Reformation — islah in Arabic — with the Islamic concept of fighting heresy — bidaa — and distorted ideas is part and parcel of Shariah. Of equal importance is renewal — tajdeed — that seeks to revive Islamic faith and religious symbols. It is based on a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that God will send a renewer for the Ummah (the community of Muslims) at the beginning of every hundred years.
While “reformation” takes its roots from the Holy Qur’an, “renewal” is based on the Hadith. Scholars have discussed the qualifications required for a “renewer” but have failed to present a clear way of recognizing one. Thus the principles of “tajdeed” are unclear. Scholars have agreed, however, that in terms of religion, “bidaa” means to make additions. To decide whether something falls into the category of “bidaa” or “tajdeed” is left to Islamic scholars. “Islah” and “tajdeed” are two aspects of the Islamic heritage that are passed from one generation to the other.
If we study the reformation movement very deeply, we can see that it has made remarkable progress over the centuries, adding new meanings and concepts to its methodologies. Apart from correcting religious beliefs and morals, it extends to improving the social, economic and political conditions of the Ummah. Here it totally differs from “tajdeed,” which focuses on theory and rarely addresses social problems. Islamic scholars rarely use the word “islah,” even those who call for it. It is a word more often used by men of letters and probably influenced by the reformation movement which dates from 1908, following the Ottoman Constitution — which was not religious in content — during the Turkish Revolution.
Here we need to remember some Islamic thinkers who have been advocates of religious reform, such as Ghazzali (1048-1111) and Ibn Taimiya (1263-1328). Although they were great lights in Islamic history, their influence ended with their deaths. They did not leave followers or groups who promoted any Islamic reform movement such as those belonging to the Wahhabi movement in the 18th century. That movement originated in the Arabian Peninsula with Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab (1703-1792). Sheikh Abdul Wahab can be described as a reformer as well as a renewer. His ally, Prince Muhammad ibn Saud, on the other hand, was a political reformer. Thus a political leader united with a religious one to ensure that his political reforms were in harmony with Islamic teachings. This alliance later gave birth to an entity which, at that time, was the only independent Arab state. The religious reforms took on a different color in the second half of the 19th century; some of its thinkers included Abdul Rahman Al-Jabarti (1825), Refaa Al-Tahtawi (1873), Hussein Al-Marsafi (1890) and Abdullah Al-Nadeem (1896).
Another reform movement began with Napoleon’s landing in Alexandria in 1798. Subsequently, the Egyptian ruler, Muhammad Ali, sent a number of his subjects to France which was both a cultural and political shock to the Muslim community. Such Islamic thinkers as Jamaluddin Al-Afghani (1898-1838) and his student, Muhammad Abdu (1849-1905), opposed the new liberal movement.
Then came Rasheed Rida who was influenced by Ibn Taimiya and the Wahhabi movement. With his magazine, Al-Manar, first published in 1898, he promoted his ideas and those of the movement to which he belonged. A number of organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, came into being because of Rasheed Rida’s activities.
The question for us today then is why we are not focusing on reformation as an extension of the efforts of former Islamic scholars?
Shakeeb Arislan, a great advocate of Arab unity and the first to call for the establishment of the Arab League, asks, “How did Muslims become backward and what was the reason for other communities’ progress?” This is a very apt question, one which is extremely relevant today.
Although the reformists among Islamic scholars are in favor of acquiring Western technology, they refuse to accept the thoughts and ideas that produced the technology. The truth is of course that each supports the other. There has consequently been a mix-up between “islah” and “tajdeed” which has created confusion. The result of that confusion is that people reject every movement or idea intended as reform. There are naturally religious and non-religious reform movements. The religious will inevitably adopt the more conservative attitude.
Henry Laause wrote in 1932: “The fervor of reform movements will soften with their development.” These movements often portray themselves as defenders of Islam rather than as reformers. They do not attempt any kind of balance between Islamic teachings and modern ideas. On the contrary, they adopt an attitude of withdrawal into self.
As for reforms aiming at social development, they have been an integral part of Islam from its earliest days. We should recognize that the foreign challenges we face are the products of our own religious and cultural weaknesses. We Muslims should certainly resist any foreign domination, but at the same time, we should adopt whatever promotes development and is to our advantage. Islam calls for being civilized and acquiring knowledge — and neither civilization nor knowledge is the monopoly of a single society. While developing our life by following Islam, we are not developing our religion; we should use our religion as a springboard to everything that awakens our minds and strengthens our Ummah.
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(Suraya Al-Shehry is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.)