Theodicy and Justice in Modern Islamic Thought

The Case of Said Nursi

Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781409406181
• eBook ISBN: 9781351880008
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This book explores the theology and philosophy of the distinguished modern Muslim scholar and theologian Bediuzzaman Said Nursi [d.1960]. Nursi wrote in both Ottoman Turkish and Arabic and his life and thought reflected the transition of modern Turkey from an empire to a secular republic. The contributors to this volume shed new light on two major dimensions of Nursi's thought: theodicy and justice. Classical Muslim theologians debated these two important issues; however, we must consider the modern debate of these issues in the context of the radical political and social transformations of modern Turkey. Nursi explored these matters as they related to the development of state and society and the crisis of Islam in the modern secular nation-state. Nursi is the founder of a 'faith movement' in contemporary Turkey with millions of followers worldwide. In this book, distinguished scholars in Islamic, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies explore Nursi's thought on theodicy and justice in comparison with a number of western philosophers, theologians, and men of letters, such as Dante, Merton, Kant, and Moltman. This book presents an invaluable resource for studies in comparative religion, philosophy, and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Editor’s Introduction
• 1 Theodicy and the Many Meanings of Adam and Eve
• 2 Living Life in the Light of Death: A Conversation with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
• 3 The Resurrection of the Dead and Final Judgment in the Thought of Said Nursi
• 4 Proof of the Resurrection of the Dead: Said Nursi’s Approach
• 5 Death in Nursi’s Thought
• 6 Lā Siyyamā: Nursi’s Treatise on al-Hashr in Mathnawi al-Nuriye
• 7 Resurrection in the Writings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi: Comparative Reflections with Christian Theology
• 8 The Resurrection of the Dead: Said Nursi and Jürgen Moltmann
• 9 The Problem of Animal Pain: An Introduction to Nursi’s Approach
• 10 Justice, Morality, and Modernity: What Makes the Risale-i Nur Modern?
• 11 Two Epistles of Consolation: Al-Shahid al-Thani and Said Nursi on Theodicy
• 12 “Landscape and Melancholy:” Said Nursi, Dante Alighieri and the Contexts of Modernism
• 13 Said Nursi’s Approach to Justice and its Role for Political Reforms in the Muslim World
• 14 Reflections on Prayer and Social Justice in the Thought of Thomas Merton and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
• 15 God’s Justice in Relation to Natural Disasters
• 16 Justice and Balance in Creation: Said Nursi’s Analysis
• 17 Nursi’s Compassion and Kant’s Categorical Imperative: Justice and Ethics in Building a Better World
• Bibliography
• Index