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From: fade@midway.uchicago.edu (mohammad h fadel)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Earth is the Center of the Universe
Message-ID: <1991Apr25.182248.2136@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 25 Apr 91 18:22:48 GMT
References: <1991Apr23.153835.31416@wpi.WPI.EDU> <1991Apr24.182457.28891@wpi.WPI.EDU>
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In article <1991Apr24.182457.28891@wpi.WPI.EDU> darwish@eng.umd.edu (Mamdouh Maher) writes:
>

>   
>  As for the right to question, the Muslim has the OBLIGATION to question,
>to wonder, to try and understand some of the wisdom of the Creator.
>The Qur'an constantly tells us to contemplate IT. God tells us that it is 
>guidance to the right path, but also that it is guidance to those who
>contemplate, ("Afala tatafakkarun" Will you not contemplate, think), to those
>who think ("Ulu alalbab" those who have thought).
>
>  One way Islam sets itself apart from most other religions is in that it
>appeals to the intellect as well as to the spirit. Islam not only 'feels'
>right, but it also makes sense. We are told to accept God's blessings
>on us, that is why we should enjoy the good bounties of this world, but
>that is also why we should understand this divine way of life. This can only be
>achieved through learning it, thinking about it, questioning it.
>  
>  Islamic history is full of debate of questions that often seem forbidden
>under Islamic law. It is only after the weakness of the Muslims, caused
>by the weakness of their hearts, that corrupt systems that restrict
>freedom of expression have arisen. Islam restricts corruption, pornography
>and trickery (false claims), I am not aware of any upright form of expression
>that is forbidden. And tgat which God has allowed may not be forbidden in 
>Islam.

>  
>Mamdouh Maher

The issue here is not one of questioning or not questioning; the problem is
the mode of questioning.  Likewise, Allah (SWT) does praise knowledge and
the knowledgeable in His book.  But is this praise undifferentiated in 
regards to knowledge itself?  Certainly not.  The type of knowledge which
is the object of the Qur'an's praise is knowledge of Allah, SWT.  This is
the only knowledge praiseworthy in and of itself.  All other types of 
knowledge can only have an instrumental value subordinated to the goal of
gaining truth about religion - which is essential for the cosmic fate of
the individual.  For this reason, Imam al-Ghazali, in his polemics with the
Isma'ili Shi'ites, denies the necessity (wujub, i.e. from the perspective of
the Shari'a) of all types of knowledge except for the knowledge of Allah 
and of the truthfulness of His messenger, Muhammad, Salla Allah 'alyhi wa
Sallam.  The reason for this is clear - ignorance of any worldly matter in
the face of ignorance of what awaits one after death is a trivial matter.
This does not mean that everything else is worthless; al-Ghazali's point
was to show that difference of opinion on other issues, even issues of ritual 
obligation, pale in comparison to the duty of believing in Allal (SWT) and 
His messenger salla Allah 'alyhi wa sallam.  Thus, difference of opinion is
a minor issue and completely legitimate, so long as the difference of opinion
arises from genuine attempts at understanding our obligations to Allah (SWT).
If one wishes to participate in this process of understanding Allah's will,
a process which Muslims have been engaged in collectively from the moment of
the Mustafa Salla Allah 'alyhi wa Sallam died, one must have the tools to
do so.  If one does not have the time to become a faqih, or a mufassir, or 
even learn Arabic, one should at least become acquainted with the basic cate-
gories of Islamic religious thought so that one's questions are productive.
The conclusion is that one can not take a truth from any worldly science and
then use it as an interpretive device to issue religious opinions (fatwa). 
The operative principle here is the assumption made by believers by virtue
of their being believers that Allah, SWT, knows best - 'asaa an tuhibbuu 
shay@an wa huwa kurhun lakum wa 'asaa an takrahuu shay@an wa huwa khayrun lakumAllah ya@lamu wa antum la ta@lamun - Perhaps you are a fond of a thing and
it is bad for you; perhaps you despise something which is better for you -
Allah knows while you know not. (I don't know the cite, but I think it's in
Baqara.  I'm not sure, I also might have written it in reverse, i.e. "perhaps 
you despise comes" first.)   The implication of this verse was well-understood
by the Ash'arite theologians (of which al-Ghazali was one): that good and bad
can only be known by shar', the divine command.  There is no rational basis
for judging independently without the help of the shari'a.  To do so would
be an instance of following hawa, one's personal likes and dislikes, which
is of course, the exact opposite of what the Qur@an means by 'aql, reason.
In the Qur@an, 'aql means to use one's mind to understand what Allah (SWT)
demands of him or her, not just reason in its modern, conventional, and
usually, positivistic sense of today.  For that reason, unbelievers, though
they may be brilliant natural and social scientists, philosophers and poets,
are more blind than cattle - they are ignorant of their spiritual destiny, 
and is there a blindness worse than this blindness?  Despite this, one must
stand in admiration of all scientific, artistic, and cultural achievements,
no matter what the source.  One just should not let that admiration affect
the manner in which religion and its obligations are to be understood.  
Finally, we must all thank God for His huda, guidance; He is the only source
of guidance.  We must also hope that Allah guides not just Muslims, but every
one to Islam.