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Proefschrift--Letteren--Leiden, 1978. / Résumé en espagnol et en néerlandais. Bibliogr. p. 107-111. Index.

A clearly significant objective of political Islam is to assist Muslims to establish a lawful government or caliphate which is in turn capable of safeguarding the interests of the Ummah and the purity of religion as well. Since religion is a most sensitive issue to the Muslim, and more especially to the `Ulama, we find that many of the disturbances and great political unrest occurring in the world of Islam have been, to a large extent, due to the failure of the ruling government to attain this objective. The achievement of the `Abbasid party in the overthrow of the Umayyads in the early decades of the second century Hijri (eight century Masihi) was very much related to such a failure. Thus, this change not only substituted one dynasty for another, but further had substantial and far-reaching political, religious and social consequences. Inasmuch as this study is deeply concerned with the fundamental task of the `Ulama, I have therefore attempted to view and inspect all circumstances in accordance with the orthodox standpoint. Hence, in chapter one of this study, I endeavour to examine the causes which brought the `Abbasids to power, as well as the reasons for the fall of the Umayyad caliphate. Since it is apparent that this change could hardly have succeeded without the cooperation and support of the `Ulama who controlled the masses at that time, in chapter two, a full discussion of the nature, purpose and institution of the `Ulama in the contemporareous Muslim community is provided. This reveals the true features and characteristics of the `Ulama in a real religious sense rather than in the ordinary meaning of `learned men' or `scholars'. Yet, assuming the roles and activities of the `Ulama were extremely wide (while, of necessity, space here is limited), discussion has accordingly been focussed in the following chapters on scrutinizing the central role of the `Ulama in the field of jurisprudence. Thus, in chapter three, the historical development of the different schools of law, as well as the various methodologies introduced and employed by each school, are examined. The effect of these developments is treated in chapter four, where we consider the growth of the four orthodox <i>madhhabs</i> and the points of difference between these schools of law. Chapter five deals exclusively with the development of <i>ijtihad</i>, the key factor which keeps the legal system of Islam functioning, flexible and acceptable. The rise of various problems in the community forced the `Ulama to adopt new solutions, and this made the process of <i>ijtihad</i> alive and variable. But, the glory of this development was disturbed when Caliph al-Ma'mun moved from orthodoxy to rationalism, and started to persecute those who opposed him. The result of this <i>mihnah</i> (inquisition) raised enmity and controversy between the Traditionalists and the Rationalists which consequently effected the development of ijtihad. This is carefully discussed in chapter six in which we also try to review the idea of <i>taql{i}d</i> that seems to have gained ground in the Muslim community at that time. Since this concept was entirely traditionalist, it is therefore hard to accept it as a legitimate rule of <i>shar{i}'a</i>. Thus, in summing up this study, it is concluded that <i>ijtihad</i> was not only important in keeping the law of <i>shar{i}'a</i> up to date, but also served as an effective channel through which the `Ulama could exercise their mental capacities as well as contributing their services to the Ummah.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Middle East, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2008. / Thesis Advisor(s): Looney, Robert. "December 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 30, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-99). Also available in print.

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Niyaz Fateh&dotbelow;puri (1884-1966 A.D./1302-1384 A.H.) was an accomplished literary critic, poet and religious scholar. He published a very successful magazine Nigar, primarily a literary journal, which soon became a platform for debating many of the most controversial religious, ideological, political and sociological issues of the time. It began publication in 1922 and continues to this day. / This thesis, the first detailed study in English, aims to put forward and analyze Fateh&dotbelow;puri's religious and social views in the context of the socio-political situation of the time. Through Nigar, Fateh&dotbelow;puri campaigned against the traditionalists, who he felt were responsible for the lack of both worldly and spiritual progress of Muslims because they fostered an unquestioning attitude on religious matters. / He discussed many religious concepts, for instance, revelation, free will and predestination, the hereafter, as well as the purpose of Islamic practices like prayer, fasting and charity. He believed that the basic purpose of religion was to teach akhlaq (ethical spirit) to people. Akhlaq, for him, meant doing good deeds for their own sake (as an individual's natural duty) and for the love of God. He offered what he believed to be the "rational" meaning of religion; his interpretation of religion was completely shorn of anything super-natural, and consisted of only those beliefs and actions which he thought were logical. / However, he defended the traditional role of women in society, which he saw as managing the household effectively. He considered this rational, since nature had made men and women different to enable them to perform different roles in society. Women, however, were equal to men, since their role in society was as important as that of men.

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This thesis deals mainly with the historical development of the religious institution of Ithna ashari Shi'ism in both its scholarly and political aspects. It is divided into six chapters. The word "school" has been used to describe the place in which such an institution had flourished due to the activities of its fuqaha ' in response to their turbulent history, whether it was in Iraq, in Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria, i.e. Syria and Lebanon) or in Iran. Chapter one deals with the Baghdad School. It includes a study of the scholarly development right from the begining of the fuqaha' institution during Shaykh al-Mufid's times (d. 413/1022) and ending with Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 460/1068). Chapter two follows the development of this scholarly renaissance at the hands of the Hilla fuqaha starting with Ibn Idris al-Hilli's time (d. 598/1201) and ending with Fakhr al-Muhaqiqqin ibn al-'Allama al-Hilli (d. 771/1369), and investigates the relationship between the religious institution and the Mongol invaders of Iraq and the ideological influence of the Ithna'ashari fuqaha' on the leaders of the invaders. Chapter three, on the Jabal 'Amil school, deals in part with the unsettled period of the Mamluk state, its struggle against the Mongols and the internal situation of the Shi'a vis-a-vis the Mamluks. It also deals in part with the influence of the Jabal 'Amil fuqaha' on the Safawid state after these fuqaha' had migrated there. Particular attention is paid to the role of Shaykh al-Karaki (d. 940/1533) and his attempt to build a religious institution inside Safawid Iran, and the opposition that he met. The chapter ends with a study of the Akhbari Movement in its first stage, during the time of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d. 1033/1624). Chapter four focuses on the Najaf School, which had started about two hundred years before as an intellectual school. The development and activities of this school from the beginning of the thirteenth/nineteenth century, are discussed, as is its position regarding the emergence of the Wahhabi Movement, the Akhbari Movement (in its second phase) and the Shaykhi Movement. The chapter also deals with the political activity of the fuqaha' in their struggle against the Qajari state, which had been manifested in the fatwa prohibiting tobacco and in the Constitutional Movement. Chapter five deals with the struggle of the Najaf fuqaha' from the start of the Republican period (1958) until the beginning of the 1990s. This is preceded by an introductory remark concerning the position taken by the fuqaha' towards the British forces who entered Iraq after the First World War and the events of the Iraqi Revolution of 1920. Chapter six has been dedicated to a study of the Qumm school. It looks at the historical development of that city, with particular attention to the role of Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim al-Ha'iri al-Yazdi (d. 1355/1936) in supervising an elite of mujtahids who have participated in the renewal of this city.

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