The People of the Sunnah

HIST 100710/2/13

What is Islam?

What is Islam?

God

Everything else

Islam during the Time of the Prophet

• Is there even anything called Islam?• The Believers Movement• Umma – Muhajirun, ansar, “converts,” allies, and

tribal chiefs• Accept the Qur’an as revelation, Muhammad as the messenger of God, and the umma as the community of true believers.

After the Prophet• Sahaba – Companions of the Prophet• Tabi`un – Muslims of the generation after Muhammad’s death• Qurra’ – Teachers of the Qur’an• Not formal institutions• Teaching of Islam by those considered knowledgeable.

al-Baqi Cemetary, Medina, before and after destruction by Wahhabists and Saudi government in 1925

Do you need to define Islam?

• Conquest and expansion• Political debates (Kharijis and Shi’ites)• Connection with other traditions– Jewish (isra’iliyyat)– Christian (Syriac)– Zoroastrian– Hellenistic– Persian– Arabian

Kalam - Theology

• Kharijites (657-present) – Anyone who fails to follow God’s command is not a true Muslim. Free will.

• Qadaris (late 7th – early 9th centuries) – An unrighteous ruler should abdicate or be deposed. Free will.

• Mu`tazilis (8th-10th centuries) – Sinful Muslims are neither true Muslims nor non-believers. Rationalists.

• Murji`a – Anyone who professes to be a Muslim is a Muslim. Supporters of non-Arab converts.

Kalam

• Free will, predestination, and God’s attributes• Mu`tazili – God is unique, uncreated, and his

attributes are neither physical nor literal.• Qur’an is created, not part of God’s essence

like Christian Logos.• Men have free will, God does not create evil deeds nor punish for predestined deeds.

Symbol of neo-Mu`tazilites

Mu`tazilites

1. Tawhid – Unity of God2. `Adl – God is just3. Reward and punishment belong in the afterlife.4. A sinner is neither a true Muslim nor an apostate.5. Muslims are responsible for promoting the good and suppressing evil.

Ahl al-hadith

• Traditionists• God cannot be known by reason, only by

revelation.• Qur’an and example of Prophet Muhammad

as found in hadith.• God’s attributes must be real!• God is absolutely omnipotent and inscrutable.• All actions are the result of God.

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari (d. 936)

• A happy medium…• Theological tenets derived from tradition can

be supported by rational arguments.• The Qur’an exists in the divine essence…• But in the form of letters and words it is

created…• al-Maturidi (d. 944): You can know God

through reason, not just revelation.

Kalam

Mu`tazilite – understand through reasonTraditionists – understand through revelation

- the Qur’an is uncreated

Mu`tazilite – people have free will- the Qur’an is created

Traditionists – God is all powerful

Kalam

Ash`arites – Can be understood through revelation and explained through reason.

- essence of the Qur’an

Ash`arites – the precise letters and words of the Qur’an are created

Why would the Caliph Care?

• Mihna: Inquisition begun by al-Ma’mun in 833• Supports Mu`tazilite opinion• Tries to ban traditionalists from holding office• Is the Qur’an created or uncreated?• Ahmad b. Hanbal (780-855): Leading hadith

scholar of Baghdad, critical of `Abbasid excess• Caliphs unable to enforce theological stances

Fiqh

• Islamic jurisprudence• Largely built on older traditions in dialogue with

Qur’an and hadith• Qadi: Judge, by late 8th century, only `ulama’• Mufti: Legal authority• Ra’y: Personal judgment of a qadi• Ra’y can set precedent

Schools of Law• Regional study circles• Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra, Baghdad, and Fustat• Sharing teachings of notable scholars creates legal networks• As circles become more focused, they become legal schools

with defined views and curriculum• Madhhab: School of Law• Hanafis: First legal school

– based in Kufa and Basra on the teachings of Abu Hanifa (d. 767)– Established precedents, ra’y, and Islamic norms

Schools of Law

• Maliki: legal tradition of Medina– Malik b. Anas (d. 795), Muwatta’– Qur’an, example of the Prophet (sunna), judgment of the

sahaba, and traditions of Medina• Shafi`i: – Abu `Abdullah al-Shafi`I (767-820)– Qur’an, sunna, consensus (ijtima’), and analogy (qiyas)

Modern distribution of Madhhabs

Growing Importance of Qur’an and Hadith

• Hanafis: law based on precedent and legal judgments

• Malikis: traditions of the sahaba and people of Medina along with Qur’an and hadith

• Shafi`i: consensus and analogy in interpreting the Qur’an and hadith

• Hanbalis: Qur’an and hadith only, rejection of consensus and analogy

Hadith Collections

• Sahih Bukhari, Muhammad al-Bukhari (d. 870)• Sahih Muslim, Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 875)• Sunan al-Sughra, al-Nasa`I (d. 915)• Sunan Abu Dawood, Abu Dawood (d. 888)• Jami al-Tirmidhi, al-Tirmidhi (d. 892)• Sunan ibn Majah, Ibn Majah (d. 887)• All six collections of sound hadith were collected by Persians.

Tomb of al-Bukhari in Samarqand, Uzbekistan