Trends in the justificatory force of the Fatawa of the Deobandi mufti

The collapse of Muslim rule in the Subcontinent of India during the nineteenth century generated a new role for the ulama'. The study traces how the ulama' profited from the decline in the central authority, to the extent that they emerged from a position of relative obscurity to the de facto leaders of a vanquished nation. They mobilized on the basis of the "Wali Allah" tradition and pursued two options. The political option was oriented towards the re-establishment of Muslim rule through jihad. The intellectual option was directed at the masses in an attempt to revive their religious consciousness and create a greater awareness for the Shariah. After the Mutiny of 1857 a group of ulama' in Deoband, in pursuit of the second option, launched an Islamic seminary named, Dar al-Ulum which gained rapid acceptance throughout the Northern Provinces of India. The Deobandi ulama' emerged as a very powerful religious force within the Subcontinent of India. How did they exert their power, authority and influence over the general masses? The basic thesis of this study is that their authority and influence over the masses was galvanized through the institution of ifta'.The ultimate objective of the study is to scrutinize the development, and the contribution of the Deobandis, through the process of ifta'. Through the scrutiny of a number of fatawa dealing with modern exigency, I identify certain definite justificatory trends within the fatawa. By focusing on the dual role of the Deobandi as mufti and sufi shaykh I develop the concept of a "vision of law" and believe that the justification of most of the fatawa dealing with modern social exigency is rooted more in the mufti's vision of law than in strictly legal arguments. I believe that the dual role of the mufti generates a Shari Tariqi mentality (vision) which is characterized by formalism, generated by the doctrine of taqlid.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Religious Studies

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Moosagie, Mohammed Allie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Tayob, Abdulkader

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13865

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13865