Sayyid
Jamal al-Din Muhammad b. Safdar al-Afghani (1838-1897)
Sayyid
Jamal al-Din Afghani is considered to be the founding father of Islamic
modernism. His place of birth, which has become a source of long-standing
controversy, is not known, but he received his early education in various
religious schools near Kabul, Afghanistan and Qazwin and Tehran, Iran. At the
age of seventeen or eighteen, he went to India (1855/6) to continue his studies.
During his stay in India until 1882, Afghani became closely acquainted with the
positivistic ideas of Sayyid Ahmad Khan and wrote his famous The Truth about
the Neichari Sect and an Explanation of the Necharis (Hakikat-i Madhhab-i
Naychari wa Bayan-i Hal-i Naychariyan), first published in 1881 in
Hyderabad, in rejection of S. A. Khan and his followers. The book was later
translated by Muhammad ‘Abduh into Arabic and published as The Refutation
of the Materialists (al-Radd ‘ala al-dahriyyin) in Beirut, 1886.
In
1870, he traveled to Egypt and Istanbul where he received a warm welcome from
Ottoman officials and intellectuals who were instrumental in the creation of the
Tanzimat reforms. Afghani went to Egypt for the second time and stayed there for
the next eight years (1871-9) during which time he began to spread his
philosophical and political ideas through his classes and public lectures.
At
the beginning of 1883, Afghani spent a short time in London and then went to
Paris. In Paris, Afghani begun to publish his famous journal al-‘Urwat al-wuthqa’
(“The Firmest Robe” – a title taken from the Qur’an) with the close
collaboration of his friend and student Muhammad ‘Abduh whom he had invited
from Lebanon to Paris. Due to a number of difficulties, al-‘Urwah was
discontinued in September 1884 after eighteen issues. Through his essays and
especially his polemic against Ernest Renan, a French historian, philosopher and
positivist, Afghani established considerable fame for himself in the Parisian
intellectual circles.
In
1886, he was invited by Shah Nasir al-Din to Iran and offered the position of
special adviser to the Shah, which he accepted. Afghani, however, was critical
of Shah’s policies on the question of political participation. This difference
of opinion forced Afghani to leave Iran for Russia (1886 to 1889). In 1889 on
his way to Paris, Afghani met Shah Nasir al-Din in Munich and was offered the
position of grand vizier. But Afghani’s unabated criticisms of the rule and
conduct of the Shah led to his eventual deportation from Iran in the winter of
1891. Afghani was later implicated in the murder of Shah Nasir al-Din in 1896.
Afghani
spent the last part of his life in Istanbul under the patronage and, later,
surveillance of Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II. The demands for Afghani’s
extradition by the Iranian officials for his alleged involvement in the
assassination of Shah Nasir al-Din were rejected by ‘Abd al-Hamid who, most
probably, collaborated with Afghani for the implementation of his political
program of pan-Islamism or Islamic unity (ittihad-i islam). To this end,
Afghani sent a number of letters to various Islamic countries and leaders to
mobilize and unite them against the British rule while at the same time trying
to establish the foundations of a mutual rapprochement between the Sunnis and
the Shi`ites. According to some historians, ‘Abd al-Hamid grew suspicious of
Afghani’s meetings with some Arab leaders and the British officials in
Istanbul and did not permit him to leave the country. Afghani died of cancer in
March 9, 1897 and was buried in Istanbul.
Afghani’s
career as a thinker and activist has had a deep impact on the Islamic world and
continues to be a source of inspiration and controversy for many today.
Afghani’s project of Islamic modernism that he developed in his lectures,
polemics, short essays, and newspaper columns was based on the idea of finding a
modus vivendi between traditional Islamic culture and the philosophical
and scientific challenges of the modern West. It would not be wrong to say that
Afghani took a middle position between blind Westernization and its wholesale
rejection by the traditional ‘ulama’. His basic assumption was shared
by the whole generation of the 19th century Muslim thinkers and
activists: modern Western science and technology are essentially separable from
the ethos and manners of European nations and can and should be acquired by the
Islamic world without necessarily accepting the theological and philosophical
consequences emerging from their application in the Western context. As we shall
see below, Afghani’s views on science should be understood in the light of
this general program of Islamic ‘reform’ or renewal (islah or tajdid).
Afghani,
unlike many of the revivalist thinkers of his generation, was well versed in
traditional Islamic philosophy (hikmah), and considered philosophy
essential for the revival of Islamic civilization. This is clearly reflected in
his various lectures and particularly in The Refutation of the Materialists.
In fact, Afghani’s philosophical arguments against the naturalists and
materialists derive their force from his philosophical training. As we see in
his lecture “The Benefits of Philosophy”, Afghani’s vision of a ‘modern
Islamic philosophy’ was closely tied to his confidence in the recent
advancements made in the fields of science and technology. Unlike traditional
theology (kalam), philosophy should articulate a cosmology based on the
findings of modern science. These and similar ideas expressed by Afghani have
been used by his critics and enemies to label him as a heretic. His role in the
revival of the study of Islamic philosophy in the Arab and Indian worlds,
however, remains unmistakable.
Afghani’s
political program of pan-Islamism (ittihad-i islam) sought to mobilize
Muslim nations to fight against Western imperialism and gain military power
through modern technology. Afghani’s call for the independence of individual
Muslim nations has been a key factor in the development of the so-called
“Islamic nationalism” and influenced such Muslim figures as Muhammad Iqbal,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Abu’l Kalam Azad in the Indian subcontinent and Namik
Kemal, Said Nursi and Mehmet Akif Ersoy in the Ottoman Turkey. Later in the 20th
century, Afghani became a major source of inspiration for such revivalist
movements as the Muslim Brethren of Egypt and the Jama`at-i Islami of Pakistan.
In many ways, Afghani continues to be hailed by various Islamic activist groups
as an important example of the activist-scholar type in the Islamic world.
Afghani had also a deep impact on many Egyptian thinkers including Muhammad
‘Abduh, Rashid Rida, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq, Qasim Amin, Lutfi al-Sayyid and
Osman Amin.
Before
delving into Afghani’s ideas on science, a word should be said about a
long-standing controversy surrounding Afghani’s ethnic origin and religious (madhhab)
identity. One end of the controversy pertains to his being an Iranian or Afghan,
and the other to his being Shi`ite or Sunni. Some have even claimed that Afghani
was born into a Turkish speaking Azari family in Hamadan. Curiously enough, the
root of the debate goes back to Afghani himself for he was acutely aware of the
impact that his ethnic origin and religious position would have on both the
Sunni and Shi`ite worlds. As a matter of expedience, if not anything else,
Afghani seems to have been willingly and deliberately ambiguous about both
issues to ensure the reception of his ideas in the Islamic world. Be that as it
may, Afghani’s influence on the Islamic world as a whole has not been marred
by the ways he has been portrayed up to our own day.
As
a public intellectual and activist, Afghani articulated and expressed most of
his ideas through his lectures and wrote very little. He published only two
books in his lifetime. One is a history of Afghanistan and the other his famous
refutation of naturalism and materialism, which he singled out as the most
urgent threat to humanity in general and to the Islamic world in particular. It
is worth noting that Afghani’s only published book of intellectual substance
is directly related to the question of religion and science. Although very
short, Afghani’s letter to Ernest Renan in response to his celebrated lecture
at Sorbonne given in 1883, in which Renan openly attacked Islam as an obstacle
to philosophy and science, is another important document for the understanding
of Afghani’s position on Islam and modern science.
In
The Refutation of the Materialists, Afghani gives a scathing criticism of
the naturalist/materialist position from the scientific, philosophical, ethical,
and social points of view. He identifies the materialists as the epitome of evil
intent on destroying human civilization. He traces the history of modern
materialism to the Greek materialists, among whom he mentions Democritus,
Epicurus, and Diogenes the Cynic. This short historical survey is followed by a
scientific and philosophical criticism of Darwin and his evolutionary theory.
Afghani rejects the idea of chance in nature and accuses the materialists of
attributing “perception and intelligence” to atoms (i.e., matter) in and of
themselves. He rejects totally the idea of universe as a self-regulating
structure without a higher intelligence operating on it. This is without doubt
the most philosophical section of the treatise.
Afghani
then moves to his social and ethical criticism of the materialists. According to
him, the materialists are intent to undermine the very foundations of human
society. They try to destroy the “castle of happiness” based on the six
pillars of religion. These six pillars are divided into three beliefs and three
qualities. The first belief is that man is a terrestrial angel, i.e., he is
God’s vicegerent on earth. The second belief is that one’s community is the
noblest one both in the sense of belonging to the human world against the animal
and plant kingdoms, and in the sense of belonging to the best human and
religious society. This inherent exclusivism, for Afghani, is the most important
motive for the global race of goodness, which lies at the heart of all world
civilizations. The third belief or doctrine that religion teaches is that man is
destined to reach the highest world, i.e., his innate ability to transcend the
merely material and realize the spiritual within himself.
In
addition, religion inculcates three ethical qualities in its followers. The
first quality is what Afghani calls “modesty” (haya’), that is, the
modesty of the soul to commit sin against God and his fellowmen. The nobility of
the soul increases in proportion to the degree of its modesty. Afghani considers
this quality to be the most essential element for the ethical and social
regulation of society. The second quality is trustworthiness, which underlies
the very fabric of a society. The survival of human civilization is contingent
upon mutual respect and trust, without which no society can have political
stability and economic prosperity. The third quality promulgated by religion is
truthfulness and honesty, which, for Afghani, is the foundation of social life
and solidarity.
Through
these six pillars, Afghani establishes religion as the foundation of
civilization and denounces materialism as the enemy of religion and human
society. To stress this central point, Afghani mentions the Batinis and the
Babis as followers of naturalism/materialism in the Islamic world. He also
mentions Rousseau and Voltaire as modern materialists and uses a very strong
language in condemning their “sensualism” and anti-moralism. He even goes so
far as to classify socialists, communists and nihilists as nothing other than
mere variations of materialism in the ethical sense of the term. He holds the
materialists responsible for the destruction of such great nations in history as
the Persian, Roman, and Ottoman Empires. Since the materialist does not
recognize any reality other than gross matter and ‘sensuality’, he paves the
way for the reign of passions and desires. In this sense, the materialist is
immersed in the worst kind of metaphysical and ethical mistake and cannot be
trusted even on a purely human level.
In
the last part of the treatise, Afghani turns to religion and, among religions,
to Islam as the only way to salvation for humanity. He compares Islam to other
world religions and asserts its superiority, implying that Islam is the only
religion to cope with the challenges of the modern world. It is worth noting
that Afghani concludes his treatise with a short statement that has become the
hallmark of Islamic modernism:
If
someone says: If the Islamic world is as you say, then why are the Muslims in
such a sad condition? I will answer: When they were [truly] Muslims, they were
what they were and the world bears witness to their excellence. As for the
present, I will content myself with this holy text: “Verily, God does not
change the state of a people until they change themselves inwardly”. (Keddie, An
Islamic Response to Imperialism, p. 173)
As
already mentioned, Afghani’s main target in the Refutation was Sayyid
Ahmad Khan and his followers in India. It is not difficult to see from
Afghani’s tone how serious he took the imminent danger of
naturalism/materialism for the future of the Islamic world. In this sense,
Afghani’s excessively polemical discourse against the materialists is of
particular significance for its attempt to draw the attention of Muslim
intellectuals to the philosophical and ethical challenges emanating from the
encounter of the Islamic world with the modern Weltanschauung.
When
we turn to Afghani’s famous response to Renan, however, we encounter a
completely different perspective, tone, and language. As was mentioned earlier,
Ernest Renan, in his lecture “Islam and Science” given at Sorbonne and
published in the Journal des Débats, March 29, 1883, attacked Islam and
Arabs as innately incapable of doing philosophy and producing science. Renan’s
quasi-racist attack was a result of his general typology of religion and
provoked a number of responses and apologies by Muslim intellectuals, including
the one by Namik Kemal, the famous Ottoman writer, poet and activist.
Afghani’s language remains apologetic throughout his letter to the Journal des Débats. On the question of religion being an obstacle for the development of science and philosophy, Afghani basically agrees with Renan that all religions are intolerant in one way or another and that they suppress the “free investigation” of scientific and philosophical truth. Even though Afghani asserts that religions have played a vital role in bringing humanity from “barbarism” and myths to the level of advanced civilizations, both Islam and Christianity have turned against the free use of reason and thus stifled scientific progress at some point in their history. Here Afghani seems to forgo his essential distinction between revelation and its unfolding in history, viz., the distinction between Islam and Muslims. With the rise of the Enlightenment, European nations have freed themselves from the tutelage of Christianity, that is, religion, and carried out stunning advancements in all fields of knowledge. Afghani is convinced that there is no reason for us not to hope for a similar thing happening in the Islamic world:
“If
it is true that the Muslim religion is an obstacle to the development of
sciences, can one affirm that this obstacle will not disappear someday? How does
the Muslim religion differ on this point from other religions? All religions are
intolerant, each one in its way. The Christian religion, I mean the society that
follows its inspirations and its teachings and is formed in its image, has
emerged from the first period to which I have just alluded; thenceforth free and
independent, it seems to advance rapidly on the road of progress and science,
whereas Muslim society has not yet freed itself from the tutelage of religion.
Realizing, however, that the Christian religion preceded the Muslim religion in
the world by many centuries, I cannot keep from hoping that Muhammadan society
will succeed someday in breaking its bonds and marching resolutely in the path
of civilization after the manner of Western society…No I cannot admit that
this hope be denied to Islam.” (“Answer of Jamal al-Din to Renan Journal
des Debats, May 18, 1883 in N. R. Keddie, An Islamic Response to
Imperialism, p. 183)
As for Renan’s claim that the Muslim Arabs are innately incapable of philosophical thinking, Afghani gives some examples to refute the charge and repeats his earlier claim that the Arabs became pioneers in the history of philosophy and sciences only after they had accepted Islam. Strangely enough, however, Afghani concludes his letter by creating a very sharp contrast between religion and philosophy and establishes this as a general rule of history – an assertion that Renan himself states many times. The claims of religion and philosophy, Afghani argues, are irreconcilable, and this is true across the religious boundaries whether we are talking about Islam, Christianity or Hinduism. Religious faith is based on dogma whereas philosophy demands free investigation, not bounded or aided by the revelation, to find the truth. The clash between the two, says Afghani, is an ineluctable part of human history.
Religions,
by whatever names they are called, all resemble each other. No agreement and no
reconciliation are possible between these religions and philosophy. Religion
imposes on man its faith and its belief whereas philosophy frees him of it
totally or in part. … Whenever religion will have the upper hand, it will
eliminate philosophy; and the contrary happens when it is philosophy that reigns
as sovereign mistress. So long as humanity exists, the struggle will not cease
between dogma and free investigation, between religion and philosophy: a
desperate struggle in which, I fear, the triumph will not be for free thought,
because the masses dislike reason, and its teachings are only understood by some
intelligences of the elite, and because, also, science, however beautiful it is,
does not completely satisfy humanity, which thirsts for the ideal and which
likes to exist in dark and distant regions that the philosophers and scholars
can neither perceive nor explore. (Keddie, p. 187)
This
somewhat abrupt and surprising end leaves a number of issues in obscurity, to
say the least, as far as Afghani’s position on the relation between religion,
philosophy and, by derivation, science is concerned. It is, however, indicative
of the general mood of the 19th century Muslim intellectuals
concerning modern science and philosophy. Afghani, like many of his colleagues
and contemporaries, was touched by the sheer power and supremacy of Western
powers that were increasing their encroachment upon the Islamic world. The
European countries were prosperous and powerful because of their scientific and
technological superiority, and this was the most important conclusion for the
activist-intellectuals of the 19th century. Since Western power
thrives on modern science and technology, reasoned Afghani and others, it had to
be possessed by Muslim countries deliberately and urgently. As we see in the
case of the Ottoman Empire, this was considered to be the only way to stop the
further decline and disintegration of the dar al-islam.
This
view, which is still held by many today, can be recognized throughout
Afghani’s political and intellectual career as far as modern Western science
is concerned. Moreover, this conviction was supplemented by the presumed
objectivity of modern physical sciences – a point of view fully developed
later by the generation of Muslim intellectuals deeply influenced by Afghani
including Muhammad ‘Abduh, Rashid Rida, M. ‘Abd al-Raziq, Said Nursi and
others.
Al-Ta’liqat
‘ala sharh al-Dawwani li’l-‘aqa’id al-‘adudiyyah
(Cairo, 1968). Afghani’s glosses over Dawwani’s commentary on the famous
kalam book of ’Adud al-Din al-‘Iji called al-‘aqa’id
al-‘adudiyyah.
Risalat
al-waridat fi sirr al-tajalliyat
(Cairo, 1968). A work dictated by Afghani to his student M. ‘Abduh when he
was in Egypt.
Tatimmat
al-bayan
(Cairo, 1879). A political, social and cultural history of Afghanistan.
Hakikat-i
Madhhab-i Naychari wa Bayan-i Hal-i Naychariyan.
First published in Haydarabad-Deccan, 1298/1881, this is Afghani’s most
important intellectual work that he published during his lifetime. It is a
scathing criticism and total rejection of naturalism which Afghani also
calls ‘materialism’. The book has been translated into Arabic by M.
‘Abduh as al-Radd ‘ala al-dahriyyin (The Refutation of the
Materialists).
Khatirat
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani al-Husayni (Beirut, 1931). A book compiled by the Lebanese
journalist Muhammad Pasha al-Mahzumi. Mahzumi was present in most of
Afghani’s talks in the last part of his life and developed his
conversations in to the present book. The book contains important
information about Afghani’s life and ideas.
Afshar,
Iraj and Mahdawi, Asghar, Majmu’a-yi asnad wa madariki chap nashuda dar
bara-yi Sayyid Jamal al-Din mashhur be-Afghani (Tehran: Tehran University Press, 1963)
Enayat,
Hamid, Modern Islamic Political Thought (Austin: The University of Texas
Press, 1982)
Gibb,
H. A. R., Modern Trends in Islam (Chicago: Chicago University Press,
1947)
Hourani,
Albert, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1789-1939 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1982)
Keddie,
Nikki, An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writings
of Sayyid Jamal al-Din “al-Afghani” (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1983)
--------,
Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Political Biography (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1972)
Kedourie,
Elie, Afghani and ‘Abduh: An Essay on Religious Unbelief and Political
Activism in Modern Islam (London, 1966)
Qudsi-zadah,
Albert, Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani: An Annotated Bibliography
(Leiden: Brill, 1970)
Siddiqi,
Mazheruddin, Modern Reformist Thought in the Muslim World (Islamabad:
Islamic Research Institute, 1982)
Smith,
W. Cantwell, Islam in Modern History (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1957)
back to the list of entries (a)