The Slippery Slope of a Muslim Modernist !

In the name of Allaah, Most Merciful, Dispenser of Mercy.

La Hawla Wala Quwwata illaa Billaah - There Is no power nor might except with Allaah.

When they could not take Muslims out of Islam they implanted the Modernist to take Islam out of the hearts leaving them like Hollow Shell

-Shaykh Ahmed Jibril-



Rational Empiricism implies confidence in human intellect and experience. It implies that human intellect has the full ability to drive what is best for human society. Islamic Civilization, on the other hand, regards the laws revealed by God as the ultimate way for humans. No man-made laws can be superior to that of God. One of the contemporary challenges faced by religious Society today is how to reconcile religious Beliefs with Modernity. With trends like Atheism, Secularism, liberal values and the increase of science and technology, many say religion is becoming old -Fashioned and it is occupying a small space. If religion ought to stay it must meet up with the challenges of modern times.

Today a set of Muslims called Muslim modernists, want to make Islam compatible with modern science and modernity. They say if Islam is going to be compatible with modernity it needs to be upgraded. Islam is a divine religion and not a computer System or software which it database could run out-of-date with time. Islam is a religion from God based on a culture designed by God. Islam as a divine religion has all it takes to survive through all ages(without modification), hence Islam is dated not to be outdated.

Jamaal Al-Din Zarabozo in an article attributed to him said; we can relate ideologically the modernist movement spreading these days to one sect in the past. This sect is called the Mu'tazila, which is dated back to the third Islamic century. Although those people accepted the Qur'an and Sunnah they made ta'wil (their own interpretation of the Qur'an) and said 'aql(intelligence) takes precedence over naql(guidance of the Prophet). However, this school died out.

Historically, Islamic Modernism was a movement that started in the 19th century which has been described as the first ideological response attempting to reconcile Islamic faith with western modern values such as nationalism, democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality and progress.

The leader of this trend was Jamal al-Din al-Afghani(1839-1897) who travelled throughout the Muslim world calling for reform and Pan-Islamism. Jamal al-Din travelled to India, Makkah, and Constantinople, setting finally in Egypt. He called for free political, religious and scientific thought and denounced Taqlid and state corruption. Jamal al-Din taught these ideas at the University of al-Azhar and influenced many who studied under him. Unfortunately, some of Jamal al-Din's ideas were extreme. For example, he elevated the human mind and its logical deductions to a level equal to that of Divine Revelation. His intentions also became suspect due to his involvement with Masonic movement which was at that time establishing new branches in the Middle-East( Muhammad Muhammad Husayn, al-Ittijahat al-Wataniyah fi al-Adab al-Arabi al-Mu'asir, vol.1, p.153. See also Religion in the Middle East, Vol.2, p.37 as in Clash of Civilization)

Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905 CE) was among Afghani's most famous students. The extreme views of his teacher caused Muhammad Abduh to lean toward extreme modernism, and he also eventually deviated in some of his interpretations and legal rulings. For example, in his Tafsir of the Qur'an, Abduh apologetically explained away all of the miracles attributed to the Prophets directly and performed by God through the forces of nature. To him, the flocks of birds which dropped clay pebbles on the Yemenite army of Abrahah and his elephant during their attack on the Ka'abah, mentioned in the Quran, were simply airborne microbes which spread disease among them. Likewise, he 'issued' fatawa allowing Muslims to be involved in a business transaction involving interest. Muhammad 'Abduh's main student, Muhammad Rashid Rida(d. 1935), carried on his mentor's attack on Taqlid but rejected most of his teacher's excesses. However, other students of Muhammad 'Abduh became the nucleus of the extreme modernist movement and deviated in many areas even more than their teacher. For example, his student Qasim Amin (d.1908) was the first to make a vehement attack on polygamy, the simplicity of Islamic divorce and the use of the veil. In India, Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) proposed an overall program of Muslim revival based on full co-operation with the British Colonialist administration. He sought to interpret Islam according to the liberal nineteenth-century worldwide view most prominently presented in British culture(The clash of Civilization)

This movement Gave birth to modern-day Muslim Modernists. Today the idea that Islamic religious doctrine needs to be reinterpreted in other to reconcile Islamic faith with modern values is preached by Muslim Modernists. To these Muslim modernists, modernization to them is westernization, hence it is not reconciling Islamic faith with modern values, but the real idea is to reconcile Islamic faith with western values of secular democracy. This category of Muslim Modernists advocate for liberal Values, the greatest sadness you will receive is a so-called Muslim modernist calling for liberal values and laws that should accommodate Gays and Lesbians etc. Many of them call for the secularization of the state, saying religious life should not interfere with public life. In their view, Secular democracy is the way forward. They chant noble slogans with an evil agenda, the likes of human right and equality for all. The Muslim modernist or reformist is also sceptical of the religious interpretation of the Early Muslim. Many of them today follow the footsteps of their early predecessors. They say many verses of the Qur'an are not to be interpreted literally, and that they are metaphorical. Among these Verses are the Verses of Hudud.

Muslim modernists are on a slippery slope for several reasons.

1. A sound intellect is supposed to lead a person to God and not take him far away from God. However the intellect of a Muslim Modernist had taken him further away from God, the simple reason is that he has given precedence to his Intellect(Aql) Over Revelation(Wahy).

2. They say the ijma of early Muslims on theological issues is not enough. And ijma (Scholarly Consensus) Of Early predecessors(a category of which includes the sahabas) Are further expose to ijtihad. They say the sahabas are Human and can make mistakes, no doubt the Companions are humans, but the ijma of Companions is proof in Islam.

3. They call for ijtihad in the basic principles of the Deen which are constant and not subjected to change regardless of time and place. An example of such is their claim that Ayats of hudud are not to be interpreted literally.

4. Instead of being loyal to the One who created them, they have become loyal to science and modernity. Hence, they judge Islam in the light of modern science and modernity.

5. They call towards secularism and liberal values that are contradictory to the teachings of Islam and call for the criticism of hadith.

These are a few reasons why these groups of Muslim modernists have gone astray. They also argue that there is nothing like absolute truth. The Quran says; Verily we have sent you (O Muhammad) With the truth. In another Verse, it says "The truth is from Your lord". Hence absolute truth is what is consistent with what the prophet(PBUH) brought, and whatever is contradictory to what the Prophet brought is false. Indeed, there is no salvation in the path of the Muslim modernist. Where then is salvation? Salvation is in sticking to the Sunnah of the Prophet(PBUH). Imam Malik said; The Sunnah is like the ark of Noah whoever embarks on it, reaches salvation and whoever refuses is drowned.

In the book Clash of Civilization, it says; Harvard University Professor, Samuel P. Huntington said: "The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic Fundamentalism. It is Islam, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and obsessed with the inferiority of their power." Professor Huntington brushes such claims aside and identifies Islam itself as the main problem for the west because its civilization is fundamentally different from western civilization(Clash of Civilization)

The West has long understood Islam as the only civilization capable of opposing its dominance. History records how Islam came and crush down the super-powers of the day(Roman and Persian empire), the west has long understood this and the only way they could deter Islam from regaining its dominance is to reduce Muslims to a hollow shell(Empty shell), Islamic Modernism is playing a role in promoting this. Although I can't argue that Islamic modernism is completely a creation of the west, its influence on Islamic modernism is obvious.

A Muslim modernist is indeed on a slippery slope to ruin. A confused Muslim who has been fully intellectually colonized as though he was a country of Africa in the past.  He is deceived into thinking Islam needs reformation. If anything needs reformation it is the mind of the Muslim modernist and not Islam.

Bilal Philips said; The Only solution to the current dilemma facing Muslims is to return to the roots of Islamic civilization and culture. The way lies in rediscovering the correct sources of Islamic knowledge and the correct methodology for interpreting it. There is no other way. As imam Malik said; "the latter part of this nation will not be able to reform itself successfully except by using what reformed its early part.