Industrialization Policy and the Building of an Industrial State From an Islamic Perspective

Prepared by

Engineer Ata Abu al-Rashtah

A Lecture Delivered at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation

Amman, 28 Safar 1411 AH - September 18, 1990 CE

Reviewed Safar 1448 AH – August 2026 CE

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Excerpt:

Ever since Allah ﷻ created man and placed him on earth, he has sought to satisfy his needs through the materials found in the universe created around him. He has likewise sought to preserve his security, sovereignty, and survival, whether in a state of attack or defense, by using the raw materials available in his surroundings.

Man once lived in caves and caverns, ate from the fruits of trees, and drank from the spring waters, wells, and rainwater, and clothed himself with leaves, branches, and similar natural materials. Then, as his life expanded, his needs became more diverse, and his experiences advanced, he began attempting to improve the raw materials around him so that they would better serve his purposes. He attempted to use stones, clay, and wood to build a suitable dwelling, and he attempted to use sharpened tools made from stone and wood as weapons. Thus, he continued improving and transforming raw materials into forms that served his purposes.

By using his previous knowledge of the reality around him, perceiving it through his senses and transferring it to his mind, then linking these matters together, he was able to advance in acquiring broader knowledge and to make better use of raw materials by improving their condition and transforming them into another form. Once he learned agriculture and carefully observed its seasons, he then developed knowledge of astronomy and calculation. Thus, he transformed from a food gatherer who collected grains, tree produce, fruits, and crops into a food producer who produced enough for his needs and generated a surplus. He also learned woodworking and carpentry, realizing that wood was needed for roofing his dwelling, kindling fire to keep himself warm, and using it as a weapon. He learned the industries of weaving, sewing, and clothing, using wool, linen, cotton, goat hair, camel hair, and silk, and he also produced rugs and carpets. Then he learned construction, architecture, sculpture, ornamentation, the building of palaces and fortifications, and the construction of dams and bridges. He also learned the manufacture of sun-dried mud bricks and fired clay bricks—that is, bricks made from baked clay—to use as alternative construction materials in places where stone was scarce.

As his life progressed and his experiences expanded, the need for metals became apparent to him. He extracted them and used them in his military, agricultural, and domestic affairs, and he began attempting to transform them into useful things. Among the earliest metals he came to know was iron. He learned how to process iron ore extracted from mines, and he learned how to smelt it through primitive methods, such as placing it in a pit or kiln and kindling fires of sufficient intensity to melt the metal and purify it from the foreign substances mixed with it. He would then shape and manufacture it into swords, spears, shields, and other weapons, or into tools for extracting water from wells, plowshares, and any other useful iron implements needed by human beings.

After that, he learned the processing and production of copper, bronze, lead, sulfur, salt, gold, silver, pearls, coral, and other precious materials. He also learned tanning and leatherworking, produced glass and paper, and later learned writing.

His knowledge of transforming raw materials into useful forms led him to observe the properties of these materials and their resistance to the factors affecting them during use. Thus, he began using the knowledge and ideas he possessed regarding these metals to conduct simple preliminary scientific experiments based on experimentation, observation, and inference, which enabled man to benefit from their results by improving his use of these materials.

Through this, man underwent a qualitative transition from the use of stone tools to the use of metal tools. However, throughout every stage of his life, in all his industries and his utilization of raw materials—whether by improving their condition or changing their forms, that is, manufacturing them into new products—all of this was governed by two factors:

The first was the satisfaction of his needs, and the second was the preservation of his security, survival, and sovereignty, whether in defense or attack. These two factors continued to govern the industrial development of societies and states after man entered the life of communities and states. These societies and states competed with one another over which could satisfy its needs and preserve its security and sovereignty through industries of its own—industries whose survival and continuity did not depend on other societies and states.

This industrial competition was based on achieving the two objectives mentioned above. It was most intense among the great powers throughout history, particularly the foremost states of the world. It existed between the Persians and the Romans, then between each of them and the Islamic State when it emerged. It later continued among Britain, France, Russia, and Germany until the First World War; then among America, Britain, France, and Germany until the Second World War; and thereafter among America, Russia, Britain, and France, with Germany and Japan also entering the competition. The important factor in industrial competition was based on physical and intellectual ability. As for other tools and simple machines, they were secondary factors. Man produced these tools by using primary sources of energy, such as fires from wood to melt metals, followed by muscular effort to shape them. This continued until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when man discovered a new source of usable energy: steam power. At that point, a major industrial leap occurred. Previously, factories were limited to manual workshops alone. When man learned to use steam to operate machinery, the mechanized factory began replacing the manual workshop. Then, with the arrival of modern inventions, a radical transformation occurred in industry. Production increased by an amount that had never been imagined, and the mechanized factory became one of the foundations of economic life.

Since energy is the lifeblood of industry, whenever man discovered a new source of energy that was more abundant and more efficient, his industry expanded and advanced more rapidly.