feminist writer Leila Ahmed has depicted her as a
social rebel whose example has inspired Muslim
women to free themselves from the limitations of
their biological roles, and whose legend reflects
countercultural understandings of gender.
Her devotees believe that her tomb is located
on JerUsalem’s Mount of Olives in a 17th-century
mosqUe near a church that memorializes the place
of JesUs’s ascent into heaven. A modern mosque
named in her honor has been built in a suburb of
cairo, Egypt.
See also abbasid caliphate; slavery; sUFism.
Sophia Pandya
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 god.
Rahman See basmala; names oF god.
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 pakistan, 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 qUran, as well as
the examples set by mUhammad 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 Jamaat-i islami 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; orientalism;
reneWal and reForm movements.
Jon ArmajaniRahman, Fazlur 579 J