The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (14 page)

ya order throughout the Muslim world. He was given the title Ghawth-al-A‘
am (the greatest of all helpers) and his tomb in Baghd
d still attracts many devotees.

 
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(1888–1966).
Egyptian writer and scholar whose
Isl
m wa Us
l al-Hukm
(Islam and the Principles of Government) caused a sensation in 1825. Responding to the demise of the
Ottoman
Caliphate the previous year, he claimed that Islam had never been essentially political, that the Caliphate was dispensable, and that Islam was a purely spiritual loyalty.

 
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(1849–1905 (AH 1266–1322)).
Egyptian Muslim theologian, known as
al-ustad al-iman
(master and guide). He was the founder of the Egyptian Muslim modernist school. He was from a peasant family in lower Egypt, and studied at
al-Azhar
University, and in Paris, where he met
al-Afgh
n
and became his closest disciple (founding with him the
Salafiyya
). ‘Abduh emphasized the important function of reason in Islam, that although faith and reason operate in different spheres, they must not conflict but must positively co-operate in human advancement. By restating Islam in such a way, ‘Abduh attempted to open the door, by way of
ijtih
d
, to new influences and the acquisition of modern knowledge.
‘Abduh's major work,
Ris
lat-al-Tawhid
(1897), and the journal
al-Man
r
(1897), were widely read and supported by many Muslims, but also provoked bitter hostility from orthodox circles. In 1899, ‘Abduh obtained the highest religious position in Egypt, that of state
muft
, which he held till his death. ‘Abduh used this powerful position to push through many reforms.
He regarded his commentary (
tafs
r
) on the
Qur’
n
as his most important work, but it was unfinished at his death, and was completed (and revised) later, by Mu
ammad Rash
d Ri
.