Islamskaya_mysl_2_2017

Russian thinker, nevertheless, claims that the sufficient foundation for the true faith is the recognition of the Monotheism formula by soul and language, which probably in the context of the preceding discussion should be understood as the main pillar of faith, without which its other branches are impossible.

Translation from the Tatar-Ottoman by A. G. Khayrutdinov.

F. RAHMAN

IS L A M A N D MO D E R N I T Y

The work includes several sections of Fazlur Rahman’s book “Islam and Modernity: Transformation of Intellectual Tradition” (1984). In his work, Rahman develops his own methodology for interpreting the Qur’an as well as the original historiosophy of the Islamic tradition. In his opinion, Qur’anic verses are closely linked to specific “circumstances of revelation” (asbab an-nuzul), so the prescripts and prohibitions in the Qur’an should be considered taking into account these circumstances. As Rahman underlines, the Qur’an is by nature not a legislative, but an ethical text. The Qur’anic directives are aimed at mitigating and amending the Arab legal norms of the 7th century, and it is easy to see ethical motivation behind these directives. Developing the theory of “double shift” and “contextual ijtihad”, Rahman notes that in order to reveal the relevance of one or another verse in relation to the current situation, it is first necessary to address the context of its sending and determine the general ethical meaning contained therein; and secondly, to implement this common sense in the very concrete decision which relates to modernity. Such a holistic hermeneutics, taking into account the “Qur’anic spirit”, in Rahman’s opinion, was typical for early Muslims, but by the 2nd century of Hijrah it had receded into the background, and later it had been completely forgotten (except for certain insightful jurists, such as Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi). The second half of Rahman’s work is devoted to the reconstruction of Islamic sciences: theology, philosophy and sociology. He advocates the reform of all these branches of knowledge based on the reconstructed teaching of the Qur’an, classical tradition and modern academic science.

Translation from English by S. Y. Boroday.

M. ARKOUN

RE T H I N K I N G IS L A M TO D AY

The article briefly outlines the main ideas of Muhammad Arkoun concerning the problem of the correlation of Islam and modernity, the role of Islam in the modern world and the methodological tools necessary for the deconstruction of the

Muslim history. Arkoun draws attention to the fact that the Islamic movement for revival and the activities of its real and would-be supporters monopolized the discourse about Islam. At the same time, sociologists failed to set free the research in the field of Islam from proand anti-orientalist cliches. In the West, Islam is still being presented as inferior to the traditions of Judaism and Christianity, stagnant and militaristic; and in the Muslim world — as superior to the same traditions, dynamic and peace-loving. The Algerian thinker argues in favor of a new ijtihad for both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars. In his opinion, this is necessary in order to initiate a new process of understanding Islam, more so from the perspective of the history of thought, and not from the point of view of political events or from some fixed parameters; to make unthinkable concepts conceivable; and to establish the connection between secularism, religion and culture along with the challenges of modernity. Arkoun’s main conclusion is that there is always a fundamental conflict between power and meaning, and it is important to identify the characteristics of this conflict in the history of the Islamic civilization. This is what his large-scale epistemological project is aimed for.

Translation from English by V. I. Vovchenko.

M. AL -JABRI

TH E FI Q H I C RE A S O N : LE G I T I M I S I N G T H E LE G I T I M I S E R

The work is the fifth chapter of the first volume of “The Critique of the Arab Reason” — a fundamental work that belongs to the pen of the Moroccan thinker M. al-Jabri (1935–2010). The chapter is devoted to the analysis of the formation of the Arabic reason in its inseparable connection with the fiqh culture of thinking. The author claims that the basic epistemological procedures of the Arabic reasoning had been developed as part of the formation of the science of the foundations of law (usul al-fiqh) which consolidated and approved the methodology for the application of reasoning, drawing on Arabic grammar, theology, Qur’anic studies and in general on the whole range of Arab-Islamic disciplines. Subsequently, it was the science of the foundations of law that became the main source of legitimation of the characteristic features of theoretical thinking, methods and mental operations inherent to the whole set of Islamic disciplines. As an example, the author considers the Ashʻari kalam and the study of the caliphate. The main merit in the formation of the “theoretical fiqh” (i.e. in legitimizing the “legitimiser” of the Arabic reasoning — science usul al-fiqh) as an independent discipline belongs to the great jurist Muhammad al-Shafiʼi, which al-Jabri calls “the greatest legitimiser of the Arabic reasoning”. The author concludes that: 1) the reduction of “independent opinion” method (raʼy) to the analogical reasoning

(qiyas), that is, the establishment of “the culture of text exploitation”; 2) the irresistible dependence of political thinking in the context of the Arab-Muslim culture on the “politics of the past”; 3) and, ultimately, the containment of the creative potential of the “ancient” and “modern” Arab thought by searching for a correspondence between various branches of cases, and also between the cluster of these branches and some case-paradigm (basis or source) — all these are natural consequences arising from the fiqh nature of the Arabic reason.

Translation from Arabic by D. V. Mukhetdinov.

D. V. MUKHETDINOV , S. Y. BORODAY

PR O B L E M O F R E L I G I O U S P L U R A L I S M A N D S A LVAT I O N

I N T H E W R I T I N G S O F MU H I D D I N I B N AR A B I

The article features the views of Muhiddin ibn Arabi (1165–1240) on the problem of religious pluralism and salvation. Ibn Arabi is the largest Sufi thinker, creator of Monistic “unity of existence” system (wahdat al-wujud). As the authors show, Ibn Arabi interprets the problem of religious pluralism in light of his monistic views and original Sufi hermeneutics. He believes that Islam is a perfect religion, but not the only salvatory religion. The mystic sees that all the paths ultimately lead to God, because worshiping anything other than God is impossible in principle. Starting from this idea, Ibn Arabi substantiates the original soteriological doctrine which claims that even sinners in hell will be overshadowed by God’s Grace, so that their torment will eventually subside. The teaching of Ibn Arabi about salvation can be considered as one of the variants of apokatastasis (the notion of universal salvation). The article also demonstrates that Ibn Arabi’s views exerted a great influence on subsequent intellectuals, and the doctrine of apokatastasis was spread among the largest Sufi, Hanbali, modernist and neomodernist thinkers.

M. H. KATZ

TH E PR E -EX I S T E N C E O F T H E PR O P H E T

A N D T H E LI G H T O F MU H A M M A D

The work is one of the chapters of M. H. Katz’s book “The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam” (2007). The chapter is devoted to the idea of the pre-existence of the Prophet Muhammad, widespread in Sufi and Shiite circles. The author shows that this idea is deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition, and its origins can be found in ahadith. However, it became most popular in two forms which are reflected in the narratives attributed to the companions

of the Prophet — Kab al-Akhbar and Jabir ibn Abdallah al-Ansari. The author analyzes in detail both narratives as well as later “mystical” versions of the concept of the Light of Muhammad. Its conclusion is that different types of the narrative about the pre-existence of the Prophet and his Light contain similar structural elements and they can be traced to a single prototype.

L. Z. TANEEVA -SALOMATSHAEVA

IN C L U S I V E N E S S O F T H E L I G H T O F T H E DI V I N E GR A C E I N T H E O RY A N D P R A C T I C E O F CH I S H T I Y YA SU F I B R O T H E R H O O D

The article is devoted to the teachings of the Sufi brotherhood Chishtiyya about the divine grace and the role of this brotherhood in the development of inter-reli- gious dialogue in India. The article is based on the analysis of the work “Fawaʼid ul-fuʼad” containing the sayings of the most significant Sufi saint from Chishtiyya tariqah — Nizamuddin Awliya (1238–1325). The author considers the basic ideas of Sufism, Sufism history in India and characteristic aspects of Chishtiyya brotherhood. Its main conclusion is that the historical success of this tariqah which still exists in India is connected with the moral and ethical value of its teachings: they contain not only a metaphysical and mystical component, but also very specific instructions regarding the issues of social life which allow its followers to be active members of the Indian society and influence its development.

K. Z. SANDS

SU F I I N T E R P R E TAT I O N S O F T H E LI G H T VE R S E (QU R ’A N , 24: 35)

The work is one of the chapters of the book “Sufi Commentaries on the Qur’an in Classical Islam” (2006). The chapter is devoted to the discussion of how the famous Qur’anic verse was interpreted in the Sufi circles, where the God is called as “the Light of the heavens and the earth” and where the metaphor of a niche with a lamp is given (24: 35). The author analyzes the comments to this verse by al-Tustari (818–896), al-Khalladzha (858–922), al-Ghazali (1058–1111), Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), al-Kashani (d.330), al-Maybudi (about 1150). She also often refers to the comments of al-Zamakhshari (1075–1144), al-Razi (1149–1209), Ibn Sina (980–1037), Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) and other major Islamic thinkers. Sands comes to the following conclusion: on the one hand, Sufi thinkers offer various interpretations of this verse based on their mystical and philosophical systems; on the other hand, they are united in the fact that the word “light” in the verse is not a simple metaphor for the “guide”. Sands believes that Sufis often think of “light”

as an “archetypal metaphor” (the term is introduced by T. Izutsu), that is, a metaphor that is not created artificially or for artistic purposes, but is the result of a mystical experience. When the mystic perceives spiritual light, he does not deal with something “like” the light, but rather sees a much more powerful and “real” light than the physical. The mystic does not choose a metaphor to describe his visionary experience; the metaphor or symbol does not indicate anything other than itself, but points to itself, and the mystic only perceives this reality.

A. KEELER

“TA F S I R A L -QU R ’A N A L -ʻA Z I M ” B Y SA H L A L -TU S TA R I :

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N

The article is an introductory overview comment to the English-language translation of Sufi tafsir by Sahl al-Tustari (818–896). The work of al-Tustari is the earliest Sufi tafsir which came to us in its entirety, and whose authenticity is undoubtedly clear. In her article, Keeler considers in detail the biography of al-Tustari and the content of his commentary to the Qur’an; she also structures the teaching of the Persian mystic describing his hermeneutical methodology, metaphysics, prophetology, eschatology, anthropology and ethics. The author pays special attention to key concepts of Sufi discourse and the specifics of their use in tafsir al-Tustari. In particular, she examines in detail such anthropological concepts as kalb, nafs, ruh, sadr, ʻaql, and such ethical concepts as tawakkul, taqwa, yakin, tawba, faqr, ikhlas, zikr. Keeler comes to the following conclusion: although the teaching of al-Tustari is scattered along different interpretations of Qur’anic verses, mystical synthesis of ideas distinguished by its harmony and special terminology can still be revealed in the systematic analysis of these fragments. In addition, there is a theme of light which runs like a red thread through all the teachings of al-Tustari and which he understands as divine leadership at all levels: Qur’an is the light; the Prophet in his primordial existence was the light and continues to be the light emitting the light of faith and guide for the faithful and for the world; and it is the light, being part of the light of the nature of God, which raises the mystic to the highest level of confidence and reaching the God.

A. KARAM

IS L A M I S M A N D GE N D E R

This work is one of the chapters of the book “Women, Islamisms, and the State: Contemporary Feminists in Egypt” (2001). The chapter analyzes the attitudes

of leading Islamists such as Muhammad al-Ghazali (1917–1996), Muhammad al-Sharawi (1911–1998), Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966), Yusuf al-Qardawi (b. 1926) and Adil Huseyn (1932–2001) to the place of women in Islamic society. The article features their views on the following issues: the problem of gender equality, women’s employment, the need to wear hijab, woman’s right to divorce, the need for female circumcision, the phenomenon of Islamic feminism. The author shows that in the Islamists’ discourse the position of women in society is conceived as a secondary and subordinate. In their arguments leading Islamists resort to dichotomies: rational/emotional, wise/foolish, good/evil, strong/weak, and natural/forced upon. More so, the first categories in these dichotomies are associated with male sex, and the second categories — with female sex. Although the Islamists are trying to formulate their ideas in such a way as if the women were given a positive characterization and recognition, yet the main idea they want to express is that women should not be given too much freedom. The last word rests with the man, and the “public” sphere is the domain of men.

R. HASSAN

FE M I N I S M I N IS L A M

The article is a classical study by the leading Islamic feminist Riffat Hassan (b. 1940). Hassan stresses the need for the development of “feminist theology” within the Islamic tradition: such theology is of paramount importance as it seeks to liberate both Muslim women and Muslim men from unjust social structures and laws that make equal gender relations impossible. Hassan identifies three basic theological assumptions that prevent fair treatment of women: 1) the original creation of God was the man; 2) the woman is guilty in the “fall from grace”; 3) the woman was created not only from the man but also for the man. The author criticizes these assumptions relying on the Qur’an and offers a new interpretation of a number of verses. According to Hassan, Qur’an does not discriminate against women and at the same time equally commends the righteousness of men and women; it also provides special guarantees required for the protection of women’s sexual/biological functions, such as childbearing, childbirth, breast-feeding and raising offspring. In the final part of the article Hassan also considers the practice of female segregation, prohibition of birth control, female circumcision and the obligation to wear the hijab. Her overall conclusion is that in the Islamic tradition there are both positive and negative attitudes towards women and women’s issues; however, the Qur’an, which is the primary sources of Islam, consistently teaches the equality between men and women and the fundamental right of women to realize human potential which is granted to them just as to men.

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НАУЧНОЕ ИЗДАНИЕ

ИСЛАМСКАЯ МЫСЛЬ: ТРАДИЦИЯ И СОВРЕМЕННОСТЬ

РЕЛИГИОЗНО-ФИЛОСОФСКИЙ ЕЖЕГОДНИК

№ 2' 2017

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