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PART II: ISLAM AND CIVILIZATION
LESSON 10
ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
1.0 Introduction
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
There were many civilizations throughout human life in this world. Nobody can deny the huge
contributions of the civilization in the past including Islamic civilization to the world especially in
the fields of knowledge and human rights. In fact, the Islamic civilization was more universal and
balance as compared to other civilizations that existed. The impact of Islamic civilization still can
be seen at many places around the world today. By the way, what is Islamic civilization, its
sources, characteristics, uniqueness and its contribution to the world and human civilization? All
these questions will be addressed in this lesson.
2.0 Learning Outcomes
By the end of lesson, the students should able to:
2.1 Explain the meaning and concept of civilization
2.2 Identify the characteristics and sources of civilization
2.3 Compare and contrast the perspective of Islamic and Western civilization
2.4 Discuss characteristics, sources, factors of success and contributions of Islamic civilization
2.5 Discuss the arts and cultural manifestation of Islamic civilization
3.0 List of Topics
3.1 The Definition and Concept of Civilization and Islamic Civilization
3.1.1 Definition
3.1.2 Characteristics
3.1.3 Sources
3.2 A Comparison of Concept and Perspective of Islamic and Western civilization
3.2.1 Islamic civilization
3.2.2 Western civilization
3.2.3 Interaction between the Islamic and Western civilization
3.3 The Uniqueness and Specialty of Islamic Civilization
3.3.1 Its Characteristics
3.3.2 Its sources
3.3.3 Factors of the success
3.3.4 Its Contributions
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3.4 The Arts and Cultural manifestation of Islamic Civilization
3.4.1 The philosophy, concept and principle of art and culture
3.4.2 The Art and Cultural Manifestation
a) Architecture and Design of building
b) Calligraphy
c) Music
4.0 Terminologies
4.1 Devine revelation
Wahy (‫ )وحي‬from Allah SWT to Prophet Muhammad SAW
4.2 ‘Umran
Features and the development of a society
4.3 Hadarah
Permanent life in a place as an opposite to moving from one place to another
(badwi).
4.4 Metallurgy
The science that deals with procedures used in extracting metals from their ores,
purifying and alloying metals, and creating useful objects from metals
4.5 Aesthetics
A branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty, art, and taste as well
as with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as
the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of
sentiment and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as
"critical reflection on art, culture and nature."[3][4] Aesthetics is a sub-discipline
of axiology, a branch of philosophy, and is closely associated with the philosophy
of art. Aesthetics studies new ways of seeing and of perceiving the world.
5.0 Topics
5.1 The Definition and Concept of Civilization and Islamic Civilization
5.1.1
Presentation
a) Definition and Concept
Civilization is a word used to describe a state of achievement in human history.
The word civilization is derived for the Latin word ‘civis’ and ‘civitas’. ‘Civis’ mean
‘citizen’ or ‘townsman’ while ‘civitas’ means ‘town’ or ‘city’. There are various
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definitions of the word civilization. In general, ‘civilization’ means an advanced state
of moral, intellectual, and technological development (e.g., with complex legal,
political, religious, and cultural organizations. A contemporary Muslim scholar, Dr.
Yusof al-Qaradhawi defines civilization as a series of highly developed, materialistic,
scientific, literary and social aspects of particular society or of similar society.
In Islamic civilization, the word ‘tamaddun’ is used to describe civilization. The
root word of “Tamaddun” is ‘din’ which means religion or description of religious life.
Then, the word is expanded to “madanna” that refers to the opening of city then it
becomes ‘madinah’ which means city or urban dwelling-place. Normally, in the
development of civilization, a high stage of civilization is only achievable in cities
(close to rivers) with many in habitants, enough crops and goods for trade, division of
labor and technology achievement. Thus, the word tamaddun is used for civilization.
Besides the word tamaddun, there are other terms associated to civilization i.e
‘umran and hadarah. ‘Umran refers to features and the development of a society
while hadarah describes the permanent life in a place as an opposite to moving from
one place to another (badwi).
All civilizations are based on religion. Every great civilization such as Ancient
Egyptian, Assyrian and Sumerian had a distinct system of Holy Scriptures, moral
codes and laws. In Islamic civilization, Islamic teachings are basis of tamaddun.
Prophets are considered as the founders of human civilization. They were chosen
leaders of their communities and introduced just laws (land ownership, tax system),
established high standards of morality, and succeeded in uniting their communities
and achieved a high level of cooperation and loyalty between its members.
‫وعلّمهم الكتاب والحكمة‬
The prophets were taught by Allah SWT the art of writing and recording (kitabah)
and wisdom (hikmah), and thus were able to lead their societies in terms of just laws
and ways of administration (landownership, taxation, written law, courts of justice).
b) Characteristics of Civilization
Each civilization that emerged has its own characteristics as well as some similarities
and differences. Among them are:
(i) Language and writing system
As a tool of recording their achievements and to tell the future generations that
come after them about their heritage
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(ii) Well-Organized social system and organization
The society is governed by a system in every aspects of life such as politics,
economy, social, education, administration and so on also there exists
organizations or institutions to govern the society.
(iii) Special settlement
Normally, a civilization has a special statement that led to the formation of cities,
towns, military barracks and others.
(iv) Well-organized legal system
In a civilization, there must be a well organized legal system and value system
that controls the behaviour of the people. For example, Sahifah Madinah was
enacted by Rasulullah SAW to govern the behavior of the members of the people
in Madinah inclusive of Muslims and non-Muslims.
(v) Aesthetic works
The civilizations in the past have left the contributions of their scholars to the
world such as in philosophy, arts, literature and creative handmade products.
(vi) Great inventions and ideas
A civilization will leave to future generations great inventions and ideas with high
technological values. For example, the Greek civilization had left abundant of
works in philosophy. In China, there is the Great Wall of China as well pyramids
in Egypt.
c) Sources of Civilization
In general, there are three sources of civilization i.e religion, culture and race.
Religion
It is a fact that every society has belief system that colours the life of its
members. The personality and attitude of its members are normally shaped by
the belief. The belief normally comes in the form of religion. For example, the
Egyptian civilization that believed in One God. Therefore, the pyramids were built
that point to one direction. The same thin in Islamic civilization. The belief that
there is relationship between human being and Allah SWT (vertical relationship)
as well as human with the universe (horizontal), it was translated into the building
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of mosques that have minarets. The minarets which is built in vertical shape
actually symbolizes the relationship between human and Allah SWT (‫)حبل من هللا‬,
while the horizontal part of the building symbolizes the relationship between man
with the fellow human beings (‫ )حبل من الناس‬including also environment, animals
and so on.
Culture
Culture also can be considered as one of the sources of civilization because
culture describes the life style of the people. The culture normally includes
economic activities, marriage, social behavior, education, custom and others. For
example, clothes. The Chinese civilization that had formed a special design of
clothes for Chinese and it remains until today even though the Chinese had left
their original belief. If you look to Chinese Muslims, they still wear their traditional
clothes that were originated from their civilization.
Races
A civilization is normally known by the race that forms the civilization such as
Chinese civilization, Greek civilization and Sumerian civilization. This shows that
race also play an important role in civilization in which it can be considered as
one of the sources of civilization. However, it is different with Islamic civilization
as the element of race was not so centric because its foundation is the religion of
Islam. That is why, even though Islam revealed to the land of Arabs but Islamic
civilization is not known as ‘Arab Civilization’.
5.1.2
Activities
a) From the definition the word tamaddun, ‘umran and hadarah above, can you extract
the nature of a civilization? Discuss with your colleagues.
b) Find out some example of great inventions originated by the Islamic civilization.
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5.2. A Comparison of Concept and Perspective of Islamic and Western civilization
5.2.1
Presentation
a) Islamic Civilization vs Western Civilization
There are differences between Islamic and Western or Secular civilization which can
be summarized as follows:
Islamic Civilization
Western Civilization
Qur’an and sunnah (for truths, 1. Bible (until the 17th century),
values, morals, and law)
2. Human Thought/Intelligence
Sources
after the 17th century
until now philosophy
human
intelligence
decides about truth
and good as well the
law
Tawhid: Allah as the One creator, Secularism: In the 20th and 21st
One source of life, truth, love, and century one’s belief is his private
law)
choice, everyone is free to worship
what and how he wishes (as Jew,
Worldview
Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu,
or atheist, etc) but without claiming it
as absolute truth
Man is given the authority over Depending on the individual’s belief
earth as a deputy of Allah (khalifah) whether he sees himself as a social
animal, a created human being, or a
All men are equal in creation and reincarnation
share the same purpose and destiny
All men share the same destiny and
Shari’ah = man is free to practice purpose of life but no one is really sure
and apply the law decreed by Allah
what it is
Secular laws = man-made laws (many
Central values
acts considered and punished as moral
crimes 50 years ago are today no
longer considered crimes, such as acts
of homosexuality or adultery)
All believers are one community of All humans are one community and
brothers (ummah), and the believers no one has the right to claim
inherit the earth
leadership and superiority based on
religion or ‘the truth’
Morality and ethics cannot be Morality is a matter of proper
separated from belief (Islam)
education and personal choice and
character, not a matter of religion
(utilitarianism, humanism, liberalism)
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b) Interaction between the Islamic and Western civilization
Even though there some differences between Islamic and Western civilization, both
did interact with and gained benefits from each other. The universality and flexibility
characteristics of Islam allow Muslims to absorb any elements from other civilization
as long as those elements do not contradict the Islamic teachings. Thus, the world
history had witnessed the interaction of Islamic civilization with the Western
civilization which progressed and developed from the same belief of Judaism and
Christianity with a combination of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations as they
shared similar environment.
Do you have any examples to prove that? One of the examples is the war tactic used
in the Battle of Khandaq. The tactic was actually practiced by Persian army who were
non-Muslim. However, Rasulullah SAW approved such tactic suggested by Salman
al-Farisi (a Persian Muslim) because the tactic was not contradicting the Islamic
teachings.
Another example is the period of Uthmaniyyah caliphate. During that period,
Christians and Jews were living peacefully in the Muslim society. They were free to
practice their own religions. In fact, some of them were appointed to hold high
positions in the Islamic government especially in Andalusia (Spain). Here, the
interaction between Islam and the west took place.
In the aspect of knowledge, Muslims gained lot of benefits from Greek civilization.
The rise of great Muslim scholars like Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, al-Khawarizmi, Ibn
Khaldun and many others was due to their effort to learn the literatures from the
Greek civilization. They also put efforts to translate those literatures and then
Islamized the ideas to be in line with the Islamic principles. Then, through trade
activities and after series of Crusade War between Muslims and Christians, their
books were brought to Europe and were translated into English as references in
developing the Western civilization which was still in the dark age, The translation
activities in the West and Europe at that time had led to the Renaissance era
followed by the Enlightenment era in the West and Europe.
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5.2.2
Activities
a) Find out more information about the differences of both civilizations from Google. You
may type “The Differences between Islamic and Western Civilization” or “Islamic and
Western Civilization”.
b) Give some more examples about the interaction between Islamic and Western
civilization.
5.3 The Uniqueness and Specialty of Islamic Civilization
5.3.1
Presentation
a) Characteristics of Islamic Civilization
Do you know, by relating our discussion to Lesson 3 on “Characteristics of Islam”,
you actually can assume the characteristics of Islamic civilization. Among the
characteristics are universal, tolerance, comprehensive, unity in diversity, continuity
and balance between spiritual and material.
Universality
Islamic civilization is not confined to a certain nation or a certain place. It is a
universal civilization built by Muslims for all people in the world, regardless their
race, language, culture, or location. Islamic civilization owns its greatness to the
contributions of Persian, European, African, and Asian Muslims the like.
Manifestations of Islamic civilization can be found in all parts of the world, not
only in Arab countries, but from Europe to the east.
Tolerance
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: “Whoever commits injustice to non-Muslims; he
will become my enemy in the hereafter.” Islam is very tolerant towards other religions
and accommodates different cultures. In the history of Islamic civilization in
Cordova of Spain, Christian and Jewish communities remained free to practice
their religious rituals, celebrate their festivals, and practice their own law. In
contrast, as soon as Spain was re-taken by the Spanish Christians from the
North, Spanish Muslims and Jews were forced to choose either to accept
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Christianity or leave their country! Many Jews left Spain and found refuge in the
Maghreb (Tunisia, Morocco) under Muslim rule. Whenever Jews in Europe and
Russsia were persecuted, they would flee to Muslim countries where they were
safe and free to practice their religion and do trade. In Muslim countries, India
Buddhist temples remained open, and none of the Indian populace was forced to
become Muslim as long as they accepted Muslim rule.
Comprehensiveness
Islamic civilization addresses all aspects of human life, individually and
socially. Islamic civilization is rich in material (trade, standard of living, state and
welfare institutions, education, science), cultural (literature, arts, architecture) as
well as spiritual achievements (Sufism, law, ethics). While Western civilization
accommodated Greek philosophy and science to Christian thought, and Roman
law to Christian law, Islamic civilization is so broadly defined that it can
accommodate the achievements of other civilizations and cultures without
sacrificing own fundamental and without its basic features.
Unity in Diversity
Islamic civilization is based on one religion, namely Islam, but incorporates
many different local traditions and cultures, language communities, and races as
long as those elements do not contradict the Islamic teachings. The Muslim
ummah is a world community, not a national community. A Muslim identity is not
a national identity but a spiritual, ideological and intellectual identity.
Continuity
Islamic civilization is based upon Allah’s final message to mankind (the
message of completeness of Islam) and its morals, values, and laws are
unchangeable and valid until the end of this world. Islamic civilization had its ups
and downs but it was not due to Islamic teachings. It was due to the ignorance of
its teachings by Muslims. Muslims do not practice its teachings in totality. Islamic
civilization experienced its excellence at the time of the Prophet SAW, the four
caliphs, the four centuries after that, during the Umayyad caliphate, Abbasid,
Fatimid, Ayubid and ‘Uthmani caliphates (Damascus, Cordova, Baghdad, Cairo,
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and Istanbul) but today, Islamic civilization lacks behind in material and cultural
contributions.
Muslims today are lagging behind in science, in economic growth, in political
power and just governments, effective administration and innovative education.
Yet unlike other civilizations, Islamic civilization can become weak but it will not
end and die out, like other civilizations had experienced before us. It is because
the sources of Islam are never lost (the Qur’an and Sunnah) and everlasting.
Islamic civilization can be revived again in any part of the world if the Muslims
practise the Islamic teachings in its totality, unite, work together to build a just
society based on Islam. Thus, the revival of Islamic civilization is in the hand of
the Muslims.
Balance between Spirituality and Materialism
Western civilization is the most dominant civilization today. Western principles
of law, finance, education, science, culture, and also Western values (justice,
individualism, freedom) rule most parts of the world. Yet, even though Western
civilization has contributed a lot to human welfare in material terms, the spiritual
aspects are totally lacking because religion has no role in it. Thus, no wonder
many Westerners today have turned to Eastern religions (Islam, Buddhism, etc)
for spiritual and moral guidance and satisfaction.
Islamic civilization on the other hand makes religion as its foundation. The
principle of godliness (existence of Allah SWT) in the realm of civilization is
always present. Islamic civilization is a balanced civilization that encompasses
law, ethics, and spirituality and can accommodate Western scientific know-how,
its intellectual culture (to a certain extent), and make it complete by adding the
spiritual element which is lacking today (the criteria of absolute truth). There is no
true morality without faith, and Islam addresses both needs of man, his material
as well as his spiritual needs
b) Sources of Islamic Civilization
The Islamic civilization was not based on Arabic civilization ao any other civilizataion
that existed before the advent of Islam as claimed by some western orientalists like
Toynbee who has accused that Islamic civilization was based on previous civilization
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such as Mesopotamia and Greek. The accusation is totally wrong as the Islamic
civilization has its own sources as follow:
(i) Devine revelation
This refers to al-Quran and al-Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SAW. The Islamic
civilization a very distinguished civilization as it is guided by the Creator and
Sustainer of the universe who is All-Knowing about the needs of His creations.
(ii) Thinking
Thinking is a second source in building Islamic civilization which is also a
directive and encouragement from Al-Quran and al-Sunnah. There are many
Quranic verses that command Muslims to think. Through thinking, many things
can be discovered for the formulation of civilization
(iii) Discovery and new invention
This source connected to the thinking in the sense of doing research,
observation, experiment, assessment, statistics, analysis, review and summation.
Those activities that were based on Islamic teachings had led to many new
discoveries and inventions in the past civilization.
(iv) Modification and reformation
Islamic civilization also was enriched by external elements which were adopted
from other civilizations. The adoption of external elements is allowed in Islam as
long as those elements do not contradict with ‘aqeedah, shari’ah and akhlaq of
Islam. During the period of Abbasiyyah Empire, a large campaign was held to
translate books from other civilization such Persian and Greece into Arabic
language.
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c) Factors of Its Success
Islamic civilization had achieved its greatness in the past that benefited the world until
today especially in the field of science. The sources of its greatness and success can
be summarized as below:
AL-Quran and al-Sunnah as Its Basis
Islamic civilization developed and progressed based on the divine revelation from
Allah SWT who is All-Knowing about His creatures. The revelations were sent to
mankind for their betterment and all the revelations suit the innate nature (fitrah)
and the needs of the mankind. The implementation of Islamic civilization always
adheres to the principles of Islamic teachings. The revelations that give high
priority and great emphasis on seeking knowledge and disseminate the
knowledge had driven the committed Muslims scholars in the past to explore the
secret of the universe and dug the knowledge that was abundant from other
civilizations. Then, the knowledge was disseminated to the all mankind
throughout the world.
Integration of knowledge in Islam
A society that is organized according to Islamic principles and in coordinance with Islamic values is a complete society. There is no science and
know level of human practice and knowledge that Islam cannot accommodate.
Muslim society can pursue progress in technology, economics and finance,
scientific research, etc., as long as Islamic laws and values are not violated.
There exists no separation between science and religion. Acquired knowledge
must not contradict the revelation. Research is highly encouraged except on
things that have been made certain and undisputable by the revealed knowledge.
Unfortunately, there are Muslims today who have been influenced by the
Western philosophy of civilization. They follow the secular model that separates
science and religion. They have been imbedded by the idea that science is
objective knowledge and nothing to do with religion. Religion is personal matters
which deal with rituals only. Due to that, no wonder we have Muslims
professionals who expert in their fields but they are lacking of religious
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knowledge and understanding. This is different with our past Muslim scholars
who were trained in all kinds of knowledge, revealed knowledge and acquired
knowledge. They in the past, would first learn the Qur’an and Sunnah on the
primary school level, and then proceed to tafsir, sirah, fiqh and shari’ah on
secondary school level, before gaining knowledge in other empirical sciences
such as astronomy, medicine, geography, engineering, and mechanic, or
theoretical sciences such as mathematics, physics, and philosophy.
Arabic language
The Arabic language is the language of the Qur’an. Every Muslim is
expected to learn Arabic in order to understand the Qur’an and able to recite the
recitations in prayers correctly and with full understanding. In Muslim history,
Arabic language was the main medium of administration, law, science, and
literature. Muslim scholars – whether in Spain, Persia or in India – published their
and shared their works and thoughts in Arabic. Jews and Christians in Spain and
other European countries learned Arabic in order to benefit from the high
standards of education in the Muslim world, just as Muslims nowadays learn
English in order to benefit from European or American know-how in science,
technology, and commerce.
Political stability
During the centuries of great scientific, administrative, and cultural
achievements, the Muslim world was politically united and stable. They controlled
the main sea ports and trade routes from Europe to China (8th century to 12th
century). Strong governments were able to collect enough taxes to serve their
communities (no more poverty, free education, baths, and hospitals) and make
enough economic surpluses through trade. The Muslim government invested
large sums money to build libraries, set up research facilities, and support
scholars with generous allowances. As soon as the Muslim world came into
economic and political difficulties (disintegration, local wars, rivalry), the progress
in science and education in general halted and finally came to a complete
standstill in the 16th century.
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Educational institutions
Based on the Islamic hierarchy of knowledge, Muslims started their
education at the kuttab where they learned the Qur’an (reading, memorization,
and writing) and the sunnah. On the second, the madrasah level, Muslim children
learned Islamic sciences such as tafsir, hadith, sirah, fiqh, and shari’ah. After
that, Muslim scholars had the opportunity to master the “foreign sciences” such
as
philosophy,
mathematics,
medicine,
astronomy,
physics,
geography,
engineering, alchemy, etc.
Europe owes its modern education system to Islamic civilization. The
concept of “university” is derived from the Islamic jami’ah and kulliyah, meaning
a place where all branches of knowledge are gathered and students gain general
education. The most popular and advanced educational institution was the
Nizamiyah Madrasah in Baghdad (named after the minister-in-chief, Nizam alMulk) and al-Azhar in Cairo (originally established by the Fatimids).
The Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) was built in Baghdad during the time
of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun (198AH/813CE). It was a library which
contained thousands of scrolls on the various sciences gathered from all parts of
the world, and translated into Arabic. The Bayt al-hikmah housed a number of
translators and professional scholars but was also opened to everyone who
willed to study, with free paper (sheets of paper rolled up in scrolls, paper from
China, Muslims soon dominated the production of paper, paper became cheaper
and more affordable, ready for everyone to use) and ink provided.
In Europe at that time (9th century), paper was still rare and most works were
written on animal skin, and the monasteries (men of the church were the only
people who had to know how to read and write) contained each but a few books
on religion chained to the shelves, so precious were they. Only very few people
could afford books or had access to books. The Bayt al-hikmah also served as
an observatory for astronomers equipped with the latest technical devices to
study the planets and the stars and make most accurate observations of the
natural phenomena.
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International Business and Trade
International business has a great impact on the development of civilization.
By having foreign trade, goods are not the only thing of the business but
knowledge is also an important thing brought by Muslim or non-Muslim traders.
When Islamic civilization was high it dominated trade, science, and culture from
Spain in the West to China in the East.
Muslims ruled over all major trade routes from China to Europe on water
(Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterranean Ocean) and on land (Silk Road, routes
from China to Baghdad, from Baghdad to Damascus, from Damascus, Cairo and
the Maghreb to Italy) and all major Muslim cities were busting of traders,
merchants, money traders, and caravans of all colors and sizes. Europe had no
choice but to buy all luxury goods from Muslim traders (materials, paper, spices,
sugar) via North Africa or Sham, and Italy became Europe’s richest region
because it could sell its goods from Africa for high profits to its neighbors in the
North.
As soon as Spain found a way to find independent trade routes (around
Africa) to India and China, Europe was no longer dependent in Muslim trade,
became a rival, and finally defeated
Muslim countries economically and
politically.
Translation Activities
What turned the Muslim world into the scientifically and intellectually most
advanced society was the high amount of tolerance and independent spirit
among Muslim rulers and scholars toward the “foreign sciences”. Muslims found
it important to learn other sciences than Islamic sciences as well, and started to
collect and translate Greek, Persian, and Indian works on medicine,
mathematics, physics, mechanics, and philosophy. As soon as Muslim scholars
were able to master those sciences and benefit from the knowledge gathered by
other civilizations in the past, they succeeded in making their own scientific
discoveries and wrote their own works in Arabic.
Had Muslims ignored the knowledge of nature and only concentrated on
revealed knowledge and the Islamic sciences, Islamic civilization would not have
become a great civilization. Muslim society needs experts in all fields of
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knowledge, in administration, in natural science, in philosophy and thought, in
technology and research, and in literature in order to keep a fine and healthy
balance between people’s material, intellectual, and spiritual needs.
d) Contributions of Islamic Civilization
It undeniable that Islamic civilization in past had contributed a lot to human
civilization. It had witnessed the emergence of many prominent Muslims scholars in
various field of knowledge. Among them were Al-Khawarizmi, Al-Jabir, Ibn Sina, Ibn
Rushd, Al-Kindi, Al-Razi. We will their contributions in brief.
Al-Khawarizmi

Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi (780-847)

Field: mathematics, astronomy, music, geography and history

Books:
a) Al-Mafatih al-Ulum (astronomy)
-
was translated into Latin entitled Fratti d’Arithmetica
-
was printed in 1157
b) Hisab al-Jabr wal Muqabal (mathematics)
c) Kitab Surah al-Ardh (geography)
Al-Jabir

Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan (8th Century)

Famous as chemist and known as Gaber in the West

Book:
a) Kitab al-Sab’in
b) Kitab al-Mizan (Book of Balanced Principle)
-
A discovery in the field of metallurgy
-
About theory and practice of steam, distillation and crystallization
Ibn Sina

Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdullah (980-1037)

A Persian (Iran) and was born in Bukhara

Famous in the field of medicine

Known as Avicenna in the West

Book:
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a) Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb
-
Was translated into 15 languages in 15th Century
-
In English, the book is called Medicine
-
Also known as Canon of Medicine
Ibn Rushd

Abu Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad (1126-1198)

Known as Averrous in the West

A famous philosopher, also expert in fiqh and well-known in medicine

Book:
a) Kulliyyah fi al-Tibb (General Principle of Medicine)
-
Was translated into Latin and known as Colliget
Al-Kindi

Abu Yusuf al-Kindi (809-873)

Was an ‘ulama/scholar in many fields

Field
of knowledge: philosophy, mathematics, music, logics, astronomy,
astrology, physics, optics, pharmacy, medicine and mystical world

Books were in Latin:
a) De aspectibus (geometry and optical physiology)
b) De Medicinarum Compesitarum Gradibus (physiology and mathematics)
Al-Razi

Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakaria al-Razi (865-925)

Known as Rhazes in the West

Field of knowledge: science, chemistry, physics, philosophy, music,
mathematics, astronomy and ethics
5.3.2

Books: al-hawi, Kitab al-Mansuri, al-Judari wal-hasbi

Contributed a lot in gynecology, obstetric and ophthalmology
Activities
a) Find out four achievements of Muslims in the past in field of science.
b) Give three examples to show that the Western civilization is lacking of spiritual
element.
c) Give example that Islamic civilization is balance between material and spiritual.
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d) Have you ever thought why almost all mosques have minarets, at least one? As a
matter of fact, it is a manifestation of Islamic civilization. Is there any secret meaning
behind it? Check it out!
e) Find out full names, names known in the West (if any), contribution, books, field of
knowledge of the following prominent Muslims scholars:
f)

Al-Biruni

Ibn Haitham

Hunayn Ibn Ishaq

Ahmad Ibn al-Baytar

Al-Jahiz

Abu Ishaq al-Bitruji

Ibn Yunus

Ibn Firmas

Al-Khazini

Ibn Khaldun
Find out from Google other educational institutions that were built throughout the
period of greatness of Islamic civilization in the past.
5.4 The Arts and Cultural manifestation of Islamic Civilization
5.4.1
Presentation
a) The Philosophy, Concept and Principle of Art and Culture
What is culture? What is art? Obviously, both of them are elements that form a
civilization. Culture is a way of life that encompasses actions, behaviours and
thoughts in all spheres of human life such as economy, politics, social, education,
knowledge, philosophy and arts. Meanwhile, art is something which is delicate, soft,
beautiful, and pleasant to feel, hear or see. The art normally comes in the form of
painting, drawing, music, system of writing and money others. In Islam, art is
something permissible if it does not against the Islamic teachings. If the way of its
implementation is contradicting the Islamic teachings, it is rejected. For example, in
the field of music. Singing is basically permissible but if the lyric of a song drives
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people to commit sins to Allah SWT, the art of writing the lyric is rejected and will ot
be considered as an element of Islamic civilization.
Philosophically, the arts and culture in Islamic civilization must be based on tawheed.
The purpose of arts and culture must not against the principles of tawheed. The
motive of both must be towards ma’ruf. Both must be able to develop a better
civilized person physically and spiritually. In arts, for example, an artist draws a very
beautiful human figure such as a woman with an exposed aurah, it is forbidden and
rejected no matter how beautiful the drawing is. Thus, the artist must understand the
meaning and concept of arts in Islam. The culture also must play the same role in
which it must be able to develop a highly-civilized society. For instance, the culture in
celebrating ‘Eid al-Fitri. In some Muslim culture, the celebration is celebrated with
songs and dance by singers on television, be it male or female singers. While singing
the songs, there is mixing between male and female singers and they shake hands
among them. Shaking hands is a good deed but shaking hand with the opposite
gender is forbidden in Islam. Thus, this kind of culture is rejected and must be left by
Muslims.
From the discussion above, what we can outline the arts in Islam must:
(i)
Be based on revelation
Any elements that against the Islamic teachings must not be adopted in the
civilization and even it is haram to adopt those elements.
(ii)
Connect mankind to Allah SWT
For example, a painter who draws a scene of natural environment should
have the thought “How great is the Creator of the environment”.
(iii) Maintain the good akhlaq of Muslims
For instance, song performance must not allow the mixing between male and
female in one place because it will lead to moral decadence and also the
performer (singer) must not reveal her aurah.
(iv) Enhance the values of humanity
If a lyric of a song drives the listeners to commit zina or killing others, it does
not enhance the values of humanity but in fact, destruct the values. Thus, the
art of creating the lyric is haram and cannot be absorbed as an element of
Islamic civilization.
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Therefore, the arts in Islamic civilization must function as:
(i)
A medium to bring mankind closer to Allah SWT
(ii)
A stimulus that stimulate human mind to be aware of and appreciate the
greatness of Allah SWT.
(iii) A tool for the development of a focused and peaceful soul
b) The Art and Cultural Manifestation
The manifestation of arts and culture in Islamic civilization can be found in
architecture, music, vocal, language and literature, carving, textile and embroidery,
calligraphy, painting and decoration. In this sub-topic, we will see some examples of
the arts in the fields which are mentioned just now.
Architecture and Design of Building
Do you notice that almost all mosques in the world have similar architecture
and design? The most clear feature is the minaret at least one. The
architecture is actually a manifestation of tawheed that describes the
relationship of Muslims with Allah SWT. Generally, all mosques have almost
similar shapes in a number of dimensions such as mihrab (the annexxe) for
imam, mimbar, dome and place of ablution.
Calligraphy (khat)
Arabic calligraphy has been recognized as the art of writing in Islamic
civilization as the sources of the civilization i.e Al-Quran was revealed in
Arabic language. There are several types the Arabic calligraphy that are used
to write Quranic verses. The types are khat Thulus(‫)خط ثلث‬, Nasakh (‫) نسخ‬,
Diwani (‫) ديوانى‬, Kufi (‫) كوفي‬, Farisi (‫ ) فارسي‬and Kharashi (‫) خراشي‬.
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Music
Islam does not totally forbid music. What is forbidden is the misuse of the
music. Therefore, Islam sets some guidelines to avoid the misuse and to
preserve the morality of Muslims. Among the guidelines are:
(i)
Soft and orderly music
(ii)
Does not disturb others
(iii) Separation of male and female during performance
(iv) Performers and audience cover their aurah
(v) Female performer should perform music for female audience only in a
closed place
(vi) Music should not be accompanied with element which is prohibited in
Islam such as alcohol, drugs dancing among married couple
Arts and Literature
Islamic civilization also does not prohibit the aspect of arts and literature as
long as the contents do not against the Islamic teachings. Al-Quran itself is an
art which is cannot be challenged by human thought. In history, the art came
in the form of poem, debate, risalah, qasidah and maqamat. The use of
beautiful language and words became the main feature of the arts and
literature. However, it cannot challenge the beauty of Quranic language and
words. At the time of Rasulullah SAW, poem was used to praise Allah SWT
and Rasulullah SAW, to stir the spirit of jihad among Muslims as well as to
spread da’wah Islamiyyah. Among the famous poet at that time were Hasan
bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Rawahah and Ka’ab bin Malik. In debate, Muslims
also have to develop some skills because the skills will be very useful to
spread Islam, to stir the spirit of jihad as well as to defend Islam. Rasulullah
SAW himself was a great debator. There were also some sahabah who
became good debator.
5.4.2
Activities
a) Find out the example of each calligraphy (khat) which is mentioned above.
b) Find out pictures of buildings that show Islamic architecture.
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6.0 Lesson Summary
From the discussion, we can see that Islamic civilization that was rooted on the divine
revelation (al-Quran and al-Sunnah) had brought abundant benefits to the mankind
especially in knowledge. It never discards any aspect of human life and needs. Islamic
civilization upheld the Islamic teachings in all aspects of civilization. The upholding of the
teachings ensures the everlasting of the civilization.
The ups and downs of Islamic
civilization were not due to the teachings of Islam but in fact, it was due to Muslims who
ignore the teachings of Islam and do not practice Islam in its totality in their daily life. The
glory of Islamic civilization during the life of mankind is well preserved in the history of the
world. Its tremendous achievements were even recognized by western historians until
today. So, it can be a living example to show that Islam is a religion that comes to build a
progressive society and would serve the goodness and betterment of the mankind.
7.0 Self Assessment
7.1 Answer either true or false.
a) Islamic civilization has never reached real greatness in real
_________
b) The Qur’an encourages Muslims to acquire knowledge
_________
c) Arabic language became a medium of instruction in Spain
_________
d) Political stability helps the advancement of science
_________
e) During the Abbasid period, the rulers did not encourage
the development of knowledge
_________
f) Muslim scholars mastered natural sciences and philosophy
_________
g) The Bayt al-hikmah functioned as the library only
_________
h) Muslim scholars did not study foreign sciences
_________
i)
The only element that determines Islamic civilization is the development of human
personality and behaviour.
_________
j) Islamic civilization has a source which is genuinely revealed by God. _________
k) Islamic civilization does not consider the political aspect of life.
l)
_________
Any development of Islamic civilization reflects the Oneness of Allah who is the
Magnificent.
_________
Answer:
a) True
b) True
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c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
True
True
False
True
False
False
False
True
False
True
7.2 MCQ:
1. The concept of civilization from western perspectives results from the ________
A. revealed law
B. concept of servant
C. integration of knowledge
D. belief in the absolute power of mind
Answer: D
2. One of the elements of civilization is __________
A. modern fashion and design of clothes
B. increase in the number of crimes
C. high population
D. systematic laws
Answer: D
3. The objective of Islamic civilization is to _________
A. uphold Islam as the way of life
B. ensure the safety of human beings
C. let the Muslims live in luxurious lifestyle
D. differentiate between the useful and useless citizens
Answer: A
4. Choose the correct statement.
A. Western civilization practices secularism.
B. Western civilization applies ummatic approach.
C. Revelation is the main source of western civilization.
D. Tawhid and rabbani are important elements of western civilization.
Answer: A
5. Islamic civilization is comprehensive. The statement means ___________
A. Islam is a balance religion
B. Islamic civilization covers all aspects of life
C. universality is a characteristic of Islamic civilization
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D. Islamic civilization is not confined to geographical boundaries
Answer: B
6. According to Islamic perspective, any society is in the state of ‘civilization’ when
________
A. the city has good infrastructure
B. it has very systematic laws and organizations
C. it is advanced in material, knowledge and behaviour
D. the people keep moving from one place to other place
Answer: C
7. A civilization is considered as tolerant when it __________
A. is confined to certain times only
B. uses full authority on the others
C. forces people to accept certain teaching
D. accepts and respects the different cultures
Answer: D
8. Which of these statements best describe about the difference between Islamic civilization
and Western civilization?
A. Both civilizations are based on man-made-law.
B. Both civilizations believe in the authority entrusted by God.
C. Islamic civilization is based on God-centered belief while Western civilization is more
human centered.
D. In Islamic civilization, man holds the ultimate power but western civilization believes
in the concept of Hedonism (seeking pleasure).
Answer: C
9. Islamic civilization as an everlasting civilization can be seen through the fact that
_______
A. Islam practices priestly hierarchy
B. Islam is not confined to certain times
C. the basis of Shariah was formed parallel to time changes
D. all the inventions should reflect the power of Allah s.w.t
Answer: B
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