Author: Mufti Obaidullah Noorzahi
Crises of Liberalism in the Contemporary World (Part 21)
Political and Social Freedoms:
The struggle of Islamic scholars against falsehood-peddlers, extremists, and the ignorant is, in reality, a defense of the truth and a protection of Islam from the whims, egotism, and unruly desires of those who seek to offer self-styled interpretations of the religion. Their fight against deviants is not like the conflict of the religious figures of the People of the Book with the masses—those who sought to position themselves as the exclusive gateway to God. The sincere scholars of the past and present liberate the minds and bodies of people from baseless illusions that stand between them and their Creator. Their mission is to convey the same message of Tawhid (Oneness of God) for which our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent. They rise against all those who have deviated in understanding this religion and have erected barriers between the Creator and the created.
They strive in the cause of Allah—not in pursuit of personal gain—by freeing minds, bodies, and intellects from submission to anyone besides Allah or fear of anyone other than Him, whether such a one is a ruler or a subject. They protect life from manipulation and corruption by human ideologies, and instead present the divine commandments and boundaries set by Allah, so that the rebellion of carnal desires may not be imposed upon people under the labels of justice, equality, and freedom.
The image that proponents of liberal ideology paint of their opponents is one derived from the West’s experience of conflict with its own religion and religious figures. Applying this image to a nation whose faith and creed of Tawhid remain uncorrupted stems either from ignorance or from selfish desire—or both. And it is not rational at all to force a healthy person to take the same medication that once cured a sick person!
Since liberal thought aims for global dissemination, it treats all unseen influences upon the intellect in the same way. Its adherents view all religions—including Islam—as equal in their impact on human behavior. They lump Islam together with Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism in a single category.
Yet Allah the Exalted, over fourteen centuries ago, exposed how the clergy distorted the Book of Allah—both its wording and meaning—and commanded them to abandon their altered religion and embrace the solid religion of Islam. He stated that they dwell in darkness and must be brought out of it. As Allah the Exalted says: “يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا كُنْتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ ﴿١٥﴾ يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلَامِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (١٦)” Translation: “O People of the Book! Surely Our Messenger has come to you, clarifying much of what you used to hide of the Scripture and overlooking much [else]. There has certainly come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. Through it, Allah guides those who seek His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out of darkness into light by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.” (Qur’an 5:15–16)
Yet they deliberately chose hostility, preferring darkness over divine light: “يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِل وَتَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ” Translation: “O People of the Book! Why do you mix the truth with falsehood and hide the truth knowingly?” (Qur’an 3:71)
And He also said: “يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ” Translation: “O People of the Book! Why do you deny the signs of Allah while you bear witness to [their truth]?” (Qur’an 3:70)
Eventually, non-Christian followers of liberalism began using terms that had developed in confrontation with a corrupted religion in a different context. They started opposing Islam—the firmly established religion of human nature—by employing limited and inappropriate terminology born out of that foreign conflict.
In its present form, Christianity and Judaism are man-made constructs rather than divine revelations. Christians knew and know that a confrontation between their altered version of Christianity and another revealed faith would inevitably lead to a major clash—one they cannot win, despite the confusion they have been subjected to. This is because of their emotionally charged religious zeal against non-Christians, and because of Islam’s connection with nations and peoples harboring old rivalries and hostilities. Thus, embracing Islam was perceived by them as a kind of racial or ethnic defeat. They considered abandoning the darkness they lived in and adopting Islam as a difficult and painful shift.
Before Islam, some among them tried to reform the church’s ambiguities, its idolatrous practices, and the oppressive distortions of the clergy from within—under the church’s name itself. They had turned other creatures into intermediaries between themselves and Allah, believing that they could only reach God through these intermediaries. As Allah the Exalted says: “اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ” Translation: “They took their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah.” (Qur’an 9:31)
And He also said: “يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ” Translation: “O you who believe! Indeed, many of the rabbis and monks consume people’s wealth wrongfully and hinder them from the path of Allah.” (Qur’an 9:34)
As a result, they failed to reform the darkness and deceptions of the Church from within. They were forced to turn to reason and philosophy for correction and reform. However, this strand of reason, being disconnected from a sound and firm religion, eventually became frayed and unraveled.
In summary, in the early fourth century CE, a bishop from Alexandria named Arius emerged from Egypt. He called people to a form of monotheism and the oneness of the Lord in worship. He dismissed many of the intermediaries between the servant and Allah. Arius declared that Jesus was neither God nor the Son of God; rather, he was the Word of Allah and His servant—a human being like others, capable of error. He asserted that only the Father is God and that the Son did not exist before his birth.
Continues…
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References:
[1] – Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse: 15-16.
[2] – Surah Al-Imran, verse: 71.
[3] – Surah Al-Imran, verse: 70.
[4] – Surah At-Tawbah, verse: 31.
[5] – Surah At-Tawbah, verse: 34
