Upbringing
Individualists believe in man's conversion, in inner renewal; positivists believe in the change of his behaviour. The philosophy behind these views is clear: if a crime is a result of free choice or of an evil will, then re-education by some outside measure has little chance of success. On the contrary, if the offence is the consequence of bad conditions and habits, the offender can be reeducated by changing these conditions or forming new habits. This is the difference between an inner conversion and a drill. Every re-education technique enforced by clerks and government officials, and especially by the army or the police, always consists of drill and never of upbringing.
Unjust Power Relations
A number of decades ago, the "Abrahamic" identity was created to expand Christian-Jewish dialogue to include Muslims. This was a positive development that has since established a shared platform for dialogue and engagement. At the same time, it is a constructed identity that does not fully encompass the theological ethics and identity of each of us or all of us. Anything we build will necessarily be limited in space and perspective, and we must be mindful that enclosures, as much as they unite people in a space, also restrict that space. I am particularly concerned that the "Abrahamic" appellation reinforces a patriarchal lineage that I believe Islam came to reform. The elder men of the community have no preferential claim on religious leadership and authority in Islam, as much as that might be the cultural preference and social reality of many Muslims. As we work together to build a more peaceful world, we must embrace language and appellations that do not replicate or reinstate unjust power relations.
The Path of Reform
"Undoubtedly, within the body is a piece of flesh which, when it is in good condition (salaha), the whole body is also healthy and robust (salaha); but when it is degenerated (fasada), the whole body decays. Verily, that (part of the body) is the qalb (heart)." [Bukhari]
It is apparent from the words of the hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was indeed referring to the piece of flesh in the shape of the heart inside our bodies. However, his usage goes far beyond the biological meaning of the word "heart". The term qalb has a far wider meaning in the Quranic and hadith terminology. According to this understanding, our entire personality can be termed as the qalb.
Spurious Hadiths
Scholars who spent a great deal of their lives with the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) developed a sense which they could use instantly in detecting error. Their example was like that of a man who lived with a beloved friend for scores of years, knew him very well in every situation and so could easily say which statement belonged to him and which not. Similarly, a literary critic who studies a poet for a long time and becomes fully acquainted with his style can, on the basis of his perception and personal experience, easily detect a poem which does not belong to the poet. However, Muhaddithin (hadith scholars) did not depend solely on personal experience as it may be counted a form subjective criticism. In short, if a hadith was not transmitted by any trustworthy scholar, and there was a liar or a person accused of lying in the chain of transmission it was said to have been fabricated by that person.
Sacred Consciousness
Knowledge is a mirror which reflects patterns, colours, designs and conditions as they are. Knowledge is a mirror before the world. Its name: science. That is all. It has no good or bad. To serve or commit treason are not pertinent to it. Formal purity or impurity has no meaning in it. It is a science and only a science. It is one everywhere and always.