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The Concept of Time in IslamAuthor(s): Gerhard BöweringSource:
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society,
Vol. 141, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 55-66Published by: American Philosophical SocietyStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/987249
Accessed: 08/04/2009 13:07
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TheConceptof TimeinIslam*
GERHARDBOWERING
ProfessorfIslamicStudiesYaleUniversity
Todaythe world of Islam s estimated o count almost onebillion
people,one fifth ofhumanity.Islamoccupiesthecenter oftheglobe.It stretcheslikeabroad belt acrossthemapfrom theAtlantic to thePacific,encirclingboth the "haves"of the consumerNorthand "have-nots"ofthedisadvantagedSouth.Itsits at the crossroads ofAmerica,WesternEurope,andRussiaon one side and blackAfrica,India,andEastAsia onthe other. Islamisnot contained inanynationalculture;it is auniversalorce.Stretchingfrom Morocco toMindanao,itis built of fivegeographicalblocks,the Muslims of blackAfrica,theArabworld,theTurco-Iranianands,heMuslimsof SouthAsia,andtheinhabitantsoftheIndonesianarchipelago.Islamisalso at acrossroadsnhistory,destined toplayaninter-national roleinpoliticsand tobecome the mostprominentworldreligionin the decades o come. In theseventhcenturyof theCommonEra,Islamentered heglobalscene withMuhammadat aturning pointintime. Withspectacular conquestandorganicgrowth,itexpandedthroughthecenturiesand becamestretched aut ina bow oftensionbetweenstrivingforGod andstruggleordominion. As weenter thethirdmillenniumofthe CommonEra,Islam looksbacknostalgicallyat itsmedievalglory,when theJudaeo-ChristianWeststudied at itsfeet,andseesfunda-mentalism as the fulcrumof itsfutureinthestruggleforpreeminencewith thesecular andtechnologicallysuperiorWest.Howdoes Islamunderstand heideasofpastandfuture,oftimeandtemporality,in whichitstrives torealize its eternaldestiny?PictureyourselfinadowntownMcDonald'stakinga shortlunchbreakattheofficeorgrabbingabite toeat betweenerrands.NowpictureyourselfinanArab coffeehousenursinganespressoafteryoursiesta.We allknowfrom livedexperiencethatthese twosettingscarrywiththemquitedif-
*Read3 November1995PROCEEDINGSFTHEAMERICANHILOSOPHICALOCIETY,OL.141,No. 1.1997.
55
 
GERHARDBOWERING
ferentsensesoftime.In thefirstscenario,timepushesrelentlesslyonward;n thesecond,tlazilywinds tswayforward ntheafternoonsun. Movefrom fast food toedificationf a more intellectual ortandcheck heentryon thephilosophyf time n amajorncyclopedia.Whatyouwill find here s learned rticlesontrastinghe linearprogressionftimepredominantnWesternulturewith thecyclicalconceptoftimeprevalentnIndia.Bothconceptions,weareold,belongo thedefiningcharacteristicsf these two culturalworlds.Withregardo Islamheirgeographicaleighbor,owever,he sameources f referencedentifynosuchcharacteristicotionof time.1Does theworldofIslam,occupyinghecenterof theglobe,possessaconceptof timecharacteristicallytsown,orcanthe Islamicnotion oftime beexhaustivelyexplainedbya cluster ofborrowingsrom itsneighborsndcultural ncestors?s therea unityto the Islamicnotion oftime,oris Islamauniversalultureencompassingmanylanguagesndethnicgroups,achwithits own notionoftime? Can oneonlyspeakofaspectrumof ideason time in Islamor arethereconstants hatwouldprovideparametersefiningslamauthenticallys areligionandculture?On theonehand,are heredistinct ndperduringlementsnthe Islamicnotionof time thatchallengehecurrent lash-of-civilizationheoriesoarticulatedefinitionof Islamiccivilizationuponwhich tobase theiraxioms?On theotherhand,dodevelopmentsnthe Islamicconceptoftime reveal he monolithic laims f Muslimundamentalismo restuponan idealized ndhomogenizedision of thepast?ThesearchordefiningharacteristicsfIslamic ulturendreligionmightbeginwithmanynotions,includingmonotheism,revelation,prophethood,rreligiousaw.Ihavechosenheconceptoftimefortworeasons:irst,imeappearsoprovidemoreneutralointofcomparisonthanothermorereligiouslyhargedotions; econd,ime isnotlimitedto oneparticularieldofIslam,but can betracedna broadcross-sectionof Islamicwritings.2TimeispervasivenIslamichistory,centralto
1. Theabbreviationofjournalitles followsJ.D.Pearson,IndexIslamicus,London1958.El(reprint1987)stands forTheEncyclopaediafIslam(ed.M. T.Houtsma etal.,Leiden1913-38;repr.Leiden1987),El(new edition)forTheEncyclopaediafIslam(ed.H.A.R.Gibb etal.,Leiden1960-),ElrforEncyclopaediaranica(ed.E.Yarshater,NewYork1982-),ER forTheEncyclopedia fReligion(ed.M.Eliade,NewYork1987)and EREforTheEncyclopedia fReligionand Ethics(ed.J.Hastings,Edinburgh1908-26;reprintNewYork1980).2.There is noscholarlymonographontimeinIslam or on time inIslamicmysticism.F.Rosenthal,SweeterThanHope,Leiden1983,pp.1-58,S.Pines,Beitrdgeurislamischen(continued...)
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