Dr. Asghar Ali’s “Some Thoughts on Training Ulama” posted on his blog on this website has some good points and suggestions, but, unfortunately, his suggested strategy to train our religious ulama (singular alim) falls terribly short of what is needed to bring about a fundamental change in the status quo. The basic premise from which such discourse should start is to recognize the big mess the traditional ulama have made of our religion.

Here I think a beautiful quote from contemporary distinguished scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl of UCLA Law School is quite pertinent. According to him, the current practice of Islamic or shariah law suffers from the deficiencies of both “a lack of competency [on the part of those who apply it] in the usage of legal objectives and methodologies [of shariah]” and the non-development of such objectives and methodologies “to meet contemporary advances in epistemology, hermeneutics, or social theory. In the contemporary age, Muslims end up with a rather ironic and painfully nonsensical paradigm.”[1] One needs to recognize that the core problem underlying this mess is the acceptance of the Hadith literature as an integral part of the Islamic education curriculum and its concomitant application as a necessary part of our religious beliefs and practices.

Dr. Ali recognizes the need on the part of our ulama for critiquing the existing Hadith literature in the light of modern knowledge and reason. This must be a tall order. We can hardly expect the traditional ulama to even accept such a suggestion. They would not like to budge even an inch from accepting on faith all so-called Sahih Hadith (such as the compilations of Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and so on)[2] as sacrosanct. Dr. Ali has not duly taken note of the fact that in recent years a growing number of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have come up with a compelling case for rejecting the authority and authenticity of this literature.

It is time for us, all Muslims, to discard the existing Hadith literature and rely exclusively on the Quran for our religious guidance. The Hadith has caused enormous harm and distortion to our religion.[3] To learn how to become a good Muslim, one does not need another book. The Quran provides right and complete guidance (2:2; 17:9; 10:57; 16:89). For long, Muslims have neglected the Quran – they did so even during the Prophet’s lifetime (see: 25:30) – and have followed spurious messages from the Hadith, and misguided teachings from sectarian teachers. It is time they return to their only Holy Book – the Quran – and understand and follow its message. The return to the Quran will mark Islam’s true revival.[4]

One of the most important first steps to revive and revitalize Islam would, therefore, be to thoroughly remodel the madrasahs on the pattern of modern schools, which should include religious education as well; but such education should be purged of the teaching of traditional material (such as the Hadith) as sacred religious sources. Also, religion should be a special subject in general education at the university level.

At the same time, a vigorous campaign for genuine reform within Islam needs to be launched and continued – the kind of campaign that one scholar has termed “the Fourth Jihad” ” – one that requires a relentless fight against meaningless dogmas the Muslim society is possessed with.[5]

[1] Fadl, Khaled Abou El, Speaking in God’s Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 2001, p. 111.

[2] Note that Shiites regard different compilations as Sahih Hadith.

[3] Many references can be cited in support of this contention. A sample is as follows:

This author, Exploring Islam in a New Light: A View from the Quranic Perspective (especially Chapters XI and XII), Brainbow Press, 2010;

Rashad Khalifa, Quran, Hadith and Islam, Universal Unity, 2000 (published earlier and first reproduced in the Internet in 1982),

Kassim Ahmad, Hadith: A Re-Evaluation, Translated from his original book in Malay Hadis — Satu Penilaian Semula by Monotheist Productions International, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. 1997, © Copyright Kassim Ahmad, 1996, first published in 1986;

Edip Yuksel, Manifesto for Islamic Reform, Brainbow Press, 2009;

Daniel Brown,Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought, Cambridge University Press, 1996 (Paperback 1999); and

Aisha Y. Musa, Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of the Prophetic Traditions in Islam, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

[4] See also this author’s article “Fifteen Great Reasons We Should Embrace and Follow the Quran-only Islam,” published in OpEdNews, December 4, 2008. Web link:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Fifteen-Great-Reasons-We-S-by-Abdur-Rab-081202-982.html

Also posted on the web link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/36186164/Fifteen-Great-Reasons-We-Should-Embrace-and-Follow-the-Quran-Only-Islam

[5] Voss, Richard S., “The Fourth Jihad” in Edip Yuksel et. al. (ed.), Critical Thinkers for Islamic Reform, Brainbow Press, USA, 2009.