Islamic Civilization – Prominent Features

• Introduction
• Civilization Defined
• Culture Defined
• Cultural Diffusion
• Elements of Civilization
• Islamic Civilization and its Roots
• Islamic Civilization Historical Perspective
• Impact of Islamic Civilization in Sub-continent
• Clash of Civilization and Islam
• Our Responsibilities
 Introduction
When human being stepped on this planet he was
the most civilized and cultured creature on it. He
made shelter for his living and constructed first
worship place ie Khana Ka’bah. Then with increase
in population, the human being developed various
means for his living. He developed various systems
as per the problems he encountered thus
transforming the civilization better and better.
The system continued till the human beings
themselves created un-favourable situation for their
fellow beings. Habeel’s murder was first of its kind
which created law and order situation on this planet.
During period of Prophet Nu’h (AS) the situation
became so worse that the whole planet was sunk
barring few believers. The civilization was started
afresh and kept on passing from various processes
till today.
Let us see what is Civilization?
 Civilization Defined

• A society, its culture and its way of life, during a

particular period of time, in a particular part of
the world. For Example:
• Civilization of Ancient Greece and Rome,
Egyptian Civilization, Indian Civilization etc.
 Civilization
• Civilization is a word easier to describe than it is
to be defined. The word itself comes from the
Latin adjective civilis, a reference to a citizen.
Citizens willingly bring themselves together in
political, social, economic, and religious
organizations .

• They merge together, that is, in the interests of

the larger community. Over the time, the word
civilization has come to imply something beyond
organization .
 Culture

• The customs and beliefs, art, way of life

(dresses, meals, houses etc) and social
organization of a particular country or group is
called Culture.
• The beliefs and attitudes about something that
people in a particular group or organization
share.

• For example we say the Cultures of Muslim and

Non Muslim Countries differ from each other.
 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.
 Cultural Diffusion

 When two people from different cultures encounter

each other, ideas tend to be exchanged which can
become brand new ideas or adaptations of other
ones.

 This exchange of ideas and beliefs between two

different cultures is referred to as cultural diffusion.
 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.
 Further Explained
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.
 LINGUISTIC DEFINITION
11

•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.

Aug 26, 2021 11

 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)

Aug 26, 2021 12

 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”

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 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.

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 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

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 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.

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“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.

17 Aug 26, 2021

 Elements or Features of Civilization
 Socioligists while analysing civilizations consider following eight
features:

Cities
 Government
 Social Classes
 Technology
 Religion (sometimes)
 Arts and Architecture

Job Specialization
 Public Works
 Writing Systems
Cities
 When many cultures gather
together and their
populations grow, they move
from being communities, to
towns, to cities.
 Cities → larger areas that
have political centers, social
centers, and financial
centers.
Social Classes
 Social classes →
breakdown of
populations and
civilizations according
to social standing or
level of wealth
 Societies began to
rank their citizens as
a means of
separating certain
groups from others
 Religion
 Religion → system of beliefs which usually
involve a belief in a higher power or
supernatural force.

 Religion has been a unifying force in many

civilizations while in others it has served to
divide.
Technology
 Technology → any invention
or item that can help make
other aspects of life easier.
 The use of technology has
been associated with the
level of civilization within a
culture.
 The higher the level of
technology, the more
advanced the culture
Writing Systems

 Writing systems →
systems that use
symbols to represent
spoken sounds.

 Writing systems are

crucial for cultures since
they are used to keep
records.
Arts and Architecture

 Arts and Architecture

→ the defining
characteristics of a
culture's creativity.

Allows historians and
other people to see
the unique features of
a culture.
 Distinguishes one
culture from another
 Job Specialization

 Job specialization → Definition of different

occupations within a society

 Allowed for individuals to become

specialists within a field rather than
attempt to work many jobs without any
special skills
Government
 Government → system
of rule over a community
or civilization
 Governments are
necessary for the
protection of citizens
from each other and
outside forces
 People subscribe to
government to benefit
from the rule of law.
Public Works
 Public Works → systems
or amenities provided by a
government to assist in
the daily life of its citizens
 Public Works range from
Railways to sewerage/
Sanitation 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.
 Development of Civilization

For developing the civilization Islam stresses on

acquiring knowledge from wherever it can be had.

The Holy Qur'an encourages Muslims to learn and

acquire knowledge, stemming from concept of
knowing the unity of Allah. Because we believe that
Allah is all-knowing, and the human world's quest
for knowledge leads to further knowing of Allah.
Characteristics of Islamic Civilization
a. Unity

b. Rationality

c. Tolerance

d. Balanced and Integrated civilization

e. Needed to further Islamic awakening and work

with seriousness and determination.

f. Integration between science and faith in Islam

 Islamic Civilization

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.“
 Islamic 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”.
Civilization - Distinguishing Factors
Marriage - A Civility
Marriage in Islam is considered to be
of the utmost importance. The Holy
Prophet (saws) stated that "marriage
is half of religion” There are
numerous Ahadith lauding the
importance of marriage and family.
In Islam, marriage is a legal bond and
Social Contract between a man and a
woman as prompted by the Sharia.
 Islamic Civilization
Caligraphy
Forbidden to paint living things and taught
to revere the Quran, Islamic artists
developed Arabic calligraphy into an art
form. Calligraphers have long drawn from
the Qur'an or proverbs as art, using the
flowing Arabic Language to express the
beauty they perceive in the verses of Holy
Quran.
 Inheretance

The basic unit of Islamic society is the

family, and Islam defines the obligations
and legal rights of family members. The
father is seen as financially responsible for
his family, and is obliged to cater for their
well-being. The division of inheritance is
specified in the Qur'an, which states that
most of it is to pass to the immediate family
members, while a portion is set aside for the
payment of debts and the making of
bequests. With some exceptions, the
woman's share of inheritance is half of that
of a man with the same rights of
succession.
 Merging Civilizations

Islam was not opposed to learning from the

earlier civilizations and incorporating their
science, learning, and culture into its own
worldview, as long as they did not oppose the
principles of Islam. Each ethnic and racial
group which embraced Islam made its
contribution to the one Islamic civilization to
which everyone belonged. The sense of
brotherhood and sisterhood was so much
emphasized that it overcame all local
attachments to a particular tribe, race, or
language--all of which became subservient to
the universal Brotherhood and sisterhood of
Islam.
 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.
 Islamic Civilization in Europe
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.
 Islamic Civilization in Europe

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.