Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam

by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

This is a very important book. No book of its kind, in profundity as well as magnitude of scope and comprehensive grasp of modern intellectual challenges facing the contemporary Muslim World, appeared in the last century. The book deals with the fundamental question of the nature of ‘worldview’ according to Islam — a question that has never really been raised in our time. The author proposes that the nature of the worldview of Islam is not merely the mind’s view of the physical world and of man’s historical, social, political and cultural involvement in it, as has been misunderstood in the minds of secular, contemporary Muslim scholars generally, and particularly those preoccupied with the social and political sciences, but it should bear upon the Muslims’ ideas about ‘change’, ‘development’, and ‘progress’. The fundamental elements of the worldview of Islam, together with the key terms and concepts that they unfold, are elaborated in detail in this book.

Genres: Islam, Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Metaphysics, Psychology

358 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1995

About the author

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, born September 5, 1931 in Bogor, Java, is a prominent contemporary Muslim thinker. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and who is equally competent in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. His thought is integrated, multifaceted and creative. Al-Attas’ philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamization of the mind, body and soul and its effects on the personal and collective life on Muslims as well as others, including the spiritual and physical non-human environment. He is the author of twenty-seven authoritative works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature.



Al-Attas was born into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors, saints, and scholars. He received a thorough education in Islamic sciences, Malay language, literature and culture. His formal primary education began at age 5 in Johor, Malaysia, but during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, he went to school in Java, in Madrasah Al-`Urwatu’l-wuthqa, studying in Arabic. After World War II in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and western classics in English, and in a cultured social atmosphere developed a keen aesthetic sensitivity. This nurtured in al-Attas an exquisite style and precise vocabulary that were unique to his Malay writings and language. After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Regiment as cadet officer no. 6675. There he was selected to study at Eton Hall, Chester, Wales and later at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England (952 -55). This gave him insight into the spirit and style of British society. During this time he was drawn to the metaphysics of the Sufis, especially works of Jami, which he found in the library of the Academy. He traveled widely, drawn especially to Spain and North Africa where Islamic heritage had a profound influence on him. Al-Attas felt the need to study, and voluntarily resigned from the King’s Commission to serve in the Royal Malay Regiment, in order to pursue studies at the University of Malaya in Singapore 1957-59. While undergraduate at University of Malay, he wrote Rangkaian Ruba`iyat, a literary work, and Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays. He was awarded the Canada Council Fellowship for three years of study at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in Montreal. He received the M.A. degree with distinction in Islamic philosophy in 1962, with his thesis “Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of 17th Century Acheh” . Al-Attas went on to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he worked with Professor A. J. Arberry of Cambridge and Dr. Martin Lings. His doctoral thesis (1962) was a two-volume work on the mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri.



In 1965, Dr. al-Attas returned to Malaysia and became Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malay, Kuala Lumpur. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1968-70. Thereafter he moved to the new National University of Malaysia, as Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He strongly advocated the use of Malay as the language of instruction at the university level and proposed an integrated method of studying Malay language, literature and culture so that the role and influence of Islam and its relationship with other languages and cultures would be studied with clarity. He founded and directed the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia in 1973 to carry out his vision.



In 1987, with al-Attas as founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought a

Reviews

[Wan Mohd Aimran]

What do you get when the whole corpus of the religious and intellectual traditions of Islam is brought to bear on the key fundamental issues and concepts of the Modern Age? The short answer to that question is contained in this masterly and seminal book on Islamic thought.

[Saracen شرقسان · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's fascinating how the author can give meaning and tangibility to what are otherwise obscure sentiments underlying our post-modern condition.

I'm still reading this book and it's a book that should be read multiple times. It's brilliant.

I really appreciate al-Attas' works.

[MM]

I liked the section on Happiness a lot, as well as some definitions of knowledge and what not. Was completely lost when it came to him explaining existentialist position on God and the effusions over archetypes and what not, ie the 2nd half of the book lol

[sawaaiiq · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read, one to revisit and break down..

There were some errors in it, including one fabricated hadith, but generally the rest was okay. Would not say this is a book for total beginners of Islamic studies, however.

[I · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The worldview resides in the minds of genuine Muslims. The discerning ones among them know that Islam is not an ideal — it is a reality — and that whatever may be demanded of them by the challenges of the age in which they live must be met without confusing that worldview with alien elements.”

A contemporary discourse and attempt to conceptualise the internal/external crisis of the muslim community and address the challenges of the modern times. Compiling Prof al-Attas’s essays; the Islamic conception of the world, the meaning of knowledge, freedom, and happiness, change, development and progress, how language reflects ontology: theocratic vs secular state, the islamization and deislamization of language among other things. A must-read.

[Basir Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its about Life Guidance through Islam ..superb ..I wish i had read this book earlier to guide my life ...Fantastic for the seeker of the TRUTH.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a must read!

Al Attas menjelaskan dengan lugas keterikatan antara agama dan kehidupan. Pembangunan ilmu berlandaskan Islam yang tidak boleh meninggalkan intuisi. Bahwa intuisi merupakan hal yang rasional.
Ia menjelaskan fungsi ilmu untuk umat, bukan untuk kepentingan diri.

Buku ini adalah amunisi "wajib" bagi para pejuang antikapitalisme :)

[Nur Ikma Chasanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sangat bagus untuk memahami konsep Islam. Meskipun saya membaca versi bahasa Inggris dan harus memahami konteks makna katanya, tapi buku ini sangat direkomendasikan untuk dibaca.

[Mohd Jamizal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ada dua kerugian manusia di dunia ini. Pertama tidak memahami Al Quran dan Kedua tidak membaca dan memahami buku ini. Prof SMNA menuangkan masalah umat Islam dalam karya Islam dan Sekularisme dan penyelesaiannya dalam Prolegomena. Jika Prolegomena di fahami semua isu isu metafizik dalam dunia Islam
telah diharmonikan di antara Filasuf, Mutakallim dan Sufi. Faham Prolegomena anda akan memahami fikiran Al Ghazali Ibn Sina Ibn Arabi Mulla Sadra Al Iji Fakhruddin Al
Razi hatta Suhrawardi.

[Yahya Mourad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense metaphysical book of Islam.
It manages to put in words very accurate narrative to highly difficult concepts present not only in Islam but in any metaphysical concept and philosophy such as Consciousness, God, Polarity, Spirit, Morality, Free Will, etc.

[Mieer Darwesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult stream of facts made truly easy. Interesting writer.

[Komar]

Wah, aslinya buku ini berat banget euy. bahasa inggrisnya tinggat tinggi. Ampun euy.
Secara bahasannya filsafat. Sama ketika membaca buku-buku filsafat lainnya.

Alhamdulillah, Ustad Adnin Armas membacakan dan memberi peta agar bisa memahaminya sedikit demi sedikit. Memang ustad Adnin pakarnya pemikiran Al Attas, Ar Rozi. terima kasih ya tad.

[110]

Deals with the questions: what does it mean to be ? what are the degrees of existence ? what are the limits and domain of applicability of the reasoning reason (in Pascal's terms) ? what does it mean to be happy ?

[Nur Sabila]

a good book