Islamic studies

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This is a sub-article to religious education, academic discipline, and Islam.

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term; in a non-Muslim context, it generally refers to the historical study of Muslim religion and culture. Academics from diverse disciplines participate and exchange ideas about predominantly Muslim societies, past and present. In spite of their non-religious approach, some non-Muslim scholars have written works which are widely read by Muslims. Before 1980, such non-Muslim scholars in this field have been called "Islamicists."

In a Muslim context, Islamic Studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originaly researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge. As such it includes all the traditional forms of religious thought, such as Islamic theology and Islamic jurisprudence. In addition, it assimilates fields generally considered to be secular in the West, such as Islamic science and Islamic economics.

Many universities offer academic degrees in the subject.

[edit] Terms

It greatly aids understanding of these articles to be familiar with the list of Islamic terms in Arabic especially as used in early Muslim philosophy, since these provide the ontology on which all sects of Islam later built:

[edit] Subarticles

Islamic studies incorporates elements of :

[edit] Islamization of knowledge

Islamization of knowledge is a term which describes a variety of attempts and approaches to synthesize the ethics of Islam with various fields of modern thought.

[edit] Islamic history

The field of Islamic history includes the early development of Islam, as well as its continuation into the different rulers and denominations, and confluence of its philosophy and history where these affected each other:

early Muslim philosophy

The term "Muslim" is preferred here as no single "Islamic" view yet existed.

[edit] Islamic philosophy

Islamic philosophy is a part of Islamic Studies. It is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith, reason or philosophy, and the religious teachings of Islam. A Muslim engaged in this field is called a Muslim philosopher.

It is divided in fields like:

[edit] Theology

Main article: Kalam

Kalam (علم الكلم)is one of the 'religious sciences' of Islam. In Arabic the word means "discussion", and refers to the Islamic tradition of seeking theological principles through dialectic. A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallam.

[edit] Mysticism

Main article: Sufism

Sufism (Arabic: تصوف, taṣawwuf) is a mystic tradition of Islam based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as it is gradually revealed to the heart and mind of the Sufi (one who practices Sufism).

It might also be referred to as Islamic mysticism. While other branches of Islam generally focus on exoteric aspects of religion, Sufism is mainly focused on the direct perception of Truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism embodies a number of cultures, philosophies, central teachings and bodies of esoteric knowledge.

[edit] Islamic jurisprudence

Islamic jurisprudence relates to everyday and social issues in the life of Muslims. It is divided in fields like:

the study of sharia law
Islamic economics
Qur'an and Hadith studies

Key distinctions include those between fiqh, hadith and ijtihad.

[edit] Islamic science

Islamic science is science in the context of traditional religious ideas of Islam, including its ethics and prohibitions. A Muslim engaged in this field is called a Muslim scientist

This is not the same as science as conducted by any Muslim in a secular context. Certain liberal movements in Islam eschew the practice of Islamic science, arguing that science should be considered separate from religion as it is today in the West. As in Catholicism however, believers argue that the guiding role of religion in forming ethics of science cannot be ignored and must impose absolute constraints on inquiry.

[edit] Islamic art

Islamic art, a part of the Islamic studies, has throughout history has been mainly abstract and decorative, portraying geometric, floral, Arabesque, and calligraphic designs. Unlike the strong tradition of portraying the human figure in Christian art, Islamic art does not include depictions of human beings. The lack of portraiture is due to the fact that early Islam forbade the painting of human beings, including the Prophet, as Muslims believe this tempts followers of the Prophet to idolatry. This prohibition against human beings or icons is called aniconism. Over the past two centuries, especially given increased contact with Western civilization, this prohibition has relaxed to the point where only the most orthodox Muslims oppose portraiture.

[edit] Islamic entertainment

Islamic comedy
Islamic movies

Islamic entertainment is entertainment regulated by Sharia.

[edit] Islamic literature

This field includes the study of modern and classical Arabic and the litarature written in those languages. It also often includes other modern, classic or ancient languages of the Middle East and other areas that are or have been part of, or influenced by, Islamic culture, such as Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, Armenian and Uzbek.

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture is the entire range of architecture that has evolved within Muslim culture in the course of the history of Islam. Hence the term encompasses religious buildings as well as secular ones, historic as well as modern expressions and the production of all places that have come under the varying levels of Islamic influence.

It is very common to mistake Persian Architecture for Islamic Architecture and thus advisable to read both articles.

[edit] Islamic sociology

Early Muslim sociology
Islamic And Western Sociological Thoughts

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] Islamic comparative religion

Islamic comparative religion is the study of religions in the view of Islam. This study may be undertaken from a conservative Muslim perspective, which often sees Judaism and Christianity as having been originally similar to Islam, and later developing away from the root monotheist religion. However, some liberal movements within Islam dispute the conservative view as being ahistorical; they claim that Islam is the end-result rather than the origin point of monotheist thought.

[edit] Islamic economics

Islamic economics is economics in accordance with Islamic law. Because the Qur'an spoke against usury in the context of early Muslim society, it generally entails trying to remove or redefine interest rates from financial institutions. In doing so, Islamic economists hope to produce a more 'Islamic society'. However, liberal movements within Islam may deny the need for this field, since they generally see Islam as compatible with modern secular institutions and law.kk

[edit] Islamic athletics

Islamic athletics is athletics goverened by Sharia and evolved through the Islamic history.

[edit] Journals

Die Welt des Islams (Brill Academic Publishers)
Islamic Law and Society (Brill Academic Publishers)
Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations (Routledge)
Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies (Edinburgh University Press)
Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford University Press)
The Muslim World (Blackwell Publishing)
Studia Islamica (Maisonneuve & Larose)

[edit] Muslim view

A Sunni Islamic source writes:

The ordinary Muslim is obligated to have knowledge. There is no such thing as an ignorant Muslim by definition. It is obligatory on each of us, men and women, to have the necessary knowledge of tawhid, without necessarily encompassing the proofs of the people of kalam, and the knowledge for our acts of worship, including knowledge of the Arabic language of those passages of Qur'an and supplications we use in the prayer, that will allow us to worship Allah in the correct manner.

The ordinary Muslim does not need proofs for this but needs to accept the judgements of trustworthy people, since it would simply be daft to expect shepherds, busy office-workers, garage mechanics, busy mothers and the wide spectrum of ordinary working human beings on this planet to master all of the proofs of these actions.

However, this obligation to learn does not stop at acts of worship. If you enter the market-place, if you go out to earn a living in any fashion you are obliged to know what transactions are halal and which ones are usury or in other ways unacceptable, since usury is one of the kaba'ir. Now this knowledge is one that even 'ulama' no longer know, let alone the ordinary Muslim and yet it is the knowledge which is obligatory on each one of us. ^[1]