Reasoning with God

Khaled Abou El Fadl

doi:10.5771/9781442238442

Summary

In light of recent concern over Shari’ah, such as proposed laws to prohibit it in the United States and conflict over the role it should play in the new Egyptian constitution, many people are confused about the meaning of Shari‘ah in Islam and its role in the world today. In Reasoning with God, renowned Islamic scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl explains not only what Shari‘ah really means, but also the way it can revitalize and reengage contemporary Islam.

After a prologue that provides an essential overview of Shari‘ah, Abou El Fadl explores the moral trajectory of Islam in today’s world. Weaving powerful personal stories with broader global examples, he shows the ways that some interpretations of Islam today have undermined its potential in peace and love. Rather than simply outlining challenges, however, the author provides constructive suggestions about how Muslims can reengage the ethical tradition of their faith through Shari‘ah.

As the world’s second largest religion, Islam remains an important force on the global stage. Reasoning with God takes readers—both Muslim and non-Muslim—beyond superficial understandings of Shari‘ah to a deeper understanding of its meaning and potential.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2014
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7425-5233-3
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4422-3844-2
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 499
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Author’s Note No access
3. Preface No access
4. Acknowledgments No access
5. 1. What Is Shari‘ah? No access
  2. What Is Islamic law? No access
  3. The Difference between Islamic Law and Muslim Law No access
  4. The Sources of Islamic Law No access
  5. The Nature and Purpose of Islamic Law No access
  6. The Difference between Shari‘ah and Fiqh No access
  7. The Sacred and Profane in Islamic Law No access
  8. The Rights of God and the Rights of Humans No access
  9. Modernity and the Deterioration of Islamic Law No access
1. 1. Growing Up with the Islamic Dream No access
  2. The Nightmare of 9/11 and Its Aftermath No access
  3. Waking Up to the Truth No access
2. 1. The Plight of Modern Muslims No access
  2. Islam as a Complete Way of Life and the Reality of Realization No access
  3. The Modern Challenge of Islamicity No access
  4. Reasonableness, Socialization, and Contemporary Islamic Law No access
  5. Musings on the Absurd No access
3. 1. Practicing the Pedantic and the Politics of Affectation No access
  2. Muslims in the West as a Microcosm No access
4. 1. Affectation as Public Performance No access
  2. Stereotyped Forms and the Practice of Islamic Law No access
  3. Nature of Authority in Islamic Law and Chaos No access
  4. The Music of Shari‘ah, Silence of Tradition, and Dissonance of Modernity No access
  5. The Dream Revisited No access
1. 1. The Recurrence of the Ugly in Modern Islam No access
  2. The Muslim Response and Western Vilifications No access
  3. The Origins of Western Hate No access
  4. The Clash of Civilizations Thesis as an Explanation No access
  5. Clash of Civilizations and the Expression of Prejudice No access
  6. The Banality of Ugliness and the Dialectics of Sin No access
  7. Islam, Cruelty, and Modernity No access
2. 1. The Jahiliyya of Modern Ignorance No access
  2. The Imperative of Empathetic Knowing No access
  3. The Critical Imperative No access
  4. Islamophobia and the Danger to the World No access
3. 1. Muslim Self-Criticism between Universalism and Exceptionalism No access
  2. The Universality of Ugliness and Beauty No access
  3. Universal Mercy and Extreme Acts of Ugliness No access
4. 1. Postcolonialism and the Rise of Modern Apologetics No access
  2. Wahhabism: The Puritans of Islam No access
  3. Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab: The Founder and His Thought No access
  4. Why Did Wahhabism Survive and Spread? No access
  5. The Salafis No access
5. 1. Puritanical-Salafism, the Authoritarian Specter, and Social Death No access
  2. Classical Music and the Qur’an No access
  3. Submitting to Infinite Divinity No access
1. 1. The Shari‘ah Predicament No access
  2. Shari‘ah: Between Objectivity and Subjectivity No access
  3. Do We Need Shari‘ah? No access
  4. Reasoning with God No access
  5. Shari‘ah and Virtue No access
  6. Islamic Law and Reasonableness No access
2. 1. Beyond Reasonableness: An Ethical Approach to Shari‘ah No access
  2. Godliness and Godlessness No access
  3. Shari‘ah and Seeking Godliness No access
3. 1. On Cursing the Devil and Other Memories No access
  2. On the Ethics of Diversity No access
  3. The Caliphate of Humankind: Ascending to an Ethereal Humanity No access
1. Reclaiming the Path to the Self in God and to God in the Self No access
Notes No access Pages 421 - 486
Index No access Pages 487 - 499