Al-Vahyu'l-Muhammedî Work of Muhammad Rashid Rıza Evaluation of Prophet Ideas and Reform Thoughts in the Context
Authors: İlbars Emre 
Published: December 2022

There are two main sources that regulate the worship and daily life of Muslims. Undoubtedly, the first of these is the Qur'an, and the second is the Sunnah of the Prophet. These two concepts have been used for different purposes in some periods of Islamic history. These religious values, which are the common denominators of people, have been tried to evolve into different meanings, sometimes to justify an action, and sometimes when political crises increase and the guards of the authorities fall. The perception of the Prophet was reflected in the works of Muslim personalities who were influenced by the West, in addition to these aforementioned reasons, in certain periods of history. As a matter of fact, Muhammad Rashid Rıza, who looked at subjects such as the Qur'an, Prophethood and the Prophethood from a different perspective in his work al-Vahyu'l-Muhammad, became one of the most important representatives of "Contemporary Islamic Thought" that emerged under the influence of the West. The work of Muhammad Rashid Rıza, which we have evaluated, called al-Vahyu'l-Muhammed, aims to reveal a Quran-centered belief methodology. At the same time, at the core of Rashid Rıza's thoughts is a system of thought that aims at reforming the society, the rise of Muslims in their own age, and bringing to the fore and reviving not only the Qur'an but also other religious sciences. In this work that we are analyzing, a comparison is made between the Qur'an, the Bible and western sources in order to reveal the superiority and virtue of the Islamic world in terms of faith and morality, and it is stated that the superiority of the Qur'an is higher than other books. is being done. Reşid Rıza emphasizes that, contrary to the accusations, religion, science and technology are in close relationship, and that Muslims should also be open to continuous development, spiritually and morally equipped. Reşid Rıza's thoughts are based on the idea that improvement can only be achieved through education and training. It is to acquire knowledge and to teach it to people, that is, to do the opposite of everything that is thought in terms of ignorance and laziness. According to Reşid Rıza, religious, social and social reforms are the only way to bring order to the political structure. However, he states that Muslims can be together in terms of spiritual unity in the creation of Islamic unity. The aim of reform is to bring all Muslims together in a faith-centered common value and to establish a legal system that is free from foreign interventions. According to Reşid Rıza, it is aimed to keep religion alive and protect people through the idea of reform. Along with this, education and social development will take place. In this work, which we have evaluated with these aspects, a holistic approach has been adopted while the subject is being presented, rather than the narration of a chronological event flow. The main reason for this is that the work has an apological, that is, defensive style. In the work, there are mostly thoughts that reflect Reşid Rıza's own mental mentality. Reşid Rıza has adopted a style based on his own informational poems by putting the Qur'an in the center. Even if we say that the work reflects Reşid Rıza's own mental mentality, the fact that almost all of the judgments in the work are based on the Qur'an, and sometimes he makes use of the Bible and western sources, brought the thoughts in the work to be consistent, original and original within itself. In this study, in the context of al-Vahyu'l-Muhammed, Muhammad Reşid Rıza's view of improvement thoughts, Prophet's vision, Prophethood and Prophecy are discussed.