June
14, 2007
A Scholar’s Plea for the Resumption
of Ijtehad
Syed Osman Sher, an economist
by discipline and profession, a student of history
by inclination who has already authored three books
highlighting certain aspects of Indian history that
had not received much attention earlier, has just
come out with a book on “Religion, God and
Islam” which is a well-researched work that
convincingly advocates the resumption of Ijtehad
by the Muslim community. Also, he presents a workable
plan for achieving this objective.
Osman Sher, who lives now in Toronto, Canada, has
to his credit 35 years of service in senior posts
and diplomatic assignments with the Government of
Pakistan and international setups such as the UN,
CENTO and SAARC. Occasionally, he has contributed
articles to Pakistan Link also.
His new book on religion is divided in two parts.
The first part covers the history of religion and
of God; the second part deals with the emergence
of Islam, its spirit and philosophy, its personal
and social ethics, the challenges it is facing now
and the pressing need for the resumption of Ijtehad
to meet them.
Religion, Sher contends, is ingrained in human nature.
Even the atheists and agnostics have a streak of
religion in them. It is imbedded in man’s
helplessness vis-à-vis the forces of nature
that are much more powerful than his meager self.
He does not want to share his wealth with anyone,
but he would like everyone to share his faith, for
the simple reason that it would attest to the correctness
of his own beliefs.
For millennia a cosmic drama is being played in
which three actors, God, Devil and Man, have held
leading roles. The drama would have been insipid
and colorless without the villainy of the Devil.
“Utopia”, maintains Sher, “is
only a concept, imagined, impracticable, impossible…
producing a painful monotony.”
In his 25-page chapter on Religion and God, he has
deliberated scholarly on the chief concepts of various
faiths leading up to an enquiry in the next chapter
on one god or many. He has profiled the beliefs
obtaining at various times in various cultures and
civilizations -Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Abrahamic,
Judaic, Christian etc. He contends that monotheism
was the original and dominating theme in most of
these societies but concepts of polytheism were
weaved into them mainly by priests and power-wielding
leaders of people in pagan communities. He has given
the details of how the concept of trinity was introduced
into the monotheistic teachings of Jesus Christ.
The second part of the book dealing with Islam holds
particular interest for the readers of this column.
The contents of the first two chapters which describe
the advent of Islam, its philosophy and spirit will
not be discussed in this column as the readers are
generally aware of them.
Chapter 6 dealing with “Islam in the Changing
Times” merits particular attention of the
readers. For, this chapter constitutes the crux
of what Sher has to say. He advocates the revival
of the tradition of ‘Ijtehad’,
lying dormant for almost a millennium, to tackle
the problems confronting the community (Umma)
in the current global milieu.
From the days of the prophet to the end of the eleventh
century, problems faced by the Muslim community
were resolved through Ijtehad. The author has described
some of these under the heading ‘Ijtehad of
the Prophet and the Caliphs’ (pages.135-139).
He describes Ijtehad as an effort to ponder deeply
on an issue with a view to finding its solution
that is in consonance with the basic spirit of Islam
and its jurisprudence (Shariah). During the first
four Khalifs (heads of the Muslim community) after
the demise of the Prophet, Ijtehad was a simple
matter as all of them had witnessed the advent of
Islam, the Quranic revelations, and were privy to
the thought process of the prophet Their edicts
on issues not covered by the Quran and Sunna were
therefore readily accepted.
Controversies raised their heads, particularly in
the political arena, during the immediately following
Ummayad period. The tussle for leadership between
Ali ibne Abu Talib, son-in-law of the prophet, and
Imam Muawiya, gave rise to a school of thought called
Khwarjis who gave a very strict and harsh interpretation
of Islamic tenets and resorted to even violence
to make people accept their narrow view of religious
principles. Anyone, for instance, who committed
a grave sin, could even be executed. In reaction
to this, another school came up with a much lenient
approach to issues. They were called Murajeya -people
hopeful that God in his munificence would forgive
even grave sins. The Umayyad exploited this to indulge
in their luxuries and aberrations. Simultaneously
another school of thought called Jabria surfaced
to put forth the view that every thing is pre-destined.
That justified obedience to even a sinning despot.
As a reaction to this, a school of thought called
Qadariya came to the fore that claimed that every
individual was responsible for his actions, so were
the Ummayad khalifs for their sins. Soon came the
Muatezillah, the rationalists who emphasized logic
as the arbiter in all disputes. They raised logic
to the level of revelation, as they believed that
all revelations were based on pristine logic. This
gave rise to Ahle Hadith who rejected the Greek
system of using logic as the touchstone. They thought
that all issues could be resolved in the light of
the teachings of the Quran and the traditions of
the prophet. They are often referred to as fundamentalists.
Meanwhile, some thinkers highlighted the significance
of spiritualism and advocated a mystic creed (Tassawuf)
for a direct link with the Almighty.
The debates and discussions set in motion by these
different schools of thought created confusion among
the common people as well as the jurists. To put
an end to this, Imam Ghizali (d.1111) collated and
compiled the edicts of eminent jurists and exercising
his own judgment presented a reconciled and final
version on various issues. He also put a stop to
debates on the issues already covered. He was a
jurist of such a high caliber that his decision
was accepted by the other jurists and the door to
Ijtehad was shut for a long, long time to come.
Of course there were several other factors too that
lent support to this development.
Significantly, it was during this very period of
debates, discussions and dialectics that books on
various subjects were translated into Arabic and
a shining phase of creativity commenced in the Muslim
world. Numerous bright stars appeared on the firmament
of knowledge: Al-Kwarsmi in algebra, Al Idrisi in
geography, Ibne Khaldun in sociology and history,
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in philosophy, Ibn al-Baytar
in Chemistry, and Razi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and
Ibn al-Nafis in medical sciences.
It is high time, contends Sher, that the Muslim
community broke the intellectual inertia and engaged
in research and innovation. He maintains that the
process would be faster and more effective if worked
under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic
Countries (OIC). He recommends the setting up a
Fiqh Council comprising 20-25 eminent scholars drawn
from various walks of life.
He mentions, in the last chapter, some issues that
merit consideration by the proposed council. He
has talked at some length about the current controversy
over interest and usury. He has looked at the issue
mainly from the viewpoint of a student of economics.
His vast experience in the field of economic development
demand attention to his contention.
To sum up, I would regard this book as a must read
for the Muslims of South Asia residing in North
America. To get a copy, you may consider contacting
the author at: Osman_Sher@Yahoo.com arifhussaini@hotmail.com
