101 - 002-b - ISLAM: Part II: Islamic Studies

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Islam – Part II: Islamic Studies

Shari’a and Fiqh

Shari’a is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Qur’an and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to Allah’s divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its scholarly interpretations. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists and reformists.

Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources of Shari’a:

The Qur’an;

Sunnah (Hadith and Sira);

Qiyas (analogical reasoning); and,

Ijma (juridical consensus).

Different legal schools methodologies for deriving Shari’a rulings from scriptural s developed ources using a process known as ijtihad (inference). Traditional jurisprudence distinguishes two principal branches of law, ʿibādāt (rituals) and muʿāmalāt (social relations), which together comprise a wide range of topics. Its rulings assign actions to one of five categories:

Mandatory;

Recommended;

Permitted;

Abhorred; and,

Prohibited.

Thus, some areas of Shari’a overlap with the Western notion of law while others correspond more broadly to living life in accordance with Allah’s will.

Historically, Shari’a was interpreted by independent jurists (muftis). Their legal opinions (fatwas) were taken into account by ruler-appointed judges who presided over qāḍī’s courts, and by maẓālim courts, which were controlled by the ruler’s council and administered criminal law. In the modern era, Shari’a-based criminal laws were widely replaced by statutes inspired by European models. The Ottoman Empire’s 19^th-century Tanzimat reforms lead to the Mecelle civil code and represented the first attempt to codify Shari’a. While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to Shari’a, its classical rules were largely retained only in personal status (family) laws. Legislative bodies which codified these laws sought to modernize them without abandoning their foundations in traditional jurisprudence. The Islamic revival of the late 20^th century brought along calls by Islamist movements for full implementation of Shari’a. The role of Shari’a has become a contested topic around the world. There are ongoing debates as to whether Shari’a is compatible with secular forms of government, human rights, freedom of thought, and women’s rights.

Scholars

Ulama

Islam, like Judaism, has no clergy in the sacerdotal sense, such as priests who mediate between Allah and people. However, there are many terms in Islam to refer to religiously sanctioned positions of Islam. In the broadest sense, the term ulema is used to describe the body of Muslim scholars who have completed several years of training and study of Islamic sciences. A jurist who interprets Islamic law is called a mufti and often issues legal opinions, called fatwas. A scholar of jurisprudence is called a faqih. Someone who studies the science of hadith is called a muhaddith. A qadi is a judge in an Islamic court. Honorific titles given to scholars include sheikh, mullah and mawlawi. Imam is a leadership position, often used in the context of conducting Islamic worship services.

Schools Of Jurisprudence

Islamic Schools Of Law In The Muslim World

Madhhab

A school of jurisprudence is referred to as a madhab. The major Sunni schools are the:

Hanafi;

Maliki;

Shafi’I;

Hanbali; and sometimes,

Ẓāhirī.

The major Shi’a schools are;

Ja’fari; and,

Zaidi.

Each differ in their methodology, called Usul al-fiqh. The following of decisions by a religious expert without necessarily examining the decision’s reasoning is called taqlid. The term ghair muqallid literally refers to those who do not use taqlid and by extension do not have a madhab. The practice of an individual interpreting law with independent reasoning is called ijtihad.

Islamic Economics

To reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, Islamic economic jurisprudence encourages trade, discourages the hoarding of wealth and outlaws interest-bearing loans (usury; the term is riba in Arabic). Therefore, wealth is taxed through Zakat, but trade is not taxed. Usury, which allows the rich to get richer without sharing in the risk, is forbidden in Islam. Profit sharing and venture capital where the lender is also exposed to risk is acceptable. Hoarding of food for speculation is also discouraged.

The taking of land belonging to others is also prohibited. The prohibition of usury has resulted in the development of Islamic banking. During the time of Muhammad, any money that went to the state, was immediately used to help the poor. Then in 634, Umar formally established the welfare state Bayt al-mal. The Bayt al-mal or the welfare state was for the Muslim and Non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years under the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7^th century and continued through the Umayyad period and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also introduced Child Benefit and Pensions for the children and the elderly.

Jihad

Jihad means “to strive or struggle” (in the way of Allah). Jihad, in its broadest sense, is “exerting one’s utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation.” Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the Devil, and aspects of one’s own self (such as sinful desires), different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad also refers to one’s striving to attain religious and moral perfection. When used without any qualifier, Jihad is understood in its military form. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi’a and Sufis, distinguish between the “greater jihad,” which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the “lesser jihad,” defined as warfare.

Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-Muslim combatants. Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, apostates, and leaders or states who oppress Muslims. Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare. Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Twelver Shi’as, offensive jihad can only be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as such is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi’s occultation in 868 AD.

Mysticism

Sufism

Sufism, or tasawwuf, is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks to find a direct personal experience of Allah. It is not a sect of Islam and its adherents belong to the various Muslim denominations. Classical Sufi scholars defined Tasawwuf as “a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but Allah,” by means of “intuitive and emotional faculties” that one must be trained to use. Sufis themselves claim that Tasawwuf is an aspect of Islam similar to Shari’a, inseparable from Islam and an integral part of Islamic belief and practice.

Religiosity of early Sufi ascetics, such as Hasan al-Basri, emphasized fear to fail Allah’s expectations of obedience, in contrast to later and more prominent Sufis, such as Mansur Al-Hallaj and Jalaluddin Rumi, whose religiosity is based on love towards Allah. U8For that reason, some academic scholars refuse to refer to the former as Sufis. Nevertheless, is Hasan al-Basri often portrayed as one of the earliest Sufis in Sufi traditions and his ideas were later developed by the influential theologian Al-Ghazali. Traditional Sufis, such as Bayazid Bastami, Jalaluddin Rumi, Haji Bektash Veli, Junaid Baghdadi, and Al-Ghazali, argued for Sufism as being based upon the tenets of Islam and the teachings of the prophet. Sufis played an important role in the formation of Muslim societies through their missionary and educational activities.

Popular devotional practices such as veneration of Sufi saints have faced stiff opposition from followers of Wahhabism, who have sometimes physically attacked Sufis leading to deterioration in Sufi–Salafi relations. Sufism enjoyed a strong revival in Central Asia and South Asia; the Barelvi movement is Sufi influenced Sunni Islam with over 200 million followers, largely in South Asia. Sufism is also prominent is Central Asia, where different orders are the main religious sources, as well as in African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Chad and Niger.

Mystical interpretations of Islam have also been developed by Ismaili Shi’as, by the School of Illumination, as well as by the Isfahan school of philosophy.

Society

Family Life

In a Muslim family, the birth of a child is attended with some religious ceremonies. Immediately after the birth, the words of Adhan is pronounced in the right ear of the child. In the seventh day, the aquiqa ceremony (the Islamic alternative to the baby shower) is performed, in which an animal is sacrificed and its meat is distributed among the poor. The head of the child is also shaved, and an amount of money equaling the weight of the child’s hair is donated to the poor. Apart from fulfilling the basic needs of food, shelter, and education, the parents or the elderly members of family also undertake the task of teaching moral qualities, religious knowledge, and religious practices to the children. Marriage, which serves as the foundation of a Muslim family, is a civil contract which consists of an offer and acceptance between two qualified parties in the presence of two witnesses. The groom is required to pay a bridal gift (mahr) to the bride, as stipulated in the contract. Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous. Polyandry, a practice wherein a woman takes on two or more husbands is prohibited in Islam. However, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygamy, that is, they can have more than one wife at the same time, up to a total of four, per Sura 4 Verse 3. A man does not need approval of his first wife for a second marriage as there is no evidence in the Qur’an or hadith to suggest this. The testimony of a woman is deemed in Islam to be worth half that of a man. With Muslims coming from diverse backgrounds including 49 Muslim-majority countries, plus a strong presence as large minorities throughout the world there are many variations on Muslim weddings. Generally in a Muslim family, a woman’s sphere of operation is the home and a man’s corresponding sphere is the outside world. However, in practice, this separation is not as rigid as it appears. With regard to inheritance, a son’s share is double that of a daughter’s.

Certain religious rites are performed during and after the death of a Muslim. Those near a dying man encourage him to pronounce the Shahada as Muslims want their last word to be their profession of faith. After the death, the body is appropriately bathed by the members of the same gender and then enshrouded in a threefold white garment called kafan. Placing the body on a bier, it is first taken to a mosque where funeral prayer is offered for the dead person, and then to the graveyard for burial.

Etiquette And Diet

Adab (Islam) And Islamic Dietary Laws

Many practices fall in the category of adab, or Islamic etiquette. This includes greeting others with “as-salamu ‘alaykum” (“peace be unto you”), saying bismillah (“in the name of Allah”) before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness and health. Circumcision of male offspring is also practiced in Islam. Islamic burial rituals include saying the Salat al-Janazah (“funeral prayer”) over the bathed and enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims are restricted in their diet. Prohibited foods include pork products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of Allah by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food.

Social Responsibilities

Islam And Humanity

In a Muslim society, various social service activities are performed by the members of the community. As these activities are instructed by Islamic canonical texts, a Muslim’s religious life is seen incomplete if not attended by service to humanity. In fact, In Islamic tradition, the idea of social welfare has been presented as one of its principal values. The 2:177 verse of the Qur’an is often cited to encapsulate the Islamic idea of social welfare. Similarly, duties to parents, neighbors, relatives, sick people, the old, and minorities have been defined in Islam. Respecting and obeying one’s parents, and taking care of them especially in their old age have been made a religious obligation. A two-fold approach is generally prescribed with regard to duty to relatives:

Keeping good relations with them; and,
Offering them financial help if necessary.

Severing ties with them has been admonished. Regardless of a neighbor’s religious identity, Islam teaches Muslims to treat neighboring people in the best possible manner and not to cause them any difficulty. Concerning orphaned children, the Qur’an forbids harsh and oppressive treatment to them while urging kindness and justice towards them. It also rebukes those who do not honor and feed orphaned children (Qur’an 89:17–18).

Character

Morality In Islam

The Qur’an and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, and religious life. Proper moral conduct, good deeds, righteousness, and good character come within the sphere of the moral guidelines. In Islam, the observance of moral virtues is always associated with religious significance because it elevates the religious status of a believer and is often seen as a supererogatory act of worshipping. One typical Islamic teaching on morality is that imposing a penalty on an offender in proportion to their offense is permissible and just; but forgiving the offender is better. To go one step further by offering a favor to the offender is regarded the highest excellence. The Qur’an says: ‘Repel (evil) with what is best’ (41:34). Thus, a Muslim is expected to act only in good manners as bad manners and deeds earn vices. The fundamental moral qualities in Islam are justice, forgiveness, righteousness, kindness, honesty, and piety. Other mostly insisted moral virtues include but not limited to charitable activities, fulfillment of promise, modesty (haya) and humility, decency in speech, tolerance, trustworthiness, patience, truthfulness, anger management, and sincerity of intention.

As a religion, Islam emphasizes the idea of having a good character as Muhammad said: ‘The best among you are those who have the best manners and character’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:73:56). In Islam, justice is not only a moral virtue but also an obligation to be fulfilled under all circumstances. The Qur’an and the hadith describe Allah as being kind and merciful to His creatures, and tell people to be kind likewise. As a virtue, forgiveness is much celebrated in Islam, and is regarded as an important Muslim practice. About modesty, Muhammad is reported as saying: ‘Every religion has its characteristic, and the characteristic of Islam is modesty.’

Government

Mansa (sultan or emperor), And Caliphate

Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between “matters of church” and “matters of state”; the scholars function as both jurists and theologians. Currently no government conforms to Islamic economic jurisprudence, but steps have been taken to implement some of its tenets. Sunni and Shi’a sectarian divide also effects intergovernmental Muslim relations such as between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

History

Early Social Changes Under Islam

Muslim tradition views Muhammad (c. 570 – June 8, 632) as the seal of the prophets. During the last 22 years of his life, beginning at age 40 in 610 AD, according to the earliest surviving biographies, Muhammad reported revelations that he believed to be from Allah, conveyed to him through the archangel Gabriel. Muhammad’s companions memorized and recorded the content of these revelations, known as the Qur’an.

During this time, Muhammad in Mecca preached to the people, imploring them to abandon polytheism and to worship one Allah. Although some converted to Islam, the leading Meccan authorities persecuted Muhammad and his followers. This resulted in the Migration to Abyssinia of some Muslims (to the Aksumite Empire). Many early converts to Islam were the poor, foreigners and former slaves like Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi who was black. The Meccan élite felt that Muhammad was destabilizing their social order by preaching about one Allah and about racial equality, and that in the process he gave ideas to the poor and to their slaves.

After twelve years of the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and the Meccan boycott of the Hashemites, Muhammad’s relatives, Muhammad and the Muslims performed the Hijra (“emigration”) to the city of Medina (formerly known as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (Ansar) and the Meccan migrants (Muhajirun), Muhammad in Medina established his political and religious authority. The Constitution of Medina was formulated, instituting a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and pagan communities of Medina, bringing them within the fold of one community — the Ummah.

The Constitution established:

The security of the community;

Religious freedoms;

The role of Medina as a sacred place (barring all violence and weapons);

The security of women;

Stable tribal relations within Medina;

A tax system for supporting the community in time of conflict;

Parameters for exogenous political alliances;

A system for granting protection of individuals; and,

A judicial system for resolving disputes where non-Muslims could also use their own laws and have their own judges.

All the tribes signed the agreement to defend Medina from all external threats and to live in harmony amongst themselves. Within a few years, two battles took place against the Meccan forces: first, the Battle of Badr in 624 — a Muslim victory, and then a year later, when the Meccans returned to Medina, the Battle of Uhud, which ended inconclusively.

The Arab tribes in the rest of Arabia then formed a confederation and during the Battle of the Trench (March–April 627) besieged Medina, intent on finishing off Islam. In 628, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed between Mecca and the Muslims and was broken by Mecca two years later. After the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah many more people converted to Islam. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 (at the age of 62) he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity.

The earliest three generations of Muslims are known as the Salaf, with the companions of Muhammad being known as the Sahaba. Many of them, such as the largest narrator of hadith Abu Hureyrah, recorded and compiled what would constitute the sunnah.

Caliphate And Civil Strife (632–750)

Rashidun And Umayyad Expansion

Jerusalem’s golden-top mosque known as the Dome of the Rock built by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.
Completed at the end of the Second Fitna.

With Muhammad’s death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Abu Bakr, a companion and close friend of Muhammad, was made the first caliph. Under Abu Bakr, Muslims put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as the Ridda wars, or “Wars of Apostasy.” The Qur’an was compiled into a single volume at this time.

Abu Bakr’s death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar ibn al-Khattab as the caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Hasan ibn Ali. The first four caliphs are known in Sunni Islam as al-khulafā’ ar-rāshidūn (“Rightly Guided Caliphs”). Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply into the parts of the Persian and Byzantine territories.

When Umar was assassinated by Persians in 644, the election of Uthman as successor was met with increasing opposition. The standard copies of the Qur’an were also distributed throughout the Islamic State. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali assumed the position of caliph. This led to the first civil war (the “First Fitna”) over who should be caliph. Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. To avoid further fighting, the new caliph Hasan ibn Ali signed a peace treaty, abdicating to Mu’awiyah, beginning the Umayyad dynasty, in return that he not name his own successor. These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslim community. The majority accepted the legitimacy of the first four leaders and became known as Sunnis. A minority disagreed, and believed that only Ali and some of his descendants should rule; they became known as the Shi’a. Mu’awiyah appointed his son, Yazid I, as successor and after Mu’awiyah’s death in 680, the “Second Fitna” broke out, where Husayn ibn Ali was killed at the Battle of Karbala, a significant event in Shi’a Islam. Sunni Islam and Shi’a Islam thus differ in some respects.

The Umayyad dynasty conquered the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh (a province in Pakistan). Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.

The generation after the death of Muhammad, but contemporaries of his companions, are known as the Tabi’un, followed by the Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in. The Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz set up the influential committee, “The Seven Fuqaha of Medina.” headed by Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Malik ibn Anas wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Muwatta, as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists.

The descendants of Muhammad’s uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, rallied discontented non-Arab converts (mawali), poor Arabs, and some Shi’a against the Umayyads and overthrew them, inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750.

Al-Shafi’i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. During the early Abbasid era, the major Sunni hadith collections were compiled by scholars such as Bukhari and Muslim while major Shi’a hadith collections by scholars such as Al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh were also compiled. The Ja’fari jurisprudence was formed from the teachings of Ja’far al-Sadiq while the four Sunni Madh’habs, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi’i respectively. In the 9^th century, al-Shafi’i provided a theoretical basis for Islamic law and introduced its first methods by a synthesis between proto-rationalism of Iraqian jurisprudence and the pragmatic approach of the Hejaz traditions, in his book ar-Risālah. However, Islamic law was not codified until 1869. In the 9^th century Al-Tabari completed the first commentary of the Qur’an, that became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam, the Tafsir al-Tabari. During its expansion through the Samanid Empire, Islam was shaped by the ethno-cultural and religious pluralism by the Sogdians, paving the way for a personalized rather than Arabized understanding of Islam.

Some Muslims began to question the piety of indulgence in a worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement that would evolve into Tasawwuf (Sufism).

By the end of the 9^th century, the Ismaili spread in Iran, whereupon the city Multan became target by activistic Sunni politics. In 930, the Ismaili group known as the Qarmatians unsuccessfully rebelled against the Abbasids, sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone, which was eventually retrieved.

Caliphs such as Mamun al Rashid and Al-Mu’tasim made the mutazilite philosophy an official creed and imposed it upon Muslims to follow. Mu’tazila was a Greek influenced school of Sunni scholastic theology called kalam, which refers to dialectic. Many orthodox Muslims rejected mutazilite doctrines and condemned their idea of the creation of the Qur’an. In inquisitions, ibn Hanbal refused to conform needed and was tortured and sent to an unlit Baghdad prison cell for nearly thirty months. Other branches of kalam were the Ash’ari school founded by Al-Ash’ari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi.

With the expansion of the Abbaside Caliphate into the Sasanian Empire, Islam adapted many Hellenistic and Persian concepts, imported by thinkers of Iranian or Turkic origin. Philosophers such as Al-Farabi and Avicenna sought to incorporate Greek principles into Islamic theology, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against such syncretism and ultimately prevailed. Avicenna pioneered the science of experimental medicine, and was the first physician to conduct clinical trials. His two most notable works, The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, were used as standard medicinal texts in the Islamic world and later in Europe. Amongst his contributions are the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, and the introduction of clinical pharmacology. In mathematics, the mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the concept of the algorithm, while the term algebra is derived from al-jabr. The Persian poet Ferdowsi wrote his epic poem Shahnameh. Rumi wrote some of the finest Persian poetry and is still one of the best selling poets in America. Legal institutions introduced include the trust and charitable trust (Waqf).

This era is sometimes called the “Islamic Golden Age.” Public hospitals established during this time (called Bimaristan hospitals), are considered “the first hospitals” in the modern sense of the word, and issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors. The Guinness World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine, founded in 859, as the world’s oldest degree-granting university. The doctorate is argued to date back to the licenses to teach in Islamic law schools. Standards of experimental and quantification techniques, as well as the tradition of citation, were introduced. An important pioneer in this, Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often referred to as the “world’s first true scientist.” The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today. It is argued that the data used by Copernicus for his heliocentric conclusions was gathered and that Al-Jahiz proposed a theory of natural selection.

While the Abbasid Caliphate suffered a decline since the reign of Al-Wathiq (842–847) and Al-Mu’tadid (892–902), the Mongol Empire put an end to the Abbassid dynasty in 1258. During its decline, the Abbasid Caliphate disintegrated into minor states and dynasties, such as the Tulunid and the Ghaznavid dynasty. The Ghaznavid dynasty was an Islamic dynasty established by Turkic slave-soldiers from another Islamic empire, the Samanid Empire.

Two Turkish tribes, the Karahanids and the Seljuks, converted to Islam during the 10^th century, who are later subdued by the Ottomans, who share the same origin and language. It is important to note, that the following Islamic reign by the Ottomans was strongly influenced by a symbiosis between Ottoman rulers and Sufism since the beginning. According to Ottoman historiography, the legitimation of a ruler is attributed to Sheikh Edebali. Accordingly, he interpreted a dream of Osman Gazi as Allah’s legitimation of his reign. The Mevlevi Order and the Bektashi Order had close relation to the sultans. The Seljuks played an important role for the revival of Sunnism, then Shi’a increased its influences. The Seljuk military leader Alp Arslan financially supported sciences and literature and established the Nezamiyeh university in Baghdad.

During this time, the Delhi Sultanate took over northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Religious missions converted Volga Bulgaria to Islam. Many Muslims also went to China to trade, virtually dominating the import and export industry of the Song dynasty.

Pre-Modern Era (1258–18^th Century)

Abdülmecid II was the last Caliph of Islam from the Ottoman dynasty.

Islam spread with Muslim trade networks and Sufi orders activity that extended into Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Malay archipelago. Under the Ottoman Empire, Islam spread to America we Southeast Europe. Throughout this expanse, Islam blended with local cultures everywhere, as illustrated when the prophet Mohammed showed up in Hindu epics and folklore. Conversion to Islam, however, was not a sudden abandonment of old religious practices; rather, it was typically a matter of “assimilating Islamic rituals, cosmologies, and literatures into local religious systems. The Muslims in China who were descended from earlier immigration began to assimilate by adopting Chinese names and culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study.

The Turks incorporated elements of Turkish Shamanism into their new religion and became part of a new Islamic interpretation, although Shamanistic influences already occurred during the Battle of Talas (752). Strikingly, Shamans were never mentioned by Muslim Heresiographers. One major change was the status of woman. Unlike Arabic traditions, the Turkic traditions hold woman in higher regard in society. Turks preserved this status of woman even after conversion to Islam. Further, the Turks must have found striking similarities between the cc rituals and Shaman practices. However, the influence of Turkish belief was not limited to Sufism, but also to Muslims who subscribed an orthodox version of Islam in Anatolia, Central-Asia and Balkans. As a result, many (formerly) Shaman traditions were considered as genuine Islamic by average Muslims. Many shamanistic beliefs, such as the belief in sacred nature, trees and animals, and foreign nature spirits, even remained today.

The majority and oldest group among Shi’a at that time, the Zaydis, named after the great grandson of Ali, the scholar Zayd ibn Ali, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as did most Sunnis. The Shi’a Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. The ensuing mandatory conversion of Iran to Twelver Shi’a Islam for the largely Sunni population also ensured the final dominance of the Twelver sect within Shiism over the Zaidi and Ismaili sects. Nader Shah, who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Shi’ism by calling it the Jaafari Madh’hab.

Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) worried about the integrity of Islam and tried to establish a theological doctrine to purify Islam from its alleged alterings. Unlike his contemporary scholarship, who relied on traditions and historical narratives from early Islam, Ibn Taymiyya’s methodology was a mixture of selective use of hadith and a literal understanding of the Qur’an. He rejected most philosophical approaches of Islam and proposed a clear, simple and dogmatic theology instead. Another major characteristic of his theological approach emphasizes the significance of a Theocratic state: While the prevailing opinion held that religious wisdom was necessary for a state, Ibn Taymiyya regarded Political power as necessary for religious excellence. He further rejected many hadiths circulating among Muslims during his time and relied only on Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim repeatedly to foil Asharite doctrine. Feeling threatened by the Crusaders as well as by the Mongols, Ibn Taymiyya stated it would be obligated to Muslims to join a physical jihad against unbelievers. This not only including the invaders, but also the heretics among the Muslims, including Shi’as, Asharites and “philosophers,” who were blamed by Ibn Taimiya for the deterioration of Islam. Nevertheless, his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime. He was repeatedly accused of blasphemy by anthropomorphizing Allah and his disciple Ibn Kathir distanced himself from his mentor and negated the charges, but simultaneously adhered to anti-rationalistic and hadith oriented methodology of his former mentor. This probably influenced his exegesis on his Tafsir, which discounted much of the exegetical tradition since then. However, the writings of Ibn Taimiyya became important sources for Wahhabism and 21th century Salafi theology just like Tafsir Ibn Kathir became highly rewarded in modern Salafism.

Modern Era (18^th – 20^th Centuries)

The Muslim world was generally in political decline starting the 1800s, especially relative to the non-Muslim European powers. This decline was evident culturally; while Taqi al-Din founded an observatory in Istanbul and the Jai Singh Observatory was built in the 18^th century, there was not a single Muslim-majority country with a major observatory by the twentieth century. The Reconquista, launched against Muslim principalities in Iberia, succeeded in 1492. By the 19^th century the British Empire had formally ended the Mughal dynasty in India. In the 19^th century, the Deobandi and Barelwi movements were initiated.

During the 18^th century Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab founded a military movement opposing the Ottoman Sultanate as an illegitimate rule, advising his fellows to return to the principles of Islam based on the theology of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He was deeply influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim and condemned many traditional Islamic practices, such as visiting the grave of Muhammad or Saints, as sin. During the 18^th century, he formed an alliance with the Saud family, who founded the Wahhabi sect. This revival movement allegedly seeks to uphold monotheism and purify Islam of what they see as later innovations. Their ideology led to the desecration of shrines around the world, including that of Muhammad and his companions in Mecca and Medina. Many Arab nationalists, such as Rashid Rida, regarded the Caliphate as an Arabic right taken away by the Turks. Therefore, they rebelled against the Ottoman Sultanate, until the Ottoman Empire disintegrated after World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924. Concurrently Ibn Saud conquered Mecca, the “heartland of Islam,” to impose Wahhabism as part of Islamic culture.

At the end of the 19^th century, Muslim luminaries such as Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani sought to reconcile Islam with social and intellectual ideas of the Age of Enlightenment by purging Islam from alleged alterings and adhering to the basic tenets during the Rashidun. Due to their adherence to the Salafs they called themselves Salafiyya. However, they differ from the Salafi-movement flourishing in the second half of the 20^th century, what roots in the Wahhabi-movement, thus the former are also called Islamic modernists. They rejected the Sunni schools of law and allowed Ijtihad.

Ahle Sunnat movement or more popularly known as Barelwi movement emphasize the primacy of Islamic law over adherence to Sufi practices and personal devotion to the prophet Muhammad. It grew from the writings of muhaddith and jurist Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri, Allama Fazle Haq Khairabadi, Shah Ahmad Noorani and Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi in the backdrop of an intellectual and moral decline of Muslims in British India. The movement was a mass movement, defending popular Sufism and reforming its practices, grew in response to the radical Deobandi movement in South Asia and the Wahhabi movement elsewhere. The movement opposed Ahmadiyya Movement and is famous for the celebration of Mawlid. Today the movement is spread across the globe with followers in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, South Africa, United States, and UK among other countries. The movement now has over 200 million followers.

Postmodern Times (20^th Century–Present)

The flag of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants, from mostly India and Indonesia, to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith, likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914. Muslim immigrants began arriving, many as guest workers and largely from former colonies, in several Western European nations since the 1960s.

There are more and more new Muslim intellectuals who increasingly separate perennial Islamic beliefs from archaic cultural traditions. Liberal Islam is a movement that attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms of secular governance and human rights. Its supporters say that there are multiple ways to read Islam’s sacred texts, and they stress the need to leave room for “independent thought on religious matters.” Women’s issues receive significant weight in the modern discourse on Islam.

Secular powers such as the Chinese Red Guards closed many mosques and destroyed Qur’ans, and Communist Albania became the first country to ban the practice of every religion. About half a million Muslims were killed in Cambodia by communists who, it is argued, viewed them as their primary enemy and wished to exterminate them since they stood out and worshipped their own Allah. In Turkey, the military carried out coups to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were banned in official buildings, as also happened in Tunisia.

Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani, along with his acolyte Muhammad Abduh, have been credited as forerunners of the Islamic revival. Abul A’la Maududi helped influence modern political Islam. Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood advocate Islam as a comprehensive political solution, often in spite of being banned. In Iran, revolution replaced a secular regime with an Islamic state. In Turkey, the Islamist AK Party has democratically been in power for about a decade, while Islamist parties did well in elections following the Arab Spring. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of Muslim-majority countries, was established in 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Religiosity appears to be deepening worldwide. In many places, the prevalence of the hijab is growing increasingly common and the percentage of Muslims favoring Shari’a has increased. With religious guidance increasingly available electronically, Muslims are able to access views that are strict enough for them rather than rely on state clerics who are often seen as stooges.

It is estimated that, by 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world, “driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths.” Perhaps as a sign of these changes, most experts agree that Islam is growing faster than any other faith in East and West Africa.

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Last Update: 02/2022

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