Professor Tan Sri Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas  is a polymath rooted in traditional Islamic sciences. He is known for his work in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. He is particularly celebrated for pioneering the concept of the “Islamisation of knowledge”.

Background: Al-Attas was born in Bogor, West Java. He received his early education in Sukabumi and Johor Bahru. He later studied at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England and, subsequently, at the University of Malaya, McGill University (MA) and the University of London (PhD), focusing on Islamic philosophy, theology and metaphysics.

Scholar: Tan Sri Syed Naquib has written over 30 books in the fields of Islamic philosophy, theology and metaphysics, history, literature, art and civilization, and religion and education. He is among the few contemporary scholars who is also thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences. His magnum opus is Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam and his latest book (2023) is Islām: The Covenants Fulfilled. In October 2024 He became the second Malaysian to have been awarded the title of Royal Professor (Profesor Diraja).

 Institutions: He was responsible for the conceptualization of the Islamic University, which he initially formulated at the First World Conference on Muslim Education, held in Makkah (1979). In 1987, Tan Sri Syed Naquib founded and directed the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), which is a major, global academic institution. He has inspired a generation of new scholars including Professor Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, who is the current holder of The Distinguished Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas Chair of Islamic Thought at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).