Dynamics of Rational Islam

The use of reason in religious matters seems to have a chequered history. Islam was proclaimed to be a distinct belief system because it called itself a deen (a way of life); but it has also suffered from the same lack of operating rationality. Early history of Islam was intriguingly constructed on the basis of Ahadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) and vice versa, and has been conveyed to us as an unshakable religious dogma. In the absence of employing reason, this approach has put Muslims in such a straitjacket where they continue to self-destruct due to heresy, doctrinal contradictions, religious schisms, communal bloodshed, and intellectual frozenness. This book presents the outline of an alternative but equally valid narrative of the early Muslim history; and examines critical Islamic concepts and the life & works of some leading Muslim figures.