A simple thought from The Community on Friday: In the days bygone, when people questioned long held religious beliefs, they were held in contempt and were ostracised from society, and in arcadic times, a system of beliefs were not to be questioned, and in fact were punishable by death. Our immediate forefathers will narrate on many occasions of how the clergy held sway in stimulating audiences against people who questioned certain beliefs or more relevantly traditions. This eventually led to generations of misinformed or frightened Muslims, who could not bear the thought of a negative consequence if they challenged any ruling practice of their time. Some Muslim sects around us amply demonstrate how captive they are to their organisation, for better or for worse.
Today we stand at an unprecedented crossroad where the younger and bolder generation is once again asking questions and a parallel wave of opposing staunch conservationists is in their way of liberating their truth. As the friction builds momentum, there will be casualties one way or another, there will be rampant disillusionment and the beneficiaries will undoubtedly be outsiders who are also campaigning so that their numbers rise and ours decline. In their spiritual wisdom, our leading scholars advise us to give up practices that cause rifts, divisions or a negative impact on our religious beliefs. Unfortunately, we are giving the same answers to them and to each other that the people of the time of the Holy Prophet (SAW) were giving him – such as were our forefathers wrong or that such sensitive issues should be left to the theocratic academia as we have insufficient knowledge. One imperative that must now be bold faced is that Islam is not a religion that hides truths, or stifles speech or creates barriers to understanding. It is in fact a religion that encourages probing and investigation as this potentially takes adherents closer to understanding His majestic realm. Once someone accepts faith, he cannot question the usool/basic tenets as they are now part of his faith, but is still open to knowing more in other matters. Let no one beguile us that we are incapable of handling and heralding the truth.
Let no one confine us to mundane situations of food, drink, shelter and clothing alone whereas our progressing age demands we know more about the diverse domains of knowledge before we breathe our last. In the name of the monumental leader Husain ibne Ali (AS) let us finally override the petty semantics of tradition and institutionalised religion, while maintaining decorum, but taking the flight to what Ahlul Bayt (AS) invited us towards – knowledge and more knowledge, till we attain vicinity with them
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