REVIVAL AND REFORM IN 1S LAM City of Wrong, Kame1 Hussein, ISBN 1-85168-072-1 Common Prayer, A Muslim-Christian Spiritual Anthology. Cragg (ed.), ISBN 1-85168-181-7 Companion to the Qur'an, Watt, ISBN 1-85168-036-5 Defenders of Reason in Islam,: Mu'tazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol, Martin, Woodward and Atmaja, ISBN 1-85168-147-7 The Event of the Qur'an: Islam in its Scripture, Cragg, ISBN 1-85168-067-5 The Faith and Practice of Al-Gh,azhlz', Watt, ISBN 1-85168-0624 The Formative Period of Islamic Thought, Watt, ISBN 1-85168-152-3 The Heritage of Sujsm, ed. Lewisohn et al, Volume I, Classical Persian Sufism from its Origins to Rumi (700-1300); ISBN 1-85168-1884; Volume 11, The Legacy of ~Vedieval Persian Sujsm (1150-1500), ISBN 1-85168-189-2; Volume 111, Late Cla,ssical Persianate StLJism (1501-1 750), ISBN 1-85168-193-0 Islu,m: A Short History, Watt, ISBN 1-85168-205-8 Islam and the West, Daniel, ISBN 1-85168-129-9 Jesus and the Muslim, Cragg, ISBN 1-85168-180-9 Jesus in the Qurhn, Parrinder, ISBN 1-85168--094-2 Muhammad: A Short Biography, Forward, ISBN 1-85168-131-0 Muhammad and the Christian, Cragg, ISBN 1-85168-179-5 Muslims and Christiaus Face to Face, Zehiri, ISBN 1-85168-133-7 Muslim Devotions, Padwick, ISBN 1-85168-1 15-9 On Being a Muslim, Esack, ISBN 1-85168-146-9 The Qur'an and its Exegesis, Gatje, ISBY 1-85168-118-3 Quran, Liberation and Pluralism, Esack, ISBN 1-85168-121-3 Rabi'a, Smith, ISBN 1-85168-085-3 Revival and Reform in Islam: A Study of Islamic Furzdamentalism, Rahman, ISBN 1-85168-204-X Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, Lewis, ISBN 1-85168-167-1 Rumi: Poet and Mystic, Nicholson, ISBN 1-85168-096-9 A Short Introduction to Islamic Philosophp; Theology and Mysticism, Fakhry, ISBN 1-85168-134-5 Tales of Mystic Meaning, Nicholson, ISBN 1-85168-097-7 What Mu,slinzs Believe, Bowker, ISBN 1-85168-169-8 REVIVAL AND REFORM IN I S LAM A Study of Islamic Fundamentalism FAZLUR RAHMAN Edited and with an Introduction by EBRAHIM MOOSA @i ONEWORLD OXPORD In memeory of my late husband Fazlur Rahman. Fondly remembered by Bilqis Rahman and the children. REVIVAL AND REFORM IN ISLAM Oneworld Publications (Sales and Editorial) 185 Banbury Road O$hrd OX2 7AR England ~c~\~~.one,\~orld-puhlications.com O Bilqis Rahlnali 2000 Converted to digital printing 2003 All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Convention. A CIP record for this title is available from the British Librq ISBN 1-85168-204-X Cover design by Design Deluxe Typesel by LaserScripl Ltd, Mitcham, UI< NL08 CONTENTS Editor5 note vi ... Acknowledgments Vlll Introduction 1. Early Sects and Formation of Sunni Orthodoxy 2. Developments from Ir$i3: Politics, Sfifism, and Gnostic Extremism 3. Early Medieval Reform: The S~fiReform and the Role of al-Ghazdi 4. Later Medieval Reform 5. Indian Reformist Thought Postscript Glossary Bibliography Index EDITOR'S NOTE osthumous publishing is always a hazardous task, and thus editors of P such published work must be prepared to take the risks involved. At the time of his death the Pakistani scholar Fazlur Rahman (1919-1988) had partly completed a draft of a book entitled "Revival and Reform: A Study in Islamic Fundamentalism." The author got as far as five chapters that covered the early history of Islam and some of the major epoch-making figures in the history of Islamic revival. Life did not permit him to complete his commentary on the section dealing with modern fundamentalism as he wished. Some critics may argue that it may have been best if the incomplete book was never published. Others may appreciate Fazlur Rahman's last thoughts. Despite my hesitation, T was encouraged by the fact that several of the late author's friends and students were eager to see this volume published. In particular Fazlur Rahman's wife, Mrs Bilqis Rahman, was supportive of the idea of publication. After her husband died, she placed this manuscript in the custody oE Professor John Woods, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and a colleague of Fazlur Rahman at the University of Chicago. Although I was not a student of Fazlur Rahman in the formal sense, I consider myself among those who benefited tremendously from his writings and ideas. Thus, when as a visiting South African fellow at the University of Chicago in 1990, Professor Woods showed me this manuscript, I immediately expressed an interest in examining it. For anyone familiar with Fazlur Rahman's major and important works such as Avicrnna's Psychology, Islam, lslamic Methodology in History, Major Themes of the Editor5 Note vii Qur3an, and Islam and Modernity it was exciting to read the materials that now constitute this book. The already published works of the late author shaped his oeuvre and constituted the main template for his interpretation of developments within Islamic thought. Revival and reform was a theme Fazlur Rahman ceaselessly pursued and it defined his later intellectual project. Therefore, students of Fazlur Rahman's thought will find that in this volume he revisits some of those figures and ideas in detail that he otherwise briefly treated in his many scholarly essays and books. The manuscript itself appeared to be a first draft. Fazlur Rahman was afflicted with arthritis in his hands, which made writing difficult. The author's son transcribed the recorded manuscript. One of the main issues this editor had to contend with was the fact that the sentences in the text were long and speech-style. At times a single sentence constituted a paragraph. For this reason editing was necessary in places. With the exception of a few sources cited in the text, none of the citations had references. All the citations were laboriously traced and checked to ensure that the translations and sources were accurate. While this was at times extremely frustrating and time consuming, in the end it was also rewarding to pore over the sources that this extraordinary thinker marshaled in his research. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS t various stages of this project many people have encouraged and A assisted me. My thanks go to Professor John Woods and Mrs Rahman who were gracious in entrusting me with the editorship of this manuscript. At the University of Cape Town, I would like to thank my research assistants Abdirashid Mohamed, Abdelkader Riyadi, and Tahir Sitoto; Ms Asia Brey, the departmental assistant at the time, provided selfless support and assistance. At Stanford University, Sayema Hameed and Hamed Saeed also provided some help. Professor Wan Mohamed Nur Wan Daud and Dr Muhammad Zainiy Uthman at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (TSTAC), and Professor Mercia Hermansen of the University of Layola (Chicago) all provided some clues in tracing a few references. Professor Amina Wadud provided helpful comments on the introduction and genuine support. Mary Starkey's incisive and highly professional editorial skills saved me from several infelicities. Special words of thanks to all of my friends whose encouragement and support over the years cannot go unacknowledged: Abdurrashid Omar, Abdulkader Tayob, Chuck Wanamaker, Shamiel Jeppie, Sa'diyya Shaikh, Farid Esack, Muhammad Saeed Kajie, Ashraf Mohamed, Abdul Aleem Somers, Richard Martin, Bruce Lawrence, Abdulaziz Sachedina, Muneer Fareed, Ahmad Manjra, Ismail Manjra, Shuaib Manjra, Faizel Dawjee, and Mahmood Mamdani. I have special thanks for a person to whom I have grown close in friendship over the years. Robert C. Gregg, Teresa Hihn Moore Professor in Religious Studies and former dean of Stanford Memorial Church, was Acknowledgments ix instrumental in making my first and subsequent visits to Stanford University possible. Arnie Eisen, Chair of Religious Studies and his colleagues at Stanford were supportive during my year as visiting professor in 1998-1999 during which most of this editorial work took place. Richard Roberts at Stanford history department was always at hand to offer advice and explore avenues for which I am grateful. Finally, my appreciation to my extended family: my parents, Ishq and Hiiri; my brothers and sisters Suleiman, Aisha, Nazeema, Faizel, and Zaiboenisa; my in-laws Goolam and Farida Pandit; my wife Fahimoenisa (Nisa) and our children Lamyii and Shibli; my uncle Mohammad and his wife Zayboenisa for all their care over the years; to all of them I want to acknowledge my gratitude for their love and care and for making my life meaningful. I am very much in debt to all of them. Ebrahim Moosa StanJord, 1999 INTRODUCTION Ebrahim Moosa Biography of Fazlur ah man' azlur Rahman was born on September 21, 1919 to the Malak family in F the Hazara district in pre-partition India, now part of Pakistan. He died on July 26, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois. His family's religious roots can be traced to the teachings of the Deoband seminary that has broad ii~fluenceon the Indian ~ubcontinent.~His father, Mawlana Shihdb as-Din, was a graduate from the famous Indian seminary DBr al-'Uliim Deoband. At Deoband, Shihab al-Din studied with some of the great luminaries of that seminary. Among them were Mawlana Mahmud ul-Hasan (d. 1920)' better known as "Shaykh al-Hind" and the renowned jurist (faqih) and Sufi mentor Mawliin~Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d. 1905). Although Fazlur Rahman did not study at a traditional dtir al-culzim, he mastered the dars- e-Niziimi curriculum offered in such institutions in private studies with his father. This provided him with a background in traditional Islamic knowledge with a special emphasis on law (fiqh), dialectical theology ("dm al-kaldm), prophetic traditions (hadith), Qur3an exegesis (tafsir), logic (man&), and philosophy (falsafa).