Intellectual disciplines: Law, Sufism, Philosophy, Theology

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Intellectual disciplines Law, Sufism,
Philosophy, Theology

• Carl Ernst
• Reli 180, Introduction to Islamic Civilization

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Overview

• Intellectual understanding of Islamic doctrine,
  ritual, and ethics in process of formation
• New definitions of Islam formulated against
  multiple encounters with older religious
  traditions
• Law 2. Sufism
• 3. Philosophy Science 4. Theology

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1. Origins of Islamic law

• Probably 500 not 80 of 6500 verses in Quran
  have legal application
• Diverse local non-Islamic traditions and
  administrative rulings used for legal decisions
• Articulation of distinctively Islamic legal
  rulings by scholars without official government
  positions

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Evolving Islamic law

• Use of Prophetic example (sunnah) in addition to
  Quran ? Sunni
• Elaboration of hadith literature by 875,
  rejection of thousands of fake hadith
• Legal school (madhhab) formation around leading
  scholars
• Caliphs forced imposition of Mutazili
  rationalism resisted by Hanbali legal school

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Development of Sharia (the ideal of Gods law)

• Shafii (d. 820) and doctrine of four sources of
  Sharia Quran, sunnah, analogy, consensus of
  scholars
• Emergence of four major Sunni schools
• Hanafi Abu Hanifa (d. 767) Syria and East
• Maliki Malik ibn Anas (d. 796), N. Africa
• Shafii al-Shafii, Egypt, Yemen, E. Africa
• Hanbali Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 857) in Baghdad
  and Syria (Saudi Arabia today)

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Other schools

• Kharijites morph into Ibadi school (Oman,
  Tunisia)
• Shiis
• 12ers are Jafari (Jafar al-Sadiq, 6th Imam)
• Fatimids (Ismailis) developed distinctive school
• Zaydis also have a school

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Sharia in the world

• Norms for living a godly life
• Development of misogyny in gender roles, marriage
  and divorce (many ancient sources), consequent
  seclusion of women
• Qadi courts vs. state justice
• Communitarian sense of Sunni Islam

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2. Sufism

• Asceticism (self-denial) suf wool disapproval
  of Umayyad worldliness
• Mysticism (seeking closeness to God beyond
  reason)
• Spirituality (cultivating inner life)
• Contact with Jews and Christian monks
• Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) and weepers
• Rabia (d. 801) and love of God
• Psychological disciplines of inner path

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whirling dervishes (Sufi group)

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Limits of Transcendence

• Union with God passing away of self,
  eternity not survival in God
• Friends of God saints analogy with Shii
  imams
• Trial of al-Hallaj (executed 922 in Baghdad) I
  am the Truth! (actually convicted on home
  pilgrimage ritual)
• Junayd and the identification of Sufism in
  accordance with Islamic ethics

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3. Science and Philosophy

• Heritage of Greek science in Persia
  (Jundishapur), logic
• Astronomy and astronomy patronized by Arab
  princes along with medicine, alchemy
• Al-Mamun establishes House of Wisdom (Bayt
  al-Hikma) as translation and research center, ca.
  800
• Christians, Jews, Sabian pagans (Thabit ibn
  Qurra) involved in scientific research

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Scientists

• al-Khwarizmi and the development of algebra ?
  algorithm
• Later institutions observatories, hospitals

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Philosophy

• Plato, Aristotle, Neoplatonism of Plotinus
• Notion of the First Cause the One, from which
  Intellect and Soul emanate (impact on Christian
  and Jewish thinkers)
• Al-Farabi and the Prophet as Philosopher-King
  philosophy as truth, revelation as a public
  version of that truth in symbols

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• Aristotle teaching (Arabic manuscript in British
  Museum)

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4. Islamic Theology

• Theology as rational investigation of scripture
  to understand God and creation
• Debates with sophisticated representatives of
  other religions origins of evil, free will,
  judgment, Gods will vs. justice, etc.
• 5 principles of Mutazilites Justice, unity,
  promise/threat, intermediate position of sinner,
  commanding good and forbidding evil

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Islamic theology (contd)

• Literalism in the Hanbali school accepting
  scripture without asking how
• Al-Ashari (d. 935) and the doctrine of uncreated
  Quran God creates all acts, but humans acquire
  responsibility
• Shiism seeks divine will in charismatic leaders,
  while Sunnis look in texts
• Early importance of Iraq for development of
  intellectual disciplines

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Overview

• Intellectual understanding of Islamic doctrine,
  ritual, and ethics in process of formation
• New definitions of Islam formulated against
  multiple encounters with older religious
  traditions
• Law 2. Sufism
• 3. Philosophy Science 4. Theology