The Construction of Deobandi 'Ulamii'sreligious Authority in Pakistan: a Study of Their Journal, Bayyiniit, 1962-1977
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The Construction of Deobandi 'Ulamii'sReligious Authority in Pakistan: A Study of Their Journal, Bayyiniit, 1962-1977 By Irfan Moeen Khan A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University Montreal August, 2004 © Irfan Moeen Khan 2004 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-22603-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-22603-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page cou nt, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Abstract The Deobandi 'Ulami' of Jariii'at al-'Uliïm al-Islamiyya located in the largest city of Pakistan, Karachi, began publishing an Urdu, monthly journal by the name of Bayyinit in 1962 for the expressed purpose of refuting the views and arguments of their opponents, and hence as a vehicle for asserting their religious identity and authority. The case of Bayyinitprovides us with an opportunity to study an important and hitherto little considered phenomenon in Islamic modernity, namely, the intervention by the 'uJami'to assert traditional claims to religious authority through the modem medium of print journalism in the context of the post-colonial nation state of Pakistan. The present work seeks to examine how the journal was utilized by the 'uJami in constructing their religious authority and to engage in the refutation of the two most prominent twentieth century personalities, Fazlur Rahman and Sayyid Abu'l 'Ala Mawdudi. Résumé Les 'Ulamii' Deobandi de Jami'at al-'U1üm al-IsIamiyya à Karachi, la plus grande ville du Pakistan, commencèrent à publier en '1962 une revue mensuelle en langue ourdoue, baptisée Bayyiniit, dans le but exprès de réfuter les opinions et arguments de leurs adversaires et ainsi de défendre leur identité et leur autorité religieuses. Le cas de Bayyiniit nous offre l'occasion d'étudier un phénomène de la modernité à la fois important et méconnu, soit les activités menés par les 'ulamii' pour revendiquer leur autorité traditionnelle à travers le médium moderne de la presse écrite dans le contexte de l'état nation post-colonial du Pakistan. Le travail qui suit examine comment la revue fut utilisée par les 'ulamii' pour bâtir leur autorité religieuse et s'engager dans la réfutation des deux personnalités musulmanes les plus importantes du vingtième siècle, Fazlur Rahman et Sayyid Abü'l 'Ala Mawdüdi. Acknowledgements First of aIl, l would like to thank Salwa Farehian for her unwavermg support, encouragement and warm compassion throughout the course of this work. My sincere thanks to Dr. Sajida Alvi, my thesis supervisor, for seeing this work through-it would not have been possible without her help, especially during the last stages. Time and time again, her support helped me stay afloat. l am etemally grateful to her. for having confidence in me. l appreciate the support of Steve Millier, for his careful editing and help in locating a number of valuable sources, and Wayne St. Thomas, for his patience and wonderful sense ofhumor during the stressful times. Lastly, l would like to thank aIl my teachers at the lq.stitute of Islamic Studies from whom l have learned a great deal over the past two years, in particular Dr. Donald P. Little. Lisa Alexandrin for her last minute help in making this thesis "materialize"-to her l am very grateful. l would like to dedicate this thesis to the memory of my father, Lt.Col (late) Muhammad Shafiullah Khan, who left this world quietly as l was miles away laboring . over this thesis on a cold December, 2004, evening in Montreal. Table of Contents Introduction 1-7 Chapter 1: Bayyinit a Deobanm journal 8 A survey of the contents of Bayyinit 16 The Sunnah of the Prophet 19 Essays in refutation 21 Biographies (Tazldras) 24 The transmission of 'ulami~teachings 31-34 Chapter II: The Refutation of Faz1ur Rahman 35 Sunnah and IJadIth controversy 41 "The Living Sunnah" 44 'Ulami~ critique 51 Conclusion 67-69 Chapter III: Critique of Sayyid Abu'l 'Ala Mawdum 70 Conclusion 89-92 Bibliography 93-107 Introduction The decade of 1960 was a tumultuous period in the history of Pakistan under the controversial rule of General Muhammad Ayüb Khan (r.1958-69). It was during the 1960s that the contest over who gets to define the "official" version of Islam was waged out in the constitutional arena. Other than the role of the 'ulama', two major figures held significant sway, although in different ways, in the entire imbroglio of how Islam was to be represented at the state level in Pakistan. One was the Oxford educated Fazlur Rahman (1919-1988) and the second lacked any formaI training in Islamic religious sciences, but was nevertheless known for his powerful writings and encyclopedic knowledge, Sayyid Abü'l 'Ala Mawdüdi (1903-1979). Fazlur Rahman was invited by the Ayüb Government from his Professorship at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University Canada, to take over the Directorship of the CentraI Institute of Islamic Research based in Karachi to make recommendations on religious policy issues to the Government of Pakistan. Mawdüdi on other had represented a very organized, active, and vocal urban religiopolitical organization, the Jama'at-i Islarrii, established on August 1941 in Lahore. The Deobandi 'ulamil waged a relentless opposition to Fazlur Rahman's suggestions towards reform. The Jama'at-i Islaml of Mawdüdi was equally hostile, if not more, to Rahman. In this triangle of religious politics, the 'ulama' also wrote extensively against Mawdüdi's work of Qur'anic exegesis, Tafhlm al-Qur'in, which according to the 'ulama' greatly distorted Islam by transcribing it into a political ideology. 1 It is important to briefly give a historical background of the issue involving different interpretations of Islam to better understand the significance of the controversy over Islam in the 1960s. It is common knowledge that different ! interpretations of Islam mushroomed during the colonial days in South Asia: Sayyid Al].mad khan's Aligarh College (.established in 1875) sought to modernize Islam, so as to bring Muslims up to par with the Western nations; Shibfi Nu'manl's (.d.l914) Nadwat al-'Ulama: (.founded in 1891) that aspired to bridge the gap between traditional education and modem learning, and the 'ulamii' of Dar al-'Ulüm Deoband who proudly proclaimed their traditionalist credentials and considered aIl else as innovation (. bid'a), a pejorative term in the Islamic tradition. Furthermore, within the larger 'ulamii's ranks there was also dissension. And other group of 'uJamii', the Ahl-i I:Iadith, who advocated a literalist reading of the Prophetie traditions (IJadith) and accused the Deobandis of relying on the interpretative filters of the I:Ianafi (. one of the four schools of law in Islam followed by the majority ofMuslims in the Subcontinent) madhhab, which they saw as a corrupt form ofwhat constituted "pure" Islam. Yet another group, the Barelwls shunned both the Ahl-i I:Iadith and the Deobandis for not accepting the mediating authority of Sufi masters what is considered by many scholars as "popular Islam", however this term is extremelymisleading. They also accused them of not respecting the Prophet as he should be. Fierce disputations raged between the three 'uJamii' groups throughout the 19th and the first half of the twentieth century in British India. At the same time, the Deobandi 'ulamii' were highly critical of the "modernist" trends being voiced by those affiliated with the Aligarh College. 2 After the creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, the issue of the role of religion, specificaUy Islam, in the context of the newly emerged state took on a new dimension. The question was if Pakistan was going tobe a secular state or an Islamic one. The secular elements were in the forefront within the state machinery and desired a secular foundations for the nation. The religious groups considered Pakistan as a hard won state for the sake of Islam and therefore wished to see it conform to the ideals of Islam in aU its aspects.