Universiti Oxford mengamalkan tradisi dan disiplin ilmu ala institusi pondok..!

 Universiti Oxford mengamalkan tradisi dan disiplin ilmu ala institusi pondok..!

Percayakah anda menara gading Inggeris tertua di dunia, Universiti Oxford sebenarnya mengamalkan tradisi dan disiplin ilmu ala institusi pondok? Itulah rahsianya seperti yang didedahkan oleh anak Melayu pertama yang menjadi pensyarah dan felo di Universiti Oxford, Dato’ Dr Afifi Al-Akiti dalam Ijtimak Pondok Malaysia 2014 baru-baru ini.

 

“Moto Universiti Oxford, ‘Dominus Illuminatio Mea’ diambil daripada ajaran Samawi iaitu kata-kata pembukaan dalam Mazmur 27 yang bermaksud ‘Tuhan ialah cahaya saya’. Ia merupakan kitab Ibrani atau Perjanjian Lama Kristian daripada Zabur ajaran Nabi Daud,” terangnya yang mula berkhidmat di Pusat Pengajian Islam Oxford (OCIS) pada usia 32 tahun.

 

Menurutnya ciri-ciri ‘pondok’ dapat dilihat daripada tradisi ritual seperti bacaan doa makan daripada Kitab Doa Bersama (Book of Common Prayer) Anglikan yang diamalkan di Universiti Oxford dan UniversitiCambridge.

 

“Orang ateis sekali pun dalam jamuan makan perlu membaca doa makan bersama-sama dalam Bahasa Latin. Ia lebih kurang dengan amalan membaca Bismillah dan doa sebelum makan dalam Islam.”

 

Begitu juga dalam tradisi majlis konvokesyen di universiti dengan persalinan jubah dan topi toga empat segi (mortarboard) adalah datang daripada tradisi agama Islam.

 

“Topi toga asalnya adalah songkok yang diikat dengan Al-Quran sebagai tanda amanah ilmu dan ijazah daripada guru. Jadi perbuatan membaling topi tersebut ketika selepas majlis konvenkesyen adalah tidak beradap dan tidak mewakili budaya ilmu,” jelasnya sambil membuat demontrasi penganugerahan ijazah dengan menjadikan rakan panelisnya Prof Emeritus Dr Surin Pitsuwan sebagai model guru.

 

Tambahnya lagi kecemerlangan akademik universiti terbaik dunia itu juga bersumber daripada tradisi bertalaqi iaitu kaedah pengajaran tutorial bersemuka dengan guru.

 

“Pensyarah di Oxford berperanan seperti Jedi untuk membimbing padawan dalam filem Star Wars. Kami semua berlumba-lumba untuk menjadi Mahaguru Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn dan Obi-Wan Kenobi,” selorohnya bersahaja.

 

Beliau turut berkongsi rahsia kelangsungan dan keunggulan Universiri Oxford selama lebih 900 tahun sejak 1096 dengan menggunakan dana endownmen iaitu salah satu instrumen wakaf bagi menjamin autonomi universiti dan kebebasan akademiknya. Mengikut rekod tahun 2012, Universiti Oxford mempunyai endownmen sebanyak 3.8 bilion pound sementara Universiti Cambridge sebanyak 4.5 bilion pound.

 

Hampir 20 peratus daripada 175,000 alumni menyumbang dengan mengumpul 45 peratus dana baru pada tahun tersebut.Sumbangan terbesar dalam rekod universiti Eropah diterima daripada bilionair Sir Michael Moritz yang mendermakan 75 juta pound kepada Universiti Oxford untuk membiayai biasiswa pelajar miskin.

 

Dengan itu, tidaklah menghairankan apabila Universiti Oxford dilihat sebegitu hebat dalam menghasilkan 47 penerima Hadiah Nobel, 25 orang Perdana Menteri Britain, lebih 30 orang perdana menteri dan presiden pelbagai negara serta ratusan sasterawan dunia seperti John Fowles, Evelyn Waugh, Lewis Caroll dan Plum Sykes.

 

Buktinya paling dekat ialah Dr Afifi sendiri yang diiktiraf sebagai Cendekiawan Clarendon, Universiti Oxford dengan ijazah doktor falsafah teologi Islam, falsafah dan sains pada 2008 disenaraikan dalam senarai ‘500 Umat Islam Paling Berpengaruh’ pada 2010.

 

Sebelumnya beliau mendapat Sarjana Muda Kelas Pertama dalam bidang Falsafah Skolastik dan Sejarah Sains dari Universiti Queen Belfast dan penguasaan tujuh bahasa utama ilmu iaitu Yunani, Latin, Arab, Inggeris, Perancis dan Jerman selain Melayu.

 

Dr Afifi yang menyambut baik inisatif terbaru kerajaan untuk memperkasakan sekolah pondok, turut menggesa agar sekolah pondok kembali kepada tradisi dan dislipin ilmu dalam Islam sebagaimana yang diamalkan Universiti Oxford sekarang.

 

“Institusi pondok tidak seharusnya dilabel mewakili pondok tradisi atau moden. Sebaliknya warga pondok perlu berbangga dengan warisan tradisi silam daripada para salaf dan kemudian mampu menawarkan nilai tambah disiplin ilmu mengikut keperluan dan tuntutan semasa,” cadangnya agar sekolah pondok menjadi lebih dinamik, komprehensif dan kompetitif.

 

Beliau yang pernah menuntut ilmu di sekolah pondok di Selangor, Indonesia, Maghribi dan Syria mengharapkan lulusan pondok akan menyambung pengajian sejauh mungkin malah mengikut jejak langkahnya ke Universiti Oxford.

http://www.mysuara.net/index.php/berita/6530-universiti-oxford-amal-tradisi-dan-disiplin-ala-pondok

Oleh: Faizal Riduan

 

JOURNAL: Islam and Civilisational Renewal (ICR) - Special Issue: Islamic Perspectives on Civilisational Renewal and Reform

JOURNAL: Islam and Civilisational Renewal (ICR)

 - Special Issue: Islamic Perspectives on Civilisational Renewal and Reform

Islam and Civilisational Renewal (ICR) is an international peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by IAIS Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. It carries articles, book reviews and viewpoints on civilisational renewal and aims to promote advanced research on the contribution of Muslims to science and culture.

ICR takes a comprehensive approach to civilisational renewal (tajdid hadari) in an effort to respond positively to the challenges of modernity, post-modernity and globalisation.  The journal seeks to advance critical research and original scholarship on theoretical, empirical, and comparative studies, with a focus on policy research.  It plans to advance a refreshing discourse for beneficial change, in the true spirit of the Islamic principles of tajdid (renewal) and islah (improvement and reform) through exploring the best contributions of all school and currents of opinion.

ICR is non-political and non-sectarian, and welcomes contributions from a broad spectrum of scholars, community leaders and writers regardless of religious persuasion and creed. 

Comments and suggestions as well as requests to contact one of the contributing authors can be emailed to the Managing Editor at: journals@iais.org.my 

Vol 4, No 4: October 2013 - Special Issue: Islamic Perspectives on Civilisational Renewal and Reform

Editorial

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Abstract

Islam and Civilisational Renewal has been in publication ever since the establishment of IAIS Malaysia in 2008. When we started with this choice of name for our flagship journal, our main objective was to broaden the scope and horizons of the Islamic discourse that had been unduly narrowed down during the closing decades of twentieth century and ever since. The post-Islamic resurgence and fundamentalist discourse focused on concerns relating to fiqh issues, mannerisms, food, personal appearance and dress, while paying scant attention to the broader themes and objectives of Islamic civilisation, such as justice, human dignity, good governance, poverty eradication, economic development and education. ICR was launched with this admittedly broad and challenging agenda of widening the scope and horizons of the discourse on Islamic civilisation, its objectives and values.

Tajdid, Islah, and Civilisational Renewal in Islam

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Abstract

The basic theme of this article is that civilisational renewal is an integral part of Islamic thought. The article looks into the meaning, definition and origins of tajdīd, iṣlāḥ and their relationship with ijtihād, and how these have been manifested in the writings and contributions of the thought leaders of Islam throughout its history. The article develops tajdīd-related formulas and guidelines that should lead the efforts of contemporary Muslims in articulating the objectives of inter-civilisational harmony and their cooperation for the common good.

Islamic Civilisation as a Global Presence with Special Reference to Its Knowledge Culture

Osman Bakar

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to discuss the meaning and characteristics of Islamic civilisation and its global presence, particularly in the field of knowledge culture. Since both terms have been contested in contemporary scholarship to the point of their critics denying epistemic legitimacy to the concept of Islamic civilisation itself, the article devotes a lengthy discussion to defending its continuing validity and legitimacy. The most serious challenge comes from the concept of world-system developed by a number of Western thinkers, especially Immanuel Wallerstein. The article also explains the meaning of a civilisation’s global presence, which it argues exists at three different levels, namely territorial presence, cultural presence, and intellectual-spiritual presence. It argues that in the case of Islamic civilisation, its global presence exists at all the three levels. Since knowledge culture is presented as the very heart of Islamic civilisation given the fact that Islam claims to be the religion of knowledge, the article provides an introductory discussion of some important aspects of knowledge culture originating from Islamic civilisation that have become accepted through the West as integral parts of our common modern civilisation. The article concludes with suggestions for further studies and research on the theme of Islamic civilisation’s global presence but from new perspectives in the light of new realities in intercultural and inter-civilisational relations.

Ibn Khaldun and the Good Madina

Syed Farid Alatas

Abstract

Ibn Khaldūn’s theory of the rise and decline of states, and the key concept of social solidarity, ‘aṣabīya, provides rich source material for elaborating normative or prescriptive discussions on the nature of a good polity or civilised society. This renders him extremely relevant to the study of modern societies, even those that lack the nomadic-sedentary dynamic that furnished the material for Ibn Khaldūn’s original science of human society. Ibn Khaldūn’s concepts of authority are of great relevance to the modern Muslim world, not least because of the prevalence today of mulk tabī‘ī or unbridled kingship in Muslim realms. In line with his overall science of human society was his interest in the relationship between education and society. The relevance of his outlook on education lies more in the area of the philosophy of education and displays timeless and universal applicability. Ibn Khaldūn covered the proper methods of teaching and learning and discussed learning capacity, memorisation, curriculum, teacher strictness and the breadth and depth of education. 

The madīna, the form of social organisation which he saw all around him, was not all bad, in his view, but there was an inevitable movement towards degeneration and decay. In the early stages of the up cycle, the madīna displayed numerous political, economic and social dimensions that are worthy of emulation, and Ibn Khaldūn expounds on these in his discussions of the nature of authority, the role of the government in the economy, and the nature of education. Life in the madīna is founded on certain universal values such as the rule of law, justice, accountability, responsibility, and the quest for knowledge and truth. Unfortunately such values do not inform many modern societies of the Muslim world today and should be given more emphasis in our discussions on civilisational renewal. At the heart of the problem is perhaps education. Ibn Khaldūn’s reflections on education take into account politics, language, city life and social class. He also dealt with the methods and procedures of education and can be seen to be an innovator in pedagogy. For Ibn Khaldūn, the way to the good madīna is through an holistic education that produces not just competent but moral individuals. This view implies an entire corpus of practical recommendations in the educational realm in Muslim nations today.

Muslims and Modernity: After Two and a Half Centuries What Have We Learnt? A Meta-Study of the Main Lessons of an Eventful Encounter

Ali Paya

Abstract

My aim in this paper is to explore, from an epistemic point of view, the main cause of the failure of the ‘projects’ introduced/developed by Muslim intellectuals/activists in response to the challenges posed by modernity/postmodernity in the past two and a half centuries. The paper discusses four different responses by Muslim elites to the challenges of modernity and post-modernity. The paper suggests a conjecture concerning the main epistemological cause of Muslims underdevelopment and follows this by critically assessing one particular project, namely, Islamisation of Knowledge, as a typical case which exemplifies the conjecture in question.

Islam and Civilisational Renewal: The Case for “Sacred Science”

Abdul Rashid Moten

Abstract

The Islamic or Muslim civilisation was once at an incomparable peak in terms of all possible indicators of development. But a destruction of the spirit of inquiry and original research so distinctly associated with civilisational development served to sow the seeds of decay and render it easy prey for colonial exploitation. Confronted with a world dominated by Western science and technology, Muslim scholars have been searching for ways to regain their freedom, control their collective lives and link their past to the future. Some opted for a “secularisation thesis”, others advocated liberalisation, still others advocated adoption of science since the Qur’an and science could be seen to complement each other. Seyyed Hossein Nasr asks for the revival of Islamic science. Through a textual analysis of his writings, this study shows that Nasr provides a critique of the Western science and technology, while urging Muslims to study it in depth in order to undertake an authentic critique and to develop a new paradigm to usher in the new golden days of Islam.

Civilisational Conflict, Renewal, or Transformation: Potential Role of the OIC

Abdullahil Ahsan

Abstract

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) came into existence at the end of the 20^th century during the Cold War, a period that also witnessed concerns among many Western intellectuals about the decline of the West. By the end of the century and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the “clash of civilizations” thesis had placed Islamic civilisation at the center of international politics, once again raising questions about world peace and co-existence between civilisations. Could Islamic civilisation as represented by the OIC play a role at this juncture of history? Does it possess the capacity and know-how to meet this challenge? Such questions relate also to ideas of worldview: the Renaissance worldview of the West may be seen to have been tainted by Darwinism and Freudianism while the Islamic worldview appears corrupted by extremism. Can the OIC revive the universal Islamic values such as those upheld by Muhammad Iqbal – the 20^th century student of Rumi? Can it do so in the context of tumultuous intra-Muslim relations? These questions frame our discussion in this paper.

Constitutional Governance and the Future of Islamic Civilisation

Tengku Ahmad Hazri

Abstract

The article advances the argument that Islamic law, more than a mere legal system, represents a legal tradition. A legal tradition stands at the heart of civilisations generally, and Islamic civilisation particularly. Constitutional design in Muslim states must have this backdrop in mind because modern constitutionalism is typically carried out within the framework of modern nation-states, instead of civilisations. The danger then is that the constitution may end up as a kind of “fiat constitution”. By excavating the historical and philosophical foundations of the modern constitution, the article then shows that the very idea of constitutionalism itself actually accommodates the idea of legal tradition, but unfortunately in practice, it is often ignored when designing the constitution of Muslim states. The article also identifies six core constitutional fault lines of contemporary Islamic civilisation, areas which are most vulnerable to conflicts.

The Impact of Nationalism on Civilisational Development and Human Security: Works of Said Nursi and Musa Jarullah

Elmira Akhmetova

Abstract

This essay is an attempt to outline the ideology of nationalism, its types and impact on the well-being of societies from the viewpoints of two Muslim intellectuals, Said Nursi and Musa Jārullāh. Based on the predictions of these two scholars and the current political developments, it identifies the ideas of negative nationalism and racism to be one of the main reasons behind moral corruption, social, political and economic injustice prevalent in the modern world; and it offers some solutions to bring compassion, security, peace and harmony to humankind. The essay suggests that the universal principles of peace, fairness and virtue derived from the revealed religions can produce true civilisations, and offer true happiness and harmony to all members of the society regardless of their ethnic or ideological backgrounds. It also suggests that modern methods of studying political and social developments in the Muslim world should be urgently revised.

The Religious Thrust of Islamic Civilisation

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Abstract

Civilisation implies settlement, to be sedentary or settled in a region, as distinguished from a bedouin or nomadic lifestyle. The renowned historian ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn Khaldūn (d. 1406) used ḥaḍārah (civilisation) in the sense of transformation from nomadism to ʿumrān, to an urban milieu inhabited by settled populations and societies. The antonym of badāwah (nomadism), ḥaḍārah signifies the interaction between man and his environment, and has its genesis in man’s quest to harness the existential world around him in the pursuit of worthy objectives. Mankind’s mission as God’s vicegerent places upon man the responsibility to ‘build the earth’ in a manner that befits his status as the most honoured of God’s creatures.¹ The English word civilisation is derived from civitas, a Latin term which means ‘pertaining to the citizen’ or ‘a state’, thus implying a transformation from nomadism to urbanity and settlement. 

Modernism and Traditionalism in Islam: A Plea for Realism

Muhammad Legenhausen

Abstract

The benefits of modernisation cannot be ignored any more than its failings. Nothing should be accepted or rejected merely because it is modern. Likewise, nothing should be accepted or rejected merely because it is traditional. There is much that is good in modernity, and much that is good in traditional societies. There is much that is bad in modernity, and much that is bad in traditional societies. 

In practice, any politically active movement that opposes Westernisation and calls for the enforcement of Islamic law is termed “Islamic fundamentalism.” One must be careful to distinguish so-called fundamentalists from traditional Muslim groups, for there are Muslim groups that have been anti-intellectualist, anti-philosophical and rather outwardly oriented throughout the history of Islamic civilisation. On the other hand, there are some revolutionary Muslims who have been philosophers and mystics.

http://www.iais.org.my/icr/index.php/icr/issue/current/showToc

KEUNIKAN PENGAJIAN, KESEPADUAN ILMU DAN BUDAYA ILMU DI PUSAT KAJIAN TINGGI ISLAM, SAINS DAN PERADABAN (CASIS)

KEUNIKAN PENGAJIAN, KESEPADUAN ILMU DAN BUDAYA ILMU DI PUSAT KAJIAN TINGGI ISLAM, SAINS DAN PERADABAN (CASIS)

CASIS merupakan sebuah institusi yang berkesinambungan sistemnya dengan ISTAC yang diterajui al-Attas.Pengasas-pengarah CASIS juga adalah bekas tim. Pengarah ISTAC dan ATMA. Tradisi keilmuan dan pengajian CASIS suatu penerusan sistem yang dibina al-Attas dari sudut subjek, korikulum, sumber karya rujukan, suasan kelas dengan bicara dan dialog ilmiah, wacana pembentangan mingguan, budaya membaca dan ilmu, suhbah sesama pelajar dan dengan guru serta beradab.

The worldview of Islam suatu istilah yang dipopularkan al-Attas amat ditekankan, faham ilmu dan koloniasasi ilmu.  Para pelajar dideahkan pelbagai ilmu secara faham. Ilmu teras agama akidah, fiqh, syariah, tasawuf diajarkan dan subjek teras. Bahasa arab dan inggeris ditekankan penguasaanya. Subjek nya menarikh yangmerangkumi alam Melayu, ilmu agama, pemikiran dll..bersama para guru dan pelajarnya membawa bicara ilmiah, minat pembacaan ilmu pengetahuan yang luas, tinggi dalam peklbagai bidang dan mengikuti perkembangan semasa glokal. Jatidiri melayu islami amat ditekankan dan teras penting seta peri ilmu dan budaya mengkaji.

Kesempatan penulis mengikuti 2 subjek d CASIS, suatu kesempatan bergaul dan bersama-sama dengan murid al-Attas. Seorang tokoh pemikir melayu islami. Amat menarik kuliah Prof wan ‘Dekolonisasi dan islamisasi ilmu pengetahuan kontemporari. Keunikan murudnya dari pelbagai latarbelakang pengajian samada sains, sains social, ekonomi, pengajianislam dll.Kesemuanya menunjukkan minat kepada ilmu. Subjek Dekolonisasi dan islamisasi membuka minda dan percambahan akliah terhadap cabaran, isu dan konteks semasa. Ramai umat islam harus menerokai subjek ini yg amat besar manfaatnya termasuk golongan ustaz.

Penulis berkesempatan berguru dengan Prof wan mohd nor, prod muhammmad zainiy uthman, prof madya dr shamsuddin arif. Guru-guru yang mempunyai penguasaan pelbagai disiplin ilmu dan bahasa. Amat terasa keilmuan guru2 CASIS dari pengalaman penulis dengan pensyarah2 IPT2 lain. CASIS ada kualitinya sebagaimana lepasa ISTAC ada kualitinya (ISTAC d zaman al-Attas atau mereka yg berkesempatan zaman pimpinan al-Attas). CASIS menjunjung ilmuwan dan ulama silam serta karyanya, pelajarnya membentuk semanagta Melayu Islami dan jatiri berdasarkan ilmu.

Penulis berpeluang memahami kerangka pemikiran ‘worlview’, islamisasi, dekolonisasi…subejk2 d CASIS membentuk ilmu dan pemikiran secara berpadu. Walaupun masih baru bersama CASIS tetapi penulis dapat merasai ‘zawq’ dan budaya ilmu para guru dan pelajarnya serta keintelektualan mereka.Ilmu fardu ain dan fardu kifayah teras penting. CASIS bukan sahaja sebagai pusat pengajian, penyelidikan tetapi mula membina gerakan aktivis dalam kerangka traditional islam. Para pelajrnya dibina pemantapan kefahaman, keberanian berhujah dan berasas kepada ilmu dan adab.kerangka yang dibina CASIS adalah pemikiran bersepadu dengan paradigm Islami, faham agama, dan ancaman terhadapa agama, bangsa, Negara serta keupayaan berfikir, mengkaji dan menilai serta analisa.

CASIS juga menganjurkan kuliah mlm Ahad ‘Saturday night lecture’ oleh prof. S.M.N. al-Attas. Seorang pemikir ulung melayu. CASIS pusat pengajian unik bagi kecemerlangan ilmu dan penghayatan budaya ilmu. Berikut antara subjek2 yang diajar di CASIS disamping bahasa arab, inggeris, akidah,syariah,fiqh….:

Worldview and Epistemic Frameworks

A comparative analysis of all the major worldviews and their relationship with the conception, methodology and purpose of knowledge and knowing, and the culture of knowledge they generate. The worldviews and the knowledge culture of the Greeks, Judeo-Christians, secular-humanists, the Indians, Chinese, Japanese and especially the Muslims will be studied. An analysis of similarities and differences will be carried out to encourage deeper understanding, mutual cooperation, respect and tolerance.

Islamisation and Decolonisation of Contemporary Knowledge

Analysis on the phenomena that knowledge framework, methodologies and contents are organically linked to worldviews, values and socio-political and economic interests of dominant groups, states, cultures and civilisations. The Western colonisation of Asia, Latin and North America and Africa and its effects on the indigenous knowledge frameworks is explored. Issues of neo-colonialism, captive mind, colonisability mentality, decoloniality and especially Islamisation and integration of knowledge will be vigorously analysed.

Islamic Philosophy of Science and Technology

The relation between Islam and Science; the origins and development of Modern philosophy of science, from Mechanical Philosophy to Quantum physics; the separation of science from metaphysics; Methods of scientific enterprise from experimental method to modern empiricism, positivism and scientism. The idea of Islamisation of contemporary knowledge and Islamic science will also be discussed.

Qur’an and Hadith: Principles, Methodology and Contemporary Challenges

The science of the Holy Qur’an (Ulum al-Qur’an) including the concept of wahy, its transmission, collection and preservation; asbab al-nuzul, nasikh wa al-mansukhal-muhkam wa al-mutashabih; the schools of Tafsir; contemporary debates on the Qur’an and its exegesis. History of origins, development, transmission, dissemination and collection of Hadith literature; Hadith-Criticism; the reporters of Hadith (rijal al-hadith); contemporary debates on the science of Hadith.

History and Methodology of Islamic Science

An introduction to the great works of early Muslim scientists, and technologists and their main pioneering contributions. An indepth survey of the various sciences and methods developed and used by Muslim scientists, astronomers, geometricians, medical doctors towards the advancement of their respective fields, and their influences on the West.

Islamic Art and Architecture

A study of the growth, influences and development of a unique art that is informed, and guided by the precepts of the religion of Islam. Calligraphy, arabesque as they are applied in written artform, pottery, carpets. Architectural monuments and their history. Early phases of the growth from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Egyptian, Spanish, Persian, Mughal, Ottoman, through the growth and expansion of the Muslim powers saw a complementary development of architectural achievements. Muslim architecture in China and eastern lands.

Shari‘ah in Contemporary Muslim Societies

Islamic legal system and its development in early Islam; the sources of the Shari’ah, the fiqh of al-Maqasid (the objectives of the Shari’ah), the concept of thawabit (permanence) and mutaghayyirat (change). A vigorous analysis of the contemporary discourse of reconstruction and reform of Shari’ah and Islamic jurisprudence; the relation between Shari’ah and Tasawwuf; the emergence of contemporary movement, extremism and its responses.

Islamic Economic Thought and Institutions

An introduction to economic thought and institutions in Islamic civilisation, including the concepts ofal-iqtisad,tadbir, al-amwal,al-kasb, al-tijarah, riba, zakah, kharaj, hisbah, waqf and bayt al-mal, as well as a critical overview of Islamic banking system and finance.

Islamic Political Thought and Institutions

The political thought and institutions in Islam, particularly the Islamic state of Madinah; the concepts of khilafah, siyadah, hakimiyyah. The concept of al-ikhtiyar, ‘aqd al-wakalah, bay’ah, ahl al-hall wa al-‘aqd; Islamic political principles including justice, mutual consultation (shura), equality before the law (musawah), accountability (muhasabat al-hakim); constitutional government in Islam and contemporary debate on Islam and democracy.

Islam and Religious Pluralism

An analysis on the concepts of religious pluralism, religious diversity and tolerance. An overview of the concept of Tawhid; Abrahamic faith, al-din al-hanif; Transcendent Unity of Religions and its relation with Perennial philosophy.

Major Muslim Scientists

A study of enduring legacy of selected Muslim Scientists, such as al-Khawarizmi (d. 850), al-Zahrawi (1013), Ibn Sina (1037), Ibn al-Haytham (1040), al-Biruni (1048), al-Tusi (1274) and others who were the precursors to modern methods in scientific and technological advancement in Modern West. A selection of texts will be studied in translation.

Major Muslim Thinkers

A study of major thinkers of Islam such as al-Ash’ari (d. 936), Ibn Sina (1037), al-Ghazali (1111), Ibn Rushd (1198), Ibn Taymiyyah (1328), Ibn Khaldun (1395), Mulla Sadra (1640) al-Fansuri (1600) al-Raniri (1658) and others. This course will concentrate on the basic essentials in the thought of these various thinkers.

Islamic Law, Science and Technology

The application of Islamic Law and ethical precepts (legal maxims of Islam) to the development and growth of scientific and technological application to everyday life. An examination of the concept of life, maintenance of health, and death in Islam. The use of and abuse of science and technology in the maintenance of health and personal well-being. The ban on astrology, the abuse of musakkirat, mukhaddirat.

Islam in Malay Culture and History

The coming of Islam to the Malay Archipelago; Bilad al-Jawi in Islamic sources; archeological, cultural and scientific artifacts; the new Jawi language and script. The rise of learning and scholarship; early works on tafsir, hadith, language, history, theology, tasawwuf and philosophy will be examined; the growth of centres of learning: pondok, zawiyah, pesantren; The Malay sultanates and Islam in contemporary Malaysia.

Reading in Classical Text

Reading and surveying selections of the great works in Islamic civilisation: on theology, legal thought, philosophy and Sufi literature, such as al-Muwatta’, al-Risalah, al-Fiqh al-Akbar, al-Kharaj, Tahafut al-Falasifah etc. The work of prominent Muslim theologians such as Aqa’id al-Nasafi by Umar al-Nasafi (d.537 H) and Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah by Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi (321H).

Readings in Contemporary Texts

Selected works by contemporary Muslim thinkers such as, Muhammad Iqbal, Fazlur Rahman, Ismail al-Faruqi, S.M.N. al-Attas, al-Jabiri, al-Qaradawi, al-Buti, Seyyed Hossein Nasr etc. on issues pertaining to Islamic thought and contemporary challenges will be studied critically.

Islam and Urban Development

Surveying the city in Islam; the establishment of Madinah as City of the Prophet. Makkah as city of spirituality; the growth of Muslim cities: Damascus, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Kaherah, Istanbul, Isfahan, Toledo, Granada, Melaka, Acheh and other major cities in the Muslim World will be studied; Urbanism in early Greek and Roman cities compared to early Muslim cities; contemporary urban development and medieval cities will be examined.

Religion, Human Development and Culture

The genesis of mythological belief-based religions. Revealed versus non-revealed religions or religious traditions. Ethical values and its relation to happiness. The development of human communities into societies from ethnic based to religion based identities. The advancement of human culture, values with the unfolding of revelation-based religion. The rise of the secular worldviews.

Tasawuf in Islamic Tradition

British Library's Malay manuscripts

British Library's Malay manuscripts to be digitised

The complete collection of Malay manuscripts in the British Library is to be digitised thanks to a generous donation of £125,000 from Singapore-based American philanthropists William and Judith Bollinger. The five-year project, in collaboration with the National Library Board of Singapore, will fund the digitisation of materials of interest to Singapore held in the British Library. In addition to Malay manuscripts, early maps of Singapore and selected archival papers of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles – who founded a British settlement in Singapore in 1819 – will also be digitised and made freely accessible online. 

For centuries, the Malay language has played an important role as the lingua franca of trade, diplomacy and religion throughout maritime Southeast Asia.  It was the language through which Islam spread across the archipelago from the 13th century onwards; it was the language in which visiting merchants from the Middle East, India, China and Europe would barter for spices in the rich port cities of Melaka, Patani, Aceh, Banten and Makassar; and it was the language through which British and Dutch colonial officials communicated with local sultanates. Until the early 20th century Malay was generally written in a modified form of the Arabic script known as Jawi, and Malay manuscripts originate from the present-day nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the southern regions of Thailand and the Philippines.


A map showing the area over which the Malay language was commonly spoken, from the first original Malay-English dictionary, by Thomas Bowrey, 1701  (British Library, 68.c.12)

The British Library holds over a hundred Malay manuscript texts and several hundred Malay letters and documents, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts derive mainly from the historic British Museum collections, including Malay books owned by John Crawfurd, who served under Raffles during the British administration of Java from 1811 to 1816, and then as Resident of Singapore from 1823 to 1826, and from the India Office Library (which became part of the British Library in 1983), which holds Malay manuscripts belonging to John Leyden, Raffles’s closest friend and advisor, who died of fever shortly after the British capture of Batavia in 1811; Col. Colin Mackenzie, Raffles’s Chief Engineer in Java; as well as a few manuscripts previously owned by Raffles himself. 

Although not large, the British Library collection of Malay manuscripts includes some very important works, including the oldest known manuscript of the earliest Malay history, ‘Chronicle of the kings of Pasai’, Hikayat Raja Pasai, (Or.14350), describing the coming of Islam to Sumatra; two copies of the most famous Malay historical text, the ‘Malay Annals’, Sejarah Melayu, (Or.14734 & Or.16214) recording the glories of the great kingdom of Melaka up to its capture by the Portuguese in 1511; literary works in both prose (hikayat) and verse (syair), some of which – such as the intriguingly-named ‘Story of the Pig King’, Hikayat Raja Babi (Add.12393), written by a merchant from Semarang during a voyage to Palembang in Sumatra – are unique copies; as well as texts on law and Islamic religious obligations.  A few of the manuscripts are exquisitely illuminated, including a fine copy of an ethical guide for rulers, ‘The Crown of Kings’, Taj al-Salatin, copied in Penang in 1824 (Or.13295). 
  

A sumptuously illuminated manuscript of an ethical guide for rulers, ‘The Crown of Kings’, Taj al-Salatin, copied in Penang in 1824  (British Library Or.13295, ff.190v-191r)


The Malay manuscripts are being digitised in the British Library and will be fully available on the Library’s Digitised Manuscripts online (search on keywords ‘Malay’ or ‘Jawi’), while the National Library Board of Singapore will also be mounting the images on their BookSG website. Thus through this project, manuscripts which previously could only be viewed by visiting the British Library’s reading rooms in London will soon be made freely accessible online worldwide to anyone with an interest in Malay heritage and culture.

Over the next few months, on this blog we will be exploring in more detail individual manuscripts as they are digitised and made available online. If you would like to keep in touch, subscribe by email (at the top of this page) and follow us on Twitter @BLAsia_Africa.

Further reading

Malay manuscripts in the British Library are catalogued in:
M.C. Ricklefs & P. Voorhoeve, Indonesian manuscripts in Great Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977)

Annabel Teh Gallop, Lead Curator, Southeast Asian Studies

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Sejarah Melayu: a Malay masterpiece

Sometime around the year 1400, a prince from Sumatra named Parameswara founded a settlement at the mouth of the Melaka river on the west coast of the Malay peninsula.  Soon after one of his successors embraced Islam, and Melaka grew to become the greatest Islamic kingdom ever seen in Southeast Asia. Known as the ‘Venice of the East’, its spice trade attracted merchants from as far away as Arabia, India, China and Japan.  Such a honeypot proved irresistible to the Portuguese, who were the first Europeans to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean.  Not content simply to join in the bustling trade, the Portuguese instead attacked Melaka and captured it in 1511. 

Plan of Melaka after its capture by the Portuguese.  Livro do Estado da India Oriental, by Pedro Barreto de Resende, 1641.  British Library, Sloane MS 197, ff.381v-182r.

    The Malay sultan, Mahmud Shah, fled southwards to Johor. As the exiled court began to face up to the realization that their enforced sojourn in Johor would not be temporary, it became ever more urgent to record for posterity the still-vivid memories of Melaka’s magnificence.  A chronicle was envisaged that would testify that the sultan and his kin now settled on the upper reaches of the Johor river were descended from a glorious line of Malay kings, originating in south Sumatra from the site of the ancient empire of Srivijaya, who had gone on to found at Melaka the richest emporium in Southeast Asia.  It so happened that the court official charged with the task, Tun Seri Lanang, was the greatest Malay writer of that or perhaps any period, and he produced what is now regarded as a masterpiece of Malay literature.  

    Entitled in Arabic Sulalat al-Salatin, ‘Genealogy of Kings’, but popularly known as Sejarah Melayu or the ‘Malay Annals’, this work is not only a literary triumph but also a handbook of Malay statecraft, outlining the solemn covenant between the ruler, who promises never to shame his subjects, and his people, who undertake never to commit treason (durhaka).  More than thirty manuscripts of Sejarah Melayu are known, with numerous different versions of the text, some designed to bolster the credentials of other Malay kingdoms by claiming links with the illustrious royal line of Melaka. 

    The enduring popularity of the Sejarah Melayu also lies in the skill of its author in addressing key historical episodes and refashioning these invariably to the greater glory of Melaka.  In one celebrated anecdote, when a delegation from Melaka visited China, all had to bow low and were not allowed to look at the Emperor’s face. When the Emperor enquired as to what food they liked, the crafty Malays specified kangkung, spinach, not chopped up, but left long.  They then ate the kangkung by lifting each strand up high and lowering it into their upturned mouths – thus enabling them to lift their heads and gaze upon the Chinese emperor!

Sejarah Melayu: how the Malays ate kangkung (spinach) at the Chinese court, thereby managing to steal a glance at the face of the Emperor.  British Library, Or.14734, f.84r.

    There are two manuscripts of the Sejarah Melayu in the British Library, Or.16214 and Or.14734, which has just been digitised.   This manuscript was copied in Melaka itself in 1873, by which time the site of the great Malay sultanate had passed through the hands of a whole series of European colonizers, from the Portuguese to the Dutch and then to the British.  It bears the name of E.E. Isemonger, who served as Resident Councillor of Melaka in 1891.

Detail of the colophon, giving the name of the scribe and the date of copying in Melaka as Monday 19 Zulhijah 1289 (17 February 1873):  Tamatlah Hikayat Melayu ini di dalam negeri Melaka sanatahun 1289 kepada 19 hari bulan Zulhijah hari yaum al-Isnin adanya, wa-katibuhu Muhammad Tajuddin Tambi Hitam bin Zainal Abidin Penghulu Dagang Melaka Kampung Telangkira adanya.  British Library, Or.14734, f.200v.

Further reading

C.C. Brown, Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals.  An annotated translation by C.C.Brown, with a new introduction by R.Roolvink.  Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1970.

A. Samad Ahmad (ed.), Sulalatus salatin (Sejarah Melayu).  Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka: 1986.

John Leyden's Malay Annals.  With an introductory essay by Virginia Matheson Hooker and M.B.
Hooker.  Selangor Darul Ehsan: MBRAS, 2001. (MBRAS reprint; 20).

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