Revisiting the Analytical Paradigm of Islam: Redressing Anomalies in Religious Knowledge

By Leslie Terebessy

Islam is an Abrahamic faith. It is followed by millions. However, challenges remain. Muslims are experiencing trials and tribulations. There are wars. There is poverty, despotism, and despair. Migrants are experiencing difficulties in Western countries. Why is that? Islam used to be preeminent. But that is no longer the case. What went wrong? The Book of Allah says that Allah never changes the condition of people until they change what is in them. Was there any "change"? Are Muslims being diverted from the Book of Allah? Are Muslims in touch with the Book of Allah? They recite the Book without understanding it. Traditional ulama advise Muslims to refrain from using their reason when reading the Book. As a result, Muslim read the Book without understanding it. Was there a "disconnect"? Muslims kept the Book of Allah in their hearts. What do they keep in their hearts at present? Is the umma on the right path? The knowledge of the Book of Allah was corrupted by politics. A few rulers commissioned different ulama to record the traditions, in defiance of the prohibition of the fabrication of revelation in the Quran. Rulers required a "religious" justification for waging wars of aggression. These wars would be undertaken under the pretext of propagation of Islam. They did not wish to be retrained by restrictions on aggression in the Book of Allah. Accordingly, they engaged ulama to reinterpret revelation as a militant religion. Exegesis was engaged to endorse the warlike agendas of rulers bent on territorial expansion. The reinterpretation of Islam as a religion of war required the weaponization of exegesis and jurisprudence. This was achieved by treating tradition as "revelation from Allah" and recourse to the teaching of the abrogation of the verses of reconciliation by the verse of the sword. By placing themselves at the behest of hawkish rulers, mercenary ulama permitted their profession to sink to the rank of political propaganda. The umma would become a war machine, geared for the propagation of Islam through war, prohibited in revelation. How could this happen? There was a series of missteps. The treatment of tradition as "revelation from God," for example, is problematic. How could hearsay be "revelation from Allah"? Hearsay is not admissible in a court of law. Yet traditional jurists treat traditions - paraphrases of paraphrases of words attributed to the prophet in defiance of his prohibition of recording his traditions - as a "root" of religious law. Further problems encompass the repression of reason, the subordination of revelation to tradition, the teaching of abrogation and the treatment of jihad al-talab as a "sixth pillar" of Islam. Jihad al-talab requires the umma to wage war on non-Muslims every year, even when non-Muslims wish to remain at peace with the Muslims. The repression of rationality was tantamount to "intellectual suicide." It prepared the way for a "tradition of intellectual retardation." The umma fell behind in empirical knowledge and technology. The repression of reason prevented the umma from comprehending and following the Book of Allah. We cannot follow what we do not understand. The repression of reason separated the umma from its religion. Refraining from reasoning resulted from the disparagement of reason. This transpired in defiance of the fact that the Book of Allah emphasizes using reason to reflect upon revelation. The treatment of tradition as "revelation from God" triggered a re-orientation from revelation and its partial replacement by tradition. Recourse to abrogation enabled re-inventing Islam - the religion of reconciliation par excellence - as a religion of war. Achieving renewal entails recovering the true teaching of Islam. Recovering the true teaching of Islam requires the rehabilitation and re-engagement of reason. It also requires affirming the preeminence of revelation in relation to tradition, a desacralization of tradition, and a rejection of the teaching of abrogation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BS8RZH5P
• ISBN13: 9798373722872
• Release Date: January 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 130 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"