Islam as tradition resists both fixed-structure and belief-collection definitions

Evidence

The first task in the study of Islam (and for that matter all other major traditions of inquiry) is to treat it as a rational project, however much (or precisely because) its rationality differs from the thinking to which the modern mind has grown accustomed. Once the internal logic of this tradition is unraveled, the project would make as much heuristic sense as any other … The cosmos, for him, is a divine order, a Quranic and cherished Islamic concept par excellence. Because the ordo amoris exhibits the moral character of the cosmos, humankind is intimately connected to the world in every way they are able to love. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 484 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

The complexity in Abduh’s views brings out the inadequacy of the kind of binary thinking (familiar to Western students of Islam since Goldziher) that opposes as mutually exclusive “orthodox Islam” to “sufiIslam,” “doctors of law” to “saints,” “rule-following” to “mystical experience,” “rationality” to “tradition,” and so forth. This is not to say that Muslims never themselves employ such binaries—especially for polemical purposes—but this situated deployment should not be mistaken by the nonparticipatory scholar as objective evidence of a continuous split in the Islamic tradition. The difference that does exist is between would-be authorizer and practioner. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 1074 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The orthodox-versus-mystical Islam binary reflects scholarly projection, not a real split — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 1074; The concept of Islam as a unified system supersedes actual Muslim experience; Islam as a unified category is a modern reductive translation (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Islam’s historical adaptability across polities refutes inherent-essence claims #corroborates (0.85)
• Islamic tradition is a rational project with internally consistent logic #qualifies (0.80) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 484
• The orthodox-versus-mystical Islam binary reflects scholarly projection, not a real split #corroborates (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 1074
• The concept of Islam as a unified system supersedes actual Muslim experience #corroborates (0.72)
• Islam as a unified category is a modern reductive translation #corroborates (0.72)
• The reified notion of Islam has hindered rather than helped understanding of Muslim societies #corroborates (0.72) — Edward W. Said, Covering Islam, 83