KNOWLEDGE AND CIVILIZATION IN ISLAM by Edited by Kabuye Uthman Sulaiman

There is a voluminous literature on the subject of knowledge and civilisation. This book centers on knowledge and civilization in Islam with two aims. First, to describe what knowledge is according to the Qur’an and hadith, how it is acquired and how the Islamic conception contrasts with the secular conception of knowledge. Second, to enunciate the role of knowledge in civilisation. The pursuit of knowledge and the use of reason are compulsory for all Muslims. The rise of Muslims to the zenith of civilization was based on Islam’s emphasis on learning. Before Islam, Arabia was engrossed in ignorance. Hence, one of the aims of Islam was to deliver Arabia and humanity at large from the depths of darkness and ignorance of irrationality, idol worship, superstitions, tribalism and racism into enlightenment which manifests in al-Tawhid (belief in the oneness of God), moral uprightness and liberation of the mind of its shackles and of slavery.