The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 ,  No. 1, 1988 1 

In Memoriam 

Professor Fazlur Rahman 
(1332-1408 AH / 1919-1988 AC) 

On Dhu a1 fiijjuh 12, 1408 AH, July 26, 1988 Professor Fazlur Rahman 
breathed his last as a result of post-cardiac surgery complications at the Billings 
Hospital in Chicago. At the time of his death he was the Harold H. Swift 
Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Thought at the University of 
Chicago where he had taught for about two decades. Born in Punjab (Pakistan) 
in 1332 AH / 1919 AC, Professor Fazlur Rahman was educated at the 
universities of Punjab and Oxford. He also taught at Durham (England) and 
McGill (Canada) and served as director, Central Institute of Islamic Research 
in Pakistan. 

A prolific writer and an outstanding scholar of Islam in the tradition 
of Mohammad Iqbal, Dr. Fazlur Rahman influenced a whole generation of 
young Muslim intellectuals, students, and probably more importantly, his 
Western colleagues in the field of Islamic Studies. Although considered 
controversial on certain issues, he was a scholar of encyclopedic breadth in 
the true tradition of classical Islamic scholarship. His interests ranged from 
the classical period to modem times; from the Qur’in and hadrh to$qh, 
philosophy and science; and from education and history to contemporary 
socio-political developments in the Muslim World. Throughout his career, 
however, his first and foremost loyalty and devotion had been to the Qur’ln. 
He was a brilliant student and an extraordinarily perceptive commentator 
of the Qur’in. He lived, wrote, and thought for most of his life within a 
framework that was defined by his love and study of the Qur’in. 

His was a mind of a logician and a philosopher and a heart of a devout 
Muslim. His writings on Islam were not only the product of a meticulous 
scholar with great intellectual rigor and analytical skills but also that of a 
passionate and devoted Muslim who was deeply concerned about the spiritual, 
moral and material well-being of his fellow Muslims. He believed in the 
fundamental importance of intellectual renaissance as the most important pre- 
requisite for Islamic revival. A careful examination of his writings reveals 
a vigorous mind working in the highest traditions of human scholarship of 
East and West and providing the intellectual and moral underpinnings for 



2 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5, No. 1, 1988 

the revitalization of the Islamic Ummah. Very few Muslim religious thinkers 
since Mohammad Iqbal have contributed so much and of such a great scholarly 
worth as has Professor Fazlur Rahman. His was one of the most energetic 
and productive Muslim minds of our time. His death is a great loss to Muslims 
and to Islam. He has left a void that cannot be easily filled. His absence 
will be deeply felt in the scholarly community of the Ummuh. 

The entire staff at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and the 
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences mourn the death of Professor 
Fazlur Rahman. He was a founding member of the Editorial Advisory Board 
of this Journal from its inception, as originally titled, the American Journal 
of Islamic Studies. He took keen interest in its growth and development. 
Despite his failing health, he came to Washington recently to visit the IIIT 
and delivered the talk which we are publishing in this issue. May Allah bless 
his soul and reward him abundantly for his services in His Cause. 

Mumtaz Ahmad 
Associate Editor