Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Annemarie Schimmel, My Soul Is a 

Woman. Translated by Susan H. Ray (New York: Con-

tinuum International Publishing Group, 1997), 34–37; 

Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Quran, 

Miraj, Poetic, and Theological Writings (Mahwah, N.J.: 

Paulist Press, 1996), 151–170; Margaret Smith, The Life 

and Work of Rabia and Other Women Mystics in Islam

(1928. Reprint, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1994); 

Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, Early Sufi Women (Dhikr 

an-niswa al-mutaabbidat as-sufiyyat). Translated by Rkia 

E. Cornell (Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae, 1999).

Rahim

  See 

basmala

; 

names

 

oF

 g

od

.

Rahman

  See 

basmala

; 

names

 

oF

 g

od

.

Rahman, Fazlur

 

(1919–1988)  noted liberal 

Muslim intellectual, whose wide-ranging writings 

examined the Quran, Islamic history, philosophy, 

education, and politics

Born in what is now p

akistan

, Rahman earned a 

master’s degree in Arabic from Punjab University 

in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1942 and a doctorate in 

Islamic 

philosophy

 from Oxford University in 

1949, where he studied under the noted Oriental-

ist scholar, Hamilton A. R. Gibb (1895–1971). 

Subsequently, he held academic positions at Dur-

ham University, McGill University, Pakistan’s Cen-

tral Institute of Islamic Research, the University 

of California-Los Angeles, and the University of 

Chicago, where he served until his death.

According to Rahman, the idea of socioeco-

nomic 

JUstice

 is one central notion within the 

Quranic message. Rahman maintained that the 

most significant problems that emerged during 

Islam’s medieval period were (1) religious and 

political hierarchies that perpetuated socioeco-

nomic oppression and (2) educational systems 

that emphasized rote memorization and discour-

aged critical thinking.

According to Rahman, the q

Uran

, as well as 

the examples set by m

Uhammad

 and the early 

Islamic community, requires majority-Muslim 

countries to institute democratic political systems. 

For example, Rahman believed that Muhammad 

and the early Islamic community governed their 

affairs by means of shura (consultation) and 

ijmaa

 (consensus) with the equality and freedom 

of all Muslims before God functioning as shared 

principles among early Muslims. Concomitantly, 

Rahman asserted that God has endowed human 

beings with a unique capacity to reason (aql) that 

can provide them with tremendous insight and 

good judgment as they democratically govern 

themselves. At the same time, modern Islamic 

educational systems must contribute to Islam-

based democracies by encouraging critical think-

ing and immersing students in diverse academic 

disciplines. Rahman’s main religious and political 

opponents were Pakistani Islamists who were 

members of the organization J

amaat

-

i

  i

slami

 led 

by Sayyid Abu al-Ala Mawdudi. The most sig-

nificant influence of Rahman’s life and work is 

evident in some American colleges and universi-

ties where many of his former students teach; his 

long-term impact on Islamic political and educa-

tional systems remains to be seen.

See also 

democracy

; 

edUcation

;  o

rientalism

; 

reneWal

 

and

 

reForm

 

movements

.

Jon Armajani