Forty years ago, the issue of the lapsing of non-repealed verses from the Qur’an, some of them bearing warlike, vengeful, violent injunctions, and cruel rules, was brilliantly addressed by a Muslim thinker. Unfortunately, his genius and his intellectual honesty cost him his life. Since then and to my knowledge, no religious authority, no imam, no ulema, have been willing to take seriously this question, which is nevertheless a hot topic. Today, the principle of lapsing is repulsive. It represents a foil for the guardians of dogma, who fear, wrongly, according to the author, that its application would lead to the emptying of Islam.
As an illustration, this extract from the book by Rachid Benzine, academic, teacher at the IEP of Aix en Provence in France, as part of the Master « Religions and society », entitled « The Koran explained to young people » [1 ], in which the author, in a series of Questions / Answers, asks in particular the following question: « Can we act as if the Koranic rules were outdated and say that they are no longer valid today? » To which he replies: « No. If we say this, we are suggesting that the Quran is flawed or outdated. We must return to the essential, to the center of the message: the affirmation of the oneness of sovereign God. «
A quick analysis of his response reveals a genuine uneasiness. In fact, the author is ultimately compelled to base his answer on a petitio principii, a circular reasoning, since in response to the question “Can we pretend that the Koranic rules were flawed or outdated”, he affirms : “No. If we say that, we are suggesting that the Koran is flawed or outdated. «
Then Mr. Benzine uses a kind of diversion by asserting: « We must come back to the essential, to the center of the message: The affirmation of the uniqueness of sovereign God. », which amounts to evading the question.
Readers will have understood that the question is so taboo that Mr. Benzine censors himself and refrains himself from any debate. If the same question was to be asked to an imam, he would likely elicit the same type of reaction or he would produce some abundant and complex explanations.
On the question of the textual violence of the Koran against the Jews, the same author expresses himself in these terms: “This violence against the Jews greatly shocks our contemporaries. What explanations could we give them? « . Answer: « You should never separate the Koran from its culture ».
This type of response is comparable to the argument of most religious and defenders of orthodoxies, who, when confronted with criticisms from those who oppose them by displaying cruel, violent, anti-Jewish Quranic verses … just declare that these texts must be interpreted in the context of the circumstances of the revelation, that is to say of the Medinan era mainly.
In order to simplify our presentation, we will use in the developments which will follow, the terms “not repealed situational Koranic verses” in place of the terms “Non-repealed situational Koranic verses bearing warlike, vengeful, violent injunctions, and cruel rules« .
As to be as concrete and practical as possible, we will get to the heart of the matter by mentioning in particular a few « non-repealed situational Quranic verses« . We will then say a few words about the Repealing / Repealed theory (abrogation theory) and then address in particular the subject of the reinstatement of certain repealed or forgotten verses of the Koran.
Then we will highlight the contradictions and dogmatic knots inherent in the text of the Quran itself, in the theory of the abrogating/abrogated (repealing/repealed) and in the dogma of the eternally significant character of the non-repealed situational Quranic verses.
We will then examine the dogmatic, political and psychological impact of the declaration of obsolescence of these verses and in particular the way in which the tradition defends the eternally significant character of the non-repealed situational verses.
We will then demonstrate that declaring these verses to be obsolete would in no way demean Islam and that only the collective sharia, as its current supporters represent it, would be significantly affected by this new dogma.
Finally, we will introduce the reader to certain aspects of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha’s thought and we will demonstrate that by relying mainly on his work and secondarily on our reflection, a new dogmatic could emerge likely to lift Islam to the avant-garde of modernity and to untie the dogmatic knots that makes it suffer.
So let’s open up our development and take a look at a few suras that carry violent and intolerant messages.
I – Remarks inspired by some suras providing a textual justification for political Islam
Sura 9 verse 5: « So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them.” (Verse said of the Saber or the Glaive).
Sura 9 verse 29: « Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, 1 until they pay the tax, 2 willingly submitting, fully humbled. »
Sura 3 verse 110: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient. »
These verses above have been chosen because they represent the archetype of the verses that provide a textual basis for political Islam. They symbolize discrimination, violence and constraint. If you ask a Muslim scholar about the problem posed by this type of content, he could, as does Mr. Karim Ifrak [2], researcher at the CNRS, in his book « The reform of Islam », answer you this : « We can easily see that the injunction to » Jihad « with regard to the 1472 verses from Medina, barely reaches 2%. And if this 2% seems to exceed the measure, it should not be forgotten that they are only a drop of water in the midst of hundreds of verses which call for mercy, tolerance and moderation. «
Even if the argument is worth what it is worth, so far, Mr. IFRAK fails to mention an essential fact, that is most of the tolerant verses are mainly Meccan and have been repealed, unlike the three quoted Medinan verses which remain relevant today.
François Déroche, member of the institute and professor of the college of France, holder of the chair devoted to the history of the Koran, explains in his work entitled « The Koran » [3], that the single « verse of the sword » is deemed to have canceled 124 older ones ».
The most evocative example is verse 256 of the second sura: « No compulsion in religion … », abrogated by verse 5 of sura 9 so-called « verse of the sword ».
Today, political Islam is based on the interpretations of the « pious elders », the « salaf », that is, on the so-called « Salafist » ideology. On this subject, Yadh Ben Achour, professor of Public Law and Philosophy of Law, specialist in the political ideas of Islam [4], expresses himself in these terms:
« We often hear it said that this Salafism does not represent Islam, that it is only a deformation, if not a perversion … However, if we want to analyze the situation from a greater distance, by deviating from ideological points of view, we quickly see that the fundamentalist version represents a possible interpretation of the founding text itself as well as its expression in history. This point of view would even be closest to the truth of the text. «
In « the Koran explained to young people », Mr. Rachid Benzine, tells us « If a jihadist seeks a violent passage (in the Koran), he will find it, and he will say to himself that he is comforted in what is in fact his own preconceived opinion of the Koran. « .
Finally, the fact that the Salafist interpretation of the Qur’an could textually prevail over other more liberal interpretations is quite normal and understandable since it was the « pious elders » who chose the verses which should be regarded as abrogated and put their spin on the interpretation of the Koran. Obviously, this choice was guided by a political choice, the choice of a conquering Islam to the detriment of a spiritual Islam.
II – The necessary reformulation of the doctrine of abrogation (repealing/repealed) and the reinstatement of the tolerant repealed verses
The Koran contains a good number of verses which diverge on the same subjects, which sometimes contradict each other. In order to solve this problem, the Muslim tradition, relying on verse 106 of sura 2 [5] developed the doctrine of abrogation (repealing / repealed).
It should be pointed out that it was human beings, the pious elders, who decided which verses should be considered abrogated, which means that no verse in the Quran specifies which verses had to be abrogated.
Before the position of the supporters of the hadith prevailed, the mutazilists considered that when two verses contradicted each other, it was appropriate to discuss « the abrogation of one statement of the Quran by another from the perspective of the categories of good and evil, which they considered to be common to Allah and to human beings. « [5bis]
According to the mutazilists, as Tilman Nagel explains us, the repealing had to be « justified by the change in circumstances ».
Ultimately, the views of the traditionists, that is to say the supporters of the hadith and enemies of reasoning, prevailed over those of the mutazilists. Then the principle according to which, the most recent verse abrogates the oldest verse, prevailed.
The problem is that the very old repealed verses are mainly of Meccan origin and were for the most part tinged with tolerance, gentleness, and indulgence. They have been abrogated for some by the verse of the Glaive.
An example often cited is that of the verses relating to the consumption of wine. Originally, verse 67 of sura 16 celebrates wine which was seen as « an excellent food from the fruits of palm trees and vines » before being subsequently regulated as being prohibited before prayer. (verse 43 sura 4). Finally, this prohibition on consuming wine became absolute (Verse 90, sura 90).
Once again, the repealing verses are most often verses which suppress the application of verses imbued with tolerance and gentleness, of Meccan origin, which are often the verses invoked by peaceful Muslims who see Islam as a religion of peace.
At this stage, a fresh perhaps candid mind, might ask the following question:
Could we reinstate these so-called abrogated (repealed) or forgotten verses when it comes to verses advocating tolerance, peace and forgiveness?
To answer this question, we have to take into account the following verse: “As soon as we abrogate an ‘aya’ (verse) or as soon as We make it forgotten, We replace it with another, better or similar. «
The reader will notice that this text also speaks of “forgotten verses”. For some Muslim thinkers, this term could also mean « suspended ». One of the main defenders of this meaning is Mahmoud Mohamed Taha [6].
The latter, in addition to his philological argument [7], argues that to adhere to the idea that there could be forgotten verses amounts to making the text of the Koran subject to deformation (distortion) and to bad representation (misrepresentation), in perfect contradiction with the fundamental system of beliefs specific to Islam.
For Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, the so-called “abrogated” verses were in fact suspended and replaced temporarily by other verses more suited to the circumstances which reigned in Medina and especially more adapted to the understanding, the sociological and psychological state of progress of the Arabs of the time.
Jacqueline Chabbi [8] evokes the transformation of a spiritual, sincere, inspired and tolerant Meccan Muhammad, drawing all the conclusions from his Meccan failure. She expresses itself in these terms: « The Medinan phase of Mahomet testifies on the contrary – the Koran constantly bears the traces of it, even through its own denials – of an accommodation and a permanent adaptation to an environment of real life. «
As for Karim IFRAK, he tells us this: « The Koran, as everyone knows, laid down all the bases of its doctrine during his (of Muhammad) Meccan life, while the Medina period remained focused on questions of an inherent legislative nature relating to the life of the city. «
He continues with some humor, “One way of saying that once you get to know God, from now on, focus on managing the day-to-day, both micro and macro. «
For Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, human societies are evolving as their belief systems and their degree of civilization do. This is the reason why he considers that the « suspended » verses are naturally intended to be reinstated according to the level of spiritual and intellectual elevation reached by humanity at a given time and in a given place.
Today, insofar as the choice of the abrogated verses was not the work of God but the work of men of their time with knowledge and cognitive capacities specific to their time, nothing prevents imams and other doctors who understand the spirit of the revelation, to declare the end of the suspension of the so-called repealed verses which advocated legitimately and laudably in tolerance and openness.
However, another step remains to be taken, that of the declaration of obsolescence of certain non-repealed situational Koranic verses.
III – The need to declare the lapse of certain non repealed situational verses
The reader will have understood that certain violent, intolerant, conquering verses serve as a textual basis for jihadist candidates as well as for supporters of Salafism in favor of the application of the collective sharia as it emerges from the legislative medinan verses.
Not “touching” the status of these verses would mean keeping the doctrinal foundations of jihadist and Salafism active. Thus no differentiation between the status, on the one hand, of violent, intolerant, conquering verses, and on the other hand, of verses advocating mercy, forgiveness, tolerance and gentleness, would be emphasized, being specified that many of verses among this last category have been abrogated.
In a way and without language excess, there would remain dormant cells in the Koran ready to be reactivated at any time, in order for example to ideologically justify a terrorist attack.
After admitting the lapse of these verses, a question immediately arises: What would become of these abrogating verses whose obsolescence would have been declared? What would be the status of the obsolete verses?
These verses would obviously not be removed from the Koran. Unlike the repealed or rather suspended verses which were maintained in the Koran to be able to be reinstated progressively according to the degree of improvement of human societies, these situational verses could quite simply acquire the status of « witnesses ».
Indeed, these verses would become the testimony not of the moral improvement of Muhammad but of the perfect adaptation of his words and deeds to the achievement of the divine goal entrusted to him by Allah, namely, to obtain from the Arabs the renunciation of the worship of their ancient divinities as well as the recognition of Yahweh, the God of Israel, of his oneness, his omnipotence, his omniscience and his mercy.
Thus, these situational verses which would henceforth be declared obsolete, would continue to bear witness to the divine mission accomplished by Muhammad.
IV – On the defense by tradition of the eternally significant character of the non-repealed situational Koranic verses.
There are many reasons for the defense of the eternally significant character of the non-abrogated verses of the Koran by religious authorities.
First of all, the collective sharia, as represented by the ulemas, is based on the hadith but also on the legislative verses of the Koran. To confer a statute of obsolescence to these verses or of simple testimony of the ancestral customs which existed in the past in Medina, amounts to undermining the foundations of the sharia.
In the Arab countries, many notables, Ulema, jurists, live on the Sharia and provide their expertise in return for remuneration. Declaring the obsolescence of almost all Medina verses would amount to revolutionizing Islamic law and calling into question their knowledge, most of the time acquired at the cost of a long apprenticeship.
The lapse would also have the effect of depriving the conquering or political Islam of any textual basis. Likewise, the reinstatement of the gentle and tolerant Meccan verses would necessarily undermine the agenda of political Islamists.
Political Islam serving as a support for certain heads of state, it is easy to understand the activism of certain foreign services aimed at preventing any beginning of reform leading to obsolescence.
The ulema and other religious authorities in Arab countries see themselves as holders of a monopoly on the interpretation of the Koran and as the sole guardians of dogma. Imams in non-Arab Muslim countries, in the West, and especially French imams, in their view, would not be allowed to rethink the dogma of Islam.
Faced with this unfounded claim, the French who officiate as imams, must above all not feel inferior or not legitimate, in the face of « a learned elite saturated with arrogance and incapable of self-criticism » who, as Karim Ifrak says, « during these last three centuries pushed the Muslim world », « little by little to bottom out or almost ».
Imams in France should be allowed to be creative, innovative and to go beyond the limits of the Ijtihad, which is naturally open to them, to help spread enlightenment Islam.
It would be good to remind them that unlike Catholic priests, they are not subject to one centralized authority.
V – On the psychological resistance of Muslims to the declaration of obsolescence
Muslims from an early age learn to revere the Quran. As Maxime Robinson says in his masterful « Mahomet » [9]: « As for the perfection of the Koranic style, it has become a dogma for Islam ». He goes on: “A text that we have been rocked since childhood, that we have heard recited with fervor in the most solemn and moving circumstances, that we ourselves have spelled out, studied, that have gradually permeated the believer, acquires after a certain time an incomparable resonance. «
Yadh Ben Achour, speaks of the Koran in these terms: “its status goes beyond the simple sacredness that can be given in all religions, to a place, a word, a relic, a saint. The Qur’anic text has received a transcendent theological status which identifies it almost with God. «
Readers will have understood that there is an emotional attachment between a Muslim and the verses of the Quran and the idea that one can declare lapsed an non-repealed situational verse of the Quran can be a source of resistance. Most of the time, the believer should consult an imam who would tell him that one should not « touch » the verses of the Quran or their status because it is the word of God.
In this regard, we can remind Muslims who wonder, that among the verses that they are legitimately proud to display on social networks when opponents come to exhibit the warlike verses of the Koran, many have been abrogated by situational verses that do not carry their vision of Islam.
It will also be possible to explain to them that these situational verses were perfectly suited to the political and social context of Medina, and that their perfect adaptation to their time is a proof of Muhammad’s extraordinary political sense.
They will be encouraged to read neutral academic works to help them understand how the proponents of the hadith managed to impose a dogma in accordance with their political agenda of the time.
It will also be necessary to expose the power of the thought of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha who seems to be the only one to have succeeded in resolving certain dogmatic knots that poison Islam in order to place Islam at the forefront of spirituality.
The next developments partially take up an essay by the author on the vision of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha. We have reproduced it below.
EXTRACT FROM AN ESSAY ON THE THOUGHT OF MAHMOUD MOHAMED TAHA
The evolution of the prophet and the two messages of the Koran
Let the reader read the Koran from the first sura to the last sura and he will notice the disparate aspect of the themes that are dealt with as well as the absence of an order and / or of an easily detectable common thread. However, if the same reader was to undertake the reading of the Koran in the chronological order established by Tradition, his or her view would change.
This second reading would reveal the evolving character of Muhammad’s message. Despite certain entanglements, two corpora can be clearly distinguished, bearing on the one hand a message intended to be universalist, spiritual, gentle and merciful, focused on the improvement of the individual, and on the other hand, a political message, sometimes legislating, ranging towards more severity and less freedom, with the aim of governing the Medinan community and responding to various controversies. This part of the Koran of Medinan origin seems very often to have been dictated by the circumstances and appears to be particularly adapted to the psychological capacities of the people who receive it.
Let us return to the Meccan message that Mahmoud Mohammed Taha calls the second message of Islam and that we call the initial or ontological message. These verses, which Muhammad delivers to the members of the powerful tribe of Quraysh, are spiritual, powerful and merciful. Monotheism is strongly affirmed there. The omnipotence of Allah, the beauty of his creation, his merciful and omniscient character, are declaimed. Human beings are called to submit to the plan that God envisions for his creature. The law underlying this message is ontological. It aims at the being. Submission to the will of Allah is the corollary of the creative purpose, namely the improvement of the human being.
The Meccan message is addressed to a finished man, endowed with reason. Therefore, the possibility of consuming wine is considered a blessing, « a sign to the reasoning people » (Sura 16, verse 67).
The suras of this first period are marked with tolerance, respect and admiration for the followers of other monotheisms. Muhammad appears particularly benevolent towards Jews and Christians, considering that the truth is also to be found in previous revelations. Ultimately, this initial message will be rejected by the people of Mecca. Mohammed will get little support and was even forced to flee and to exile in Medina.
In Medina, the status of Muhammad changes. He is no longer « the warner » but the temporal and spiritual leader of the Medinan community. Confronted with the principle of reality, he seems to give up the ideal of the Meccan message to deliver verses which are no longer addressed to the being, to the individual, but to the community that he intends to guide. The suras of this period are more severe. We can easily detect a form of resentment towards Christians and especially towards Jews who, contrary to his hopes, do not recognize him as coming from the lineage of the prophets. The legislation is getting tougher. Some prohibitions become absolute and tolerance is no longer so strong. While verse 43 of Sura 4 of Medinan origin forbids believers to approach the prayer room while they are drunk, until they understand what they are saying, sura 5, later, stigmatizes alcohol consumption and establishes an absolute prohibition: “O you who believe! Wine, games of chance, statues, arrows of divination are an abomination invented by Satan. Move away from it so that you are successful. «
Medinan preaching moves away from the highly spiritual ontological message of Mecca to spread a message simply adapted to the circumstances and the low spiritual level of its listeners. The sanction is intended to be adapted to the harshness of the customs of the people to whom he is the envoy. The time for announcing eternal and unchanging truths seems to have passed. The principle of reality catches up with the envoy who now legislates, ensures the political and military conduct of the Medinan community.
The statement « No compulsion in religion » (Sura 2 verse 256) is repealed and replaced by warlike verses such as verse 39 of sura 8: « And fight them until there is no more association, and that the religion be entirely with Allah … « then by sura 9, verse 29 which reads in these terms: » Fight those who do not believe neither in Allah nor in the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden and who do not profess the religion of truth, among those who have received the Book, until they pay the poll by their own hands, after having humbled themselves ”.
However, even if a good number of Medina verses can appear as avenging, inciting to the fight and the stigmatization of the Jewish tribes, these would not pose dogmatic problems if they were interpreted as the simple testimony of the political work and military service accomplished in Medina by Muhammad.
What creates a real difficulty is the assertion of the eternally significant character of these verses. Moreover, these verses are much more often abrogating verses than abrogated verses. We believe that here lies a real dogmatic knot.
Faced with the presence of contradictory verses, tradition created the theory of abrogation, which is none other than the principle of the abrogation of the oldest verse by the most recent verse when these verses deal differently with a similar question, and this, in agreement with verse 106 of sura 2 which states in these terms: « If we abrogate a verse or if we make it pass to oblivion, we bring a better one or a similar one. Don’t you know that Allah is omnipotent? «
This theory is in our opinion poorly formulated and misinterpreted. Although the spirit of tolerance is often associated with Islam, curious minds who want to make up their own mind will read the Quran and see the warlike, vengeful and cruel character of many of its verses. There is an ocean between the religion of peace and tolerance that moderate imams tell us about and the real content of certain verses. In addition, most often these verses would abrogate the Meccan verses imbued with spirituality, sincerity, mercy and ecumenism.
We believe that it is necessary to reform the principle of abrogation, which on the one hand poses an insurmountable dogmatic difficulty, and on the other hand, does not conform to the systematics which emerges from the objective analysis of the Koran.
Dogmatic propositions
We have deliberately developed very little the above ideas in order to favor systematics over exegesis. This excerpt from the book « The Nazarene Could Tell You That. » illustrates our method.
« Prefer a compact explanation with as wide a scope as possible. And refuse verbal litanies, long and laborious, which apply only to a fragment of text.
Beware of responses from men of tradition! Because the abundance and complexity of their explanations are most often an indication of weakness.
Prefer brevity and reject the hypothesis that science does not support. Because if they claim that every cloud is moved by the breath of an invisible angel, it is because they have understood that no one can formally demonstrate that they are saying false. «
What is offered to believers, followers of the rituals of Islam, is a concise and clear dogmatic revolution.
First of all, we agree with Mahmoud Mohamed Taha that the Koran conveys two distinct messages which sometimes get tangled.
The ontological message is the message delivered at the beginning of Makkan preaching. However, it sometimes appears entangled in Medina suras. It encourages the elevation, the improvement of humanity. This is an ontological message that was received by a very limited number of believers, given the low level of elevation of humanity at the time. Makkan preaching must be seen as the seeding of creative information into the minds of nascent humanity.
The Medinan situational message was adapted to the circumstances which reigned in Medina at the time of the Prophet and in particular to the scientific and psychological state of progress of the time. This message contains a good number of situational verses, the severity of which is no longer adapted to present humanity. The Medinan discourse was intended to govern the Medinan community and to respond to controversies. It does not support the divine ontological finality.
Under these conditions, the situational verses essentially of Medinan origin do not testify to the perfection of the prophet and of the verses he declaims, but to the perfect adaptation of the prophet and the Medinan verses to the circumstances.
There is therefore reason to prefer the dogma of the perfect adaptation of the acts and words of the prophet to the circumstances and to the degree of enlightment of the human beings of his time, to that of the perfection of his acts and his words.
The idea of a coexistence between an ideal message with an ontological purpose of « Meccan » origin and a message of circumstance, « Medinan », having for vocation to govern the Medinan community also calls for the modification of the theory of the abrogation. We are only developing here an idea that we owe to Mahmoud Mohamed Taha.
Verse 106 of sura 2 which reads: « If we abrogate a verse or if we forget it, We bring a better or a similar one. Don’t you know that Allah is omnipotent? Should be interpreted as follows.
The repeal in question must be regarded as not final but rather temporary. This is a suspension. « Better » means « better suited » to the Medinan community of the time. The verses bearing the theory of the abrogation should be regarded as situational verses.
Today, we consider that it is up to the guardians of dogma to accept the principle of reality, to abandon certain cognitive biases as well as all teleological interpretations which do not conform to Quranic reality.
To summarize, four principles are proposed, which could serve as a basis for the construction of a new dogmatic:
• The principle of coexistence within the Koran itself of two messages with a distinct purpose, one with an ontological purpose, possessing a character of eternal and immutable truth, permeating Makkan preaching, the other, Medinan and situational, aiming to govern the human community of Medina as well as the political and military aspects;
• The principle of the perfect adaptation of the acts and words of the prophet to circumstances instead of the dogma of Muhammad as a perfect example created by tradition (that is a consequence of the dogma of the perfection of his acts and words);
• The situational nature of the theory of repeal or the substitution of the suspensive effect instead of the repealing effect.
• The principle of reviving the abrogated (repealed) Meccan verses according to the state of intellectual and spiritual advancement of a given human society.
The admission of these four principles would open a field of unparalleled improvement for the Muslim world and would immediately entail the lapse of the warrior verses and of the verses carrying archaic rules, and would reinstate certain tolerant repealed Meccan verses.
Towards a new dogmatic for an Islam at the forefront of modernity
The promotion of the four principles mentioned above does not only have the effect of making obsolete the warrior verses as well as those carrying archaic rules. This new systematic would place Islam at the forefront of modernity.
Indeed, to distinguish between, on the one hand, the laws intended to govern human communities and to maintain social order, and on the other hand, to recognize a non-static superior law , but dynamic law, carrying an ontological finality, the improvement of the human being, is essential. This subliminal goal should seed every text of law.
The rulers of most human societies seem to have resigned themselves to simply maintaining social order and civil peace. This is why the laws do not or no longer integrate the ideal of perfecting the human spirit. Society takes precedence over the individual while the law which governs society should help organize it in such a way that it promotes human development and places the individual above collectivity. Scientific data is not used to strengthen human dough. Despite advances in cognitive science and psychology, the good emotional and intellectual development of the human being is not really at the heart of the attention of most human societies. Thus, neuroses multiply and humanity suffers.
The system that we are proposing, inspired by the ideas of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, which shows the relevance of a coexistence between a message of Meccan origin with an ontological purpose and a Medinan corpus aimed at governing a human community, must encourage the leaders of human societies and those who manufacture the laws to never lose sight of the finality of improvement of the human species.
Finally, if Islam were to reform itself in the direction advocated by Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, this religion could offer the world a system having the value of a model, through the obligation to make coexist in any legal system, on the one hand, laws of circumstance adapted to the human community of the moment and intended to ensure social order as well as human production suitable for satisfying the vital needs of humanity, and on the other hand, an ontological law carrying the ideal improvement of the human spirit that should be integrated explicitly and / or subliminally in each legal text.
To conclude, we consider that the ontological message of Meccan origin is more relevant than ever. The fight against idolatry is a challenge that humanity must take up. The idols of the present time are protean. Whether it is about money, human confections made sacred by human beings, these Forrest Gumps that are glorified, mental objects (thoughts or judgments …) that roam the mind and that we take seriously. These artefacts remain idols because the value conferred on them by human beings far exceeds that which the God of Abraham attributes to them. Also a good number of these human productions before which modern man prostrates do not serve the ideal of improvement but contribute to the degradation of humanity.
According to Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, every believer is called to submit to the will of God. Performing the ritual is not enough. Adopting postures of bodily submission is simply an educational prerequisite that must be overcome in order to submit in spirit to the will of Yahweh.
[1] Rachid Benzine, « The Koran explained to young people », Editions du Seuil, March 2016
[2] Karim Ifrak, Phd, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Islamologist, researcher at CNRS
[3] François Déroche, « Le Coran », University Press of France 2015
[4] Yadh Ben Achour, « the second Fâtiha », University Press of France 2011
[5] Sura 2, verse 106: “As soon as we abrogate an ‘aya’ (verse) or as soon as We forget it, we replace it with another, better or similar. «
[5bis] Tilman Nagel, « Mahomet », Edition Labor and Fides 2012
[6] Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, « The second message of Islam », Syracuse University Press 1987
[7] (The second message of Islam, P 40): « The author writes the corresponding Arabic Word of the Qur’an as » nunsi’ha « , using the Arabic word » hamza, « which makes the word mean » postpone » because nas’a is delay in time.
[8] Jacqueline Chabbi, « Le Coran décrypté », Les éditions du Cerf, 2014
[9] Maxime Robinson 1915-2004, (former director of research at the EPHE at the Sorbonne), Mahomet, Editions du Seuil, May 1994
Journal d'idées 