Thursday, February 18, 2010

Liberal Qur'an: Reading List on Fazlur Rahman

Liberal Qur'an: Reading List on Fazlur Rahman

Primary Sources

Fadl al-Rahman. 1965. Islamic methodology in history: Fazlur Rahman. Karachi: Central institute of Islamic research.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1979. Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1980. Major themes of the Qurʼān. Minneapolis, MN: Bibliotheca Islamica.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1992. Islam and modernity: transformation of an intellectual tradition. Chicago [u.a.]: University of Chicago Press.

Rahman, Fazlur, and Ebrahim Moosa. 2000. Revival and reform in Islam: a study of Islamic fundamentalism. Oxford: Oneworld.


Secondary Sources

Armajani, Jon. 2004. Dynamic islam: liberal muslim perspectives in a transnational age. Dallas ;Oxford: University Press of America.

Berry, D. L. (1990). The thought of Fazlur Rahman as an Islamic response to modernity. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990.

Berry, Donald L. 2003. Islam and modernity through the writings of Islamic modernist Fazlur Rahman. Islamic studies, v. 1. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press.

Foster, Adelaide Ellen. 1988. Complexities of change in the Muslim world: theories of the social order by Maulana Maududi and Fazlur and Rahman. Thesis (A.B., Honors)--Harvard University, 1988.

Hewer, Christopher Thomas Radbourne. 1998. Fazlur Rahman: a reinterpretation of Islam in the twentieth cenutry. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.

Husein, Fatimah. 2000. Fazlur Rahman's Islamic philosophy. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Iqbal, Aliya. 2000. Never quite at home: the mystery of Fazlur Rahman's anonymity in Pakistan. Thesis (A.B., Honors in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations)--Harvard University, 2000.

Jesse, Mary Catherine. 1991. A modern Muslim intellectul: the thought of Fazlur Rahman with special reference to reason. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Regina, 1991.

Kurzman, Charles. 1998. Liberal Islam: a source book. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mathee, Mohamed Shaid. 2004. A critical reading of Fazlur Rahman's Islamic methodology in history: the case of the living Sunnah. Thesis (M. Soc. Sc. (Religious Studies))--University of Cape Town, 2004.

O'Sulliva, Doctor P. 1998. "The Comparison and Contrast of the Islamic Philosophy, Ideology and Paradigms of Sayyid Qutb. Mawlana Abul A'la Mawdudi and Fazlur Rahman". The Islamic Quarterly. 42 (2): 99.

Rahman, Yusuf. 2004. The hermeneutical theory of Nasr Hāmid Abū Zayd an analytical study of his method of interpreting the Qur'ān. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Rasyid, Amhar. 1994. Some Qurʼ ̃anic legal texts in the context of Fazlur Rahman's hermeneutical method. Thesis (M.A.)--McGill University, 1994.

Taji-Farouki, Suha. 2004. Modern Muslim intellectuals and the Qurʼan. Qurʼanic studies series. Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.

Waugh, Earle H., Frederick Mathewson Denny, and Fazlur Rahman. 1998. The shaping of an American Islamic discourse: a memorial to Fazlur Rahman. Atlanta, Ga: Scholars Press.

Liberal Qur'an: A Reading List

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Abu Zayd, Nasr. 2000. The Qurʼan: God and man in communication. Leiden: Universiteit Leiden].

Abū Zayd, Naṣr Ḥāmid. 2004. Rethinking the Qurʼân: towards a humanistic hermeneutics. Utrecht: University of Humanistics.

Abū Zayd, Naṣr Ḥāmid. 1993. Mafhūm al-naṣṣ: dirāsa fī ʻulūm al-Qurʼān. [al-Qāhira]: al-Hayʼa al-Miṣriyya al-ʻĀmma li-al-Kitāb.

Abū-Zaid, Naṣr Ḥāmid. 1995. an- Naṣṣ, as-sulṭa, al-ḥaqīqa: al-fikr ad-dīnī baina irādat al-maʻrifa wa-irādat al-haimana. Bairūt u.a: al-Markaz at̲-T̲aqāfī al-ʻArabī.

Abū-Zaid, Naṣr Ḥāmid. 2006. Reformation of Islamic thought: a critical historical analysis. WRR verkenningen, 10. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1994. Rethinking Islam: common questions, uncommon answers. Boulder: Westview Press.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1987. Rethinking Islam today. Washington, D.C.: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1987. The concept of revelation: from the people of the book to the societies of the book. Claremont, Calif: James A. Blaisdell Programs in World Religions and Cultures, Claremont Graduate School.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1982. Lectures du Coran. Islam d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, 17. Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1997. Berbagai pembacaan Quran. Seri INIS, 29. Jakarta: INIS.

Arkoun, Mohammed, and Mohammed Arkoun. 2006. Islam: to reform or to subvert? London: Saqi Essentials.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 2002. The unthought in contemporary Islamic thought. London: Saqi.

Jābirī, Muḥammad ʻĀbid. 2009. The formation of Arab reason: text, tradition and the construction of modernity in the Arab world. London: I. B. Tauris.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1992. Islam and modernity: transformation of an intellectual tradition. Chicago [u.a.]: University of Chicago Press.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1979. Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Rahman, Fazlur. 1980. Major themes of the Qurʼān. Minneapolis, MN: Bibliotheca Islamica.

Rahman, Fazlur, and Ebrahim Moosa. 2000. Revival and reform in Islam: a study of Islamic fundamentalism. Oxford: Oneworld.

Shaḥrūr, Muḥammad, and Andreas Christmann. 2009. The Qur'an, morality and critical reason: the essential Muhammad Shahrur. Leiden: Brill.

Shuḥrūr, Muḥammad, Dale F. Eickelman, and Ismail S. Abu Shehadeh. 2000. Proposal for an islamic covenent. Damascus: Al Ahali.

Shuḥrūr, Muḥammad. 2004. Dasar dan prinsip hermeneutika Al-Quran kontemporer. Yogyakarta: Penerbit eLSAQ Press.

Ṭāhā, Maḥmūd Muḥammad. 1987. The second message of Islam. Contemporary issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press.

Wadud, Amina. 1999. Qurʼan and woman: rereading the sacred text from a woman's perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.


Secondary Sources

Arkoun, Mohammed. 1998. "Literature and Society - From Inter-Religious Dialogue to the Recognition of the Religious Phenomenon". Diogenes. (182): 123.

Arkoun, Mohammed. 2007. "The Answers of Applied Islamology". Theory, Culture & Society. 24 (2): 21-38.

Armajani, Jon. 2004. Dynamic islam: liberal muslim perspectives in a transnational age. Dallas ;Oxford: University Press of America.

Ichwan, Moch. Nur. 1999. A new horizon in Qur'anic hermeneutics: Naṣr Ḥâmid Abû Zayd's contribution to critical Quránic scholarship. Leiden: Leiden University.

Kurzman, Charles. 1998. Liberal Islam: a source book. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lee, Robert D. 1989. Arkoun and authenticity. Middle East Studies Association of North America.

Najjar, Fauzi. 2000. "Islamic Fundamentalism and the Intellectuals: The Case of Nasr Hāmid Abu Zayd". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 27 (2): 177-200.

Nederlands Instituut voor Voortgezet Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek op het Gebied van de Mens- en Maatschappijwetenschappen. 1997. Islam and Europe in past and present. Wassenaar: Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Rahman, Yusuf. 2004. The hermeneutical theory of Nasr Hāmid Abū Zayd an analytical study of his method of interpreting the Qur'ān. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Sukidi. 2009. "Nasr Hāmid Abū Zayd and the Quest for a Humanistic Hermeneutics of the Qur'ān". Die Welt Des Islams. 49 (2): 181-211.

Taji-Farouki, Suha. 2004. Modern Muslim intellectuals and the Qurʼan. Qurʼanic studies series. Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.

Wadud, Amina. 2004. "Qur'ān, Gender and Interpretive Possibilities". Hawwa. 2 (3): 316-336.

Wahyudi, Yudian. 2002. The Slogan :Back to the Qur'an and the Sunna" a comparative study of the responses of Hasan Hanafi, Muhammad "Abid al-Jabiri and Nurcholish Madjid. Ann Arbor, MI.: UMI Proquest.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Interview with Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

Interview with Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd
Yoginder Sikand

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd is a well-known Egyptian Islamic scholar. In 1982, he joined the faculty of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at Cairo University. In 1995, he was promoted to the rank of full professor, but controversies about his academic work led to a court decision of apostasy and the denial of the appointment. A hisbah trial started against him Islamist groups and he was declared a heretic (Murtadd) by an Egyptian court. Consequently, he was declared to be divorced from his wife, Cairo University French Literature professor Dr. Ibthal Younis. This decision, in effect, forced him out of his homeland and seek refuge in the Netherlands, where he now works. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he speaks about his work and reflects on his efforts to promote a humanistic reading of the Islamic tradition.
Sikand: You have been writing on the question of human rights in Islam for a long time now. What are you presently working on?
Nasr Abu Zaid: I am presently working on a project that explores and develops the notion of the rights of women and children in Islam. The aim of the project is to promote knowledge of the traditional sources of Islam, such as the Qur'an, the Sunnah or practice of the Prophet and fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, within Muslim communities so as to help promote general awareness of these rights. Alongside this, the project also seeks to critically look at aspects of tradition that might appear to militate against these rights.

In the course of your work how do you relate to those aspects of the historical Islamic tradition which you think might be opposed to the notion of women's and children's rights?

Every tradition has both negative as well as positive aspects. The positive aspects are to be further developed, while the negative aspects need to be discussed closely, to see if they are indeed essential elements of the faith or are actually simply human creations.

How does this work relate to what you have been previously engaged in?

I see it as part of my long interest in Islamic hermeneutics, the methodology of understanding the Qur'an, the Sunnah and other components of the Islamic tradition. Of particular concern for me are certain assumptions in popular Islamic discourse that have not been fully examined, and have generally been ignored or avoided. Thus, for instance, Muslim scholars have not seriously reflected on the question of what is actually meant when we say that the Qur'an is the revealed 'Word of God'. What exactly does the term 'Word of God' mean? What does revelation mean? We have the definitions of the Word and revelation given by the traditional 'ulama, but other definitions are also possible. When we speak of the 'Word of God' are we speaking of a divine or a human code of communication? Is language a neutral channel of communication? Was the responsibility of the Prophet simply that of delivering the message, or did he have a role to play in the forming of that message? What relation does the Qur'an have with the particular social context in which it was revealed? We need to ask what it means for the faith Muslims have in the Qur'an if one brings in the issue of the human dimension involved in revelation.

Are you suggesting that the Qu'ran cannot be understood without taking into account the particular social context of seventh century Arabia? In other words, are there aspects of the Qur'an that were limited in their relevance and application only to the Prophet's time, and are no longer applicable or relevant today?

What I am suggesting is that in our reading of the Qur'an we cannot undermine the role of the Prophet and the historical and cultural premises of the times and the context of the Qur'anic revelation. When we say that through the Qur'an God spoke in history we cannot neglect the historical dimension, the historical context of seventh century Arabia. Otherwise you cannot answer the question of why God first 'spoke' Hebrew through his revelations to the prophets of Israel, then Aramaic, through Jesus, and then Arabic, in the form of the Qur'an.

In a historical understanding of the Qur'an one would also have to look at the verses in the text that refer specifically to the Prophet and the society in which he lived. Some people might feel that looking at the Qur'an in this way is a crime against Islam, but I feel that this sort of reaction is a sign of a weak and vulnerable faith. And this is why a number of writers who have departed from tradition and have pressed for a way of relating to the Qur'an that takes the historical context of the revelation seriously have been persecuted in many countries. I think there is a pressing need to bring the historical dimension of the revelation into discussion, for this is indispensable for countering authoritarianism, both religious and political, and for promoting human rights.

Could you give an example of how a historically grounded reading of the Qur'an could help promote human rights?

Take, for instance, the question of chopping off the hands of thieves, which traditionalists would insist be imposed as an 'Islamic' punishment today. A historically nuanced understanding of the Islamic tradition would see this form of punishment as a borrowing from pre-Islamic Arabian society, and as rooted in a particular social and historical context. Hence, doing away with this form of punishment today would not, one could argue, be tantamount to doing away with Islam itself. By thus contextualising the Qur'an, one could arrive at its essential core, which could be seen as being normative for all times, shifting it from what could be regarded as having been relevant to a historical period and context that no longer exists.

If one were to take history seriously, how would a contextual, historically grounded understanding of the Qur'an reflect on Islamic theology as it has come to be developed?

As I see it, Sunni Muslim theology has remained largely frozen in its ninth century mould, as developed by the conservative 'Asharites. We need to revisit fundamental theological concepts today, which the Sunni 'ulama, by and large, have ignored, for there can be no reform possible in Muslim societies without reform in theology. Till now, however, most reform movements in the Sunni world have operated from within the broad framework of traditional theology, which is why they have not been able to go very far.

How would this new understanding of theology that you propose reflect on the issue of inter-faith relations?

When I suggest that we need to reconsider what exactly is meant by saying that the Qur'an is the 'Word of God', I mean Muslims must also remember that the Qur'an itself insists that the 'Word of God' cannot be limited to the Qur'an alone. A verse in the Qur'an says that if all the trees in the world were pens and all the water in the seas were ink, still they could not, put together, adequately exhausted the Word of God. The Qur'an, therefore, represents only one manifestation of the absolute Word of God. Other Scriptures represent other manifestations as well. Then again, many Sufis saw the whole universe as a manifestation of the 'Word of God'. But, today, few Muslim scholars are taking the need for inter-faith dialogue with the seriousness that it deserves. Most Muslim writers are yet to free themselves from a rigid, imprisoning chauvinism.

How does this way of reading the Qur'an deal with the multiple ways in which the text can be understood and interpreted?

The Qur'an, like any other text, can be read in different ways, and there has always been a plurality of interpretations. The text does not stand alone. Rather, it has to be interpreted, in order to arrive at its meaning, and interpretation is a human exercise and no interpreter is infallible. As Imam 'Ali says, the Qur'an does not speak by itself, but, rather, through human beings. True, Muslims from all over the world, do share certain rituals and beliefs in common, but their understanding of what Islam and the Qur'an are all about differ considerably. It is for us to help develop new ways of understanding Islam that can promote human rights, while at the same time being firmly rooted in the faith tradition.



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Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the National Law School, Bangalore



23rd Jan 2010, 01:00 am.
Retrieved in Feb 16, 2010 from: http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=5909

Jangan Terjebak dalam Aksiomatika Parsial


Kompas, Selasa, 2 Februari 2010 | 18:40 WIB

Oleh: Siti Muyassarotul Hafidzoh*

Judul buku : Hermeneutika Al-Quran?
Penulis : Prof. Hassan Hanafi
Penerbit : Pesantren Nawesea Press Yogyakarta
Cetakan : 1, 2010
Tebal : 116 halaman

Kajian keilmuan selalu menghadirkan perspektif baru dalam memandang persoalan. Kemajuan kajian terindikasi dengan semakin beragam perspektif yang tampil dengan kebebasan akademik yang otonom. Semakin banyak bersemai berbagai pandangan yang menyemarakkan ritual diskusi. Semakin tinggi sebuah ide bertebaran dengan berbagai tanggapan yang mengitari. Dan semakin begairah manusia untuk selalu berfikir dan mendiskusikan hal-hal substansial untuk menyegarkan ide kemanusiaan di tengah kemelut isu kemanusiaan yang tak kunjung usai.

Dalam kajian keislaman (Islamic studies), kajian keilmuan memakai berbagai aksioma dengan beragam sudut pandang. Kajian banyak berkisar di ulum al-quran, ilm al-hadits, ushul fiqh, qowaid fiqhiyyah, ilm tarikh (ilmu sejarah), dan sebagainya. Karena banyaknya kajian inilah maka dikenal istilah ijma’ (konsensus) dalam kajian Islamic studies. Ijma’ ini biasanya akan menyatukan beragam pendapat yang silang-sengkarut, sehingga ditemukan sebuah kesepakatan. Ijma’ ini kemudian menjadi salah satu sumber penetapan hukum atas sebuah persoalan setelah Al-Quran dan Hadits.

Beragam pendekatan dalam Islamic studies merupakan indikasi bahwa intelektual Islam mempunyai cara pandang sendiri dalam menafsirkan kalam ilahi. Mereka (intelektual Islam) tidak mau terjebak dalam aksiomatika yang parsial, karena hany akan mengahdirkan tafsir yang parsial juga. Konsep ijma’ menjadi bukti bahwa cara ilmiah yang digunakan intelektual Islam tidak sekedar “semau gue”, “sesuai pendapat gue”, dan “sesuka pikiran gue”, tetapi melalui kajian dan perdebatan yang serius, sehingga menghasilkan consensus yang rasional dan diterima semuanya.

Karena tidak berangkat dalam ruang dalam ruang hampa dalam kajian keilmuan, maka intelektual Islam merumuskan teori keilmuannya juga didasarkan pada aide-ide yang rasional. Bukan sekedar asal-asalan saja. Termasuk dalam mengkaji hermeneutika dalam kajian ilmu Al-Quran. Menyematkan kajian hermeneutikan dalam kalam ilahi bukanlah dengan asal saja, tetapi harus melalui perdebatan yang serius, sehingga tidak menghasilkan hasil rumusan yang srampangan.

Perlu ijma’ dalam menetapkan hermeneutika dalam kajian ilmu al-Quran. Makanya perlu perdebatan panjang, tidak dengan menyuguhkannya dengan asal saja, dan marah ketika ada yang mengkritiknya. Inilah yang coba diurai Prof Hassan Hanafi, guru bisar filsafat Islam di Universitas Cairo. Hassan Hanafi dikenal sebagai penggagas Kiri Islam yang mencoba melakukan gerakan kritis dalam mendobrak kejumudan intelektual di dunia Islam. Kiri Islam yang diusung Hassan Hanafi bahkan menjadi isu yang seksi yang sejak awal tahun 90-an menjadi isu paling menarik umat Islam di Indonesia. Bahkan Al-Marhum Abdurrahman Wahid menjadi pendukung kuat Hassan Hanafi, terbukti dengan pengantar Gus Dur dalam buku “Kiri Islam”.

Dalam buku ini, Hassan Hanafi “unjuk rasa” dan “urun rembug” ihwal gagasan hermeneutika yang banyak dibicarakan dalam kajian Islamic studies. Terlebih ketika kajian hermeneutic disematkan dalam kajian ilm al-Quran. Sebagai intelektual Islam di masa kontemporer, Hassan Hanafi bukanlah serampangan untuk “menjatuhkan” hermeneutika dalam lapangan kajian Islamic studies. Dia tetap merespon kajian ini secra serius, bahkan oleh dia dikatakan menarik, karena memberikan angina penyegaran dalam lanskap pemikiran.

Tetapi bukanlah Hassan Hanafi menerima begitu saja hiruk pikuk hermeneutika yang sedang menggejala dalam dunia keilmun. Bukan pula alergi dengan semangat hermeneutika dalam melakukan proses pembebasan dlam berfikir. Tetapi buku ini menjadi sikap Hassan Hanafi dalam memahami secara kritis hermeneutika, sehingga tidak menyilap dan menyulap masyarakat Islam secara taken for granted, tetapi harus melalui kajian keilmuan yang diskursif.

Sebagai sebuah aksioma dalam traktat pengetahuan, Hanafi menerima hermeneutika sebagai salah satu aksioma, yang dalam buku ini dia jelaskan dalam tinjauan Islam. Dalam lapangan kajian keilmuan, sah-sah saja hermeneutika menjadi traktat keilmuan yang digunakan dalam menganalisis beragam fakta social. Tetapi kalau dilekatkan dalam al-Quran, atau menjadi hermeneutika al-Quran, maka tunggu dulu. Dalam pandangan Hanafi, penggagas hermeneutika al-Quran sebenarnya kehilangan kesadaran sejarah jika: menggunakan hermeneutika al-Quran tanpa menyadari konsekuensi teologisnya. Jauh-jauh hari, Hanafi sudah menegaskan bahwa teori kenabian membahas proses penerimaan wahyu secara vertical dari Allah kepada Nabi Muhammad melalui malaikat Jibril.

Dalam proses vertical ini, Malaikat Jibril dan Nabi Muhammad bertindak sebagai penerima yang passif. Mereka berdua sepenuhnya bertindak sebagai recorders, sehingga wahyu Allah bersifat verbatim. Dengan kata lain, Nabi Muhammad dan malaikat Jibril tidak menafsirkan pikiran Tuhan. Setelah wahyu verbatim dicatat, berulah proses hermeneutika dapat berfungsi. Jadi, hermeneutika bersifat horizontal, yakni menafsirkan al-Quran setelah wahyu ilahi ini dicatat secara verbatim. Di sini, berulah Muhammad bertindak sebagai active interpreter, yakni menafsirkan al-Quran sesuai dengan konteks.

Dari sini terlihat sekali bahwa Hanafi melihat hermeneutika dalam al-Quran tidaklah srampangan. Hanafi tetap bergerak dalam prinsip bahwa wahyu Tuhan tetaplah terjga keasliannya, tidak bisa asal “diutak-atik gatuk”, tanpa landasan pemikiran yang rasional. Ini bukti bahwa pemikiran Hanafi yang tetap teguh dengan prinsip kajian Islamic studies, tidak asal-asalan menerima pemikiran secara membabi buta.

Sikap kritis dan independent inilah yang perlu menjadi pelajaran intelektual Islam di Indonesia dalam menanggapi beragam persoalan, khususnya terkait dalam Islamic studies. Tidak asal saja menyuarakan kebebasan dan pembebasan, juga tidak asal saja dalam mengkafirkan pendapat orang lain.

*Penikmat buku


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