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In the past, many a people have
lamented on the lost glory of the Muslims; they have gone on to analyze the
causes of decay and prescribe solutions to revive the much yearned splendor of
the lands of Islam. The book ‘Islam on the Cross Roads’ is one such attempt that
intellectually presents the message that the common Muslim cleric conveys simply
as the return to the Prophetic system (Nizām-i-Mustafā). One feature that
differentiates Muhammad Asad’s attempt from the others is the rich perspective
he provides as a revert to Islam. Knowing the western mind by birth, Muslim
thoughts through travel in Arab and non-Arab lands and philosophic and
psychological views through university like experience, the author presents such
a rich work as deserves to be thoroughly read and digested.
Background
At the time this book was
written, colonial powers had subdued the Islamic world politically, economically
and more so intellectually and morally. Missionaries had their reins loose busy
proselytizing where once they would not have dared set foot upon. The lands
where once children would quote Plato were reduced to a state wherein now only
the privileged afforded the luxury of education. Moreover, the instructions
imparted for example in British India delineated the merits of cold climate for
higher thought or geographical location for progress. Here political systems
were juggled with and economic systems crippled under hypocritical dictates on
‘free trade’.
In defense of the Muslim faith
arose two reactions as evident in British India that of Aligarh and Deoband. One
was to follow the path of the Master’s glory through reinterpretations of Muslim
intellectual legacies and the other was a boycott of every idea foreign to
shield the Islamic faith. Muhammad Asad’s approach lies in between Aligarh and
Deoband: it is neither about conforming to or avoiding the western intellectual
framework.
Author and Audience
To gain a better understanding of
any book, it is important to realize the motivation behind the work and the
audience to which the work is targeted. In our case, this is easily provided in
the foreword rendered by the author:
Islam as a spiritual and a social
phenomenon is still in spite of all the drawbacks caused by the deficiencies of
the Muslims, by far the greatest driving force mankind has ever experienced; and
all my interests became, since then, centred around the problem of its
regeneration.
It is not written for those with
whom Islam is the only one of the many, more or less useful, accessories to
social life; but rather for those in whose hearts still lives a spark of flame
which burned in the Companions of the Prophet.
Indicative from the above, the
unique feature of this work is that it is not for the group of intellectuals who
discuss and ponder over an issue merely to satisfy their intellectual pursuits
and nor does the book provide any pretensions for that. This book is as
important for the laity as it is for the men of learning. Written with a
perspective that draws heavily from philosophy and psychology, the author
attempts to immerse the reader in the book to realize and reflect rather than
passively read as the reader does with any other book.
The use of various simple Qur’ānic
verses and hadīth that an Islamic upbringing would entail allows one to
appreciate that no complex references are required or dense material needed to
answer that big question that troubles us all sometimes: ‘What is the meaning of
life?’ All this coming from the former Leopold Weiss compels one to acknowledge
the dedication and conviction which went behind this work. The book attempts to
answer three main questions in the light of the purpose indicated above and
hence can be divided into three sections. The author addresses the difference
between the Islamic and western civilizations, the issue of blindly following
the west and finally the adoption of the Hadīth and Sunnah in the quest for the
regeneration of Islam. Having introduced the broad theme of the book, one can
now critically examine each of the three sections.
Section 1: The Differences
There is this inherent tendency
in man to neatly bifurcate things in his mind to understand them better. In our
context, the Sufis have differentiated between ‘Aql and Ishq, or Tolstoy uses
the words ‘rational’ and ‘irrational’. To continue with this division the two
categories can be classified as material and spiritual or science and religion.
And these have been accepted as mutually exclusive concepts, ideas or notions
without ever the thought that there can be a harmonious unison of the two
seemingly different notions. The author says:
As we don’t know anything
definite ie by means of scientific experiments and calculations -- about the
origin of human life and its destinies after the bodily death so it is better to
concentrate all our energies on the development of our material and intellectual
possibilities, without allowing ourselves to be hampered by transcendental
ethics and moral postulates based on presumptions which defy scientific proof.
In Physics, there exists the
concept of the dual nature of light ie light exhibits the properties of matter
as well as of waves. So when the human mind is capable of discerning this
duality, then it should not have problems accepting a harmonious balance between
the body and the soul. If this harmonious balance is accepted, then one would
not have the problems in a practical world that either spiritualism or
materialism alone causes. As in university pursuits when one often concludes on
paper that both the opposing points of view are to be factored in the
explanation, the idea the author has tried to bring home follows the same train
of thought. Hence the distinction borne by Islam is that of this harmonious
balance that is lacking in any other philosophy or religion.
Another distinction that is
highlighted by the author is the nature of man as in the author’s words:
Contrary to the Christian idea
that man is born sinful, or the teachings of Hinduism that he is originally low
and impure -- the Islamic teaching contends that man is born pure.
This is one problem that has
occupied the philosophers’ minds since time immemorial. They have been framing
questions like ‘How do we know what is good or for that matter how do we judge
or define goodness?’ Considering man as a selfish animal, the meaning of life is
then constructed and one hears things like the sum total of happiness or maximum
utility. Once however the pure nature of man is accepted, then one can easily do
away with the mind-boggling original sin as well as self-centred philosophies.
It is interesting to note how
aptly the author has raised the concern:
For the modern European, the
question of meaning and purpose of life has long since lost all its practical
importance.
… the result is the creation of a
human type whose morality is confined to the question of practical utility
alone, and whose highest criterion between good and evil is the material
success.
Such was the foundation of the
Roman Empire and undoubtedly of the contemporary West. Any good is judged on the
basis of its utility to the efficient working of the society and hence a
demarcation is made between a public and private life. In such a world though
restrictions like traffic laws are imposed that curb social chaos but no such
curbs are allowed for the individual self that is ever prone to moral
degeneration. As a consequence, arises the feeling of inner restlessness and
unease or insecurity that has plagued the inner Western world though materially
they might have touched the stars.
Section 2: Following the West
The author having outlined the
basic differences between the two civilization then proceeds to make a case for
not following the West blindly. He writes of the animosity created by the
Crusades not lessened in the Oriental literature, drawing from psychoanalytic
theories. On the Orientalists position on the Islamic world the author writes:
Some of the Orientalists play the
role of a public prosecutor bent on securing a conviction; others are like a
counsel for the defence who, being personally convinced that his client is
guilty, cannot but half-heartedly plead for ‘mitigating circumstances’.
The above should serve to make
the reader think why not every thing written in the Western tradition is of
superior value. The novel use of psychoanalytic theory in history to explain the
biased approach of the Orientalists and in general that of the Western mind is
really worth noting:
The Crusades were decisive
because they fell in the period of Europe’s childhood -- Like in individuals, so
also in nations the violent impressions of an early childhood persevere,
consciously or subconsciously, throughout the later life.
The theme of following the West
flows well in the chapter on education as well, where the author highlights the
problem of neglect in the Muslim world. He says:
It is very unfortunate that our
own age-long indifference and negligence, so far as scientific research is
concerned, have made us entirely dependent on the European presentation of
learning.
Now many people have mentioned
that in times of their decadence, Muslims had stopped following God and his
Prophet (sws) and in this case the teachings regarding ‘Ilm, the very knowledge
responsible for the power of the so called ‘green belt’ spanning three
continents. The absence of the likes of Averroes, Avicenna or Al Beruni is
deeply lamented. However, one needs to bear in mind that the definition of this
‘Ilm is questionable in that whether ‘Ilm encompasses worldly knowledge or is
restricted only to material related to one’s salvation. Even if the former were
to be accepted as the definition, it must be borne in mind that the great names
were exceptions to the rule as were Galileo and Copernicus in their times.
Moreover, progress before the Industrial Revolution was never defined in
economic terms, as it is defined today, but more in terms of new conquests.
Progress was driven by the selfish motives of the emperors ever ready to expand
their riches and empires. In such times, a handful of thinkers would just
produce treatises which never had any significant influence on growth per capita
which was almost stagnant before 1760.
The author uses the words
‘neglect’ and ‘indifference’ that require further scrutiny. It would be
questionable whether the moslems really did neglect scientific research. Modern
scientific knowledge stems from an investment into research that in turn is
directed by material interests. Had there been no material interests behind the
steam engine and the spinning jenny their invention would have been delayed.
Considering the Muslim world, the emperors never patronized any such inventions
but rather focused on the fine arts and monuments and to an extent philosophy.
Hence though the Muslim world might have produced calligraphers, craft builders
and abstract thinkers, there was no equivalent of say James Watt.
Moreover in a time of invasions
from all sides, libraries being burnt, individual efforts would not have led
people far. We know of various Chinese inventions; but if they were never used
by the masses as the spinning jenny and the like, no further innovation or
technological development would have taken place. Hence it would not be neglect
that had caused our reliance on the West but the series of political events and
the incompetence of the ruling class that would be deemed responsible for the
decay and eventual reliance on the West. Where however neglect does come in as a
crucial reason for the ultimate reliance of the Muslims on the West is in the
realm of philosophy and moral values. With all inquiry into the religious
sciences curbed by the orthodoxy, there spread the malady of intellectual decay
which is continuing to this day. New factions, innovations in customs, moral
rigidity and other problems have plagued the Muslim world that might not have
happened had religious inquiry been allowed to flourish. Then one would not have
required Aligarh or Deoband ie conforming Islam to the West or shielding it from
Western influences.
Another point to note is that
since 1934, things have changed. There has been a wave of decolonization with
which the education system is no longer such that teaches of Western superiority
and hence none of the brainwashing that had plagued impressionable minds before
remains in its original form. Rather, at times, the problem takes the opposite
turn when time is vent on studying the composition of the jinn, distance between
earth and ‘Firdaus’ and similar
futile subjects. It would not do us well to shun Western social sciences
altogether as the author mentions. There is much to be learnt especially the
analytical tools that can only be appreciated through a thorough grounding in
such subjects. Gone are the colonial days and with them articles on Western
superiority. It is now time to understand the subtler articles from the West,
learn their approach and using those tools attempt comparative studies and hence
revive the spirit of inquiry among Muslim minds once again. This would be akin
to the approach of those before us who attempted likewise with the Hellenistic
subjects.
The author does get somewhat
rigid in the flow of the theme of ‘not following the West’ when he mentions:
By wearing European dress the
young Muslim unconsciously twists his own intellectual being in such a way that
it ultimately fits the new dress.
Perhaps it might be true of that
time but is no longer valid a point today. Hence the reader must be careful that
since the book was written a long time back, some of the content may not be
applicable today. However what remains strongly valid today are the author’s
words:
In order to achieve the
regeneration of Islam, the Muslims must, before the adoption of any measures of
reform, free themselves entirely from the spirit of apology for their religion.
This is quite true of various
people interacting with the West; even the intellectuals who try to sugarcoat
Islam as might appeal to the Western mind. Apology is such that it leads the
individual to be embarrassed and to eventually doubt his legacy. It is
interesting to note the word ‘regeneration’ for that lies at the heart of the
author’s work.
Section 3: The Antidote
Having outlined the differences
between the Islamic and Western civilizations and thus making a case for not
following the West, the author provides the antidote for the regeneration of the
Islamic world. The antidote is quite simple as is tritely expressed by Muslim
clerics every where as the return to the Prophetic system. The problem in the
Muslim world is captured as:
The Sunnah remained, for the
Sufis, an ideogram of only platonic importance, but with a mystical background;
for the theologians and legists, a system of laws; and for the Muslim masses
nothing but a hollow shell without any living meaning.
The author emphasizes the
importance of the Hadīth and Sunnah, mounting a strong defence against the so
called modernists who have developed the tendency to reject Hadīth on the
grounds of its fallibility, thus directing their lives in a path apart from the
Prophetic teachings. While his sincere attempts are to be lauded, yet the
difference between Hadīth and the Sunnah has to be distinguished.
An interesting distinction has
been made between reason and rationality. About rationality, the author writes:
It does not content itself with
registration and control, but jumps into the field of negative speculation; it
is not receptive and detached like pure reason, but extremely subjective and
temperamental.
This reminds one that even wrong
claims are justified through rationalization; the case of the French
philosophers who would advocate equality in their own country would justify all
forms of oppression in African colonies. Minds deemed logical fail to recognize
that within rationalization lies irrationality that blinds the rational man to
his own idiosyncratic and subjective elements. It is for this reason that the
author beautifully expresses:
Sometimes we can understand the
deepest aim of the Prophet’s order, and sometimes only the superficial,
immediate purpose. Whatever the case maybe, we are bound to follow the Prophet’s
commands, provided their authenticity is reasonably established. Nothing else
matters.
Moreover. the above should also
enlighten those who are bent upon getting answers to all questions before acting
upon their faith. It is good to know reasons behind particular injunctions but
acting upon the injunctions require sincerity and devotion exclusive from
reason. As some say between Taqwā and Fatwā choose the former or ‘when in doubt
apply the principle of prudence’.
Finally the author elaborates the
reasons for the Sunnah in a separate chapter. Adhering strictly to the teachings
of the Prophet (sws) curbs the subconscious elements in man and brings him in
conformity with the divine teachings thereby submitting himself at all planes of
existence to the will of God. As the author mentions:
Haphazard actions and habits are
in the spiritual progress of man like stumbling blocks in the way of a racing
horse; they must be reduced to a minimum because they destroy spiritual
concentration.
It is for this very reason that
the Sunnah provides directives to utter small prayers in various actions,
important and trivial alike, of one’s life or to lower one’s gaze in sum to
cleanse oneself from material and spiritual impurities. The Sunnah serves to
curb man’s life in totality, filtering the influences that get imprinted in
man’s mind and constantly cleansing the mind from wicked thoughts. Islam is a
religion where more emphasis is on prevention than cure. Thus it is for this
reason that the social set up has been directed to be such that facilitates the
individual to live surrendering himself completely to the divine commandments.
Conclusion
Having read this book one goes
home with numerous thoughts. This man initially being an outsider accepts the
Islamic faith and then writes passionately on the regeneration of faith. His
views are enriched by the perspective that philosophic thought has provided and
are buttressed with many Ahādīth and verses of the Book of God, which many
Muslims have read or even memorized but forgotten to reflect upon. Though some
of the material might not be relevant today as the book was written during the
colonial times, yet the whole spirit and theme cannot be neglected. A strong
case for acting upon the Sunnah has been made though the book would certainly
have been enriched further if questions on the slumber in the Muslim world would
have been raised.
We must reflect on what prevents
the Muslim from following the teachings of the Prophet (sws) and how can he be
awakened to the call of pristine Islam above and beyond mutual differences and
selfish interests. How can the renaissance that changed Leopold Weiss’s life be
enacted in the modern Muslim’s life that he might say as Muhammad Asad has said:
It is not a way among others, but
the way; and the Man who brought us this teaching is not a guide among others,
but the guide.
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