|
For the Muslims, constructive
dialogue is not only permitted, it is commendable. In the Qur'an we
read, "Say, `O people of the book' (a term which particularly
refers to Jews and Christians) `come to common terms as between us and
you: that we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners
with Him (in His powers and divine attributes); that we erect not from
among ourselves lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn
back say you `Bear witness that we are Muslims.' (Bowing) to the will
of GOD." (al-i-Imran; 3:64)
The methodology of that dialogue is
also explained in the Qur'an; "Invite (all) to the way of your
Lord with wisdom and beautiful exhortation, and argue with them in
ways that are best." (al-Nahl; 16:125) A prerequisite for any
constructive dialogue is that both communities should not learn about
each other through sources that are unsympathetic, critical, or even
hostile: they should rather try to formulate an honest idea as to how
the other faith is seen in its own authentic scriptures and as
practiced by those who are truly committed to it. This need is even
more significant in the case of the MUSLIM - CHRISTIAN dialogue. The
average Christian has heard of or has read about ISLAM mostly through
writers who have colonial or missionary motives, which might have
given a certain slant to their interpretation of ISLAM to the western
mind. While I admit that my own practice of Islam is far from perfect,
I at least speak from the vantage point of someone who wants to think
of himself as a committed, practicing Muslim. Now I'd like to share
with you five basic areas, consideration of which is imperative in any
CHRISTIAN - MUSLIM understanding: the meaning of the term
"ISLAM"; the meaning of the term "Allah"; the
nature of the human; the relationship between the human and Allah; the
question of accountability, and finally, some conclusions pertaining
to bridgebuilding between Muslims and Christians.
MEANING OF "ISLAM"
Talking the term "ISLAM,"
it is important to emphasize that it is not derived from the name of
any particular person, race, or locality. A muslim considers the term
used by some writers, "MOHAMMEDANISM," to be an offensive
violation of the very spirit of Islamic teaching.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, is not worshipped, nor is he regarded as either the founder of
Islam or the author of its Holy Book, the Qur'an. The term Islam is
given in more than one place in the Qur'an itself. It is derived from
the Arabic root (SLM) which connotes "peace" or
"submission." Indeed, the proper meaning of
"Islam" is the attainment of peace, both inner and outer
peace, by submission of oneself to the will of Allah. And when we say
submit, we are talking about conscious, loving and trusting submission
to the will of Allah, the acceptance of His grace and the following of
His path. In that sense the Muslim regards the term Islam, not as an
innovation that came in the 7th Century, Christian era, with the
advent of the Prophet Muhammad, but as the basic mission of all the
prophets throughout history. That universal mission was finally
culminated and perfected in the last of these prophets, Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon them all
ISLAMIC MONOTHEISM
The next essential concept that
needs to be clarified is the term "Allah." What does it
mean? It should be emphasized first that the term "Allah"
has no connotation at all of a tribal god, an Arabian or even a Muslim
god. The term "Allah" in Arabic simply means the One and
Only True, Universal God of all. To think that Allah is different from
God, with a capital `G' is no more valid than saying the French
Christians worship a different god because they call him "Dieu."
What are the basic attributes of
Allah? The Qur'an mentions the "most beautiful names" (or
attributes) of Allah. Instead of enumerating them all, lets examine a
few. Some attributes emphasize the transcendence of Allah. The Qur'an
repeatedly makes it clear that Allah is beyond our limited perception.
"There is nothing whatever comparable unto Him." (al-Shura;
42:11) "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all
vision." (al-An'am; 6:103) A Muslim never thinks of God as having
any particular image, whether physical, human, material or otherwise.
Such attributes as "The Perfectly - Knowing," "The
Eternal," "The Omnipotent," "The
Omnipresent," "The Just," and "The Sovereign"
also emphasize transcendence. But this does not mean in any way that
for Muslim Allah is a mere philosophical concept or a deity far
removed. Indeed, alongside this emphasis on the transcendence of
Allah, the Qur'an also talks about Allah as "personal" God
who is close, easily approachable, Loving, Forgiving and Merciful. The
very first passage in the Qur'an, which is repeated dozens of times,
is "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful ...."
The Qur'an tells us that when Allah created the first human "He
breathed into him something of His spirit," (al-Sajdah; 32:9) and
that "Allah is closer to the human than his jugular vein."
In another beautiful and moving passage we are told, "When my
servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning me, then surely I am near to
them. I listen to every suppliant who calls on Me. Let them respond to
My call and obey My command that they may be led aright,"
For the Muslim, monotheism does not
mean simply the unity of God, because there can be different persons
in unity. Monotheism in Islam is the absolute Oneness and Uniqueness
of Allah, which precludes the notion of persons sharing in Godhead.
The opposite of monotheism in Islam is called in Arabic
"shirk," association of others with Allah. This includes not
only polytheism, but also dualism (believing in one God for good or
light and another for evil or darkness). The concept of
"shirk" also includes pantheism, the idea that God is in
everything. All forms of God-incarnate philosophies are excluded by
Islam's monotheism, as is blind obedience to dictators, to clergy, or
to one's own whims and desires. These all are regarded as forms of
"associating" others with Allah (shirk), whether by
believing that such creatures of Allah possess divinity or by
believing that they share the Divine Attributes of Allah.
It should be added that, to the
Muslim, monotheism is not simply a dogma. Islam's pure, pristine and
strict monotheism is much more than a thought or a belief; it is
something that deeply influences the Muslim's whole outlook on life.
NATURE OF THE HUMAN
We have talked about Allah. What
about you and me? Who is the human being? Who are you and I? And why
are we here on earth? The Qur'an teaches that we humans are created of
three components. We are created from clay, representing the material
or carnal element. We are endowed with intellect that is Allah- given
to be used, not to be put on shelf. Reason may be insufficient but it
is not the antithesis of faith, either. And thirdly, we are endowed
with the spirit of Allah, which was breathed into us (al-Sajdah; 32:7,
al-Baqarah; 2:31, al-Hijr; 15:29). The Muslim does not see human
existence here on earth as punishment for eating from the forbidden
tree. That event is regarded as an experiential lesson for Adam and
Eve before they came to earth. The Qur'an teaches that even before the
creation of the first human it was Allah's plan to establish human
life and civilization on earth (al-Baqarah; 2:30). Thus, the Muslim
does not view the human as all evil, nor as all good, but rather as
responsible. It is stated in several places in the Qur'an that Allah
created the human to be His "khalifah," His trustee or
viceregent on earth. Humankind's basic trust. our responsibility, is
to worship Allah. Worship for the Muslim is not only engaging in
formal rituals, but it is any activity in accordance with the will of
Allah for the benefit of oneself and of humanity at large. Thus the
Muslim views the earth, its resources and ecology as a gift from Allah
to
"In
the world today all believers in Allah are facing common dangers:
atheism, materialism, secularism and moral decay. We must work
together." Humans to harness and use in fulfillment of the trust
for which we shall all be held responsible. That is why the Qur'an
speaks highly of learning. The first word revealed of the Qur'an was,
"Recite," or "read." As long as they were true to
their faith and to Qur'anic injunctions about learning, Muslims
established a civilization that saw great advances in science and in
the humanities. Not only did they preserve earlier scientific heritage
but they also added to it and paved the way for European renaissance.
When Muslims again become true to their faith such history is bound to
repeat itself.
ALLAH-HUMANKIND RELATIONSHIP
We talked of Allah and of humankind.
Now we must ask what is their basic relationship. The Qur'an teaches
us that the human race is given an innate spirituality are inherent in
human existence, but this spirituality can betray us if it is not led
in the right direction. To depend on a merely human feeling of the
guiding Spirit is dangerous. Many groups, even cults, claim to be
guided by the spirit or by God or by revelation, yet these groups hold
divergent, even contradictory, beliefs. We find people behaving in
contradictory ways who claim nonetheless that each is doing the will
of God. "I feel," they say, "that the spirit guides and
directs me."
A credible source of revelation is
imperative. Throughout history Allah has selected particular
individuals to convey His message, to receive His revelation and to
exemplify it for mankind. For some of these prophets, holy books or
scriptures were given revealing Allah's commands and guidance. For
most of you the names of these prophets found in the Qur'an will sound
familiar: Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David,
Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus, and finally, the last prophet,
Muhammad, peace be upon them all. These prophets carried the same
basic message: "Not an apostle did We send before you without
this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I;
therefore worship and serve Me." (al-Anbiya; 21:25). Further, the
Qur'an insists on calling all those prophets Muslims, because a Muslim
is one who submits to the will of Allah. Their followers are called
Muslims as well. Thus it is an article of faith for a Muslim to
believe in all these prophets. Indeed, Muslims are warned that anyone
accepts some prophets and rejects others, in fact rejects them all.
For a Muslim, to believe in Moses
while rejecting Jesus or Muhammad is against the very teaching of
Moses. And to believe in Jesus but reject Moses or Muhammad is to
violate what Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad stood for. For a Muslim to
believe in Muhammad and reject either Moses or Jesus is to violate his
own Holy Book. "Those who deny Allah and His apostles, saying:
`We believe in some but rejects others', and (those who) wish to take
a course midway. They are in truth (equally) unbelievers and We have
prepared for unbelievers a humiliating punishment."(al-Nisa' ;
4:150-151) Recognition of all prophets is an article of faith, not a
mere social courtesy or diplomatic statement. I do hope that with open
minds, open hearts and further careful, honest study there may be more
such mutual recognition.
THE SPECIAL ROLE OF MUHAMMAD(pbuh)
But why do Muslims in their
testimony of faith say, "I bear witness that there is no god but
Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger." Does that mean that
they in fact reject other prophets? Indeed, the special role played by
Muhammad as the seal and last of all the prophets puts the Muslims in
the position whereby honoring Muhammad implies honoring those who came
before him as well. Muslims are warned not to make fanatical or
parochial distinctions between prophets(al-Baqarah; 2:285). But the
Qur'an also says that Allah has favored some prophets with more
significant gifts or roles than others (al-Isra; 17:55). All are
brothers, although the only prophet with the universal mission to all
humankind is Muhammad, peace be upon him(al-Furqaan; 25:11). The
Muslim believes not only that Muhammad is a brother of Jesus, Moses,
Abraham and other prophets, but the Qur'an states in clear terms that
the advent of Muhammad was foretold by previous prophets, including
Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them (al-Arif; 7:157, al-Saff; 61:6).
Even the Bible in its present form clearly foretells the advent of the
Prophet Muhammad (e.g. Genesis 21:13,18, Deuteronomy 18:18 and 33:1-3,
Isaiah 11:1-4, 21:13-17, 42:1-13 and others).
For the Muslim, the Qur'an contains
the words of Allah directly and verbatim revealed to Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him. Many confuse the Qur'an with the
"Hadith," or sayings, of the Prophet. The Hadith is quite
separate from the Qur'an. The latter was dictated to Muhammad word for
word through the Angel Gabriel and immediately memorized and put down
in writing. It is important to emphasize that the Qur'an was neither
written nor composed by Muhammad, peace be upon him. To hold such a
view would contradict what the Qur'an says of itself and of Muhammad;
that the prophet is not speaking on his own but only transmitting the
revelation dictated to him by the Angel Gabriel. To suggest that the
Qur'an borrowed from or copied from previous revelations, be it the
Bible or otherwise, is, for Muslim, an accusation of "prophetic
plagiarism," a contradiction in terms. The fact that there are
similarities between the Qur'an and previous scriptures is simply
explained by the fact that He Who spoke through those earlier prophets
is He Who revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, the one and only true God,
Allah. However, the Qur'an is the last revealed Holy Book, which
supersedes previous scriptures and the only one still available in the
exact words and language uttered by Prophet Muhammad.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND SALVATION
We have talked about Allah, about
the human and about the relationship between them. What about
accountability? How can we humans, from the Islamic perspective,
overcome "sin"? The Qur'an teaches that life is a test, that
earthly life is temporary (al-Mulk; 67:2). The Muslim believes that
there is reward and punishment, that there is life hereafter and that
reward or punishment do not necessarily wait until the day of
Judgment, but start immediately after burial. The Muslim believes in
resurrection, accountability, and the day of Judgement.
For a Muslim, to demand perfection
in order to gain salvation is not practical. It is demanding the
impossible and is unjust. Islam teaches a person to be humble and to
learn that we cannot achieve salvation by our own righteousness. The
reconciliation of the "sinful" human with Allah is
contingent on three elements: the most important is the Grace, Mercy,
and Generosity of Allah. Then there are good deeds and correct belief.
Correct belief and good deeds are prerequisites for God's Grace and
Forgiveness and for rising above our common shortcomings. How can sin
be washed away?
The Qur'an gives the prescription:
"If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul, but afterwards seeks
Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful."(al-Nisa; 4:110). Another moving passage reads,
"Those things that are good remove evil deeds." (Hud;
11:114). Islam teaches repentance, stopping evil ways, feeling sorry
for what one has done, and determining to follow the path of Allah as
much as humanly possible. The Muslim does not believe in the necessity
of the shedding of blood, much less innocent blood, to wash away sins.
He believes that Allah is not interested in blood or sacrifice, but in
sincere repentance. The Qur'an puts it clearly: "But My Mercy
extends to all things."(al-A'raf; 7:156)
THE APPLIED ASPECT
How about the application? Are we
just talking theology? Since the human is Allah's trustee, it would be
inconsistent for a Muslim to separate the various aspect of life, the
spiritual and the material, state and religion. We hear a lot about
the "five pillars of Islam," but they are often presented as
the whole of Islam, many times in a shallow way. They are not the
whole of Islam any more than one can claim to have a functional house
composed exclusively of five concrete pillars. You also need the
ceiling, walls, tables, windows and other things. As the
mathematicians put it, it is a necessary but not a sufficient
condition. The five pillars of Islam (the testimony of faith, the five
daily prayers, fasting, charity, pilgrimage) are presented by most
writers as matter of formal ritual. Even the pillar that is liable to
appear ritualistic, daily prayers, is purely spiritual act involving
much more than simply getting up and down. It has social and political
lessons to teach the Muslim. What may appear as separate compartments
of life simply does not exist for the Muslim. A Muslim does not say,
"This is business and this is moral." Moral, spiritual,
economic, social and governmental are interrelated, because
everything, including Caesar, belongs to Allah and to Allah alone.
MUSLIM / NON-MUSLIM RELATIONS
In conclusion and against this
background, what is the implication for the Muslims in their attitudes
toward non-Muslims? To start with, and we must be frank about it, the
Qur'an makes it incumbent on the Muslim to convey Allah's message in
its final form, the Qur'an, to all humanity. We are not talking here
about conversion. I do not like that word. Indeed, to turn to Islam,
the religion of all the prophets in its final form, is not to turn
one's back on the preceding prophets. It is an augmentation, rather
than a conversion, because it does not involve changing one's basic
spiritual nature. In the Qur'an, pure human nature is a "Muslim
nature," which knows its Lord and wishes to submit to Him. The
Qur'an states, "Let there be no compulsion in religion."
(al-Baqarah; 2:256). My substitute for the term "conversion"
is "reversion," in the sense of a return to the pure
monotheism in which we were all created. Thus the Muslim is taught to
be tolerant towards others. Indeed, the Qur'an not only prohibits
compulsion in religion, but it prohibits aggression as well, although
it allows defense: "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight
you, but commit no aggression; for Allah loves not
transgressors." (al-Baqarah; 2:190)
In addition, we find that within
this broad rule of dealing with non Muslims "the People of the
Book" is a special term accorded to Jews and Christians in the
Qur'an. Why "People of the Book"? Because the Muslim makes a
clear distinction between a polytheist or an atheist and those who
follow the prophets who originally received revelations from Allah.
Even though a Muslim might point out areas of theological difference,
we still believe in the divine origin of those revelations in their
"original" forms.
How should a Muslim treat these
"People of the Book"? Says the Qur'an: "Allah forbids
you not, with regard to those who fight you not for [your] Faith nor
drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them:
for Allah loves those who are just. Allah only forbids you, with
regard to those [others] who fight you for [your] Faith, and drive you
out of your homes and support [other] in driving you out, from turning
to them [for friendship and protection], that do
wrong."(al-Mumtahanah; 60:8-9)
In the world today all believers in
Allah are facing common dangers: atheism, materialism, secularism and
moral decay. We must work together. Allah says in the Qur'an:
"...If Allah had so willed. He would have made you a single
People, but His Plan is to test you in what He has given you. So
strive as in a race in all virtues. The return of you all is to Allah;
it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you
dispute." (al-Ma'idah; 5:51)
I hope, feel, and trust that there
is sufficient common ground for Muslims and Christians to meet,
understand each other, join hands and move together in the Path of
Truth, Peace, and Justice, the Path of Allah.
February / March 2002
|
