International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation

Between the timeless revelation and modern thought.

ISTAC Distinguished Scholar Lecture #3 invites you to a conversation across centuries.

Join Dr. Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour for:
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐫’𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈

🗓 3 June 2026 | Wednesday
⏰ 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM (MYT)
📍 Ibn Khaldun Conference Room, ISTAC-IIUM

🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/a5ZGRFaHjgTHbWJp9
📺 Watch live here: https://youtube.com/live/w60bnv1qSEE?feature=share

All links are in bio.

Join us, where faith encounters critique, and tradition meets the questions of our digital age.

Professor Dr. Hazizan Md Noon, Dean of ISTAC IIUM, extends his heartfelt wishes for a blessed Eid al-Adha Mubarak.

May your devotion be received with mercy, and every act of sacrifice returned with boundless reward.
May your heart be filled with peace and tranquillity, and your days illuminated with blessings.

Wishing you a truly blessed 'Id al-Adha.

May this Eid al-Adha gently open our hearts to the deeper meaning of sacrifice—not merely in what is given, but in what is surrendered for the sake of Allah SWT and for those entrusted to our care.

May it awaken within us a quiet gratitude, a steadfast taqwa, and a renewed resolve to walk the path of mercy, to uphold justice, and to build a world shaped by compassion and unity.

Eid al-Adha Mubarak to you and your loved ones.

With the warmest regards,
ISTAC Management

In the quiet echoes of our history lies a profound truth: the soul of our nation was never written by foreign pens alone. It was etched long ago in the ink of justice, amanah (trust), and the sacred bond of the ancient Malay-Islamic constitutional tradition.

To understand the modern Constitution is to look beyond the printed word and into the heart of a civilisation that has always known the weight of responsibility. The institution of the Sultanate is far more than a ceremonial remnant; it is the living source of authority, continuity, and balance within our state structure. The Sultan stands as a moral centre, a guardian who ensures that governance is never separated from morality and that power is always bound by the restraint of law and accountability before Allah.

As a student at ISTAC-IIUM, Her Royal Highness Tengku Ampuan Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj invites us to look past the shell of modern legalism to rediscover the soul found in the Hukum Kanun Melaka and Hukum Kanun Pahang. Her scholarship serves as a reminder that the principles of justice, coexistence, and the rule of law were flourishing in the Malay world long before they were popularised by the West.

In the Malay worldview, the Ruler and the people are inseparable. This is a relationship of reciprocal custody, where the Sultan protects the people as their constitutional guardian, and the people uphold the institution through loyalty and trust.

"Love may blind the eyes, but history opens them".

Let us embrace the intellectual and moral foundation of our civilisation, where freedom is anchored by adab, and authority is defined by sacrifice.

Source: Sinar Daily
Read more: https://www.sinardaily.my/article/736294/

وَأَدْخِلْهُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِين

ISTAC–IIUM was honoured to revisit the profound intellectual legacy of Almarhum Professor Tan Sri Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas through the reflections of his first ISTAC PhD graduate, Prof. Dr. Kamar Oniah Kamaruzzaman on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.

We also extend our highest appreciation for the presence of Her Royal Highness Tengku Ampuan Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj, who joined the session in her capacity as a student, engaging with the intellectual contributions of Prof. al-Attas.

This inaugural session of the Alumni Dialogues on Islamic Thought and Civilisation Series marks the beginning of ISTAC’s 40th Anniversary celebrations to be commemorated next year.

Two fundamental truths anchored the session.

First, the essence of justice. It is far more than a legal decree—it is the act of placing things in their rightful place. It is the justice of a bird belonging to the sky, and of a child honouring a parent. To live justly is to recognise and uphold the proper order of existence.

Second, the dual nature of the human being. A complete person possesses two dimensions: the intellectual and the spiritual. True scholarship is not an ornament, but a sacred responsibility to pursue truth with sincerity and to uphold the highest etiquette of the mind.

We are the torchbearers of this legacy. As Prof. al-Attas famously reminded us, Islam is not meant for the heedless.

May we carry this light forward with integrity, purpose, and soul.

Beyond the gilded echoes of palace halls lies a deeper narrative—one of intellectual memory written from the heart.

We are privileged to walk alongside a scholar who carries the weight of centuries in her pursuit of wisdom.
We are deeply honoured to highlight the academic journey of Her Royal Highness Tengku Ampuan Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj, a Master's candidate at ISTAC–IIUM.

Raised on stories far greater than fiction, Her Royal Highness views history not as a distant mythology, but as a living guidance for the present. In her scholarly work, she explores the confluence of the Bendahara and Temenggong houses, where ancient bonds connecting Johor, Pahang, and the wider Riau-Lingga world find new life through heritage and memory.

Her research into the Hukum Kanun Pahang transcends the study of legal manuscripts; it is an inquiry into a continuous Malay-Islamic civilisational framework where faith, kingship, and ethics remain inseparable.

For Her Royal Highness, being "anak raja"—a child of royal lineage—is not a license for privilege, but a sacred amanah (trust), a limitation and a burden that demands excellence in character, humility, and service.

As she poignantly reminds us, “a people without memory are a people who will eventually lose themselves”.
Through her lens, we learn that true nobility is found in the devotion to knowledge and the courage to learn from the mistakes of the past to shape a more dignified future.

ISTAC-IIUM serves as the quiet bridge between these centuries of wisdom and the scholars of today, ensuring that the pulse of our civilisation remains a living compass for the heart and mind.

Source: Sinar Daily