The word culture has been derived from the Latin word “cultura” which means “to till, to cultivate”. The word “till or cultivate” means to prepare the land by ploughing till it becomes plain, fertile and productive. To cultivate one’s mind means “To develop ones mental capacity to the extent that one may be able to think as a responsible citizen. Similarly to cultivate ones manners, means to teach someone best morals and the way of doing things in a best possible way. When the same word is used in its social and religious perspective it provides the sense of developing individuals /stimuli’s manners, habits, beliefs, knowledge in short material and non-material aspects of life in accordance with the religion or society/community one belongs to.
Culture: definitions and meaning
Let us try to know how different authorities and scholars have defined the term culture.
According to Arnold Mathew, “the best that has been taught and known is culture. Culture includes the way of life, the habits, the manners, the very tones of voices, the literature, and the things which give pleasure to the community, the words, and the thoughts which make the furniture of their minds.” Ottaway is of the opinion that, “culture of a society means the total way of life of a society”. Taylor says, “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society”. Ellwood opines that , “culture includes on the one hand the whole of man’s material civilization ,tools, weapons, system of industry and on the other hand ,all the non-material or spiritual civilization ,such as language ,literature ,art ,religion, morality, law and government”.
Muslim scholars on the Term
Dr. Nazir Ahmad Zarger defines culture as; literally “culture” means civilization especially the cultivation of human mind. According to him Islamic culture differs from other culture as its aim is the cultivation of entire human race .Hence no literature or art can signify Islamic culture as long as their exist wrong, deceit, injustice, and lie. In Islam unlike other cultures, literature, artistic and scientific achievements are not the end but means to the end”.
Similarly While defining cultural nationality, the renowned scholar of the nineteenth century, ‘Allama Maudoodi (RA) writes, “this nationality(cultural nationality)is found among those people who are of one religion, who are identical in their thoughts and ideas and sentiments and feelings; who display the same kind of moral characteristics; who hold common view point in relation to all the important problems of life a view point which may have effected a uniformity even in the cultural and social manifestations of their life; who take common standards of likes and dislikes, lawfulness and unlawfulness, sacredness and profaneness; who mutually understand their susceptibilities, who are familiar with the habits ,temperaments and leanings of one another; who are bound together by these ties of blood and affection because of intermarriages and social relations, who are liable to be motivated by the same kind of historical traditions; In short ,it is found only among those who mentally, spiritually, morally ,culturally, and socially have become one people ,an organic whole.”
In light of the above extract, it can be said that to Moulana culture is the organic whole of everything material or immaterial a society can have .It includes religion thoughts and ideas sentiments and feelings, likes and dislikes, lawfulness and unlawfulness, sacredness and profaneness, habits, temperaments and learnings, historical traditions, mental, spiritual, cultural and social standards as a whole.