Civilisation, Its Concept, History, Necessity, And Various Characteristics

Abstract

The thrust of this paper is civilisation, its concept, history, necessity, and various characteristics. It is divided into twelve parts entitled: first, various definitions of civilisation; second, types of civilisations; third, civilisation and culture; fourth, the inner side of civilisation; fifth, the material and non-material aspects of civilisation; sixth, history of civilisation; seventh, God, human beings and nature; eighth, reasons for studying the history of human civilisations; ninth, the need for civilisation; tenth, characteristics of civilisation; eleventh, positive and negative effects of civilisation on human lives and the environment, twelfth, a glance at ancient nations and the Muslim nation from the Qur’anic perspective. This article is based on desk research and it draws on primary Islamic sources namely, the Qur’an and Hadith, as well as secondary works on the concept of knowledge from the Islamic and Western perspectives. Translation of the meanings of the selected verses from the Qur’an is based on ‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali’s Translation of the Meaning of the Qur’an.