The Perennialists are a group of people who believe that there exists an eternal Truth (perennial Truth) from the beginning of time and throughout the ages. They consider Islam to be the final manifestation of this perennial wisdom. Most of the Perennialists are European intellectuals who became Muslim in their personal lives. Perennialist authors include Frithjof Schuon, Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Huston Smith and others.
We should clarify that some of their teachings are not in complete accordance with Islamic orthodoxy. For example, the Perennialist's argue that all religions are valid paths to salvation. The opinion of most Muslim scholars (ulama) who represent orthodoxy say that Islam abrogates previous religions. This means that all the old religions become invalid once the final revelation has been revealed. According to Imam al-Laqqani, there is a consensus ('ijma) among the scholars on this issue.
However, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (one of our most authoritative scholars) shows great leniency to non-Muslims on this issue. He seperates them into three main groups:
i) Those who never heard the message given to Muhammad ﷺ. They are excused in his view.
ii) Those who heard the message in a distorted form or they only encountered poor representatives of the faith. These people are potentially excused in his view.
iii) Those who heard the message in its true form and encountered proper representatives of the faith. These people are unlikely to be excused if they reject Islam, in his view.
Ghazali also recognises that most human beings simply believe what they are taught from their parents and their society at a young age. Nobody can fully escape their inherent bias. The Imam argues that the vast mercy of God will inevitably take these things into consideration when passing Judgement.
Notes
* Obviously, the scholars are not infallible but we as commoners do not have the authority to challenge them (even if we have strong evidence from the sacred books). We should keep our opinion private if we disagree with them. The traditional Muslim never gave his own opinion unless he or she was qualified to do so. If he disagreed with one scholar ('alim), he would quote another scholar that had an alternate view. To give our own unprofessional opinion of the religion or the sacred text is a breach of Islamic etiquette (adab). Our Western education encourages us to 'think for ourselves', to be proud of our opinions and to challenge authority. This only creates disunity and far greater problems. One of the signs of the end of time, according to the Prophet ﷺ, is that 'everybody with an opinion will be happy in his opinion' (Source: Abu Dawud).
* Relevant Verses:
"Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."
- Quran 2.62
Commentary: This is one of the most inclusive verses in the Quran. It suggests that salvation is not the exclusive right of any religious group. What really matters is faith and good works, not the group you belong to. Dr Martin Lings says that nothing comparable to this verse can be found in Judaism and Christianity.
* Relevant Verses:
".. We have raised in every nation a Messenger, (proclaiming): Serve God and shun false gods"
- Quran 16.36
"Every Prophet was sent to a specific nation but I was sent to all of humanity"
- The Last Prophet ﷺ (Source: Bukhari 335)
"I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel"
- Jesus عليه السلام (Source: Matthew 15.24)
Commentary: "The Quran assures us that no people on earth was ever left without divine guidance... conveyed through a messenger of God who always spoke to the people in their own ‘language’ [Q. 14.4]" (Source: Islam and the Destiny of Man by Gai Eaton). The Prophet ﷺ tells us there have been one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets sent to humanity. The Quran only mentions twenty five of them and these are mostly Semitic Prophets who were part of the local history.
* Relevant Verses:
"And whoever desires a religion other than islam [submission] - never will it be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be among the losers." - Quran 3.85
Commentary:
We should clarify that the word islam means "submission to God". It can mean a follower of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ but within the Quranic context, it usually means anybody who submits to the Divine Will. For example, Abraham is described as a submitter [muslim] in the Quran (2:131) and the followers of Jesus declares themselves as submitters [muslims] (5.111). Obviously, this does not mean they were claiming to be followers of Muhammad ﷺ but 'muslim' in the broad sense of the word.
Europeans originally referred to Muslims as Muhammadans but this was later considered inappropriate and inaccurate. Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr remarks that Islam is unique among the world religions because it is not named after its founder (like Christianity or Buddhism), or a tribe (like Judaism), or a geographical location (like Hinduism). It never claimed to be a new religion but simply a reassertion of the perennial Truth.
“Islam in its deepest meaning is ‘that which is everywhere’ and ‘that which has always been.’”
- Frithjof Schuon
* Charles le Gai Eaton says, "One of the principle causes of unbelief in the modern world is the plurality of religions which appear mutually contradictory." In the past, when societies were sealed off from each other, this was not a serious issue. In the so called global village that we live, we are compelled to find suitable answers to this question.
However, he also warns that the "The ordinary believer... is likely to be confused rather than enlightened when told that religions other than his own are effective [paths to salvation]... and to undermine simple faith, even when it seems to us both narrow minded and naive, is indeed a grave matter if we have nothing to put in its place - nothing, that is, that would make sense to the simple-minded."
[Source: Islam and the Destiny of Man, p. 36]
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