Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 696 Everyone has ancient restoration, everyone has protection

Zhu Wenkui didn't quite understand these teachings. However, he had been organizing people to build houses at the construction site and had come into contact with many local people. Therefore, he was relatively familiar with the attitudes of ordinary people there.

"Now people are saying that although Tuohuan took the lead in closing down brothels and prohibiting group promiscuity, you were the one behind it." He told Guo Kang:

"Before, the good deeds you did in the city were supported by many people. Many of the people who directly benefited, especially the grassroots people, have become your staunch followers regardless of their religious beliefs. There are such people on our construction site. And even more people, although not so direct and fanatical, have heard about what you have done and support your initiatives."

"Even some priests have begun to think that your opinion is correct. There is a temple next to where we dug the canal, and several elders from that place used to come to the construction site every day to see what we were doing. Later, when the water was connected, they wrote an article saying that water supply was a great good deed. However, for so many years before that, everyone argued about it every day, and in the end no one could find a solution. Now, the newcomers have quickly solved the problem, so they must think carefully about what went wrong. The more radical people have begun to spread the word that your method is the right one, otherwise there wouldn't be so many miraculous things happening."

"It's normal to attach importance to free water supply. After all, the Muslim community was founded in the desert. It's a bit outrageous that the problem can't be solved on the banks of the Nile River." Guo Kang commented: "These priests are relatively serious people. They know how to reflect, which is a good level."

"There are more practical people everywhere, especially at the grassroots level. You can always find some." Zhu Wenkui said: "This is also the problem now. I have talked with Miss Jeanne about many related topics. These people are indeed the most likely to support reform, but they are also the most likely to become radicalized and even breed heresy."

"So, that woman's worries are not wrong. Right now, the people who support you the most are these grassroots believers and priests."

"I also think that this statement makes some sense. This is the situation in Cairo and the surrounding villages now." Zhu Wenkui said: "Some extremist clerics in the city now say that you are a true man of the book. Although the beliefs are different, your attempts are closer to those believers of the ancient times called Sa's or something than most Muslim clerics."

"It should be called 'Salafi'." Guo Kang thought for a moment and said, "This word means the first three generations of disciples of the Prophet Muhammad, and some say it refers to the believers during the first three caliphates. Some Muslims believe that they were the purest in faith, and that heresy emerged after that, so they want to return to that state."

"Oh, that's the word. But how come they are also from the third ancient generation?" Zhu Wenkui asked in surprise.

"I don't know about that." Guo Kang shook his head: "But from the core of the idea, it doesn't feel like the three ancient dynasties, but it feels closer to the three dynasties of what was seen, heard, and heard in Gongyang Chunqiu. You see, Gongyang School later produced a retro master..."

"But why do you want to compete with me? Do we have anything in common?" He was also a little puzzled.

"It is said that Ibn Taimiyyah once said that when he was studying, he consulted more than 200 jurists, including four women. And now you want to ban all female jurists." Zhu Wenkui said: "So, those clerics who advocate the Salafi era also think that you are more radical."

"what?"

Guo Kang didn't expect them to think this way. However, Zhu Wenkui still analyzed it for him.

"I heard from Miss Jeanne and others that your call is in line with the expectations of some theologians here," he told Guo Kang.

"In Islam, there are many ways to legislate, one of which is called 'creation', which means that when encountering new environments and new problems, religious jurists put forward their own understanding based on legislative principles. This has always been a common way to deal with new matters, allowing religious law to keep up with the development of the times and the needs of believers."

"However, after the four major schools of law were gradually perfected, some jurists began to think that there was no need to continue to create. Later, the Mongols occupied Baghdad and destroyed the caliphate, which shocked the Muslim world. Most scholars regarded this as a landmark event, believing that the caliphate had also perished and no one would be able to perform the functions of innovation and review in the future, so the door to creation was closed."

"But this will make things more complicated. Therefore, some scholars are against the 'closed-door approach' and hope to restart the innovation process. Your actions, especially your call for people to make judgments based on reality, are very appealing to them and are seen by many as support for reform."

"Ah this..." Guo Kang was silent.

Zhu Wenkui had only heard of these statements, but Guo Kang was an "experienced person" and felt a little embarrassed when he heard these.

The teachings of the Muslims often give people the impression of being conservative and extreme, especially in the era of Guo Kang. However, after careful study, it is easy to find that "conservative" and "extreme" are actually two directions, which may not be related to each other, and sometimes they are even the opposite. Those more extreme factions are not necessarily conservative. For example, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Wahhab are actually "reformists."

One of Ibn Taymiyyah’s main demands was to restart the creation. On this basis, Wahab and others went a step further and demanded to go beyond “rational knowledge” such as jurisprudence and theology, and to delegate the right to interpret the scriptures from the lofty jurisprudence experts to the ordinary believers.

From this perspective, they are not conservative, but very radical reformists, who are committed to overthrowing traditional religious authority. Taimiyeh and his followers believe that the opinions of the jurisprudence schools will hinder the communication between believers and the Hu Da, so they should get rid of their constraints. Therefore, they refuse to adopt the "imitation" principle, do not recognize the master-disciple relationship and interpretation rules of the four major jurisprudence schools, and demand free creation. And Wahhab's gang, in order to oppose idolatry, simply smashed the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad. Tell me whether they are against authority or not...

Moreover, this group of people are indeed common people.

In most parts of the world, thoughts and religions tend to split into two different directions: one is revelation, or sudden enlightenment, and the other is rational argumentation. Generally speaking, the upper class and professional priests tend to be more rational and use rigorous arguments to interpret, argue, and deduce doctrines. However, this approach is too advanced for most civilians, so there will always be factions that advocate enlightenment and sudden enlightenment, believing that as long as you practice well and get enlightenment, you can practice the right way.

These sects generally oppose complex interpretation of the scriptures through reason, and instead hope to make the doctrine as simple and easy to practice as possible, easy to spread, and acceptable to believers who lack cultural knowledge. Sometimes, due to excessive pursuit of simple images, they even go around in circles and return to the idolatry and anthropomorphism that they most oppose.

There is a joke circulating locally that says that Ibn Taimiyyah once preached in Damascus and told his followers that "Hu Dahui's descent to the earthly heaven is as real as my descent now." Perhaps to make it easier for everyone to understand, he walked down a step from the podium while he was speaking and demonstrated it himself.

There happened to be a group of Malikite priests in the temple. When they heard him say that, they were very angry and asked him what he meant by "Hu Da is like you". So they rushed up and beat him up on the spot.

Later, Taimiye was repeatedly reported by religious judges of various sects for similar things and was imprisoned several times for his anthropomorphism and the association of things with God. In hindsight, it is probably because of this style, because the lower-class and less educated people in the local area are more likely to believe in this theory, and are more likely to become fanatical and extreme. This also seems to be a phenomenon that transcends sects.

As for conservative, this word is actually difficult to define.

In theory, any school of thought is conservative. Because as long as it is spread and continued, it needs to prove its legitimacy - this is an important part of credibility and persuasiveness, and it is difficult to avoid it. And to prove its legitimacy, it is necessary to adhere to some principles proposed by predecessors.

Therefore, in this respect, there is no non-conservative school, it’s just that everyone’s “conservative” is different. For example, the traditional jurisprudence school wants to preserve their own lineage, while the reformists want to preserve it directly to the beginning of the religion. Of course, whether the beginning of the religion was what they claimed, and whether the disciples of the Prophet at that time supported their doctrines, is another matter. After all, they opposed “intercession” and saint worship, and when they smashed the tombs of saints, they didn’t care whether the saints supported it or not...

This situation also transcends sects and even religions, so it is really embarrassing. Whether it is the Easterners who worship Confucius, the Westerners who worship Jesus, or even the people who worshiped Ma in Guo Kang's era, this situation exists. Ma's disciples also fight with each other every day. Whose innovation should be reformed and whose doctrine should be protected?

In the Mediterranean world, things are even more serious: many times, it is impossible to say who is more advanced, the orthodox or the reformists, because maintaining orthodoxy often means corruption and rigidity, while reformists mean chaos and it is impossible to know how to choose.

Therefore, Guo Kang tried his best to avoid claiming that he wanted to reform in any formal religious occasions, and never said that he valued the opinions of ordinary people more. He didn't dare to speak directly to any sect, lest they seize the opportunity and start to make random comments...

Now that this rumor has come out, Guo Kang dare not say what he wants to reform. However, he had expected this situation from the beginning, so he also had a corresponding plan.

"We don't pursue reform, nor do we care which sect is more correct. We only care about order." He told Zhu Wenkui: "The areas where Muslims are popular are also under the management of Rome, and these believers also need our management. Therefore, when we restore order, it naturally includes order here."

"Since the Ilkhanate ended the succession of the caliphate, which led to problems in the jurisprudence system, we will support the caliph again and make up for it. If there are any problems, they will be solved within this system. It's okay if they have different opinions. We all agree that we should pursue orthodoxy and hope to maintain order. As for the rest, they can discuss it themselves within the church."

"I can't learn it well. You can explain it to them yourself later." Zhu Wenkui answered decisively.

"Okay..." Guo Kang nodded helplessly.

(End of this chapter)