It was a great night when Prophet Abraham, the Father of all Prophets, decided to pursue the truth, having thus far been sceptical of the deity, and doubtful of the domination of the planets, the Moon and the Sun. His long journey of scepticism eventually led him to the truth and knowledge of his God.
Yet, Abraham’s questions did not come to a halt once he realised who his God Almighty was. His eagerness for knowledge made him raise more questions that extended beyond the truth, so he asked God the Almighty, “My Lord! Show me how thou givest life to the dead.” “Dost thou not then believe?” God replied. “Yeah!” responded Abraham, “but to satisfy my own understanding.”
If Prophet Abraham needed to satisfy his curiosity, how would it seem for any of us to ask a priest, “Prove to me that God is capable of bringing the dead back to life?”
Questioning is a part of human nature, and it explains man’s psychology that tends to doubt and to keep asking until being comforted by the truth.
The verses of the Holy Quran clearly indicate that God did not criticise or reproach Abraham for his questions and doubt, nor did He delay His response to Abraham’s request. Instead, He immediately proved to him His ability to resurrect the dead in the well-known Quranic story of the bird. In this context, we realise that the questions and enquiries posed in a way that indicated doubt, such as that of the angels, “With thou place therein one who will make Mischief therein ….?!” are among the existential features God the Almighty gave His creatures.
These questions started with the creation of man, when God asked His angels, “Tell me the names (nature) of these, if ye are right.” Even the prophets openly expressed their curiosity and desire for understanding, so we find Moses asking, “O my Lord, show Thyself to me.” Similarly, philosophers and scholars are forever questioning, in their never-ceasing pursuit of knowledge. Even man, although in Paradise, keeps questioning, “In Gardens (of Delight) they question.”
Throughout the world history, we find evidence of questioning and doubt—the hallmarks of all great civilisations. Therefore, I fail to understand why the word “doubt” is commonly associated with disbelief, though the difference in meaning between the two concepts is obvious; doubt is the opposite of certainty and disbelief means denial.
Confucius and Socrates began questioning the ethics and the social systems of China and Athens. They did that by casting hard questions towards people, hoping to make them doubtful of the corrupted social and religious practices prevalent in the society and to prompt them to search for ethical and more civilised practices.
The Islamic Abbasids era witnessed the conflict between Ash’ari theology, Mu’tazilah and the Ahmed Bin Hanbal scholars about Belief that developed over the years. This was the foundation of a real human philosophy that was crystallised in the form of a creative intellect and science based on endless and severe doubts and inquiries. Despite the inquiries that had known no limit, approaching the divine, scholars could arrive at evidence of reason that enhanced Muslims’ belief and consolidated Islamic civilisation. However, when the books of Ibn Rushd (Averroes), the most daring and questioning Muslim philosopher, were burnt down, Islamic civilisation began to decline.
European civilisation is a result of endless questioning by many reformers, most notable of whom are Martin Luther in Germany, Jean Calvin in Switzerland, Isaac Newton, John Locke and Francis Bacon in England, who honed the questions of the French Philosophers — including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Diderot and others — in what was known then as the “Age of Reason”.
Observers of those great movements realise that they shared a very important common feature — doubt and questioning. All reformers seek the truth, eager to “satisfy their own understanding.” Descartes was right when he said that doubt leads to certainty, as the actual truth is the one, which leads to other inquiries, enabling life to develop.
Although the Holy Quran, in most of its verses, urges us to question, the religious discourse today reveals an excessive sensitivity towards this matter. Those who question some sensitive religious issues are considered renegades. The religious discourse still relies on the interpretation and explanations of religious texts left behind by the first interpreters. However, as their interpretations were inextricably linked (and likely limited) by their understanding, their circumstances and the knowledge available in their time, they inevitably fall short of providing substantial answers to some major questions about religious issues.
We are thus in grave need of new interpretations of the Quran, and the Prophet’s (PBUH) Conduct (Sunnah).We need to move beyond those traditional interpretations, albeit not abiding to them, so that the religious texts can satisfy the aspirations and needs of modern society, as well as answer the questions in their minds.
We also need to go deeper into the details of the Sunnah, to better understand it and apply it in our life.
In a text I read, when a married woman came to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) seeking punishment for committing adultery, he asked her to wait until she gave birth to the child in her womb and breast-fed him. After completing the breastfeeding period, she came back to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and asked for the fair punishment. As I ponder on this, for some a possibly rather lenient manner in which this woman was treated, I wonder where have the husband and family of the adulterous woman been during this time? Why did history books not highlight the Prophet’s (PBUH) civilised treatment of that woman, to show that, despite her sins, she was never exposed to any danger or aggression? When I compare this incident with Manal Sharif’s experience, whose only “sin” committed in Saudi Arabia was “driving a car”, I find it hard to believe that this minor offence has led her to be accused by religious fundamentalists as being a sinner and exoteric!
Idle minds that stop questioning ideas and thoughts are indeed corrupted, and when the role of the mind is marginalised, we should expect the decline of the nation and diminishment of its role among other world nations.
A nation whose people are deprived of understanding their holy book, and need to refer in every matter to religious authorities to interpret the religious texts for them, is a nation that belongs to the medieval ages. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “We are worthier of doubt than Abraham when he said, My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead.” If our Prophet (PBUH) urges us to think and question, why do we insist on forcing our minds to retire?
