Islamic Civilization. Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi
and civilization a flair and flavour all of its own. Whatever is distinctive about Islamic civilization stems from the distinctiveness of the foundations upon which it rests. This is why Islamic civilization can only be adequately appreciated by grasping the constitutive concepts of its worldview such as its concepts of God, Prophethood, the Afterlife, and the aim and purpose of human life.
In sum, the book brings into sharp relief the concepts as well as the ethos of Islamic civilization. It is the characteristic paradigm of this civilization that needs to be grasped in order to understand the Muslim psyche and the ‘venture of Islam’ in history. This is true not only for Islam’s bygone ages, but it is equally true for Islam in the second decade of the twenty-first century.
The book is characterized by some of the qualities for which Mawdūdī’s writings have been known throughout his long and distinguished literary career: His discourse is supported by an impressive degree of knowledge of the subject in hand which he presents logically and persuasively. Additionally, even in this early work, Mawdūdī’s literary style displays its distinctive charm and elegance.
It is presumably not insignificant that in this relatively early part of his life Mawdūdī set out to articulate Islam’s worldview before embarking on his lifelong task of elucidating the details of the Islamic way of life. This seems, in my opinion, to reflect Islam’s inherent scheme of priorities in which the essentials take precedence over the subsidiary details. Quite obviously, unless there is a clear concept of Islam’s basics, it would be meaningless and sterile to strive for the establishment of an Islamic order of life with all of its ramifications. In this sense the book might be seen to represent the early Mawdūdī’s clarion call towards ‘first things first’. As Mawdūdī has observed elsewhere, anyone seriously concerned with the operationalization of Islam should start with its ABCs, with understanding the basic tenets of Islamic belief. This first step should be to know well the meaning of lā ilāha illallāh (‘There is no deity except the One True God’) to be followed by translating its implications in terms of practice. All else follows from this.
This work has been ably rendered into English by the gifted writer and intellectual, Syed Akif. Akif has admirably acquitted himself in expressing Islamic religious ideas in chaste English, at a stage when English as a vehicle for articulating some of the finest and subtlest of ideas and emotions related to Islam is still in its early stages of development. What made Akif’s task even more difficult was that apart from being a great scholar and thinker, Mawdūdī had a highly-regarded and distinctive literary style all of his own. In my opinion, Akif’s success speaks volumes about his deep familiarity with the universe of Islamic lore and his outstanding ability to write felicitously in English.
It is to be hoped that this contribution will serve to further enrich the growing body of Islamic literature in the English language and lead to a deeper and better grasp of the Islamic worldview, thereby promoting mutual understanding and friendship among human beings belonging to a variety of civilizations, religious faiths, and ideologies. I would also like to acknowledge the editorial support extended by the able team of the Islamic Foundation, particularly Dr M.M. Ahsan and Dr A.R. Kidwai, and the logistic and financial support given by the World of Islam Trust, Islamabad, the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, and the Madina Trust, Peterborough, U.K.
| Islamabad | Zafar Ishaq Ansari |
Rajab 1432 H
June 2011
1 Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1934-1961), 12 vols.
2 Samuel P. Huntington, Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996).
3 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (London, 1651), Part 1: Of Man, Chap. 13, para. 9.
4 See Tahdhīb-i Islāmī awr Uske Uṣūl-o Mabādī, 27th edn. (Lahore: Islamic Publications, 2100), “Muqaddimah”, pp. 9 ff.
5 Ibid.
Arabic Consonants
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Western authors on Islam – and through their influence a great majority of our own scholars – are of the opinion that ‘Islamic Civilization’ is derived directly from the civilizations that preceded Islam, especially the Greek and Roman civilizations. In their view, the fact that Islam developed its own characteristic civilization can mostly be attributed to the Arab mindset that altered the pre-existing corpus of knowledge and cultural wealth in a way that its form was changed without any substantial transformation of the content. It is because of this outlook that these people attempt to trace the constituent elements of Islamic civilization in the ancient Persian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations. Furthermore, they then proceed to investigate the mental processes in the Arab ethos that, so of to say, rebuilt a new edifice from the old building blocks by merely reapplying its own fresh mortar without necessarily having a worldview of its own.
A Misconception
This line of thought is, however, a great misconception. While I do not deny that the human condition, not only in its present form but in every time and age and in every walk of life, has been influenced by the past and that, in a way, every new construction employs the building material of pre-existing structures, I wish to state unequivocally that the Islamic civilization is, in its very existence and essence, purely Islamic. No non-Islamic factor has had the least bit of influence in shaping the core of Islamic civilization. All the same, it is in the expression or manifestation of certain issues that Arab customs and elements of the Arab mindset, as well as extraneous influences from both pre- and post-Islamic cultural traditions, have entered its folds.
Undoubtedly, for any building, the particular architectural style, the construction plans, the proposed use and the appropriateness of the structure for the designated purpose are fundamental considerations, while its paint and surface coverings, façade and beautification elements, fixtures and furniture comprise elements that are only superficial and not of fundamental importance.
Thus, as far as the origins and fundamentals are concerned, the citadel of Islamic civilization is the product of its own genius. The building plans are original and nothing has been borrowed from any other plan. The architectural style has also been invented and developed indigenously with no imitation of foreign forms. The purpose of the construction is also unique; no building either before it or since has ever been built with this aim in mind. Similarly, the type of structure required to achieve the purpose behind the creation of this edifice is also original and fully conforms to the architectural considerations.
The building that now appears as the Islamic civilization is truly purpose-built and complete; no external architect or engineer holds the power to add to it or alter it in any way. As far as the marginal elements are concerned, here too Islam has borrowed very little from others; it can very well be said that most of these marginal factors are Islam’s own. On the contrary, Muslims took the decorative elements from others and proceeded to develop and embellish these to such a point of excellence that superficial observers see the whole building as one whose plan has been totally or extensively borrowed from outside.
The Meaning of Civilization
Before proceeding towards a conclusion about the debate on original and borrowed civilizational