Thread by @DrJavadTHashmi

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP So, like I said, the first part is to realize that we all understand some parts of the Qur'an literally & other parts not so. We also won't necessarily agree with each other what parts should be taken literally, & that difference of opinion is unavoidable & OK... 1/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP ...as long as we acknowledge that our interpretations are to some extent tentative & provisionary. We do our best to understand God's Book & to understand the Divine Will. At the end of the day, Allāhu ʾAʿlam! 2/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP It does not, however, have to be a haphazard, random, or whimsical process. Instead, we can look to interpretive rules of the past in this regard: the voices of Ghazālī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, & Ibn Rushd inform me. 3/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP The first two followed what was called the Universal Principle. Al-Rāzī answered the question, "If rational proofs contradict apparent textual evidences, what should be done?" He argues that in this case, we must "either claim that these scriptural evidences... 4/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP "...are not authentic, or claim that they are indeed authentic but what is intended is other than their apparent meanings. Then, if we consider allegorical interpretation to be permissible, we will [do that]..." (Taʾsīs al-Taqdīs, 130). 5/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP Ghazālī considered this sort of taʾwīl (interpreting away from the literal) was permitted & necessitated only when a more literal understanding was not rationally possible. Meanwhile, Ibn Rushd held a more lenient view, which I agree with, which is that such taʾwīl... 6/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP ...was permitted any time it made the text read better & more reasonably. Ibn Taymiyya, meanwhile, came along & went the other way, favoring text over rational proofs. It is Ibn Taymiyya's rule which has been taken up by many modern Muslim personalities... 7/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP ...whereas I am pushing for Ibn Rushd's view. This difference manifests itself when it comes to the evolution debate & the Adamic creation story. I believe rational proofs, the equivalent of which today are scientific claims, compel us to do taʾwīl on this issue. 8/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP Meanwhile, what we see on the opposite side of the spectrum are people using Ibn Taymiyya's rule (which favors text over reason in so far as it definitionally states [pretends?] that there is no conflict), so they beef up the epistemic weight of text while simultaneously... 9/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP weakening the weight of scientific proof, arguing against scientific realism & invoking the idea that science is always tentative. In any case, coming back to me, I take the Rushdian view, which is also premised on the idea that... 10/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP ...the religion & scripture use the language of symbol, allegory, metaphor, etc. in order to convey deeper truths. @Haqiqatjou misleadingly implied that even the Islamic philosophers took the creation story literally, when this is a misreading... 11/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou In fact, they endorsed a natural & philosophical theory of creation, including an endorsement of the Aristotelian-inspired spontaneous generation theory (Ibn Ṭufayl), which was very different than the special creation story of Adam. 12/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou This is all a long & drawn out way to say that I think the science of our day compels us to abandon a literal reading of scripture when it comes to the Adamic creation story, & this has a ripple effect, which is why, of course, there is such resistance to such a view. 13/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou In conclusion, I apply a Rushdian lens to the interpretation of scripture, as opposed to the Taymiyyan view that is currently popular, even, interestingly, by many intellectual disciples of Ghazālī. At the end of the day, however, I heed Ibn Rushd's view that... 14/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou every man must go where his mind & conscience take him. There is no other choice. I am not convinced of any of the arguments against evolution nor of any of the interpretive strategies used to strike some middle ground. Maybe you are, in which case, may God ennoble you. 15/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou All I can say is that when you reach to slit our throats, maybe you should think twice & realize that our project is ultimately the same as yours, & you may eventually end up needing our solution (or at least part of it) after all. We live in very different times... 16/

@theMuhammadtk @BrotherAlexP @Haqiqatjou ...& you can't keep pretending otherwise. My view is trying to preserve an important space for religion in a time of rampant irreligion & secularity, even if it is a retreat to the citadel & impregnable fortress of faith. 17/