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Beskrivelse
The Muslim empire fell as a result of the "eclipse" of the "enlightenment" of revelation by tradition. For it was revelation, not tradition that brought Islam to its peak. Tradition did not guide Muslims as well as revelation. The eclipse of revelation was inaugurated by the disparagement of reason. The prohibition of reasoning paralysed Muslim thought, producing a crisis in the Muslim mind. The reduction in the use of reason reduced the Muslims' knowledge of revelation. As a result, they could not follow revelation as well as before. For it is by reasoning that we attain and follow the knowledge of revelation. As their reasoning ability waned, exegetes resorted to tradition to explain revelation. However, tradition was not able to "explain" revelation as well as reason, for tradition itself requires "explanation," as much as, if not more than revelation. However, tradition did not just "explain" revelation; it began to "judge" and even "abrogate" revelation. In different words, tradition began to take the place of revelation. In this way, tradition eclipsed both reason and revelation. As a result, the knowledge of revelation became tainted and thinking deteriorated. Revelation says, "we do not change the condition of people until they change what is in themselves." It appears that, by permitting tradition to "eclipse" that which brought prosperity - revelation - Muslims changed their knowledge of revelation. The repression of thought took the form of the widespread killing of thinkers during the reign of Musa al-Hadi in 786, as reported by al-Suyuti. It later resurfaced in the form of the "shutting of the gates to ijtihad," and in the takfiri condemnation of philosophers as heretics by theologians steeped in mysticism. The latter took place just before the arrival of the Mongols. The Mongols retaliated for the utterly un-Islamic acts of Khwarizmi Shah, first the killing of the Mongol traders and then of the ambassadors dispatched by Genghis Khan to ask for justice for the killers of the traders. These actions revealed the extent of the corruption of the Muslim rulers. They acted very differently from what would be expected from the "best community." It is believed that the evolution of the Muslim civilization was a process without significant breaks. But facts suggest otherwise. Upheavals took place in the wars of apostasy and succession. There were academic upheavals too. Islam and its practice were affected by the emergence of tradition, its elevation to revelation and the marginalization of reason. Islam became "traditional" when jurists bestowed the rank of revelation on the prophetic traditions. Islam also became "political" when they applied the theory of abrogation to the peace verses by the ayah as-sayf. As a result of the first transformation, believers were required to follow tradition as well as revelation. As a result of the latter transformation, Muslims were expected to participate in, and endorse expeditions to enlarge the "realm of peace" at the expense of "the realm of war." The elevation of tradition to revelation embedded in Islam a form of revelation that revelation does not speak of. For revelation does not ask us to follow tradition. It instructs us to follow revelation. In fact, revelation warns against following tradition. The elevation of tradition to revelation made practicing faith challenging. Rather than just following revelation, Muslim were expected to follow six extra books of traditions. The anthologies of traditions feature reports that flout not just empirical findings but revelation, too. The elevation of tradition to revelation was accelerated by the belittling of reason, triggered by the shutting of the gates to reasoning. The end of reasoning was a tremendous jolt, paralyzing Muslim thought. The Muslim world is reeling from this catastrophe to the present.
