Defending Muḥammad in Modernity

by Sherali Tareen, Margrit Pernau (Foreword)

In this groundbreaking study, SherAli Tareen presents the most comprehensive and theoretically engaged work to date on what is arguably the most long-running, complex, and contentious dispute in modern the Barelvī-Deobandī polemic. The Barelvī and Deobandī groups are two normative orientations/reform movements with beginnings in colonial South Asia. Almost two hundred years separate the beginnings of this polemic from the present. Its specter, however, continues to haunt the religious sensibilities of postcolonial South Asian Muslims in profound ways, both in the region and in diaspora communities around the world. Defending Muḥammad in Modernity challenges the commonplace tendency to view such moments of intra-Muslim contest through the prism of problematic yet powerful liberal secular binaries like legal/mystical, moderate/extremist, and reformist/traditionalist. Tareen argues that the Barelvī-Deobandī polemic was instead animated by what he calls “competing political theologies” that articulated―during a moment in Indian Muslim history marked by the loss and crisis of political sovereignty―contrasting visions of the normative relationship between divine sovereignty, prophetic charisma, and the practice of everyday life. Based on the close reading of previously unexplored print and manuscript sources in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu spanning the late eighteenth and the entirety of the nineteenth century, this book intervenes in and integrates the often-disparate fields of religious studies, Islamic studies, South Asian studies, critical secularism studies, and political theology.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction, History, India, Politics

506 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2019

Reviews

[Hafsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not often that one reads a book that completely changes how certain topics are studied in the academy. It's also not often that that book is well-written and lucid in the kinds of interventions that the author is making in a number of fields. Sherali Tareen's book Defending Muhammad in Modernity is one such book. Tareen examines Deobandi-Barelvi polemics in the colonial period in South Asia to make a broader intervention in the way that we examine the category of 'religion,' and indeed, how we engage with its adherents. He pushes back against the dominant, and forceful scholarly attempts to see shifts in Islamic thought and practice in the colonial period as akin to a Protestantization of Islam, which have persistently relied on the overused categories of law/mysticism, reform/tradition, moderate/extremist, enchanted/disenchanted, orthodox/unorthodox, and so on.

Tareen swiftly brings us into the life-worlds of four major figures spanning a century--Shah Mohammad Ismail, Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Ahmad Raza Khan, and Fazl i Haq Khayrabadi. While the Deobandi/Barelvi polemic has been interpreted as one of the challenge between law/mysticism (or other parallel binaries), Tareen argues that our understanding of this polemic should center around debates surrounding other themes: political theology, prophetic authority, and ritual practice. The question that drives this debate is: How should a community honor the Prophet's memory and normative example? While Deobandi scholars advocated an emphasis on divine sovereignty, as well as a focus on the Prophet's humanity, the Barelvis emphasized the ways in which both divine sovereignty and prophetic exceptionality were mutually reinforcing. Tareen examines how scholars debated, with a lot of passion, humor and rancor, topics such as the celebration of the Prophet's birth (mawlid), role of the Prophet as an intercessor, as well the Prophet's ability to know the 'unknown.' He deftly explains, edifies, and brings out the ambiguities in their internal logics--the reader is beautifully drawn into their world and able to see why they thought the way they did.

He also, at times, inserts some interesting parallels or contrasts with western, or Christian epistemological traditions--which is an intentional and interesting move to make us as readers see that the internal logics of these intellectual traditions are not completely foreign or 'the other.'

I believe the book is groundbreaking because it forces scholars of Islam, and other traditions, to move beyond the epistemological categories that have been buttressed by liberal secular modernity. It forces us to contend with the actual categories that matter to the individuals and communities with which we engage.

[Anam Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's dedication to exploring a less-discussed intellectual field, particularly the Barelvi Deoband rivalry, deserves commendation for shedding light on a widespread issue. While the book is profound, reservations arise, particularly regarding the portrayal of the Prophet's personal life after page 216. The irony lies in the author's mention of relying on a westernized version without thorough research, reminiscent of his approach to discussing Prophet's marriage with Zainab bint Jahash.

Critically, the text appears one-sided, predominantly favoring Deoband scholars and their works while neglecting the Barelvi perspective. Acknowledging the impact of these figures is crucial in understanding their significance, yet the author seems to undermine the contributions of the Barelvi block.

Nevertheless, the book remains a valuable resource for delving into the intricate history of the Barelvi Deoband feud, offering substantial insights for those interested in the subject matter.

[Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Magnificent!
Highly recommend this book for every student of knowledge.

[Oz .]

Tareen puts things brilliantly, seldom one comes through projects that have the capacity to change your way of thinking or looking at something—premodern/early modern intra-muslim polemics in this case, this is that kind of project.

[Mohammed Ilyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

SherAli Tareen is an astute researcher who examines the polemics of the Deobandi-Barelvi issue animating late 19th and early 20th century amongst the ulama with surgical precision, excavating the logic of the contention between these seemingly two similar groups surrounding divine sovereignty, prophetic authority, and the boundaries of ritual practice.

Tareen, here, applies the concept of "discursive tradition" popularized by Talal Asad, an anthropologist who is the son of the storied Muhammad Asad. Talal is a pioneer of flipping the script of anthropological examination — instead of examining the subjectivities of non-Western cultures, he examines contemporary secularism of the West. A key issue he highlights is that secularism is not neutral or universal (it grew out of Protestant sensibilities from Europe over the Church-State split), and that the 'secular' cannot exist without a 'religion' it imagines and seeks to curb/overcome. Put more simply: it is precisely by defining religion as its "other" that the secular defines itself.

Keenly aware of the biases in academia of positivist secular liberal tendencies, Tareen, armed with superb philological skills in Persian, Urdu, and Arabic, translates attentively the voices of the ulama.

Tareen aims to invert what Carl Schmitt observed — "All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts" to ask the following question: "What are some of the ways in which theological debates and arguments about the nature of God’s relationship with humanity are reflective of and informed by shifting understandings and manifestations of political sovereignty?"

The book covers a lot of ground, so I will not be able to share details on the differences between these two groups, but there were two key contentions:
1. Deobandis emphasized the humanity of the Prophet vs Barelvis emphasized the Prophet's exceptionality
2. Deobandis contention that each successive generation risked slipping into a moral decline and needed to be rescued by the religious leaders of that time vs Barelvis contention that each generation was adding to the inherent goodness of the practices of the prophetic time. (viewing Tradition in time as either Rupture needing reform vs Continuity needing maintenance)

Another important discussion in the book that caught my eye was Shah Muhammad Ismail's, the grandson of the towering Shah Wali Ullah, contrasting of Salvational Politics vs Imperial Politics, and nuanced conceptualization of the Imperial Politics of the rulers.

All in all, Tareen's point seems to be that any decolonial effort (which is vogue in academia these days) is incomplete without taking "discursive tradition" seriously: It is only by seriously attending to the Islamic tradition with all its nuances and complexities that one can understand the dynamism of that tradition, and use that as a resource to navigate the terrains of our contemporary world.

[Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to say about this book, but I think for now, Professor Muhammad Qasim Zaman's comment suffices:
"...Sherali Tareen's deeply researched, theoretically informed, yet remarkably accessible study will help make Islam in modern South Asia part of wider and much needed conversations among scholars of religion."