Spirit & Life

Ibn Sina’s book The Canon of Medicine is the most famous single book in the history of medicine in both East and West.

Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE), also known in the West as Avicenna, was the most influential of the philosopher-scientists of Islam. His Qanun fi’l-tibb (The Canon of Medicine) is the most famous single book in the history of medicine in both East and West. It is an encyclopedia of five books that add up to about one million words in length.

During the day, Ibn Sina carried out his duties as both physician and administrator. He spent almost every night with his students composing this manuscript and other works, and carrying out philosophical and scientific discussions. The earliest-known extant manuscript of any part of this text is a copy of the fifth volume devoted to compound drugs and pharmacopoeia, dated 1052.

The Qanun served as the medical textbook of the Islamic world and was first translated into Latin in the twelfth century. The Qanun became the medical textbook of the Islamic world and with the transfer of knowledge to the Latin West in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it became the most used of all mediaeval references in Europe’s medical schools almost until the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Institute of Ismaili Studies:

http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106512#

…..Quranic beliefs in the truth of the Judaic and Christian traditions are also encapsulated in another term: the ahl al-kitab or People of the Book. This is the umbrella term in the Quran to refer to communities, or peoples, who have received revelation in the form of scripture. It is commonly used to refer to the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The pluralistic nature of this term is evident in the use of the noun Book in the singular rather than in plural, meant to emphasize that the Jews, Christians and Muslims follow one and the same Book, not various conflicting scriptures. The Old and New Testaments and the Quran are seen as being plural, earthly manifestations of the one heavenly Scripture in which God has inscribed the Divine word. Significantly, the Quran does not claim that it abrogates the scriptures revealed before it. On the contrary, it affirms their validity. In one verse addressed to the Prophet Muhammad, God advises him “And if you [Muhammad] are in doubt concerning that which We [God] reveal to you, then question those who read the scripture [that was revealed] before you” (Quran 10:94). Another verse addressed to the Muslim faithful says, “And argue not with the People of the Book unless it be in a way that is better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say we believe in that which has been revealed to us and to you; and our God and your God is one and unto Him we submit” (Quran 29:46)…..

Complete:
http://www.akdn.org/akfisp/HTML/aliarticle.html
Professor Ali S. Asani

Widely regarded as Spain’s greatest masterpiece of Islamic Architecture.

Source

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTfNi2SmL6A

“As the economic arena has been globalizing, openness and flexibility have become prerequisites for progress, and success has gone more and more to those who can connect and respond. Specialized expertise, pragmatic temperament, mental resourcefulness—these are increasingly the keys to effective leadership—along with a capacity for intellectual humility which keeps one’s mind constantly open to a variety of viewpoints and welcomes pluralistic exchange.

In such a world, the most important thing a student can learn is the ability to keep on learning.”

His Highness the Aga Khan - speech at the Foundation Laying Ceremony of the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, India on 22nd September 2006

Source:
http://www.akdn.org/speeches/2006september22.htm

“Since succeeding to this office as the forty-ninth Imam in 1957, I have been concerned with the development of the Ismailis and the broader societies in which they live. The engagement of the Imamat in development is guided by Islamic ethics, which bridge faith and society. It is on this premise that I established the Aga Khan Development Network. This network of agencies, known as the AKDN, has long been active in many areas of Asia and Africa to improve the quality of life of all who live there. These areas are home to some of the poorest and most diverse populations in the world.”

His Highness the Aga Khan - Leadership and Diversity Conference, Gatineau, Quebec, May 19, 2004

Many different styles developed during the long history of Islamic art.
Select a period below to explore some of them.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1342_islamic_middle_east/

There are several parallel ways in which the word ‘culture’ is understood. It is often thought of in terms of the behaviour of ‘high’ or ‘elite’ classes of society than in terms of ‘folk’ or ‘popular’ culture of the masses. However, the word alternatively refers to the totality of the ways of life of a people, including their ideas and habits which they share and transmit from one generation to another. It also includes the material objects and monuments they use in their lives. For instance, objects of everyday life used by people during the Fatimid period are displayed in museums as illustrations of their culture. Even present-day technologies cannot be separated from the cultural contexts in which they were designed. Likewise, popular entertainment such as film and television productions are important forms of cultural expression today. The ancient heritage as well as the present identity of a particular community are reflected in its culture. Cultures are also deeply informed by the religious, moral and ethical values of a people.

Read complete article at the source: Institute of Ismaili Studies

“…..the Historic Cities Support Programme, a component of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, is not only concerned with saving buildings or historic districts for future generations. It seeks to go beyond restoration to creating mechanisms that contribute to real, measurable improvement in the quality of life in rural and urban areas, also enabling their inhabitants thereby to look after their cultural assets.”

His Highness the Aga Khan - Royal Toledo Foundation Award Ceremony, Toledo, Spain March 2, 2006

Ismailis have long contributed to the advancement of science, mathematics, and architecture. In the tenth century, the Ismaili Imam al-Mahdi founded the Fatimid state in Tunisia in North Africa.  His successors spread the first Shia state to areas of North Africa including Egypt and parts of Arabia.  It was during the Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) that the early contributions of Ismailis reached their peak, with founding of Cairo and the building of Al-Azhar Mosque (969-971) in that city. Dar al-Ilm, or the ‘House of Knowledge,’ a precursor of modern universities, was established in Cairo in 1005 by the Fatimid Imam-Caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.  Studies there included jurisprudence, grammar, medicine, logic, mathematics, and astronomy.  The institution was open to everyone regardless of their religious backgrounds.

The Fatimids were noted for employing their officers based on merit rather than on heredity.  Sunnis Muslims, Christians, and Jews occupied high positions in the Fatimid government.  The Fatimids also encouraged the practice of private patronage of mosques and other religious buildings by Muslims of different persuasions.  The Muslim doctrine of justice and equality is an essential aspect of the faith and action of Ismailis.  When His Highness the Aga Khan speaks today of pluralism and acts to defend it, he is upholding a thousand-year-old tradition.  When he creates a university, as he has in Karachi and in Central Asia, he is also walking in the footsteps of his ancestors even as he looks to the future.

– Philip Jodidio. Under the Eaves of Architecture. The Aga Khan: Builder and Patron. (Prestel, 2007)

His Highness the Aga Khan “has emphasised the view of Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith, one that teaches compassion and tolerance and that upholds the dignity of man, Allah’s noblest creation.  In the Shia tradition of Islam, it is the mandate of the Imam of the time to safeguard the individual’s right to personal intellectual search and to give practical expression to the ethical vision of society that the Islamic message inspires.  Addressing the International Conference on the Example (Seerat) of the Prophet Muhammad in Karachi in 1976, Mawlana Hazar Imam said that the wisdom of Allah’s final Prophet in seeking new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, provides the inspiration for Muslims to conceive a truly modern and dynamic society, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam.”

http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=103467

As Islam spread beyond the Arabian Peninsula into the neighbouring regions of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and beyond to North Africa and Central Asia, it became enriched by the intellectual contributions of a multitude of individuals, communities and cultures in regions that eventually comprised the Muslim world. Indeed, within three centuries, the Islamic world had already become one of the dominant civilisations of the world, characterised by a diversity of literary and intellectual traditions in various fields of learning, while Islam as a religion became elaborated in a plurality of expressions and interpretations.

http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100631

“Ours is a time when knowledge and information are expanding at an accelerating and, perhaps, unsettling pace. There exists, therefore, an unprecedented capacity for improving the human condition. And yet, ills such as abject poverty and ignorance, and the conflicts these breed, continue to afflict the world. The Qur’an addresses this challenge eloquently. The power of its message is reflected in its gracious disposition to differences of interpretation; its respect for other faiths and societies; its affirmation of the primacy of the intellect; its insistence that knowledge is worthy when it is used to serve Allah’s creation; and, above all, its emphasis on our common humanity.”

His Highness the Aga Khan - An International Colloquium organized by The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Ismaili Centre, London
October 19, 2003

“Sometimes I read that Islam is in conflict with democracy. Yet I must tell you that as a Muslim, I am a democrat not because of Greek or French thought, but primarily because of principles that go back 1400 years, directly after the death of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).

At that time, Muslims debated how best to implement the premises he had established for being qualified for leadership. The principle of wide public consultation for selecting leadership for matters relating to affairs of state and civil administration was adopted by groups that coalesced into the Sunni branch. The parallel principle of hereditary leadership was preserved among the Shia.  Muslims of the time also established that leadership in social governance was to be selected on the basis of merit and competence. These principles, cemented 14 centuries ago, are consistent with democratic models that exist around the world today.”

His Highness the Aga Khan - Annual Conference of German Ambassadors Berlin, Germany September 6, 2004

The knowledge sector is increasingly shaping the social and economic dimensions of our lives and, as a consequence, the idea of knowledge-based societies has gained popularity. To apprise the Ismaili community in the UK about the meaning, importance and dimensions of such a society, the Aga Khan Education Board for UK organised an event called the Knowledge Symposium.

Though the notion of the knowledge society can be traced back to the 1960s, it is in the last decade that it has become a forceful idea in academic, business and political circles. The Baconian aphorism, ‘Knowledge is Power’, has in today’s context acquired a new life, albeit with a significantly different meaning.

Organised by the Aga Khan Education Board for UK, the Knowledge Symposium was held at the Ismaili Centre in London on 8 March 2008. Attended by over 250 people, the event highlighted the trajectory of a society’s progress towards a knowledge based society. Previously, similar events were also held in Canada.

Complete at the source

“The complexities of world problems and societies today require people educated in broad humanistic traditions in addition to the guidance and direction provided by the teaching of their religion. The history of the twentieth century is replete with examples of the danger of the systematic propagation and uncritical acceptance of dogmas, ideologies, and even theologies. More than ever, I believe that universities must shoulder the responsibility for contributing to the process of building the capacity for moral judgement in complex settings.”

Extract from the speech by His Highness the Aga Khan

at the Centenary Celebration meeting of the

Association of American Universities,

Washington, D.C., April 22, 2001

“To the Imamat, the meaning of ‘quality of life’ extends to the entire ethical and social context in which people live, and not only to their material well-being measured over generation after generation. Consequently, the Imamat’s is a holistic vision of development, as is prescribed by the faith of Islam. It is about investing in people, in their pluralism, in their intellectual pursuit, and search for new and useful knowledge, just as much as in material resources. But it is also about investing with a social conscience inspired by the ethics of Islam.”

Extract from Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the opening of Alltex EPZ Limited at Athi River, Kenya, December 19, 2003

From the official website of the Ismaili Muslim community:

At the heart of the port city of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, stands a building that testifies to the long history of the Ismaili Muslim community in the region. The Maputo Jamatkhana is located a short distance from the heart of the old city’s baixa (commercial area). Flanked by two intricately carved glass-wall minarets, the concrete structure is easily identified by the words Edificio Sua Alteza Aga Khan (The Building of His Highness the Aga Khan) that adorn the central clock tower.

Complete at the source

Photo Gallery

Complete article at New York Times.

Some more relevant and informational links below

Timbuktu Hopes Ancient Texts Spark a Revival

The geography that has doomed Timbuktu to obscurity in the popular imagination for half a millennium was once the reason for its greatness. It was founded as a trading post by nomads in the 11th century and later became part of the vast Mali Empire, then ultimately came under the control of the Songhai Empire.

For centuries it flourished because it sat between the great superhighways of the era — the Sahara, with its caravan routes carrying salt, cloth, spices and other riches from the north, and the Niger River, which carried gold and slaves from the rest of West Africa.

Traders brought books and manuscripts from across the Mediterranean and Middle East, and books were bought and sold in Timbuktu — in Arabic and local languages like Songhai and Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg people.

Timbuktu was home to the University of Sankore, which at its height had 25,000 scholars. An army of scribes, gifted in calligraphy, earned their living copying the manuscripts brought by travelers. Prominent families added those copies to their own libraries. As a result, Timbuktu became a repository of an extensive and eclectic collection of manuscripts.

“Astronomy, botany, pharmacology, geometry, geography, chemistry, biology,” said Ali Imam Ben Essayouti, the descendant of a family of imams that keeps a vast library in one of the city’s mosques. “There is Islamic law, family law, women’s rights, human rights, laws regarding livestock, children’s rights. All subjects under the sun, they are represented here.”

• Video: From America To Timbuktu
• Video: A short visit to Timbuktu, Mali
• Video: High school boy travels to Timbuktu, the city in Mali, West Africa
• Video: Traveling in Mali - Niger River. This footage was taken on a 3 day trip from Mopti to Timbuktu on a cargo pinasse
• Video of Aga Khan in Mali

WEBSITE / INFORMATION /Articles/ VIDEOS / MEDIA / Other Resources

• PBU: http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_gt.htm
• Libraries of Timbuktu: http://www.sum.uio.no/timbuktu/index.html
• BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1911321.stm
• Resources/Info: http://www.timbuktufoundation.org/
• Article: http://africanhistory.about.com/od/mali/p/Timbuktu.htm
• Photos: http://www.danheller.com/timbuktu.html

The term masjid literally means a place of prostration. The masjid was the formal space established for the collective performance of prayer and ritual, and for meeting the social needs of the ummah (community).

Most historians agree that in the early days of Islam (i.e. in early 7th century Mecca) the original Muslim community had no specific or special place of prayer and the arrangements for communal worship were informal. It is only after the hijra (migration) to Medina, that a specific space emerged and evolved, where Muslims could collectively perform ritual prayers together as well as manage the affairs of the state. Subsequently, wherever the Muslim community became permanently established in large numbers, the mosque became a focal point for their religious and social life.

In these new Muslim lands, there were attempts initially to reproduce, in both design and function, the first masjid of Medina. However, as the Muslim empire spread across geography, it came in contact with different cultures and traditions. In addition, internal factors, such as the increasing availability of wealth and patronage, influx of new converts, the diversity in notions of piety, and the corresponding needs of the communities of users, collectively contributed to a rapid change and evolution in mosque design and usage.

http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106346

The work of revitalizing the mosques is gradually being extended to their surrounding neighbourhoods to include all residential accommodation situated in the shadow of the minarets. How wonderfully symbolic it is that the outcome of efforts to restore the mosques should be to improve the quality of life of the people whose lives follow the same rhythm as theirs!

The restoration of the Great Mosque of Mopti is the fruit of close collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Heritage Department (DNPC), the regional and local authorities, the Mosque Committee and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and of the dedication of numerous professionals and craftspeople from architects and conservation experts to stone masons, brick-makers, plasterers, metal workers, potters and electricians.

This project has made it possible to combine modern heritage conservation techniques with the processes and materials traditionally employed in the construction of earth buildings. The participation in the project of the few stone masons who still practise banco pourri has meant that more than 30 young people have been trained in this traditional technique, thus ensuring that is handed down to the next generation.

This is especially relevant in Mali where there is a danger that traditional artisans will gradually disappear, taking with them the skills and knowledge accumulated by previous generations of builders. Hence, restoring this important monument has provided the opportunity to perpetuate a tradition and also to ensure the future conservation of built heritage with appropriate techniques, competently applied.

– His Highness the Aga Khan, speech delivered at the ceremony of inauguration of the Great Mosque of Mopti

The Fatimid period was in a sense the ‘golden age’ of Ismaılism, when the Ismaılı imam ruled over a vast empire and Ismaılı thought and literature attained their apogee. It was during the Fatimid period that the Ismaılı da’ıs, who were at the same time the scholars and authors of their community, produced what were to become the classic texts of Ismaılı literature dealing with a multitude of exoteric and esoteric subjects. Ismaılı law,which had not existed during the pre-Fatimid secret phase of Ismaılısm,was also codified during the early Fatimid period. It was indeed during the Fatimid period that Ismaılıs made their important contributions to Islamic theology and philosophy in general and to Shı’ı thought in particular.

Modern recovery of their literature clearly attests to the richness and diversity of the literary and intellectual traditions of the Ismaılıs of the Fatimid times.

Farhad Daftary - The Ismailis - Their History and Doctrines