Ghurbat al-Islam

Ghurbat al-Islam (The Estrangement of Islam) is a theological and moral treatise by the Saudi scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (1334–1413 AH / 1916–1992 CE) addressing the estrangement of authentic Islamic practice and the widespread alteration of religious norms in the contemporary era Ghurbat al-Islam+1.

Composition and Manuscript

The work is among al-Tuwayjiri's earliest writings and served as a textual source for several of his later compositions, including Ithaf al-jama'ah (The Presentation to the Community) Ghurbat al-Islam. Al-Tuwayjiri left the manuscript as an unfinished working draft (musawwadah), heavily marked with marginal additions, cross-references, deletions, and structural rearrangements, likely setting it aside as he prioritized other projects Ghurbat al-Islam+1.

Because the author did not complete the treatise, he did not assign it a formal title; it was named Ghurbat al-Islam by its editor after the opening phrasing in al-Tuwayjiri's own preface Ghurbat al-Islam. The extant autograph manuscript consists of 330 ruled pages measuring 29 cm by 21 cm Ghurbat al-Islam. Additionally, thirteen loose pages were preserved containing thematic outlines for the project; al-Tuwayjiri had struck out several of these items after incorporating their research into specialized treatises, such as Fasl al-khitab fi al-radd 'ala Abi Turab (The Decisive Word in Refuting Abu Turab) regarding musical instruments, al-Sarim al-mashhur 'ala ahl al-tabarruj wa-al-sufur (The Drawn Sword Against the Proponents of Unveiling), and al-Dala'il al-wadihat 'ala tahrim al-muskirat wa-al-muffatirat (Clear Proofs on the Prohibition of Intoxicants) Ghurbat al-Islam.

Scope and Purpose

In his introduction, al-Tuwayjiri stated that his objective was to document the estrangement (ghurbah) of true Islam and its adherents in the late fourteenth century Hijri, identifying the causes undermining religious tenets and detailing the pervasive emergence of sins and innovations that affected both common Muslims and claimants to religious scholarship Ghurbat al-Islam+1. Drawing upon prophetic traditions such as بدأ الإسلام غريبا وسيعود غريبا كما بدأ فطوبى للغرباء ("Islam began as something strange and will return to being strange as it began, so glad tidings to the strangers"), the author analyzed the prophetic descriptions of the "strangers" (al-ghuraba') alongside commentaries by earlier scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali Ghurbat al-Islam+1. The treatise also directs admonitions to Muslim authorities and scholars regarding their obligation to command right and forbid wrong (al-amr bi-al-ma'ruf wa-al-nahy 'an al-munkar) before collective misfortune ensues Ghurbat al-Islam+1.

Publication

The draft was edited and annotated by the author's son, Abd al-Karim ibn Hammud al-Tuwayjiri, under the supervision of the author's sons, and published in a single volume by Dar al-Sumay'i in Riyadh (1st edition, 1431 AH / 2010 CE) Ihya al-Athar Dirasa Aqdi…+1.