The Concept of Khilafah According To
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE CONCEPT OF KHILAFAH ACCORDING TO SELECTED SUNNI AND SHICI QUR'ANIC COMMENTARIES Fadzli Bin ADAM Submitted in Accordance with the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Department of Theology and Religious Studies April 2001 The candidateconfirms that the work submittedis his own and that appropriatecredit has been given where referencehas beenmade to the work of others. Dedicated to My parents and my wife, Marhana 111 Acknowledgements In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. I owe a great debt of gratitude, first of all, to the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, and its academic and administrative staff. My sincere thanks are due to Dr. Elizabeth Sirriyeh, who never tired of commenting on this research, for all her kind words, and for the invaluable guidance, encouragement, ideas and support she offered. I must also pay my tribute to Professor Neal Robinson for his wise advice and guidance as supervisor during the earlier stages of my research. I would like to thank several colleagues and friends, including Dr. Ismail al- Bayrak, Dr. Ahmet Onay and Dr. Asyraf Abd Rahman, for their assistance and discussion to improve my research. My special thanks are also due to Peter Coleman, for his invaluable editing of and comment on this thesis. Finally, I am greatly indebted to my parents, to my wife, Marhana, and also to my daughter, Nur Najwa, and my two sons, Fikri and Farhan, without whose love, patience and support the completion of this study would not have been possible. iv Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine the Qur'anic conception of khiläfah from selected Sunni and ShiCIpoints of view, in both the classical and modern periods. The term khiläfah, widely used by the Sunnis, is inseparable from imämah, the term which the Shi`is prefer. The concept arose very early in Islam and has continued to provoke discussion into the modern period. Yet, while the thought of Muslim political theorists on the subject has received much scholarly attention, far less notice has been taken of the ideas of Qur'anic exegetes. For this reason it has been judged worthwhile to seek to throw light on some relatively neglected interpretations of khiläfah by examining the views of certain major commentators on the Qur'an. These are principally scholars of the 9th-14th centuries who are regarded as having made substantial contributions to thought on this issue. However, some consideration is also given to the ideas of three modern writers who have adapted and revised the concept of khiläfah to a considerable extent. The thesis begins with a discussion of the historical development and nature of the khiläfah in Islam, providing a general overview of the concept of the khiläfah, its necessity, functional role and duties, from many Muslim scholars' viewpoints. As the main discussion concerns the Qur'anic interpretation, the commentators' approaches to exegesis and their backgrounds, which may have influenced their interpretation of the concept, are examined in the second chapter. The main discussion and argument are presented in chapters three to six. These chapters provide a close textual analysis of selected Qur'anic verses, which contain various terms relevant to the concept of khiläfah (imämah for the Shi`is) as interpreted by commentators from the two major Muslim communities, the Sunni and Shi`i, particularly the Ithnä `ashariyyah (the Twelver). Some modem interpretations of the khiläfah and the influence on them of the classical works are discussed in the seventh chapter. This is of great importance, since some aspects of classical teaching have been changed in response to twentieth-century conditions. The conclusion brings together and clarifies the arguments and findings of the previous chapters in order to explain the significant contributions of the various Qur'anic interpretations considered in the main part of the study. V Table of Contents Acknowledgements........... ii ................................................................ iii Abstract iv ......................................................................................... Table Contents of ............................................................................. v List Abbreviations of ......................................................................... x Note Translation Transliteration on and .................................................. xi, xii Glossary.......... ' INTRODUCTION 1 ............................................................................ CHAPTERI THE NATURE AND BASIC CONCEPT OF THE KHILAFAH 1.1-Introduction 19 ................................................................................ 1.2-Nature the Khiläfah 20 of ................................................................... 1.2.1-The Necessity the Khiläfah 21 of ............................................... 1.2.2-The Argument Concerning the Permissibility of Having More Than One Caliph 32 ..................................................................... 1.3-The Basic Concept Khiläfah Its Function 36 of and ..................................... 1.3.1-The Functions of the Khalifah/Imäm According to Classical Muslim Scholars 37 ........................................................................ 1.3.2-The Functions of the Khalifah/Imam According to Modern Muslim Scholars 41 ........................................................................ 1.4-Some Qur'anic Terms Relevance to the Khiläfah 46 of ................................ 1.5-Concluding Remarks 52 ..................................................................... VI CHAPTER 2 CLASSICAL SUNNI AND SHI`I COMMENTATORS: BIOGRAPHIES AND APPROACHES TO QUR'ANIC COMMENTARY. 2.1-Introduction 54 ................................................................................ 2.2-Sunni Qur'anic Commentators 55 ......................................................... 2.2.1-Al-Tabari (224/839-310/923) 55 ................................................ i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life............ 55 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur'anic Commentary 58 ...................................................... 2.2.2-AI-Zamakhshari (467/1075-538/1144) 62 .................................... i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life............ 62 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur'anic Commentary 64 ..................................................... 2.2.3-Ibn Kathir (700/1300-774/1373) 68 ............................................ i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life............ 68 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur'anic Commentary 70 ...................................................... 2.3-Shi°i Qur'anic Commentators 72 .......................................................... 2.3.1-Al-Tüsi (385/995-460/1067) 72 ................................................ i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life............ 72 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur'anic Commentary 74 ..................................................... 2.3.2-Al-Tabarsi (468/1075-548/1153) 76 ........................................... i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life........... 76 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur'anic Commentary 78 ..................................................... 2.4-Concluding Remarks 81 ..................................................................... vii CHAPTER 3 THE INTERPRETATION OF THE KHILAFAH-VERSES IN CLASSICAL SUNNI QUR'ANIC COMMENTARIES. 3.1-Introduction ................................................................................ 83 3.2-The Interpretation the Term Khalifah of ............................................... 84 3.3-The Plural (Khalä'if Khulafä) and ..................................................... 96 3.3.1-Khal ä'if 96 ............................................. ......................... ... 3.3.2-Khulafä......................................................................... 102 3.4- The Interpretation of Some Other Derivative Forms Khalifah 108 of ................. 3.4.1-Yastakhlif Istakhlafa and .................................................... 117 3.4.2- Ukhl Yakhl of and uf ........................................................... 117 3.5-Concluding Remarks .................................................................... 120 CHAPTER 4 CLASSICAL SUNNI QUR'ANIC INTERPRETATION OF THE IMAMAH AND ULU'LAMR-VERSES 4.1-Introduction .............................................................................. 121 4.2-The Interpretation of the Term Imäm and Its Plural Form (A'immah)........... 121 4.2.1-Imäm ........................................................................... 122 4.2.2-The Plural (A'immah) ....................................................... 130 4.3-The Interpretation of the Term Ulü '1-Amr 136 .......................................... 4.4-Concluding Remarks ................................................................... 146 CHAPTER 5 THE INTERPRETATION OF THE KHILAFAH-VERSES IN THE CLASSICAL SHI`I COMMENTARIES. 5.1-Introduction .............................................................................. 151 5.2-The Interpretation the Term Khalifah of ............................................. 152 5.3-The Plural (Khalä'if Khulafa) and ................................................... 160 viii 5.3.1-Khal ä'if ....................................................................... 160 5.3.2-Khulafä......................................................................