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All fundamental principles which the book contains must be absolute (in the sense of it not relative or limited by circumstance of its time). It can be shown to contain perennial relevance and remain as true today as they had been asserted in the past at the time of its revelation, as they will remain true in the future.
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The Blue Qur'an in Kufic Script
- Relativism and contemporary scholarship
Many non-Muslim academicians and Orientalists, researching on Islam, have claimed themselves to be objective and neutral in their findings. Although they oftentimes shower accolades and praises for many astounding aspects of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and the teachings of Islam, yet the fact that they have remained uncommitted to accept Islam has been a puzzle to many Muslims. “How is it that they know so much about the truth concerning the greatness of our Prophet s.a.w. and yet never became a Muslim?” Some Muslims are unaware of how ridiculous and naïve they are when they are quick to offer excuses for such people saying: “perhaps God has not given them the divine guidance (Taufiq wa-al-Hidayah) yet”, as though God is to be blamed for this! Have they asked these people the reason why they are not yet committed to accepting Islam? It all boils down to their approach, and their motive and intention in studying Islam. Perhaps Islam is, to them, merely a subject to satisfy their intellectual curiosity; or the academic field which they happen to be involved in; but never as a personal quest to finding Truth and of seeking the path to salvation.
There are some Muslims who are overawed by these non-Muslim scholars and would imitate and even advocate that other Muslims also be as “objective” as their Orientalist mentors when they study Islam. In their opinion, it seems that to be “objective” one must remain aloof, like an outsider looking in only, and not to subject one’s personal faith or belief to the findings in one’s research. This method has inadvertently created certain modern Muslim academicians and intellectuals who may be well informed about Islam but who are not committed to its truth and its teachings as ad-Deen . And sadly, because they are seen as Muslims, people may confuse them as though they are the Islamic scholars “(al-‘ulama’) of our time, whereas, these are people who may in fact be pursuing the same sentiment and agenda of their Orientalists teachers.
Questionable - objectivity and neutrality
We are to note that these people’s claim of objectivity and neutrality is questionable, knowing that the approach to the study of religion has been very much influenced by anthropology and the humanistic social sciences, which posited the premise that religions are mere projections of human imaginations – that man created religion out of his need for it; that it is something relative – a mere phenomenon in human history. They reject any form of absolutism, for they have already embraced secular philosophy as the guiding principle of their research. For them to include acknowledgement of God’s existence and to accept as absolute reality the idea of divine communication (revelation), would be taboo, for they always assume that these should only belong to theology and not to science. Rarely, if ever, are their assumptions challenged in the academic discourses and theses, when they purport that all religions are mere products of man’s own ingenuity and not a proof for the existence of an Absolute being? If such is their thinking on Islam, then perhaps they would have presumed (i.e. taken for granted) that whatever principles Muhammad s.a.w. could possibly bring, would be but from a mortal. Those principles would have been totally affected by the knowledge and understanding relative to his time so that in the future, these might be contradicted and displaced by later wisdom. And after 1400 years, they may imagine that many of these principles would have to be discarded and changed. Alas, this presumption is unfounded to their disappointment, when time and again the Muslims rallying call in reformation is not by embracing evolution and surrender to the inevitability of change, but rather “the return to the Qur’an and As-sunnah”.
THE CASE FOR AL-QUR’AN
If one is truly objective (in the sense of seeking justice) and is sincere in analysing the history of the Arabs and in comparing their condition before with that after the revelation of the Qur’an, it would become obvious that their society underwent a drastic change – one that was quite revolutionary. Their trends, worldview and accepted norms were in fact overturned and replaced with fundamental principles quite unknown to them before this, and since then it has continued to be adhered to even till today. Moreover, these principles can justifiably be said to be too advanced for that time, so that they cannot be explained away as having their origin in human and societal influences current at that time.
Muhammad s.a.w. was a well-known personality where there were no lacunae to his presence and history living amongst his people. His noble lineage and character were never doubted, and his being illiterate and having never undergone any tutelage from anyone were well-known. In addition, prior to his receiving the Qur’anic revelation he had never shown any ambitious tendencies or revolutionary streak by challenging those around him but was known to lead an unassuming life. All these points must be noted.
It was only after receiving the revelation and following its commandments that Muhammad s.a.w. made an impact – albeit a revolutionary one and with principles and a message that confronted and challenged many common values held by his community; a message which was even regarded as quite alien to the Arabic and the Quraishite tribalistic tradition and to the existing worldview. If a parallel needs to be drawn, Muhammad s.a.w. cannot be said to belong amongst philosophers and thinkers or revolutionaries of human history, but rather he belongs to a genre known to the monotheistic tradition as Prophets and Messengers of God. And this is what he did claim himself to be. Yet the Arabs had had no such precedents or known such traditions ever since the times of the Prophets Ibrahim a.s. (Abraham) and Isma-il a.s. (Ishmael). If ever it is true, as purported by some, that his claim could be influenced via human contact and social intercourse, then Muhammad’s assertion and achievement would not be unique – because others would surely have been similarly affected and would have been known to them even if it were to be of a lesser degree. But, were there any? Those who would make such a claim must prove it.
How to prove?
Thus the challenge (as earlier mentioned in Criterion 2) for doubters to “then bring a Surah like there unto” would have been easily responded to, but yet none was ever produced. Those who are familiar with the Judeo-Christian tradition, and who can identify a similarity with Muhammad’s claim, have always connected it with the phenomena of revelation rather than of a purely humanistic origin. Such an example is the case of Waraqah ibn Naufal, the cousin of Khadijah r.a.; a man who was acquainted with the religion of the Christians and Jews. When told of Muhammad’s experience on the mountain he identified the source of the visitation as “Namus” whom he asserted had in the past come to Abraham and Moses, and foretold that Muhammad would follow similar fate as theirs. Another was Salman al-Farisi r.a. (Salman the Persian) who identified Muhammad as the awaited Prophet mentioned in Judeo-Christian scriptures, and became one of the early converts and a close confidant to Muhammad s.a.w.
Its fundamental teachings established and upheld
Below are a few of the fundamental teachings, which have been established and continuously upheld by Muslims. These are teachings which came to reform the lives of people of Muhammad’s time and that have continued to be relevant in reforming subsequent generations of Muslims. We are to note that the Qur’anic concept of religious reformation (tajdid) is not about changing or mere replacement of old with new, in the way that this may have occurred in Western Christianity. In Islam, reformation is renewal in the sense of restoring the original, pristine, and fundamental teachings of Islam amidst the accumulated general practices, such that Islam is viewed afresh and relevant practise is applied. This is by careful removal of all secondary accretions or innovations which may have been introduced because of contextual needs relative at the time of application of certain Islamic practice (but which may in time have lost their relevance and may cause deviation in practice of the people if continued to be adhered to). This reformation is also achieved by referring back closely to the primary and fundamental principles (which have universal relevance) and from which new but yet relevant approaches are found to replace the particular practice that requires reform. Thus it is that Muslims are ever confident of ensuring the continual applicability and relevance of Islam because these universal teachings have been permanently preserved in the Qur’an as well as in the authenticated reports of the Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w. Qualified Islamic scholars or jurists (fuqaha’) are trained to differentiate between teachings which are secondary from those which are primary; the mere outward forms from the essential inherent teachings, the general from the particular, the non-specific from the specific, and the non-principles from the principles.
As an illustration let us look at the Islamic stand against alcohol, which covers every intoxicant, and that is shown in this verse.
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا ٱلۡخَمۡرُ وَٱلۡمَيۡسِرُ وَٱلۡأَنصَابُ وَٱلۡأَزۡلَـٰمُ رِجۡسٌ۬ مِّنۡ عَمَلِ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ فَٱجۡتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ
“O You who have attained to faith! Intoxicants, and games of chance, idolatrous practices, and the divining of the future are but a loathsome evil of Satan’s doing: Shun them so that you may be successful “(Qur’an: Ma’idah: 5: 90)
Although during the Prophet’s time the actual drink or intoxicant by this term “khamr” which it referred to specifically was a kind of drink made from fermented grapes i.e. wine, yet it cannot be limited to wine. This is because, according to lexicologists, the Arabic word “khamr” which is derived from the verb “khamara” carries the meaning “he concealed” or “obscured” and therefore it generally denotes every substance the use of which obscures the intellect i.e. intoxicates. Its use specifically for wine during the Prophet’s time was only incidental. Thus every Islamic scholar holds to the juristic maxim: “al-‘ibratu bi umuu-mi al-lafz, laa bi- khu-suu-si al-sabab” which means: “the lesson (the principle or precept to be followed) is on the general (meaning and application of the) phrase, not to the specific cause (i.e. particular object per se which happen to be referred to).” Although wine seemed to be specifically referred to at the time of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. yet in principle, what is being condemned is every kind of intoxicant substance (the use of which obscures the intellect) that is known or will be known to man. And today, the dangers of alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction are well acknowledged scourges, whereas the Qur’an has not only explicitly warned mankind against it over the last 1400 years, it has since that time built a movement towards eradicating this menace and has been successful in producing the biggest society of teetotallers with an uncompromising stance towards all kinds of alcohol; a community that accepts it should “shun them” totally, not even imbibing a drop of it.
Principles such as these have timeless relevance and values which, although remaining firm and unchanging but yet permits flexibility or rather adaptability in regard to its application. This is because it takes into consideration the actual context in the life faced by people in each era. As a result it has remained resilient to changing circumstances. This is how the principle teachings in the Qur’an continue to remain universally relevant. This wisdom which has its basis in the Qur’an and was well understood by the Prophet s.a.w., cannot be something that can be attributed to the human mind .
Although much can be said, for the sake of brevity I have chosen just a few examples of these principles to show that these are totally original teachings which could not be due to the influence of the society or any trends in the period in which Muhammad s.a.w. lived, yet these principle teachings remain relevant and continue to be upheld, thus proving their universality.
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