Athar al-Istishraq ala al-Manhaj al-Aqadi bil-Hind
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- Athar al-Istishraq ala al-Manhaj al-Aqadi bil-Hind
Athar al-Istishraq ala al-Manhaj al-Aqadi bil-Hind (The Impact of Orientalism on Theological Methodology in India: 1850–1950 – A Critical Study) is an academic treatise by the Indian scholar Said Ahmad bin Saghir Hindi, examining the influence of Western Orientalism on Islamic theological approaches in the Indian subcontinent.
Background and Purpose
The work originated as a doctoral dissertation submitted at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University within the Faculty of Da'wah in Medina under the supervision of Mahmud Rizq Madi and V. Abdur Rahim, completed in Ramadan 1421 AH (November 2000 CE). The study investigates the ideological encounter in India following direct British political control after 1857 CE, when colonial administrators, Christian missionaries, and academic Orientalists introduced Western critical methods that challenged traditional Islamic doctrine. The author's stated purpose is to delineate how external methodologies shifted the framework of theological inquiry among modern Indian Muslim intellectuals and to evaluate those shifts against classical Sunni orthodoxy.
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into an introduction, a preliminary overview, three main parts, a conclusion, and thematic indexes:
- Preliminary Overview (al-Tamhid): Surveys the origins and evolution of the Orientalist movement in India and its specific focus on Islamic theology.
- Part One: Contrasts the established theological schools active in India prior to Orientalism—namely the Sunni approach represented by Ahl al-Hadith, the scholastic (kalam) tradition represented by the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools, and Shi'i currents (the Twelvers and the Bohras)—with the imported methodologies introduced by Orientalism. It analyzes the methodologies of figures influenced by these approaches, including Syed Ahmad Khan, Chiragh Ali, Syed Mehdi Ali, Shibli Numani, Syed Ameer Ali, and Muhammad Iqbal.
- Part Two: Examines the application of new methodologies to specific doctrinal subjects and offers critiques across three primary domains: divine matters (divine oneness, attributes, and predestination); prophethood (the nature of revelation, miracles, scriptures, and the finality of the Prophet); and the unseen (angels, jinn, devils, and the afterlife).
- Part Three: Addresses the impact of Orientalist methodology on sectarian fragmentation, surveying groups such as the Barelvis, the Naturiyyah (rationalist naturalists), the Parweziyyah (hadith rejectionists), and the Ahmadiyya (Qadiyanis).
Sources and Research Methodology
The author classified his source material into four main categories: primary Sunni theological texts; Western Orientalist publications; works written by modernist Indian Muslim thinkers; and refutations authored by traditional scholars. To access rare Orientalist materials and Indian modernist tracts, the author carried out three research trips: two to India and one to the United Kingdom.
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