ISLAMIC STUDIES COURSE OUTLINE

Instructors: Dr. Iftikhar Zaman Asif Iftikhar

Basic objectives:

Along with learning facts and figures, an undergraduate education in Islam should develop the ability in students to understand different points of view and come to their own decisions regarding them. To develop this ability in the students, this course will proceed in two streams of class sections: a hundred minute section and a fifty-minute section.

Stream 1:

The students will learn about Islam through English language sources, most of which have been penned by Orientalist scholars or have been written with their scholarship in mind. The first part of the course, until the Mid-term exams, will prepare the students to understand the concerns that are in the background to Orientalist scholarship.

The second part of the course will focus on the ways in which Muslims have understood Islam. The section on Islamic history will provide the students with a perspective on the way in which the body of knowledge and attitudes that are known as Islam have come to us. This will help understand the sources for diversity in the Muslim World, both in their practice of Islam and in their approach toward the "Islamic Project". After this, there is a section on the way in which Muslims have approached the issues raised by economics and social sciences in the modern world. Finally, there is a section on what the morality of a Muslim means in the modern world.

Stream 2:

It is essential that any student of Islam read the basic text of this religion: the Quran. This is especially so since the Quran is only about 400 pages or so in translation. The students will read through the book quickly, with attention to broad themes and topics. They will not be asked to look at any exegesis or secondary works: the idea is to just familiarize them with the broad demands the Quran makes of humanity and the manner in which it makes them.

- 1 -

Islamic Studies Readings

Three kinds of readings are listed below:

Readings preceded by an arrow (as in the beginning of this line) are mandatory. Every

lecture will be based on the assumption that students have read them carefully.

Readings preceded by a dot (as in the beginning of this line) are recommended. Their

contents will be summarized in class. However, the students will find it useful to read

them.

For those who may be interested, optional readings listed as “Additional” will very useful

but usually a little difficult.

The required readings and the recommended readings are included in the photocopied readings

package for this class. The additional readings are available for download from the class

website.

Students may use any translation of the Quran, in Urdu or English for the Quran readings. For

the sake of being consistent in class we will refer to the translation of M. A. S. Abdel Haleem—

so each student should purchase this one.

All the readings—including the readings package and the Quran translation are available for

download from the same place. But please note: these downloadable materials are for

students’ study during this class only: they are not to be reproduced or distributed in any

form.

The Page numbers in the “Readings by Lecture” are page numbers as in the originally published

books. These original page numbers are recorded in this reading package between square

brackets: [xx]. The “Table of Contents” following that section refers to the continuous page

numbers in this reading package.

- 2 -

Readings by Lecture

09/02 History of Islam: The Narrative on the Life of the Prophet

R. G. Collingwood The Idea of History “Who Killed John Doe?” pp. 266-268.

Bernard Lewis The Arabs in History “Muhammad” pp. 36-48

H A R Gibb Mohammadenism “Muhammad” pp.27-35

Fred Donner The Early Islamic Conquests “Introduction” pp. 3-9

Additional Reading:

Carl G. Hempel Philosophy of Natural Science

09/03 Quran Readings: Introductory Lecture

Additional Reading:

Mustafa Azami The Text of the Quran. This book is easy reading and very useful and every

student should read it. But, since there are already enough readings for the class, only a small

portion of it has been selected for the required and recommended readings.

09/09 History of Islamic Textual Sources: The Preservation of the Quran

In Mustafa Azami The Text of the Quran

Preface xv-xxii,

Introduction 3-13,

Pt III An Appraisal of Orientalist Research

Ch 18: The Orientalist and the Quran 303—320

Ch 19: Orientalist Motivations: A study of subjectivity 321-339

Ch 20: Closing Remarks 341--344

09/10 Quran Reading: suras 1-4

Suras 1-4

09/16 History of Islamic Textual Sources: Hadith 5 pgs + spreadsheet

Joseph Schacht Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence pp. 172-174, pg. 161

Malik ibn Anas Muwatta (tr Tarjumana and Johnson, pp 324-5)

Handout: Spreadsheet of hadiths with chains of narration

- 3 -

09/17 Quran Reading: suras 5-9

Suras 5-9

09/23 The Context of the Western Narratives on Islamic Textual Sources

Barbara Tuchman March Of Folly

Martin Luther Disputation of Dr Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of

Indulgences

Additional Readings

Edward Said Orientalism

The Crime of Galileo Giorgio Santillana

09/24 Quran Readings: suras 10-16

Suras 10-16

MIDTERM EXAM

09/30 Islamic Hist: How the Prophet’s Knowledge comes to us

Ahmad Mujtaba Hasan Bukhari (selections)

Additonal Readings

Shah Waliullah The Conclusive Argument (tr. Marcia Hermansen) pp. 437-450

Ali ibn al-Madini Kitab al-Ilal

10/01 Quran Readings: suras 17-25

Suras 17-25

10/14 Diversity in the Muslim World: Madhahib and “Sects”

Madhahib and salafis:

Fazlur Rahman Islam pp. 203-219 “Sectarian Developments”

In Sherman Jackson Introduction: Part I to his translation of al-Ghazali’s Faysal al-Tafriqa

(On the Boundaries ofTheological Tolerance in Islam)

Theology Between Tolerance and Exclusivity pp 3-8

Theology Between Religion and History pp. 8-16

Theology Between Traditionalism and Rationalism pp16-29

Theology Between Orthodoxy and Heresy pp. 29-35

- 4 -

Additional Readings

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali Faysal al-Tafriqa (On the Boundaries ofTheological Tolerance in

Islam) tr. Sherman Jackson (translated text from pp. 85-132).

10/15 Quran Readings: suras 26-36

Suras 26-36

10/21 Diversity in the Muslim World: The “Islamic Project”

Iftikhar Zaman Towards Islamic Ways of Islamization

10/22 Quran Readings: suras 37-49

Suras 37-49

10/28 Living in the World: Economics and Social Science

Mufti Muhammad Shafi Islam kaa nizaam ma`ishat tr. As “Distribution of Wealth in

Islam”

Arthur Lewis The Theory of Economic Growth Appendix: Is Economic Growth

Desirable?

Additional Readings

Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanavi Tariq al-Qalandar

10/29 Quran Readings: suras 50-end

Suras 50-end

11/04 The Moral Individual in an Immoral World: Demands of God and

Man

Additional Reading:

Michael Harrington ThePolitics at God’s Funeral

11/05 Quran Readings: Overview and Summary

- 5 -

Table of Contents

R. G. Collingwood The Idea Of History “Who Killed John Doe?”..............................4

Bernard Lewis The Arabs in History. Ch 2 Muhammad and the Rise of Islam............6

H. A. R. Gibb Mohammedanism: An Historical Survey Ch.2 Mohammed................13

Fred Mcgraw Donner The Early Islamic Conquests Introduction..............................17

Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami The History Of The Qur'anic Text.................................21

Ch 18 The Orientalist And The Qur'an......................................................................21

Ch 19 Orientalist Motivations: A Study Of Subjectivity ....................................30

CH. 20 Closing Remarks............................................................................................40

Joseph Schacht The Origins Of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (selections)...............42

Malik ibn Anas Muwatta (selection)...........................................................................44

Barbara Tuchman The March of Folly Ch. 3 The Renaissance Popes Provoke the

Protestant Secession 1470-1530........................................................................................45

Martin Luther 95 Theses: Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and

Efficacy of Indulgences......................................................................................................80

Ahmad Mujtaba Hasan Bukhari Ch. 4 Discovering Practice: Textual and non-Textual

Sources...............................................................................................................................85

Fazlur Rahman Islam Sectarian Developments........................................................104

Sherman A. Jackson On The Boundaries Of Theological Tolerance In Islam................112

PREFACE.................................................................................................................112

A. Theology: Between Tolerance And Exclusivity..................................................114

B. Theology Between Religion And History............................................................116

C. Theology Between Traditionalism And Rationalism...........................................120

D. Theology Between Orthodoxy And Heresy.........................................................125

Maulvi Iftikhar Zaman Towards Islamic Ways of Islamization................................128

- 6 -

Mufti Muhammad Shafi Distribution of Wealth in Islam (selection)............145

W. Arthur Lewis Theory of Economic Growth Appendix: Is Economic Growth

Desirable?..................................................................................................................................................149

Grading Plan:

Quizzes: 20 %

Assignment: 20%

Mid-term Exam: 25%

Final: 35%

- 7 -