Qadar Bakhsh Baloch The Dialogue
THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
Qadar Bakhsh Baloch
“Thus we have appointed you a mid-most nation, that you may be
witnesses upon mankind.” (Quran, 11:43)
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. In the 13th
century, both Africa and India became great centres of Islamic
civilisation. Soon after, Muslim kingdoms were established in the
Malay-Indonesian world, while Muslims flourished equally in
China. Islamic civilisation is committed to two basic principles:
oneness of God and oneness of humanity. Islam does not allow any
racial, linguistic or ethnic discrimination; it stands for universal
humanism. Besides Islam have some peculiar features that
distinguish it form other cotemporary civilisations.
SALIENT FEATURES OF ISLAMIC CIVILISATION
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS that distinguish Islamic civilisation from
other civilisations and give it a unique position can be discerned as:
• It is based on the Islamic faith. It is monotheistic, based on the
belief in the oneness of the Almighty Allah, the Creator of this
universe. It is characterised by submission to the will God and
service to humankind. It is a socio-moral and metaphysical
view of the world, which has indeed contributed immensely
to the rise and richness of this civilisation.
The author is a Ph. D. Research Scholar, Department of International
Relations, University of Peshawar, N.W.F.P. Pakistan, the Additional
Registrar of Qurtuba University and Editor of The Dialogue.
37
,Islamic Civilisation The Dialogue
• 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.
• It is an open civilisation and is not shy of deriving and
drawing niceties of other civilisations in the past, provided
they do not run counter to the spirit of Islam. 1 Islam is the
most pluralist religion; it coexists with other religions,
allowing full religious autonomy.
• 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”.
• 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 weak or strong but Islam would remain an
everlasting guidance to humankind.
ISLAM:
AN ENLIGHTENED INFLUENCE, NOT COERCIVE
THE GLOBAL CIVILISATION created by Islam succeeded in activating
the mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result,
the nomadic, pagan Arabs became torchbearers of science and
learning. The Persian civilisation gained a new momentum after
embracing Islam, contributing further to the advancement of science
and arts. The same can be said of Turks and other nations.
In brief, Islam was largely responsible not only for the creation of a
world civilisation in which people of many different ethnic
backgrounds participated and played a central role in developing
38
, Qadar Bakhsh Baloch The Dialogue
intellectual and cultural lives of theirs on a scale not witnessed
before.
For nearly one thousand years Arabic remained the major
intellectual and scientific language of the world. For centuries, Islam
was the source of new ideas to the Greek East and Latin West.
Between the 7th and 12th centuries, Islam became the centre of a
brilliant civilisation and of a great scientific, philosophic and artistic
culture. Islam absorbed and added its culture to the heritage of
Greece, Rome, Judaism, Christianity and the Near East.
Muslims respected religious minorities within the areas they
conquered. Of course, these minorities were required to recognise
Islamic political rule, pay taxes and refrain from conspiracies against
the Muslims.
It is the Islamic civilisation that has contributed through its
achievements in the areas of medicine, pharmacy, chemistry,
mathematics and physics or philosophy to the acceleration of the
advent of the renaissance and the ensuing revival of different
sciences, which constitute the warp and woof of the western culture.
Islamic civilisation dominated much of the Southern and parts of
the Western Hemisphere between 10th and 16th centuries. However,
with the rise of industrial age and the beginnings of age of
colonialism, Islamic civilisation suffered a serious set back. Muslims
found themselves victims to the coercive and creeping Western
encroachments on their culture and civilisation.
Despite political reversals, Islam as a religion remained an
important global force and is still the second largest religion,
commanding the loyalties of most of the people of Asia, Africa and
the Middle East.
“It was under the influence of the Arabian and Moorish
revival of culture, and in the fifteenth century, that the real
renaissance took place. Spain, not Italy, was the cradle of
the rebirth of Europe. After steadily sinking lower and
lower into barbarianism, it had reached the darkest depth
of ignorance and degradation when the cities of the
Saracenic world, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova, were growing
centers of civilization and intellectual activity. It was there
that the new life arose which was to grow into a new
phase of Human Evolution. From the time when the
influence of their culture made itself felt, began the
stirrings of a new life.” 2
39
THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
Qadar Bakhsh Baloch
“Thus we have appointed you a mid-most nation, that you may be
witnesses upon mankind.” (Quran, 11:43)
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. In the 13th
century, both Africa and India became great centres of Islamic
civilisation. Soon after, Muslim kingdoms were established in the
Malay-Indonesian world, while Muslims flourished equally in
China. Islamic civilisation is committed to two basic principles:
oneness of God and oneness of humanity. Islam does not allow any
racial, linguistic or ethnic discrimination; it stands for universal
humanism. Besides Islam have some peculiar features that
distinguish it form other cotemporary civilisations.
SALIENT FEATURES OF ISLAMIC CIVILISATION
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS that distinguish Islamic civilisation from
other civilisations and give it a unique position can be discerned as:
• It is based on the Islamic faith. It is monotheistic, based on the
belief in the oneness of the Almighty Allah, the Creator of this
universe. It is characterised by submission to the will God and
service to humankind. It is a socio-moral and metaphysical
view of the world, which has indeed contributed immensely
to the rise and richness of this civilisation.
The author is a Ph. D. Research Scholar, Department of International
Relations, University of Peshawar, N.W.F.P. Pakistan, the Additional
Registrar of Qurtuba University and Editor of The Dialogue.
37
,Islamic Civilisation The Dialogue
• 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.
• It is an open civilisation and is not shy of deriving and
drawing niceties of other civilisations in the past, provided
they do not run counter to the spirit of Islam. 1 Islam is the
most pluralist religion; it coexists with other religions,
allowing full religious autonomy.
• 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”.
• 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 weak or strong but Islam would remain an
everlasting guidance to humankind.
ISLAM:
AN ENLIGHTENED INFLUENCE, NOT COERCIVE
THE GLOBAL CIVILISATION created by Islam succeeded in activating
the mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result,
the nomadic, pagan Arabs became torchbearers of science and
learning. The Persian civilisation gained a new momentum after
embracing Islam, contributing further to the advancement of science
and arts. The same can be said of Turks and other nations.
In brief, Islam was largely responsible not only for the creation of a
world civilisation in which people of many different ethnic
backgrounds participated and played a central role in developing
38
, Qadar Bakhsh Baloch The Dialogue
intellectual and cultural lives of theirs on a scale not witnessed
before.
For nearly one thousand years Arabic remained the major
intellectual and scientific language of the world. For centuries, Islam
was the source of new ideas to the Greek East and Latin West.
Between the 7th and 12th centuries, Islam became the centre of a
brilliant civilisation and of a great scientific, philosophic and artistic
culture. Islam absorbed and added its culture to the heritage of
Greece, Rome, Judaism, Christianity and the Near East.
Muslims respected religious minorities within the areas they
conquered. Of course, these minorities were required to recognise
Islamic political rule, pay taxes and refrain from conspiracies against
the Muslims.
It is the Islamic civilisation that has contributed through its
achievements in the areas of medicine, pharmacy, chemistry,
mathematics and physics or philosophy to the acceleration of the
advent of the renaissance and the ensuing revival of different
sciences, which constitute the warp and woof of the western culture.
Islamic civilisation dominated much of the Southern and parts of
the Western Hemisphere between 10th and 16th centuries. However,
with the rise of industrial age and the beginnings of age of
colonialism, Islamic civilisation suffered a serious set back. Muslims
found themselves victims to the coercive and creeping Western
encroachments on their culture and civilisation.
Despite political reversals, Islam as a religion remained an
important global force and is still the second largest religion,
commanding the loyalties of most of the people of Asia, Africa and
the Middle East.
“It was under the influence of the Arabian and Moorish
revival of culture, and in the fifteenth century, that the real
renaissance took place. Spain, not Italy, was the cradle of
the rebirth of Europe. After steadily sinking lower and
lower into barbarianism, it had reached the darkest depth
of ignorance and degradation when the cities of the
Saracenic world, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova, were growing
centers of civilization and intellectual activity. It was there
that the new life arose which was to grow into a new
phase of Human Evolution. From the time when the
influence of their culture made itself felt, began the
stirrings of a new life.” 2
39
