The Degrees of Existence

The Degrees of Existence : New,
*[A5] Paperback - 75 pages,
by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas,
Published by ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur.

Now in Stock November 2022

Description :

The Degrees of Existence : Another title from the prolific Islamic thinker and philosopher Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. This book extensively covers the metaphysics and attempts a philosophical summary of the both the reality and concept of existence, offering it from an Islamic perspective.
 

Insightful and fascinating, this book deepens our understanding of the concept, reality, and degrees of exixtence in Islamic philosophy. Shaykh al-attas examines the issues with penetrating rigour, explaining lucidly the difference between tashakhkhus, ta’ayyum, tajalli and taqayyud, as modes of individuation, and helps illuminate the typology and gradation of exixtence. It is a substantial contribution to our current understanding of Islamic metaphysics.



Extract :

" Finally, to conclude, with respect to the Creation in Six Days as interpreted by commentators based on the apparent meanings of the relevant passages, their explanation of the six stages corresponding to the Six Days coincide only with the last degree of existence in our interpretation. This means that they have interpreted the words 'Heavens' and 'Earth' and 'what lies between them' in those passages on creation to refer only to the physical universe together with all its parts, which in our interpretation is at the ontological level of the sixth degree of existence.

This is as much as we wish to convey here without going into further details. We beseech God to forgive us where we slip and err, to grant us His succour and guidance in correctly understanding His words and His signs and symbols whose ultimate meanings He alone knows best. "

Prof. Shaykh Syed (Sayyid) Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas

He was born 5 September 1931 in Indonesia. He received his early education in Sukabumi and Johor Bahru. He later studied at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England and, subsequently, at the University of Malaya, Singapore, McGill University, Canada and the University of London, England.


He is one of the few Muslim contemporary philosopher's who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and studies theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. He pioneered the concept of Islamisation of knowledge. Al-Attas' philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamisation of the mind, body and soul and its effects on the personal and collective life on Muslims as well as others, including the spiritual and physical non-human environment.
 

He is the author of 27 works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilisation, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature.

Also see Islamic Theology | Kalam,
Also see books on Philosophy,

[Published 1994, Malaysia]. Some shelf wear to covers.
*Dimensions :  21.5 x 14cm.