The Ethics of Disagreement in Islam

Chapter Ten: The Way Forward

It is important for the Muslims to realize that although God Almighty has made the Qur'an "easy to remember" and provided us with abundant sources for studying the Sunnah of the noble Prophet, individual initiatives to derive laws from these sources are fraught with difficulties and must be approached with caution.

The task requires adequate preparation in addition to a number of skills which the specialists in this field have detailed. It requires, for example, a knowledge of the principles and processes of deduction; an excellent command of the Arabic language and its stylistic features; and a knowledge of the sciences of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In further detail, it involves, for example, a knowledge of "abrogation" - how one verse of the Qur'an supersedes another; of the general and the specific, identifying the general statement which can be construed as referring to something specific; identifying texts with an absolute application on the one hand and others with a restricted application, and several other factors and principles. Any judgment which a Muslim issues without a full knowledge and grasp of these requirements is no more than wishful thinking, guesswork, or a rough assessment arrived at without guidance or true knowledge. Whoever attempts to make a judgment in such a haphazard manner embarks on a perilous course and may even, God forbid, do himself a great injustice. The noble Prophet has said in this respect: "Whoever interprets the Qur'an without knowledge must take his seat in hell-fire." [ Transmitted by al Tirmidhee with a sound isnaad through Ibn `Abbaas.]

The type of knowledge required for interpreting the Qur'an and making judgments is not acquired through reading one or two books. It requires precise methodological study such as would provide the researcher with the tools that will enable him to delve into the field of Islamic thought and Islamic disciplines. To be profitable, this kind of study must depend on exhaustive research conducted under the guidance of someone who has the necessary knowledge and the critical insight and who is motivated by a deep consciousness of God and the desire to seek only His reward.

It should be pointed out that the Sharee`ah has been revealed to bring happiness and prosperity to humanity in this life and in the hereafter. It seeks to realize the best interests of human beings in harmony with the mental capacities with which God has endowed them, thus honoring them over the rest of His creatures. The Sharee`ah, all-embracing and merciful as it is, does not include any matter which is unbearable for the human being. The Almighty says: "He has laid no hardship on you in [anything that pertains to] religion" (22: 78).

God has made it easy for His servants to live and function in harmony with His religion and in an atmosphere of spontaneous love, not through force or coercion: "God desires that you shall have ease, and does not desire you to suffer hardship" (2: 185), and "God wants to lighten your burdens" for God knows that "man has been created weak" (4: 28).

As stated above, all the laws of the Sharee`ah are for the welfare of human beings as servants of God. They are there to bring advantages to mankind and there is, of course, no benefit to God in them since God Almighty is "free from all wants, worthy of all praise." It is therefore imperative to understand the various parts of the Sharee`ah in the light of the totality and ultimate purposes of the law. Whoever does not have a grasp of the overall implications and purposes of the Sharee`ah and does not understand its basic principles could never deal adequately with the subsidiary branches (furoo`) and details of the law adequately and in their proper context. Ibn Burhaan [ Ahmad ibn `Alee ibn Burhaan al Baghdaadee (d. 518 AH) was a well-known expert in jurisprudence and wrote several books on the subject. He was a Hanbalee but later followed Imaam al Shaafi`ee.] says:

Divine laws are policies through which God regulates the affairs of His servants. The way of dealing with people in this regard varies according to the differences in time. Each period of time requires a type of regulation which caters to the general welfare specific to that time. In the same way, each nation has a type of regulation which is in its general interest, even though it may result in vitiating rights when applied to others. [ Al Wusool ilaa al Usool (Getting to the Principles), manuscript.]

There is a consensus among Muslim scholars that the laws of the Sharee`ah - all of them - have as their underlying cause the realization of the public welfare (maslahah) and that it is precisely for this reason that they were prescribed. This is the case whether these laws are explicitly expressed in the original texts or derived from these texts. If there are points or areas on which there is no explicit divine guidance, we remain convinced that this is due to some wisdom known to God alone. As a consequence of this, many of the laws formulated on the basis of ijtihaad change with the passing of time. These laws may also vary according to the differences between individuals in proportion to their capacities and circumstances.

At the same time, we should realize that the explicit texts of the Qur'an and that part of the Sunnah which is transmitted by several continuous chains (mutawaatir) of narrators are categorically authentic. There is also a part of the Sunnah, such as a hadeeth transmitted by only a single narrator, whose authenticity is not fully established. The intended meaning of a given text might be explicit or it might be inferred. A knowledge of all such matters has a direct bearing on the way in which a text is understood, on the process of istinbaat, and on ijtihaad. No one has the right to reject an interpretation of a text advanced by others as long as the interpretation can be sustained by the text and is not in conflict with other legal texts. Most of the laws pertaining to subsidiary and practical matters are of the type that can be verified by logical processes, and this is part of the mercy of God to His servants which allows adequate scope for the exercise of analytical thought and judgment.

Since the Wise Lawgiver has made matters easy for people and has taken their welfare into consideration, it is unbecoming of anyone to accuse someone who differs with him on these matters of unbelief (kufr), corruption (fisq), or innovation (bid`ah). On the contrary, he should try to seek justification for the one who differs with him so as to strengthen the bond of affection between them and secure mutual respect, love, and brotherhood.

Brotherhood and Solidarity

One of the most important responsibilities which all Muslims should be aware of is the duty to preserve the brotherhood and the solidarity of Muslims. Part of this duty is to scrupulously avoid anything that would corrupt or weaken these bonds. Preserving brotherhood is an important form of worship through which we can achieve nearness to God and overcome all the obstacles to a renewal of Muslim life. It is sufficient to recall that the noble Prophet aroused in us an abhorrence of disunity by sanctioning the most severe punishment for the one who deliberately splits from the community (jamaa`ah). For this reason, any tendency to forsake Islamic brotherhood or be inunconcerned about it because of any difference of opinion is something which no Muslim is allowed to do. Moreover, he should be perceptive enough not to fall into the trap of dissension set by the enemies of Islam. This is especially so in our times, as many hostile forces and nations are pitted against us, seeking to stifle the sparks of faith which are being kindled anew in the hearts of the believers. With their wanton hands they seek to grind the tender shoots of the Islamic awakening into the dust.

Brotherhood for the sake of God and the unity of hearts among Muslims is high on the list of obligations incumbent on Muslims. It is close in importance to the duty of affirming the oneness of God (tawheed). There are also different levels of prohibitions, and causing damage to Muslim brotherhood also comes at the top of grave prohibitions. This is why the righteous scholars of old, when confronted with a controversial issue, often opted for the merely acceptable rather than the clearly preferable in order to preserve unity and leave no room for strife and dissension. In this spirit, they would forsake what in their view was recommended (mandoob) and just do what was allowed (jaa'iz).

We have seen the deep respect and consideration which the early Muslims had for one another and their commitment to the unity and brotherhood of Muslims. No one should jump to the conclusion, however, that our keenness to preserve the brotherhood and solidarity of Muslims implies any negligence of the fundamental Islamic beliefs which are not open to any speculation or compromise. The determination to confront the enemies of the Ummah will prevent us from joining hands with those who do not have any affinity with Islam. The controversial issues which should not cause any disunity among us are those which have already been recognized by the early scholars. They dealt with these issues in the most proper and admirable manner.

It is common knowledge that the Sharee`ah has classified many of the acts of worship into what is preferable, optional, and permissible. These are all acceptable categories to God, but they differ in grade. Many of the compulsory and obligatory duties have several aspects which fall into the above three categories. It is possible to perform an act of worship relying on what is most preferable according to the Sharee`ah, and it will be justly rewarded. For example, performing an obligatory salaah right at the beginning of its appointed time, performing it in congregation, and in addition performing the acts recommended according to the Sunnah is the most preferable course. Then again, one has the option to perform the same act of salaah later in the time allowed, and this will fall under the second category of the optional. The third category is the permissible and this involves doing the bare minimum.

Ideals and Realities

According to a tradition: "The good deeds of the righteous, coming in later times, would have been considered demerits in the eyes of the early devout Companions."

In the light of the above saying, it would be safe to say that he who expects all people, irrespective of their circumstances and individual abilities, to realize the ideal vision of Islam is setting a goal which is not easy to attain. This points to a clear recognition of the fact that human abilities and actual efforts and energies expended vary from one individual to another. This is why there are various levels of worship and obedience, and these will be reflected in the varying levels of the believers in paradise.

In his commentary [ Al Tabaree, Tafseer, 5/29.] on the Qur'an, Ibn Jareer al Tabaree relates that some people met `Abd Allaah (the son of `Umar ibn al Khattaab) in Egypt and said to him: "We see teachings of the Qur'an which are adhered to by some and not by others. We want to meet the Ameer al Mu'mineen (`Umar Ibn al Khattaab) to question him about these matters." They went with him to `Umar, may God be pleased with him. `Abd Allaah told his father why they had come and so they were invited to meet him. When they were gathered, `Umar looked at the nearest man to him and asked:

"Tell me truly, by God and by the right of Islam over you, have you read the entire Qur'an?"

"Yes," replied the man.

"Have you acted upon all of it as it affects you yourself?"

"O Lord, no," replied the man.

"Have you strictly followed the Qur'an in all that you see? Have you followed it in what you say? Have you followed it wherever your steps take you?"

`Umar then put the same questions to everyone in the audience. When he came to the last person he said:

"May the mother of `Umar lose her son! Do you [now expect me to] place an imposition on people to adhere to the entire Book of God? Our Lord and Sustainer certainly knew that we have failings," and he recited the following verse of the Qur'an: "If you shun the great sins which you have been forbidden to do, We shall efface your failings and cause you to enter [upon your afterlife] in a state of glory" (4: 31).

`Umar then asked whether the people of Egypt knew of their coming to make this complaint. Fortunately for them, they said: "No," as `Umar threatened: "If they had known, I would have made an example out of you."

There is a profound lesson which `Umar, may God be pleased with him, clarified in this incident. It is that the ideal vision which the Qur'an holds out for the Muslim is a model which he must try to realize or attain. Whenever he falls short of this model - as is inevitable - he should realize that God's mercy is indeed vast. When he avoids the major sins at least, he is assuredly on the way to attaining abundant good - if God wills. He has the obligation, however, to constantly strive towards the ideal vision and never to be content with the minimum standard.

Hopefully, a knowledge and understanding of the causes of difference of opinion among the early jurists and the context in which they occurred will assist us to reduce the causes of disagreement at present and enable us to develop and maintain the beautiful ethics and manners of dealing with them.

When the early scholars differed, they did so for objective reasons. They were all mujtahidoon, qualified and able to engage in analytical thought and make independent judgments. Each one of them was engaged in a rigorous search for truth, and it made no difference to anyone if the truth about any issue was discovered by someone else.

To help Muslims develop and stick to the ethics and proper norms (adab) of dealing with differences, it is imperative that they should be fully aware of the enormous dangers and threats as well as the malicious strategies which are constantly being engineered by the enemies of Islam to eliminate those who are in the vanguard of the Islamic awakening and da`wah. These strategies are targeted against all who strive for Islam irrespective of their schools of thought or any differences in their orientation. In this situation, any disagreement among Muslims, any attempt to perpetuate disagreements, or any flouting of the norms of proper behavior amounts to subversion of the objectives of the Ummah and is a crime which cannot be justified or excused.

Over and above all this, it is imperative that we maintain a deep consciousness of God (taqwaa), both secretly and openly, and seek His pleasure in times of both agreement and disagreement. We need to have the determination to deepen our understanding of Islam, free from personal whims and negative influences. We need to be aware of how these negative influences work and how they ensnare us.

The Ummah has suffered enough. Now is the time for us to come to our senses and steadfastly follow the right course in the light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. We entertain the hope that God Almighty, through the efforts of the righteous Muslims of this generation, will rescue this Ummah and lead it to the shores of safety and security after centuries of perilous wandering and error.

We ask God Almighty to teach us what is beneficial to us, to make us benefit from what He has taught us, and to increase our knowledge. May He unite us in the pursuit of truth, guide us to the right path, and crown all our actions with success. May He guard us against the evils of our thoughts and actions. May He protect us from the folly of "breaking into shreds the yarn which was once tightly spun and strong." In Him we seek refuge and on His might we depend. All praise and thanks are due to God, the Lord and Sustainer of all the worlds.