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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Rethinking Tradition as Revelation in Islam: Rescuing the Sharia from Intellectual Suicide

Rethinking Tradition as Revelation in Islam: Rescuing the Sharia from Intellectual Suicide

Terebessy, Leslie

Paperback

IslamGeneral Education

ISBN13: 9798354160488
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 22 2022
Pages: 238
Weight: 0.71
Height: 0.50 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The repression of reason by tradition was a form of intellectual suicide. For refraining from the use of reason rendered the umma unable to understand, let alone follow revelation. The repression of reason, in particular the rejection of causation, ended the golden age and plunged the umma into backwardness. This exposed Muslims to the risks of conquests. The corruption of revealed knowledge, triggered by the reluctance to use reason to understand revelation, estranged the umma from its religion. Refraining from the use of reason in understanding revelation was justified by the misperception that using reason to know revelation is kufr. This misconception was propagated by preachers averse to reason. The repression of reason transpired in politics, too. Musa al-Hadi murdered five thousand philosophers in 786, during the mihna (inquisition) inaugurated by his father, al-Mahdi in 780. This tragedy is reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France, in 1792, a millennium afterward. The umma disintegrated because it turned from revelation to tradition. The turn was triggered by efforts to furnish a justification of wars of aggression, prohibited in revelation, waged to enlarge the empire. Bellicose rulers requested the recording of the prophetic traditions. The prophetic traditions were recorded under pressure and in defiance of the prophet's prohibition of recording his traditions. The turn to, and the recording of traditions was assisted by the repression of reason. 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 using reason in religion. Unfortunately, refraining from using reason to understand revelation prevents Muslims from understanding and following revelation. But Muslims are required to follow revelation. This presupposes understanding revelation. Attaining the knowledge of revelation therefore requires using reason. The encouragement to refrain from reading the Book of Allah without a teacher is justified by the misconception that the Book of Allah is difficult. It is argued that revelation requires explanation. The explanation is furnished by tradition. But the Book of Allah assures us that it is easy to understand and remember. To justify using tradition to explain revelation, tradition itself is treated as revelation from Allah. But this is far from the case. How could the traditions, transmitted in paraphrase be revelation? The traditions were recorded in defiance of Allah's prohibition of adding to revelation and the prophet's prohibition of recording his tradition. The traditions are the words of transmitters. They are not verbatim words of the prophet, let alone the words of Allah. The perception that tradition explains revelation reversed the relationship of revelation and tradition. Treating tradition as a judge of revelation subordinates revelation to tradition, the words of Allah to the words of persons. Tradition was treated by jurists as possessing the authority to abrogate and replace parts of revelation. Permitting the words of persons to abrogate and replace parts of revelation is an expression of juristic shirk. The subordination of revelation to tradition was assisted by the repression of reason. This included the rejection of causation. 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 the desacralization of tradition and reconnecting with revelation. For it was the turn from revelation to tradition, assisted by the repression of reason, that triggered the disintegration of the umma. Renewal requires resetting the relationship between revelation and tradition, too. It also requires the rehabilitation of reason, its re-engagement in understanding revelation and the restoration of pre-eminence to revelation.

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