Ma Zhu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Chinese goddess of the sea, see Mazu.

Ma Zhu (馬注) (1640 – after 1710) was a Chinese Hanafi-Maturidi scholar.[1][2] Ma was noted for his combining of Confucian and Islamic values in his philosophy.[3][4]

Part of a series on
Islam in China
Top of the Great Mosque of Xi'an
History of Islam in China
By dynasty
Rebellions and revolts
Post-dynastic China
Major figures
Culture
  • Cities
  • Regions
Groups
Allah-green.svg Islam portal • Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China portal
  • v
  • t

Biography[]

Ma was born in in Yunnan Province during the reign of the Qing dynasty. His father died when Ma was young. He is claimed to be a descendant of Ajall Shams al-Din Omar, a Muslim Mongol general, and of the Prophet Mohammed.[5]

Philosophy[]

Ma Zhu's philosophy focused heavily on social relations and interactions between the sexes. He theorized that, per Confucian and Islamic values, an ideal society would be one in which men dominated public affairs while women would serve in a subservient role as domestic helpmates.[3] The philosopher opposed women performing roles outside of the home, stating "Even a talented woman should not take care of non-domestic affairs." Ma took inspiration for his ideal role for women from the story of Adam and Eve, in which Allah created Eve from the flesh of Adam.[3] This indicated to Ma that men and women were not intended to be of equal standing in society. In his work Qingzhen Zhinan (清真指南), Ma noted,

"Husband and wife are one entity. However, created out of her husband, the wife should naturally obey him. Their love is locally described as dear as that between brothers and sisters."

Ma's philosophy also denoted the distinctions between the traditional Chinese paired forces of Ming and Xing, Yin and yang. According to Ma, Ming represented what was preordained by Allah, while Xing represented by what was acquirable though social conditioning and exposure to earthly human existence.[3] Similarly, in Ma's view yin represented the earthly acquired and yang represented the divinely innate. Parts from both were required to form any human, but men and women differed in terms of how much of each respective force they embodied. In Qingzhen Zhinan, Ma posited that men were composed primarily of yang while women favoured yin.[3] Thus, Zhu concluded that men's dispositions favoured sacredness and nobility in contrast to the worldly and "debased" dispositions of women. Ma also noted that their reliance on yin granted females a propensity towards greed, hesitation, impropriety, and contemptuousness towards the poor. However, Ma also believed that women should strive to be similar to famous women in Islam in order to overcome their evil proclivities. Ma mentioned , Khadiyah, and Fatima as examples of women who had overcome the immoral tendencies of their sex and become closer to Allah.[3]

In addition to his views on gender, Ma also advocated for both men and women to pursue an Islamic education.[3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "الماتريدية وآثارها في الفكر الإنساني بدول طريق الحرير.. الصين نموذجًا". Alfaisal Magazine.
  2. ^ "الحنفية الماتريدية في بلاد الصين". midad.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Jaschok, Maria; Shui, Shui Jingjun (11 October 2013). The History of Women's Mosques in Chinese Islam. Routledge. ISBN 9781136838804.
  4. ^ Brill Academic Publishers. (11 October 2013). The encyclopaedia of Islam. ISBN 9781136838736. OCLC 232958476.
  5. ^ Three eminent Chinese ‘Ulama’ of Yunnan https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02666959008716154?journalCode=cjmm19
Retrieved from ""