THE SĪRAH GENRE: AN EVALUATION OF FETHULLAH GÜLEN’S APPROACH Submitted by Süleyman Sertkaya Bachelor of Theology Masters in Qur’anic Exegesis A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Theology and Philosophy Australian Catholic University December 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP AND SOURCES This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by means of which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No parts of this thesis have been submitted towards the award of any other degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis. Süleyman Sertkaya December 2016 i STATEMENT OF APPRECIATION My heartfelt thanks and appreciation is due first and foremost to Professor İsmail Albayrak. This study was produced and completed under his guidance and supervision. His continuous support, encouragement, kindness and patience have brought me to this stage. I also extend my special thanks to Professor Raymond Canning and Dr Edmund Chia for their contributions, encouragement and support as my co-supervisors. I would like to thank the members of the Theology and Philosophy Faculty, and especially the Research Office at ACU, for their kindness and support throughout my research. I am also grateful to friends at the ACU library, particularly Mr Daryl Bailey, for their support. They often went out of their way to assist me in obtaining all the critical books and resources I required, especially during the early stages of this study. I owe special thanks to my esteemed friend Ahmet Özturk for his never-ending support and generous time over days and nights to help me better express my research. Among many others, I am also grateful to my distinguished friends Fatih Tuncer, Mustafa Kadıoğlu and Osman Aydoğan for their great contribution to this work. I acknowledge with gratitude the editing, proofreading and formatting skills of Clare Duman and Vicki Snowdon in the preparation of this thesis. Last but not least, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude and heartfelt indebtedness to my family, specifically to my wife Safiye, for their unswerving patience, dedication and ever- increasing support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP AND SOURCES ............................................................ i STATEMENT OF APPRECIATION .................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 Area of Research .................................................................................................................... 1 a. Differences Between Hadith and Sīrah ................................................................... 1 b. Fethullah Gülen ....................................................................................................... 2 Aims and Purposes of the Thesis ............................................................................................ 2 Research Questions................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 4 Organisation of Thesis ............................................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 7 1.1 Introduction to Sīrah .................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Sīrah Literature ............................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Works of Sīrah in Western Scholarship ..................................................................... 17 1.4 Sīrah Literature in Modern Islamic Scholarship ........................................................ 23 1.5 Literature on Fethullah Gülen and his Approach to Sīrah Literature ......................... 25 CHAPTER 2: PROPHETHOOD IN ISLAMIC THOUGHT AND ITS INNATE RELATION AS A THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION TO SĪRAH .......................... 31 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 31 2.2 Historical Background and Methodological Survey of the History of Kalām and Nubuwwa (Prophethood) ..................................................................................... 33 2.2.1 Development of the Kalām Discipline .................................................................. 33 2.2.2 Prophethood in Islamic Thought ........................................................................... 37 2.2.3 Prophethood According to Kalām Schools............................................................ 42 2.3 Kalām–Sīrah Relations in Late 19th and Early 20th Century Scholarly Discourse..... 45 2.3.1 Approaches to Prophethood in the Modern Era and Gülen’s Stance .................... 50 CHAPTER 3: NUBUWWA – PROPHETHOOD – IN GÜLEN’S THOUGHT ............. 59 3.1 God, the Universe, Humans and Prophethood ........................................................... 59 3.2 The Proof of Prophethood .......................................................................................... 63 3.3 The Purpose of Prophets ............................................................................................. 65 3.4 Prophets as Human Beings and their Inner Dynamics ............................................... 68 v 3.5 Miracles and the Guidance of Prophets ...................................................................... 71 3.6 Prophethood in Relation to Discussions on Science vs. Religion .............................. 75 3.7 The Seal of Prophethood ............................................................................................. 80 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF SONSUZ NUR .................................................................. 87 4.1 Introduction to Sonsuz Nur ......................................................................................... 87 4.2 Sonsuz Nur as a Sīrah Work ....................................................................................... 90 4.2.1 Sonsuz Nur in Terms of Oratory Tradition and its Orator ..................................... 90 4.2.2 Sonsuz Nur’s Novel Systematic Approach to Subject Matters ............................ 112 4.2.3 Sonsuz Nur as a “Sīrah Philosophy” .................................................................... 129 4.2.4 Sonsuz Nur from the Perspective of Narrations Used .......................................... 129 4.3 Comparison Between Shiblī’s Sirat al-Nabi and Sonsuz Nur .................................. 130 CHAPTER 5: GÜLEN’S PERSPECTIVE ON PROPHETIC ATTRIBUTES THROUGH SONSUZ NUR ........................................................................................ 143 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 143 5.2 Sidq (Truthfulness) ................................................................................................... 144 5.3 Amānah (Trustworthiness) ........................................................................................ 151 5.3.1 In Relation to the Revelations Received from God ............................................. 152 5.3.2 Towards All Creation ........................................................................................... 153 5.3.3 Trust and Reliance on God ................................................................................... 154 5.3.4 Invitation of his Community to Trustworthiness and Reliability ......................... 155 5.4 Tabligh (Communication) ......................................................................................... 158 5.5 Fatānah (Prophetic Intellect) .................................................................................... 164 5.6 Ismah (Infallibility) ................................................................................................... 175 5.7 Freedom from Physical or Mental Defects ............................................................... 190 CHAPTER 6: CASE STUDY: THE NOTION OF SĪRAH PHILOSOPHY WITH REFERENCE TO GÜLEN’S ANALYSIS OF THE TREATY OF AL- HUDAYBIYA............................................................................................................... 197 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 197 6.2 The Notion of Sīrah Philosophy Expressed by Gülen .............................................. 198 6.3 Narration and Textual Analysis of the Reports Regarding the Incident of Hudaybiya ................................................................................................................. 199 6.3.1 Gülen’s Narration of the Hudaybiya Incident with Comparison to Classical Sources ................................................................................................................. 202 6.3.2 Reflections on Gülen’s Narration of Hudaybiya .................................................