Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 37
ان: ✓. ISLAMIC SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT. The Muslims always recite the fundamental article of faith during the sitting posture of the second Rak'at of their prayers. During this declaration some raise their index fingers and some do not. But jurists of that period were sharply divided on this issue. They were bent upon punishing the finger which had offended their sensibility. . Raised or not raised, the offending wretch must be chopped off, was their unanimous verdict. They differed on everything else but not on this. . To go to the wrong mosque was a grave risk indeed. The entry was no problem of course but it was the exit which posed real problems. They might have to walk out with one finger less than the five Allah had bestowed upon them! و. A third small issue was related to the saying of "Ameen", which is recited after the recitation of Surah. Fatihah by the Imam. The 'vital' point under discussion was whether it should be said aloud or quietly. It was quite likely for the 'loudists' to be beaten if they had blurted. Ameen loudly in a mosque where it was considered a serious crime. A silent Ameen among the loudists was no less provocative. . The most prominent among such doctrinal differences which acquired deadly dimensions was concerning the creation or the non-creation of the Holy Quran. The holders of these opposite views had no doubt whatsoever that disagreement on such vital issues was punishable by death. . But it all hung on the great dispenser of justice chance. . If the king was on the side of eternalists, the holders of the contrary doctrine were not only murdered, but even burnt alive in their homes. When chance took the swing to the 37