MODERNISM IN ISLAM by Jamal Zarabozo
bah...@geocities.com
Modernism in Islam
by Jamal Zarabozo
WHAT IS MODERNISM AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
We can relate, ideologically, the modernist movement spreading these days to
one sect in the past. This sect is called the Muta'zila, which
is dated back to the third Islamic century. Although those people accepted the
Qur'an and Sunna they made ta'weel (their own
interpretation of the Qur'an) and said 'aql (intelligence) takes precedence
over naql (guidance of the Prophet). However, this school died
out. The modernist movement did not evolve from them, but they are very
similar to them. The modernist movement actually originated in
Europe (middle-ages). At the time when the scientific method came about in
Spain, it was seen that what the church was teaching was not
true. This led to a slow revolt. The basic view of modernism (in all
religions)is that: the religion should change according to the
circumstances, and that it is not fixed. There is no such thing as absolute
truth. The Jewish and Christian modernist responce in Europe
tried to explain how the religion was still relevant for the people. They made
innovations to keep people interested in the religion (such as
singing in church, introduced only in the 1900's). They tried to say the
divine and the human is mixed in the Bible and that the parts that are
true must be the ones that are not out of date. Also, the religion is
improving over time and there is no absolute truth in the Bible. This is
the time in history when many Muslims were looking to Europe. This led to
three choices for those Muslims: accept the West; reject the
West; or mix the two (reform Islam). Those who followed the third (the
modernist) developed in, and focused on: Turkey - because it
was under British influence; and Egypt - because Al-Azhar was the seat of
Islamic knowledge. The people of this modernist movement
judge Islam according to their 'aql. Some of their faults in regards to it
are:
1) use it for things which it can't comprehend;
2) refer everything to it: accept what agrees with it, reject what does not;
3) judge the revelation by it. However, Ahl As-Sunna Wal Jamaa' believes that
using the sound 'aql should lead one to the conclusion that
the Qur'an and the Prophet are true and that their teachings should take
precedence over pure 'aql.
THE INFLUENCE OF MODERNISM IN AMERICA
Modernist are saying that the West and the world has changed, and that Islam
must become "civilized". Modernism has spread the most in
the U.S. because:
1) there are no scholars available to refute them, or they won't refute them
because people don't want to criticize them;
2) it allows Muslims from overseas to become part of American society and they
do not have to be recognized as Muslim. Also, new
American Muslims will not have to change their old lifestyle;
3) much of the literature, scholars, and institutions in the U.S. reflect the
modernist thinking.
In tafseer, Yusuf Ali is the most popular translator of the meaning of the
Qur'an, even though he denies what the 'aql can't see (of the
unseen). In seerah, one book is saying the Prophet is like anyone else.
Another tries to say the sunna is not for the shariah and that
sometimes we have to throw away the hadith because Allah did not correct the
Prophet's mistakes when he made ijtihaad. In Fiqh,
modernists say interest is permissible, menstruation women can pray, and
Muslim women can marry kaafir men. They say the face of
women was not covered until 150 years after the time of the Prophet, even
though it existed in his time, and that women should always
pray in the mosque, even though hadith only show women in the mosque at Ishaa
and Fajr because they could not be recognized in the
dark. They also say the hadith that a people with a woman ruler will not
succeed is not true today and polygamy is forbidden except under
certain conditions (which do not exist). Finally, it should be mentioned that
this movement is organized and has resources such as
magazines, television, conventions, and literature.
SOME OF THEIR VIEWS
Modernists influence the thinking of people, and that person spreads their
views on unknowingly. Their way of thinking is the most
dangerous thing about them. None discuss aqeedah (belief) because it is not
important to them ('aql judges naqal). They are also trying to
remove the sunna and say that the system of the old muhadditheen is
insufficient. Most say (as do critics of the Bible) that we need a
"higher criticism" of hadith and the earlier conclusions (ijmaa) of scholars
are not sufficient, yet they give no new way to judge hadith.
However, we as Muslims understand that the Prophet was guided by Allah and
that we may not be able to understand everything in the
hadith with our 'aql. It is common for the modernists to question the role of
the sunna in the shariah. One said all of the sunna is of this
world and not deen, even in the Prophet's time, therefore it is all a matter
of shoora (consultation) and ijtihaad (therefore changeable).
Another says we need to make ijtihaad for what is to be followed, and changes
of time and place make sunna difficult to use. All of this is
mentioned to weaken the view of the sunna. The Jews and Christians tried to
differ the human from the divine. Modernists try to point out
the differences between the Messenger as a human and as a Prophet. They also
avoid following the sunna by dividing his life into parts
(imam, judge, military leader, prophet, etc.), saying some are not divine
teachings and not law. Some say everyone is free to make
ijtihaad, and later restrictions on it were imposed by the people. Another
said a ruling may change even if it is from the Qur'an and Sunna.
HOW DO MODERNISTS GO ASTRAY?
The observer can easily point out the following points as the driving force
for this trend:
1) Their premises and assumptions are wrong Modernists look to the West and
try to reinterpret the "old religion" with modern science
and modern times. They assume that:
a) the present situation is advanced or different (i.e. "this is not the
Prophet's time!"). However, the idea of progress and that
things are better now is Marxian and Hegelian. It is against the hadith,
as the Prophet said each generation is getting worse.
They must prove that there has been progression (no definition of it
given). Islamically the advanced society is the one that
comes closer to Allah, and understands and applies Islam better (such as
the sahaaba). In fact, the current societies have the
things of the old societies (such as homosexuality, etc.) as mentioned in
the Qur'an;
b) religion is relative to time and place (i.e. "therefore we need to
judge Islam in light of modern science"). Modernists are
"people of science" and judge Islam according to modern science. They
think that the West is based on science, but they fail
to notice that not all science is based on fact. In reality, much of
science is only hypothesis (not a fact). Also, every science
has its own philosophy, which will lead to its own conclusions;
c) the way of thinking of a society is based on (is a product of) its
enviroment. Modernists say most of religion is from the
people and their environment and it can be judged by later times, and
hadith are related to that time only. However, there is
no proof for the modernist hypothesis that religious truth is relative.
Allah says the Qur'an is Haq (truth). Modernists are
saying (by inference) that if the Qur'an is not true now, then it was
never true.
2) The methodology they use is wrong. The methodology of the modernists is the
way they mislead people to the wrong conclusions. They
claim to be scientific, but they are usually inconsistent or have no proof or
foundation for their beliefs. Some of the means and principles
they use include:
a) Sunna and Hadith. They claim the Qur'an is authentic and they only
follow "authentic" hadith. This implies that they have a
way to judge hadith (different from that of the traditional scholars),
yet most give no new way to judge hadith, and are using
their 'aql (intelligence) to determine this (like the female ruler
hadith). Modernists especially dislike hadith which have specific
meanings and prefer ones which only have general principles.
b) Use of weak hadith to help their points and arguments (while they are
calling for the use of authentic hadith). For example,
in the area of women in Islam (the two areas the modernists try to change
the most are the sunna and women) they like to
quote two stories from the time of Umar: 1) when Umar was giving a
Khutbah he tried to restrict the amount of dowry, a
woman opposed, and Umar corrected himself and thanked the woman, and 2)
Umar appointed Umma Shifaa as a
market-regulator (used by modernist to say women can work in the
government). However, both of these stories are not
authentic.
c) Use vague terms without defining them. Modernists use terms like
democracy, freedom, and equality, but they do not
define what they mean by them. The danger in using vague terms is that a
knowledgeable person will pass over the word or
concept, thinking they meant the Islamic or acceptable definition while
in fact they did not, while others may believe what
they are saying is true.
d) Do not present all of the relevant information that is available on
the subject. That is, from Qur'an, sunna, etc. They only
present that which will support their views. This tactic is used to avoid
unliked beliefs, so they just do not mention them.
e) Force their interpretation onto the text. This is what the Muta'zilla
did, when they said 'aql takes precedence over what is
from the Prophet. Many modernists say Islam is the "rational" religion.
This is true if you mean everything is from Allah and
there is no contradiction, but to say that we can study everything in
Islam by judging it with only our intellect is unacceptable
and there is also no proof for this. To avoid implementing what the
Qur'an and sunna says, the modernists say we need to
follow the "spirit" of Islam and not worry about the laws specifically.
But it is clear from the Qur'an and Sunna that we are to
take both. They will argue that the text of the Qur'an only says for
women to dress modestly and they do not like to talk
about the specific details of hijaab and say we only need to follow the
"spirit" of the law.
f) They tend to oppose scholars by saying they meant something else. They
say that the door to ijtihaad is open, which is
something accepted by the Ahl As-Sunna Wal Jamaa'. However, it is not
open to everybody on any subject. Modernists
claim that anyone would make ijtihaad until Imam Shaffie narrowed the
qualifications (not true), and today anyone can do it.
In one magazine, on the question of polygamy and divorce, some said that
these two can be restricted by ijtihaad. They often
misquote scholars and give their own meanings for what they said.
g) Often follow strange and rejected opinions. They try to revive some of
the old opinions because they like it and say that
this writer said it in the past. Modernists try to open the door to these
opinions and choose what is the most suitable and
easy to follow. However, we are supposed to look for the fiqh opinions
that are the closest to the truth. They usually bring
bad hadith such as "The differences in my Ummah is a mercy" or reject
authentic hadith such as the one about the breakup of
the Ummah into 73 sects.
h) Follow their desires. They often make rulings and fatawa without
permissible daleel (evidence). One said music is
permissible because he did not see something wrong with it, so it is
halal. But he did not check what the Qur'an and the
sunna say about this subject.
ISLAM AND MODERNISM
Ahl As-Sunna Wal Jamaa' believes that there is only one true Islam. This is
proven in Qur'an and Hadith. One hadith shows the straight
line as leading to Allah, and branching paths leading off it with a devil at
each one calling to it. Also, the umma will break into 73 sects, and
the true way is the one who follows Muhammad and his companions. Modernists
are differing from Ahl As-Sunna Wal-Jamaa' in:
1) everything in accordance with Qur'an and Sunna is Haq (truth) and what
disagrees with it is false (some modernists disagree with this).
Also, statements consistent with the Qur'an and Sunna are accepted;
2) Ijmaa (consensus) of the sahaaba (and early generations) is a hujja (proof)
for all Muslims. Modernists say sahaaba are men and we
are men, and even matters agreed on by them are open to ijtihaad;
3) anything in the Qur'an and Sunna cannot be opposed by 'aql, rational
thought, opinion, or qiysas. This is supported in the Qur'an and is
not open to discussion or vote. One modernists said the cutting of the hand of
the theif is a "Khomeni Islam" and is unethical;
4) there are constants in Islam related to belief, worship, etc. and these are
good, sound, proper, and correct for all places and times. This
view is accepted by the Ahl Sunna, but not by many of the modernists, saying
that all truth is relative and there is no constants. However,
these constant principles are basic aspects of the Ahl Sunna and are traced to
the Qur'an and Sunna and Sahaaba. They are not
questionable or changeable things. In many of these things, modernists say we
need ijtihaad and tajdeed.
DANGERS
1) Many are influenced by it and do not know it. Also, their views are
unacceptable and should be refuted.
2) Many people do not recognize it as a movement of munkar or bida' and do not
evaluate its writings and speeches, so they try to defend
it. Many of their writings are from rationalization (which has no end or
conclusion), and the effects of this are seen in the Christian church
(that is, they now have no relationship to their religion, and it has no
practical value or purpose).
3) This group is also playing into the hands of the kuffar. They are happy
with is because their effort is to bring the Muslim women out of
the home to change them. The last 200 years has been a colonialist and
orientalist attack on the position of the woman in Islam (to destroy
her and the society).
CONCLUSIONS
1) The modernists movement as a whole (what it is based on) is from Bida'
(innovation). They have their own principles and ways, which
contradicts that of Ahl-Sunna. They say we want ijtihaad in the basic
principles of the deen (religion) which are constant.
2) They are very willing to reject and contradict the ijmaa of the sahaaba on
clear points (such as stoning of the adulterer and the apostate
is to be killed) and hadith are dealt with as if they are not important (women
ruler hadith is common).
3) One of the main points of modernism is to change the role of women. They
say it is permissible to mix men and women and to not wear
hijaab. The modernists are impressed by the West and their conclusions always
seem to agree with the views of the West.
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