Liaquat Ali 1/18/2002
Allah has kept Islam, the Deen, protected from adulteration by preserving the Qur’an in memory and in writing. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslims, around the world, have memorized the same Qur’an. Therefore if all copies of the Qur’an are destroyed due to some reason, one may be produced in a jiffy.
Islam is much different from what many non-Muslims, and even Muslims think what it really is. Islam is not a religion, per se. The Arabic for “religion” is “madhab.” The word madhab does not exist in the Qur’an.
Interesting, the word used for Hanafism, Malikiism, Hanbalism, Shiaism, etc., is “madhab” or religion. There is no wonder that these “religious derivatives” of the Real Thing are much similar to other manmade religions in the world.
Well, what is Deen, then? Let me try to explain. Islam is more interested in creating a social order where all humans are treated equal, where everyone lives in peace and harmony, and most importantly, all have the opportunity to "actualize" themselves so that their inner "selves" continue to climb to higher and higher levels. The life is treated as a continuum where the physical death takes humans to the next level of evolution. The actualization, as guided by the Qur'an, in this life is necessary to "make" it for the next levels of evolution. That is Heaven, as described by the Qur'an and as I understand it. That is why, if someone asks me to place the Qur’an in an appropriate section in a library, contrary to popular tendency of putting it in the religion section, I would put it in the sociology section.
Clergy is not allowed in Islam. The closest thing to clergy in Islam is a religious scholar or Imam. It is important to note that when the Qur'an refers to "alim" or "scholar", it does not mean Hamza Yusufs and Qardawis of the world. The reason is that the most of the Qur'an is pretty easy to understand. It primarily refers to Ibn-e-Sinas, Ibn-al-Haithams, Pasteurs, Newtons and social scientists of the world as alims. That is, people who contemplate on the Divine Laws that control the universes (3:191, 13:3, 16:11, 16:44, 16:69, 30:21, 39:42, 45:13, 59:21); to benefit fellow human beings.
Since “self” can only actualize by its own efforts, intercession is a foreign concept in Islam, the Deen. Everyone should learn most of the Qur’an to qualify to be a practicing Muslim. Being Muslim is not like a family proprietorship that you inherit from the previous generation. It is like becoming a doctor or an astronaut that one has to work to become.
Having said that, it becomes less important as to what one calls himself/herself in terms of Jew, Christian, etc. The more important thing in the eyes of Allah is if one is helping to create such a Qur'anic social order, and if he/she is working on his/her own actualization. In my humble opinion, the Qur’an is so captivating that when one starts receiving guidance from it, there is no stopping. Therefore, insisting on people to go through manmade rituals before one is allowed to benefit from the Qur’an is tantamount to withholding the benefits of the Qur’anic Wisdom from 3/4th of the human population.
Like Bob Crane says, “Islam is breathtakingly simple.” If you find things in Islam that are complicated or don’t make sense, then question them. The Qur’an is Mighty, Bold and Confident, and doesn’t mind at all. It will respond with the Real Islamic position on the situation in hand. It’s the manmade religious dogmas that fear interrogation.