Surah Saturday: Pluralism
Apr. 30th, 2011 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akilanajmahSo sorry I haven't been around. I still pray and thank God, but I don't always get to write.
In truth, I was conflicted about what to write last week. There's so much being said about the niqab ban and Muslims/Non-Muslims and women hating veiling and men promoting freedom to veil... that I wanted to talk about what the Qur'an actually says about modesty, who it applies to and how it has been interpreted but it seemed sort of daunting. I know where I stand but respect voices on both sides of the debate. Also, I hate that the conversation devolves into WELL THIS ISNT ISLAM on both sides. Hey, Islam is lots of things to lots of people.
And then I got to listen to a conversation about Hadith and why the Prophet asked that people not write his words down and the differences between interpretations about what "Follow your Prophet" means.
And then, Suhain Webb yesterday got into a tizzy about someone approaching women in prayer and adjusting them. He says it's inappropriate, to let people be with God in the way they are and let growth happen.
And all of that together got me into thinking about pluralism. So that's where we are today.
A couple of definitions of religious pluralism are as follows:
I occasionally hear Muslims saying "Well, Muhammad (SAW) was the last of the prophets, so what he said was the most true."
But usually, as in the incredibly frustrating video above (the video shows Florida Pastor Terry Jones making analogies between his protest of a Michigan mosque to Martin Luther King Jr and him being completely pwned by an Imam who asks him what he actually knows of the Qur'an), there are Muslims out there saying "But the Qur'an embraces nearly all religions."
Let's take a look at the surahs shall we?
Surah Ash-Shura says: He has laid down for you the same way of life and belief which He had commended to Noah, and which We have enjoined on you, and which We have bequeathed to Abraham, Moses and Jesus, so that they should maintain the order and not be divided among themselves.
In Surah al Baqarah, God tells Muslims what to say. It says: Say: "We believe in God and what has been sent down to us, and what had been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their progeny, and that which was given to Moses and Christ, and to all other prophets by the Lord. We make no distinction among them, and we submit to Him." (emphasis added).
The exact words above are also found in Surah Al Imran (3:84) and the sentiment is repeated in An-Nisa: Those who believe not in God and His apostles, and desire to differentiate between God and His messengers, and say: We believe in some, and not others, and wish to find a way between affirmation and denial are verily the real unbelievers. But those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction among any of them, will be given by Him their recompense; for God is forgiving and kind.
The Prophet was said to say that there were 124,000 prophets before him. In India, in China, in Persia, in Africa... etc.
To me, the God is revealing that He is beyond a single name or concept. She is saying "Listen, I will come to you in whatever form you need for you to understand me. You may call me any name. You may pray in many ways. All of them are valid. All of them reach Me. Jesus is as good as Noah and as good as Muhammad was as good as everyone else who looked for Me and found Me." The fact that the Creator goes out of the way to say "HEY YOU CANNOT PICK AND CHOOSE!
Surah Ar-Rum, ayah 20-22: Among His signs is that He created you from the earth and you are now human beings dispersed everywhere. Another of His signs is that He created mates of your own kind of yourselves so that you may get peace of mind from them and has put love and compassion between you. Verily, there are signs for those who reflect. Among other signs of His is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variety of your tongues and complexions.
It follows, to me, that God is asking us to celebrate diversity and language and the different names that different people may call Him, the different prophets that brought Her message and the equality among all of us both as creations of God and as made of the same stuff, clay.
Seems pretty clear to me.
In truth, I was conflicted about what to write last week. There's so much being said about the niqab ban and Muslims/Non-Muslims and women hating veiling and men promoting freedom to veil... that I wanted to talk about what the Qur'an actually says about modesty, who it applies to and how it has been interpreted but it seemed sort of daunting. I know where I stand but respect voices on both sides of the debate. Also, I hate that the conversation devolves into WELL THIS ISNT ISLAM on both sides. Hey, Islam is lots of things to lots of people.
And then I got to listen to a conversation about Hadith and why the Prophet asked that people not write his words down and the differences between interpretations about what "Follow your Prophet" means.
And then, Suhain Webb yesterday got into a tizzy about someone approaching women in prayer and adjusting them. He says it's inappropriate, to let people be with God in the way they are and let growth happen.
And all of that together got me into thinking about pluralism. So that's where we are today.
A couple of definitions of religious pluralism are as follows:
- As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values exist in other religions.
- As acceptance of the concept that two or more religions with mutually exclusive truth claims are equally valid. This posture often emphasizes religion's common aspects.
I occasionally hear Muslims saying "Well, Muhammad (SAW) was the last of the prophets, so what he said was the most true."
But usually, as in the incredibly frustrating video above (the video shows Florida Pastor Terry Jones making analogies between his protest of a Michigan mosque to Martin Luther King Jr and him being completely pwned by an Imam who asks him what he actually knows of the Qur'an), there are Muslims out there saying "But the Qur'an embraces nearly all religions."
Let's take a look at the surahs shall we?
Surah Ash-Shura says: He has laid down for you the same way of life and belief which He had commended to Noah, and which We have enjoined on you, and which We have bequeathed to Abraham, Moses and Jesus, so that they should maintain the order and not be divided among themselves.
In Surah al Baqarah, God tells Muslims what to say. It says: Say: "We believe in God and what has been sent down to us, and what had been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their progeny, and that which was given to Moses and Christ, and to all other prophets by the Lord. We make no distinction among them, and we submit to Him." (emphasis added).
The exact words above are also found in Surah Al Imran (3:84) and the sentiment is repeated in An-Nisa: Those who believe not in God and His apostles, and desire to differentiate between God and His messengers, and say: We believe in some, and not others, and wish to find a way between affirmation and denial are verily the real unbelievers. But those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction among any of them, will be given by Him their recompense; for God is forgiving and kind.
The Prophet was said to say that there were 124,000 prophets before him. In India, in China, in Persia, in Africa... etc.
To me, the God is revealing that He is beyond a single name or concept. She is saying "Listen, I will come to you in whatever form you need for you to understand me. You may call me any name. You may pray in many ways. All of them are valid. All of them reach Me. Jesus is as good as Noah and as good as Muhammad was as good as everyone else who looked for Me and found Me." The fact that the Creator goes out of the way to say "HEY YOU CANNOT PICK AND CHOOSE!
Surah Ar-Rum, ayah 20-22: Among His signs is that He created you from the earth and you are now human beings dispersed everywhere. Another of His signs is that He created mates of your own kind of yourselves so that you may get peace of mind from them and has put love and compassion between you. Verily, there are signs for those who reflect. Among other signs of His is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variety of your tongues and complexions.
It follows, to me, that God is asking us to celebrate diversity and language and the different names that different people may call Him, the different prophets that brought Her message and the equality among all of us both as creations of God and as made of the same stuff, clay.
Seems pretty clear to me.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-30 07:20 pm (UTC)Someone asks a Sufi who was greater- the Sufi who said, "I am truth!" or the Prophet, who said, "We do not know You (God) as we should."
The Sufi replied, the former had found personal connection to God, but the Prophet understood beyond even that- that God was infinite and knowing God an endless journey, no matter how close you draw to God, God is still more than whatever you understand.
Some people would rather "be right" in a narrow place, than delight in the infinite forms of truth that God presents us with.