Musa Bigiev

Jadidist thinker

Musa Bigiev (sometimes known as Luther of Islam) (born c. 1870 – c. 1875 in Novocherkassk, Russian Empire – 28 October 1949 in Cairo, Egypt) was a Tatar Hanafi Maturidi scholar, theologian philosopher, publicist and one of the leaders of the Jadid movement. After receiving his education in Kazan, Bukhara, Istanbul and Cairo, he became a political activist for the Ittifaq, the political organisation of the Muslims of Russia. He also taught in Orenburg, wrote journalistic texts and translated classic works into Tatar. After emigrating from the Soviet Union, he travelled Europe and the Middle and Far East while writing and publishing.

In Tatar, Bigievs name was written as Муса Җаруллаһ Бигеев (موسى جارالله بيكييف). He had various names in Arabic; for example, Musa Jarullah ibn Fatima at Turkistani al Qazani at Tatari ar Rostofdoni ar Rusi (موسى جار الله ابن فاطمة التركستاني القازانى التاتارى الروستوفدونى الروسى), ibn Fatima at Turkistani ar Rostofdoni ar Rusi (موسى جار الله، ابن فاطمة، التركستاني الروستوفدوني الروسي), ibn Fatima ar Rusi (ابن فاطمة الروسي), ibn Fatima at Turkistani al Qazani ar Rusi (موسى بن جار الله التركستاني القازاني الروسي), at Turkistani al Qazani ar Rusi (موسى بن جار الله التركستاني القازاني الروسي), or Musa Effendi Jarullah ar Rusi (موسى أفندي جار الله الروسي). There is no standardized English transliteration of Bigievs name; versions include Bigi or Bigeev. His pen name his also variously given as Musa Jarullah, which is the name most contemporary Muslims knew him under, The place is either the village of Mishar or the city of Novocherkassk. Bigiev spent most of his youth studying at madrasas in Kazan, Bukhara, Samarkand, Mecca, Medina, Cairo (where he attended the Dar al Ifta al Misriyyah and was educated by Shayk Muhammad Bakhit al Muti'i), Damascus, Istanbul and Uttar Pradesh in India, where he studied Sanskrit and the Mahabharata. While he attended many famous universities, he preferred studying on his own while benefitting from the mentorship of different scholars. his work and even his name are largely forgotten today. A year later, in 2008, the documentary And the moon has split, directed by B. Baishev, was awarded a special prize "for the contribution to Islamic Enlightenment" at the fourth Golden Minbar International Film Festival. Bigievs Quran translation was reprinted in 2010 from copies saved by descendants. For the 140th anniversary of his birth, a number of activities were held in the Penza Oblast of Russia; on June 23, a plaque was dedicated in the city of Kikino, one of Bigievs supposed birth places, and a maktab and a garden near the mosque of the town were renamed in Bigievs honor.

While he was one of the leading members of Jadidism, Bigievs provocative nature led to opposition not only from the Kadimists (nearly all issues of the Qadimist journal Din vä Ma'ishät include one or more articles written directly against him), but also from fellow reformers. In his 97 page essay Rahmet i Ilahiye Burhanlari ("The storms of God's clemency"), published in Orenburg in 1910, Bigiev argued that God would also include unbelievers in his mercy and forgiveness. This elicited criticism from many Ulama, including Ismail Gaspirali. This is the result of him penning several well known anti Shia books, including Al Washi'ah fi naqd 'aqa'id al shi'ah. In these works, Bigiev claims that during his travels in Iraq and Iran he had not met even one Shia individual who knew the Quran to a satisfactory level.