Classes on Theology
Sheikh Jaffer H. Jaffer
Masumeen Islamic Centre
April 3rd, 2012
Week Eight
Justice of God
• Last week we discussed:
– Philosophical explanations for:
•
Differences and Evils
• Today we discuss:
– What will the fate of non-Muslims be?
• Three philosophies:
– Religious Pluralism, Perennialism and the
Islamic View
Justice of God
• What is Religious Pluralism?
– Byrne’s Definition:
• All major religions are equal in respect of making
common references to a single transcendent sacred
reality
• All major traditions are likewise equal in respect of
offering some means or other to human salvation
• All traditions are equal in that they provide limited,
revisable accounts of the nature of the sacred
Justice of God
• John Hick:
– An ontological pluralist who claims that the
truth of all religions is a factual one
• His belief is that all religions are true paths to the
“Real” because they all follow a similar course
towards the “Real”
– What is this course?
• All religions (whether monotheistic or not) are
seeking to take its followers from the path of selfcenteredness to “Real-centeredness” which is how
salvation is achieved
Justice of God
• What is Perennialism?
– The Perennial Philosophy:
• All religions shared a common origin in a perennial
(or primeval or primordial) religion which
subsequently took different forms
– A perennialist always looks for Universal
Truths
• Because truth is not confined to a specific time and
place
– Divine Truth is one, timeless, and universal,
and that the different religions are but different
languages expressing that one Truth’
Justice of God
• Hossein Nasr
– Every religion is absolute and special
• It is absolute in that it holds the ‘Absolute Truth’ and lays
down a path for reaching this truth;
• And it is special because it emphasizes the spiritual and
psychological needs of a specific community who are the
target of that revelation
– Heavily influenced by Sufi Esoteric interpretations
• “The most profound encounter with other traditions has been
made, and where one can find the indispensable ground for the
understanding in depth of other religions today. The Sufi is one
who seeks to transcend the world of forms, to journey from
multiplicity to Unity, and from the particular to the Universal.
He leaves the many for the One, and through this very process
is granted the vision of the One in the many.”
Justice of God
• The difference between the two:
– Perennialism:
• Argues for the transcendent unity of religions and that they are all
connected spiritually while maintaining that each religion is
unique and true
– Thus respecting the differences that revealed religions have with one
another
– Pluralism:
• View these differences as an obstacle towards unity
– Tends to disregard all claims of uniqueness made by
religions as myths
Justice of God
• Religious Pluralism and Islam:
– Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina
• The idea of religious pluralism is strongly embedded within the
Qur’an
• The cornerstone of the pluralistic argument within the Qur’an
is based on freedom of conscious in matters of faith
– Examples:
» ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ 2:256
» ‘There is no compulsion in religion; Truly the right way has
become clearly distinct from error.’
– ‘Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the
Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the
Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their
Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.’ 2:62
Justice of God
• Perennialism and Islam:
– Nasr’s philosophy:
• The primary focus is within one’s own faith and
then the secondary outlook is a universalist
approach to all other faiths
• Universality of Prophethood
•
Problem:
• Indeed Allah does not forgive that any partner
should be ascribed to Him, but He forgives anything
besides that to whomever He wishes 4:48
Justice of God
• What is the Islamic View?
– Shahid Mutahhari
• Adopts an Inclusivist approach
– Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam 3:19
– The real focus should be on Social Pluralism
• O mankind, We have created you from a male and
female, and set you up as nations and tribes so you
may recognize( and cooperate with)one another…
49:13
Justice of God
• Resources:
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Byrne, P 1995, Prolegomena to Religious Pluralism, Macmillan, New York.
D’Costa, G 1996, ‘The impossibility of a pluralist view of religions’, Religious Studies,
vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 222-232, (online Jstor).
Hick, J 1985, Problems of Religious Pluralism, St. Martin’s Press, London.
Legenhausen, M 2009, ‘On the plurality of religious pluralisms’ A Critical, Intellectual
Journal vol. 1, pp. 5-42.
Sachedina, A 2001, The democratic roots of Islamic pluralism, Oxford Press, New York.
Sachedina, A 2006, ‘The Qur’an and other religions’, The Cambridge Companion to the
Qur’an, pp. 287-299.
Shah-Kazemi, R 2002, ‘Paths to the heart: Sufism and the Christian East’, ed. J.
Cutsinger, World Wisdom Books, Bloomington, quote taken from Nasr, H 1972, Sufi
Essays, London.
Shah-Kazemi, R 2006, The other in the light of the one: The universality of the Qur’an
and interfaith dialogue, The Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge.
Smith, H 1987, ‘Is there a Perennial philosophy?’ Journal of the Americal Academy of
Religion, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 553-566, (online Jstor).
Stoddart, W & De Azevedo, M & Queiroz, A 2008, Frithjof Schuon and the Perennialist
School, viewed 21 March, 2011, www.worldwisdom.com/public/library/default.aspx
Yitik, A 2004, ‘Islam and Pluralism: Does Quran approve religious pluralism?’, Journal
of Religious Culture, No. 68.
Questions?