In the previous blog, we looked at how Taha’s religious development started from a period of seclusion and meditation where he aimed to get closer to God.
Like many reformers, he thought that Islam in its current form had become alienated from its original intentions, and had become just a rigid system of rules that did not provide guidance to Muslims of the current age. He believed that there needed to be a new interpretation of the Qur’an in light of modern scientific knowledge and the democratic political order. Taha, however, went beyond the agenda of mainstream modernism by putting the text of the Qur’an itself up for discussion. Even now, most modernists limit their efforts to reforming the medieval jurisprudence, but ignore the fact that the Qur’an itself contains a number of texts which evidently contradict modern democratic principles, especially where the positions of women and non-Muslims are concerned. Taha, by contrast, put the problem of these 'undemocratic' verses at the centre of his reform project.
In line with other modernists, Taha was not only critical of traditional Islam but also of western modernity. He admired the scientific progress achieved by modern western culture. This progress, however, had made modern science so over-confident that it had started to deny the existence of an 'unseen' supernatural world altogether. As a result, western man had denied himself access to his spiritual essence and was no longer able to define himself as more than the sum total of his physical needs. Although Taha recognised the moral excellence of the western ideals of human rights and democracy, he believed that such a materialist worldview could never sustain this moral standard in the long term. This would require religion, albeit it in a new form.
Anyway, as explained in the previous blog, during the period he was imprisoned and in seculsion, he felt he received inspiration from God to send this second message of Islam. He sets out some of his views on the meaning of Islam using 3:102 and 40:14. He considers there to be several stages split into three:
1. The first message of Islam: Dogma (aqida) – stage of the nation of Mu’minun:
a. Islam (the near meaning of 49:14) – external/apparent submission to do with speech and action
b. Iman (the near meaning of 49:14)
c. Ihsan (1)
2. The second message of Islam: Truth (haqiqa) – stage of the nation of Muslimun:
a. ilm al-yaqin, ilm ayn al-yaqin, ilm haqq al-yaqin
3. Pure Islam (the near meaning of 3:102 and the distant meaning of 40:14) – intelligent external and internal (genuine) submission: this final stage looks similar to the first stage
We are still (in Taha’s view) in the first nation of the Mu’minun, with very few members of the second nation – that of the Muslimun, really here (e.g. some of the Prophets).
Taha believes that although the Prophet is the Messenger, who explained the First Message in detail, he also delivered the Second Message through an outline, whose elaboration requires a fresh understanding of the Qur’an.
In the next blog, we will look at how he explains the two messages of Islam and how it affects his view of Islam as a whole.
Sources:
Taha, Al-Qur’an
Taha, Second Message of Islam
The Second Message of Islam: A critical study of the Islamic reformist thinking of Mahmud Muhammad Taha (1909-85), Ph. D, 1995, Eltayeb Eltayeb
(1) Initial Islam, according to Taha, is built on five principles: Affirmation of the faith, the five daily prayers etc. This level is not that powerful, unless it leads to Iman, because hypocrites would be in this group!
Iman, as described by the Prophet, is to believe in God, the angels', the heavenly Books, the Messengers, the Last Day and Fate whether good or evil.
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