Anti-rationalism and Knowledge in Muslim Tradition: Returning to Reason in Islam

By: Terebessy, Leslie

The umma is in trauma. The reluctance to use reason to understand revelation triggered an epic corruption of knowledge. Anti-rationalism robbed Islam of its universalism. The corruption of knowledge triggered a cascade of errors, theological as well as political, which ended the preeminence of the umma. Key errors encompassed the turn from revelation to tradition, the repression of reason, the treatment of tradition as revelation, the subordination of revelation to tradition, recourse to the practice of abrogation and the teaching of predestination and the justification of wars of aggression or jihad al-talab. The teaching of predestination robbed the umma of free will, rendering it unaware of the effects of its actions. It caused the umma act erratically. The turn from revelation to tradition estranged the umma from the Book of Allah if not also from Allah. The turn from revelation to tradition was triggered by the effort to provide a justification for wars of enlargement, prohibited in revelation. The reluctance to use reason to understand revelation rests on the perception that using reason to understand revelation is kufr. Traditionists treat the Book of Allah as if it were a product of a person. They question the perfection (ijaza) of revelation. The perceive the Book of Allah as featuring "flaws." These "flaws" encompass "ambiguity," "insufficient details" and "contradictions." Was a revealed Book ever treated with less respect than by traditionalist exegetes? Traditionalists allege that Allah "revealed" sixty further books of "revelation" to "clarify" and "detail" the Book of Allah. These are the traditions. To reconcile allegedly "contradictory" verses, exegetes resorted to the teaching of abrogation. Verses that allegedly "contradict" verses regarding a particular subject are treated as "abrogated" by verses revealed subsequently. The "abrogated" verses encompass all verses that teach reconciliation. By abrogating all verses of reconciliation, hawkish ulama rearticulated the teaching of reconciliation as a "religion of war," as Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, the "caliph" of the terrorist ISIS put it. Treating jihad al-talab as a sixth pillar of Islam set the umma on a warpath against the rest of the world, in the epic clash between the dar al-Islam and the dar al-harb. It also provides a justification for terrorism and the jurisprudence of terror, where suicide bombings are perceived as meriting reward in the afterlife. The rejection of the allegedly "abrogated" verses, however, is an expression of kufr. The rejection of verses that teach that the Book is "clear," "detailed," and "coherent" is a further expression of kufr. The treatment of traditions as "revelations from God" is an expression of shirk. Permitting traditions to "abrogate" and "supersede" revealed rulings reflect further shirk. For this practice treats transmitters of traditions as "lawgivers" with "authority" that surpasses even that of Allah. The reluctance to engage reason permitted unwarranted accretions to taint the knowledge of revelation. The umma became unable to differentiate revelation from traditions. For example, in relation to apostasy and adultery, rulings from traditions "abrogated" and "replaced" revealed rulings. Anti-rationalism prevented the umma from comprehending and therefore also following revelation. How could anyone follow revelation that he or she does not understand? The reluctance to use reason triggered a breakdown of in exegesis and jurisprudence. Using reason was prohibited with the shutdown of ijtihad. The politicization of research, its descent to the rank of political propaganda, was not just a betrayal of scholarship; it was a betrayal of Islam. An approach is as strong as the pillars on which it rests. Traditionalist exegesis and jurisprudence rest on presuppositions that defy the teaching of revelation. They require being rejected and replaced with tenets in agreement with the teaching of revelation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G6TCY9SD
• ISBN13: 9798278552208
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"