Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah

Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (The Stance of the Republicans on the Prophetic Sunnah) is a critical theological treatise by Shawqi Bashir examining and refuting the doctrines of the Sudanese Republican movement regarding the Prophetic Sunnah and Hadith literature Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…+1.

Background and Publication

The author, Dr. Shawqi Bashir al-Majid of Omdurman Islamic University, wrote the treatise to analyze the ideological trajectory of the Republican movement in Sudan Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…. In his introduction, he traces the movement's beginnings to the Republican Socialist Party founded in late October 1945 under the leadership of Mahmud Muhammad Taha Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…. The author states that while it began as an explicitly secular political group, its leadership subsequently adopted religious terminology, shifting around 1952 into an esoteric (Batini) doctrine that incorporated ideas from earlier esoteric groups alongside contemporary philosophical concepts Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…+1.

The work was published as a single volume in Mecca by the Muslim World League as issue number 71 in its monthly series Da'wat al-Haqq in Safar 1408 AH (September 1987 CE) Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min….

Structure and Content

The treatise is organized into thematic chapters evaluating the Republican group's methodology and arguments concerning the Sunnah:

• Redefinition of the Sunnah: The book addresses the Republicans' distinction between shari'ah and sunnah, wherein they restricted the term sunnah solely to the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ private personal practice, while categorizing his general legal statements and tacit approvals (iqrar) as shari'ah rather than Sunnah Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…+1. The author refutes this by asserting the orthodox definition of Sunnah as encompassing the Prophet's ﷺ sayings, actions, and approvals as binding sources of Islamic legislation Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…+1.
• Reliance on Inauthentic Narrations: It critiques the Republicans' reliance on fabricated (mawdu') and weak hadiths, as well as their attribution of Sufi aphorisms to the Prophet ﷺ as prophetic traditions to substantiate their theological claims Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…+1.
• Rejection and Reinterpretation of Texts: The work analyzes the group's dismissal of established hadiths that conflicted with their interpretations—such as reports concerning the Heavenly Ascension (al-Mi'raj)—under the claim of rational critique Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min….
• The Doctrine of Transitoriness (Marhaliyyah): The treatise examines the Republicans' claim that prophetic hadiths and legislation are stage-based and temporary, intended only for an initial phase of imitation (taqlid) before an individual attains direct spiritual arrival Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min…. It highlights their subsequent abandonment of specific texts, such as those regarding social status and gender roles, as having expired Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min….
• Division of Habits and Worship: The book outlines the group's division of the Sunnah into habitual practice (sunnat 'adah) and devotional practice (sunnat 'ibadah), which led them to reject large bodies of hadiths governing personal deportment, food, and dress as non-binding cultural practices Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min….
• Expansion of Innovation (Bid'ah): It notes how the group broadened the scope of religious innovation to classify standard Sunnah reports and established practices as innovations Mawqif al-Jumhuriyyin min….