Analytical Scholarship Vs Impressionistic Scholarship
By Naseer Ahmed, New
Age Islam
13 August
2024
Kafir Has Been Used in
The Quran Both in The Positive and Negative Sense. Since Any Rejecter Is A
Kafir, One Who Rejects False Deities Is Also A Kafir, And It Is Used In This
Manner In The Quran. Moses Rebelled Against the Pharaoh, Who, As His Foster
Father, Had The Right to Be Obeyed. Moses Is Kafir for This Reason in A Verse.
The Verb Form Is Used for Allah, Who Wipes Off Our Sins with Our Good Deeds or
When We Seek His Forgiveness
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Almost all
Islamic scholarship is impressionistic, although logical analysis is used when
convenient. My journey into logical analysis of the Quran’s text started when I
came across Pickthall’s impressionistic meaning of “Kafir” in the Quran.
Pickthall has translated the Quran as other scholars have before him but at the
end of it, he came up with what he thought was the real meaning of Kafir. This
is what he said:
“In the Qur’an,
I find two meanings (of a Kafir), which become one the moment that we try to
realise the divine standpoint. The Kafir, in the first place, is not the
follower of any religion. He is the opponent of Allah’s benevolent will and
purpose for mankind - therefore, the disbeliever in the truth of all religions,
the disbeliever in all Scriptures as of divine revelation, the disbeliever to
the point of active opposition in all the Prophets whom the Muslims are bidden
to regard, without distinction, as messengers of Allah.”
The meaning
is based on the impression he formed from its usage in the text, disregarding
how the word is defined in the lexicon. When even a translator of the Quran
wasn’t sure of the meaning of Kafir after studying the works of all the great
scholars and translating the Quran and came to a different meaning based on the
impression formed at the end of the work of translation, it was apparent that
Islamic scholarship rested on shaky foundations.
The word
Kafir and its grammatical variations occur over 500 times in the Quran.
Deriving the meaning of Kafir from a logical analysis of all the verses in
which the word occurs is a simple matter. I carried out the exercise, which
resulted in the following articles:
Revisiting the Meaning of
Kafir
The
surprising discovery was that although Yusuf Ali (and every other translator)
translated this word as disbeliever/Unbeliever 160 times, it does not mean
disbeliever in any verse. Bigotry and extremism flow from mistranslating this
word as “disbeliever”. Pickthall’s impressionistic meaning turned out to be off
the mark. A Kafir could be all that he says a Kafir is, but not necessarily.
Kufr is the
act of rejection and its synonyms, denial, cancel, cover-up, hide, wipe-off,
obliterate, rebellion (rejection of legitimate authority or denial of the right
to be obeyed), oppression and persecution (denial of rights of others).
Kafir has
been used in the Quran both in the positive and negative sense. Since any
rejecter is a Kafir, one who rejects false deities is also a Kafir, and it is
used in this manner in the Quran. Moses rebelled against the Pharaoh, who, as
his foster father, had the right to be obeyed. Moses is Kafir for this reason
in a verse. The verb form is used for Allah, who wipes off our sins with our
good deeds or when we seek His forgiveness.
Every
disbeliever is not a rejecter. Non-Muslims may be disbelievers in Islam, but
that does not mean that they reject it. They may not know enough to accept or
may not care enough. The Quran, therefore, does not consider all the Mushrikin
as Kafirin but only the hostile rejecters and opposers of Islam, such as Abu
Lahab, Abu Jahl and a few more. The vast majority follow their leaders and
don’t have an independent opinion.
This is,
however, difficult for the scholars to digest, and they have argued with me,
saying if the Mushrikin of Mecca were not all Kafir, then who is a Kafir? This
is a strange argument. Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Osman, Bilal, and all those who
accepted Islam during the Meccan period were people of sterling character even
before becoming Muslim. And we shouldn’t forget that, barring a few, the rest
accepted Islam eventually and took it to great heights.
How Have The Scholars Conveyed That All The
Mushrikin Are Kafirin If The Quran Does Not?
The verses
which alerted me to the fact that the Quran does not treat all the Mushrikin as
Kafirin are 98:1 and 98:6
Consider
the following verse:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ
(98:6) Indeed, the Kafaru among (مِنْ) the People of the Book and the
Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the
worst of creatures.
Does it
mean “the Kafaru among the People of the Book and all the polytheists”
Or
“the Kafaru
among the People of the Book and the Kafaru among the polytheists”
To resolve
the question, consider another verse of identical grammatical structure where
there is no confusion as to whether the preposition “among” or the Arabic مِنْ connects all the nouns that follow
“among” or only the noun immediately following among.
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدتَّهُمْ وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَككِيمُ
(40:8) "And
grant, our Lord! that they enter the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast
promised to them, and to the righteous among (مِنْ ) their fathers, their wives, and their
posterity! For Thou art (He), the Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom.
Clearly
“the righteous among” is a description that applies to all the nouns that
follow it and the verse means:
40:8) "And grant, our Lord! that they enter
the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast promised to them, and to the righteous
among (مِنْ ) their fathers, the righteous among their wives, and the righteous
among their posterity! For Thou art (He), the Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom.
And not
(40:8)
"And grant, our Lord! that they
enter the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast promised to them, and to the
righteous among (مِنْ ) their fathers, all
their wives, and all their posterity! For Thou art (He), the Exalted in Might,
Full of Wisdom.
The rule
for the preposition must apply in all possible worlds and under all
interpretations of the verse’s other parts of speech therefore, the correct
translation of verse 98:6 is:
“the Kafaru among the People of the Book and
the Kafaru among the polytheists”
This
implies that not all polytheists are considered Kafir by Allah. Moreover,
whether in Arabic or any other language, if the intention were to include all
polytheists and only the Kafaru among the people of the Book, the verse would
have read: “The polytheists and the Kafaru among the People of the Book”.
Who those
Kafaru among the people are is defined in the Surah and explained in my
articles:
Who Are The Worst Of Creatures In The Quran?
The Mufassirin Who Render the
Quran A Book of Foolish Nonsense
This
finding was sought to be countered in this forum by a scholar of Arabic who
came up with Quranic grammar to say that in verses 98:1 and 98:6, we must take
“min” or “among” to qualify only the immediately following noun and not the
next one. In contrast, in 40:8, it qualifies all the nouns that follow it! Has
anyone come across such nonsense where the rules of grammar change with every
sentence? And who decides which rule to use when? The Scholars, of course!
Quranic grammar has been developed to take meanings that the scholars wanted to
take or the meaning forced on them by the ahadith and is an unreliable guide.
If all polytheists were meant, the verse would have been worded “The
polytheists and the kafaru among the people of the Book…”
The fact
that not all Mushrikin are considered as Kafirin is reinforced by Surah
Al-Kafirun and verses of Surah Taubah in which both terms are used in the same
verses 9:2 and 3 to mean a set of people (Mushrikin) and a sub-set (Kafirin
among them).
Surah
Al-Kafirun defines the Kafirun as those “who do not worship what you (Muhammad)
worship and will never worship what you worship.” Only a few fell into this
category, and most eventually accepted Islam. Besides, the Surah ends with
“Unto you be your religion and unto me mine”. If the addressees were not just
the Kafirun but all the Mushrikun, then it becomes a declaration of an end to
preaching Islam to the Mushrikun. The Surah was revealed eight years before
Hijra, and the Prophet continued to preach to the Mushrikun but not to the
Kafirun among them.
When Does Allah Refer To The Believers As
Kafir?
In the
verses that exhort mankind to do or avoid doing something, the word Kafirin
means those who disobey what the verse commands. It is also used in a group of
verses addressed to the believers exhorting zakat, and in these verses, the
word kafirin is used to mean those who do not give charity as commanded. Many
verses are addressed to the believers, and the word Kafirin is not used elsewhere but in every verse where the subject
matter is zakat. This underscores the importance of charity and duty to mankind
that the disobedient are being warned of being treated as Kafirin deserving severe punishment. Hell is the place in the
Hereafter for the Kufr of disobedience
of Allah’s commands.
However,
even in verses addressed to the believers exhorting charity, Kafirin is
mistranslated as a disbeliever and explained away as the Quran’s unique style
of switching subjects within a verse! The scholars are unable to digest that
believers could be kafirin. For example:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ ۗ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(2:254) O
ye who believe! Spend out of (the bounties) We have provided for you, before
the Day comes when no bargaining (Will avail), nor friendship nor intercession.
And the Kafirun, they are the Zalimun.
Who are the Kafirun and the Zalimunin
in this verse? Those who do not spend out of the bounties provided by Allah.
The Kafirun and Zalimun refers to the
addressees of the verse who are the believers who show their ingratitude to
Allah for the bounties provided to them by not spending. They are ingrate
rebels.
The verse
is, however, mistranslated as follows:
O ye who believe! spend of that wherewith We have provided you before a
day come when there will be no trafficking, nor friendship, nor intercession.
The disbelievers, they are the wrong-doers.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ كَالَّذِي يُنفِقُ مَالَهُ رِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۖ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ صَفْوَانٍ عَلَيْهِ تُرَابٌ فَأَصَابَهُ وَابِلٌ فَتَرَكَهُ صَلْدًا ۖ لَّا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ مِّمَّا كَسَبُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ
(2:264) O ye who believe! cancel not your charity by
reminders of your generosity or by injury,- like those who spend their
substance to be seen of men, but believe neither in Allah nor in the Last Day.
They are in parable like a hard, barren rock, on which is a little soil: on it
falls heavy rain, which leaves it (Just) a bare stone. They will be able to do
nothing with aught they have earned. And Allah guideth not the Kafirin.
The Kafirin
in this verse are otherwise believers, but those who spend their substance to
be seen of men. Such men will not be guided
الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا An-Nisa 37
(4:37) (Allah
loves not) those who are niggardly or enjoin niggardliness on others, or hide
the bounties which Allah hath bestowed on them; for We have prepared, for the
Kafirin a grievous punishment.
Verse 4:29 begins by addressing the believers;
the same addressees are covered in verse 4:37.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبَا أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Al-Imran 130, 131
وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ
(3:130) O ye who believe! Devour not usury, doubled
and multiplied; but fear Allah; that ye may (really) prosper. (131) Fear the
Fire, which is prepared for the Kafirin:
It is the
believers who devour usury who are asked to fear the fire, and such believers
who devour usury are the Kafirin.
In all the
verses above, most translators translate Kafirin as “those who reject faith” or
as “disbelievers” which is incorrect because the addressee is the believer. He
cannot be both a believer and one who rejects faith or disbelievers! The fact of the matter is that, since the
addressee of the verse is the believer, Usury, etc is Kufr for him but not for
the disbeliever. Otherwise, the addressee would have been all of mankind or
“the Children of Adam”.
What Does Kafaru
Mean in The War Verses?
Oppression
and religious persecution are denial of the rights of others and are kufr by
definition. The only justification for war in the Quran is oppression or
religious persecution. There is no command to fight against the disbelief of
the disbelievers. Islam, on the contrary, stands against compulsion in
religion. Therefore, the Kafaru in the war verses means an oppressor or
religious persecutor. He could be a believer or a disbeliever. His faith is
immaterial. However, it is mistranslated as disbelievers, which creates the
impression that the Quran is commanding war against the disbelievers for their
disbelief or that the Kafaru cannot
be a believer justifying fighting against his oppression. Translated and read
correctly, these verses justify war against any oppressor, whether believer or
disbeliever, to protect the oppressed who could be disbelievers. The Quran’s
Message is inherently and fundamentally non-coercive. The war is against the
oppressors, believers or disbelievers, to end oppression and establish justice
and peace for all.
The Methodology
The
methodology I have used is called "Qur'an bil Qur'an tafsir", which
is what the Quran says is the correct approach to understanding its Muhkamat
verses. The Quran says that the verses covering Islam are the foundation of the
Book, and these are Muhkamat, meaning precise and clear. What makes them
precise and clear is that their precise meaning can be determined from the Quran
without recourse to external resources such as lexicons, ahadith, opinions of
scholars, etc.
Why do
scholars then struggle with the meanings of words like Kafir, Muslim, Islam,
Taqwa, etc., which are keywords defining the religion? Where does the problem
lie? The ahadith guides the scholars, and these are inconsistent with the
Quran. Their deviations are, therefore, by choice. They choose to be
(mis)guided by the ahadith rather than be guided by the Quran.
I have said
that any competent logician will come up with the same conclusions as I have.
Even Artificial Intelligence tools will be able to do what I did in the coming
years. AI is not yet good enough for it, or maybe it is. I have not yet tried
using it for this purpose.
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A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an
Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after
having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions
for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made
seminal contributions to its interpretation.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/debating-islam/analytical-impressionistic-scholarship-/d/132929
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