ISLAM – 105
Difference of Opinion
Moslems must ‘obey Allah, His Messenger and those in authority among you’ (004:006). The Holy Prophet s.a.w stated, ‘In the difference of opinion among my followers will be the life.’
After the passing away of the Holy Prophet Mohammed s.a.w, Moslems elected his Khaleefaah in their passion to follow both commands and essentially adopting the democratic principles.
The first four Khaleefaahs invited other companions of the Holy Prophet s.a.w to help in making decisions. They promoted the differences of opinion in all talks and negotiations as the primary means to settle controversies. But it was soon buried under the practice of Obedience to the Caliphate system in establishing and strengthening its rule.
Hawks Waging War
The Holy Qor-aan mandated Obedience to God and His Messenger 18 times in as many verses but the clergy zeroed-in on the one time it included ‘those in authority among you’ for two reasons. Such selective interpretation helped to demand and impose an absolute obedience to the State by subjugating the citizens. It helped to instigate masses against a ruler dubbed as the one who was not ‘among you,’ such as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Khaleefas who were murdered.
The hardliners had their first win by turning the paying of Zakaat from one of the 5 Acts of worships or pillars of Islam to a state-enforced obligation supporting military expansion. The hawks next enforced that win by waging War on Moslems who did not pay Zakaat. And the Difference of Opinion meant to lead to peace had led to murdering 2nd, 3rd and 4th Khaleefaas.
Sectors of Power in Early Islam
Caliphs
The future caliphs learned to benefit from the two growing formidable sources of power. The clergy attached more spiritual powers to the Caliphate, and empowered itself by concocting more ways to wield power. The Caliphate, with its coffers fattened by the spoils of war and its further expansion of geographic reign across more territories, consolidated the rigid support of the cavalry which was primarily concerned with strengthening its own military power.
Clergy
On one hand, the clergy acquired power as the sole arbiter to interpret the Holy Qor-aan. It amassed unbridled power under the self-appointed authority of consensus of opinion or Ijmaa. It cemented its power with the theories such as Mansookh (Abrogation) and applied that label to any verse it did not like, could not comprehend, or was unable to reconcile with its interpretation of another part.
The clergy class also enlarged its power by evolving the novel practice of issuing Futwas against any person, principle or problem it chose. It appeased kings by clothing their Caliphate with divinity. It sprinkled holy water on the idea of Primogeniture for the eldest son to succeed a Khaleefaah father, and thus vouchsafed dynasties that one after the other ruled the Moslem world for centuries.
Cavalry
On the other hand, the hawkish generals after defeating the Moslems–not-paying-Zakaat required an outlet for their warring talent. The Center also wanted them to keep them away and busy in doing what they did best. Clergy blessed them with the authority of Jehad and concepts of Shaheed (Martyr) and Ghaazi (Conqueror) and to ‘forcibly’ obtain voluntary recruitment to build army and focus on further expansion by invading the neighboring non-Moslem countries.
The creation of Ijmaa and Futwas by the clergy became opportune bases on which to develop taxation. Juzyah established revenue from non-Moslem residents, like the Zakaat was from the Moslem citizens. Jehaad evolved from a religious mandate to fund social services into the means of fueling continuous military expansion, which in turn expanded geographical boundaries and annexed monarchical kingdoms to multiply the income streams of the Caliphate.
Dissent by academics
The caliph, clergy and cavalry trio emerged as the three-pronged might of Government. The civil, army and government absorbed from various civilizations the military had conquered. All three arms of the Establishment got infected with the poisonous influences from the outside.
The contrarians disagreeing with the contemporary Establishment reverted to the Holy Qor-aan. That process periodically produced scholars who filled the forecasts by the Holy Prophet s.a.w. Every century after him saw one or more of those who tried restoring Islam to its original form. They were the Mojud-did or Reformers who purged Islaam from improper outside infiltrations. That way the Formation and Recognition of sects or sub-sects has continued on scholarly basis. Clergy continually construes the teachers and philosophers as a challenge to its illegitimate influence.
The Establishment tried suppressing the Differences of opinion but could never stifle the dissent completely. While the rule of kings was clothed by sacrilegious claims of divinity in a Khaleefah, dissent was kept alive by the scholars like Ibn-e-Tuy-yay-mah whose lectures led to his imprisonment dozens of times. The dissent brewed for centuries before the genie came out of the bottle in the guise of Democracy. Men like Thomas Jefferson, inspired by Muslim texts and teachings, put many of them into practice in the USA through a written Constitution in 1776. While 243 years later the courts are still interpreting as to what precisely the Constitution means, cultures all over the world have adopted its general framework of the representative democracy which is among the most prolific contemporary fruits of the Difference of Opinion in Islam.
002:240
The Holy Qor-aan 002:240
○ فَاِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ فَرِجَالًا اَوۡ رُكۡبَانًا ۚ فَاِذَآ اَمِنۡتُمۡ فَاذۡکُرُوا اللّٰهَ کَمَا عَلَّمَکُمۡ مَّا لَمۡ تَكُوۡنُوۡا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ
Fa in khif toom fa ray-jaa-laun auo rook-baa-nun Fa ezaa aa-min toom fa uz-ko-rool laa-ha Ka-maa ul-la-ma koom maa laum ta-koo-noo tau-la-moon
So if you fear, then pray while walking or riding. Then when you get peace, then remember Allah Like what He has taught you and what you did not know before.
* Note 002:240. This verse is related to the prior verse. It commands us to observe the prayers conscientiously. One extrapolation has been to pray all the time no matter how, what or where you happen to be. See our Commentary Iss-laam. A Yusuf Ai wrote of this command “As may be most convenient.” Ahmad Zidan stated to ‘pray in any situation.‘ Mostly translated is “If you are in a state of fear.” Implication is that you perform the prayers all the time, continually from the cradle to the grave. Pray as directed – in times of distress any which way you can and in times of peace the proper way.