The Study of English Literature from Tawhidic Perspective (Pengajian Sastera Inggeris Menurut Perspektif Tawhid)
Authors: Ramli Aimillia Mohd 
Published: July 2019

The prominence of English literature in literary studies has made it an important part of the discourse surrounding Islamisation of Knowledge (IOK). Because of his involvement in this movement, Syed Ali Ashraf’s (1925-1998) argument that English literature contained “intuitive truths” that transcended religious boundaries has been widely adopted as an approach in the study of literature, which is defined here as a written body of works dealing with artistic expressions, from an Islamic perspective. This paper argues, however, that his insistence on normative morality and spirituality in English literature as both providing guidance for human behavior and a basis for literary criticism is problematic. Part of the problem is the widely-held notion that literature, in general, only functions as the medium for the propagation and development of values and cultural refinement. Syed Naquib al-Attas’s (1931 – present) concept of Islamisation, however, places adabiyyÉt or literature in its proper relation to adab or proper bahaviour and etiquette that locates Allah at the highest place in the order of existence. Following Al-Attas, the author argues that the study of English literature should then be conducted through a comparative approach of both English and Islamic literatures that privileges not only the Islamic understanding of values but also leads to the acknowledgement and worship of Allah.
Keywords: Islamisation of Knowledge, English Literature, Comparative Literature, Literary Criticism.
Abstrak
Keutamaan sastera Inggeris dalam pengajian kesusasteraan telah menjadikannya satu subjek penting dalam wacana berkaitan Islamisasi Ilmu Pengetahuan (IOK). Kerana penglibatan beliau dalam pergerakan ini, pendapat Syed Ali Ashraf (1925-1998) bahawa sastera Inggeris mengandungi "kebenaran intuitif" yang menjangkaui sempadan agama telah diterima sebagai perspektif Islam buat kajian sastera, yang boleh disimpulkan sebagai hasil-hasil karya yang berkaitan dengan ekspresi artistik. Walaubagaimanapun, penulis berpendapat bahawa kepentingan yang diberikan of Syed Ali Ashraf kepada moral dan kerohanian normatif dalam sastera Inggeris sebagai panduan untuk tingkah laku manusia dan asas kritikan sastera akan menimbulkan berbagai masalah. Sebahagian daripada masalah ini adalah tanggapan bahawa sastera, secara umumnya, hanya berfungsi sebagai medium untuk penyebaran dan pembangunan nilai-nilai dan perkembangan budaya. Konsep Islamisasi Syed Naquib al-Attas (1931-), bagaimanapun, menempatkan adabiyyat atau sastera dalam konteks hubungannya dengan adab atau tingkahlaku dan tatasusila yang meletakan Allah di tempat tertinggi dalam urutan kewujudan. Seperti Al-Attas, penulis berpendapat bahawa kajian kesusasteraan Inggeris harus dilakukan melalui pendekatan komparatif di antara sastera Inggeris dan sastera Islam yang bukan sahaja menitikberatkan pemahaman Islam mengenai nilai-nilai murni tetapi juga mengagungkan Allah.
Kata Kunci: Islamisasi Pengetahuan, Kesusasteraan Inggeris, Kesusasteraan Perbandingan, Kritikan Sastera.