ABDUH, MUHAMMAD (b. 1849, Egypt—d. July 11, 1905, near Alexandria), religious scholar, jurist, and liberal reformer who led the late 19th-century movement in Egypt and other Muslim countries to revitalize Islamic teachings and institutions. Abduh attended the mosque school in Eanee and subsequently AL-AZHAR UNIVERSITY in Cairo, receiving the degree of !elim (scholar) in 1877. In 1872 he fell under the influence of Jamel ad-Djn al-Afgheni, the revolutionary pan- Islamic Persian preacher, who stimulated Abduh’s interest in theology, philosophy, and politics. Afgheni was expelled for political reasons from Egypt in 1879 and !Abduh was exiled to his village, but the next year he became editor of the government’s official gazette, which he used to preach resistance to Anglo-French political encroachment and the need for social and religious reform. He was implicated in Urebj Pasha’s rebellion against foreign control in 1882 and was again exiled. Rejoining Afgheni in Paris for several months in 1884, !Abduh helped publish the revolutionary journal Al-!Urwa al-wuthqe (“The Firmest Bond”).He then taught for three years in an Islamic college in Beirut. In 1888 !Abduh was permitted to return to Egypt, where he was appointed a judge in the National Courts of First Instance; in 1891 he became a judge at the Court of Appeal. In 1899, with British help, he became MUFTI of Egypt. He effected reforms in the administration of Islamic law (see SHARIA) and of religious endowments and issued advisory opinions on such controversial matters as the permissibility of eating meat slaughtered by Christian and Jewish butchers and of accepting interest paid on loans. !Abduh also lectured at al-Azhar and, against conservative opposition, induced reforms in the administration and curriculum there. He established a benevolent society that operated schools for poor children. On the Legislative Council he supported political cooperation with Britain and legal and educational reform in Egypt; these views earned him the approval of the British, but the hostility of the khedive (ruling prince) !Abbes Gilmj and of the nationalist leader Muzeafe Kemil. In addition to his articles in the official gazette and Al- !Urwa al-wuthqe, !Abduh’s most important writings included Riselat al-tawhid (“Treatise on the Oneness of God”); a polemic on the superiority of Islam to Christianity in Islam’s greater receptivity to science and civilization; and a commentary on the Quran, completed after his death by a disciple. In theology !Abduh sought to establish the harmony of reason and revelation, the freedom of the will, and the primacy of the ethical implications of religious faith over ritual and dogma. He asserted that a return to the pristine faith of the earliest age of Islam would both restore the Muslims’ spiritual vitality and provide an enlightened criterion for the assimilation of modern scientific culture. In matters of Islamic law regarding family relationships, ritual duties, and personal conduct, Abduh promoted considerations of equity, welfare, and common sense, even when this meant disregarding the literal texts of the Quran. !Abduh has been widely revered as the chief architect of the modern reformation of Islam.(Encyclopedia of World Religions)
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:13:27 +0000