The doubt essential to faith

When Lesley Hazleton was writing a biography of Muhammad, she was struck by something: The night he received the revelation of the Koran, according to early accounts, his first reaction was doubt, awe, even fear. And yet this experience became the bedrock of his belief. Hazleton calls for a new appreciation of doubt and questioning as the foundation of faith -- and an end to fundamentalism of all kinds.

Watch the following video:

Comments

I think its dangerous to class it as doubt - I don't think that is the mainstream view. No doubt it was a very difficult time, and the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) while waiting for the next revelation was ... anxious would be a better way to describe it IMO. Between the first revelation and the second I think there was a period of a month or 5 weeks, and the silence in between was a challenge.

In a similar manner, there is the argument that even the reply "I cannot read" is not an accurate translation of the reply to Angel Jibril.

Thinking about it logically, Jibril was not asking the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) to read something, but to repeat. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) refused to ("I am not a reader" as opposed to "I cannot read"), but only until the angel said " Read, in the name of the Lord who created you" at which point the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) did.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Yeh I was listening to Sh. Hamza Yusuf who said the same thing about the "I cannot read" and how it meant he Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) wasn't a reader.

As Muslims we should look hard and try to find the answers to our questions in Islam but this is supposed to be done in humbleness, with the belief that we do not know anything and Allah knows everything. This is one interpretation given for the letters in the Quran which we do not know the meaning; alif laam meem, etc. They are supposed to make us understand that not everything is within our comprehension and we don't know everything.

We have to be careful of who we take our knowledge from, and it should be from Muslims. Good manners, being decent towards others and other things can be from non-Muslims, but the way we approach our belief, what way we should think about it, act upon it and so on and so forth can only be learnt from Muslims who are knowledgeable not non-Muslims. Non Muslims will not have a true understanding - otherwise they'd be Muslim! Smile Like a GP wouldn't do brian surgery even if they knew how it's generally done, because their lack of expertise could be dangerous and could kill a person...wait GP's may not be so bad, I dunno lol...well we wouldn't go to our biology teachers to find out what's wrong with our body. In this way we have to go to the people who know the source, not a third person.

I hope I didn't come across as being partonising or anything, that was not my intention, of course.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

  1. Doubt to faith is not the mainstream view which is why I posted this. 
  2. Its interesting.Its very focussed specifically on the night that Muhamme Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) received his first revelation. RY's comment on the challenge felt in the time between the first and second revelations is also interesting. I guess, its something we all overlook. The emotions that was involved in all the stories we listen to. 
  3. She focusses on what didnt happen, for example our Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) didn't seem happy or excited but instead He Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) did 'doubt' what he had seen. Or anxiousness as RY put it.
  4. She asks what is imperfect about doubt?
  5. She argues that doubt is essentail to faith. Doubt is the heart of the matter. Abolish all doubt and whats left is not faith but absolute conviction. 
  6. Regarding TPOS response, I dont see the relevance between what you have said and what the link I posted is about. Could be because I haven't given my full attention to the video and it those aspects which you are referring to which means Im wrong in saying there is no relevance.
  7. 'We have to be careful of who we take our knowledge from, and it should be from Muslims.' Not necessarily. Not all Muslims know what they're talking about and if we sat around and listened to what only Muslims had to say we may never get anywhere either. For examples,all the Muslims who follow the religion and let their beleifs become tained with cultural laws so it becomes that they don't even know themselves which is derived from religion and which is derived from traditional-ness. How do we know who is the right person to listen to? I think I ask about five or six people before attending any Islamic lectures to get a background of the speaker. 
  8. But then, you do go on to say: 'Good manners, being decent towards others and other things can be from non-Muslims, but the way we approach our belief, what way we should think about it, act upon it and so on and so forth can only be learnt from Muslims who are knowledgeable not non-Muslims.' 
    So you're referring to those Muslims who are knowledgable. There are lots of 'intelligent' non-Muslims. Maybe not 'intelligent' in the spiritual sense. Yet, their outlook on life is very similiar to how I think a Muslim's outlook on their religion should be. I don't think there is anything wrong with observing how other people look at life and how they deal with day to day stresses. It is those day to day stresses that push or pull us from spirituality and sometimes you can gain life experiences from learning from other people whether they are Muslim or not. What I found out this year was that after doing so much observing, and then looking at Islam, is that everything I learn from watching people is somewhere in Islamic literature anyway. So I could have gone there first. 
  9. But, anyway, why are you chatting about good manners and deceny anyway TPOS? I wanted to get peoples' view on the doubt element in faith. 

 

I dnt think "doubt"is the correct word.

Thwres smething abt if we cld see Allah, everyone wld belief and thats the point of this life. Worshipping Allah as if you can see Him. (because ifleven though u cnt, He can -thats the defo of Ihsan, the highest level of The religion of Islam)

its nt doubt, im t sure what it is but its like..smething that u cnt feel with ur sense amd that doesnt work the same way the rest of our world works Believing in THAt. Its nt doubt, its just belief...\faith...i dnt knw..

didnt watcj the vid btw.

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

The word fear and anxiety can be used but not doubt. Doubt has a different meaning altogether. As she says herself it's not the conservative view, I don't know about the the early biographies she mentions, so I can't comment on that. She says "demanding perfection they refuse to tolerate human imperfection". 

Firstly we believe the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) *was* perfect, there is no demand to make.

Secondly, we still believe he Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) was human, he had feelings and emotions and he was shocked when he got the revelation.

It's not doubt though! He Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) had been going to the cave to seek out the truth, he Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) knew it was there, even before the Prophets got their message, they would all have dreams which come true and they knew, they had faith in there being something more. 

When Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) ran home from the cave, fearing he Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) may be possessed, Khadija (ra) replied 
"Never, your Lord would not betray you, for you keep the family ties, you are truthful, you support the weak, you forgive those that burden and transgress upon you and you support the causes of good"

If it was doubt, then why did Khadija (ra) not doubt? Why did she believe without needing to know more? 

In the Quran it mentions how we should not have any doubts for example in Surah Ibrahim verse 10 "Their messengers said, "Can there be doubt about Allah , Creator of the heavens and earth? He invites you that He may forgive you of your sins, and He delays your death for a specified term." They said, "You are not but men like us who wish to avert us from what our fathers were worshipping. So bring us a clear authority."

Of course, people *get* doubts, and the Quran is there to answer those questions and doubts. 

That's what I was referring to. 

But she is right in saying we should not be certain that we are right and be so arrogant to not listen to others etc.

Quote:
 So I could have gone there first.
Exactly. It's better (best) to get Islam from Islamic sources, that's all I'm saying. It's a matter  of faith so it should be taken from Muslims not from non-Muslims. Whereas something like having good manners/relations (I was just using an example) is obvious and doesn't need explained. If a non-Muslim does it, it will still be good and right. 

I probably still haven't explained myself very well. I'm not saying non-Muslims should be ignored, but it can be dangerous to listen to their way of thinking on particular subjects and Islam is best taught by Muslims. 

Saying that, Karen Armstrong's biography is meant to be pretty good though I haven't read it.

I recommend Qalam institute's podcasts on the seerah. They humanise the life of the Prophet (saw), make you recognise the emotions that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) went through as well teaching you practical lessons which you can take from each sitution and each part of the life - helping you to see the ;ife of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam (Peace and Blessings be upon him) for what it is; guide to life.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

I agree with this sentiment. I used to be so fearful of "doubt" because of how "dangerous" it's supposed to be, but then I came across al-Ghazali's story. Look at the spiritual crisis he went through, and then he came out of it only to now be known as one of the greatest influences of Islam today. 

I think it's dangerous to tell people to fear and be ashamed of doubt because to me it sounds a lot like telling people not to think for themselves. If someone has iman, or is to build their iman, I think they need to confront and address their doubt, not hide away from it. 

#Before you look at the thorns of the rose , look at it's beauty. Before you complain about the heat of the sun , enjoy it's light. Before you complain about the blackness of the night, think of it's peace and quiet... #