A CRITIQUE OF TAKFῙR TENDENCY IN BARBAHĀRI’S SHARḤ AS-SUNNAH

Takfῑr (excommunicating Muslims from Islam) has recently attracted renewed attention among Muslim scholars due to its devastating effects on Muslims. Modern Salafism is mostly accused of the trend. Hence, the present research traces the genesis of Takfῑr tendency to one of the most acceptable classical works among the modern Salafis, Sharḥ as-Sunnah of Imam Barbahāri (d. 329 A.H.). The paper is library-based and adopts the analytic method of research. The study reveals that Barbahāri is guilty of loose declaration of worthless matters as an act of apostasy. Some of the matters in which he displayed the Takfῑr tendency are differing from the Companions in any religious matter, the beatific vision of Allah in this world, the consecration of his work, treating Muslims as non-believers, and sweeping declaration of his contemporaries as an apostate. It also found the Takfῑr -laden approach of the author in his work was triggered by the nature of the heretic Jahmiyyah sect he targets. It will be out of context to apply his texts to the generality of non-Hanbali Muslims who don’t share the grave and dangerous creeds of the Jahmiyyah. This is the point where many modern Salafis who hold the work in high esteem become guilty. They adopt the letters of Barbahāri ’s texts as a general guideline for relating with their opponents, even if their religious differences are not up to the standard of the heretic Jahmiyya

A comparative analysis of the theological polemics of Muslim Brotherhood and Salafiyyah

The experience of the Muslim Ummah in the 19th and 20th centuries has given rise to various revivalist thoughts aimed at reclaiming the lost glory of Islam and returning Muslims to their right position. The Muslim Brotherhood current Salafiyyah groups represent the largest revivalist trend in current time. Despite having the common mission of revitalizing the Ummah, the two trends are always at loggerhead over pressing issues of Islam. Hence, the research focuses on theological polemics as case study for the multitudinous contention between the two trends. Library research methodology was adopted. Findings of the research show that both trends share common fundamental creeds and that the popular theological dichotomy between them is due to various factors namely: the degree of priority attached to creeds, attitude towards equivocal matters of creed such as anthropomorphic status of Allah and lastly theologizing matters which are juristic. The research recommends the needs for the Salafiyyah group to focus on theological training rather than the traditionally theological polemics which was a product of refutation against the evolving heretic sects that are ideologically not existing today

EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC REVIVALIST TREND IN YORUBALAND OF NIGERIA

The presentation of religion in its true picture of revelation has always been threatened by human interpolation, manipulation, and misinterpretation. To save religion from the nemesis of the above, the Prophet of Islam guaranteed that Allah shall be raising in every Muslim generation a reformer who will redefine religion in its original form. Hence, the expectation of a reformist trend at every particular point of spiritual retrogression by Muslims has become a recurring convention. The present research attempts to examine the aforementioned trend in Yorubaland of Nigeria. The research is a mixture of library and field research and adopts historical and descriptive methods. It discovered that the prophetic tradition on the rise of a reformer could not be limited in exclusion of others to mean a personified or individual description. Rather it can also render the meaning of the emergence of a new religious trend pursued by a large congregation of believers. The research also reveals that the comprehensive take-off of the reformist trend in Yorubaland started in the 70s of the last century with a noticeable influence from abroad. It recommends further detailed studies on the challenges and prospects of the new emerging revivalist trends in the region. 

EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC REVIVALIST TREND IN YORUBALAND OF NIGERIA

The presentation of religion in its true picture of revelation has always been threatened by human interpolation, manipulation, and misinterpretation. To save religion from the nemesis of the above, the Prophet of Islam guaranteed that Allah shall be raising in every Muslim generation a reformer who will redefine religion in its original form. Hence, the expectation of a reformist trend at every particular point of spiritual retrogression by Muslims has become a recurring convention. The present research attempts to examine the aforementioned trend in Yorubaland of Nigeria. The research is a mixture of library and field research and adopts historical and descriptive methods. It discovered that the prophetic tradition on the rise of a reformer could not be limited in exclusion of others to mean a personified or individual description. Rather it can also render the meaning of the emergence of a new religious trend pursued by a large congregation of believers. The research also reveals that the comprehensive take-off of the reformist trend in Yorubaland started in the 70s of the last century with a noticeable influence from abroad. It recommends further detailed studies on the challenges and prospects of the new emerging revivalist trends in the region. 

Literalism Versus Rationalism In The House of Islam: A Case Study of Islamic Law of Succession: الحرفية مقابل العقلانية في الإسلام: دراسة حالة فقه الميراث

The conspicuous difference that exists among Muslim jurists from the formative stage until the contemporary time is not disconnected from the different basic approaches to the interpretation of religious texts, namely, the textualist and rationalist. This phenomenon has shaped the scholastic contention in virtually all fiqh discourses. Against this background, this article explores the surface of the aforementioned trends in selected issues relating to the Islamic Law of Succession. The research adopts historical and analytical approaches. While the historical approach assists in tracing the development of succession law in Islam, the analytical approach helps in identifying the areas characterized by literalist and rationalist trends and which one between the two is juristically given prominence. The study discovered that in most of the sampled issues, the rationalist approach triumphed over the literalist. It also detected that Muslims across the globe have maintained-as far as inheritance is concerned- the implementation of rationalist-based verdicts