War on Error in Islam: Rescuing Knowledge from Tradition

The globe is fragmented. There is turmoil. Muslims migrate to the West to escape injustice. This is a hijra. But they experience difficulties in integrating in the host nations. For not a few immigrants bring cultural baggage with them. The war on terror cannot be won by force of arms alone. It requires to be accompanied by a war on error. There are plenty of errors in inherited exegesis and jurisprudence. To guarantee peace requires defeating the weltanschauung driving terror: Islamism. Political Islam rests on warlike traditions and the alleged "abrogation" of the verses of revelation that teach reconciliation. Islamism is a corruption of Islam. That terrorism is perceived as "martyrdom" by not a few persons reveals the extent to which jurisprudence deteriorated. It is urgent to rehabilitate exegesis and jurisprudence. For the politicization of exegesis and jurisprudence transformed Islam into a manifesto of war. The knowledge of revelation was corrupted by anti-rationalism. Politicized exegesis treats recourse to reason as kufr. Traditional exegesis treats reason as subservient to tradition. The knowledge of revelation was corrupted by the "abrogation" of the verses that teach reconciliation by the verses of the sword. Has the world ever witnessed corruption of religion of this magnitude? The corruption of the knowledge of revelation, assisted by the repression of reason, had political roots. Hawkish rulers requested the recording of the prophetic traditions to enable them to by-pass the prohibition of wars of aggression in the Book of Allah. The rulers enlisted the aid of ulama willing to reinterpret the religion of reconciliation as a religion of war. Buttressed by hawkish traditions, Islamism dragged the umma into endless wars with the rest of the world. The knowledge of revelation was corrupted by weaponized exegesis, endeavouring to establish the propagation of Islam through jihad al-talab as a sixth pillar of Islam. The corruption of knowledge was expedited by recourse to hawkish traditions that teach, in defiance of revelation, that blasphemy, adultery and apostasy all merit the death penalty. The Book of Allah prescribes no capital punishment for blasphemy, abandoning Islam or adultery. These punishments transgress the boundaries (hudud) of Allah. Hence, they require being expunged from the law. By endorsing capital punishment for apostasy, jurists defied the prohibition of compulsion in religion. Legislation, except in areas not relating to religion, is the exclusive prerogative of Allah. The alleged "abrogation" of the verses that teach reconciliation, was buttressed by hawkish traditions. These traditions encompass the tradition in which the prophet purportedly said that "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believer." They also encompass the tradition in which the prophet allegedly said that he was "sent with the sword as a mercy to the worlds." Hawkish traditions also encompass the tradition in which the prophet allegedly asserted that he would "fight people until they all say that there is no god but Allah." In addition to the harm and grief they caused at the time, these "traditions" also paved the way for the perpetration of terror. By clinging on to militant traditions and warlike renditions of Islam hawkish preachers expose the umma to the risk of retaliation for the acts of wayward persons acting upon these tragic misperceptions. They also provide reasons for peaceful Muslims to disassociate themselves from what is being perceived as a religion of violence. Simultaneously, holding on to militant traditions and warlike perceptions prevents potential reverts from embracing Islam.

Author: Leslie Terebessy

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: Sep 18, 2022

Number of Pages: 170 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798353464686