Civilization is distinct from material progress. They differ not in kind but in degree. Civilization represents the peak of the social pyramid, while material progress forms its base.
Civilization can be defined as the ability to distinguish between the values of things and to adhere to these values in daily behavior. A civilized person does not confuse means with ends, nor does he sacrifice ends for the sake of means. Such a person possesses values and character. In brief, a civilized individual is one who has achieved the life of thought and the life of feeling.

Is Civilization Morality??

It undoubtedly is. But what is morality? There are many definitions of morality, yet the most comprehensive and complete definition is that morality is the proper exercise of absolute individual freedom. The Infallible (the prophet) said: “I was only sent to perfect noble character.” This statement implies that he was sent solely to perfect the noble character. Thus, we have said that Muhammad lived at the pinnacle of the civilization that Allah brought forth through him. Allah described him within this framework: (And indeed, you are of great moral character.) (68:04)
When Aisha was asked about the character of the Prophet, she replied, "His moral values were the Qur’an." It is known that the Qur’an is the morals of Allah, and Allah’s morals are in the realm of absoluteness. From this understanding comes the definition that morality is the proper exercise of absolute individual freedom.
Muhammad was the most capable of all people in exercising this absolute individual freedom with perfection. This was due to his deep mindfulness of his Lord and his meticulous self-accountability regarding everything he did or refrained from doing, whether concerning Allah or humanity. Did he not say, "Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable"?
Indeed, the proper exercise of absolute individual freedom is the very Sunnah of the Prophet, a concept often discussed without its essence being fully grasped. This Sunnah is what the Prophet referred to in his famous hadith about the return of Islam, where he says: 'Islam began as something strange, and it will return as something strange as it began, so blessed are the strangers!' They asked, 'Who are the strangers, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Those who revive my Sunnah after it has been abandoned.'"
His Sunnah is his ability, in all his circumstances - whether at rest or in motion, in ease or difficulty - to exercise absolute individual freedom properly. This is the pinnacle of morality and, simultaneously, the pinnacle of civilization.
As for material progress, it is the human being’s utilization of the means that increase the charm and freshness of life. It is as though material progress is material advancement: if a man owns a luxurious car, a beautiful house, and elegant furniture, then he is materially advanced. But if he has obtained these means by compromising his freedom, then he is not civilized (mutamaddin), even though he is materially advanced (mutaḥaḍḍir). It is indeed among the subtleties of distinction that we realize a person may be materially advanced without being civilized - and this is common - or that he may be civilized without being materially advanced - and this is rare. Perfection lies in a person having both material progress and civilization at the same time. And this is what we aspire to from this day forward.

Western Civilization

Based on this precise understanding, the current Western civilization is not truly a civilization but merely a material progress (ḥaḍārah). It fails to qualify as a civilization because the scales of values within it have been disrupted: means have advanced while ends have receded.
In our book The Message of Prayer, we wrote:
“Modern Western mechanical civilization is like a coin with two faces: one bright and beautiful, the other ugly. Its bright face lies in its achievements in scientific discovery, which have enabled the harnessing of material forces to enrich human life and the use of machines to assist humanity. As for its ugly face, it is its inability to wisely strive to achieve peace, and this inability has made it work for war and spend on means of destruction multiples of what it works for peace, and multiples of what it spends on reconstruction facilities.
The ugly side of modern Western mechanical civilization lies in its social philosophy and its failure to reconcile the needs of the individual with those of the community - the individual's need for absolute individual freedom and the community's need for comprehensive social justice. In truth, the inability to balance these two needs - the needs of the individual and the needs of the community - has remained the bane of social thought throughout all eras of human intellectual history.
And this reconciliation remains, to this day, the pinnacle by which the glaring inadequacy of the philosophers’ philosophies and the thinkers’ thoughts is revealed. One may say that the virtue of Islam is never more evident - so manifest that it outshines every ambitious rival - as when the comparison between it and other ideologies is elevated to this lofty summit."
This is what we wrote at that time in The Message of Prayer (Risalat as-Salah.) Today, we say that one of the clearest signs of distorted values in this materialistic Western culture is the way Soviet communism prioritized society - a mere means - over the individual, who is the true end. Socialism in communism sacrifices both collective and individual freedom. Western capitalism, meanwhile, fares no better in this regard than Soviet communism.

_____

1. Risalat as-Salah (Message of Prayer), pp 66-67 5th edition June 1970, Rabi Al-Thani 1390, (Arabic) PDF
Message of Prayer, pp 72-73. 6th edition December 1972, Dhu al-Qi’dah 1392 (English) PDF