Overview

Islam is derived from the revelation recorded in the Book of Allah, which reiterates the teachings of the former revelations. It also addresses different errors in the knowledge of those revelations. The Book of Allah teaches reconciliation. Muslims are expected to command ""what is right and prohibit what is wrong."" Are they still doing this? The Book of Allah teaches ethics. But there are no books on ethics, justice or morality in Bukhari. Books on reason and freedom are also missing. Tradition divested the teaching of Islam of its universality. Islamists treat wars of aggression as lawful. Rendering wars of aggression lawful entailed the weaponization of exegesis and jurisprudence. The weaponization of knowledge transpired through recourse to the ""abrogation"" of the verses of reconciliation by the sword verses and recourse to hawkish traditions. Under pressure from rulers, hawkish ulama transformed the teaching of reconciliation into a religion of war. They transformed Islam into Islamism. Renewal requires the rejection of the treatment of tradition as ""revelation from God."" It also requires the rejection of the subordination of revelation to tradition, reflected in the perception that tradition ""judges"" revelation. The subordination of revelation to traditions was based on the perception that revelation requires ""clarification."" Revelation features verses that are ""unclear,"" ""insufficiently detailed,"" and even ""contradictory."" But these perceptions contradict the teaching of revelation. The Book of Allah teaches that it is ""clear,"" ""fully detailed,"" and ""coherent."" The perception that revelation requires ""clarification"" stems from the reluctance to use reason to understand revelation. The ""clarification"" of revelation would be provided by tradition. The reluctance to use reason to understand revelation left the umma bereft of reason. The reluctance to use reason to understand revelation was on the assumption that using reason in religion is kufr. The prohibition of using reason for the purpose of understanding revelation detached the umma from the Book of Allah. By prohibiting the use of reason, traditionalists prevented the umma from following the Book of Allah. This resulted in misguidance. For a person cannot follow what he or she does not understand. And to follow the Book of Allah requires understanding it. This does not take place without the use of reason. Anti-rationalism plunged the umma into backwardness. The ulama assert that God ""revealed"" 60 ""supplementary"" books of revelation to ""explain"" and ""detail"" the Book of Allah. This perception is truly remarkable. To reconcile the allegedly ""contradictory"" verses, the ulama resorted to the abrogation of the verses of reconciliation by the verse of the sword. Recourse to abrogation transformed the religion of reconciliation into a religion of war. The turn from revelation to tradition entailed a reorientation from a ""revelation-centric to a tradition-centric paradigm. Tradition superseded revelation. Renewal requires the return from tradition to revelation, the rehabilitation and reengagement of reason, the de-sacralization of tradition, the subordination of tradition to revelation, and the rejection of the teachings of abrogation and jihad al-talab as the sixth pillar of Islam in the struggle between dar al-Islam vs dar al-harb. Renewal requires a paradigm shift from the tradition-centric theological paradigm back to the revelation-centric paradigm. For treating transmitters of traditions as lawgivers enabled jurists to embed the capital punishments for apostasy, adultery and blasphemy in the penal code. Accordingly, the sharia also requires rethinking. Retaining these punishments in Islamic law and enforcing them will result in a miscarriage of justice and defeat the chief purpose of the law, which is to ensure justice.

Full Product Details

9798320635798

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available