Intellectuals: The Blind Guides

It may be more accurate to say that the problem of subjugation does not lie in the oppressors or their demeaned slaves, but in their "teachers" or "people of knowledge." The problem does not lie in the politician; the problem lies in the intellectual, the salt of the earth, the maker of a culture with all its institutions. We should lay bare the reality that the politician is the instrument of the intellectual and not the other way around. This is such a profound shift in our intellectual paradigms that it is almost Copernican in the cosmos of ideas about power and society. Comprehension and teaching are the roles of the intellectual. And if intellectuals fail to understand and take responsibility for the duality of the world around them, we should, only blame ourselves. Prophet Muhammad (PBLTH) says, "One who encounters good should thank God. One who finds other than that should not blame but himself."1

We live in an era that witnesses an absence of true intellectuals. The problem we face is within the intellectuals and "people of knowledge." They are the resigned ones, those who do not trust what they possess. They revere the power of body rather than the true power of the intellect. They are so insecure about their knowledge that they are incapable of fertilizing people's minds with the understanding that will give them the vaccine against enslavement. Jesus referred to such guides: "Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to win one convert; and when you have succeeded you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves." (Matt 23:15)

But, can we disturb the comfort of so-called intellectuals who exonerate themselves by placing the blame on politicians who serve interest groups?

The media, who could play a significant role in showing the problems of power, do not help either: they too absolve themselves of responsibility. Yet, when those who are responsible absolve themselves of it, they are absolving themselves of being human. Ordinary people, who do not understand social dynamics, believe what they hear from intellectuals and feel despair. The followers of religions are also waiting for a savior, but we do not need more saviors. What we need is to revive the call of prophets.

It is unfortunate that our intellectuals have bewitched the world by manufacturing silence. Our intellectuals have nothing to say, because they are bereft of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Religion has become a problematic subject in modern discourse. Only those who arc ignorant about the history of the evolution of knowledge can deify and sanctify falsehood. So, for example when God was declared dead in Western thought, it was an indication that the God of the philosophers' own perceptions had actually become invalid. But even "Man" died at the hands of nihilism. The reason for the perceived death of God and humanity (or Man) is that the reality of history is absent from our judgments. We can not rely on our perceptions to decide the laws of history, nor can we live on what is being fed to us by secularists or fake religious people. Their invalid perception or ignorance of the history of knowledge has misled people and robbed them of meaning, convincing people of absurdity of the world and humanity.

We are at the mercy of intellectuals who cannot distinguish Jesus from the Church or the Qur'an from the Muslims' interpretations. Jesus embodied Moses' message and the Torah but surpassed the followers of Moses2. Muhammad, too, embodied the message of Moses and the Torah, and Jesus and the Bible, but he surpassed their followers. And if there were to be a coming prophet, he or she would embody Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and their message but would surpass their followers and what they now stand for. Our modern intellectuals are incapable of being prophetic, of seeing the messages of these prophets. H.G. Wells points out intellectuals' problematic relationship to Christianity in the modern West, arguing that intellectuals, when dealing with the Bible, ensure that "the baby is thrown out with the bath water3." At least it seems that intellectuals fear that they will be dirtied with the bath water if they discuss the baby.

Intellectuals dread dealing in human experiences such as compassion. When Foucault discusses love and compassion, in Madness and Civilization, he passes briefly over the writings of poets like Artaud, Holderlin, and Nerval, "who somehow escaped the `gigantic moral imprisonment' of their age and glimpsed a fundamental experience of unreason which beckons us beyond the bounds of society4." Foucault wonders whether this Otherness is the opening for a "total contestation" of Western culture. Analyzing the search for a fundamental experience outside of history, Foucault "shows that this philosophic move is characteristic of the most developed forms of modern thought and yet is bound to fail5."

It is unfortunate that our intellectuals offer us such notions as "the end of history," or "clash of civilizations." They are the new custodians of the god of war. But as I have said, their nihilistic perceptions do not render the world meaningless. T'he Qur'an confirms this: "If the truth followed (had been in accord with) their desires, truly the heavens and the earth, and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption!" (Surah 23 A1 Mu'minun: 71)

The Bible also warns us that this search for a human experience outside of history is bound to fail. It is this notion that is seen as destined for failure by the builders of modernity which we find in the Bible:

Jesus said to them, `Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the main corner¬stone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful [marvelous] in our eyes.'

`Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a nation that yields the proper fruits.' (Matt 21:42-43)

We should know that we are not at the end of history. In fact, history teaches us that theories of Doomsday proliferated in civilizations that could not adapt to the movement of history. This is why the true role of prophets was not been fulfilled in their ancient eras.

Now is the time for the world to understand their message: the prophets did not come to compete in violent combat; they came to compete in goodness, in making a peaceful global society in which all humans are equal under the law. The path of monotheism, of peace, is the path toward accomplishing the will of God and the dream of prophets. The closest to the Lord are those who serve the people6, "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt 20:27-28)

Today's intellectuals should head religious revivalism in the world and perform tasks suitable to repentance, for the world has reached the dawn of the birth of a global democracy that acknowledges the equality of all people. All of us, intellectuals included, should respond to the call of the world to enter a new history of humanity.

Currently, however, this new era of history is governed by illusory ideas about freedom. The freedom of America, where I can put forth my ideas in journals such as this, is also the freedom of the Pharaoh, who claimed that his status quo was the path of guidance: "I but point out to you that which I see (myself); nor do I guide you but to the path of Right!7" According to Pharaoh, Moses should be destroyed, for he might change the people's religion and worldview, thereby spreading corruption on earth. Pharaoh presents his path, a world without equality, as the path of reform and the ideal way. In a long Qur'anic dialogue Moses and Aaron confront the Pharaoh with the warning that God will penalize those who reject Him, even though both are afraid of him8:

`Verily it has been revealed to us that the penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away.' Pharaoh responds to the message by saying, `Who then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?' and Moses replies, `Our Lord is He who gave to each (created) thing its form (and nature), and further, gave (it) guidance.' He tells Pharaoh that the knowledge of all generations remains with the Lord. In return, Pharaoh accuses Moses of making magic9. `Therefore, concert your plan. And then assemble in (serried) ranks: He wins (all along) today who domineers.' (Surah 20 Ta Ha: 42-64)

Moses is a prophet but he is also a type, a category of those who speak truth to power. He, like the other prophets, has come to terms with the evolution that took place when humanity entered the world of comprehension, the world of knowledge, the moment as God said, when "The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil . . . ." (Gen 3:22)

The Role of Humanity and the Sin of Self Exaltation

The Qur'an approaches the relationship between humanity and the rest of existence in an interesting scene, which evokes imagination and historical contemplation:

`Behold,' your Lord said to the angels: `I will create a khalifah (vicegerent) on earth.' They said: `Will You place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? While we do celebrate Your praises (chant gratitude) and glorify Your holy (name)?' He said: `I know what you know not.' (Surah 2 Al Baqarah: 30)

In the story, the word "Khalifah " (Caliph or vicegerent) stands for a creature, who will be trusted to perform tasks assigned by God. In a discussion about the human project, the angels object because this creature, they claim, will spread corruption and spill blood; for them, corruption is the absence of equality, the hierarchy of superiority and inferiority, and bloodshed is the result of this corrupt relationship. God responds that He knows what they do not know in terms of this creature's abilities and potential.

Another Qur'anic passage suggests that humanity has been given a place of trust, because of our ability through the nervous system to know good &om evil, to carry the covenant. "Agreement, covenant, trust, integrity, knowledge, loyalty" are the words used in the Qur'an to stress the uniqueness of the human condition and our special existential status in relation to other creatures: "We did indeed offer the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains but they declined to undertake it, being a&aid thereof but insan (the human being) undertook it. He was indeed oppressive and ignorant." (Surah 33 Al Ahzab: 72)

This is also the same meaning we find in the book of Genesis: "The Lord God . . . said, `The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil . . . . "' (Gen 3:22)

The Heavens and other creatures are incapable of distinguishing good from evil, incapable of disobedience. Only humanity has the capacity for obedience and disobedience, for humanity alone has knowledge of harms and benefits. In the dialogue between God and the angels about humanity, the angels admit their ignorance when they are faced with the new creature's capacity:

And He taught Adam all the names; then he placed them before the angels, and said : `Tell Me the names of these if you are right.' They said: `Glory to You: of knowledge: we have none, save what You have taught us: in truth it is You who are perfect in knowledge and wisdom.' He said: `O Adam! Tell them their names.' When he had told them, God said: `Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?' (Surah 2 A1 Baqara: 33)

It is as if God is saying that this creature's potential comes from its ability to name, to give symbolic designation to things in creation, an ability that makes humans worthy to become God's deputies on earth. Through this human ability to symbolize, God's prophecy will unfold, even though humanity itself does not see this divine futuristic vision. Our species is still realizing the expectations and predictions of the angels, instead of God's vision10.

Indeed, Satan himself is unwilling to accept God's conferral of authority upon humans11, tempting them with the prospect of their own power as gods:

Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: `Get you down, all (you people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood for a time.' (Id. at 36)

Then began Satan to whisper suggestions (insinuate) to them, in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest you should become angels or join those who are immortal12." (Surah 7 Al-A'raf 20)

However, when Adam and Eve fall for Satan's lure, God addresses them equally to signify their equal responsibility and status, and they confess the injustice they have committed: "They said: `Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves (wronged ourselves). If You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost. "' (Id. at 23)

It is perhaps this ability to admit the truth that made Adam worthy of vicegerency13, unlike Satan, or (Iblis), who thought himself too important to recognize the trust given to Adam. Not only did Satan refuse to take responsibility for his own actions14, but he took pride in his material origins: (God) said: "What prevented you from bowing down when I commanded you?" He said: "I am better than he: You did create me from fire, and him from clay." (Id. at 12)

Like Satan, the racial pride and reference to one's origins and refusal to take responsibility for disobedience leads to religious, ethnic and even civilizational conflicts. History teaches us that civilizations do not perish as martyrs, but as suicides from their internal diseases. Solutions come from the self, from discovering one's mistakes, not from blaming others. That is why the Qur'an suggests that God is not responsible for injustice, for injustice comes from the self and is worse than injustice inflicted by any other15.

The Soviet Union perished through its own injustice and so will other societies, even those that consider themselves to be orthodox, to be beloved sons of God. The Qur'an condemns what some call orthodoxy as self perceived exalted status, and shows how judging other nations as less worthy is a common problem that afflicts us all: "And they say: `None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.' Those are their (vain) desires. Say: `Produce your proof if you are truthful. "' (Surah 2 Al Baqarah: 112)

All religious and political communities reward themselves with a monopoly over paradise in their stories and tales. These are only mere human wishes, which many previous nations have expressed; but the law of the Lord in history is not based on some whimsical illusion or on favoritism for some at the expense of others. According to the Qur'an, the law of the Lord does not distinguish among humans. "Nay¬whoever submits his face (self) to God while compassionate (doer of good) has his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear, Nor shall they grieve." (Id. at 111)16

Footnotes

1 From the abridgement of Sahih Muslim by Hafiz Mundhiri, edited by Mustafa A1 Bugha. From the Book of Zulm, section 1 under the number 1828. The Qur'an also says: "Whatever good happens to thee, is &om God; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) self. And We have sent thee as a messenger to humankind and enough is God for a witness." Surah 4 A1 Nisa': 79.

2 "The scribes and Pharisees occupy Moses' seat; so be careful to do whatever they tell you. But do not follow their practice; for they say one thing and do another. They make up heavy loads and pile them on the shoulders of others, but will not themselves lift a finger to ease the burden. Whatever they do is done for show . . . ." Matt 23:2-5.

3 H.G. Wells, The Outline of History (N.Y.: Macmillan Co. 1920) (Illustrated).

4 Charles C. Lemert & Gillan Garth, Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics 11 (Hubert L. Drefus & Paul Rabinow, eds., Chicago: U. of Chi. Press 1982).

5 41. Id.

6 As the Gospel of Matthew says, "[A]nd whosoever wants to be first [chiet] must be the slave of all." Matt 20:27.

7 Surah 40 Ghafir: 29. Pharaoh also tells his (followers) about Moses and his call: "Said Pharaoh: Leave me to slay Moses; and let him call on his Lord! What I fear is lest he should change your religion, or lest he should cause mischief to appear in the land! "' Id. at 26.

8 God tells Moses and his brother after preparation and training:

Go, you and you brother. With my signs, and slacken not, either of you, in keeping Me in remembrance. Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed dominated (transgressed all bounds); But speak to him mildly; perchance he may remember or fear. They (Moses and Aaron) said: `Our Lord! We fear lest he hasten with insolence against us, or lest he tyrannizes.' He said: ` Fear not: for I am with you: I hear and see (everything). So go you both to him, and say, `Verily we are messengers sent by your Lord: send forth, therefore, the Children of Israel with us, and afflict them not: with a sign, indeed, have we come from your Lord! And peace to all who follow guidance!" Surah 20 Ta Ha: 42¬47.

9 (Pharaoh) said:

`What then is the condition of previous generations?' He replied: `The knowledge of that is with my Lord, duly recorded: my Lord never errs, nor forgets.' Then Pharaoh replies: He said: `Have you not come to drive us out of our land with your magic O Moses.' `But we can surely produce magic to match yours! So make a tryst between us and you, which we shall not fail to keep-neither we nor you-in a place where both shall have even chances.' Then Pharaoh consults with his chiefs about Moses: So, they disputed, one with another, over their affair, but they kept their talk secret. They said: `These two are certainly (expert) magicians: their object is to drive you out from your land with their magic, and to do away with most cherished institution.' Surah 20 Ta Ha: 51-52, 57-58, 60, 62-63.

10 It is said: "And behold, We said to the angels: `Bow down to Adam:' and they bowed down: not so Iblis (Satan): he refused and was haughty; he was of infidels." Surah 2 AI Baqarah: 34.

11 "We said: `O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will; but approach not this tree, or you be among the unjust (transgressors)."' Id. at 35.

12 The passage continues: "And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over themselves. . . . And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, And tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?" Surah 7 Al-A'raf 21-22.

13 Although the Qur'an states that Satan had a big role in tempting them to eat from the tree by arguing that it would give them immortality and eternal authority, Adam and Eve confessed that it was they who wronged themselves. Satan presented himself as a sincere counsel. But Adam and Eve did not mention Satan's temptation and misleading. Rather, they took the burden of responsibility without trying to place blame somewhere else. T'hey perhaps even felt that blaming Satan would condemn them twice whereas admitting the truth could redeem their wrong

14 We hear:

Then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who bowed down. (God) said: `Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest.' He said: `Give me respite till the day they are raised up.' (God) said: `Be thou amongst those who have respite.' He said: `Because Thou hast thrown me out of the way (misled me), lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way.' Surah 7 A1 A'raf 12-16.

It is impottant to note that Satan had two reasons to excuse his disobedience. First, he used his material origin, arguing that he was created of a matter better than Adam's. Second, he used his worldview to explain his disobedience, arguing that God made him sin.

15 For instance, there are passages that read: "Whatever good, happens to you, is &om God; but whatever evil happens to you is from your own self." Surah 4 Al-Nisaa: 79. "God was not unjust to them: nay, they were unjust to themselves." Surah 16 A1 Nahl: 33. So, any judgement about others is a judgement about one's self be it good or bad. Moreover, the Surah says: "Whoever works righteousness benefits his own self; whoever misbehaves, it is against his own self; nor is your Lord ever unjust (in the least) to his servants." Surah 41 Fussilat: 46.

16 . The Qur'an also says:

Nor your desires, nor those of the People of the Book (Can prevail): whoever works evil, will be requited accordingly. Nor will he find, besides God, any protector or helper. Surah 4 A1 Nisa': 123.

(Both) the Jews and the Christians said: `We are the sons of God, and his beloved.' Say: `Why then does He punish you for your mistakes (sins). Nay, you are but humans of those He has created. . . .' Surah 5 A1 Ma'idah: 18.

This passage implies the equality of all human beings: God does not have sons above the law, and no group of people have special privileges, not even the peoples of the Book:

The Jews say: `The Christians have naught (to stand) upon,' And the Christians say: `The Jews have naught (to stand) upon.' Yet they study the same Book. Like unto their word is what those say who know not; but God will judge between them in their quarrel on the Day of Judgement. Surah 2 Al Baqarah: 1 13.

This is the message of all prophets, as the Biblical story of John the Baptist shows: When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them: `Vipers' brood! Who warned to escape from the wrath that is to come? Prove your repentance by the fruit you bear; and do not imagine you can say, `We have Abraham for our father.' I tell you that God can make children for Abraham out of these stones. The axe lies ready at the roots of the trees; every tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. Matt 3:7-10.

We read these words elsewhere in the Bible as well:

Many, I tell you, will come from the east and west to sit with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of Heaven. But those who were born to the kingdom will be thrown out into the dark, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Man 8:11-12.

Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because my teaching is beyond your grasp. Your father is the devil and you choose to carry out your father's desires. John 8: 43-44.

[[Category:LAW and RELIGION]