This essay sheds light on a specific religious reformist within the Islamic tradition. This contemporary reformist is none other than Abd al-Karim Soroush, whose theory on fundamental building blocks within the Islamic tradition, such as revelation and prophethood, has sparked the interests of philosophers, theologians, and scholars of religion in general, and Islamic religious tradition in particular. By conducting a content-based analysis of his own work The Expansion of Prophetic Experience: Essays on Historicity, Contingency and Plurality in Religion the essay aims to a) examine his views on revelation and prophethood, b) explore his theory in relation to Islamic jurisprudence and ethics, and c) investigate any legal and ethical problematizations that his theory poses within the Islamic tradition. In an effort to revive the essence of Islam and reform the approach to the Quran and Islamic tradition, Soroush breaks down prophethood into two components: prophetic mission and prophetic experience. According to Soroush, both the prophetic mission and experience are tied to the era in which Muhammad (peace be upon him) operated. Such a contextual approach entails viewing and interpreting the Quran as a canonized book that reflects Muhammad's intuitive experiences and their continuous interaction with the cultural, social, and economic conditions prevalent during his time. By categorizing different aspects of the Quran into essentialism and accidentialism, Soroush argues that traditional legal and ethical derivations belong to the accidental category, which implies that they should not be viewed as static but rather dynamic and subject to reinterpretation in light of the contemporary context. To consider the traditional interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence and ethics as a secondary aspect in relation to the primary aspect of Islam, namely its essence, and to strip jurisprudence of its centrality and authority has both advantages and disadvantages within the Islamic tradition. The advantage may lie in a more rational and accepting approach towards religious pluralism and women's rights. The disadvantage can manifest in challenges related to Muslim identity formation and the arbitrary definition of essential Islam that his theory may entail.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-503895 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Niknafs, Kezhvan |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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