ISLAMIC
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
AN URGENT CALL
TO THE MUSLIMS OF THE WORLD
By
His Eminence
Dr. MUHAMMAD FAZL-UR-RAHMAN ANSARI AL-QADERI
Founder President
WORLD
FEDERATION OF ISLAMIC MISSIONS
Heart of Muslim Society:
History reveals that different human
groups have been coming into existence on different foundations. Some have
sought the bond of integrity in common geographical boundaries, others in the
affinities of race and colour, and still others in the possession of a common
language. But, whether it is geographical boundarise or race or colour or
common language, the bond of group-integrity thus created remains materialistic
and non-ideological. The concept, on the other hand, which Islam upholds and
gives is that of an ideological community. The Muslim community of the world
is, thus, a community which is through and through ideological in character,
having come into existence on the basis of the ideology of Islam, which in its
turn, is constituted of a distinct system of belief and a comprehensive code of
life based upon it. As regards the Islamic system of belief, again, it is
founded on spiritual verities and its function is to orientate entire human
life in spiritual values. Thus, every cross-section of Muslim life, both on
individual and collective levels, is determined by spiritual norms and is to be
pursued in the service of spiritual ideals. Again, because Islam forms the
ideological basis of the Muslim community, Muslims can prosper and progress
harmoniously only if they submit each and every aspect of their individual and
collective life to the eternal Guidance of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah.
The above-mentioned truth is
accepted not only by the 'Ulama (theological scholars of Islam) but also by all
genuine lay Muslims. But neglect of the logical implications of this acceptance
is as universal as the acceptance itself.
One of the most important of these
logical implications is that the "Ulama constitute the heart of
Muslim society. This is so because Divine Guidance in the form of the religion
of Islam has not only given birth to the Muslim community but also forms its
basis of activity and source of sustenance; and the function of the ‘Ulama
is that, equipping themselves with this Guidance, both academically and
practically, they have to serve the Muslim community and humanity at large as
the representatives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be on him), as we read
in the Hadith:
ان
العلماء ورثة الأنبياء
"Verily the Ulama are the Successors of the Prophets
(in the mission of delivering the Message of Allah). (Jami Tirmidhi: Hadith #
2606.)
Combined with this there is another truth which has been stated by
the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him) in the following words:
إِنَّ
فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ۔ وَإِذَا
فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ۔ أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ۔
"Verily
there is a piece of flesh in the body of man which if diseased; the whole body
is diseased, while if it is healthy, the whole body is healthy. Lo and behold!
it is the heart. Lo and behold! it is the heart." (Sahih
Muslim, Hadith # 2996)
This law which relates to individual
personalities has also a direct bearing on collective life. It means that if
the "heart" of the community is healthy and strong, the community is
basically healthy and strong, while if the heart is weak or diseased, the
community is bound to suffer from all types of collective ailments.
Muslims of the world are suffering
today not only from weaknesses on the international plane but also from
collective diseases of different types. This is a fact which has been accepted
by our social reformers. nay, by all thinking Muslims. But no proper attention
seems to have been concentrated on the root cause, namely, the deficiencies and
the diseases that have found their way into the ranks of Islamic religious
leadership.
Sad Story of the Dark Period of Muslim History
There was a time when Muslims
surpassed all communities of the world in every field of human activity: in
spirituality and morals, in intellectual and aesthetic pursuits, in economic
and social organization, in commerce and industry, in military science and
state-administration. Then came the time when, after the destruction of Baghdad
and the fall of Cordova (Spain), they withdrew from the intellectual jihad
(struggle), which withdrawal assumed later on such permanence that until today
they have not been able to recapture their eminent position in the intellectual
field. The political front also suffered a set-back. But it was short lived,
because of the conversion of the Ottoman Turks who, taking over the leadership
of the Muslim world, wrote a new glorious chapter in the history of Islam and
Muslims were thus able to maintain their political supremacy all over the
Islamic world, including Muslim Indo-Pakistan for further appreciable length of
time. Unfortunately, however, during that period of renewed political strength
and stability, nothing tangible was done to reinvigorate Muslim society on
other planes of activity, with the consequence that it continued to degenerate
and debilitate, so much so that finally her life became infested with different
types of ailments. The Muslim social order was menaced by the existence of the
privileged classes who destroyed the vitality of the Muslim world through their
luxurious and effeminate habits. The ideal of conquering the world spiritually
for Islam (اعلاء
كلمة الّٰله) was made subservient to the ambitions of
worldly gains and material ends. The scholars of Islam fell prey, with few honorable
exceptions, to Intellectual stagnation, while many of the rulers sold their
hearts away to the satisfaction of baser desires. The greatest crime against
their own selves which the Muslims committed was, however, their neglect of the
cultivation of physical sciences - a task which had been sanctified by Islam, a
task which their forefathers had pursued with glory ultimately to become the
inaugurators of the modern scientific era, a task without which the maintenance
of political greatness and material prosperity was impossible. Historically
viewed, this neglect did actually pave the way for backwardness in the realms
of technology, industrial production and economic organization. It kept the
Muslims back from developing better weapons of war. It finally culminated in
making the Muslim world politically vulnerable and, as a consequence thereof,
economically and intellectually conquerable.
Even before the close of the 18th century A.C,
cracks began to appear in the magnificent edifice of Islamic civilization which
the sacred hands of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be on him) had built; and
the cracks continued to grow wider until the Christian nations of the West, who
owed their Renaissance to none else but the Muslims but who were in spite of
that their blood thirsty enemies, entered into those cracks from all
sides-equipped as they were, with superiority in military weapons, intellectual
attainments especially in physical sciences, industrial techniques, economic
production, social organization and democratic political ideals. As regards the
Muslims, they had already given up jihad to a great extent in the
spiritual, social and intellectual fields. Now when occasion came to meet the
biggest collective onslaught of Christendom on the battlefield, they found it
impossible to achieve victory in their military jihad, even though they
had formerly routed Christendom during the Crusades. Muslim countries fell to
the enemy one after the other until a large part of the world of Islam from the
Atlantic to the Pacific and from the islands of the Indian Ocean to the frontiers
of Siberia was enslaved by the Christian powers of the West before the close of
the nineteenth century A.C. The only exception was the Turkish Empire which
could cross the nineteenth century with some of its
dominions intact. But Turkey was herself sick and had, therefore, to surrender
those dominions to the enemies of Islam even before the first quarter of the
twentieth century ended.
The slavery which started gripping
the Muslim world more than a century ago was not purely political in character.
Nay, along with that came two other and more terrible forms of slavery, namely,
economic and mental slavery. Then a fourth form of slavery was also born as a result
of the combined action of the above mentioned three forms―to wit, social
slavery
As to political slavery, it has
gradually disappeared by Allah's Grace. Most of the Muslim countries have
regained their freedom in the wake of the Second World War. The economic
emancipation of the Muslim world is also taking shape and the chains of
economic slavery are becoming progressively weaker in response to the progress
in scientific education and better organization of economic resources.
The situation is, however, different
in respect of mental slavery and social slavery, wherein the grip has continued
to become more and more severe and there are still no signs of our
emancipation, in spite of certain measures adopted by certain Muslim
governments for promoting the cause of Islam and in spite of the fights waged
against these evils by certain powerful Islamic organizations in particular and
by the 'Ulama in general.
Evaluating their adverse effects, mental slavery is by far more dangerous because it is this which really brings about and perpetuates social slavery. The fact is that the acceptance of mental slavery of the enemy by a community gives birth to such a deadly social poison as can kill that community from within, however great and glorious its past history might have been, because this acceptance is not possible without loss of faith in its own values―an adverse factor which is even more injurious than political slavery. So says Dr. Muhammad Iqbal:
يقين اللّه مستی خود گزینی
یقین مثل خلیل آتش نشینی
سن اے تہذیب حاضر کے گرفتار
غلامی سے ہے
بدتر بے یقینی
Faith
consists in forsaking one's ego and living in the ecstasy of Divine Presence.
Faith
consists in accepting the Ordeal of fire like Abraham.
Listen! O thou who has been enthralled by (the materialistic values
of) modern civilization. Want of faith (in thy destiny as Muslim) is worse (in
its injurious effects) than political slavery
From north to south and from east to
west the above-mentioned social poison has been penetrating into the ranks of
the modernist Muslim intelligentsia. And not only that. The greater calamity is
that those who brand conformity with the principle of historical continuity in
Muslim thought and belief as slavery regard the mental slavery of the West as
freedom! Giving to evil the place of good and to vice the place of virtue is
bound to land every community in a situation where its very foundations are
sure to be destroyed. But, alas! even the consciousness of this heart-rending
consequence is getting lost in the ambition for pseudo- freedom.
It may be emphasized here that this
ugly situation is the result of a long drawn historical process. When Muslim
scholarship proved deficient in fulfilling the intellectual needs of the
community and the non-Muslims became the custodians of all the sciences and
arts, it was only natural for the Muslims to become votaries at the non-Muslim
shrines of learning. It was thus basically our own neglect of intellectual jihad
which caused the present ugly situation. Islam has invited its followers through
the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) to
a comprehensive intellectual jihad, and if we had not kept over selves
aloof from it for centuries, especially in the fields of physical and social
sciences, it appears in the light of philosophy of history that neither would
the Muslims have fallen prey to mental slavery nor to political, economic and
social slavery.
The fact is that whenever any
community tries to accommodate two conflicting and mutually hostile systems of
thought and action within its body politic, disintegration is always the
result. This disintegration causes a shaking in the realm of beliefs, on the
one hand, and double facedness in character, on the other. Besides that, mental
slavery of the opponents gives birth to inferiority complex. The inferiority complex,
in its turn, tends to create petty mindedness and meanness. And the final
result is that life is pushed farther and farther away from moral excellence
and closer and closer to moral degradation.
Unfortunately, most unfortunately,
the Muslim world of today is confronted with the same ugly situation. We are
not only weak politically, economically and intellectually, but even our moral
life is not what Islam wanted it to be. Morally we have been caught in a
whirlpool and signs of moral degeneration are manifest everywhere.
Islam's weak Intellectual front in the Modern age:
This
unfortunate situation is there. But more unfortunate than this is the situation
which obtains in the ranks of religious leadership. It is more unfortunate
because it is the religious leadership which forms the real spearhead of reform
and its failure means basic failure.
The invaluable
intellectual (as also spiritual) services which the genuine and respectable
members of this most respectable group have rendered during the different
epochs of Islamic history are too well known to be recounted here. But the
point which demands and deserves full emphasis in connection with the present
discussion is that deterioration has manifested itself in the ranks of this
group in accordance with the deterioration of conditions in the Muslim world. Or
might it not be more true to say, that conditions in the Muslim world
deteriorated in response to the deficiencies and weaknesses that gripped the
group of the ‘Ulama. Their standard and scope of knowledge and practice
has been gradually deteriorating for some centuries past, so much so that even
that standard of knowledge and piety that existed among most of the 'Ulama
a hundred years ago is rarely to be met with today.[*]
There is no doubt
that the hardships that the group of ‘Ulama has endured in preserving
and defending Islam and the contribution which the individual ‘Ulama
have made everywhere in accordance with their respective capacities, during the
past one hundred years of unprecedented trials and tribulations, deserve all
praise``. May Allah bless all those who have served, and are serving, the cause
of Islam genuinely and truly. In spite of that, however, the weaknesses that
had entered their ranks have continued to grow, so much so that we find today
the prestige of the group of 'Ulama shattered considerably.
The emergence and
growth of group-weaknesses among the 'Ulama have not only damaged their
prestige but have also inflicted a severe injury on Islam and, consequently, on
humanity. This could not have been otherwise, because knowledge of Islam forms
the only ideological nourishment and, therefore, the only source of ideological
survival for the Muslim community; and the only vehicle of the transmission of
this nourishment are the 'Ulama. Consequently, if the 'Ulama are
not highly equipped intellectually and truly dynamic and powerful in their
spiritual leadership, it would be futile to expect a radiant and healthy
ideological life within the Muslim community and a proper transmission of the
message of Islam to humanity at large.
Now, just as Islam
does not base its conception of worship (عبادة)
on the separation of the religious from the secular, similarly, in its concept
of education, it does not exclude "secular" knowledge from the
curriculum of "religious" studies in the manner in which the
one-sided religions and cultures of the world do it. This is the reason why,
during the age of glory of the Islamic civilization, the educational system of
the Muslim world was unitary―being based on the fundamental Islamic principle
of Tawheed. In that system, theological sciences were taught in
conjunction with all other so-called "secular" subjects, e.g.,
natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy, etc. The result was that every
Muslim scholar of that age used to be a comprehensive scholar (جامع العلوم). Again,
the formal system of examinations and award of formal certificates which is
prevalent today was not in vogue at the time. Hence none could obtain a
certificate without genuinely acquiring the necessary knowledge and the requisite
intellectual and spiritual discipline, and everyone got an individual
certificate in accordance with the actual intellectual stature he had acquired―and
this fixed up his place in society. Moreover, spiritual discipline and
character building also formed a vital part of education side by side with
academic attainments, and thus aptitude, labor and piety, all were fully
coordinated, harmonised and rewarded.
But when, in the
nineteenth century, the enemies of Islam succeeded in enslaving a large part of
the Muslim world, they planned and adopted different schemes for crushing and
annihilating the religion of Islam itself; and unfortunately they succeeded in
causing colossal damage to Islam. One of the most far reaching and disastrous
among these schemes was the establishment of an educational system which
snatched away from the hands of Islam the resources and the opportunity of
educating the Muslims in accordance with its norms and ideals; and this has
resulted in the slow but steady alienation, or, at least, indifference, of a
powerful section of western educated Muslims from the Islamic ideals and
values.
Side by side with
that, another and more terrible consequence also emerged―the consequence,
namely, that as regards material rewards theological education was devalued
almost to the limit of zero. Hence it could no more attract, beyond a few,
students from among the intelligent and well-to-do Muslims, virtually all of
whom went in for modern education. Gradually, the institutions of Islamic
theology were filled up with students many of whom were backward and below the
mark in different respects. Its natural result was that the courses of
theological education had to be made lighter, causing the standard of religious
training to suffer, and, as a consequence, the standard of religious leadership
to degenerate.
Day by day the
situation has continued to deteriorate in these respects, until it has reached
a point today where, because of their one-sided education, the 'Ulama
have become confined to the mosque while all the departments of thought and
action have passed on solely to the charge of those who have received purely
secular education. Inside the mosque itself, the leadership of the 'Ulama
is largely confined to the uneducated or the less-educated Muslims.
Surely, in the ranks of the 'Ulama
there are even today such personalities, although very few, whose intellectual
calibre or standard of piety can be a source of satisfaction to the Muslim
community. The majority, however, consists of those whose short-comings and
deficiencies stand in the way of the 'Ulama- group in achieving its
rightful role in Muslim society. All in all, the 'Ulama-group has become
incapable of leading modern humanity.
In this connection, it is very
significant that they could not produce in the present century a dynamic
thinker like Iqbal who could inspire the western-educated Muslim youth with
love for Islam, or a leader like Jinnah who could unite the western-educated
Muslims, the 'Ulama and the Muslim masses for achieving Pakistan; and
the best among them were forced to play only a subservient role in the national
struggles of Muslim countries.
As regards the creation and the
continuation of short-comings and deficiencies among the 'Ulama, it is
the Muslim community as a whole which is responsible for them, and not merely
the 'Ulama, and it is, therefore, the obligation of the Muslim community
to remove them.
The only genuine and correct method
of resolving this ugly situation is through the creation and adoption by all
Muslim countries of a system of education which should harmoniously combine the
"religious" and the "secular".
However, until this most vital step
is taken, an urgent demand of the situation is that:-
(1)
Our theological institutions should adopt a comprehensive course of education
wherein a high level knowledge of Islamic theological subjects may be combined
with a critical study of other religions and of modern thought, so that it may
become possible for our 'Ulama to guide and inspire all sections of the
community and all the cross-sections of humanity with proper insight and in
keeping with the dignity of true religious leadership.
This point needs some elucidation. A critical study of other
religions and of Modern Thought, with Islam as the standard of Guidance, is
necessary for the 'Ulama for three reasons: Firstly, they cannot preach
Islam successfully to the non-Muslims unless they possess a proper knowledge of
the ideologies which they follow. Secondly, they cannot inspire the modern educated
with the love for Islam without establishing rationally the truth of the
Islamic teachings and their superiority over the teachings of other religions
and ideologies; and this necessitates a critical study, especially of Modern
Thought. Thirdly, the latest advances in knowledge assist in understanding the
Holy Qur'an and the Hadith better.
(2)
Spiritual discipline, character-building and social service should receive
recognition in our theological institutions similar to that extended to the
acquisition of knowledge.
(3)
For those who qualify from our theological institutions and wish to devote
themselves to missionary work, some such academic equipment is also necessary
whereby they may be able to earn their livelihood in an honourable way and
independently of their missionary work and may thus, save themselves from
financial and moral suffering.
In this way shall it be possible to
have those 'Ulama who may be the possessors of comprehensive knowledge,
on the one hand, and of a genuine and high class Islamic character and
personality and the mission of social service, on the other.
The fact cannot be over emphasised
that it is only the creation of such 'Ulama which can form the first
sure step towards the revival of our lost glory. Indeed, all other reformative
efforts seem to be futile without this most basic step.
Generally speaking, the acquisition
of the available comprehensive knowledge has been our tradition during our age
of glory. Among the jurists, the historic achievements of Imam Abu Hanifah,
Imam Shafa'i, Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (Allah be pleased with them
all) could not have been possible without profound and comprehensive
scholarship. Among the philosopher-theologians, we may cite the example of Imam
Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazzali (R.A.) who, as the possessor of comprehensive
education, shattered the aggressive and hostile forces of alien philosophies
and thus wrote a new glorious chapter in the intellectual and religious history
of the Muslims.
Similarly, Muslim history abounds in
such personalities in whom intellectual and spiritual greatness had been
harmoniously blended. Their spiritual leadership was crowned with miraculous
success both among Muslims and non-Muslims and the spiritual service which they
rendered was of such a high order that their names have become immortalised in
history. Here we might cite the example of that august personality who is known
as Ghaus-ul-Azam Mohiyyuddin Sayiyyid Abdul Qadir al-Jeelani of Baghdad (R.A.)
He rose to a high stature in the field of intellectual attainments. But, more
than that, his greatness lies in spiritual development with which his
personality was crowned. He shone out as the sun of righteousness and spiritual
splendour amidst a night of storms. His radiant personality broke the dark
spell of confusion. His efforts for the revival of spiritual fervour among the
Muslims were crowned by Allah with glorious success. Indeed, his services to
Islam and to humanity form a land mark in our history, and his spiritual
blessings have been immortalised in the constitution of Muslim society.
Likewise, there is the refulgent personality of Qutb-ul-Aqtab Khwaja Moinuddin
Chishti (R.A.) of Ajmer. The harmonious blending on a high level of
intellectual and spiritual attainments and his dynamic spiritual leadership
have made him once for all one of the greatest spiritual luminaries of Muslim
history. It was none else than he the sword of whose spiritual personality conquered
the fortress of kufr in India and laid the foundation stone of Pakistan
centuries before the emergence of the latter state. Among other similar
personalities may be mentioned, to cite just a few, the names of: Shaikh Ali al-Hujwiri
(better known as Data Ganj Bakhsh), Shaikh Shihabuddeen Suhrawardy, Qutb-ul-Aqtab
Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband, Maulana Jalal-ud-Din el-Rumi, Shaikh Abul Hasan
Shazli, Shaikh-ul-Islam Abdullah al-Ansari of Herat, Shaikh Ahmed of Sirhind
(Mujaddid Alf-e-Thani), Shah Waliullah of Delhi, etc.
Among the Ulama of the
present century also there have been several spiritual luminaries who have
shone out with distinction through the combination of academic and spiritual
attainments. The work of all such Ulama has been more effective than the
work of those whose sole equipment was academic. An illustrious example in this
connection is that of the renowned spiritual leader and missionary of Islam,
His Eminence Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi al-Qaderi (R.A.). He combined modern
education with the theological and possessed a magnetic and radiant spiritual
personality. With these qualities of head and heart he rose to be a
distinguished international Muslim missionary of his time and the services he
rendered to humanity through Islam form a glorious chapter in recent Muslim
history.
In summarising the foregoing
discussion, let it be stressed that the emphasis in our current system of
theological education being mostly on Fiqh (Law), our 'Ulama are
generally capable only of legalistic guidance in respect of the daily personal
life of a Muslim. The task, however, of establishing rationally the truth of
the teachings of Islam in all their aspects and the superiority of Islam over
other religions and ideologies cannot be accomplished without a comprehensive
and deep knowledge not only of Islam but also of other religions and ideologies―both
ancient and modern. And this task has to be performed by the ‘Ulama not
only in respect of non-Muslim humanity but also with regard to those modern educated
Muslims who have fallen victim to the glamour of alien philosophies and cannot
be persuaded to practise Islam unless their brains have been washed clean of
the anti-Islamic influences of alien thought and they have been thoroughly
inspired in respect of Islamic ideals and values. Moreover, even after the
accomplishment of this task in the realm of Belief, it is necessary for
the 'Ulama to employ hikmah, i.e., methodical and consequential
approach in the domain of Action, and for this purpose deep spiritual
and psychological knowledge is necessary―a knowledge formulated and cultivated
by the classical Sufees of Islam."
Unfortunately, the systems of
theological education in vogue in the world of Islam today fall miserably short
in respect of both the above mentioned tasks; and, as a consequence, the
Muslims themselves have generally adopted wrong standards in respect of their
religious leaders. Those who can stand up in the public as entertaining
speakers or those who can make fighting speeches and hurl abuse at their
adversaries in respect of controversial theological issues, pass off as popular
Ulama in the estimation of the Muslim masses who form the bulk of the
religious front; while those who know how to carry on flourishing business in
talismans and charms are regarded by the general folk as spiritual leaders.
This most unfortunate situation
demands urgently an all-out effort by the Muslims of the world for the creation
in large numbers of those Ulama who may possess the qualities of high-mindedness,
sobriety, humility and sweetness in their personal character, who may endear
themselves to the people through their wisdom, high morals and love for
service, and who may be accepted by the modern educated Muslims as their
intellectual leaders because of their superior and more comprehensive
intellectual attainments.
Let us act before it is too late.
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