Adnan Rashid – Did He Really Say That Adam Smith On Islam History Bites #10
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AI: Transcript ©
Salam aleikum, everyone. Welcome to another episode of history bytes. Brothers and sisters, I have something amazing for you today. But before I get to the subject matter, please subscribe to the channel and support our work by following the links in the description. Today I have something very special for you have an antiquarian book. It's an old book. This particular volume was printed in the 19th century, possibly 1870s. And it consists of Adam Smith's essays, Who is Adam Smith, Adam Smith was the founder of modern economic principles. He's also called the father of capitalism. He had written very, very powerful, immensely important books such as the Wealth of Nations, and Theory
of Moral Sentiments. And he also wrote other essays on other subjects, Adam Smith, surprisingly, paid a lavish tribute to the Muslim civilization. He was very much inspired by the Muslim civilization. He was one of the Enlightenment thinkers, he was a philosopher. He was a polymath par excellence. And, of course, for that reason, he was very educated. And due to his education on Islamic history, he was very much inspired. Not many British or English people know about Adam Smith's views on the Muslim civilization, even though he was one of the most important people to have lived in British history to so much so that he could be found on the back of the old 20 pounds.
Note, if you pick up one of the old 20 pounds, 20 pounds note you will see Adam Smith's picture on the back. So important was he in the British history. So now straight to the point I want to make in this video. So in this book, essays of Adam Smith, or Adam Smith's essays, we go to page 353. And we find a fascinating quote,
put down in his essay on astronomy, the history of astronomy, Adams MidStates. And I quote, the ruin of the empire of the Romans. And along with it, the subversion of all law and order, which happened a few centuries afterwards produced the entire neglect of that study of the connecting principles of nature, to which leisure and security can alone give occasion, after the fall of those great conquest and civilize of mankind, the Empire of the caves, seems to have been the first state under which the world enjoyed that degree of tranquility, which the cultivation of science the sciences requires. It was under the protection of those generous and magnificent princes, that the ancient
philosophy and astronomy of the Greeks were restored and established in the east, that tranquility which the mild just and religious government diffused over the vast empire revived the curiosity of mankind, to inquire into the connecting, connecting principles of nature. So Adam Smith, in his essay on the history of astronomy states that the Empire of the Muslims or the caliphate, for example, was a state that gave the world that degree of tranquility, peace and security, which is necessary for any civilization to come about in the first place. So Adam Smith had a very positive view of the Muslim civilization. And he was writing this in the 18th century. So I thought, this was
a very inspiring quote, and I wanted to share it with you. So on that note, brother and sisters, don't belittle your history. Don't ever be apologetic about the history of Islam, we have great achievements to talk about. Not only us, others, people who were not from our civilization, people who were outsiders. They praised the Muslim civilization for its magnificence and achievements and all the libraries and philosophers and scientists, and thinkers and most importantly, our moral and ethical values that made us great. Let's be great again, in sha Allah. On that note, subscribe to the channel and support our Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh