Free Thought is Key to Progress

Fardos jo tera haiy kissi ney naheen dekha
Afrang ka har qariya haiy fardos kay maanand
-- Iqbal

Introduction

History testifies to the fact that free thinkers are the key people who help developing a society technologically and scientifically. The apex of scientific research and development was reached in the Islamic world during the Abbasid rule (749-1258 CE). The Abbasid khalifahs not only provided the material resources for such a development but also ensured that the scientists and the philosophers were protected against the excesses of the orthodox ulema.

The first free thinkers in the Islamic world were called the Mutazallite (the withdrawers). Their leader was Wasil ibn Ata (699-748 CE). They raised questions regarding several matters in which people had implicit faith. Nobody, it seems, had ever questioned the validity of such matters before them. For example, they did not believe (rightly or wrongly) in Allah’s attributes because according to their understanding such a belief would inevitably lead to a belief in the existence of multiple ‘infinite beings’ and Allah’s unity would thus be imperiled. Similarly, they didn’t believe in Munkir and Nakeer and Karaman Katibeen because they were redundant for an Omnipotent and Omniscient God. Likewise, they did not believe in anthropomorphism of God. Such issues might appear trivial (or not?) now but the important fact is that they started questioning issues that appeared fundamental from religious viewpoint and were regarded sacrosanct. In this respect, they can rightly be considered as the pioneer free thinkers in the Islamic world.

Contrary to popular belief of the traditional Muslims, many of the foundational scientists and philosophers in the Islamic world were free thinkers; they were not orthodox Muslims as many of us routinely like to believe. For instance, (Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Zakaria) al-Razi (popularly known as Rhazes in the west) (864-930 CE) was absolutely a free thinker. Although he believed in the existence of God (he had his own reasons for this belief) he did not believe in the authenticity of any religion. According to him, the prophets were impostors. His contributions to medical science are monumental. He is credited for the discovery of sulfuric acid also. His al-Hawi was encyclopedic and was used for teaching purposes in Europe for several centuries.

Likewise (Abu al-Nasr) al-Farabi (870-950 CE) and (Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdullah) ibn Sina (980-1037 CE) were great philosophers. Ibn Sina (Avicenna in the west) was not only a great philosopher; he was a great scientist as well. His book, The Canon of Medicine, incorporated all the essentials of al-Razi’s al-Hawi and also included his own research material. This book also like al-Hawi was a fundamental reference source in medical research in Europe for several centuries. For more details, see Skeptical and Non-skeptical Trends in Medieval Islam (1). Both of them were free thinkers and they drew posthumously a fatwa of condemnation as kafirs from (Abu Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi) al-Ghazali (1058-1128 CE), Hujjat-ul-Islam, for their skepticism.

(Abu’l Walid Muhammad) ibn Rushd (1128-1198 CE), known as Averroes in the west, was the last great philosopher of Islam. He recommended reconciliation between the divine scripture and the rational truths (following the lead of {Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah} al-Kindi, 801- 873CE) by interpreting the Scriptural text in such a way that the mutual conflict would vanish. His principle of reinterpretation is called the doctrine of “double truth” and can be described as follows:

Since this religion is true and summons to the truth which leads to knowledge of the Truth, we the Muslim community know definitely that demonstrative study does not lead to (conclusions) conflicting with what Scripture has given us for truth does not oppose truth but accords with it (2).

Toward the end of his life, Ibn Rushd was exiled and his books were burnt. Although he was restored later on, he died a broken-hearted man. He had written a critique, Incoherence of the Incoherence of Philosophers, in response to al-Ghazali’s polemic, Incoherence of the Philosophers, and had supported the philosophical views. He failed to gain due recognition and popularity in the Muslim world compared with the other lesser philosophers and thinkers. However, the foundation of the scientific method was laid in Europe on Ibn Rushd’s thought. Europe had rediscovered Aristotle and his philosophy from Ibn Rushd’s comprehensive commentaries in Arabic. His books were translated in the European languages and were avidly read and taught there.

(Ghiyath al-Din Abu’l Fath Umar) popularly known as Omar Khayyam (1048-1131 CE) was also a free thinker. He was a great poet and is known for his quatrains (rubaiyat) the world over. He was even a greater mathematician who had developed a geometrical solution for the intractable algebraic cubic equation. His astronomical skills were validated by his computation of the number of days in a solar year. According to O’Connor and Robertson (3), “Khayyam measured the length of the year as 365.24219858156 days. Two comments on this result. Firstly, it shows an incredible confidence to attempt to give the result to this degree of accuracy. We know that the length of the year is changing in the sixth decimal place over a person’s life-time. Secondly, it is astoundingly accurate. For comparison, the length of the year at the end of the 19th century was 365.242196 days while today it is 365.242190 days,” As to the excellence of his rubaiyat, here is one of them for a sample:

And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky
Where-under crawling coop’t we live and die
Lift not thy hands to..’It’ for help..for it
Rolls impotently on as Thou and I

Importance of Free Thought

Why is free thought so very important in rational and material sciences? It is because the advancement of sciences crucially depends on the ability of researchers to examine a problem critically from all aspects and angles. No body knows before hand where the solution to a scientific riddle may be hidden. Unless every nook and cranny is examined and investigated, the real solution may elude the cursory and superficial investigation. Theory of evolution is a classical example in this regard. No scientist who had firm and unshakable belief in the Biblical Genesis could have discovered this theory. Charles Darwin, although a devout Christian, was led to the formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection by his empirical observations. The direction toward this theory was so clear and convincing that even his religious faith could not obstruct him from postulating his theory. Max Planck’s formulation of quantum thesis is another example of free thought. Although it appeared anathema and preposterous to regard energy as ‘bundles of discrete quanta’ compared with the popular and ‘evident’ belief of energy being non-discrete and continuum, Planck could not make sense of his empirical data without abandoning the popular concept. A scientist who is mentally beset with firm ontological views regarding material phenomena and has a prepared mind, is handicapped for making great scientific discoveries.

Free Thought in the Modern Islamic World

Deviating from the orthodox interpretation of the Koran, says the Algerian Mohammad Arkoun, a professor emeritus of Islamic thought at the University of Paris, is ‘a very sensitive business’ with major implications. (4)

After al-Ghazali’s moratorium on philosophy and free thought around 1100 CE, the intellectual decline in the Muslim world has continued unchecked until the modern times. There is a difficult conflict (intellectual impasse) between our purpose and its ‘pursuance’. We want material development but at the same time are hesitant to acquire the means and methods to achieve it. Commenting on the western education, Iqbal has said in a number of ways that it (western education) is required for material development but the inherent risk is that our youths will stray from the straight ‘religious path’ in its pursuit. It is the same fear which had obsessed al-Ghazali almost a thousand years back. The Muslim world has failed to put this ghost to rest so far. The following verses reflect Iqbal’s mental conflict and the attitude toward free thought (5).

Aazadi-e-afkar sey haiy unn ki tabahi
Rakhtay naheen jo fikr-o-tadabbar ka saleeqa
Ho fikr agar khaam, tau aazdi-e-afkar
Insaan ko haiwaan bananay ka tareeqa

If a person is forbidden from indulging in free thought, how he can acquire the skills and the right attitude for free thinking, which Iqbal seems to stipulate in his above verses.

It is sad that intellectual terrorism continues in the Islamic world against those who dare to build a bridge of reconciliation between the Scriptural text and the prevalent socio-economic-scientific conditions in the modern Islamic world. It would be futile here to enumerate how many intellectuals have recently been victimized on the pretext of preserving the purity of the Quranic spirit comprehended by using orthodox and literal reading. However, the case of Dr. Nasr Abu Zayd is briefly mentioned herein to illustrate the point.

Abu Zayd started his career in the Department of Arabic, Faculty of Letters, Cairo University, as an assistant teacher in 1972. In due time, he obtained his master’s and Ph.D degrees from Cairo University in Islamic studies.

“Abu Zayd, scholar and citizen, dreaming of a better future for his country and its people, as well as progress within the Islamic world, felt himself under a compulsion to examine modern Islamic discourse. Hs critical analysis was published as Naqd-al-Kitab-al-Diny (Critque of Islamic Discourse) in Cairo in 1992, with a third edition in 1996. This was the book that began all Abu Zayd’s troubles,” (6).

He was pronounced an apostate. An Egyptian Family Court annulled his marriage to his wife, Dr. Ebtehal Yunes, an Associate Professor of French Civilization at Cairo University. In the end, they fled from Egypt to save their lives and marriage.

“Once again, intellectual terrorism prevailed over justice,” (6).

The Islamic world needs to be rescued from the torturous clutches of the unbearable orthodox clergy, if it ever is to develop materially. It is not possible to seal the human mind for ever; a suitable symbiosis should exist between orthodoxy and independent and rational thought.


References

1.Gill, Mohammad, “Skeptical and Non-Skeptical Trends in Medieval Islam”,
2.Hourani, Albert, “A History of the Arab Peoples”, Warner Books, 1991, pp. 174-175.
3.O’Connor, J.J, and Robertson, E.F., http://www-gap.dcs-and.ac.uk/~histor...ns/khyyam.html.
4.What is the Koran, Part Two, “A Macabre Farce”, http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jan/koran2.htm.
5.Iqbal, Muhammad, “Zarb-e-Kaleem – Aazadi-e-Fikr”.
6.The Case of Abu Zaid, http://amalid.com/Islam/Abu_Zaid_study_
of_the_Koran.htm.

Valuable info indeed!
All the best.