We believe that a true and comprehensive
understanding of Islam would not be possible without careful recognition of the
Prophetic Tradition and the Prophet's Household. And Allah is the Source of Strength.
Layers Of Understanding
" I have learnt a very important lesson in my life. A group of people listening to the same lecture, participant of the same meeting, reading the same legislation, studying in the same class, will have different take aways, depending on their interest, intellect, intent, maturity, level of understanding, aptitude, comprehension, attention, focus, correlation with relevant information etc.
In a nutshell, different people will always be at a different level of understanding about almost everything in life. Even when two people will agree to something in life, for example, how everything is made of atoms, the more you question them the more you will realize that at a detail level, minute level, micro level, their facts, opinions, knowledge will have vast gap and difference, irrespective of their unanimity of belief at the macro level.
I have witnessed mature people attending the same meeting, later on, disagreeing on the minutes of the meeting, and later, conveying a different message to their subordinates based on their own take away from the meeting. Hence the subordinates and their teams start working on different objectives and understanding of the matter based on the communication made to them by the seniors, who attended the same meeting. Some one communicated the message in more detail vs some in precision, someone communicated the message while knowing the background while someone was not aware of the background, someone communicated the message based on their intellectual accumen while some did while misreading the situation, and so on so forth.
The other important aspect i learnt was that the message is diluted and looses its essence and spirit as it travels down the hierarchy. The CEO gives direction in a meeting to the departmental managers, who pass it on to section heads, who communicate it to the field technicians. If the organizations have poor control and not properly structured, the technicians will totally be delinked with the message of the CEO. Even in good organizations the technicians will have only partial understanding of the CEO's policy or direction. Hence it is very important that the right people with the right skill set and accessibility attend the relevant meeting so that the message can be passed on in letter and spirit, managing human limitations.
When it is so important that the message is passed on by people who can protect the spirit of the message, are relevant and qualified people, have the accessibility and intellectual capacity to safeguard the sanctity of the message, don't we think that Prophet's message would also require people with such qualifications who could pass it on to the next generation, and then the next generation?
The idea is not to challenge a set of belief (we must respect it), but to excite people to question the rationale and have a better understanding on the thought process, that how come jurisprudence of Prophet's (SAW) message, the Fiqh and Sunnah, be derived from people who were born decades after the demise of prophet (SAW) (Imam Abu Hanifa in 80 AH in Kufa, Imam Malik in 93 AH in Medina, Imam Shafi in 150 AH in near Syria and Imam Hanbal in 164 AH in Baghdad)? In comparison why could this not be achieved through someone who was raised by the Prophet (SAW), was with the Prophet (SAW) since the start of the mission, was given the flag at Khyber by the Prophet (SAW), a flag about which the Prophet (SAW) said will only be given to "him who is loved by Allah and his Rasool (SAW) and who loves Allah and his Rasool (SAW)", and who buried the Prophet (SAW) with his own hands? About who all of Islam is unified that no one his parallel in nobility, chivalry, knowledge and eloquence?
It cannot be argued that the message dilutes itself as it moves down and the only way to ensure its strength is to ensure that its custodians are competent, qualified and have similar stakes as the one who delivered the original message. It is unfortunate that in some interpretations, the Prophet's family was not qualified enough neither had enough access to the Prophet (SAW) to carry on this task.... "
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