Islam & Civilisation Flashcards
(23 cards)
1
Q
Introduction and meaning of islam civilisation
A
- According to the Cambridge Dictionary, civilisation is: “A human society with well-developed social organisation and culture.”
- Arabic Terms: The word “civilisation” in Arabic is hadarah.
- Other related terms include:Umran, Madaniyyah, Tamaddun, Nahdah
- Ibn Khaldūn’s View:
- He said humans need to live together in cities and communities to meet their needs.
- He described civilisation as a social system built by people working together over time.
- Al-Attas’ View: According to Syed Muhammad Naquib alAttas, true civilisation (tamaddun) must be based on Islam.
- The city of Madinah is an example. It is not just a place, but a community where Islamic teachings were fully lived.
In Summary:
- Civilisation = advanced human society with shared values, systems, and goals.
- It combines science, religion, art, lifestyle, and ethics
- In Islam, a civilisation is only complete when it is based on faith and moral values.
- Civilisation is not just about buildings or progress BUT it’s about how people live with purpose and harmony
2
Q
5 causes of the rise of islamic civilisation
A
- Tawhid
- Righteous deeds (amal salih)
- Realisation of virtues and elimination of vices
- Cultivation of knowledge
- Political freedom
2
Q
Explain political freedom
A
- Ibn Khaldun: injustice, oppression, and tyranny are clear signs of the collapse of any nation or civilization
- Early Muslims maintained justice and equality between rulers and the people, reflecting values rooted in Tawhid and the Quran
- Islam values mutual consultation (shura) and allows freedom of speech and expression within the limits of Shari’ah
- Islam promotes justice, social solidarity, and public well-being through moral and institutional reform that makes the individual realise his obligations towards his fellow human beings
- Islam provides effective government to ensure prevalence of law and order & justice and socio-economic uplift.
- Islam guarantees freedom of individual within its morality and shari’ah.
- It establishes a judicial system in which the law is applied equally to the high and the low
- The success of Islamic governance was due to morally upright and competent leaders, following the Prophet’s example, which strengthened the civilization
2
Q
Explain righteous deeds (amal salih)
A
- refers to all good and beneficial deeds
- Al-Razi defined “righteous deeds” as the deeds that prevent the human mind from
seeking worldly interest, and encourage seeking interest in other worldly life - A nation with sincere belief and righteous deed could have superiority over other
nations in history and it is important for the success nation
2
Q
Explain abandonment of faith
A
- When a society opposite with principle of Tawhid and neglecting the teachings of Islam, it will face spiritual and moral decline
- Al-Mawdudi: forgetting Allah leads to forgetting one’s true self
- Man will misunderstand his purpose and place in the world.
- Man is a servant of Allah alone. He is not free to do whatever he wants, and he should not serve anyone else besides Allah
- To stay on the right path, a person must always remember Allah
- If he forgets Allah, he will also forget his purpose in life. This will lead him to do wrong things or commit sins
2
Q
Explain economic mismanagement and greediness
A
- When people lose good morals and become greedy, while faith is abandoned
- It will leads to the mismanagement of resources and economic gaps
- Islam teaches fairness in the economy
2
Q
Explain Cultivation of knowledge
A
- Islam emphasises importance of seeking knowledge – in line with first wahy
- The status of knowledgeable people is higher than those who are ignorant
- This means that development of knowledge is one of the main reason for the greatness of a civilization
- Allah gave humans the ability to think and use their minds to understand the truth
- The opening of Bayt al-Hikmah by Harun al-Rashid was an example that proves the existence of the spirit of seeking knowledge in various dimensions
2
Q
Explain Realisation of virtues & elimination of vices
A
- “… Enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.” (Surah al-Hajj : 41)
- This ayah indicates the duties of people who are given the power to protect the khilafah from corruption
- “… And your Lord would not have destroyed the cities unjustly while their people were reformers.” (Surah Hud: 117)
- This supports the idea that when Muslims upheld virtues and eliminated vices, they were blessed with strength, unity and prosperity
- Hence, Islamic civilization rose because the early Muslims took this role seriously, correcting wrongdoings and promoting justice and moral conduct in society
2
Q
Explain Tawhid
A
- Al-Faruqi: Islamic civilization is the first universal civilization based on Tawhid – denotes Allah is the only One who deserves submission, worship, and absolute obedience
- Aim of Islam: free mankind from servitude to anyone or anything except Allah
- Benefits of believing in Allah as the only God worthy of worship:
i. Protection from great ignorance and the ability to see and understand things as they are al-Haqq.
ii. Protection and true guarantee of human dignity.
iii. Restraint from false pride & haughtiness – lead to corruption & tyranny.
iv. Leads to forgiveness of sins. Belief in oneness of Allah is prerequisite fornTawbah, prerequisite for good life.
v. A recognition of Allah’s sovereignty.
vi. A fulfillment of the promise that people have made with Allah in their existence.
- Deviation leads to a materialistic civilization, priorities the material possessions and physical comfort than spiritual values & denies spiritual values, including God.
3
Q
Explain moral & ethical decay
A
- corruption can be caused by excessive luxury
- It can damage a person’s character and morals
- Signs in corrupted societies: grabs luxurious wealth through dishonesty, corruption, injustice, promotion of materialism and extravagant lifestyle.
- Results: moral decay, social injustice, and collapse of welfare.
- Ibn Khaldun: asserted this and point out that man is composed of body and soul.
One key weakening element: luxury and laziness. It causes people to use immoral means to succeed.
3
Q
7 causes of the decline of islamic civilisation
A
- abandonment of faith
- moral & ethical decay
- economic mismanagement & greediness
- Injustice (zulm), Oppression (tughyan) & Corruption (fasad)
- lack of education & knowledge
- the closure of ijtihad
- arrogance
4
Q
Explain injustice (zulm), oppression (tughyan) & Corruption (fasad)
A
- Societies that become unjust and oppressive are doomed to fall
- Injustice (zulm) means putting things in the wrong place or treating people unfairly
- Types of injustice include
i. Causing harm by attacking others physically or financially by taking their money.
ii. Defaming their honour and reputation by slander.
iii. Doing wrong and inequality, violating rights. - Allah has warned those who exercised Shirk and neglected the call of His Messengers, tortured them, and expelled them from their native land.
- Even in corrupt societies, if someone stands up to prevent injustice, Allah shows mercy, mentioned in Surah al-Qasas
5
Q
Explain Lack of education & Knowledge
A
- Ignorance and neglect of education can delay a civilisation’s progress
- Prophet Musa A.S. prayed to Allah to protect him from becoming one of the ignorant
- One major reason for a civilisation’s fall is the due to neglection of science and technological advancement
- The Quran encourages learning in all fields, including science
- Islam teaches that knowledge should be used for: progress, development and strengthening civilization
6
Q
5 Significance of stories of past nations in the Quran
A
- Qasas al-quran are narrated to strengthen one’s tawhid
- Qasas al-quran are true (al-Haqq) stories of the past
- Qasas al-quran are intended to inspire human thinking (tafakkur)
- Qasas al-quran are meant for understanding the lessons (ibrah)
- Qasas al-quran are a form of motivation (tathbit) in human life
6
Q
Explain the closure of ijtihad
A
- Muhammad Iqbal: highlighted that decline of ijtihad led to academic decline.
- Ijtihad which highly contributed in early Muslim development was stopped or greatly reduced.
- Led to:
i. Fanaticism (taʿassub) – extreme blind support of one opinion.
ii. Blind following (taqlīd) – uncritical acceptance of past scholars’ views. - Resulted in:
i. Hindered problem-solving for modern issues.
ii. Dependency on Western solutions and technologies. - There is urgent need to revisit and update classical Islamic rulings to match
current needs.
7
Q
Explain Qasas al-quran are narrated to strengthen one’s tawhid
A
- Qasas emphasises the foundation of human life – Tawḥīd.
- Man is required to seek knowledge (‘ilm), faith (īmān), and righteous deeds (‘amal).
- Man needs to recognise Allah’s Authority, Power, and Mercy.
- Man also need to firmly believe Allah the only source of goodness, virtues, guidance.
- Actions aim towards attaining His pleasure.
- Main message of all prophets: Tawhid
- one needs to strengthen his Tawhid by reflecting stories; main cause for human safety &felicity in both worlds.
- Example: Zulqarnayn – used knowledge and power for good, acknowledged Allah as the true source of his success.
7
Q
Explain people of Thamud
(example of perished nation)
A
- A great, civilised tribe that succeeded the people of ‘Ad.
- Used to carve out grand houses in hills (Mawdudi).
- Possessed strong physiques and intelligent minds – had ability to build rock
houses in valleys and dams (Muhammad ‘Abduh). - Built palaces in plains and carved homes in mountains
- Prophet Salih A.S. was sent to guide them to worship Allah alone, reminding them of the blessings they received and warning them against corruption
- however they did not learn anything, betrayed their messengers and demanded a miracle
- Allah sent a she-camel as a test of their patience but they failed the test by killing it despite the prophet warnings that they would be severely punished if ther harmed her
- As a result they were destroyed by a terrible punishment including earthquake, the shriek, thunderbolt and overpowered blast
7
Q
Explain people of Ad
(example of perished nation)
A
- The people of ‘Ad, descendants of Prophet Nuh A.S.
- initially believers who worshipped Allah alone.
- Over time, they were led astray by satan, chasing wealth and power
- Then they worshipped idol such as Samud, Sanda, and al-Haba. Known for their strength and architectural skills
- they became arrogant and betray their messenger
- They also accused him of being a liar without any respect
- Their continued disobedience and rejection of Allah’s signs led to their destruction by a violent wind and barren wind, as recorded in the Quran.
8
Q
Explain Arrogance
A
- Civilisations declined due to people’s arrogant rejection of Allah’s Messengers.
- The people of ‘Ad were very arrogant and ignored the warnings from their Prophet. Which is they responded rudely and mocked their Prophet’s message, They even challenged the Prophet to bring Allah’s punishment if he was truthful
9
Q
Explain Qasas al-quran are true (al-Haqq) stories of the past
A
- stories of quran contain the truth from Allah
- One must firmly believed that anything revealed by Allah is true, accurate and free of error, mistake and uncertainty
- it is revealed for the guidance of human
- stories narrated by human are subjected to human erre due to human limited knowledge and their weaknesses.
- Quranic stories are not myths or legends, but real events from the past
- Example:The story of Ashāb al-Kahf (People of the Cave) – needs no historical evidence to confirm its truth because it is from Allah.
10
Q
Explain Qasas al-Quran are intended to inspire human thinking (tafakkur)
A
- Encourage human to use his ability to think, reflect, observe and contemplate
- Thinking is a religious duty and foundation of Islamic education - necessity.
- Without thinking, humans cannot benefit from Allah’s signs and creations.
- Example: Stories of Pharaoh, Prophet Sulaymān A.S., and others inspire us to reflect on the similarities and lessons between the past and today’s civilisation.
11
Q
Explain Qasas al-quran are meant for understanding the lessons (ibrah)
A
- Stories help humans to understand lessons that benefit them
- Focus only on essential events and characters, hence the stories are short and precise.
- Qur’anic stories are real-life events from the past, which may repeat if humans fail to learn.
- We must avoid the bad actions of past nations and follow their good examples
- The stories of ‘Ad and Thamud teach us to avoid their sins and learn from their mistakes
12
Q
Explain Qasas al-Quran are a form of motivation (tathbit) in human life
A
- Stories in the Quran provide reassurance in the heart of the Messenger and all muslim
- Highlight sunatullah in which people who are similar path of his prophets will have to face hardships and difficulties including being rejected or mocked
- But Allah always helps and strengthens those who are patient and have strong faith
- For example, the stories of Prophet Hud, Salih, Nuh, and Shu’ayb show how their people
were arrogant and rejected them - These stories show us Sunnatullah which eventually motivates human to remain persistent and patient in their good
- Thus, this understanding will provide motivation and persistence in upholding goodness and justice in society
