Islam: The Key Concepts

Islam: The Key Concepts

Kecia Ali, Oliver Leaman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781134155507
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Islam: The Key Concepts is a clear and concise guide to the religion and culture of Islam. Kecia Ali and Oliver Leaman explore this highly topical subject focusing on key issues including: the Qur'an, faith, theology, gender, fundamentalism, martyrdom, Jihad, Islam in America, Islam in Europe and Islamic Law.

This is the ideal study resource and includes: a comprehensive introduction, an alphabetical list of relevant terms (fully cross-referenced), a short bibliographical guide, bibliography, and index. A glossary of all non-English terms is also provided.

ISLAM

The Key Concepts

ABROGATION

Abrogation (naskh) is the process through which specific revelations are replaced by others. Abrogation can apply to entire revelations—for instance, the Qur’an both corrects and perfects earlier scriptures—or to particular sections of one revelation, where one verse or set of verses replaces another. Though increasingly controversial in modern Muslim thought, due in part to a defensive stance on the origins of the Qur’anic text, abrogation in this latter sense was widely accepted by premodern Sunni exegetes, and became an important hermeneutical tool for jurists as they formulated rulings. Shi‘i scholars in general have been less inclined to accept it, using other interpretive techniques to reconcile divergent passages; the traditionally trained Shi‘i scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Khu’i (d. 1992) rejected abrogation altogether. Even among those who agreed as to the existence of abrogation, disagreements persisted as to which were the abrogated verses (mansukh) and which were abrogating (nasikh).

The notion that some scriptures replace or modify others is most clearly articulated in Q. 2:106, which declares, “for whatever verse We abrogate or cast into oblivion, We bring a better.” This verse has bearing on the broader controversy about the validity of the religions of the People of the Book once Muhammad’s prophecy exists. The phenomenon of one scripture replacing another in part is not unique to the Qur’an but rather is part of an ongoing prophetic pattern. For instance, Jesus (2:50) both attested to the truthfulness of the Torah and proclaimed new rules, making lawful part of what had previously been forbidden.

The abrogation of some verses by others within the Qur’an has garnered the most attention from Muslim scholars, who defined three types. In the first, naskh al-tilawa wa’l hukm, both recitation and the associated rule, if any, are removed from the Qur’an. In the second, naskh al-hukm dun al-tilawa, the verse remains and continues to be recited but its provisions are superseded by a later revelation. Alcohol is a famous example of progressive revelation; three passages (2:219, 4:43, 5:90–91) discuss intoxication in increasingly restrictive ways and the latter are usually said to abrogate the former. In the third and most controversial type, naskh al-tilawa dun al-hukm, a verse is no longer recited but its corresponding rule persists.

Discerning when abrogation exists is vital for legal scholars who must attempt to reconcile potentially contradictory commands. Jurists debated abrogation extensively, disagreeing over whether the Qur’an and sunnah, the primary textual sources of the law, could abrogate one another. Al-Shafi‘i (d. 204/820) famously held that only Qur’an could abrogate Qur’an and only a new prophetic precedent could cancel an earlier one, but others allowed cross-genre abrogation.

Finally, abrogation appears as a protective measure against corruption of the Qur’anic text. In the “satanic verses” incident—not to be confused with Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel of the same name—Muhammad had recited verses praising three pre-Islamic goddesses in a demonically inspired attempt to conciliate the hostile Meccan tribes. However, God abrogated what Satan had caused the Prophet to recite (22:52–54). While some classical Muslim scholars deny that the incident ever occurred, seeing it as a blemish upon Muhammad’s reputation, others including Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/1328) have viewed it as further evidence for the divinely guarded inviolability of the Qur’anic text.

See also: fatwa, fiqh, sunnah

Further reading:

Ahmed 1998;

Brown 1998;

Burton 1990;

Khadduri 1984;

al-Khu’i 1998

ADHAN see prayer

AESTHETICS

The Qur’an makes it very clear that it does not see itself as poetry, although it does consider itself beautiful in both form and substance. As it was transmitted to the Arabs, a community with a high regard for language, it is appropriate that the language of the Book be impressive to its original audience. It is important for the Book that Muhammad is not a poet (36:69) since otherwise he might have been accused of writing the Book. The beauty of the Book is often taken to be evidence of its veracity, an unusual theological argument, and is an important part of the proof that the Qur’an is unique in nature and has to be God-given.

Islamic aesthetics tends to be Neoplatonic. This approach replaced the earlier theories of thinkers like al-Kindi (d. c. 252/866), for whom beauty was derived from perfection: since God is the most perfect being in the universe, he is also the most beautiful. He is constantly aware of his beauty while we are only occasionally able to come close to experiencing beauty, since it is an essential feature of the deity but its perception is merely an accidental human attribute. This version of Pythagoreanism was replaced by the argument that we operate on the level of imagination, so our ideas of beauty are limited to what we can experience and abstract from those experiences. On the other hand, we can use our material ideas and experiences to construct more abstract and perfect concepts of beauty, and so come closer to the range of completely pure beauty which exists far from and above the material world.

The aesthetics of poetry and the ways in which poetry works logically came in for much discussion. Many of the Islamic philosophers such as al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were convinced that poetry follows a syllogistic pattern of proof, albeit with far weaker premises than most such reasoning processes and with the conclusion that the audience should be moved to action or have an emotion. Imagination is again crucial here, blending the human ability to be both spiritual and material. Our material ideas reflect our experiences, yet they can be made more abstract. In the process of abstraction, those experiences are extended in novel and exciting ways. Were we to be entirely rational we would not need imagination, and could be spoken to entirely in terms of logic. Since we are emotional creatures we must be addressed at least partially through our emotions. This is where poetry and other art forms come in. They appeal to us both intellectually and emotionally, and persuade us that we should adopt a certain attitude or share a particular feeling.

See also: beauty, philosophy

Further reading:

Kermani 1999;

Leaman 2004

AFTERLIFE

The term akhir is mentioned in the Qur’an often referring to the Last Day (al-yawm al-akhir) or the day of judgment. On that day God will replace the world of generation and corruption with the permanent, everlasting world. The dead will be raised and judged. The afterlife (al-akhirah) begins with the day of judgment, where God divides those who go to paradise (jannah) from those who are destined for hell (jahanam). Belief in the afterlife is essential in Islam, and the Qur’an describes the next life in vivid terms. This world is merely a site for t...

Table of contents

• Also available from Routledge
• CONTENTS
• FOREWORD
• INTRODUCTION
• HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
• GENERAL REFERENCES
• LIST OF KEY CONCEPTS
• ISLAM
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX OF TERMS
• INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES