4/24/2021 0:00:01
If we look at the modern methods of thinking in contemplating the Qur’an, we will find that there is a modern intellectual wave that takes the name of the two enlightenments, and this intellectual wave appears to many to have one form, but in reality, when we observe it well, we will find that there are four intellectual types within it according to its external influence, which are:
1- Secular liberal Enlightenment thought, influenced by the concepts of European modernity.
2- Sufi spiritual enlightenment thought, influenced by the philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism.
3- Enlightenment moral-symbolic thought, influenced by the Greek philosophy of logos.
4- Enlightenment engineering-mathematical thought, influenced by the logic of engineering and mathematical laws.
There are four types, but the truth is that there are five types according to our view. There is another type, but we do not want to make it one of these types. It is a type that has a kind of privacy in terms of its approach and in terms of its role in making the Muslim understand the Qur’an correctly, and we want to talk about it in A special article so as not to be unfair to him or belittle him. This type is:
5- The Enlightenment thought of Shahrour, influenced by the thought and approach of the thinker Shahrour.
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At the beginning, I would like to clarify a point, which is that our conversation is not about people’s outlook on life and the world around us. We are not talking about criticizing secular or liberal thought, or criticizing Sufi thought. No, this is not our topic. Every person is free to understand. The world, but we will talk about thought about understanding the Qur’an, which is the message of all people and Muslims.
Now…the natural question: What is the reason for the emergence of this wave of enlightenment in understanding the Qur’an?
This is very natural…and the result of many reasons:
The reality of Muslims now has contributed to creating a state of collective awareness that there is a problem in thought that is the cause of this reality, also because of the heritage books in interpreting the Qur’an, which no longer meet the needs of reality, and there is a sharp contradiction between the interpretations of heritage books with the discourse of the Qur’an and reality. In addition to the fact that many have begun to have doubts about heritage books in general, and in addition to the fact that the Muslim, with the development of means of communication, has begun to receive external doubts raised about the discourse of the Qur’an, and he does not have a strong, well-established scientific and intellectual foundation, all of this has created in the collective consciousness of society an intellectual state that has made it The contradiction and doubts accumulated, until they swelled over time and exploded in search of a new thought in understanding the Qur’an. This situation that exploded was awaited on the path of enlightenment thought.
This is the realistic context that brought out enlightenment thought in reality, to understand the discourse of the Qur’an.
But the natural question is: When this situation exploded, did it try to rely on itself and think about formulating a new, self-reliant approach to understanding the Qur’an?
No…. Rather, it took the same step that traditional thought took.
If the traditional thought decided to go to a pre-packaged, ready-made thought that existed in the heritage books regarding the interpretation of the Qur’an, then the situation that broke out also went to a pre-packaged, ready-made thought that already existed in reality, and I tried to search in it for meanings different from the previous meanings that I was tired of hearing in the heritage books. The only case that was somewhat anomalous was the case of the Shahrouri Enlightenment thought, which relied on itself to formulate a new approach, and for this reason I placed this type in a separate category from the rest of the Enlightenment types.
For example
Liberal Enlightenment thought went for the ready-made and packaged concepts of European modernity, and tried to base them on the vocabulary and meanings of the Qur’an so that they would be compatible and keep pace with those modern European concepts.
The spiritual enlightenment Sufi intellectual went to the ready-made books of the Hindu and Buddhist religions, took terms and concepts from them and tried to synthesize them and paste them on the vocabulary and meanings of the Qur’an until correct spiritual meanings were produced for it that were compatible with that spiritual philosophy.
The moral symbolic enlightenment intellectual went to the ready-made books of Greek philosophy, took from them the concept of the logo (icon), and tried to synthesize it and paste it on the vocabulary and meanings of the Qur’an until it produced correct symbolic meanings that were compatible with that symbolic philosophy.
Enlightenment, engineering, and mathematical thought went to ready-made mathematics and engineering books, took from them its terms and logical laws, and tried to paste them and base them on the vocabulary and meanings of the Qur’an, until correct logical laws were produced that were compatible with mathematical logic.
The traditional intellectual went to the ready-made and dominant heritage books, and took from them the meanings of vocabulary, stories, and reasons for the revelation, and based them on the vocabulary and meanings of the Qur’an, in order to produce interpretations for them that were compatible with the discourse of the Qur’an.
So there is no difference at all between traditional thought and enlightenment thought in the way of understanding the Qur’an. Ready-made packages are installed on the Qur’an only, and this situation seems to be a natural result, because society in general is dominated by a collective consciousness that is not busy thinking and researching. It needs ready-made packages and He buys and consumes them. Also, society in general is dominated by the search for appearance and does not search for the true value in things except among a few in society.
What are the characteristics and characteristics of these types of enlightenment?
He follows