Practical Wisdom of Pastoral Theology in the Muslim Tradition

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the meaning and treatment of a Christian doctrine 
‘pastoral theology’ whose addressee is human soul and one of the objectives is to 
enable an individual to face the trials and troublesome situations of life 
courageously. Hence one can observe this purposeful training of an individual 
among the objectives of Muslim theologians as well. Though this term is not 
among recognized disciplines in Muslim theology, it does have an illustrious 
history in the writings of Muslim thinkers and scholars. This paper aims to study 
the examples of pastoral theology in the Muslim tradition, particularly the 
methodology of Badi’uz-Zamān Sa’īd Nūrsī (A Turkish Muslim Revivalist of 20th 
century) as he described in his magnum opus Risālah-i Nūr (a thematic exegesis 
of the Quran). Nūrsī focused on the training of the human soul to enable it to 
take the trials and tribulation of human life as coming from the Divine will to 
strengthen it spiritually. Firstly, the term pastoral theology will be briefly 
examined. Secondly, a brief introduction of Badi’uz-Zamān Sa’īd Nūrsī and his 
Risālah-i Nūr will be given. Thirdly, the answer to the question why Nūrsī 
addressed this aspect of human life and assigned treatises on different human 
tribulations would be explored. Fourthly, the examples of such kind of trainings 
of individuals will be studied from Risālah-i Nūr. The methodology of research 
adopted in this paper is qualitative. The findings of the paper show that pastoral 
theology is in accordance with the teachings of Islam; Nūrsī’s elaborate 
explanation of this concept in his Risālah-i Nūr is unprecedented in the Muslim 
tradition; and despite the recent efforts there is a dire need that Muslim scholars 
explore this discipline further.