Mafhum Tajdid al-Din

Mafhum Tajdid al-Din (The Concept of Renewal in Religion) is a contemporary study by Bistami Muhammad Said analyzing the Islamic doctrine of religious renewal (tajdid) and critiquing modern reformist trends Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1.

Background and Publication

The work originated as an academic master's thesis and was first published as a book in Kuwait by Dar al-Da'wah in 1405 AH (1984 CE) al-Nazariyat al-Ilmiyya a…+1. The author, writing from Khartoum under the name Dr. Bistami Muhammad Said Khayr in Sha'ban 1433 AH (July 2012 CE), subsequently prepared a revised edition incorporating minor additions and corrections Mafhum Tajdid al-Din. This revised version was published in 1433 AH (2012 CE) by the Markaz al-Ta'sil li-l-Dirasat wa-l-Buhuth in Jeddah, printed at the expense of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of Qatar Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.

Structure and Contents

The book consists of an introduction, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1:

• Introduction (al-Muqaddima): Formulates the core inquiries regarding the definition of renewal, distinguishing valid renewal from unacceptable innovation, the relationship between renewal and modern concepts of evolution, and how encounters with contemporary Western civilization have influenced Islamic thought Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
• Part One: The Sunni Concept of Renewal (al-Mafhum al-Sunni li-l-Tajdid):
  • Chapter 1: Definition of Renewal and Its Guidelines (Ta'rif al-Tajdid wa-Dawabituh): Examines the linguistic derivation of the root j-d-d and its scriptural basis in the prophetic tradition recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi: إن الله يبعث لهذه الأمة على رأس كل مائة سنة من يجدد لها دينها ("Truly Allah sends to this nation at the head of every century someone who renews its religion for it") Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1.
  • Chapter 2: Examples of the Efforts of Renewers (Namadhij min Juhud al-Mujaddidin) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
• Part Two: Erroneous Concepts of Renewal (Mafahim al-Tajdid al-Khati'a):
  • Chapter 1: The Concept of Renewal in Western Modernism (Mafhum al-Tajdid 'ind al-'Asraniyya fi al-Gharb): Traces modernism within Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1.
  • Chapter 2: The Concept of Renewal among Modernism in the Islamic World: The First Generation of Thinkers (al-Tabaqa al-Ula min al-Mufakkirin) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
  • Chapter 3: The Concept of Renewal among Modernism in the Islamic World: The Second Generation of Thinkers (al-Tabaqa al-Thaniya min al-Mufakkirin) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
  • Chapter 4: Western Admiration of Modernism in the Islamic World (I'jab al-Gharb bi-l-'Asraniyya fi al-'Alam al-Islami) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
• Part Three: The Modernist Concept of Renewal in the Balance of Critique (Mafhum al-Tajdid al-'Asrani fi Mizan al-Naqd):
  • Chapter 1: Critique of General Principles (Naqd al-Mabadi' al-'Amma) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
  • Chapter 2: Critique of Detailed Principles (Naqd al-Mabadi' al-Tafsiliyya) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.
• Conclusion (al-Khatima) Mafhum Tajdid al-Din.

Core Arguments

The work argues that authentic renewal is rooted in the Arabic linguistic meaning of returning something worn and decayed to its original, pristine condition Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1. Thus, authentic Islamic renewal consists of reviving adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah rather than altering orthodox doctrines or compromising legal principles to conform to secular Western philosophies and modernism Mafhum Tajdid al-Din+1.