Çağdaş Şiî Düşüncesinde İlk Islah Çabaları: Şeyh Hâdî Necmâbâdî (1834-1902)
The First Reform Efforts in Contemporary Shiite Thought: Shaykh Hâdî Najmabadi (1834-1902)
Yazar: Demir, Habip
Dergi: e-Makalat Mezhep Araştırmaları Dergisi, Vol. 12 No. 2, 2019
Anahtar kelimeler: Religious Studies ; Din Araştırmaları ; İslam Mezhepleri Tarihi,Şiilik,İran,Islahat,Şeyh Hadi Necmâbâdî ; History of Islamic Sects,shiism,iran,reform,Sheikh Hadi Najmabadi

Tarihsel tecrübelerle asırlar boyunca üretilmiş dinî gelenekler,süreç içerisinde kurumsallaşarak kendine mahsus bir yapı oluştururlar. Buyapının günün ihtiyaç ve beklentilerine göre değişim ve dönüşüme uğraması birzarurettir. İslam mezhepleri içerisinde önemli bir yeri bulunan Şiîlik’te buihtiyaç özellikle çağdaş dönemde ulemânın kendini mezhebin merkezine koymasıylayeni bir boyut kazanmıştır. 19. asırda Batı karşısında uğranılan yenilgininardından İslam dünyasında bu yenilginin sebeplerine dönük çeşitli çözümarayışları ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunlar arasında en önemli yeri dinî geleneğe olaneleştirel tutum ve ıslahat girişimleri yer almaktadır. Bu girişimlerin Şiîgelenekteki boyutları ve temel dinamiklerine Türkçe çalışmalarda yeterince yerverilmemiştir. Çalışmamız, çağdaş dönemde Şiî gelenekte başlayan ıslahçalışmalarının ilk örneği sayılabilecek olan İranlı düşünür Şeyh HâdîNecmâbâdî’nin kendi eseri üzerinden bu geleneğe dönük eleştirilerine yervermektedir.

Religioustraditions that have been produced through historical experiences for centuriescreate a unique structure by institutionalizing in the process. It is anecessity that this structure undergoes change and transformation according tothe needs and expectations of the day. In Shiism, which has an important placeamong the Islamic sects, this need gained a new dimension especially in thecontemporary period by the ulama, who placed themselves at the center of thesect. After the defeat suffered in the 19th century against the West, emergedvarious solutions for the causes of this defeat in the Islamic world. Amongthese, the most important place is the critical attitude towards religioustradition and attempts at reform. The dimensions and basic dynamics of theseinitiatives in the Shiite tradition are not adequately included in Turkishstudies. Our study includes the criticisms of the Iranian thinker Shaykh Hadi Najmabadi, whocan be considered as the first example of the breeding works that started in theShiite tradition in the contemporary period, based on his own work.SummaryIn our tradition of Islamic thought, the emergence of personalities called“mujaddid” at important intellectual breaking points shows that the need forrenewal and change is continuous. In this context, it is possible to define the19th century Iranian history as a period of painful conflicts betweenmodernization and tradition. A number of changes in the political field, whichbegan with Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty and continued with NasiruddinShah, gradually spread to the social layers. As a result of this, it has beenseen that a lot of ideas emerged for the emergence of a new perception ofreligion under the name of Islamic awakening. Among these remedies voiced byvarious groups, new perspectives on the reinterpretation of religious textsaccording to the needs of the society emerged, besides the demands of theWestern imitation and the separation of religion from politics. In thiscontext, the 19th century Iranian thinker Shaykh Hadi Najmâbâdî had a founding influenceand led the innovators who came after him. One of the important points thatdistinguishes him is that he adopted and defended the ideas of innovation,which had been gained by the political and military bureaucratic circles, whichbegan to be seen in the levels of the state. Particularly in the period ofcriticism against the clergy class, his internal criticism of the class he wasa member of, enabled him to have a wider influence area.At the root of his criticism lies the superior position that the ulamaclass has achieved throughout history. The centralization andinstitutionalization of the ulama in Shi'ism was possible as a result of theaccumulation of long centuries in this field. The Shi'ite ulama, which beganwith Shaykh Mufîd and continued with Sharif al-Murtazâ and Shaykh Tûsî, was ofthe opinion that the mind was only a means of verifying flats. This emphasis onNass has resulted in the ulama being the sole authority in all interpretationsto be made in adherence to it. In the 11th century, the ijtihad and reasondebates led to the emergence of “neyâbat-ı amme” understanding. Thisunderstanding led to the fact that in the absence of the imams, the scholarswere seen as naibs who could use their powers. In the absence of imams, theconcept of taqlid emerges in determining the position of Shiite society againstreason and case law. The concept of taqlid and its forms of understanding playa key role in the emergence of the institution of authority and in the effortsto improve Shiite thought in the following centuries. The development of antaqlid-based relationship between the mujtahids who reached the level ofijtihad and the large masses of people who could not reach this level broughtabout political and sociological breaks along with Shiite theology. Whether ornot imitation is permissible, and who will taqlid it and how it will be taqlidhas been a prominent discussion topic of Shiite thought for many centuries.Shaykh Mufîd, for example, states that some people approach the traditionwithout question, blindly believe in the proofs of the existing transplants,and acknowledge that there is a section that does not need reasoning and isonly obliged to taqlid.By the 19th century, the Usuli ulama introduced the principle of“a‘lamiyyat” suggesting that the most knowledgeable person of the ulama shouldlead the people just like the imams and formed the institution of marja-ıtaqlid. With the adoption of Shaykh Murtazâ Ansârî as the highest authority, anew era began in the Shiite thought and the definitive dominance of the ulamaclass was established on both Shiite society and politics. Moreover, in thisperiod, the revival of various rituals, the construction of religious centers andso on. the institutionalization of the religious sphere was ensured throughnumerous activities and thus the basis for the formation of a homogeneousreligious doctrine was prepared. As a natural consequence of this, any kind offormation that could be an alternative to central religious understanding wasdenied and the authority of the scholars was strengthened. On the one hand, thesituation of the Islamic world in the face of the West, on the other hand, thesect gained a new shape with the hand of the scholars, Iran, as in otherIslamic countries, emerged at the end of the 19th century and the 20th century,the strengthening of the Shiite orthodoxy in this way emerged provided asocio-cultural background.The ideas of Shaykh Hadi Najmâbâdî should be considered from two differentperspectives. One of his most important characteristics is his open attitudetowards the Shah's administration in Iran. His close friendship with the famousreformist Jamaladdin Afghani made his political direction more prominent andsupported Afghani's panislamism. In order to serve this purpose, he establishedan association in Tehran and worked with Afghani in Istanbul at the time. Thesefeatures highlighted his recognition of freedom, justice and human rights andhis contribution to the preparation of the constitutional revolution. In ouropinion, what differentiates him from the other scholars of his time is hisrationalist-centered pro-innovation ideas that he tries to bring to religiousthought. He argues that the cause of the problems and backwardness are notbased on external factors, but from within Islam itself. He stresses that thesource of these problems is to move away from the mind-centered thinking ofIslamic society and embrace the tradition that people produce. In his thinking,mind comes before all other means. According to him, the most important reasonfor the lagging behind of the Islamic world, especially Iran, is the dominanceof a religious understanding overwhelmed by bidat and superstitions. The mostimportant role of such a conception of religion in the dominance of the clergy.Thus, he advocated and understanding that sees Muslims as the source of boththe problem and the solution. He emphasizes that in order to re-enforce Islam,it is necessary to return to first-hand sources rather than the dark pages ofIslamic history, which have been created for various reasons in the historicalprocess. What he is trying to do, however, is not to accept first-handresources as they are, but to undergo an assessment under the control of mind.In this context, he emphasized primarily the deep criticism of the Shiitetradition towards the sources of knowledge.In this endeavor, he did not make a distinction between the clergy and theordinary people in solving the problems of Muslims and emphasized that allMuslims should be part of the solution. Stating that the most important factorthat will provide this solution is the questioning of the current accumulationof tradition by mind, that all religious elders including imams cannot be leftbehind, he tried to touch an area that is considered innocent by Shiites andcannot be touched. In this context, he thinks that it is imperative toreconsider the perception of the Shia tradition as imams, khabars, condolences,intercession, the Qur'an and the prophet. With these ideas, Shaykh Hadi left animportant heritage of criticism to the intellectuals who would succeed him.