Ulama
In Islam, the ulama (/ˈuːləˌmɑː/; Arabic: علماء, romanized: ʿulamāʾ, lit. 'the learned ones';[1] singular Arabic: عالِم, romanized: ʿālim; feminine singular alimah; plural aalimath[2]), also spelled ulema, are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.[2]
For other uses, see Ulama (disambiguation).
"Ulama" may refer broadly to the educated class of such religious scholars, including theologians, canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors, and high state religious officials. Alternatively, "ulama" may refer specifically to those holding governmental positions in an Islamic state.[3]
By longstanding tradition, ulama are educated in religious institutions (madrasas). The Quran and sunnah (authentic hadith) are the scriptural sources of traditional Islamic law.[4]
Cosmopolitan scholarly tradition[edit]
The study of, and commentaries on Quran and hadith, debates about ijtihad and taqlid and the issuing of fatwa as well as the use of Arabic, and later also Persian as common languages of discourse constituted the religious authority of the ulama throughout the entire Islamic world. Zaman (2010)[32] has demonstrated that, as personal contacts were key to acquiring knowledge, Islamic scholars sometimes travel far in search of knowledge (ṭalab al-ʿilm). Due to their common training and language, any scholars travelling from one region of the Islamic world to another can easily integrate themselves into the local Muslim community and hold offices there: The traveller Ibn Battuta (1304–1368 or 1369), born in Tangiers, Morocco, to a family of ulema, was appointed qadi by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq of Delhi. Nuruddin ar-Raniri (d. 1658), born to a Gujarati Muslim family, travelled to, and worked as Shaykh ul-Islam in modern-day Indonesia under the protection of Iskandar Thani, Sultan of Aceh.[32] Both scholars were able to move freely in an "interconnected world of fellow scholars".[33] According to Zaman, their offices and positions as respected scholars were only questioned if they proved themselves unfamiliar with local customs (as happened to Ibn Battuta]), or met resistance from opponents with stronger local roots (ar-Raniri).[32]
Through their travels and teachings, ulama are able to transmit new knowledge and ideas over considerable distances. However, according to Zaman (2010), scholars have often been required to rely on commonly known texts which could support their fatwas. A text which might be widely known within the intellectual circles of one region could be unknown in another. The ability of scholars from one region to support their argument in another might therefore be limited by the familiarity with the respective texts of the community they are working in. In an era without book print or mass communication media, a scholar's reputation might have remain limited if he was unfamiliar with the local canon of texts. As the ijazah, the scholar's approval by another master, is key to the scholar's reputation, the latter would be greater in regions where the approving masters is more widely known.[34]
Political and cultural history[edit]
Early Muslim communities[edit]
The second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, funded a group of Muslims to study the revelations, stories of Muhammed's life, "and other pertinent data, so that when he needed expert advice" he could draw it from these "people of the bench". According to Tamim Ansary, this group evolved into the Ulama[35]
Fiqh[edit]
The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with pragmatic issues of authority and teaching than with theory.[36] Progress in theory began to develop with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i (767–820), who codified the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book ar-Risālah. The book details the four roots of law (Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma, and qiyas) while specifying that the primary Islamic texts (the Qur'an and the hadith) must be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from scientific study of the Arabic language.[37]
According to Feldman (2008), under many Muslim caliphate states and later states ruled by sultans, the ulama were regarded as the guardians of Islamic law and prevented the Caliph from dictating legal results, with the ruler and ulama forming a sort of "separation of powers" in government.[38] Laws were decided based on the Ijma (consensus) of the Ummah (community), which was most often represented by the legal scholars.[38]
Early modern Islamic empires[edit]
The Sunni Ottoman, and the Shi'a Safavid Persian dynasties, rulers of the two opponent early modern Islamic empires, both relied on ulama in order to legitimise their power. In both empires, ulama patronised by the royal courts created "official" religious doctrines which supported the dynastic rule. At the high points of their political power, respectively, the development took different paths: The Ottoman Sultan Süleyman I successfully integrated the imperial ulama into the imperial bureaucracy, and Ottoman secular law into Islamic law.[39] In contrast, Shah Abbas I of Persia was unable to gain similar support by the Shi'a ulama, who retained a more independent position. During the late Safavid empire, the Shi'a ulama developed into one of the warrantors of continuity in a period of instability of the central government, thus securing a relative independency which they retained during the reign of subsequent dynasties.[40]
Modern challenges[edit]
Some opinions from within the Muslim world have criticized the lack of scientific training of the ulama, and argued that those proficient in the sciences should qualify for this title.[99] In Egypt, the Al-Azhar University has begun to introduce scientific and practical subjects in its traditional theological colleges to help the ulama face the challenges of the modern world.[100] Sudanese politician Hassan Al-Turabi argued, in his work The Islamic State,[101] that the ulama should not be limited to those versed in religious affairs but include experts in fields such as engineering, science, politics, and education because all knowledge is divine and God-given.