IN THIS set of three powerful essays, the late world renowned scholar and philosopher, Ismail Faruqi , displays his formidable insight, vast knowledge, and unique trademark logic, brought to bear on subjects still considered to be at the forefront of discourse on comparative religion. Al Faruq delves deep into the heart of the debate on the metaphysical nature of values in the Western and Muslim traditions, of the history of religions, and other issues, ultimately to guide readers to a clarity of understanding and Islam’s position in relation to them. This will interest and stimulate many readers – enlightened thinkers, modern secularists, philosophers and theologians, Muslim or otherwise – as al Faruq strives to arrive at an accurate assessment of the fundamentals of these important subjects, and their significance for the human condition.

“Ismail Faruqi was an intellectual luminary who inspired intellectual discourse as the means of expanding thought and understanding while stressing the importance of intellectual pursuit and ḥasanah. He studied our zeitgeist and identified the problems facing contemporary society. To him, it was the limitations of both the secular paradigm and traditional Islamic scholarship that rendered us intellectually debilitated. This prompted him to formulate his key project – the Islamization of knowledge – which rested on the unity of knowledge based on tawhid. He rejected the separation between religion and the secular, the sacred and the profane because he saw these divisions as rooted exclusively in the history of western civilizations.”

About  The Author

“Isma‘īl al Fārūqī, a reformer, a visionary, and a great modern scholar, wrote on several aspects of Islam and Muslim interactions with major spiritual traditions of the world. To him, Islam is a universal religion practiced by a diverse community. Membership in this universal community
is open to all people, for its only prerequisite is the individual’s readiness to recognize God’s oneness (tawhid). When the Muslims abandoned their revelation and strayed from the right path, they lost their glory. Al Fārūqī strongly believes that this lost glory could be regained if Muslims were to return to their pristine message and practice Islam.”