Fazlur Rahman Malik facts for kids

Fazlur Rahman Malik (Urdu: فضل الرحمان ملک; September 21, 1919 – July 26, 1988), often called Fazlur Rahman, was an important thinker from Pakistan. He was a modernist scholar and Islamic philosopher. This means he studied Islam deeply and wanted to find ways for Islamic teachings to fit with modern life.

Fazlur Rahman is known for being a liberal reformer of Islam. He worked hard to improve education and bring back the idea of ijtihad. Ijtihad means using independent reasoning to understand Islamic law. His ideas were very interesting to many people in Muslim countries. But they also caused a lot of debate. Some traditional religious leaders in his home country strongly disagreed with him. This led to him leaving Pakistan.

After teaching in Britain and Canada, Fazlur Rahman became the head of the Central Institute of Islamic Research in Pakistan in 1963. Many Islamic reformers respected his work. However, some conservative scholars thought his ideas were too liberal. This disagreement was used by people who didn't like the political leader, General Ayub Khan. Because of this, Fazlur Rahman eventually moved to the United States. He left Pakistan in 1968. In the US, he taught at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Chicago.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Fazlur Rahman was born on September 21, 1919, in the Hazara District of what was then British India. This area is now part of Pakistan. His father, Maulana Shihab al-Din, was a famous scholar. He had studied at Deoband, a well-known Islamic school. His father was an 'alim, which means a highly educated religious scholar. He had studied many subjects like Islamic law, sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, Quranic explanations, logic, and philosophy.

Even though Fazlur Rahman might not have gone to a traditional Islamic school himself, his father taught him a lot about Islamic knowledge. By the age of ten, he had even memorized the entire Qur'an.

Academic Career and Return to Pakistan

Fazlur Rahman studied Arabic at Punjab University. Then he went to Oxford University in England. There, he wrote a special paper about Ibn Sina, a famous ancient Muslim philosopher. After finishing his studies, he started teaching. First, he taught Persian and Islamic philosophy at Durham University. Later, he taught Islamic studies at McGill University in Canada until 1961.

In 1961, he returned to Pakistan. President Ayub Khan asked him to lead the Central Institute of Islamic Research in Karachi. This institute was created by the Pakistani government to help apply Islamic principles to the country's daily life. However, the political situation in Pakistan made it hard for Fazlur Rahman to make progress. Some traditional religious scholars, called ulema, did not agree with his modern ideas. As President Ayub Khan's power became weaker, these scholars strongly criticized Fazlur Rahman. He resigned from his position in September 1968 and moved to the United States.

Life in the United States

In the US, Fazlur Rahman continued his teaching career. He was a visiting professor at UCLA for a year. In 1969, he moved to the University of Chicago. There, he became a very important professor of Islamic Thought. He helped build a strong program for studying the Near East, which is still one of the best in the world. Fazlur Rahman also supported reforms in how Islamic societies were governed. He even advised the US State Department.

Fazlur Rahman passed away in Chicago, Illinois on July 26, 1988. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery, Elmhurst, Illinois.

Legacy and Influence

Even after his death, Fazlur Rahman's writings are still very popular among scholars of Islam. His work is studied in many countries, including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Arab region. His contributions to the University of Chicago are still remembered. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago named a common area after him to honor his many years of service.

Fazlur Rahman was a polyglot. This means he could speak many languages. Besides mastering Urdu, Persian, Arabic, and English early in his life, he also learned classical Greek, Latin, German, and French. He learned these languages to help him in his academic studies.

Views

Reviving Islamic Thought

Fazlur Rahman believed that for Islam to be strong again, Muslims needed to return to the lively way of thinking that was common in early Islamic scholarship. He thought that the Qur'an offers moral values that are always important. These values need to be understood and applied in every new time period. He also believed that modern Islamic education had become stuck. He wanted to bring back subjects like philosophy, rational theology (thinking about God using reason), and social sciences into education.

Social Justice

Fazlur Rahman felt that Islamic tradition had not fully developed a clear ethical system based on the Qur'an. He thought that early forms of Islamic government, like the imamate and caliphate, were attempts to create a fair society in their time. He emphasized the Qur'anic idea of shura, which means mutual consultation. He believed this principle should be used for modern governance. He also thought that shura should involve everyone in society, not just leaders. He encouraged religious and non-religious experts to work together.

Understanding Riba (Interest)

A big discussion in the Muslim world has been about riba, which generally refers to interest on loans. Many people believe that all interest is forbidden in Islam. However, Fazlur Rahman had a different view.

He believed that riba in the Qur'an referred to a specific type of very high, unfair interest that was common in the time of the Prophet Muhammad. This was a practice where if someone couldn't pay a debt on time, the amount owed would be doubled. If they still couldn't pay, it would be doubled again, making it impossible to repay. Fazlur Rahman argued that the Qur'an banned this extreme form of unfair lending, not all types of modern bank interest. He thought that simple, fair interest on loans was not the same as the riba that was forbidden.

Reform Movements

Fazlur Rahman looked at different Islamic reform movements. He felt that some older movements discouraged deep thinking. He also thought that some modern movements picked and chose parts of the Qur'an without a clear method. He was most hopeful about a "neo-modernism." This approach would be based on a strong Islamic method of understanding the Qur'an and Islamic teachings.

Influence on Islamic Feminism

While Fazlur Rahman did not call himself a feminist, his ideas have influenced many scholars who work on Islamic feminism. These scholars, like Amina Wadud, have used his way of thinking to interpret the Qur'an in ways that support equal rights for women.

For example, Fazlur Rahman emphasized that the Qur'an is not just a book of strict laws. He said that readers must understand the historical context in which the Qur'an was revealed. This helps in applying its general rules to modern situations.

One example is the Qur'anic verse about two female witnesses being equal to one male witness (2:282). Fazlur Rahman explained that in early Islamic times, women might not have been used to being public witnesses. So, having two women could help them remember details. But he also suggested that as women become more involved in public life, this specific rule might change. This shows how his ideas allow for feminist interpretations within Islamic thought.

He also looked at polygyny (a man having more than one wife) in the Qur'an. He saw it as something that happened under specific conditions in the past. He noted that monogamy (one husband, one wife) was becoming the norm. For Fazlur Rahman, the context of such practices was always the most important thing to understand.

See also

• Contemporary Islamic philosophy
• Islamism