Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy

by Jonathan A.C. Brown

and possessed a peerless and creative reformist bent. Under the watchful eye of the British ‘Veiled Protectorate’ of Egypt, in 1899 the Egyptian king appointed ‘Abduh as Grand Mufti, in charge of issuing Shariah rulings for the government. In part this was to mollify the British High Commissioner, who supported ‘Abduh’s modernizing zeal. As Grand Mufti, ‘Abduh undertook dramatic efforts to reinterpret Islamic law according to modern precepts. While pre-modern ulama had derived legal rulings from an extensive body of scripture, including unreliable Hadiths as well as Companion opinions, ‘Abduh felt that only clear Qur’anic verses and the most solidly reliable Hadiths were compelling. In their absence, he ruled according to Maslaha, or public interest, which in his mind tended to dovetail with state modernization agendas.