by FB Adam · 2001 · Cited by 6 — title ‘khalifat rasül Allah’ (caliph of the Messenger of God). They believed that the former title could no longer be used after the death of the Prophet Muhammad,
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THE CONCEPT OF KHILAFAH ACCORDING TO SELECTED SUNNI AND SHICI QUR’ANIC COMMENTARIES Fadzli Bin ADAM Submitted in Accordance with the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Department of Theology and Religious Studies April 2001 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others.
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111 Acknowledgements In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. I owe a great debt of gratitude, first of all, to the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, and its academic and administrative staff. My sincere thanks are due to Dr. Elizabeth Sirriyeh, who never tired of commenting on this research, for all her kind words, and for the invaluable guidance, encouragement, ideas and support she offered. I must also pay my tribute to Professor Neal Robinson for his wise advice and guidance as supervisor during the earlier stages of my research. I would like to thank several colleagues and friends, including Dr. Ismail al- Bayrak, Dr. Ahmet Onay and Dr. Asyraf Abd Rahman, for their assistance and discussion to improve my research. My special thanks are also due to Peter Coleman, for his invaluable editing of and comment on this thesis. Finally, I am greatly indebted to my parents, to my wife, Marhana, and also to my daughter, Nur Najwa, and my two sons, Fikri and Farhan, without whose love, patience and support the completion of this study would not have been possible.
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iv Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine the Qur’anic conception of khiläfah from selected Sunni and ShiCI points of view, in both the classical and modern periods. The term khiläfah, widely used by the Sunnis, is inseparable from imämah, the term which the Shi`is prefer. The concept arose very early in Islam and has continued to provoke discussion into the modern period. Yet, while the thought of Muslim political theorists on the subject has received much scholarly attention, far less notice has been taken of the ideas of Qur’anic exegetes. For this reason it has been judged worthwhile to seek to throw light on some relatively neglected interpretations of khiläfah by examining the views of certain major commentators on the Qur’an. These are principally scholars of the 9th-14th centuries who are regarded as having made substantial contributions to thought on this issue. However, some consideration is also given to the ideas of three modern writers who have adapted and revised the concept of khiläfah to a considerable extent. The thesis begins with a discussion of the historical development and nature of the khiläfah in Islam, providing a general overview of the concept of the khiläfah, its necessity, functional role and duties, from many Muslim scholars’ viewpoints. As the main discussion concerns the Qur’anic interpretation, the commentators’ approaches to exegesis and their backgrounds, which may have influenced their interpretation of the concept, are examined in the second chapter. The main discussion and argument are presented in chapters three to six. These chapters provide a close textual analysis of selected Qur’anic verses, which contain various terms relevant to the concept of khiläfah (imämah for the Shi`is) as interpreted by commentators from the two major Muslim communities, the Sunni and Shi`i, particularly the Ithnä `ashariyyah (the Twelver). Some modem interpretations of the khiläfah and the influence on them of the classical works are discussed in the seventh chapter. This is of great importance, since some aspects of classical teaching have been changed in response to twentieth-century conditions. The conclusion brings together and clarifies the arguments and findings of the previous chapters in order to explain the significant contributions of the various Qur’anic interpretations considered in the main part of the study.
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V Table of Contents Acknowledgements.. ii . iii Abstract .. iv Table of Contents .. v List of Abbreviations . x Note on Translation and Transliteration .. xi, xii Glossary. ‘ INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTERI THE NATURE AND BASIC CONCEPT OF THE KHILAFAH 1.1-Introduction .. 19 1.2-Nature of the Khiläfah . 20 1.2.1-The Necessity of the Khiläfah .. 21 1.2.2-The Argument Concerning the Permissibility of Having More Than One Caliph 32 1.3-The Basic Concept of Khiläfah and Its Function . 36 1.3.1-The Functions of the Khalifah/Imäm According to Classical Muslim Scholars 37 1.3.2-The Functions of the Khalifah/Imam According to Modern Muslim Scholars 41 1.4-Some Qur’anic Terms of Relevance to the Khiläfah .. 46 1.5-Concluding Remarks 52
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VI CHAPTER 2 CLASSICAL SUNNI AND SHI`I COMMENTATORS: BIOGRAPHIES AND APPROACHES TO QUR’ANIC COMMENTARY. 2.1-Introduction .. 54 2.2-Sunni Qur’anic Commentators 55 2.2.1-Al-Tabari (224/839-310/923) 55 i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life 55 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur’anic Commentary 58 2.2.2-AI-Zamakhshari (467/1075-538/1144) 62 i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life 62 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur’anic Commentary .. 64 2.2.3-Ibn Kathir (700/1300-774/1373) .. 68 i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life 68 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur’anic Commentary 70 2.3-Shi°i Qur’anic Commentators . 72 2.3.1-Al-Tüsi (385/995-460/1067) 72 i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life 72 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur’anic Commentary .. 74 2.3.2-Al-Tabarsi (468/1075-548/1153) . 76 i-Biography, Educational and Socio-Political Life.. 76 ii-Major Works and Approaches to Qur’anic Commentary .. 78 2.4-Concluding Remarks 81
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viii 5.3.1-Khal ä’if .. 160 5.3.2-Khulafä.. 164 5.4-The Interpretation of Some Other Forms of the Term Khalifah 166 5.4.1-Yastakhl if and Istakhlafa 165 5.4.2- Ukhl uf 173 5.4.3-Yakhluf .. 174 . 5.5-Concluding Remarks . 176 CHAPTER 6 CLASSICAL SHI I QUR’ANIC INTERPRETATION OF THE IMAMAH AND UL U’LAMR-VERSES 6.1-Introduction 177 6.2-The Interpretation of the Term Imam and Its Plural .. 177 6.2.1-Imäm 178 6.2.2-The Plural (A ‘immah) 185 6.3-The Interpretation of the Term Ulü ‘1-Amr 190 6.4-Concluding Remarks . 196 CHAPTER 7 MODERN (SUNNI AND SHI I) INTERPRETATIONS AND REFLECTIONS ON THE CONCEPT OF KHILAFAH 7.1-Introduction 201 7.2-Background of Modem Muslim Qur’anic Commentators 202 7.2.1-Abü A9ä Mawdiidi (1903-1979) 203 7.2.2-Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) 209 7.2.3-Muhammad Husayn Tabätabä’i (1903-1981) 213
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IX 7.3-Modern Muslim Commentators’ Interpretations of the Khiläfah, Imämah and Ul rl ‘1 Amr-Verses .. 215 7.3.1-Khal ifah .. 215 7.3.2-Khal ä’if .. 222 7.3.3-Khulafä 226 7.3.4-Yastakhlif 228 7.3.5-Ukhluf .. 234 7.3.6-Imäm and A’immah . 237 7.3.7-U1 v ‘1-Amr .. 241 7.5-Concluding Remarks . 248 CONCLUSION .. 251 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. 266
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X List of Abbreviations CE common era b. date of birth d. date of death AH. Anno Hijrae, the year of Hijra n. d. no date n. p. no place pbuh peace be upon him EI’ Encyclopaedia ofIslam, IS` edition, Leiden and London, 1913-36. EI2 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition, Leiden, 1960-. IQ The Islamic Quarterly: A Review of Islamic Culture IS Islamic Studies: Journal of the Central Institute of Islamic Research. AJISS American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences OEMIW The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World IJIA Iranian Journal of International Affairs HI Hamdard Islamicus: Quarterly Journal of Studies and Research in Islam JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society IJMES International Journal of Middle East Studies JSS Journal of Semitic Studies JSAMES Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam: Institute of Asian and African Studies.
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xi Note on Translation and Transliteration The translations from the Qur’an are based substantially on `Abdulläh Yüsuf cAli’s The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an: New Edition with Revised Translation and Commentary (Brentwood, Maryland: Amana Corporation, 1992). The system for numbering the Qur’anic verses is that of writing the sürah’s name first, with its number in brackets, followed by the number of the verse, e. g. sürat al-Baqarah (2): 30. The transliteration system used in this thesis is based on the standard Encyclopaedia of Islam (new edition, 1960-) transliteration from Arabic. The exceptions are the use of the letter J for the Arabic letter jim and the letter Q for qaf. Other modifications include the rendering of tä’ marbütah as ah, not a, thus giving `sürah’, not `süra’ and at when in construct state. The diphthongs are written: ay and aw. The three short vowels are represented by a for fatliah, i for kasrah and u for dammah. The long vowels are represented by a, ü, Y.
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