Vicegerency in Islamic Thought and Scripture: Towards a Qur'anic Theory of Human Existential Function

Description

This book explores the reasons for the creation of humanity on Earth from the perspective of ancient and contemporary Muslim thinkers, aiming to lay the outlines of a Qurʾanic theory of human existential function. The author proceeds from the assumption that, until now, contemporary Islamic scholarship has suffered from the absence of theorisation about a Qurʾanic conception of human existential function (vicegerency), lacking a unified philosophical and epistemological frame of reference. Challenging common perceptions among contemporary Muslim reformists regarding the human existential function, the author examines both classical and contemporary thought as well as conducting a thorough and comprehensive analysis of Qurʾanic passages that ground the theory of vicegerency within a cosmic scheme. Ultimately, a new approach for understanding the human existential function from within the Qurʾanic worldview is proposed. For the first time then, this book offers an integral induction and categorisation of Qurʾanic teleological concepts, combining them within a coherent framework that reveals the outlines of a vicegerency theory and a Qurʾanic worldview. Suitable for both scholars and laypersons, the book serves as a landmark textbook in the fields of Islamic Philosophy, Theological Anthropology and Qurʾanic Studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Research Questions, Methodological Approach and Focus 1.2 Islamic Vicegerency 1.3 Knowledge Integration in Islamic Thought and Disciplines 1.4 Islamic Worldview as Epistemological and Methodological Frame 1.4.1 Ismāʿīl al-Fārūqī 1.4.2 Ṭāhā Jābir al-ʿUlwānī 1.4.3 ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Abū Sulaymān 1.4.4 Ṭāhā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Notes Bibliography Chapter 2 Islamic Worldview in the Context of Modern Reformism 2.1 The Crisis of Islamic Thought in the Context of Modernity 2.2 Islamic Worldview as Promising Horizon Notes Bibliography Chapter 3 The Concept of Istikhlāf in Islamic Heritage 3.1 Who is Man the Deputy of? 3.2 Who is the Khalīfa? 3.3 What is Man Deputised For? 3.4 Vicegerency and Human Existential Function Notes Bibliography Chapter 4 Vicegerency as Existential Function in Contemporary Reformism 4.1 Building and Populating the Earth (ʿimārat al-arḍ) and Utilising its Resources 4.1.1 The Problem of Vicegerency and Worship 4.1.2 The Lordship-Wordship Dichotomy 4.2 Adherence to God’s Will and Commands and their Implementation on Earth 4.3 The Responsibility of Choice and Disposition 4.4 The Manifestation of Divine Attributes and Ethics on Earth 4.5 Nature and Beyond 4.6 Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography Chapter 5 The Object of Vicegerency: Identifying Human Existential Function 5.1 Deducing the Object of Vicegerency 5.2 Vicegerency is Deputisation on Behalf of God 5.3 Some Hermeneutical Considerations 5.4 Identifying the Object of Vicegerency 5.4.1 Cosmic Worship 5.4.2 Human Worship Notes Bibliography Chapter 6 Vicegerency in the Qurʾanic Worldview 6.1 The Major Concepts of Islam from the Perspective of Vicegerency 6.2 The Aspects of the Cosmic Balance Entrusted to the Human Being 6.2.1 Maintaining the Spiritual Balance 6.2.2 Maintaining the Collective Balance 6.2.3 Maintaining the Environmental Balance Notes Bibliography Conclusion Index