Syed Naquib al-Attas on Adab

I have watched beautiful conversation on youtube about discussion on Islamic Thought between Hamza Yusuf and with Al-Attas.

Al Attas is a thinker In Islamic philosophy. He is a product of orientalism (McGill and SOAS university), but he can maintain an anti-western discourse. In Mona Abaza’s words, he is an anti-Orientalist Orientalist.

Back to the video. Hamza Yusuf asked to Al-Attas, he said “what is central crisis in the moslems world ?” Al-Attas said, loss of adab. For Al-Attas, Adab is reflection of wisdom, because it comes from the knowledge of Prophet. It is not something you could get from universities, or even from knowledge, because sometimes people have knowledge but not have adab.

Why did al-Attas used “Adab” not “Behavior” ? Are Adab and behaviordifferent ?

Yes! Because behavior not comes from the knowledge of the Prophet, just comes from Westeren’stradition which those people are secular, there is no spiritual aspect in their life, but for moslem, spiritual is more important than other.

Today, what we learn is coming from Westeren methods, Westeren Worldview. Western methods have an impact for epistemological aspects, so that it can’t be used as a method of scientific development in Islamic science. If we are using the Western Worldview, knowledge will fall down on positivistic, materialistic, evenatheistic. 

I think Al-Attas wanna tell to moslem world that Islam has own methods, he calls it as ‘Islamic Worldview’. And I feel Al-Attas has an idea for Islamzation of knowledge. Al-Attas said, as the first step of Islamization of knowledge can be started by Islamization of language.

Salah is not pray. Justice is not ‘adil. And also syajarah is not history. Every single word has meaning. Every meaning has concept. Every concept is built by worldview.

That’s why adab in Islam and behavior are different.

Although acknowledged that Greek philosophy gave great influence on the development of Islamic philosophy, but philosophy of Islam are not based on it. If so, where Islamic philosophical thought come from? The answer is from the Islamic tradition itself, from scientists who attempt to explain the teachings of the Muslim holy book.