This post is part of the Series: Islam
After the death of Muhammad, people still had questions about how they should act in certain situations as Muslims. This showed a need for something people could to turn towards to find answers. The ulama struggled to form law from 750 to 900 CE (Esposito 100). Positives and negatives came from the development of the law, Sharia, and its interpretation. Islam thrived as an empire until the start of its decline in the 1600s. As the West became more powerful, Muslims started to wonder why their empire was falling behind. Revivalism and modernism came about to try to get Islam back on the right path.
Islam focuses more on how someone acts than it does on what someone believes. This is the opposite from the West’s understanding. In the West there is more of an emphasis on how someone believes. Even with the emphasis on action “faith and right action or practice are intertwined” (Esposito 92). Actions are what demonstrates a Muslim’s faith (Esposito 92). Islamic law, Sharia, shows the “ideal social blueprint” and is “central to Muslim identity and practice” (Esposito 99). The role of law, however, continues to be “a central issue for the community of believers” (Esposito 99). Sharia means “the road to the watering hole” because it gives the easiest path to God. Just as when you are in the desert, you take the easiest route to water, no shortcuts. The ulama used four sources for creating the law. The Quran because it functions as the “sourcebook of Islamic principles and values” (Esposito 103). The Sunna of the Prophet because what better way to find out how to act as a good Muslim than to look to the Prophet himself. Analogical reasoning was used, which is ijtihad, “to strive or struggle intellectually” (Esposito 106). When faced with new problems and situations the ulama looked at “similar situation(s) in the Quran or Sunna” and then deduced what would be the best way to act (Esposito 106). Then they used what was called consensus of the community, in which they defined community as legal scholars. In 900 C.E. the door of ijtihad was closed, effectively closing the door to the development of new understandings. Change or reinterpretation was viewed as “deviation” which is comparable to the charge of heresy in Christianity (Esposito 109). The law so far had been a “the product of an essentially dynamic and creative process” and now was going to be institutionalized (Esposito 108).
Sharia was always meant to help and was made with pure intentions. Judges for the courts, however, were appointed and paid by the government, opening the way for biases to form (Esposito 111). Positives did come from Sharia such as the Five Pillars of Islam: Profession of Faith, prayer five times a day, almsgiving, the Fast of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca. These are held at the core of Islam. Negatives however did arise especially centered around interpretation, for example with Jihad and women’s rights. When looking at Jihad and women’s rights it is extremely important to note the context of Sharia. During the Abbasid caliphate, Persian influences where integrated into Sharia which explains a lot of the issues with women’s rights (Esposito 123). Jihad has historically had “many interpretations and usages” (Esposito 114). In a general sense jihad refers to the obligation of all to follow God’s will which is known as greater jihad. Jihad also includes the right to defend Islam, known as lesser jihad (Esposito 113). With women’s rights, the Quran recognizes the rights and dignity of women and gives many rights that the women in the West would not have until the nineteenth century (Esposito 119). The Quran never asks for the veiling of women but, the Quran and Islam tradition wanted everyone to be modest. Veiling and modesty of women was a way to protect women in a time that women would have been very vulnerable to molestation and rape.
Looking at Sharia it can be seen that the “Islamic ideal was often compromised by social realities” (Esposito 121). Sharia was created from an ideal nature that assumed “a good Muslim ruler” (Esposito 126). With the abuse of power by rulers there was a rise of Sufism, which is a form of mysticism. Sufism’s goal is “direct knowledge of personal religious experience of God’s presence” (Esposito 133). Sufism puts an emphasis on union with God. This was seen by some as putting themselves at the same level with God. They also had saints and used icons. This created tension between Sufis and the ulama. Sufism was popular with non-Arabs because of the caste system which often made them second class citizens. Sufis were used as a scapegoat for the decline of the power of the empire which set them up for persecution. Sufis are pacifists making it easier to persecute them.
The decline of political Islam as a governmental power empire was during the 1600s to 1700s. Two powers were at force causing the political decline. One was “the internal breakdown of Muslim society” and the second was “the growing threat from European presence and imperialist designs” (Esposito 144). Since the rapid growth and success of Islam was scene as a sign of God’s favor with Islam so was the decline of it seen as a sign of wrongdoing. Muslims believed “that the fundamental failure of the community resulted from its departure from true Islam” (Esposito 145). The only way to revitalize Islam was to return to the straight path (Esposito 145).
During the late 1700s through the 1800s revivalism came about. The ideas of “renewal (tajdid) and reform (islah) are fundamental components of Islam worldview” (Esposito 145). Islah is a Quranic term and tajdid is based on the Prophet (Esposito 145-146). Both ideas are about the “call for a return to the fundamentals of Islam” (Esposito 145). A renewer is believed to be sent “each century to restore true Islamic practice and thus regenerate a community” that falls away from the straight path (Esposito 146). The idea behind revivalism was that both Sufis’ and the ulama’s extremes would be “corrected by subordination to pristine Islam” (Esposito 146). Revivalism is not about bringing in new ideas but about going back to the roots. Abd al-Wahhab’s idea of revivalism was more about a “re-creation of life and customs of the early Medinan community” (Esposito 147). He wanted to weed out the “un-Islamic” beliefs and practices. He looked at “Arab” and “Islam” as being the same thing (Esposito 148). The movement became very military and warfare focused as they “viewed all Muslims who resisted as unbelievers, enemies of God who must be fought” (Esposito 149). This lead to the destruction of Sufi shrines and tombs, including those of the Prophet and his Companions (Esposito 149). It also lead to the massacre of the Shii population in Karbala which has affected Shii relations to this day (Esposito 149).
During the late 1800s to, depending on where, World War I or late 1930s modernism came about. Different groups of people had different opinions on why political Islam was struggling. Secularist blamed the outdated traditions and advocated for separation of religion and politics (Esposito 156). Conservatives, which were largely the ulama, blamed Muslims deviation from tradition (Esposito 156). Islam modernism “blamed the internal decline of Muslim societies, their loss of power and backwardness, and their inability to respond effectively to European colonialism on a blind and unquestioned clinging to the past” (Esposito 156-157). Modernism advocated for reform through reinterpretation and “selective adaptation of Western ideas” (Esposito 157). Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was a large force in this movement. He believed that “science and leaning from the West did not pose a threat to Islam” and they should be utilized within Islam (Esposito 158). He denounced the stagnation that occurred in Islam because of closing the door on ijtihad (Esposito 158). He saw the purpose of reform was to not simply reuse answers from the past but “in light of Islamic principles, to formulate new Islamic response to the changing conditions of Muslim societies” (Esposito 159). Where conditions granted it, Islamic principles and values should be applied to the new situations, and where necessary, the old tradition done away with (Esposito 160). Islam was failing because of their inability to distinguish between what was “the necessary and the contingent” (Esposito 160). He was very critical about the lack of education for women and the effect of polygamy because he believed that polygamy was permitted by the Quran and Prophet but not commanded (Esposito 161). He saw “the Quranic ideal was monogamy” (Esposito 161).
Modernism wanted “to chart its future direction through a reinterpretation of Islam in light of modern realities” (Esposito 171). Traditionalist criticized the reinterpretation as deviation (Esposito 172). At the same time the reformers criticized the ulama “for being out of touch with the modern world, incapable of adequately leading the community” (Esposito 172). Modernism left an impact on the Islam in four distinct ways. First, it shaped an attitude about the past and toward the future (Esposito 172). Second, the writings and examples of leaders like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani inspired Muslims in other areas around the world (Esposito 173). Third, their ideas of reinterpretation and adaptation of western ideas legitimized change (Esposito 173). Fourth, the holistic nature of the reform to bring together private and public life under Islam is still used today (Esposito 174). Although those four impacts are modernism’s legacy, it did very little to change anything during the time it was around. Reformers were thinkers not doers. There was very little implementation.
Islam sees that “the purpose of life is not simply to affirm but to actualize not simply profess belief in God but to realize God’s will in one’s life, community, and the world” (Esposito 92) The creation of law was an attempt to actualize and to act out God’s will in a very concrete way. But seen in all different context and backgrounds, human’s interpretation of sacred texts is “influenced by local custom and traditions as well as by reliance on reason” can produce “multiple and at times contending paradigms” (Esposito 141). The rise of Sufism and reform movements like revivalism and modernism are ways of people trying to combat the oppressive nature of misinterpretation and falling off the straight path. Although modernism had a rich bank of ideas and values, it became “a legacy that was not developed and applied systematically but instead employed or manipulated on occasion” (Esposito 174).
Cited: Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press, 2016.