Here's a few final thoughts I have on this matter, playing this out fully:
1. Context is everything. We do not understand nuance well as an Ummah and we really must learn how to entertain more than one perspective or scenario.
2. Before anything else, at our default state, we as Muslims should have husn-al-dhan. The believer makes 70 excuses for his brother and all that. If he has said something outrageous - the first stance should not be to takfir him back to Trinidad.
3. When you have studied thoroughly under someone (or are extremely familiar with their work), you are more aware of the nuances and traits of that individual. You can understand context better. And of course, you’re more likely to jump to their defence if someone else may misinterpret or misunderstand what he is saying. It’s no wonder why those who are most familiar with his work often come across as overzealous fanboys and those who aren’t washed their hands of him many moons ago. We need to find a happy medium. Take the middle path.
4. The other thing to look at when forming a rounded opinion is the stature of who is saying it and how learned they are. He is not a random guy on the internet of the ilk of Dawah Man or Mufti Abu Layth. He has serious depth and credentials. When someone like that makes a point you must have to have enough humility to know that a) he probably knows what he’s doing and b) even if he is incorrect, you are not being forced to take his opinion. So most people should follow b.
5. Having spent time with him, one thing I know he hates is being ambushed. There have been many occasions where at his events in the UK people come just to corner him and debate him. He is not interested in that. And why should he be? Why is that okay for anyone to do, at any time, let alone someone of that age and experience? He may have felt that this was an ambush as Shaykh Hasan may have come with ‘boxing gloves’ as he likes to call it - I.e. with the intention only to refute, not to actually have an open dialogue.
6. We also have to remember we have only heard one side - silence does not mean guilt or admission in this scenario.
7. The other thing is that he has been at odds with the deobandi community for a long time - they have banned him from speaking at various mosques, and even cancelled an event at a neutral venue in Leicester he was due to speak at by putting pressure on the organisers. So we can’t just assume (without casting aspersions on Shaykh Hasan, of course) that all is innocent without any bad blood or foul play. I'm of that background myself so naturally this has been very awkward for me haha.
8. He is very old (mid 80’s) and has been travelling non stop for over a year. Just to apply basic husn al dhan isn’t it reasonable that he was just exhausted and irritable at that Sh Hasan meeting and didn’t have the energy to discuss this at length? As he’s getting older, we are seeing a more edgier and more frustrated tone in his lectures. Where is the wisdom from most people - the stuff I am saying is basic logic and empathy, not rocket science.
9. You will have noticed I didn’t yet refer to anything about what he actually said. Even now, a week or so later, I still don’t know too much about the technical details. And honestly, I won’t really be going into it deeply myself. It’s too micro for me (and for most of the people embroiled in this debate) to actually focus on, it’s not going to change my life understanding it either way. If something is beyond my understanding, I choose not to hold any opinion on it, or I go with the majority opinion - which again is actually what Shaykh Imran advocates - to not follow his opinion unless you are absolutely convinced. I understand the gravity of allegedly saying the Quran is imperfect but we don’t 100% know for sure this is exactly what was meant as it has not been clarified since.
10. My understanding from what others tell me is that his opinion follows that of Ibn Abbas (ra). But even if he is staunch in this belief, these points are still valid that A) he may and could very well be wrong on this - and if so, it is what it is - it doesn’t negate all his previous work. B ) why it may be that he has come to such a conclusion is based on the personal journey he’s been on, insight he’s gleaned and the research he’s done, all of which is underpinned by a solid methodology. The point was that he is not a two bit guy early on in his career, he is perfectly capable of having original opinions of substance as he has done before.
11. Many of the arguments supporting him are of his students, many of whom are inexperienced and overzealous - some of these can obviously easily be ridiculed as many may not have the correct Islamic grounding. His students are not normal tulaab-ul-ilm in the traditional regard - so would perhaps lack sophistication. But destroying his students defences of him is not the same as him speaking for himself.
12. What makes a scholar worth his salt is not the little technicals. A scholar is supposed to the one that empowers you with the light of knowledge and someone who is fearless in speaking the truth, no matter what the consequences. He does this, par excellence. Whatever your opinion about him, we can definitely not take this away from him.
13. Whatever your final conclusions, this much is true: we should not take the whole of our Islamic knowledge from just one scholar. If this part he has said is incorrect - then don’t take it. It’s as simple as that. TAKE THE GOOD AND LEAVE THE BAD.
To be honest, whenever there are these types of debates online - regarding moonsighting, mawlid or any other Muslim scandal - I usually avoid them like the plague. This would have been one of those scenarios had I not felt compelled to speak up for someone of impact, who most people do not understand - and already I feel it has taken more time than I actually have to spare. As laypeople I still fail to understand why we love spending so much time discussing and debating such things on social media - is there really not a better use of our time?
The final comment I have on this subject is to draw your attention to an article I wrote last year on speaking up for truth and how to apply justice in Islam. Once we have read it, we should review our thought process on this whole matter and think - did we actually do ourselves justice? https://medium.com/kn-ow/how-to-tell-the-truth-in-a-not-so-truthful-world-a68e49c72be4
