Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Exclusivist view of salvation of Muslims that holds sway amongst the laity and even theologians trained in seminaries has been a source of much debate amongst modern intellectuals and certain theologians influenced by modernity or postmodern hermeneutics. It has also been the Achilles’ heel of Muslim rationalism. Given widespread contacts between different faith communities in the face of globalization, classical attempts of defense of exclusivism need rethinking and certain more inclusive arguments need to be revisited.      Regarding apparently exclusivist verses “ Verily the religion, in the sight of God, is Islam… ” and “ If anyone desires a religion other than Islam never will it be accepted of him; in the hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost, ”  further observations made by several scholars are in order. Several Quran translators including M.A.S. Abdel Haleem insist on using the lowercase “i” suggesting that “islam is being used as a verb, w...

Asking Some Difficult Questions about Islam Following Iqbal, Fazlur Rahman has been arguably the last major philosopher of our subcontinent and like the former’s philosophical lectures, his works are largely unheard, and certainly unheeded. He has been one of the most brilliant minds who was deeply informed about traditional Islam’s most important languages, thinkers, history and general self understanding. It is shocking how little he has been read or understood or engaged with by Ulama whose key premises he interrogated. His great works have been and could be criticized on this or that point, but that does not mean his many an insight and contribution could be ignored. We can’t proceed to solve certain problems today for the Muslim world, especially in the subcontinent, without taking note of Fazlur Rahman. He was indeed fazl of Rahman and so far we have been absent to receive the treasure he uncovered. Today we take note of some of his questions he has raised regarding Quran ex...

It contains, self avowedly, nothing new; it is only a reminder.  Unlike great literary classics, scriptures have been assumed to be addressing particular religious communities and we find, for instance, that the Quran is mostly read by Muslims. This is more surprising when we keep in mind that for the Quran there is only one religion – Islam – and what is not named so in the form of world religions is/has been in any way a school/sect of Islam if we fully cognize significance of calling every revealed religion Islam. For the Quran the world is divided into those who know/believe/are grateful and those who don’t know/don’t believe/are not grateful. Reading the Upanishads, Tao te Ching, The Dhammapada, The Gospels – to name few – one also finds that all are addressed by them. It was never the case that man could say he doesn’t need heavenly wisdom. There is no such thing as cancelling/overriding previous wisdoms as the term naskh (cancellation) applies only to few, mostly second...

Understanding what is certain and what is probable and what needs qualifying clause when speaking in the name of God or His Book. The positive contribution of postmodern thought consists in alerting us to the danger in absolutization of one’s interpretations and attributing the same to earlier generations in the name of authentic history/received uncontested interpretation/consensus of authorities. Claiming knowledge, certainty, authority (and asserting that the debate is closed) in the name of religious or community interest has become more difficult now.       It needs a lifetime of engagement with the Quran at personal level to understand that the Quran opens up its treasures only on the condition that one continues to maintain great intellectual humility that the weighty, awe inspiring Word calls forth. What the great learning (from the Book of God) requires is a learning in continuous unlearning or learned ignorance and surrendering temptation to abso...

Who can say what the Text means? Understanding why some key issues remain unresolved. It is often asked which tafsir one must read, what the Quran really means, or its viewpoint on a host of issues, and who has the authority to legislate/exclude in the name of the Quran. Sects and schools remain bitterly divided on certain issues. Theologians, jurists and philosophers differ although they all invoke the same text. Salafis and Hanafis-Sufis, Deobandis and Berelvis, Islamists and their Muslim critics, Islamic and Muslim Feminists  are all claiming respective positions in the name of certain standard reading of the Quran. Even votes are sought or political alliances/slogans legitimized in the name of the Quran. Who can say and then judge on behalf of the silent text? Let us investigate if we can or should have easy answers to such questions.       It is often said that we need to approach things from the viewpoint of the Quran as if the Quran had a vi...

Exploring contributions of Nasr to Islamic Studies and Need to Improve Curriculum in Universities. Islamic Studies as a discipline and Islam as a Tradition in the integral sense of the term that includes proper engagement with the whole legacy of Islam – aesthetics, metaphysics, ontology, art and architecture, esoterism, a host of traditional sciences and much more – are absent in much of the Muslim world and its institutions. There are very few students formally trained by Islamic Studies/Comparative Religion Departments/Madrassas who are interested in or have resources for proper comprehension of works written by Muslim scholars in most of the disciplines, religious or “secular.” All we see in most students is certain atomistic approach and recourse to some verses and traditions to buttress their understanding of Islam they often cofound with/reduce to ideology or some imagined system or book of answers or juristic-legal manuals. Absence of deeper understanding of philosophical, a...

Encountering Some Difficult Questions Despite countless sermons and FAQ sessions during Ramadan, a few basic questions remain to be clarified and it seems most Muslims have yet to know the secret or key of the whole thing from fasting to iʿtikāf to laylat al-qadr and, one fears, that is why they only experience hunger and thirst and not proximity to God. Such questions include why is there, generally speaking, silence in the Quran/traditions regarding any punishment for those who though believe fasting as one of the pillars of Islam routinely fail to fast or who never fast (as against very clear elaborate descriptions about those who miss prayer/zakat) – we find promise of reward and call for fasting but silence on corresponding threat of punishment for missing without any excuse? There is a special gate reserved for those who fast in Heaven but none in hell for those who miss it. Very few note that God doesn’t hold us accountable for not offering tarawih in congregation routinely...