Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
WHY THE QUR’AN ALONE?
The enquiry in the present dissertation has been confined
strictly to the Holy Qur’an, not because the present writer does not give to
the Hadith literature its rightful place, but on the following grounds:
Firstly, it alone enjoys the status
of being the Scripture of Islam.
Secondly, every word of its text is absolutely authentic as
having been preserved to the very letter in the very words in which it was
delivered by the Holy Prophet Muhammad pbuh.
Thirdly, its authority as the basic source-book of Islam has
been universally accepted by all sections of Muslims in all ages.
Fourthly, it is the Book which should form the basis of
struggle for the reform of human society, even as the Holy Prophet has been commanded therein: “… and strive
against them (i.e., the opponents of the Islamic Way of Life) therewith (i.e.,
with the Guidance of the Qur’an) with utmost strenuousness” (25:52).
Fifthly, it claims about itself that it is: “… an exposition
(explicit and implicit) of everything …” (16:89). Namely: It imparts complete
and eternal guidance concerning all aspects of human life.
Sixthly, it is the only Book of Guidance compiled under the
instruction of the Holy Prophet pbuh, authorised by him, and delivered by him
to the Muslims as the abiding, the infallible and the unchallengeable document
of his Teaching for all time,—with no compeer and no substitute. As such, it is
the basic instrument of the unity of thought and action in respect of the
Islamic Way of Life, — standing in all its uniqueness as totally immune from
contradictions and variations.
This characteristic of the Qur’an is of tremendous importance
in respect of the Islamic System of Belief, on which rests primarily and
basically the consolidation of Religious Unity and Uniformity among Muslims, —a
fundamental virtue the violation of which has been equated by the Holy Qur’an
with nothing less than the greatest sin, i.e., Shirk.
Viewing the Hadith literature in the above perspective: All
students of Islam are aware of the sectarian mischief raked up, purely in the
name of Prophetic Traditions (Hadith), by certain groups in Muslim history,
through the projection of certain allegedly divinely inspired and
divinely-sanctioned offices like those of an infallible Imam, a Mujaddid, a Mahdi, a Promised
Messiah, or a Mahdi cum Messiah, without the slightest regard for the
infallible principles:
1.
that any doctrine which is included
in the Belief System is ipso facto an inalienable part of the Islamic Creed;
2.
that it is not the function of the Hadith
literature—however valuable its role otherwise, but only of the Qur’an, to lay
down the constitutive factors of the Islamic Creed; and
3.
that making belief in the claimants
to such offices a part of the Islamic Creed constitutes nothing less than a
cruel attack on the very foundation of Iman, being directed to the destruction
of the absoluteness and the indivisibility of a Muslim’s allegiance and loyalty
to the Holy Prophet Muhammad pbuh as Guide, Teacher and Leader.
If the Traditions concerning such a personality as that of
the Mahdi, for instance, are accepted as authentic, that does not make, and
cannot make, the belief in the emergence of a great leader (Mahdi) at some
period of Muslim history a guiding principle of Iman. It remains only a
prophecy about a distinguished follower of the Holy Prophet pbuh.
Similarly, if the Traditions concerning the Second Advent of
Jesus are accepted as correct, they relate only to a prophecy about an event
of future history, and have nothing to do with the Islamic Creed,—and, as such,
have nothing to do with the Iman of a Muslim: neither in its affirmation nor in
its denial. Moreover, to project the concept of a ‘Promised Messiah’ in the
person of some x, y, z and to substitute it for the person of Jesus —although
it is his personality that has been projected unambiguously in the prophecy—,
and to build a sect on that basis, is to indulge in double violation of the
Divine Guidance given in the Qur’an.
All in all, accepting the Qur’an alone as the fundamental
basis for the knowledge of Islamic Guidance is not only the requirement of
reason but also the only road to the salvation of Muslims.
Seventhly, the text of the Qur’an is grounded in a System of
Meaning, through which it is possible to understand Islam fundamentally as a
system of Philosophy and a Code of Practice, keeping the exercise of
understanding confined to the Qur’an itself; and the present book is a plain
demonstration of this fact. Of course, there are certain aspects of the Qur’anic
Guidance where the projection is of an implicit nature. And it is there that
recourse to the Hadith literature becomes necessary,—but only for further
clarification and not for adding further dimensions to the basic structure of
Islam. Also, it is necessary to know as to how the Qur’anic Guidance was put
into practice by the Holy Prophet Muhammad pbuh himself . In other words, it is
necessary to know not only the Qur’an as a Book of Guidance but also the ‘Qur’an
in Action’, viz., the Holy Prophet’s Sunnah. For that, evidently the Hadith
literature is the most indispensable instrument.
But here two important facts have to
be kept in view:
1.
The Qur’an is the basic instrument
for understanding Islam. Hence, for the value-system of Islam and its entire
fundamental structure, it is necessary to concentrate on the Qur’an alone.
2.
The knowledge thus obtained forms the
fundamental instrument for obtaining further guidance on Islam from the Hadith
literature.
It should be so, because:
1.
it is the Qur’an which forms the
Criterion of Judgment in respect of Islam—a status explicitly given to it by
itself—and not the Hadith literature; and
2.
the Qur’an is absolutely authentic,
while even the best Hadith literature is only relatively authentic—namely,
authentic only in a qualified manner. And, of course, every student of Islam
knows all the mischief in the field of Hadith perpetrated by the forces of
counter-revolution in the very early period of Muslim history,—a mischief which
emerged in the form of sects and schisms, and which forged the Traditions
relating to certain aspects of Islamic life and history to an extent that the
confusion created thereby has continued to plague the Muslim society up to the
present day.
In fine, it is the function of the Qur’an to sit in judgment
on the Hadith, and not vice versa; and, thus, a basic study of Islam in the
perspective of the Qur’an emerges as the fundamental necessity.
Source
to be continued . . . . .