Shared Responsibility

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT thought continues to develop. If there were no scope for disagreement, intellectual effort would cease, and as a result, the progress of human thought would come to a halt. That would eventually lead to mental stagnation— and mental stagnation is no different from intellectual death in this world. During this process, differences are bound to arise. One scholar may reach one opinion, another may arrive at a different one, and a third at yet another. But differing views are not in themselves a problem. What really matters is that this is the only way through which intellectual activity continues within a group. And through such intellectual activity, creativity is born and pathways of intellectual progress open up. In this context, disagreement is the natural course, while intellectual activity is the result—and the result is what truly matters, not the course itself. Let us take an example of this. In one part of the Quran, there is the command: “So ignore them, and put your trust in God. God is sufficient as a trustee.” (4:81) In another place, the Quran says: “O Prophet, strive against those who deny the truth and the hypocrites.”(9:73) These two verses appear to be different. One verse instructs avoidance of certain people, while the other commands confrontation with the same group. This difference caused people to reflect, and they began thinking deeply about it. One interpretation was that the verse about fighting had abrogated the verse about avoidance: “Turn away from them”—meaning, do not punish them. It was said that