The First Islamic Reviver

The First Islamic Reviver presents a new biography of al-Ghazali's final decade and a half, presenting him not as a reclusive spiritual seeker, but as an engaged Islamic revivalist seeking to reshape his religious tradition.

This title presents a new biography of al-Ghazali's final decade and a half, presenting him not as a reclusive spiritual seeker, but as an engaged Islamic revivalist seeking to reshape his religious tradition.

Light upon Light: Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering brings together studies that explore the richness of Islamic intellectual life in the pre-modern period.

In Reinventing Jihād, Kenneth A. Goudie provides a detailed examination of the development of jihād ideology from the Conquest of Jerusalem to the end of the Ayyūbids (c. 492/1099–647/1249).

A fresh look at the origins and development of Islam, this is a fascinating reconstruction of the era of the first three generations of Muslims. Using a wealth of classical Arabic sources, it chronicles the lives of the Prophet Muhammad, his Companions, and the subsequent two generations of Muslims, together known as the "the Pious Forebears". Examining the adoption in contemporary times of these early Muslims as legitimizing figureheads for a variety of causes, both religious and political, Afsaruddin tries to establish where their sympathies really lay. Essential reading for anyone interested in the inception of the Islam, this important book will captivate the general reader and student alike.

In Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and the Divine Attributes Miriam Ovadia offers a thorough discussion on the hermeneutical methodology applied in the theology of the Ḥanbalite traditionalistic scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350), the most prominent disciple of the renowned Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328). Focusing on Ibn al-Qayyim's voluminous – yet so far understudied – work on anthropomorphism, al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Mursala, Ovadia explores his modus operandi in his attack on four fundamental rationalistic convictions, while demonstrating Ibn al-Qayyim's systemization of the Taymiyyan theological doctrine and theoretical discourse. Contextualizing al-Ṣawāʿiq with relevant writings of thinkers who preceded Ibn al-Qayyim, Ovadia unfolds his employment of Kalāmic terminology and argumentations; thus, his rationalized-traditionalistic authoring of a theological manifesto directed against his contemporary Ashʿarite elite of Mamluk Damascus.

In 1582 C.E, when Mughal Emperor Akbar declared his new religion - Din-i ilahi or the 'Religion of God', combining elements of Islam and Hinduism as well as other religions -among the notable Muslim scholars who stood up to preserve the faith of the common people was the great Imam, Ahmed Sirhindi. Given the titles of al-Imam al-Rabbani and Mujadid (Reviver) of the second (hijri) millennium, his life was expended in preserving the sound, orthodox beliefs of Islam as well as upholding the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). His efforts saw Islam not only maintaining its foothold but spreading across the sub-continent, Central Asia and Asia Minor. It is hoped this translation into English from the works of respected Turkish scholar, Osman Nuri Topbas, can be a gentle introduction to the life and letters of this great Imam, whose life has otherwise been relatively overlooked.

A Comparative History of Catholic and Aš‘arī Theologies of Truth and Salvation offers a systematic study of the views of the two most dominant theological schools in Christianity and Islam, shifting the scholarly focus from individual theologians to theological schools.

The first major treatment of skepticism in Islam, this book explores the critical role of skeptical thinking in the development of theology in Islam. It examines the way key thinkers in classical Islam faced perplexing questions about the nature of God and his relation to the world, all the while walking a fine line between belief in God’s message as revealed in the Qur’an, and the power of the mind to discover truths on its own. Skepticism in Classical Islam reveals how doubt was actually an integral part of scholarly life at this time. Skepticism is by no means synonymous with atheism. It is, rather, the admission that one cannot convincingly demonstrate a truth claim with certainty, and Islam’s scholars, like their counterparts elsewhere, acknowledged such impasses, only to be inspired to find new ways to resolve the conundrums they faced. Whilst their conundrums were unique, their admission of the limits of knowledge shares much with other scholarly traditions. Seeking to put Islam on the map of the broader study of the history of scepticism, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Religion, History and Philosophy.

This work is an in-depth examination of medieval and contemporary discussions of gender in Islam, focusing in particular on views of women. Ms. Harhash wisely introduces the discussion by clarifying the legal status of women in medieval Islam, which provides a useful framework for her discussion. While her sympathy clearly lies with Averroes, I was particularly impressed by the chapter on al Ghazali, which traces a nuanced picture of al Ghazali's approach to women, highlighting striking differences in his various works and connecting his (to the modern ear) unpalatable claims about women- to his embracement of Sufism. While Ms. Harhash is attracted to the "progressive" view of Averroes, she offers a lucid analysis of his core egalitarian statements in the commentary on the Republic without omitting to point out that his philosophical position is in some tension with the more traditional position in forming his legal decisions. Ibn Taymiyyah is probably the biggest villain in Ms. Harhash's narrative and is portrayed as a kind of antipode to Averroes. With respect to modern discussion, she focuses on Nawal El Saadawi and Fatima Mernissi, where she situates the modern discussion vis a vis its medieval counterpart and highlights differences and commonalities. Ms. Harhash does a good job showing how the critique of the oppression of women in modern days leads to the same question that she had already addressed in Averroes, namely whether a critique of unjust structures in contemporary Islamic societies can be separated from a critique of Islam itself. Overall, the thesis is a remarkable achievement. Ms. Harhash reconstructs the medieval and modern discussion with intellectual confidence and independence and brings out similarities and differences that are genuinely illuminating.