Livnat Holtzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748689569
- eISBN:
- 9781474444828
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748689569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were ...
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More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were intrinsically linked to political struggles over hegemony. The way a scholar interpreted the anthropomorphic descriptions of God in the Qur’an and the Hadith (for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter or God’s sitting on the heavenly throne) often reflected his political and social stature, and his theological affinity. This book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt – the traditions that depict God and His attributes in an anthropomorphic language. The book reveals the way these traditions were studied and interpreted in the circles of Islamic traditionalism which included ultra-traditionalists (the Hanbalites and their forerunners) and middle-of-the-road traditionalists (Ash’arites and their forerunners). The book presents an in-depth literary analysis of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while considering the role of the early scholars of Hadith in shaping the narrative of these anthropomorphic texts. The book also offers the first scholarly and systematic presentation of hand, face, and bodily gestures that the scholars performed while transmitting the anthropomorphic traditions. The book goes on to discuss the inner controversies in the prominent traditionalistic learning centres of the Islamic world regarding the way to understand and interpret these anthropomorphic traditions. Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.Less
More than any other issue in early and medieval Islamic theology, anthropomorphism (tashbīh) stood at the heart of many theological debates. These debates were not purely intellectual; they were intrinsically linked to political struggles over hegemony. The way a scholar interpreted the anthropomorphic descriptions of God in the Qur’an and the Hadith (for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter or God’s sitting on the heavenly throne) often reflected his political and social stature, and his theological affinity. This book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt – the traditions that depict God and His attributes in an anthropomorphic language. The book reveals the way these traditions were studied and interpreted in the circles of Islamic traditionalism which included ultra-traditionalists (the Hanbalites and their forerunners) and middle-of-the-road traditionalists (Ash’arites and their forerunners). The book presents an in-depth literary analysis of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while considering the role of the early scholars of Hadith in shaping the narrative of these anthropomorphic texts. The book also offers the first scholarly and systematic presentation of hand, face, and bodily gestures that the scholars performed while transmitting the anthropomorphic traditions. The book goes on to discuss the inner controversies in the prominent traditionalistic learning centres of the Islamic world regarding the way to understand and interpret these anthropomorphic traditions. Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.
John C. Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588268
- eISBN:
- 9780191595400
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588268.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter considers the changes resulting from these events as they affected Ibâḍi theory concerning types of Imam, the principle of one Imam in a misr, permitted behaviour towards occupying ...
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This chapter considers the changes resulting from these events as they affected Ibâḍi theory concerning types of Imam, the principle of one Imam in a misr, permitted behaviour towards occupying powers, and what is permitted in warfare against the jabâbira and ahl al–baghi (tyrants and renegades). It continues with a survey of the evolution of Ibâḍi fiqh during this period, the concern with recovering and recording past records (taqyîd) into hifz and jawâmi', culminating in works like the Musannaf and Bayân al–Shar', and with it abandonment of the old peculiarly Ibâḍi form of siyar literature. In the process, Ibâḍism opened itself to developments elsewhere in the Islamic world, notably Sunni norms: analysis of Omani, Maghribi, and Hadrami contemporary literature shows how hadîth were absorbed into the âthâr of the community but without the accompanying isnâd scholarship. The key figures of the period as well as their literature are surveyed. The chapter concludes with a preliminary discussion of the last main figure of the 5/11th century, al–'Awtabi.Less
This chapter considers the changes resulting from these events as they affected Ibâḍi theory concerning types of Imam, the principle of one Imam in a misr, permitted behaviour towards occupying powers, and what is permitted in warfare against the jabâbira and ahl al–baghi (tyrants and renegades). It continues with a survey of the evolution of Ibâḍi fiqh during this period, the concern with recovering and recording past records (taqyîd) into hifz and jawâmi', culminating in works like the Musannaf and Bayân al–Shar', and with it abandonment of the old peculiarly Ibâḍi form of siyar literature. In the process, Ibâḍism opened itself to developments elsewhere in the Islamic world, notably Sunni norms: analysis of Omani, Maghribi, and Hadrami contemporary literature shows how hadîth were absorbed into the âthâr of the community but without the accompanying isnâd scholarship. The key figures of the period as well as their literature are surveyed. The chapter concludes with a preliminary discussion of the last main figure of the 5/11th century, al–'Awtabi.
Henri Lauzière
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231175500
- eISBN:
- 9780231540179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175500.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Chapter 5 discusses the significance of the post-independence rupture and how it drove a wedge between purist Salafis and most other Islamic activists, including modernist Salafis.
Chapter 5 discusses the significance of the post-independence rupture and how it drove a wedge between purist Salafis and most other Islamic activists, including modernist Salafis.
Barbara Freyer Stowasser
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195111484
- eISBN:
- 9780199853397
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111484.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The first generation of Muslims surely heralded the Prophet's manner and way of life as an example they want to follow, because he was God's chosen one in their midst and the appointed leader to whom ...
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The first generation of Muslims surely heralded the Prophet's manner and way of life as an example they want to follow, because he was God's chosen one in their midst and the appointed leader to whom they had pledge loyalty and allegiance. The view of the Prophet's peerlessness expanded and strengthened after his death when successful wars and conquests led to the birth of a huge Muslim empire. Later generation of Muslims came to see the Prophet in terms of a personal infallibility that has been perceived by his companions in Mecca and Medina. The Hadith is both a proof of record of what Muhammad actually stated and did and what his community in the first two centuries. Thus, the Hadith has been referred to “a guide to understanding the historical Muhammad as well as a guide to understanding the evolution of Muslim piety....”Less
The first generation of Muslims surely heralded the Prophet's manner and way of life as an example they want to follow, because he was God's chosen one in their midst and the appointed leader to whom they had pledge loyalty and allegiance. The view of the Prophet's peerlessness expanded and strengthened after his death when successful wars and conquests led to the birth of a huge Muslim empire. Later generation of Muslims came to see the Prophet in terms of a personal infallibility that has been perceived by his companions in Mecca and Medina. The Hadith is both a proof of record of what Muhammad actually stated and did and what his community in the first two centuries. Thus, the Hadith has been referred to “a guide to understanding the historical Muhammad as well as a guide to understanding the evolution of Muslim piety....”
Julian Johansen
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267577
- eISBN:
- 9780191683305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267577.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The Muslims' sense of closeness and devotion to the Prophet has inspired especially passionate feelings amongst those who discuss his acts and qualities. Having sought to establish the permissibility ...
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The Muslims' sense of closeness and devotion to the Prophet has inspired especially passionate feelings amongst those who discuss his acts and qualities. Having sought to establish the permissibility of miracles in theory, Sheikh Muṭammad goes on to consider objections of a more technical nature. In examining the controversial status of the Prophet, it has been seen that Sheikh Muṭammad is keen to reject any suggestions that the Prophet was just an ordinary man, and brings to bear the methods of Ḥadīth scholarship to authenticate the accounts of prophetic miracles and to substantiate his claims. It is suggested that he maintains a cautiously pragmatic approach to the presentation of controversial material.Less
The Muslims' sense of closeness and devotion to the Prophet has inspired especially passionate feelings amongst those who discuss his acts and qualities. Having sought to establish the permissibility of miracles in theory, Sheikh Muṭammad goes on to consider objections of a more technical nature. In examining the controversial status of the Prophet, it has been seen that Sheikh Muṭammad is keen to reject any suggestions that the Prophet was just an ordinary man, and brings to bear the methods of Ḥadīth scholarship to authenticate the accounts of prophetic miracles and to substantiate his claims. It is suggested that he maintains a cautiously pragmatic approach to the presentation of controversial material.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195154948
- eISBN:
- 9780199849239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154948.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter focuses on Hadīth par excellence, the sunna of the prophet, extracting information that might shed light on early beliefs and attitudes about warring during the mission of Muḥammad. The ...
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This chapter focuses on Hadīth par excellence, the sunna of the prophet, extracting information that might shed light on early beliefs and attitudes about warring during the mission of Muḥammad. The sunna refers to Muḥammad's acts and statements, which are considered authoritative for the determination of proper Islamic behavior. These prophetic acts and teachings were remembered in the form of short narratives and anecdotes preserved in the heart and minds of Muḥammad's surviving contemporaries and their descendants and students. The traditions in the canonical collections tend to confirm the victory of militant Islam over the less militant factions of the earlier period.Less
This chapter focuses on Hadīth par excellence, the sunna of the prophet, extracting information that might shed light on early beliefs and attitudes about warring during the mission of Muḥammad. The sunna refers to Muḥammad's acts and statements, which are considered authoritative for the determination of proper Islamic behavior. These prophetic acts and teachings were remembered in the form of short narratives and anecdotes preserved in the heart and minds of Muḥammad's surviving contemporaries and their descendants and students. The traditions in the canonical collections tend to confirm the victory of militant Islam over the less militant factions of the earlier period.
Ahmad S. Dallal
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469641409
- eISBN:
- 9781469640365
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469641409.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as ...
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Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as one of decline, stagnation, and the engendering of a widespread fundamentalism. Far from being moribund, Dallal argues, the eighteenth century--prior to systematic European encounters--was one of the most fertile eras in Islamic thought. Across vast Islamic territories, Dallal charts in rich detail not only how intellectuals rethought and reorganized religious knowledge but also the reception and impact of their ideas. From the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic, commoners and elites alike embraced the appeals of Muslim thinkers who, while preserving classical styles of learning, advocated for general participation by Muslims in the definition of Islam. Dallal also uncovers the regional origins of most reform projects, showing how ideologies were forged in particular sociopolitical contexts. Reformists’ ventures were in large part successful--up until the beginnings of European colonization of the Muslim world. By the nineteenth century, the encounter with Europe changed Islamic discursive culture in significant ways into one that was largely articulated in reaction to the radical challenges of colonialism.Less
Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as one of decline, stagnation, and the engendering of a widespread fundamentalism. Far from being moribund, Dallal argues, the eighteenth century--prior to systematic European encounters--was one of the most fertile eras in Islamic thought. Across vast Islamic territories, Dallal charts in rich detail not only how intellectuals rethought and reorganized religious knowledge but also the reception and impact of their ideas. From the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic, commoners and elites alike embraced the appeals of Muslim thinkers who, while preserving classical styles of learning, advocated for general participation by Muslims in the definition of Islam. Dallal also uncovers the regional origins of most reform projects, showing how ideologies were forged in particular sociopolitical contexts. Reformists’ ventures were in large part successful--up until the beginnings of European colonization of the Muslim world. By the nineteenth century, the encounter with Europe changed Islamic discursive culture in significant ways into one that was largely articulated in reaction to the radical challenges of colonialism.
Zeki Saritoprak
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049403
- eISBN:
- 9780813050171
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049403.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Summarizing the central arguments of his book, Saritoprak concludes by revisiting the theological and epistemological bases for an interpretive approach to Islamic sources on the eschatological role ...
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Summarizing the central arguments of his book, Saritoprak concludes by revisiting the theological and epistemological bases for an interpretive approach to Islamic sources on the eschatological role of Jesus. He reviews this approach as a bridge to Muslim-Christian cooperation and stresses the importance of such cooperation from both theological and practical perspectives. Peace is the essential message of both Jesus and Muhammad.Less
Summarizing the central arguments of his book, Saritoprak concludes by revisiting the theological and epistemological bases for an interpretive approach to Islamic sources on the eschatological role of Jesus. He reviews this approach as a bridge to Muslim-Christian cooperation and stresses the importance of such cooperation from both theological and practical perspectives. Peace is the essential message of both Jesus and Muhammad.
Livnat Holtzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748689569
- eISBN:
- 9781474444828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748689569.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Based on the work of Daniel Beaumont and Sebastian Günther on Hadith and narratology, this chapter analyses three proto-types of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while focusing on the basic building-blocks of these ...
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Based on the work of Daniel Beaumont and Sebastian Günther on Hadith and narratology, this chapter analyses three proto-types of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while focusing on the basic building-blocks of these texts, namely the ‘framing narrative’, the ‘embedded narrative’, and the narrator. The texts reviewed in this chapter are several versions of ‘the ḥadīth of the beatific vision’, ‘the ḥadīth of the sacrifice in favour of the believer’, and ‘the ḥadīth of the divine fingers’. The chapter combines literary analysis with a thorough reading in the biographical sources. This combined methodology uncovers the personal motivations of the narrators of the aḥādīth in question, while demonstrating the effect of these motivations on the shaping of the narrative. This chapter presents the typical features of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and reveals hidden meanings in the texts while considering two styles of narration: mimesis and diegesis, or showing (performing) and telling (recounting). Among the narrators under review are Abu Burda (d. c. 721-3), son of the ṣaḥābī Abu Musa al-Ashʿari (d. c. 663), and ʿAlqama (d. between 681 and 692) and ʿAbida (d. between 691 and 693), the disciples of the ṣaḥābī ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud (d. 652-3).Less
Based on the work of Daniel Beaumont and Sebastian Günther on Hadith and narratology, this chapter analyses three proto-types of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt while focusing on the basic building-blocks of these texts, namely the ‘framing narrative’, the ‘embedded narrative’, and the narrator. The texts reviewed in this chapter are several versions of ‘the ḥadīth of the beatific vision’, ‘the ḥadīth of the sacrifice in favour of the believer’, and ‘the ḥadīth of the divine fingers’. The chapter combines literary analysis with a thorough reading in the biographical sources. This combined methodology uncovers the personal motivations of the narrators of the aḥādīth in question, while demonstrating the effect of these motivations on the shaping of the narrative. This chapter presents the typical features of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and reveals hidden meanings in the texts while considering two styles of narration: mimesis and diegesis, or showing (performing) and telling (recounting). Among the narrators under review are Abu Burda (d. c. 721-3), son of the ṣaḥābī Abu Musa al-Ashʿari (d. c. 663), and ʿAlqama (d. between 681 and 692) and ʿAbida (d. between 691 and 693), the disciples of the ṣaḥābī ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud (d. 652-3).
Nadia Sonneveld
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164842
- eISBN:
- 9781617971082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164842.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Provides an examination of the written sources in the national media, including newspapers and magazines. In addition to an analysis of the debate on khul', it presents an examination of reforms ...
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Provides an examination of the written sources in the national media, including newspapers and magazines. In addition to an analysis of the debate on khul', it presents an examination of reforms related to personal status adopted in the wake of the khul' law, in the period between 2000 and 2002.Less
Provides an examination of the written sources in the national media, including newspapers and magazines. In addition to an analysis of the debate on khul', it presents an examination of reforms related to personal status adopted in the wake of the khul' law, in the period between 2000 and 2002.
Zeki Saritoprak
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049403
- eISBN:
- 9780813050171
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049403.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Chapter 4 focuses on the Hadith and Islamic historical literatures that expound upon Jesus's eschatological descent. To do this, the author first explains the importance of the Hadith in Islamic ...
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Chapter 4 focuses on the Hadith and Islamic historical literatures that expound upon Jesus's eschatological descent. To do this, the author first explains the importance of the Hadith in Islamic theology, defining the methodology used in the Islamic sciences to verify their reliability, and, second, he discusses Islam's understanding of the Prophet Muhammad. Throughout the Hadith literature, there is no single unified story regarding Jesus's descent. The author uses this fact, plus the general understanding that Muhammad spoke metaphorically, to argue that the sayings of the Prophet must be understood through interpretation. The chapter then gives examples of both weak and strong Hadith and examines the history and theological implications of these Hadith.Less
Chapter 4 focuses on the Hadith and Islamic historical literatures that expound upon Jesus's eschatological descent. To do this, the author first explains the importance of the Hadith in Islamic theology, defining the methodology used in the Islamic sciences to verify their reliability, and, second, he discusses Islam's understanding of the Prophet Muhammad. Throughout the Hadith literature, there is no single unified story regarding Jesus's descent. The author uses this fact, plus the general understanding that Muhammad spoke metaphorically, to argue that the sayings of the Prophet must be understood through interpretation. The chapter then gives examples of both weak and strong Hadith and examines the history and theological implications of these Hadith.
Ronald C. Kiener
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036496
- eISBN:
- 9780813041810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036496.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest ...
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This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest the account of Jewish mysticism from its Eurocentric focus and place it instead in the context of Islamic culture. The chapter elaborates at length on the ways in which Islamic culture helped shape mysticism among the Jews beginning in ninth-century Baghdad and continuing with such currents as the Sufi-tinged Jewish pietist movement of thirteenth-century medieval Egypt, the ecstatic Kabbalah movement founded by Abraham Abulafia, and the origins of the so-called Spanish Kabbalah. The main thesis here is that based on recent research the centrality of Islamic culture cannot be ignored in developing a historical account of the evolution of Jewish mysticism.Less
This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest the account of Jewish mysticism from its Eurocentric focus and place it instead in the context of Islamic culture. The chapter elaborates at length on the ways in which Islamic culture helped shape mysticism among the Jews beginning in ninth-century Baghdad and continuing with such currents as the Sufi-tinged Jewish pietist movement of thirteenth-century medieval Egypt, the ecstatic Kabbalah movement founded by Abraham Abulafia, and the origins of the so-called Spanish Kabbalah. The main thesis here is that based on recent research the centrality of Islamic culture cannot be ignored in developing a historical account of the evolution of Jewish mysticism.
Hussein Ahmad Amin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474437073
- eISBN:
- 9781474453653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474437073.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter critically engages with the corpus of sayings (Hadith) attributed to the Prophet. It discusses the different reasons for when and why many traditions were fabricated and forged. It ...
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This chapter critically engages with the corpus of sayings (Hadith) attributed to the Prophet. It discusses the different reasons for when and why many traditions were fabricated and forged. It explores the sectarian, ideological, geographical, nationalistic and intellectual contexts that led to these widespread fabrications. It further explores the reasons why theologians and jurists were lenient of this, despite using the isnād (chain of narrations) method to sift through the exponentially growing corpus.Less
This chapter critically engages with the corpus of sayings (Hadith) attributed to the Prophet. It discusses the different reasons for when and why many traditions were fabricated and forged. It explores the sectarian, ideological, geographical, nationalistic and intellectual contexts that led to these widespread fabrications. It further explores the reasons why theologians and jurists were lenient of this, despite using the isnād (chain of narrations) method to sift through the exponentially growing corpus.
Ahmad S. Dallal
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469641409
- eISBN:
- 9781469640365
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469641409.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Another main idea in revisionist historiography is that hadith studies were revived in the eighteenth century and that hadith was used for socio-moral reconstruction. This last notion implies that ...
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Another main idea in revisionist historiography is that hadith studies were revived in the eighteenth century and that hadith was used for socio-moral reconstruction. This last notion implies that the significance of hadith was in the practical ordering of social life and providing a blueprint for social behaviour, and not on intellectual grounds. In contrast, the book argues that some of the most original ideas were introduced in the course of academic/theoretical discussions of hadith, in particular the theory of hadith (‘ilm mustalah al-hadith). This chapter traces the development of two distinct schools of hadith studies in India and in Yemen, and teases out the implications of these very radical theories for notions of authority. The chapter proposes new ways of reading and analysing hadith, not just in terms of its social and cultural significance but also in relation to earlier traditions of hadith studies. In contrast to most contemporary critical studies of hadith, which focus primarily on the early period and on the question of authenticity, this chapter argues that these questions are not significant beyond the first three centuries of Islam, and that new techniques of analysis are needed for the study of this important body of literature.Less
Another main idea in revisionist historiography is that hadith studies were revived in the eighteenth century and that hadith was used for socio-moral reconstruction. This last notion implies that the significance of hadith was in the practical ordering of social life and providing a blueprint for social behaviour, and not on intellectual grounds. In contrast, the book argues that some of the most original ideas were introduced in the course of academic/theoretical discussions of hadith, in particular the theory of hadith (‘ilm mustalah al-hadith). This chapter traces the development of two distinct schools of hadith studies in India and in Yemen, and teases out the implications of these very radical theories for notions of authority. The chapter proposes new ways of reading and analysing hadith, not just in terms of its social and cultural significance but also in relation to earlier traditions of hadith studies. In contrast to most contemporary critical studies of hadith, which focus primarily on the early period and on the question of authenticity, this chapter argues that these questions are not significant beyond the first three centuries of Islam, and that new techniques of analysis are needed for the study of this important body of literature.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the ...
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This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the remaking of Wahhabi religious authority. It argues that until the mid-twentieth century, the relatively parochial and insular nature of the Wahhabi scholarly milieu meant that Wahhabi scholars lacked the kinds of symbolic resources that would be required to launch such an ambitious missionary project. It then traces the trajectories that brought migrants from across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond to work at the IUM. It argues that, by bringing diversified reserves of spiritual capital — including qualifications acquired in venerable centers of learning like al-Azhar — these migrants lent legitimacy to the new effort to extend the Wahhabi mission to broad audiences beyond the kingdom’s borders.Less
This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the remaking of Wahhabi religious authority. It argues that until the mid-twentieth century, the relatively parochial and insular nature of the Wahhabi scholarly milieu meant that Wahhabi scholars lacked the kinds of symbolic resources that would be required to launch such an ambitious missionary project. It then traces the trajectories that brought migrants from across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond to work at the IUM. It argues that, by bringing diversified reserves of spiritual capital — including qualifications acquired in venerable centers of learning like al-Azhar — these migrants lent legitimacy to the new effort to extend the Wahhabi mission to broad audiences beyond the kingdom’s borders.
Karen C. Pinto
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226126968
- eISBN:
- 9780226127019
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226127019.003.0007
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cartography
Chapter Seven, “The Muslim Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ” details medieval Islam’s understanding of the Encircling Ocean from religious and cartographic perspectives, and follows the progression of the form’s ...
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Chapter Seven, “The Muslim Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ” details medieval Islam’s understanding of the Encircling Ocean from religious and cartographic perspectives, and follows the progression of the form’s symbolic evolution from a marker of unknown terrors to a sign of both earthly and divine power. This chapter uses a rich array of Islamic images, many never before published. This chapter concludes the iconographic study of this quintessential feature of the KMMS maps.Less
Chapter Seven, “The Muslim Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ” details medieval Islam’s understanding of the Encircling Ocean from religious and cartographic perspectives, and follows the progression of the form’s symbolic evolution from a marker of unknown terrors to a sign of both earthly and divine power. This chapter uses a rich array of Islamic images, many never before published. This chapter concludes the iconographic study of this quintessential feature of the KMMS maps.
Sarah Eltantawi
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520293779
- eISBN:
- 9780520967144
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520293779.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the deepest layer of the sunnaic paradigm, the Islamic legal history of the stoning punishment. This chapter contrasts the stoning punishment’s perceived stability and ...
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This chapter explores the deepest layer of the sunnaic paradigm, the Islamic legal history of the stoning punishment. This chapter contrasts the stoning punishment’s perceived stability and incontavertability among contemporary Northern Nigerians against early Islamic intellectual historical accounts which understand the stoning punishment as highly contested and unstable legally and epistemologically. The chapter surveys early pre-Islamic societies’ legalization of the stoning punishment, including Mesopotamia and Judaic sources, and shows how the punishment made its way into the Islamic tradition. This chapter also surveys Qur’an, hadith, linguistic, aphoristic and Islamic legal treatment of the stoning punishment, and explores the analytic tools used by Islamic jurists to make a debatable punishment legal over time.Less
This chapter explores the deepest layer of the sunnaic paradigm, the Islamic legal history of the stoning punishment. This chapter contrasts the stoning punishment’s perceived stability and incontavertability among contemporary Northern Nigerians against early Islamic intellectual historical accounts which understand the stoning punishment as highly contested and unstable legally and epistemologically. The chapter surveys early pre-Islamic societies’ legalization of the stoning punishment, including Mesopotamia and Judaic sources, and shows how the punishment made its way into the Islamic tradition. This chapter also surveys Qur’an, hadith, linguistic, aphoristic and Islamic legal treatment of the stoning punishment, and explores the analytic tools used by Islamic jurists to make a debatable punishment legal over time.
Zeki Saritoprak
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049403
- eISBN:
- 9780813050171
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049403.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This book aims to illuminate Islam's rich theological engagement with the figure of Jesus, which can lay the groundwork for Muslim-Christian dialogue. This book explores the importance of Jesus in ...
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This book aims to illuminate Islam's rich theological engagement with the figure of Jesus, which can lay the groundwork for Muslim-Christian dialogue. This book explores the importance of Jesus in Islam and particularly Jesus's role in the narratives of Islamic Eschatology. Jesus's prophethood and his relationship to Muhammad are also explored. The book looks at various approaches to understanding Jesus in Islamic theology including the literalist, the modernist, and the interpretive. Jesus's place and his eschatological role in the Qur’an and in Hadith literature occupy a good segment of the book, and His eschatological role is elaborated in relation to several other important Islamic eschatological events and personages: the Final Hour, the Antichrist, and the Mahdi. Building on these observations of Jesus's role in Islam, the book looks at the history of Muslim-Christian relations and argues that Jesus can be an important figure linking the two religions in the advancement of interreligious dialogue. The book also contains translations of Saritoprak's interview with Fethullah Gülen on Jesus and common ground between Muslims and Christians and a section of Muhammed Hamdi Yazir's Hak Dini Kur’an Dili in which he comments on Qur’anic verses 3:45-51 and 3:55.Less
This book aims to illuminate Islam's rich theological engagement with the figure of Jesus, which can lay the groundwork for Muslim-Christian dialogue. This book explores the importance of Jesus in Islam and particularly Jesus's role in the narratives of Islamic Eschatology. Jesus's prophethood and his relationship to Muhammad are also explored. The book looks at various approaches to understanding Jesus in Islamic theology including the literalist, the modernist, and the interpretive. Jesus's place and his eschatological role in the Qur’an and in Hadith literature occupy a good segment of the book, and His eschatological role is elaborated in relation to several other important Islamic eschatological events and personages: the Final Hour, the Antichrist, and the Mahdi. Building on these observations of Jesus's role in Islam, the book looks at the history of Muslim-Christian relations and argues that Jesus can be an important figure linking the two religions in the advancement of interreligious dialogue. The book also contains translations of Saritoprak's interview with Fethullah Gülen on Jesus and common ground between Muslims and Christians and a section of Muhammed Hamdi Yazir's Hak Dini Kur’an Dili in which he comments on Qur’anic verses 3:45-51 and 3:55.
Joel Blecher
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520295933
- eISBN:
- 9780520968677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520295933.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The first part of this chapter investigates continuities and changes as the figures and texts of the commentary tradition migrated eastward to India and found new life under the rich patronage of the ...
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The first part of this chapter investigates continuities and changes as the figures and texts of the commentary tradition migrated eastward to India and found new life under the rich patronage of the sultanates in Gujarat and the Deccan from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. These patrons appeared to value both the intellectual and social goods on offer in the commentarial practice, and thus the fortunes of migrant hadith commentators and the political and military elite in India were intertwined. The second part of this chapter explores how reformist groups such as the Deobandis and the Ahl-i Hadith again turned to hadith commentary to navigate new challenges and opportunities in nineteenth- and twentieth-century India, as British colonial power intensified, established competing institutions of law and education, and introduced new technologies of print. Excerpts from the commentaries of Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri and Siddiq Hassan Khan are given special attention.Less
The first part of this chapter investigates continuities and changes as the figures and texts of the commentary tradition migrated eastward to India and found new life under the rich patronage of the sultanates in Gujarat and the Deccan from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. These patrons appeared to value both the intellectual and social goods on offer in the commentarial practice, and thus the fortunes of migrant hadith commentators and the political and military elite in India were intertwined. The second part of this chapter explores how reformist groups such as the Deobandis and the Ahl-i Hadith again turned to hadith commentary to navigate new challenges and opportunities in nineteenth- and twentieth-century India, as British colonial power intensified, established competing institutions of law and education, and introduced new technologies of print. Excerpts from the commentaries of Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri and Siddiq Hassan Khan are given special attention.
Michael A. Sells
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520258310
- eISBN:
- 9780520954083
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520258310.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This chapter addresses the assumptions that drive militant interpretations of the Islamic teachings regarding Jews. The author, Michael Sells, explores two Qur’anic statements that some contemporary ...
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This chapter addresses the assumptions that drive militant interpretations of the Islamic teachings regarding Jews. The author, Michael Sells, explores two Qur’anic statements that some contemporary Muslim militants view as divine condemnation of Jews. Sells argues that the Finh?s reports provide an influential frame of reference in Qur’anic exegesis over a period of several hundred years. When the original frame of reference is forgotten, Sells demonstrates, the way is paved for militant interpretations that portray sacred texts as propounding divinely ordained conflict between unchanging, monolithic groups-in this instance, between Muslims and Jews. The consequences of forgetting that group names are spoken (even within divine revelation) under specific conditions and with specific frames of reference are, Sells argues, enormous.Less
This chapter addresses the assumptions that drive militant interpretations of the Islamic teachings regarding Jews. The author, Michael Sells, explores two Qur’anic statements that some contemporary Muslim militants view as divine condemnation of Jews. Sells argues that the Finh?s reports provide an influential frame of reference in Qur’anic exegesis over a period of several hundred years. When the original frame of reference is forgotten, Sells demonstrates, the way is paved for militant interpretations that portray sacred texts as propounding divinely ordained conflict between unchanging, monolithic groups-in this instance, between Muslims and Jews. The consequences of forgetting that group names are spoken (even within divine revelation) under specific conditions and with specific frames of reference are, Sells argues, enormous.
