Review of Fifty Key Figures in Islam by Roy Jackson, London: Routledge Key Guides (2006), pp.261+xvi.

This book claims to be the perfect resource for learning about muslim culture, people and its teachings. Due to the breadth of the work, there are bound to be some errors in regards to certain entries and as well as certain terms used. There seems to be some misinformation regarding alShafiI. According to the author al-ShafiI is credited to have laid the foundations for the science of jurisprudence in actual fact al-ShafiI is credited for his Risalah which is a textbook for the principles (usul al-fiqh) and not jurisprudence (fiqh) itself. Jackson does not distinguish between the two. There are also other few fundamental errors in history committed by Jackson especially in attributing Alis acceptance of arbitration due to him being old and tired (pg.20). A cursory glance at historical sources would indicate to us that Ali was forced to accept the arbitration at Siffin by a group of his supporters who were tricked by the tactics of putting the Quran on the tip of lances by Muawiya. This same group was later to become known as the seceders (alkhawarij). The excellent studies by Ayoub (Crises of Muslim History) and Madelung (Succession to Muhammad) should have supplemented this entry on Ali and Abu Bakr and other figures connected with the issue of succession. A correct understanding of this volatile period is crucial in understanding the main divisions between Sunni and ShiI sect within Islam. Unfortunately Jackson does not even refer to these sources focusing instead on other general history of the period for writing his entry. Jackson had included 18 entries on contemporary muslim thinkers. One of them is Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab or al-Wahhab whom Jackson regards as one of the renewers of religion (pg.139) as indicated in the oft quoted hadith here. The renewers included with al-Wahhab are alGhazali, Ibn Taymiyyah and Shah Wali Allah. He is at pains to connect Shah Wali Allah as being similar to al-Wahhab and claims that their differences lie mainly in their approaches where alWahhab was militant if compared to the less confrontational approach of Wali Allah (pg.157). The entry on Wali Allah is interspersed with the opinions of al-Wahhab in Jacksons attempt to link the two scholar together. Surely the reality is that al-Wahhabs literary input or lack of it is incomparable to the impressive writings of Wali Allah (See Wahhabism by Hamid Algar). In the entry on al-Wahhab Jackson describes the fall of the Ottoman empire as due to them hanging onto superstitious practices. There is no mention of the violence nor resistance towards the Saud and the Wahhabis from the local scholars nor the people of the then Hijjaz. Jackson had skipped all these and praised this great reviver as the person who has come to guide muslims when their Islamic activities were evidently shirk (pg.161). Many scholars have written about the violent rise of the Wahabbi movement (see Algar, Wahhabism for references in Arabic and others) and the various criticism leveled against them by prominent scholars of the period none however seems to have made it into Jacksons entry. One gets the impression that the Wahhabis were welcome and their founder a great scholar. The reality is that Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab was not a seminal figure in the history of muslim thought as whatever that he has written are mainly short and minimal responses towards certain questions and brief statements. Other mistakes and misunderstandings abound such as in the entry on Khomeini, Jackson grossly attributes the view that Mullahs or jurist are qualified to do ijtihad to Khomeini as if before Khomeini this was never within the whole corpus of shii legal writing and thought. There are other mistakes in regards to the entry on Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini which includes him being regarded as the Mahdi by the ShiI (which has never been the case), such an understanding on Khomeini and eventually the whole shiI legal tradition is surprising given the amount of studies written which is available in western language (see in particular works written by Modarressi).

Overall this book is a good attempt by the author to cover all of the major figures within Islam. Limiting the number to 50 would mean an arbitrary selection of figures. As a guide this book requires a second edition which would help supplement the present edition. This reviewer would also like to suggest a further reading section where other relevant materials would be provided for the interested lay reader. Mohamad Nasrin Nasir University Brunei Darussalam