Al-Attas’s Critique of the Christian-Western Worldview: A Historical-Philosophical Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38073/aljadwa.3475Keywords:
Al-Attas, Dewesternization, Secularism, Islamic Worldview, AdabAbstract
The article reflects on the Attasian perspective and epistemology of the West, by highlighting the critique of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas of Western secularism and the production of its modern secular outlook that projected Hellenistic influence on its intellectual and historical tradition, arising from its physical and materialistic concern which contradict with Islamic teaching of ethics and morality and its metaphysical worldview. Its objective is to survey its doctrinal impact on Muslim spiritual life which has caused confusion and error in their vision of reality and truth. The study is based on descriptive-qualitative approaches in the form of literature and documentary survey. The data were analyzed using inductive and deductive method by way of analytic, historical, empirical, hermeneutical, and philological technique. The finding reveals that al-Attas’s critique of the West was designed to dismantle its dewesternization and desecularization framework and the corruption of knowledge and its ideological impact on Muslim society. Its discursive ground was argued in his work on Islamic Metaphysics that defined “Islamic psychology, Islamic cosmology and Islamic ontology” articulating its nature and difference from Western philosophy influenced by its European-Christian thought embedded in its religious experience that make up its substance, premises and values. The research contributes to highlight al-Attas’s philosophical argument and his critique of the West and its contemporary relevance in Muslim society.
Downloads
References
Al-Attas, Muhammad Naguib, and Muhammad Zainiy Uthman. Ma’na Kebahagiaan Dan Pengalamannya Dalam Islam. ISTAC, 2002.
Al-Attas (Syed.), Muhammad Naguib. Islam and Secularism. Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, 1978.
Al-Attas (Syed.), Muhammad Naguib. Islām, the Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality: A Lecture Delivered on Monday the 5th of April 1976 to the International Islamic Conference Held Under the Auspices of the Islamic Council of Europe in the Hall of the Royal Commonwealth Society, London. Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, 1976.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib; A Commentary On The Hujjat Al-Siddiq Of Nur Al-Din Al-Raniri. Ministry Of Culture Malaysia, 1986. Kuala Lumpur. //opac.stt-gke.ac.id%2Findex.php%3Fp%3Dshow_detail%26id%3D18647%26keywords%3D.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Historical Fact and Fiction. UTM Press, 2011. https://www.academia.edu/126645241/Historical_Fact_and_Fiction_Syed_Muhammad_Naguib_Al_Attas.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Islam: Faham Agama Dan Asas Akhlak. IBFIM, 2003.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Risalah Untuk Kaum Muslimin. ISTAC, 2001.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Sejarah Islam Di Alam Melayu: Antara Fakta & Rekaan. UTM Press, 2025.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. “The Meaning and Experience of Happiness in Islām.” In Consciousness & Reality, edited by Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani, Hideichi Matsubara, Takashi Iwami, and Akiro Matsumoto. BRILL, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004452930_007.
Al-Attas;, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Tinjauan ringkas Peri Ilmu dan Pandangan Alam. Percetakan Mesbah SDN BHD, 2019. Selangor. //digilib-unida.id%2Fcenter%2Findex.php%3Fp%3Dshow_detail%26id%3D25724.
Belhaj, Abdessamad. “The Ethics of Ḥayā’ in Contemporary Middle Eastern Salafism: Meaning, Forms and Functions of Modesty.” IJORESH Indonesian Journal of Religion Spirituality and Humanity 4, no. 1 (2025): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijoresh.v4i1.1-24.
Bhat, Sameeullah, and Nabi. “Islamic ,Ethics Islamic Ethics: Exploring Its Principles and Scope.” International Journal of Applied Ethics 10 (December 2024). https://doi.org/10.51245/ijaethics.v10i1.2024.93.
Cook, Dillon. “Unearthing Evidence for St. Augustine’s Racial Blackness and Paralleling Augustine’s Christian Mystical Religion to Traditional African Religion’s Mysticism.” Say Something Theological 8, no. 1 (2025): 46–100.
Czerniawska, Miroslawa, and Joanna Szydlo. “Conditions for Attitudes towards Native Culture, Religion and Church and Religiously Motivated Ethics.” European Research Studies XXIII, no. 4 (2020): 123–34.
Daud (Wan.), Mohd Nor Wan. The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naguib Al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization. International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 1998.
Febrianto, Sobri. “The Islamization of The Science of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas and Its Implications for the Interpretation of the Qur’an.” Proceeding International Conference on Islam, Law, And Society 2, no. 1 (2023). https://incoils.or.id/index.php/INCOILS/article/view/74.
Guillard, Anne. The Relevance of Theological Rationality to Public Discourse. n.d. Accessed October 3, 2025. https://dx.doi.org/10.5406/21564795.46.01.02.
Harris, Khalif Muammar A., and Muhammad Ikhwan Azlan. “The Question of Intelligence in the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence.” Afkar: Jurnal Akidah Dan Pemikiran Islam 27, no. 1 (2025): 427–62. https://doi.org/10.22452/afkar.
Himsyah, Unun Zumairoh Asr, and Kholili Hasib. “Decolonialization of Contemporary Science According to Professor Syed M. Naquib al-Attas as the Aufklarung Movement in Islam.” Adabuna: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pemikiran 3, no. 1 (2023): 60–71. https://doi.org/10.38073/adabuna.v3i1.1117.
Huringiin, Nabila. “Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas’ Critics Toward Secularism.” Akademika : Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 27, no. 1 (2022): 89–100. https://doi.org/10.32332/akademika.v27i1.4801.
Huringiin, Nabila, and Halimah Nisrina Azfathir. “The Concept of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas on De-Westernization and Its Relevancy toward Islamization of Knowledge.” Kalimah: Jurnal Studi Agama Dan Pemikiran Islam 16, no. 2 (2018): 266–84. https://doi.org/10.21111/klm.v16i2.2867.
In’ami, Moh, Bambang, and Ismail Suardi Wekke. “Contextualising Adab in Islamic Education from the Perspective of Al-Attas.” Journal of Al-Tamaddun 20, no. 1 (2025): 145–58. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol20no1.11.
Islam: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality. IBFIM, 2013.
Ismail, Ahmad Munawar, and Mohd Farhan Firas. “Environmental Degradation and Radical Solution from Islamic Perspective.” International Journal of Islamic Thought 26 (December 2024): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.26.2024.297.
Jamaludin (P54171), Muhamad Hanapi. “Peradaban barat menurut Syed Muhammad Naquib al Attas dan Pendita Za’ba : kajian perbandingan.” Dissertation, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2014. https://ptsldigital.ukm.my/jspui/handle/123456789/456108.
Merican, Ahmad Murad. “Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas and the Dialogic of Occidental Knowledge: A Passing Glance to the Study of Society in the Malay Archipelago.” Al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) 26, no. 1 (2021): 99–111. https://doi.org/10.31436/shajarah.v26i1.1229.
Mirza, Iskandar, Syarif Nurjaman, and Midah Hamidah. “Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas Education Concept as the Basis of Islamic Education.” Tianjin Daxue Xuebao 55, no. 12 (2022): 587–96. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AEGHW.
Mukarromah, and Rika Sartika. “Riwayat Isrāiliyyāt.” Al-Jadwa: Jurnal Studi Islam 1, no. 2 (2022): 130–50. https://doi.org/10.38073/aljadwa.v1i2.717.
Niri, Mohammaddin Abdul, Mohd Hafiz Jamaludin, Mohd Saiful Anwar Mohd Nawawi, Nurulhuda Ahmad Zaki, and Raihana Abdul Wahab. “Astronomy Development since Antiquity to Islamic Civilization from the Perspective of Islamic Historiography.” Journal of Al-Tamaddun 18, no. 1 (2023): 169–77. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol18no1.14.
Sukandi, Enjang, and Siti Nia Anisa Inayah. “Naquib Al-Attas Educational Thought in Contemporary Islamic Education.” Al-Afkar, Journal For Islamic Studies 7, no. 4 (2024): 831–42. https://doi.org/10.31943/afkarjournal.v7i4.303.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmad Nabil Amir, Tasnim Abdul Rahman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
