Riddah wa la Abu Bakr laha - Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi

Riddah wa la Abu Bakr laha (Apostasy with No Abu Bakr for It) is a treatise by the Indian Islamic scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) addressing modern intellectual secularization, philosophical materialism, and religious apathy in the Muslim world Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…+1.

Background and Publication History

The work originated as an editorial written by Nadwi for the Damascus-based journal al-Muslimun during 1958–1959 CE al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1. It was subsequently printed as a standalone monograph, translated into several languages, and included as a concluding section in Nadwi's book Ila al-Islam min Jadid (To Islam Anew) Ila al-Islam min Jadid.

Its print editions include a first edition by al-Mukhtar al-Islami in Cairo, a print by Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, and a second edition published in 1413 AH / 1992 CE jointly by Maktabat al-Saddawi in Cairo and al-Maktabah al-Makkiyyah in Mecca (printed at Matba'at al-Madani) Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…+1.

Themes and Contents

The title adapts the classical Arabic proverb قضية ولا أبا حسن لها ("A crisis with no Abu al-Hasan for it") into قضية ولا أبا بكر لها ("A crisis with no Abu Bakr for it"), invoking the historic suppression of the tribal apostasy revolts by the first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Ila al-Islam min Jadid+1.

Nadwi draws a contrast between historical apostasies and the modern intellectual crisis:

• Historical apostasy: Historically, instances of apostasy—such as the revolts following the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the conversion movement following the fall of Islamic Spain, or isolated individual conversions in India to Brahmanism or Arya Samaj—were overt and rare Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…. Apostates openly entered churches or temples, which triggered intense communal condemnation, severed familial and social ties, and prompted scholars to mobilize in defense of Islamic tenets Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…+1.
• Modern apostasy: The modern crisis followed European political and cultural colonization of the Muslim world, bringing materialist philosophies that reject God, revelation, prophecy, moral values, and the unseen Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…+1. Nadwi argues that this form of apostasy is silent and internalized; individuals abandon core Islamic beliefs regarding God, the Prophet, the Quran, and the afterlife without officially converting to another faith or leaving Muslim society, thereby retaining their full legal standing and social privileges within families and institutions unnoticed Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…+1.

Nadwi attributes the penetration of materialist thought to the intellectual stagnation and exhaustion of the Muslim world during the nineteenth century, including the failure of traditional scholars and educators to engage modern educated youth and persuasively present the rational and moral strengths of Islam and the Quran Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah…. He also critiques modern tribalism and secular nationalisms (العصبية الجاهلية) based on blood, race, or geography, arguing that they fragment the unified Muslim community Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah….

In offering solutions, Nadwi stresses that this crisis cannot be addressed by physical warfare, violence, agitation, or inquisitorial persecutions, which he states have no place in Islam and would only exacerbate the problem; instead, he calls for intellectual rigor, wisdom, educational renewal, and patience Riddah wa la Abu Bakr lah….

Reception

The treatise and its central metaphor gained wide currency in twentieth-century Islamic literature. Scholars and essayists frequently cited Nadwi's formulation to characterize ideological and literary trends; for instance, Ali al-Tantawi invoked Nadwi's phrasing to criticize modernism in contemporary Arabic literature Dhikrayat - Ali al-Tantaw…, and Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar cited the work when discussing modern Western cultural influence on the Muslim world Nahw Thaqafa Islamiyya As….