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Islam in the modern world

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Vol 22, No 2 (2026)
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SACRAL TEXTS, DOGMATIC LITERATURE AND THE MONUMENTS OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS WRITTEN HERITAGE

23-54 197
Abstract

   The study is devoted to M. I. Verevkin’s translation of the Qur’ān (1790) — a landmark work of the Russian Enlightenment that had a decisive infl uence on the reception of the Qur’ān in Russia in the late 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries. Based on the classic French edition of the Qur’ān by A. du Ryer, M. I. Verevkin’s work refl ected the fundamental principles of the source text: a focus on a secular interpretation of the meanings of the Muslim Holy Scripture and a distancing from the polemical paradigm. On the other hand, the work on the translation of the Qur’ān provided M. I. Verevkin, one of the founders of the Russian literary language, with a unique opportunity to demonstrate that the language norm established by Russian Enlighteners can express profound religious and philosophical meanings.

ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN RUSSIA AND ABROAD

57-82 196
Abstract

   The digital transformation of higher education raises the question of combining traditional methods of Islamic pedagogy (the “ustādh–shākird–environment” system) with e-learning tools. The article presents the results of a theoretical analysis and a synthesis of practical experience regarding the integration of electronic educational resources into the professional training of theologians in Islamic higher education institutions in Russia. The study employs methods of theoretical analysis (content analysis of scientific literature and a comparative approach) and empirical generalization (analysis of practical application). The article systematizes key approaches to the defi nition of e-learning, identifi es the main advantages and pedagogical risks of using electronic educational resources in the context of theological education, and summarizes practical models for the use of learning management systems in Islamic higher education institutions. It substantiates the key role of organizational and pedagogical support as a condition for the harmonious synthesis of traditions and digital technologies and outlines prospective directions for development, considering the capabilities of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The study identifies and describes four models of integrating electronic educational resources (ranging from fragmentary use to a comprehensive educational ecosystem) and clarifies the content of the concepts of e-learning and organizational and pedagogical support for students as applied to the digital environment of Islamic education. The recommendations and development prospects presented in the article can be applied in the design and modernization of the electronic information and educational environment in Islamic educational institutions in Russia.

HISTORY OF ISLAM IN RUSSIA

85-106 138
Abstract

   The article, for the first time, traces the evolution of the architectural types of mosques in the historical territory of Ingush settlement, based on a range of published and archival sources, the materials of the First General Census of the Russian Empire of 1897, field ethnographic data, and offi cial statistics. The study does not aim to consider the interior decoration and building materials used, limiting the analysis to the architectural styles of the mosques. The chronological scope of the study covers the period from the late 18th century (the time of the appearance of the first stone mosques) to 2025. Three main periods are identifi ed: the prerevolutionary (late 18th — early 20th century), the Soviet (1920–1990), marked by a disruption of tradition, and the post- Soviet (from the 1990s to the present). Within the post- Soviet period, two stages are distinguished: the dominance of the Turkish Ottoman style (1990s-2010s) and the modern synthesis with elements of national tower architecture (2010s-2025). It is demonstrated that early mosques developed within the framework of vernacular mountain architecture, characterized by flat-roofed rectangular buildings, columnar minarets of undressed stone, and ascetic decor. During the post- Soviet period, the Turkish Ottoman style (domes, round minarets, rich interior decoration) became dominant due to the disruption of tradition and external financial support. Since the 2010s, a new tendency has been developing: the synthesis of Islamic religious architecture with elements of Ingush tower architecture (minaret towers, pyramid- shaped roofs, and allusions to the ancient Myat- Seli Temple).

   The article concludes that a distinct regional architectural style is taking shape, which can contribute to the global history of Islamic architecture.

107-128 167
Abstract

   The article is devoted to the role of the Tatar educator and theologian Khusain Faizkhanov (1823–1866) in the study of the Kasimov Khanate. Based on an analysis of his epistolary heritage, field reports, and V. V. Velyaminov- Zernov’s work “Research on the Kasimov Tsars and Tsarevichs”, the author reconstructs Kh. Faizkhanov’s visit to Kasimov in the summer of 1860. It has been established that he not only recorded the epigraphic monuments of the Khanate but also acted as a philological and theological advisor during their subsequent publication. Through his work, Arabic-script epitaphs of the Kasimov khans and nobility, including the tombstone of Khan Uraz-Muhammad (1600–1610), have entered scholarly discourse. The author shows that Kh. Faizkhanov did not limit himself to material collection: he refi ned the translations of Qur’ānic verses, corrected the mistakes of his predecessors, and analyzed complex Turkic lexemes. Thus, Kh. Faizkhanov eff ectively became a co-author of the source analysis rather than merely a technical assistant. The joint work of the theologian and the orientalist created a source base for the scientifi c study of the history of the Kasimov Khanate and laid the foundation for the fi rst studies on this topic.

129-148 157
Abstract

   The article presents correspondence previously unknown in Russian historiography by the prominent Russian Tatar Islamic theologian and religious philosopher Musa Jarullah Bigiev (1875–1949), written during his exile in 1930–1949 and addressed to Weli-Ahmed Hakim (1882–1970), his friend and associate, who served as the imam of the Tatar diaspora in Finland from 1914 to 1962. This body of documents was introduced to the scholarly community thanks to the translation and editorial work of Yusuf Uralgiray (1915–1986), a Crimean Tatar scholar, educator, translator, and biographer, as well as a disciple and follower of Bigiev. Uralgiray included the letters in his Turkish- language edition of Bigiev’s work “Fasting in Long Days”, which he prepared and published in Ankara in 1975. The article also provides biographical information on Uralgiray, who was not only a close friend of Bigiev but also one of the few people who participated in the Tatar theologian’s funeral in Cairo. Bigiev’s letters, presented to the Turkish public by Uralgiray, constitute a valuable source of information about his life, activities, social contacts, experiences, and spiritual state in exile. They also refl ect the evolution of Bigiev’s religious and philosophical views, and his assessment of the contemporary socio-political situation in various regions of the Muslim world. The paper presents Bigiev’s instructions and advice to his fellow Tatars living in Finland. The significance of these recommendations is underscored by his eloquent comparisons between the realities of life in Muslim countries and the living conditions of Tatars in this Scandinavian state. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the scholarly value of Bigiev’s epistolary heritage and outlines prospects for further research in this area.

149-172 148
Abstract

   The Provisional Muslim Committee for Assistance to Soldiers and Their Families was the fi rst attempt in the Russian Empire to establish a nationwide Muslim charitable organization operating on democratic principles and initiated by Muslims themselves. However, its activities and outcomes are fragmentarily covered in the existing literature due to the scarcity of archival documents.

   The purpose of the article is to identify various viewpoints on the committee’s goals and strategies, based on an analysis of the Tatar periodical press in 1914–1916, and to trace how these opinions correlated with the actual decisions of the committee.

   The study relies on a historical-comparative analysis of publications in the newspapers Il’ (“Country”), Vakyt (“Time”), Tormysh (“Life”), and Suze (“Word”), as well as on materials from the Russian State Historical Archive.

   It has been established that two main positions emerged in the public discussion: the “idealistic” and the “pragmatic”. The study demonstrates that, despite the management crisis and criticism in the press, the committee succeeded in dispatching an ambulance detachment named after Russian Muslims, with the support of the Committee of the State Duma. For the fi rst time, the article introduces newspaper and archival materials into scholarly discourse, enabling the reconstruction of the chronology of the Provisional Muslim Committee for Assistance to Soldiers and Their Families’ work, the tracing of developments within it, and to observe how its activities were covered and evaluated by society.

ISLAMIC THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT

175-196 159
Abstract

   The article off ers a reconstruction of the theological understanding of the concept of ādab (etiquette, good conduct) in the heritage of the Shādhilī Sheikh Ibn ‘Aṭā’ Allāh al- Iskandarī (c. 658 AH / 1260 CE — 709 AH / 1309 CE) as an ethical ontology — a special doctrine of being whereby ādab is not a set of external requirements, but the way of actualization and realization of ‘ubūdiyya (the being of man as a servant of God). Based on the textual analysis of al- Iskandarī’s works, Tāj al-‘Arūs al-ḥāwī litahdhīb al-nufūs (“The Bride-Groom’s Crown Containing Instructions on the Self”), Miftāḥ al-falāḥ (“The Key to Salvation”), ‘Unwān al-tawfīq fī ādāb al-ṭarīq (“The Sign of Success in the Etiquette of the Spiritual Path”), Laṭā’if al-minan (“The Subtle Blessings”), and al-Tanwīr fī Isqāṭ al- Tadbīr (“The Book of Illumination on the Abandonment of Self- Direction”), the paper shows that the multi-level teaching on ādab, which comprises the distinction between its “external” (zāhir) and “internal” (bātin) dimensions, the binding of spiritual discipline to the bodily organs and the heart, and the metaphysical defi nition of ādab as the “soul” in relation to the “body” of human existence, originates in the heritage of al- Iskandarī. In contrast, the three-part model (ādab al-sharī‘a / ādab al-khidma / ādab al-ḥaqīqa) represents a later terminological treatment and systematization of al-Iskandarī’s ideas in the commentary tradition of Zarrūq A. (d. 899 AH / 1493 CE) and Ibn ‘Ajība (d. 1224 AH / 1809 CE). The article situates the concept of ādab within the context of its Ṣūfī genealogy, including the reconstructed fourfold structure of ādab in Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638 AH / 1240 CE). It is argued that the specifi city of the Shādhilī ontologization of ethics lies not in the recognition of the divine origin of the norms of ādab, which is characteristic of Islamic theistic ethics in general, but in the particular understanding of the relationship between ādab and ‘ubūdiyya. As an ontological given, “servitude to God” precedes every human action; however, as a conscious and spiritually realized state, it is revealed and actualized through the practice of ādab.

197-214 134
Abstract

   The article analyzes the key directions of the theological interpretation of the ritual narrative of the “Farewell Sermon” (khuṭbah al-wadā‘) of the Prophet Muḥammad.

   The study focuses on the content and moral signifi cance of the sermon’s text, the question of its authenticity, and the specific representation of this corpus in hadith literature and in classical sīrah genre devoted to the Prophet’s biography.

   Khuṭbah al-wadā‘, the Prophet’s last public speech, was delivered in the Plain Arafat (present-day Saudi Arabia) on the 9th day of the month of Dhu al- Hij jah in the 10th year of the Hij rah (6 March 632 CE) during the Farewell Pilgrimage (ḥajjat al-wadā‘). It contains key ritual, ethic, and legal principles of Islamic doctrine: the establishment of the sacred status of certain days and places; the inviolability of life, property, and honor; human equality; women’s rights; and the prohibition of usury (ribā) and blood feud. The article summarizes the main theological discussions related to this text and outlines potential directions for its further study, particularly in the context of interreligious dialogue.

215-242 133
Abstract

   The article presents a systematic analysis of the nature of divine revelation (waḥy) in the Islamic tradition at the intersection of three dimensions: lexical- semantic, historico- biographical, and theological. Based on early Arabic lexicography (al- Khalīl, Ibn Manẓūr) and pre-Islamic poetry, the semantic core of the root w–ḥ–y is reconstructed as hidden intentional communication. The study systemizes the 78 Qur’ānic occurrences of the lexeme waḥy and identifi es its semantic registers, using Q. 42: 51 as the basic typology of the modes of waḥy. А functional distinction is drawn between waḥy and tanzīl. The ontology of revelation, as formulated in the doctrine of double descent (al- Lawḥ al- Maḥfūẓ — Bayt al-Izza — the earth), is reconstructed. The article examines the classical debate on the createdness and uncreatedness of the Qur’ān, the Ash‘arī distinction between kalām nafsī and kalām lafẓī, and the concept of i‘jāz as a theological consequence of the accepted model of waḥy. It substantiates the comparability of the doctrine of double descent and the Ash‘arī distinction: both models differentiate between the pre-eternal status of the Qur’ān and its historical and linguistic manifestation. Overall, this allows us to consider waḥy not as a term with a single meaning, but as a semantic field within which the сlassical schools address the issue of the correlation between the divine and the linguistic dimensions of revelation in different ways.

REVIEWS

245-260 112
Abstract

   The review analyzes the work of an outstanding representative of Islamic modernism, the Tatar theologian Musa Jarullah Bigiev, “Zakat” (written in 1916; published in Moscow by Medina Publishing House in 2025, 160 p.), which consistently examines the relationship between zakāt and taxes, issues of usury (ribā), and a potential model of an Islamic bank. This edition is supplemented with valuable comments by the translator and editors, which facilitate a faster immersion into the historical context. The book remains relevant for its maqāṣid al-sharī‘a approach and ij tihād, which anticipated the development of modern Islamic banking, emphasizing the need for a continuous search for solutions in a changing financial environment. The first part of M. Bigiev’s work is devoted to the debate on the relationship between zakāt and taxes, presenting a detailed analysis of an article by his contemporary, Zakir Ayukhanov, in which the author identifies both textual and methodological errors. Through analysis of inaccuracies in the rendition of ḥadīth and linguistic remarks, M. Bigiev emerges as an attentive researcher and expert in the Arabic language, Qur’ānic texts, and Sunnah. In conclusion, he consistently proves the fundamental diff erence between zakāt and tax. In the second part, relying on Qur’ānic verses, M. Bigiev analyzes ribā from various aspects, citing the arguments of supporters of diff erent economic schools and responding to them.

   The greatest value of the work lies in the author’s approach, which distinguishes consumer loans (interest-free, qarḍ al-ḥasan) and productive loans (based on profit-sharing).

   M. Bigiev clearly differentiates interest-free loans given out of necessity (iḥtiyāj) versus loans for profi t (kasb), where profi t-sharing (ishtirāk) is permissible. This distinction remains relevant today, highlighting the ethics of author’s approach compared to the unifi ed commercial practices of modern Islamic banks. M. Bigiev anticipates the Islamic banks of the 1970s, but in his model, such institutions have wider functionality, including a social function. This review provides an analysis of M. Bigiev’s ideas from the perspective of the modern financial and economic system and contemporary issues of Islamic banking. It outlines internal inconsistencies in the text of the book and highlights questions that remain open to further debate. The book is valuable for researchers of Islamic law and finance, Sharī‘a experts, economists, and all who are interested in the theory and practice of Islamic banking.

TRANSLATIONS

263-288 123
Abstract

   The paper presents for the fi rst time the original text of the introduction to the Book ‘‘Al- Qur’ān by the Arab Mohammed …’’ (1790), together with its modern translation into Russian. The author of the introduction is the Russian educator, writer and translator M. I. Verevkin (1732–1795). The publication continues a series of studies by the Moscow Islamic Institute in collaboration with the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts on the existence of the text of the Qur’ān in Russia and Europe. The conceptual basis of the preface is formed by two principles: the classic French translation of the L’Alcoran de Mahomet (1647) by André Du Ryer (ca. 1580–1660?) and the personal vision of the Russian translator M. I. Verevkin.



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ISSN 2074-1529 (Print)
ISSN 2618-7221 (Online)