Question for Muslims

[Spiderman]

So a Catholic believes that Christ established a church that will be guided by the holy spirit, so that when people have a dispute about the interpretation of scripture, a church Council will settle it, and that the Holy Spirit guides the decision of the councils.

So when a Catholic doesn't know how to interpret scripture, they turn to the church... My understanding, is that in Islam there is no hierarchy really. Sure there are Imams, but there is no institution in Islam that settles disputes about the correct interpretation of the Koran, right?

So if there is a dispute among Muslims about how to follow the Koran, what Authority do you turn to?

 

[Ubon]

perhaps they are just influence by the imam, who is likely infuenced by an imam that has a large following and gained fames as knowledgeable regarding the koran.
others may find an imam that suits their personal view more.

 

[Sha'irullah]

perhaps they are just influence by the imam, who is likely infuenced by an imam that has a large following and gained fames as knowledgeable regarding the koran.
others may find an imam that suits their personal view more.

This sums it up for the most part

 

[Sha'irullah]

Typically it is done through the madhab as the difference in the schools is that of fiqh. An alim is a scholar within Islam and is almost always tied with a madhab like Hanafi, Maliki or Shafi'i. At this point a any textual dispute purely goes down to the authorities within a madhab and are settled in this manner which typically results in very minor differences between them such as hand placement during prayers and so forth.

Simply put there just aren't many textual disputes in Islam unless you count the issues between Sunni'yah and Shiatu-Ali. The true area of dispute textually is with the Sufis and the progressive movements within Islam and these all except out of the legitimate madhabs.

Christianity seems to be all alone on this matter unlike the Muslims

 

[LuisDantas]

(...)

So when a Catholic doesn't know how to interpret scripture, they turn to the church... My understanding, is that in Islam there is no hierarchy really. Sure there are Imams, but there is no institution in Islam that settles disputes about the correct interpretation of the Koran, right?

It is interesting that you (and many or most Muslims and even Christians) seem to take the stance that it would be a good thing for some form of authority - as you call it, a hierarchy - to tell people how to interpret scripture.

I wonder how many of you realize how self-defeating such a stance is. That it may easily become a crutch is only the start of it.

So if there is a dispute among Muslims about how to follow the Koran, what Authority do you turn to?

That seems to be the question that haunts nearly all Muslims; they have been taught that it is very important to follow the Qur'an correctly, to the point of apparently believing that doing so is the literal cure for all illnesses.

Yet, innocent as that directive may seem at first glance, it is in fact quite the headache-maker.

Even leaving aside the matters of the actual merits and suitability of the Qur'an for its designed purpose (and those are quite formidable enough matters on their own), turning to an authority's call causes an inherent conflict with one's own judgement and understanding.

Worse still, it consists of giving up on the ability to reach mutual trust and understanding with other brothers of faith in exchange for the ability to say that some third party is right and therefore those who disagree with said third party are wrong. "Trusting" an Iman or Sheik is ultimately betting on his judgement to the detriment of one's own.

And, of course, such a situation all but ensures a lasting crystalization and exacerbation of any disagreements of doctrine. Muslims can hardly build bridges with each other when they have collectively renounced the ability or even the right to actually interpret and understand what are supposedly their own beliefs. Reducing themselves to "believers" of some school of interpretation or another denies them the ability to actually understand what they have learned.

Take for instance Hegel's model of dialectic, where an initial thesis is at some point perceived to be incomplete, imperfect or unconvincing, thereby originating an alternative proposition - an antithesis. Hegel realized that to find a solution, a true understanding of the matter at discussion, the tension between thesis and antithesis must be faced up front, made explicit, and resolved.

Muslims largely can't do that, because their belief system does not allow for true questioning. By taking the dogma that the Qur'an is perfect and definitive, they are reduced to betting that their chosen (or more often, inherited) authority figure is correct and those who disagree are just out of luck.

I know that you ask for that in the OP, @PopeADope . But that just can't really work.