Dr. Shehzad Saleem is an Islamic researcher who received his PhD at the University of Wales, UK. His dissertation focused on the history of Quranic transmission. After graduating, he significantly developed this research, which was published in 2020 as his magnum opus, “History of the Quran – A Critical Study.” His central thesis supports the view that only a single reading of the Quran fulfils the criteria of Tawattur, or uninterrupted mass transmission from the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This work provides an evidentiary argument for the preservation of the Quran against criticism from western academia. It also addresses limitations of classical traditional views of Quran preservation by arguing that there are no legitimate variant readings. This research is pertinent given much discussion on this topic has permeated the Islamic social media sphere recently.
Dr. Saleem has also studied Islam under Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi whose teacher, Hamid Uddin Farahi, was an important scholar of the Quran and the Arabic language in the Indian subcontinent. Amin Ahsan Islahi is well-known for his monumental tafsir, Tadabbur-i-Quran, which applies Farahi’s view that coherence of the text must be a fundamental interpretive principle. Over time, these views were further developed by Islahi and Ghamidi into a Hermeneutic school of thought, sometimes referred to as the Farahi school. This included a conception of Sunnah, which is based on transmission by Tawattur and Ijma (consensus), and not dependent on Khabar-e-Ahad (isolated narrations).
The methodology of the Farahi school has led to distinctive rulings on contemporary issues like Jihad, apostasy, and woman’s rights. This has generated some controversy in Ghamidi’s native Pakistan, especially for his criticism of the blasphemy law. As a result, Ghamidi’s supporters have been killed and he has been forced into exile. Chapters of the organization he founded, Al-Mawrid, are currently active in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, India, and Pakistan. Dr. Saleem is a fellow at Al-Mawrid.