al-Istishraq wa al-Mustashriqun Ma Lahum wa Ma Alayhim
- Author died
- 1384 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Warrāq lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Istishraq wa al-Mustashriqun: Ma Lahum wa Ma Alayhim (Orientalism and the Orientalists: Their Merits and Demerits) is a critical treatise by the Syrian Islamic scholar and jurist Mustafa al-Siba'i (d. 1384 AH / 1964 CE) analyzing the origins, motives, methods, and scholarly shortcomings of Western Orientalist studies on Islam .
Composition and Publication
The material of the treatise originally took shape through al-Siba'i's university research, articles in his journal Hadarat al-Islam (حضارة الإسلام), and sections of his larger book al-Sunnah wa Makanatuha fi al-Tashri' al-Islami (السنة ومكانتها في التشريع الإسلامي) . Al-Siba'i's engagement with the subject began during his student years in Cairo, when his lecturer, Dr. Ali Hasan Abd al-Qadir, presented Ignaz Goldziher's Muhammedanische Studien as an unquestionable scientific authority alleging that Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri fabricated hadiths for the Umayyads . Al-Siba'i spent three months investigating primary biographical manuscripts at al-Azhar and Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah, subsequently delivering a refutation at Jam'iyyat al-Hidayah al-Islamiyyah presided over by Shaykh Muhammad al-Khadir Husayn, where Abd al-Qadir openly conceded the error .
Al-Siba'i intended to expand his notes into an exhaustive reference, but died before completing the expanded edition . His text was first printed as a standalone work in Kuwait in 1968 CE by Maktabat Dar al-Bayan without prior family notice . Later authorized editions were published by al-Maktab al-Islami in Beirut (including printings in 1975, 1979, and 1985 CE), Dar al-Salam in Cairo, and Dar al-Warraq in Riyadh .
Historical Framework and Motives
Al-Siba'i opens by rejecting both uncritical veneration of Orientalists (which he exemplifies through Taha Hussein's reliance on David Samuel Margoliouth in Fi al-Adab al-Jahili) and blanket condemnation without distinction (citing Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq), arguing that Islam obligates just assessment even toward ideological adversaries . He traces the historical roots of Orientalism to medieval European monks studying in al-Andalus—such as Gerbert (Pope Sylvester II), Peter the Venerable, and Gerard of Cremona—translating Arabic scientific and philosophical works into Latin . He details how the discipline expanded into systematic manuscript collection (amassing over 250,000 Arabic manuscripts in Europe by the early nineteenth century) and international congresses starting in Paris in 1873 CE .
The book categorizes Orientalist motives into five distinct drivers :
- Religious motives: Initiated by clergy and missionaries aiming to insulate Christian populations from Islam and facilitate proselytization .
- Colonial motives: Serving Western expansion by assessing the cultural strengths and weaknesses of Muslim societies to weaken their resistance .
- Commercial and political motives: Facilitating diplomatic and intelligence ties in Eastern lands .
- Pure scholarly inquiry: Pursued by an exceptional minority seeking truth, such as Thomas Walker Arnold in The Preaching of Islam and the French painter and writer Étienne Dinet (Nasir al-Din Dinet), who embraced Islam .
Aims, Methods, and Catalog of Scholars
Al-Siba'i identifies core theological and intellectual objectives pursued by mainstream Orientalism, including casting doubt on the divine revelation of the Quran and the Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, alleging that Islam derived from Judaism and Christianity, questioning the authenticity of hadith literature, asserting that Islamic jurisprudence was borrowed from Roman law, and questioning the modern adaptability of the Arabic language . He discusses their operational methods, notably periodicals (such as the Journal Asiatique, The Muslim World, and Le Monde Musulman), missionary societies, university chairs, academic conferences, and collaborative reference works like the Encyclopaedia of Islam .
Drawing in part on lectures by Dr. Muhammad al-Bahi, al-Siba'i provides biographical sketches and bibliographies of prominent Orientalists and Arabist scholars, including Arthur John Arberry, Alfred Guillaume, Carra de Vaux, Hamilton Gibb, Ignaz Goldziher, Samuel Zwemer, Gustave E. von Grunebaum, Philip Hitti, Arent Jan Wensinck, Louis Massignon, and Joseph Schacht .
Methodological Critique and Field Observations
The work critiques Orientalist research methods, highlighting preconceived hypotheses, reliance on non-authoritative literary anecdotes rather than specialized legal and historical sources (such as Goldziher citing al-Damiri's Hayat al-Hayawan regarding Abu Hanifa), and linguistic misinterpretations (such as Carl Brockelmann's literal rendering of ra'iyyah as "a herd of cattle" rather than citizens under pastoral care) .
In a chapter detailing his 1956 CE academic mission across European universities—including London, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Leiden, and Uppsala—al-Siba'i records direct discussions with scholars such as J. N. D. Anderson, James Robson, Joseph Schacht, and H. S. Nyberg . He recounts confronting Schacht in Leiden regarding chronological errors in Goldziher's account of al-Zuhri, and notes institutional constraints in British universities, such as supervisor Anderson preventing Syrian scholar Amin al-Misri from writing a doctoral thesis critical of Schacht's legal theories, which compelled al-Misri to alter his topic .
Al-Siba'i concludes by contextualizing Western biases within historical conflicts and material superiority, while calling on Arab universities to establish postgraduate programs in English to train international students in Islamic studies using authentic indigenous sources .
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