SX43@liverpool.ac.uk (12/03/90)
Peace, everybody ! In article <1990Nov28.161718.26498@wpi.WPI.EDU>, zix@cs.nott.ac.uk (Zafer Iqbal) says: > >The only aspects of Islam you need to explain using your ration, intellect &c >is that there exists a creator and that the Qur'an is from the creator and it >has not been corrupted over the ages. Once you have convinced anyone of these >facts, following Islam is rational, following the commands whether you >understand them or not! Like the Prophet said, (PBUH) 'Reason is the root of my Faith'.. yes, I agree that we >need< to base our knowledge of the existence of Allah on Reason. But it doesn't >have< to stop there. I don't see anything wrong in looking for >confirmation< of our Faith.. I think it is incumbent upon us to use our capability of thought to investigate the Wisdoms behind Qur'anic injunctions, not with the aim of justifying the commands, but of further Glorifying our Creator and advancing our knowledge. To discourage thought and reasoning (beyond the stage of understanding that Islam is valid) is also very dangerous, and is perhaps what has led in the past to the decay of Muslim civilisation; if we are firm in our belief that Islam is correct then we should not be afraid of asking difficult (or simple) questions, -- unless we are afraid to hear the answers, in which case our Faith would seem to be shaky to start with. I think the process of investigating and understanding more and more of the Wisdoms behind Quranic injunctions serves two purposes. Firstly, it keeps our Faith 'topped' up : who can claim to have a fixed and static, perfect Faith. It goes up and down like a rollercoaster, and it's part and parcel of the Mu'min's struggle to keep re-affirming his/her faith by observing the Signs of Allah, those in His revelation and the corresponding ones in the creation around us. Secondly, and more relevant to the situation of Muslims in the West, it helps us to disseminate Islam 'with Wisdom' (bil-Hikmah) as it says in the Quran. In today's age, the particular disease that afflicts the Kuffar is the attitude of 'if I can't see it, it don't exist'. In other words, we have to show manifestly the Wisdom in the Quran before it is likely to be received. This actually requires that we have the answers ready for questions like the one brother Sumon finds himself asked, otherwise to a non-Muslim unfamiliar with Islamic Wisdom what is the difference between Islam and any other eastern religion like Budhism and Yoga or whatever, just a set of rituals without meaning ? If we put ourselves in the shoes of the Kuffar, we would ourselves want to be told some of the Wisdoms behind Islamic practice, as an aid to believing in the existence of an All-Wise Creator. It is only when the fact that Islam provides a viable solution to today's problems is made loud and clear that people will sit up and take notice. This will only happen when Muslims can give ready, valid answers to questions on a whole plethora of topics such as why we don't eat pork, up to four wives, no alcohol and gambling etc. I do stress though that we must give the truthful answer.. as I mentioned in a previous post on the pork issue, that though there are many Wisdoms behind ('reasons for') any given aspect of Islam, no single one can be given as THE reason. We must then be ready, willing and able to explain what at least a few of these are. These cannot be discovered without questioning and research. The "WE know what's best for YOU, ask NO questions" undertones I felt, left me uncomfortable, and are the reason for the length of this. Yours in the hope of greater understanding, Fazal.
zix@cs.nott.ac.uk (Zafer Iqbal) (12/11/90)
In article <1990Dec3.144121.18647@wpi.WPI.EDU> SX43@liverpool.ac.uk writes: > >Peace, everybody ! > >In article <1990Nov28.161718.26498@wpi.WPI.EDU>, zix@cs.nott.ac.uk (Zafer Iqbal) >says: >> >>The only aspects of Islam you need to explain using your ration, intellect &c >>is that there exists a creator and that the Qur'an is from the creator and it >>has not been corrupted over the ages. Once you have convinced anyone of these >>facts, following Islam is rational, following the commands whether you >>understand them or not! > >Like the Prophet said, (PBUH) 'Reason is the root of my Faith'.. yes, >I agree that we >need< to base our knowledge of the existence of Allah >on Reason. But it doesn't >have< to stop there. I don't see anything >wrong in looking for >confirmation< of our Faith.. > >I think it is incumbent upon us to use our capability of thought >to investigate the Wisdoms behind Qur'anic injunctions, not with the >aim of justifying the commands, but of further Glorifying our Creator >and advancing our knowledge. > >To discourage thought and reasoning (beyond the stage of understanding >that Islam is valid) is also very dangerous, and is perhaps what has >led in the past to the decay of Muslim civilisation; if we are firm >in our belief that Islam is correct then we should not be afraid of >asking difficult (or simple) questions, -- unless we are afraid to hear >the answers, in which case our Faith would seem to be shaky to start >with. > >I think the process of investigating and understanding more and more >of the Wisdoms behind Quranic injunctions serves two purposes. > >Firstly, it keeps our Faith 'topped' up : who can claim to have >a fixed and static, perfect Faith. It goes up and down like a >rollercoaster, and it's part and parcel of the Mu'min's struggle to >keep re-affirming his/her faith by observing the Signs of Allah, those >in His revelation and the corresponding ones in the creation around us. > >Secondly, and more relevant to the situation of Muslims in the West, >it helps us to disseminate Islam 'with Wisdom' (bil-Hikmah) as it says >in the Quran. In today's age, the particular disease that afflicts the >Kuffar is the attitude of 'if I can't see it, it don't exist'. In other >words, we have to show manifestly the Wisdom in the Quran before it is >likely to be received. This actually requires that we have the answers >ready for questions like the one brother Sumon finds himself asked, >otherwise to a non-Muslim unfamiliar with Islamic Wisdom what is the >difference between Islam and any other eastern religion like >Budhism and Yoga or whatever, just a set of rituals without meaning ? > >If we put ourselves in the shoes of the Kuffar, we would ourselves want >to be told some of the Wisdoms behind Islamic practice, as an aid to >believing in the existence of an All-Wise Creator. > >It is only when the fact that Islam provides a viable solution to >today's problems is made loud and clear that people will sit up and take >notice. This will only happen when Muslims can give ready, valid answers >to questions on a whole plethora of topics such as why we don't eat >pork, up to four wives, no alcohol and gambling etc. > >I do stress though that we must give the truthful answer.. as I mentioned >in a previous post on the pork issue, that though there are many >Wisdoms behind ('reasons for') any given aspect of Islam, no single one >can be given as THE reason. We must then be ready, willing and able to >explain what at least a few of these are. These cannot be discovered >without questioning and research. > >The "WE know what's best for YOU, ask NO questions" undertones I felt, >left me uncomfortable, and are the reason for the length of this. > > Yours in the hope of greater understanding, > > Fazal. I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. The point I was making was that we are allowed to think of the wisdom behind the rulings in Islam, (which have not been given a reason by Allah or his messenger (pbuh)) but it is haram to say that such 'n such is the reason why we have a certain rule simply because we have not been told or even indicated as to why we have many rulings... Wasalam Zaf