# Why do clever preachers stay stuck in dogmatism? *Clever but dogmatic: lower-order thinking, Abdul Rahman Hassan and Zakir Naik* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/s/30/ - Date: 2021-01-12 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (1:51:38–1:58:33) - Status: general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zgHntbMPis&t=6698s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/ **Topics:** Views on contemporary scholars; Reason and revelation **Question as asked:** Opinion on Abdul Rahman Hassan? He seems very intelligent, masha'Allah; why is he stuck in this dogmatism? **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says knowing a lot is not the same as reasoning well; much of the dogmatist scene relies on rote learning, and Zakir Naik has done Islam real damage. ## Longer summary A chat question asks his opinion of Abdul Rahman Hassan, who seems very intelligent, and why he is stuck in dogmatism. Mufti Abu Layth distinguishes being clever from being a person of reason, using the educational distinction between lower-order thinking skills, knowledge and understanding, and higher-order skills such as analysis, application, synthesis and creation. He says he has not studied Abdul Rahman Hassan personally beyond a clip or two, but that much of the Salafi or dogmatist scene are, in general, people of lower-order thinking who may know a lot without being able to analyse or create. He gives Zakir Naik as an example of a walking database, and says many doctors are trained in rote learning rather than analytical thought. He says Zakir Naik has done great damage to the scientific confrontation with Islam under the pretence of being a medical doctor. ## Sources and names cited - Abdul Rahman Hassan - Zakir Naik - Salafi ## Transcript (machine tier, 1:51:38–1:58:33) [1:51:00] them uh all right so opinion on abdul rahman hassan he seems very intelligent masha'allah why is he stuck in this dogmatism you see there's a difference between you see being clever at something [1:51:37] and being a person of of of reason these are not necessarily um the same thing i mean there may be an overlap in some cases but they're not necessarily the same so just like you could get somebody that doesn't have so thinking if you take thinking they it has different layers to it as i mean this is one of the structures that is presented throughout the educational spectrum so you would have lower order thinking skills and you have higher order thinking skills so lower order thinking skills are just [1:52:17] knowledge and understanding so you know something that you can reiterate and you can explain it and these are lower order thinking skills higher order thinking skills uh are not actually about so much about just pieces of information so you will have this um it will involve things like this analysis application synthesis and creation now these are higher order thinking skills so somebody like abdul rahman hassan i would understand him or the and it's not just him [1:52:57] personally because i haven't studied him personally the one two clips of his i have seen may much of the salafi scene maybe not everybody in the selfie scene but much of the selfie scene or that dogmatism scene whoever you find dogmatic they are people of lower order thinking skills they may be very clever like as in they can know a lot of stuff so you know i can memorize and i can learn and i can explain what i've learned but can i apply this to different scenarios can i analyze it [1:53:35] can i evaluate it can i can i synthesize it can i create new based on these are all higher order thinking skills and even though i'm not saying these people have no higher order thinking skills everybody may have some but they just may generally not be people of higher order thinking skills so i'm not saying never in their life you know they may have one time in their life done you know like so it doesn't mean that you've never had uh a creative thought but for the most part of that's not how your brain works so you [1:54:14] so that's the thing with these people so when you're looking at someone and thinking oh you know he can reiterate a lot of things you know zakir naik he can manage a machine in just saying page number this i don't know this three volume three page four line paragraph two you know the guy is a a computer is a database of just data of information but and and this you know this is another thing this is why also sometimes you get people who might well and this isn't a dis [1:54:54] at people but let's say they they might be really good like dr zakir naik is a doctor and on many occasions you get doctors who become this is a good uh archetypal example you can make it to such a profession but you're not necessarily creative in thought or analytical in thought you're just taught how to measure certain symptoms and refer to certain things so this is why on many occasions and i don't mean to be uh i i have known some medical people [1:55:32] who have been very intelligent and you know very let's say think out of the box but i've also known many doctors who you know they they won't come up they're not actually that you know you're quite surprised how is this and and and that's because you associate a doctor with you know somebody who's like a genius but it's not actually the case you know it's like dr zakir naik is a is another typical example you just have to you know it's like what they call rata you just have to learn something rote learning enough to say and pass the exam [1:56:10] it's not like philosophy for example you know you can't just it's not rote learning so yeah that's my analysis of these dogmatists somebody said i agree less with zak and nike lately but i still love the guy we all we love them all we love you all love you yeah go home be safe [1:56:46] it's just the damage they do to islam is the problem you know like zakir naik had has done so much damage to the scientific confrontation with islam under the pretense of i'm a medical doctor [Laughter] the amount of uh know [1:57:13] the amount of harm that he has caused islam by this license that you know before destroying as the salaf would say [Laughter] this is do not enter except with permission so this uh zakir naik you know i'm a medic i'm a medical doctor thank you thank you very much [1:57:50] brother has asked a beautiful question and so you know in all this islam was getting it for free this was the problem so it's not these people it's the damage they've done to islam right now speaking of uh dogmatism and weird kind of beliefs we go to uh the word of positivity something positive right so this is a hadith that i had i just want to share speaking of beliefs ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 1zgHntbMPis/s/30. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/1zghntbmpis/s/30/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.