Name: Mohammad Aasim Mirza ID: 254305 Course: BA History and Study of Religions.

Assignment: BA Study of Religions Subject: Advanced Theory in the Study of Religions Essay: Critical analysis of the term Tradition Words: Two thousand, four hundred and twenty eight (2,428), including footnotes, excluding bibliography. Tutor: Dr. Tullio Lobetti

Tradition
Tradition1 is a term used in various fields of study and it is this very reason that its interpretation is determined by how one may appropriate its use in context. For example, in Western Philosophy, tradition may mean, [a] body of practice or belief which is socially transmitted from the past [...],2 and in its essence, [I]t is regarded as having authority in the present simply because it comes from the past, and encapsulates the wisdom and experience of the past.3 However, this may not be the case when scholars of Gnosis and Western Esotericism may use tradition. Thus with this issue at the forefront, in this essay, I will analyse tradition in three stages: firstly, I will look at the word tradition with respect to its etymology; secondly, I will present findings from various academic discourses and their interpretation of tradition; and lastly, I will apply the aforementioned etymological and contextual findings to the Islamic field of study. In closing, it will be noted that the term tradition may be used to define Islam depending on the perspective one takes and if it is appropriately employed; and that doing so otherwise, will present various problems as the reception of such a religion, cannot allow for a blanket definition as it could restrict the way in which it is perceived.4 In the English language tradition means, the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.5 As with many English words, the etymology of tradition will finds its way to the Latin word trditio. This Latin root itself has various meanings such as teaching; instruction; record; account; and a saying handed down from early times.6 It is also related to the Latin word trdo which also has various meanings, such as, hand down; entrust; deliver by teaching;7 and so on. In their relation to trdo and trditio, the Latin words tradidi and tradere mean to bequeath; deliver; relate; and to transmit.8 In addition to this, it is interesting that, although not a direct derivative, tradition in Ancient Greek also shares some similarity in meaning to the aforementioned. For example tradition can mean, story or to hand down by tradition. Most significantly, in defining tradition Woodhouse writes, Those who receive the clearest accounts by tradition from their predecessors. and, The traditions of our father, which we possess as a heritage coeval with our years, no reasoning shall overthrow.9 What is apparent then is that the modern and etymological definitions have not lost much connection over time. Whereas in the former case tradition has become more refined so as to refer to customs or beliefs, it makes, however, specific mention that it/they must be things said and/or done from generation to generation. In Latin then, tradition is that which is transmitted and in Ancient Greek it may be something that is handed down which no reasoning shall overthrow. In this sense, no human is without tradition as tradition is an observed something, an experience between two groups of human beings and every human being at some point in life will either belong to Group A (the deliverers), Group B (the receivers) or Group C (the crossovers who deliver and receive). This is
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Henceforth Tradition/tradition; in this essay tradition will be referred to both by capital T and lowercase t. Difference in expression does not result in difference of interpretation unlike in the article by W. J. Hanegraaff in Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism (Brill Leiden, 2006), whereby the variation between capital T and the lowercase t represent two separate approaches, i.e. prisca theologia, prisca sapientia, pia philosophia, (philo)sophia perennis, perennial philosophy, perennial wisdom, the wisdom of the ancients, in the former case, as opposed to, widening the field so as to include any theory focused on the need to recover a lost spiritual world-order. in the latter case. 2 OHear, A. Tradition and Traditionalism in Concise Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Routledge, London (2000), p.897. 3 Ibid. 4 Thus the focus of this essay will only be on the word tradition, and will not extend to other related terms such as traditionalism, as the word count simply does not allow for such expansion. 5 Stevenson, C. Soanes and A. Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford (2003), p1859. 6 http://www.lexilogos.com/english/latin_dictionary.htm 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Woodhouse, S. C. English-Greek Disctionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, George Routledge & Sons Limited, London (1910), pp. 885-886.
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because, although any one person may not have a religion, a set of customs or have no social practices, it is not possible that any one person will never have a religion, or a set of customs, or a set of social practices. They must have at least one thing. Even newly formed societies bring with them their personal experiences or then they may experience something together which in turn will become their new tradition. A tradition by nature is objective as it must be experienced by more than one entity. This is why tradition falls outside of the bounds of Husserls phenomenology as this particular field of study concerns itself with experiences of a subjective nature, not objective. The above is qualified when one analyses the approach that Kaye takes on this matter in the early twentieth century. He considers tradition from the perspective of human nature itself; by explaining that young or old, it is in the very fabric of humanity that we imitate one another. In explaining this, he sets out two types of imitations: first, is passive imitation, which he associates with the young; and second, is active imitation, that which he associates with the old. He writes that every person is born into, a definite place and a definite home. And in that home there is pressed on him a definite kind of environment which requires him, and would seek to compel him, to follow a definite kind of life.10 Active imitation then, is the old subjecting upon the young that something which they were themselves subjected to when they were young. Passive imitation may be called as such because the young although, [m]ay refuse to accept; yet it is most probable that [they] will accept it, and this is because [they are] naturally imitative.11 The operative word here is naturally as it suggests that imitation is inevitable. It is the generation to generation imitation that becomes tradition; even if it is just a single custom. In the latter part of the twentieth century, Shills appears to concur with Kaye on the inevitability of one having a tradition;12 he differs only in his naming the two parties whereby the active imitators are now the givers and the passive imitators are now the receivers of tradition. In his lengthy work, Shills focuses on many aspects of tradition. One which is rather interesting is where he states that there must be an element of pastness if one is to accept something as tradition. Further on he also propounds that there is an element of unthinkingness in ones acceptance of something and that this unthinkingness whilst accepting a tradition is often easier when the giver has charismatic qualities.13 Belief in sacred things, he writes, is one of those things that can be accepted unthinkingly but, again, an element of pastness is needed as the acceptance of a tradition in the present relies much on its reception in the past. Noyes, in writing about tradition acknowledges that tradition is a term that goes back and forth from general and academic usage, and identifies [a] tradition of talking about tradition [...]14 She also notes that, tradition and modernity cannot coincide and that the former will decline as the latter rises. In support of this she puts forward two academic groups: first, are the nationalists who, [c]ollect traditions in order to save them [...]; and second, are the Evolutionists who, [d]eclare the necessity of documenting tradition for scholarship while eradicating it in practice .15 However, later she explains that the overall divide can be challenged as evidence of tradition gaining vitality is proof that, in certain respects, tradition and modernity can coexist with one another, e.g., colonized societies recuperate their historical experience into established oral genres; and, most consequentially, indigenous traditions can be mobilized to legitimate new practices and construct alternate modernities. [...] Just as the traditional is modern, so the modern is traditional.16

10 11

Kaye, M. Tradition in Philosophy, Vol. 7, No. 25, Cambridge University Press (Jan., 1932), p. 68. Ibid. 12 Shills, E. Tradition in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue on Tradition and Modernity, Cambridge University Press (Apr., 1971), pp. 125. 13 Ibid, p. 128. 14 Noyes, D. Tradition: Three Traditions in Journal of Folklore Research, Vol. 46, No. 3. Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Indiana University (2009), p. 234. 15 Ibid, p. 240. 16 Ibid, p. 244.
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As mentioned in the introduction, the term tradition is undergoing a three stage analysis and so far the first two have been sufficiently investigated. We now turn our attention to the third stage which is the application of the findings of the first two stages to a particular field, and in this case the chosen field is that of Islam. However, before we may apply tradition to Islam, an understanding of the word Islam itself has to be established. Thus know that the word Islm is derived from its trilateral root of sn, lm and mm (the equivalent in English being s, l and m) and has various meanings in Arabic, one of which is obedience. As such, al-salam means protected and al-silam means in or at a state of peace, or peacemaker. Amongst other words salima means to be free from blemish whilst salma means safety and security.17 To some Islam is a faith and to others a religion, however, Allh (God) refers to it in the Qurn [3:19]18 as dn which can be interpreted as following (something) or to make (something) your own by appropriating it.19 What is also interesting, is that in Urdu, dn means dharam which is interpreted as rasam and rawj.20 Both these latter terms directly refer to actions or beliefs that are traditional and therefore belong to a particular tradition. Thus from a strictly lexical and etymological perspective, one can understand the word Islm to refer to something that which one may appropriate; that is, appropriation of that which is based on a tradition. Unlike Shills theory, however, the Islamic tradition, if we may so call it that, is not something that goes unchallenged despite its sacred nature nor does the charisma of someone who transmits it. Allh says in the Qurn [2:170], When they are told, Follow what Allh has sent down to you. They say, We are following what we found our fathers doing. What, even though their fathers did not understand a thing and were not guided.21 Contextually speaking, Allh is addressing those people who claim that they are following the Abrahamic faith, however, they did not understand and were not guided. The age of their tradition did not matter, rather it was what their tradition consisted of, that did; and so Allh set the precedent that even within an orthodox way of life, if what is traditionally being followed, does not confirm to that which has been revealed in the Qurn, any other tradition is unsuitable. Muslims look to the Qurn for their tradition and also the life of the Prophet Muammad which is recorded to be of three types: first is, fel (that which he did); second is, qawl (that which he said); and third is, takrr (that which he condoned with his silence). The former and the latter are found in qawl which is formally known as adth (Prophetic Tradition). As the foundations of the four Sunn schools of Law are heavily reliant on adth, the methodology of its collection is rigorous in nature and scholars of adth formulated a complete science, musalia l-adth, which determines the strength or weakness of any given adth. This is further determined by the narrator and his or her strength is determined by another religious science known as asm al-rijl, which is a biographical account of all those who have narrated the adth. Naturally, not every adth will be considered in Islamic Law, especially if it is found to be weak and neither will one find any canonical collections dedicated to the weak narrations, such collecting is usually reserved only for the strongest of adth. This would then render the blanket term tradition unsuitable for all situations. In conclusion: from a strictly etymological perspective, it would be possible to apply tradition to Islam. This is because, as the aforementioned academic discourses state, no one can ever be without any particular tradition and therefore even if a Muslim were to act upon a weak tradition, it is a tradition, nonetheless. If we were, however, to look at tradition from an Islamic perspective, what must be respected is that Islam, conceptually, from its very first appearance is portrayed as a
17 18

Bulyw, Abdu l-af. Mibhu l-Lught, Lahore (1994) pp. 392-393. Arabic term referring to the book of revelation received by the Prophet Mu ammad (upon him and his family salutations and peace). 19 Bulyw, p. 257. 20 Al-Din, Fayroz. Fayrozu l-Lught, New Edition, Lahore (Publish date not stated), p. 662. 21 Al-Suy, Jall al-Dn al-Maall and Jall al-Dn. Tafsr al-Jallayn, Translated by Aisha Bewley, Dr Al Taqwa Ltd. London (2007).
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reception of revelation which was transmitted from Jibrl (Gabriel) to the Prophet Muammad. It is in the protecting of such transmission that Islam classifies certain things as tradition and others not. The irony is that Islam, in rendering a tradition a non-tradition, will still call that non-tradition a tradition thus leaving the matter wide open for further interpretation. This is why academic sciences were formulated so as to determine what may or may not be classified as a tradition, as relying on the lughw (lexical) meaning is simply not enough and other iil (contextual) definitions must be established in order to understand the true nature of tradition in Islam. Finally, and by far most important for this essay is that, holistically speaking, the method in which Islam is transmitted from generation to generation, the way it is taught and received and the way it is handed down from scholar to student, it once again goes back to the very basic meaning of the word tradition, the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Thus, although using the blanket definition in all circumstances may not be enough, if used appropriately the term tradition can be used to define Islam in most situations, especially if treated as a body of customs and beliefs.

Bibliography
Books & Journals ~ Al-Din, Fayroz. Fayrozu l-Lught, New Edition, Lahore (Publish date not stated). ~ Al-Suy, Jall al-Dn al-Maall and Jall al-Dn. Tafsr al-Jallayn, Translated by Aisha Bewley, Dr Al Taqwa Ltd. London (2007). ~ Bulyw, Abdu l-af. Mibhu l-Lught, Lahore (1994). ~ Glassie, H. Tradition in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 108, No. 430, Common Ground: Keywords for the Study of Expressive Culture, American Folklore Society (Autumn, 1995), pp. 395-412. ~ Green, T. A. Folklore: An Encyclopaedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music and Art. California (1997), p. 800. ~ Handler, R. and J. Linnekin. Tradition, Genuine or Spurious in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 97, No. 385 (Jul. Sep., 1984), pp. 273-290. ~ Hobsbawn, E., Introduction: Inventing Traditions in Eric Hobsbawn and Terrence Ranger (ed.) The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge University Press (2003). ~ Kaye, M. Tradition in Philosophy, Vol. 7, No. 25, Cambridge University Press (Jan., 1932), pp. 68-75. ~ Noyes, D. Tradition: Three Traditions in Journal of Folklore Research, Vol. 46, No. 3. Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Indiana University (2009), pp. 233-268. ~ OHear, A. Tradition and Traditionalism in Concise Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Routledge, London (2000), p.897 ~ Shills, E. Tradition in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue on Tradition and Modernity, Cambridge University Press (Apr., 1971), pp. 122-159. ~ Stevenson, C. Soanes and A. Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford (2003). ~ Woodhouse, S. C. English-Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, George Routledge & Sons Limited, London (1910), pp. 885-886. Online Resources ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Latin/ http://www.latin-dictionary.net/ http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/Woodhouse/ http://www.lexilogos.com/english/greek_ancient_dictionary.htm http://www.lexilogos.com/english/latin_dictionary.htm