Ulema

Ulema
Zereshk · Public domain · source
Name	Ulema
Caption	Traditional Islamic scholars in study
Occupation	Religious scholars

Ulema are the body of Muslim scholars versed in Islamic law, theology, exegesis, and tradition. They historically served as interpreters of Quran, custodians of Hadith, instructors in madrasas, and advisors to rulers in courts such as the Ottoman Empire and Mamluk Sultanate, and they interacted with movements like the Wahhabi movement and the Deobandi movement.

Etymology and Definition

The term derives from the Arabic plural of ʿālim and is rooted in lexical sources like the Qamus and classical lexica compiled during the era of the Abbasid Caliphate and under scholars such as Al-Tabari, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Al-Ghazali. Definitions vary across contexts used in writings linked to institutions like the Al-Azhar University, the Darul Uloom Deoband, the Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, and biographies from the Islamic Golden Age. Legal definitions appear in documents from the Ottoman legal system, fatwas issued by authorities in Cairo, Baghdad, and Damascus, and correspond to roles described by figures like Ibn Khaldun and Shah Waliullah Dehlawi.

Historical Development

Formation of learned classes accelerated under the Umayyad Caliphate and consolidated during the Abbasid Caliphate with patronage from courts like the Buyid dynasty and institutions such as the House of Wisdom. The corpus of texts grew with works by Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam al-Shafi‘i, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal while medrese models spread in the Seljuk Empire and later the Ottoman Empire. Colonial encounters with the British Raj, the French Third Republic in Algeria, and the Russian Empire produced reformist responses tied to figures like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. Twentieth-century developments involved councils like the Council of Islamic Ideology and events including the Iranian Revolution and debates in the League of Nations and United Nations.

Roles and Functions

Ulama have functioned as jurists issuing fatwas in institutions like the Dar al-Ifta, teachers in Al-Azhar University and Madrasa Al-Nizamiyya, judges (qadis) in systems influenced by the Ottoman judicial system and the Hanafi school, custodians of Quranic recitation traditions associated with reciters like Hafiz al-Misri and exegesis traditions tracing to Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir. They operated as court scholars under rulers such as the Mughal Empire and the Safavid dynasty, as reformers aligned with Salafism and Islamic modernism, and as participants in movements like Sufism and organizations such as the Tijaniyya and Qadiriyya orders.

Education and Institutions

Training occurred in madrasas like Nizamiyya, seminaries like Hawza in Najaf and Qom, and universities such as Al-Azhar University and Aligarh Muslim University, following curricula featuring texts by Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Al-Razi, and Ibn Sina in conjunction with commentaries from scholars like Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. Certification practices including ijazah trace to chains connecting teachers like Sahnun and students within networks across Cordoba, Cairo, Baghdad, Kairouan, and Samarkand. Colonial and modern state reforms reconfigured institutions via policies from administrations such as the Ottoman Tanzimat and ministries in Pakistan and Turkey, leading to contemporary bodies like the Islamic Research Academy and national fatwa councils.

Influence on Law and Politics

Ulama shaped legal orders through contributions to schools such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali, with codifications impacting jurisdictions in the Ottoman Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, and postcolonial states including Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. They produced fatwas concerning treaties like the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and advised rulers from the Sultanate of Brunei to the Mughal Empire; in modernity they engaged with constitutions, parties like the Muslim Brotherhood, councils like the Majlis-e-Shura, and revolutions such as the Iranian Revolution and the Arab Spring. Interactions with secular legal codes occurred through dialogues with institutions like the European Court of Justice and agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization where debates involved human rights documents and comparative jurisprudence.

Notable Ulema and Schools of Thought

Prominent jurists and theologians linked to the learned class include Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi‘i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Khaldun, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, Abul A'la Maududi, Syed Ahmad Khan, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, Muhammad Qutb, Ali al-Sistani, Ayatollah Khomeini, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Fazlur Rahman, Anwar al-Awlaki, Sayyid Qutb, and Abdul Hamid Ibn Badis. Influential schools and movements include the Hanafi school, Maliki school, Shafi‘i school, Hanbali school, Salafism, Deobandi movement, Barelvi movement, Sufism, Ahl-i Hadith, and modernist currents associated with Islamic modernism, Pan-Islamism, and organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Category:Islamic scholars