Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Dr Syed Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas
Born	September 05, 1931 Bogor, Indonesia
Residence	Malaysia
Nationality	Indonesian/Malaysian
Occupation	Philosopher Islamic scholar Academic thinker writer calligrapher bibliographer
Title	al-Attas
Board member of	Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malaya, later one of founders of the National University of Malaysia
Awards	iqbal Centenary Commemorative Medal (PAKISTAN)
Academic background
Education	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Alma mater	University of Malaya McGill University M.A and Ph.D, (Honorary Doctorate of Arts D. Litt. by University of Khartoum)
Thesis title	The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri (two-volume doctoral thesis) [1]
Thesis year	1962.
School or tradition	Islamic philosophy - Logic - Oriental
Doctoral advisor	Martin Lings Arthur John Arberry
Academic work
Era	Modern
Main interests	Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy Malay language and literature
Notable works	( [2] Islam and Secularism,) Historical Fact and Fiction, The Concept of Education in Islam : A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education, Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam
Notable ideas	islamisation of knowledge - Concept of Education in Islam

( [2] Islam and Secularism,) Historical Fact and Fiction,

}} Syed Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas (Arabic: سيد محمد نقيب العطاس‎‎ Sayyid Muḥammad Naqīb al-ʿAṭṭās; born 5 September 1931) is a prominent contemporary Muslim philosopher and thinker from Malaysia. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and who is equally competent in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. He is the pioneer in proposing the idea of Islamisation of knowledge. Al-Attas' philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamisation of the mind, body and soul and its effects on the personal and collective life on Muslims as well as others, including the spiritual and physical non-human environment. He is the author of twenty-seven authoritative works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilisation, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature.

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas was born in Bogor, Java, Dutch East Indies into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors, saints. His genealogical tree can be authentically traced over a thousand years through the Ba'Alawi sayyids of Hadramaut and all the way back to the Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. He was the second of three sons; his older brother, Syed Hussein Alatas later became an academian and politician, and also had a younger brother, Syed Zedal. He has also at least one known cousin, namely the academician Ungku Abdul Aziz.

After World War II, in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and western classics in English, and in a cultured social atmosphere developed a keen aesthetic sensitivity. This nurtured in al-Attas an exquisite style and precise vocabulary that were unique to his Malay writings and language.

...
Wikipedia