December 07, 2012

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 published 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 book under review 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.

Man 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 demands 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