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Eid Mubarak
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Salaamun ‘alaykum and Eid Mubarak
May Allah shower His infinite blessings and mercy on you and your family.
In recent times, there has been much debate in Muslim circles regarding
the question of reformation in the Muslim world. More specifically,
questions that have been posed include: how can a religion, which is
believed to be immutable and constant, regulate and serve the needs of a
changing community? How can a legal system that was formulated in the
eighth and ninth centuries respond to the requirements of twenty-first
century Muslims? Is there a need for reformation in Islam? If so, where
should it begin and in which direction should it proceed? These are some
of the most challenging questions facing contemporary scholars of Islam
Jurists who argue for the reformulation of Islamic laws also maintain that
the interpretations of Islamic revelation were interwoven to the
specificity of those times and places. They state that jurists can only
pronounce general principles, not rulings that are to be enforced at all
times and places. For the reform-minded jurists, it is essential that
Muslims continue to review and revise the law in keeping with the dictates
of their changing circumstances.
Scholars like Ayatullah Sanei, Ayatullah Jannati, Ayatullah Mohagheg Damad,
Hujjatul-Islam Muhsin Sa‘idzadeh and Mohsen Kadivar have called for a
reevaluation of traditional juridical pronouncements on many issues. As a
matter of fact, in my discussions with some maraji‘, I detected a distinct
silent revolution within in the seminaries in Qum. The views of the maraji‘
are, on many important issues, polarized. According to the contemporary
jurist Ayatullah Mohagheg Damad, since civil rules are variable, Islamic
laws must change accordingly. Thus, in our own times, Islamic legal
rulings must be reinterpreted based on the principle of harm and benefits
and other principles established in usul al-fiqh (the science of inferring
juridical rulings from textual and rational sources). Stated differently,
there is a need to enact laws that are conducive to the welfare of the
community even though such laws are not found in earlier texts.
Based on such principles, jurists in Iran have proposed a wide range of
revision in classical formulations. Scholars like Mohsen Kadivar have
argued for freedom of religious thought and belief. He states that there
is no Qur’anic basis for the killing of apostates (murtad) and the
imposition of religion on infidels. Restrictions in religious liberty and
the persecution of heathens, he argues, contradict the essence of freedom
of conscience in the Qur’an. There is a need for freedom to enter a
religion and leave it. The choice between a particular religion and death
is tantamount to denying people their freedom. The Qur’an endorses the
logic of freedom of religion and creed. Khadivar concludes.
Ayatullah Bojnourdi, a former member of the Supreme Judicial Council in
Iran, advocates for a change in the Islamic penal code. He maintains that
if the process for execution of penalty (stoning) results in the
denigration of Islam and causes the people, especially the youth, to
demean the religion, then the process should then be revised so that the
image of Islam should not be tarnished. If flogging in the public arena
creates a negative impression regarding Islam, such a practice should be
abandoned. This is because the preservation of the dignity and prestige of
Islam is the prime task and a duty that has priority over other
obligations.
According to Ayatullah Sanei, “..since the subject [women’s situation] has
changed, the framework of civil laws must change too. Our current laws are
in line with the traditional society of the past, whereas these civil laws
should be in line with contemporary realities and relations in our own
society.” Sanei maintains that women can be judges, their testimony is
equal to that of men, the blood money to be paid for killing of a woman is
equal to that of killing a man, and that salvation is not restricted to
Muslims. Another mujtahid, Ayatullah Jannati allows women to be not only
mujtahids but also a source of reference (marji‘ al-taqlid) i.e., she can
issue juridical rulings that both men and women can follow.
Sanei has gone further than most other scholars. In my discussions with
him he allowed women to lead men in prayers, even in a public setting.
Most maraji‘ have insisted that only men can lead other men in prayers.
Sanei admits that there are petrified fossilized devout ignoramuses who
prevent such reforms in the law to take place. It has to be stated that
many other jurists disagree with the reform-minded jurists. Such
polarization indicates that far from being monolithic, Islamic law is
multi-vocal and that there are differing opinions on some of the most
important issues in Islamic jurisprudence. Indeed, such ikhtilaf has been
an enduring phenomenon in Islamic history.
Best Wishes
Liyakatali Takim
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Dr. Liyakat Takim
Sharjah Chair in Global Islam
1280 Main Street West
McMaster University, Religious Studies
University Hall, Room 116
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada, L8S 4K1
Tel:905-525-9140 ext 20521
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