Introduction

Have you ever asked yourself in quiet reflection: Does The Qur'an seem applicable to the world of today? Or is it just a myterious, ancient relic? Does Islam seem to be a vigorous ideology capable of positive civilizational impact, or is it just an anachronistic legacy of the past? No matter what you personally conclude, there is prevalent global dialogue - whether for or against Islam - that view it all as traditional and ancient. If you are a Muslim, this may cause a disconnect because you have always learned that The Qur'an and Islam are applicable to all times. When you look at the world around you though, it seems hard to close this disconnect. This blog proposes some thoughts on understanding that disconnect and potentially closing it. The core of it is recognizing the interaction between the living, evolving human intellect with a fixed and an unchanging, historical textual source. The blog is titled "how we know what we know in Islam" and is discussed in light of 2 considerations and 3 facts. Islam will not be defined, or re-defined - that will be done in another blog 'in-shā'-Allah - so just think of it in the way you know or have heard about it.

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Consideration 1

If the sole source of information for some subject is purely textual¹, then only human study² (interpretation) of the text produces any and all conclusions from the text. For example, consider the legal constitution of a nation - say the United States of America. The constitution is textual material written at some time point, transmitted and edited over time, analyzed by legal people in subsequent generations, and laws are derived from it. These laws are changable over time. This similiarly holds for religious scripture.

Consideration 2

Post-Qur'anic Islam's only sources are textual. The primary textual source is The Qur'an. The secondary textual source is Ḥadīth³. We don't need to dwell on the early part of the last ~1400 years when these texts were firstly written, just consider us today and many generations ago - these sources are purely textual for us.

Consequence of the Two Considerations

Therefore, all of Islam's teachings (conclusions) - which are supposed to be based on these sources - have been extracted by human study and interpretation of these texts. Consider the easy evidence of this, the schools of thought are named after human beings who were not the Prophet Muḥammad. Teachings and conclusions throughout the post-Qur'anic history are attached to their originators' names - whether they were companions or other scholars. So the consequence that Islam's teachings are the result of human intellectual study should not be controversial.

Three Facts

Fact 1

Once the revelation of The Qur'an is done, the Prophet dies shortly after⁴.

• There are no more prophets after the Prophet Muḥammad. Therefore, God's intent is that only The Qur'an remains with no prophet ever to come; nor ever to come as an interpreter of it.

Fact 2

No comprehensive Qur'anic tafsīr (explanation which is a type of interpretation) tracing back or attempting to trace back to the Prophet Muḥammad exists.

• As-Suyūṭī (d. 911 a.h./1505 c.e.) compiled 252 such Aḥādīth⁵. There exists over 400,000 Ḥadīth and Athār texts; the 252 are a miniscule percentage - by no means comprehensive. Furthermore, The Qur'an contains 6,235 verses made up from 77,801 words⁶ of which the nouns and verbs come from 1,687 linguistic roots. Again 252 Aḥādīth are no-way commensurate to this.

Fact 3

God did not let the world stay the same as it was in the 7th century.

• This fact needs no commentary. An insightful data point is that the expectation of the companions and early scholars was that the world would end "soon" after the Prophet. That it kept going for centuries was surprising for them; that it would change so much - unimaginable. One could ponder on what would be the interpretations and conclusions of any past great-named scholar if they could see today's world?

Consequence of the Three Facts

Intepretation of The Qur'an is left to regular human beings for all time.

Early generations, starting with the Companions, embraced this interpretive responsibility

• E.g. Aṭ-Ṭabarī's (d. 310 a.h./923 c.e.) tafsīr has 38,888 Athār texts. Ibn Abī Ḥātim Ar-Rāzī's (d. 327 a.h./938 c.e.) tafsīr has 19,541 Athār texts⁷.

Human scholarship continued to interpret, declining in the past several hundred years as the interpretations of the first few generations became unduly viewed as the most authoritative. I.e. the above-mentioned and other Athār texts became viewed as the authority, outweighing the Qur'an itelf. This resulted in widespread imitation and adoption without critique of the earlier interpretations and a diminishing of direct Qur'anic interpretation.

However, since every Muslim practice traces to a past interpretation, two key questions arise:

• How would the conclusions arrived at today from direct interpretation of The Qur'an (and also properly placed Aḥādīth) compare to past interpretations?
• If the current interpretations differ from the past - and can be shown to be equally or more rigorous, should the past ones be set aside?

An Encouraging Reality

In light of these 2 questions, an encouraging reality is that the methodology of original interpretation exists - developed and practiced mostly by early 4-hijrī centuries scholarship. No re-invention is needed, however, some cleanup will be required in topics which directly impact Qur'anic interpretation like Ḥadīth Methodology and Abrogation. This interpretive methodology encompasses three classical topics:

• Arabic Language and Grammar
• Uṣūl Al-Fiqh - The Principles of Jurisprudence
• Ḥadīth Methodology

This methodology prioritizes the 'how' over the 'what,' focusing on the process by which conclusions (Furūع Al-Fiqh - Branches of Jurisprudence) are reached rather than just the conclusions themselves. Of course it leads to actionable conclusions that can be compared against historical precedents. Where they agree, they agree; where they don't, they don't. However, the focus remains on a well-documented process that can be evaluated and discussed for consistency between the method and the conclusions. An irony to consider in this is that modern interpretations will be based on a postive legacy from the past - instead of a legacy of conclusions, it's a legacy of methodology.

Some Hopeful Results

The main result in learning and applying this interpretive methodology is being intellectual and pious Muslims; for there will be an intimate, direct relationship with The Qur'an - a direct relationship with God through interacting with and understanding His words. Not only will this benefit the individual, it also enables the solving of the world's problems by this and future generations. It is clear that world-level challenges exist in Politics, Economics, Equality/equity, Rights, and a myriad of others. This approach should lead to solutions, in the same vein as the early development and application of the methodology led to the Islamic Civilization thus answering the disconnect Muslims and the world feels about any positive relevance of Islam today.

On an everlasting basis, another result is that the interpretation practiced by past, present, and future generations makes The Qur'an truly live - addressing its applicability to all times. This leads ultimately to success in this life and the Hereafter because individual attitudes and actions will be knowingly, convincingly tied back to the Qur'anic (textual) sources, not just following someone else's conclusions. All of this by Allah's permission.