CONCLUSION: A COMPREHENSIVE ISLAH? REFLECTIONS ON ‘ALI NAQVI’S THOUGHT AND LEGACY
‘Ali Naqvi’s intellectual career comprised of three distinct and vital strands: rethinking, reconfiguring, and popularizing. For ‘Ali Naqvi, given the magnitude of the crises faced by his community, any earnest response had to be grounded in sensitivity to the nature and extent of these problems, a careful assessment of the intellectual, symbolic, and communal resources upon which such a response could be structured, and finally, a fresh appraisal of how to publicize this well-thought out response. This study illustrates that in all stages of his intellectual career, he intended that these three facets were always in concert. It also shows how ‘Ali Naqvi strove to be exhaustive in his comprehensive enterprise.
Popularizing the Reconfigured Message
Before making some observations on ‘Ali Naqvi’s religio-intellectual project and hislegacy,
let me recapitulate the findings of this study. Chapter 1 abridged ‘Ali Naqvi’s examination and reception of the various crises faced by his Shi’ite community in the modern age (within which the religious crisis was given a pivotal status).
Chapters 2 and 3 then examined ‘Ali Naqvi’s rethinking and reconfiguring of the foundations of Islamic theology and praxis along rational lines. In chapter 4, I turned to ‘Ali Naqvi’s appropriation of the symbolic sources of Islam and their employment in the task of religious revival. I also showed how his careful channeling of the symbolic sources both complemented and supplemented his rethinking and reconfiguring of Islamic theology and its praxis discussed earlier. Finally, chapter 5 was an account of how firmly situating himself within this reconfigured understanding of the Islamic tradition, ‘Ali Naqvi cautiously branched out to enunciate the Islamic vision of human society in all its breadth and depth. Jointly, chapters 1 through 5 then encapsulate the full breadth of ‘Ali Naqvi’s religio-intellectual project.
Having closely examined the content of ‘Ali Naqvi’s message, it is timely now to turn to the medium or form in which it was communicated. If rethinking and reconfiguring was critical to ‘Ali Naqvi’s religio-intellectual project, so was its popularization, the significance of which I have continued to stress. Chapter 4 had an elaborate discussion of why he chose to lecture from the pulpit, something quite unusual for a scholar of his stature. In his own words, through the force of circumstance, he reluctantly made this choice: “Stubborn opponents (mu‘anidin) have needlessly turned me into a controversial (naza‘i) personality
and have forced me to do preaching (zakari). Had I stayed in seclusion, I could have provided resources (mavad) for those giving sermons (khatibun), preachers (zakirun) and polemicists (munazarah baz). With those [resources] they could have served the true religion (din-i haqq) and given compelling answers to their opponents. This would have been a great service to religion (din)”.
These were not just words: In the early years under the titles The First Book of Preaching (zakri ki pehli kitab) and The Second Book of Preaching (zakri ki dusri kitab), ‘Ali Naqvi wrote manuals to help improve the quality of preaching in India.
‘Ali Naqvi’s preface of the latter reads: “In accordance with the ten days of Muharram, in this book there are ten rough [lecture] drafts (musavvaday) for those preachers (zakirin) who are used to speaking for a [relatively] longer time [during their preaching], and, in terms of knowledge, possess an average level of ability (isti‘dad). In these drafts, the quality [of the exposition] has been raised to a level higher than [found in] The First Book of Preaching (zakri ki pehli kitab)”. In other words, organically tied to his decision to sit on the pulpit, these texts were authored to raise the quality of Shi‘ite preaching.
These writings were also part of his endeavors to bridge the widening gap between the findings of the Shi‘ite scholarly tradition - one grounded in authoritative texts - and exaggerated mythologies rehashed from the pulpit. If to revive Islam the culture of preaching were to be successfully reconfigured, his own relentless lecturing would not suffice, but rather the entire discipline of preaching would need to be improved.
In regards to his popularization of the reconfigured message, mention must also be made of the Imamia Mission. I have already noted
how almost exclusively all the earlier works published by the Imamia Mission were authored by ‘Ali Naqvi. Its first publication, Qatilan-i Husayn ka mazhab (1932) happened also to be the first book authored by ‘Ali Naqvi upon his return from Iraq. As the biographer of ‘Ali Naqvi noted, it is the publication of this work that provided the foundation for the establishment of the Imamia Mission. Qatilan-i Husayn ka mazhab (1932) was written to respond to the polemical attacks from the editor of the magazine an-Najm, Maulana ‘Abd al-Shakur, who had accused Shi‘ites of killing Imam Husayn. The Shi’ites of India had anxiously awaited a rebuttal of this charge, which eventually came from the pen of ‘Ali Naqvi and was published as a series of newspaper articles in the newspaper Sarfaraz (Lucknow). A young Shi‘ite man, Ibn Husayn Naqvi, working as an accountant in the newspaper resolved that these articles needed to be compiled and published as a book.
With the help of some friends he was finally able to accomplish that. When it came to choosing the publisher’s name, he chose the name Imamia Mission, thus establishing the publication house. Although not directly his own doing, it was ‘Ali Naqvi’s writings that resulted in the creation of this institution which would then publish over a thousand books. Within months, he also came to head the institution and oversee its various activities.
These
included the translation of Shi‘ite literature (mainly ‘Ali Naqvi’s works but not restricted to those) into other regional languages of India, including English. Later in 1955, during his first trip to Pakistan, ‘Ali Naqvi founded the counterpart to the Imamia Mission in Lahore. The Imamia Mission Pakistan also initiated a series of publications of Shi‘ite literature in Urdu to meet the religious needs of the community. Although temporarily cut short in its activities in 1986, the institution was revived in Pakistan in 1996 again and has continued to publish ‘Ali Naqvi’s writings.
The Imamia Mission has played a vital role in shaping the intellectual life of the Shi‘ites of South Asia. In this regard his biographer observes the following:
If the person of Sayyidul ‘Ulama’ and the efforts of the Imamia Mission were not there, then in the previous 50 years there would have been a deep silence on the front of writings and publication. Yes, there would have been writings and books which, instead of contemporary problems, would have addressed one or two doctrinal or historical discussions. Their whole focus would have been to copy the miracles [of the holy Shi‘ite figures] and, without arguments, to attack [sectarian opponents] in a sentimental manner. Have we ever considered that if there were not the pen of Sayyidul ‘Ulama’ then what would we have to present in front of the powerful pens of Maulana Shibli, Maulana Sulayman Nadvi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Maududi?
Perhaps an exaggeration on the part of the biographer, nevertheless, the comment does capture accurately ‘Ali Naqvi’s contributions to Shi‘ite Islam in South Asia. In the absence of this institution and ‘Ali Naqvi’s writings, which constituted its mainstay, perhaps there would have been a dearth of literature that would have addressed the contemporary needs of the Shi‘ite community or represented the Shi‘ite point of view.
Although making free and extensive use of the print-medium, ‘Ali Naqvi was quite selective and innovative in how this medium was channeled toward the task of popularization. Since his writings were intended for the Shi‘ite general public, ‘Ali Naqvi kept his treatises concise and to the point, some of his essays no more than only 10-15 pages. That did not mean compromise on the quality or content of the message. If, on the one hand, conciseness and simplicity meant accessibility for his lay audience, on the other hand it also made it possible for ‘Ali Naqvi to address a wide range of subjects. As was noted earlier
, it is due to this dimension that ‘Ali Naqvi could not finish the ambitious project of his Qur’anic commentary along the intended lines.
Furthermore, not only did ‘Ali Naqvi’s style make the arguments accessible to the lay audience in general, but it also allowed him to tailor his message to particular members of the community at large, another major feature of his writings and thought.
What ‘Ali Naqvi chose to write or speak about was predominantly a function of the audience to whom he was speaking and how he argued was also colored strongly by his intended audience. His project of religious preservation and revival demanded convincing a range of audiences, with varying levels of admiration, affiliation, sympathy, criticisms, and/or doubts regarding religion. It also included a huge majority that identified strongly with religion but needed tools to feel empowered intellectually in the face of objections against religion. To be able to reach out to all and satisfy this multi-layered audience was no easy task. Yet, as many examples cited in this study, ‘Ali Naqvi approached the question of audience in almost a calculated manner, choosing judiciously what sorts of arguments would best persuade the intended audience. This “audience-specificity” of his writings and speeches was critical to the success of his project.
Finally, beside his scholarly accomplishments, his admirers
have time and again pointed to ‘Ali Naqvi’s piety, charisma, and immense ability as a speaker as reasons why he left upon them such a strong impression. An interviewer mentioned how he stopped attending Muharram gatherings (majalis) after ‘Ali Naqvi’s death since “there was no one worth listening to anymore”. One interviewee noted that ‘Ali Naqvi was “truly what a religious scholar should be like, most knowledgeable, most articulate, and most pious”. Another claimed that “there will hardly be anyone more eloquent than him.” His eloquence, religious authority as an ‘alim, piety, and charisma remained crucial to the popularization of his message.
Reflections on ‘Ali Naqvi’s Religio-Intellectual Project
In 1971, ‘Ali Naqvi penned an essay “Islam in the Contemporary Age” (Islam ‘ahd-i hazir main)
. In many ways this essay summarizes ‘Ali Naqvi’s religio-intellectual project and its various strands I have laid out in the preceding chapters. Written towards the latter part of his career, more significantly, it is ‘Ali Naqvi’s clearest statement regarding how he himself looked at the multitude of intellectual activities he carried out in the preceding forty years, i.e., from 1930-1970. It conclusively corroborates the overarching assertion of this study, namely that ‘Ali Naqvi’s diverse activities (whether intellectual or otherwise) constitute essentially an organic unity. In other words, his writings, speeches, the manifold topics he chose to write or speak about, the establishment of the Imamia Mission and its publication house, relentless public lecturing, efforts to unite the Muslim community, the reconfiguration of Islamic theology and praxis, and his exposition of Islam’s sociopolitical vision are all dimensions of a single project: the project of the rehabilitation and revival of Islam against its progressively declining fate within Indian society. A reflection on the various aspects of his own intellectual life and efforts and a reminder to his Muslim audience of what needed to be accomplished in the face of the numerous crises of the contemporary era, for the task of reviewing his religio-intellectual project in these concluding remarks, the following essay provides an excellent synthesis of the findings of this study regarding ‘Ali Naqvi intellectual career. Given its significance, I have translated the complete essay:
Islam is from the beginning (azal) and will be unto eternity (abad): ([As the Qur’an mentions] the religion with God is Islam
). It is impossible for anything in existence (ka’inat) to escape from its all-encompassing circle: if someone is unable to accept it by choice (ikhtiyar), he has to accept it by compulsion (iztarar), ([as the Qur’an says] do they desire another religion than God´s, and to Him has surrendered whoso is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly)
. In different ages, causes (muharrakat) responsible for willful acceptance of Islam are a few or many. Therefore, with respect to each age one can ascertain how much the atmosphere (faza) was conducive for Islam’s acceptance in it. Seen from this point of view one feels that no age other than the present one had a more appropriate atmosphere [for the acceptance of Islam].
The more the contemporary age progresses in its particular traits (khasusiat), the more the atmosphere will be conducive for Islam and the world will consciously or unconsciously come closer and closer to it. In this regard, I present a few dimensions.
(1)
Religions that felt threatened by thinking and reflection and closed the doors of reason are other [than Islam]. Islam has always addressed the people of the intellect and has invited them to reflect and ponder. That is why the inclination of people toward thinking and reflection - which is a characteristic of this age - is a good omen for proving Islam’s truthfulness. Insofar as the people will consent to thinking and reflection, they will come closer to the truths of Islam.
(2)
Islamic teachings are extremely congruent (ham ahang) with the general [principles of] reasoning, communal feeling (hasa’-i ijtima‘i), and the demands of nature (35). Things which are a hurdle in Islam’s path are fetters of ancient traditions, blind imitation of forefathers, and the shackles of the rituals of the existing religions. To the degree that the fervor of the atheistic trend (la mazhabi ka rujhan) and rebellion against the older customs of the contemporary world progress, to that degree, the world will be prepared to accept the true verdict of intellect and nature. In other words, atheism prepares grounds for that kind of religion which is able to truly quench the thirst of reason and conscience. We should reckon that in this destruction is hidden a form of renovation (ta‘mir)
and this lightning, while demolishing falsehood (batil), will also build home for the true religion.
(3)
Ghalib
describes a psychological and natural reality: “the extremity of grief becomes medicine.” From this point of view the havoc wreaked by the alliance between scientific progress (sa’insi taraqqi) and heresy (ilhad) is such that it has caused much distress in the human heart and conscience. By reaching its limits this distress is forcing the ship of the human mind to seek a peaceful shore. And this peace could truly be found in knowing God, about which the Qur’an says: “In God’s remembrance are at rest in the hearts.”
(4)
The greatest opposition to Islam that had come to this End times was from Communism. After Stalin, the dispersion and disagreement that has risen [among its camps] - whether it weakened it materially or not - have defeated communism in the domain of its belief system and practice (36). Those same things which religion is blamed for to [make people] turn away from religion are now divulged about communism itself, to the extent that now there are sects within it whose differences, moreover, have now leaked out (tasht azbam). Just the way people of religion used to fight in the name ofreligion,
communist sects are fighting one another. Now that the decline of the greatest competitor of Islam in this epoch has begun, obviously then the atmosphere is becoming conducive for Islam’s progress (irtaqa’). There is no reason why after fully defeating its last competitor (harif), it will not attain complete power. After that it is quite possible that Islam would dominate the whole world whose prophecy was made by the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family) in his reliable hadith-reports.
(5)
The proximity of Islamic teachings to the nature of things (fitrat)
has a consequence that by making use of conscious or unconscious independent reflection, the world in the name of “reforms” and “progress”, has begun to accept the injunctions of Islamic Shari‘a. For example, places where there was no remarriage for widows, there have been attempts to initiate it; where women did not have inheritance, laws have been promulgated there to give them the right to inherit; where there was no divorce after marriage are now implemented laws to allow divorce. The name of war has been changed to defense which is the way the Qur’an speaks about it. Everyone is aware [now] of the wrongs of racial and ethnic divides.All the
civilized world has come to agree on the falsehood of the black-white opposition and the rights that were based on this [distinction]. It is a different matter that in practical implementation of these things there have been difficulties. In theoretical terms, however, the world has submitted to the Islamic ideas. Soon the day will come when all hurdles will be removed and all these things will be practically implemented.
(6)
The thing the world most craves for is unity [of humanity] (37). Nowhere in the systems or laws of the world is to be found a more complete message about human unity and egalitarianism than in the Qur’an. This is another reason why the world has no option but to accept the Islamic order at some stage.
(7)
Regarding distribution of wealth, the reaction to the poor results of capitalism (sarmayah dari) had pushed the world towards communism (ishtarakiyat) which in this regard is another point of extremity. By witnessing the adverse extremities [of communism], now the world has begun to retreat from it. [Consequently], in Russia, limited private ownership (infaradi malkiyat) and personal property (shakhsi ja’idad) have been accepted. Therefore, after experimenting with the two points of extreme, there is left but only one position of equilibrium, the one that Islam stands for.
(8)
In the confrontation between capitalism and communism on the one side is the United States, and on the other Russia and China. On both sides are angry powers which are competing with each other in progress. Due to this competition there is a cold war between them and each side is trying - and will continue to try - to prove itself to be more balanced compared to the other, to gain popularity among the neutral parts of the world. In this case, it is necessary that the capitalist side will try to remove those faults that are associated with its system, and those upholders of communism, the excesses of communism. The retreating feet of both sides will help intersect in an embrace that will be closest to Islam’s [position]. (38)
(9)
The materialist point of view tells us that the origin of the human journey is in the era of savagery (daur-i vahshat) where every human lives in a different world. Then came the feeling for communal life (ijtima‘i zindagi) and houses were built. Other houses were joined to making bigger houses, and houses were joined to build clans. Clans united to form countries and many countries came together to form empires. Thus, the pace of human progress points to the direction that multiplicities are transformed into unities. These days the pace of progress has reached a moment when the whole world is divided between two points, East and West. Now the discussion is convened about what is good for Asia, what for Europe. Now the next step could only be that these two are joined. For this day the Qur’an had spoken, “To God belong the East and the West”
. What is this division between East andWest
, both are God’s. Thus, the pinnacle of human progress to which humanity can reach without delay is that through God’s unity the whole world feels brotherhood. That day will be one when the Qur’anic promise will be fulfilled and the whole world will be united under Islam’s banner.
(10)
Finally, the purity and greatness of the lives of the guides of Islam: the moral teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him); the life of the commander of the faithful ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, especially the simple life led during his caliphate and his egalitarianism and care for humans; the great sacrifice of Imam Husayn and other Imams; and the examples of the lives of people’s true [spiritual] teachers (sachay pir). Without employing the burden of religious terminology that causes unfamiliarity (and by separating these lives from miracles etc. which distract today’s mind from reflection and thinking (39)) [all these resources must be] presented from the ethical (akhlaqi) and anthropological (insani) point of view. Thank God this task (kam) has been started by some servants of God (khuda kay banday). No matter how much those fettered by the curling locks of custom and rituals oppose [these things], due to the best result (aslah natijah) [exhibited by this task] in view of the demands of the contemporary world, it will only move forward. On this path there is no retreat!
[Concluding Remarks]:
Through a full utilization of the existing developed media for communication and printing this project
is pushed forward, the attractiveness of these ethical teachings and unrivaled lives [of the Imams] will cause the slow dragging (kashan kashan) of the world towards this center [i.e., Islam]. In the end the world has to gather around this center of true Islam, of whose [teachings] these personalities were concrete embodiments (‘amali mujassimah)
.
At present, these ten dimensions have been presented in a summary fashion (mujmalan). If they were written about in detail, it would result in a huge book (emphasis added).
‘Ali Naqvi never wrote in detail about these matters; yet his career - his other writings, preaching, and his message - is by itself a commentary on the various dimensions he lists here. First, evident from the title of this essay ‘Ali Naqvi’s concern, first and foremost, was religion and its fate in the modern age. The ten dimensions he cited were prefaced by the burning questions of his time: “What will be the fate of Islam in the contemporary era?”; “Can Islam play any important role in today’s world?”; “How in the face of the criticisms of Islam from all sides could religion be ‘preserved’
?” It has been my contention that ‘Ali Naqvi’s entire corpus is a response to these questions and geared toward the preservation of Islam in the Indian milieu. If the category of “religion” was assumed by his interlocutors to be redundant in the modern age, ‘Ali Naqvi had to convince his audience that this conclusion was fundamentally flawed.
Since his interlocutors had rejected religion precisely in the name of social and cultural reform, ‘Ali Naqvi went at length to demonstrate to them that the task of reform is best accomplished through religion, thus necessitating its preservation. In his argument, Islam was the single most important resource for the islah of the society. In a nutshell, his is a project of preserving and cultivating religion in times of crisis. This task of safeguarding and nurturing Islam, however, could not be accomplished in the oldfashioned way, by stridently sounding the religious creed and its obligations and prohibitions into Muslim ears. Religious discourse, while remaining grounded in its broader vision and deeper commitments, needed to depart from its formal expressions.
In other words, it is only by way of reconfiguring religion that religion could be preserved and returned to its prestige.
Interestingly, to his audience, ‘Ali Naqvi’s tone is reassuring, and his message, “Islam has every reason to prevail!”,
I believe successfully continues to mitigate the fears and anxieties of his Muslim audience. In other words, for ‘Ali Naqvi, inasmuch as the Shi‘ite Muslims of South Asia would be attentive to the concrete peculiarities of the crisis in the contemporary period, the immense resources of the Islamic tradition (both intellectual and symbolic), the new opportunities to spread the teachings of Islam, and the widespread deep feeling of crisis and dismay caused by these contemporary challenges would be transformed into a colossal prospect of a fresh appreciation and esteem for the teachings of the Islamic faith.
Second, his conception of Islam is not that of a privatized religion which is to be practiced in one’s private space and spare time; it is that of a religion which simultaneously covers human personal and communal needs, i.e., the private and the public dimensions of human life. That is why ‘Ali Naqvi’s exposition transitions so easily from Islam’s emphasis on the remembrance of God (personal peace of mind) to its sociopolitical vision (social peace and harmony). In chapter 3 and chapter 5 the relationship between the private and the public, between core religious beliefs and practices were extensively discussed. What deserves emphasis is how this reconfigured understanding of Islam was brought to bear upon the concrete intellectual and sociopolitical realities of ‘Ali Naqvi’s time: from communism to capitalism, atheism to materialism, and fetters of cultural customs and practices. In a summary fashion the essay also captures the full breadth of the crises faced by Islam in the contemporary period.
Third, what was initially envisaged by ‘Ali Naqvi as an endeavor of preserving Islam in the modern age turned eventually into a project of systematic and comprehensive islah of the Indian Shi‘ite society, thus becoming his life-time occupation. From core religious beliefs and practices to culture and politics everything was brought within the ambit of Islam. By the mid-1970s he had written or spoken about almost every facet of human life. Yet the comprehensive islah of the human society he proposed was built on a reconfigured religious and intellectual foundation. In this reconfigured understanding, there was no space for beliefs and actions that did not have a strong basis in either reason or religion. That is why ‘Ali Naqvi’s social reform (chapter 5) mirrors his religious reform of the Karbala commemorations (chapter 4). In both domains he made the same point: religious and social customs/practices demanded reevaluation. In light of the religious and intellectual foundations, the society needed to ascertain the purposes and wisdom behind these practices. Undue emphasis given to habit or custom (for example, emphasis on the act of mourning instead of its objective and meaning) could only damage the religious and social interests of the community.
Finally, this essay is ‘Ali Naqvi’s most lucid statement regarding how he himself envisaged his religio-intellectual project. It validates the claim of this study that ‘Ali Naqvi’s various intellectual activities were part of a unified mission. It also confirms that in this mission ‘Ali Naqvi consciously thought of each of the three strands within his project, that is, ‘rethinking’, ‘reconfiguring’, and ‘popularizing’: rethinking of the intellectual and symbolic sources of Islam to address the religious and sociopolitical needs of the day; reconfiguring the intellect’s partnership with religion and the latter’s endorsement of the former; re-presenting the lives of the holy Shi‘i figures as universal heroes of humanity and not just for Shi’ites; and finally, popularizing his enterprise by making use of the new opportunities presented by the emerging innovations in communication in the modern period, especially the printing press. This essay confirms that none of these dimensions was purely accidental or arbitrary, but carefully situated within a well thought-out intellectual enterprise.
‘Ali Naqvi’s Legacy
As revealed by the continuous publication of his works in both India and Pakistan in the recent years, it is clear that ‘Ali Naqvi’s influence has hardly waned in Shi’i South Asia.
In Pakistan, for example, in 2006 the Imamia Mission Pakistan Trust published the revised edition of Shahid-i insaniyat, and as late as 2009 ‘Ali Naqvi’s Qur’anic translation and commentary was published from Karachi as a single volume. For the purpose of condensing the seven-volume work into one, the commentary was abridged and included as side-margins to the text, a style quite common in South Asian Qur’anic commentaries. Texts such as Tahrif-iqur’an
ki haqiqat and Mut‘ah aur Islam have gone through several editions. Furthermore, further compilations of his essays have also come out. A foremost example in this regard is Nigarshat-i sayyidul ‘ulama’, a compilation I have cited on various occasions.
For various reasons, in India ‘Ali Naqvi’s influence has been even greater. First, it is due to the ongoing publication and republication of his texts, much more than in Pakistan. These publications include several editions of his original works - many still available after over 20 years of ‘Ali Naqvi’s death - and compilations of his essays such as Maqalat-i sayyidul ‘ulama’. Second, this influence owes to the impact of well-known preachers-‘ulama’ who were his disciples, such as, Maulana Kalb-i Sadiq
and Allamah ‘Aqil al-Gharvi
both of whom have sought to raise the quality of religious discourse in sermons delivered at Muharram commemorations. Third, ten days after ‘Ali Naqvi’s demise, scholars of North India (including his son Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Naqvi who now holds the position of the Dean of Shi‘ite Theology at Aligarh Muslim University) established Sayyidul ‘Ulama’ Academy, whose task it has been to collect, preserve, publish, and disseminate the works of ‘Ali Naqvi.
Mention must also be made of the Noor-e-Hidayat Foundation founded by Aseef Jaisi, a Shi‘ite scholar from Lucknow. The Foundation has initiated a renewed effort to gather and conserve the corpus of the Household of Ijtihad (including the writings of ‘Ali Naqvi). Since the early 2000s, The Foundation has been publishing a yearly volume Khandan-i ijtihad that documents the lives and achievements of the scholars of the Household of Ijtihad, and a monthly religious magazine Shu‘a‘-i ‘amal. After operating for a number of years, the Foundation has recently opted to make its publications available online. The Foundation’s initiative to digitize (and where necessary, translate)
the scholarly writings of the Household of Ijtihad, to provide free online access to these publications, to publish Shu‘a‘-i ‘amal in both Urdu and Hindi, and to elicit writings pertinent to the challenges of the times are clear examples of ‘Ali Naqvi’s living legacy within Shi‘ite intellectual circles. Regarding the preservation of the corpus of the Household of Ijtihad, ‘Ali Naqvi has been given the most attention. Far exceeding any other member of his family, his essays have been a permanent feature of Shu‘a‘-i ‘amal, every issue containing at least one. But more than that, thematic presentation of issues - a 2007 issue was dedicated to the question of Sunni-Shi‘ite unity - and choice of topics reveals that the Foundation sees itself carrying the mission of ‘Ali Naqvi forward. Aseef Jaisi confirmed this intent in an interview with him. When asked what is so special about ‘Ali Naqvi, why so much effort has been devoted to preserving ‘Ali Naqvi’s writings and his contribution to Indian Shi‘ite Islam, in his response, he credited ‘Ali Naqvi for the following:
People started taking interest in religious literature. It was because ‘Ali Naqvi provided religious literature that did not cause estrangement/repulsion (vahshat)
He transformed the pulpit into a center of research and scholarly discussion (minbar tahqiq kay markaz main tabdil huva)
He eliminated atheism (La diniat dur ki)
He also noted that given additional funding, the Foundation would expand its activities and eventually would like to digitize and publish all the writings of ‘Ali Naqvi.
Finally, to comprehend the wide-ranging influence of ‘Ali Naqvi it is perhaps best to point to the compilation of eulogies published at the anniversary of his death, which includes selections from a range of prominent Muslim thinkers, religious scholars, and literary figures.
Over seventy contributors wrote eulogies for this compilation and the list includes well-known figures such as Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Dr. Waheed Akhtar, ‘Aqil al-Gharvi, Mahmud Saroush, Sahir Fakhry, Mohsin Naqvi, Shamsi Tehrani and Farogh Kazemi. These eulogies paid the highest conceivable tribute to the personality and accomplishments of ‘Ali Naqvi, remembering him with titles such as “the holy figure” (zat-i muqaddas), “protector of religion (nasir-i din)”, “Taj Mahal of majesties” (azmaton ka taj mahal), “Mount of knowledge and action” (koh-i ‘ilm wa ‘amal), “A successful life” (hayat-i kamyab), “Lord’s Mercy” (Rahmat-i parvardigar), “The world has not seen his simile” (dida-yi ‘alam na didah misl-i u), “A Perfect speaker” (zakir-i lajavab), “Pillar of the True Religion” (sutun-i din-i haqq), “A beautiful character” (Kirdar-i jamil), “The Brightest star of knowledge and wisdom” (aftab-i ‘ilm va danish), “Ghufran Ma’ab of the Era” (Ghufran Ma’ab-i vaqt), “Pride of the Nation” (fakhr-i millat), “Deputy of the Imam” (na’ib-iimam). Many more of these titles could be provided from these eulogies. It is hoped that these titles provide sufficient evidence that ‘Ali Naqvi’s immense popularity was not limited to his Shi‘ite audience, but extended to the broader Muslim intelligentsia of the time.
For quite some time, western scholarship on the contemporary Islamic intellectual history had bypassed the role of the ‘ulama’ in the modern period. With the rise of the “new intellectual elite”
in the Islamic world, the days of the ‘ulama’ were thought to have been numbered. The question “who speaks for Islam?” has been at the forefront of this discourse. Despite Gibb’s (1947) assertion that “the future of Islam rests where it has rested in the past - on the insight of the orthodox leaders and their capacity to resolve the new tensions as they arise by positive doctrine which will face and master the forces making for disintegration (122)” - the ‘ulama’s authority has continued its demise, all the more so with the rise of televangelists and cyberspace.
As recent studies have shown, although these new challenges may have limited the ‘ulama’s influence, they have not been able to marginalize them completely. In innovative ways, the ‘ulama’ have adjusted their discourse to the changing circumstances and have reasserted their authority in novel ways.‘Ali Naqvi’s popularity in the South Asian Shi‘ite context, when juxtaposed with his rethinking, reconfiguration, and popularization, buttresses many of these claims.
His example demonstrates that preservation of religion was crucial to the endurance of his authority and that, during the modern period, within the ‘ulama’ class there were isolated figures who were successful in resisting challenges to their authority.
One may recall, in this regard, ‘Ali Naqvi’s own assertion that the fate of the ‘ulama’ is intertwined with religion itself: Insofar as the Islamic faith would remain central within Muslim societies, so would the ‘ulama’; with its demise, authority associated with religion - whether of the ‘ulama’ or that of other claimant of “religious” authority - would consequently subside. Scholarly discourse about the crisis of authority in Islam
during the modern period has often overlooked this crucial point.In other words, the ‘ulama’s measures to reestablish their religious authority could not be studied in isolation from their attempts to rehabilitate religion in the modern world.
Yes, the ‘ulama’ may have been sociopolitically active, must have incorporated novel methods to reassert and expand their influence, and the number of madrasas may have grown exponentially, yet the basis for their authority in the contemporary period - as it has always been - resides first and foremost in their ability to authoritatively interpret religion for the broader community. It is hoped that this study has been successful in demonstrating why that is the case, and how the ‘ulama’ continue to be both the “guardians of faith” and the “custodians of change”.
Even if the scholarly debates about the ‘ulama’ would continue to revolve around the question of their religious authority alone - without making any reference to their scholarly works or writings - one could hardly afford to ignore the ‘ulama’s endeavors to rehabilitate and revive religion in the wake of modernity. This would imply attentiveness to the theological dimension of the crisis of modernity for the Islamic tradition, a topic which stands apart from modernity’s usually discussed socio-political dimensions. In the Indian context alone, one observes rigorous debates, not only over the issues of nationalism, human rights, veiling, or western education, all contesting the domain of Islam’s sociopolitical teachings, but more crucially, over the ‘fundamentals’ of religion. Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Chiragh Ali are two figures who attempted a serious updating of Islamic creedal faith by means of developing a natural theology.
Their thought was not simply a reassessment of Islam’s social teachings but, in Troll’s
terms, a comprehensive “Reinterpretation of Muslim Theology” in the light of Newtonian science. Illustrative of the recognition of modernity as “the challenge” to the fundamentals of the Muslim faith is witnessed in the writings of Iqbal a few decades later. In the midst of the most fervent political activism among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent - to which he hardly remained indifferent - he attempted instead to take up the theological and philosophical challenge that modernity posed to religion:
Could the most essential convictions, such as God, religious experience, the meaning of prayer, and human immortality be rehabilitated? What possibilities of transcendence remain for human beings in the wake of modernism? The structure of Reconstruction
reveals clearly that Iqbal was dealing with modernity, first and foremost, as a philosophical and theological challenge. Notice that before prescribing ijtihad as the panacea of Muslim societies’ sociopolitical problems (in his sixth chapter “The Principle of Movement in Islam”), he had attempted to work out a comprehensive intellectual defense of the validity of religious experience, intuitive knowledge, God’s existence, the human ego, and the function of prayer in religious life. The first four chapters of Reconstruction, in this reading, are a philosophical response to the big question “Is Religion Possible?”
(to be read as “Is Religion Possible Anymore?”).
This was the ultimate question that the alliance of rationalism and Newtonian scientism posed for all religious communities.
Iqbal and ‘Ali Naqvi are examples of Muslim intellectuals in the modern age - like intellectuals of any other religious tradition - who, in addition to being confronted with numerous sociopolitical challenges, were constantly faced with the challenge of defending their fundamental religious beliefs against ideologies such as Enlightenment rationalism, Marxism, and modern scientism. Modernism and other competing ideologies as alternative worldviews had put the core truth claims of Islam to the test, not simply this or that teaching. More than ever, Muslim leaders and intellectuals were faced with the daunting task of revisiting their belief-system that had been taken for granted for centuries, now being required to understand their intellectual and scriptural bases afresh and find novel ways to express these fundamentals in a way that would be convincing, not simply to the outsiders, but to their community as well, which had come to adopt modern thought and its concomitant lifestyle. The danger of the community forgetting what constitutes the core of religious commitmentmeant,
first and foremost, finding ways to reinvigorate and then sustain the life-orientational commitment on which Islam is based. This dimension of teaching the faith and defending it rationally against alternative worldviews, religious or secular, and forced by modern circumstances that had motivated much intellectual activity among Muslims. Much of this has generally been overlooked.
‘Ali Naqvi’s religio-intellectual project originated out of this concern for the fate of religion and was envisaged precisely along these lines. Such writings constitute a separate strand of Islamic religious thought in the contemporary period, and need to be considered independently from other debates like “religion in the public sphere” or “religious activism”. It is hoped that future scholarship on the ‘ulama’ would also incorporate this theological dimension of modernity and the intellectual developments that have emerged from it.
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Author: Syed Rizwan Zamir
