History of Humanistic and Rational Thought in the Arab world
There is a rich and often overlooked tradition of humanistic thought in Arab history that this page aims to highlight. The focus here will be on the thought tradition after the rise of Islam and in particular during the time period from the 8th century to the middle of the 13th century commonly referred to as the ‘Islamic Golden Age.’ During that era many ancient books of philosophy, science and literature were translated into Arabic which paved the foundation for many great Arab thinkers to emerge. The greatest cities of the Muslim world, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Cordoba, became major centres of knowledge and the Arabic language became the language of poetry, art, literature, governance and science.
There is also much to be learned from the time period preceded Islam, however this section will focus on this particular era for a number of reasons:
1) An Islamic identity remains very significant in the Arab world today. Many of the philosophers and scientists mentioned below are names familiar to Muslims and are commonly referenced as an example of how Islam lead to prosperity; a claim which we will put into question.
Al-Razi (854 – 925 )
- Al-Razi was a polymath, a chemist, a philosopher and an important figure in the history of medicine.
- Originated the methodical analytical line method later used by Ibn Sina
-
He made important contributions on the diagnosis of smallpox and measles, he perfected the method of distillation to gain alcohol and wrote about the ethics of medicine.
-
He offered harsh criticism concerning religions and was particularly critical of religions that claim to have been revealed by prophetic experiences. He criticised the lack of interest among religious adherents in the rational analysis of their beliefs, and the violent reaction which takes its place.
- He authored a number of books of religion and prophet-hood including “The Prophets’ Fraudulent Tricks” (مخارق الانبياء), “The Stratagems of Those Who Claim to Be Prophets” (حيل المتنبيين), “On the Refutation of Revealed Religions” (نقض الادیان)
On prophethood, he said: “[God] should not set some individuals over others, and there should be between them neither rivalry nor disagreement which would bring them to perdition.”
“On what ground do you deem it necessary that God should single out certain individuals [by giving them prophecy], that he should set them up above other people, that he should appoint them to be the people’s guides, and make people dependent upon them?”
“ It would be illogical for God to reveal himself only to a selected few. God should not set some individuals over others, and there should be between them neither rivalry nor disagreement which would bring them to perdition.”
On religion and violence: “If the people of this religion are asked about the proof for the soundness of their religion, they flare up, get angry and spill the blood of whoever confronts them with this question. They forbid rational speculation, and strive to kill their adversaries. This is why truth became thoroughly silenced and concealed.”
Conclusion
One thing to note is that while some of these figure are sometimes labelled as atheists it would be more accurate to refer to them as agnostics or simply “anti-prophetic rationalists.” At the time, disputing the authenticity of the Quran, the prophet and religion in general often seemed more relevant than questioning God.
The scepticism evident in their writings do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire society at the time and does not go to say that Islamic fanaticism did not exist. While some such as Al-Razi who was the Director of the Hospital in the city and a renowned teacher and philanthropist were highly respected, others were harshly called out by their contemporaries for being heretics. One example is Al-Hallaj, a mystic writer who criticised the Islamic pilgrimage and had a very unconventional view of God and was arrested and executed in Baghdad for heresy in the year 922 for his beliefs.
Its likely that a large number of people at the time, not much unlike today, only made subtle comments against religion and did not disclose their status of belief for fear of reprisals or persecutions. Today many of those expressing similar views have to apply for asylum in another country, remain in hiding, have fatwas issued for their heads and in some cases get executed or murdered.
The struggle against religion and dogma has been going on for a long time and modern Arab Humanists are able to draw on a long legacy of free-thinkers and intellectuals in their fight for freedom of expression and rationalism.
http://www.arabhumanists.org/humanism/humanism-arab-history/
Tags
Who is online
82 visitors
On the Quran, al-Razi said:
"You claim that the evidentiary miracle is present and available, namely, the Koran. You say: "Whoever denies it, let him produce a similar one." Indeed, we shall produce a thousand similar, from the works of rhetoricians, eloquent speakers and valiant poets, which are more appropriately phrased and state the issues more succinctly. They convey the meaning better and their rhymed prose is in better meter. ... By God what you say astonishes us! You are talking about a work which recounts ancient myths, and which at the same time is full of contradictions and does not contain any useful information or explanation. Then you say: "Produce something like it"?! [16]
https://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=4086.0;