The dangers of forming the "Quranist" sect
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Here's my take
Hadith makes "Islam" obscure. I still identified as Sunni while maintaining a belief that Qur'an is the only canon religious text. And if someone asked me if I belonged to a sect I'd tell no, that "sunni Islam" is non-sectarian, which it ain't. There is an issue of ignorance in the muslim community worldwide, many do not know what rulings are derived from what sources. And while upholding the authority of the Qur'an I still unknowingly practiced things mentioned no where in our Book.
I first learned of the complete Qur'an Alone paradigm when I was browsing on a mainstream Islamic forum. A user labeled herself "Quranite" which deeply intrigued me. One google search led to another and here I am alhamduAllah. The "Quranist/Quranite" label directed me towards actively pursuing true Islam, based on God's final revelation. My faith is less obscure. It is clear. I am God conscientious and aim to be righteous. This is Islam and what binds "Quranists" together despite our incredible differences! Have you noticed?We live in times where Islam is being treated as an inherited religion, something to be born into or "convert" to. Conversion exists, yes, but in the hearts and minds and souls, not by a certificate nor witnesses. This type of Islam is being propagated by the majority which presents a dilemma for us (the minority). When proclaiming faith to non-muslims, I'd like "muslim" to represent exactly what it means one who submits to Allah the Creator. But it doesn't (and some sunnis try to lure people in with this then ambush them with the so called Sunnah that literally entails impersonating the Prophet or his contemporaries). Regardless, the terms Islam and Muslim have been corrupted thanks to a millennia of ignorance. The issue with using Quranist is that it can, and does register as a sect ("that's the hippy dippy sect. Islam generally is violent, superstitious, misogynistic, etcetera). What we want is for people to realize that Islam IS what we call Quranism. The Sunnis and Shias are in the wrong! But it can be a daunting task to convince the masses if they don't accept the Qur'an a priori. This difficulty is only exasperated by the fact that Sunnism is being touted as Islam by the majority. For example, the 5 pillars are taught in public schools for world religion studies. I'm not saying individually they aren't important, but the unit of 5 is kind of irrelevant.
Anyways, excuse my ramblings. In the end my main thoughts are that I'm lenient and biased towards with those classify as Quranist because that led me to True Islam, with God's grace. But I'm also hesitant of the title for fear that following the Quran's sole authority is considered an idea that does not encompass Islam as a whole....if that makes sense
TL;DR The Quranist label is good for distinguishing purposes but can be associated with a sectarian meaning.
Salaam/peace
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I forgot to say this one last thing.
I'm sure many of you would have no problem in a muslim identifying as a feminist, or a libertarian. They are not sects, but they are convenient to convey a perspective, or a general idea of it. Then why the problem with "Quranist"? It's a label, not a sect. It only becomes a sect if the label is abused. Likewise, a group of muslims can inadvertently create a sect mentality legislating conjectural right and wrong based on opinion - while refusing to associate to a label. Label /=/ Sect and Allah (SWT) knows this. You can't fool Him. The over emphasis on what labels we are allowed to use and why - it's foolish.
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I forgot to say this one last thing.
I'm sure many of you would have no problem in a muslim identifying as a feminist, or a libertarian. They are not sects, but they are convenient to convey a perspective, or a general idea of it. Then why the problem with "Quranist"? It's a label, not a sect. It only becomes a sect if the label is abused. Likewise, a group of muslims can inadvertently create a sect mentality legislating conjectural right and wrong based on opinion - while refusing to associate to a label. Label /=/ Sect and Allah (SWT) knows this. You can't fool Him. The over emphasis on what labels we are allowed to use and why - it's foolish.
That's the entire point. Labels like these will get abused despite our best efforts, there's no way around it. It's inevitable that religious labels will eventually be abused to the point where they are identified as sects. Why take the risk?
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That's the entire point. Labels like these will get abused despite our best efforts, there's no way around it. It's inevitable that religious labels will eventually be abused to the point where they are identified as sects. Why take the risk?
Google "What does Islam say about _______" and tell me how many sources come up that reflect solely Qur'an-based ideas.
Why take the risk? Because someone else did, and it led me to question my faith critically, completely cleanse myself of idols and false attributions to God. Whereas before I wasn't sure to what extent comprised the Islamic faith without tradition. It turns out it's very different. -
Google "What does Islam say about _______" and tell me how many sources come up that reflect solely Qur'an-based ideas.
Why take the risk? Because someone else did, and it led me to question my faith critically, completely cleanse myself of idols and false attributions to God. Whereas before I wasn't sure to what extent comprised the Islamic faith without tradition. It turns out it's very different.All that Google search would prove is that following solely the Quran isn't anywhere near as common as following the Quran and hadith. It doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. Sects rarely ever start out as actual sects. When people in any religion come up with a different idea you can bet they want to unite, not divide, their religion. But, as Allah tells us, humans are extremely argumentative. Labels will eventually form groups which eventually turns into sects. If we keep inventing new names people will divide themselves, regardless of our best intentions. It's not worth the risk. You mention how you only reached your current conclusions because of this label, but you make the mistake of assuming you wouldn't have found out the truth either way.
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Sorry, but the word MUSLIM has been kind of Hijacked by traditionalists. I do not define myself as Quranist., but a sa muslim who follows the Quran alone.
You could use the term just as a reference, however, i still see "muslims who follow the Quran alone" as a better fit. -
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All that Google search would prove is that following solely the Quran isn't anywhere near as common as following the Quran and hadith. It doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. Sects rarely ever start out as actual sects. When people in any religion come up with a different idea you can bet they want to unite, not divide, their religion. But, as Allah tells us, humans are extremely argumentative. 2. Labels will eventually form groups which eventually turns into sects. If we keep inventing new names people will divide themselves, regardless of our best intentions. It's not worth the risk. You mention how you only reached your current conclusions because of this label, but 3. you make the mistake of assuming you wouldn't have found out the truth either way.
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Maybe that isn't a huge deal to us, but what about people who don't know much about Islam and want to learn? What search terms would you advise them of?
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I'm not buying the slippery slope argument. Besides, do sects form because of labels, or because of culture and politics?
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But that's what Allah destined for me.
in any case, like youssef said, Qur'an alone is befitting. That's what I personally use. It excludes the "ism" which is nice.
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- Maybe that isn't a huge deal to us, but what about people who don't know much about Islam and want to learn? What search terms would you advise them of?
- I'm not buying the slippery slope argument. Besides, do sects form because of labels, or because of culture and politics?
- But that's what Allah destined for me.
in any case, like youssef said, Qur'an alone is befitting. That's what I personally use. It excludes the "ism" which is nice.
- "Islam without hadith" "Islam with only Quran" "Islam corruption" Lots of possibilities.
- You may not buy it, but look throughout history. Most sects did not start out as sects. Differences in culture, politics and overall opinion causes people to use differing labels which causes people to eventually divide.
- Yes, but Allah is all powerful and would have no doubt guided you to the truth even if the term Quranist was not being used.
I do agree that Quran alone is more fitting.
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Salaam everyone. )
Like the rest of you, after asking questions, reflecting, researching, learning, and discovering, I found Truth in submitting to God alone and shunning the "authorities" of hadiths, imams, sheikhs, etc. I am not against respecting and listening to someone, especially one who dedicates their lives to God and learning, but I refuse to believe that their opinion is unquestionably superior to mine or anyone else's as they have no special divination from God that the rest of us can't access.
In discovering the online communities of people who reject the hadiths and follow the noble Qur'an, I felt that there was hope as there were some who did not follow conjecture. Yet, a major threat to this, in my opinion, is the fact that so many call themselves "Quranists". As people who uphold the Word of God, why do any bother giving themselves any label other than "Muslim" when it comes to Islam? In the Qur'an, we are warned about dividing into sects. So why, when it seems that we are not blinded by the conjecture of the hadiths, there are those who willingly create a new sect? "Muslim" suffices, I believe. In fact, it fits perfectly as Muslims are those who follow the word of God and reject lies and conjecture, upholding the Truth. Can anyone explain this to me? Also, what are your opinions on this?
If you ask a Sunni or Shia cleric, he will tell you nothing bothers them more than that label "Quranist". Because it gives the impression, in their opinion, that were are following the Quran and they are not. One prominent Sunni cleric once said that labelling them as Quranist was the biggest mistake the Sunni establishment has done. Its a label that carries a lot of authority.
I personally have no problems with that label since when you say you are a Quranist it tells the others that you are following how the Quran understands faith and religion. When you say you are a muslim, how you understand a Muslim is how the Quran understands it.
Finally labels are rarely made by the adherents, often their adversaries and external parties determine that. As was the case with Quranist, it was first used by the Egyptian authorities during the 70s when they cracked down on some of the members. They called them "Quraniyoon" which translated to English was Quranist. Here is an example where the adversaries actually coined that label. They now regret that.
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Salaam everyone. )
Like the rest of you, after asking questions, reflecting, researching, learning, and discovering, I found Truth in submitting to God alone and shunning the "authorities" of hadiths, imams, sheikhs, etc. I am not against respecting and listening to someone, especially one who dedicates their lives to God and learning, but I refuse to believe that their opinion is unquestionably superior to mine or anyone else's as they have no special divination from God that the rest of us can't access.
In discovering the online communities of people who reject the hadiths and follow the noble Qur'an, I felt that there was hope as there were some who did not follow conjecture. Yet, a major threat to this, in my opinion, is the fact that so many call themselves "Quranists". As people who uphold the Word of God, why do any bother giving themselves any label other than "Muslim" when it comes to Islam? In the Qur'an, we are warned about dividing into sects. So why, when it seems that we are not blinded by the conjecture of the hadiths, there are those who willingly create a new sect? "Muslim" suffices, I believe. In fact, it fits perfectly as Muslims are those who follow the word of God and reject lies and conjecture, upholding the Truth. Can anyone explain this to me? Also, what are your opinions on this?
Hi Seek Peace
Your questions and concerns surely merit investigation. Thanks for bringing them to our attention. I will begin by doing some investigation myself. Thanks