Ideals and Realities, Acceptance and Love, The Scholars of Context
Issue 374 » April 14, 2006 - Rabi Al-Awwal 15, 1427
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Nisa
(The Women)
He who expects all people, irrespective of their circumstances and individual abilities, to realize the ideal vision of Islam is setting a goal which is not easy to attain. This points to a clear recognition of the fact that the human abilities and actual efforts and energies expended vary from one individual to another. This is why there are various levels of worship and obedience, and these will be reflected in the varying levels of the believers in paradise. In his commentary on the Quran, Ibn Jarir al Tabari relates that some people met Abd Allah (the son of Umar ibn al Khattab) in Egypt and said to him: "We see teachings of the Quran which are adhered to by some and not by others. We want to meet the Amir al Muminin (Umar Ibn al Khattaab) to question him about these matters." They went with him to Umar, may God be pleased with him. Abd Allah told his father why they had come and so they were invited to meet him. When they were gathered, Umar looked at the nearest man to him and asked:
Umar then put the same questions to everyone in the audience. When he came to the last person he said:
Umar then asked whether the people of Egypt knew of their coming to make this complaint. Fortunately for them, they said: "No," as Umar threatened: "If they had known, I would have made an example out of you." There is a profound lesson which Umar, may God be pleased with him, clarified in this incident. It is that the ideal vision which the Quran holds out for the Muslim is a model which he must try to realize or attain. Whenever he falls short of this model - as is inevitable - he should realize that God's mercy is indeed vast. When he avoids the major sins at least, he is assuredly on the way to attaining abundant good - if God wills. He has the obligation, however, to constantly strive towards the ideal vision and never to be content with the minimum standard. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Acceptance and Love Besides being a matter of trials and perseverance, calling people to the way of Allah requires being accepted by the people themselves, such that one’s teaching and advice is listened to. The hearts are between the fingers of the Merciful. It is Allah alone who brings the hearts together and who places love in the hearts of the other believers. Allah gives this blessings to those who truly believe and perform the righteous deeds. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stated that love and acceptance is a result of being beloved to Allah, which is a result of purifying one’s soul. The Messenger of Allah said,
Source: |
| Blindspot! |
The Scholars of Context Our scholars lack the necessary deep understanding of the complex issues of the modern world with which their judgements must deal. Though they speak about economy, natural and social science, they have in fact little to offer in any of these fields. When they pronounce on current matters their rulings often contradict one another, and we are unable to decide which of them is best qualified. To make matters worse, they jealously guard their authority in religious prescription (fatwâ). When, for example, specialists in the so-called "profane" sciences try to assist in formulating contemporary Muslim jurisprudence, their efforts are often resented as dangerous intrusions. Though they may have relevant expertise, unless they are specialists in Islamic law they find their opinions dismissed. This is where the need for radical reform is greatest. Our task is to shift the centre of gravity back to the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence. For the texts are not the only normative references in Islamic law. The universe - the "book of the world", to use the expression of the great scholar al Ghazali - represents a source equal to the texts. Instead of being pushed to the margin, scholars and specialists in applied sciences and social sciences must become important contributors to contemporary Islamic ethics. Their mastery of contemporary knowledge positions them eminently to guide the religious scholars’ deliberations, and to produce a transformative, ethically-driven reform rather than the necessity-driven adaptations of today. Textual interpretation specialists, though their competence is beyond dispute, do not have exclusive ownership of ijtihâd. They must be joined at the table by women and men versed in other fields who can help find new directions for reform that are both faithful to Islamic principles and fully engaged with the issues of the day. We desperately need spaces for ijtihâd that reconcile ordinary Muslims with their references by restoring their right to speak, their competences and their authority. The tasks at hand are immense: promoting a critical spirit and educational reform; developing a Islamic ethics of science; proposing alternatives in global economics; transforming the status of women in Muslim communities; creating civic societies and managing violence. To achieve the radical reform we need and hope for, we must shift the centre of gravity away from the religious scholars and back to the centre of the Islamic universe. All must participate and each individual’s conscience must awaken. Alongside our scholars of the texts, in other words, we need scholars of the contexts. Source: |
