For several reasons, it is not an overstatement to say that
a large part of Islamic scholarly legacy has been neglected, lying under layers
of dust despite the fact that these works represent the backbone of religious
knowledge for millions of Muslims and those interested in Islamic studies
across the world.
اضافة اعلان
Jordan has been aware of this fact and has taken steps that
can be seen as an extension of the Hashemites’ long history of consideration
paid to religious knowledge and scholars.
Despite the scarcity of resources, Jordanian Waqf authorities
have established several chairs for the study of four prominent and revered
scholars of Sunni Islam, the latest of whom is the seventh century Hijri Imam
Al-Nawawi.
Upon the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, the “King
Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Waqf for the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam
Al-Nawawi’s Work” was launched last Sunday.
According to a Royal Court statement, “the JD2 million Waqf
is aimed at shedding light on Imam Al-Nawawi’s works by establishing a
scholarly chair dedicated to studying his legacy and writings at Al–Salt Grand
Mosque and at the World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE)”.
These four scholars belong to the Shafiite school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, which has for centuries been the mainstream in the Levant and Egypt, with influence in other places like Hijaz.
“Over the past years, three Waqf chairs had been
established, also upon Royal directives, to study the works of Imams Al-Ghazali
at the University of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque; Al-Razi at the University of
Jordan, WISE University, and the King Hussein bin Talal Mosque; and Al-Suyuti
at Al Husseini Grand Mosque,” according to the statement.
These four scholars belong to the Shafiite school of Sunni
Islamic jurisprudence, which has for centuries been the mainstream in the
Levant and Egypt, with influence in other places like Hijaz.
The four scholars that are receiving this special attention
by the King and religious authorities in Jordan remain prominent figures in the
scholarly history of Islam, but little has been done in recent times to
acknowledge their deserved value at a time when other countries dedicated huge
resources to reprint and disseminate books concerning other lines of Islamic
religious literature and reach out to Muslim communities in the four corners of
the world.
Jordan seems to be spearheading a new trend to revive the
literature of figures like Al-Ghazali and Al-Nawawi, the latter famous for his
in-depth commentary on Sahih Muslim, the second important collection of Hadith,
or the sayings of the Prophet Mohammad.
The nation needs this integral part of its identity; it
needs to get acquainted with the spirituality of these four scholars, and the
moderate religious thought they preached.
The four chairs should be one step in a bigger enterprise
seeking to revive Islamic legacy. One other aspect that should be considered is
educating mosque imams and preachers in this line of thought and incentivizing
young scholars and Sharia students to engage in scientific research into the
works and biographies of these great imams.
Officials in charge of the project should also communicate
with scholarly institutions across the Muslim world and in Muslim communities
in Asia, Europe, and North America to coordinate this mission and involve as
many clerics as possible in this endeavor that should follow a transparent
strategy and have a clear roadmap.
The writer is a former advisor at the Royal Hashemite Court,
a former director of media and communication at the Office of His Majesty King
Abdullah, and works currently as a senior advisor for business development at
Al-Ghad and Jordan News.
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