Pre-eminence of the Quran in Islam: Rescuing Revelation from Tradition

By Leslie Terebessy

Muslims are experiencing problems. Fitting in with the rest of the world is a challenge. Getting along with members of related denominations is also a struggle. These problems emerged when the umma turned from revelation to tradition. The transmitters of traditions are treated as "authorities." With adultery, blasphemy and apostasy, traditions superseded revealed rulings. Tradition eclipsed revelation. Muslims turned from revelation to their predecessors under the illusion that traditions "include" the Book of Allah. They were wrong. For the predecessors did not always live up to the demanding standards taught by the Book of Allah. At times they failed to live up those standards. At times they defied them. They re-articulated the religion of reconciliation as a religion of war. This defied the teaching that there be no resorting to force in Islam. There was pushback from the aggrieved parties. After a few triumphs, the umma experienced defeats. The turn from revelation to tradition was triggered by the requests of hawkish rulers to write the traditions. Rulers required a "religious" justification for waging wars of aggression, prohibited in revelation. Willing exegetes and jurists were engaged for the purpose. The justification of wars of aggression required the "abrogation" of all verses that restrict jihad to self-defense by the verse of the sword. It also required the treatment of jihad al-talab as a "sixth pillar of Islam." The justification of waging wars of aggression was buttressed by recourse to the tradition which states that the "blood of the kafir is halal for the believer." The justification of wars of aggression transformed the religion of reconciliation into an agenda of war. This was a corruption of the teaching of revelation. Mercenary ulama rendered permissible what Allah made haram. They turned jihad al-talab into a "sixth pillar of Islam." In rendering wars of aggression permissible, they assumed role of lawgivers with the authority to abrogate and replace Allah's rulings. They justified recourse to tradition by asserting that tradition, too, is revelation, and by alleging that revelation requires "explanation." The "explanation" would be furnished by tradition. In treating tradition as a "judge of revelation," they subordinated the words of Allah to the words of persons. This was an expression of shirk. These explanations are problematic because they assume that tradition explains revelation better than reason. The turn from revelation to tradition was assisted by the repression of reason. Reason was repressed by alleging that the use of reason to understand revelation is kufr. By prohibiting the use of reason to understand of revelation, the traditionists rendered the umma bereft of reason. This was "intellectual suicide." The "intellectual suicide" would be followed by "political suicide." This transpired when the umma embarked on wars of aggression to propagate Islam by the sword. The repression of reason began a "tradition of intellectual retardation." The reticence to engage reason to understand revelation prevented the umma from understanding revelation. The misunderstanding of revelation prevented the umma from following the Book of Allah. The umma was forced to turn to traditions. The prohibition of reason detached the umma from its religion. The turn from reason to tradition in understanding revelation produced a "crisis in the Muslim mind." The Muslim community is recovering from this crisis. Tradition is ill-suited to explain revelation. For tradition itself requires explanation. The disparagement of reason found its expression in the perception that the utilization of reason in exegesis is kufr. The subordination of revelation to tradition was justified by the assertion that "tradition judges revelation" and that "revelation needs tradition more than tradition needs revelation." These assertions are problematic as they place tradition above revelation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B093C9Q4YX
• ISBN13: 9798742662488
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"