Knowledge and Civilization: An Islamic Perspective

This book, which comprises of seven chapters, is an attempt to view the concepts regarding knowledge, human life and civilization through Islamic lens. The first chapter analyses views of Kamal Hassan, a contemporary scholar of Islamic thought, on the Islamicization of Human Knowledge (IOHK). In the light of Said Nursi’s experiences of prison and exile, the second chapter draws out an action plan for the contemporary Muslim Ummah. On the similar lines, the third chapter explores the possibilities of enabling the sustainable development in any nation, using Said Nursi’s insights. The forth chapter attempts to map the rise and fall of civilizations and diagnose their causes from the Quranic narratives. A critique of the postmodern conception of “truth” from a Quranic perspective is presented in the fifth chapter. The next chapter magnifies the culture of female education in Islamic society, through an objective presentation of Ayisa’s (R) educational life. The final chapter is a revisit of al-Bīrūnī’s contributions to natural sciences, astronomy and astrological computation.