Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam

This is a very important book. No book of its kind, in profundity as well as magnitude of scope and comprehensive grasp of modern intellectual challenges facing the contemporary Muslim World, appeared in the last century. The book deals with the fundamental question of the nature of ‘worldview’ according to Islam—a question that has never really been raised in our time. The author proposes that the nature of the worldview of Islam is not merely the mind’s view of the physical world and of man’s historical, social, political and cultural involvement in it, as has been misunderstood in the minds of secular, contemporary Muslim scholars generally, and particularly those preoccupied with the social and political sciences, but it should bear upon the Muslims’ ideas about ‘change’, ‘development’, and ‘progress’.

The fundamental elements of the worldview of Islam, together with the key terms and concepts that they unfold, are elaborated in detail in this book.
Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam, Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas

The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Ed. John L. Esposito, Reviewed by Maryam Jameelah

[Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al‑Attas, ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]

"The currency of modern educational ideas in the Islamic lands is a historical testimony to the epical failure of the Muslims over the past two hundred years, and practices are the slow, but inexorable, unravelling of the Muslim mind. Education in the contemporary world is like the most pervasive ‘conveyor belt’ transmitting the ideas of the dominant culture and the values system of politico‑economic elite to the credulous and dominated generations. Education in the true Foucaldian sense is plugged into the grid of reigning ideas and values, not necessarily predicated on ‘truth’. It is also a master technology of control, which leaves nothing untouched. The content of modern education and the whole process of schooling/disciplining are aimed at ‘manufacturing’ human beings to fulfil certain political and socio-economic objectives set by the political powers that be. The individual and the needs of his self are absent from the whole project of modern education.

Ibn Khaldun: Muqaddimah

Ibn Khaldūn (full name, Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي‎, Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Raḥman bin Muḥammad bin Khaldūn Al-Hadrami, May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH) was an Arab polymath — an astronomer, economist, historian, Islamic jurist, Islamic lawyer, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, hafiz,mathematician, military strategist, nutritionist, philosopher, social scientist and statesman — born in North Africa in present-day Tunisia. He is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in English).
Ibn Khaldun's Magnum Opus


This impressive document is a gist of his wisdom and hard earned experience. He would use his political and first hand knowledge of the people of Maghrib to formulate many of his ideas. This document would summarize Ibn Khaldun’s ideas about every field of knowledge during his day. He would discuss a variety of topics. He would discuss History and Historiography. He would rebuke some of the historical claims with a calculated logic. He would discuss the current sciences of his days. He would talk about astronomy, astrology, and numerology. He would discuss Chemistry, alchemy and Magic in a scientific way. He would freely offer his opinions and document well the "facts" of the other point of view. His discussion of Tribal societies and social forces would be the most interesting part of his thesis. He would illuminate the world with deep insight into the workings and makings of kingdoms and civilizations. His thesis that the conquered race will always emulate the conqueror in every way. His theory about Asbyiah (group feeling) and the role that it plays in Bedouin societies is insightful. His theories of the science of Umran (sociology) are all pearls of wisdom. His Introduction is his greatest legacy that he left for all of humanity and the generations to come. (Source: muslimphilosophy.com)

Prof. Naquib al-Attas: The Concept of Education in Islam

The keynote address delivered by Prof. Naquib al-Attas at the "First World Conference on Muslim Education" in March 1977.
ISTAC

Islam and Secularism - Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

"This book was originally dedicated to the emergent Muslim, for whose hearing and understanding it was indeed meant, in the hope that they would intelligently prepared, when their times come, to weather with discernment the pestilential winds of secularization and with courage to create necessary changes in the realm of our thinking that is still floundering in the sea of bewilderment and self-doubt." - Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Islam & Secularim (1993)

Al-Attas - Islam and Secularism

Written more than twenty years ago, this book is one of the most creative and original works of a Muslim thinker in the contemporary Muslim world.

Deliverance From Error - Imam Ghazali

Deliverance From Error and the Attachment to the Lord of Might and Majesty - Imam Ghazzali

Instruction of the Student (the Method of Learning), By Imam Zarnuji

This is a remarkable volume that touches upon the method by which students of the classical Muslim world learned their studies in a traditional way. Its author, Imam al-Zarnuji, has attracted the attention of Western men of learning for centuries, as they tried to decipher the secret behind the stunning educational success of Islamic civilization.

"This book should be a starting point for the revival of the Islamic intellectual tradition that has always been the preamble to Islamic Renaissance," writes Hamza Yusuf in his foreword to the book.

Ta'lim Muta'alim