Islam and the "Mufakkireen": Between Ilm (Knowledge) and fikr (Thought)

Shaykh Salih Aal ash-Shaykh has an excellent lecture entitled (العلم و الفكر) "Knowledge and Thought", in which the essential differences are outlined between what is real Islamic knowledge and what emerged in the 20th century of "fikr" (Thought) and which these people later changed to "Tasawwur" (Conception) trying to flee from the word "fikr" but it actually made no difference. The Shaykh mentions the role of this "fikr" and "tasawwur" of splitting Muslims, creating jamaa'aat, and instilling enmity and hatred and he also mentions how the Mufti of the time, Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Aal ash-Shaykh, perceived this, and began warning from this fikr and pointing out that "knowledge unites (the Ummah)" and "fikr splits (the Ummah)".

This also reveals one of the true reasons why the Qutbiyyah are willing to dig into the earth, traverse the oceans, climb the mountains and take to balloons in the sky, all in order to defend the books of Sayyid Qutb in which such a "fikr" is found. The reason is that this "fikr" is the foundation of their da'wah which is one that is essentially built upon hatred of the Rulers and Scholars, making Takfir of them and working to replace them with either Leninist type revolutions or through political methods alien to Islam.

So here we want to provide a few relevant excerpts from the lecture:

Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh on Ilm and fikr

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The Shaykh said:

Summary of the quote above:

• The Shaykh mentions that from the fruits of knowledge is that it unites, whereas "fikr (thought, ideology)" splits and disunites. He mentions that this was from the words of the former Muftee, Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh who saw in his time that the people were turning to this cultural and literary trend and abandoning real knowledge, this was before the jamaa'aat were known and the various factions were known in this land (Saudi).

• That Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibraaheem said, "Advise the people with knowledge, for knowledge unites, and fikr (thought, ideology) and thaqaafah (culture) separates".

• The Shaykh then mentions how the differnces that may exist say for example in fiqh issues are light but when you see differences appearing in terms of the direction of the Ummah, and the da'wah, in terms of enjoining good and forbidding evil and in terms of jihaad and such affairs, then when this differing occurs without returning to the actual people of knowledge (i.e. as opposed to mufakkirs, thinkers etc.) then glad tidings of tafarruq (splitting).

• The Shaykh mentions how a covenant was taken from the Ummah that they will follow the Messenger (alayhis salaam), just like it was taken from previous nations to follow their respective Messengers (alayhimus salaam). Then the Shaykh brings some verses regarding the Christians. "And from those who call themselves Christians, We took their covenant, but they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will inform them of what they used to do. " (Al-Ma'idah 5:14). The Shaykh says they were ordered to follow knowledge (ilm) and to abandon opinion (ra'i) which they devised themselves, just like Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree said, "Indeed the Jews and Christians did not go astray except through opinion (ra'i)".

• The Shaykh says that when the Christians did not fulfil this covenant and followed (opinion) ra'i they were punished through splitting and separation. And the Shaykh adds that splitting is not just mere splitting but it is also followed by enmity, hatred and so on. And that the reason for this splitting in the first place was not taking real knowledge and instead taking to opinions and views.

• Then the Shaykh says at the end that this is very apparent, it is what happened in this modern time when numerous types of splitting took place through these idologies and understandings and amongst the groups and factions, until even amongst different mufakkirs (thinkers) and writers there occurred enmity and the development of different schools of thought amongst them.

In this same lecture Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh mentions the role of the works of Sayyid Qutb in creating such splitting and dissension:

Some of the thinkers (mufakkireen) said it and a people took up this speech [as a result of which] the jamaa'aat emerged, then other jamaa'aat adopted other ideologies and so the jamaa'aat increased until it was said that in Egypt today, there are around one-hundred groups, or names, or close to that, perhaps (this is said) out of exaggeration, or increase. And this is the result of "al-fikr" (ideology), and it comes to us tha "al-fikr" splits, "al-fikr" does not unite, "al-fikr" disunites the people because when I have ideas then there will definitely be those who will be content with these ideas and so there will be splitting in the Ummah. Those who are content with this "fikr", and this "fikr" is not something that is only an intellectual source, and it is not an intellectual result, or an intellectual goal (alone), rather it is followed by action.

For this reason, the later books of Sayyid Qutb, by way of example, rather in his book "Fi Zilal il-Quran" these jamaa'aat resulted which adopted his ideas which he spoke with in the book "Ma'aalim fit-Tareeq" (Milestones), or in the book, "Khasaa'is at-Tasawwur al-Islaamee" and what is like them from what contains deviation from the qawaa'id (rules) of Islaam, and from the foundations (usool) of this religion - these jamaa'aat resulted... these jamaa'aat embraced these positions ... and each one has its own justifications, each one has its own ideology. However, [actual] knowledge (i.e. Sharee'ah knowledge) has no connection to [any of] that, rather knowledge is free (innocent) of that.

This is actually an excellent lecture overall and we advise that people read it in which true and real Sharee'ah knowledge is clearly distinguished from the "fikr" and "tasawwur" that came to the Ummah from the likes of Sayyid Qutb and his brother Mohammad Qutb and others.

And it is from their bankruptcy that all they can do is to cling to the sayings of the likes of the Muftee Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh in which he merely recommended that for students of knowledge who can distinguish between truth and falsehood, that they may benefit from some of the literary and cultural aspects of some of what Qutb has written, and then they use these types of statements to counter what is present in abundance of the annihilation of the actual usool of Sayyid Qutb - even in the statements of Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (see here, here and here) for example.

So these are signs of desperation when they have to cling to the likes of these statements in order to defend a man whose reality is abundantly and amply clear from the scores of statements from all the Major Scholars.

So walillaahil-hamd, the real nature, origins, context and purpose behind these types of activities are clear.