Importance of Religion, Man and Knowledge in Civilizational Development Views of Malik Bennabi and Sa‘id Nursi

This paper examines the views of Malik Bennabi (1905-1973) and Sa‘īd Nūrsī (1878-1960) on the importance of religion, man and knowledge in civilisational development. Despite their different backgrounds, historical contexts and approaches, the two scholars shared the view that these three elements form the core foundations of civilisational development. For the purpose of this paper, the discussion of Malik Bennabi focuses on his views regarding the crucial roles played by religion and human factors in driving humanity toward progress and societal transformation; while the discussion of Sa‘īd Nūrsī focuses on his views of knowledge as an important foundation for civilisational development. The paper concludes with the observation that both Bennabi’s and Nūrsī’s approaches to the issue of the foundations of civilisational development are rooted in Islamic thought.