Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 861 [Read full issue]
Collective Revival
Tajdid originates in the authority of a renowned hadith: "God will raise for this Ummah, at the head of each century, someone who will rejuvenate for them their religion." [Mishkat]
Commentators have analyzed almost every word of this hadith. The key term here is yujaddid, from the root verb, jaddada, to renew something. Mujaddid (renewer) is one who renews and revives neglected aspects of the religion to their original state. Restoring and disseminating the purity of those principles among people and their acting upon them is the main task of the renewer.
The hadith under review also implies that Islam will not die nor become redundant and that God will help this ummah to be on the right path and reconnect with the original messages in its endeavours to face new challenges.
The word mujaddid (renewer), although occuring in the singular, also applies to a multitude. Tajdid may thus be attempted by one person, a group, party, or movement. Notwithstanding the emergence of individual renewers that featured prominently in the past, modern interpretations of tajdid favour collective endeavour by groups of 'ulama', specialists and scholars in various disciplines. One renewer may be a jurist, another a political scientist, yet another an economist, and so forth - their collective impact and action tend to acquire renewed prominence in modern times.
Compiled From:
"The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam: The Qur'anic Principle of Wasatiyyah" - Hashim Kamali, p. 221