THE EGYPTIAN UDABA1 AND THE CRISIS OF ISLAM A Study of the Islamic Thought of Taha Husayn, Muhammad Husayn Haykal, and 'Abbas Mahmud al-'Aqqad and its Influence on Egyptian Political, Social and Intellectual Life. Written by Zahia Ragheb Dajani Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. of the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, 1987 ProQuest Number: 10673188 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673188 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title: Page; ABSTRACT iii FOREWORD INTRODUCTION 1 Notes on the Introduction 20 CHAPTER I ATTACKS ON ISLAM AND THE UPABA * S RESPONSES 24 Notes on Chapter I 48 CHAPTER II TAHA HUSAYN ON ARABIC LITERATURE 59 Notes on Chapter II 94 CHAPTER III ISLAMIC BIOGRAPHIES: MOTIVES, INFLUENCES AND THE "SCIENTIFIC APPROACH" 104 Notes on Chapter III 134 CHAPTER IV ISLAMIC BIOGRAPHIES: ANALYSIS AND SIGNIFICANCE 143 Notes on Chapter IV 165 CHAPTER V AL-FITNA AL-KUBRA: ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 171 Notes on Chapter V 205 ii Title: Page: CHAPTER VI THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL: GOVERNMENT, DEMOCRACY, AND SOCIALISM 209 Notes on Chapter VI 237 CHAPTER VII ISLAM AND WESTERN CULTURE 241 Notes on Chapter VII 260 CONCLUSION 262 Notes on the Conclusion 278 APPENDIX The Episode of Dhu al-Janahayn Translation 283 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books 294 Articles 308 ABSTRACT This study is centred around the thoughts and contributions of three Egyptian Udaba1 namely, Taha Husayn (d. 1973), Muhammad Husayn Haykal (d. 1956), and 'Abbas Mahmud al-'Aqqad (d. 1964). The significance of their writings lies partly \in the critical period in which they appeared, which was a period of religious, spiritual and national crisis. On the religious side, it was not confined to Egypt, but covered the whole Islamic world for it was the period in which the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished. With the collapse of Islamic political power, the Christian missionary thrust tried to penetrate the core of Islamic belief itself by portraying Islam as a necessary obstacle to progress. For this purpose, several attacks were simultaneously engineered. One was directed against the Arabic language which was described as unfit for modern usage. Its replacement by spoken dialects would have meant creating a delinkage between language and the Qur’an, relegating the Qur'an to the position of a liturgical and ritualistic document that interests only a few scholars and religious specialists. Another attack was directed against Arabic literature casting doubts on its content and value for modern generations with new thoughts, ideas and aspirations. A more powerful attack was directed against the Prophet Muhammad, and his companions and immediate successors. The Udaba1 took up the challenge by upholding the Arabic language, expounding the true facts of the Prophet's life, and by introducing new styles of literature which derive from the Islamic fountainhead, and using styles attractive to modern readers. Among other things, the thesis shows how the Udaba's contributions in this respect were instrumental in blunting the attacks of missionaries, and incidentally, in pre-empting the attacks of Marxism which assumed dangerous proportions after World War II. Their assertion of the dignity of Islam and of the unquestionable Islamic identity of Egypt and of the great potentials of the Arabic language will remain as lasting contributions. V FOREWORD Modern scholars have generally tended to draw a line of demarcation between traditional Islamic thought and scholarship on the one hand, and modern secular thought and scholarship of Muslim intellectuals who were not in any sense theologians or religious scholars on the other hand. Husayn, Haykal, and al-'Aqqad seem to be generally considered to belong to secular scholarship. It is perhaps due to this belief that most studies on these intellectual writers deal with their autobiographies, or political and literary careers and battles, ideas on literary and scientific criticism or social reform and so on. Studies related to their Islamic writings are rare. But not content with this situation, Husayn once raised the following question: were the Islamic works (as produced by him and the other Udaba1) written so as to be just left like this on shelves? So far, he adds, no comprehensive study on the ideas and the fresh approach incorporated in these writings has been offered. Yet, he hopes that the goal will be realized one day, and that their worth will be recognized in modern Arabic thought. (1) The implication of all this is that Husayn is fully aware of the importance of these works, but he is apparently disappointed, that these writings have been overlooked by modern scholars. It seems clear that his remarks are justified. Undoubtedly, the Islamic writings of the Udaba1 are extremely important. These works contributed to the reassertion of the intrinsic worth of Islam in an age in which that faith was confronted with the "worst" crisis in its history. (1) Samih Kurayyim, Islamiyyat (Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, 1977), pp. 9-10. vi In addition to what was mentioned earlier, the whole structure of Islam including its values, principles, ethics, and institutions were attacked by missionary writers, doubts were shed on its suitability for change and progress, and its continuity was suspect. The collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate was seen as a collapse of Islam as a "faith" by such groups. These views deeply affected the Udaba1 who felt the danger to Islam and to the Islamic world. Consequently, they faced the danger through a headlong confrontation with these groups and as already pointed out, they finally succeeded in averting the danger by a fresh approach to tradition which appealed to modern readers. The purpose of this dissertation is to present a critical study of the Udaba1s Islamic writings in a historical context of decline and recovery, to show their contributions to Islam, and to reveal their impact in leaving behind a permanent school advocating the middle course and tolerance as well as intellectual foresight and emotional appeal. It, however, remains to say that this dissertation, rather than mainly attempting to summarize all the Islamic biographies and other works on Islam of the Udaba', will concentrate on their methodologies, targets, motives and ideas. Differences and similarities in approach and outlooks are brought to notice. An attempt is also made to show how their ideas complement each other in spite of certain differences in modes of thinking. The point of importance here is that this study seeks to show that all the Udaba* together offered a "comprehensive" outlook on Islam, and related it anew to the lives of modern Muslims, giving them a new assurance and pride in the face of the great weakening . of the Islamic temporal existence, and the intellectual assault on Islamic thought. Vll However that may be, as soon as we begin to discuss the question of the temporal weakening in Egypt, we must state that it is not our intention to offer a "detailed" picture about the political, social and economic situation in Egypt during the Udaba * s time. Themes related to modern reform are brought to attention in their historical context, and whenever a relevance between the early period of Islam and the contemporary one exists, then this is indicated. In point of fact, the early era of Islamic history, with its great men headed by the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate companions and successors, is discussed as a source of re-assurance and inspiration for our generation. It should be mentioned, at this point, that although we have attempted to reveal all the Udaba1s efforts to use history as a source of inspiration, we have nonetheless attached a special concern to Husayn in this respect, dedicating two chapters to discuss some of his most significant works in detail. Such a discussion is extremely important for it displays Husayn's particular efforts to establish a "fountainhead" for Arabic literature, to establish a reference for use in order to obtain fresh insight into life and history. Upon completion of a project such as this, my thoughts naturally turn to my supervisor from whom I benefitted enormously and to whom I am profoundly indebted. I am grateful to Doctor R.C. Ostie who supervised my work, and who kindly read the whole thesis several times, making many constructive suggestions and comments, and helping to improve the language of the dissertation. I am also grateful to Mr. Donald J. Gray who typed my thesis efficiently and who helped me in linguistic matters. I, of course, accept the responsibility for any errors and omissions that may remain. - 1 - INTRODUCTION Islamic history saw all the cycles of fortune which human life presents: the rise and fall of empires and dynasties; advance and retreat; conquest and defeat. It witnessed civil wars of various dimensions, and experienced all the violence and demoralizations which civil wars inevitably bring. It saw a breakdown of a unified outlook, and a rise of many schisms, some of which, according to Sunni Islam, present a threat to the basic assumptions of belief and religious life. (1) Not only centres of power changed, but centres of scholarship and scientific life, as well as centres of spiritual life and religious activity; it was a curve of rises and declines.