Mujaddid

Mujaddid (Arabic: مجدد) in Islam is a reformer who is given the task of removing errors that have occurred among Muslims. Their job is to show people the great religious truths which the Muslim community will be asked to face.^[1] According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revive Islam, cleansing it of extraneous elements and restoring it to its pristine purity. In contemporary times, a mujaddid is looked upon as the greatest Muslim of a century.^[2]

Ikhtilaf (disagreements) exist among vatious hadith specialists. Scholars and historians like Al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani have interpreted that the term mujaddid can also be understood as plural, thus referring to a group of people.^[3][4]

The Arabic word mujaddid means "reformer", "renovator", "reviver", "renewer" or "regenerator". It is someone who revives and renovates the religion. The concept of tajdid (renewal or revival) and the term mujaddid come rather from a hadith, a statement of the Prophet Muhammad. This hadith was written down by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, one of the six authoritative Sunni collections of the Prophet's statements. In this hadith, the Prophet says:

"Verily, Allah (God) sends to (or will raise for) this Ummah (the Islamic nation) at the head (the beginning or the end) of every hundred years someone (or people) who will renew (or revive) for it its religion."^[5]

This means reform is in the essential nature of Islam and Muslims are called all the time to work hard to make new ideas cope with tradition. It also means that not everything in the Muslim tradition is useful and good for this modern age; there are certain things that were possible in the past but are no longer relevant today. Slavery would be a prime example.^[6]

The concept of tajdid in Islamic thought

Tajdid (renewal) in Islamic thought means renewing the ideology representing the intellectual product of Muslims in the fields of science, knowledge and ijtihad to interpret Islam and understand and explicate its rulings.

Al-Suyuti mentioned in his book Al-Jami' al-Sagheer, "Renewing religion means renewing its guidance, clarifying its truth and precedence, refuting the innovations and extremism presented to its followers or their reluctance in upholding it, and following its rules in managing the interests of the people and the law of society and civilization."^[7]

Among the most manifest aspects of tajdid (renewal) in Islamic thought is the renewal of Islamic sciences as follows:^[8]

1. The science of Islamic doctrine.
2. The Principles of Islamic jurisprudence.
3. The science of Jurisprudence.
4. The science of the sunnah.
5. The science of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir).
6. The science of Purification and Code of Conduct (Sufism).
7. The biography of the Prophet and Islamic history.

Mujaddids can include prominent scholars, pious rulers and military commanders.^[9]

The reformers in Islam

There is no formal mechanism for designating a mujaddid. The persons of this list are claimed to be Mujaddid.

Rulers and conquerors such as Saladin, Tamerlane, Shah Rukh, Mehmet II, Selim I, Suleiman, Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan were often popularly heralded as mujaddids for their roles in Political Islam (Saladin, Ottoman's Selim I and Suleiman I held the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques).^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltout

While there is no formal mechanism for designating a mujaddid in Sunni Islam, there is often a popular consensus.

1th Century AH

• Al-Hasan al-Basri (21–110 AH/642–728 AD)
• Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (63–101 AH/682–720 AD)
• Abu Hanifah (80–150 AH/702–772 AD)
• Malik ibn Anas (93–179 AH/711–795 AD)

2th Century AH

• Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (150–204 AH/767–820 AD)
• Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH/781–855 AD)

3th Century AH

• Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (260–324 AH/873–935 AD)
• Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (238–333 AH/852–944 AD)
• Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (239–321 AH/853–933 AD)
• Ibn Surayj (249–306 AH/864–918 AD)

4th Century AH

• Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (338–403 AH/950–1013 AD)
• Ibn Furak (330–406 AH/941–1015 AD)
• Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (321–405 AH/933–1014 AD)
• Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini (344–406 AH/955–1015 AD)
• Abu al-Tayyib Sahl al-Sa'luki (0–404 AH/0–1013/14 AD)
• Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (384–456 AH/994–1064 AD)
• Abu al-Ma'ali al-Juwayni (419–478 AH/1028–1085 AD)

5th Century AH

• Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450–505 AH/1058–1111 AD)
• Ibn al-Jawzi (509/510–597 AH/1116–1201 AD)
• Ahmad al-Rifa'i (512–578 AH/1118–1182 AD)

6th Century AH

• Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (543/44–606 AH/1149–1209 AD)
• Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi'i (555–623 AH/1160–1226 AD)
• Al-Baydawi (0–685 AH/0–1286 AD)
• Al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam (577–660 AH/1181/82–1262 AD)

7th Century AH

• Ibn Daqiq al-'ld (625–702 AH/1228–1302 AD)
• Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Sakandari (658–709 AH/1259–1309 AD)
• Ibn Battuta (703–779 AH/1304–1377 AD)
• Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (720–790 AH/1320–1388 AD)
• Al-Taftazani (722–793 AH/1322–1390 AD)

8th Century AH

• Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (724-805 AH/1324-1403 AD)
• Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi (725-806 AH/1325-1404 AD)
• Ibn Khaldun (732-808 AH/1332-1406 AD)

9th Century AH

• Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (849–911 AH/1445–1505 AD)
• Zakariyya al-Ansari (823–926 AH/1420–1520 AD)

10th Century AH

• Shams al-Din al-Ramli (919–1004 AH/1513–1596 AD)
• Khayr al-Din al-Ramli (993–1081 AH/1585–1671 AD)
• Ahmad Sirhindi (971–1034 AH/1564–1624 AD)

11th Century AH

• Aurangzeb (1068–1118 AH/1658–1707 AD)
• 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad (1044–1132 AH/1634–1719 AD)
• Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1114–1176 AH/1703–1762 AD)

12th Century AH

• Murtada al-Zabidi (1145–1205 AH/1732–1791 AD)
• Ahmad ibn 'Ajiba (1160–1224 AH/1747–1809 AD)
• Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (1159–1239 AH/1746–1824 AD)

Thirteenth Century (November 14, 1882)

• Imam Ahmad Raza
• Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905)^[15]
• Said Nursî (1878–1960)^[16]

Controversial figures

• Ibn Taymiyyah (661–728 AH/1263–1328 AD)
• Usman dan Fodio (1167–1233 AH/1754–1817 AD)
• Al-Albani (1332–1420 AH/1914–1999 AD)

References

• Tuhfat al-Muhtadin bi Akhbar al-Mujaddidin (Arabic: تحفة المهتدين بأخبار المجددين) by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti.
• Mausu'at A'lam al-Mujaddidin fi al-Islam (Arabic: موسوعة أعلام المجددين في الإسلام) by Samih Kurayyim.
• Mujaddid - Islamic Encyclopedia Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

1. Ali, Maulana Muhammad (2011). The Religion of Islam by Muhammad Ali. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore USA. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-934271-18-6.
2. "Mujaddid - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
3. Fath al-Baari (13/295)
4. Taareekh al-Islam (23/180)
5. "Hadith - Book of Battles (Kitab Al-Malahim) - Sunan Abi Dawud - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com.
6. Islam and modernity: Islamist movements and the politics of position by Said Mentak.
7. "Reform (Islah) and Renewal (Tajdid) in Islamic Thought". Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.
8. "Renewal (Tajdid) in Islamic sciences". Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.
9. Meri, Josef W., ed. (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. p. 678. ISBN 9780415966900.
10. Jackson, Roy (2010). Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-95036-0.
11. Pande, B.N. (1996). Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan: Evaluation of Their Religious Policies. University of Michigan. ISBN 9788185220383.
12. Advocate of Dialogue. Fountain Publishing. 2000. ISBN 978-0-9704370-1-3.
13. Akgunduz, Ahmed; Ozturk, Said (2011). Ottoman History - Misperceptions and Truths. IUR Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-90-902610-8-9. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
14. Abu-Rabi', Ibrahim (2008). The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought. John Wiley & Sons. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4051-7848-8.
15. Nieuwenhuijze, C.A.O.van (1997). Paradise Lost: Reflections on the Struggle for Authenticity in the Middle East. p. 24. ISBN 90-04-10672-3.
16. Rippin, Andrew. Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. p. 282.

Other websites

• Concept of a Mujaddid and the past and present ones