Excerpts from Dr. Kassim Ahmad's open letter to Malaysia's leaders answer charges that the Quranic Society of Malaysia is anti-hadith, arguing that false hadith breed blind obedience, distrust of reason, and fatalism, and calling for hadith to be judged by the Quran. A reader in Pakistan recounts becoming a submitter, and a notice announces the August 1996 conference in Houston.
[Editor’s note: The
following are the excerpts from “Open Letter To The Nation’s
Leaders And Intellectuals” written by Dr. Kassim Ahmad from Malaysia.
None of the news-media he contacted wanted to publish this letter.]
The time may have come for us to do a final reckoning with ourselves,
our people, and the international community. Never in the history of mankind
have we faced such total collapse as we do today.... Where has morality
gone? Where on the face of this earth is a group or groups of moral human
beings?... There is a limit to human endurance of suffering without protest;
that limit has been passed!
When a group of our people in Malaysia wants to bring back the Quran
to the hearts of the populace today, this is the significance and the
implication. For a thousand years, Muslims have strayed so far away from
God’s teachings and lived in such ignorance that they are powerless
to destroy the evil perpetrated before their eyes. Western civilization
too has strayed far away from the teachings of the prophets, including
Moses and Jesus.... Both East and West must return to God’s teachings,
particularly the Quran, His final,
complete, perfect, and detailed scripture.
Alas, when Jema'ah Al-Quran Malaysia (Quranic Society of Malaysia or
JAM) was formed precisely for this mission, a number of our leaders and
intellectuals leapt up and protested. “Anti-Hadith group! Anti-Hadith
group!” they screamed in accusation. What? Bringing the Quran to
the people so that they would understand—this is anti-hadith? So,
letting the people remain Quran illiterate, as in the past five hundred
years in Malaysia, is acceptable?
I write this open letter to the nation’s leaders and intellectuals
in all communities in the hope that we can study this matter calmly and
rationally, without hurling accusations and threats and creating an atmosphere
of animosity and tension. It is with a sense of responsibility and humility
that I ask this, for it is not a matter involving religious ritual, but
one of life and death for our people.
In 1986, this writer published a book, Hadis - Satu Penilaian Semula
(its English translation, Prophetic Traditions— A Re-evaluation
will also be published, God willing) with the intention stated above.
Many of the
hadith compiled by Bukhari, Muslim and others
that we use today, according to this writer’s study, are in conflict
with the teachings of the Quran. I give instances in three areas:
One, adulation of or unquestioning acceptance of the teachings of a leader.
Since this principle was instilled, Muslims have feared others besides
God; they have been afraid to question leaders. Hence they became slaves
of the leaders, whereas the Quran exhorts us to free ourselves of all
forms of subservience, except to the One God....
Two, prohibiting the use of the rational mind. Generally, Muslims are
taught not to use their minds in religious matters. This teaching is spread
through some false hadith. Purportedly, the use of the mind in religious
matters would lead us astray. If the mind may not be used in religious
matters, why may it be used in other matters? Are religious and secular
matters to be kept separate? Indeed, this is what has paralyzed the intellects
of Muslims in comparison with others. The minds of Muslims have been dead
for a thousand years, killed by these false
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...Silence on Quran Illiteracy
hadith. On the contrary, the teaching of the Quran give the mind
a noble place. God deems human beings who do not use their minds
worse than animals! (7:179) God bars those who do not use their
minds from the fold of the faithful. (10:100)
Three, suppression of creativity. It is evident that for a long
time, Muslims have not been creative. Since the thirteenth century
when Islamic civilization began to decline, modern scientific discoveries
and technological inventions have been made by others, particularly
those who hold that human beings may know and may create progress.
In the early days, Muslims were highly creative because they adhered
to the Quran’s dynamic teachings, which urge Muslims to work
and strive for success in this world and the next. But since they
turned to the teachings of the hadith, their creativity declined,
for these false hadith teach resignation to taqdir (divine pre-destination)
or fatalism. Purportedly, good and evil are from God. The Malay
proverb, “If you are fated to gain a cupak (a small measure
of rice) you will not gain a gantang (a big measure of rice),”
reflects this world-view.
All three teachings from certain false hadith are clearly in conflict
with teachings in the Quran. The Islamic education system from the
village pondok (rural religious seminary) right up to the Azhar
university, based on rote learning and unquestioning acceptance,
teaches that hadith cannot possibly be in conflict with the Quran.
This would be true of hadith that are really from the Prophet. But
history tells us that the hadith compilations by Bukhari and others
were made between 200 and 250 years after the Prophet’s death.
These compilations are the responsibility of Bukhari and others,
not of the Prophet. The Prophet’s responsibility as God’s
messenger was to convey the Quran....
Some religious leaders label as apostates those who adhere to the
Quran, accusing them of being
anti-hadith. According to certain hadith,
apostates are punished by being put to death. Are they not aware
that leaders of Christian Church during the Middle Ages in Europe
also put to death apostates from Christianity? Thus, this is not
punishment under God’s law, but one from the age of ignorance
which entered the hadith through the Torah (Old Testament), which
had been tampered with. (Refer to Deut. 13:5-10) Do our people know
that according to the teachings of the Quran, one is given full
freedom to choose one's religion? Thus, killing someone for religion
is totally forbidden by God and is a great sin.
The study of the hadith has been developed into a complex one in
Islam from the 9th to the 15th century. The early hadith scholars
established a method of sifting out the weak hadith and retaining
only the genuine ones. However, we must realize that knowledge develops,
and one of the conditions for development is freedom to criticize.
No philosopher, scientist or scholar is free of weaknesses, and
one of the ways of overcoming weaknesses is through scientific criticism.
We have seen the weaknesses of the method used by the early hadith
scholars in the existence of many hadith which are in conflict with
the Quran in Sahih Bukhari (Bukhari’s compilation
of hadith that are regarded as genuine) and others.
Now we need to review the definition of sahih or authentic hadith.
Does it mean confirmed as genuine only on the basis of isnad (chain
of narrators) or also on the basis of matan (meaning of text)? Between
isnad and matan, which is the more important? As we are talking
about the sayings and doings of the Prophet, the term sahih must
be based on matan which is in line with the Quran, for the sayings
and doings of the Prophet Muhammad could not possibly be in conflict
with the teaching of the Quran.
It is clear why we need to do a re-evaluation. Every Muslim believes
in the Quran and puts it above all other teachings. Our problem
is the Quran-illiteracy of Muslims whose language is not Arabic,
and of Arab Muslims whose language is Arabic. They do not know
which of the hadith taught to them are
in conflict with the teachings of the Quran and which are not. Many
false teachings have been slipped into the hadith by foes of Islam
in those days (the Jews, the Christians, the Persians) to undermine
Islam from within. If Muslims wish to be great again, and surely
they do wish it, re-evaluating the hadith on the basis of the Quran
and understanding and practicing the teachings of the Quran are
unavoidable conditions.
Certainly, when this re-evaluation is carried out, certain changes
and adjustments will need to be made in our beliefs and practices.
As these changes are made to correct and improve, we need not fear
making them. In fact, we should welcome them. What we should fear
is going on practicing wrong traditions after knowing them to be
so.
But these few changes and adjustments involve major matters:
One, we must reject adulation of leaders. We must bow only to God.
All human beings are equal--none higher or lower than the other.
This will rekindle the spirit of jihad (struggling in God’s
cause) among Muslims....
Two, we must reject taqlid (un-questioning acceptance of human
authority). We must use our minds to gain knowledge. We read all
books, but critically. We learn from all teachers, but without forgetting
our critical faculty. In this way, we shall inherit only the good
from our ancestors; the bad we shall cast aside. Thus will the Islamic
intellect blossom again.
Three, we must reject fatalism. Our fates as individuals and as
a nation is shaped by ourselves, not by taqdir (divine predestination).
The law is: those who strive will attain; those who do not strive
will not. Man cannot know his capacity until he tries. The Omniscient
God knows everything from beginning to end, but man does not know
what God knows. This change will revive the creativity of Muslims;
and science, philosophy, art and technology will bloom again in
the Islamic world.
Page 3
A Reader's Experience of Submission
Five months ago I was visiting my childhood
friend in Islamabad when she passed me the message. Since then I
have carried out a thorough study of the translation of the Quran
by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, along with some supplementary literature
my friend supplied me with. Very soon after the message was given
to me, I became a submitter.
I really feel that it is changing my life—that it’s
changing me in a lot of ways. I had spent the past six years of
my life in a state of disbelief—not disbelief in God, but
disbelief that he could really help me out of my problems—or
even, quite stupidly, I doubted that He wanted to. Two years ago
it took a very big personal crisis to make me realize the God really
is the only one there for me, that He does listen, and He is the
only one who could help me out. God was constantly on my mind since
then and I wanted to find my faith and I wanted to maintain it.
I tried—I began reading a translation of the Quran which was
lying at home. Its archaic style and language put me off and I couldn’t
get past the second chapter. I read portions out of the rest of
the Quran but it didn’t seem to settle well with me.
I was constantly “talking to God” but I could not compel
myself to pray? something seemed to be holding me back physically.
I don’t belong to a very religious household?even though they
take great pride in being “Syeds.” When I tried to look
to someone for guidance, I was only given a list of compulsions
in our religion and of all the awful punishments awaiting me. I
felt confused and also unable to handle problems relating to other
areas in my life. I could not figure out which way to go and what
to do.
I was in a constant state of depression and felt as if there was
a huge space inside me which kept growing and I could not figure
out a way to close it or fill it. Nothing—friends, “fun,”
things, people, nothing could take it away. I decided that it was
probably due to my
weak faith. I started praying but I
was not regular. When I finally received the message about submission
from my friend, I decided that I would really go ahead and find
everything out for sure this time. If God was guiding me, it was
because He probably wants me to be guided and I could not let this
opportunity just go.
Each time I opened the Quran and read it, I see something new that
reinforces my belief. The amazing clarity of the language Dr. Khalifa
has used makes it much easier to read than any other translation
I’ve seen. I try now to pass the message on to people I know,
people I meet socially—or to anyone who would care to listen.
Unfortunately the traditions we’ve been following are buried
very deeply within people’s minds in this country and they
refused to accept what I tell them. So far I have had little success.
I tried to pass the message to a friend and she was quite responsive
at first but finally rejected the whole idea by saying that, firstly,
I was complicating her life and ideas of religion; and secondly,
she said Dr. Khalifa could have created the mathematical code and
that “mathematics can go wrong....” That was the biggest
disappointment I have faced so far. I was enraged at what she said
but I cooled down and forced myself to disregard the aversion I
felt for her at that very instant—it was like one of the verses
of the Quran coming to life. I told myself I tried and now it's
up to God to deal with her. I talked to a lot of people daily and
most reject the concept, while some show doubt—which I feel
means they’re a quarter of the way there.
The biggest problem I face is that my knowledge about submission
isn’t as vast as I’d like it to be. I need to talk to
more people, read more, learn more so that when I talk to people
they can’t argue ceaselessly. Sometimes I have questions and
I turn to my friend for answers, but she and I are in the same boat.
Her mother and sister are also
submitters and we all teach each other
all we learn, but it isn’t enough. We’d like to know
about other submitters in our area.... I would really appreciate
it if you could answer all my questions.... I will be looking forward
to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
[Editor's note: These are some excerpts from
a letter sent to us. Unfortunately, we are not able to publish the
name of the submitter who shared his experience with us because
of the social and religious oppression in the country in which he
lives. We all pray for the well-being of the brothers and sisters
who live in places where their God-given religious freedom is not
allowed by the so-called Muslim scholars and government officials.]
Mark Your Calendar
1996 Conference
August 9-11, 1996
Houston, Texas
God willing, we are planning to hold this year’s United Submitters
International Conference in Houston, Texas. The dates of this conference
are set for August 9-11, 1996.
God willing He will make it easy for Submitters to attend the conference,
and He will provide us the time and means for getting together and
striving in His cause.
Please mark your calendar and start making your plans to attend
the conference. Remember that this is a great opportunity to be
with Submitters from all around the world.
Look for more details in the coming issues of the Submitters Perspective.
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...Silence on Quran Illiteracy
These are the three major changes we must
make as individuals and as a people when we re-evaluate the hadith on
the basis of the Quran and when we return to the Quran. Is this impossible?
I think not. The best ways of making these changes can be discussed and
decided by our leaders and intellectuals.
As we have seen, the anti-hadith allegations hurled at us are the result
of ignorance or misunderstanding on the part of the people and a handful
of leaders who fear for their position and authority. These can be overcome
through sincere and fair discussion. We all declare ourselves to be Muslims.
What, then, prevents us from holding talks to find an amicable solution
based on truth? If both sides are sincere, adhere to the spirit of brotherhood
among the faithful, and base the talks on the Quran, as God commands,
there is no reason why we cannot solve this problem.
We have no intention of toppling the ulama
(religious scholars or leaders) or wresting away their positions. We only
want the Muslims, including the leaders and the intellectuals, in our
country to adhere truly to the Quran.
Some claim that this problem need not be re-opened as it was solved long
ago. These people are like ostriches, burying their heads in the sand
and saying there is nothing to worry about since they can see nothing!
Islamic communities all over the world as well as in our country are bogged
down with problems they cannot overcome. Why? Because we live in darkness.
How could we see in the dark? We need to get out of the darkness by using
a bright torch. That torch is the Quran.
As I stated in the beginning of this letter, the time has come for Muslims
and mankind in general to return to God’s teachings. Our society,
both national and international, is hit by
crisis after crisis; the only way we can overcome
these is by returning to the teachings of the Omniscient God, i.e., the
Quran. Such is the importance of the Quran to us and to the world.
Dear Readers:
We appreciate any comments and suggestions you may have for us. We especially
thank those of you who sent in articles for the newsletter. Please be
patient with us, since it sometimes takes months to get a proper space
for an article after it has been submitted to us. We are doing our best
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You may help speed up our process by sending us the electronic copy of
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About this work
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Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson