The Islamic Culture

Culture identifies our nation’s

identity, unifies us and
strengthen our position

2021-2022
 The first lecture

Introduction to the Islamic culture

GRD271-Islamic-Lecture 1-FCHS 2021-2022

 Learning objectives
By the end of the lecture, it is expected that students will be able to :
* Explain the concept of Islamic culture, Islamic religion, Islamic law (Sharia),
Islamic thought, Islamic civilization

*Show the importance of culture in our contemporary time

*Show the relationship of Islamic culture with other Islamic sciences (Islamic
religion - Islamic Sharia - Islamic thought - Islamic civilization)

* List the characteristics of Islamic Culture

 The concept of Islamic culture, language and idiomatically

Culture in the language

The word culture and its derivatives in the Arabic language are used to give a variety of meanings.
• The verb from the word Culture gives the same meaning of
‘educate’, and it is in the language means he became astute,
familiar with the subject in all its aspects.

• And it comes with the meaning of straightening and realizing

• Culture is a general word and for making it more specific a field

should be added to it like a science or kind of art, for example, it
is said: legal culture - literary culture - medical culture
 The meaning of Culture Idiomatically
It is a set of sciences, knowledge and practical experiences derived
from the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah that a person acquires and
through which he determines his way of thinking and his approach to
life.

A person’s culture affects his mind, so his way of thinking is

established, and this is reflected in his behavior according to
knowledge and experiences, making the Muslim a unique model in his
dealings with others and a model in his way of thinking and behavior.
 The Importance of Culture
• Culture is the framework in which a person's personality develops, and it influences his
thoughts, attitudes, values, information, skills and behavior. Culture affects the formation of an
individual's personality and then the formation of society.

• Therefore, culture has become a scientific and civilized requirement in many countries of the
world. Thus:

a. These countries have designated a special ministry for cultural, heritage and civilizational
affairs.

b. The Ministry Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the UAE: The Ministry of Culture and Youth

c. Privatization of media: newspapers, magazines, radio stations, cultural programs, seminars,

lectures, and festivals to discuss issues related to culture.

d. Entry of culture into the field of academic study (schools - universities)

 The Importance of Islamic Culture
1. The holistic view of Islam
Islam is a comprehensive approach to all aspects of life. Islam imposes on us the
application of culture, to determine the features of the personality worthy of Islam,
the six pillars of faith, and the five pillars of Islam. A Muslim's faith is not valid unless
he acts in it and firmly believes in it.

2. Insight into what is in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet from the
foundations of moral and civilizational values, in order to fortify belief, behavior
and thought from any incorrect intellectual currents, and to demonstrate the
superiority of Islam in achieving human happiness.

We live in a time in which barriers (temporal and spatial) have been removed. If the
Islamic youth is not aware of the scales that define right and wrong and distinguish
between truth and falsehood, and between what Islam accepts and what it rejects,
then they may slip behind doctrines that are outside true Islam, so Islamic culture
gives them these scales according to which they accept or reject ideas.

.
 The Importance of Islamic Culture (Cont.)
3- The Muslim's positivity and effectiveness in his society, according to
Allah's approach, needs the cooperation of the nations of the world

Man is God’s vicegerent on earth, and this succession requires knowledge of

the method and the elements for its implementation.
In order to achieve this task, it is required from the Muslim to :

1- know the laws of Allah in the universe - societies - people - to achieve his
positive role in his society

2. know human history, human civilization and the laws of God in its decline
and demise, and the culture of the individual and the group has a great
impact on building the Islamic society.
 The relationship of Islamic culture
with other sciences
• The Islamic Religion
• Islamic law
• Islamic thought
• Islamic civilization
1. The relationship of Islamic culture with
the Islamic religion
Religion in language:
Control - measure - subjugation - surrender, submission and obedience -
retribution, reckoning and reward - religion and doctrine

Definition of Religion:
 A set of facts and principles of faith that clarify the major existential
issues (the human being, the universe and life) and it is called the creed.

 A set of practical rulings, principles and controls guiding the behavior of

people in order to achieve the purpose of their existence, and it is called
Sharia.
The relationship of Islamic culture with the Islamic
religion is very close, as it is the image in which the teachings of
Islam are embodied as a doctrine ‫ عقيدة‬and a law.

 Their relationship:
 The sources of Islamic culture are the sources of Islam (the Qur’an
and the Sunnah of the Prophet), which derive from the religion its
legislation, regulations and values ​and are based on its belief.

 What the religion affirms is acceptable to Islamic culture, and what

the religion rejects has no place in it.

 The characteristics of Islamic culture correspond to the purpose and

objectives of the Islamic religion.
2. The relationship of Islamic culture with
the Islamic Law (Sahria)
Sharia in language:
َ
The origin of Sharia in the language goes back to the triple verb Shara’a ‫ ش َر َع‬, which is
used to call the water resource that people come to drink - the straight path that is not
crooked - the clear method

Sharia Idiomatically :
There are two definitions of Sharia idiomatically:
All that God has legislated for his servants of beliefs, transactions‫ا ملعامالت‬, morals, worship,
and this definition is synonymous with the Islamic religion

What God has legislated of practical rulings, which is what is called the science of
jurisprudence ‫علم ا لفقه‬
The relationship of Islamic culture with Sharia
varies so that if:
 Islamic culture was in the sense of the Islamic religion,
so the relationship of culture to it is the same as the
relationship of culture to the Islamic religion

 Islamic culture was in the sense of jurisprudence, the

relationship of culture with it is more general and
comprehensive than Islamic law, because Islamic law
represents the practical aspect of the concepts of Islam
that Islamic culture involves.
3. The relationship of Islamic culture with
Islamic Thought
Islamic Thought is the method that Muslims should adhere to in thinking, and
the resulting knowledge that expresses the jurisprudence of the human mind
stemming from the general view of Islam.

 Islamic thought takes the principles, standards, aims, and objectives of Islam
as its starting point, and relies on the texts of Islam to consider and
construct ideas.

 Islamic thought defends the Islamic culture, which represents the controls of
the law, its teachings, and its morals, and denies what is culture what is
attached to it of exaggeration and negligence.

 Islamic culture has a broad connotation ‫مدلولاوسع‬, and it bears in its

significance behavior and application, as it is a practical knowledge that is
not complete unless it is embodied in the transactional reality, while thought
is in its origin theoretical knowledge, and thus thought is part of Islamic
culture, because culture includes values, customs and traditions.
4. The relationship of Islamic culture with
Islamic civilization
Civilization is : the material and immaterial achievements of Muslims and the Islamic
community.

Civilization is more general than culture, because culture is the product of knowledge. As
for civilization, it includes the physical and cognitive aspect. Culture is the spirit of
civilization.
Culture reflects the characteristics of Islamic culture, and among the most prominent of
these characteristics is the characteristic of humanity, that is, the human being is the goal
of civilization, as it aims to be good for man and prevents harm from him.

The culture is the identity of the nation, and civilization is what the nation has
produced that is affected by this identity, and each nation has its own civilization that
distinguishes it from other civilizations. Civilization has its own character, which is culture,
and this culture is identity and belonging.

The nation opens up from the material side, so it takes what benefits it from
achievements, tools, and means, and competes with others in civil gains.
 Characteristics of Islamic culture

1. Divine ‫ربانية‬
Islamic culture stems from Islam, and all the commands and prohibitions of Islam
are from God (Indeed, We have sent down the Remembrance, and We will
preserve it) Accordingly:

 The provisions of Sharia are free from deficiency, ignorance and whims

 The provisions of the law have the prestige and respect in the hearts of
believers (It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His
Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about
their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into
clear error.)

 The fact that the Sharia is from God does not mean neglecting the human mind
and human experience, if it is referred to them in the field of ijtihad.
2. Humanity

Islamic culture cares about the human being, and proves his dignity
without discrimination, and God Almighty created man in the best manner,
and honored him with reason, and favored him over many of his creation.

This culture is humane, because it is compatible with the human instinct

and his character. It includes all its aspects:

the spiritual, the physical and the mental in a balance so that one aspect
does not dominate over another, and also the suitability of the human
condition in terms of ability, weakness, health, illness, solution and travel,
it did not cost him more than he can handle.
3. Globalism

Islam came with its invitation to the worlds, God Almighty says: “We
have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds” and not for a time
without a time, or a place without a place.
In the messages of the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be
upon him, to the kings, evidence of his universality of this religion
was sent to Al-Muqawqis, King of Egypt, Caesar, King of the Romans,
Negus, King of Abyssinia, Al-Mundhir bin Sawi, King of Bahrain, and
Khosrau, King of Persia.
4. Inclusivity‫ا!!لشمولية‬

Islamic culture includes the universe - life - man. Islam addresses the
soul of man, his mind, and his body, and it includes the life of this
world, the hereafter, the individual and the group.

It is not possible to take anything from religion and leave something

else, rather it must be taken all of it, being comprehensive and
indivisible, for it has forbidden God forbid tearing apart the unity of
this religion.
5. Stability and Validity ‫ا!!لثباتوا!!لصالحية‬
Provisions and rules in Islamic Sharia:

 Consistency: Rulings that do not change with the change of time,

place and persons, including inheritance shares - Zakat amounts -
forbidden by women - transactions - acts of worship

 Validity: It is valid for application at every time and place,

according to what the circumstances require, including the
provisions: Shura - Removing the damage
7. Balance

Moderation which includes the body, the soul, the demands

of this world, religion, and work for the world and the
hereafter
8. Realism

The person in charge is able to apply all the provisions of Islamic

Sharia.

God Almighty says: (God does not burden a soul beyond its
capacity) and God Almighty says: (And He has not placed upon
you any hardship in religion)

This includes legislating permitting prayer while sitting for one who is unable
to stand in the obligatory prayer

breaking the fast in Ramadan for the traveler in Ramadan and for the sick,
combining and shortening the prayer for the traveler.
9.Excellence

Islamic culture in its view of man, the universe and life is fundamentally
distinguished from other cultures, and the ideas that man has known
throughout his history.

In the eyes of this culture, the universe is one of God’s creatures,

subject to His command, and witness to His greatness and wisdom,
subjugated to man; To benefit from it, and to establish his life, away
from extravagance, or harming oneself or others.

And life in the view of this culture is a prelude and a result, and the
prelude is the life of this world and what a person does in this world,
and the Hereafter is the result of this work.