From Ustadh Suhaib Webb's blog:
A problem that we face now in the West in the House of Islam is the rise of a liberal current clothed in an Islamic discourse that pretends to be a da’wah to ijithad and revival. This da’wah, which has emerged in the West affirms “the Aims Of The Shar’iah” but has done so at the expense of textual support and without the support of a wholstic methodology that surveys Islamic texts globally. They are reading the source texts piecemeal and dismiss being informed by scholarly legal methodology [Usul al-Fiqh] and tradition [scholarly experience.
This is why they raise issues that are non-starters they bring up issues about polygamy, womens’ rights, Islamic criminal law etc. in the name of a more humanistic read of Islam and according to the claim of being more in line with the spirit of the Qur’an. Not all that is said is problematic but this current would do well to first initiate itself in rigorous scholarly methodology rather than in sensationalist events and the discipline of debate.
The liberal discourse because it opened itself up to the philosophy of postmodernism that is the likes of Derrida, and Foucault and the school of Hermeneutics and literary criticism and other currents that claim to be tools of textual interpretation, would have the Muslim submit to cultural relativity prior to a thorough read of Islamic sources and literature [tradition].
The key here is not to engage the debate as it is a tool of mass distraction, the key is to focus on:
a.] Education
b.] To master Maqasid ash-Shar’iah studies to the degree we can
c.] To Learn how the sources of Islam well, both: The Qur’an, Sunnah and tradition in light of maqasid studies [ta’lil [wisdom, reasons, underlying purposes of Shar’iah and ta’dlil [textual evidence].
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4 comments:
Yaser - this is in congruence with my own theories on "cultural relativism" it simply ensures that cultural relativity follows - not precedes - a thorough reading of Islamic sources and literature.
Very Interesting. I think Shaikh Suhaib does a tremendous job of arguing one of my points from a previous discussion.
"The purpose of such an initiation is so that the student learns how to search out the underlying wisdom of “shar’iah” but does so within the parameters laid out by revelation –the Qur’an and Sunnah and considering the experience of the Ulema of the past and their intellectual efforts at understanding Islamic texts.
A problem that we face now in the West in the House of Islam is the rise of a liberal current clothed in an Islamic discourse that pretends to be a da’wah to ijithad and revival. This da’wah, which has emerged in the West affirms “the Aims Of The Shar’iah” but has done so at the expense of textual support and without the support of a wholstic methodology that surveys Islamic texts globally. They are reading the source texts piecemeal and dismiss being informed by scholarly legal methodology [Usul al-Fiqh] and tradition [scholarly experience. "
Islam is a religion for all mankind until Qiyamah and thus there is of course nothing within the religion that is inherently opposed to "cultural relativism" as we see several prominent examples of this throughout Islamic History. However, it is not enough to simply require an individual to perform a thorough reading of Islamic Sources and literature in order to propose such ideas, but in fact the issue at hand is reputable scholarship.
Every industry or field has respected institutions of learning that provide certifications and/or degrees that command international recognition. If a person were to read or even master the texts of medicine or engineering without obtaining accreditation from these universities, few, if any would even accept scholarly testimony from such a person.
Similarly the scholarly tradition of Islam is extremely rich in history. Each time a student has mastered a subject the instructor authorizes that student with an ijazah, tracing all the way back to the earliest generations of Islam. By no means does this process limit intellectual thought or the capacity to question and even disagree with one's teachers, yet it maintains that one is grounded firmly in the tradition. Perhaps the greatest example of this is Imam Shafi who studied under the Imam Malik yet is credited with formulating an entire fiqh, often times holding starkly contrasting views to those of his predecessor.
Failing to recognize the importance of this rich tradition and to rely solely on contemporary analysis and intellect will not only cause such a person to lose credibility in traditional scholarly circles but often times lead to erroneous conclusions, a result of not following the proper methodologies that force one to incorporate such principles into the process.
WallahuAlam....Feel free to disagree
I heard a rumour that Suhaib Webb will be joining the Almaghrib Institute - word up!
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