The Yemeni Contemporary Calls for Reform: A Model in Imam al-Shawkani

Abstract

Imam al-Shawkani (1760-1834CE) is one of the most prominent Muslim scholars, reformers, restorers, and supporters of the Islamic awakening and civilizational revival. His thought came into contact with society, knowledge and human nature. He is an inspiration to many pioneers of social, political and economic reform across the Islamic world. The research problem is one of the most serious dilemmas that has plagued the preaching field in the contemporary era, which is for some preachers narrow-minded, short-sightedness in addition to their lack of understanding of the requirements of the era that a reformed preacher should realize. The research aims to identify the reform efforts of al-Shawkani and his constant interaction with the movement of life around him as this contributed to enlightening society and spreading awareness across the Islamic world. The paper uses inductive and descriptive approach, as it relies on collecting related materials then referring to the research literature from sources, references, and previous studies. It collects, classifies, studies, discusses and comments on the materials gathered. The paper finds out that al-Shawkani has a distinguished educational thought as his ijtihad led him to a new line, which is the absolute ijtihad that is not based on imitation. Among those results are: his warning against the danger of the hateful sectarian fanaticism, which binds minds, robs thinking, and makes man captive to old ideas and preconceived convictions; his contribution to reforming the economic system prevailing in Yemen at the time; and his Ijtihad School becoming widely influential inside and outside Yemen until its impact reached India. It was also founded a school of thought bearing his title and name till date.