The Book: Religion and Power

88 pages

• The verses of al-Ma’idah are historical rulings
• Forms of tyranny reinforce one another
• Ahl al-dhimma is a historical term
• Europe has gone beyond inherited symbols
• Old tools hinder Islamic knowledge
• Idols are not inherently forbidden
• Acts prohibited on human grounds
• Compulsion in the name of religion contradicts its essence
• Compulsion is excused in some cases
• Humans regulate only what is permissible
• Internal and external occupation
• Tyranny as three allied forces
• Tyranny is resisted only by freedom
• Filial piety is an innate value
• Articulate expression is acquired through education
• Traditional allegiance and obedience support tyranny
• Prohibition is a purely divine right
• The Islamic heritage has become a religion in itself
• The heritage conflated governance and sovereignty
• Human legislation does not add prohibitions
• Human legislation is variable
• Legislation is the prerogative of elected councils
• Jahiliyya is redefined to include the modern West
• Jihad becomes a revolutionary idea
• Polar sovereignty divides the world into Islam and jahiliyya
• Sovereignty in Hajj Hamad’s view unfolds in gradual stages
• Sovereignty belongs to God alone
• Freedom is the basis of humanity
• Freedom is part of human nature
• Freedom is a condition of worship
• Freedom is a condition for human maneuverability
• Freedom is limited by multiple constraints
• Freedom is linked to the firmest bond
• Wine and gambling are prohibited, not forbidden
• The Kharijites emerged from political conflict
• The constitution as a human social contract
• The civil state is based on pluralism
• The civil state opposes tyranny
• The state is based on three elements
• Liberal democracy makes the civil state possible
• Islamic religion accords with human nature
• Religion does not conflict with civil society
• Religion and authority are distinct
• Religion is based on willing acceptance and choice
• Apostasy is not a Qur’anic ruling
• The Muhammadan message eases legislative constraints
• The Muhammadan message has threefold aims
• Religious authority as Haman
• Political authority as Pharaoh
• Financial authority as Qarun
• Authority intervenes through coercion
• Authority does not compel acts of worship
• The Shari’a closes the door to human-made prohibition
• Acts of worship lie outside political legislation
• Prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage are rituals
• Taghut is a coercive authority
• Despotism impedes development
• Worship is broader than rituals
• Violence is the final stage of jihad
• Violence justifies establishing the desired order
• Separation between religion and authority
• Human nature is the basis of right guidance
• Islamic jurisprudence is a historical civil law
• The role of jurists is confined to rituals
• The Qur’anic narratives encode historical laws
• Civil society safeguards creativity and work
• Qur’anic prohibitions are fixed and limited
• Knowledge needs a new epistemic break
• Legal prohibition differs from religious prohibition
• Prohibitions are subject to independent reasoning
• Citizenship is the highest allegiance
• The covenant precedes the constitution
• Prohibition is not the same as forbiddance
• National allegiance and defense of the homeland
• The distinction among religion, authority, and the state
• Jihad of the word includes speaking the truth
• The sovereignty of vicegerency rests on subjugation for use
• The human sovereignty of the Book transfers legislation to humankind
• Freedom of peaceful expression
• Conflating jurisprudence with legislation causes a deadlock
• Rejection of permanent religious allegiance
• Parental disobedience has no fixed penalty
• Separation of powers in the civil state
• Repression of freedom legitimizes jihad
• Many rulings are remnants of earlier eras
• There is no compulsion in religion is a categorical negation
• The three stages of sovereignty
• Resisting the occupier is a collective duty