Tajdid (Revival) in Islam
Meaning and Importance
Islam is a Din of perfection and permanence. In all times Islam provides proper
guidance to mankind to live betterly. Whatever the challenges the ages bring out, Islamic
principles will never lose relevance but make people attracted to it. The process that makes
establishment of Din is described as Tajdid or revival or resurgence. Tajdid literally means
renewal and technically it connotes reviving Islam in new times in its actual/pure form.
Revival pertains to reappearance of Islamic world view and explains the relation
between the recent development of Islamic trends and movements, and the past glory of
Islam. Thus Islamic revival pertains to a global, open and extended system in which Muslims
individually or jointly are consciously working towards the reconsolidation of the Ummah,. It
is a future oriented religious, social, moral and political movement, a broad-based reaction to
internal malaise, foreign manipulation and Westernization. (For detailed discussion on the
meaning of Tajdid see below suggested reading n. 3 pp.46-47)
Throughout the Islamic history, despite the diversity in the spatio-temporal
conditions; whether during the phase of success or decline, wherever a need arises, the
resurgent thought appeared in its appropriate form to shape the prevalent intellectual
discourses and the Muslim way of living. When analyzed over the past fourteen centuries,
Muslim revivalist thought has produced a more or less homogeneous body of thought, which
strives for a distinguished "normative mode of Islam". This mode is defined in terms of such
themes as; the need to abide by the Qu’ran and the Sunnah, return to origins, revival of
ijtihad, rejection of innovation and imitation (taqlid) in matters of law, rejection of the
excesses of Sufism and defense of Islam against all sorts of foreign intrusions.Sometimes the
revival happened to be the ‘scriptural critique to temporal and political’ and sometimes it
happened to be ‘political in the implication of its message’. In view of ‘expectation of
Mujaddids and Musalihun in every age, revivalist history witnessed personalities, whose
thoughts and movements ultimately became essential part of history of Islamic community
(Ummah)
Some Mujaddids of Islam
In the history of Islam in every age a Mujadid (revivalist) emerged. His main purpose
used to be revival Islamic intellectual as well as social transformation. To make Islamic
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knowledge popular and its wide accessibility is his primary concern. In the early times Umar
Bin Abdul Aziz was Mujadid of Islam. He got to the office of Khilafah in a democratic way,
the institution which has been corrupted by the early caliphs of Ummayads in terms of
installation of Khalifah to his office. He revived this democratic principle of Islam and his
Khalifah was truly a welfare one, recalling the Khilafah al-Rashidah. It is in his time that true
knowledge of Islam got more promoted by making a campaign for systematic preservation of
Hadith.
Imam al-Ghazzali was Mujadid of early medieval times. He got educated from the
reputed educational institutions of his times and spent a lot of time in learning and teaching
and ultimately produced great works on Islam. These provide profound knowledge of Islam
ranging from Kalam, Jurisprudence, Tasawwuf and law. He refuted Greek philosophy and
reduced its impact on the Muslims. He even produced a theology that has both the rational
and spiritual strands in it. Tahafat al-Falsafah and al-Munqad min al-Dhalal amplify this
contribution in the field. Next is his reviving of the sciences (ulum) of religion (Islam). His
magnum opus, Ahya-i-Ulum al-Din is an all embracing work that explains the basic
principles of Din and its laws. Knowledge, aqa’id, ibadah and Shari’ah are explicated here
effectively.
Ibn Taimiyah, Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi and Shah Walli-u-Allah Delhvi also are
considered as the great revivalists of Islam. Their period covers the late medieval and the
early modern times--18th century CE when the West has emerged as an influencing
intellectual and political power in the world. Ibn Taymiyah lived during the later part of 13th
century and the early 14thcentury.He was scholar of high caliber. His was the age when Tatar
onslaught was on and the Muslim nations were under severe threat of many kinds. Ibn
Tamiyah’s revival endeavors were of much profound and exact nature. He made strong
critique of Greek logic in his al- Rad al-Mantaqan and it weakened the impact of the former
not only in the Muslim world but in the West as well. His explanation of the Beliefs and the
other principles of Islam were rational and in consonance with the true spirit of Islam. Here
he seems in some ways more effective than al-Gazzali. Ibn Taymiyah was a great scholar of
Hadith science which he profusely used in his works. He also raised his voice against rigid
taqlid and promoted ijtihad, the door of which was thought by some people closed.
Furthermore he cleansed Islam from accretions, impurities and wrong customs which were
considered as a part of it by a great number of people.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi who lived during the times of Jahangir found many accretions
in the society and confusions in aqaid of the people. The society was indulged in morbid
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Sufism- a pantheistic influence of other mystic cults prevailed. Sirhindi rebutted it and
cleanse Sufism from its wrong influences and corruption. His was the stand that objects are
witness to the truth of God rather they are God themselves. The other revivalist attempt of
Sirhindi was to build a deep affinity between Tasawwuf and Shari’ah. Tasawwuf (spiritual
experience) are permitted only within the confines of Shari’ah. His one more great
contribution is to approach the elites and nobles of the Mughal empire for introducing the
Shari’ah laws and he succeeded in it to some extent.
In the 18th century Shah Wali-u-Allah Delhvi made commendable revivalist attempts
in the Indian subcontinent. He was a distinguished scholar in almost all religious sciences
(Qur’an, Hadith and Fiqh) and witnessed the malaise of his times well. His is also an allembracing revivalist of Islam who persuaded the people to have direct access to the Qur’an
and himself translated the Quran into Persian. He developed the system of theology and
social system which illustrates Islamic beliefs and injunctions very appealingly (in Hujjat
Allah al-Balligah) and his elaboration of ijtihad and taqlid in his Fiqh works is of great
importance (in al-Insaf). He was against accretions and evil customs in the society and made
reform in Tasawwuf thought. To him it is much related to ‘ihsan” and “tazkiya” of Islam
.Shah Wali-u Allah was even politically active and persuaded the nobles of the empire and
later the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali was invited to transform the plight of the Muslims
in India.
It is thought that throughout the last 200 years of Muslim history the words
resurgence, revival, Tajdid, Islah etc, have been voiced with a great intensity. Understanding
the context of revival and reform, its leadership and their interpretation of Islam is essential
for an appreciation of Islam’s dynamism and diversity. Earlier challenges are hardly found
now and new ones of complex nature have emerged. Muslims have attempted to address
these challenges all over the world. These attempts not only contributed to the revitalization
of Islam in their own times, but also left a legacy that has characterized much of the
disposition of contemporary Islam.
Since the contemporary times are more influenced by the West and the Muslims have
directed their struggle “on one hand to address the issues of identity and assimilation, and on
the other to demonstrate that Islam is a dynamic religion that calls for continuing intellectual
review of both “normative” and “historical” Islam, in order to construct modern, enlightened,
just, forward-looking and life affirming Muslim societies”.
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Tajdid and Tajadud
Tajadud is modernization in the Western or secular way. So it is different from
Tajdid. Tajdid as discussed above is to revive or reassert Islam in Islam in new times. Islam is
a perfect and permanent religion revealed from Allah .Its guidance and injunctions are all
times to come. It accommodates changes of the new times within its own frame work. It is a
kind of Islamic modernization or transformation rather letting the other philosophies
(secular/materialist) dominate its intellectual and social structure. Tajdid sustains itself by
Islamic epistemological and ideological system in which Beliefs and other fundamentals of
Islam have key role. The main trait of a Mujadid is his excellence in the knowledge of the
sciences of Islam distinctively and the pursuit to bring an intellectual and social
transformation. On the contrary, tajadud brigs change in conformity with modern Western
ideological system. Building societies on Capitalist, Socialist or Nationalist lines is identified
with modernization in the western context. It is held by some Muslims that tajadud is the
road to progress yet others call it superficial and misleading. The fact is that Islam is in
favour of progress of just nature and not that is attained through exploitation.
Further Readings
1. Sayyid Abul Maududi,
A Short History of the Revivalist Movement in Islam, Delhi
2. Yusuf al-Qarzavi,
Tahrikh Islami ki Marahil, Delhi.
3. Abdul Rashid Bhat,
“Islamic Resurgence’ Journal of Objective Studies, Delhi,
2010.
Prof. A.R. Bhat (Course Teacher)
Nazar Muhammad (Research Scholar)
(Students are advised to read the above material and further details/queries (if any) contact
the Course Teacher)
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