“And adab towards language means the recognition and acknowledgement of the rightful and proper place of every word in a written or uttered sentence so as not to produce a dissonance in meaning, sound and concept. Literature is called adabiyat in Islam precisely because it is seen as the keeper of civilization, the collector of teachings and statements that educate the self and society with adab such that both are elevated to the rank of the cultured man (insan adabi) and society.”

“Refering to the domain of knowledge, adab means an intellectual discipline (ketertiban budi) which recognizes and acknowledges the hierarchy of knowledge based on the criteria of degrees of perfection (keluhuran) and priority (keutamaan) such that the ones that are based on revelation are recognized and acknowledged as more perfect and of a higher priority than those based on the intellect; those that are fard 'ayn are above fard kifayah; those that provide guidance (hidayah) to life are more superior to those that are practically useful (kegunaan amali). Adab towards knowledge would result in the proper and correct ways of learning and applying different sciences.”

“The stubborn of a captive mentality can be clearly seen in the formulation of national development plans in most developing nations where the fundamental meaning and criteria of knowledge and development, modernization and reform, progress and change, happiness, tolerance, pluralism and their respective antonyms - such as under-development and corruption - are all derived from Western frameworks. Sometimes the strangest phenomenon surfaces - such as when the methodology of understanding and teaching indigenous religions is regarded as being uncritical and less objective if it does not utilize the methods developed by Western scholars in the understanding and teaching Western religions and religious texts.”

“Ketiadaan budaya ilmu bersepadu dalam tamadun hari ini telah mengakibatkan peluasan bencana kehilangan adab. Kebiadaban ini telah melahirkan banyak kerosakan dalam pemikiran dan akhlak manusia serta alam tabii. Dalam pemikiran dan akhlak, kejahilan atau kebebalan dan kemalasan intelektual dikaitkan (sebagai alasan) dengan pengkhususan; kedayusan moral disebut sebagai toleransi dan kesederhanaan; pembaziran dimaknakan dengan rekreasi atau mempertahankan kedudukan; korupsi akhlak dan ekonomi atau kedua-duanya sekali dimaafkan sebagai lumrah kehidupan moden; dan penjahanaman alam sekitar disebut sebagai harga tabii kemajuan.”

“Budaya ilmu juga bermakna ilmu dituntut dengan berbagai-bagai cara seperti pembacaan dan pendengaran atau pengalaman. Walaupun Islam menekankan kebolehan menulis dan membaca, tetapi dalam masyarakat Islam dahulu buta huruf tidak bermakna buta ilmu.”

“Keadaan universiti-universiti di negara-negara Islam yang mengajar agama dan tamadun Islam telah menjadi amat lemah kerana ketiadaan koleksi perpustakaan yang lengkap, program akademik kukuh, penyeliaan serius dan bersifat terlalu berpihak kepada politik. Segelintir institusi pengajian tinggi yang baik, dirosakkan oleh perasaan hasad, dengki dan fikiran sempit.”

“Nabi Muhammad SAW dipersetujui sebulat suara oleh semua umat Islam sebagai al-nabi al-ummi, nabi yang buta huruf. Namun demikian, sunnahnya lengkap dengan aphorisme dan tindakan-tindakan yang menguatkan konsep ilmu dalam al-Quran dan menjadi pencetus dan kuasa pendorong bagi pembangunan intelektual dan tamadun masa depan dalam Islam.”