Al-Shawkani

Yemeni theologian (1759–1834)

Muḥammad ibn Ali ibn Muḥammad ibn Abd Allah, better known as al Shawkānī (1759–1834), was a prominent Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar, jurist, theologian and reformer. Shawkani was one of the most influential proponents of Athari theology and is revered as one of their canonical scholars by Salafi Muslims. His teachings played a major role in the emergence of the Salafi movement. Influenced by the teachings of the medieval Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya, Al Shawkani became noteworthy for his staunch stances against the practice of Taqlid (imitation to legal schools), calls for direct interpretation of Scriptures, opposition to Kalam (speculative theology) as well as for his robust opposition to various folk practices which he condemned as shirk (idolatry).

His full name was Muhammad Ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah al Shawkani. The surname "ash Shawkani" is derived from Hijrah ash Shawkan, which is a town outside Sanaa.

Born into a Zaydi Shi'a Muslim family, ash Shawkani later on converted to Sunni Islam. He also opposed Sufism and mystical practices of numerous Sufi orders; considering them to be an affront to Tawhid (monotheism). Shawkani is considered as a mujtahid, or authority to whom others in the Muslim community have to defer in details of religious law. Of his work issuing fatwas (judicial verdicts), ash Shawkani stated "I acquired knowledge without a price and I wanted to give it thus." Part of the fatwa issuing work of many noted scholars typically is devoted to the giving of ordinary opinions to private questioners. Ash Shawkani refers both to his major fatwas, which were collected and preserved as a book, and to his "shorter" fatwas, which he said "could never be counted" and which were not recorded. He is credited with developing a series of syllabi for attaining various ranks of scholarship and used a strict system of legal analysis based on Sunni thought. He insisted that the ulama were required to ask for textual evidence, that the gate of ijtihad was not closed and that the mujtahid was to do ijtihad independent of any madhhab, a view which stemmed from his opposition to taqlid for a mujtahid, which he deemed to be a vice with which the Shariah had been inflicted. Al Shawkani asserted that the decline of the Muslim community was due to their distancing from the Scriptures, the principle sources of religion. Hence he condemned the principle of Taqlid and proposed Ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) as the solution of the problems faced by Muslims. Shawkani equated unyielding imitation to the madhhabs as a type of shirk (polytheism) and accused scholars promoting such methodology of apostasy. Al Shawkani wrote the book Nayl al Autar, a major reference in Islamic law. He also wrote several treatises condemning various popular mystical practices which he viewed to be shirk (polytheism). He praised the contemporary Arabian Islamic reformer Muhammad ibn 'Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792) who had advocated for similar views and refuted his Yemeni theological opponents in correspondence. Upon hearing the death of Ibn Abd al Wahhab, Shawkani wrote a poem praising his efforts to eradicate shirk, defend Tawhid and his call to Quran and Hadith. Reviving the classical theologian Taqi al Din Ibn Taymiyya's (1263 1328 CE/ 661 728 AH) doctrines on Tawḥīd and shirk, Shawkānī compared the participants in the cult of saints (al qubūriyyūn) to the pagan Arabs of Quraysh. The Imam of Yemen Mansur Ali appointed Shawkani as the Chief Qadi of Yemen in 1795, an office he held until his death. He made a powerful critique of Zaydism, arguing that many Zaydi theological and legal doctrines have no basis in Scriptures. Meanwhile, Zaydis believed that their Imams of Ahl al Bayt (Prophetic family) had stronger authority than the Sunni hadith collections; which was the heavy focus of Shawkani's approach. Zaydi doctrines also stipulated that unjust rulers be removed and replaced by a just Imam, through force, if necessary. In contrast, Al Shawkani supported the Quietist Sunni doctrine that necessitated obedience to rulers, even the unjust who lacked qualifications. Hence, the ruling Qasimid dynasty of Yemen supported scholars like Al Shawkani who legitimized their dynastic rule. As chief judge from 1795 until 1834, Shawkani implemented his reformist project with state backing and placed many of his students in positions of influence, who subsequently carried on his legacy into the 21st century. During the 1796 and 1802 street clashes between Sunni traditionists and Zaydi Shi'is, Shawkani was able to convince the Qasimid rulers to side with the Sunnis. He also campaigned for the 1825 execution of the Zaydi scholar Ibn Hariwa who criticised Shawkani's Sunnification efforts and state policies. Due to the official patronage of Shawkani and other Sunni scholars, Zaydi clerics were unable to stop the spread of hadith centric approach of Shawkani and his students; who upheld the authority of Sunni hadith over the opinions of Zaydi Imams. Hence, the Zaydis viewed Shawkani as seeking to undermine Zaydism by creating a sect modelled on the Ahl al Hadith school. Acting as Mansur's secretary, Shawkani would often correspond with the leaders of the Emirate of Diriyah between 1807 and 1813. The reform efforts of Shawkani throughout the 39 years of his tenure as Chief Judge would fundamentally transform the religious landscape of Yemen. By his death in 1834, the Qasimid rulers had fully adopted Sunni Islam.

Muhammad Al Shawkani is widely regarded as one of the most prolific Hadith scholars of his time; whose ideas influenced later Salafi movements. He played a major role in the revival of the works of medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya. He was one of the most prominent figures in the late lineage of hadith oriented Sunni scholars that emerged in Yemen with Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Wazir (d. 1436 C. E). invoking his teachings to undermine Zaydi Shi'ism under the broad label of "Islamic reform". Shawkani is popularly deemed as a Mujaddid of his era by adherents of the Wahhabi and various Salafi movements. Beyond Yemen, his works are widely used in Sunni schools. Much of the Ahl i Hadith literature condemning grave visits, necrolatry and idolatry (shirk) was modelled on the literature of Yemeni scholarship, most notably Al Shawkani, who followed the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim. In recognition of his contributions, Siddiq Hasan Khan ranked Al Shawkani as amongst the "Huffāz al Islām" (greatest guardians of Islam) alongside Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Qayyim and Ibn al 'Amir al San'ani. Apart from the Ahl i Hadith, the Wahhabis also often refer to Shawkani for legitimacy; citing his support for Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab. Shawkani had been a prominent representative of the traditionalist school that advocated Ibn Taymiyya's doctrines such as opposition to Falsafa (Islamic philosophy), Kalam (scholastic theology), Isrāʾīliyyāt, heresies, etc. emphasising literalist interpretations of the Qur’an. Alongside Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703 1762 C. E), Shawkani made significant contributions to the field of Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) during the era of revivalist trends of 18th and early 19th centuries. He completed his seminal Qur'anic commentary Fath al Qadir in 1814, which demonstrated remarkable methodological similarities to Fawz al Kabir, the Tafsir work compiled a few decades earlier by Shah Waliullah. Shawkani's Qur'anic interpretations demonstrated a firm belief in Scriptural perfection; which upheld that literal meanings of the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, are to be the sole authoritative sources of exegesis. Fath al Qadir laid the groundwork for future reformist exegetical endeavours; such as Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān’s Fatḥ al Bayān, Syrian Salafi reformer Jamal al Din al Qasimi's Maḥāsin al Taʾwīl and Muhammad Rashid Rida's Tafsir al Manar.