and the independence of thought to which Islām had given an impetus. Being thus restrained by a false impression, the intellect of Islām suffered a heavy loss and the increasing demand of knowledge being brought to a stand-still, stagnation and ignorance took its place.

Independence of thought recognized

The Holy Qur’ān recognizes independence of opinion for one and all, and requires that absolute obedience be given only to God and His Messenger: “O you who believe, obey Allāh and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allāh and the Messenger” (4:59). This verse speaks first of obedience to those in authority (ulu-l-amr), along with the obedience to the Messenger, and then mentions disputes which, it says, must be settled by referring them to God and His Messenger. The omission of ulu-l-amr from the latter portion of the verse shows clearly that the quarrel here spoken of relates to differences with ulu-l-amr, and in the case of such a difference the only authority is that of God and the Messenger, or the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth. Every authority in Islām, whether temporal or spiritual, is included in ulu-l-amr, and independence of thought for every Muslim is thus recognized by allowing him to differ with all except the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth. The Companions, the Collectors of Ḥadīth, the four Imāms and the other jurists being thus included in ulu-l-amr, must be obeyed ordinarily, but to differ with any one or all of them, when one has the authority of the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth is expressly permitted. And since the ultimate test of the correctness of Ḥadīth is the Holy Qur’ān itself, the conclusion is evident that Islām allows independence of thought subject only to one thing, that the principles laid down in the Holy Qur’ān are not contravened.

It will thus be seen that any Muslim community has the right to make any law for itself, the only condition being that such law shall not contravene any principle laid down by the Holy Qur’ān. The impression prevailing in the Muslim world at present that no one has the right, even in the light of the new circumstances which a thousand years of the world’s progress have brought about, to differ