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Rethinking Tradition as Revelation in Islam: Rescuing the Sharia from Intellectual Suicide (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798354160488)
Vendor:
Leslie Terebessy
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Books
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Description
xFazlur Rahman referred to the repression of reason by tradition as "intellectual suicide." For refraining from reasoning renders a person unable to understand and follow revelation. The repression of reason detached Muslims from their religion.
Muslims could not understand and follow the Book of Allah as they were advised not to use their reason. This was the result of the perception that recourse to using reason in matters of religion triggers kufr. This perception was propagated by mystics mired in anti-rationalism with a deep aversion to reason. The repression of reason also had a political manifestation. Five thousand philosophers were murdered by Musa al-Hadi in 786, during the early part of the mihna (inquisition) initiated by al-Mahdi in 780. This event is reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France, in 1792, a millennium afterward. Jurists refer to a reasonable person as a mukallaf. A rational person is responsible. Persons bereft of reason are unfit to participate in deliberations about ethics or religion. Pronouncing on Islam requires a person to be a mukallaf, to be in his or her right mind. The jurist that refrains from reasoning is not a rational person. The person that refrains from reasoning is irrational. By refraining from reasoning, exegetes and jurists forfeit their right to be treated as mukallafuna (plural of mukallaf). Thus, their right to pronounce on exegesis and jurisprudence is rendered problematic. Traditional exegesis and jurisprudence are based on refraining from reasoning. This renders their rulings unreasonable and unreliable. The umma disintegrated because it turned from revelation to tradition. This transpired as a result of the political requests to record the prophetic traditions. This task was undertaken by persons under political pressure. The unwillingness to use reason stems from the perception that there is a "tension" between revelation and reason. Traditional Muslims are taught to refrain from reasoning in religion. This would presumably make them better Muslims. But this is a fallacy. Refraining from reasoning prevented Muslims from understanding revelation. For without recourse to reason, no person is in a position to understand, let alone follow revelation. For following the Book of Allah requires understanding the Book. Acquiring the knowledge of revelation requires the use of reason. People turned from the Book of Allah to books of traditions, in the conviction that the Book of Allah is "difficult." Thus, it was alleged that revelation requires "elucidation by tradition." But the Book of Allah teaches that it is "easy to understand and remember." To justify using tradition to "explain" revelation, tradition itself was treated as "revelation from Allah." The result of the perception that tradition "explains" revelation was the reversal of the relationship of revelation and tradition. Tradition became a "judge" of revelation. Subsequently, in the eyes of jurists, tradition was vested by hawkish jurists with the power to "abrogate" and even "replace" revealed rulings. The words of persons abrogated" and "replaced" the rulings of God. This was an expression of juristic shirk. The repression of reason assisted by the repression of revelation by tradition. What rational person would expect better knowledge from tradition than from revelation? Unfortunately, the result of the abandonment of reason in religion was confusion. Persons that reject the relationship between cause and effect reject a part of the qadar (decree) of Allah. They reject a part of the teaching of revelation. The renewal of the umma requires reconnecting with revelation and the desacralization of tradition. For it was the turn from revelation to tradition, assisted by the repression of reason, that triggered the fall of the umma. This requires resetting the relationship between revelation and tradition. It also requires the rehabilitation and re-engagement of reason in understanding revelation.
Author: Leslie Terebessy
ISBN-13: 9798354160488
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 09/22/2022
Pages: 238
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
Muslims could not understand and follow the Book of Allah as they were advised not to use their reason. This was the result of the perception that recourse to using reason in matters of religion triggers kufr. This perception was propagated by mystics mired in anti-rationalism with a deep aversion to reason. The repression of reason also had a political manifestation. Five thousand philosophers were murdered by Musa al-Hadi in 786, during the early part of the mihna (inquisition) initiated by al-Mahdi in 780. This event is reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France, in 1792, a millennium afterward. Jurists refer to a reasonable person as a mukallaf. A rational person is responsible. Persons bereft of reason are unfit to participate in deliberations about ethics or religion. Pronouncing on Islam requires a person to be a mukallaf, to be in his or her right mind. The jurist that refrains from reasoning is not a rational person. The person that refrains from reasoning is irrational. By refraining from reasoning, exegetes and jurists forfeit their right to be treated as mukallafuna (plural of mukallaf). Thus, their right to pronounce on exegesis and jurisprudence is rendered problematic. Traditional exegesis and jurisprudence are based on refraining from reasoning. This renders their rulings unreasonable and unreliable. The umma disintegrated because it turned from revelation to tradition. This transpired as a result of the political requests to record the prophetic traditions. This task was undertaken by persons under political pressure. The unwillingness to use reason stems from the perception that there is a "tension" between revelation and reason. Traditional Muslims are taught to refrain from reasoning in religion. This would presumably make them better Muslims. But this is a fallacy. Refraining from reasoning prevented Muslims from understanding revelation. For without recourse to reason, no person is in a position to understand, let alone follow revelation. For following the Book of Allah requires understanding the Book. Acquiring the knowledge of revelation requires the use of reason. People turned from the Book of Allah to books of traditions, in the conviction that the Book of Allah is "difficult." Thus, it was alleged that revelation requires "elucidation by tradition." But the Book of Allah teaches that it is "easy to understand and remember." To justify using tradition to "explain" revelation, tradition itself was treated as "revelation from Allah." The result of the perception that tradition "explains" revelation was the reversal of the relationship of revelation and tradition. Tradition became a "judge" of revelation. Subsequently, in the eyes of jurists, tradition was vested by hawkish jurists with the power to "abrogate" and even "replace" revealed rulings. The words of persons abrogated" and "replaced" the rulings of God. This was an expression of juristic shirk. The repression of reason assisted by the repression of revelation by tradition. What rational person would expect better knowledge from tradition than from revelation? Unfortunately, the result of the abandonment of reason in religion was confusion. Persons that reject the relationship between cause and effect reject a part of the qadar (decree) of Allah. They reject a part of the teaching of revelation. The renewal of the umma requires reconnecting with revelation and the desacralization of tradition. For it was the turn from revelation to tradition, assisted by the repression of reason, that triggered the fall of the umma. This requires resetting the relationship between revelation and tradition. It also requires the rehabilitation and re-engagement of reason in understanding revelation.
Author: Leslie Terebessy
ISBN-13: 9798354160488
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 09/22/2022
Pages: 238
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
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