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This work consists of a critical translation from the Arabic of "(On) First Philosophy", [title in Arabic], the major philosophical text of Yaʻqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī (d. ca. 870 A.D.); and a detailed study of this text in relation to cognate treatises of al-Kindī's, and to works of classical and late Greek philosophy. Al-Kindī's ideas are also compared with those of his contemporaries among the theologians and philosophers of the 9th and 10th centuries. The translation is formally patterned upon the Arabic edition of "First Philosophy" by Muḥammad Abū Rīdah (Cairo, 1950). A critical apparatus accompanying the translation notes differences in my reading of the manuscript from that of Abū Rīdah, and also refers, wherever helpful, to the readings of another (less careful) Arabic edition, that done by Aḥmad al-Ahwānī (Cairo, 1948). The introduction to the translation consists of four chapters: l) a resumé of what is currently known of al-Kindī's life and times, and of the most important literature relating to al-Kindī philosophical studies; 2a) a description of the text and translation of "On First Philosophy" and a summary of its contents; 2b) a philosophical analysis of al-Kindī's views in "First Philosophy" and cognate texts; 3) a reevaluation of al-Kindī's relation to the muʻtazila. The following is a brief summary of the major points of the commentary and introduction, which expand upon the remarks and allusions found in the translation. Our growing awareness of the social and cultural forces at work in 9th century Baghdad helps us to locate al-Kindī, the "philosopher of the Arabs", in a complex environment of competing ethnic and religious groups; with none of whom, however, can we identify al-Kindī with any certainty. His main involvement appears to have been with the tradition of Greek philosophy and sciences newly acquired by the Moslems; to the elucidation and propagation of which tradition many of his writings are directed. "On First Philosophy" thus shares with many of his writings a disarming combination of elementary philosophical definitions and rather sophisticated arguments; the proofs of which, however, are usually given in a repetitious manner. Al-Kindī's favorite formulation of arguments -in which he uses a combination of logical and factual premises to reach a conclusion considered by him as "necessary"- is that identified with Stoic logic, viz., the hypothetical and disjunctive "syllogism". In the repetitive and uneven style of his presentation, as well as in other ways, "First Philosophy" appears to have been presented originally in oral lecture form, probably at the court of the caliph. A number of his remarks in this and other treatises tally with recently discovered sayings attributed to al-Kindī in the abridgement of Abū Sulayman al-Sijistānī's Ṣiwān al-Ḥikmah, a source which also inclines one to revise in al-Kindī's favor the rather one-sided negative judgements of his personality known from antiquity. Al-Kindī emerges from this study as a subtle and relatively private man about whom the last word has yet to be written. Much, however, of al-Kindī's theoretical philosophy can be gleaned from a study of "On First Philosophy". The treatise analyzes causation, perception, substance and the categories and predicables of existence; presents elementary principles of logic; and defines the concepts of eternity and of body, motion and time, all of which are deemed finite. Unity and multiplicity (i.e., plurality) are examined separately and shown to require each other in the existence of every object; which is then seen as possessing unity in a non-essential, accidental way. This leads to the assumption of an essential cause for all accidental unity, which essential unity must be totally unlike any other kind of unity imaginable; neither one by number, form (including neither intellect or soul), genus or even by analogy. This unique, True One, however, as responsible for the unity of all else, is considered the (ultimate) cause of the becoming of all substances and of the creation of the world from nothing; achieved apparently by a process of emanation which is just barely mentioned. This reference to emanation, and the emphasis upon the existence of an ultimate One above all of creation, indicates a strong Neo-Platonic influence in al-Kindī's thought, though he does not attempt to construct an ontological scheme of universal hypostases existing between the One and man. He is similarly vague, in "First Philosophy" and elsewhere, on the status of the individual intellect and its entire relation to a possibly universal agent intellect. Al-Kindī is using a composite source (or sources) in this area as well as in many others, making use of Alexander of Aphrodisias' division of the intellect, though not of his identification of the Agent Intellect with the Divine Mind. Al-Kindī distinguishes between the One and all else, including any universal intellect, probably going further in his transcendental view of the one than even his Plotinian source. It is Aristotle's Metaphysics however, rather than Plotinus' Enneads, which serves as al-Kindī's main source in "First Philosophy", and he often follows the Arabic text of Aristotle's work quite closely, though never slavishly. He works with Aristotle's remarks on the general nature of all substance and being, supplementing the Metaphysics sources with material that ultimately goes back to the Categories, Posterior Analytics, Physics, and De Anima. He does not refer at all to Aristotle's unmoved mover; rejecting, with the denial of potential infinity as a philosophically significant concept, the notion of an eternal universe and of an infinite extension of time and movement. His proofs for the finiteness of all body, and concomitants of body, follow arguments originally presented by John Philoponus, and which also appear in a number of al-Kindī's contemporaries (though he does not follow John Philoponus in other, related areas); while his arguments for the absurdity of predicating unity or plurality exclusively of anything are descended ultimately from Plato's Parmenides, though they probably reached al-Kindī through a paraphrase contained in some Middle or Neo-Platonic work, or a doxography of the sort he uses elsewhere. A Hellenistic commentary to Porphyry's Isagoge serves as yet another major source for various parts of "First Philosophy", especially for a discussion of the predicables and the relation of unity and plurality to them. Al-Kindī probably referred to this same source for a critical discussion of number theory, with which he would also have been familiar from the Metaphysics and from Nichomachus of Gerasa's Introduction to Arithmetic though significant metaphysical differences exist between Nichomachus and al-Kindī. The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʼ of the following century were also highly familiar with Nichomachus' work, as well as with all of the same authorities used by al-Kindī in "First Philosophy" and elsewhere; and a brief comparison of their Rasāʼil and al-Kindī's writings indicates a common source for many of their views. Al-Kindī had a number of disciples, notably Isaac Israeli and Aḥmed b. al-Ṭayyib al-Sarakhsī. Both men, like al-Kindl, seem to have been a-political figures in their respective communities; and, again like him, al-Sarakhsī at least could not escape being drawn into the politics of his day; and apparently also being victimized by personal or politically motivated changes at court which masqueraded as pious anti-Muʻtazila action.

The contrast between the theory and practice of Islamic banking is generally acknowledged by many scholars. After more than three decades in operation, the rapid growth of the Islamic banking industry is, in reality being driven by the application of the debt-like contracts (e.g. murÁbaÎah and ijÁrah) rather than the profit and loss sharing contracts (e.g. muÃÁrabah and mushÁrakah). As the adaptation of the former contracts creates "unauthentic" Islamic financial products, many have questioned their compliance with sharÐÝah principles. The present study analyses this issue by examining the application of muÃÁrabah rules in Malaysian Islamic banking practices. It evaluates the extent to which the current practices fulfil the principles and the ethical framework of the muÃÁrabah contract as propounded by the classical jurists. The study also analyses the justifications of Malaysian sharÐÝah scholars for modification of the doctrine, adapting it to the modern banking business. The study found that the local sharÐÝah scholars have adopted an incoherent legal methodology when making their ijtihÁd. They can be very rigid, concentrating solely on the legal technicality and at the same time be very flexible, adapting an unregulated doctrine of maÒlaÎah. Therefore, some of their resolutions could be seen as contradictory to the rulings found in classical fiqh.

Although 'The Revival of Islam and Muslims' has not been studied, discussed and researched in the past as a specific subject of Islamic Sciences or as a part of Islamic curricula in seminaries and educational institutions, at present it has become a hot cake for intellectual and academic discourse among Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. In this context the present study investigates, examines and critically analyses the ideology of Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri regarding Islamic Revivalism. This study examines the areas of Muslim Thought which have been subjected to severe ailments and distortions, during the decline period of the Muslim Ummah, leading them to inactivity and stagnancy. I also attempt to suggest various remedial measures to overcome the prevailing conditions, using the ideology of revivalism by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri critically compared with other ideologies of Maududi and al-Banna. Furthermore, I will analyse the ideology of Dr Al-Qadri for the reconstruction of the political, economic, juristic, religious and spiritual thought of Islam in the contemporary context. As Qur'anic Philosophy of Revivalism is a new concept in academia, there is vast scope for investigation of this field to discover new horizons in this particular subject ofIslamic sciences bringing forth some new aspects of research regarding the revival of Islam and Muslims. The present study will enhance the knowledge, background, rationale, significance as well as the necessity of the revival of Islam and its religious, spiritual, academic, legal, juristic, economic and political values and also create awareness for the reformation of the prevailing declining and decaying conditions of Muslim societies around the globe. Consequently, this thesis will enable one to realise and appreciate the significance of revivalism in the contemporary context. In the main, my methodology focuses on library research in relation to the works of Dr Al-Qadri as well as other revivalists in contemporary Muslim Thought. Thus, I will rely heavily on the Islamic core sources approach to Tafsir, Hadith scholarship and Islamic law (Fiqh) in terms of textual analysis.

Islamist movements frustratingly criss-cross the boundaries of analytical frameworks that theorists of Islamist movements attempt to mould them in.  This thesis posits that such frustrations and confusions do not result from incoherent strategies or ideologies of the movements themselves, but from attempts to fit them into inappropriate frameworks that rely too heavily upon assumptions contained in the Westphalian model.  This thesis argues Islamists are employing a variety of strategies derived from historical Islamic assemblages which are transforming social, political, and geographic space. The Western imposition of the nation-state did not destroy pre-existing assemblages in Muslim countries, but was superimposed on top of existing political and social arrangements.  Memories of historic Islamic imperial understandings of sovereignty and just governance are being re-awakened by Islamist movements to meet the challenges and failures of specific temporal conditions.  This thesis advocates that in many instances an imperial framework is a more appropriate tool in analysing the motivations and strategies of Islamist movements. Incorporating imperial modes of praxis allows for an expansion on the definition of ‘political’ which, in turn, grants an opportunity to examine the politicisation of movements and activities deemed as merely pious by the logic of the nation-state.  Aspects of the imperial past are remembered and re-imagined to meet specific requirements of Islamist movements in given temporal periods and locations which facilitate explanation of the nuances in Islamisms.  Islamist movements are in various ways de-nationalising key elements of the nation-state.  These elements include nation-state sovereignty, national solidarities, and legitimate violence and by challenging these assumptions Islamist movements are constructing alternative geographies that are transforming the territoriality of the nation-state.