Article review: What is Enlightenment- an Islamic Perspective

International Islamic University of Malaysia

(Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion)

Article review prepared for Contemporary Issue in Usuluddin course

By Fakhratu Naimah Muhad 1210062

Supervised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Mohd. Azam Mohd. Amin

2014/2015

A review of M. A Muqtader Khan (2014). What is Enlightenment- an Islamic Perspective. Journal of Religion and Society. 16(1)

Literature Review

M. A. Muqtader Khan, author of this article, holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 2000 on his research about international relations, political philosophy and Islamic thought. He is an associate proefessor in the Department of Political Science, and International Relations at the University of Delaware. His essay draws on Immanuel Kant’s concept of enlightenment as an escape from self-imposed ignorance and put that similar concept of enlightenment can be understood within Islamic realm in escaping from jahiliyyah context, which is understood as fear to exercise reason openly. This article promotes for ijtihad and call upon people to put confidence to use reason for interpreting Islam. 

In this paper, I summarize the article and offer comments about selected aspects and presenting my stances on his ideas.

Article Summary

Muslims has regard Islam as the way of enlightenment as Allah mention in chapter al-An’am verse 104, “Enlightenment has come to you from your Lord”. Furthermore, the condition of barbaric Arab into great civilization with the explosion of knowledge in many fields, be the benchmark to show how Islam able to improve people to betterment. More than that, the nature of Islam that is rational is the catalyst force of the progressive change of peoples, rescued them from irrational, superstitions et cetera.

However, even the world is moving forward, with the presence of many educated person and Islamic movement, Muqtader Khan said Muslims community today is clearly lacks enlightenment. The ummah is not organized around divine principle. In order to understand the current situation, Muqtader Khan offers the readers to understand the meaning of enlightenment, referring to the essay of Immanuel Kant, “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment.”

Kant’s conception of enlightenment as man’s emergence form a self-imposed immaturity, meanwhile the enlightened man is one who had the courage to use his own thinking. Here, Muqtader Khan put the similarities of Kant’s idea to the concept of ijtihad. Besides, he added that the present ummah exists in a state of unparalleled immaturity – as Kant said, immaturity was the disable the strength of someone to use own thinking. Muslims are now frozen to think independently and it has become illegitimate. Here, Muqtader Khan criticize ulama as they are generating discourse that have instilled a fear of reason and independent thought. Consequently, the ummah only know the way of taqlid. Even, Muslims fail to realize the creativity and initiative also needed to be a good imitator. The concept of jahiliyyah has become too widespread and even the ulama become immature. They only rely on the memorization and recycling of medieval opinions and methodologies. Thus, who seek to reform or construct new practices are instantly seen with distrust. Looking in chain, the civilization remains within the ummah that is frightened to think and following those who refuse to think.

Muqtader Khan does not against the facts that many of the great thinkers, global movements for the revival of Islam have flourished, but this momentum is still episodic, not a routine. Furthermore, the follower of great thinkers have not imitated their teacher’s spirit of ijtihad, but only rely on their ideas and again, the taqlid get their basis yet again.

Assimilating with the ideas of Kant on enlightenment, Muqtader Khan place himself depart from the traditional Islamic understanding of the term jahilliyah. He states the jahilliyah is the refusal of Muslims in general to rely on their own judgement and reasoning. Taqlid without reflection is jahiliyyah, immaturity and lack of enlightenment. 

He stresses on Quran does not ask believers to surrender their reasoning capacity and invite blind followers as it support us to use our reason to read the signs of Allah in many dimensions. Muqtader Khan quoted the words of Aisyah r.a said that the Prophet’s character was the embodiment of the Quran itself. The peoples are very well understood as the praise to prophet and encourage Muslims to follow Prophet. However, there is a rare situation on advancing the meaning of this equation in term of Muhammad’s qualities and the Quran character. The Quran is the tafseer of itself, and it describes itself as the bearer of truth and as furqan – criterion for judgment, capacity to discern, differentiate between two things. 

  Muqtader Khan further his criticism onto Muslim scholars whom put the words of ulama is indisputable and creating the myth that early Muslim are far superior in intellect and virtue than later Muslim. To challenge the eminent jurist’s opinions and subject them to a critical analysis is considered as an assault on Islam and Allah’s divine syariah. He supported his ideas by giving situation on how Prophet Muhammad portrays later Muslim as his brothers, who are closer to him than his companions are. Concisely, he said we have to be a better than the companions for they improved themselves with the help of prophet and we have to do it without the direct personal guidance of Muhammad p.b.u.h.. He said, our problem is not the lack of freedom to use reason, but the lack of freedom to use Islamic texts directly. Besides, Muslims today have to escape from the feeling of inferiority towards the Muslims of the past and chart our own right path. The Muslim intellectual and scholars also have to stop act as the safeguard as Allah had promised to keep his revelations. And all of us have to live up to God’s expectations. 

Reflections     

The dominant purpose of this article seems to be to convince the reader that Muslims on this present day is living in jahiliyyah state due to the behavior and acts of the ulama by decreasing the ability of the ummah to do their own thinking. Although Muqtader Khan offered persuasive ideas on how to rebuilt the Islamic civilization from the new design of understanding the word jahilliyah and enlightenment, his words also as if debasing the whole function of our prominent scholars that contributes so much for us in understanding the reality. Besides, what came across my mind is the reference of Muqtader Khan on Kant’s theory that is clearly he quite opposed the priest authority during his lifetime. Comparing to the Muslim ulama and the Christian priest, both have different qualities and the basic of our ideas should be separated also. 

Even so, his opinions do give a great awareness to Muslim in this present day to generate the intellectual engine in our body to move this life for advancement. Current ulama has to open to the Muslims society to share their opinions and ideas, and guide them within the realm of our shariah. Too much of reasoning without the controller will also can bring chaos and confuses. 

Thus, my stand is Muslims should exercise the role of ijtihad and own intellect but still with the authoritative guidance in order to get the better picture of reality and the respected party should welcoming the new thoughts and ideas to promote the good environment of Islamic civilization.

Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah. for Allah is strict In punishment. (5:2)