REDISCOVERING ISLAM

By Furrukh B. Ali

It is necessary that we Muslims face up to the reality that the Islam that we profess, practise and preach today is not working. And has not worked for a long time. This is true both for our communal life as societies, and our personal lives as individuals.

In Muslim countries and communities around the world there is no shortage of mosques and preachers; prayer and fasting are common; millions perform the Hajj every year. Yet most of these societies are rife with corruption and injustice; poverty and illiteracy prevail; sickness and malnutrition are common. It is not just a question of resources; those Muslim countries that are lucky enough to have oil or other natural resources may have avoided some of these problems but face other serious ones (many of which are also common throughout the Muslim world) : lack of individual freedom and human rights; deep economic and social class divisions; materialism and consumerism; the status of women; the alienation of youth, etc.

This failure of Muslim societies to solve internal problems has been matched by their failures to deal with external challenges. In the 19th and early 20th centuries they were unable to withstand the European colonial and imperial tide that swept over them. Today, they are not able to effectively resist the external political, economic and cultural pressures to which they are subject, nor have they been able to keep up and cope with the rapid technological changes occurring in the modern world.

No Muslim society today, whatever its geography or history, can be pointed out as one where humanity has progressed, or as a model of how human beings should live.[1] There has not been such a one for centuries.

At the personal level, for each Muslim there is a fundamental paradox that, whether we face it or not (and most of us do not), undermines the central pillar of our faith. This pillar is our belief in Allah, in a Being who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-just and all-merciful. But our daily observation and experience show that there is not much justice and mercy in the world; the strong and wicked prosper, the meek and innocent suffer; good deeds bear no fruit, bad ones reap rewards. Of course, not in all cases, not everywhere, not all the time, but frequently enough to raise the question : how can we reconcile this wide prevalence of injustice and suffering with our belief in a world in which a just and merciful God reigns supreme?

We adopt different methods to avoid acknowledging (much less dealing with) these problems and paradoxes in our personal and communal lives. Many of us resort to total denial, and refuse to believe that there are any problems at all. Others avoid these issues by plunging into blind belief, adopting dogma and ritual without any thought or question. Some acknowledge that there are problems, but believe that they are due to Islam not having been applied correctly or not fully (this open-ended argument ignores the inconvenient cases of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Taliban Afghanistan). For many others these problems do not matter because their adherence to Islam is purely formal : they pay it lip service, and practice it to the extent that is socially necessary or convenient. A number of Muslims blame all our problems on the “enemies of Islam”, and, in recent years, some of them have taken up violent jihad[2] against these “enemies”, a solution that does nothing to deal with the basic issue facing us all.

This basic issue is that the Islam we believe in and follow is not producing the results we expect in our communal and our personal lives, the results that the Quran itself has promised us. Islam cannot dodge this issue as other religions do by promising their rewards and punishments in the Hereafter. Instead of avoiding this issue in one way or another, we must ask ourselves : why is this so?

We know that this sad state of affairs was not always the case. When the Quran brought Islam into the world some 1500 years ago, it had a remarkable effect on the warring tribes and worldly townspeople of Arabia : it transformed them into a single people imbued with a transcendent vision for all humanity, and a sense of mission to spread it. The moral fervour generated in them carried them far and wide, sweeping away empires and kingdoms, and freeing their peoples. In the succeeding centuries the civilization that Islam created was as advanced as any that had existed so far, and certainly more broad-based.

The obvious question arises : could it be that the Islam we believe in and practise today is not the same Islam that raised its earlier followers to such great heights?

Islam Then and Now
For its early adherents Islam was a set of simple ideas and beliefs relating to Allah, and the relationship of human beings to Allah. This overpowering vision transformed them, and led them to transform their world. The essence of the vision was awareness of, and belief in, Allah, the creator and sustainer of the universe, and the role that Allah expected human beings to play in their world.

This original Islam had no dogma, no ritual, no complex set of do’s and don’ts, no special class of persons learned in the religion who guided and judged other believers; in short, none of the elaborate structure that now passes for Islam. This superstructure did not exist in the early centuries of Islam.[3]

The problem we face is that Islam today is a complex and rigid structure, frozen in time, which covers over and obscures the original and essential message that Islam brought to humanity. Further complicating the issue is the emergence of a class of self-styled religious authorities and “guardians”, so that there is now a virtual priestly class in Islam, where there was no place for one in its original version.

What has happened to Islam is not unique; in fact, this has been the trajectory followed by all the major religions. Each of them started off as a simple message of such power and relevance that it attracted significant numbers of adherents, whose lives were deeply affected and changed by their belief in this new vision. Over time, these numbers grew greatly, but also, gradually, the simple, original message was overlaid by dogma, ritual and hierarchical structures, directed and controlled by a priestly class (which usually allied itself to the secular authority in power in a mutually beneficial arrangement). Thus, the revolutionary vision that gave birth to this transforming movement became a static, institutionalized religion. That is what has occurred with Islam : it has become just another religion[4].

If we Muslims wish to rediscover the original essence of Islam, we must seek it in the Quran. All else that goes by the name of Islam today is superstructure created later by humans. The original message that Allah named Islam and conveyed to humanity through his Messenger (Rasul Allah) is now to be found only in the Quran, and nowhere else.

Understanding the Quran
The Quran is a record of the divinely inspired[5] utterances of Rasul Allah over a period of about 23 years; these were recorded and memorized at the time of occurrence and compiled in the Quran, though not in chronological sequence.[6] Because of this, and the long period over which the text gradually came into being, the Quran’s message cannot be understood by reading it as we would any other book. To understand its real message today we have to adopt a special method.
The first step is to discover the correct meaning of the terms and concepts that occur in it. To do this we need to take their meaning as it was understood in the Arabic of that time, which may not necessarily be the meaning developed for them later on. In the case of an important or ambiguous term or concept, we should put together all its usages in the text, and then deduce what meaning or meanings the Quran assigns to it.[7]

Secondly, since various subjects and issues are dealt with in the Quran at many different places, to discover the Quran’s position on any topic we must put together all the Quranic references to it and then see the coherent picture that emerges. (It is the failure to do this that results in Muslims holding significantly different views on some subjects to each claim that the Quran supports them by quoting one or two verses in proof thereof).

The third step is to deduce the overall ideology that the Quran teaches, within which its positions on all the major issues it covers fit in a consistent, logical manner. This process also requires revisiting the conclusions arrived at earlier in the second, and even the first, stage, to see if a modification (text-supported, of course) would enable them to fit better into the total picture.

However, merely understanding the meaning of the different portions of the Quranic text is not enough, we also need to understand the significance and relevance of these meanings for us today. The Quran deals with many different types of topics : some are about the fundamental issues affecting human beings, others deal with matters of contemporary daily life, while still others refer to other-worldly issues in metaphorical language, stories of earlier times, and allegories and parables. What should these various elements of the Quran mean to us? How do they apply to us? The answer to these questions is to be found in the Quran’s teaching on the system of divine guidance for humanity through wahy, which we shall consider next.

The discussion in this paper is based on a detailed analysis and study of the Quran using this method of interpretation and understanding, and on the resulting view of the comprehensive system propounded by it. References to Quranic passages are given below for many of the arguments made, but these are mainly for purposes of illustration, and are not the only basis for the positions adopted, which are based on the detailed study, and the complete picture that emerges from it.[8]

The System of Wahy
The Quran says that a particular human mind, in some fashion, is inspired with a consciousness of Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth.[9] This can be understood as a direct, intuitive comprehension of Allah, and of the relationship of the universe, including humans, to Allah. This person is also imbued with an imperative urge to formulate this vision in words, and convey it to his fellow beings.[10] The Quran refers to this individual as a messenger.[11]

However, this messenger is no more than a human being,[12] and the mind through which this vision is given form and expression is only a human mind.[13] This mind is confined within the limits of its own specific knowledge as well as the general level of contemporary knowledge and thought. Thus, when it puts into words the consciousness of Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth that it has acquired, this is inevitably in contemporary terms, which would also enable the message to be comprehensible and relevant to its immediate audience. Similarly, the application of this consciousness to practical affairs can only deal with the actual circumstances then prevailing.

The divine message conveyed by a messenger is a contemporary expression of Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth. While confined within the limits of prevailing knowledge and comprehension, and dealing with existing circumstances, the details of the message conform completely to the initiating consciousness, and the truths and realities comprehended by the latter underlie everything it contains. In other words, where the message deals with abstract matters (e.g., the reality of Allah, the divine system, the Hereafter, etc.) it does so in terms which can be understood by its immediate audience, but this is nevertheless an expression of the reality of these matters insofar as the human mind (at that stage) can grasp them. Where the message deals with practical injunctions, these relate to contemporary matters, but conform to the fundamental principles and values that should govern all human conduct, anywhere, anytime.

For its own time and place such a message is completely true and valid, and applicable in all its detail. But in places where circumstances differ materially, and even in the same area after the passage of time, the message becomes of limited validity and applicability. The practical injunctions are no longer fully relevant since people's ways of living and their social structures have changed, while the descriptions of abstract matters no longer satisfy since human knowledge and modes of thought have advanced. Meanwhile, another messenger is inspired with wahy,[14] and conveys to his fellow-beings another message, which is an expression of the same Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth, but one dealing with the issues of that time and place, and appropriate to the then prevailing level of human knowledge. Since this new message, though it differs in its details, is still based on the original truths and realities, it preserves and verifies them.[15] In turn, this message also becomes out-of-date, and is replaced by one more pertinent to the new human situation.[16]

This system of wahy has gone on throughout human history, with numerous messengers arising in different times and places. It came to an end with the message inspired to Rasul Allah in the 7th century A.D. (or the 1st century A.H.). The record of this wahy is now available to us in the Quran. This message is of the same type as all earlier wahy in that its expression is in terms appropriate to its own time and place, and its practical injunctions relate to the circumstances then prevailing. But underlying these surface forms is the same Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth that has been the basis of all previous wahy. There is, however, one major difference between the Quran and earlier messages : it is the last of the series and no more wahy will occur to take its place. This means that for us, and for succeeding generations, the fundamental truths and realities that have always been conveyed through wahy can be discovered only through the Quran.

This aspect led some Muslim theologians to advance the view that every word of the Quran is applicable for all time to come, and this proposition has become a dogma among most Muslims. This is unfortunate, since not only is it impossible to implement this in practice, but it also contradicts the Quran's own teaching on the subject. What are valid and applicable for all time to come are not the words of the Quran but the truths, realities, principles, values, concepts, etc. that lie behind, and are the basis of, these words. It is these that mirror the Ultimate Reality and Eternal Truth (al-Kitab and al-Haqq) that were the initiating source of the Quranic wahy, and not the verbal constructions which had to be formulated within the limits of contemporary comprehension and knowledge, and mostly dealt with contemporary concerns in a manner appropriate to the immediate audience and their circumstances.

To take one example,[17] the Quran makes a few references to the slaves then existing in society in its time, usually in the context of prescribing measures to ameliorate their condition, or to urge their freeing. However, nowhere does it call unequivocally for the abolition of slavery. It is obvious that the Quran, while disapproving of the institution, tolerated it in the then prevailing form and circumstances.[18] On the other hand, the principles and values underlying the Quran (e.g., human freedom, the equality of all human beings) are totally opposed to slavery. Which, then, of these two opposite positions (one derived from its words, the other from its underlying principles) should one regard as the Quranic injunction valid for all time to come? The answer is obvious, and applies generally to the issue of which element of the message of the Quran is valid for us today (and for succeeding generations) : its words, or its underlying principles, values and truths.

The Quran itself makes this clear. There is a set of three passages[19] that introduce the term umm al-Kitab (the essence or core of the divine message), the only such usage of this term in the whole Quran. Read together, these passages say, in summary, that for every period there is a divinely inspired message and, when this period ends, the fundamentals of the message remain permanently applicable while the rest becomes nullified. These fundamentals are made clear in the Quran, and they are the permanent parts of the divinely inspired message, the rest is similar to the transitory elements of the earlier messages, as those with knowledge and understanding can discern. In several other passages[20] this basic concept of certain aspects of the Quran having lasting significance (as distinct from others) is expressed using the term ahsana (the best).

What, then, are these fundamentals, the essence of the message that the Quran brought into the world, which remain valid and applicable for us and for succeeding generations? We can usefully consider this in three parts : the fundamental truths underlying the system within which we exist; the principles of action that should govern human conduct; and the permanent values which we should adopt and uphold. These are the foundations and the fundamentals of Islam.

The Quran’s Fundamental Truths
These relate to the reality that underlies the universe, life and our humanity (issues such as Allah, Allah’s interaction with human beings, the system of the universe, the role of human beings, human accountability, human immortality). In a short treatment such as this we shall only highlight two of the most relevant and important ones : Allah, and the purpose of human life on earth.

Allah : The primary message of the Quran relates to the fact of Allah, and the need for human beings to believe in this fact, and thus accept Allah as the creator and sustainer of the universe and all that is in it, including themselves. But this belief and acceptance has to be an act of free will.[21]

The starting point of the Quran’s treatment of this subject is that there is (and can be) no proof of Allah’s existence; that is why it urges human beings to believe in it with such urgency and force, and at such considerable length. It urges us to study the universe around us, to look within ourselves, to ponder the consequences of our decision, and then, as free and rational beings, decide whether we should make the assumption that Allah exists, and believe in this. As part of this discourse the Quran seeks to convey to us a concept of Allah through His attributes (the asma al-husna) and “actions”.[22]

The Role of Human Beings : The Quran puts it thus :

And when your Rabb said to the malaika, “I am going to place in the earth a khalifa.....”.[23]

This passage (and similar ones[24] narrating the allegorical story of Adam) deal with a central theme of the Quran : the emergence of human beings on earth, and the special position and role that they have in their world. The message that this allegory conveys is that we achieved our human status when our minds reached a certain stage of development, and with these we acquired the potential to control and harness all the forces of nature. We were also endowed with free will, which enables us to use these great powers that we possess for any purpose we choose. However, the Quran reminds us that these potentialities and powers were given to us so that we could perform the special role of khalifa that Allah assigns us in our world, which requires us to use them on His behalf. To do this we will have to resist the constant temptation to use these capabilities for our own ends.[25] To assist us in this ongoing struggle, Allah will periodically send us guidance.

The basic meaning of khalifa is one who takes the place of another;[26] that is why it is used to signify a surrogate or substitute,[27] and also a successor. The key component of the term’s meaning is that the surrogate or successor functions in the other’s place, and on his behalf. This is the special role that the Quran says human beings are capable of, and which we are offered : of acting in Allah’s place in our world.

The Quran bases its doctrine of the khilafat f’il ard on, firstly, the proposition that Allah created our universe, and it, and all things in it, exist and function according to His laws.[28] Beyond this, however, He has chosen not to intervene; He withholds Himself from acting in this world as a causative agent, and does not interfere in the operation of His natural laws.

If we pause and think about this for a minute, we can see that this, in fact, is how things actually are in our world.[29] Everything in the universe is bound in a certain mode of existence and behaviour (with one notable exception). The mighty galaxies travel in pre-determined paths and speeds; the huge stars follow ordained life cycles; the planets move unwaveringly in their orbits. The microcosm is no less firmly determined than the macrocosm; each particle has its assigned properties and must conform to them; the sub-atomic universe appears to be as orderly and predictable as the wider universe. Life itself comes into being and develops according to evolutionary laws. Plants live and die in the established rotation of the seasons. Animals exist bound in the iron bands of instinct, their behaviour fixed within very narrow limits (the minor variations being determined solely by external circumstance rather than internal volition).

Nowhere in this orderly universe do we see a “divine hand” intervening to alter the operation of the system. As human knowledge has increased, the many inexplicable and seemingly random natural events that occur, which were once ascribed to God’s doing, can no longer be so considered. It is now known[30] that they all have natural causes, and occur according to natural laws.[31] The whole edifice of science and technology is based on this reality.

The second basis of the doctrine of the khilafat f’il ard is that the only entity in the world with complete freedom to act in any way it chooses is the human being; we have total freedom of choice, so much so that we even have the choice of refusing to believe in or acknowledge Allah.[32] Here again, as in the natural world, Allah does not intervene in or direct human affairs,[33] nor does He affect the outcome of human actions and choices.

This is also what we actually observe. Human beings, in contrast to everything else, appear free to order their lives and determine their behaviour in any way they choose. Recorded history and our own observation disclose human beings living, individually and collectively, in many different modes, according to the highest standards conceivable as well as the lowest, in pursuit of all kinds of aims and goals as well as none at all, performing actions which we can term superhuman or almost divine, and also those from which even the most brutish beasts refrain. This vast variety is proof enough that neither our inner nature nor any external directive compels human beings to live and act in any particular pattern or mode. How they live or what they do is for them to decide. It is true that not many of us are able, in practice, to make such free choices, but, in principle, there is no insurmountable barrier to prevent us from doing so. What any human has done, it is possible for other humans to also do.

We also see that the outcomes of human actions and choices follow no discernible pattern relating to their ethical or moral quality, or their conformity or otherwise to any divine or religious directives. However, influenced by religious teaching, many people still consider occurrences affecting humans and human societies to be due to specific decisions by God. When, as often happens, good deeds have bad outcomes while evil actions result in gains, the wicked prosper and the virtuous or innocent suffer, such believers are forced to resort to implausible excuses and arguments, ignoring the implications for the kind of God who would act thus, and for the omnipotence and justice of the divine system that they claim is operating in human affairs. Such a claim is neither supported by the Quran nor by our own experience.

The third basis of this doctrine is that Allah acts in our world through the agency of humans.[34]

Based on these premises the Quran expounds the doctrine of the khilafat f’il ard. Affirming that Allah withholds Himself from acting as a causative agent in our world, and acknowledging the freedom of choice and action that humans possess, the Quran offers human beings the role of Allah’s khulafa f’il ard. It urges us to assume the responsibility of acting as Allah’s surrogates, to act in His place as causative beings in our world, to work towards His goals, to do all that He would have done in our world if He had so chosen. Apart from the pivotal allegory of Adam, the Quran refers to this task, this role, this Allah-human relationship, repeatedly and in many different ways.[35]

The khilafat f’il ard is indeed a heavy burden for human beings to assume. In accepting it we agree to live our lives for Him, and not for ourselves. Whatever obligations He has assumed in our world, we undertake to fulfil. (For example, when the Quran says (6:11) that the provision of sustenance to every living creature is Allah’s responsibility, this is an obligation that we are required to discharge on His behalf). To be able to fulfil all these responsibilities we have to first develop the great potentialities with which He has endowed us, so as to achieve as many of His powers and qualities as apply to our world. With these we must strive, individually and collectively, to further His goals, not our own. We stand for Allah in our world, and must fashion ourselves and our actions accordingly.[36]

Principles of Action
Several principles that should govern human conduct can be derived from the Quran. However, the Quran also prescribes one overarching, comprehensive principle within which all the others are subsumed, and which covers every aspect of human behaviour. Here we shall discuss this one principle only.

The Quran refers to the conduct that implements this principle as amal as-salihat. The primary meaning of the root for islah is to remove a shortcoming, defect or handicap and restore something to its proper and rightful state. In the context of the khilafat f’il ard, this principle and its application, the amal as-salihat, require us to make good the deficiencies and imperfections in human beings, ourselves and others, so that we can achieve the stature necessary for beings who must act on behalf of Allah in our world. It requires us to act, individually and collectively, so as to remake this world into its rightful condition, and thus, through human instrumentality, to restore Allah as a causative agent to a world within which He has chosen not to act as one.

The overriding importance that the Quran attaches to this principle of action is shown by its linking of this conduct with the essential requirement to being a Muslim: iman (belief), and the frequent use of this formula as the conduct for which Allah promises the ultimate reward.[37]

Permanent Values
The values that should permeate our lives and govern our actions can be derived from the Quran, many of them from the attributes of Allah (of course, not all of the attributes are applicable to human beings). The most important of these are :

Freedom : This, according to the Quran, is the essential and distinguishing quality of human beings. Thus, maintaining our humanity requires us to promote and preserve this value for each and every human being.

Love : The love which the Quran extols is the one based on the term rahma. The root for this term is a name for the womb, and the term refers primarily to the nurturing, compassionate love that a mother has for her child. Maternal love is the foundation for our humanity; it is this (and the response it elicits in every human being : love of the mother) that enabled (even propelled) us to evolve to the human stage. Perhaps the most frequently used names for Allah in the Quran are ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim, signifying the nurturing love that the Creator has for his creation. (Unfortunately, when Islam became a religion, the concept of Allah was derived from the most powerful being then on earth, the absolute ruler who wielded his power according to his whims, unconstrained by any rule or law or other consideration. For his helpless subjects, the highest and most desirable virtue in such a ruler would be mercy, and that is what rahma came to mean, and has since remained).

Justice : In the Quran’s references to Allah’s dealings with humans the constant theme is that of justice. In our dealings with each other, and in the societies we establish, this is a value that should figure prominently.

The Final Word
The final word must remain, as always, with the Quran. And the Quran’s final words could not be clearer on this issue. Based on both external[38] and internal evidence (wording and meaning), the final substantive portion of the Quran received by Rasul Allah was :

For you this day have I brought to its culmination your way of life,[39] and bestowed upon you My final favour, and approved for you Islam as a way of life (5:3). [40]

What this passage tells us is that the way of life that the unfolding Quran and Rasul Allah were teaching evolved during that period, and reached its final form towards the end of Rasul Allah’s life. The Quran gives this way of life the name Islam. The root for this term has many different meanings, but most of these relate to conditions or states (e.g., perfection, security, peace, beauty). Among those that refer to actions the primary sense is to give or relinquish oneself to someone or something.[41] Thus, Islam means that way of life in which one is required to hand oneself over to Allah, to commit one’s being to Allah. This is precisely what the khilafat f’il ard requires : that we commit ourselves and our lives to fulfilling Allah’s purposes and obligations.

Incorporating the various meanings of the root for this word, we can define Islam as that way of life in which human beings surrender themselves to the role that Allah has given them, of being His khulafa in our world. Thereby we preserve Him in a world in which He has chosen not to act, and thus, preserving Him, we preserve both ourselves and the world. In this effort we climb upwards, shedding our inherited flaws, towards perfection and completion, and our world moves thus with us. It is in this way of life that we and our world can find peace, security and tranquility, and through it alone that human striving can be truly productive. A person who walks in this way is a Muslim (one who has committed himself or herself to Allah).

This is the Islam that the Quran offers all human beings. It urges us, as free and rational persons, to recognize the Supreme Being who is the creator and sustainer of our universe, and whose laws govern it. It tells us that we possess the potentiality to become the surrogates, the representatives, of Allah in our world, and offers us this role. To undertake this responsibility, to act for Allah in our world and fulfil His purposes and obligations in it, this is the way of life that is Islam.

For those of us who call ourselves Muslims today, this is the Islam that we have to rediscover from the Quran. But before we can do that we have to realize that the religion that we profess and practise is a far cry from the Islam that the Quran brought into the world some 1500 years ago. Until we recognize this undoubtedly painful reality, and return to the original guidance we received, we cannot hope to garner the rich harvest that our early forbears reaped so abundantly, so different from our fallen state today.

It is fitting to end this paper with two passages from the Quran, the first being one of its most powerful verses. Referring to the khilafat f’il ard, it says :

We did offer the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they were afraid to accept it. Human beings, however, undertook to bear it, but surely they have ignored it, and indeed they have failed to accord it its rightful due (33:72).

However, in the second passage we can discern a message of hope – if we can retrace our steps and rediscover the original message that was given to us :

Those who obscure the clear message and guidance that We have sent down, when We have made it so explicit in the Book, it is they who are banished (from Allah’s guidance), and deservedly so. But those who turn back and remedy this error, and make manifest (the clear message sent down), it is to them that I return; and I am oft-returning, compassionate (2:159-160).



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© Furrukh B Ali (2006)


[1] In the latest (2003) ranking of countries of the world on the Human Development Index by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the first Muslim country (excluding the special case of Brunei) occurs at No. 40. Excluding also the small but rich Gulf sheikhdoms, the first Muslim country (oil-rich but socialist Libya) comes at No. 58. Saudi Arabia, the richest and most religious Muslim country, comes at No. 77. The Arab Human Development reports (prepared by Arab scholars and issued by the UNDP) paint a sobering picture of the human condition in these societies. A telling statistic : the 2002 AHD report says that half of the young Arabs polled wanted to emigrate from their countries! In the latest Transparency International Corruption Index (for 2005), 13 of the 23 countries at the bottom of the list (most corrupt) are Muslim countries. From the top, the first Muslim country is at No. 28 (www.transparency.org).
[2] Since this article is for the general reader, I am not adopting fully the usual transliteration system for Arabic.
[3] The raw material and the tools with which this superstructure was later gradually constructed (the standard hadith collections and the doctrines of the fiqh schools) did not begin to be assembled and formalized until the third century A.H.
[4] The major religions have played a useful role in history, and still do in many respects. They promoted social cohesion, developed cultures, fostered ethical systems, sometimes resisted tyranny, and provided human beings with a strong faith to deal with the vicissitudes of life. But they also developed into institutions of control, often exercising their power in reactionary and negative ways, stifling freedom and progress. Even though the dogmas they profess enable many individuals to acquire a faith that enables them to become better persons and lead better lives, overall they are often an obstacle to human progress and development.
[5] The most accurate translation of the term wahy is “inspiration”, and not the commonly used “revelation”, which is a term borrowed from other religions. The primary meaning of the root for wahy is a swift signal, conveying some meaning or giving some indication.
[6] The placing of verses in the text was directed by Rasul Allah; this would have been necessary to enable the suras to be memorized in a standard format (also see Quran 75:17). Thus, their mixing up was deliberate, perhaps to break for future readers any link to particular events or circumstances, and thus generalize the message.
[7] For an example of how this method can reveal meanings quite different from those commonly accepted, see the discussion on the term fath in the author’s article, Al-Hudaybiya: An Alternative Version (The Muslim World, Jan. 1981: 47) [Reprinted in Uri Rubin, ed., The Life of Muhammad (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 1998)].
[8] The author hopes to publish the results of this study in due course.
[9] The Quran uses the terms al-Kitab and al-Haqq to represent these concepts in the context of wahy. Among many references in the Quran, typical are 2:213; 3:78; 10:37; 22:54; 35:31.
[10] The phenomenon can be understood as somewhat similar (though of far greater depth and complexity, and, of course, significance) to that of the genius inspired by a vision and impelled to express it in great art or music.
[11] The common usage in English of the term “prophet” is incorrect. The Quran uses the terms rasul and nabi, both of which mean a conveyor of a message or information.
[12] See, for example, Quran 12:109; 14:11; 16:43; 17:93, 95; 21:7; 23:23-50; 25:20; 41:6.
[13] There are many indications of this in the Quran, but the defining verse is 22:52. The term shaytan is used in the Quran for negative impulses, attitudes, thoughts, and other failings of the human mind.
[14] On the series of messengers, see, for example, Quran 2:213; 10:47; 16:36; 23:44; 35:24.
[15] On the preservation and verification of earlier wahy, see, for example, Quran 2:89, 97, 101; 4:47; 5:15, 46, 48; 6:93; 10:37; 35:31.
[16] On the replacement of an earlier wahy by a later one, see, for example, Quran 2:106; 5:44-48; 13:38-39; 16:101; 98:3.
[17] Other examples, to which the same argument applies, are the injunctions regarding the punishments for various offences, retaliation or qisas (2:178-179), polygamy, concubinage, women witnesses, etc.
[18] It was a relatively benign form of slavery, more akin to indentured service, and was an integral part of the social and economic systems. Slaves were lower status members of the families, clans and tribes that constituted Arab society. Most of them would have lost both livelihood and protection if suddenly freed.
[19] Quran 13:38-39; 43:2-5; and 3:6. Linked to these is 39:23.
[20] See, for example, Quran 29:46; 39:18, 55; 92:6-7, 9-10. 7:145 applies the same concept to Moses’ time. Also see 98:2-3 for the same meaning conveyed in a different form.
[21] See, for example, Quran 2:256; 10:99; 13:31; 18:29; 32:13; 43:20; 74:55; 76:3.
[22] The concept given in the Quran is one our minds can understand and relate to. It cannot convey the “reality” of Allah, since this is beyond the limits of finite human understanding.
[23] Commenting on this verse (2:30) Ibn Khaldun wrote in his great treatise on human history : This is the meaning of civilization (Al-Muqaddimah, trans. F. Rosenthal (New York, 1958), vol. I, 85).
[24] 2:30-38; 7:11-25; 15:28-42; 17:61-64; 18:50; 20:115-126; 38:71-85.
[25] The Quran uses the term malaika to represent the forces of nature, and the term Iblis to represent those elements of human nature that tend to lead humans away from Allah’s path.
[26] See, for example, Quran 7:69, 74, 142; 11:57; 19:59; 25:62.
[27] “An inscription from South Arabia (in a language cognate with classical Arabic) shows that the corresponding word was there used about AD 543 in the sense of ‘viceroy’ and this usage may have affected that in classical Arabic....” W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Political Thought (Edinburgh: The University Press, 1968), 33. This usage is confirmed in Quran 7:142.
[28] See, for example, Quran 13:15; 16:49; 21:33; 30:25-26; 65:12.
[29] This, surely, is the primary test for the validity of a belief : that it is consistent with our observation and experience of the real world. It is to avoid this test that religions seek to distract and over-awe their followers through their otherworldly and supernatural dogmas and beliefs, which they are required to accept blindly.
[30] Of course, many still don’t know this, or refuse to acknowledge it. After the Katrina hurricane and the South Asian earthquake in 2005, some Christian and Muslim religious figures, respectively, claimed that this was God’s punishment on sinners. They blissfully ignored what kind of God it was (on whose behalf they were so smugly claiming to speak) whose wrath fell mainly on the poor, the helpless, and innocent children.
[31] We should remember that chance and randomness are part of the natural system. See, for example, Quran 3:139; 7:94-95; 10:24; 11:9-11; 21:35; 30:36-37; 53:43; 89:15-16.
[32] See, for example, Quran 10:108; 13:31; 18:29; 43:40; 74:55; 76:3.
[33] Even Rasul Allah is told that there is no guarantee that he will see the defeat of those opposing him, or that he will not die before the success of his mission (Quran 10:46; 13:40; 40:77; 43:41-42).
[34] See, for example, Quran 2:251; 4:75; 22:40; 36:47; 47:7.
[35] Some of the concepts the Quran uses are ahd Allah, auliya Allah, ansar Allah, shuhada l’illah, amana b’illah, dhikr Allah, sabil Allah, and others. It is not possible to discuss these in this paper.
[36] We have forgotten the real significance of the tradition followed from the earliest days of Islam whereby a Muslim commences every action with a bismillah : in the name of Allah.
[37] There are 25 references relating to the reward of al-janna (e.g., 2:25; 18:30; 22:14; 32:19; 45:30; 84:25) and another 24 speaking of reward generally (e.g., 2:277; 3:56; 35:7; 41:8; 103:3).
[38] This wahy occurred during Rasul Allah’s final Hajj, according to a hadith from Umar b.al-Khattab (Bukhari 2:33; also reported in other collections). He fell ill two to three months later, and died soon after.
[39] The term used is din, which properly has this broad significance. When Islam became a religion, this term was limited to mean religious dogma and practice.
[40] One reason, perhaps, why this passage has not received the attention it merits is that it has been placed in the middle of verse 3, which belongs to a much earlier period, even though the context is quite different. It is possible that, in those final days, Rasul Allah did not get an opportunity to designate the appropriate placing of this passage.
[41] When Islam became a religion, and the concept of Allah became that of an omnipotent ruler, the meaning adopted for this term was “submission”, the most appropriate attitude of a subject in a kingdom. It has so remained, allowing the many self-styled intermediaries to demand absolute obedience to their version of the “king’s” commands.