Expounding the Concept of Religion in Islam as Understood by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Abstract

The discussions concerning the religion in Islam have a long history in Muslim intellectual tradition, particularly in the Arabic language. However, with the rise and development of Islamic oriental studies in the Western world in the last two centuries and particularly after the second half of the 20th century onwards, a “return” to semantic studies began re-emerging. Realizing the necessity, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas began to focus and develop the definitions that had been altered, and clarified misunderstood and misleading concepts in relation to the religion of Islam in both the Muslim world and the West. Beginning from the 1970s, al-Attas began explicating his thoughts for the English speaking milieu (later in other languages). Al-Attas’s profound knowledge in various disciplines, traditions, cultures, and languages allowed him to begin to contribute scholarly input as he contributed his beliefs as well as ideas in the academic environment. In this article, al-Attas’s comprehensive understanding will be discussed briefly, but in some detail, including is own specific intellectual contributions.