
By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
31
May 2016
Why reform and what is meant by
reformation? The Quran is the word of God. For a Muslim, that is a given and
not a word from the Quran can be changed or its meaning altered. The question
is whether the word of God in the Quran is understood correctly or has the
meaning been distorted through “interpretations”. If it is distorted, and if
the correct meaning can be established through a rigorous process using the
Quran itself, and if the correct meaning so established addresses the issues
that we face today, then reform is simply a matter of discarding the
distortions and adopting the correct meaning. Reform is then going back to the
pristine Islam of the Quran. Fortunately this is the case which makes reform
easy provided the Muslims agree to the “correct meaning” established through a
rigorous process.
Why is reform necessary? Islamic
societies are in a state of disequilibrium. Islam put the Muslims ahead of
Europe by a thousand years in every way. Europe has however caught up learning
from the Muslims initially,and then applying reason to all that made the
Muslims excel, and then outpaced the Muslims in almost every field and are
ahead by at least fifty years. The advanced world is ahead in individual
freedoms, gender equality, human rights, science and technology and the
behavioral sciences. This state of disequilibrium has forced the Muslims to
look into the causes for their great decline in relative terms. Added to that
is their political subservience to the US either “voluntarily” or their
subjugation through war. The deep chasm between a glorious past and the current
reality of his abject existence, has made him cling on more tightly to patterns
of behavior that are the cause of his failures rather than adopt the right
behavior even though the Quran says:
13:11 Allah does not change the
condition of a people unless they change themselves.
Or
8:53 Allah will never change the grace
which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in themselves.
From verse 8:53, it should be clear to
the Muslims, that the grace that Allah once bestowed on them in the past, has
changed because they changed what is in themselves. This change came about
gradually over the centuries through a very systematic corruption of Islamic
theology. It is true that the Muslims are in their current state because they
have gone far away from the pristine Islam of the Quran. It is Islam that made
the early Muslims practice religious tolerance and liberated the people who
came under their political control from the religious persecution that they
suffered under the previous regimes. Today it is the Muslims who have become
oppressors of the minorities and religious persecutors. The Prophet (pbuh)
fought battles only to end religious persecution and the Quran refers only to
the oppressors and religious persecutors as “Kafir” and this word is not used
in general for people of any faith. Today it is the Muslims who need to be
fought against to end their persecution and they have become the “Kafirs” of
this age. The example of those who are successful is before us. Can we learn
from their example? Yes, we can, if we do not shut our minds to it.
The Quran, although the most widely
read, is the least understood. There are very few Muslims who read the Quran to
understand what it says. Most read it only for liturgical purpose to earn
“rewards”. Those who do read, restrict their thinking
only to what they have been taught to understand, rather than comprehending the
real meaning of the words in front of them. This is evident when one considers
their understanding of key Quranic words and passages. They understand only
what they have been taught to understand in madrasas, through sermons, or commentaries.
In other words, their understanding of the Quran is not so much based upon what
the Quran actually says, but upon what they have been taught that the Quran
says.
Attributes
of the Quran that help in establishing its meaning
(27:1) These are verses of the
Qur´an,-a book that makes (things) clear;
(18:28) (It is) a Qur´an in Arabic,
without any crookedness (therein): in order that they may guard against Evil.
(4:82) Do they not consider the Qur´an
(with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found
therein much discrepancy.
(18:69) We have not instructed the
(Prophet) in Poetry, nor is it meet for him: this is no less than a Message and
a Qur´an making things clear:
(39:23) Allah has revealed (from time
to time) the most beautiful Message in the form of a Book, consistent with
itself, (yet) repeating (its teaching in manifold forms): the skins of those
who fear their Lord tremble thereat; then their skins and their hearts do
soften to the celebration of Allah´s praises. Such is the guidance of Allah: He
guides therewith whom He pleases, but such as Allah leaves to stray, can have
none to guide.
(10:82) "And Allah by His words
doth prove and establish His truth, however much the sinners may hate it!"
(9:125) But those in whose hearts is a
disease,- it will add doubt to their doubt, and they will die in a state of
Unbelief.
The important points to note are:
That the Quran is not
a book of poetry. Poets use key words in such a fashion that the word can take
all or several of its many meanings and yet the verse remains intelligible or
the same word is used in a single verse with different meanings. This is a
characteristic of poetry. The Quran makes it clear that it is not a book of
poetry and therefore it uses words to make the meaning clear and not to confuse
or allow different interpretations. The key takeaway here is that one should
not interpret the Quran as one would interpret poetry and debate about the
different meanings that its verse can take but should take the simple and straightforward
meaning communicated by it and as consistent with the rest of the Book. This is
especially so when it concerns the ‘Muhkamat’
verses that instruct a Muslim in the right practice or conduct. As it concerns
the allegorical verses, these are capable of being taken either literally or
allegorically without affecting the manner in which a Muslim is required to
conduct his affairs.
The message is repeated taking manifold forms that assist in
understanding the intended message or the meaning of the verses. Any mistake in
understanding a verse therefore gets easily corrected.
Any doubt regarding the correct understanding of the meaning
of any verse of the Quran can be settled with reference to other verses of the
Quran itself. The Quran is its best and most comprehensive commentary.
The consistency, clarity and lack of discrepancy that the
Quran shows is phenomenal. It is a book of over 6000 verses and yet one would
be hard pressed to find any word that takes two or more meanings across these
6000+ verses. The consistency is therefore not within a verse or surah alone,
but across the Book. With such consistency, only someone who is careless can go
wrong or someone “in whose heart is a disease” can go astray, or someone
lacking faith in the wisdom of the Quran and wanting to replace the correct
meaning with one that he thinks makes better sense!
However, the scholars “interpret” the
Quran in a manner that has made the Book a book with much discrepancy. To deal
with the contradictions, they incorrectly invoke the doctrine of abrogation
which does not apply to the Quran at all but to the previous books of revelation
because “for each period was a book
revealed (13:38)”.
(2:106)
None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We
substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power
over all things?
If the Quran contains abrogated verses,
then the claim that it is a Book without discrepancy, without crookedness,
consistent with itself, and a Book that makes everything clear, becomes a false
claim. The doctrine of abrogation therefore
cannot apply to the Quran.
The Quran is a Book that enables us to
understand the real meaning of every verse without ambiguity eliminating the
need for interpretation. Those who merely interpret, fall short of the required
discipline because they are unaware perhaps that it is possible to arrive at
the true meaning. The true meaning of any verse is the meaning or
interpretation that does not contradict the clear meaning any other verse. If
the interpretation of any verse contradicts the clear meaning of another verse,
then it is an incorrect interpretation and not the true meaning of the verse.
Take the verse 2:256 “Let there be no
compulsion in religion” which by the way is a Medinian verse. No other verse
can be interpreted in a manner that contradicts this verse and there cannot be
another verse that negates this verse. Once such a discipline is followed, the
whole of the Quran can be correctly understood by itself without relying on
commentaries or the context or supported by the alleged sayings of the Prophet. To say that the Quran cannot be understood by
itself, is to deny it’s oft repeated claim that it is a Book that makes things
clear.
To say that the message of the Meccan
Quran is inclusive and tolerant but the message of the Medinian Quran is
warlike, intolerant and exclusive tantamount to saying that the Medinian Quran
contradicts the Meccan Quran. There is no contradiction in the Quran
whatsoever. The Meccan Quran contains very clear warning of what is likely to
unfold for the religious persecutors in very clear terms. In my articles, I
have covered the entire Prophetic mission of Muhammad (pbuh) covering both the
Meccan and Medinian periods. There is no
discontinuity in the message let alone the verse of an early period
contradicting a verse of the later period. Please read the complete series:
1.The Story of the Prophetic
mission of Muhammad (pbuh) from the Qu’ran (part 1): The early opposition
2. The
Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (pbuh) From the Qu’ran (Part 2): The
Clear Warning to the Meccan Pagans
3. The
Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (Pbuh) In the Qu’ran (Part 3):
Important Pointers from the Stories of the Prophets
4. The
Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (Pbuh) In the Qu’ran (Part 4): The
Medinian Period
5. The
Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Qu’ran (Concluding
Part) Summary
6. The Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (pbuh) From the
Qu’ran (Part 6): The People of the Book and Jiziya
Systematic
Corruption of Islamic Theology
As to how our scholars have
systematically corrupted Islamic theology, please read:
1. What Is Kufr And Who Is A Kafir In The Quran? (Full and Revised
Text of the New Age Islam Series on the Subject)
2. The
Much discussed and debated Medinian Verses Relating to Fighting
3. The Politics of Religion and the Changing Concept of Shuhuda
over the Years
What
Path Must Our Young take?
What can prevent our youth from being
misguided by the charlatans? Or how can we channelize the idealism of the youth
in the right direction? It is by informing them of what makes a good Muslim as
per the authentic message of the Quran. This is covered in the article:
The Role Models in the Quran
There are two very clear paths - One is
of Allah’s guidance, His pleasure and success in both this world and the
Hereafter and the other the path of perdition.
In Surah Fateha we pray to Allah that He may show us the path of those
on whom is Allah’s grace and not the path of those on whom is Allah’s wrath and
those who go astray (Siraat al-Lazeenaan'amta 'Alaihimghayril-Maghdoobi 'Alaihimwa
Lad-Daaalleen). Allah makes clear in verse 4:69 who these people are on whom
is Allah’s grace. The article cited above covers the characteristics of people
on whom is Allah’s grace.
(21:18) Nay, We hurl the Truth against
falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold, falsehood doth perish! Ah!
woe be to you for the (false) things ye ascribe (to Us).
My articles seek to establish the truth
and knock out the falsehood on which the terror mongers thrive. The problem
however is that their ideology is not very different from the corrupted Islamic
theology supported by the Ulema of all sects. In the past, Allah has punished
entire nations for corrupting His message and scriptures and spreading
mischief. If we fail to see the truth and take corrective steps, the history of
other nations on which the wrath of Allah descended, will repeat for the Muslim
Ummah.
Naseer
Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT
consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible
positions for over three decades. He is a frequent contributor to
NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/ijtihad,-rethinking-islam/naseer-ahmed,-new-age-islam/a-complete-agenda-for-reform-in-islamic-theology/d/107484
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