The article, which continues the cycle of works timed to the 200th anniversary of Khusain Faizkhanov (1823-1866), considers the evo lution of methods of historical research of the scientist. It shows the stag es of Kh. Faizkhanov’s formation as a historian and reveals the factors of transformation of his views and approaches. The fi rst experience of prepa ration of independent research work was received by Kh. Faizkhanov ap proximately in 1859–1860 when he was writing the general history of the population of the Middle Volga Region. Under the infl uence of his own fur ther discoveries in source study and in-depth research methods, Kh. Faiz khanov, probably, started preparing special scientifi c works on the history of Volga Bulgaria, Kazan, and Kasimov Khanates in 1862. The fi rst of them is considered lost, the other two were not fi nished but were found in the form of manuscripts, the analysis of which made it possible to claim that they were defi nitely included in the later work of Sh. Marjani “Mustafād al- ʼaḫbār fī aḥvāl Ḳazān va Bulg̣ār”. The contradictions within the work of Sh. Marjani itself lead to the idea that Kh. Faizkhanov’s work on Volga Bulgar ia suff ered the same fate.

This article continues a series of publications of the commented translation into Russian of the interpretation to the Surah “al-Fatiha” (No. 1) by the founder of classical Muslim exegesis Muḥammad ibn Jarīr aṭ-Ṭabari (839–923) from the book Jāmi‘ al-bayān fī ta’wīl al-Qur’ān (The Comprehensive Exposition of the interpretation of the Qur’ān). This part contains sections devoted to 1–3 ayats of this surah. Based on examples of pre-Islamic literature and traditions of the “ancient fathers” of the Ummah, the etymology and interpretation of the following words used in them are given here: ḥamd “glory”, rabb “Lord”, ‘alamūn “worlds”, malik “King” and dīn “retribution”. The paper also discusses the word order and the reason for the repetition of the Basmala words “al-raḥmān al-raḥīm” “Merciful, Compassionate” in the 2^nd ayah.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Russian theologian Musa Bigiev’s views on accepting modern theological and legal conclusions in Islam, i. e. on the fatwa issuing. After comparing his various works, a conclusion is made about his adherence to absolute ij tihad, not limited to the framework of one madhhab. At the same time, Bigiev gives the main role in this process to the methodology of Islamic law, which, in his opinion, should also be modernized in accordance with the goals of the Shariʻah. This doctrine was fi rst developed in the history of Muslim thought by the medieval faqih Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi, whose work Al-Muwafaqat Bigiev recommends to introduce as a handbook in Islamic educational institutions. According Bigiev’s views, it is necessary to train mujtahids capable of making decisions based on sacred primary sources, system of goals of the Shariʻah and objective conditions of life.

The article shows how the concept of «natural prophecy», which developed within the framework of Falsafa (the Hellenizing philosophy of classical Islam) and traditionally qualifi ed as heterodox, was revived in the works of Muslim modernists of the 19th-20th centuries (especially Jamalad-din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdo and their followers), who focused on the reconstruction of theological discourse in the spirit of openness to religious and confessional diversity, scientifi c rationality and socio-cultural progress. In reformist theology were accumulated both rational substantiations of prophetism, which were characteristic of Falsafa: (1) socio-teleological, proceeding from the necessity of a prophet as a legislator, and (2) psycho-noetic, which appeals to the presence of a man with the ultimate exalted soul, especially in terms of intellectual intuition and creative imagination. Developing the Falsafa’s thesis about two types of miracle as proof of the authencity of prophetic missions — «external» (material) and «adequate» (spiritual), modernists teach about the Quranic message as focusing exclusively on the second type. This marks the transition of humanity to the phase of adulthood, and with it the «sealing of the prophethood».

This article analyzes from a scientifi c point of view information about the history of passes and passports that gave the right to Central Asian pilgrims who went on a hajj through the territory of the Russian Em pire. For this purpose, the author introduced into scientifi c circulation in formation from historical documents of the 18^th –19^th centuries stored in the foreign policy archive of the Russian Empire, the state archive of the Orenburg region (Russian Federation), and also in the National Archives of Uzbekistan. The study of this issue is intended to help in the study of dip lomatic, trade and economic relations between the Central Asian khanates and the Russian Empire and the problems of tolerance between peoples, as well as the development of scientifi c conclusions regarding the policy of the Russian Empire towards Islam in the 18^th –19^th centuries.

The relics of written culture of Muslims of Central Asia of the late period (before Soviet time), not connected directly with a book tradition, are considered in the article. The author accents attention on the “small forms” — various extractions, records, qit‘a with philosophical, didactic, professional-practical and others content. Mainly they are poetical texts in Persian-Tajik and Turkic-Uzbek languages. The results of an examination show variety types of design for a present kind of literary monuments in the traditional Muslim society: from utilitarian and everyday occurrence for forms of records, and to highly artistic pieces of calligraphic art of qit‘a. All of them independently of the “forms of organization” in any case were presented at the everyday life, professional activity and spiritual searching of a Central Asian man. They formed a circle of his cultural interests and values, thoughts and sensations — from pragmatic and rational to philosophical and emotional aesthetic. Common and dominating was mythopoetical consciousness. It determined condition of culture in many cases, and directions of activity of diff erent intellectual forces in the society. Pieces of qit‘a and other written texts used in the article are from the collection of author, and majority of them are published for the fi rst time.

The article presents the expedition materials of the author, collected in the upper reaches of the Zeravshan River. The valley was distinguished by both harsh climatic and landscape conditions, and isolation for most of the year. Nevertheless, Mountain Matcha is included in the religious life of the Republic of Tajikistan. In villages with more than forty households, new standard mosques have built. Signifi cant assistance in their construction was provided by the state and investors from Iran. Local residents, Matcha Tajiks, also provide all possible assistance in the construction of mosques, some of which have features of local traditional architecture, such as a veranda with carved support columns and wooden ceiling beams decorated with fl oral and geometric patterns. The mosque is the spiritual center of the village, and the mullah is not only engaged in the performance of religious rites, rituals of the life cycle, but also engaged in Muslim education for children and adults, and also organize material and physical assistance to poor families, widows, orphans. Unfortunately, the buildings of the ancient mosques that have been preserved in Matcha are in a deplorable state. On the one hand, they suff ered greatly in Soviet times, as they have used as shops, warehouses, houses of culture, on the other hand, no eff orts are made by the local population to conserve and restore religious buildings. On the contrary, holy places ˗ mazars are the places of special attention of the Matcha Tajiks. Keepers of mazars monitor their careful preservation and cleanliness, local residents participate in their restoration and improvement. At present, the Muslim spiritual tradition is experiencing an upsurge against the backdrop of the moral and moral demands of the Matcha Tajik society.