Against those who despise books and reading, Voltaire once remarked, albeit with some exaggerations, that “the whole of the known universe, with the exception of the savage races, is governed by books alone.”
Voltaire illustrated his reminder using many witty examples. Among others, this 18th century French Enlightenment essayist pointed out that the Islamic civilization is governed by the Qur’an, the Chinese civilization by the Analects, the Hindu civilization by the Vedas, and pre-Islamic Persia by the Avesta.
While one may be sceptical that the living mind of man can ever be enclosed within the dead pages of a book, one may well ask what is a better way to record, transmit, and accumulate knowledge other than in writing?
Hence, the noblest men of past centuries authored books in order to encapsulate the best of their thoughts and great ideas. We are referring specifically to great books meant to educate and instruct later generations pertaining to great issues.
By great issues, we are referring to the issues surrounding who God is, the reality of creation, the relation between them, the right way of life towards salvation, and other beneficial sciences. Those great and enduring books deserve to be called the permanent literature, a civilizational legacy to be appreciated by human culture.
Francis Bacon aptly observed that “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” That is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not seriously; and some few to be read entirely, and with diligence and attention.
As far as bad books are concerned, the best advice is to make a point to avoid them. The German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer (d. 1860), once remarked that “you can never read too little bad literature, nor too much good literature.” Schopenhauer likened bad books to “intellectual poison” which destroys the mind.
In order to excite and motivate a greater propensity for the reading habit, IKIM will be taking the initiative to organize a Seminar on the Great Books of the Islamic Civilization, on the 12th and 13th of August 2008. The Seminar aims to introduce great works in the universal sense, the Islamic civilization as well as Malay culture, the cognitive aspects pioneered by those great works in their respective fields, and their contributions in the advancement of the Muslim community as well as World Civilization be it in spiritual terms or otherwise, be it economics, politics, education, ethics, law, medicine, comparative religion, philosophy, or literature.