Sufi Evolutionism

The Modernist Reform Theology of Mahmud Muhammad Taha

Series: 

Author:
Michel Hoebink
The Sudanese Muslim reformer Mahmud Muhammad Taha (d. 1985) is known for his bold proposals for Islamic legal reform. The mystical theology underlying this reform, however, has been largely overlooked. This book analyzes Taha’s Sufi-inspired modernist reform theology in its premodern and modern intellectual contexts. It argues that his unique reliance on premodern Sufi thought allows him to go beyond his contemporaries in bringing Islam into the modern age, in particular with his Islamic theory of evolution and his views on democratic governance and the rights of women and non-Muslims. Taha’s theology can be viewed as a Sufi reply to both western secular thought and to the Salafi interpretations of Islam that have gained worldwide ascendancy in the past decades.
Copyright Year:
2026
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-74824-8
Publication:
08 Dec 2025
Hardback
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-74823-1
Publication:
16 Dec 2025
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Michel Hoebink Ph.D. (2024), University of Amsterdam, is an independent researcher and journalist living in the Netherlands. His interests include Sufism, modern Islam, and modern Sudanese history. He studied Arabic and worked at Utrecht University, as well as for the Arabic department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
This book highlights the neglected contribution of an African Muslim thinker to global intellectual history. Based on meticulous research, it reveals the roots of Maḥmūd Muḥammad Ṭaha’s modernist reform in the mystical and millenarian traditions of Islam. As such it fills a gap in the historiography of Muslim modernist thought and of the modern Sudan. - Oliver Scharbrodt, author of Muhammad ‘Abduh: Modern Islam and the Culture of Ambiguity.

Hoebink analyzes Maḥmūd Muḥammad Ṭaha’s life and thought in the context of a wide range of intellectual traditions – western and eastern, local Sudanese and global, as well as premodern Sufi and modern esoteric and idealist. He shows how Ustādh Maḥmūd and the Sudan were an integral part of world-wide intellectual developments. A must read for students of both Sudanese and Islamic history. - Lidwien Kapteijns, author of Stringing Coral Beads: The Religious Poetry of Brava (c. 1890 -1975)
Contents
Preface

Introduction

1 Ṭaha and His Republican Movement
 1909–32 Childhood and Education
 1932–45 Nationalist Activism
 1945–6 The Republican Party
 1946–51 Spiritual Retreat
 1951–58 Democracy and Independence
 1958–64 ʿAbbūd’s Military Regime
 1964–69 Second Democratic Period
 1968 Apostasy Trial
 1969–76 Numayrī’s Military Regime
 1969–85 Republican Practice
 1969–77 The Quarrel with the Traditionalist Scholars
 1977–85 Return of the Muslim Brothers
 1980–82 Millenarian Expectations and Internal Controversy
 1983–85 Numayrī’s Islamic Law
 1985 Apostasy Trial
 1985–6 Evaluations of the Trial
 Conclusion: the Development of Ṭaha’s Views

2 The Need for Reform
 2.0 Introduction: Muslim Modernism and Islamism
 2.1 Reform of Western Modernity
 2.2 Reform of Traditional Islam
 2.3 Conclusion

3 The Return to Sufism
 3.0 Introduction: Ṭaha and the Sufi Tradition
 3.1 Fall and Return
 3.2 Existence
 3.3 Man
 3.4 Spiritual Progress
 3.5 Enlightenment
 3.6 Prophets and Saints
 3.7 Unity and Development of Religion
 3.8 The Qurʾān
 3.9 Following the Prophet
 3.10 Individualism
 3.11 Death and Afterlife
 3.12 The Return of Jesus
 3.13 The Sealing of Prophethood and Sainthood
 3.14 Conclusion

4 Evolution
 4.0 Introduction: Evolution
 4.1 Spiritual Universe
 4.2 Evolution Re-enchanted
 4.3 Emergence of Man
 4.4 History of Science and Religion
 4.5 God’s Kingdom on Earth

5 The Second Message of Islam
 5.0 Introduction: Legal Reform
 5.1 The Concept of the Second Message
 5.2 The Sealing of Guardianship
 5.3 Socialism and Democracy
 5.4 Non-Muslims
 5.5 Women
 5.6 Corporal Punishments
 5.7 Perfect Man

Conclusion
Sources and References
Index
This book would be of immediate interest for readers concerned with Sufism; modern Islamic thought; modern Islamic law reform; Sudanese modern history; modern esotericism and contemporary New Age spirituality.
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Publisher:
Brill
Language:
English
Pages:
x, 376 pp.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004748248

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