The Light of Truth — Page 19
THE ULAMA OF INDIA 19 aş-Şiddiqah, Ummul-Mu'minin [the Mother of the Faithful], may Allah be pleased with her. It is, therefore, incumbent upon a believing and righteous Muslim who fears Allah as He ought to be feared, to hold fast to the rope of Allah-the Holy Quran-and disregard whatever conflicts with it. And if he should see and determine that certain ulama from earlier or later eras erred in their understanding of a matter, then his religion does not require him to follow their errors and accept them blindly; or to not abandon them despite being guided by one who makes him understand; or to remain forever firm on error; or to not accept the truth that becomes clear and the guidance that becomes evident. When a matter is proven, it must be accepted and there is no escape from it. For example, there is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: لَا عَدْوَى i. e. an illness does not spread from its sufferer to another person, and one thing does not affect another thing. However, medical experiments have proven the opposite of this. We also observe with our own eyes that certain ail- ments-for example, syphilis, which in Persian is called ātishak—are transmitted from an infected woman to a man, and vice versa, through intercourse. Likewise, we see that when a needle containing substance from someone with smallpox is used on someone else, the effects of smallpox manifest in that person too. This constitutes infection, so how can we deny it? Denial of it amounts to a denial of sensory sciences, which have been proven in medical practice. No doubt remains con- cerning this matter even among children who play in the streets—let alone intelligent men. As such, it is necessary for us to interpret this hadith in ways that do not conflict with established facts. If we do not do this, then every opponent whom we invite [to Islam] shall laugh at us and our reli- gion. Consequently we will have helped those who would mock us. 1. See Şahih al-Bukhāri, Kitābut-Tibb, Bābu Lā 'Adwā, Hadith 5772. [Publisher]