#islamic studies

[tanadrin]

Stephen Shoemaker has talked at length about the eschatological nature of early Islam in other books and articles; he makes some very interesting points in The Apocalypse of Empire (which is not just about Islam, although it discusses Islam at length in two chapters), synthesizing some points made by other scholars.

Scholarly trend to view Islam as a movement that was from the beginning pragmatic, not apocalyptic. Other scholars try to portray Muhammad as basically a national unifier/Arab empire-builder, with religion as a tool secondary to this aim. This seems to amount to not taking early Islam as it portrays itself very seriously, and indeed in some cases seems to be almost an apologetic project to try to help make early Islam more relevant to the present day.

Snouck Hurgronje(sp?) argued that early Muslims saw Muhammad's appearance itself as a sign the end of the world was at hand, and that Muhammad would not die before its arrival. He and other scholars after him saw other elements of his message as more or less accessories to his concern with the impending end of the world.

Projects of empire-building and apocalypticism are not necessarily opposed! The rest of this book furnishes examples from Byzantium, Rome, Zoroastrianism. For a contemporary example, we might look at ISIS. It was relatively common in the ancient near east to think the eschaton would be realized through imperial triumph, and that the end of history was imminent. Indeed, Muhammad's religious beliefs probably played a significant role in the dynamism and success of his nascent polity.

Later Islamic tradition like the biographies deemphasized the urgent apocalypticism (again, not unlike Christianity!). But the Quran is rife with warnings of impending judgement and destruction ("the Hour"), and incorporates Christian apocalyptic material like the parable of the rich fool from Luke. Shoemaker furnishes lots of quotes like "The matter of the Hour is as a twinkling of the eye, or nearer," and "The Lord's judgement is about to fall," etc. Astronomical events will predict the Hour's arrival; doubters will soon be proved wrong, etc.

Perspectives from the New Testament help us understand why different passages portray the urgency of the Hour differently; the historical Jesus probably preached an imminent apocalypse, but the Gospels were compiled later, so they can be more ambivalent. Likewise later Muslims, when compiling the Quran, would have to deal with the fact that the "urgent" end of the world hadn't arrived yet; though the strong eschatological perspective persisted (as it did in Christianity, too), there was an effort to try to moderate some of these embarrassing passages.

Some early hadith and other early traditions corroborate the impending eschaton, emphasizing the link between his appearance and the end of the world. "According to another tradition, Muhammad offered his followers a promise (reminiscent of Matt. 16:28, 24:34) that the Hour would arrive before some of his initial followers died. In yet another tradition, Muhammad responds to questions about the Hour’s timing by pointing to the youngest man in the crowd and declaring that 'if this young man lives, the Hour will arrive before he reaches old age.'"

Donner argues the conquests were an effort to establish an interconfessional "community of the Believers" that included Jews and Christians, requiring only belief in God and the last day. According to him, Muhammad and his earliest followers didn't even think of themselves as a separate religion; rather, their earliest community was a loose confederation of Abrahamic monotheists who shared Muhammad's apocalyptic aoutlook, and who were trying to establish a righteous kingdom in preparation for the end. Cf. the Constitution of Medina, which seems to be a very early source. It has a dramatic discontinuity with the ethnic and religious boundaries established in later Islam. Traditionally held to be a brief experiment that ended with Muhammed expelling the Jews from Medina, Donner argues that in fact Muhammad's community remained confessionally diverse for decades, including Jews and Christians into the Umayyad period. Indeed, a lot of their early successes may have been aided by their nonsectarian outlook.

Only under Abd al-Malik(!) does Islam begin to consolidate, and a new Arab ethnic identity crystallizes that distinguishes Muslims from outsiders they ruled.

In variant readings of the Quran we can glimpse a view not unlike that of the early Christians, where the Kingdom of God had its inception in Jesus's works; here, the conquests of the early followers of Muhammad are part of an the initiation of the end times. Muhammad is the "seal of the prophets" in this reading because the world is about to end.

So the picture that emerges from all this is that Muhammad was an apocalyptic preacher and reformer, very much like Jesus, who wasn't aiming to found a new religion necessarily. But he preached that the world was ending, and as part of his preaching on this subject he led the creation and rapid expansion of a new polity meant to unite the community of believers. Only once he died, and the world failed to end, and his followers had to consolidate their gains and transform them into an actual, durable state did a coherent scripture (the Quran) and a coherent religious identity (Islam) emerge, both strongly affected by the new social, cultural, and political contexts his followers found themselves in. The turning point seems to be the reign of Abd al-Malik, around fifty years after the death of Muhammad, when the oral traditions of the original community of believers are approaching their expiry date, and a new generation (and new converts) need a worldview and a political system that is relevant to their present circumstances. This is extremely comparable to the transition from early Jesus-traditions to the Gospels finally being written down in the second century, when the last people who knew Jesus directly, or who knew the Apostles directly, were dying, and the community had to transition to a form that could survive indefinitely, or else be forgotten.

[lux--nova]

I encountered the funniest phrase I've ever read in a scholarly article yesterday and I had to share it with yall. I will now quote scholarly sources when assessing whether something is tiny, teeny, or teeny-weeny, thank you.

[eananoor]

Gentle now, doves of the thornberry and moringa thicket, don't add to my heartache your sighs.

Gentle now, or you sad cooing will reveal the love I hide, the sorrow I hide away.

GENTLE NOW, DOVES, Stations of Desire, Love Elegies from Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) and New Poems by Michael A. Sells

[gatewaytojannah]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

We are excited to present a remarkable opportunity: the Advanced Diploma Course in Quran and Hadith, completely free of charge.

The course will be taught once a week on Mondays from 8:00 pm to 09:30 pm (U.K. timings) and is available both onsite and online, from the comfort of your own home.

The course, as well as the certificate upon graduation, will be free of charge for the sake of Allah ﷻ. However, Students, whether domestic or international, may have to bear the postage expenses for the delivery to their designated addresses in the event they are unable to attend the award ceremony in person.

This higher education course will be beneficial to both Muslims who have always desired to study the Quran and Hadith in detail, as well as scholars who wish to recap the most important parts of the Aalim course (Dars-i Nizami).

The lectures will be delivered in English, and the complete Tafsir of the Quran will be taught, with Allah's ﷻ permission, using notes from various books of Tafseer, with the base being Tafseer Al-Badawi, which is one of the most famous and best commentaries of the Quran ever compiled. Additional sources utilised in the interpretation (Tafseer) of the Quran include, but are not restricted to:

القرآن تدبر وعمل  -مركز المنهاج للإشراف والتدريب التربوي

التفسير المحرر - إعداد القسم العلمي بمؤسسة الدرر السنية

التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل -  المؤلف : محمد  ابن جزي الكلبي الغرناطي

Your hadith study will be carried out through Mishkat al-Masabih, a compilation containing approximately 6,000 hadith chosen from the Six Books, Musnad Ahmad, and various others. It is a comprehensive selection of hadith that covers almost all aspects of Islamic belief, jurisprudence (fiqh), and virtues.  This is considered to be one of the most important collections of Ahadith by Islamic scholars.

Additional sources utilised in the study of Ahadith include, but are not restricted to:

مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح - نور الدين الملا القاري

فيض القدير شرح الجامع الصغير - زين الدين محمد المدعو بعبد الرؤوف الحدادي ثم المناوي

موسوعة الأحاديث النبوية - مركز رواد الترجمة

To foster engagement and learning, students will have access to a dedicated Telegram group for inquiries, discussions, and interaction with fellow students throughout the week.

Commencing on April 22, 2024, enrollment is hassle-free—simply click the provided Telegram link, or scan the QR Code below or reach out to the  mentioned contact numbers for any assistance.

The course is accessible to Muslims who are 15 years old or above, and it is open to both males and females.

The course spans six years to ensure that students can seamlessly integrate it into their lives without sacrificing other commitments. This extended duration also guarantees a comprehensive curriculum while maintaining the high standards of education in-Sha-Allah.

This course is made possible, firstly, by the grace of Allah and secondly, due to the contributions of Mufti Mujahid (lecturer in Tafsir and Hadith at Darul-ilm), Raaqi and dream interpreter Masood Saeed. It is conducted in collaboration with the support of Madrasa Tul Binat (Small Heath B10 0UN) and Masjid Yusuf (Sheldon B26 3BD).

Telegram Link:  https://t.me/IslamQuranSunnahEducation

[one-page-a-day]

Asma Barlas on the Qur'an and patriarchy (2/2)

(min. 33:46) "A lot of the misogynists in our society basically believe that the woman is biologically inferior. And some of them believe that the only role that women [must] play on earth is to be a mother and basically to serve men. But, you know, misogyny predates Islam and misogyny has beaten down Islam; misogyny sometimes has won over Islam because male privilege is much older than Islam. […]

Fatema Mernissi has done a wonderful study of how when the Quran was still in the process of being revealed to the Prophet Muhammad how the early Muslims are already busy trying to figure out how they could deprive women of the new rights that the Quran was giving them based on “Oh well, you know there's a verse which says: ‘Don't [hand] over the property to those who are weak minded.’”. So immediately they came up with the idea that women are weak minded.

But what I want to say is that these constructions of gender have nothing to do with the Quran. They have zero relationship to the Quran. I always ask Muslims to show me one verse which actually says that the different rights that the Quran gives women and men with respect to some issues are rooted in the claim that men are biologically superior [to] women or because women and men are opposites or unequal or incommensurable with each other. Not one verse says that. So, I see these differential rights as simply representing the sexual division of labor that existed in 7th century Arabia. And I believe in an omniscient God.

That is to say, I believe in an all-knowing God, and I believe that God knew that that patriarchy would not last forever and would fade away along with all of its institutions of war mongering, concubinage, multiple marriages, slavery and everything else. [The Quran] tried to ameliorate the rights of women at that time and it's enormously progressive. But it's a disservice, not just to the Quran, but to a very conception of God to assume that what was OK in the 7th century specifically based on what existed there that it should be OK now even though many of those circumstances don't exist. So, it’s a very big disservice to Islam to deny the Quran’s universalism by tying it to a 7th century tribal Arab patriarchy and insisting on reading it only through the lenses of that patriarchy, and only when it suits you." (min. 36:30)

Asma Barlas, "Riada talks to Asma Barlas on 'Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an'", Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol, 13.8.2020, Spotify.

[shamsaddinmegalommatis]

From Ferdowsi to the Seljuk Turks, Nizam al Mulk, Nizami Ganjavi, Jalal ad-Din Rumi & Haji Bektash  

By Prof. Muhammet Şemsettin Gözübüyükoğlu (Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis)

Pre-publication of chapter XXIII of my forthcoming book “Turkey is Iran and Iran is Turkey – 2500 Years of indivisible Turanian – Iranian Civilization distorted and estranged by Anglo-French Orientalists”; chapter XXIII constitutes the Part Nine (Fallacies about the Golden Era of the Islamic Civilization). The book is made of 12 parts and 33 chapters.

----------------------------------------------------  

Read and download the chapter here:

[learnarabiconline]

Learn Arabic Online

Learning a new language is always a great way to broaden your horizons, and Arabic is no exception. Arabic is a language spoken by over 400 million people worldwide, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. If you are interested in learning Arabic, you may be wondering where to start. Luckily, with today’s technology, you can easily learn Arabic online. At Studio Arabiya,…

[glimpseofadaydream]

In reference to the Taliban denying women access to amusement parks:

Men prohibiting women to access public places aren't 'pure', they're dirty hypocrites. Doesn't matter if it's a Talib or not.

[sharfuddin09]

Islamic education is supposed to create an awe of Allah SWT. It's not only about teaching a subject of Islamic studies along with several other subjects. Geography should lead to a student marvelling at the precision with which Allah designed the world, the description of earthquakes should lead a student to think about the will of Allah SWT - how he gave the tectonic plates the attributes it has that causes the earthquakes, the description of the water cycle should point to the creators intelligent design.

And so on. Our medieval scholars, scientists and astronomers used to drop verses of the qura'n while writing thesis and books on astronomy, biology etc. They linked everything back to the creator which is the way education should be.

Not everything is mechanistic and naturalistic and a result of random accidents. There's an infinitely wise designer of the universe and ideal Islamic education should inculcate this sense in the students.

In fact, from a linguistic perspective I'd like to share an insight. In Arabic the world Aalam commonly transacted as "world" also means "that by means of which one knows a thing" or "signpost, indicator". Thus aalam, the world, is a signpost to the divine; it points to the creator of the universe. Reflection on aalam should make a person aalim (knower) of Allah.

🖋 Hasan Mahfooz

[1800km]

My Short Qur’an Course at Baseerah Institute

My experience completing a three month short Qur'an course.

It had been six years since I graduated. Six years since I sat in a classroom or was given any homework. That changed when in January my friend, Warda, encouraged me to take a short three-month course that Baseerah Institute was offering back in January 2022. I was apprehensive; three months? I had originally planned to do a month-long course in Ramadan Dawrah-e-Quran – a brief yet comprehensive…

[imaminoccultation]

Letter 8: The Case for the Prophecy of Women, Part II - The Creation of the Universe According to the Mahasi Imam

Peace be upon those who follow the right path.

This letter will be a little different. I’m readapting a narrative attributed to Imam Ja’afar as I’ve found it in Khalil Andani’s “Metaphysics of Muhammad,” a fantastic article you should check out if you’re interested in Hikma. 

Of course, as I have no business hiding, I am interested in how Hikma can make room for queer-positive interpretations of Islam, and I’m a huge fan of Christian literature and consider it holy scripture. So, this is my rendition of Imam Ja’afar’s narration of the creation of the universe and the lights of Muhammad and ‘Ali:

“God existed when nothing else existed. Then It created existence and place and created the Light of Lights from which all lights are illumined. It made this Light of Lights, from which all lights are illumined, flow forth from Its Light. This is the Light from which It created ‘Isa and Maryam. 

These two were the primordial Lights since nothing existed before them. These two Lights continued to flow through pure purified loins until they separated as two pure persons in Muhammad and Khadija.

Trillions of years before the creation of the universe, ‘Isa and Maryam were a light before God, a light formed from the principal trunk from which a resplendent ray went forth. God said: ‘Here is a light taken from my own light; its trunk is Prophecy and its branch is the Leadership (Imamate). Prophecy comes from ‘Isa, my Word and Spirit, and the Imamate from Maryam the Pure, who I have uniquely chosen among all people in creation. Without them I would not have created any of my creation.”

In the Hikma worldview, Allah’s first two creations and highest intermediaries are the Pen and the Guarded Tablet: the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul, or the Word and the Holy Spirit, to put it in Christian terms. In this myth, ‘Isa is taken as a stand in for the Pen, which is generally referred to by Hikma philosophers as the Light of Muhammad: a Prophet is an earthly human mirror of this Light which perfectly reflects Allah’s qualities. They’re still bound by human limitations, but they’re blessed with a unique Intellect that qualifies them to receive wahy, Revelation. This is why they are charged with risaala: delivering the message of tawheed to humanity. I’m gonna be using the different names of 1) Pen/Light of Muhammad/Light of 'Isa/The Word/The Universal Intellect and 2) The Guarded Tablet/Ruh/Light of Maryam/Holy Spirit/The Universal Soul interchangeably: don’t lose track, now. Cause here’s where I’m gonna get creative.

As for Prophet Maryam, in this myth, she symbolizes the Guarded Tablet, which is mapped onto the idea of the Light of the Imamate among Shi’i Hikma thinkers. The Guarded Tablet, the Holy Spirit (Ruh), the Universal Soul, the Light of Maryam embodies perfect imperfection. As the second creation, which eternally proceeds from the created Word of Allah, the Guarded Tablet holds the same perfect potential as the Word, but has an added limitation: existence in time. Whereas the Word, like Allah, is naturally in its most perfect and ideal state, the Light of Maryam, while perfectly aware of the actions it must take to reach its potential, requires time to do so. In the Hikma worldview, everything that exists is a microcosm of this Light of Maryam: filled with perfect potential, bound by time. The Light of Maryam has perfect access to the Light of Muhammad and thus perfect knowledge of Allah’s tawheed, and, as the Holy Spirit, it grants all of creation this access to Allah through the intermediary of the Light of Muhammad, the Light of ‘Isa, the Word. The human Prophet Maryam, then, is the perfect human reflection of the Holy Spirit: of course, she's still bound by human limitations and therefore not God, before people start throwing Recitation quotes at me about not worshipping 'Isa and Maryam (I don't). This is also, I must stress, not incarnation: 'Isa and Maryam are manifestations, mazhars, of Allah's eternal Pen/The Light of Muhammad and the Guarded Tablet/The Holy Spirit. They manifest the qualities of these two exalted Spiritual beings in so much as a human can: hence why Prophet Jesus Christ is known as the Word of Allah and the Spirit of Allah and no other prophet. But we can dive deeper into these terms in another letter.

Prophet Adam is the first bearer of the Light of ‘Isa: God’s first nabi. Prophet Hawwa is the first bearer of the Light of Maryam: God’s first imam. Each bear perfect fitra: hence, their status as Prophets, and their qualification to be role models for all of mankind. Both passed the Prophecy, the Light of ‘Isa, and the Leadership, the Light of Maryam, onto whoever their perfect intellects deemed worthy successors, and whoever they trained by their hand to be ready to accept the responsibility of Prophethood.

Could it be that, after Khadija’s generally unnarrated death, she passed the Light of Leadership to her love, the Prophet Muhammad? Did she not guide him and teach him, stand by him, recognize his Prophecy, hold a knowledge of Christian literature and tawheed no one else had? Was she not the first to accept Muhammad’s Prophecy? Did she not guide him in Mecca? Did he not become a Leader, an Imam, of the community of Medina after her death? While his death concluded the Prophethood, and left the world with no bearers of the Light of ‘Isa, did he not pass on the Light of Leadership to Imam ‘Ali? Does the Light of Maryam, the Pure Slave of God, chosen among all women of her species, not still shine in the Imam of the Time, Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi? Does he not continue to guide us all from his occultation via the power of the pure Holy Spirit?

You may very well just say: no. Don’t take anything I say on faith, do what your Intellect tells you. That’s what the Prophet would tell you to do. But I wanted to demonstrate how, in a Shi’i Hikma worldview, Prophetesses, who are basically unacknowledged in modern Islam, can have a unique role as leaders, mentors, teachers, as well as receivers of revelation, just like their male counterparts. That said, there are holes here: typically, there is only one Imam at a time, and the Imam is historically always a dude. I guess you could think of the preexistent lights as Risaala and Nubuwwa rather than Prophecy and Imamate, but getting into these weeds is not really the point. Raising the questions is.

I urge you to keep an open mind.

[tanadrin]

Last notes and final thoughts on Creating the Quran:

A text does not become fixed at its first writing; ancient and especially sacred writing remain open and in flux for a considerable period after. Even after it was written down, the Quran was a text "in process."

The rasm (the consonantal "skeleton" of the Quran) does show extraordinary constancy from the time of Abd al-Malik; its vocalization was in dispute for centuries after. But the tremendous fluidity of the oral phase of development did come to an end.

Lol, the name of a scholar cited in this chapter is "Assmann."

Oral tradition can coexist with a written canon for a time: even once the Gospels had been written down, ancient writers rarely cited them word-for-word, often using relatively free transmissions and maintaining the vibracy of oral tradition. A similar process may have been at work around the Quran.

Sometimes searching for an "original text" when it comes to texts like these (including the Gospels, for instance, or the books of the Hebrew Bible) may even be meaningless; the early text-forms are in dialogue with the late oral-forms, and the former are not being produced with the specific end of creating a fixed, canonical text. Concepts like individual authorship, a complete and self-contained textual artifact, and formal publication don't necessarily apply. Canonized texts can start out as essentially aids to memory, or personal notes, that existed to be revised and extended as necessary.

The early regional codices could have grown out of such memoranda, only gradually being reshaped into more complete and polished texts. This would help account for why the Quran often repeats the same tradition in different forms, sometimes with minor differences and sometimes with significant contraditions.

For works like the Gospels, Matthew and Mark might have even been regarded as functionally "the same text" in the same way even very different oral performances of a story can be considered "the same."

The evident parallel traditions in the Quran may derive from the retelling and recomposition of traditions in different communities, or from ongoing revisions to an open text. Many of these parallel traditions are Christian ones, or Jewish ones that seemed to enter the text from Christian sources.

Extensive biographical tradition within Islam around Muhammad in particular; but it's unlikely (for reasons discussed earlier) to be reliable. The small grains of historicity within it are obscured by the narrative that has grown around them.

Some traditions in the Quran appear to originate from before Muhammad's prophetic mission, distinguished by their utter lack of intelligibility for early Muslim commentators. This indicates they were not passed down orally, since they were not altered in ways to make them relevant to the community, and so may have been written down when Muhammad and his earliest followers encountered them.

Bellamy argues there are more than two hundred words in the Quran that later commentators not only didn't understand, but didn't know how to vocalize. These could be the result of copyists' mistakes, but they're present in all Quran manuscripts, and so would have to go back to a single version.

Example: "Yuhanna" ("John") being read as "Yahya," because of the ambiguity between and without consonant-pointing. With just the rasm, Yahya is a perfectly good guess--whoever first read "Yahya" in the passages where it occurs cannot have had an oral tradition preserving the sound of the name, or prior knowledge of John the Baptist, or they would have recognized it on the basis of context.

Surat Quraysh was very opaque to interpreters, who had no better understanding of this sura than we do today; the meaning of the key term "ilaf" seems to be entirely opaque, leading to a wide array of interpretations. Difficult to reconcile this lack of understanding with Muhammad teaching it to his followers.

Final editing of the Quran must have been very conservative to retain these infelicities--typical of scriptural traditions, or at least of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

Patricia Crone proposes some parts of the Quran predate Muhammad. Michael Cook says OTOH maybe the materials that make up the Quran didn't become "generally available as scripture" until well after Muhammad's death. Neither supposition is exclusive of the other.

Gerd Puin argues that "every fifth sentence" or so "simply doesn't make sense." Gerald Hawting observes "the text taken on its own is often completely unintelligible, filled with grammatical and logical discontinuities." This puts me in mind with the weird way different sources are jammed together in the Hebrew Bible, sometimes totally muddling narratives that were clear in the original--I don't wonder if part of the problem is that different regional codices, when brought together, were harmonized in a very conservative way that left a lot of contraditions and discontinuities in the text.

Shoemaker thinks the best model is still the one where the Quran is largely rooted in Muhammad's teachings, with the inclusion possibly of some archaic and imperfectly understood textual materials, and with considerable change introduced in the process of transmission before final canonization.

Quran talks about seafaring and fishing familiarly, both things alien to Mecca and Yathrib. Ditto agriculture and vegetation, especially kinds not found even in the Yathrib oasis. Most likely elements that found their way in once the Islamic polity had reached the shores of the Mediterranean.

Similarly out of place geographical references: Sodom and Gomorrah as places passed by daily; as the audience living not far from where Lot once dwelled. Landscape of memory here is focused on Palestine, not Hijaz.

Heavy borrowing of words, including from Syriac and Hebrew, in the language of the Quran, indicating heavy linguistic contact with the Fertile Crescent.

"Vast knowledge of Christian lore" despite no Christian presence in Mecca or Yathrib, in either the Islamic tradition or elsewhere. Quran assumes good knowledge of the Torah and Gospels and many extrabiblical traditions also. The Quran's presentation of many figures from the Hebrew Bible draws specifically on Syriac Christian traditions, and not on Jewish traditions as you might suppose from the traditional account of Jews present in Medina. Its anti-Jewish rhetoric and demonology depend on earlier Christian traditions, and some passages seem to address Christian directly.

Removing Muhammad and the Quran completely from the Hijaz would make it hard to explain why Mecca and Yathrib eventually came to be so important in later tradition. It seems likely that, even though the Holy Land and Jerusalem stood at the center of the imagination of early believers, there was some historical connection to the Hijaz, and only as they began to more self-consciously differentiate themselves from Christians and Jews around them did they shift their focus to this element of their history.

It's not necessary (or tenable) to entirely detach the Quran from the figure of Muhammad. Some material in it almost certainly derives from his prophetic career in Mecca and Medina. In some cases, followers later added blocks of textual material already written down in a religious context somewhere outside the Hijaz, alongside entirely new traditions emerging from cross-cultural contact.

19:22-28 gives a compressed account of the Nativity that is found only in the liturgical practice of a particular Marian shrine just outside Jerusalem, the Kathisma church. This tradition is so obscure it's unlikely it independently made its way to the central Hijaz--it joined the corpus most likely after Muhammad's followers took control of the region, and converted this church into a mosque.

Like almost all other sacred texts of its type, the Quran is not a "book" but a corpus: texts not originally intended to be grouped together, heterogenous in origin and function, and in some cases dependent or independent of one another. Composite, but also composed, i.e., put together intentionally and carefully using techniques from a literate context, with literary polish.

[faizalkhan1393]

Exploring the Foundations of Islamic Learning: From Qur'anic Studies to Jurisprudence

Islamic learning, with its rich tapestry of knowledge and wisdom, finds its origins deeply embedded in the foundational disciplines of Qur'anic studies and jurisprudence. These disciplines serve as the cornerstone of traditional Islamic education, providing a robust framework for understanding the principles and values enshrined in Islam. This article embarks on a journey to explore the multifaceted dimensions of Islamic learning, tracing its evolutionary trajectory from the sacred text of the Quran to the intricate jurisprudential principles of fiqh.

At the heart of Islamic learning lies the study of the Quran, the holy scripture revered by Muslims worldwide as the literal word of God. Qur'anic studies encompass a broad spectrum of disciplines, ranging from linguistic analysis and historical contextualization to theological interpretation and spiritual reflection. Through the meticulous examination of Quranic verses and their associated commentaries, scholars unravel the layers of meaning embedded within the divine revelation, shedding light on fundamental principles that guide Muslim belief and practice.

Simultaneously, Islamic learning extends its reach into the realm of jurisprudence, commonly known as fiqh. Derived from the Quran and the Sunnah, the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad, fiqh serves as a comprehensive legal framework that governs all aspects of Muslim life. From matters of ritual purity and prayer to issues of governance and social justice, fiqh offers practical guidelines and ethical directives that inform the conduct of individuals and communities within the Islamic tradition.

By delving into the foundational disciplines of Qur'anic studies and jurisprudence, we embark on a profound exploration of the intellectual heritage that underpins Islamic scholarship. This heritage, rooted in centuries of scholarly inquiry and spiritual reflection, serves as a testament to the enduring relevance and timeless wisdom of Islamic teachings. As we navigate the intricate terrain of Islamic learning, we gain invaluable insights into the intricate interplay between faith, reason, and tradition, enriching our understanding of the diverse and dynamic world of Islam.

Qur'anic Studies:

At the heart of Islamic learning lies the study of the Quran, the holy book of Islam revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Qur'anic studies encompass a range of disciplines, including tafsir (exegesis), which involves the interpretation and commentary of Quranic verses. Scholars of Qur'anic studies delve into the linguistic, historical, and theological dimensions of the Quran, seeking to understand its message and relevance for contemporary audiences.

The study of the Quran is not merely an academic pursuit but also a spiritual endeavour, as Muslims believe the Quran to be the literal word of God. Qur'anic studies play a central role in Islamic education, providing a framework for moral guidance, theological reflection, and personal piety. Through the study of the Quran, Muslims deepen their understanding of Islamic teachings and cultivate a deeper connection with their faith.

Jurisprudence (Fiqh):

In addition to Qur'anic studies, Islamic learning encompasses the study of jurisprudence, known as fiqh. Fiqh deals with the practical application of Islamic principles and rulings derived from the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad). It provides guidelines for personal conduct, social interactions, and legal matters within Muslim communities.

Fiqh is derived through a process of legal reasoning known as ijtihad, wherein scholars apply established methodologies to extract legal rulings from primary sources. These rulings cover various aspects of life, including worship, transactions, marriage, and criminal law. Fiqh is not static but evolves in response to changing circumstances and societal needs.

The development of fiqh gave rise to different schools of thought (madhahib), each with its methodologies and interpretations of Islamic law. These schools, including the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali, played a significant role in shaping the diversity and complexity of Islamic jurisprudence.

Integration and Application:

The disciplines of Qur'anic studies and jurisprudence are interconnected, with the Quran serving as the primary source of guidance for legal rulings in fiqh. The principles and values enshrined in the Quran inform the development of Islamic law, providing a moral and ethical framework for human behaviour.

Islamic learning extends beyond the confines of academia, finding practical expression in the lives of Muslims around the world. The teachings of the Quran and the principles of fiqh guide individual believers in their daily lives, influencing their decisions, actions, and interactions with others. Islamic education thus serves as a transformative force, shaping the moral and ethical consciousness of Muslim communities.

Conclusion:

The foundations of Islamic learning, deeply entrenched in Qur'anic studies and jurisprudence, epitomize the profound intellectual legacy of Islamic scholarship. Through the discipline of Islamic studies, scholars delve into the intricate layers of the Quran, engaging with its divine revelation to extract moral and spiritual guidance essential for navigating life's complexities. Moreover, Islamic studies provide a structured framework for analyzing and interpreting the Quran's timeless wisdom, allowing Muslims to derive profound insights into matters of faith, morality, and social justice.

Similarly, the principles of fiqh, an integral component of Islamic studies, offer practical guidelines derived from the Quran and the Sunnah for regulating human conduct and interactions. As Muslims immerse themselves in the study of fiqh, they gain a deeper understanding of the ethical imperatives and legal prescriptions outlined in Islamic teachings. This knowledge equips them with the tools to address contemporary challenges while remaining grounded in the timeless principles of Islamic jurisprudence.

As Muslims continue to explore the depths of Islamic studies, they draw inspiration from the Quran's enduring relevance and the dynamic tradition of fiqh. By upholding the values of knowledge, ethics, and piety inherent in Islamic studies, believers across the globe find solace and guidance in their spiritual journey. Islamic education serves as a beacon of enlightenment, guiding individuals towards a deeper understanding of their faith and fostering a sense of community and belonging.

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27th of September 2023

I attended a guest lecture by the muslim scholar Prof. Dr. amina wadud yesterday. The topic of her lecture was "Women and Non-Binary Matter: New Pathways through Islamic Ethics, Authority and Traditions".

If you are a university student and you attend guest lectures, I don't have to tell you this. But if you find yourself thinking "hmmm.. maybe not today..." this is your sign to go! If there's a scholar from abroad speaking about a topic you're interested in, go hear them! The amount of inspiration I get from a guest lecture every single time is priceless. You WILL learn things that your university won't teach you.

amina wadud is best known as the Lady Imam. I was thrilled to hear that she would speak at my university - inspired by nearly 50 years of research and work she is considered one of the top scholars in progressive Islamic thought, often sparking controversy and discussion. More on her here: https://aminawadud.com/

Some of the key points I take away from her lecture are:

The islamic tradition in general and first and foremost the Quran are not free from ambiguity. An example for this is how it states in the Quran (97: 1-5) the Quran has been revealed in one night, lailat al-qadr, whereas the islamic tradition tells us that the Quran was revealed to the prophet over a span of 20 years.

wadud points out that ambiguities like these call for us to get involved. Only when we take a step towards the tradition, embracing ambiguity, we can reconcile with the texts. Only this way we can make out their meaning to apply them in our practices. "Reconciliation is a matter of choice."

wadud sees ambiguity not only as means to engage into a deeper exegesis of the texts, but also as a door-opener, and this was my favorite part of her lecture. She says "where something is ambiguous, there is space for compassion."

wadud pushes for an interpretation of the islamic sources that does justice to the dignity (karāma) God gave ALL people. This includes men, women and non-binary humans alike.

Many voices in the field see their views challenged. wadud says: "It's not the methods they disagree with, it's the conclusions." waduds conclusions call for a more inclusive islamic praxis, defying patriarchy and the gender binary. Any reading of a sacred text has to benefit the community. That's why it's important to ask: Who does my reading benefit? Who does it harm?

Quran exegesis (tafsīr), for a long time, has been focusing on the male experience. For wadud, it's now time for non-male experiences and voices to be included when interpreting the islamic sources. "Allah is omnipotent but doesn't oppress. Oppression or (zulm) is not only inequality but also arrogant and ungodly."

Prof. Dr. Melissa M. Wilcox, who also attended the lecture, added: "Where people are afraid, ambiguity becomes intolerable."

My thoughts: this might just be the biggest test for the muslim community (umma) today. As it says in the Quran: "Do people think once they say, 'we believe', that they will be left without being put to the test?" (29:2) A compassionate and inclusive reading of sacred texts is called for. And the second step is the most crucial: putting the findings into action to fight oppression and to reduce harm to the community.

If this interests you, you might also want to read: Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, Asma Barlas

[eananoor]

Their spring meadows are desolate now. Still, desire for them lives always in our heart, never dying.

These are their ruins. These are the tears in memory of those who melt the soul forever.

In Memory of Those Who Melt the Soul Forever, Stations of Desire, Love Elegies from Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) and New Poems by Michael A. Sells