Background
Taha, Mahmud was born in 1908 in village of the Blue Nile province.
Taha, Mahmud was born in 1908 in village of the Blue Nile province.
Self-taught; studied religious sciences and especially sufism (al-Hallag, alGhazali and Ibn Arabi) in his thirties, after a long involvement in the practical problems of agriculture.
Nationalist; fought against British occupation in his youth, imprisoned in 1940 for the first time. After the Independence of Sudan (1956), founded a political party. The Republican Brothers and strongly opposed all the dictatorial regimes of his country.
His religious ideas were condemned by al-Azhar's ulama.
Taha emphasized the need to renew Islamic legislation, whilst maintaining its grounding in traditional law, in order to make it an effective tool in rebuilding Muslim Society. He rejected a literal interpretation of the rules and penalties prescribed by the shariah and argued that Muhammad regulated Muslim life by law when he was living in Medina but, as a prophet sent to all men, delivered a noble ethical perspective, far higher than mere social legislation. This noble perspective, whose aim is the sincere worship of God is included in the Meccan chapters of the Koran and was later codified in the sunnah. The sunnah is the basis of Modern Islam, the Islam of eschatology, addressed to all humanity. The second mission of Islam, according to Taha, leads to a threefold equality: in economics by socialism; in politics by democracy; in society by the suppression of any discrimination.