Islām: The Covenants Fulfilled

Islām: The Covenants Fulfilled is perhaps the last book ever authored by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, as per he mentioned in the memorial to his beloved wife, Moira Maureen Latifah, who passed away at the age of 85. This book is written as a discourse with fellow-believers the Muslims, intended for those of discernment among his friends and students familiar with his writings and his method of reasoning. In the author’s own words: “When I was writing this discourse, explaining the results of my investigations to my students and followers of intelligence and discernment, I told them that this discourse was for me as a journey along the lowlands, across the foothills, and over the mountain peaks of thoughts discovering astonishing events that occurred in the past effecting the present without altering the future in that which has already been recognized and acknowledged by the Muslim ummah as the truth. I was aware that God prompted me to go on with this journey to the very end, and aided me as the occasion demands with inspired knowledge confirmed by veridical feeling to gather together the separate discoveries till they fit into one another as a comprehensive whole. I have done that. My intelligent and discerning readers will be able to confirm what I just said by the time they reach the end of this discourse.”

The title of this book refers to the fulfillment of the two Covenants: the Covenant of the Children of Ādam and their descendants with God acknowledging His Lordship over them; and the Covenant of the Prophets, i.e. of Nūḥ, of Ibrāhim, of Mūsā, and of ‘Īsā with God. They were asked to acknowledge the coming of a Messenger after them who would confirm whatever was with them of the Scripture and the wisdom that God gave them, and to believe in him and give him their support. They acknowledged it. Then the Messenger who would come after them, i.e. the Prophet Muḥammad, would come in time and take his turn to confirm for himself whatever was with the Prophets by incorporating them with what was with him, i.e. the Qur‘ān, into the universal religion of Islam that he brought. Thus the Prophet Muḥammad fulfilled both primordial Covenants.