Islam's Reformers .pdf

Mahmûd ibn ’Abdullah al-’Âlûsî, Muftî of Baghdad, followed him.According to them, willing the good or evils is a peculiarity inman and Allâhu ta’âlâ does not create such peculiarities. Forexample, they say, “Allâhu ta’âlâ did not make the apple to beapple. He only created it.” Al-Âlûsî (1217-1270 A.H., Baghdad),in Rûh al-Ma’ânî (his nine-volume tafsîr printed in Egypt),interprets the âyat, “Final decision belongs to Allâhu ta’âlâ,”(al-An’âm, 149) in the same viewpoint. In this respect, histhoughts are incompatible with the explanation of the Ahl as-Sunna scholars, and they have not been approved by thosewho know the matter. According to him, since the reasons ofevils in evil men are not created by Allâhu ta’âlâ, it will not becruelty for Him to punish them, yet because men cannot changethese reasons, they must be excusable, that is, though men’sdeeds escape Allâhu ta’âlâ’s compulsion, they will go undernature’s compulsion. Even if it is not cruelty to punish men whoare under another compulsion, without Allâhu ta’âlâ’scompelling them, it is not right for him to say, “Those who are inHell enjoy torment,” in order to rescue men from this state.Furthermore, to say that Allâhu ta’âlâ does not createpeculiarities is symptomatic of a belief that verges on naturalismand materialism.Islamic scholars’ writing many books about qadâ’ and qadardoes not mean busying with delusions, illusions andsuperstitions as the religion reformers say. Each of them is astudy based on knowledge. It is a grave slander andirreverence for them to say about Islamic scholars that theymixed genies and fairies with the fancies of vampires. Thesource of fancies and fables which are often told by women,ignorant people and children must be the novels and motionpictures filled with fancies and murders produced in and broughtfrom America and Europe and the corrupt beliefs of Jews andChristians, rather than the books of Islamic scholars.Genies certainly exist, and it is necessary to believe in theirexistence. Yet it is wrong to take illusions and fancies asgenies.Nobody has the right to distort Muslims’ belief in qadâ’ andqadar in order to represent this belief as an obstacle againstworking and progress. These slanders leak out from comnunistsand freemasons. Belief in qadâ’ and qadar prevent slacknessand egoism. Instead of leaving the events beyond his- 54 -