"The superiority of one who has knowledge over the one who [merely] worships is as the superiority of the full moon over all the planets."
Muhammad, Hadith
Earlier this morning I sent along a picture of two pages of tiny print commentary (which I'll include in tomorrow post) to my friends as a way of explaining what I spend a lot of my time doing during Ramadan (as I told them, it's not simply fasting and feasting). As I've said before, by far my favorite part of the month is the time that I get to devote to study (not that I don't study during the year, but certainly in a much less structured fashion). Beyond everything else, I guess the historian and the nerd in me loves to analyze a text deeply and to learn (and struggle) with a new intellectual, as well as religious and spiritual, universe. All of this is a roundabout way of bringing me to the hadith quoted above. While faith is the key concept, is blind unquestioning faith better than a faith examined and tested and accepted? This is why I think this month is so key, not because we're fasting but because we're taking time to examine ourselves and our faith. Granted, it's not easy and often it's puzzling if not unpleasant. There are times during reading and studying when I come away confused and, at times, truthfully, more than a little angry with my religion; although, again truthfully, that normally relates to little corners of the religion which normally reflect what I would consider outdated cultural norms or political compromises made along the way. Again, I'm an historian, and I know how religions evolve and devolve, and the clumsy compromises they make over the years as they expand and become institutionalized. Having said all this, the hours that I devote to reading and rereading all the text and the commentary, as well as innumerable outside sources, has only enriched my faith and not destroyed it. In the Quran we're instructed to think, not unquestioningly memorize. I think that Judaism simply does a better job of internalizing and institutionalizing reflection and questioning than we do. Isn't that the point of Job? Naturally, we share the same prophet, normally expressed as Ayyub (in fact, I visited his tomb in Oman years ago), although the Quran covers his story very briefly and mainly celebrates him for remaining steadfast while leaving out the questioning: "And [remember] Job, when he cried unto his Lord, 'Truly affliction has befallen me! And Thou art the most Merciful of the merciful.' So We answered him and removed the affliction that was upon him, and We gave him his family, and the like thereof along with them, as a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshippers." (21:83-84) Now, if you read the Study Quran, or other Qurans that include commentary, you see that there have always been disagreements among the different schools of Islamic thought (again, more tomorrow), although that debate tends to remain at the level of sorting out inconsistencies and never raises to the level of questioning the nature of faith.
Muhammad, Hadith
Earlier this morning I sent along a picture of two pages of tiny print commentary (which I'll include in tomorrow post) to my friends as a way of explaining what I spend a lot of my time doing during Ramadan (as I told them, it's not simply fasting and feasting). As I've said before, by far my favorite part of the month is the time that I get to devote to study (not that I don't study during the year, but certainly in a much less structured fashion). Beyond everything else, I guess the historian and the nerd in me loves to analyze a text deeply and to learn (and struggle) with a new intellectual, as well as religious and spiritual, universe. All of this is a roundabout way of bringing me to the hadith quoted above. While faith is the key concept, is blind unquestioning faith better than a faith examined and tested and accepted? This is why I think this month is so key, not because we're fasting but because we're taking time to examine ourselves and our faith. Granted, it's not easy and often it's puzzling if not unpleasant. There are times during reading and studying when I come away confused and, at times, truthfully, more than a little angry with my religion; although, again truthfully, that normally relates to little corners of the religion which normally reflect what I would consider outdated cultural norms or political compromises made along the way. Again, I'm an historian, and I know how religions evolve and devolve, and the clumsy compromises they make over the years as they expand and become institutionalized. Having said all this, the hours that I devote to reading and rereading all the text and the commentary, as well as innumerable outside sources, has only enriched my faith and not destroyed it. In the Quran we're instructed to think, not unquestioningly memorize. I think that Judaism simply does a better job of internalizing and institutionalizing reflection and questioning than we do. Isn't that the point of Job? Naturally, we share the same prophet, normally expressed as Ayyub (in fact, I visited his tomb in Oman years ago), although the Quran covers his story very briefly and mainly celebrates him for remaining steadfast while leaving out the questioning: "And [remember] Job, when he cried unto his Lord, 'Truly affliction has befallen me! And Thou art the most Merciful of the merciful.' So We answered him and removed the affliction that was upon him, and We gave him his family, and the like thereof along with them, as a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshippers." (21:83-84) Now, if you read the Study Quran, or other Qurans that include commentary, you see that there have always been disagreements among the different schools of Islamic thought (again, more tomorrow), although that debate tends to remain at the level of sorting out inconsistencies and never raises to the level of questioning the nature of faith.
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