The Structure of Islamic Legal Thought

This chapter examines the overall structure of Islamic legal thought, and explains how it relates to the pedagogical practices characteristic of Islamic learning. Here the chapter develops hermeneutic ideas using insights from “planning theory,” an influential approach in recent philosophical and legal scholarship. This allows for a new perspective on an entire range of Islamic legal concepts including: maṣlaḥa, taʿabbud, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa, qiyās, istiṣlāḥ, istiḥsān, ijmāʿ, ijtihād, taqlīd, and madhhab. The chapter links its analysis to ideas and practices found at al-Azhar University, al-Azhar mosque, and the Dār al-ʿUlūm. Among the topics discussed are planning theory and instrumental rationality, including how intentions/rules are partially instrumentally rational and partially arbitrary/non-rational; how new circumstances can prompt the abandonment and reformation of intentions/rules; language and the principles of Islamic legal interpretation.

Acquiring Knowledge through Companionship (Ṣuḥba)

This chapter combines ethnography and textual analysis to examine the traditional Islamic pedagogy of companionship. In companionship, a student learns from a teacher by entering into a long-term personal relationship with him and sharing in his everyday affairs. The chapter discusses companionship as a pedagogy favored by Traditionalist scholars. It clarifies how companionship involves learning through observation, and learning through practice, as well as a certain regime of punishment. The chapter’s account of companionship draws on insights from hermeneutic theory and practice theory. Topics covered include companionship among later scholars and between sons and fathers, the structure of companionship, companionship and learning through observation, direct witnessing and baraka, companionship and learning through practice, and punishment in companionship.

Hermeneutic Theory and Practice Theory in the Study of Cultural, Legal, and Religious Traditions

This chapter discusses hermeneutic theory and practice theory, situating them with respect to the work of Geertz and Asad. It then clarifies precisely how hermeneutic theory and practice theory can be brought together in the analysis of cultural, legal, and religious traditions, giving special attention to the Islamic tradition. One of the chapter’s central claims is that knowledge of Sharīʿa rules can be conceptualized as knowledge of a mind (i.e., God’s mind). Moreover, knowledge of a mind can be inferred from signs/effects of that mind. In the Islamic tradition, these signs/effects include: (1) the Qurʾan, (2) the reported actions of the Prophet Muḥammad (Sunna), (3) the reported actions of religious scholars from the past, and (4) the observed actions of present-day religious scholars.

Taking from the Mouths of Shaykhs (Mushāfaha)

This chapter combines ethnography and textual analysis to examine the traditional Islamic pedagogy of “taking from the mouths of shaykhs.” This pedagogy requires that a student obtain religious knowledge by sitting with a teacher and listening to him comment on ancient religious texts. The chapter discusses why Muslim scholars value this pedagogy, and why they criticize the practice of independent reading. It also discuss different forms of the preceding pedagogy including samāʿ, qirāʾa, and munāwala. Furthermore, it discusses how this pedagogy relates to matns and commentary. The chapter’s account of “taking from the mouths of shaykhs” draws on insights from hermeneutic theory and practice theory.

Higher Religious Learning in Modern Egypt

This chapter offers a detailed ethnographic and historical account of higher religious learning in modern Egypt. It begins with a description of premodern Egyptian religious learning prior to the Napoleonic invasion. It then provides an overview of contemporary Egypt’s leading institutions of higher religious education. First it describes al-Azhar University, then Cairo University’s Dār al-ʿUlūm. It examines the structure of each of these institutions, their academic programs, and their political function. It also examines the academic, professional, and personal lives of students and teachers at these institutions.

Salafism and Wasaṭism

This chapter combines ethnography and textual analysis to examine how shifts in the structure of religious education have helped give rise to new perspectives on Islamic law. It gives special attention to the emergence of the reformist legal currents known as “Wasatism” and “Salafism.” Both currents reject taqlīd, hold that it is legitimate to dispense with the pedagogy of companionship, and believe that Sharīʿa rules can be adequately learned through the study of texts. The chapter analyzes these currents using insights from hermeneutic theory and practice theory. It first describes Salafism and Wasaṭism in detail, and then turns to the ongoing development of Wasaṭism.

Reorganizing Time and Space

This chapter combines ethnography and textual analysis to examine how modern reform has altered traditional Islamic pedagogies inside al-Azhar and the Dār al-ʿUlūm. It gives special attention to the progressive marginalization of companionship owing to bureaucratization and the concomitant reorganization of educational time and space. The chapter explains how modern reform efforts have diminished the ethical component of traditional Islamic learning. It also discusses the political implications of such reform efforts, and their relationship to European imperialism. Specific topics discussed include student freedom and the study-circle, maximizing “efficiency” and eliminating “disorder,” Al-Azhar’s faculty of Sharīʿa, the Dār al-ʿUlūm, reordering space and time, and teachers as ethical exemplars.

Introduction: Theoretical Orientation and Methodology

This introduction provides a general overview of the book. It explains how the book combines anthropology and Islamicist history to investigate contemporary Egyptian religious education. It also explains that the aim of the book is to show how hermeneutic theory and practice theory can be brought together to analyze the Islamic legal tradition. The introduction addresses a number of methodological issues, including the problems with the trouble case method. It also covers the difference between hermeneutic theory and practice theory, which are both concerned with the relationship between action and mind, but analyze this relationship in different ways. It ends with an outline of the different sections and chapters in the book.

Conclusion: Rethinking the Islamic Legal Tradition

This conclusion briefly summarizes the key findings from previous chapters. It argues that bringing together hermeneutic theory and practice theory is not only essential for understanding the Islamic legal tradition, but also for understanding other cultural, legal, and religious traditions. It begins by noting that cultural, legal, and religious traditions typically contain rules, and indicates that the book tries to elucidate how knowledge of such rules is transmitted over time. It then notes the problems that occur if either hermeneutic theory or practice is used as the sole approach, and the benefits that can be gained by using them together. Finally, this conclusion describes the attempts made in the book to discern broad patterns within the Islamic tradition, while also examining a local and historically specific manifestation of Islam in modern Egyptian religious education.

The Sanad

This chapter combines ethnography and textual analysis to examine the traditional Islamic concept of sanad. A sanad is a chain of scholars through which knowledge is passed over time. The chapter discusses the importance of the sanad in the view of premodern scholars and contemporary Traditionalist scholars. It also discusses how the sanad is related to Islamic ethics, companionship, and distinctive premodern Muslim understandings of language and writing. The chapter’s account of the sanad draws on insights from hermeneutic theory and practice theory. Specifically included in the discussion are the topics of the sanad and companionship, the sanad and the limitations of learning through texts, and written texts as a medium for the transmission of knowledge.