Islam's Reformers .pdf

advantage of this state of the people and began to deceivethem and to snatch positions and advantages. If they strove forthe progress of the country, the people, whom they blame forhaving been accustomed to obedience and resignation, wouldalso surrender to them, and progress would not be difficult atall. So, the fault belonged not to the people but to theprogressives occupying high positions who did not lead thepeople to the right path.Revival of the people was definitely necessary, but such alarge nation certainly could not revive itself altogether in a shorttime; those who revived first did not work in a good manner andthought only of themselves, lending themselves to vicious acts.They said, “Before the remaining people wake up, let’s providefor our own pleasures and advantages.” No matter what wouldhappen after them, they strove to keep the eyes of the peopleclosed so that their posts remain secure. The one obstaclepreventing the people’s revival and progress became two. Thepeople were confused whether to awaken from sleep or toescape the cunning progressives’ hypnosis. The retrogressionof the Ottomans was caused not by those who had beensleeping since the old times but by the satans who appearedlater.32 - The reformer says:“We should reform the religion. We should begin with îmânfirst. Îmân could not be mere belief with the heart andaffirmation with the tongue. The religion distinguishes good frombad, beautiful from ugly. Goodness should be the fundamentalof îmân and evil should be the cause of disbelief. As a fard hasvarious fundamentals, so îmân should have fundamentals suchas justice, direction, patriotism, honour and honesty. The sixfundamentals of Âmantu could not be Islam. Islam, which is aperfect social religion, causes misery merely for this reason.Îmân should be corrected in such a manner as to value theMuslim.”Is îmân solely to believe or should it include beautiful a’mâl(deeds, conduct or practice) as the reformer claims? Islamicscholars examined it centuries ago and parted into groups forthis reason. According to the Ahl as-Sunna, îmân is only tobelieve with the heart, and if one cannot express it with thetongue, he will be forgiven. The Mu’tazila and especially theKhawârij, said, “Îmân could not be apart from deeds; he who- 56 -