Knowledge and knowledge-centred activities have always occupied a lofty and noble position in Islam. As a matter of fact, seeking knowledge in order that one becomes really learned and enlightened in religion, and is therefore qualified to educate the society, is always considered a serious endeavour in the religion of Islam, so serious that those…
There are indeed strong grounds, as demonstrated in a number of serious studies undertaken by Toshihiko Izutsu and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, for us to consider the islamized Arabic-that is, the Arabic language after the revelation of the Qur’an and as used in the Islamic religious, intellectual and scientific tradition-to be a linguistic-conceptual system that…
“Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you.” Such reads a version of what many people term “The Golden Rule,” (GR) or alternatively, “The Ethic of Reciprocity.” Some even regard it as the ethic of transference of perspective. In many inter-faith and inter-civilizational dialogues held so far, whether in Malaysia or elsewhere,…
About a month ago, I was invited to deliver a brief talk on the topic of the Universe being the Created Book, which is one of the constitutive, conceptual elements of the Worldview of Islam. As expected, just like what had subsequently happened in many of my other lectures on some such elements, a question…
To many followers of the world’s major religions, the idea of self-examination is by no means novel. Among those who are philosophically and historically more alert, Socrates is best known for having made an apt remark, “Life unexamined is not worth living.” Muslims, by and large, have so often heard the dictum “Examine yourselves before…
It has been widely accepted that science, whether understood in a specific modern sense to refer to any division of the natural sciences or construed in a broad sense to cover any organized knowledge and discipline of study, is an integral component of any civilization. As a matter of fact, the flourishing of science in…
Whether it be in our day-to-day dealings with our fellow human beings belonging to different religious and cultural traditions, or in other more refined and cultured contacts with them-for instance, in perusing books produced by the enlightened from among them-we often come across maxims that almost immediately catch our attention and receive our prompt approval. …
From the 8th of January until the end of March this year, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) is organizing the “Scientific Excellence in Islamic Civilization Exhibition” (Pameran Kegemilangan Sains dalam Tamadun Islam) with a special theme “Islamic Science Ahead of Its Time.” This as well as other similar programmes organized by MOSTI…
On Tuesday, the 12th of December, 2006, Bernama.com ran a story concerning Dewan Negara having heated debates on declining moral values among young people. Despite the senators’ disagreements over the actual causes and remedies of the decline in moral values, they seemed to have concurred that there is in fact such a decline. The site…
In his speech at the joint opening of the Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri assemblies on the 13th of November 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, among others, proposed a few strategies to enhance the Malay Mind, one of which is by protecting the Islamic Creed (Akidah). Before explaining…
