The "Preface" to the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion (1987), edited by Mircea Eliade, highlighted the "radical change of perspective" and the "impressive advances in information and understanding" that had affected religious studies and that underlined the impetus behind a new Encyclopedia. In his entry, "Islam: An Overview," Fazlur Rahman sought to capture and synthesize some of these changes and advances in rewriting an understanding of the Muslim strand in the religious history of humankind. His continuing influence on scholarship in the field is a testimony to his contribution to The Encyclopedia of Religion and to wider scholarship on Islam.

Fazlur Rahman belonged to a small group of Muslim academics who received training in two different contexts: a traditional Muslim one (primarily from his parents and also from private tutors) and a modern, Western academic experience. He became over time one...