The Revival of Religious Thought

"Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:

Some companions of Mu'adh ibn Jabal said: When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) intended to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises?

He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah's Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah's Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).

He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and in Allah's Book?

He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort (Ijtihad).

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of Allah."

(Sunan Abu Dawud - Book 24 Number 3585 - Kitab Al-Aqdiyah)

The above hadith clearly gives legitimacy to the practice of Ijtihad for this companion of Prophet Muhammad (saaws). His understanding of Ijtihad was well formulated in that he understood its relationship to the texts (Qur'an and example of the Prophet). We can also conclude that the Prophet (saaws) was pleased with Mu'adh's willingness to exercise Ijtihad. What we can draw from this is that it is permissible and always has been to practice Ijtihad when one has been chosen by the Prophet, himself. But what about the common everyday Muslim? Should we all exercise Ijtihad freely? Should we pass fatawa on a daily basis for ourselves and our families?

The revival of religious thought in the Ummah depends on how we approach Al-Islam. We must answer the above questions for ourselves. There is no khalifa, no Imam, and no single judge present today who will give us the correct verdict or pass the correct judgment. We must, therefore, formulate some method of religious thought that is relevant to our current situation.

As we established in the previous articles, the application of religious knowledge depends upon the time-space factors of the people in question. Human beings are trapped within the entropy of time and space. It is a part of our daily lives. It exists because WE exist, so there is essentially no escape from that which binds us and makes us the worldly creations that we are. We cannot therefore suppose that we will find hadith about the permissibility of shoveling snow. We will not find text support the legitimacy of Islamic web sites and mailing lists. These concepts and ideas are not specifically found in the Qur'an or life example of the last Prophet (saaws).

We know the greatness of the Qur'an. We know that it is a book that holds in it treasures that are unlocked everyday, and for every treasure that is discovered, there are hundreds more still to be unveiled. This is the greatness and inerrancy of the Qur'an. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed it for the benefit of all humanity, and it has proven to be so. It is universal, and its message is as applicable today as it was 1400 years ago. It is this flexibility, however, that requires intelligent interpretation and reasoning. Allah has not given us reason simply so that we may tie our shoes and decide which item to eat first on our plates.

Allah, the Most High, granted us this special, innate, unique characteristic of reason so that we might find a better way to serve Him. This is the ultimate goal of our lives. The Qur'an was revealed for the benefit of all humanity, and its benefit is visible in the fields in which it has caused humanity to excel. We know that if we study history, we will learn that most of the major scientific, mathematical, artistic, theological, philosophical, sociological, and many other discoveries were a direct or indirect result of someone picking up the Qur'an and learning from it. This is the reality of the Qur'an's supreme wisdom given to us by Almighty Allah.

All these discoveries, however, are not solely for the benefit of worldly gain. With the progression of worldly gain comes ease in attaining spiritual gain. We excel in this life only to please Allah with the hope of gaining reward in the next. So, just as our physical selves are tools toward a higher goal, our intellectual selves are tools toward that same lofty station. It is therefore not only important that we use this intellect to grow in our Deen (way of life), but it is obligatory!

Allah says in al-Qur'an:

"High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge." (20:114)

The Holy Prophet (saaws) said, "Whoever has been given the Qur'an and thinks that anyone has been given something better, he has degraded what Allah has exalted."

Ali ibn Abu Talib said to Kamil: "O Kamil, knowledge is better than wealth. Knowledge guards you but you are guarding wealth. Knowledge dispenses justice while wealth seeks justice. Wealth decreases with expense while knowledge increases with expense. He said: A learned man is better than one who prays and fights in the way of Allah. When a learned man dies, such a calamity befalls on Islam which cannot be removed except by his successor."

We as Muslims cannot close the door on Ijtihad. To do so is to close the door on knowledge itself. It is no wonder to anyone who freely studies knowledge why Muslims are in this poor state. We are poor mentally in matters of our religion. The greatest argument against allowing Ijtihad is that the Muslims are uneducated, while the greatest cause of their uneducated state was the termination of Ijtihad.

It is extremely odd that some scholars even held the view that Ijtihad was permissible as long as it was not over any issue that had already been decided by one of the 4 Imams. This is while the Imams themselves instructed their followers to seek knowledge and to follow something contrary to their rulings if it was better and more religiously correct than what they had themselves conveyed.

Several changes have occurred in the world that bring new hope for the future generations of Muslims. One major change was the revolution in Iran. It brought the world's attention to the fact that Ijtihad never stopped in places such as Qom. Major Islamic movements across the globe have also kept the spirit of Ijtihad alive. In India, Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, other places all over the globe, the free exercise of religious thought is surfacing.  The Mujtahideen are free to pass their verdicts without the fear of persecution from their own people, while the non-mujtahideen are free to follow them or to follow someone else. The spirit of freedom of thought has re-emerged in Al-Islam, and with it has come a sense of unity and closeness to Allah that has not been felt for years by Muslims. People are once again becoming educated about Al-Islam.

Perhaps the most unexpected location to find the rise of Ijtihad has to be the Western hemisphere. Over the past 50 or so years, religious thought has surfaced in places such as England, the United States, and Australia. The communities of Muslims are small, but their impact in such a short amount of time has been phenomenal. The realization of the time-space factor plays no bigger role anywhere than it does in these countries. Detached and isolated from their fellow Muslims by oceans and by language barriers, these brothers and sisters have been left with no other choice but to re-open the doors of Ijtihad. Contemporary rulings on religious matters are now as common as the daily prayers, but has it gone too far?

Muslims should not be captivated too much by the idea of modern Ijtihad. While it is forbidden for a Muslim not to exercise one's ability to reason for oneself when one is cognizant of the texts on that issue, a Muslim should not exercise Ijtihad on matters about which he or she has no knowledge. It is dangerous to do so as the person could lead himself and possibly others astray from what is right. Allah says:

"O you who believe! Obey Allâh and obey the Messenger, and those of you who are in authority. If you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allâh and His Messenger, if you believe in Allâh and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination."

Qur'an (4:59)

We also must not forget the group of companions who killed the injured man by washing him when they should have consulted the Prophet (saaws) to clarify the matter. This is the reality of Al-Islam. We should not feel uncomfortable about thinking for ourselves, but we should also know when to ask others for help.

Through these methods of reasoning, dialogue, understanding, and intellectual growth, Muslims will expand as a community. Once our minds are strengthened, differences of opinion will seem insignificant because we will realize and truly grasp the universality of Al-Islam. Our differences will unite us instead of divide us. Each person's knowledge will contribute to the collective body that is One Ummah, and insha'Allah, the revival of religious thought will take place.

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Sources (For all 3 articles in this series):

1. Sunan Abu Dawud, English Translation --- Translator: Prof. Ahmad Hasan

2. The History of Al-Tabari: The Caliphate of Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan

3. Ijtihad by Dr. Taha Jabir al-'Alwani

4. Sahih Al-Bukhari, Arabic and English Translation

5. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic by Hans Wehr

6. Ihya Ulum-id-Deen by Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali