By Mohammad Ali, New Age Islam
15 November 2021
It
Seems That Muslims Are Not Going To Embrace Tolerance towards Dissent Soon As
an Ethical Value in Their Societies
Main
Points:
1. Appearance of differences
is inevitable in religious matters.
2. Prophet Muhammad instructed
Muslims to tolerate dissent.
3. Discussing speculative
issues would develop tolerance among different sects and schools of thought in
Islam.
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Religious texts and ideas happen to be
extremely subtle, thereby prone to multiple readings and understandings. Until
or unless, there is an explicit expression, experts end up offering several
interpretations, which are sometimes contentious, of a certain statement. These
differences or contentions occur because of various reasons, which,
interestingly, supply justifications for the validity of their positions. Most
of the time, it becomes very hard to determine the validity of the reasons and
the contentions which are based on them.
(File Photo)
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However, it seems wrong and arrogant to
reject contentions and differences under the pretext that they do not agree
with one's own interpretation. Religions have suffered from this arrogance for
centuries. Because of the intolerance towards dissent, religions have been
sliced up into sects developing hatred that subsequently converted sects into
warring groups. Such has been the fate of all religions in human history. But
we have reached a point in time where people have started to realize the merits
of tolerance towards dissent in order to build a peaceful society.
Islam is one of the world religions and is
divided into various sectarian denominations. Like many adherents of other
religions, Muslims have a history of violence and hatred towards other Muslim
sects. And, in the light of the recent history of violence and separation, it
seems that they are not going to embrace tolerance towards dissent soon as an
ethical value in their societies.
However, it is ironic to see that Muslims,
who have examples of tolerance towards dissent in their early history, were
consumed by hatred and enmity of their brethren because they subscribed to a
different opinion. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that
difference of opinion in my Ummah is a blessing. The Prophet knew that
difference and dissent over a certain idea is a human thing and it is
inevitable. Suppressing it would be tantamount to squashing creativity and
thinking itself. That is why he instructed his followers that differences of
opinion should be considered mercy for Muslim societies. It would mean that
they were thinking.
Muslims remained faithful to the meanings
of this report in the early period of Islam. That is why we have the companions
of the Prophet and generations after them who had different opinions in
religious matters. Muslim speculative theologians (Mutakallimīn) debated the
nature of God, Prophethood, etc. Muslim jurists used to say that this is my
opinion and I could be wrong. And this is someone else's opinion and he could
be right. None of them claimed a monopoly over the truth or said that their understanding
was the only true interpretation of the religious/Islamic texts.
Later, experts explained and limited the
meanings and scope of the tradition, saying that differences are allowed only
in matters, for example, of jurisprudence, and not in the matters of creed,
such as God is one, or Muhammad is the Prophet of God. This is understandable
because if Muslims start having differences about the idea of the oneness of
God and the Prophethood of Muhammad, the foundations of Islam would collapse.
But after some period, when Muslims started dividing into groups, they became
so authoritative and rigid that they would not allow dissent. Whoever
disagreed, they turned against them. Everyone claimed that only their
understanding of Islam was true and the understanding of others was false and
destructive. Such behaviour predominated the Muslim world in the later medieval
period and was handed down to the Muslims in the modern world.
Even though sectarian behaviour and
intolerance towards dissent persist among Muslims today, I would like to
suggest a way that, I believe, would help curtail the feelings of hatred and
intolerance in Muslim societies. Recently, I came across a post on a website
with a good readership worldwide answering a question whether it is permissible
for a Muslim to say "Ya Muhammad" when they ask for help. The answer
to the question was that saying "Ya Muhammad" is an act of shirk and
whoever would pronounce the phrase in order to seek help would be a Mushrik. The author of this post quoted
references from the Quran and Hadith to substantiate his statement. While
reading the post, I recalled that there are millions of Muslims who would not
subscribe to this statement. They would argue that saying "Ya
Muhammad" is permissible. To support their claim, they would also be able
to offer several textual references from the Quran and Hadith. But,
unfortunately, these people would be regarded as Mushrik by the readers of the blog post.
Shirk is the biggest allegation that one
can put against a Muslim. Moreover, it strengthens the cycle of hatred and
animosity among Muslims that has been continuing for centuries. These sorts of
issues have become important topics of contentions among Sufis and Salafis
today. It is important to note that such issues are related to theology, which
means they are speculative and do not belong to the category of fundamental
creed. Speculative means that they are inferred and deduced from a series of
textual evidence and do not have unanimity. So, believing in them or disagreeing
with them would not render a Muslim a Mushrik.
The best way to offer one's opinion on a
speculative issue, whether they are related to jurisprudence or theology, is to
present them in a context of a group. For example, the author of the blog post
could say that according to the Salafi school, saying "Ya Muhammad"
is considered an act of shirk. Then this statement could be followed by the
arguments in its support. After that, the author should also mention that there
is another school of thought among Muslims, e.g., Sufism, and according to them
saying, "Ya Muhammad" is permissible, and this should be followed by
the arguments that they make to support their viewpoint. This method of
discussing speculative issues would give a reader a chance to study both views.
The reader would be able to understand that Muslim theology and jurisprudence
are not a unitary entity and that they allow fresh thinking, creativity, and
dissent. Furthermore, it would reduce rigidity and intolerance, the traits that
Muslims require to get rid of as soon as possible.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/sectarianism-tolerance-sects-muslims/d/125768
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