RISALATUT-TAQRIB
Year:2010 | Volume:- | Issue:80|Papers Count:13

The contemporary unity address in the area of the Ummah is faced with a number of serious challenges, some of which are:First: The bad consequences of the state of dissension and discord, and the policies of discrimination, the conflicts of differences and violent seditions, for we see that in the actual state of the political and social systems or regimes of most of our Islamic states do not establish justice and equality among their citizens according to the teachings of the Islamic Shari‘ah, or the conception of citizenship, or charters of the human rights. Thus ,there is discrimination between the citizens in rights and the chances of taking part in power, government, and wealth, because of their difference of their ethnical and sectarian relationship or belonging This, of course, has led to the eruption or waging of bloody wars in some of the Islamic countries, as it has happened in the south of Sudan, and Darfur (in W.Sudan), in the eastern part of Sudan, in the north of lraq, and in Eastern Turkey.Some of the religious minorities, whether a Sunnite sect in a Shi‘i surroundings, or a Shi‘i section in a Sunnite surroundings, complain about the policies of discrimination which make up the grounds for seditions and dissension, and create situations of conflicts, and disturbance.The product of such disorder in many situations will weaken the credibility of the unity address in the arena of the Ummah masses, and it will turn in the sight of those burned by the fire of discrimination and dispossession into mere wide title and bright motto.Secondly: The wide spreading and publishing of the address of mobilization and sectarian encouragement, which has not become mere a sermon or a talk in a mosque or Husayniyyah, nor a mere published book, but it has become mass media which go across the continents and on the sattelite channels, the websites of computer, and the mobile-phone services. Certainly, the producers of the media of sectarian encouragement compete with one another in kindling and stirring up the sensations, and arousing the hostility, enmity, rancour and hatred, so as to win a wider area of spectators, viewers, and recipients. They search, in the depth of history for the events of sectarian difference and variance of sectarian clashes and conflicts, and investigate the places of insult, and mischief in the books of old tradition, magnifying what is judged here and there, or rather fabricating events which have never occurred.This kind of sectarian address has become the highest sound, for it has been meant to arouse the feelings and sensations amongst the public. It has mostly depended on raising the violent seditions and renewed provoked passions. As a matter of fact, it has encircled the address of unity and coexistence, and fill it up with many fears and marks of questioning, among most of the environments of the masses of the Ummah. Rather, the effect of the sectarian address has extended and infilterated among some of the pioneers of the address of unity, and the leaders of moderation and temperateness in the Ummah, under the justification of refuting the objection and interaction of sectarian attitudes of the other party.Hence, this is the most regrettable affair, for it forms harmful decline and damage to the efforts of unity and taqarub (raprochement), besides it presents the best award and gains to the callers for sedition, dissension ad discord.Thirdly: the weakness of the response of the unity address to the necessaries of revival and development. Moreover most of it suffers stagnation, and inactivity in the contents which it adopts, and the styles and modes it employs, and at the level of activity and the credibility of effectiveness.This humble paper attempts to turn the attention to the necessity of renovation and development in the unity address, by means of raising a number of fruitful questions, notes and notices.

The history of Islam has witnessed many differences, and variety of visions, because of the diversity of the exegesis and explanation of the Divine religious Texts, and because of the change of the economical, scientific, social, and political circumstances and conditions. The Divine Text has been explained by way of diversity of trends and directions, and on different levels and various viewpoints. These affairs have contained the external and internal, real and metaphysical, as well as, the decisive (muhkamah), and allegorical (mutashabihah) phynomena, All of these things have been employed so as to justify a certain religious viewpoint, or other, or a certain school or other, or a specified current or other.Nevertheless, the Holy text, that is, the Holy Qur’an has been adopted variantly, some trends have been established and developed, and schools based directly on the Divine Text, whereas some sciences and schools specialized in language, exegesis (tafsir), jurisprudence (fiqh), kalam science (‘ilm al-kalam), asceticism (sufism), and ethics have been opposed or objected. So the Qur’anic Stated Text is not connected only with jurisprudence (fiqh), and theology (science of kalam), and in fact, it is not possible to comprehend or apprehend the Qur’anic facts and principles as a final and similar form for all humanity. As a matter of fact, Muslims have looked into the Qur’anic Stated Text as it is much richer and wider than the transitory or temporary reality which is in continuous change and development.Finally Muslims have to adopt the Divine statement according to this fact, as the Qur’anic Text is a qualified eligible principle for every time and place.

No doubt, each element of the time and place has an effective and important role in the process of developing the ideological and ijtihadi levels among the fuqaha’ (jurisprudents). Because the jurisprudent cannot issue a general Shar‘i verdict (ruling) for a certain subject without studying the two elements of time and place, and the state of their influence in that subject.The objective of this research is to know the fact whether there have been any of the fuqaha’ and religious ‘ulama’ (of Shi‘ah and Sunnites, the former and contemporary ones) who have directly dealt with the role of time and place in the field of inferring or deriving the Shar‘i rulings, and knowing the new subjects.Although this subject is not considered as one of the submitted subjects in all or most of the jurisprudential and usuli books, in detail or in brief, this affair does not mean absolutely that the researcher and the experienced scholar cannot find out the facts around this subject in the heritage of the ‘ulama’ and the studies of the researchers.As a matter of fact, we do not find in the words of the former ‘ulalma’,a frank and clear discourse concerning the impact of the two elements of the time and place in the process of inferring or deriving the Shar‘i rulings. But all of their talk about the subject mostly goes around mentioning the credibilities and subject matters related to this research. However, what we can infer or conclude of their words altogether, is at least their agreement on the effect of the two elements of time and place in the process of inference. Whereas, some of the great ‘ulama’ like Al-‘Allamah Al-Hulli and the second Muhaqqiq have given their Shar‘i opinion in the issue of the prohibition (hurmah) of al-’a‘yan an-najisah (religiously impure substances or materials) by the prohibition of bay‘ud –dam (sale of blood) while they have mentioned in the reasoning for that the condition of permissibility and impermissibility of blood sale, generally related to al-a‘yan an-najisah (impure substances) is connected with the financial issue and utilization. And this affair can be changed in accordance with the time and place.Supposedly, if jurisprudence stay behind in a certain circumstance to accompany the contemporary events, it is not because of the presence of defect in this science, but it is because of the other factors.One of them is not giving the required importance to the issue of the change in time and place and applying them on the tangible or sensible realities. Hence this is resulted from giving no attention to the available capabilities and capacities and remaining behind the renewed conceptions made on the social, economical and political fields. The two elements of the time and place have distinctive characteristics and features according to which the subjects and evidences change, and finally the specific ruling of that subject will change, too. So, the specific ruling of certain subject in the pastime, can be changed by the effect of the present conditions, which impose themselves on the social, political, and economical relations. Hence the subject will basically change which finally requires a new ruling.So in order to clarify the extent of the effect of the two elements of the time and place in the process of inferring the Shar‘i ruling and the knowledge of the new subjects, we mention here an actual and tangible example for this case. lt is the issue of  selling and buying the organs of the human body. This has been prohibited in the past because the sold ones were not meant to be utilized by the wisemen, but the same sold organ has to be utilized and benefited from by another human being for saving his life in the present time. For example, the kidney can save the life of another human being, and  the eye can save him from blindness.lmam Khumeini (Quddisa Sirruh) said that "The mujtahid should benefit from the two elements of time and place, for they are the effective and basic factors in the process of inference and ijtihad in jurisprudence".Hence we can find solutions to multifarious problems and hard issues in the present time, and deal properly with the new submitted subjects in the domain within the framework of the sacred Islamic Shari‘ah.

Dr. Ahmad At-Tayyib, the new Head of Al-’Azhar has laid stress on his keen concern for developing the education and teaching in Al-’Azhar. He emphasized too, the continuation of the march started by Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the former deceased Head of Al-’Azhar. At-Tayyib in a press conference held in his office sometime ago has said that his focus has been given to raising the standard of Azhari high education, and its development every five years.He has added saying he will open the portfolio or dossier of Al-’Azhar completely, especially the education before the university. He is negating that he has the intention of cancelling the subject matter of denominational (madhhabi) fiqh (jurisprudence) which has been taught in the different stages of education in Al-’Azhar, and has been approved and established by the previous deceased Head of the Al-’Azhar, Dr. Muhammad Tantawi, and replacing it by the specialized fiqh of Al-’Azhar itself.The Head of Al-’Azhar has added that the subject of specialized fiqh can be dealt with and discussed within the framework of dealing with all the Al-’Azhar education, and within it the subject matter of fiqh.This subject will be taught with the cooperation between Al-’Azhar and the ‘ulama’ of the Assembly of the Islamic Researches and the Ministry of Endowments, and a number of experts, and high ranking symbols.Dr. At-Tayyib has also emphasized the role of Al-’Azhar to be continuous in the dialogue between the religions, and emphasized too, the national unity between Muslims and Copts. He stressed too, the protection of Muslim unity, and At-Taqrib (rapprochement) between all the jurisprudential sects, whether for the Sunnites or Shi‘ah. He has also pointed to the fact that Al-’Azhar has played and still plays a pioneering role in At-Taqrib, but the fiqhi sects especially that Al-’Azhar is working as a great melting pot which collects all the fiqhi sects which Al-’Azhar’s students learn.