Faith & Intellect

A Semi-Secular Discourse on Socio-Political Issues & Divine Revelations

Secular or Semi-Secular:

The term secularism has been defined in three distinct ways. One is atheism Karl Marx. French sociologist Emile Durkheim and German sociologist and philosopher Max Weber believed that, through functional differentiation, scientific knowledge and de-mystification, the world moves toward atheism and disbelieving in God. Their view has, of course, turned out to be false.

Secularism has also been believed to mean limiting religion to the private domain. This is impossible, because religion is not like special clothes that we can set aside as soon as we leave home. Such eminent sociologists as Robert Bellah, Charles Taylor, Jürgen Habermas and José Casanova believe that the presence of religion in the public domain is useful and desirable. But explaining and justifying any claim in the public domain must be done by resorting to reasoning, not religious texts and holy people.

The third meaning of secularism is separation of church and state, or religion from government-not atheism or elimination of religion from the public discourse. By Islam we mean its text (the Holy Quran) and the Sunnah (the speeches and conduct of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Although Islam has firm positions regarding justice and oppression, it does not have any model for an 'Islamic State'. It is left to Muslims to run their societies based on their collective wisdom and consultation. A secular Muslim is thus someone who not only believes in the separation of religion from the state, but also believes that such a separation is compatible with Islam. This is also the view of the author.

Faith:

I want to teach you five of those things which deserve your greatest anxiety to acquire them: Have hope only in Allah. Be afraid of nothing but sins. If you do not know a thing. never feel ashamed to admit ignorance. If you do not know a thing, never hesitate or feel ashamed to learn it. Acquire patience and endurance because their relation with true faith is that of a head to a body, a body is of no use with out a head, similarly true faith can be of no use without attributes of resignation, endurance and patience. Hazrat Ali (AS)

Intellect :

The intellect is a natural disposition which learns from experience. The intellect is wha arrives at what is correct through reasoning, and recognizes what has not yet happene through what has already taken place. Hazrat Ali (AS)

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinkin Khalil Gibran

Keep your faith in God, but keep your powder dry. Oliver Cromwell

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sens reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. Galileo Galilei

Sir, my concem is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concem is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln