The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam

1. Reconstructing Religious Thought for the Modern Age

The demand for a scientific form of religious knowledge is only natural.

Addressing modern challenges. The modern world, shaped by concrete thought and scientific habits, finds it difficult to assimilate religious faith based solely on traditional inner experience. Contemporary Sufism often relies on outdated methods, failing to draw inspiration from modern knowledge. This necessitates a reconstruction of Muslim religious philosophy.

Bridging science and religion. Classical physics, which once fostered materialism, is now questioning its own foundations, leading to a decline in materialistic views. This opens up possibilities for discovering mutual harmonies between religion and science. The current moment is favorable for re-examining religious thought in light of advancements in human knowledge.

Continuous philosophical evolution. Philosophical thinking is not static; it evolves as knowledge advances and new avenues of thought emerge. Therefore, the reconstruction presented is not final but aims to meet the urgent demand for a rational foundation for religious principles, encouraging an independent critical attitude towards the progress of human thought.

2. Religious Experience as a Valid Source of Knowledge

The fact of religious experience are facts among other facts of human experience and, in the capacity of yielding knowledge by interpretation, one fact is as good as another.

Beyond poetry and philosophy. While poetry offers individual, vague knowledge and philosophy relies on free inquiry and reason, religion, in its advanced forms, moves towards society and promises a direct vision of Reality. Although faith is central, religion also has a cognitive content, requiring a rational foundation for its ultimate principles, as it aims to transform character.

Intuition and intellect complement each other. Thought and intuition are not inherently opposed but spring from the same root, complementing each other. Thought grasps reality piecemeal, while intuition grasps it in its wholeness. Both are necessary for a complete vision of Reality, which reveals itself according to their function in life. Intuition is seen as a higher form of intellect.

Mystic experience as immediate reality. Religious experience, particularly mystic consciousness, is an immediate experience, just like sense-perception. It is an unanalysable wholeness, a moment of intimate association with a Unique Other Self. While its content is incommunicable, the interpretation can be conveyed, and it possesses a cognitive element that seeks expression in thought, justifying religion's historical striving after metaphysics.

3. Modern Science Affirms a Dynamic, Spiritual Reality

The criticism of the foundations of the mathematical sciences has fully disclosed that the hypothesis of a pure materiality, an enduring stuff situated in an absolute space, is unworkable.

Critique of traditional materialism. Traditional physics viewed matter as an unknown cause of sensations, leading to a bifurcation of nature into subjective mental impressions and imperceptible material entities. This theory is untenable as it reduces sense evidence, crucial for physics, to mere subjective states, creating a gulf between nature and the observer.

Nature as a structure of events. Modern physics, particularly relativity theory, has damaged the notion of substance as simple location in space. Matter is now seen not as a persistent thing but as a system of interrelated events. Nature is a continuous creative flow, not a static fact in a void, aligning with earlier philosophical critiques of materialism.

Space dependent on matter. Einstein's theory makes space dependent on matter, suggesting a finite but boundless universe where space would shrink to a point without matter. While relativity deals with structure, not ultimate nature, it destroys the basis for materialism and replaces the notion of 'matter' with 'organism', supporting a dynamic view of reality.

4. God as the Ultimate, Creative, and Immanent Ego

To interpret this life as an ego is not to fashion God after the image of man.

God as a unique individual. The Qur'an emphasizes God's individuality and uniqueness, giving Him the proper name Allah and describing Him as One, on whom all things depend, who begets not, nor is begotten, and none is like Him. This conception implies a perfect individual, superior to the tendency towards reproduction, unlike finite individuals.

Intensive, not extensive, infinity. God's infinity is not spatial but intensive, residing in the infinite inner possibilities of His creative activity. Space and time are interpretations of this activity, not independent realities limiting God. The Ultimate Ego is neither spatially infinite nor finite like the human ego, existing beyond the limitations of mathematical space and time.

Continuous creative act. From the Divine point of view, creation is not a specific past event but a continuous act. The universe is not an independent 'other' but organically related to God's life. Thought breaks this continuous act into discrete things, but reality is essentially spirit, with degrees of expression, culminating in the human ego.

5. The Human Ego: A Unique, Free, and Immortal Personality

My whole reality lies in my directive attitude.

Man as God's chosen representative. The Qur'an highlights man's individuality, uniqueness, and destiny. Man is chosen by God, meant to be His representative on Earth, and is the trustee of a free personality. This emphasis on individual responsibility leads to the rejection of the idea of redemption.

Ego as a unity of directive purpose. The ego is not a static soul-substance but a dynamic unity of mental states held together by a directive purpose. It is an act, not a thing, revealing itself in judgements, will-attitudes, aims, and aspirations. The ego's essential nature is directive, proceeding from God's Amr (direction).

Freedom and immortality as achievements. The ego is a free personal causality, sharing in God's freedom, which is self-limited to allow for finite initiative. Immortality is not a right but must be achieved through personal effort and ego-sustaining deeds. Heaven and Hell are states of character, not fixed localities, representing the painful realization of failure or the joy of triumph over disintegration.

6. The Anti-Classical, Empirical Spirit of Muslim Culture

The birth of Islam, as I hope to be able presently to prove to your satisfaction, is the birth of inductive intellect.

Finality of prophethood and reason. The finality of prophethood in Islam signifies life's discovery of new knowledge sources suitable for its new direction, particularly inductive intellect. It implies that mankind must rely on its own resources, inhibiting non-rational modes of consciousness and creating an independent critical attitude towards personal authority.

Nature and History as knowledge sources. The Qur'an emphasizes Nature and History as crucial sources of knowledge, urging reflection on God's signs in the universe and the experiences of past nations. This appeal to the concrete and the dynamic outlook of the Qur'an led Muslim thinkers to eventually conflict with static Greek thought.

Revolt against Greek philosophy. Muslim intellectual history shows a revolt against Greek philosophy, particularly its logic, which favored abstract thought over concrete fact. Thinkers like Nazzam, Ghazzali, Ibn Hazm, and Ibn Taimiyyah emphasized doubt, sense-perception, and induction, laying the foundations for the experimental method later adopted by Europe.

7. Ijtihad: The Principle of Movement and Renewal in Islam

What then is the principle of movement in the structure of Islam? This is known as Ijtihad.

Dynamic nature of Islam. Islam, as a cultural movement, rejects static views and embraces a dynamic perspective, seeking world unity in the principle of Tauhid (Divine Unity). A society based on this must reconcile permanence and change, possessing eternal principles while allowing for movement. Ijtihad, meaning to exert independent judgement, is this principle of movement.

Causes of immobility. The historical closure of the door of Ijtihad was due to several factors:

• Conservative reaction against the perceived disintegration caused by Rationalism.
• The rise of speculative Sufism, fostering indifference to worldly affairs and attracting intellectual elites.
• The destruction of Baghdad, leading conservative thinkers to prioritize social uniformity over innovation.

Revival of Ijtihad. Despite historical immobility, the spirit of Ijtihad has re-emerged in modern Islam, notably in Turkey. Thinkers like Ibn Taimiyyah and movements like that of Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab asserted the right of private judgement against the finality of legal schools, paving the way for re-evaluation of intellectual inheritance.

8. Reinterpreting Islamic Law in Light of Modern Experience

The claim of the present generation of Muslim liberals to reinterpret the foundational legal principles, in the light of their own experience and the altered conditions of modern life is, in my opinion, perfectly justified.

Evolution of Islamic law. The history of Islamic law shows continuous effort by early jurists to meet the necessities of a growing civilization, moving from deductive to inductive interpretation. The four sources of law (Qur'an, Hadith, Ijma', Qiyas) reveal possibilities for further evolution despite perceived rigidity.

Qur'an as groundwork. The Qur'an provides general legal principles, particularly for family life, not as a rigid code but as groundwork to awaken human thought and legislative activity. Its dynamic outlook is not inimical to evolution, but change must consider the value of conservatism and the larger purpose of Islam as a composite society.

Reinterpreting sources. While the Qur'an cannot be repealed, its principles can be reinterpreted. Hadith requires careful study to discern universal principles from specific usages. Ijma' (consensus), ideally a legislative assembly, is the most important notion for evolutionary outlook. Qiyas (analogy), the essential principle of the Hanafi school, is synonymous with Ijtihad and is absolutely free within revealed texts.

9. Islam's Vision: A Spiritual Democracy and League of Nations

Humanity needs three things today - a spiritual interpretation of the universe, spiritual emancipation of the individual, and basic principles of a universal import directing the evolution of human society on a spiritual basis.

Beyond nationalism and imperialism. Modern Turkey's re-evaluation of the Caliphate and the rise of independent Muslim states indicate a shift towards an international ideal. Islam is not nationalism or imperialism but a League of Nations, recognizing boundaries for convenience, not restriction, aiming for a living family of republics united by spiritual aspiration.

Spiritualization of the secular. Islam views the spiritual and temporal as inseparable. The nature of an act is determined by the agent's attitude; all that is secular is sacred in its roots. The state is an effort to realize spiritual principles (equality, solidarity, freedom) in human organization, making any state aiming at ideal principles theocratic in this sense.

Reconstruction for a spiritual democracy. Modern thought's critique of the material reveals its spiritual roots, supporting Islam's view that all is holy ground. Islam, based on revelation, provides the conviction for these ultimate ideas. Muslims, emancipated by the finality of revelation, should reconstruct social life based on ultimate principles to evolve the spiritual democracy that is Islam's ultimate aim.

Last updated: May 1, 2025