Some of those who have written about the history of civilization define civilization as “a social system which helps man to increase his cultural output.”

　　Civilization consists of four main elements: economical resources, political systems, moral traditions and science and arts. The development and progress of a civilization requires many factors such as geographical and economic factors, and psychological factors such as religion, language and education. The collapse of a civilization stems from factors which are the opposite of those which lead to its rise and development; the most important of these destructive factors include moral and intellectual decadence, lawlessness and breakdown of social systems, the spread of oppression and poverty, the spread of pessimism and apathy and the lack of competent and sincere leaders.

　　The story of civilization began when man first appeared, and it is a long chain which one civilized nation passes on to those who come after it. Civilization is not unique to any one land or race, rather it stems from the factors we have mentioned above. There is hardly any nation that has not written some of the pages of the history of civilization, but the thing that distinguishes one civilization from another is the strength of the foundation on which it is built, the great influence that it may have, and the benefits that humanity may enjoy as a result of its rise. The more universal a civilization is in its message, the more humane it is in its inclination, the more moral it is in its direction and the more realistic it is in its principles, the more lasting will be its impact on history, the longer it will endure and the more it will deserve to be honored.

　　Our civilization is a link in the chain of human civilizations; some civilizations came before it and others will follow. There were factors that contributed to the rise of our civilization, and there are reasons for its decline, but this is not the topic under discussion here. Rather, before we examine the wonders of this civilization, we should discuss the serious role that it played in the history of human progress, and how much it contributed to the fields of belief, science, ethics, rule, art and literature, and how it had a lasting impact on humanity of all peoples and in all places.

　　The most important thing that attracts the attention of the one who studies our civilization is that it is distinguished by the following features:

　　1. The third of the characteristics of our civilization is the way in which it gave prominence to moral principles in all its systems and fields of activity, and never abandoned these principles or used them as means of benefitting a state, a group or an individual. In ruling, in science, in legislation, in war, in peace, in economy, in the family; it paid attention to these moral principles in legislation and in implementation of laws. In this field it reached a high level that has never been attained by any civilization before or since. The Islamic civilization left behind a legacy in that field which deserves to be admired for it alone, among all civilizations, guaranteed the happiness of man in the purest sense, not contaminated with any misery.

　　The Unique Characteristics of Our Civilization - II