Hello brother:
Your method of using just your intellect to determine what is right and what is wrong, to interpret the Quran and to judge whether a hadith is true or not, is not islamic. To show you the weakness of our minds, just take the philosophers as an example. Didn't all of them use the intellect? Didn't all of their conclusions come after a long time thinking, using logic, etc? The answer is yes of course. But, were their conclusions the same? Absolutely not. Perhaps we have conclusions as much as philosophers. This is the result of using just your intellect and making it independent. You may say that "I make conclusion using the Quran". I said in my earlier post: by using the Quran as the only source, people will come to completely different conclusions.
I don't agree with this at all. I believe the Quran has stressed using our intellect and gaining evidence-it is mentioned there in nearly ALL chapters! Just because of the fact that conclusions can be right or wrong, does not make all conclusions wrong. Philosophers have also made many right approaches to understanding. The logical understanding and the philosophy of science are the most successful so far.
So conclusions can be right or wrong, and you must examine them scientifically. The Quran highlights this in one verse and it says those with knowledge may understand the unclear verses of the Quran, but the true translation is only known by Allah.
(Quran 3:7) It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah . But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.So there are verses that are precise, the alcohol verse is precise and it is the specific verse, There is no debate there. Allah's feelings towards homosexuality is also precise and clear in the Quran. There are verses in the Quran not like that, those verses are primarily the ones that focus on science! If you look at brother Osama's website (answeringChristiantiy) you notice that he applies scientific knowledge to show you the
hidden scientific meaning of verses! Brother Osama is one of those with knowledge according to that verse. But even still, the true translation is from Allah!
When I took the example of those people making alcohol permissible using arguments from the Quran, you said their arguments were weak, or they didn't have arguments at all. The same way, those verses that you regard as arguments of evolution being true, for me are not even arguments and using them to prove evolution is ridiculous.
That is because I have read their arguments. You read my arguments that show evolution and you scrutinize them, that is how we determine if it makes sense, that is how science and philosophy work
...Question your beliefs!
So what you are doind by trying to interpret the Quran, is just following your desires.
Maybe, but you have to examine their arguments irrespective of their desires
Do you know that the main reason why there are so many sects within Islam, is misinterpretation of the Quran, using "the desire-follower intellect".
There are many sects because of hadiths and yes people do interpret the Quran to their desires, but that doesn't mean that their interpretation is wrong, you must examine the interpretation itself and show them it is wrong.
You said "We have to do a systematic study of hadiths"!? There are people who can't learn propely to pray, because of time, knowledge etc. If everyone would become a self-confessed scholar of Islam, there would be a chaos. Everone will follow what he thinks is true and people will fall in confusion. Whom to follow? I just can't believe our God, the only God, Allah, can let people in such a pain. That's why he said:
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result. (4:59)
I'm not saying to become a self-confessed scholar of Islam. I am saying utilize scholarly sources like Quranic interpreations and Quranic Arabic and arive at a conclusion. I like to think freely, I don't think the way the scholars want me to think, I refuse to commit shirk--the scholars are not perfect nor are they divine.
Again, you must examine the quotes itself.
You said that the Prophet is not alive now, so the rule of refering to the Messenger is not applicable to us. You have to understand one thing: when the Quran talks about something, even if it is history, even if it is refering to Prophet Muhammad or his compaions, no matter what, it is refering to us too. The Quran is for all times.
Of course it is for us, but there are some verses not applicable to us. Like the verses on prisoners of war
. So the Quran is made for all times and places. So it has verses applicable to 7th century people and us. For example verse 55:33 didn't apply to the prophet Muhammad, he could go into space
So in this case, by refering to the Messeger, it means refering to his Sunnah, to his hadiths.
That's assuming that Hadiths are perfect and the scholars are infallible. I do not do this. I know that hadiths could have some truth in them, but, I shall not trust them. many many many times have they proven to be false.
The disagreement which Quran talks about - is not any disagreement by every person who only wants to follow his desires. So, can everyone disagree with scholars about whatever he wants? Of course not. What the verse is talking about, is when there is not a consensus about something between scholars, or between a large group of people, or between two schools of thought etc. So our duty then is to refer to the Quran and the Sunnah, and to accept the consensus arrived by the scholars. If there is no consensus, to follow that which we think is more logical (here the logic comes in!). Here is what Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi says in his english tafsir, explaining this verse:
Hence, if a dispute arises about any matter between the Muslims or between the rulers and the ruled, they should turn to the Qur'an and the Sunnah for a decision and they should all submit to the decision. (http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/4/index.html#sdfootnote90sym)
No, you turn to the Quran for any decisions and ALL decision! And if there is a problem with the rulers, go back to the Quran and ensure they are doing it right.
Yes, but I don't like how you keep stressing that the majority rule is right in the scholars. That is not true, not shall it ever be true. The majority rule according to the world scholars is Christianity.
Is there disagreement between scholars or people regarding evolution? No! So our duty is to obey those in authority among us.
Again, you adhere to a majority thing. It is a logical fallacy. You must go into my arguments and see the support the Quran has, rather than adhering to what the scholars say!
It just takes one verse:
(Quran 64:3) He designed you and perfected your design That's it, there is no reason for any other debate. You were designed as something and that form was perfected. Not an instant creation!
You said Allah did not promise to protect unquranic hadiths. Again, wrong.
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian. (15:9)
The word for Quran here is "Dhikra" which includes both the Quran and the insipration given to the Prophet. That's why some of the translators translated it as:
We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). Yusuf Ali
Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian. Shakir
You have to see what the word Dhikra here is referring to. If it was referring to hadiths, then it would be a contradictions because hadiths have not been guarded from corruption.
Here is was Islamic-Awareness says about this:
The promise made by Allah(SWT) in Qur'an 15:9 is obviously fulfilled in the undisputed purity of the Qur'anic text throughout the fourteen centuries since its revelation. However, what is often forgotten by many Muslims is that the divine promise also includes, by necessity, the Sunnah of the Prophet(P), because the Sunnah is the practical example of the implementation of the Qur'anic guidance, the wisdom taught to the Prophet(P) along with the scripture, and neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah can be understood correctly without the other. (http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Hadith/Ulum/hadsciences.html)
Yes, but the Sunnah has been shown to not be preserved and corrupted? It would be like Allah telling us that he would preserve the bible
. Therefore, you must conclude that the reminder this verse was talking about is the Quran.
You said the Quran tries to support every belief. The Quran speaks the truth, despite it being wrong for someone or true for someone else. To prove this, I will use your example.
(And he is the one who created the night, daylight, sun and the moon, all swimming in an orbit). (Quran, The Prophets: 33).
Some decades before, the Sun moving was considered a scientific error. Now we know that it also moves (I think around itself, I'm not sure but I have read it somewhere and also Dr. Zakir Naik talks about it). So the Quran is the truth, even if it may not seem to someone. It doesn't neccesarily need to support every belief.
The Quran must support reality and 7th century belief simultaneously and that is what we see.
Allah says several times in the Quran tha the majority of people are wrong. But this does not apply when it comes to something that is consensus between muslims.
Brother, this consensus between Muslims does not hold any argumentative value! The majority of muslim scholars went to scholar schools which were biased against certain things like evolution in the Quran for example. It is no surprise they also hold that bias. But unfortunately, the Quran support for evolution is too strong. The best way to do this is to go to my arguments one by one and then we decide whether the Quran supports evolution. Adhering to the majority opinion means we should all become Christians.
Using your intellect to understand the Quran is wrong, and as I said, it was the main cause for so many sects to be formed. The solution is clear: humbling yourself, obeying the scholars, accepting the hadiths. This is the true Islam, which creates no confusion among people. I would never believe that Allah will leave such important thing unclear to us. I will respond to your arguments for evolution in the next post insha'Allah.
Completely disagree. I do not obey scholars, no shirk here.