How to become a scholar?

[USResident]

@psyah

I feel some elaboration is needed here.

Of course if we stagnate in knowledge then the world will dominate us which it has done. But on the other hand if we follow the world we will lose the aspects of the past that were precious to us.

I think as far as modern research is based there are a few fundamental flaws that could perhaps be unIslamic. The focus of the result as opposed to the effort, a desire for building luxury into our lives, the intention to make material gains, stress on the product and dismissal of the bi-products, justifying why we should do something rather than looking for a reason why not.

This demonstrates that the scientific approach of the modern/secular times is unethical. We should not deny progress except that which has not been undertaken whilst taking ethical impact into consideration. Not all scholars but many today have material taught to them that is secularised from worldly knoweldge.

However, there are a few examples of good scholars … people who do not divorce themselves from maximal knowledge but at the same time have deep traditional values.

These times need us to go back to traditional VALUES and perhaps seek modern SCIENCES, but then we need to reclaim the loss of values in the current wave of unethical scientific discovery and experimentation.

The Qur’an was collected as a means to protect it
Later hadith too were collected and classified in to levels of authenticity to protect them
The need for the day is to protect Islamic understanding by standardising translations and classifying all versions to their respective people so no one can malign the way scriptures are understood. We need an approval committee that does not stop for any given fiqh group but does the whole subject justice, by classifying all interpretations.

This should have no bearing on life issues and current affairs that scholars should be engaged with. However, I tend to see these times are destined to be. Scholars will be hidden away, protected from public scrutiny. Leaders will be tyrrants and Islam will be a means of income. I think Crescent has been sitting with very different scholars to USResident. But I think both have valid arguments.

Br. Psyah

Don’t be thinking about Pepsi in Ramadan …

Your last sentence is what really needs to be worked on by people from both camps. A bridge needs built to reconciliate valid arguments from both camps, that is where the unifying process should take us and then the next step is to have one focused direction for all the muslims.

I have always been of the thought scientific discoveries and research needs moral checks, which comes through the proper understanding of Islam. An educated person in the midst of those sciences is more likely to bring balance to it by understanding the Islamic principles as compared to Islamic scholars bringing balance to it by understanding the scientific research. Some may disagree. However I have never found it difficult understanding the principles of Islam, which is why I make this statement. I find it very hard to envision religion in isolation from the world.