We Need A Fresh Outlook

In response to my previous write-up titled ‘Who Is A Muftee’ many respected individuals have shared their ideas and feedback. One gentleman asks, “Why has Aligarh not produced any desired Muftees?” We haven’t gotten the desired Muftees from Aligarh because it has not taken the task of abolishing the duality of knowledge into deeni and dunyaawee and the division between dunyaa and deen. It has not taken up this extremely important task with any amount of seriousness and sincerity. It has merely produced the employable individuals. It has not produced leaders with the Qur’an in their Right Hand and the most modern scientific and technological advancements in their Left Hand. It is long overdue on Aligarh to work on this unfinished agenda. Nevertheless, the Aligarh Movement has an advantage. It is on the right side of history. This Movement is more in harmony with our future needs. This is why let the masses benefit from our Universities more and more. Their queries could be directed to the relevant Departments especially in the AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard instead of asking Fatwaas from the traditional institutions. The Universities should provided well researched guidance in the light of the overall teachings of Qur’an and Sunnah – obviously not confined to a particular school of thought.

We should teach Arabic to all Muslim students and the basics of Islam in a uniform school system till grade XII. Thereafter, the students should have a free choice of studying any subjects of their interest including Tafseer, Hadeeth, Fiqh and all other subjects without the classification of ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ and under the same roof. Our ‘Ulama should come forward and support this idea. The inclusion of Arabic in the school curriculum will have a long-term impact. Apart from bringing the people closer to the spirit of Islam it will end the dependency of Muslims on a priestly class. It will bring Islam in the life which is where it is meant to be (http://twocircles.net/2010aug14/need_liberate_islam_traditional_seats_learning.html).

A respected gentleman advises that the “roshan khayal ta‘leem yaafta tabqah still feels the need to justify Sir Syed’s Movement while mauluvis have stopped talking about him”. First of all it is not about a personality as much as it is about an outlook. It will, however, be enlightening to know why the ‘Ulama have stopped talking about Sir Syed. In fact they should talk about him more and more. Because a much bigger number of Muslims are now studying in his College than they did during his lifetime. So the threats are now bigger and the opposition should be of a similar magnitude. The silence of ‘Ulama on Sir Syed, however, raises more questions than it seeks to answer. The silence of our ‘Ulama on The Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam of Muhammad Iqbal is another noteworthy phenomenon and a food for thought.

A gentleman reminds that “there is an element of confusion and doubt in your way of understanding Islam. Intellectual reasoning is good as long as our thoughts fit into the basic Message of Islam as per Qur’an and Sunnah.” This is a gross understatement. If I try to capture the meaning of the above it should read: “Please stay away from looking at things in any rational manner. You know, Islam is incompatible with reason and it cannot withstand its assault. I know it from the core of my heart. This is why I have never troubled myself with any such efforts. You don’t do it either, my friend!” When the children are afraid of darkness it is quite understandable. When the men are fearful of life it is truly surprising.

I wonder how could those who have never questioned their own beliefs and ways of looking at things talk about confusion, doubt and clarity or the lack of all of these? They have a conviction and clarity which is not at all preceded by any questioning or curiosity. A colleague of mine once told me that there are many among Muslims who would never have come back to Islam if they were born in a family of another faith. The same applies to the followers of a particular school of thought. Many among us justify their schools of thought merely because they have been associated with that school from an early age. A lot of our arguments are a result of long and deep conditioning effects. But the impression that we give is that we have arrived at those conclusions after years of search and research.

When we say that “first of all we must understand how to follow Islam. The methodology adopted by our pious predecessors (as-Salaf as-Saaliheen) is the best one.” we are at our best in the art of remaining ambiguous. We are teaching and learning this ambiguity with clock-like regularity and hundreds of thousands of our teachers and students are busy in this. If you want to listen to a lecture and don’t want to get anything out of it then there is a great opportunity in all such observations. You don’t need to relate and apply that very Islam in any manner in life (neither beneath the earth nor above the heavens). You just need to practise with utmost devotion in a vacuum. Don’t bring Islam to the mundane life on this earth. Keep it in suspended animation and talk in those terms which nobody will understand. This is how our teachers have taught us and this is how we are going to shine in the comity of nations and guide the entire humanity – minus the RSS, the BJP and the West – to the Straight Path. As regards “as-Salaf as-Saaliheen” there is a supposition here that we will live forever on this earth unlike the Salaf who had to depart.

We haven’t realized the fact that every generation has to solve its own problems. I am still not sure if the doors of Ijtihaad are open or closed. But I am sure that there is no luxury greater than the luxury of the closed doors of Ijtihaad. There is no comfort greater than the comfort of opinion. Because thinking is the most difficult job on earth. We talk a lot about Qur’an and Sunnah and then immediately after that we switch over to the ‘world of personalities’ (‘aalam al-ashkhaas) – leaving the ‘world of ideas’ (‘aalam al-afkaar) behind.

The suggestion that “first let us establish Tauheed in our life as prescribed in Qur’an and Sunnah and then start learning the other important issues of Salaah. When we fail to understand our Creator (As taught by our Prophet SWAS), we fail in everything” gives an impression that Tauheed has not been established. Why Tauheed has not been established despite thousands of madrasaas? The call for developing a ‘coherent body of ideas’ is a call for Tauheed – in other words. Tauheed is the only thing that will explain all the phenomena – including the opposites – coherently which otherwise will not be possible. We cannot have any amount of coherence in our ideas minus Tauheed. But Allah is not the exclusive property of Muslims. Nor any people can hegemonize Muhammad (pbuh):

‘ishq ho jaa’ay kisi se koi chaarah to nahee(n)

sirf Muslim ka Muhammad pe ejarah to nahee(n)

(Kunwar Mahendra Singh Bedi)

“As I know you, you are capable of teaching the fundamentals of Eiman and Islam and let us hear from you more on that.” means “Don’t waste your energies on relating Islam and on trying to extract some guidance from it for the real life. Just preach. Only indoctrinate. Also, don’t disturb us, my brother! Leave us alone so that we keep serving Islam which is in great danger, you know. You are capable of teaching without relating and minus application – the finest art. So why don’t you just do that?” If we have not been able to teach the fundamentals of Eemaan and Islam (as we perceive it) to any satisfactory level then we need to analyze its reasons to the core and take this discussion to the logical conclusions.