Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, born in Bogor, Java on 5 September 1931, comes from a distinguished lineage tracing back to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). His family history boasts scholars, saints, and even royalty, connecting him to prominent figures in both the Islamic and Malay worlds. His maternal ancestry links him to the Sundanese royal family of Sukapura and Syed Muhammad al-‘Aydarus, a key figure in the Rifa’iyyah Order. On his father’s side, his grandfather Syed Abdullah al-Attas was a renowned saint with influence extending to Arabia, and his grandmother was connected to the Johore Sultanate.

Al-Attas is a renowned Muslim thinker with expertise in various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, including Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, and philosophy. He also made significant contributions to the study of Malay language and literature. After receiving his M.A. from McGill University and Ph.D. from the University of London, he returned to Malaysia to head the Division of Literature at the University of Malaya. A founding figure of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, al-Attas established the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM). He also founded and directed the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), renowned for its extensive library of over 140,000 volumes.

In recognition of his immense contributions to academia and Islamic thought, al-Attas was recently bestowed with the prestigious title of Royal Professor Laureate by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 23 October 2024.