Islamic Culture and Civilization

LINGUISTIC DEFINITION
• The word "civilization" comes from the Latin word for
townsman or citizen, civis, and its adjectival form, civilis. To be
"civilized" essentially meant being a townsman, governed by
the constitution and legal statutes of that community.

APPLIED DEFINITION
DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS,
M.A.Beg; spiritual and material achievement occurred in a city.

Albert Schwetzer; modernization that complement spiritual

Enhancement.
Diorant; “Civilization is made up of four components: Social
resources, Political
Systems, Ethical standards and the pursuit of science and
art.It(civilization) begins
when anguish and uncertainty end." (The story of civilization)

• The customs and beliefs, art, way of life (dresses, meals, houses
etc) and social organization of a particular country or group is
called Culture.
• Culture → wide range of ideas, feelings, beliefs and habits an
individual shares with other members of his or her society.
• Civilization → collection of many cultures within a large
community.
• Civilization and Culture are two faces of a coin.
Components
• Civilizations are composed of two components, internal and
external.
• The external component is referred to the physical
achievement of the civilization as building, sophisticated
equipment and machineries, architecture etc.
• The internal refers to the moral and ethical values, the
spiritual and religious foundation that served as the basis of the
civilization.
Each civilization has a body and a soul.

The body - material achievement such as buildings, factories machines

and all that is related to the various and luxurious pleasures of worldly
life.

The soul - the set of ideologies, concepts, moral value, manners and
traditions that are embodied in the behavior of individuals, groups and
their interrelations.

‫ ابو األعلى مودودي‬....‫اسالمي تهذيب اور اس كے اصول مبادي‬

Abul A’la Mawdudi- a Muslim Scholar
“People think sciences and manners, fine arts, artifacts, social behavior,
civility and political mannerism is the civilization of a people. These are,
the fact of the matter is, manifestations of civilization not the essence of
civilization. The real worth and value of a civilizational tree cannot be
estimated from the apparent images and on the surface apparels. We
need to go deep into its soul and essence to discover its reality”
 First and foremost is to discover real nature of a civilization. We
have to find out what is its concept of worldly life, what is man’s
status in this world, and how would man relate himself with this
world.
 Second, what is the ultimate objective of life of man, what is the
target of all human activities.
 Third what is the ideal character and behavior of man in a
civilization and how it tries to build it up.
 Fourth what is the ethical profile of man in a civilization and what
behavioral pattern it wants to inculcate in man in society.
  Fifth, how a civilization develops inter-personal relations and
looks on its building blocks of family, neighborhood, friends,
authorities, in brief the basis of a social system”
Abul A’la Mawdudi, Islamic Tahdhib aur uskay usul wa
Mubadi, Lahore, Islamic Publishing Ltd, 1960, P 11-13
M.M.Pickthall
“By Islamic culture, I mean not the culture, from whatever source
derived, attained at any given moment by people who profess the
religion of Islam, but the Kind of Culture prescribed by a religion of
which human progress is the definite and avowed aim”
If any development in Muslim society is not sanctioned by the
Qur’an or some express injunctions of the Prophet, it is un-Islamic and
its origin must be sought outside the Islamic polity.
“The culture of Islam aimed not at beautifying and refining the
accessories of human life. It is aimed at beautifying and exalting human
life itself” (P3)
“Islamic culture is intricately bound up with religion so imbued
with the idea of Allah’s universal sovereignty…Islamic Culture whether
we survey it in the field of science, or of art or of literature, or of social
welfare – has everywhere and always religious reference”
M.Marmaduke pickthall,The Cultural side of
Islam,Lahore,Ashraf,1993.P.20.

 FOUNDATION OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

ARTICLES OF FAITH
Tuheed
Risalat
Day of judgement

 COMPONENTS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

PILLARS OF ISLAM+ SOCIAL AND ETHICAL SYSTEM

Islamic Civilization
Islamic civilization has its roots in Quran and Hadith. It is
committed to two basic principles:
a. Oneness of Allah SWT
b. Oneness of Humanity
Islam does not allow any racial, linguistic or ethnic
discrimination; it stands for universal humanism.
Islam is the most pluralist religion; it coexists with other
religions, allowing full religious autonomy. It is a well-balanced
civilization.
It insists on equilibrium between the material and the spiritual
dimensions of life.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

 1. TAWHID
2. SEFL PURIFICAITON/ EHSAN
3. DIGNITY OF MAN
4. HUMAN RIGHTS / WOMEN/
5. RELGIOIUS FREEDOM
6. JUSTICE
7. TOLERANCE
8. RULE OF LAW
9. MORAL VALUES
10. REVEALED CIVILIZTION
11. UNIVERSALITY
12. ACCOUNTABILITY
13. Unity
14. Rationality
15. Tolerance
16. Balanced and Integrated civilization
17. Integration between science and faith in Islam

In the 8th and 9th centuries, under the Abbasid caliphs, Islamic
civilization entered a golden age. Arabic, Byzantine, Persian and Indian
cultural traditions were integrated. And while in Europe, learning
seemed to be at its lowest point, the Muslims created what could be
called a "high civilization.“
A Non Muslim Sociologist, paying tribute to Muslims says:
“Thanks to Muslim scholars, ancient Greek learning, acquired
from their contact with Byzantine scholars, was kept alive and was
eventually transferred to the West in the 12th century and after”.
Islamic Civilization in Europe
When the Abbasids captured Damascus, one of the Umayyad
princes escaped and made the long journey from there to Spain to found
Umayyad rule there, thus beginning the golden age of Islam in Spain.
Qurtaba (Cordoba) was established as the capital and soon became
Europe's greatest city not only in population but from the point of view
of its cultural and intellectual life. The Umayyads ruled over two
centuries until they were weakened and replaced by local rulers.
In Spain Muslim power continued to wane until the last Muslim
dynasty was defeated in Granada in 1492 thus bringing nearly eight
hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain to an end. In Spain Muslims were
on the peak of worldly knowledge.
Prominent Muslim Scientists were, Al-Zahrawi, first surgeon with
thirty volumes encyclopedia of surgery. Al-Kindi was a philosopher,
mathematician, physicist, astronomer, physician, geographer and even
an expert in music, Al-Khwarzmi’s first treatise on Algebra is in vogue
even today.

Ali Abnul Haithum, a physicist, astronomer, and mathematician

established the theory of vision that prevailed till the 17th century. He
also presented a theory of the physical reality of planetary models.
Jabir bin Hayyan is famous for perfection of scientific techniques
such as crystalization, distillation, calcination, sublimation and
evaporation and development of several instruments for the same. 
Impact on Indian Civilization
 a. Social Status of Woman
b. Abolished Prejudice among Humans
c. Respect of Humanity
d. Language Influence
e. Emergence of Sikhism

Conclusion
The religion of Islam was itself responsible not only for the
creation of a world civilization in which people of many different ethnic
backgrounds participated, but it played a central role in developing
intellectual and cultural life on a scale not seen before.

The tradition of intellectual activity was eclipsed only at the

beginning of modern times as a result of the weakening of faith among
Muslims combined with external domination. Influx of some exotic
Non-Islamic traditions is defacing civilization. We should be conscious
of this conscious influx of traditions.