Idan "freedom of conscience" gaskiya ce, to me ya sa ba a samunsa a wahayi? "Amma yana cikin wahayi!" in ji waɗannan masana, sai su bincika Alƙur'ani, hadisi da littafan malamai na dā domin su tara duk abin da za a iya fassara shi a matsayin bayani game da wannan ra'ayi ko ƙima da suke dagewa cewa gaskiya ce. Amma hanyarsu ba ta da ƙarfi tun asali, domin ga kowane misali da suke kawowa daga nassoshi, akwai misalai goma da suka saɓa masa. Sai dai waɗannan misalan goma ba sa fitowa a bincikensu.
Because the obvious question is: If something like, for example, “freedom of conscience” is real, why is it not found in revelation? “But it is found in revelation!” these intellectuals exclaim. And to prove this, they scan the Quran, hadith, and classical scholarly tradition to find anything and everything that can conceivably be construed as expressing the concept or value they adamantly insist to be real. But their methodology is fundamentally flawed because for everything they cite as an example of that value in the texts, there are 10 examples that contradict it. But of course, those 10 examples don’t see the light of day in their research.
Wannan ba koyaushe yake nufin malamin ko masanin yana ƙoƙarin ɓoye wani abu ko kuma yana yin ƙarya ba. Wani lokaci ba sa ganin misalan da ke karyata ra'ayinsu da gaske, saboda an horar da su wajen karanta nassoshi da fahimtar su ta wata hanya da ke cike da irin wannan ra'ayoyi da dabi'un da suke nema a cikin nassoshin. Wannan yana haifar da wata mummunar zagayen da ke ƙarfafa kanta, wanda sau da yawa yana da wuya a fita daga cikinsa.
This is not always because the scholar or intellectual is trying to conceal anything or is being dishonest. Sometimes they honestly do not see the counterexamples because they have been conditioned to read and understand the texts with a lens that is inexorably colored by the same concepts and values they are trying to discover in the texts. This creates a vicious, self-reinforcing cycle that often proves to be impossibly difficult to break out of.
Ƙarshen batu da zan yi shi ne in magance ƙin yarda da ake yi a fili: To me zai hana a yi irin wannan shakka game da Musulunci da dabi'un Musulunci (duk abin da mutum zai yi imani da cewa su ne)? Me ya sa ya kamata mu yarda cewa waɗannan ra'ayoyi da dabi'u suna da tushe a zahirin gaskiya?
The final point to make is to address the obvious counterargument: Well, why can’t this skepticism be applied to Islam and Islamic values (whatever you may believe those to be)? Why should we believe those concepts and values have a basis in reality?
Amsar mai sauƙi ita ce: Ba mu ɗauka kawai ba. Muna bincike. Muna nazari. Muna tunani. Muna dogara ga ingantattun tushen ilimi—watau Alƙur'ani, Sunna, da al'adar malamai ta gargajiya—muna kula kada mu shigar da wata son zuciya marar adalci. Hakika, wannan shi ne farkon kawai. Dole ne kuma mutum ya ji, ya ɗanɗana, ya kuma gogu da abubuwa. Wannan yana zuwa ta hanyar duk abin da Musulunci ya tanada na ibada, zikiri, tilawa, da sauransu. Shiri ne cikakke na rayuwa wanda yake ba mutum damar isa ga gaskiya da haƙiƙa ta hanyar hankali, ta hanyar gwaji, da kuma ta ruhi, domin dukkan waɗannan hanyoyin ilimi suna da alaƙa da juna.
The simple answer is: We don’t just assume this. We investigate. We analyze. We reflect. We ground ourselves in valid intellectual sources—i.e., Quran, Sunnah, and the classical scholarly tradition—cautious not to smuggle in any illegitimate biases. Of course, that is only the beginning. You also have to experience, feel, and taste. This comes through everything that Islam prescribes in terms of ibadah, dhikr, tilawa, etc. This is a comprehensive life program that allows one to arrive at reality and haqq empirically, rationally, and spiritually (since all these epistemic sources are interconnected).
Amma akwai wani muhimmin mataki. A bayyane yake cewa waɗanda suka makale a cikin tunanin zamani suma suna iƙirarin cewa suna "ɗanɗana" gaskiyar tunanin su da dabi'un su. Wannan yana bayyana ne daga sha'awar da suke da ita, kuma a wasu lokuta daga tashin hankali da ƙiyayya da suke nuna wajen kare waɗannan dabi'u. Don haka, wane dalili muke da shi na musanta gaskiyar waɗannan ra'ayoyi?
But there is another important step. Clearly those who are entrenched in the modern worldview also claim that they “taste” the truth of their concepts and values. This is apparent from the passion and, at times, violence and animosity with which they advocate for those values. So what grounds do we have to deny the truth of those views?