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.
to be continued . . . . .
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