The Approach ... in the Qur'an

To Human Civilisation in the Qur'an : New,

منهج الحضارة الإنسانية في القرآن
*[A5] Hardback - 232 pages,

by Imam Sa'id Ramadan al-Bouti,

Translated by Mahdi Lock,

Published by Dar al-Fikr.

Description :

This book contains – perhaps for the first time – the study of a comprehensive Qurʾānic structure for a unique social education that can promote the establishment of a sound, stable civilisational rebirth.


It also contains – again for the first time – an inquiry into the foundations of knowledge and its point of departure in the Qurʾān, which most people have neglected until today. This book, with all of the above that it contains, is placed in front of those who say, ‘We have looked and we have not found a comprehensive educational theory in the Quran.’


Here are some key points that can be drawn and then compared with certain ideas coming out of the Anglosphere. For starters, Imam al-Bouti defines civilisation as the fruits of the interaction between man, his lifespan and the universe. To create ideal civilisation, those three components must be understood accurately and correctly:


     *** Man is a slave of Allah, created from a vile fluid, but at the same time an ennobled vicegerent. The balance that this establishes means that man will not deify himself over the creation, like Fir'awn, or accept to be in a state of servility and humiliation under a creation, e.g. the Children of Israel.

     *** The life that we enjoy is a test, very much like a final exam at university: its time is so brief that it is almost insignificant but its consequences are far-reaching and profound.

     *** The universe has been subjugated for our benefit; we were never in a state of struggle with nature. Rather, we seek to use the created things around us in a way that maintains the balance that Allah created them in.


What should be obvious from the above is that Islamic civilisation is rooted in the firm conviction that Allah the Exalted exists and that He is the Creator of the universe.

Shaykh Muhammad Saʿid Ramadan al-Buti was born in 1929CE near the village of Jilka, Būṭan (Turkish Kurdistan). In 1933CE he migrated to Damascus (Syria) together with his  father, Mulla Ramadan. In Damascus the Shaykh followed in his father’s footsteps as he became one of the city’s leading scholars of theology, philosophy, law and jurisprudence.

He completed his secondary studies at the Institute of Islamic Guidance, after which he joined the Faculty of Religion at al-Azhar University, receiving his degree in 1955CE. The following year, Shaykh al-Buti joined the Faculty of Arabic at al-Azhar. He was appointed as Dean in the Faculty of Religion at Damascus University in 1960, and deputed to al-Azhar University for his doctorate in uṣūl al-fiqh.  In 1965 he was appointed as an instructor in the College of Law at Damascus University. Later, he was appointed as its Dean, then as the Chief of the Department of Tenets and Religions, and finally as the Head  of the Beliefs and Religions Department at the Faculty of Islamic Law.

Shaykh al-Buti has been an active participant in many conferences and symposia. He wasa member of the Royal Society of Islamic Civilisation Research in Amman, as well as the High Council of the Oxford Academy. He lectured regularly in the mosques of Damascus and other Syrian cities. Thousands attended his lectures, in addition to the millions that watched his weekly lectures on television.  He wrote in several newspapers and journals,  and offered religious guidance, advice and rulings to the population.

Shaykh al-Buti has written over forty books on numerous topics within his expertise. He was murdered on the 21st of  March 2013CE, along with numerous others, when a bomb exploded at the Imān mosque in Damascus during his weekly lecture.

Also see Al-laMadhhabiyya by Shaykh Ramadan al-Buti.
More works from Shaykh al-Buti.

The works of Shaykh Mahdi Lock.

---

*Dimensions : 22 x 15cm.