Wednesday, September 26

Islamic Branching

There are many interpretations of Islam in existence today, and that's disregarding the pedant's stance which says that Islamic practise is unique to all individuals. But even if we stuck to the more formal schools and interpretations there are a dazzling array of opinions, thoughts, philosophy and practise of the religion.

I think what makes these Islams different to the equivalent divisions found in other modern religions are their common baseline, namely the Quran and its corresponding basic theology (and so this discussion is limited only to those Islams which agree on these fundamental ingredients).

The mutual acceptance of a difference in opinion varies in reality though. Sufism was practised by some of the greats, but most mainstream Muslims seem to pour scorn on any mention of it. We have four main accepted Sunni schools of thought, each with a teacher at the head whose lives were spent becoming interpretive experts, and there was no reason to think each weren't equally sensible in forming their conclusions. Yet some of us spend so much time trying to convince each other we are doing something wrong.

Whichever stance a Muslim eventually takes, it must always start from the baseline: a reading of the Quran (if possible without even interpretation). In this way it's like a constant religious axiom. Some further inputs are other scriptural sources (mainly the Hadith), the cultural contexts in which we exist and other "real life" considerations like science, technology and even secular ideals. These are then fed into a methodology which eventually results in outputs in the form of rulings and prescription.

These inputs are "spatially" relatively constant between all the various Islamic groups by virtue of them all living in the same here and now. However, since they change "temporally" (apart from the scriptural sources of course) we should expect the rulings and prescriptions to change over time too - and that's while making the huge assumption that the methodologies remain static. They probably don't since, recursively, they're based on rulings too.

Another source of difference is perception. This acts like a random variable input into the methodology-machine and means that you can get two different outputs with the exact same inputs. As a real life example of this, just check out how Islam is practised in Indonesia versus how it is practised in Saudi Arabia. We can't say which is right or wrong or how they rank in terms of closeness to the truth since they've both developed in exactly the same manner, if not with the same conclusions.

This discussion isn't meant to suggest we all get out our own methodology machines and run them flippantly to get our own tailored versions of Islam; no, most of us just aren't equipped to do this. We have to first spend the months or years it takes to become an expert in doing so, but the point is that there is no reason for us, through this expertise, to stop generating new rulings if we wanted to today.

The various practises of Islam that we see today are nothing but branches of a big old Islamic tree. Each are equivalent in status and validity and none are closer to the truth than the other. And who knows? Once we consider living with our differences as an essential requirement for a genuine ummah, perhaps we might show a bit of unity too?

15 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. my 1st reply just got deleted :@

    i had to use the dictionary and still prolly dont understand everything youve written or what you mean/imply (condoning a division in Islam or just the branching?) but the last question is definitely food for thought.

    your writing is devoid of the emotional angle. i guess thats what makes you an intellect.

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  3. intawesting.##not sure what methodology machine means though.

    i like the tree analogy, reminds me of that jeff buckley song 'all f lowers in time turn towards the sun'.

    we must not waste time in fruitless willy waving debate treu,. but i reckon we should know our stuff and tactically avoid sill discos.

    talking about the tree.#
    some of the cultural branches twisting in time and space and have come together. also indivudually, some went through a time warp, others want just money, others are pretending to be religious because they are female and want a husband.

    stressing islamic learning is always a good idea, quran and ramadan come most immediately to mind... as do notions of ummah... but not notions that mock its complexity.


    every single ramadan i feel that the uk slim at least grow closer to each other.... though thats probably in my own little world.

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  4. Anonymous19:03

    Nice. nothing new about the sentiment expressed, but written very elegantly and persuasively.

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  5. Anonymous19:04

    ELOQUENTLY was the word i was looking for!

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  6. Same here, like the tree analogy - although my tree branches would also extend to those not considered within the ummah. Although their 'baseline' isn't the Quran, I do think the ultimate baseline is God or even conscious living - choosing to live accordance to the best of your surroundings and for the best of those around you.

    Not sure if you will see this in keeping with what you're talking about...but there is a link. Humanity always comes before the ummah - because it is an extension of it - so in essence the biggest 'tree' you can have...

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  7. >> your writing is devoid of the emotional angle. i guess thats what makes you an intellect.

    nope. just makes him unemotional...a bit of a borg! ;-)

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  8. he's gardening, he doesn nee to weep into his flowerpots.

    humanity is a different ummah, intersecting but not the same (id use some set theory bu i cant remember)

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  9. But encompassing. Thought I could make an extension to the above. My dui taka.

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  10. Anonymous20:01

    Granted but isn't your point about roads lead to God. University of all faiths and all that.

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  11. sofi wrote: "i had to use the dictionary and still prolly dont understand everything youve written or what you mean/imply..."

    ...so let me get this straight ...you used a dictionary and still spelt 'probably' as 'prolly'. i don't know what dictionary you're using but may i suggest you get the oxford english or collins version ;)

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  12. you're starting to sound more and more like a hindu, agnostic or atheist shakil. with talk like that, i wonder why you still resist the temptation of being all encompasssing of everyone, regardless of religion, of being 'on the right path' as long as they essentially 'do the right thing'.

    surely "allah" is just an arbitrary name, and as long as you try to be a decent person, what difference does it make whether you take that name, another name, or indeed no name at all?

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  13. ps. do you know what i hate about your blog shakil (actually you probably do!) ...it's that you write some good articles but there's no platform for debate ...most especially because you refuse to participate out of some misguided sense of principle, false reasoning, or sheer stubborness!

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  14. >>nope. just makes him unemotional...a bit of a borg! ;-)

    hahaha...nah my version sounds abit better to those who wish to see it that way...!

    >>you used a dictionary and still spelt 'probably' as 'prolly'.

    erm..needless to say (and without deliberately insulting one's intelligence)..there is an obvious difference: i was checking the definition of something rather than how to spell it. one doesn't necessitate the other if you know how to spell (generally speaking!).

    >>..but may I suggest you get the oxford english or collins version ;)

    whaaatttt?! folk recommending hardcopy? ;-)

    >>you're starting to sound more and more like a hindu, agnostic or atheist shakil. with talk like that, i wonder why you still resist the temptation of being all encompasssing of everyone, regardless of religion, of being 'on the right path' as long as they essentially 'do the right thing'.

    mwahah...wicked. simply put: Shak The Great aligning himself with all and sundry! :D

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