says the ayah to start with. What does this statement and the language mean to a PPK Muslim? Does it mean that we just move away from anything that we do not know about? Surely not; this will nip in the bud all roads to progress and enquiry and development. Not only this is against the spirit of innovation of our Century, but also against one of the basic Messages of Islam. Contrary to the exclusive and dominant view when I was growing up and still a fairly common opinion, Islam demands its followers to think and ponder on every issue. One becomes a Muslim by reciting the Shahaada but not a Momin. True Eemaan needs a lot of thinning and deliberations into the Holy Text. The present common trend of memorising without understanding the Quran, daily reciting the text without grasping any sense, organising Qira’t (simply reciting in rhythm) competitions, the controversial enthusiasm to complete one reading of the Quran in the month of Ramadan (or better still in three, five or ten nights, Bravo!) by running through the Text as a mantra, ( despite the clear instructions in the Quran to read it “slowly and deliberately) producing proudly fantastic calligraphy of holy scripture, decorating our walls with ayahs of the Quran in marvelous, beautiful and ornamental style — barely readable many times, let alone understanding it — on expensive carpets on our return from Hajj and Umrah is very commonly regarded as pious activities. May be, but it is far from and probably against the aim and design of Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo when HE communicated and entrusted this adorable Text to us through HIS beloved Messenger. Just look what HE has in HIS mind when HE decided to give us HIS Book:^[3]

 

“(Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may mediate/ponder on its Signs/Messages, and that men of understanding/those who are endowed with insight may receive admonition/take them to heart.”

 

Let me quote a few more to drive in the point firmly:^[4]
  ..

 

 

An example of the Star and Idol of Islam, Sayyedna Umar bin Khattab further elaborates this point. It took almost three years for him to memorise the full Surah al Baqaraa. Why? He used to understand and practice the portion he had memorized. Only after he had accomplished what he had memorised, he would move forward to the next ayah. The moral is clear. Our first and foremost duty is to comprehend our Holy Text and apply it in our daily life. The other activities that  I have referred to may follow if one likes it.

 

So the ayah does not mean, that we just bypass anything we do not know about. It is warning us not to grapple with a situation without any information about it. It wants us to first decipher the details and facts about any issue, form an opinion and then pursue it.

 

This is the assessment of a PPK Muslim based on the literal meaning in the context of the general message of Islam. The Mufassirs have dived deeper and placed this ayah on particular situations of life.

 

Dr. Mohammed Asad has this to say: “This would seem to relate to groundless assertions about events or people (and hence to slander or false testimony), to statements based on guesswork unsupported by evidence, or to interfering in social situations which one is unable to evaluate correctly.”

 

 Maulana Maudoodi, as expected is very explicit. He says: “The meanings of “Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge” are very comprehensive. It demands that both in individual and collective life, one should not follow mere guess work and presumption instead of knowledge. This instruction covers all aspects of Islamic life, moral, legal, political, administrative and applies to science, arts and education.” He ends thus: “Above all, it cuts at the very root of superstitions, for this instruction teaches the Believers to accept only that which is based on the knowledge imparted by Allah and His Messenger.”

 

The thinker and research scholar Javed Ahmed Ghamdi, in his typical style confirms that this injunction means that it is not permissible for any Muslim that he mistrusts (bud-gumani) anybody  or accuses somebody or proceeds against an individual without prior scrutiny or fans rumors merely on doubts and suspicions. He further extends the relevance of this ayah to forming any point of view on the identity, attributes or commandments of our Lord Sustainer merely on conjectures, doubts or baseless speculation. His own language is more convincing:

اِس کے معنی یہ ہیں کہ کسی مسلمان کے لیے یہبات جائز نہیں ہے کہ بدگمانی کرے یا کسی پر الزام لگائے یا تحقیق کے بغیر کسی کے خلاف کوئی قدم اٹھائے یا محضشبہات پر افواہیں اڑائے یا اپنے پروردگار کی ذات و صفات اوراحکام و ہدایات کے بارے میں ظنون و اوہام اور لاطائلقیاسات

پر مبنی کوئی نقطۂ نظر اختیار کرے۔

 

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein et al in their modern exegesis The Study Quran read this ayah as opposing the concept of Taqleed — blind imitation — proposed by the scholars of the tenth century Hijra and which has led to the present intellectual stagnation of Muslims. The authors maintain: “Pursue not can also be rendered simply “Follow not,” indicating that one should not follow a path or a guide without knowing whether one will be led or misled; the verse can thus be read as supporting the traditional Islamic discouragement of taqlīd, the blind imitation or following of another in matters of theology. In fact, some suggested that this verse meant, with regard to legal rulings, that one should not make judgments based on speculation, even through the process of analogical reasoning (qiyās), though others argued that various legal determinations, such as estimating the direction of the qiblah or issuing a non-binding legal opinion (fatwā), necessarily entail some level of speculation”.  I must point out that I am surprised at “the traditional Islamic discouragement of taqlīd”. To the best of my knowledge Taqleed has been and still is a very strong driver and demand of the traditional scholars of all the four schools of Sunni Islam. While I was growing up in Bombay (now Mumbai), India thinking and reasoning in religion was an anathema. Understanding and studying the Quran was an exclusive prerogative of the “ulema”. As I have stated earlier, even today in the twenty first century in the USA, one of the most if not the most advance country there are highly educated elites like doctors, dentists, IT specialists and lawyers who do not mind rushing through the mantra of the Holy Quran in Taraweeh prayers as a result of “taqleed” of some fatwaa in the ninth/tenth century. I am sure they have a ready explanation in the Hereafter for this irrational behavior in the face of clear instructions in the Quran to understand the Quran while reciting it “slowly and deliberately”. Allah Ta’aala has declared:^[5]

 

“ Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about the “na-eem” —variously translated as joy/boom/pleasure/bounties/delight/bliss —  (ye indulged in!)

 

What better bounty can one imagine than the intelligence and reasoning that these professionals are endowed with. They have applied it brilliantly for the mundane success for themselves and their families but refuse to use it to understand their deen  (in small matters like the issue of Taraweeh and in bigger ones like stoning to death or executing an apostate) and instead have opted for taqleed. I am sure they have prepared a good defense to be presented in the Hereafter for this differential treatment.

 

In short, slander or false testimony, guesswork, presumption instead of knowledge, superstitions, mistrusts (bud-gumani), doubts and suspicions, conjectures and speculations in all aspects of life does not behove a Muslim. S/he should distance herself/himself completely from them.

 

Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo has ordained these principles elsewhere more clearly and emphatically:^[6]

 

“O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another]1 – for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!”

 

The next part of the ayah “verily, [thy] hearing and sight and heart – all of them – will be called to account for it [on Judgment Day]!” on the face of it seems to strike suddenly an entirely different chord. Does it? This is not the style of our Holy Text. There has to be a connection. But first, a clarification. The term “heart” here and else where in the Quran is best expressed in the Urdu phrase “dil-o-dimaagh”. The word heart really stands for mind and its deliberations; the seat of understanding as well as faith. There are no sanctions on the ground to implement the ordinances of Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo: no police to arrest us, no attorney to indict us and no court to try and punish us. All this is deferred for the Final Judgement. Hence the Quran reminds us of the Hereafter in one form or the other immediately after most of the moral and ethical edicts. This, one may call a standard practice in the Quran. And this, for very good reasons. All such edicts are irrelevant to a non-believer in the Day of Judgement. Hence this is exactly the pattern here in this ayah. The ayah starts with an edict and goes on to end with a reminder of the Hereafter. We are told that our ears, eyes and the mind are fully accountable on the Final Day. We will have to explain what and why we tried to hear, what and why we attempted to see and all that went in our mind.

 

The Study Quran offers a nuance on the meaning of the latter part of the ayah. I will let you read it in the language of the authors: “The human faculties of hearing, and sight, and the heart are frequently invoked in the Quran, as they are understood to be three means by which people are guided to truth; the heart is traditionally considered the seat of understanding as well as faith. The three faculties are thus mentioned as gifts for which people should be grateful, but also as faculties that can be “removed,” “sealed,” or otherwise rendered ineffective by God as a punishment for wrongdoing or disbelief. Thus these three faculties will be called to account, meaning that one will be held accountable for their proper or improper use. The verse may also be read to mean that the faculties of hearing, sight, and the heart will themselves be questioned. This would be similar to other verses where one’s limbs and one’s skin are said to testify about and even against one on the Day of Judgment”.

 

 

 

……..and Allah knows best.

May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.

Dr. Khalid Mitha