Going on Vacation

I am taking a break from blogging. I should be back in mid summer this year June/July 2012. I don't expect anything new to be added here until I return.

Take care you all. And have fun.

Overpriced Books (Rant)

I am in the rant mode now.

A few weeks ago I was complaining about cheap Islamic books flooding the market. The day before yesterday, I was thinking to buy a few books about Ismailis and Fatimid but the prices of these books are discouraging. I am not going to pay $70 and over hundred dollars for a book. I don't care if these books are hardcovers printed on cotton-bonded paper with sharp and glossy covers. Who pays that kind of money nowadays?

It cost soo much money to get access to academic materials (conference and journal papers). The academic books and textbooks are also way overpriced. I am not happy with all these barriers put in place to discourage people who are studying and those who wish to pursuit independent research without being affiliated with universities and research institute. Authors don't make that much money out of their books. If you can get paperbacks for less than ten dollars and hardback for less than $25 from supermarkets then there is something wrong with the printing of academic books.

Thank god I can go to the university and get what I want for free.

I am really getting interested in the ebooks revolution. Hopefully, the books could be sold cheaper because there is no cost associated with printing, distribution and stocking.

So, are the publishing companies happy that they can sell books cheaply without all the additional costs involved in the printing and distribution of the books? Nope. As of now, they are trying to figure out new ways to scam their consumers.

Random House will continue to offer its e-books to libraries but as of March 1 has raised many e-books’ wholesale prices significantly—in some cases by as much as 300 percent.

Several librarians told The Digital Shift that the prices they’re seeing tripled. “A book that a week ago we purchased for $28.00 now costs $84.00,” said one.

Getting some new books about the Ismailis

I am thinking to acquire some new books about Ismailis. I've noticed a number of interesting titles on Amazon.

#1 The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shi'i Witness by Wilfred Madelung and Paul Walker. The current price of the book is a whopping $84.00 only for 256 pages. I've just sent a note to the publisher to make the title available on Kindle. The description of the book sounds interesting

This personal memoir composed by a medieval scholar reveals an important discourse with two Ismaili leaders who spearheaded the Fatimid revolution in North Africa in 909-910. By reporting the thoughts and activities of Abu ‘Abdallah al-Shi’i and his brother Abu’l-Abbas over a period of seven months, Ibn al-Haytham in his Kitab al-Munazarat (The Book of Discussions) provides an unparalleled insider’s view to the foundations of the Fatimid state. As such, it is a unique document in the literature of early Islamic revolutionary movements as much as it represents one of the most valuable sources for the history of the medieval Muslim world.

#2 The Fatimids and Their Successors in Yaman: The History of an Islamic Community the authors are the same two people who wrote book #1. This book is still overpriced at $73 for 242 pages. This book is partially in Arabic.

The Uyun al-akhbar is the most complete text by an Ismaili author on the history of the Ismaili community, from its origins up to Idris ‘Imad al-Din’s own time in the 15th century. The seventh volume, edited here for the first time, together with a summary English translation, deals in particular with the period of the three Fatimid caliphs, al-Mustansir, al-Musta’li, and al-Amir, in addition to the Tayyibi Ismaili community in Yemen.

# 3 The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. Ikhwan al-Safa' and their Rasa'il: An Introduction. Priced over a hundred dollars. Seems like all the books published by the Ismaili Institute are way way overpriced. This books seems to be an introduction. I guess they will be publishing more books in this series.

Ikhwan al-Safa' (The Brethren of Purity) were the anonymous adepts of a tenth-century esoteric fraternity of lettered urbanites that was principally based in Basra and Baghdad. This brotherhood occupied a prominent station in the history of science and philosophy in Islam due to the wide reception and assimilation of their monumental encyclopedia: Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa' (The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). This compendium contained fifty-two epistles that offered synoptic explications of the classical sciences and philosophies of the age. Divided into four classificatory parts, it treated themes in mathematics, logic, natural philosophy, psychology, metaphysics and theology, in addition to moral and didactic fables. The Ikhwan were learned compilers of scientific and philosophical knowledge, and their Rasa'il constituted a paradigmatic legacy in the canonization of philosophy and the sciences in mediaeval Islamic civilization.

This present volume gathers studies by leading philosophers, historians and scholars of Islamic Studies, who are also the editors and translators of the first Arabic critical editions and first complete annotated English translations of the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa', which will be published in the OUP Series that this present volume initiates, as well as being members of the Editorial Board.

#4 ISMAILI ASSASSINS, THE: A History of Medieval Murder

Few people know the truth about the enigmatic organization known as the Assassins, an underground group of political killers, they were ready to kill Christians and Muslims alike with complete disregard for the consequences of their actions. Although their empire was destroyed in the 13th Century, have a controversial legacy which still resonates in the world today.

The Assassins were meticulous in their killing. They often slew their victims in public, thereby cultivating their terrifying reputation. They assumed disguises and their weapon of choice was a dagger - poison or bows would give the victim the chance to escape. Suicide was considered a deep dishonor and it was generally accepted that an Assassin had to die fighting rather than be captured. Hardly any movement before or since has cast so terrifying a shadow. In 1253, the Mongol chiefs were so fearful of the Assassins' 'poniards of terrible length and sharpness' that they massacred and enslaved the Assassins' women and children.

Assaults on the Crusaders of Syria led to warnings of agents planted in European courts ready to commit murder at the bidding of their master. The English monarch, Edward I, was very nearly poisoned and Richard the Lionheart's reputation was sullied by his association with the Assassins' murder of Conrad of Montferrat.

The Ismail: Assassins describes a unique way of waging war and shows how assassination and fifth-column infiltration became the key weapon for the Ismailis. Through its use of eyewitness accounts from both Islamic and Western sources, This important new book unlocks much of the history of the Crusades and the early Islamic period, allowing the reader entry into a historical epoch that is epic, thrilling, startling and pertinent.

Legal Opinions

According to the Sunnis, the following four elements are valid sources to derive Islamic laws

• The Quran
• The Hadith (saying of the Prophet)
• Scholarly Consensus (Ijma)
• Reasoning by Analogy (qiyas)

According to the Mutazilah, the legal opinions must only be based on

• The Quran
• The Hadith
• Human Reasoning (Aql)

Contention between the two groups can be summarized in the following philosophical question which predate Islam itself

The Hanbali traditionalists (as well as the Ash'ariya and other groups within the orthodox center) differed sharply with the Mu'tazila on whether the Law (Shari'a) that God revealed through His prophet Muhammad was good because God had revealed it, or whether God had revealed it because it was inherently good. [1]

On page 17, the authors quoted an interesting saying about the need to define your religion and to contrast it with others.

there is an obvious need for a religious group to define itself in relation to other groups, and to the world in general.[1]

The most celebrated time for the Mutazilah was under the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (year 813-833 AD). After losing the support from the caliph, the Mutazilah madhhab began to decline. This gave rise to other Sunnite madhabs like the Ash'ari and Maturidi.

After the demise of Mutazilah scholar Abd al-Jabbar (d. 1024), the next scholar among this sect was the famous Quranic scholar, al-Zamakhshari (d. 1144).

Among the Sunni theologians, the majority of whom identified with the Ash'ari madhhab after the eleventh century, Mu'tazili doctrine was the target of attack and derision; Mu'tazili masters were often condemned from pulpits during the Friday prayer service.[1]

it was the Zaydi (Fiver) and Imami (Twelver) Shi'a more often than the Sunnis who continued to discuss the early Mu'tazili writings [1].

end at page 18

Reference
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. Preface. ISBN 978-1851681471

Who is responsible for your acts?

Summary of pages (12 -13) from the book [1]

The Mutazila did not make God as the cause of all that happens in the universe. Humans are responsible for their own acts.

The Mu'tazila further claimed that this constantly created reality behaves according to known patterns of events or "nature" ('ada) on which human reasoning about the world is based.[1]

Sometimes, God allows Miracles to be perform by Prophets. According to them, this is the only exception to the rule. False Prophets do no perform real miracles because that would sabotage human rationality.

The Mutazila were faithful to the Islamic faith. They believe that reason can demonstrate the existence of God and that the revelation is advantageous to human rationality.

The biggest opposition to the Mutazilah came from the Hanbalite Sunnis (follower of Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal).

The term Sunni or Sunnah wal-Jamaah came from two groups of traditional Muslim groups; the people of the Sunnah (ahl al-Sunnah) and the community (wa l-Jama'a).

from which the term "Sunni" is derived. 'Traditionalist (Hanbali) and rationalist (Mu'tazili) religious leaders also belonged to this broad and dynamic Sunni majority (though some Mu'tazili mutakallimun leaned toward Imami and Zaydi Shi'i political theologies). [1]

Reference
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. Preface. ISBN 978-1851681471

Mu'tazilah Scholarship

I am on page ten of the Mutazilah book [1]. I am summarizing key points from the book. Please read the book if you are interested to find out more about them.

The Sunnis since the ninth century have stopped recognizing the Mutazilah sect (madhab). And in my last post we saw how the Zaydis and the Shias treat the Mutazilah scholarship.

The authors then compared the Mutazilah with Western Philosophies/Philosophers of the 17th and 18th century. I am not going to reproduce anything about the western scholarship here because my goal is, if possible, to just write about Mu'tazilah thoughts/thinking/Philosophy as it was known back in the 8th, 9th and 10th century.

The Mutazili believe that God operate only with rational laws and that God would not deceive HIS creatures by creating an irrational universe. The Mutazili from Basra came out against Sufis and some Sunnis who believes in miracle stories and extraordinary signs about their saints and ancestors.

The Mutazili restrict miracles of the messenger of God only pertaining to those dealing with the claimant (of prophet hood).

Abd al-Jabbar belonged to the Basra madhhab of the Mu'tazila. They adopted what the authors termed as 'a metaphysics of atomistic occasionalism'. I don't even know what this means, so I am going to quote the authors

the Basra Mu'tazila held that physical reality is composed of basic physical entities or atoms (singular jawhar) and attributes (singular 'arad) that give beings their shape, color, and other distinguishing qualities. God creates the world in each instant by creating atoms and attributes that inhere in the physical substrates that atoms form; creation is thus a continual divine activity.

Reference
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. Preface. ISBN 978-1851681471

My blog is changing in completely unexpected ways

I don't think I will be able to write anything about Alawi any time sooner. I am not finding good sources. Most historical information about them are conflicting. I'll only have something interesting to post if I find more information about their doctrine. Otherwise, I just have to move on. I've placed the sect label to the side with other sects.

I am also not posting much about Ismailis. I need to look for something interesting about them to post.

After Mu'tazilah, I am thinking about reading the Batini teaching and the Qaramite sect. I haven't discuss much about them.

On the Sunni front, I really wish I could return back to reading the following paper http://researchintoothersects.blogspot.com/2011/11/two-opposing-doctrines-of-faith-in.html

So, far I've managed to introduce over 30 sects. My original plan was to first look into sects like Shia, Ismailis, Zaydi, Ghulat and Sunni. I've expanded my plan to include more sects including the extinct sects. Just because they are gone, doesn't mean we don't need to know about them.

And I've definitely not been doing anything on the obscure sects.

Feedback from a Reader

One of my readers commented (through email) that she finds it interesting that I am now reading and doing a piece about Mu'tazilah. According to her, many non-Muslims are not even aware that there is/was a rationalist group among the Muslims. She used the term monolithic to describe the non-Muslim perceptions about Islam/Muslim community.

I agree with her. Based on my experience, non-Muslim sometimes are not aware of the divisions within the Muslim community. And even if they know about the divisions (Shia/Sunni), they do not understand the causes of it or the theological differences.

I thank her for her comments.

Mu'tazilah Scholars

Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar was a scholar of the Mu'tazili school. Some of his books were Kitab al-usul al-khamsa and several volumes of Kitab al-mughnifi abwab al-tawhid wa1-'adl. The Indonesian Mutazilah thinker like Harun Nasution refered to the Qadi's work in his publications.

Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar stated in his work that God must be known rationally.

Harun Nasution begins with the assassination of the third caliph (Uthman al-Affan). The first civil war among the Muslims (the Jamal War) between Ayesha (Talha and Zubayr) against the fourth caliph (Imam Ali) not only changed the Islamic politics and social history but also had theological implication.

Western historians considered the Mutazilah as rationalists.

The following two beliefs was adopted by the Mu'tazilah

• Qur 'an was created (khalq al-qur'an) and
• That humans have free will and the power to act on it (qadar)

Some muslims who were influenced with Sunnism considered the above beliefs as kufr.

The Zaydis and the Imami Shias did not have a strong opposition to some of the doctrines of Mu'tazilah.

to be continued...

An Indonesian follower of the Mutazilah school

Harun Nasution was an Indonesian follower of the Mutazilah school of thought. He openly defended the medieval rationalist theological school in his publication in 1970s.

The authors [1] found this somewhat bizarre because very few people in the modern time have identified themselves as a Mutazilite.

The Sunni Muslims are followers of the Ash'ari and Maturidi theologians (mutakallimun). They strongly follow their Fiqh Scholars such as, Imam Hanbali, Imam Hanafi, Imam Shafii.

Among the Shias, their theologians continued to examine the medieval Mu'tazili texts.

The Mu'tazili thinking began to see a revival among the Sunni Muslim intellectuals in the 19th century.

Several Mu'tazili documents have been discovered in libraries in the Middle-East. This has increase the scholarly interest among the Western and Muslim scholars.

The authors studied the following Mutazilah resources

• Harun Nasution pamphlets in Bahasa Indonesia in the late 1970s
• Work by a Mutazili theologian, Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar - Kitab al-usul al-khamsa (Book on the five fundamentals)

Introduction on page 5 define the science of religion as

the study of religion consists in a science or in sciences that explain the "data of religion" has led communities of scholars in the academy, such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (and to a lesser extent the American Academy of Religion), to isolate problems in the study of religion for special attention.

Most of the modern scholars have studied and devoted significant amount of time to Muslim fundamentalists. Muslim rationalists groups like the Mu’tazili have not received much attention.

I am skipping some parts that are not about Mutazilah.

I am quoting authors description about Ilm al-Kalam

Theological controversy was vigorously pursued in classical Islamic society. The term we translate as "theology" is in Arabic "kalam," meaning "speech" or "discourse." Those who pursued verbal controversy about matters of religious belief were known as mutakallimun (singular. mutakallim). Their disputations were about such matters as the nature of God and His attributes, scripture, prophets, good and evil, and the religious foundations of political authority and order. These topics framed discourses on doctrinal boundaries which separated the religious communities that existed within Islamic society, and at the same time they bound them together in a common way of speaking about their relationship to each other.

 to be continued...

Reference
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. Preface. ISBN 978-1851681471 

I've started reading the Mu'tazilah book

I've started reading the book again. Yesterday, I posted a snippet from the book [1]. Lets just hope I don't give up halfway. Unfortunately, I have a habit of doing that.

In the preface, the authors said something very interesting

All three of us shared the conviction that contemporary theological issues and discussions in the Islamic world could not be understood by non-Muslims - or for that matter, Muslims - who were innocent of adequate knowledge of the theological disputes and schools that arose in the first five centuries of Islam. [1]

I couldn't agree more with the authors. Both the non-Muslims and Muslims don't understand the theological disputes among the Islamic schools (sects) that rose in the earliest days of Islam. To be honest, this is the main reason why I have a blog dedicated to researching the Islamic sects.

Nowadays, Muslims are very much focused on the activities of their own sects. Most Muslims no longer know anything about others. Sometimes you see and hear about Shia-Sunni Discourses, but that’s about it. It would be most unusual to see Muslims sitting down together and speak about all the other sects that branched out from the main body of Islam, especially during the first few hundred years.

Reference
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. Preface. ISBN 978-1851681471

Spread of Zaydism

The following excerpt is from this book [1] and nothing is changed at all.

Zaydi tradition holds that Zayd ibn 'Ali (d. 740), the brother of the fifth Imam (Muhammad al-Baqir) of the Twelver Shi'a, studied Mu'tazili kalam with Wasil ibn 'Ata'.

Zayd led a revolt in Kufa against the Umayyads. His following spread beyond lower Iraq in the following generations.

Zayd's followers, the Zaydiya (also called the Fivers), were politically more radical but theologically more moderate than the Imami or Ithna 'Ashari (Twelver) Shi'a from whom they separated.

Like the Khawarij, they actively led rebellions against what they perceived to be unjust (Sunni) rulers.

Yet the Zaydis were willing to acknowledge the partial legitimacy of the caliphs who led Islam before 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. 

In kalam, they eventually accepted the teachings of the Mu'tazila, especially the Bahshamiya, except on the question of the imamate where, as just indicated, they held a position between Sunni and Imami Shi'i theologians.

Reference  
[1] Martin, Richard C, Woodward, Mark R and Atmaja, Dwi S. 1997. Defenders of Reason In Islam: Mu'tazilism and Rational Theology from Medieval School to Modern Symbol. Oneworld Oxford. page 40. ISBN 978-1851681471

Oliver Stone's son converted to Shia Islam

I am reading the news about the conversion of Oliver Stone's son to Shia Islam.


Sean Ali Stone became a follower of Ahl al-Bayt (Shia Islam) by his own testimony (there is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger). There was a brief ceremony in Esfahan, Iran.


He also said

Having read the Koran and having been around the Islamic culture, especially in Iran, I do believe that Mohammed is a prophet of the same god worshipped by other religions.

He said his dad welcomed the move.

“My dad said, ‘Allah be with you.’ My father understands that I am trying to bridge certain gaps and bring about peace.”

But he has been shocked by the reaction from others. Sean, about to release his horror movie “Graystone,” said,

“I didn’t realize I would be so vilified. It is almost like I am a criminal for having accepted Islam. I didn’t realize Islamophobia was that deep. People have speculated that I have done this because I am from a spoiled family or that I am lost and trying to find myself. That is ridiculous.

“I don’t care if I get criticized. If I can open up a debate about religion and create some understanding, then it is worth it.”