Dissent in Islamic Theology: Possibilities of Consensus

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 7 February 2024 Dissent Is The Soul Of Living Traditions Of Islam. It Is Slowly Losing Its Vibrancy Leading To Conservatism And Obscurantism Among Muslims Worldwide. ----- 1. Why did Muslim scholars welcome diverse viewpoints on issues that were supposed to have only one truth, such as the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Karmic strings? 2. Why did Muslim scholars emphasize a curriculum that emphasized interpretations over content? 3. Islam is a religion of both unity and law. Policies that promote unity can be found largely in Islamic culture. It mainly discusses how medieval Muslim scholars came to terms with disagreements, how such consensual discussions enabled change within the Islamic educational tradition, and how the medieval recognition of these disagreements could be effectively used to address current (intra-Islamic) issues. 4. So scholars had to adopt new ways to face all these problems. I think Muslims will learn a new methodology from this diverse association. ----- I think questioning, expressing doubts and finding answers to them is the greatest part of acquiring Islamic knowledge. The early believing Companions used to ask Prophet Muhammad about their doubts and find answers. A large part of the Holy Qur'an and a large part of the hadiths contained answers to their doubts. After the death of Prophet Muhammad, the Companions (Sahabas) used to approach the prominent Sahabas who were the most knowledgeable among them and sought to learn their approaches. The later community shared their doubts with those who learned from them. Three Troubling Questions In this article, I will address three questions that have troubled me. All three explore the relevance of dissent and probing questions in Islamic society. These questions have great relevance in the new era, explaining the tolerance for dissent that is a fundamental feature of Islam. Why did Muslim scholars welcome diverse viewpoints on issues that were supposed to have only one truth, such as the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Karmic strings? Why did Muslim scholars emphasize a curriculum that emphasized interpretations over content? Why is such a consensus not possible in modern times while a successful consensus was forged between religion and society in the Middle Ages? The great crises of the Islamic world took shape with the assassination of Caliph Uthman. The Muslim community was in great conflict over many issues, such as who should succeed the Prophet. They also made their way into Islamic scholarly fields, often through power struggles. In the early days of Islam, there was great debate about the methodology of Islamic law, its nature and basic conceptualization, and the criteria for rejecting hadiths. Later, within a few centuries, scholars were able to propose solutions to all such disputes. Strictly speaking, by the time of Imam Ghazali, a general consensus had emerged on all such issues. Instead of accepting only one truth in religion, they were willing to accept many similar truths. Nizamuddin Al Sihalavi was a Muslim scholar who lived in India in the 18th century. He was the founder of the famous Darse Nizami in South Asia, and he put forward a curriculum based on dialectical skills. Following the same style adopted by Muslim scholars in the 13th century, Nizamuddin Curriculum proposed a curriculum based on Arabic grammar, polemics, and the aesthetics of words, away from the traditional education system of Qur'an and Hadith. They conducted in-depth debates on complex discussions of classical texts. Students and teachers alike discussed these complex debates in detail and arrived at solutions. It had an educational system comparable to medieval European universities. They were later criticized for emphasizing such polemical studies over traditional studies such as the Qur'an and Hadith, and the curriculum was designed to emphasize Islamic classical texts rather than polemics, such as the Deobandi educational scheme. Adopting such a curriculum is nothing new for Muslims. The system of education that existed throughout the Islamic world is the same as it is today, including in Qom in Iran. In short, such systems as Dars e Nizami have facilitated the in-depth study of texts through the ways of logic, aesthetics of words, and polemics. It can be explained that Dars e Nizami was a pan-Islamic model of education. The Failure of Consensus in Modernity During the Middle Ages, dissent was largely accepted in Islam in the context of a general consensus on the structure and functioning of Islamic society. The range of disagreements in the contemporary Islamic world is wide, so much so that Islam has grown to the point where there is no agreement even on how to accommodate the differences. The truth is that the new age does not recognize even the faintest possibility of harmony. Look at Pakistan itself, where actions exist that question even the slightest possibility of consensus in a way that overturns the broader Islamic tradition itself. The general nature of the disagreements that existed in the Islamic world is explained by the frenzy of these disagreements. They came into being as part of cultural exchange and not as part of classical texts. I am not referring to the challenges that have come with the rise of Western or global culture. Rather, it explains the differences that formed part of the local culture of the Islamic world. A good example of this is Iran, where two different cultures existed for about twelve centuries. Islamic culture, which came into being as part of religion, and Persian culture, which was formed as part of the Persian language and the Iranian monarchy, remained the same in Iran. While the two cultures existed at the same time, they often coexisted and sometimes came into conflict. Such conflicts/controversies existed not only in Iran. On the contrary, its reflections can be seen in other Islamic countries as well. In some places, even customs that had nothing to do with Islam existed in such Islamic states. An example of this is the famous Lahori Patang Bazi of Basant. This festival, which came into existence as a part of Hindu culture, was equally problematic for the devotees for religious reasons and the state for other reasons. In some places, local cultures are even given a religious form. The Sufi Dargah culture of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and some tribal traditions of Afghanistan are all cultures that have developed religion in this way. Dimensions of Dissent in Traditional Islam Islam is a religion of both unity and law. Policies that promote unity can be found largely in Islamic culture. It mainly discusses how medieval Muslim scholars came to terms with disagreements, how such consensual discussions enabled change within the Islamic educational tradition, and how the medieval recognition of these disagreements could be effectively used to address current (intra-Islamic) issues. Even during the time of the Prophet, there was a great deal of disagreement among the Muslims, and although disagreement is a natural human reaction, they referred such disagreements to the Prophet and settled them immediately. It was only about two centuries after the Prophet's death that madhhabs were formed and disagreement became a major scholarly issue. They have made scholars think deeply about the necessity of honest disagreements. In the hadiths of the Prophet, we can see a high reflection of such a coexistence. It is from the light of such hadiths that the four madhhabs, while at the same time differing, have remained a body of thought accepted by the body of law. A general equality was formed between madhhabs and the scholars of one madhhab learned and understood the ideas of another madhhab. Moreover, such approaches which accepted the differences of opinion that existed between them were later extended to other areas as well. It can be seen that two main factors are at work behind the formation of cooperative behaviour towards diversity. The first is the broad vision of Muslim unity. For the Muslims to stick to the title of one ummah despite their different social ideologies, they stood strong against the fragmentation of society. Although the Muslims were politically united for only a century, efforts to re-establish that unity still have political significance. It is significant that Muslim scholars did not use differences to settle disputes. The second point is that the very nature of Islam understood dissent as a fact of life. Islam is a religion that has given great importance to the system. After the death of the Prophets, the revelation of laws (Wahi) ceased, and Islamic law was based on the consideration of human intellect. In such a situation, honest disagreement is a big step towards reality. Such a disagreement was necessary in matters relating to a system that did not exist in the Prophet's time. However, Islamic tradition did not allow him to be declared an unbeliever, even if some disagreements led him to consider the opponent's idealism. It is in such a situation that discussions on reconciliation take an active form. Although Islamic epistemology has not changed much during the last thousand years, two major influences can be seen in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These major influences are formal logic and Ibn Arabi's Wahdat al-Wujud. Formal logic was present in the curricula of a large number of Islamic institutions, including the Dars e Nizamiya. Greek logic and philosophy were late arrivals in the Islamic world, but they generated a great deal of debate. Imam Ghazali was the first to integrate logic into legal theory in response to such a methodology. Moreover, he even gave a brief account of the importance of logic in the Muqaddama of Usul al-Fiqh. Logic as part of the religious curriculum of Islam was a re-examination of the legal objectives of Islamic philosophy. A great influence of logic can be seen in Ilmul Kalam. Ilmul Kalam was the style used by them to present arguments on various issues such as judgment, freedom and Imamate. Classical texts generally follow the pattern of authors making several arguments on controversial issues of Islamic philosophy and establishing the arguments that support their side of them in the light of the Qur'an and the Hadith. Hence, such texts have remained a record of various debates. Later, around 1300, Kalam's style changed. Until then, this branch of science, which was understood as a part of religious belief, began to be considered as a way to understand religious belief instead of religious methods. It is also during this time that theologians are turning to discussions that equate logic, epistemology, and metaphysics. Matters related to religious belief began to be read under the category of Kalam itself. Accordingly, the main subject of theology was replaced by theology and the methodology of theology. The same phenomenon occurs in other scientific fields such as Usul al-Fiqh. As far as I know, Islamic scholars do not explain precisely the reason for such a change. The same thing is happening in Europe. Whatever the cause that led to such a change, such a change was important to Islam. Fiqh is part of a long interrelationship of deeper studies such as jurisprudence, language, logic, and the commentaries of earlier scholars. This approach combining logic and linguistics has deeply influenced the knowledge of the students. Sincere disagreements were necessary. They make it clear that they are God's servants and not mentors. It should be noted that a more radical interpretation of the Dissent influenced the Islamic world at the same time, exemplified by Ibn Arabi's Wahdat al-Wujud. Ibn Arabi argued that manifestations of some aspect of God can be found in all living beings. Humans, unlike other creatures, can progress towards God. But it's just that not everyone's view of God is the same. Sufis embraced such a diversity of visions, although this never deviated from one ultimate principle of truth. In short, the medieval Islamic intellectual tradition was able to create religious homogeneity. Such tolerant disagreements were capable of incorporating different dimensions of interpretation. Gradually, they came to play a major role in the Islamic curriculum. Muslim scholars came forward to absorb the local culture and show innateness towards them. Dissent: In Contemporary Islam In the last few centuries, medieval attitudes have undergone a radical change. In a new form, old disputes are returning with great importance. This can be analysed in several ways. One of them is the collapse of traditional education. Colonialism, modernization and secularism have largely eroded the traditional Islamic educational system. Traditional Islamic education has been seriously damaged by the corruption of modern nation-states and colonial occupations. Brilliant students of religious studies are moving to modern universities and other institutions in search of lucrative careers. In some places, the traditional madrasa system itself has been disrupted or subjugated to non-social systems. India is an example of this. Through Islamic institutions run at government expense, they tried to produce religious officials who knew government ideology rather than Arabic. As far as I know, only a few countries such as India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and others continue to teach according to the traditional Islamic method of science. Literacy in Islamic countries has increased like never before in history, and major Islamic sources are available cheaply in all Islamic and European languages. As a result, new doubts and questions were raised. Similarly, the distance between cities and nations became less and less. It should also be added that the distance between Malaysia and Nigeria today is less than between Multan and Tehran two hundred years ago. Therefore, non-Muslim communities should not be surprised that Muslims have adapted their own rituals to the basic tenets of their religion. The Rise of Neo-Hambalism Rigid and boring Islam has only recently begun to take hold of the Islamic world. Formed out of the Hambali and Wahhabi traditions, this form of Islam began to spread very quickly. Neo-Hambalism, which gained momentum through literal interpretations of classical Islamic texts and rejection of non-scriptural/style, was intolerant of and dismissive of alternative madhhabs and cultures. It can be seen that Hambali Dhara was primarily concerned with logic. That must be why this sect did not have many followers. A country like Saudi Arabia, which follows a Hambali method, is very quick to adhere to such a Wahhabi movement. There is another important reason why neo-Hambalis became dominant in the world. For the Neo-Hambalis, the apparent methodology of the hadith or the Qur'an was sufficient to explain why something should or should not be done for the sake of being literal interpreters. The argument that the Qur'an and the Hadith are the only basic values of Deen and that one should not do anything beyond them is noteworthy. However, discussing the basis of neo-Hambalism is not easy, requiring deep readings into the medieval intellectual heritage. Some Reflections But let's conclude by suggesting two different approaches to overcome this dilemma. First, the Islamic tradition of wisdom can never be disrespected. It is easy to become impatient with traditional Islamic epistemology. The Islamic tradition of wisdom may be perceived as antiquated and too slow to approach new-age issues. Moreover, the great debates on infant matters that arose under this traditional method of science may seem frivolous and pointless to Muslims. Muslim modernists and fundamentalists often try to oppose this epistemological tradition. If we look at Egypt itself, we can see that secularists and Islamic revolutionary parties alike oppose Al-Azhar scholars and reject their line of knowledge. In fact, I never believe that the Islamic tradition of wisdom should be opposed. Rather, medieval scholars knew very well how to arrive at a conclusion from the sources available to them. They were clearly aware of the limitations of their logic and what their chain was. They were responsible and recognized the need for interpretations. Both fundamentalists and modernists were opposed to traditional scholars who approached the texts without any additional interpretation. Disagreements were evident on issues beyond the apparent recitation of the Qur'an and Hadith. Such readings often did more harm than good. In Indonesia itself, the attempt to generalize ijtihad in state religious institutions was part of such an approach. Thus, it attempted to construct a narrative that whitewashed government policies. Had Islam not had such a tradition, the Qur'an and the Hadith would have been reduced to a mere screen on which to project its prejudices and prejudices. Second, as far as I can tell, Muslims living in Western countries are driving such consensus in the Islamic world in modern times. Although few in number, there is no doubt that they became a successful community. Being a minority population in an entirely new culture, they are grappling with new questions and ideas about the Islamic intellectual heritage. Scholars had to reinterpret issues of diversity, cultural differences, modernity, coexistence and women's empowerment in new ways for the acceptance of non-religious people. So scholars had to adopt new ways to face all these problems. I think Muslims will learn a new methodology from this diverse association. ----- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. 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