Taqlid and the Breakdown of Rationality in Islam: Exploring Its Roots and Effects (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798305773279)

Islam was preeminent in the past, but presently it is struggling. Muslims are experiencing a crisis after crisis. There is poverty and illiteracy. What happened? What explains the disintegration of a preeminent civilization? The umma was misled about its heritage. Perceptions and practices were bundled with the Book of Allah that are not part of the teaching of Islam. The Book of Allah states that: "Allah never changes the condition of people until they change what is inside themselves." [13:11] Did anything change? If so, what was it? The umma exchanged the Book of Allah for books of traditions. The umma turned from the Book of Allah to the books of traditions. Then it turned from the books of traditions to the books of the ulama. The ulama would be the arbiters of what is Islam and what it is not. They would judge the traditions and the traditions would judge the Book of Allah. That was a paradigm shift. The revelation-centric paradigm gave way to a tradition-centric paradigm. Tradition eclipsed revelation. But do traditions guide better than Allah? The turn from the Book of Allah to books of traditions triggered five further turns, akin to falling dominoes. These were the repression of reason, the treatment of tradition as revelation, treatment of tradition as a "judge" of revelation, the teaching of abrogation, and the politicization of Islam. The turn from revelation to tradition was reflected in the recording of traditions. The repression of reason was reflected in treating reason to understand revelation as kufr. The treatment of tradition as revelation was justified by recourse to the teaching of "two revelations," the perception that tradition, too, is revelation. Treating tradition as a "judge" of revelation was justified by the assertion that the Book of Allah is unclear and incomplete. The turn from revelation to tradition was assisted by the repression of reason. Reason was repressed to prevent it from expressing reservations regarding the treatment of tradition as revelation. The retreat from reason tainted the knowledge of revelation by enabling the treatment of tradition as revelation. The turn from revelation to tradition was justified by the assertion that tradition, too, is "revelation." Reason was treated as an enemy of revelation on the assumption of a "tension" between reason and revelation. But there is no tension between reason and revelation. The treatment of reason as an adversary of revelation assumes that piety requires the sacrifice of reason upon the altar of tradition. The turn from revelation to tradition was a break with the tradition of the prophet, who adhered to the Book of Allah. The transformation of the religion of reconciliation into a religion of war was justified by the assertion that the verses of the sword "abrogated" all verses that teach reconciliation. Recourse to the teaching of abrogation was justified by the assertion that the Book of Allah is in parts contradictory. The turn to tradition brought traditional Islam. Recourse to the teaching of the alleged abrogation of the verses of reconciliation by the verses of the sword spawned political Islam. But Allah revealed neither traditional nor political Islam. Allah revealed Islam. Traditions were reported by persons. They are not the words of Allah. They are not the exact words of the prophet, either. They are paraphrases of paraphrases of utterings allegedly uttered by the prophet. The traditions were recorded and treated as "revelation" in defiance of the prohibition of "adding" to revelation in the Book of Allah. The traditions were also recorded in defiance of the prophet's prohibition of recording his traditions. The traditions are presented as "equal" to the Book of Allah. The teaching of jihad al-talab, a war of aggression, was endorsed by hawkish ulema and treated - improbably - as a sixth pillar of Islam. This was a break from Islam as a religion of peace articulated in the Book of Allah.

Author: Leslie Terebessy
ISBN-13: 9798305773279
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 01/03/2025
Pages: 156
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.33d