Ideas of Ghulam Ahmed Perwez
He also blamed the mainstream scholars for allowing exploitative socioeconomic practices by deriving their authority from the hadith, even in contradiction to the Quran.
He also blamed the over-reliance on hadith for introducing false historical narratives of the early period of Islam, also as a means of exploitation.
"Parwez upholds the view that Hadith and sunna, as he defines them, do not constitute sources of legal authority in Islam (or what he calls al-din).
"[4] Before the creation of Pakistan, Iqbal introduced Parwez to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who recruited him to help popularize the need for a separate homeland for Muslims.
Jinnah appointed Parwez to edit the magazine, Tolu-e-Islam for the purpose of countering propaganda that was coming from some of the religious corners in support of Congress.
He claimed that it had no justifiable basis according to the Quran and that the practice had been banned since the dawn of Islam, contrary to the opinions of his opponents who officially called for slavery to be legalized in the newly created Pakistan.
Clarence-Smith includes Parwez among the "South Asian Shock Troops of Abolition," a line of rationalist thinkers who took the position that slavery is forbidden by the Quran.
[10] He argued that due to various forms of discrimination suffered by women, their gender has developed an "inferiority complex", which is enforced and exploited by men.
[11] He claimed that the Quran liberates women from their historical "bondage" by affirming their independent existence and equality in all aspects of society that matter, leaving only a few biological differences between the genders.
[3] The application of the word "Salaat" in the Quran (Parwez cites verses like 11:87) indicate a wide-ranging socioeconomic system, of which ritual prayer, is only a small part.
He argued that the correct view of Jesus, which fits with Islam, was that he was a revolutionary liberator, whose mission was to free the Israelites from the domination of the Romans, while at the same time to build a society on ethical principles, the same as former prophets.
[26][27] Parwez held the view that the Quran is the only binding force of Pakistani society;[28] and thus, its community should be in perfect alignment with the commandments of Islam in all aspects.
Even charging for a product above its actual worth Parwez saw as Ribba, claiming that the "fair price" should be decided by society, and not arbitrarily by the sellers.
N. A. Jawed states that according to thinkers like Parwez, "hell" and "heaven" are not only concepts relating to the next life, but also represent socioeconomic systems in this world.
He also redefined the concept of "satan" allegorically; as the human impulse which drives people to use their mental faculties to oppose divine laws.
Parwez found support for this view in the Quranic story of the fall of man, which he interpreted metaphorically, where the "forbidden tree" stands for the quest for acquisition and ownership.
