Ulama

For other uses, see Ulama (disambiguation).
Allamah Abul A'la Maududi was one of the most influential Alim of the 20th century.[1]

Ulama (/ˈuːləˌmɑː/; Arabic: علماء‎ ʿUlamāʾ, singular عالِم ʿĀlim, "scholar"), also spelled ulema, alimah (female) and "uluma", in contemporary usage by Muslims refers to the religious elite of scholars at the top of the sectarian hierarchy. They mainly specialize in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and are considered the arbiters of sharia law by mainstream sects; nevertheless, their authority is not universally accepted.

Islamic jurisprudence in the contemporary world is mainly composed of:

Some Muslims use the term ulama to describe only the body of Muslim scholars who have completed several years of training and study of Islamic disciplines, such as a mufti, allamah qadi, faqih, or muhaddith. For them, the status of ulama requires higher standards. Under this definition, ulama are Islamic scholars trained in the whole body of Islamic law. However, other Muslims also include clerics in this category, who may be village mullahs and imams who have attained only the lowest rungs on the ladder of Islamic scholarship.

Usage of the word 'Alim' in the Quran

The usage of the word 'alim' in the Quran differs radically from its contemporary application. As Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed has pointed out, the word "Alim" in the Quran actually refers to scientists, indicating the high importance afforded by the Quran to the physical sciences.[2] This is in stark contrast to the usage of the term today, as the contemporary 'ulema' have little to no scientific training.

Mainstream structures

Teaching

See also: Madrasah and Ijazah

Ulama learn at Islamic religious schools, madrasahs, where they also teach students about Islam and other areas of study. (It is believed in Islam that every Muslim must acquire a well-rounded education in order to understand God’s religion in its entirety.) By the end of their education, they acquire an Ijazah, an academic degree in Islamic law and jurisprudence, a practice that dates back to the first several centuries of Islam. Ulama also hold seminars where they give lectures and speeches about the area of Islam in which they specialize.

Judicature

In certain Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, where there are sharia courts, Islamic clergy become judges. Therefore, one of the jobs of ulama is the interpretation and maintenance of Islamic law in such countries.

Advisory

In some countries like Saudi Arabia, Islamic clergy fulfill the role of a counsel for the king. There are also jobs for them in various governmental institutions.

Preaching

There are various jobs available for the Islamic clergy at mosques. These include: leading public prayers, preaching, and delivering sermons, especially at Friday prayers and some have made missionary activities a lifelong activity.

Ummah

The ulama in most nations consider themselves to represent the ijma "consensus" of the Ummah "community of Muslims" (or to represent at least the scholarly or learned consensus). Many efforts to modernize Islam focus on the reintroduction of ijtihad and empowerment of the ummah to form their own ijma.

Imam

Main article: Madhhab

Sunni ulama usually work within a tradition (madhhab) that starts with one of five classic jurists.

Some Alim are not associated with any particular school of jurisprudence. The Salafis/Ahle Hadith, for example, believe that it is necessary to derive rulings directly from the Qur'an and the Hadiths (Prophetic Sunnah), but they still hold the classical jurists in high esteem and take lessons from their opinions.

History

Further information: Sharia and Fiqh
An Ottoman scholar.

The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with pragmatic issues of authority and teaching than with theory.[3] Progress in theory happened with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (767–820), who codified the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book ar-Risālah. The book details the four roots of law (Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma, and qiyas) while specifying that the primary Islamic texts (the Qur'an and the hadith) be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from scientific study of the Arabic language.[4]

The 19th and 20th centuries were marked by a considerable loss of authority and influence of the ulama in most Islamic states. Many secular Arab governments attempted to break the influence of the ulama after their rise to power. Religious institutions were nationalized and the system of waqf "religious donations", which constituted the classical source of income for the ulama, was abolished. Indonesia, in contrast, began witnessing a revival of ulama activity which culminated in 1926 in the founding of the Nahdlatul Ulama, today one of the world's largest Muslim organizations.

In 1961, Gamal Abdel Nasser put the Al-Azhar University, one of the highest Islamic intellectual authorities, under the direct control of the state. "The Azharis were even put in army uniforms and had to parade under the command of army officers" (G. Keppel, Jihad). In Turkey, the traditional dervish tekkes and Islamic schools were dissolved and replaced by state-controlled religious schools in the 1950s and 1960s. After the independence of Algeria, President Ahmed Ben Bella also deprived the Algerian ulama of their power.

Authors

Many ulama have left behind them only a lifetime of mediating disputes and giving sermons; their respectable contributions did not include authorship. Other ulama have been prolific authors, writing translations of the Quran or Quranic commentaries, studies of hadith, works of philosophy, religious admonition, etc. There are enormous bodies of religious literature that form not only the substance of the courses in Islamic seminaries, but inspirational reading for the ordinary Muslim. Most of this literature has not been translated into English, but remains in its original language (usually Arabic, Urdu, Persian, or Turkish). Some has been printed; some remains in manuscript form.

Ottoman ulama

In order to become one of the ulama in the Ottoman Empire, one had to have studied at a madrasah and be an expert in all the religious sciences, specializing in one or two specifics. In addition, the student had to have been tested and approved by higher ranking ulama. Such assessment by experts gave the ulama legitimacy in the eyes of the public, because it imitated the way the Caliphs after the death of Muhammad were appointed. In 14th and 15th century Ottoman Empire, there were not many madrasahs, and so the ulama traveled to countries such as Persia and Egypt to further their education. Upon the conquering of Istanbul however, the sultan converted eight churches into madrasahs and placed eight of the best ulama as the heads.[5] The ulama in the Ottoman Empire had a large influence over politics because it was believed that secular institutions were all subordinate to religion; the ulama were emblems of religious piety, therefore rendering them powerful over state affairs.[6] Ulama worked as priest-like authorities who had the role of interpreting and enforcing Islamic shariah law. These jobs were distributed amongst two types of ulama: Muftis, who interpreted Shariah law and the Qadi, who enforced Shariah law. The Ottomans had a strict hierarchy of ulama, with the Sheikh ul-Islam holding the highest rank. A Sheikh ul-Islam was chosen by a royal warrant amongst the qadis of important cities. The Sheikh ul-Islam had the power to confirm new sultans, but once the sultan was affirmed, it was the sultan who retained a higher authority than the Sheik ul-Islam. The Sheikh ul-Islam issued fatwas, which were written interpretations of the Quran that had authority over the community. The Sheikh ul-Islam represented the law of shariah and in the 16th century its importance rose which led to increased power. Sultan Murad appointed a Sufi, Yayha, as his Sheikh ul-Islam during this time which lead to violent disapproval. The objection to this appointment made obvious the amount of power the Sheikh ul-Islam had, since people were afraid he would alter the traditions and norms they were living under by issuing new fatwas.[7]

Controversial aspects

The authority of the ulema is not universally accepted, nor is their methodology for deriving Islamic Law considered valid by all. See Quranism and Ijtihad

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Lerman, Eran (October 1981). "Maududi's Concept of Islam". Middle Eastern Studies (JSTOR) 17 (4): 492–509. JSTOR 4282856. it is hard to exaggerate the importance of its [Pakistan's] current drift toward's Maududi's version of Islam
  2. ↑ http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_101_150/quran_inspires_modern_science.htm
  3. ↑ Weiss (2002), pp.3,161
  4. ↑ Weiss (2002), p.162
  5. ↑ Inalcik, Halil. 1973. "Learning, the Medrese, and the Ulemas." In the Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600. New YOrk: Praeger, pp. 167.
  6. ↑ Inalcik, Halil. 1973. "Learning, the Medrese, and the Ulemas." In the Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600. New York: Praeger, pp. 171.
  7. ↑ Zilfi, Madeline C. 1986. "The Kadizadelis: Discordant Revivalism in Seventeenth Century Istanbul." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45 (4): 259.

References

Further reading

Look up ulama in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ulama
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Ulema.