Rethinking Tradition As Revelation In Islam

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Rethinking Tradition as Revelation in Islam

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2022-09-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798354160488

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Rethinking Tradition as Revelation in Islam by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

Fazlur Rahman referred to what he perceived was the "intellectual suicide" of traditional ulema. Jurists refer to a responsible, sane person as a mukallaf. A person not in his or her right mind is not equipped to pronounce authoritatively on issues relating to religion. Pronouncing on matters relating to Islam requires a person to be a mukallaf, to be in his or her right mind. Being in one's right mind requires the ability and willingness to use of reason. The jurist that refrains from the use of God-given reason is not just ungrateful; he or she fails the test of a responsible or rational person, a mukallaf. The person that refrains from using reason is irrational. An irrational person is technically insane. A mukallaf, however, must be a "sane" person. By refraining from using reason, traditional exegetes and jurists withdrew from the ranks of the mukallafuna. Thereby they barred themselves from commenting with authority on matters of religion. By refraining from the use of reason, they forfeited their right to be treated as mukallafuna (plural of mukallaf). As a result, their right to pronounce with authority on Islam, in particular on exegesis and jurisprudence, is rendered problematic. The fact that traditional exegesis and jurisprudence are based on the rejection of reason renders the pronouncements of traditionists unreliable. The Muslim umma waned because it turned from revelation to tradition. This transpired under the sway of persons with an aversion to reason. The reluctance to use reason prevented Muslims from understanding and therefore following revelation. For following the guidance of Allah requires attaining knowledge of the Book of Allah. And accessing knowledge of revelation requires the use of reason. By prohibiting the use of reason in religion, traditionists do not just prevent themselves from understanding religion; they also prevent the pious from understanding and therefore following the Book of Allah. They hinder the pious from fi sabilillah: "The Qur'an was neglected almost entirely." [1] "From the time the Muslim community abandoned the Qur'an and was overcome by confusion and error, its unity was lost." [2] "The Muslim Ummah experienced these disasters because it had become alienated from the eternal truths of Islam." [3] As a different writer put it: "the one and only reason for the social and cultural decay of the Muslims consisted in the fact that they had gradually ceased to follow the teachings of Islam." [4] [1] Taha Jabir Alwani, Islamic Thought: an Approach to Reform, IIIT, 2006, p. 36, accessed on 12 May 2021: https: //www.academia.edu/43889716/Islamic_Thought_An_Approach_to_Reform_?email_work_card=title [2] Taha Jabir Alalwani, Apostasy in Islam: A Historical and Scriptural Analysis, Original Edition Translated from Arabic by Nancy Roberts Abridged by Alison Lake, The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2011, p. 18. https: //www.academia.edu/43889653/Apostasy_in_Islam_A_Historical_and_Scriptural_Analysis. [3] Taha Jabir al-Alwani, "Taqlid and Ijtihad (Part One)," in Issues in Contemporary Islamic Thought, pp. 82-96, Compiled from the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, IIIT, 2005, p. 82, accessed on 17 Sep. 2020: https: //iiit.org/wp-content/uploads/IssuesinContemporarIslamicThought_Combined.pdf [4] Muhammad Asad, Islam at the Crossroads, Kazi Publications Inc, 1995 p. xvii.

Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought

Author : Daniel W. Brown
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1999-03-04
Category : History
ISBN : 0521653940

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Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought by Daniel W. Brown Pdf

An exploration of the impact of modernity on religious authority.

Following Muhammad

Author : Carl W. Ernst
Publisher : ReadHowYouWant.com
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2009-07-27
Category : Islam
ISBN : 9781442994065

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Following Muhammad by Carl W. Ernst Pdf

Avoiding the traps of sensational political expos and specialized scholarly Orientalism, Carl W. Ernst introduces readers to the profound spiritual resources of Islam while clarifying diversity and debate within the tradition. Framing his argument in terms of religious studies, Ernst describes how Protestant definitions of religion and anti-Muslim prejudice have affected views of Islam in Europe and America. He also covers the contemporary importance of Islam in both its traditional settings and its new locations and provides a context for understanding extremist movements like fundamentalism. He concludes with an overview of critical debates on important contemporary issues such as gender and veiling, state politics, and science and religion.

Rethinking Islam in Europe

Author : Zekirija Sejdini
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2022-01-19
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783110752465

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Rethinking Islam in Europe by Zekirija Sejdini Pdf

Islamic theology had to wait a long time before being granted a place in the European universities. That happened above all in German-speaking areas, and this led to the development of new theological and religious pedagogical approaches. This volume presents one such approach and discusses it from various perspectives. It takes up different theological and religious pedagogical themes and reflects on them anew from the perspective of the contemporary context. The primary focus is on contemporary challenges and possible answers from the perspective of Islamic theology and religious pedagogy. It discusses general themes like the location of Islamic theology and religious pedagogy at secular European universities. The volume also explores concrete challenges, such as the extent to which Islamic religious pedagogy can be conceptualised anew, how it should deal with its own theological tradition in the contemporary context, and how a positive attitude towards worldview and religious plurality can be cultivated. At issue here are foundations of a new interpretation of Islam that takes into account both a reflective approach to the Islamic tradition and the contemporary context. In doing so, it gives Muslims the opportunity to take their own thinking further.

The Second Pillar of Islam

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2023-10-10
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798863952949

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The Second Pillar of Islam by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

In traditional Islam, ethics are being replaced by rituals. Why are there no books in Bukhari on justice, reason, freedom, or ethics? Even Shatibi refrained from treating justice as a purpose of Islamic law. The de-emphasis on ethics, in tandem with the enforcement of religiosity is reducing the relevance of Islam. Muslims turn to Islamism and related perspectives because they are unable to find justice in tradition, which is becoming less relevant as a result of disregarding key teachings of the Book of Allah. The failure to treat non-Muslims with justice is palpable in the teaching of jihad al-talab, an extremist rendition of religion without any foundation in revelation. The pushback for unjust efforts to propagate Islam by the sword, based on traditions according to which "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believer," resulted in defeats for the umma, bringing an end to every empire without exception. For building an empire upon a corrupt knowledge of revelation is to build on weak foundations. The repression of reason enabled the misunderstanding of revelation and the treatment of tradition as "revelation." The repression of reason stifled different perspectives, thereby restricting progress. Traditional exegesis and jurisprudence rest on premises. A premise is an assertion that provides a pillar of the analysis. Premises take the form of presuppositions. These presuppositions could be in accord with, indifferent to, or in defiance of a discourse a particular exegesis endeavours to articulate. As a matter of principle, all presuppositions in the exegesis of revelation should be derived from revelation, should be in agreement with it. If for any reason a particular presupposition veers from or defies revelation, the analysis based upon that presupposition becomes flawed and requires being rehabilitated or rejected. This transpired with several presuppositions of traditional exegesis and jurisprudence. They include the perceptions that revelation is flawed because it is "unclear," "incomplete," and "incoherent." These presupposition emerged as a result of the reticence to use reason in acquiring knowledge of revelation. They paved the way for recourse to a flawed exegesis, based on a misunderstanding and even defiance of the teaching of revelation, viz. that revelation is "clear," "complete," and "coherent." Hence the entire edifice of traditional exegesis and jurisprudence requires being re-constructed, this time on the basis of presuppositions that are in agreement with what they seek to "explain," the teaching of revelation. Further tenets also veer from revelation. They encompass the perception that tradition is revelation, that reason is subordinate to tradition, the assumption that isnad matter more than matn in the verification of traditions, the teaching of predestination, the teaching of abrogation, the teaching of jihad al-talab, and the perception that the globe is a battlefield between the dar al-Islam and the dar al-harb. The premises that tradition is revelation, that it judges, abrogates and is able to replace revelation are particularly problematic because they are expressions of scriptural and juristic shirk. Thus, the greatest weakness of traditional exegesis is its adulteration by procedural shirk. The greatest weakness of traditional jurisprudence is its adulteration by juristic shirk. This adulteration renders traditional exegesis and jurisprudence problematic and ill-equipped to provide reliable scriptural and juristic analysis.Traditionists assert that there is no morality without religion. That is a far-fetched proposition, betraying an indifference to reason. For we recognise particular practices as evil from the evil they bring. But the articulation of ethics without reference to revelation requires recourse to causality, the awareness that acts produce effects, good or evil, according to the action taken.

Removing the Veil

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2022-02-27
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798424081149

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Removing the Veil by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

Much debate has taken place about the veil, a product of tradition rather than a requirement of revelation. However, there is a different veil that is of greater concern. This is the veil of ignorance. This veil was placed on revelation, "covering up" its teaching. The veil encompasses tradition and the rulings of the ulema. Tradition evolved from revelation. In time, tradition superseded and even surpassed that which gave birth to it in the first place: revelation. We refer to this as the second of three "theological coup d'états." These took place early in Muslim intellectual history when a particular authority was "replaced" by a different aspirant to rule. The first "coup" was the subordination of reason to tradition. The third "coup" was the subordination of revelation, tradition and rationality to the ulema. The subordination of revelation to tradition led to confusion. Hence, it is necessary to free the truth from what is covering it. Revelation was revealed 1,400 years ago, and there is no shortage of attempts to hide it. This would not be the first time that the adversaries of revelation attempted to taint religious knowledge. How did this happen? First, reason was repressed in favour of tradition. Second, tradition was presented as "revelation." The effort to "explain" revelation by recourse to tradition, however, resulted in an "eclipse" of revelation by tradition. The subordination of revelation to tradition is encapsulated in the expression that "the sunna judges the Quran," popular among traditional exegetes. The "addition" to revelation in the form of tradition was to mitigate flaws in revelation. These encompass "ambiguity," "inconsistency" (the presence of contradictory verses), and "incompleteness." Referring to revelation as "ambiguous," "incoherent," and "incomplete," however, suggests that revelation is "flawed." For example, it is alleged that revelation does not provide sufficient "detail" on the right way to pray. These assertions are made notwithstanding the fact that revelation presents itself as "clear," "consistent" and "detailed," and makes no reference to any "additional" revelation. In different words, the effort to "explain," "make consistent," and "detail" revelation is predicated on a rejection of key attributes of revelation: perspicacity, consistency and perfection. The concept of a "supplementary" revelation of tradition is a juristic invention. It aims to present an alternative understanding of religion. This perception is grounded in tradition but presented in the attire of revelation. The relationship between tradition and revelation requires rethinking. It requires an epistemological paradigm shift. For the traditional paradigm has failed to live up to expectations. The relationship between reason and revelation reflects the relationship between Allah and man. The relationship between reason and revelation received substantial attention. It is the subject of extensive enquiry. What is the right way to use reason to understand revelation? Traditional Muslims are reticent to use reason. They have been informed that it is wrong to use reason in matters of religion. To be a Muslim, we are admonished, requires the abdication of reason upon the altar of tradition. The prophet allegedly warned against reason-based exegesis of revelation, referring to it as a form of non-belief. But this advice appears to go against the teaching of revelation, that exhorts us to do exactly the reverse, to use reason. May we assume that traditional ulema understood everything in the right way? Especially if their methodology precluded recourse to reason? Are we to believe that there is no room for further reflection? The Mutazilites (rationalists) were faulted for allegedly elevating reason above revelation. The traditionists, however, went further than that. They elevated not just tradition but also their rulings above revelation.

Rethinking Islam

Author : Mohammed Arkoun,Robert D. Lee
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2019-06-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000309959

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Rethinking Islam by Mohammed Arkoun,Robert D. Lee Pdf

A Berber from the mountainous region of Algeria, Mohammed Arkoun is an internationally renowned scholar of Islamic thought. In this book, he advocates a conception of Islam as a stream of experience encompassing majorities and minorities, Sunni and Shi'a, popular mystics and erudite scholars, ancient heroes and modern critics. A product of Islamic

Rethinking the Jurisprudence of Islam

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2024-01-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9798876111746

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Rethinking the Jurisprudence of Islam by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

Islam is the third of the three Abrahamic faiths. They share the heritage of monotheism. But Muslims are perceived with concern. They experience tensions not just with non-Muslims, but also with Muslims of related persuasions. The RAND Corporation Report highlights a range of challenges of the umma. These challenges stem from the politicisation of religion. Hawkish ulama re-interpreted Islam to justify unlawful wars of territorial expansion of the empire. Hawkish jurists reinvented Islam as Islamism, as a religion of war rather than peace. They misinterpreted the teaching of Islam by recourse to tradition and the teaching of abrogation. Revelation was "interpreted" to endorse practices that are against Islam. These encompass treating the refusal to pay zakat as deserving the death penalty. It also includes waging wars of aggression to "propagate" Islam by the sword. The Book of Allah refrains from treating apostasy as a crime punishable by death. The prophet did not take any person's life for apostasy, either. Prescribing the death penalty for apostasy required by-passing revelation. Recourse to tradition enabled politicised ulama to produce "traditional Islam." Recourse to the teaching of the "abrogation" of the verses of reconciliation by verse 9:5 enabled hawkish ulama to re-interpret Islam as a manifesto for war and a justification for territorial expansion. Replacing the rulings in the Book of Allah required the treatment of tradition as "revelation" and therefore as a "second" root of the law. But treating tradition as "revelation" (wahy) is not enough to derive religious rulings from tradition. For religious rulings require being derived from what Allah "sent down" (tanzil). This is clear from verses 44, 45 and 47 of chapter 5 of the Book of Allah. By contrast, wahy (inspiration) could be provided by evil beings, too. By deriving rulings of the sharia from tradition, jurists treated traditions not merely as wahy (inspiration) but as tanzil or what Allah "sent down." But enacting law in religion is the exclusive prerogative of Allah. Treating tradition as a root of legislation defies the teaching of the Book of Allah. For the Book teaches that we are to "judge" exclusively by tanzil, (what Allah sent down). But Allah sent down the Book of Allah; he did not "send down" books of traditions. Blasphemy, adultery and apostasy do not merit capital punishment in the Book of Allah. These rulings represent a corruption of Islamic law. This requires attention. Islamic law requires rehabilitation to ensure that all legislation related to religion is firmly rooted in revelation and only in revelation. Prescribing capital punishment in cases of blasphemy, adultery and apostasy disregards the Book of Allah and encroaches upon tawhid, the principle that the authority to enact laws in religion belongs to Allah alone. Is treating tradition as a "second" root of legislation in keeping with tauhid? Thus, the sharia requires rehabilitation. It is necessary to emphasize justice. It is necessary to restore the Book of Allah as the only root of legislation in all matters related to religion. Following tradition in preference to revelation brought disasters upon the umma. The Mongols devastated the Abbasid empire after the murder of a caravan of Mongol traders and ambassadors sent by Genghis Khan to request justice for the killers of the traders and ambassadors. The Abbasids perpetrated these transgressions because they followed the tradition which says that "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believer" in preference to the Book of Allah that teaches that "Allah does not love wrongdoers." The Abbasids paid dearly for confusing tradition with revelation and following tradition in preference to revelation. Even to this day, acts of terrorism elicit a disproportionate response against Muslims.

Rethinking the Repression of Reason in Muslim Tradition

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2024-02-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9798879796551

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Rethinking the Repression of Reason in Muslim Tradition by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

The umma is experiencing trauma. The umma is experiencing trauma because it exchanged the Book of Allah for books of traditions, resulting in sectarianism. To follow tradition rather than revelation to is to treat persons as superior to Allah. Which person is a better guide than Allah? It is evident that the state of the umma changed. Allah said He does not alter the state of people until they change what is in themselves (Q, 13: 11). The umma used to be on top of the world. At present it finds itself nearer to the other end. The umma went from hero to zero. Why? The Book of Allah was not enough for the umma. It wanted more. So it turned to the ways of its forefathers. It turned from revelation to follow tradition. That is the chief cause of the umma's downfall. The reorientation from revelation to tradition was triggered by an enchantment with tradition. The turn was assisted by the repression of reason. The repression of reason enabled tradition to mount a coup d'état, to usurp the place of revelation. The "coup" corrupted knowledge and triggered turmoil in the umma. The turn from revelation to tradition was backed by the assertion that tradition, too, was revelation. This rested upon problematic exegesis, which asserts that everything the prophet uttered was "revelation" from Allah. From then, matters went from bad to worse. Jurists did not pause at merely treating tradition as revelation (wahy). They further treat tradition as tanzil, what Allah "sent down." But traditions are not the words of Allah. They are not even the words of the prophet. Traditions are paraphrases of paraphrases of what Muhammad allegedly said or did. They are not verbatim. Traditions are hearsay. To treat the words of mere persons as "revelation" is an expression of cavalier exegesis, exhibiting a failure to differentiate the rulings of Allah from reports of persons. The traditional ulama persisted in the promotion of tradition at the expense of revelation until tradition surpassed revelation. It was treated as a "judge" of revelation. This represented a reversal of the relationship between revelation and tradition. Revelation was subordinated to tradition. The Book of Allah was subordinated to books of traditions. This was a breakdown of rationality. Reversing the relationship between revelation and tradition harmed the umma enormously. Turning to tradition from revelation was tantamount to a relapse into shirk, following the way of the forefathers rather than the Book of Allah. Allah prohibited "adding" to revelation in chapter 69: 44-46 of the Book. Those who do not judge by what He "sent down" are referred to in the Book as unbelievers, rebels, and wrongdoers (5: 44-45, 47). The prophet prohibited the recording of his sayings, too. But hawkish rulers, in defiance of the prophet's prohibition of the recording of his traditions, asked ulama to record the traditions. The effects would be troubling. The Mongols erased the Abbasids when Abbasid rulers acted in keeping with the tradition according to which "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believers." Encouraged by this tradition, the Abbasids murdered a group of Mongol traders, as well as three ambassadors dispatched by Genghis Khan to ask for justice. This brazen defiance of the Book of Allah resulted in the deaths of a million persons in the reprisals that followed. Anti-rationalism also resulted in the deaths of five thousand philosophers, murdered by Musa al-Hadi in 786, during the mihna (inquisition). This was a "reign of terror," a persecution of intellectuals by the adherents of traditions. But there was barely a whimper expressed at this atrocity. Anti-rationalism plunged Muslims into stupefaction and, due to the resulting backwardness, rendered the umma vulnerable to external assaults.

Permitting the Prohibited and Prohibiting the Permissible

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2023-03-09
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798386388652

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Permitting the Prohibited and Prohibiting the Permissible by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

Muslims are experiencing problems due to a misunderstanding of Islam. The misunderstanding of revelation resulted from the repression of reason by Muslim tradition. Reason is gift from Allah. To reject the blessing of reason betrays ungratefulness, which is among the meanings of kufr. Reason is disparaged by persons that feel threatened by it. The fear of reason precipitated the extermination of 5,000 rationalists by Musa al-Hadi during the mihna or Inquisition of 786. The killing of the philosophers confirms that "orthodoxy" was established by force rather than arguments. The persons that perpetrated this atrocity were not well versed in argumentation. Thus, they resorted to violence to force their perceptions on the umma through coercion, prohibited by revelation. The misunderstanding of revelation encouraged extremists to follow their passions. The misunderstanding was the result of traditional exegesis, which requires understanding revelation through the prism of tradition. Traditional exegesis treats traditions as a furqan of revelation. This is reflected in the perceptions that tradition "judges" revelation, and that revelation requires tradition more than tradition requires revelation. By treating tradition rather than revelation as the furqan, traditional exegesis defied tauhid. Treating tradition as a "judge" of revelation is tantamount to scriptural shirk. The traditional approach entails the repression of reason. But the refusal to use reasoning to understand revelation made it harder to understand revelation. It rendered traditional exegesis unreasonable and unreliable. The assumptions that render the traditional exegesis unreliable comprise the perception that reason is the enemy of revelation, that reason is subordinate to tradition, and that tradition may "judge," "abrogate," and "replace" parts of revelation. The repression of reason enabled the emergence of perceptions that defy revelation, the perceptions that revelation is "unclear," "incomplete," and "incoherent." Problematic assumptions encompass the perception that tradition is "equal" to revelation and that tradition is a root of the sharia. These perceptions generated unwelcome effects. The allegation that tradition is equal to revelation embedded scriptural shirk in exegesis. The perception that tradition may "abrogate" and replace the rulings of revelation by rulings from tradition embedded juristic shirk in traditional jurisprudence. The embedding of scriptural and juristic shirk into the fabric of the religious knowledge corrupted knowledge and a warped the penal code. The death penalties for blasphemy, apostasy and adultery, were incorporated into Islamic law without endorsement in revelation. These punishments embedded extremism into the law. The punishments were drawn from tradition rather than revelation. They result in injustice and impart to Islam a reputation for cruelty. The shirk at the foundation of the exegesis of revelation renders the knowledge brought by traditional exegesis and jurisprudence unreliable. Thus, requires reconstruction and rehabilitation. The reconstruction of religious knowledge requires a return to reason and the affirmation of the preeminence of revelation in relation to all tradition. Reconstruction also requires the affirmation of revelation as the foundation of all legislation in religion. It requires a return to a rational methodology of understanding revelation.

Reconsidering Abrogation in Islam

Author : Leslie Terebessy
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2021-05-13
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798503416244

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Reconsidering Abrogation in Islam by Leslie Terebessy Pdf

The renewal of Islamic civilisation requires the rehabilitation of knowledge. For the Muslim way of life is based on the knowledge of the Muslim way of life. If that knowledge is corrupted, the way of life based on that knowledge will also be tainted. Faced with the necessity to acquire present-day knowledge, Muslims recommend the Islamization of knowledge. However, what is required is the rehabilitation rather than the Islamization of knowledge. Islam was revealed to be adopted by people. An abstract formula cannot become a Muslim. Recourse to the teaching of abrogation resulted in a corruption of the knowledge of revelation. Hence, the theory of abrogation requires rethinking. The theory of abrogation is controversial, and with reason. For the application of this theory has enabled tampering with the teaching of revelation. There is a tendency to assert that the former revelations were corrupted, and that Islam escaped the bane of corruption. What is missed is that even if the text of revelation remains unchanged, its knowledge may still be corrupted. This is what appears to have transpired, when a few verses of the Quran were pronounced "abrogated." To declare a verse of revelation to be abrogated is to ask believers to reject a part of revelation, to ask believers to disbelieve in parts of revelation. Is a request of this kind in keeping with the teaching of revelation? Many jurists rejected abrogation. These encompass Fazlur Rahman, Muhammad Asad, Muhammad 'Abduh, Rashid Rida, and Muhammad Ghazali. Abu Muslim al Isfahani also rejected the theory of abrogation. The theory of abrogation was adopted to enable an articulation of Islam to justify expeditions to enlarge the "realm of peace" at the expense of the "realm of war," an early variant of the "clash of civilizations" thesis. The concept of abrogation was adopted to re-interpret Islam in a manner that would justify building an empire. The teaching of abrogation achieved a political purpose: it facilitated the emergence of "political Islam." Unfortunately, the application of abrogation tainted the knowledge of revelation. This had adverse effects on the Muslim empire. That exegetes agreed to the utilisation of the theory of abrogation in the first place, to put themselves at the service of a political agenda, is regrettable. It reveals the plateau which exegesis reached by allowing itself to be used for political ends. It betrays its endorsement of the political authorities of the day. The theory of abrogation became entrenched after rule of the Mu'tazilites (813 to 849). With the emergence of the prophetic traditions, Islam became "traditional," based on tradition and revelation. The abrogation of the peace verses by the ayah as-sayf transformed the knowledge of revelation. It transformed the religion of peace into a rationale for empire-building in the "clash" between the "the realm of peace" at the expense of the "realm of war," a process fuelled by political aspiration. The effects of the alteration of the knowledge of revelation are apparent in penal law, where penalties from traditions replaced those prescribed by revelation. The penalties in the traditions flouted the penalties prescribed by revelation. The words of persons "abrogated" the rulings of God. The application of abrogation by tradition flouted of a fundamental rule of jurisprudence, which is that revelation is the chief authority that may not be abrogated by an alternative authority. The renewal of Islam requires the rehabilitation of knowledge, in particular, the knowledge of revelation. Hence, what is required is a rehabilitation rather than the Islamization of knowledge. This requires the engagement of reason. For revelation was "eclipsed" by tradition, facilitated by the teaching of abrogation. Exegesis requires freeing from unwarranted accretions and problematic procedures. The rehabilitation of exegesis, however, requires the utilisation and therefore the rehabilitation of reason.

Rethinking Islamic Legal Modernism

Author : Ron Shaham
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2018-07-10
Category : Law
ISBN : 9789004369542

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Rethinking Islamic Legal Modernism by Ron Shaham Pdf

In Rethinking Islamic Legal Modernism Ron Shaham presents Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b. 1926) as a genuine student of Rashid Rida (d. 1935) and offers an extensive analysis of Qaradawi's Wasati theory of ijtihad and its application in his legal opinions (fatwas).

Rethinking the Qur'an

Author : Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 68 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Religion
ISBN : UOM:39015080867826

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Rethinking the Qur'an by Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd Pdf

Since the reign of the Abassid Caliph at Baghdad al-Mutawakil (847-861) more than eleven centuries ago, the discussion about the nature of the Qur'an has been blocked in favour of the Orthodox view that it is the exclusive verbatim Word of God. The human dimension, which includes the language as well as the recipient, is almost absent. This book aims to reopen the debate by rereading the classical material and addressing the present situation of Muslims in the context of the challenges of modernity. The basic question is whether or not Muslims can modernize their societies without disregarding their own belief. The implicit answer is that this is indeed possible once the human dimension of the Qur'an is regarded. So far, Muslims have only been able to rethink Tradition while the question of the Qur'an is untouched. Those who dared to open the question were condemned as heretics, and some of them were executed. Nasr Abu Zayd, Ibn Rushd Professor at the University for Humanistics (Netherlands), delves into the academic adventure of reopening the debate that has been blocked for so long."

A New Introduction to Islam

Author : Daniel W. Brown
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2017-02-13
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781118953488

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A New Introduction to Islam by Daniel W. Brown Pdf

Covering the origins, key features, and legacy of the Islamic tradition, the third edition of A New Introduction to Islam includes new material on Islam in the 21st century and discussions of the impact of historical ideas, literature, and movements on contemporary trends. Includes updated and rewritten chapters on the Qur’an and hadith literature that covers important new academic research Compares the practice of Islam in different Islamic countries, as well as acknowledging the differences within Islam as practiced in Europe Features study questions for each chapter and more illustrative material, charts, and excerpts from primary sources