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Whenever learning *anything*, u have to begin w/ preliminary default positions for that subject. That's what u learn first. U don't get into debates about its constituent parts, even if such debates are valid. That comes later once u holistically understand the subject.
Whenever learning *anything*, u have to begin w/ preliminary default positions for that subject. That's what u learn first. U don't get into debates about its constituent parts, even if such debates are valid. That comes later once u holistically understand the subject.
Why not?
Every subject u study is made up of constituent parts, majority of which are indisputable, bt some of which isnt. once u get BIG picture intimately, u can then go back & revise the disputable parts, tweaking them as you go, in a way that *adds value* to the bigger pic
Every subject u study is made up of constituent parts, majority of which are indisputable, bt some of which isnt. once u get BIG picture intimately, u can then go back & revise the disputable parts, tweaking them as you go, in a way that *adds value* to the bigger pic
and doesn't leave the edifice weaker. And if you start w/ trying to deal w/ the constituent parts without a holistic picture, you're dealing with those parts in the blind: you don't know what you're working towards. You will always fail.
A school of thought in *any* realm provides a person with a *workable* wall. We can debate about strengths/weaknesses of specific schools, *but they work* which is why ppl have used them for 1000+ yrs. Once you have a workable body, you're free to philosophise.
No one says that schools are perfect, which is why they ALL update as time goes on and human cultures evolve. And this thread isn't merely about shar'i realms of knowledge, but secular as well. History, sociology, economics, philosophy: all have their schools.
For ex, the 'Cambridge School' of the history of political thought, or the 'Liberal nationalist' school/approach in political philosophy. Similarly, you have the Kufan or Basran schools of Arabic grammar, and the same goes for fiqh, hadith methodology, or usul - even tajwid!
A MAJOR problem today is impatience in v fast moving & distractive environment. Everyones trying to 'keep up' w/ latest conversation/debate/fad. There's little time for knowledge acquisition, making sense of it, letting it soak in, discussing it w/ teachers/peers b4 commenting.
I thank God we came up at a quieter time. We spent a decade doing above. We would all learn ancient Arabic, memorise Quran & books of hadith. Start w/ primers in each field & then patiently build on them w/ detailed knowledge, diligently putting pieces together. THEN we'd explore
and EVEN THEN it'd be amongst equally learned ppl/peers, not in public misguiding others with our embryonic ideas. Our teachers/peers would THEN encourage public engagement, but even then we remain hesitant. One issue has been w/ high profile personalities doing this in public
realm. They clearly hadn't learned what they were commenting on, nor reflected deeply enough, so they wildly shifted their positions take followers from pillar to post on the most basic of issues. This fed into a culture that has now made this acceptable.
Now when it comes to what ppl put out on social media, or recklessly say, we see the mistakes about 10secs (or one tweet) in. We can see where you're going wrong, what your erroneous presumptions are, and the massive body of thinking and sources you've overlooked.
We can see how your point doesn't lead anywhere & doesnt fit within a greater narrative (whatever it might be).
Most on MT dont even have holistic understanding of the Qur'an! How can anyone be opinionated when they dont even have a mediocre cognisance of what God has said?!
Most on MT dont even have holistic understanding of the Qur'an! How can anyone be opinionated when they dont even have a mediocre cognisance of what God has said?!
It's abominable & ppl at that level NEVER open their mouths in f2f gatherings, they know better. Yet on social media it's overly time consuming to point it out each & everytime, which is why we write general posts like these. That's not to say we don't have sophisticated points
to put across bt social media & v limited attn spans mean that nuance ('diqqah' in Arabic) & precision r massacred for crude & reductive narratives. Those who meet us f2f or attend our lessons/seminars actually know the standards at which to operate & become less vocal as result.
If it wasnt such an indictment of the Muslim condition, it'd actually be comical - eg: the comments to @tafsirdoctor et al are hilariously erroneous, both in the illiteracy behind the comments & the obviously poor reasoning.
And it's not about agreeing/disagreeing:
And it's not about agreeing/disagreeing:
A learned person can admire/appreciate an artful argument s/he ultimately disagrees with.
Literally, the standards are super shoddy & for a whole host of reasons. Now, Muslims can perpetually complain or up their game bt that requires putting aside juvenile impulses & growing up
Literally, the standards are super shoddy & for a whole host of reasons. Now, Muslims can perpetually complain or up their game bt that requires putting aside juvenile impulses & growing up
