Syed Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas ( ar, سيد محمد نقيب العطاس '; born 5 September 1931) is a Malaysian Muslim philosopher. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and studies theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. He pioneered the concept of

Islamisation of knowledge The phrase Islamization of knowledge has been used by some. The phrase " Islamisation of knowledge" was first used and proposed by the Malaysian scholar Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas in his book "Islam and Secularism" (first published in 1978). ...

. Al-Attas' philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamisation 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 27 works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilisation, particularly on

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, philosophy and

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

and literature.

Early life and education

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas was born in

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors, saints. His genealogical tree can be authentically traced over a thousand years through the Ba'Alawi sayyids of

Hadramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

and all the way back to the Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He was the second of three sons; his older brother,

Syed Hussein Alatas Syed Hussein Alatas ( ar, سيد حسین العطاس '; 17 September 1928 – 23 January 2007) was a Malaysian academic, sociologist, politician, and founder of social science organisations. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya ...

later became an academian and politician. He is the cousin of the academic

Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid (28 January 1922 – 15 December 2020) was a Malaysian economist and lecturer. He was the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya from 1968 to 1988 and the 1st General Director of the Council on La ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and western classics in English. After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Regiment as a cadet officer. There he was selected to study at Eaton Hall,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, England and later at the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town ...

, UK (1952–1955). During this time he became interested in metaphysics of the Sufis, especially the works of Jami. He travelled to Spain and North Africa where the 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, to pursue studies at the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

in Singapore (1957–1959). While an undergraduate at University of Malaya, 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 McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

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 SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

where he worked with Professor

A.J. Arberry Arthur John Arberry (12 May 1905, in Portsmouth – 2 October 1969, in Cambridge) FBA was a British scholar of Arabic literature, Persian studies, and Islamic studies. He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Pembroke College, Cambri ...

of Cambridge and

Martin Lings Martin Lings (24 January 1909 – 12 May 2005), also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon and an authority on the work of William Sh ...

. His doctoral thesis (1962) was a two-volume work on the mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri. In 1965, al-Attas returned to Malaysia and became Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1968 until 1970, where he instituted more consultative reforms. Thereafter he moved to the new

National University of Malaysia The National University of Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, abbreviated as UKM) is a public university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Mala ...

, as Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He advocated the use of Malay as the language of instruction in the university. He founded and directed the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia in 1973. In 1987, with al-Attas as founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC) was established in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. The institution was made to increase the consciousness of Islam to its students and faculty. Al-Attas incorporated Islamic artistic and architectural principles throughout the campus and grounds.

Malay literature and Sufism

He authored ''Rangkaian Ruba'iyyat'' a literary work that was among the first ever published in 1959 and the classic work, ''Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised Among the Malays'', in 1963. His two-volume doctoral thesis on ''The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri'', which is the most important and comprehensive work to date on one of the greatest and perhaps the most controversial Sufi scholars in the Malay world earned him the PhD in the UK in 1965. Al-Attas engaged in polemics on the subjects of Islamic history, philology, and Malay literary history and Sha'ir. He established that Hamzah Fansuri was the originator of the Malay Sha'ir. He has also set forth his ideas on the categorisation of Malay literature and periodisation of its literary history. He contributed to the history and origin of the modern Malay language. His commentaries on the ideas of Fansuri and al-Raniri are the first definitive ones on early Malay Sufis based on 16th- and 17th-century manuscripts. In fact he discovered and published his meticulous research on the oldest extant Malay manuscript, wherein among other important matters, he also solved the issue on arrangements of the Malay-Islamic cyclical calendar. He was also responsible for the formulation and conceptualisation of the role of the Malay language in nation building during debates with political leaders in 1968. This formulation and conceptualisation was one of the important factors that led to the consolidation of Malay as the national language of Malaysia. As the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Malaya, he implemented a more systematic implementation of Malay as an intellectual and academic language in the University.

Islam and Metaphysics

Al-Attas maintains that modern science sees things as mere things, and that it has reduced the study of the phenomenal world to an end in itself. Certainly this has brought material benefits, however it is accompanied by an uncontrollable and insatiable propensity to destroy nature itself. Al-Attas maintains a firm critique that to study and use nature without a higher spiritual end has brought mankind to the state of thinking that men are gods or His co-partners. ''"Devoid of real purpose, the pursuit of knowledge becomes a deviation from the truth, which necessarily puts into question the validity of such knowledge."'' slam and Secularism, p. 36 Al-Attas views Western civilisation as constantly changing and 'becoming' without ever achieving 'being'. He analyses that many institutions and nations are influenced by this spirit of the West and they continually revise and change their basic developmental goals and educational objectives to follow the trends from the West. He points to Islamic metaphysics which shows that Reality is composed of both permanence and change; the underlying permanent aspects of the external world are perpetually undergoing change slam and Secularism, p. 82 For al-Attas,

Islamic metaphysics Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

is a unified system that discloses the ultimate nature of Reality in positive terms, integrating reason and experience with other higher orders in the suprarational and transempirical levels of human consciousness. He sees this from the perspective of philosophical Sufism. Al-Attas also says that the Essentialist and the Existentialists schools of the Islamic tradition address the nature of reality. The first is represented by philosophers and theologians, and the latter by Sufis. The Essentialists cling to the principle of ''mahiyyah'' (quiddity), whereas the Existentialists are rooted in ''wujud'' (the fundamental reality of existence) which is direct intuitive experience, not merely based on rational analysis or discursive reasoning. This has undoubtedly led philosophical and scientific speculations to be preoccupied with things and their essences at the expense of existence itself, thereby making the study of nature an end in itself. Al-Attas maintains that in the extra-mental reality, it is ''wujud'' (Existence) that is the real "essences" of things and that what is conceptually posited as mahiyyah ("essences" or "quiddities") are in reality accidents of existence. The process of creation or bringing into existence and annihilation or returning to non-existence, and recreation of similars is a dynamic existential movement. There is a principle of unity and a principle of diversity in creation. ''"The multiplicity of existents that results is not in the one reality of existence, but in the manifold aspects of the recipients of existence in the various degrees, each according to its strength or weakness, perfection or imperfection, and priority or posteriority. Thus the multiplicity of existents does not impair the unity of existence, for each existent is a mode of existence and does not have a separate

ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...

status"''. He clarifies that the Essence of God is absolutely transcendent and is unknown and unknowable, except to Himself, whereas the essence or reality of a thing consists of a mode of existence providing the permanent aspect of the thing, and its quiddity, endowing it with its changing qualities.

Awards and achievements

Al-Attas developed a style and precise vocabulary that uniquely characterised his Malay writings and language. He has also studied Islamic and Malay civilisations. In 1975, he was conferred Fellow of the

Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy The Iranian Research Institute of Philosophy (IRIP; Persian language, Persian: مؤسسه پژوهشی حکمت و فلسفه ایران) is a Public university, public research institute in Tehran, Iran. History In September 1974, Farah Pahlavi ...

for his contribution in the field of comparative philosophy. He was also a speaker and an active participant at the First World Conference on Islamic Education held at

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

in 1977, where he chaired the Committee on Aims and Definitions of Islamic Education. From 1976 to 1977, he was a Visiting Professor of Islamic at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, United States. In 1978. He chaired the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

meeting of experts on Islamic history held at

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He is the first holder of the Chair of Malay Language and Literature at the National University of Malaysia (1970–84), and as the first holder of the Tun Abdul Razak Chair of Southeast Asian Studies at

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

(1980–82) and as the Founder-Director of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC) in Malaysia (since 1987). He has delivered more than 400 lectures throughout Europe, the United States, Japan, the Far East and the Muslim world.

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 1 ...

in 1993, appointed him as the first holder of the Abu Hamid al-Ghazali Chair of Islamic Thought at ISTAC.

King Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

made him a Member of the Royal Academy of Jordan in 1994, and in June 1995 the University of Khartoum conferred upon him the Degree of Honorary Doctorate of Arts (D. Litt.). He was also a

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, his work was exhibited at the

Tropenmuseum The Tropenmuseum ( en, Museum of the Tropics) is an ethnographic museum located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1864. One of the largest museums in Amsterdam, the museum accommodates eight permanent exhibitions and an ongoing series of tem ...

in Amsterdam in 1954. He planned and designed the: ISTAC building; the unique scroll of the al-Ghazali Chair (1993); the auditorium and mosque of ISTAC (1994); as well as their landscaping and interior decor.

Honour of Malaysia

* : Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (P.S.M.) (2011)

Ancestry

Syed Naquib is of mixed ancestry; His father, Syed Ali al-Attas, was the son of a Hadhrami

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

and a Circassian noblewoman. On his father's side, Syed Naquib was the son of a Hadhrami

and a Sundanese noblewoman.

Bibliography

A list of works by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas is as follows. He authored more than two dozen books and monographs, and a lot of articles.

Books and monographs

* (1959) ''Rangkaian Ruba'iyat'' (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). * (1963) ''Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays'' (Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute). * (1968) ''The Origin of The Malay Sha'ir'' (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). * (1969) ''Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of the 17th Century Acheh'' (Kuala Lumpur: Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society). * (1969) ''Preliminary Statement On A General Theory of The Islamization of The Malay-Indonesian Archipelago'' (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). * (1970) ''The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri'' (Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press). * (1970) ''The Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription'' (Kuala Lumpur: Museum Department). * (1971) ''Concluding Postscript to The Origin of The Malay Sha'ir'' (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). * (1972) ''Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu'' (Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia). * (1975) ''Comments on the Re-Examination of Al-Raniri’s Hujjatu’l Siddiq: A Refutation'' (Kuala Lumpur: Museum Department). * (1977) ''Islām: Faham Agama dan Asas Akhlak'' (Kuala Lumpur: Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)) * (1978) ''Islam and Secularism'' (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM); reprint, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC), 1993). * (1980) ''The Concept of Education in Islam'' (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM); reprint, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)). * (1986) ''A Commentary on the Hujjat al-Siddiq of Nur al-Din al-Raniri: Being an Exposition the Salient Points of Distinction between the Positions of the Theologians, the Philosophers, the Sufis and the Pseudo-Sufis on the Ontological Relationship between God and the World and Related Questions'' (Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Ministry of Culture). * (1988) ''The Oldest Known Malay Manuscript: A 16th Century Malay Translation of the `Aqa’id of al-Nasafi'' (Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya). * (1989) ''Islam and the Philosophy of Science'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)) (tr. into German by Christoph Marcinkowski as ''Islam und die Grundlagen von Wissenschaft'', Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 2001) * (1990) ''The Nature of Man and the Psychology of the Human Soul'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)). * (1990) ''On Quiddity and Essence'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)). * (1990) ''The Intuition of Existence'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)). * (1992) ''Islam: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC)). * (1993) ''The Meaning and Experience of Happiness in Islam'' (tr. into Malay by Muhammad Zainiy 'Uthman as ''Ma'na Kebahagiaan dan Pengalamannya dalam Islam'', Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC; and into German by Christoph Marcinkowski as ''Die Bedeutung und das Erleben von Glückseligkeit im Islam'', Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1998) * (1994) ''The Degrees of Existence'' * (1995) ''Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)). * (2001) ''Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin'' (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)). * (2007) ''Tinjauan Ringkas Peri Ilmu dan Pandangan Alam'' (Penang, Malaysia: Universiti Sains Malaysia). * (2011) ''Historical Fact and Fiction'' (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: UTM Press). * (2015) ''On Justice and the Nature of Man'' (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: IBFIM).

References

Citations

Works cited

* * *

General references

* M. Ismail Marcinkowski, "Dr. Marcinkowski explains what ISTAC has to offer". ''Education Quarterly'' (