Renaissance of Islam: Reforming Exegesis

By Leslie Terebessy

Allah never changes the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. It is painfully evident that the state of the umma changed. The condition of the umma changed because it exchanged the Book of Allah for books of traditions. The umma turned from revelation to tradition. Books of traditions became "dearer" to the umma than the Book of Allah. The turn from revelation to tradition was a shift from a revelation-centric epistemological paradigm to a tradition-centric paradigm. The "turn" was triggered by politics and assisted by the repression of reason. The turn witnessed the emergence of arbitrary rule. Hawkish rulers craved a "religious" justification for waging wars of aggression. But there is no justification for wars of aggression in revelation. Thus, rulers with expansionary ambitions engaged hawkish ulama to "interpret" revelation to furnish a "religious" justification for waging unlawful wars of aggression under the banner of Islam. Research became politicized. Exegesis and jurisprudence were weaponized. Research dropped to the rank of propaganda. The weaponization of the epistemology of revelation required turning to tradition and the teaching of abrogation. Warlike traditions encompass the tradition according to which "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believer." The teaching of "abrogation" treats all verses of reconciliation as "abrogated" by the verse of the sword. Wars of aggression are presented as the "propagation" of Islam through jihad al-talab, a sixth pillar of Islam, in the alleged "clash" between the dar al-Islam and the dar al-harb. However, this perspective remains without foundation in revelation. In furnishing a justification of wars of aggression, the ulama produced "traditional" and "political" Islam. Traditionalism keeps the umma resigned to its "fate," while Islamism justifies wars of aggression abroad. Wars of aggression triggered a pushback. The umma on its warpath was defeated in France in 732, by the Mongols on 1258, and at the "Gates of Vienna" in 1529 and 1683. For Allah does not love wrongdoers. There were also bombings of Afghanistan and Iraq, triggering the deaths of a million Muslims in each war. The turn from revelation to tradition was expedited by the repression of reason. Refraining from reasoning rendered the umma bereft of reason. This enabled the treatment of tradition as "revelation from God" as well as recourse to the teaching of abrogation. The turn from revelation to tradition was justified by the assertion that revelation requires "clarification" and "detailing." Traditionists assert that revelation is "insufficiently detailed" because, for example, it features no details on the right way to pray. The suggestion that the Book requires "clarification" and "detailing" from traditions treats the Book of Allah as "flawed." This defies the perception that the Book of Allah "clear" and "a detailed explanation of everything." Traditionists also assert that the Book of Allah features "contradictions." They assert that the Book of Allah features "contradictions." To address the allegation that revelation is "insufficiently detailed," traditionists insist on "supplementing" revelation with tradition. They justify recourse to tradition to "explain" and "complete" revelation by alleging that tradition, too, is "revelation from God." To reconcile what they present as "contradictory" parts of revelation, they recommend recourse to the teaching of abrogation. The treatment of tradition as "revelation from God" tainted the knowledge of revelation with shirk. For the teaching of "dual revelation" presupposes a duality of divinity. Treating tradition as a second "revelation from God" embedded a range of anomalies in the epistemology of revelation, e.g. the perception that tradition "judges" revelation. Aberrations also encompass the teaching of jihad al-talab. Renewal requires a desacralization of tradition and a return to the revelation-centric epistemological paradigm.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B09ZFKT295
• ISBN13: 9798821719676
• Release Date: May 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"