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Islamic Civilization and the Malay World*

By: Dr. Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak†

The Days of Ignorance in Arabia

1. In the annals of the Arabs, the era prior to the coming of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was

known as ‘The Days of Ignorance’/Ayyam al-Jahiliyyah.

2. People in Arabia were living beyond civilization (a brutal life of violence and killings).

3. They were into all sorts of vices (drinking, gambling, womanizing, etc.)

4. Women were treated badly, and female infants were eliminated by carrying out

infanticide on them.

5. There was no law and order. The Arabs being steep in their tribal culture fought endless

wars against one another. Their political and social milieus were in total chaos.

6. For them “Might is Right”. The Powerful will rule over the weak.

7. This prevalent condition in Arabia kept Alexander the Great, the Roman and Persian

Empires away from them. The superpowers of that time were not interested in conquering

Arabia for the reason, ruling it will be a liability.

8. This was the condition of the Arabs before the message of God came down to them

through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

1. The coming of Prophet Muhammad in 570 was the beginning of a new era in Arabia.

2. Analogically explained it was a birth from ‘Darkness into Light’.

3. It was Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who introduced the pagan Arabs to the message of

God and ushered them into a new era of civilization in the Arab world.

4. The message brought by Muhammad was able to transform the Arabs into one of the

most civilized people living at that time.

5. The Arabs became more refined in their character and behavior.

6. The first message of the Qur’an was ‘Iqra’ or read. Besides that, the Qur’an mentions the

use of the pen; tablet (Lauh), etc.

7. Being the Last of God’s messengers, he became the role-model for the whole of

humanity.

8. Islam as a religion preached by Muhammad (pbuh) gave great importance to knowledge,

learning and education. Knowledge and education were made accessible to all strata of

the society.

* Lecture presented through video conference organized by Mutiara International Grammar School, Ampang,

Malaysia & Choate Rosemary Hall, United States, 28th

May,2015. † Asst. Professor at the Dept. of Fundamental & Inter-Disciplinary Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia,

email: maarji@iium.edu.my, HP:6014-6269328

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9. After the time of the Prophet, Islam started to spread to other parts of Arabia and the

world at large.

Message of the Qur’an

1. The Qur’an is one religious book that challenges the human mind. It calls on humanity

to ponder and contemplate on the natural laws of God, on how man has been created, the

human soul, the purpose of life, on how the universe has been created, etc.

2. The message of the Qur’an is not only spiritual but also scientific. We call them the Zikr

and Fikr of the Qur’an.

3. The Zikr refers to the remembrance of God through prayer, fasting, charity, the

pilgrimage and all other form of rituals. On the other hand, the Fikr present in the

Qur’an refers to all scientific data, theories, knowledge, contemplation, creativity and

critical thinking.

4. In order to function as a dynamic society in this world, Muslims need both the Zikr and

Fikr.

5. On the individual level, a Muslim who is the vicegerent of Allah on this world cannot

fully actualize the ideal things mentioned in the Qur’an if he/she is not able to practice

Zikr and Fikr.

6. Muslims need the Fikr to have a good life in this world and the Zikr for a good life and

salvation in the hereafter.

7. Like many other scholars in Islam, I too believe that by putting the Zikr and Fikr

together, Muslims can restore their past glory, dignity and dynamism.

The Golden Age of Islam (750-1258)

1. After the time of Prophet Muhammad it was the era of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs;

Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali.

2. Muawiyyah who came into power after Ali, introduced the monarchy system. He was the

founder of the Umayyad Caliphate.

3. Power was with the Umayyad for (89 years). The Umayyad period is seen as a period of

expansion of Islam to the other parts of Arabia.

4. While the Abbasid Caliphate which came after the Umayyad was acknowledged for its

role in the expansion of knowledge, research in the areas of natural, human and revealed

sciences.

5. The Abbasid Caliphate was famous for many reasons. For in was during this time the

Muslims were experiencing great change in discovering new theories in the areas of

natural and human sciences. Great inventions, new technology, discoveries and

explorations were pioneered by Muslim scholars. The rulers of the Abbasid Empire also

established many libraries and research centers. Baitul Hikmah(House of Wisdom) in

Baghdad being the largest library and research center housed great volume of books and

manuscripts translated from many different languages, besides the original works of

eminent Muslims scholars of that era.

6. The Abbasid period being the most productive era in the history of the Muslims, so, it

was named as the ‘Golden Age of Islam’ (750-1258).

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7. During the Golden Age of Islam, as centers for learning in the Islamic World, Baghdad,

Damascus, Cairo and Cordova in Spain attracted great number of scholars from the West

to come and learn from the Muslims scholars, scientists and philosophers. The Western

scholars immensely benefitted from the research works done by the Muslims of that time.

8. Muslim philosophers took great effort in understanding the works of the Greek

philosophers.

9. They learnt Greek to understand and translate many of the philosophical works of the

famous Greek philosophers into Arabic.

10. It has been acknowledged by many authorities, that it was the works of the Muslim

scholars that introduced the Western scholars to the philosophical ideas of the Greeks.

11. Western scholars who studied at the Islamic centers during the Golden Age learnt the

ideas of the Greek philosophers in Arabic, later went back to their European countries

and translated what they have leant into their own European languages.

12. It has been agreed by many Western scholars that it was Ibn Rushd who was the one that

introduced the rational philosophy of Aristotle to the West. The name of this Muslim

scholar is more famous in the West than in the Islamic World.

13. Besides the Greek philosophy, Western scholars also learnt many other disciplines of

knowledge from the Muslim scholars, namely anatomy, pharmacology, astronomy,

medicine, optics, algebra, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology.

Religion and Civilization

1. Muslims believe that religion is from God and therefore it is perfect.

2. On the other hand, civilization is a human product and therefore it cannot be perfect. So

like history, civilization does not travel on a straight line. As such, civilization can rise

and fall/decline and even can go extinct/vanish.

3. The pattern on the rise and fall of civilization is same in all civilizations, including the

Islamic civilization.

4. Experts in the study of civilization say that all civilizations when they reach the peak will

start to decline as a result of corruption, mismanagement of the state and its economy,

complacency as a mental attitude of the people, when the rulers are overly indulged in the

worldly pleasures, due to vices of all kinds prevalent in the society, etc.

5. Experts also stated that what pushes the civilization to the peak is the spirit/motivation.

At the peak, civilization driven by the efforts demonstrated by the rulers and intelligentsia

will take the civilization into prosperity and productivity in the areas of nation building,

science and technology. The fall or decline of civilization is mainly caused by lust or evil

human desires.

6. According to Malik Bennabi, the rise of the Islamic civilization is caused by the Ruh

(soul)/strong Islamic faith, at the peak it is the role of the Aql’or the intellect that makes a

nation productive and prolific. And what caused the decline of the Islamic civilization is

the Nafs (evil desires).

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Meaning of Civilization

1. Arabic terms:

-al-Hadharah/ Al-Tamaddun/ al-Madaniyyah/ Al-Umran refer to civilization.

Al-Tamaddun/ al-Madaniyyah: derived from the word ‘madinah’(city or town), and

‘din’(religion).

-The word al-Hadharah refers to all intellectual, artistic and creative efforts of a people

living within a civilization.

-While al-Madaniyyah, Al-Umran and al-Tamaddun refer to a situation where people

living within a civilization settling down and building cities and creating systems.

2. Civilization explains an advanced level of development in a society that is marked by

complex social and political organization, material, scientific, and artistic progress.

3. Each civilization has a body or matter and a soul.

-The soul of civilization is related to the type of ideologies, concepts, moral values,

manners and traditions that are embodied in the behavior of the individuals, groups, and

their interrelations.

-The body of the civilization is referred to the material achievements such as buildings,

infrastructure, agriculture, industry, educational institutions, technological equipment,

and all that is related to various pleasures of worldly life.

Dynamism of the Islamic Civilization

1. Muslims were open and prepared to learn from the earlier civilizations.

2. As such, they borrowed ideas from the Greek, Persian and Indian civilizations.

3. Adopt, adapt and assimilate or integrate was the approach used by early Muslim scholars

in taking knowledge from those outside the Islamic faith.

4. This meticulous and selective approach in taking ideas from others and adapting those

ideas without contradicting the Islamic metaphysical framework (aqa’id), in a way

enriched the Islamic civilization.

5. Characteristics of the Islamic Civilization:

It has Spiritual and Scientific elements in it.

It is based on the ideal teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

It takes into account of today’s reality.

It is open to new ideas regardless from where they come. It only ejects ideas when

they go against the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Tolerance towards others living within the Islamic society. Due attention is given

to the existence and needs of the minority population who are non-Muslims.

It is an integrated and balanced civilization.

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Valuable Contributions of Muslim Scholars

1. Al-Khawarizmi- mathematician, geographer, the one who invented Algebra & Algorithm.

2. Al-Razi- first to draw comparison between smallpox and chickenpox.

3. Al-Biruni- mathematician

4. Ibn Haitham- The first to come with the theory of vision, invented telescope, who was the

first to state that the earth, is sphere.

5. Abbas Ibn Firnas- the first man who tried to fly through the scientific way.

6. Jabir Ibn Hayyan-The Father of Chemistry.

7. Al-Jazari- The Father of Robotics and the one who invented the mechanical clock.

8. The works of the early Muslim scholars gave the spark to the Renaissance scholars in

Europe and set them ablaze in quest for more knowledge.

The Decline of the Islamic Civilization

1. The decline started with the fall of Baghdad in 1258.

2. The fall of Baghdad was followed by all other Muslims empires, the last of which was

the Ottoman Empire. Turkey became a secular country in 1923.

3. European colonization of Muslim countries in the 18th and 19th centuries created the

knowledge and technological gap in the Muslim countries.

4. During the European Industrial Revolution, Muslim scholars were not able to contribute

anything as they were preoccupied with their own internal problems and the challenges

that came along with the European colonization of the Muslim territories.

Impact of the Islamic Civilization on the Malay World

1. The Malay World or Malay Archipelago is made up of Malaysia, Southern Thailand,

Indonesia, Brunei and part of the Philippines.

2. Islam came to this part of the world in the 15th

century.

3. It was brought by the Arab and Indian Muslim traders.

4. Islam was spread without any compulsion. This was in line with the Qur’anic teaching.

The Qur’an emphasizes that religion should be taught with beautiful preaching and good

examples.

5. Malacca and Aceh became important centers for Islamic propagation.

6. The coming of Islam changed the people’s belief in spirits, magic and animism to the

belief in the Unity of Allah.

7. The establishment of traditional Islamic schools known as Madrasah, Pondok and

Pesantren.

8. At the moment many Islamic schools have started to introduce technology mediated

teaching and learning by using computers, LCD projectors and the internet.

9. The Raja and Hamba (King and Slave) class system in the society was abolished as

everyone is equal in the sight of God.

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10. Through the Islamic teaching the Malay Rulers came to realize that their subjects are

people who should be treated with fairness and justice. At any time, they should not be

subjected to violence and tyranny. The Malay Rulers were well informed of all religious

matters by their religious advisors in the palace. They also came to realize that any

injustice done to the rakyat (people) will be questioned on the Day of Judgment.

11. Islam became the official religion of the state.

12. Everyone has the equal opportunity for knowledge and learning.

13. The Jawi script was widely used in the Malay World.

14. Islam was spread through works of propagation, religious sermons and books written in

the Jawi Script.

15. The Malay language was enriched with many Arabic vocabularies.

16. Many Islamic books were written in Jawi.

Challenges Faced by Present Day Muslims

1. How to bring back the past glory?

2. Muslims should live with the ideals and moral teachings present in the Qur’an & Sunnah.

3. They have to bring back the formula of success by putting the Zikr and Fikr together.

4. There should be no clash of civilizations. Muslims and others must learn to co-exist.

5. Muslims cannot isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

6. Brain drain in the Muslim World should be reduced by introducing ‘Brain Gain’ & ‘Brain

Retention’ programmes.

7. The East should be prepared to share their spirituality and the West should be prepared to

share their science and technology. By doing so, we can create a better world without war

and violence.

8. Muslim countries must learn to speak with one voice and stay united.

9. Muslims must go back to the ways of the Qur’an and Sunnah by practicing ‘Tawazun or

Wasathiyyah’ (Balanced Moderation).

10. Loving, caring and sharing should be the philosophy of life for the people living in this

planet. Only through these noble human qualities we can create a better world without

war, violence and racial prejudices.