Contribution of Bengali Scholars Towards Islamic Studies (Hardcover)

In this present work I have made a humble attempt to understand the contribution of various scholars, with a greater emphasis on Muslim scholars towards their contribution in the field of Islamic studies in West Bengal and how Islam impacted the life of Bengali people thereof. Islam is a concept, phenomenon that links diverse political, social and religious aspects. It encompasses an immense area in space and time. In different regions and epochs, it has presented in differing features under the impact of and in response to local geographical, social and political forces. Western Islam for example, in Northwest Africa and medieval Spain, though it was closely related to the Muslim heartlands in Western Asia and its culture too was impacted by their culture, yet evolved several distinguishing characteristics, some of which in turn influenced Islam in Western Asia. In other large and self-contained geographical areas, such as the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia or in the steppe lands extending from Southern Russia to the borders of China, parallel factors produced similarly distinguishing forms. Yet each and all of these retain a certain easily recognizable common Islamic stamp. It is impossible within the limits of a single essay to deal with all these diverse regions. The main theme of my book CONTRIBUTION OF BENGALI SCHOLARS TOWARDS ISLAMIC STUDIES is confined to Islam in West Bengal (India) which emphasizes and highlights the contribution of Bengali scholars to Islamic sciences, such as Qur’ān, Ḥadīth, Taṣawwuf and other allied subjects. This vast research is carried out while adapting historical methods of analyzing the facts. Today Islam is recognized as a reality that has left an impact on thoughts, ideas, cultures, and politics in the world. Thus, it has been able to attract the attention of students and researchers over the last few decades. Currently, it can be observed that there is an intensified desire to gain further knowledge concerning the Islamic faith, its foundations, and the ethical values pertaining to the individual and social behaviours of Muslims. Muslim academics and researchers throughout the world have attempted to formulate an Islamic response to the questions that are before humankind. This book is devoted to discussing Islamic culture and history, the geography of the Islamic world and Muslim scholars of various fields of Islamic Studies such as Qur’ānic and Ḥadīth Studies, Qur’ānic Exegesis, and Theology. The present volume is a revised version of my thesis entitled “Contribution of Bengal (West Bengal) to Islamic studies since 1947" approved by AMU for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, year 2017.