has
great pleasure in presenting Occasional Paper 21 The Essence of
Islamic Civilization by Isma¢Ïlal F¥r‰qÏ.It was originally published as
chapter four of The Cultural Atlas of Islam by Isma¢Ïl al F¥r‰qÏ and
Lois Lamy¥’ al F¥r‰qÏ (1986), and formed part of a monumental
and authoritative work presenting the entire worldview ofIslam, its
beliefs, traditions, institutions, and place in the world. Aside from
the map illustrationsand two arabesquesall other images have been
updated and are not those of the original.

Professor Isma¢Ïl R¥jÏ al F¥r‰qÏ (1921–1986) was a Palestinian-
American philosopher, visionary, and an authority in comparative

religion. A great contemporary scholar of Islam his scholarship
encompassed the whole spectrum of Islamic Studies covering areas

such as the study of religion, Islamic thought,approaches to knowl-
edge, history, culture, education, interfaith dialogue, aesthetics,

ethics, politics, economics, and science. Without doubt al F¥r‰qÏ
was one of the great Muslim scholars of the 20th century. In this
paper he presents the meaning and message of Islam to the wider
world, pointing to taw^Ïd (the unity of God) as its essence and first
determining principle which gives Islamic civilization its identity.
The IIIT, established in 1981, has served as a major center to
facilitate serious scholarly efforts based on Islamic vision, valuesand

principles. The Institute’s programs of research, seminars and con-
ferences during the last thirty years have resulted in the publication

of more than four hundred titles in English and Arabic, many of
which have been translated into other majorlanguages.

 can be no doubt that the essence of Islamic civilization is
Islam; orthat the essence ofIslam is taw^Ïd, the act ofaffirmingAllah
to be the One, absolute, transcendent Creator, Lord and Master of
all that is.
These two fundamental premises are self-evident. They have
never been doubted by those who belonged to this civilization or

participated in it. And only very recently have missionaries, Orien-
talists, and other interpreters of Islam subjected them to doubt.

Whatevertheirlevel of education, Muslimsare apodictically certain
that Islamic civilization does have an essence, that this essence is
knowable and capable of analysis or description, that it is taw^Ïd.1
Analysis of taw^Ïd as essence,as first determining principle ofIslamic
civilization, is the object of this chapter.
Taw^Ïd is that which gives Islamic civilization its identity, which

binds all its constituents together and thus makes of them an inte-
gral, organic body which we call civilization. In binding disparate

elements together, the essence of civilization – in this case, taw^Ïd –
impressesthemwith its ownmold.Itrecaststhemso asto harmonize
with and mutually support other elements. Without necessarily
changing their natures, the essence transforms the elements making
up a civilization, giving them their new character as constitutive of
that civilization. The range of transformation may vary from slight
to radical, depending on how relevant the essence is to the different
elementsand their functions. This relevance stood out prominently
in the minds of Muslim observers of the phenomena of civilization.

The Essence of
Islamic Civilization
Cultural Atlas Essence of Islam NEW_FARUQI 28/08/2013 11:44 Page 1

That is why they took taw^Ïd as title to their most important works,
and they pressed all subjects under its aegis. They regarded taw^Ïd
as the most fundamental principle which includes or determines all

other principles; and they found in it the fountainhead, the pri-
meval source determining all phenomena of Islamic civilization.

Traditionally and simply expressed, taw^Ïd is the conviction and

witnessing that “there is no God but God.” This negative state-
ment, brief to the utmost limits of brevity, carries the greatest and

richestmeanings in the whole ofIslam. Sometimes,a whole culture,
a whole civilization, or a whole history lies compressed in one
sentence. This certainly is the case of the kalimah (pronouncement)
or shah¥dah (witnessing) of Islam. All the diversity, wealth and
history, culture and learning, wisdom and civilization of Islam is
compressed in this shortest of sentences “L¥ ilaha ill¥Allah.”

Taw^Ïd asWorldview

Taw^Ïd is a general view of reality, of truth, of the world, of space
and time, of human history. As such it comprehends the following
principles:
Duality
Reality is of two generic kinds, God and non-God; Creator and
creature. The first order has but one member, Allah, the Absolute
and Almighty. He alone is God, eternal, Creator, transcendent.
Nothing is like unto Him; He remains forever absolutely unique
and devoid of partners or associates. The second is the order of
space-time, of experience, of creation. It includes all creatures, the
world of things, plantsand animals, humans, jinn and angels, heaven
and earth, paradise and hell,and all their becoming since they came
into being. The two orders of Creator and creation are utterly and
absolutely disparate as faras their being, or ontology,as wellas their
existence and careersare concerned. It is forever impossible that the

Cultural Atlas Essence of Islam NEW_FARUQI 28/08/2013 11:44 Page 2

one be united with, fused, confused or diffused into the other. Nei-
ther can the Creator be ontologically transformed so as to become

the creature, nor can the creature transcend and transfigure itself so
as to become in any way orsense the Creator.2
Ideationality
The relation between the two orders ofreality isideational in nature.
Its point of reference in man is the faculty of understanding. As
organ and repository of knowledge, the understanding includes all
the gnoseological functions of memory, imagination, reasoning,
observation, intuition, apprehension, and so on. All humans are
endowed with understanding. Their endowment is strong enough
to understand thewill ofGod in either or both ofthe followingways:
when that will is expressed in words, directly by God to man, and
when the divine will is deducible through observation of creation.3
Teleology
The nature of the cosmos is teleological, that is, purposive, serving a
purpose of its Creator, and doing so out of design. The world has
not been created in vain, or in sport.4 It is not the work of chance,a
happenstance. It was created in perfect condition. Everything that
exists does so in a measure proper to itand fulfillsa certain universal
purpose.5Theworld isindeed a “cosmos,” an orderly creation, nota
“chaos.” In it, the will of the Creator isalways realized. His patterns
are fulfilled with the necessity of natural law. For they are innate in
the very nature of things. No creature other than man,acts or exists
in a way otherthan what the Creator has ordained forit.6 Man is the
only creature in which the will of God is actualized not necessarily,
but with man’s own personal consent. The physical and psychic
functions of man are integral to nature, and as such they obey the
laws pertinent to them with the same necessity asall other creatures.
But the spiritual functions, namely, understanding andmoralaction,
fall outside the realm of determined nature. They depend upon

 Book author :
There can be no doubt that the essence of Islamic civilization is Islam; or that the essence of Islam is tawhid, the act of affirming Allah to be the One, absolute, transcendent Creator, Lord and Master of all that is. These two fundamental premises are self evident. They have never been in doubt by those ...