Assassination of intellectual renewal in Islam

The issue of freedom of opinion and expression is a human right that is immutable, safeguarded and affirmed through the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad as he laid the foundations of the only state he established in Medina and ruled for ten years.

The Rightly Guided Caliphs were at the forefront of those who embodied the essence of Islamic thought, and it is logical that they accorded freedom of opinion and expression a lofty position represented in their decisions and ruling.

The respect of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq appears to the value of freedom of opinion and expression, and commitment to the Shura system, and his rejection of the methods of authoritarian rule during his first sermon after he became caliph.

“I have been made to rule over you though I am not the most worthy among you… Therefore, watch over me. When you see that I am steadfast and obey Allah and His Prophet, then obey me when you see that I turn aside from the right path do not obey me. Help me if I am in the right; set me right if I am in the wrong,” Al-Siddiq said in his sermon.

This concept of setting conditions for obedience was not known among the Arabs before it was uttered by Abu Bakr, to light the first spark of freedom in the relationship between the ruler and the citizens.

Abu Bakr was keen to expand the circle of participation in the Shura and exchange opinion between Muslims, respect and announce it to all, without preferring a certain team or group or wasting the opinion of a team in favor of another.

Abu Bakr's keenness to consult Muslims and respecting their opinion had remained even before his death, when he was keen to consult about who would succeed.

He did not specify a particular man, but he left the matter to the Muslim audience to express the opinion and choose their successor, namely Umar Bin Khattab.

Omar was keen during his ruling to consult all matters that concern all Muslims, and to seek to hear all opinions ... and submit to any opinion he sees as right, regardless of who said the opinion.

Moreover, he has a very famous saying, “A woman was right ands Umar was wrong”, as he accepted every criticism directed to him, applying what he said during his sermon when he became Caliph.

“O people, if anyone from among you finds any fault in me, he should rectify it.” A man stood up and said, “If we find any crookedness in you, we will rectify it with our swords.” Umar said, “I am thankful to Allah that he has created such a man in this nation who would rectify Umar’s crookedness with his sword.” 

Even after he got stabbed to appoint his son as the Caliph, he said that he should not command nor prohibit the Muslims from doing something, and that the people has the right to choose their ruler freely.

Omar bin Abdul Aziz assumed the succession of Muslims at a time that ruling got smeared with corruption, injustice and tyranny, so he sought to reform the conditions of the ruler and those who are being ruled. He worked hard, fixed and returned the Shura system.

But these values - freedom of opinion and expression - were subjected to relapse and diminishing with the beginning of the Umayyad era, when the caliphate turned from a political system based on the pillars of justice and Shura into a fracture system based on injustice and tyranny.

The intellectual confiscation and the priesthood appeared in Islam, and intentionally mixed with the concepts of religion with the goals of politics ... along with the prevalence of suppression and intellectual, political and sectarian oppression.

The spaces of justice and Shura decreased, the areas of thought and opinion decreased ... Schools and curricula were established to close the gates of intellectual diligence.

However, this did not prevent the emergence of scholars and thinkers who support freedom and justice, as they sought to return to the correct Islamic concepts based on the values of freedom and justice.

Some of these scholars and intellectuals were:

- Abu Al -Hassan Al -Ash'ari: In his behavior and life, he emphasized an important principle, which is a duty and the right of a person to amend his idea and refrain from an opinion if he discovers his mistake, and seeking dialogue and interaction with ideas and visions presented objectively and without prior bias.

- Al-Farabi: A renowned early Islamic philosopher and jurist. The first creditor over Islamic philosophy because he was the one who set its basis, and arranged its issues. He sought to reform the mechanism of Islamic rule through his book (The opinions of the people of the virtuous city), in which he urged the importance of freedom of opinion and belief as the only way for the renaissance of nations and the rise in philosophy to its maximum ranks.

- Ibn Sina: He is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic Golden Age, and the father of early modern medicine. At his time, the Abbasids were fighting any thought that contradicts their doctrine ... and they accused philosophers of a tendency to the ideas of their "Fatimid" enemies. But he was not intimidated by this climate, studied philosophy, rejecting stalemate and "intellectual terrorism" as he was keen on the objective, rational dealing with opinions and ideas ... and worked hard to reform Islamic philosophy.

- Ibn Rushd: He studied religious and Arabic sciences and philosophy an accurate study until he was distinguished from each of the philosophers before, by combining religious and philosophical sciences. He was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, mathematics, Islamic jurisprudence and law, and linguistics.

- Ibn Rushd realized early that there is no hostility between philosophy and religion. But enemies of intellectual freedom conspired against him, fought him and accused him of disbelief. However, this did not stop him, and he emphasized that there is no dispute between philosophy and Sharia, because there is no dispute between religion and reason.

- Najm ad-Din al-Tufi: He was a Hanbali scholar and student of Ibn Taymiyyah who came with a strict principle that sought to eliminate the justified method in which the Salafi jurisprudence dealt with interest. 

- Ibn Khaldun: A Muslim Arab sociologist, philosopher, and historian widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages. He was able to rule by mind and logic in all the heritage that the ancestors left.

Moreover, contemporary voices of renewal have continued their dedication to the belief in freedom of opinion and expression.

Among these figures we can mention Sheikh Muhammad Abduh who was an Egyptian Islamic scholar, journalist, teacher, judge and the Grand Mufti of Egypt. He was a highlighted figure Muslim reformism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In his book “Islam between Science and Civilization”, Abduh says Islam is based on five principles; the first one be ‘rational consideration’, for consideration is the mean of true faith, while the second principle is to prioritize the mind over the apparent meaning of words if there is a conflict; and the third is to waive excommunication.

Abduh was convinced that if something has a hundred indication to infidelity and one indicating to faith, then the one indicating to faith should be considered.

He said that the two greatest possessions relating to religion that man was graced with were independence of will and independence of thought and opinion.

In his book “Islam between Science and Civilization”, Abduh says Islam is based on five principles; the first one be ‘rational consideration’, for consideration is the mean of true faith, while the second principle is to prioritize the mind over the apparent meaning of words if there is a conflict; and the third is to waive excommunication.

Abduh was convinced that if something has a hundred indication to infidelity and one indicating to faith, then the one indicating to faith should be considered.

He said that the two greatest possessions relating to religion that man was graced with were independence of will and independence of thought and opinion.

Abduh considered the fourth principle to be considering the history and stories of Prophets and how God made everything clear and that people should not only contemplate on superstitions and supernaturals.

He believed that practices such as supplicating and seeking intercession by placing intermediaries between God and human beings were all acts of polytheism and heretical innovations.

The fifth and most important principle that Abduh called for was to disregard any kind of religious authority, as Islam itself prohibited it, as it stressed that no human being has the authority to change one’s heart or belief, even the Prophet himself.

Another notable mention is Dr. Abd Al-Mutaal Al-Saidi, one of the most prominent Muslim reformists who had been advocating for freedom of opinion and expression. 

Al-Saidi believed that the Quran is the biggest advocate and supporter of freedom of opinion and expression and that it prohibited anyone from forcing people into converting to Islam.

About the Quran verse that says, “And together fight the polytheists as they fight against you together. And know that Allah is with those mindful ˹of Him˺.” [9:36], the permission to fight was specific to the polytheists of Makkah, because they were the ones who were fighting the Muslims, and when other polytheists joined them in the fight, God ordered Muslims to fight them.

Allah says in the Quran, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the tax, willingly submitting, fully humbled.” [9:29]

The command to fight in this verse is specific to some of the non-Muslims, and they are those who do not believe in God in the first place and they do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden of transgressing against those who call for Islam.

It is not reasonable for us to be commanded to fight non-Muslims, nevertheless, we were only authorized to fight polytheists and only if they began fighting, as mentioned in the Quran.

“Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes. Surely Allah loves those who are fair.” [60:8]

There is no doubt that Islam is conducted on the basis of prohibition of fighting those who did not fight Muslims, because it is a tolerant religion and as God said to his prophet, “We have sent you ˹O Prophet˺ only as a mercy for the whole world.” [21:107]