More than
any previous civilization, it was the Muslim civilization that preserved and further
developed the foundations of all knowledges: grammar, logic, rhetoric,
arithmetic, geometry, harmonics, and astronomy. Eventually, it was the Muslims
who, as caretakers of the past, handed their knowledge to the West, a history
that’s well-documented by honest scholars, such as George Sarton. Our
distinguished guest, President Thomas Hibbs of the University of Dallas,
highlighted this forgotten history in an op-ed
earlier this year about Zaytuna College,
writing:
Before medieval Western Christians
encountered the full scope of ancient pagan learning and long before the
Renaissance, Islamic thinkers devoted themselves to such learning, to the
mastery of the liberal arts and the meticulous readings of ancient texts.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine the remarkable flourishing of philosophy in the
high Middle Ages, fueled by the writings of 13th century Catholic thinkers,
Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, without the work of Islamic (as well as
Jewish) scholars.
At Zaytuna,
we strive to reclaim our heritage through reviving these arts that free minds
and hearts. We’ve set our sights on a true liberal arts education: the unique
tradition that remains the common heritage of the three great faiths of
Abraham—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The study of
these arts coupled with a deep and critical study of some of the Islamic and
Western tradition’s enduring masterpieces can serve as guiding lights in these
troubling times. Our Prophet ﷺ summed up humanity’s
core problems in his farewell address: abuse of class, race, and gender and a
war on nature continue to vex us. These problems have been the subject matter
of the sages of the past. By neglecting the wisdom of the prophets, peace be
upon them, and their students among the saints, sages, and scholars of the
past, we foolishly find ourselves repeating the mistakes they addressed so
masterfully.
The crisis
from the neglect of this knowledge has reached a tipping point reflected
symptomatically in spiritual malaise, social and environmental degradation, and
a tragic nihilism infecting many of our beleaguered youth. The crassness of
today’s culture, from Wall Street to Main Street, from Hollywood to Bollywood,
stems from what the Greeks called apeirokalia:
their word for vulgarity,
which means “lack of experience in things beautiful.” At Zaytuna, we expose our
students to the most beautiful works of our species, from Rumi to Razi, from
Shakespeare to al-Hariri, from Euclid to Khawarizmi, but most importantly to
Revelation and its prophetic keys.
Lest we forget, tomorrow may never come, but our
Prophet ﷺ commanded us that should the last day
arrive—ours or the world’s—while planting a sapling, if able, then we must
continue planting. So now more than ever, let’s recommit ourselves to the work
of renewing our tradition’s intellectual heritage.
