Editing Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (section)

==Early life and education==
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas was born in [[Bogor]], [[Java (island)|Java]], [[Dutch East Indies]] into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors and saints.{{sfn|Wan Daud|Uthman|2010|pp=13–57}} Some sources state his genealogical tree can be traced over a thousand years through the Ba' Alawi sayyids of [[Hadramaut]]. He was the second of three sons; his older brother, [[Syed Hussein Alatas]] later became an academician and politician. He is the cousin of the academic [[Ungku Abdul Aziz]].<ref name=":0" />

After [[World War II]], in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and Western classics in English.

After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Regiment as a cadet officer. There he was selected to study at [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]], [[Chester]], England and later at the [[Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst]], UK (1952–1955). During this time he became interested in the metaphysics of the Sufis, especially the works of Jami. He travelled to Spain and North Africa where the Islamic heritage had a profound influence on him. Al-Attas felt the need to study and voluntarily resigned from the King's Commission to serve in the Royal Malay Regiment, to pursue studies at the [[University of Malaya]] in Singapore (1957–1959).

While an undergraduate at the University of Malaya, he wrote ''Rangkaian Ruba'iyat'', a literary work, and ''Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays''. He was awarded the Canada Council Fellowship for three years of study at the Institute of Islamic Studies at [[McGill University]] in Montreal. He received the M.A. degree with distinction in Islamic philosophy in 1962, with his thesis ''Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of 17th Century Acheh''. Al-Attas went on to the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[University of London]] where he worked with Professor [[A.J. Arberry]] of Cambridge and [[Martin Lings]]. His doctoral thesis (1962) was a two-volume work on the mysticism of [[Hamzah Fansuri]].

In 1965, al-Attas returned to Malaysia and became Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1968 until 1970, where he instituted more consultative reforms. Thereafter he moved to the new [[National University of Malaysia]], as Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He advocated the use of Malay as the language of instruction in the university. He founded and directed the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia in 1973.

In 1987, with al-Attas as founder and director, the [[International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation]] (ISTAC) was established in [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The institution was made to increase the consciousness of Islam to its students and faculty. Al-Attas incorporated Islamic artistic and architectural principles throughout the campus and grounds.