Beware of Thoughts That Destroy Faith
Introduction
Islam is a religion that highly respects the intellect and knowledge. The ability to think is one of the greatest distinctions of human beings, separating them from other creations. Therefore, the Qur’an consistently encourages humanity to use their intellect to understand the signs of Allah’s greatness, ponder His creation, and extract wisdom from every event in life.
In the language of the Qur’an, those who use their minds well are referred to as Ulul Albab (people of understanding) or Ulin Nuha (people of intelligence). Conversely, those who refuse to think receive severe warnings and rebukes because they neglect this divine blessing. The Qur’an frequently admonishes them with the expression:
أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
Meaning: “Do you not use your intellect?”
Thus, it is not surprising that the very first revelation sent down to the Prophet Muhammad SAW was a command to maximize the potential of the intellect through reading, grounded in faith in the Creator:
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ
Meaning: “Recite in the name of your Lord who created.” (QS. Al-‘Alaq: 1)
The Intellectual Challenge: Root of the Ummah’s Crisis
Given the vital role of the intellect, the most fundamental challenge facing the Muslim Ummah today is not merely economic, political, social, or military, but rather intellectual challenges (intellectual warfare / ghazwul fikri). Various problems arising in political and social spheres, when traced to their roots, often originate from intellectual confusion.
This intellectual challenge comes from two directions: internal and external.
1. Internal Challenges
Challenges from within the Muslim Ummah include kejumudan (intellectual stagnation), blind fanaticism, taqlid (blind imitation without proof), and the spread of innovations (bid’ah) and myths (khurafat). This condition results in careless and slow ijtihad (independent reasoning) when responding to contemporary issues.
2. External Challenges
Challenges from the outside involve the infiltration of foreign, secular concepts and viewpoints into Islamic religious discourse. These ideologies include secularism, liberalism, religious pluralism, relativism, and feminism/gender theories. As a result, cognitive distortion and intellectual confusion arise among Muslims, leading them to view Islam through a secular and relativistic Western lens.
The Danger of Ideological Invasion in the Ummah
The most severe damage occurs when these destructive thoughts are adopted by some Muslim intellectuals themselves. In the name of renewal (tajdid), they instead propagate ideas that deviate from the fundamental principles of Sharia:
- Relativism of Truth: They claim that religious values and truths are relative. Religions are deemed to have no right to claim absolute truth (truth claim); instead, truth is reduced to human perceptions that shift over time.
- Social Deviation: Under the guise of human rights and gender equality, some of them begin to approve same-sex marriage and challenge the Islamic inheritance laws (the 1:2 ratio between men and women), accusing it of being unjust.
- Skepticism Toward Sharia Laws: They view the implementation of Islamic criminal laws (hudud), such as qisas for murderers and stoning for married adulterers, as cruel and inhumane.
- Deconstructing the Qur’an: They argue that the Qur’an was revealed only to respond to the social and cultural context of ancient Arabia, and therefore its texts are no longer relevant or do not need to be practiced as they were revealed in the modern era.
Those exposed to these destructive ideologies measure everything by Western standards: viewing economics through capitalism, politics through secularism, society through modernism, and Islamic Sharia through relativism.
The Stance of a Muslim
This intellectual challenge is a real test of faith in the modern era. History shows that the Muslim Ummah will decline if they are affected by the poison of intellectual doubts (syubhat) and abandon the principles of their religion. Conversely, the Ummah will achieve glory if they always hold fast to the principles of Islamic Sharia, with their intellect guided by divine revelation.
Therefore, let us safeguard our faith by:
- Continuously Seeking Sacred Knowledge: Understanding Islam from its pure sources under the guidance of trustworthy scholars to build a shield against doubts.
- Maximizing a Guided Intellect: Using our minds to reflect on Allah’s greatness and the perfection of His Sharia, not to challenge His absolute decrees.
- Being Wary of Foreign Ideologies: Remaining critical of various modern thoughts that contradict Islamic creed and morality.
May Allah SWT always protect our minds and hearts from misleading thoughts that can destroy our faith, and cause us to die in a state of pure faith and Islam. Aamiin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
Adapted from the Friday Sermon by Ustadz Amir Sahidin, M.Ag. (Dakwah.id).
