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Junon
I actually just re-read the quote to get a better understanding. And it seems to be a valid truth we see within our society. IYI are taking an existence in many different areas, and the certainly the cause of it is the modernity as stated.
People may hate me for writing the next part but it needs to be, taking how much of our muslim youths are falling pry to this.
IYI exists even within muslims. And that section took a rise from just past 100-200 years, where they think they are at a level of mujtahid by deriving rulings of Islam by simply looking at the english translation of Quran and Hadith. Even the likes of Qadi Iyad (rah) who were the pioneers in the fiqh of Imam Malik (rah) used to tremble when it came to making ijtihad.
Just because they have certain ijazah in books like Arba'yin of Imam Nawawi (rah), in english they give the talks and its meaning does not makes them qualified enough to be at this level. To talk about hadith is not a normal business at all, it is against its adaab to give commentary according to whatever comes in their minds through their own desires.
At least first go through ilm sarf, nahw, Al-hadith, Usool hadith, Fiqh, Usool Fiqh, Balagha, Al-adyan wal turnq, Sulook wa Ehsan and what not to equip yourself well before understanding the hadith in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim etc These sciences were devised by Salaf Saliheen to allow us to understand the Quran and Hadith in a better way.
I have personally heard with my own ears, while in a halaqa Riyadh As Saliheen was being read and a young person started saying 'This hadith is wrong, and this is right' - subhanAllah ghareeb, who gave this person the right to comment on which hadith is right and which is wrong, and on top of this Riyadh As Saliheen is written by the likes of Imam Nawawi (rah), at least have some decency to admit that your knowledge is not enough to understand the hadith instead of rejecting it all together because it does not fits your mentality? (ilyazubillah min zalik).
The likes of Imam Malik (rah) was once asked 40 questions, to which he replied 4 of them and rest 36 he said 'I don't know' - what is sad is that we do not have to courage to say 'I don't know' but we want to keep our ego and pride so sky high that we wish to comment on every aspect of deen in a way that that we are some people that became mujtahid overnight.
And trust me, the blunders that are being created from this is disastrous to imaan. It is not surprising either to see how muslim youths who sit on YouTube or Google searching to try to understand certain hadith but it leaves them further confused, and this causes some of them to doubt so much that they leave Islam (May Allah rabul 'izza protect us).
Last but not the least, as the quote states '
ubiquitous in our lives but is still a small minority.' That is what the level they are at.
And just like we have to be careful with '
barber who decides to perform brain surgery'.
Similarly as a muslim we have to be careful with a person who only knows arabic and decides to perform ijtihad.