The dangers of unnecessary stretches: theological, political and personal implications

 Introduction (Political examples)

The entire world watched the debate between the leading presidential candidates (Kamala Harris and Donald Trump) that took place September 10th, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Among the issues discussed were economics, health care, various world conflicts, and a host of other issues important to American voters, yet arguably the most memorable (and widely ridiculed assertion) was that made by Mr. Trump in which he asserted that Haitian migrants were actually eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. 

Although broadly dismissed by local authorities see here, nonetheless the claim has generated a great deal of unwanted attention to the small Midwest town, even bomb threats ( Details here). This is not the first (nor- I fear- will it be the last) time that false or misleading claims were made for political benefit. Claims about child sex slavery involving Hillary Clinton and a Washington, D.C. restaurant led to an attack on the restaurant in question in Dec. 2016 See here. 

A bit of research revealed scattered rumors of migrants capturing pets, some of which were not even associated with Springfield, Ohio, seems to have started via a Facebook post with a short speculation (See NBC article here) by one person. 

                                            (An example of how Mr.Trump's claim was ridiculed)

The dangers of unnecessary stretches, leaps in judgement, are very apparent in the above examples. That such accounts are exploited for public viewing, to (as the Qur'an states) " seek a fleeting gain", is disgraceful and a sad commentary on the political culture prevalent in our society. As individuals, regardless of background or opinions, we should be willing to see everything in context and not allow ourselves to engage in what can possibly become self-defeating behavior and thinking.

Debate on the nature of Qur'an: another stretch

For about a year now, I have been asked questions about a very obscure theological matter that was debated and largely dealt with within Muslim ranks over a 1,000 years ago. That issue is the nature of the Qur'an. The question as to whether it is "created" (makhlooq ) or "uncreated" (ghayrul makhlooq). 

To summarize, a philosophical trend known as the Mu'taziliah  emerged among Muslim elites, beginning in the 8th century, which proposed a number of hermeneutical alterations, among them (relevant to this article) is the nature of the Qur'anic revelation. They still believed the Qur'an to be from God but argued that it is "entirely created". The stretch they were making on this issue is that if the Qur'an is seen as "eternal", this gets in the way of the concept of God being "eternal". This also influenced perceptions of Divine actions (Af'aal ) and the divine attributes (as given in Islam). The classical example to explain this perception is that of God's speech. "God speaks, but the attributes (of speaking) are not eternal, rather what is eternal (and from which God really communicates) is his essence."

This is a stretch and amounts to unnecessary confusion! It's simply playing with words. I admit that I have a great deal of respect for the historical trend of the Mu'tazilites. After all, no one can deny their impact on Quranic hermeneutics. The masterful Quranic commentary known as Tafseer Al Kashshaaf by Abul Qasim Mahmud b. Umar Az Zamakhshari (d. 1143 C.E..) examines the scripture largely through linguistics and has become the standard for the commentary literature employed by all the various movements within Muslim history. I also agree that many of the theological positions advanced by their thinkers have strength, but in the issue of the nature of the Qur'an, the stretch is just unneeded. 

The mainstream Sunni position is that the Qur'an is "uncreated", but even employing this terminology is simply a reaction to the theological stretch of the Mutazilites. Ultimately, the primary reason this became an issue is that of certain elites, with government backing, saw themselves as "enlightened", and advanced such rhetoric for political gain(ft.1). This is precisely what occurred with the examples from recent U.S. events cited above. 

Persecution, violence, and death occurred during the debates on this made-up issue, all of which was unnecessary, especially since the Mutazilites and the "traditionalists" all accept the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam)  as coming from Allah ta'alaa.  

In today's world, the Sunni position on this obscure question has become dominant, although the idea of the Qur'an as a "creation" does have resonance with the minority Ibadi sect(ft.2) and the majority of Shiites(ft.3), and while it would have been an issue confined to history, this old argument has been rehashed by Christian apologists, the latter with an agenda of undermining Islam and the faith of Muslims. 

The unnecessary stretches in everyday human issues

Increasingly we see people making mountains out of molehills. Families broken up, conflicts between friends and the like, over inflated mutual (mis)understandings. Of course, stubbornness also kicks in, and the modern culture (fueled by strangers on the internet) actually encourages disengaging (or worse, actual conflict) in the name of "attaining freedom" " peace of mind" "independence" and other such terms.  

Humans will always be humans. We all have strengths and weaknesses. We will not always agree on issues, even major ones. However, jumping to conclusions, leaps of judgement, emotional outbursts, bitterness, refusal for understanding the perspective of others, are very destructive. 

Even when those outbursts take place, there should still be internal mechanisms (backed by healthy social support and spiritual guidance) to calm things down. Sometimes, emotions would drive people away from God, (and from loved ones) denial of God's existence, as well as backing away from religious practices and precepts, forming extremely unhealthy religious conclusions(ft.4). 

This article has focused on theology, politics and the drives within a person. For all of those points, knowledge, patience, wisdom, forgiveness, dropping grudges, ability to see big picture, tolerance, love, are all needed. The more those qualities are present, the less we will see of discontentment. 

In conclusion, for all of these areas, the following is a relevant Quranic text, do recite and be impacted by it. "Allah is sufficient for me, none deserves worship except Him, upon Him I place my trust, He is the Lord of the magnificent throne." (Q 9:129)

Footnotes

(1) Hans Kung has given a very interesting summary of the political interests of the Caliph Al-Ma'mun, son of the famed Harun Ar Rasheed ( 833 C.E.), in backing the idea of a "created Qur'an" (as well as other theological developments). See Kung, H. (2007) Islam, Past, Present & Future Oneworld Oxford, pp.279-298.

(2) The Ibadi sect, an outgrowth of the Khawarij movement, today only exists in Oman. 

(3) Interestingly enough, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Al-Kho'ei (d.1992), one of the most influential leaders of modern Shiism, argued that the question of the Qur'an being created or not was "irrelevant to Islamic doctrine and that the intrusion of Greek philosophy caused divisions." See This link for more details

(4) Unhealthy religious conclusions include extremism, abandonment of faith and reaching wrong conclusions. Some religious movements are-for example- centered on race, breeding racism. This is totally antithetical to Islamic values (see Qur'an 30:21-22 and 49:13). Others may have "spiritual experiences" that lead them to wrong-headed and even destructive conclusions. On this, the famed spiritualist 'Abdul Qaadir Al Jilaani (d. 1166 C.E.) has stated that false spiritual experiences are among the ways that Satan will mislead even the pious.