Islamic Modernism and Tafsir in Nineteenth Century Egypt: A Critical Analysis of Muhammad Abduh’s Exegesis

The aim of this paper is to examine the concept of Islamic modernism in nineteenth-century Egypt as expressed in Tafsir al-Manar, placing particular emphasis on Muhammad ‘Abduh (1849-1905). The major focus of the paper is human reason (‘aql) as perceived by ‘Abduh and reflected in Tafsir al-Manar.  Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Quranic exegesis gained new momentum with the emergence of Islamic modernism. In Egypt, ‘Abduh used tafsir as a major vehicle to disseminate his revolutionary thoughts. The central concept of his reform was that Islam could not face the challenges of modernity and the West unless Muslims learnt modern and other rational sciences. ‘Abduh abandoned the traditional formula of tafsir in favour of the rationalist approach, which he believed was essential in order to demonstrate the viability of Islam to the modern period.  Traditional exegetes, he argued, had wasted too much effort on delving into the ‘technicalities’ of grammar, theological disputes and other extraneous material. Tafsir, he maintained, had to be presented in a style adaptable to the demands of the society. Moreover, for the present situation of Muslims to be improved and for Islamic modernism to be sustained, the Quran had to be rationally interpreted.  This paper examines the concept of Islamic modernism in nineteenth century Egypt, as expressed in Tafsir al-Manar, making particular reference to Muhammad ‘Abduh (1849-1905).   It evaluates his contributions to modern tafsir and analyse his rational approach in the interpretation of the Quran. &nbsp

Asma Barlas’ Criticism of Hadith as a Tool of Tafsir: Critical Analysis of Feminist’s Predominant Narrative

This paper evaluates the hermeneutical methodology of Asma Barlas, in critiquing Muslims’ intellectual traditions with a special reference to the Prophetic tradition, the Sunnah, and its relevance in understanding Islam. In Islamic orthodoxy, the Sunnah occupies the second position as a source of Islamic law. More importantly, it serves as practical explanation of the Qur’ān. Consequently, the Sunnah has become indispensable in understanding the Qur’ān. Conversely, Barlas uses her hermeneutical methodology to challenge the authenticity of the Sunnah and its role in understanding the Qur’ān.1 Her central argument is that using the Sunnah to interpret the Qur’ān is problematic as it undercuts the doctrine of revelation’s self-sufficiency and the interpretive flexibility inherent in it, putting a methodological closure on how the Qur’ān could ‘‘legitimately’’ be read 2 Her criticism of hadith as a tool of tafsīr is specifically remarkable.  This paper, therefore, critically analyzes Barlas’ hermeneutical methodology in relation to her criticism of hadith as an important ingredient of tafsīr. It argues that hadith is an indispensable tool in making sound Qur’anic interpretation and in proper understanding of the Qur’ān as a source of guidance to humanity. It then analyses Barlas’ arguments making references to her intellectual inadequacy. The paper concludes that Barlas’ argument on the position of the Sunnah in Islam is simplistic; while not denying that a significant amount of hadith were forged and integrated into tafsīr, it must be stressed that this forgery was not allowed to go unchallenge

Textile industry in Nupeland

Man became conscious of whom he was when he took  sedimentary life. The consciousness led to the need to cover his body either from nakedness, to look beautiful or in response to the harsh weather; and to keep the body warm. This began with the use of leaves to animal skins then to the weaving and production of fabric for clothing. Though no one can said when clothing or textiles began in the world and in Nupeland in particular, no doubt it has a fair long history and has undergone changes overtime. It is in the light of this that using historical methodology of both  primary and secondary sources, the paper investigate textile industry in Nupeland. Using content analysis, the paper concluded that the industry in Nupeland had benefitted from the technology and skills of neighbouring communities before it became  synonymous with the Nupe. The industry has also declined due to modern production

Bacterial co-infections in a captive Python bivittatus with septicemia

This case reports bacterial co-infection in a dead albino python (Python bivittatus). The snake was brought in dead to the Universiti Veterinary Hospital, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Necropsy was conducted and organ samples were sent for virus and bacterial isolation, as well as histopathology. Gross pathological lesions include congestion of the heart, spleen and liver and presence of superficial whitish circumscribed spots in the lungs. Bacterial culture showed the presence of Salmonella enterica ssp arizona, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Enterobacter cloacae. Histopathological evaluation showed evidence of necrosis, degeneration and heterophil infiltration in the liver, kidney, heart and lungs. The snake was diagnosed to have died of bacterial septicemia.Keywords: Bacterial isolation, Captive snake, Histopathology, Python bivittatus, Septicemi

The Politics of Restructuring and the Nigerian Unity: The Role of the Leadership

The Nigerian political system, to a very large extent, since independence in 1960, has continued to be marked by divisions along ethnic, religious and class lines. The primodial identity symbols appear to have been capitalized on and manipulated by the political class and the elite to gain undue advantage in electoral contests, which have almost become a recovering decimal of the Nigerian politics. The result of this phenomenon has been a lack of patriotic leadership with nationalistic tendencies and equity-induced service delivery in the political affairs of our country. Our attempt at this Conference therefore, is to give a critical analysis of the politics surrounding the concept of restructuring and Nigeria unity vise-vise the role of the leadership

Thermo-Diffusion Effects of a Stagnation Point Flow in a Nanofluid with Convection using the Adomian Decomposition Method

The Thermo-diffusion solution effects a stagnation point flow of a nanofluid with convection using. Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM) is presented. The Partial differential equation representing the problem was reduced to an ordinary differential equation by introducing some similarity transformation variables. The transformed equations were solved using the ADM and the results were compared with existing results in the literatures. There is a good agreement between the method and the existing one, which indicate reliability of the method. The physical parameters that occurred in the solutions such as magnetic parameter, thermal Grashof numbers, concentration Grashof numbers, nano Lewis number, velocity ratio, Prandtl number were varied to determine their respective effects. It was observed that when the wall velocity is higher than the free stream velocity, the fluid velocity drop and rises when velocity at free stream is higher than the wall velocity .&nbsp

Geology and Hydrogeophysical Investigation of Gurum and Environs, Lere Sheet 147SE, Bassa-Plateau, North-Central Nigeria

Geology and hydrogeophysical investigation of Gurum and its environs was undertaken within Lere Sheet 147 SE. The geological studies revealed the presence of Precambrian rocks (undifferentiated migmatites and Older Granites) and Jurassic rocks (Younger Granite) of different varieties belonging to the Buji Complex. The Buji Complex is composed of two (2) super imposed ring complexes, the earlier volcanic and high- level hyperbyssal intrusion dominated by granitic rocks. Hydrogeophysical results showed depth to various geo-electric layers and the range of apparent resistivity values with lithological units and their water yielding potentials. The studies clearly show the aquifer thickness is sufficient and the resistivity value falls within the range of good water yield. Additionally, it can also be said that the aquifers in the study area including both weathered overburden and fractured crystalline rocks are capable of yielding significant amount of water to wells. The aquifer thickness appears to increase towards the north eastern part of Gurum.&nbsp

Isolation and identification of bacterial populations of zoonotic importance from captive non-venomous snakes in Malaysia

Aim: Captivity of non-venomous snakes such as python and boa are common in zoos, aquariums and as pets in households. Poor captivity conditions expose these reptiles to numerous pathogens which may result in disease conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the common bacteria isolated from necropsied captive snakes in Malaysia over a five year period. Materials and methods: A total of 27 snake carcasses presented for necropsy at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) were used in this survey. Samples were aseptically obtained at necropsy from different organs/tissues (lung, liver, heart, kindey, oesophagus, lymph node, stomach, spinal cord, spleen, intestine) and cultured onto 5% blood and McConkey agar, respectively. Gram staining, morphological evaluation and biochemical test such as oxidase, catalase and coagulase were used to tentatively identify the presumptive bacterial isolates. Results: Pythons had the highest number of cases (81.3%) followed by anaconda (14.8%) and boa (3.7%). Mixed infection accounted for 81.5% in all snakes and was highest in pythons (63%). However, single infection was only observed in pythons (18.5%). A total of 82.7%, 95.4% and 100% of the bacterial isolates from python, anaconda and boa, respectively were gram negative. Aeromonas spp was the most frequently isolated bacteria in pythons and anaconda with incidences of 25 (18%) and 8 (36.6%) with no difference (p > 0.05) in incidence, respectively, while Salmonella spp was the most frequently isolated in boa and significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in python and anaconda. Bacteria species were most frequently isolated from the kidney of pythons 35 (25.2%), intestines of anacondas 11 (50%) and stomach of boa 3 (30%).Conclusion: This study showed that captive pythons harbored more bacterial speciesthan anaconda or boa. Most of the bacterial species isolated from these snakes have public health importance and have been incriminated in human infections worldwide

A spatiotemporal appraisal of road traffic accident in Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria

Purpose: Road accident has been claiming lives and no amount of research will be enough to expose the causes and dangers. This study appraises the causes and analyses the variation of road accidents in the Kaduna metropolis, intending to reduce it. Research methodology: The data used was obtained from Federal Road Safety Corps and complemented by the researchers’ field survey. Eight members of the research team went to the 24 bus stops identified each month rotationally. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied in the analysis. Results: There was a high correlation of mortality and road accident injuries as confirmed by r-value 0.7 using pearson product moment correlation. Accidents occur most in the morning and afternoon and the season with most accident occurrence was the dry season. The combination of over speeding and other factors were the major causes of road accidents. Limitations: The study used data published in 2016, although a follow-up data verification was conducted in 2017 and 2018. Therefore, the study is old and the results might have changed and might not necessarily be reliable. Contribution: Road accidents hot spots areas, causes, and patterns were exposed to guide the road users in order to avoid the accident. The study can also be replicated in other study areas with similar characteristics