INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SPRING 2021:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY OF ISLAM (SEPI)
Course Instructor: Professor Imad Jafar Email: [email protected] Class: M/W 2:30-3:45 (JS Auditorium) Zoom Link (while online): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84775020928?pwd=S0JWNzFJaXZyV09vRlVLKy9nYz R6UT09 (Meeting ID: 847 7502 0928 / Passcode: 779495) WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GwlI424OfqqEErYyLGM9CS
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday: 2:30-3:45, or by appointment
Introduction: The purpose of this course is two-fold: it attempts to provide students with a broad-based introduction to such basic genres of Islamic scholarship as beliefs, Qurʾan, Sunna, Islamic jurisprudence, inner development, and contemporary issues, taught primarily through the intensive reading of original texts, translated into English. In doing so, the course also addresses methodological issues related to scholarship within the discipline of Islamic Studies. Emphasis is placed on the need to attend to the contexts as well as the texts of the authors, in order to, as the intellectual historian Quentin Skinner remarked, ‘see things their way.’ Students are expected to participate in academic dialogue, and form their own opinions by directly engaging the texts. (taken from Dr. Moiz Hasan)
Pre-requisites: None Grading: Grading will be absolute and the final grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
1. 4 multiple-choice unannounced quizzes: 20% (5% each) 2. Paper: 20% 3. Exams (Term 1 & Term 2): Mid-term: 30% Final: 30%
Quizzes: There will be 4 unannounced quizzes throughout the semester to test whether students are coming to class after having done the readings.
Paper: Paper topic and guidelines will be given to the students during the semester. Final Exam: The final exam will be comprehensive and will be a combination of MCQs and short answers.
Attendance: Attendance is required.
Plagiarism: Cases of plagiarism will be dealt with very strictly and as per IBA policy.
COURSE OUTLINE
Students are expected to complete the assigned readings for each session before class, since the readings will form the focus of instructor’s lectures, our class discussions, and your quizzes. We will aim to cover as many of the below readings as we can.
SESSION 1: Introduction
Course overview
SESSION 2: What is Islam?
• ➢ ‘Abd al-Halim Mahmud, “Islam: The Word and Its Meaning,” in The Creed of Islam, pp. 13-25.
SESSION 3: Beliefs
• ➢ Justin Parrott, “Islam, Iman, Ihsan: Climbing the Spiritual Mountain,” Yaqeen (27/11/2019).
SESSION 4: Prayer
• ➢ Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, “The Salah is Tranquility for the Worshipers and Allah’s Gift to the Believers,’ and ‘The Secret and Essence of Salah,’ in Inner Dimensions of the Prayer, pp. 17-18, 25-26.
SESSION 5: Sects
• ➢ Nasr, “Notes on Various Sects,” Islam, pp. 7-15.
SESSION 6: Knowledge and Scholarship
• ➢ Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, The Heirs, pp. 1-18, 49-54. • ➢ C. Gilliot, “Ulama,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam (II).
SESSION 7: Qur’an • ➢ Ingrid Mattson, “How to Read the Qur’an” (2013—online).
SESSION 8: Prophethood
• ➢ Tahawi, Sanusi, and Ibn Taymiyya, “Classical Creedal Texts.” • ➢ Ghazali, “The True Nature of Prophecy,” in Watt, Ghazali.
ﷺ SESSION 9: The Prophet
• ➢ Timothy Winter, “The Sunnah as Primordiality,” Masud. • ➢ “Descriptions by the Companions,” collected by Gibril Haddad in The Muhammadan Light (taken partially from al-Darimi).
Further Aspects :ﷺ SESSION 10: The Prophet
Yaqeen ”,ﷺ Mohammad Elshinawy, “The Accomplishments of the Prophet ➢ • (11/10/2017). Yaqeen ”,ﷺ Mohammad Elshinawy, “The Character of the Prophet ➢ • (18/4/2017).
SESSION 11: The Umma as a State and the Spread of the Qur’an
• ➢ Hassam Munir, “How Islam Spread throughout the World,” Yaqeen (14/12/2018) • ➢ Hassam Munir, “Did Islam Spread by the Sword?,” Yaqeen (12/5/2017).
SESSION 12: Hadith
• ➢ Jonathan Brown, “Hadith and its Terminology,” in Hadith, pp. 3-5. • ➢ Mohammad Hashim Kamali, “The Sunnah,” in Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, n. n. • ➢ Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqui, “The Event of the Hadith,” in Hadith Literature, pp. 1-7.
SESSION 13: Hadith II
• ➢ Emad Hamdeh, “Are Hadith Necessary? An Examination of the Authority of Hadith in Islam,” Yaqeen (25/10/2019). • ➢ Mufti Muntasir Zaman, “Give it a Second Thought: Dealing with Supposedly Problematic Hadiths,” Yaqeen (29/8/2019).
SESSION 14: Islamic Law • ➢ Emad Hamdeh, “What is a Madhhab?,” Yaqeen (31/12/2020).
SESSION 15: Islamic Law as State Law
• ➢ Tesneem Alkiek, “Religious Minorities Under Muslim Rule,” Yaqeen (8/2/2017).
SESSION 16: The Hudud Punishments
• ➢ Jonathan Brown, “Understanding the Hudud,” Yaqeen (12/1/2017)
SESSION 17: Women
• ➢ Mohammad Elshinawy, Roohi Tahir, and Omar Suleiman, “We Used to have no Regard for Women,” Yaqeen (17/7/2019).
SESSION 18: Women II
• ➢ Safiah Chowdhury, “Women in Islamic Law: Examining Five Prevalent Myths,” Yaqeen (24/7/2019).
SESSION 19: Women III
• ➢ Tamara Gray, “Courage and Commitment: Femininity and Muslim Women,” Yaqeen (18/7/2019).
SESSION 20: Islam and Mental Health Issues
• ➢ Zohair Abdul-Rahman, “Islamic Spirituality and Mental Well-Being,” Yaqeen (13/3/2017).
SESSION 21: Islam and Mental Health Issues
• ➢ Najwa Awad and Sarah Sultan, “Coping with Grief: A Spiritual and Psychological Guide,” Yaqeen (12/5/2020).
SESSION 22: Islamic Art I
• ➢ TBA.
SESSION 23: Islam and Economics
• ➢ TBA.
SESSION 24: Sufism • ➢ TBA.
SESSION 25: Sufism II
• ➢ TBA.
SESSION 26: Modern Developments
• ➢ TBA.
SESSION 27: Modern Developments II
• ➢ TBA..
SESSION 28: Course Wrap-up and Review
• ➢ TBA.