Islamic studies [MRS.

AFIFA SHAJIA, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER]

Islamic Civilization and Culture:

a.  Meanings and the Vital Elements
b.  Role of Civilization in Development of Human
Personality and Communities
c.  Distinctions of Islamic Civilization (Tauheed,
Spiritualism, Dignity of Man, Equality, Social Justice,
Moral Values, Tolerance, Rule of Law)

1. Introduction:
a. Meaning/definition: “a social system which helps man
to increase his cultural output.”
b. An advanced state of human society, in which a high
level of culture, science, industry, and government has
been reached.
c. An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and materia
l development in human society, marked by progress i
n thearts and sciences, the extensive use of record-
keeping, including writing, and the appearance of com
plex political andsocial institutions.
d. Civilization is the manifestation of beliefs in every
aspect of human life. Thus the Islamic civilization can
also be defined, namely the manifestation of Islamic
faith (tawhid) in every aspect of Muslim life.
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2. Development of Islamic civilization:

a. Islam was destined to be a world religion and a
civilisation, stretched from one end of the globe to the
other. The early Muslim caliphates (empires), first the
Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about
to create classical Islamic civilisation.
3. Vital elements:
a. The body of a civilization is its material achievements
in terms of buildings, industrial facilities, machinery
and anything which reflects welfare and earthly
advancement. Its soul is the set of creeds and concepts
which condition the behaviors of individuals and
groups, their mutual relationships and their worldview.
These are the elements which constitute the
characteristics of the civilization. Civilization can be
termed as a way of life. Politico-Socio-Economic and
cultural life are basic elements of a civilization.
b. Civilization consists of four main elements:
i. economical resources,
ii. political systems,
iii. moral traditions and
iv. science and arts.
4. Distinction of Islamic civilization:Tauheed, Spiritualism,
Dignity of Man, Equality, Social Justice, Moral Values,
Tolerance, Rule of Law
a. It is based on a foundation of absolute oneness in
belief. It was the first civilization that proclaimed the
message of One God Who has no partner or associate
in His rule and dominion; He is the Only One Who is
worshipped and He is the Only One Who is sought.

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Allah Almighty Says what means: {It is You we worship

and You we ask for help.} [Quran 1: 5]
He is the One Who honors and humiliates, Who gives and
withholds, and there is nothing in the heavens or on earth
that is not subject to His dominion and held in His grasp.
This sublime understanding of the concept of oneness has a
great effect in raising the level of mankind and of liberating
the masses from the oppression of kings, nobles, powerful
men and the clergy; in reforming the relationship between
rulers and subjects; in guiding people to Allah Alone, Who
is the Creator of the universe and the Lord of the worlds
It is also the reason why Islamic civilization fell short in
some of the arts of sculpture and image-making, despite its
prominence in the arts of inscription (calligraphy),
engraving and architectural adornment. Islam, which
declared war on idolatry and its manifestations, did not
permit any expressions or relics of idolatry from ancient
times to exist in its civilization, such as statues of great
men, righteous men, Prophets or conquerors.
This belief in oneness has an impact on all the foundations
and systems produced by our civilization. So there is unity
in its message, unity in its legislation, unity in its general
aims (goals, achievement of social justice, peace and
tranquility, to maintain good will, to maintain brotherly
relations with others) , unity in humanity in general, unity
in the way of life and pattern of thinking.
b. The second of the characteristics of our civilization is
that it is human in its inclinations and objectives,
universal in its ambition and message.
The Quran declared the oneness of mankind despite the
differences in their races, places of origin and abodes.
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Allah Says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have

created you from male and female and made you peoples
and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most
noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of
you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran
49: 13]
When the Quran declared this universal oneness of
mankind with regard to truth, goodness and dignity, it made
its civilization the factor that brought together all the
brilliant minds of all nations and peoples over whom the
banner of Islam flew. Hence, whilst every civilization may
be able to boast of its brilliant sons of one nationality, only
Islamic civilization can boast of the brilliant minds from all
nations and peoples who built it. For Abu Haneefah,
Maalik, Ash-Shaafi`i, Ahmad, Al-Khaleel, Sibawayh, Al-
Kindi, Al-Ghazaali, Al-Faraabi, IbnRushdand their like
were all of different origins but they were among the
brilliant minds through whom Islamic civilization gave to
humanity the marvelous intellectual products of sound
human thought.

c. The third of the characteristics of our civilization is

the way in which it gave prominence to moral
principles in all its systems and fields of activity, and
never abandoned these principles (truth, integrity,
fairness, honesty, transparency) or used them as means
of benefitting a state, a group or an individual. In
ruling, in science, in legislation, in war, in peace, in
economy, in the family; it paid attention to these moral
principles in legislation and in implementation of
laws. In this field it reached a high level that has never
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been attained by any civilization before or since. The

Islamic civilization left behind a legacy in that field
which deserves to be admired for it alone, among all
civilizations, guaranteed the happiness of man in the
purest sense, not contaminated with any misery.

d. The fourth of these characteristics is that it believes in

knowledge in the truest sense, based on belief in the
purest principles. So it addressed the rational mind and
the heart at the same time, it provoked emotions and
thought at the same time.
The reason why this particular characteristic of our
civilization is to be so admired is because it was able to
establish a state system based on principles of truth and
justice, based on religion and belief without religion
becoming an obstacle to the development of the state and
the progress of the civilization.
Rather religion was one of the greatest factors in its
development. From the mosques of Baghdad, Damascus,
Cairo, Cordoba and Granada the rays of knowledge shone
into all parts of the world. Islamic civilization is the only
one in which religion was not separated from the state even
though it was spared the misery that resulted from the
mixing of the two as happened in Europe in the Middle
Ages. The head of state was the Caliph and a leader of the
believers (Ameer Al-Mu’mineen), but he ruled in
accordance with the truth, and legislation was left to those
scholars who were specialized in that field. Each group of
scholars had its field of specialization, and all of them were
equal before the law. Superiority was determined by one's
level of taqwa (piety) and service to people:
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This is the religion on which our civilization is based; no

special privileges and immunities are there for a chief
(Caliph, President, Prime Minister), a clergyman, noble or
rich…
Allah Almighty Says what means: {Say, “I am only a man
like you…"}[Quran 18: 110]

e. Another unique characteristic of our civilization is this

amazing religious tolerance which has never been seen
in any other civilization that was based on religion.
f. It is a civilisation with a universal dimension. It is not
associated with a particular geographic region, race or
historical era. It is predicated on the idea that man has
precedence over the rest of the creatures of Allah. All
human activities should lead to the happiness and
welfare of man. Any action intended to serve this goal
is a God-blessed action indeed.
g. It is a well-balanced civilisation. It insists on
equilibrium between the material and the spiritual
dimensions of life. In fact, this moderation is the
essence of Islamic thought and civilisation. It permits
of no excess, no neglect, no extremism and no
recklessness—that moderation is based on a “golden
mean”
h. It is a perennial civilisation and will not last as long as
Islam exists. So long as, it embodies the very
principles of Islam, the Almighty Allah will preserve.
This unique civilisation will never wither away: since,
it is not a national or a racial civilisation, nor does it
run counter to human nature. In any case, Islam should
not be identified with Muslims. Muslims may become
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weak or strong but Islam would remain an everlasting

guidance to humankind.
5. Role of Islamic civilsation in development of human
personalities and communities/ Contribution of Islamic
civilization:
a. Medicine: The contribution of Muslims to this area is
immense indeed. Drawing on the medical lore of the
Greeks, Persians and Egyptians, the Muslim world
eagerly adapted all the available knowledge in this
field. Recognising importance of the medical science,
the Arabs raised physicians to a high social rank,
rewarding them with generous emoluments.
The Persian Al Razi (Rhazes in Europe: 865-925
A.D.) wrote an important encyclopedia of medicine,
Al Havi (Continens). It sums up the knowledge of
medicine possessed by the Arabs
b. Chemistry: the Arab chemists developed formulas for
making three chief mineral acids—nitric acid,
sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid—used in the
modern world. They discovered the arts of distillation,
oxidation and crystallization, also making of alcohol.
The father of Arabic chemistry and its greatest genius
was Jabir (Geber). He made significant advances in
the theory and practice of his science, developing new
methods for evaporation and sublimation perfecting
the process of crystallisation. Translations of his
works in Latin exerted a tremendous influence in
Europe until the beginning of modern chemistry.
c. Astronomy, Geography And Navigation: the
Arabsabsorbed all the astronomical, geographical and
navigational science and skill of the ancient world and
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set about formulating it into a practicable body of

knowledge.
d. The Decimal System: the introduction of Arabic-
Hindu symbols for numerals and of positional notation
(the decimal system), enabling today’s elementary
school children to perform operations beyond the
capacities of learned mathematicians of Greek, Roman
and medieval times.To the Arabs belongs the credit
for perserving the useful ‘zero’ from the heart of India,
putting it to work in elaboration of the decimal system,
without which the achievements of modern science
would have been impossible
e. Algebra: the science of algebra owes much to the
gifted mathematicians of the Islamic era of poliical
ascendancy. Though of Greek origin, algebra was
greatly expanded by Muslim mathematicians. From
about 800 to 1200 A.D., the Arabs evolved a more
critical study of equations giving them for the first
time some element of scientific treatment. Algebra
was then further handed on to Europe via Spain and
Sicily.
f. Paper: the introduction of paper into the Muslim and
European world was made possible when Arab
conquerors overran Asia and Africa in the eighth
century.
g. Gunpowder: the arabsalso learned from the Chinese
the manufacturing go gunpowder. Howver, they put it
to a use the Chinese had never conceived of. They
utilised the explosive power of gunpowder for
projecting a missile from an enclosed chamber. The

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first effective cannon was made in Egypt sometime in

the 12th century.
h. Textiles.: The clothing worn by Europeans during the
Dark Ages and most of the Medieval period was as
crude as their diet was meagre. The Goths had
graduated, it is true, from skins and furs to coarse
clothing woven of wool and linen. The Crusaders
brought back glowing accounts of the rich fabrics of
the East. Soon these fabrics became a part of the
regular trade building up between the port cities of
Italy and the cities of the Near East. Better still, the
Moors of Spain and Sicily taught the Christians of
those countries their skills in textiles and taught them
cultivation of the silkworms for the production of silk.
As a result of this Arabic influence, Renaissance
Europe blossomed out in delicate and lovely fabrics of
delightful textures and hues, hitherto unknown to the
sombre races of north Europe.
i. Agricultural Products: The Egyptians, believing sugar
to have medicinal qualities, invented methods of
refining it chemically.
j. Seminaries/ the culture of universities: the muslims, as
we have seen, began to found universities in the 9th
century: first in Baghdad, followed in Cairo, Fez,
Cordova and other cities. The el-Azhar University in
Cairo boasts of being the oldest existing university in
the world. Founded in the 10th century, it remained
the world’s leading Islamic theological centre. Of late,
it is updated with social and natural sciences. The
Universities of Cordova and Toledo were well known
to Europeans and their hospitals were frequented by
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Christian princes in need of medical care, the

Christian Europe could not furnish.
6. Conclusion: The development and progress of a civilization
requires many factors such as geographical and economic
factors, and psychological factors such as religion,
language and education. The collapse of a civilization
stems from factors which are the opposite of those which
lead to its rise and development; the most important of
these destructive factors include moral and intellectual
decadence, lawlessness and breakdown of social systems,
the spread of oppression and poverty, the spread of
pessimism and apathy and the lack of competent and
sincere leaders.
The more universal a civilization is in its message, the
more humane it is in its inclination, the more moral it is in
its direction and the more realistic it is in its principles, the
more lasting will be its impact on history, the longer it will
endure and the more it will deserve to be honored.
Civilizations are not measured by materialistic standards or
by quantities or areas, or by luxurious standards of living,
food and clothing. Rather they are measured by the impact
they have on human history.

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