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Kultur Dokumente
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Syed al-Attas
3. Cf. Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur, 1978), chap. II.
Journal of Islamic
SyedPhilosophy
al-Attas / 2005
result is
there ofamans
separation experience
between andtruth
consciousness
and realityof and Him between
and of
truth
His creation.
and values. These fundamental elements act as
integrating
The nature
principles of Godthatunderstood
place all our in systems
Islam is not of meaning
the
and standards
same as the conceptions
of life and values
of God in understood
coherent order in theas various
a unified
system forming
religious traditions theofworldview;
the world;and nor the is itsupreme
the sameprinciple as the of
true reality that
conceptions of God is articulated
understood byinthese
Greek fundamental
and Hellenistic elements
is
philosophical tradition; nor as the conceptions of God
focused on knowledge
understood in Western of philosophical
the nature of or God
scientific
as revealedtradition; in the
nor
Qurn.
in that of Occidental and Oriental mystical traditions. The
apparent Thesimilarities
nature of God thatas mayrevealed
be found in Islam
between is derived
their various
from Revelation.
conceptions of God Wewith
do not themean
nature byofRevelation
God understood the sudden in
visionscannot
Islam great poetsbe interpreted
and artists as claim
evidence for themselves;
of identity ofnor thethe One
apostolic inspiration
Universal God in theirofvarious the writers
conceptions
of sacredofscripture;
the nature nor of the
illuminative
God; for each intuition
and every of theonesages
of them andservespeopleand of discernment.
belongs to a
We meanconceptual
different by it the speech system, of which
God concerning
necessarily Himself,
rendersHis the
creation, the
conception asrelation
a wholebetweenor the super
them,system and the towaybe dissimilar
to salvation
communicated
with one another. to Nor
His chosen
is thereProphet
a transcendentand Messenger, unity of not by
sound or letter,
religions, if by unity
yet comprising
is meant all oneness
that Heor hassameness;
represented and in
words,
if by unity
then is conveyed
not meant byoneness
the Prophet or sameness,
to mankind in thena there
linguistic
is pluralityform or dissimilarity
new in nature of religions
yet comprehensible,
even at the level without of
confusion with the
transcendence. If itProphets
is conceded ownthat subjectivity
there is plurality
and cognitive or
imagination. at
dissimilarity This thatRevelation
level, andisthat final, byand unity
it not is only
meant confirms
the truth of preceding
interconnectedness ofrevelations
parts that constitute
in their original a whole, forms, so but
that
includes
the unitytheir
is thesubstance,
interconnection separatingof thethe plurality
truth from or dissimilarity
cultural
creations
of religionsand as ethnic
of parts inventions.
constituting a whole, then it follows
that atSince
the levelwe affirm
of ordinary
the Qurn
existence,to be in the which
speech mankind
of Godis
revealedtointhe
subject a newlimitations
form ofof Arabic,
humanity the description
and the material of His nature
therein is any
universe, thereforeone religion
the description
is incomplete of Himselfin itself,by is Himself
in itself in
His own words
inadequate to realize
according its purpose,
to that linguistic
and can form. only realize
It follows its
from this which
purpose, that the is true
Arabic submission
of the Qurn, to theitsOne interpretation
Universal God in the
Tradition,
without associating
and its authentic Him with andany authoritative
partner, rival, usageor like,throughout
at the
the ages
level of transcendence.
establishes theBut validity
religionof that
is meantlanguage to realize
to a degree
its
of
purpose precisely at the level of existence in which mankind is
eminence
subject to in
theserving
limitations
to describe
of humanityrealityand andthe truth.material
4 In this sense
and unlikeand
universe, thenot situation
when mankind
prevailingisinnot modernist
subject to and these
postmodernist
limitations as the thought,
term transcendent
we maintain that conveys.
it is not If the concern
of Islam to be unduly
transcendent is meant involved
to refer into the ansemantics
ontological ofcondition
languages not
in generalunder
included that philosophers
any of the tenofcategories,
language find Godproblematic
is, strictly as to
their adequacy
speaking, not the to God
approximate
of religion or(i.e.
correspond
ilah) in the with sense
true reality.
that
The conception
there could be such of the a thing
natureasofaGod unity that ofisreligions
derivedat fromthat
Revelation
level. At that is also
levelestablished
God is recognized
upon the as foundations
rabb, not asof ilah;
reasonand
and intuition,
recognizing Him andasinrabbsome does
casesnotupon necessarily
empirical implyintuition,
oneness as a
or sameness in the proper acknowledgement of the truth that
is
recognized, since Ibls also recognized God as rabb and yet
4. For further details, see my book, The Concept of Education in Islam (Kuala
Lumpur, 1980), pp.113.
15
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Syed al-Attas
with all its parts; for it is the world that is being brought near,
that is, being brought near to the experience and
consciousness of man. Hence the world is called duny. By
virtue of the fact that what is being brought nearthat is, the
world and the life in itsurround us as it were and overwhelm
us, they are bound to distract from consciousness of our final
destination, which is beyond this world and this life, which is
what comes after, that is, al-khirah. Since it comes at the
end, al-khirah is felt as far; and this accentuates the
distraction created by what is near. The Holy Qurn says that
the Hereafter is better than the life of this world; it is more
abiding, everlasting. But the Holy Qurn does not derogate
the world itself; or dissuade from contemplation and reflection
and interpretation of it and its wonders; rather it extols the
world of creation and urges us to contemplate and reflect upon
it and its wonders in order that we might be able to interpret
and derive their practical and beneficial purpose. The Holy
Qurn only warns of the distracting and ephemeral nature of
life in the world. The warning emphasis in the concept of al-
hayat al-duny is the life in it, not the world, so that the world
and nature are not demeaned as implied in the concept
secular.
That is why I said that al-hayat al-duny is the nearest
equivalent to the concept secular, because in actual fact there
is no real equivalent concept in the worldview of Islam
projected by the Holy Qurn. Moreover, since the world is
that which is brought near, and since the world and nature
are signs or ayt of God, it is the signs of God that are brought
near to our experience and consciousness; and it would be
blasphemous, to say the least, to derogate the world and
nature
knowing them in their true character and purpose. It is Gods
manifestation of His infinite mercy and loving kindness that
He caused His signs to be brought near to us, the better for us
to understand their intended meanings. There can be no
excuse, therefore, for those who, struck by awe of the signs,
worship them instead of God to whom they point; or those
who, seeking God, yet demean and abjure His signs because
they see tempting evil in them and not in themselves; or again
those who, denying God, appropriate His signs for their own
materialistic ends and change them in pursuit of illusory
development. The world cannot develop as it is already
perfect according to its own firah; only life in the world can
develop. There is a final end to the world just as there is a final
end to life in the world. Development of life in the world is
that which leads to success in that which comes after it, for
Journal of Islamic Philosophy / 2005
29
Syed al-Attas
to create
from religious
the change
and semi-religious
and immerse understandings
himself in the of evolutionary
itself; the
dispellingThis
process. of all
attitude
closed towardworldviews, values the
demands
breaking anofawareness
all
supernatural myths and sacred symbols; the defatalization
on
of part of secular man of the relativity of his own views and
the
history; he
beliefs; themust
discovery
live with by man
the realization
that he has that
beentheleftrules
with andthe
world on
ethical codes
his hands,
of conductthat he which canguideno longerhis ownblame life Fortune
will change or
the the times and generations. This attitude demands what
with
Furiescall
they formaturity;
what he does andwith hence it; secularization
it is man turning is also
his attention
a process
away
of evolution
from theofworlds the consciousness
beyond and toward of manthis fromworldthe infantile
and this
time.
to the mature states, and is defined as the removal of
juvenile Secularization
dependence encompasses
from every level notof only
society;
the political
the process
and
social
of maturing
aspectsand of life,
assuming
but also responsibility;
inevitably thethe cultural,
removalfor itof
denotes the
religious and metaphysical
disappearancesupports of religious anddetermination
putting man on ofhis
the
symbols
own. Theyof cultural
further say integration.
that this recurring
It implies change
an irreversible
of values is
historical
also the recurrent
process in phenomenon
which culture of and
conversion
society are which
delivered
occurs
fromthe
at tutelage
intersection
to religious
of the control
action of andhistory
closedonmetaphysical
man and the
worldviews.
action of manIton is history,
considered which a liberating
they call development,
responsibility,and the
the end product
acceptance of adult
of secularization
accountability. is historical
Thus as relativism.
already
Hence according
mentioned, they visualise
to them history the contemporary
is a processexperience
of secularization.
of
The integral components
secularization as part of the in the evolutionary
dimensions process
of secularization
of human
are the disenchantment
history; as part of the irreversible of nature, process
the desacralization
of coming of age, of
politics,
of growing andup thetodeconsecration
maturity when of they
values.
will haveBy theto put
disenchantment
away childish things of naturea
and learn termto have
and concept
the courage borrowed
to be. from
the GermanIf the full
sociologist
implications Max Weberof the 6foregoing
they mean briefas he means,
the freeingofofthe
exposition nature
meaning fromof itssecularization
religious overtones,is understood,
which it
means
will becometo deprive
obvious nature
that of the spiritual
twentieth meaning
century soChristian
that man can
act upon
Arabic usage
it asandhe pleases
accepted and translation
make useofofthe it according
term secularto hisas
needs
c almniy andmerely
plans,reflects
and hence its meaning
create historical
as formulated change byandthe
development.
latinized Western ByChristianity
the desacralization of the thirteenth
of politics century.
they mean Even
the abolition
though the modernof sacral translators
legitimation vaguelyof political
refer topower
the term and
authority,
secular aswhich
meaning is thealso prerequisite
jily or qarny, of political
yet they change
were and
hence also social
completely unaware change
of the allowing
way in which for thethe emergence
concept couched
of the
historical
in the term process.
secular Byhastheevolved
deconsecration during the of values
last seventhey mean
the rendering
centuries in thetransient
experience andand relative
consciousness
all culturalofcreations
Western and
every value system which for them include religion and
man,
worldviews
causing the having
rise of contemporary
ultimate and final problems
significance,
never encountered
so that in
this wayTheir
before. history,
description
the future, of secularity
is open toas change,
al-ihtimm
and man bi umuris free
al-duny, or as al-ihtimm bi al-calamiyyat is not quite correct,
because to be preoccupied with the affairs of the world, or
with worldly things, is according to us not necessarily to be
philosophical
opposed toprogram religion; is given
whereasin my secularity
Islam and Secularism,
understood (Kuala
inLumpur,
the
1978), chs. I and II.
modern
6. The phrase disenchantment of the world was used by Friedrich Schillerto
sense is necessarily opposed to religion. Similarly,
secularize is not quite the same as awwal ila ghara calami
and
ay dunyawi,
quoted by Weber. because to change
Another term which Weber in accordance with what
used in this connection is is
rationalization.
good in the pursuit of worldly ends is according to us not also
See Webers Essays in Sociology (New York, 1958); see
his Sociology of Religion (Boston, 1964); chs. III and V of the former; and for
necessarily
Webers concept toofchange in opposition
rationalization, see Talcott toParsons
religion. Secularization
explanation of it in the
Introduction to the latter work, pp. xxxixxxiii.
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