On Tuesday, 26th November 2024, Dr Belal Alabbas presented a research seminar at AMI entitled ‘Similar Questions, Different Answers? Reading the Sunni and Imami Hadith Corpus Together.’ In his presentation, Dr Alabbas addressed the phenomenon of contradictions in hadith within both Shia and Sunni traditions. He examined the methods and approaches employed by Imam Al-Shafi'i to address this issue in his book ‘Ikhtilaf Al-Hadith‘ and compared them to the methods and mechanisms adopted by Sheikh Abu Ja'far Al-Tusi in his book ‘Al-Istibsar fima Ikhtalafa min Al-Akhbar‘. Dr Alabbas attempted to draw comparisons between their solutions to the problem of conflicting reports and contradictions, concluding that there is a significant level of similarity in their approaches and methods. However, differences were observed, attributed to their respective doctrinal and intellectual foundations, such as the role of ‘qiyas‘ and the concept of ‘taqiyya‘ in resolving contradictions among narrations and hadith.

What connects Sufism, Shi’ism, and Mysticism—and what sets them apart? In this episode of 'The AMI Podcast,' Dr Zoheir Esmail is joined by Dr Seyed Amir Hossein Asghari, a Research Associate at Baylor University, to delve into the similarities and ongoing controversies within these areas of Islamic thought. Together, they explore the historical debates between the School of Najaf (School of Integration) and the School of Separation, the roles of dreams, intellect, and revelation, and the interplay between philosophy and spirituality in Islam. Tune in to discover the debates within Shia Islamic scholarship, unravel the mysteries of spiritual growth, and learn practical methods for inner transformation.

In this thought-provoking seminar, Jamier Turner delves into the evolving formulations of the design argument among Muslim thinkers, focusing on a non-Paleyan approach inspired by the ideas of the 14th-century theologian, Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328 CE). Turner challenges traditional Paleyan models, often criticized for their vulnerability to Darwinian objections, by presenting a Taymiyyan framework emphasising non-inferential, metaphysical causality in nature's design.

In this insightful book talk, Dr Hossam Ouf, a Research Fellow at the University of Tübingen, presents his book, "Hadith Transmission and Confessionality: Al-Bukhārī’s al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Kulaynī’s al-Kāfī in Sunni and Twelver Shi'i Hadith Scholarship."

Join Dr Muhammed Reza Tajri and special guest Dr Shabana Mir, Associate Professor at the American Islamic College, for an insightful discussion on the challenges faced by Muslim American women on college campuses and Muslim women across the West. Drawing from Dr Mir's acclaimed book, 'Muslim American Women on Campus,' this conversation delves into themes of surveillance, cultural identity, Western perceptions, and the layered significance of the hijab. Discover how young Muslim women navigate and assert their identities, resist stereotypes, and find resilience in a complex socio-political landscape. Tune in for an enlightening exploration of identity, agency, and strength in the modern world.

Among the various Muslim communities that were articulating their doctrinal positions in the early Islamic centuries, one in particular was known derisively as the Ghulat ('extremists'). This was owing to their specific interpretation of Islam, which included an 'extreme' devotion to the Shi'i Imams and the family of the Prophet, and controversial religious ideas, such as the transmigration of souls into other human or sub-human forms. Widely active in Iraq in the 8th and 9th centuries, the Ghulat developed a complex worldview and produced a rich religious literature. Until now, understanding of this community has mainly relied on sources produced outside of the group, which are inaccurate or polemical in nature. This book looks at newly recovered primary texts in order to study the Ghulat first hand. Mushegh Asatryan examines the development of the Ghulat writings, situating the community within a broader historical context and offering a comprehensive survey of their distinctive cosmology.

Divorcing Traditions is an ethnography of Islamic legal expertise and practices in India, a secular state in which Muslims are a significant minority and where Islamic judgments are not legally binding. Katherine Lemons argues that an analysis of divorce in accordance with Islamic strictures is critical to the understanding of Indian secularism.

Lemons analyzes four marital dispute adjudication forums run by Muslim jurists or lay Muslims to show that religious law does not muddle the categories of religion and law but generates them. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research conducted in these four institutions-NGO-run women's arbitration centers (mahila panchayats); sharia courts (dar ul-qazas); a Muslim jurist's authoritative legal opinions (fatwas); and the practice of what a Muslim legal expert (mufti) calls "spiritual healing"-Divorcing Traditions shows how secularism is an ongoing project that seeks to establish and maintain an appropriate relationship between religion and politics. A secular state is always secularizing. And yet, as Lemons demonstrates, the state is not the only arbiter of the relationship between religion and law: religious legal forums help to constitute the categories of private and public, religious and secular upon which secularism relies. In the end, because Muslim legal expertise and practice are central to the Indian legal system and because Muslim divorce's contested legal status marks a crisis of the secular distinction between religion and law, Muslim divorce, argues Lemons, is a key site for understanding Indian secularism.

This second volume in the series focuses on a critical and contentious theme: Women in the Qurʾan and traditional Qurʾanic commentaries. It comprises analysis of the female subject in the Qurʾan, annotated translations of Qurʾanic commentaries spanning twelve centuries, interviews of contemporary Muslim scholars and extensive introductory materials, which frame the work throughout and render these technically complex materials accessible to the reader. On Women begins with a critical introduction to the study of women and gender in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries. A unique prolegomenon then follows key Qurʾanic terms in a chronological sequence, showing how the Qurʾan's world view on women developed from the earliest Meccan revelations, when women were addressed only implicitly as a part of households or in the course of anti-pagan polemic, to the period of the final revelations in Medina, when women were addressed directly as pious and social subjects. The remainder of the volume translates, critically annotates, and analyses interpretations of six select Qurʾanic verses on women. These verses, chosen because of their relevance to women's lived experience, speak of the creation of humankind beginning with a single soul (Q. 4:1); the exemplary figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Q. 3:35-6); women's status in marriage (Q. 4:34); women's legal testimony and hence legal capacity (Q. 2:282); and 'veiling' as it relates to Qurʾanic norms of modesty (Q. 24:31). While highlighting variation, continuity, and plurality in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries, Volume II goes beyond medieval interpretive paradigms to include perspectives marginalised by that tradition, such as the voices of women themselves.

On Wednesday 11th September 2024, AMI’s Dept. for Studies in Comparative Religion was privileged to host University of Birmingham’s Dr. Sophia Butt, to lead a research seminar entitled “Securitising Muslim School Children”.

On Wednesday, 4th September 2024, the Department for Islamic Legal Studies at the Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI) hosted a research seminar by Dr. Rafisah Mat Radzi (Universiti Sains Malaysia & AMI) on the topic of Islamic fintech innovations, focusing specifically on Shariah-compliant e-wallet transactions in Malaysia.

The seminar was a highly informative session, providing valuable insights into the future of Islamic fintech and the practical steps needed to ensure Shariah compliance in digital finance. Dr. Mat Radzi’s presentation delved into the rising prominence of e-wallets in Malaysia’s financial landscape and the need for clear Shariah guidelines within the Islamic finance industry to address this growing trend. Highlighting a gap in Shariah-compliant frameworks for e-wallets, she examined existing practices in both Indonesia and Malaysia, and proposed a framework grounded in Shariah principles that could be adopted by service providers and regulatory authorities alike.

Drawing from a wealth of primary research, including insights from Shariah advisors in the banking sector, Dr. Mat Radzi provided an in-depth analysis of the Shariah issues concerning e-money transactions. Her findings underscored the need for further alignment between fintech innovations and Islamic jurisprudence, ensuring that digital payment systems uphold the ethical and legal standards required by Shariah.

The seminar concluded with a dynamic discussion among attendees, who engaged Dr. Mat Radzi on the challenges and opportunities in establishing a compliant framework for e-wallets. Her research, backed by international and national funding, showcased her expertise in Islamic finance, particularly in areas such as sukuk, crowdfunding, and Shariah-compliant financial products.