(1919-1988)

Dr. Fazlur Rahman is one of the most learned Muslim thinkers of the second-half of the twentieth century, in terms of both classical Islam and Western philosophical and theological discourse. He came from a Punjabi family steeped in traditional Islamic learning; and then went on to familiarise himself with modern critical thinking at Oxford under   H. A. R. Gibb and Van Der Bergh. Later, he returned to Pakistan to head up the Central Institute of Islamic Research which was set up by the Pakistani government for implementing Islam. However, due to the political situation in Pakistan, Rahman was hindered from making any progress in this endeavour and he returned to North America to re-evaluate his religious heritage and started teaching there. After teaching at UCLA as a visiting professor for a few years, he moved to the University of Chicago in 1969 and established himself there becoming the Harold H. Swift Professor of Islamic Thought. At Chicago, he was instrumental for building a strong Near Eastern Studies program that continues to be among the best in the world. Rahman also became a proponent for a reform of the Islamic polity and was an advisor to the state department. So far, he is the only Muslim to receive the prestigious Giorgio Levi Della Vida prize (1983). He has published numerous articles and books, among them, Avicenna’s Psychology, Islam, Islam and Modernity; Major Themes of the Qur’ān, Revival and Reform in Islam, Islamic Methodology in History and Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition.