al-Islam wa al-Liberalya Naqidan la Yajtamian

al-Islam wa al-Liberalya Naqidan la Yajtamian (Islam and Liberalism Are Two Incompatible Contradictories) is a treatise compiled by Shehata Saqr that critiques liberalism and argues that its philosophical premises fundamentally contradict Islamic law and creed al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1.

Purpose and Overview

The author composed the treatise as a warning against the growing prevalence of liberal discourse and political parties identifying with liberalism in Muslim societies al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1. Saqr argues that liberalism is fundamentally rooted in secularism (al-‘almaniyyah), defined as organizing human life, morals, and education without reference to divine revelation or religious mandates al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1. The book presents liberalism as an imported Western ideology that seeks to marginalize Islamic law (sharia), restrict religion to private practice, and replace divine command with absolute individual autonomy and majority voting al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1.

Key Themes and Arguments

Intellectual Foundations of Liberalism

The treatise traces the linguistic derivation of liberalism from Western languages and defines it as a philosophy centered on absolute individual freedom al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1. Saqr identifies three core intellectual foundations upon which liberalism rests al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …:

• Freedom (al-Hurriyyah): Granting the individual complete independence in actions without external compulsion, where the state's role is restricted to securing these freedoms al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….
• Individualism (al-Fardiyyah): Prioritizing the individual's desires and autonomy over collective or religious obligations al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1.
• Rationalism (al-‘Aqlaniyyah): Operating on the belief that human reason is independent and self-sufficient in discerning human benefit without reliance on divine guidance al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….

The book contends that these foundations leave liberalism incapable of affirming fixed moral and legal boundaries established in Islam, such as prohibitions on usury (riba), gambling, alcohol, sexual immorality, and the obligation of the Islamic dress code (hijab) or corporal punishments (hudud) al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….

Refutation of "Islamic Liberalism"

Saqr rejects attempts to synthesize Islam with liberalism, characterizing the term "Islamic Liberalism" as an impossible union of opposites (jam‘ bayn al-naqidayn) al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …+1. He likens this synthetic trend to earlier modern constructs such as "Islamic socialism," the "Islamic left," or attempts at "Islamizing secularism" al-Islam wa al-Liberalya …. The book cites a fatwa from the Islamweb portal affirming that modifying liberalism to mean restricted religious adherence renders the label "liberalism" redundant, while using the term misleads the public and legitimizes alien concepts al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….

The work also outlines external geopolitical efforts aimed at promoting liberal interpretations of Islam, citing American policy documents, conferences, studies by figures such as Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Leonard Binder, and reports by the RAND Corporation on civil democratic Islam al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….

Legal and Creedal Assessment

In the chapter addressing the legal ruling on liberalism (al-Hukm al-Shar‘i fi al-Liberaliyyah), Saqr argues that liberalism incorporates elements of disbelief (kufr) and idolatry (shirk) because it rejects the absolute authority of divine revelation over human actions and exalts human reason and desires above God's commands al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….

Publication

The work was published as a single volume in Alexandria, Egypt, by Dar al-Khulafa' al-Rashidin and Dar al-Fath al-Islami al-Islam wa al-Liberalya ….