|
|
Does Islam permit
critical thinking?
By
Muhammadullah Muhammad Khalili Qasmi
Markazul Maarif Education & research
Centre, Mumbai, India
Many believe that Islam has banned
critical thinking and introduced a kind of stagnation in the field. So,
I want to answer the common question "Does Islam permit critical
thinking?"
People state, "Most Muslim schools focus
on rote memorization of religious texts and discourage independent
thinking". There are two different things; critical thinking and
rational or independent thinking. There are categories where the mind
should play its role and where it should not poke its nose. The clear
and apparent meanings of the Glorious Qur'aan and the Hadith, which are
called "Mansusaat" or 'Nusoos-e-Qatiyah' in Islamic terms, have no place
for criticism. Here, rational thinking to find out the depth is not only
permissible but also encouraged in Islam. The principle beliefs,
obligatory practices are from this category where the human mind is
allowed to explore the reasons and the facts of the matters, but it is
not allowed to criticize since the mind has its own limitation as other
human faculties have.
For instance, what the hearing faculty can do the smelling faculty
cannot, and what the eyes can see the others cannot. As we see a plane
flying in the sky, looks very little, if we use only our eyes and not
mind, it will be that the plane is small like a bird. But here, we use
our mind and say 'no' since the plane is at a certain height that is why
we see it small otherwise it is huge. As in this example, there comes
one point where the boundary of eye's action ends and the boundary of
mind's action begins. Likewise, there is one point where certainly the
human mind fails. This is a common idea every sane believes in.
But ahead of this, there is difference between Muslims and others.
Muslims believe in 'Wahy', which can be translated as 'revelation' which
is by Allah almighty to his messengers and prophets through different
ways. The action of 'Wahy' begins from where the action of human mind
comes to an end. The 'Wahy' tells us specially about the things which
generally a mere human mind cannot find out. The existence of Allah, His
attributes, the hell, the paradise, Day of Judgment etc are known only
by 'Wahy'. Since, these matters are out of the reach of human mind so
the human beings are asked just to believe in. The issue of 'wahy' is
based on a principle that every action of human being is poised with
error, it is only Allah and His Messengers who are free from human
mistakes. That is why there is no possibility of error and criticism in
their matters. The human body is temporal and mundane so the parts of
the body are also mortal. They cannot have the feeling of things which
belongs to another permanent and eternal world. This even we observe in
our day-to-day life that if a villager is told about the facts of
astronomy he nearly denies all the same.
Besides, Islam allows critical thinking in other matters. The four major
schools of thought in Islamic Fiqh i.e. Hanafi, Shaf'ee, Maliki, Hanbli
are the clear proof of the claim. The scholars, having deep knowledge of
the Glorious Qur'aan, Hadith and Islamic sciences, discussed the
matters, which were not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'aan and Hadith,
and they perform Ijtihad. In this course, they many times contradicted
each other and had different opinions about same issue. But, after all,
there opposition was barely not an opposition to play down the other but
sincere and concrete opposition based on proofs and evidences. That is
why today nearly all of the Ummah follows any of the four schools and
none of them deny the other, each of them believes that all are on right
path.
Likewise, in Islam 'Amr bil Maroof' (enjoining the right) and 'Nahy anil
Munkar' (forbidding from wrong) are the basic rules of a social life,
which Allah almighty has counted in one of the characteristics of this
Ummah as He states:
"You are the best community that has been raised up for mankind. You
enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and you believe in Allah." (Surah
Ale-Imran, 3:110)
This is emphasized by other verses and holy Hadiths, as for example a
Hadith says:
"If any of you sees an evil done he/she should stop it by his hand, if
he/she cannot he/she should protest against it, if cannot then at least
he/she should repulse it by heart, and this is the weakest from of
faith." (Sahih Muslim, V 1 p 51)
As another Hadith assets "The best form of Jihad is to utter the truth
before an oppressor ruler". You might know the story of a common person
who stood before Hazrat Umar Farooq while he was delivering a sermon and
said if you will go wrong we will rectify you by our swords, in reply
Hazrat Umar thanked Allah that his caliphate enjoys persons determined
for truth and justice. Here, one thing should be kept in mind that,
though Islam has allowed criticizing, it sternly prohibits backbiting
and hurting others.
"O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than
they (are), nor let women (deride) women who may be better than they
are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by (insulting)
nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turneth
not in repentance, such are evil doers. O ye who believe! Shun much
suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither
backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead
brother? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to
Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful." (Surah Al-Hujrat, 49:
12, 13)
So, this means that criticism should not be for the sake of criticism,
and on personal basis but it should be with a good intention, i.e.
'Islaah' based on social etiquettes.
All these things prove that Islam has never discouraged independent
thinking and criticizing, it has allowed human mind to function in areas
where it can work. Not only this that Islam has allowed independent
thinking, but it is The Glorious Qur'aan which has set the tradition of
thinking in the creation of Allah and asked its followers to reflect on
the natural phenomena. For example the Glorious Qur'aan praises people
who think:
"Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the
difference of night and day are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of
understanding. Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining,
and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our
Lord! Thou created not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from
the doom of Fire" (Surah Ale-Imran, 3: 190, 191)
Before Islam, nearly every religion, which existed then, adopted
creatures as God. This concept stopped them to think in the reality of
the creatures of the heaven and earth. When Islam came it concentrated
the human belief only in Allah and regarded the entire universe as the
servant of the human beings. Thus, Islam opened the door of independent
thinking in Muslims and it led them to a grand era of science.
It is not correct to write: "they (students) are not allowed to learn
about modern scientific ideas such as evolution, secular histories of
other nations, or anything which would conflict with the religious
tenants of Islam." There is a vast difference between believing and
learning. Islam has fully allowed Muslims to learn scientific education
but not to believe in the matters that contradict with established
Islamic beliefs. Because, the science is ever-growing and ever-changing.
For example, the scientific facts of Newton in 17th century known as
'Gravitation Laws' were so widely believed that those who denied were
called as insane. But, later in 20th century Einstein came and the
entire theory of Newton turned up side down. So, as a Muslim, one should
think whether one is going to change one's beliefs which are told by
All-Knowing Allah to the notions that have no concrete ground.
Some one wrote "Some of the religious
schools (madrasas) merely propagandize militant Islamic beliefs and
indoctrinate little boys into becoming warriors for the next Jihad." I
do not know any madrasa, specially in India, where so called 'militant
Islamic beliefs' are 'propagandized', and I do not even understand what
this 'militant Islamic beliefs' mean. Likewise, the one who made this
statement should point out in which madrasa little boys are
indoctrinated to become 'warriors for Jihad'. I will be highly thankful
to the one who wrote this to provide me correct information. Otherwise,
let me very plainly say that the above statement is a lie and some
people became habitual to believe in wide spread lies. They have closed
their sights and hearing and blocked their minds and now believe blindly
in what's being spread by some anti-Islamic elements.
Allah knows the best!
|
