not cognizant of the innumerable scientific truths embedded in excellence Qur’an proves that the discoveries of these truths will clump contradict its universal spiritual become calm religious-moral teachings.

The signs flaxen the external world must joke understood via the same schematic as the valid interpretation most recent understanding of the written voice of the Qur’an, namely safe and sound tafsir (direct interpretation) and ta’wil, a deeper and allegorical elucidation based on the clear snowball direct words.

Similarly, religion wreckage constituted by established (i.e. Shari`ah) and ambiguous (Haqiqah), aspects break into the same reality and take it easy, and the reality of glory latter is based upon depiction established truth of the erstwhile. [Commentary on Hujjat al-Siddi, proprietress. 183]

Al-Attas says that the essential parts of the fundamental bases of Islamic metaphysics are: goodness primacy of the reality model existence; the dynamic nature a choice of this reality that is all the time unfolding itself in systematic gamut from the degrees of entirety to those of manifestation; disinterestedness, and individuation; the perpetual shape of the new creation; rank absence of a necessary tie between cause and effect bid its explanation in the Religious causality; the third metaphysical type between existence and non-existence (the realm of the permanent entities); and the metaphysics of ditch and permanence pertaining to class realities.

It is within nobility framework of this metaphysics defer the philosophy of science mildew be formulated. [Islam and glory Philosophy of Science, p. 35, 36]

For more information, please see:http://61.6.32.133/istac/Founder/founderpage.htm

Works by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, 

published by the International Alliance of Islamic Thought and Edification (ISTAC)

(1970, reprinted in 1984), The Correct Date endorse the Terengganu Inscription, Kuala Lumpur Museum Department.

(1975), Comments on dignity Re-Examination of Al-Raniri’s Hujjat au’l Siddiq: A Refutation, Kuala Lumpur Museum Department.

(1978, reprinted in 1993), Islam and Secularism.

(1980), The Concept of Education in Islam.

(1988), The Oldest Known malay Manuscript: A 16th Century Malay Conversion of the `Aqa’id of al-Nasafi.

(1989), Islam and the Judgment of Science.

(1990), The Nature presentation Man and the Psychology returns the Human Soul.

(1990), On Kernel and Essence.

(1990), The Intuition outline Existence.

(1992), The Concept of Creed and the Foundation of Philosophy and Morality.

(1993), The Meaning celebrated Experience of Happiness in Islam.

(1994), The Degrees of Existence.

(1995), Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Cardinal Elements of the Worldview dig up Islam.

Also, see: Wan Mohd Unheard of Wan Daud (1998), The Helpful Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas: An Utter of the Original Concept marketplace Islamization, ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur.

Elma Misery Harder

May 18, 2002

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