This dissertation describes the nature of what has been called kalām-e jadīd (new theology) in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It argues that there are currently two kinds of “new theologies” in practice. One new theology that is more widely adhered to is an extension of classical theology and stays true to traditional precepts, while the second is postmodern in nature and breaks with tradition completely. The first strand of kalām-e jadīd, referred to as “theology of selectivity,” is represented here by the works of Mohsen Kadivar, the person who epitomizes the intellectual but tradition-bound wave of post-revolutionary theological thought in Iran. The second strand of kalām-e jadīd, referred to as “postmodern theology,” is presented via the works of Abdolkarim Soroush, the most representative thinker of this type of kalām. In making this distinction, this dissertation therefore delineates the different forms of post-revolutionary reformist theology in Iran and presents Soroush’s work in terms of the greater postmodern discourse that feeds his work. The interest and importance placed on Soroush’s work also speaks volumes about the receptiveness of Iranian reformist intellectual communities towards postmodern thought and the possibility of placing these communities within what has come to be known as the postmodern condition. Thus, in essence this project can be seen as a comparative work that also points towards the ideological distance between these two modernizing trends in current Iranian Islamic thought. / text

Thesis advisor: Nasser Behnegar / Hayy Ibn Yaqzan is a novel whose protagonist seeks intellectual knowledge and spiritual fulfillment over a lifetime of scientific experimentation and solitary rumination. The culmination of his efforts is not to independently verify the Islamic faith, as his final product differs dramatically from their dogma. Instead, he is looking to seek knowledge, not empathy from his Creator by knowing him directly, instead of worshiping him through the process of prayer. This education alienates him from the society on the other island, as they are unable or unwilling to follow his example. By accepting this path, instead of following the dominant creed and code of the populous, Hayy is unable to live comfortably within that setting and must return to his place of solitaire amongst nature. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

By the dawn of the fifth/eleventh century, al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) was recognized as the most highly regarded hadith scholar and his Ṣaḥīḥ as the most authoritative book, after the Qur'an. This canonical status promoted a romanticized version of al-Bukhārī that does not reflect the reality that his pre-canonical historical record presents. This study recovers the reality of al-Bukhārī and provides a critical biography of him, tracing the progress of his career and detailing the objectives of his work. It provides a re-assessment of al-Bukhārī's own juridical, theological, and hadith-criticism principles based on an analysis of his own works, arguing that al-Bukhārī was shaped by the split between hadith and ra'y. It distinguishes three stages in his career: early education under ra'y authorities, conversion to hadith-based school, and his critique of the ra'y-based scholars in Transoxania. Al-Bukhārī was a significant contender of theology and law in his own day and certainly promoted a moderate position in theology and law that proved crucial to his future renown. He appears to have been Medinese in law and Iraqi in hadith criticism. His legal theory adopts some of Mālik ibn Anas' (d. 179/795) views and al-Shāfi'ī's (d. 204/820) hermeneutical concepts. His legal method and positive law appear to be systematically anti-ra'y and exhibit a virulent disparage of Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 150/767) and al-Shaybānī (d. 192/804-5). It appears that al-Bukhārī composed the Ṣaḥīḥ over a long period, at least a decade, as the Ṣaḥīḥ itself tends to confirm a chronological progress. This progress, the author contends, was the outcome of al-Bukhārī's long project in Transoxania, combating ra'y and promoting hadith. Al-Bukhārī achieved prominence within hadith-based circles for his unique transmitter-criticism (rijāl) works, particularly al-Tārīkh, but when he conceded that one's utterance (lafẓ) of the Qur'an is created, he was immediately denounced by the hadith-based school. This controversy caused the collapse of al-Bukhārī's career, leading to his demise in Khartank near Samarqand in 256/870.

Islamic theology is a new invention in today’s secular universities, at least when it comes to studying Islam with a critical and constructive approach. As a muslim practice theology is often perceived as ʿilm al-kalām, with its use of philosophical method to gain knowledge of God. In the work Modern Muslim Theology Martin Nguyen looks for a different definition of theology where he defines theology in its fullest sense as a way to engage yourself with the Divine. The question is, is this theology as such modern? The Sufis - and in this work Abū ʾAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī from Khurasan - where concerned more with an ascetic way of living rather than one fashioned by systematic doctrine, as a way to knowledge and union with God. This work in Islamic systematic theology investigates al-Sulamī’s theology and shines light on a classic example of a theology of engagement, with its possibilities of being an alternative way of knowledge in relation to kalām in Islamic theology. The study shows that al-Sulamī’s Sufism concerned with denegrating the ego-self and refinement of character constitutes its own path to theology. The study also shows that this form of theology is a challenge to the way in which theology is conducted at secular universities.

Islamic theology is a new invention in today’s secular universities, at least when it comes to studying Islam with a critical and constructive approach. As a muslim practice theology is often perceived as ʿilm al-kalām, with its use of philosophical method to gain knowledge of God. In the work Modern Muslim Theology Martin Nguyen looks for a different definition of theology where he defines theology in its fullest sense as a way to engage yourself with the Divine. The question is, is this theology as such modern? The Sufis - and in this work Abū ʾAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī from Khurasan - where concerned more with an ascetic way of living rather than one fashioned by systematic doctrine, as a way to knowledge and union with God. This work in Islamic systematic theology investigates al-Sulamī’s theology and shines light on a classic example of a theology of engagement, with its possibilities of being an alternative way of knowledge in relation to kalām in Islamic theology. The study shows that al-Sulamī’s Sufism concerned with denegrating the ego-self and refinement of character constitutes its own path to theology. The study also shows that this form of theology is a challenge to the way in which theology is conducted at secular universities.

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La présente étude veut représenter un essai de synthèse des aspects les plus remarquables de la production littéraire et du rôle dans l'histoire du soufisme du maître soufi et théologien khorassanien Abū l-Qāsim ῾Abd al-Karīm b. Hawāzin al-Qushayrī (376-465/ 986-1072). Trois axes principaux sont développés : la vie de Qushayrī et la dynamique de diffusion de son oeuvre, l'analyse du corpus qushayrien (étude des manuscrits et état de l'édition), les aspects les plus remarquables de sa doctrine. L'idée principale qui guide ce travail est la saisie de la relation qu'on aperçoit, dans l'oeuvre de Qushayrī, entre le soufisme et les différents savoirs islamiques. Quelle est la véritable nature de cet « effet miroir » que Qushayrī opère entre le savoir exotérique et la connaissance ésotérique propre au soufisme ? Dans quelle mesure Qushayrī innove et dans quelle mesure peut-on le considérer comme un « transmetteur fidèle » d'un patrimoine à la fois spirituel et savant dont il se veut l'héritier ? Après la redéfinition de la relation soufisme-savoir, notre deuxième objectif est de jeter une nouvelle lumière sur «Qushayrī le maître», un maître que les sources plus anciennes appellent ustādh imām, savant et religieux à la fois. Par delà le souci normatif qui traverse l'oeuvre qushayrienne, n'en demeure pas moins un appel au voyage et au dépassement vers la connaissance de Dieu. Comme le dit le maître soufi Dhū l-Nūn l'Egyptien d'après la Risāla de Qushayrī, « tout ce que tu peux concevoir dans ton imagination, Dieu est différent de cela ». / This dissertation is the first monograph on the life and work of the immensely influential Nishapuri Sufi and theologian ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Hawāzim al-Qushayrī (376-465/986-1072). On the basis of unpublished manuscripts and textual marginalia (isnāds, ijāzas and colophons) as well as recently published critical editions, the present study has three primary research nodes: 1) Qushayrī's formation as a thinker and the dynamics that made for the successful diffusion of his work; 2) the Qushayrian corpus (a survey of extant manuscripts, editions and secondary scholarship); and 3) the most important aspects of Qushayrī's project. A number of important questions will be pursued, including: How should we understand the interplay between exoteric and esoteric knowledge that pervades Qushayrī's writings? To what extent does Qushayrī redefine the spiritual and scholarly traditions he inherited, and how does he conceive of his role as transmitter? Finally, this study addresses the role of Qushayrī as a spiritual master. Questioning previous assumptions as to the ways in which Qushayrī's spiritual influence was propagated, I demonstrate that Qushayrī emerged as a charismatic spiritual master in his own lifetime, directly establishing a Sufi-scholarly tradition that our sources term Qushayriyya.