This thesis is an inquiry into Muh&dotbelow;ammad al-Ghazali's (1917-1996) model of da'wah. It uses Ghazali works as well those of his critics to build up a coherent model of da'wah for contemporary societies. The research first delves into Ghazali's life, learning, and career. It examines his association with the Muslim Brotherhood as well as his intellectual and professional contributions to da'wah and society. This examination provides us with a better understanding of the socio-cultural and intellectual background of Ghazali. The research also explores Ghazali's personality in order to find out the reasons underlying his harsh language or simply the stylistic problems that earned him much criticism. This examination shows that Ghazali was a traditional scholar who profoundly understood the dynamics and implications and of the Islamic development, with a modern approach to the question of religion and society. More importantly, it demonstrates his critical sense, in light of his reviews of contemporary of da'wah . / This study also examines Ghazali's conceptual framework of da'wah. This highlights his understanding of major concepts, definitions and characteristics including da'wah in the Quran and the models of da'wah as illustrated by prophets. It also addresses some essential questions, such as innate human nature, People of the Interval ('Ahl al-Fatrah) and the universality of da'wah. It provides a closer look at the effects of society, culture and freedom on da'wah, and demonstrates Ghazali's perspective on the requirements for undertaking modern da'wah. This section provides us with a clear understanding of how Ghazali understood da'wah in light of revelation and with a serious consideration of the socio-cultural, economic and political context of Muslim societies. / The above framework led Ghazali to the catalyst of da'wah, the da'i. In light of his conceptual framework of da'wah, Ghazali addresses the various spiritual, moral and educational requirements of da'is . This is made in reference to his ambitious search to quickly and comprehensively fill the serious gap between Muslim life and Islamic ideals, which caused him to produce an ideal image of da'wah. This was not easily achievable, given the many problems and deficiencies affecting contemporary Islamic learning, society and culture, which Ghazali repeatedly raised throughout his analysis. In his discussion of da'wah and da'is, Ghazali used a highly vigorous and critical approach, one that unfortunately employed harsh tones and sometimes demeaning language in his extensive discussion of da'is' undertakings and contributions. / This research also considers Ghazali's methodology, including the da'is' approach to da'wah and, most importantly, his fiqh al-da'wah (legal methodology of da'wah), where he attempt to rebuild the priorities of contemporary da'wah in light of his own understanding of the best interest of da'wah (mas&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow;at al-da'wah). Often, Ghazali justifies his criticism of legal interpretations about da'wah based on the mas&dotbelow;lah&dotbelow;a or his re-interpretation of religious texts, yet does not provide or elaborate a systematic methodology or even clear criteria, which would assure consistency and uniformity in his approach towards the problems and challenges of da'wah. At the core of his discussion of the legal methodology of da'wah, Ghazali consistently showed a concern about the opinions of Westerners and the question of what could yield a positive impression of Islam. / The various studies of Salafi scholars and da'is have intensely criticized his works as too general, literary, speculative and even destructive for the healthy development of Muslims. In contrast, his contribution was and still is viewed as strongly positive and authoritative by a considerably large number of Muslim scholars, da'is and Muslim activists. His ideas are continually drawn upon whenever modern da'wah and the relationship between East and West in particular are discussed. It is very likely that his contributions will gain increasing intellectual and academic attention, most precisely when developing a new modern model for da'wah in Muslim societies, when trying to analyze and solve the problems and challenges of Muslim societies, or when striving to present Islam and Muslims to the Western world.

The relation between revelation and reason is a matter of interest for human beings and is connected with the development of reason and knowledge in modern society. Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, a modern Muslim scholar who was an expert in both Islamic philosophy and Qur'anic interpretation, developed new approaches to such issues as the role of human rational ability, logic and philosophy in religious knowledge. Furthermore he deals with such specific controversial topics on the subject of revelation and reason as, social freedom and freedom of thought and belief in Islam. He tends to elaborate his view of freedom based on both the Qur'an and rational bases. Tabataba'i's approach to revelation and reason, his reconciliation of them in general, and his specific perspective of freedom are studied in this thesis with respect to their underlying principles and their scopes.

The Babi religion had, during its brief life, a tremendous impact on Iranian society. Its founder, Sayyid $ sp{ rm c}$Ali Muhammad, the Bab (1819-1850) wrote a great many works of several kinds. Of his major writings, the two earliest are partial commentaries on the Qur'an. The following study examines these two remarkably different commentaries in an attempt to appreciate the Bab's attitudes towards the Qur'an, Islam, and himself. The earliest work, the Tafsi r surat al-baqara, was written before the Bab had publicized a claim to messiahship. In the Tafsi r surat Yusuf, written only a short time later, this claim is made explicit. The radical difference in the style of the two commentaries, which may be seen as a reflection of a development in the Bab's perception of himself, is analyzed.

Isma'ilism, one of the most colourful and dynamic sects of Islam, boasts a rich and fascinating history. This thesis studies the life and works of Nur Muhammad Shah, a gifted exponent of the Isma'ili Sat Panth movement in Indo-Pakistan during the 15th/16th centuries. Sat Panth, the Path of Truth, is the highly mystical form of Isma'ilism which resulted from conversion efforts in the Subcontinent during the eleventh and subsequent centuries. The legacy of the order which was fostered is to be found in its corpus of sacred religious literature known as Ginans, an appellation that suggests supreme, gnostic knowledge. The Sat Panthi Isma'ilis consider the Ginans to be the embodiment, par excellence, of the Qur'an's esoteric dimension. Nur Muhammad Shah is the last of the Sat Panth authors for whom a large body of Ginanas has been preserved. / This work gives a historical background of the Isma'ili movement in Indo-Pakistan, examines the career of Nur Muhammad Shah from the earliest available primary sources and disproves suggestions by previous scholars that he forsook his allegiance to the Isma'ili Imam and became the founder of his own rival sect. In addition, it provides for the first time a scholarly translation of a significant portion of the Nur Muhammad Shah's Sat Veni Moti or Tale of Truth (Larger), an important Sat Panthi mystical text.

This thesis is an attempt to study 'Abduh's methodological approach in Islamic legal theory, with particular reference to the concept of ijma'. Ijma' according to him, is not a matter of truth or falseness, as it has been viewed by the classical and medieval jurists, but rather it is a mechanism which must demonstrate a dynamic ability in dealing with new problems on the basis of the public interest (maslaha). In order to obtain a proper public interest in any matter, religious considerations alone are not sufficient, rather each matter must be considered from many different angles and disciplines such as sociology, the environment and politics. One should also take into consideration the fact that ijma' is not only an informal decision, as has the case after the Rashidun caliphate period, but that it has become part of the legal system of government and as such demands obedience from everybody. Not surprisingly, 'Abduh believed that ijma' should be carried out and regulated by the elected members of parliament. This thesis not only analyses the thoughts of Muhammad 'Abduh on this matter but also includes the thoughts of classical and medieval jurist, as well as the view of modern scholars such as Muhammad Iqbal, Kemal A. Faruki, Fazlur Rahman, Hasan Turabi.

This thesis is an examination of Muslim traditions concerning Muhammad's call to prophethood. Although Muhammad's initial prophetic call is one of the most crucial events in the history of Islamic religious tradition, Muslim records of the event are too inconsistent to be reconciled. At the expense of sound source criticism, some influential modern Islamicists, like Tor Andrae and W. M. Watt, have tried to reconstruct Muhammad's call from inconsistent hadiths. Drawing on the works of four Muslim traditionists, i.e. Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Bukhari and al-Tabari this thesis points out that, other than the fact that Muhammad must have gone through a fundamental religious experience, Muslim traditions do not permit a reconstruction of the historical event of Muhammad's call; they do provide, however, evidence of the complex ways in which Muslims understood the event, suited to their religio-theological interpretation of the Qur'anic allusions to the modes of Muhammad's religious experiences.

En 1824, un mathématicien et astronome Iranien, ‘Alī Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Iṣfahānī, propose une nouvelle théorie des équations cubiques, dans un traité intitulé "Takmilat al-'Uyūn". Écrit en langue arabe dans un style ancien, sans symbolisme mathématique, ce traité est exclusivement consacré à la résolution des équations cubiques pour lesquelles il ne met en œuvre que des algorithmes numériques. Ce traité emprunte quelques algorithmes aux mathématiques de ses prédécesseurs comme Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, al-Kāshī ou al-Yazdī. Al-Iṣfahānī résout l'ensemble des vingt-cinq équations cubiques en utilisant les formules classiques connues depuis al-Khawārizmī pour toutes les équations du premier et second degré et celles du troisième degré réductibles au second degré. Il applique, sans se l'approprier, l'algorithme d'extraction de la racine chiffre par chiffre utilisé par Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, et plus tard par al-Yazdī, à l'ensemble des équations cubiques non réductibles au second degré mais qui ne contiennent pas le cube et le nombre dans un même membre de l'équation. Aux cinq équations qu’al-Ṭūsī résout par des méthodes analytiques de géométrie algébrique, celles qui contiennent le cube et le nombre dans un même membre de l'équation, il apporte un ensemble d'algorithmes tous basés sur l'idée d'une solution approchée initiale améliorée par le calcul itératif des termes d'une suite convergente. L'une de ces méthodes, fondée sur l'idée du calcul d'un point fixe d'une fonction, est déjà présente dans le traité d'al- Kāshī qui résout un ancien problème des mathématiques grecques: le calcul du sinus 1°. Une autre de ces méthodes résout ce type d'équations par une réduction de l'intervalle de la racine, et une troisième catégorie de méthode combine l'extraction de la racine chiffre par chiffre avec la réduction de l'intervalle. Le point commun entre ces algorithmes itératifs est que le nombre d'itérations ne peut pas être connu à priori, comme cela était possible dans l'algorithme d'extraction de la racine chiffre par chiffre. C'est visiblement la raison pour laquelle al-Iṣfahānī utilise l’expression de méthodes par 'Istiqrā' pour qualifier cette itération indéterminée : l'algorithme s'arrête lorsque la différence entre deux calculs successifs devient infiniment petite. Tout en se rattachant à la tradition des arithméticiens algébristes mais aussi à la tradition d'al-Khayyām/al-Ṭūsī, le traité d’al-Iṣfahānī constitue une contribution originale à la théorie des équations cubiques par l'analyse numérique. Un point remarquable dans ce traité doit être souligné: al-Iṣfahānī propose pour ces algorithmes plusieurs versions qui se distinguent entre elles par la complexité des calculs qu'il signale explicitement et qu'il montre à travers des exemples qu'il compare vis-à-vis de la quantité des calculs. L'objectif de cette thèse n'est nullement celui d'écrire l'histoire générale des équations cubiques dans les mathématiques arabes, mais partant de l'édition critique de Takmilat al 'Uyūn, d'étudier d'une part les algorithmes d’al-Iṣfahānī et d'autre part d'analyser les traditions mathématiques dans lesquelles il s'inscrit. / In 1824, an Iranian mathematician and astronomer, ‘Alī Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Iṣfahānī proposed a new theory of cubic equations in a treatise titled "Takmilat al-'Uyūn".Written in Arabic language in the ancient style, without mathematical symbolism, this treatise is exclusively dedicated to solving cubic equations for which it uses only numerical algorithms.This treatise borrows some algorithms from the mathematics of its predecessors, such as Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, al-Kāshī or al-Yazdī. Al-Iṣfahānī solves all the twenty-five cubic equations using the classical formulas, known since al-Khawārizmī, for all the equations of the first and second degree and those of the third degree reducible to the second degree.He applies, without appropriating it, the digit by digit root extraction algorithm used by Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī and later by al-Yazdī to the set of cubic equations not reducible to the second degree and that contain the cube and the number on the same side of the equation.To the five equations that al-Ṭūsī solves by analytical methods of algebraic geometry, he gives a set of algorithms all based on the idea of an initial approximate solution improved by iteratively computed terms of a convergent suite.One of these methods, based on the idea of calculating the fixed point of a function, already exists in the treatise of al-Kāshī where he solves the ancient problem of Greek mathematics concerning the determination of the value of sinus 1°. Another one of these methods solves this kind of equations by reducing the interval of the root of the equation, and a third method combines the digit by digit root extraction with the interval reduction method.The common point between these iterative algorithms is that the number of iterations cannot be known in advance, before the calculation of the solution. This is obviously the reason why al-Iṣfahānī uses the expression of methods by 'Istiqrā’ to qualify this indeterminate iteration: the algorithm stops when the difference between two successive calculations becomes infinitely small.While relating to the tradition of algebraic arithmeticians, but also to the tradition of al-Khayyām/al-Ṭūsī, the treatise of al-Iṣfahānī is an original contribution to the theory of cubic equations by numerical analysis.A remarkable point in this treatise must be emphasized: al-Iṣfahānī gives for these iterative algorithms several versions that he compares with respect to the complexity of the calculations, and he explicitly indicates and shows it through many examples that he compares to the quantity of calculations.The purpose of this thesis is not to write the general history of cubic equations in Arabic mathematics, but starting from the critical edition of Takmilat al-'Uyūn we aim to study on the one hand the algorithms of al-Iṣfahānī and then to analyse the mathematical traditions within which his work is inscribed.

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