THE LEGACY OF ABRAHAM-ISLAM-6
Islam encourages thinking and acquisition of knowledge,
which also include the scientific knowledge (Qur’an;3:190-191). The Qur’an uses
word ‘Ulema’ only once, in the context of scholars, who ponder over the natural
phenomena (scientist):
“Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky
with which We bring forth fruits of various colors? Similarly, in the mountains
there are streaks of various shades including white, red, jet-black rocks.
Likewise men, beasts and cattle have their different colors. In fact, only
those among His servants who possess knowledge fear Allah; surely Allah is
All-Mighty, All-Forgiving.”(Qur’an;35:27,28).
Hence the Islamic civilization
enormously contributed towards the well being of humanity through advancements
in all other fields including science and technology.
The contributions in the advancement of knowledge by the Islamic scholars, scientists and philosophers are enormous, which have been summed up by Encyclopedia Britannica:
The contributions in the advancement of knowledge by the Islamic scholars, scientists and philosophers are enormous, which have been summed up by Encyclopedia Britannica:
“The madrasahs (Islamic
seminaries) generally offered instruction in both the religious sciences and
other branches of knowledge. The contribution of these institutions to the
advancement of knowledge was vast. Muslim scholars calculated the angle of the
ecliptic; measured the size of the Earth; calculated the precession of the
equinoxes; explained, in the field of optics and physics, such phenomena as
refraction of light, gravity, capillary action, and twilight; and developed
observatories for the empirical study of heavenly bodies. They made advances in
the uses of drugs, herbs, and foods for medication; established hospitals with
a system of interns and externs; discovered causes of certain diseases and
developed correct diagnoses of them; proposed new concepts of hygiene; made use
of anesthetics in surgery with newly innovated surgical tools; and introduced
the science of dissection in anatomy. They furthered the scientific breeding of
horses and cattle; found new ways of grafting to produce new types of flowers
and fruits; introduced new concepts of irrigation, fertilization, and soil
cultivation; and improved upon the science of navigation. In the area of
chemistry, Muslim scholarship led to the discovery of such substances as
potash, alcohol, nitrate of silver, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and mercury
chloride. It also developed to a high degree of perfection the arts of
textiles, ceramics, and metallurgy.” It further adds: “The decline of Muslim scholarship
coincided with the early phases of the European intellectual awakening that
these translations were partly instrumental in bringing about.
The translation of most Islamic works into
Latin during the 12th and 13th centuries had a great impact upon the European
Renaissance. As Islam was declining in scholarship and Europe
was absorbing the fruits of Islam's centuries of creative productivity, signs
of Latin Christian awakening were evident throughout the European continent.
The 12th century was one of intensified traffic of Muslim learning into the
Western world through many hundreds of translations of Muslim works, which
helped Europe seize the initiative from Islam
when political conditions in Islam brought about a decline in Muslim
scholarship. By 1300 C.E when all that was worthwhile in Muslim scientific,
philosophical, and social learning had been transmitted to European schoolmen
through Latin translations, European scholars stood once again on the solid
ground of Hellenistic thought, enriched or modified through Muslim and
Byzantine efforts.…..
Most of the important Greek scientific texts were
preserved in Arabic translations. Although the Muslims did not alter the
foundations of Greek science, they made several important contributions within
its general framework. When interest in Greek learning revived in Western Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries,
scholars turned to Islamic Spain for the scientific texts. A spate of
translations resulted in the revival of Greek science in the West and coincided
with the rise of the universities. Working within a predominantly Greek
framework, scientists of the late Middle Ages reached high levels of
sophistication and prepared the ground for the scientific revolution of the
16th and 17th centuries.” According to Will Durant, the Western scholar, “For
five centuries , from 700 to 1200 (C.E), Islam led the world in power, order
and extent of government, in refinement of manners, scholarship and
philosophy”.
The Paradox:
Islam
has been completed as a way of life (Din), through Qur’an and Sunnah of
the Prophet (peace be upon him). At the time of Farewell Pilgrimage (632 C.E)
at Makka, it was Revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “..Today I have perfected your religion for
you, completed my favor upon you and approved Al-Islam as a Din (way of
life for you) (Qur’an;5:3). the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have lived for
eighty one days after this revelation, he did not receive any new order or
commandments regarding permissible or prohibitions. Hence Islam does not
require innovations in its doctrine (fundamentals of faith & pillars of
Islam), teachings and worship rituals. The challenges of modern age can
adequately be met by the competent scholars through Ijtihad; which is the ‘exercise of rational
judgment with independent reasoning’ with in the framework of Qur’an and
Sunnah. Islam emphasizes learning the religious knowledge along with the other
branches of knowledge. People involved in learning of religious sciences have
been exempted for participation in war. Allah says: “It is not proper that all
the believers take the filed (in time of war). From every group with in their
midst some should refrain from going for the war, so that they may obtain the
understanding of deeper knowledge of the Faith (Al-Islam), and teach their
brethren when they return to them so that they may guard themselves (against
evil)”(Qur’an;9:122). Muslims as inheritors of Qur’an are obliged to learn the
message to pass on to others: “We have given the Book as an inheritance to
those of Our servants (Muslims) whom We have chosen..”(Qur’an;35:32). Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his life time
himself prepared the pious companions in the knowledge of Islam, who
very keenly asked the questions to clarify their doubts. Apart from four
rightly guided caliphs, there were many scribes of Qur’an like Zaid bin Thabit,
knowledgeable men like Ibn Abbas and Abdullah bin Umar. The list of such
learned companions is very long, running in to hundreds. The treasure of valuable
traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was carried from teacher to
pupil, father to son and so on. It was segregated through an elaborate process
known as the Science of Hadith and compiled in the form of books of authentic
traditions (Ahadith) lead by Muhammad
ibn Isma'il al- Bukhari (810-870 C.E), Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
(817-875 C.E), Abu Da`ud (817-889 C.E), Tirmidhi
(d 892 C.E), Nasa’i (830-915 C.E) and Ibn Maja (824-886 C.E).
The traditional orthodox Islamic scholars (Ulema) of
all schools of thought have always played very important role in up keep of
Muslims and spread of message of Islam as guardians of treasure of knowledge.
However they developed tendency to remain confined to their respective schools
of thought, enjoying considerable influence over their followers. This
Scholasticism (the close adherence to the methods, traditions, and teachings of
a sect or school) became impediment in the growth of progressive faith of Islam
to meet the challenges of modern developments.
Many scholars, to name few like:
Ibn Hazm (d 1064), Ghazzali (1058-1111) Zamakhshri (d 1144 C.E), Fakhr al Din
Razi (d 1209 C.E), Ibn Taymiyah (1263-1328), Ibn Kathir (d 1373 C.E) made
valuable contributions to advance the Islamic scholarship and knowledge.
Besides some isolated efforts here and three, overall there has been stagnation
in the learning and development process with emphasis on conforming to the
existing knowledge base compiled back in 8th & 9th
centuries C.E. Islam encourages thought process, Allah says: “This Book
(Al-Qur'an) which We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) is highly blessed, so
that they may ponder upon its verses and the men of understanding may learn a
lesson from it.”(Qur'an;38:39). Though the efforts made by scholars like
Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703-1792 C.E) and Shah Wali Ullah (1703-1762 C.E)
to revive the original sprit are noteworthy, however it must be kept in view
that the main thrust of the efforts of Ulema have been mostly directed towards
safeguarding and preserving the dogmatic, ritualistic and institutional
structure of Islam writes Dr.Israr Ahmad: As regards fulfilling the
requirements and demands of reviving Islam in the present Westernized milieu,
and re-establishing the ascendancy of the politic-socio-economic system of Islam,
they are often unaware of even the existence of such need. Therefore, the
services of the Ulema can be seen as a continuation of the efforts – like the
services of present day Ulema are mainly focused on preservation rather than
renascence.
The respectable ancestors were justified in narrowing down
their fields of activity because the cultural and legal system of Islam was
still very much intact in those days, and the predominant need of their time
was merely to preserve the religious faith in its original form and defend it
against alien influences. As a result, all the past reformers concentrated
their energies in the academic fields or at most in the moral and spiritual
purification of common Muslims. None of them tried to launch any organized political
or militant movement, as Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had strict
restrictions on such rebellion against Muslim rulers, as long as Shari’a was
being enforced and no flagrant violation of Islam was being committed.
It was
not considered permissible to revolt even if the rulers are themselves wicked
and oppressive. Therefore as soon as the situation was changed and non Muslims
started to conquer and occupy Muslim lands the reformist efforts quickly turned
in to armed struggles, prominent among them are the Mujahideen movement of
Sayyed Ahmad Shaheed (1786-1831) in India, the Sanussi movement in Libya by
Syyid Muhammad Ibn Ali As-Sanussi (1787-1859) and struggle against Italian
occupation up to 1932, the Mahdist movement initiated by Muhammad Ahmad (1844-1885)
to resist British invasion in Sudan. Imam Shāmil (1797-1871) struggled against
Russians occupation of Dagestan-Chechnya
lasting for 25 years (1834-1859), which was again revived recently and goes on.
The Afghan Jihad started in nineties, initially against Russians
occupation, has turned against their benefactor US. The armed struggle in Palestine Iraq Lebanon
It is obvious that even today the
traditional Ulema are following in the footsteps of earlier reformers who had
worked under completely different conditions. In other words traditional Muslim
scholars have in general restricted themselves and their abilities within a
rather narrow circle of activity which is essentially defensive rather than
revivalist. Moreover even the task of defending Islamic doctrines is not being
properly done by the Ulema as they are more often than not completely out of
touch with developments in contemporary philosophical, social, and scientific
thought. Imam Ghazzali (1058-1111 C.E) and Imam Ibn Taymiyah (1263-1328 C.E)
were able to defeat the onslaught of Greek Philosophy and Aristotelian logic
only after a careful and deep study of these invading ideas. Ibn Taymiyah
employed a massive battery of philosophic, theological, and legal arguments
against every shade of Bid’ah
(deviation) and called for a return to the beliefs and practices of the
pious ancestors. Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624 C.E) a reformer in India
reemphasized Qur’anic orthodoxy and tempering Hindu pantheistic influences and
reasserting what he deemed the clear distinctions between God, man, and the
world. Despite some impact, however, attempts of this kind remained isolated
and were either ignored or reintegrated into the mainstream, until the coming
of the modern reformers.
Unlike the doctrinal and
philosophical movements of the Middle Ages, the modern movements were chiefly
concerned with social and moral reform. The first such movement was the
Wahhabi, named after its founder, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, which emerged in Arabia in the 18th century and became a vast revivalist
movement with offshoots throughout the Muslim world. The Wahhabi movement aimed
at reviving Islam by purifying it of un-Islamic influences, particularly those
that had compromised its original monotheism. Wahhabi theology and
jurisprudence, based, respectively, on the teachings of Ibn Taymiyah and on the
legal school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal Deoband
School India India Pakistan Afghanistan
Similarly in order to deal with
the modern ideologies that are seeking to destroy the foundations of Islamic faith
one needs to first clearly discriminate between what is and what is not against
the spirit of the Qur’an. Afterwards one can refute that part of the invading
ideologies which are in conflict with the Qur’anic spirit and to accept and
incorporate after reconciling that part which is in accordance with its spirit
in to a new and contemporary exposition of Islam without compromising on the
fundamentals of Islam. Unfortunately this is not being done by the traditional
scholars (Ulema). Dr.Israr Ahmed has rightly pointed out that; the role of
Ulema today, instead of being that of an engine capable of propelling the ship
of Islam forward, is actually nothing more than that of a heavy anchor which prevents the ship from
drifting away in any wrong direction. Although, under the present
circumstances, even this is a commendable and substantial service, the fact
remains that this is by no means enough. Another aspect of the activity of
Ulema that needs correction is their usually strong emphasis on sectarian matters.
A serious stagnation of thought along with dogmatism has set in, ever since the
practice of Ijtihad (‘independent reasoning’ as opposed to ‘taqlid’-imitation)
was done away with. The religious seminaries and Ulema of every sect are
therefore spending most of their time and energies in defending and propagating
their particular brands of dogma and rituals, often insisting that any
variation in such matters is nothing short of apostasy.
The doctrine of Takfir; is being used in the modern era
in sanctioning violence against leaders of Islamic states who are deemed
insufficiently religious. Takfir is a
pronouncement that, some one is an unbeliever (kafir) and no longer a Muslim. It has become a central ideology of
militant groups such as those in Egypt Afghanistan Pakistan
The 19th and 20th-century reformers include Jamal ad-Din
al-Afghani (1838-1897), Muhammad 'Abduh (1849-1905), but Muhammad Iqbal
(1877-1938), is the first modern Muslim philosopher to deal with the
intellectual challenges faced by Muslim Ummah in any comprehensive manner. He
made an effort to address the real issues, by saying: “With the reawakening of
Islam, therefore, it is necessary to examine, in an independent spirit, what Europe has thought and how far the conclusions reached
there can help us in the revision and if necessary, reconstruction, of
theological thought in Islam.” Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) initiated struggle
for Islamic revival in India India India Pakistan Egypt
Due to lack of interest in religion by the Muslims in
general and the rulers in particular, and later colonization of large part of
Muslim world, the responsibility to acquire even basic knowledge of Islam was
left to the religious scholars only.
The Madaris
which produced the scholars like Jabir ibn Hayyan, Abu Musa Al-Khwarizmi (Algorizm), Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi
(Alkindus), Ar-Razi,
Al-Farabi, Alhazen, Al-Biruni,
Avicenna, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and many more, by teaching all
branches of knowledge including mathematic, algebra, astronomy, science and
technology, medicine and social sciences along with religious sciences,
philosophy and logic, teaching in Madaris
was restricted to religious sciences only. This void created a new class of
semi-literate religious scholars (mullah) devoid of knowledge of science,
political, economic, social and other fields, so important for the smooth management
of Muslim societies. Instead of leading the prayers (salah) and
delivering the weekly sermon (khutba) on Fridays, the Muslim rulers
encouraged and created a class of Mullahs (religious teachers, cleric)
with priestly tendencies alien to Islam. Mostly these semi literate people
are leading prayers in mosques as prayer leader (Imam), the function
which can be performed by any Muslim. Since ordinary Muslims are dependent upon
Mullah for the socio-religious functions like Nikah (marriage contract), reciting
Adhan (prayer call) and Qur’anic
verses in the ear of new born babies, washing the dead, burial prayer etc, the
Mullah enjoys considerable influence over ordinary Muslims. While delivering
sermons, specially on weekly Friday prayer congregation they do not hesitate to
deliver talk on any topic be it politics, economics, social, sexual relations
or international affairs without much background knowledge.
No one among the
audience, even an expert can dare to disagree or challenge the Mullah, because it may result in to dire
consequences like being falsely declared as apostate, liable to be killed. Many
such incidence have been reported in press. They are main contributor of
sectarianism, intolerance and militancy, though there are some exceptionally knowledgeable
and tolerant among them as well. The Russian occupation of Afghanistan USA Pakistan
The graduates of these institutions should not only be
looking for a mosque to earn their livelihood as Imam (priest), but may
join other professions as well. There is strong need of policy shift at the
national and international level to bring them to mainstream. The superfluous
priesthood, (the form it has taken now) has to be restricted by the society
whereby each Muslim should acquire normal religious knowledge to perform
routine religious functions and reduce dependence on Mullah. A class of genuine
religious scholars well versed in the theology and comparative religions should
always be an asset for Ijtihad,
guidance and education of the masses in their religious obligations. The
massive religious mobilization by Tablighi Jama’t, by and large is
playing an important role with in the larger process of Islamic Renaissance,
with regards to its effort for the regeneration of fundamentals of faith among
the masses, though some people express reservations. The efforts of non
traditional scholars due to their rational appeal for the educated people is
highly commendable. Many modern educated Muslims have been encouraged to come
closer to Islam.
The Broader
Perspective:
A true Muslim adheres to the convictions, the religious
beliefs; confession of faith or the basic article of Muslim faith and
practices. The sources of the Islamic Creed are Qur'an and Sunnah (the life,
actions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him). Islam does not
teach an exclusive doctrine, and is not meant exclusively for any single race
or people. The Jews claimed their faith for themselves, and the Christianity in
the beginning was a sect of the Jews. Even the modern organized Christian
churches, though they have been, consciously or unconsciously, influenced by
the Time-spirit, including the historical fact of Islam, yet cling to the idea
of Vicarious Atonement, which means that all who do not believe; that Jesus
died on Cross as a sacrifice to get rid the humanity of Original Sin, or who
lived previously to the death of Christ are spiritually at a disadvantage. The
approach of Islam is entirely different. Islam existed before the preaching of
Muhammad (peace be upon him) on this earth: the Qur’an expressly asks Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) to follow the religion of Prophet Abraham, peace
be upon him (Qur’an;16:123). It should be kept in view that the Night Journey
of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Mecca to Jerusalem, immediately
preceding his Ascension to heavens (mair’aj), was evidently meant to show that Islam is not a new doctrine but a continuation
of the same divine message which was preached by the prophets of old, who had
Jerusalem as their spiritual home, This view is supported by Traditions (quoted
in Fath al-Bari VII, 158), according to which the Prophet (peace be upon
him), during his Night Journey, also offered prayers at Yathrib, Sinai,
Bethlehem, etc. His meeting with other prophets, mentioned in this connection,
symbolize the same idea. The well-known Traditions to the effect that on the
occasion of his Night Journey the Prophet (peace be upon him) led a prayer in
the Temple of Jerusalem (Al Aqsa Mosque; The distant place of worship), in
which all other prophets ranged themselves behind him, expresses in a
figurative manner the doctrine that Islam, as preached by the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him), is the fulfillment and perfection of mankind's religious
development. He was the last and the greatest of God's message-bearers. Islam
is the best Din (way of life) because its teachings are not restricted
to doctrinaire rhetoric but practical solutions for the problems of mankind at
the individual and collective levels. Islam offers the best way of life because
it is a practical, universal religion
not confined to any ethnic group or nationality but to the humanity, ever since
its existence; hence also called the natural faith or the eternal faith.
Therefore Islam should be viewed in its broader perspective as true legacy of
Abraham for peace and salvation of humanity. Allah says: “Verily this
Brotherhood of yours (Muslims) is a single Brotherhood and I am your Lord and
Cherisher: therefore serve Me Alone”(Qur’an;21:92).
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