Islamic Thought: Yesterday and Today



Islamic Thought: Yesterday and Today

Ethnic Studies 98/198 - Spring 2005

Coordinators:

Munes Tomeh

mmtomeh (at) berkeley.edu

Faisal Ghori

ghori (at) socrates.berkeley.edu

Course Description:

This course is intended to provide students with an exposure to classical texts (in translation) in Muslim theology, philosophy, and thought from various traditionalist, rationalist, and spiritual currents showing the complexity and diversity of the Islamic intellectual tradition with a concentration on Sunni doctrine, but also with an introduction to Shi`i beliefs as well. The class will begin by studying a classic manual of theology entitled: the Tahawiyya; regarding the belief in God, the Messengers, the Unseen, and sectarian polemics.

In this section, the course will concentrate on Sunni Muslim beliefs as derived exclusively from the source texts of the Qur’an and the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, hadith. The class will then explore the rational tradition of Kalam, theology, of al-Ash`ari, al-Ghazali, and others Medieval Islamic scholars. These theologians worked to reconcile, for the most part, the conclusions of the traditionalists with rational thought, and used philosophical arguments to refute the claims of Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Sina, (known to the west as Averroes and Avicenna, respectively) as well as other schools of theology.

An introduction to Shi`ism will follow with an emphasis on areas of substantive difference between Sunnism and Shi`ism regarding belief, from a Shi`i perspective. The principles of Sufism will then be discussed in the context of Sunni Muslim belief. The emphasis here will be on the correlation between Sufi doctrine and practice with Sunni theology. The course will conclude with an investigation of Islam and Modernity as well as religious pluralism in the modern age. By the end of the class, students should be able to understand the basic premises of various perspectives within Islam on belief, and how they relate to each other, and how each perspective views itself in relation to others. Students will be exposed to theology in the larger context of the Islamic tradition, and gain an appreciation of the various branches of Islamic knowledge, how they interact with each other, and how Muslim belief relates to Islamic law and spirituality.

Course Requirements:

The goal of this course is to get people to learn, discuss, and enjoy – we understand that you are busy, and thus have realistic expectations. The key to passing this class is attendance. A maximum of two unexcused absences are allowed, the third unexcused absence will result in a No Pass. The coordinators have put a lot of effort into finding brief, interesting readings that are essential to preparing you for class each week, to encourage the actual reading of these great quotes, excerpts and articles, we require that each student submit a one page reading response of thoughts in response to each week’s reading assignment (12pt Times New Roman, double spaced, with 1-inch margins). The response should not be a summary, but a collection of thoughts; what do you think about what you read, how does it make you feel? Class discussions will be much better if all have read and can contribute, so please contribute to an enriching classroom experience by doing the readings (they are really nifty – trust us). Please do not ever skip class out of fear of not turning in your weekly response, we understand that some weeks are especially busy; each student has 1 response passes. At the end of class a sign up sheet will go around that must be signed, this is how we will confirm attendance. If you need to leave early, please communicate with the coordinators (we are nice people, and we understand).

Course Schedule:

|Week of |Week 1 – The Muslim Creed, The Unicity of God |

|Jan 31 |Tahawi’s Treatise, pp. 1 – 5 (§§ 1 – 28, 34, 38, 45, 48, 50, 51, 55, 90, 91) |

| |“Theological lessons from the Sumatra Earthquake,” pp. 1 – 2 |

| |Reliance |

| |“The Gabriel Hadith,” pp. 807 – 815 |

| |“Reason and Sacred Law,” pp. 844 – 846 |

| |“On Divine Indwelling and ‘Union with God,’” pp. 855 – 860 |

| |“Protective or Healing Words and Amulets,” pp. 879 – 880 |

| |“The Acceptance of Fate,” pp. 1012 – 1015 |

| | |

|Feb 7 |Week 2 - The Muslim Creed, The Messengership and the Qur’an |

| |Tahawi’s Treatise, p. 6 (§§ 29 – 33, 52, 53, 56) |

| |Man and the Universe*, pp. 1 – 22 |

| |“Haqiqat al-Muhammadiyya (The Muhammadan Reality),” pp. 1 – 4 |

| |“The Prophetic Title ‘Best of Creation,’” pp. 1 – 5 |

| |“The Trinity: a Muslim Perspective,” pp. 1 – 5 |

| |Muhammad Messenger of Allah (Al-Shifa), pp. 324 – 336 |

| |Reliance |

| |“The Finality of the Prophet’s Message,” pp. 846 – 851 |

| |“Commemorating the Birth of the Prophet,” pp. 1011 – 1012 |

| | |

|Feb 14 |Week 3 – The Muslim Creed, The Unseen |

| |Tahawi’s Treatise, pp. 7 – 9 (§§ 35 – 37, 39 – 44, 46, 47, 49, 59, 60, 75, 78 – 83, 100, 101) |

| |Man and the Universe*, pp. 23 – 73 |

| |Reliance |

| |“The Jinn,” pp. 897 – 898 |

| |“Miracles (Karamat),” pp. 917 – 921 |

| |“The Friends of Allah (Awliya’),” pp. 924 – 927 |

| |“Supplicating Allah through an Intermediary (Tawassul),” pp. 933 – 940 |

| |“The Eternality of Paradise and Hell,” pp. 995 – 1002 |

| |“Knowledge of the Unseen,” pp. 1015 – 1018 |

| | |

|Feb 21 |Week 4 – The Muslim Creed, Comparative Theology |

| |Tahawi’s Treatise, pp. 10 – 12 (§§ 54, 57, 58, 61 – 74, 76, 77, 84 – 89, 92 – 99, 102 - 105) |

| |Wahhabism: A Critical Essay* |

| |Skim/recommended: pp. 1 – 30, 37 – 66 |

| |Required: pp. 31 – 37, 67 - 84 |

| |Al-Maqasid, “Fundamentals of Faith and Sacred Law” pp. 6 – 11 |

| |Reliance |

| |“A Muslim Who Neglects a Prayer Does not Thereby Become an Unbeliever,” pp. 881 – 884 |

| |“Innovation (Bid`a),” pp. 906 – 917 |

| |“A Warning Against Careless Accusations of Unbelief,” pp. 950 – 954 |

| |“The Excellence of the Prophetic Companions (Sahaba),” pp. 1003 – 1007 |

| | |

|Feb 28 |Week 5 – Rational Foundations of the Muslim Creed |

| |“A Commentary on The Creed of Islam,” pp. iv – xxxii, 1 – 99 |

| |Reliance |

| |“Allah and His Messenger,” pp. 816 - 825 |

| |“Figurative Interpretation (Ta’wil) of the Koran and Hadith,” pp. 852 – 855 |

| |“The Ash`ari School,” pp. 1008 – 1011 |

| | |

|Mar 7 |Week 6 – Rational Foundations of the Muslim Creed |

| |“A Commentary on The Creed of Islam,” pp. 99 – 141 |

| |“Literalism and the Attributes of Allah,” pg. 1 – 12 |

| |“Is it permissible for a Muslim to believe that Allah is in the sky in a literal sense?”, pg. 1 – 8 |

| | |

|Mar 14 |Week 7 - Shi’ii Thought Part 1 |

| |“The Origin of Shi`ite Islam and its Principles,” pg. 3 – 58, 110 - 115 |

| |“A Shit`ite Creed,” pg. 25 - 128 |

| | |

|Mar 21 |Spring Break |

| | |

|Mar 28 |Week 8 - Shi’ii Thought Part 2 |

| |“The Origin of Shi`ite Islam and its Principles,” pg. 3 – 58, 110 - 115 |

| |“A Shit`ite Creed,” pg. 25 - 128 |

| | |

|Apr 4 |Week 9 – Sufi Thought |

| |Doctrine of the Sufis*, pp. 101 – 120 |

| |Sufism and Islam, pp. 5 – 32 |

| | |

|Apr 11 |Week 10 – Sufi thought |

| |Doctrine of the Sufis*, pp. 46 – 52, 120 – 143 |

| |Reliance, “Sufism,” pp. 861 – 868 |

| | |

|Apr 18 |Week 11 – Islam and Modernity |

| |Man and the Universe*, pp. 77 – 151 |

| |“When the Generous appears with the name Avenger,” pp. 1 – 11 |

| | |

|Apr 25 | |

| |Week 12 – Islam and Modernity/Conclusion |

| |Islam and Religious Pluralism* |

| |Skim: pp. 1 – 94 |

| |Required: pp. 95 – 181 |

| | |

| |* indicates books which are not included in the reader |

| | |

Bibliography

Readings above are from:

1) Reader, available in late January from Zee Zee Copy (Sather Alley) - 2431-C Durant Ave - 510 705-8411 (ph)

2) “Man and the Universe, An Islamic Perspective,” by Mostafa al-Badawi (available on , and )

3) “Wahhabism, a Critical Essay,” by Prof. Hamid Algar (available on , and )

4) “Doctine of the Sufis,” by Kalabadhi, trans. A.J. Arberry (available on , but order early – ships within 5 weeks; a really cheap Lahori printing can be purchased on – don’t you just love Sh. Muhammad Ashraf?)

5) “Islam and Religious Pluralism,” by Muhammad Legenhausen (difficult to find, but several copies have been secured at a local bookstore for the class to purchase, details in class)

The reader is made up of excerpts of the following books/articles, including author, and source, if from the internet:

“Tahawi’s Treatise on Muslim Creed (al-`aqida al-Tahawiyya),” Imam al-Tahawi,

“Theological lessons from the Sumatra Earthquake,” Abdal-Hakim Murad, masud.co.uk

“Reliance of the Traveler (appendices)”, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller

“Haqiqat al-Muhammadiyya (The Muhammadan Reality),” Nuh Ha Mim Keller, masud.co.uk

“The Prophetic Title ‘Best of Creation,’” Dr. G. F. Haddad, masud.co.uk

“The Trinity: a Muslim Perspective,” Abdal-Hakim Murad, masud.co.uk

“Muhammad Messenger of Allah, Ash-Shifa of Qadi `Iyad,” translated by Aisha Bewley

“Al-Maqasid,” Imam al-Nawawi, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller

“Literalism and the Attributes of Allah,” Nuh Ha Mim Keller, masud.co.uk

“Is it permissible for a Muslim to believe that Allah is in the sky in a literal sense?”, Nuh Ha Mim Keller, masud.co.uk

“The Origin of Shi`ite Islam and its Principles (Asl ash-shi`ah wa usuluha),” `Allama Muhammad Kashifu ‘l-Ghita’

“A Shit`ite Creed (Risalat al-i`tiqadi al-Imamiyya),” Ibn Babuya

“Sufism and Islam,” Nuh Ha Mim Keller

“When the Generous appears with the name Avenger,” Abdal-Hakim Murad, masud.co.uk

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