The Islamic Way Of Thinking by Hasan Abdullah

In conclusion, Islam is not a collection of rules and a rigid set of "do's and don't's" to be imposed upon the people by force without any deep understanding. Islam is not theoretical information to be memorized or rehearsed as bedtime stories. Islam is not a spiritual system that shapes our relationships with metaphysics but has no voice in the life affairs. Islam is a comprehensive system built upon a rational doctrine that establishes a conclusive belief which agrees with the nature of the human being. Islam shapes the individual's belief, in addition to his behavior and thinking, in a dynamic way. While Muslims study Islam, they must study it in a very profound and creative way that will produce a dynamic force which will push them to think more and appreciate Allah's greatness, and ultimately encourage them to comply with the order that He fashioned.

Many attempts emerged to change the situation of Muslims in the last two centuries. Although these attempts left some impact in the thinking of Muslims, they failed to achieve a comprehensive revival. None of these attempts had an intellectual basis geared towards reviving the thinking of Muslims according to Islam. They were either emotional spouts that rallied the feelings of the Muslims temporarily before diffusing but failed to exert a profound intellectual impact, or they focused on the mere compliance to some Sharii rules, and even the way the rules were addressed was incorrect. A vivid example of such an attempt was in the issue of the woman's dress code. The woman's dress code is often addressed as the central problem of the Muslim Ummah, while it is only a symptom among many other symptoms. Furthermore, the woman's dress code is part of the social system of Islam, which is rooted in certain fundamental concepts that Islam addresses regarding the outlook towards man and woman in the society, the nature of man and woman, and the nature and purpose of their relationship to one another. However, oftentimes the issue of woman's dress is discussed in isolation of any profound concepts.

In the end, all of these attempts failed to address the thinking of Muslims, although thinking is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of man. Even the attempts to call Muslims back to the method of the Salaf did not fare any better than the other efforts. Such attempts failed to recognize the method of the Salaf Salih in thinking. This movement restricted itself to the fruits of that thinking method by imitating the Salaf, neglecting the fact that the Salaf themselves (may Allah be pleased with them) condemned imitation. As a result, these movements restricted themselves to issues that were discussed by the Salaf, without any relevance to the current life.

Even more disastrous in its outcome was the Modernist movement. From its very inception, the Modernist movement was incorrect because it was spawned as a reaction to the Traditionalist and Secular currents as an attempt to bridge the gap between them. The attempts of the Modernists were, in reality, no more than an attempt to reconcile between Islam and Western culture, although Allah (swt) clearly stated in several ayahs that there is no room for conciliation between Islam and any other ideology or culture. The mere objective of trying to reconcile Islam with the West was an implicit recognition of the Western Culture as the reference to which all other points of view, including Islam, would have to refer to.

As a result, the Modernist movement blurred the clear distinction between Islam and other ideologies, diluted the clear understanding of Islam, and strengthened the dominance of Western culture and thought among the Muslims. Today, this Modernist thought, and those groups and individuals who represent such a thought pattern, are used by the West to contain the Muslims and to mold the thinking and behavior of Muslims along the lines of Western culture.

Those who seek the revival for Muslims must first revive the Islamic way of thinking and the method through which Islam must be studied in order to create the correct way of thinking among Muslims. By doing so, the various points of view and outlooks will become unified, and the public awareness will be built in the correct way. With the formation of a unified outlook and public awareness, the Muslim Ummah will have a clear reference and a framework to judge all other issues and ideas, which will cause the Ummah to naturally reject any idea or call presented to the Muslims that contradicts the Islamic point of view. This process necessitates a continuous process of providing the Ummah with the correct ideas in a relevant and dynamic way that addresses the reality and instigates the thinking process. The interaction must proceed in an open manner, and the ideas must be allowed to present themselves unrestricted. Any attempt to censor discussion or divert the attention of the Muslims from anything other than the objective of embracing the Islamic ideology and building the correct way of thinking must be viewed as an attack against the Muslims and an obstacle in the path of revival. Through this discussion of ideas, the incorrect ideas would gradually be filtered out, and the Ummah would concentrate upon the correct ideas, which would eventually give rise to an intellectual momentum carried by the masses. This intellectual momentum would then transform naturally into an idea implemented by the state with no gap between the state and the Ummah. Once the Muslims reach this stage, they will be in a position to carry Islam as a comprehensive ideology built upon a rational Aqeedah to the world.