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Full-Text Articles in Islamic Studies
Islam, Emad Hamdeh
Islam, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
Islam, the religion of 1.2 billion people around the world, provides its followers guidance on how to live according to God’s teachings. The word “Islam” means submission, and in this context, refers to voluntary submission to will and teachings of God. The word Islam stems from the same root word as “peace” salām, by submitting to God one finds inner peace in this world and eternal peace and happiness in the next.
Muḥammad Nāṣir Al-Dīn Al-Albānī, Emad Hamdeh
Muḥammad Nāṣir Al-Dīn Al-Albānī, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (1914–1999) was one of the most influential Salafi scholars in the 20th century. He sought to reform Islam by requiring Muslims to return a puritanical and literalist approach toward scripture. Albānī moved from Albania to Damascus with his family as a child, and his father became a leading Ḥanafī scholar in the Albanian Muslim community in Syria. From a young age, Albānī disagreed with his father and the Albanian Ḥanafī community. He rejected their allegiance to the Ḥanafī school of law and instead advocated a strict adherence to the Qurʾān and Sunna. His scholarly career was …
The Role Of The ʿUlamā’ In The Thoughts Of ʿAbd Al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda, Emad Hamdeh
The Role Of The ʿUlamā’ In The Thoughts Of ʿAbd Al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
Despite his influence and contribution to scholarship in the modern Muslim world, the life and works of ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda are underrepresented in Western academic literature. This article is a first initiative at a broader assessment and contextualization of Abū Ghudda’s life and thoughts. I present a picture of a scholar who sought to represent traditional Islam in its most unpopular moments. In particular, I examine Abū Ghudda’s prevailing thoughts and opinions concerning “proper” scholarship and demonstrate how the role of the ʿulamā’ in the thoughts of Abu Ghudda is primarily a continuation of a scholarly tradition rather than …
QurʾĀn And Sunna Or The Madhhabs?: A Salafi Polemic Against Islamic Legal Tradition, Emad Hamdeh
QurʾĀn And Sunna Or The Madhhabs?: A Salafi Polemic Against Islamic Legal Tradition, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
The Albanian scholar Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1999) established a unique type of Salafism, a movement whose adherents follow a puritanical model of Muslim creed, exegesis, and conduct that is critical of madhhab Traditionalism. In this article I present an annotated translation of an audio lecture in which Albānī attempted to defend Salafism against its anti-madhhab image. I shed light on the religious and social climate that played a role in triggering Albānī’s disdain for Traditionalism and led him to discredit madhhab Traditionalist fiqh and replace it with his own interpretation of the jurisprudential requirements of Islamic scripture. Among …
The Formative Years Of An Iconoclastic Salafi Scholar, Emad Hamdeh
The Formative Years Of An Iconoclastic Salafi Scholar, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
Despite his great influence on modern Salafism and Islamic studies, relatively few works focus on the life of Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1999), a scholar whose life and brand of Salafism are marked by controversy and stand in stark contrast to madhhab Traditionalism. This article provides a translation of one of his autobiographical interviews. I shed light on the biographical details of Albānī’s formative years, namely his sour relationship with his father, quarrels with the Albanian community in Syria, and his controversial professorship at the University of Medina. Among the arguments I make is that Albānī created an image …
The Walking Qur’An: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, And History In West Africa By Rudolph Ware Iii, Emad Hamdeh
The Walking Qur’An: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, And History In West Africa By Rudolph Ware Iii, Emad Hamdeh
Publications
With the introduction of new educational systems in the Muslim world during the late-eighteenth through the early-twentieth century, many Muslims and non-Muslims became critical of traditional pedagogical methods. In particular, the image of Qur’an schools in West Africa are often criticized for their “backward” forms of education and commonly perceived as places where children simply parrot Qur’anic verses without much understanding. These institutions have largely been abandoned and replaced by modern and secular schooling systems. In his The Walking Qur’an, Rudolph Ware argues that Qur’an schools have survived in places like West Africa. By studying them, he seeks to historicize …