Financial literacy is the education and understanding of various financial areas including topics related to managing personal finance, money and investing. A financially literate person will be able to manage personal finance matters efficiently, including making appropriate decisions about investing, insurance, real estate, college fees, budgeting, retirement and tax planning. In Malaysia, (1) many are still without the recommended minimum savings of three months salary; while (2) many others take out debt more than the recommended debt service ratio (DSR) of 40 per cent. In fact, more than 100,000 people had been declared bankrupt between 2010 and 2015; and, (3) many others who are not able to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the majority of those affected were Muslims. Hence, one of the ways to help society deal with such a financial problem is to make them financially literate through financial education. One of the institutions with the potential of doing so is the mosque. In Islam, mosques are not only for worship, but also as centres for developing the ummah. Through knowledge-based activities such as talks and lectures, mosques can develop the minds of congregants for their benefit in the worldly life and the Hereafter, including that of financial literacy. Mainly through Friday sermons (Malay: khutbah Jumaat), mosques can start to create awareness among their congregants on personal financial management. However, more can be done to increase the financial literacy of the ummah. This article looks into the state of financial literacy in Malaysia and its implications as well as provides recommendations on how mosques can play their roles in increasing financial literacy.
The article is a preliminary study on the concept of Malay “budi” based on the “language” used by many authors of Malay manuscipts prior to the 18th century. It attempts to clarify the impact of the worldview of Islam on the choice of keywords, formation of compounds and articulation of ideas involving the word “budi” and its network. Some main contentions made by Lim Kim Hui in his PhD dissertation (2003), a pioneering analysis on “budi” based on the Malay proverbs, shall be critically reevaluated with the hope of adding more spectrum and breadth to the present understanding on the conception of “budi.” Hence, it will further enhance the integration and perfection of the old “budi” into the worldview of Islam as practised by the Malays. This would indirectly highlight the true nature and extent of Islamisation, the role of ʿulamāʾ and kitāb tradition in strengthening and perfecting the Malays with a comprehensive understanding of “budi” projecting their new worldview. The article resolves linguistically and etymologically the choice of words, formation of compounds and structure of language used by these authors of early Malay manuscripts which were consciously planned and fashioned to be in line with the prevalent Islamic ethos regarding the nature of man and his character. In short, this article shall shed some light on the nature of Islamisation of the Malay world, especially the way it was carried out through its effective Islamisation of language.
One of the great assets and distinguishing features of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) is the presence of an invaluable special collection of materials encompassing different aspects of the civilisation of Islam in her library, amounting to more than eight thousand (8000) books published between the 17th to early 20th century in more than twenty (20) languages. It makes IKIM Library one of the few libraries in Malaysia and perhaps Southeast Asia with such a collection.The presence of several sets of the world’s leading journal publications in Oriental and Islamic studies is another unique feature of IKIM Library. The consist of eighty five (85) different research societies and institutions of international repute for the last 163 years. The main research themes of such journal collections are general studies on Islamic Civilisation; regional studies of the Arab lands, Iran, Central Asia, South Asia, as well as Southeast Asia; and Semitic Studies. The main goal of this article is to acquaint readers and specialists with this collection of scientific journals and present it as comprehensive historiographical source on the history of Muslim civilisation.
The compatibility between Islam and democracy has become one of the main controversial issues of contemporary Islamic political thought. Rachid Ghannouchi has been recognised for his adherence to the concept of Islamic democracy. The purpose of this article is to examine the views of Rachid Ghannouchi towards Islam and democracy through a range of his writings and statements. As such, the research methodology applied is qualitative with data collection instruments. The article uses textual analysis to study how democracy is understood by Ghannouchi within an Islamic framework, along with his theory on the compatibility of Islam with democracy. The article has shown that he adopts a perspective of harmony between modern political thoughts and the original form of Islam as he proposes principles and characteristics of Islamic democracy. Islamic concepts such as shūrā, ijtihād, maṣāliḥ and values such as justice, freedom, and pluralism are discussed. Ghannouchi’s line of thought and its highlights are not free from critics from both the Islamic quarters as well as non-Islamists. Criticisms towards Ghannouchi as well as his responses are duly discussed.
The preliminary discussion of this short essay focuses on some of Islām’s intellectual and civilisational contributions in a historical region of Central Asia called Khurāsān. As a starting point, it mentions a number of hadīths (sayings from the Prophet Muḥammad) and athār (sayings of the Holy Prophet’s Companions and their followers) that impute to this region some eschatological importance as well as matters pertaining to the legal aspect of the religion, especially from Muslim Sunnī perspective. As a preliminary discussion and in a non-exhaustive manner, the writing highlights and evaluates a number of important Muslim figures that have emerged from that region along with their respective intellectual and cultural contributions to human civilisation as materialisation of the religion’s aspirations arising from collective understanding of its worldview.
Ādāb al-Baḥth wa al-Munāẓarah arose as a science in the Islamic world at the end of the 7th/13th century. It is a creative synthesis of logic and juridical dialectics, and was known during the classical period as jadal (dialectic), and in jurisprudence as ʿilm alkhilāf. The aim of a munāẓarah is to arrive at the truth by the means of a regulated disputation, in which a proposition and its proof can be cross-examined by the disputants. This article introduces Risālah Waladiyyah by Sāçaḳlīzāde (d. 1737/42), a manual of Ādāb al-Baḥth wa al-Munāẓarah for beginners.
There is a conception of the Earth, the cosmos, and reality lost sometime in the 17th century (replaced by quantity, rationality, and attacks against the spiritual, the feminine, and the mythical). The present article seeks to view and consider the details of the old conception and their intriguing connections to bits and pieces of new sciences, new physics, and mathematics that deal with a world which does not look like the modern one (and which actually looks quite old).
Inflation is not specific to the modern economy. It is argued that low and stable rates of inflation are beneficial in promoting economic growth. It is also attributed to the growing disparity between the economic classes. The 14th–15th Century CE Egyptian historian, Al-Maqrīzī, discussed the causes that worsened the famine and economic crisis of 805–808/1403–1406 of Mamlūk Egypt. He described the population of Egypt during the crisis and emphasised that which had been hit worst. Significantly, he suggested a more stable monetary system to avoid similar situations in the future.
The global increase in young consumer population and purchasing power has created a new demand for halal cosmetics product development. In Malaysia, it is now the trend in the industry of cosmetics for local manufacturers to produce halal cosmetic products. As the market growth is rapid, the manufacturers of cosmetics are eager to dominate the market and come up with many product varieties in order to pursue and satisfy customers. However, most consumers are conscious of the ingredients used in the making of cosmetic products. While the introduction of new products may facilitate companies in gaining competitive advantage, the failure rate of local products is high. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to understand the relationship between product characteristics, social influence and individual innovativeness with halal cosmetics adoption among young consumers in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The sampling of this study comprised 350 respondents using survey questionnaires that were distributed in shopping malls in the Klang Valley. In order to test the model, this study used the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique using partial least squares (PLS) with SmartPLS 3.2.8. The findings of this study show that there is a positive relationship between product characteristics, social influence and individual innovativeness towards halal cosmetics adoption among respondents. This study demonstrates that halal cosmetics adoption is increasing among young consumers. Therefore, cosmetics producers or marketers need to understand the behaviour of young consumers in order to ensure that failure rate can be minimised.
Development of a country is a significant marker
of the successful planning and implementation
of policies by the government. It also shows the
government’s ability to manage the country’s
resource and wealth efficiently and effectively. The
study on development has shown that the underlying
perspectives that dominate the discussions on
economics also determine the meaning and
indicators for development. This article discusses
the two central actors in development by looking
at the relationship between state and NGOs in a
Muslim majority society i.e. Malaysia. It looks at
the pattern of the relationship through the political
space allowed for NGOs to operate. An analysis on
this suggests that political orientation of the NGOs
and importance of state political survival shape the pattern of state-NGO relationship especially during
the era of the government under Barisan Nasional
(BN). This article argues that despite the legalistic
and restrictive structure imposed on NGOs to
mobilise, they are still considered the best partners
for the government in meeting the goals of state
development agenda.
The role of mathematics as a foundation of other
sciences is well acknowledged since the dawn of
modern science. This fundamental and important
role is then not only limited to the natural and
physical sciences but also further extended to
the social domains of humanities. This article
reviews the many definitions of mathematics as
put forth by philosophers and mathematicians,
how these definitions are understood, and how they subsequently influence the development
of mathematics itself as well as other disciplines
influenced by mathematics. These definitions
are: mathematics as the science of teaching
and learning (ʿulūm al-taʿālim); mathematics as
abstraction or the construction of abstracts;
mathematics as logic; mathematics as a formal
system; mathematics as the science of quantity and
structure, mathematics=ontology; and mathematics
as intellectual exercise (riyāḍiyyāt). Based on the
aforementioned definitions, this article attempts
to analyse the ontological status of mathematics
and mathematical objects based on the degrees of
existence (marātib al-wujūd) framework which orders
existence into five levels, namely essential existence
(wujūd dhātī), concrete existence (wujūd ‘aynī), mental
existence (wujūd dhihnī), verbal existence (wujūd lafẓī),
dan formal or written existence (wujūd khaṭṭī).
Incidences of blasphemy and religious defamation
occur around the world, often provoking angry,
and sometimes violent reactions from religious
adherents. However, laws prohibiting blasphemy
and religious defamation are heavily criticised as
being against freedom of speech, despite their effect
on race relations. This article highlights the position
of blasphemy and religious defamation according to
International Law, and presents counterarguments
of the main objections to such laws. It also highlights
the issue from the Islamic perspective, and offers an
alternative approach to interpreting human rights.
This article concludes by explaining the need for
human rights and free speech to be interpreted
according to common moral and religious values,
and emphasising the purpose of human rights and
free speech—which should be for the attainment of
justice. In doing so, it is hoped that there will be a better balance in enforcing the right to free speech,
as well as the protection of religious sensitivities.
The concept of brain death refers to the irreversible
loss of brain function which includes the brain stem.
The diagnosis of brain death is a controversial
issue among Muslim scholars and medical experts because it involves the pronouncement of death
of a patient whose heart is still beating with the
assistance of a ventilator (breathing apparatus).
Many countries recognise brain death as true death.
However, there are religious scholars and medical
experts who disagree with the concept of brain
death because they believe that the soul still exists in
one’s body although the brain has been diagnosed as
dead. From their point of view, the heartbeat shows
that the soul is still present in the body. From the
perspective of Islam, a person is considered dead
when there is separation between the soul and body.
This paper will discuss the arguments pertaining
to the soul which have been used in rejecting the
concept and diagnosis of brain death.
The objective of this article is to understand the
main components of living wage. The assessment
of the determination of wage through the market
mechanism is first discussed. It is argued that
the valuation of living wage via the labor market
mechanism alone is not sufficient. Thus, the
estimation of living wage needs to take into account
religious and cultural elements since living wage
components include the normative understanding
of such concepts as fair wage, equitable wage,
deserving wage and decent wage. At the same time,
the estimation of living wage requires consultation
and feedback from employers, workers, labour
union and policy-makers. Issues pertaining to the
implementation of living wage are also discussed in
this article.
In recent years, the idea of “justice” alongside
many other great ideas has undergone shifts in
meaning due to a philosophical programme that
was set in motion centuries earlier and has by now
consolidated its influence in the Muslim world. In
the second half of the 20th century, an influential
Muslim thinker, Fazlur Rahman (1911–1988), was
one of the major figures that contributed to the ongoing
debate on the understanding and realisation
of justice in the modern world from the Islamic
perspective. By applying the conceptual analysis,
this article shall examine how Fazlur Rahman
understood, employed, and deployed the idea of
“justice” in various contexts. This article shall also
examine its sources and practical implications, as
well as situate his position vis-à-vis that of other
scholars in the Islamic tradition.
This essay seeks to re-emphasise the ontological status and trans-historical nature of Prophet Muḥammad as a timeless figure as well as central feature of Islamic civilisation as understood and venerated by Muslims. It presents critique on the misrepresentation of the Holy Prophet’s noble character resulting from some modernist interpretations influenced by modern scientific method that deviates from sound reasoning from Islām’s perspective on certain aspects of the Holy Prophet’s nature. A special emphasis is placed on the moral leadership as well as great ethical quality of the Holy Prophet that raised people who brought forth the Islamic civilisation into fruition. Re-defining the Age of the Holy Prophet to be the Golden Age of Islām, this essay proposes the nature of Islamic Civilisation as a Virtuous Civilisation, the culmination of the Holy Prophet’s virtuous character. Finally, comparing modern characterisation of Western civilisation as industrial-technological civilisation and recent effort by China to become an ecological civilisation, it concludes that Virtuous Civilisation is the current imperative for Muslims today alongside re-Islamising Muslim thought in a collectively intelligent and progressive manner with the Holy Prophet’s age and its moral and ethical quality of social perfection as the reference point.
The inquiry on nature has long been the subject of philosophical exposition since the time of the Greeks. Nature was considered by them as inanimate and material, thus leading to the corruption of the understanding of being in relation to nature in the West. This gave rise to the disenchantment of nature through a secularising philosophical programme which appropriated key concepts divested from its truth to construct a secular worldview. This worldview is such that it rejected any form of nonempirical or metaphysical reality in nature. In response to this conflict in the West, there are those who take the position of a perennialist in reference to the philosophia perennis (literally “eternal wisdom”), who believe in the rediscovery of the sense of the sacred through revival of the “tradition” inherent in every religion of the pre-modern age. The perennial aspect is an eternal, universal and permanent underlying spiritual method that comprehends nature which was claimed to be derived from various religions and traditions. This paper is meant to illustrate the traces of secular framework in the perennial philosophy. The discussions are divided into two sections. The first section will look into the transference of meanings of nature by following the main problems that befit the West: the problems of order, God and finally man. The second section will situate the perennialists within the conceptual development of nature in Western civilisation by classifying and comparing particular characteristics of the proponents of the perennial philosophy with others that used the same name to appropriate them in the postmodern movement to reclaim the meaning of nature. The latter section also offers a brief overview of their concept of genuine cosmologies in every tradition as a means to revive the sense of the sacred.
The changing roles of women today from traditional family caregivers to multitasking financial providers require specific protection to preserve their natural role as mothers. Such protection which include job security, health, maternity leave, maternity benefits, and others are to ensure that women are able to balance multiple roles. Pressures on any of their roles may adversely affect society and the economy in terms of labour market, when expectant mothers go off-ramping or when women choose to exercise their fertility decision-making. Many studies indicate a negative relationship between maternity policy and fertility which proves that women need support to serve both functions. There is also a difference in terms of the maternity policies between developed and developing countries which indicates a diverse approach in addressing the issue even though both face the same declining fertility rate problem. Islam does not object to the idea of career women in general. However, a set of guidelines has to be followed to preserve the sharīʿah. Among others, Islam promotes the maternal nature of women by encouraging them to continue breastfeeding when they are on-ramping. Thus, this paper intends to assess the fertility decisions made based on the women’s understanding of their firm’s maternity policy by conducting survey interviews. Even though the study finds that maternity policy does not directly affect the fertility decisions of the women involved, there are still recommendations to be made to improve current maternity policy practices by firms in general to promote a healthier working environment for women.
This article aims to offer some insights on how the issue of justice overrides inter-faith relations in Malaysia. Materials used for logical analysis include relevant verses of the Qurʾān and Ḥadīths and their authoritative interpretations including Ethics; official government records; and, baseline data of recent research. Of concern here is Justice in all its dimensions, such as the national language, democratic politics, fair economics, and acceptance of rich multi-cultural traditions. A brief analysis of the imperative character traits of courtesy and kindness—kesopanan dan kesusilaan in Rukun Negara or the Malaysian national principles—is carried out in the context of the Malaysian term muhibbah, identified as “affectionate friendship.” The origin of such a friendship is the notion of “biological brotherhood” in the worldview of Islam. The article shall also examine social disunity and enmity from the moral and ethical lens, arguing thus that disunity is an effect of the moral vice of envy, which is caused by rancour, which in turn, resulted from anger.
Curriculum is the most important factor that influences the quality of an educational institution because it determines the achievements of the purposes and objectives of education in an institution. This article attempts to explain the significance of implementation of fard ain and fard kifayah in practice within the Islamic education curriculum. It explains the meaning and classifications of knowledge of fard ain and fard kifayah according to the scholars in the past and present. Furthermore, concepts related to fard ain and fard kifayah such as the balance in practising fard ain and fard kifayah, criteria of values and virtues in knowledge, the nature and objective of man’s life, and the dynamic nature of both fard ain and fard kifayah are also discussed.