Engaging Modern Muslims with Their Prophet
The Challenge of Contemporary Sīra Writing in the Thought of al-Azhar Scholar ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978)
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Abstract
In contemporary Egypt, the secularization of discourses and practices raises a fundamental challenge to sīra writing concerning its vocation to make the founding narrative and the religious ideals of Islam comprehensible and meaningful to contemporary Muslims. Arguing that the Muslim community’s image of the Prophet does indeed both affect and reflect its religious and spiritual condition, the known Egyptian intellectual and former rector of al-Azhar, ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978) holds the appearance of de-theologized forms of sīra writing as a symptom of a profound crisis of Islamic intellectuality. Against this background, his prophetological considerations seek to show that this challenge can only be overcome by a sīra writing that engages the audience in a personal and spiritual relationship with the Prophet.
Résumé
Dans l’Égypte contemporaine, la sécularisation des discours et des pratiques pose un défi fondamental à l’écriture de la sīra concernant sa vocation à rendre le récit fondateur et les idéaux religieux de l’islam compréhensibles et dotés de sens pour les musulmans contemporains. Soutenant que l’image que la communauté musulmane se fait du Prophète affecte et reflète sa condition religieuse et spirituelle, le célèbre intellectuel égyptien et ancien recteur d’al-Azhar ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978) tient l’apparition de formes déthéologisées de l’écriture de la sīra comme un symptôme d’une crise profonde de l’intellectualité islamique. Dans ce contexte, ses considérations prophétologiques cherchent à montrer que ce défi ne peut être surmonté que par une écriture de la sīra qui engage l’auditoire dans une relation personnelle et spirituelle avec le Prophète.
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Engaging Modern Muslims with Their Prophet
The Challenge of Contemporary Sīra Writing in the Thought of al-Azhar Scholar ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978)
In: ArabicaSearch for other papers by Ruggero Vimercati Sanseverino in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In contemporary Egypt, the secularization of discourses and practices raises a fundamental challenge to sīra writing concerning its vocation to make the founding narrative and the religious ideals of Islam comprehensible and meaningful to contemporary Muslims. Arguing that the Muslim community’s image of the Prophet does indeed both affect and reflect its religious and spiritual condition, the known Egyptian intellectual and former rector of al-Azhar, ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978) holds the appearance of de-theologized forms of sīra writing as a symptom of a profound crisis of Islamic intellectuality. Against this background, his prophetological considerations seek to show that this challenge can only be overcome by a sīra writing that engages the audience in a personal and spiritual relationship with the Prophet.
Résumé
Dans l’Égypte contemporaine, la sécularisation des discours et des pratiques pose un défi fondamental à l’écriture de la sīra concernant sa vocation à rendre le récit fondateur et les idéaux religieux de l’islam compréhensibles et dotés de sens pour les musulmans contemporains. Soutenant que l’image que la communauté musulmane se fait du Prophète affecte et reflète sa condition religieuse et spirituelle, le célèbre intellectuel égyptien et ancien recteur d’al-Azhar ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910-1978) tient l’apparition de formes déthéologisées de l’écriture de la sīra comme un symptôme d’une crise profonde de l’intellectualité islamique. Dans ce contexte, ses considérations prophétologiques cherchent à montrer que ce défi ne peut être surmonté que par une écriture de la sīra qui engage l’auditoire dans une relation personnelle et spirituelle avec le Prophète.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 447 | 309 | 47 |
| Full Text Views | 23 | 12 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 75 | 25 | 0 |
