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Mohammad,
Canada
The
method by which the Muslim acquires knowledge and thought is
critical in determining the impact of the Islamic thoughts upon
the individual.
If
the method of acquiring knowledge was correct and based upon
research, profound thinking, and analysis (as Allah (swt) ordered)
then it will produce effective results, and such a person will
turn into an ideological person who thinks in a distinct manner.
Allah
(swt) orders the human being to think about many aspects of His
Creation in a profound and enlightened manner:
"Verily!
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the
alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of
understanding." [TMQ 3:190]
"Do
they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from
other than Allah, they would surely have found within it many
contradictions." [TMQ 4:82]
"Tell
Me! The water that you drink — is it you who causes it to come
down from the rainclouds, or are We the Cause for it to come
down?" [TMQ 56:68-69]
"He
is created from a fluid poured forth — proceeding from between
the back bone and the ribs." [TMQ 86:6-7]
"Do
they not look at the camels, how they are created? And at the
heaven, how it is raised? And at the mountains, how they are
rooted and fixed firm? And at the earth, how it is spread
out?" [TMQ 88:17-20]
In
all of these five ayahs above, Allah directs the human being to
think and analyze in order to build the Aqeedah (true belief) of
Islam within him through a definite conviction.
Thus,
the method that Islam encourages in pursuing knowledge is based
upon the intellect and entails thinking, research, and analysis.
Examining
Muslims today shows that the Muslims acquire Islam through three
principle methods
The
Scholastic, or Academic, Method
This
method emphasizes delivering Islam as a curriculum in a scholastic
format in which information, and not concepts and thoughts, is the
substance. The student-teacher relationship is the approach of
this method, and giving instructions constitutes its style.
If
the student graduates, he will resemble a book that carries
information and spits it out, and Islam would consist of nothing
more than information dictated to him.
Such
a person would repeat quotations from scholars and their works
without any critical thinking or consideration to the evidences
and arguments simply because he cannot do so.
His/her
capability would be confined to relaying the information that was
handed to him just as a database would download information when
programmed to do so.
Studying
Islam in this erroneous method will produce neither a thinker
based on Islam nor a mujtahid, but will produce human textbooks
whom the extent of their contributions will be limited to copying
the works of others and writing some commentaries on them. Such a
method could be useful in studying an information-based discipline
such as geography or history.
However,
it cannot be taken as a method of studying the foundation or
Aqeedah and the thoughts because the Islamic Aqeedah or foundation
and its thoughts must be acquired intellectually through a dynamic
process of relating the thoughts to the situation until they
become firmly-rooted thoughts and not just theoretical information
carried by the person like the words on the pages of a book.
The
Emotional Method
The
essence of this method entails bringing stories and preaching
Islamic personalities.
It
depends on the emotional approach and not the thinking process in
order to push a person to function.
Because
this approach realizes that emotions by their intrinsic nature can
get out of control, it depends on programming the individual in a
specific way.
The
individual who acquires Islam through this method will start
learning that discipline and obedience towards the shaykhs and the
mas’ooleen is a part of Islam.
This
method is, relatively speaking, a new method because it was
influenced by the psychological-based sciences that came with
disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education.
This
approach does not regard man, life and the universe as the subject
of thinking and research but instead places the human psyche and
its development as the ultimate objective.
The
scope of thinking and research remains restricted to the psyche of
the individual through promoting its positive aspects and treating
its negative aspects.
Also,
it connects such individuals with the mas’ooleen and the shaykhs
emotionally in the same manner that a person is connected with his
father or therapist.
As
a result, those who acquired Islam in this way are attached to
certain personalities whom they regard as holy and follow as
examples without any thinking.
Such
a method does not produce intellectuals, thinkers, or mujtahids,
nor does it claim to produce them.
It
could be used in dealing with the young children or with those who
do not think and therefore look forward to those who would think
on their behalf and relieve them of the burden of thinking.
This
approach could also apply to those who do not think and are
seeking a group of people to associate with in order to enjoy the
social environment and activities that this group or tribe
provides them, such as friendship, visits, and collective
activities involving ibadat, trips, and sports. Therefore, this
method cannot initiate the revival of the Ummah or the muslims as
a nation, nor can it provide the Ummah with the thought and the
awareness needed for such a revival.
The
Sufi Method
This
approach is influenced by the notion that the human being consists
of two components – the spirit and the material aspect – that
are mutually antagonistic.
Thus,
the human being has a spiritual momentum that must be elevated,
and the only way to do so is to deprive the body of its physical
needs. This process continues until the person attains a level
where he merges with God and he sees God in himself.
From
the vantage point of this method, Islam and its rules as mere
signs and symbols guiding the person in his/her path towards God.
The
value of these rules and symbols lay in comprehending their
concealed or hidden meanings, what the Sufis call the
"Haqiqah" or the reality.
This
truth or "Haqiqah" is distinct from what they refer to
as the apparent meaning, which they use to denote the Shariah.
Sufism
upholds the idea of Fatalism in which everything is predestined
and man has no will of his own.
Thus,
the Sufis claim that a person must surrender to his situation and
cannot change it. Furthermore, Sufism encourages the human being
to live in seclusion and give the natural phenomena in the
universe a metaphysical interpretation.
The
Sufis also encourage passiveness, total surrender to the reality,
and being careless about the reality because, according to their
claim, these qualities characterize the one who suppresses
himself, his/her desires, and his/her physical inclinations.
These
qualities are needed for the one who wants to conceal his mind
because they constitute the first step towards evanescence and
merging into God’s entity.
Some
people who either failed in the life or who just look to the Deen
as an escape from the current situation may use this approach as
an outlet of contentment or solace. This is an extremely dangerous
approach because it kills the awareness and the thinking in the
Ummah and propagates passiveness and total surrender to the status
quo without any attempt to change it.
"Do
they not then consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from
other than Allah, they would surely have found within it many
contradictions." [Qr 4:82]
"Tell
Me! The water that you drink — is it you who causes it to come
down from the rainclouds, or are We the Cause for it to come
down?" [Qr 56:68-69]
"He
is created from a fluid poured forth — proceeding from between
the back bone and the ribs." [Qr 86:6-7]
"Do
they not look at the camels, how they are created? And at the
heaven, how it is raised? And at the mountains, how they are
rooted and fixed firm? And at the earth, how it is spread
out?" [Qr 88:17-20]
In
all of these ayahs or phrases from the Quran, Allah directs the
human being to think and analyze in order to build the Aqeedah of
Islam within him through a definite conviction.
Thus,
the method that Islam encourages in pursuing knowledge is based
upon the intellect and entails thinking, research, and analysis.
It
is not built upon blind faith, emotional belief, or submission
without any discussion.
Such
methods will not produce a dynamic Iman and cannot serve either as
a foundation for a point of view of life or as a foundation to
build other thoughts upon.
A
person who adopts Islam through these methods will remain a
hostage to the concepts that he/she carried from his/her previous
background.
Although
such a person may turn to Islam in a limited scope for such
aspects as his/her ibadat, he/she will continue in his/her
thinking to refer to other concepts.
He/She
will constantly shift between a superficial Iman or faith that is
not built upon a correct thinking process and indulging in
discussion without a specific frame of mind, which will lead him
either to diverging or straying from Islam altogether.
And
he/she will not escape this spiral except by either compromising
between what he/she adopted from Islam and whatever erroneous
concepts he/she already possesses in order to bridge the gap, or
by separating Islam from his/her thinking by restricting Islam to
his/her rituals and thinking in a secular or pragmatic manner, or
by deciding not to think at all except in his/her livelihood in
order to save himself/herself from diverting.
All
of these options are incorrect and, in reality, will not get the
person out of this spiral.
Eventually,
this cycle with drain the person’s power, particularly his
intellectual capacity, which is the most valuable possession of
man in this life.
Such
an endless spiral results from an incorrect method of adopting
Islam and acquiring knowledge.
“Do
people imagine that they will be left at ease because they say 'We
have faith!' and will not be tested? But certainly We tested those
who were before them..” [Quran 29:2-3]
Nov
22, 2007
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Maria's
Hussain's recent article 
With
regard to the article on 
I
have to comment a recently published article. The Article to my Daughter
letter has a lot of important information in it, but I must take issue
with the author's use of the known forgery, 
Dear
Brother or Sister: