Renewal of the Muslim Faith: Removing Barriers to Regeneration

Islam as practiced at present differs from the way it was practiced by the prophet. For the prophet followed the Book of Allah but the umma practices what it thinks was the tradition of the prophet. The traditions recorded by Bukhari & Co. did not exist at the time of the prophet. They were recorded afterwards. To justify the turn to tradition, it is presented as "revelation." The umma waned. The faithful ask, "what went wrong"? The umma neglected the Book of Allah to follow the traditions. The umma turned from revelation to tradition. That was a shift from a revelation-based paradigm to a tradition-based paradigm. Recovery requires a return to the revelation-based paradigm. But the process of renewal is hampered by several barriers. These barriers encompass Islamism and traditionalism. Barriers also encompass the corruption of the knowledge of revelation. The corruption of knowledge resulted from recourse to flawed ways of approaching revelation. False presuppositions present barriers to renewal, too. Unwarranted perceptions corrupted the knowledge of Islam. The repression of reason is a further barrier. The umma is mired in traditionalism and anti-rationalism. The umma neglected the Book of Allah to follow books of traditions. The barriers encompass the perception that the use of reason to understand revelation as kufr, that tradition is revelation and that tradition "judges" revelation. Treating the use of reasoning to understand revelation as kufr hampers Muslims from engaging reason to understand revelation. Refraining from using their reason to understand revelation detached the believers from their religion. Thus, they became confused. Because of the reluctance to use reason, entailed by its treatment as kufr, revelation began to appear to Muslims as "unclear" and "contradictory." To explain this, exegetes assert that it is revelation rather than people's understanding of it that is "unclear" and "contradictory." They also assert that revelation is "unclear" and "missing details." But the Book presents itself as "clear" and "fully detailed." In treating the Book of Allah as "unclear" and "lacking details," traditionists ascribe a flaw to the Book of Allah, if not also to its Author. The rejection of reason reduces us to robot-like beings. How could anything be achieved without the use of reason? The treatment of the use of reason as kufr renders it difficult to understand the Book of Allah. To reject reason is to reject knowledge. It is to reject the Book of Allah. A further barrier to renewal is the treatment of tradition as revelation. This produced confusion. We find it difficult to tell the difference between revelation and tradition. Traditions become "equal" and even "superior" to revelation. But how can traditions be "equal" to revelation when Allah is without equals? Is the assertion that traditions are "equal" to revelation in accord with the teaching of revelation? These perceptions, that the use of reason is kufr and that tradition is revelation, encumber us in efforts to understand revelation. Together, the two perceptions resulted in a drift from revelation to tradition. In different words, the prohibition of the use of reason corrupted knowledge. There are persons who recite revelation without knowledge of what they recite. They are akin to a parrot that utters words without understanding. Renewal requires a rehabilitation of knowledge, which requires a restoration of reason to its rank as the faculty of knowledge. The relationship between revelation and tradition requires reconceptualisation. It is necessary to affirm the pre-eminence of revelation in relation to tradition and ensure the subordination of tradition to revelation.

Author: Leslie Terebessy

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: Apr 25, 2021

Number of Pages: 132 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798743915378