Abstract
His life can be distilled in a few key dates: Abduh was born in 1849 and grew up in a small Egyptian village called Mahallat Nasr. He studied at a Qur’anic school, then at the Ahmadite Mosque located in the city of Tanta. Instruction there consisted of learning the Qur’an by heart, accustoming oneself to the chanting of it according to ritual, and studying the legal sciences of Islam and Arabic grammar. On the subject of Abduh’s life, there are no great divergences to report; it is on his work and his memory that there are various narratives. A mysterious paternal uncle, Shaykh Darwish Khidr, guided him in that direction. Shaykh Darwish most probably belonged to the mystical Sanusi brotherhood which advocated for a return to pure Islam in its primitive simplicity. Abduh joined the al-Azhar religious university in 1865. Al-Azhar was the dream of any young man from rural areas as it offered great opportunities for social advancement. However, its teaching was obsolete, based mainly on Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and grammar; the dominant method was that of literal commentary (sharh). Muhammad Abduh pursued his studies at al-Azhar for 12 years and received its highest degree in 1877. During his studies, he came into contact with the man who would greatly influence his life, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (On the rather obscure life of al-Afghani, one can consult the biography published by Homa Pakdaman titled Djamal ed-Din Assad Abadi dit Afghani, Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose, 1969).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
On the rather obscure life of al-Afghani, one can consult the biography published by Homa Pakdaman titled Djamal ed-Din Assad Abadi dit Afghani, Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose, 1969.
- 2.
Ahmad Urabi Pasha (1814–1911) is an Egyptian officer who led the revolt of Egyptian soldiers against the Turkish oligarchy that reigned in Egypt. The revolt failed after the British military intervention in 1882. He was exiled to Ceylon.
- 3.
Rida Rashid, Tarikh al-ustadh al-imam Muhammad Abduh, Cairo, Publisher al-Manar, 3 vol.
- 4.
For more information, consult our book published in Arabic (The religion of the individual conscience), op. cit. to note 1.
- 5.
The debate on this kind of subject had fascinated the three monotheists in the medieval age. See Gilson Etienne, Philosophy of the Middle Ages, Payot, 1999; By Libera Alain, Medival Philosophy, P.U.F., 1993, and De unitate intellectus contra averroistas by Thomas Aquinas, Vrin, 2004.
- 6.
For a summary and classic overview of the problems of Muslim Theology, we refer the reader to Gardet and Anawati, Introduction to Muslim Theology, Vrin, 1970.
- 7.
The theological positions of Abduh are expounded in the Hashiya or Ta’liqat. We use here the edition of Sulayman Dunya, Cairo, 1958.
- 8.
Abduh seems to have largely drawn from the Risala al-ma’ad (Treatise on the Bodily Resurrection) of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Avicenna’s text was edited by S. Dunya, Cairo, 1949.
- 9.
Cf. Hashiya, p. 209 and R. Waridat, p. 17. Like Ibn Sina, Abduh tries here to “rationalize” the phenomenon of prophecy.
- 10.
Cf. Hashiya, p. 584.
- 11.
Compare the edition of Bulaq (Cairo, 1315/1898, p. 28) published during the lifetime of Abduh and the later editions published by the printing press al-Manar.
- 12.
We should be wary, and we insist, of falling into the other extreme. Indeed, some superficial writings and some authors, for whom the richness of the religious tradition in Islam is largely unknown, go quickly to task, taxing Abduh with impiety for his opinions. This is the case of some Islamists (ie. Sayyid Qutb or Gaili Tawba) and some Western writers (ie. E. Kedourie, al-Afghani and Abduh. An essay on religion unbelief and political activism in modern Islam, London, 1966). In fact, Abduh is the repository of a rich philosophical and spiritual tradition, namely Avitecnism and so-called illuminative mysticism. Our purpose is simply to show that it was precisely from this tradition that he was inspired not by Salafism or Asharite Theology.
- 13.
Articles are listed in Umara Muhammad, al-Amal al-kamila (Complete works), 6 vol., Beirut, 1973–1974.
- 14.
Cf. ‘Umara, al-Amal al-kamila, op. cit., t. I, pp. 285–286.
- 15.
See Arkoun Mohamed, Arab humanism in the IV-X centuries: philosopher et historian Miskawayh, Vrin, 1982.
- 16.
Cf. Risalat al-tawhid, op. cit., p. 54.
- 17.
Abduh Muhammad, al-Islam wa al-nasraniyya bayna al-ilm wa al-madaniyya (Islam and Christianity between science and civilization), Ed. Alger, 1990, p. 57.
- 18.
Cf. Roy Olivier, The Failure of Political Islam, Seuil, 1992, p. 24.
- 19.
A large part of Abduh’s fatwas has been collected in al-Amal al-kamila, op. cit., t. VI.
- 20.
Ibn Arabi, Tafsir ibn Arabi, ed. Beirut, 2001, t. I, pp. 29–30. The attribution of this text to Ibn Arabi is not formally established.
- 21.
Abduh and Rida, Tafsir al-Manar, ed. Beirut, 1999. See, for example, I: 144, I: 239, I: 245 and I: 293–295.
- 22.
See Tafsir al-Manar, ed. Beirut 1999, t. I, p. 133. References will now be indicated in parentheses in the text itself.
- 23.
This theory was suggested by the famous German philologist Theodor Nöldeke (1836–1930), author of History of the Qur’an (Geschichte des Qorans, 1860), completed and published by his followers between 1909 and 1938. This theory is now taken up by American Professor Fred Donner, in his book Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing (Darwin Press, 1998). It is retained, moreover, in the recent biography of Muhammad written by Professor Hichem Djaït (the second volume being published in Arabic under the title Tarikhiyyat al-da’wa l-muhammadiyya, Beirut, 2007).
- 24.
Cf. Tafsir al-Manar, t. I, pp. 193, 195, 243.
- 25.
Cf. Tafsir al-Manar, t. I, p. 144.
- 26.
Cf. Tafsir al-Manar, t. I, pp. 204–205.
- 27.
Abd al-Raziq’s book has been translated into French by Abdou Filali Ansari, Islam and the Foundations of Power, La Découverte, 1994.
- 28.
Al-fann al-qasasi fi al-Qur’an al-karim (The Art of Narrative in the Holy Qur’an) was published in 1948.
- 29.
For a detailed critique of the conceptual universe of Abduh and his generation, the reader should consult our already quoted thesis: “Critical Essay of Theological Reason: The Example of Muhammad Abduh,” op. cit. to note 1.
References
Abdou Filali Ansari. 1994. Islam and the Foundations of Power. La Découverte.
Abduh, and Rida. 1999. Tafsir al-Manar. Beirut.
Alain, Libera. 1993. Medival Philosophy. P.U.F.
Aquinas, Thomas. 2004. De unitate intellectus contra averroistas. Vrin.
Ibn Arabi. 2001. Tafsir ibn Arabi, t. I, 29–30. Beirut.
Donner, Fred. 1998. Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing. Darwin Press.
Etienne, Gilson. 1999. Philosophy of the Middle Ages. Payot.
Gardet, and Anawati. 1970. Introduction to Muslim Theology. Vrin.
Kedourie, E., al-Afghani, and Abduh. 1966. An Essay on Religion Unbelief and Political Activism in Modern Islam. London.
Mohamed, Arkoun. 1982. Arab Humanism in the IV–X Centuries: Philosopher et Historian Miskawayh. Vrin.
Umara Muhammad. 1973–1974. al-Amal al-kamila (Complete works), 6 vol. Beirut.
Abduh Muhammad. 1990. al-Islam wa al-nasraniyya bayna al-ilm wa al-madaniyya (Islam and Christianity between science and civilization), 57. Alger.
Olivier, Roy. 1992. The Failure of Political Islam, 24. Seuil.
Pakdaman, Homa. 1969. Djamal ed-Din Assad Abadi dit Afghani. Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Haddad, M. (2020). A Muslim Reformist: Muhammad Abduh. In: Muslim Reformism - A Critical History. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36774-9_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36774-9_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36773-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36774-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)