e-Makalat Mezhep Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

Religious
traditions that have been produced through historical experiences for centuries
create a unique structure by institutionalizing in the process. It is a
necessity that this structure undergoes change and transformation according to
the needs and expectations of the day. In Shiism, which has an important place
among the Islamic sects, this need gained a new dimension especially in the
contemporary period by the ulama, who placed themselves at the center of the
sect. After the defeat suffered in the 19th century against the West, emerged
various solutions for the causes of this defeat in the Islamic world. Among
these, the most important place is the critical attitude towards religious
tradition and attempts at reform. The dimensions and basic dynamics of these
initiatives in the Shiite tradition are not adequately included in Turkish
studies. Our study includes the criticisms of the Iranian thinker Shaykh Hadi Najmabadi, who
can be considered as the first example of the breeding works that started in the
Shiite tradition in the contemporary period, based on his own work.

Summary

In our tradition of Islamic thought, the emergence of personalities called
“mujaddid” at important intellectual breaking points shows that the need for
renewal and change is continuous. In this context, it is possible to define the
19th century Iranian history as a period of painful conflicts between
modernization and tradition. A number of changes in the political field, which
began with Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty and continued with Nasiruddin
Shah, gradually spread to the social layers. As a result of this, it has been
seen that a lot of ideas emerged for the emergence of a new perception of
religion under the name of Islamic awakening. Among these remedies voiced by
various groups, new perspectives on the reinterpretation of religious texts
according to the needs of the society emerged, besides the demands of the
Western imitation and the separation of religion from politics. In this
context, the 19th century Iranian thinker Shaykh Hadi Najmâbâdî had a founding influence
and led the innovators who came after him. One of the important points that
distinguishes him is that he adopted and defended the ideas of innovation,
which had been gained by the political and military bureaucratic circles, which
began to be seen in the levels of the state. Particularly in the period of
criticism against the clergy class, his internal criticism of the class he was
a member of, enabled him to have a wider influence area.

At the root of his criticism lies the superior position that the ulama
class has achieved throughout history. The centralization and
institutionalization of the ulama in Shi'ism was possible as a result of the
accumulation of long centuries in this field. The Shi'ite ulama, which began
with Shaykh Mufîd and continued with Sharif al-Murtazâ and Shaykh Tûsî, was of
the opinion that the mind was only a means of verifying flats. This emphasis on
Nass has resulted in the ulama being the sole authority in all interpretations
to be made in adherence to it. In the 11th century, the ijtihad and reason
debates led to the emergence of “neyâbat-ı amme” understanding. This
understanding led to the fact that in the absence of the imams, the scholars
were seen as naibs who could use their powers. In the absence of imams, the
concept of taqlid emerges in determining the position of Shiite society against
reason and case law. The concept of taqlid and its forms of understanding play
a key role in the emergence of the institution of authority and in the efforts
to improve Shiite thought in the following centuries. The development of an
taqlid-based relationship between the mujtahids who reached the level of
ijtihad and the large masses of people who could not reach this level brought
about political and sociological breaks along with Shiite theology. Whether or
not imitation is permissible, and who will taqlid it and how it will be taqlid
has been a prominent discussion topic of Shiite thought for many centuries.
Shaykh Mufîd, for example, states that some people approach the tradition
without question, blindly believe in the proofs of the existing transplants,
and acknowledge that there is a section that does not need reasoning and is
only obliged to taqlid.

By the 19th century, the Usuli ulama introduced the principle of
“a‘lamiyyat” suggesting that the most knowledgeable person of the ulama should
lead the people just like the imams and formed the institution of marja-ı
taqlid. With the adoption of Shaykh Murtazâ Ansârî as the highest authority, a
new era began in the Shiite thought and the definitive dominance of the ulama
class was established on both Shiite society and politics. Moreover, in this
period, the revival of various rituals, the construction of religious centers and
so on. the institutionalization of the religious sphere was ensured through
numerous activities and thus the basis for the formation of a homogeneous
religious doctrine was prepared. As a natural consequence of this, any kind of
formation that could be an alternative to central religious understanding was
denied and the authority of the scholars was strengthened. On the one hand, the
situation of the Islamic world in the face of the West, on the other hand, the
sect gained a new shape with the hand of the scholars, Iran, as in other
Islamic countries, emerged at the end of the 19th century and the 20th century,
the strengthening of the Shiite orthodoxy in this way emerged provided a
socio-cultural background.

The ideas of Shaykh Hadi Najmâbâdî should be considered from two different
perspectives. One of his most important characteristics is his open attitude
towards the Shah's administration in Iran. His close friendship with the famous
reformist Jamaladdin Afghani made his political direction more prominent and
supported Afghani's panislamism. In order to serve this purpose, he established
an association in Tehran and worked with Afghani in Istanbul at the time. These
features highlighted his recognition of freedom, justice and human rights and
his contribution to the preparation of the constitutional revolution. In our
opinion, what differentiates him from the other scholars of his time is his
rationalist-centered pro-innovation ideas that he tries to bring to religious
thought. He argues that the cause of the problems and backwardness are not
based on external factors, but from within Islam itself. He stresses that the
source of these problems is to move away from the mind-centered thinking of
Islamic society and embrace the tradition that people produce. In his thinking,
mind comes before all other means. According to him, the most important reason
for the lagging behind of the Islamic world, especially Iran, is the dominance
of a religious understanding overwhelmed by bidat and superstitions. The most
important role of such a conception of religion in the dominance of the clergy.
Thus, he advocated and understanding that sees Muslims as the source of both
the problem and the solution. He emphasizes that in order to re-enforce Islam,
it is necessary to return to first-hand sources rather than the dark pages of
Islamic history, which have been created for various reasons in the historical
process. What he is trying to do, however, is not to accept first-hand
resources as they are, but to undergo an assessment under the control of mind.
In this context, he emphasized primarily the deep criticism of the Shiite
tradition towards the sources of knowledge.

In this endeavor, he did not make a distinction between the clergy and the
ordinary people in solving the problems of Muslims and emphasized that all
Muslims should be part of the solution. Stating that the most important factor
that will provide this solution is the questioning of the current accumulation
of tradition by mind, that all religious elders including imams cannot be left
behind, he tried to touch an area that is considered innocent by Shiites and
cannot be touched. In this context, he thinks that it is imperative to
reconsider the perception of the Shia tradition as imams, khabars, condolences,
intercession, the Qur'an and the prophet. With these ideas, Shaykh Hadi left an
important heritage of criticism to the intellectuals who would succeed him.