From the perspective of Islam, a worldview is not merely the minds

view of the physical world and of mans historical, social, political and
cultural involvement. It is incorrect to refer to the worldview of Islam as
nazrat al-islam li al-kawn. This is because the worldview of Islam is not based
upon the world of sensible experience. The worldview of Islam encompasses
both al-dunya and al-akhirah, in which the dunya-aspect must be related to
the akhirah-aspect which has ultimate significance. The dunya-aspect is seen
as a preparation for the akhirah-aspect. What is meant by worldview of Islam
is the vision of reality and truth that appears before the eyes, and by
worldview it means ruyat al-islam li al-wujud.
The Islamic vision of reality and truth is not a worldview that is formed
by gathering together various cultural objects, values and phenomena into
artificial coherence. Nor is it one that is formed gradually through a
philosophical speculation and scientific discovery. It is not a worldview that
undergoes a process of transformation repeated through the ages. Islam is
not a form of culture, and its system of thought and the system of value
derived from it are from Revelation. Islam ascribes to itself the truth of being
a truly revealed religion. All the essentials of the religion were given by
Revelation and demonstrated by the Prophet in his words and actions. When
it appeared Islam was already mature. Revealed religion can only be that
which knows itself from the very beginning, and that self-knowledge comes
from the Revelation itself, not from history. The so called development in the
religious cannot be applied to Islam. As such the worldview of Islam projects
a view of reality and truth that encompasses existence and life altogether.
The nature of God as revealed in Islam is derived from Revelation. It is
the speech of God communicated to His chosen Prophet and Messenger
which then was conveyed by the Prophet to mankind. This Revelation is final,
and it not only confirms the truth of preceding revelations in their original
forms, but separating the truth from creations and inventions. Since we
affirm the Quran to be the speech of God, the description of His nature

therein is therefore the description of Himself in His own words according to

that linguistic form. The conception of the nature of God derived from
Revelation is also established upon the foundations of reason and intuition.
The nature of God understood in Islam is not the same as the conceptions of
God understood in various religious traditions of the world. The similarities
that may be found cannot be interpreted as evidence of identity of One
Universal God. Islam, is the name of a religion descriptive of true submission.
The manner and form of submission enacted in religion is influenced by the
conception of God in the religion and it is crucial to the correct form of true
submission.
Islam affirms that knowledge of the realities of things and their
ultimate nature can be established through our senses and faculties, reason
and intuition, and true reports of scientific or religious nature. Islam has
never accepted nor affected by ethical and epistemological relativism which
have contributed to the birth of modernism and postmodernism.
The real challenge is the problem of the corruption of knowledge. This
is due to the state of confusion as well as influences coming from modern
Western culture and civilization. Intellectual confusion emerged as a result of
the spread of secularization as a philosophical program.
The process of acquisition of knowledge is not called education unless
the knowledge that is acquired includes adab. Adab is the spectacle of
justice as it is reflected by wisdom. The disintegration of adab, which is the
effect of the corruption of knowledge, creates the situation whereby false
leaders emerge. It means the loss of the capacity and ability to recognize
and acknowledge true leaders.
Knowledge is limitless. But there is a limit of truth in every object of
knowledge, so that the pursuit of true knowledge is not an endless search.
Knowledge of the truth about the world of empirical things can be achieved
through inquiry made by generations of mankind. For every truth there is a

limit that is true to the truth; the knowledge of that limit is wisdom. True
knowledge is therefore knowledge that recognizes the limit of truth in its
every object. But limitation is not a shortcoming. Our imagination and
cognition all have limited potentials, each created to convey and conserve
information. There is pragmatic purpose in limitation, for by it we are able to
perceive and conceive objects of knowledge and ideas about them so that
we may put it to beneficial use. The setting of limits to the channels and
sources by which we obtain knowledge is therefore a blessing from God.
Islam teaches that the seat of knowledge in man is a spiritual substance
variously referred to in the Quran as his heart, or his soul, or his intellect, or
his spirit. The human being is created in the best of molds, but without true
faith and good works he is worse than the lowly beasts.
Virtue may be classified under a general heading of excellence of mind
and good character. In order to produce virtue and good character the soul
and its bodily faculties must be subordinated to the practical faculty of the
rational soul. In order to achieve good character the intellect must be trained
in deliberate thinking and reflection. Only when this had been accomplished
can it realize wisdom. Religious virtues are classified into two kinds, the
external and the internal. The external pertains to fulfillment of the divine
commandments. Meanwhile the internal refers to the activities that are
grounded upon knowledge of God and of self. The external and internal
virtues actually overlap one another and the possibility of virtuous activities
which involve only one without being connected with the other is
inconceivable.
Shaqawah encompasses all forms of misery. The term is used
specifically for those who turn away from God and reject His guidance. They
may feel and think that they are happy in worldly life, but the misery inside
them is unspeakable. Shaqawah also refers to what is understood in the West
as tragedy. Happiness (saadah) being the exact opposite of misery
(shaqawah). Saadah is used specifically for those who are truly submissive to

God and follow His guidance. Happiness can be discerned into two levels.
The first one is psychological states described as feelings. The second level,
when attained occurs concurrently with the first, except that wants are
diminished and needs are satisfied. According to the tradition of Western
thought, happiness only focus more on worldly view rather the hereafter.
Change, development and progress in their true senses ultimately
mean a conscious and deliberate movement towards genuine Islam at a time
when encounter challenges. The concept of change, development and
progress presuppose situations in which we find ourselves confused by a
commixture of the true and false, real and illusionary and become captive in
the ambit of ambiguity.

From my opinion, this article by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas

comprised of several main points. The first one, the author defined what is
meant by the worldview of Islam, and pointed out which is wrongly used. The
second, he discussed about the character of Islamic worldview. The third one,
he explained about the fundamental elements of the Islamic worldview,
which are;
a. The nature of God
b. The nature of revelation - the Qur'an
c. The nature of revealed religion - Islam
d. The nature of the world
e. The nature of man

f. The nature of knowledge

g. The nature of adab
h. The nature of happiness
i. The true meaning of change, development, and progress