"And We have sent down unto thee the Book in truth, confirming the Book that came before it, and as a protector over it. So judge between them in accordance with what God has sent down, and follow not their caprices away from the truth that has come unto thee. For each among you We have appointed a law and a way. And had God willed, He would have made you one community, but [He willed otherwise], that He might try you in that which He has given you. So vie with one another in good deeds.Unto God shall be your return all together, and He will inform you of that wherein you differ."
Quran 5:48
Yes, we're now on the other side of another Ramadan, but my goal is to continue to write on Islam and issues, big and small, local and more global, related to being a Muslim. I am done fasting, so hopefully I'll begin to start writing (and thinking) in complete sentences again (although I rarely did before, truthfully; insert joke of man talking to a doctor about playing the piano).
Anyway, here's one of my favorite passage, drawn from the fifth surah, which is sometimes rendered as "The Table Spread." It's one of the longest, and also richest, surahs, so I'll end up having a lot to say about it down the road.
This passage starts off by confirming that the Quran was sent down to confirm both the Torah and the Gospels, and, from an Islamic perspective, also protect them. That doesn't mean that Islam agrees with entirely with Judaism and Christianity, of course, but that has much less to do with the message than what Jews and Christians eventually did with the message. The Islamic perspective would be that the earlier messages were incomplete, which doesn't mean they were incorrect. As the centuries progressed Jews and Christians moved farther and farther away from the message (which, obviously, is essentially what Martin Luther and the other Protestant reformers said in the sixteenth century). Now, could you make a similar argument that as the centuries progressed Muslims moved farther and farther away from the message? The official line would be no (as it would be inside of every religion) but I would argue yes, but that will doubtless be a number of blog discussions down the road.
More importantly, at least to me in this moment in regards to this blog post (well, truthfully, I'd say more importantly generally) it also speaks to the importance of religious diversity. As Nasr explains in the commentary from the Study Quran:
"Although vv. 41-47 taken together suggest the validity of Jews and Christians judging by their own scriptures and thus the continuing spiritual guidance to be found in those scriptures, this verse goes farther by asserting the providential nature of different religious communities and their distinct laws and practices. Indeed, the verse does not pertain only to Jews and Christians, but rather makes a universal statement about all religions. For each among you We have appointed a law and a way indicates that different religious communities may have different ritual and legal formulations specifically 'appointed' for them by God, and that each religious community is independent of the laws of other such communities, even if the essential truths and principles of the religions are the same." Nasr p. 301
The popular perception is that Islam doesn't respect or even recognize other religions, but nothing is further from the truth. Are there intolerant Muslims? Of course. That's like asking if there are human Muslims? But in the Quran we are reminded again and again to be tolerant and respectful of other traditions. What I like about Nasr's comment is that he's not simply stopping at the Peoples of the Book, and taking it to more general issues of faith. Now, is Nasr more ecumenical than most Muslims? Sadly, that is doubtless true, but I read the Quran the same way he does on this issue.
Nasr continues his commentary:
"The subsequent command vie with one another in good deeds (cf. 2:148; 3:114), however, seems most plausibly addressed to human beings as a whole and thus supposes not a process of supersession among religious forms, but rather a contemporaneous existence of different religious communities competing in virtue. The competition is in good deeds and thus on the practical rather than theological level. Resolving the intractable theological differences between the religions may not be a vocation for religious adherents in this world; rather, these may be matters only resolved by God in the Hereafter, when He will inform you of that wherein you differ. This verse carries enormous importance for the question of religious pluralism from an Islamic perspective. Since it is one of the key verses confirming the essential truth of different religious forms and indicating that the formal differences between religions have been Divinely ordained, it has played a central role in contemporary Islamic discussions of religious pluralism."
I know I quote Nasr an awful lot, but, seriously, I'm going to state it better than that? Devoting time to arguing about whether your view of God is better than another person's is some combination of counterproductive, onanistic and potentially dangerous. Rather, compete with them in good deeds. As I've often proposed, we can't understand and control the divine, but we can, hopefully, understand and control what we're doing on a daily basis. If I devote my time to being the best Muslim I can be, then any competition with someone else trying to be the best Hindu or Christian or Sikh or Jew or Buddhist they can be will only benefit ourselves and others.
Quran 5:48
Yes, we're now on the other side of another Ramadan, but my goal is to continue to write on Islam and issues, big and small, local and more global, related to being a Muslim. I am done fasting, so hopefully I'll begin to start writing (and thinking) in complete sentences again (although I rarely did before, truthfully; insert joke of man talking to a doctor about playing the piano).
Anyway, here's one of my favorite passage, drawn from the fifth surah, which is sometimes rendered as "The Table Spread." It's one of the longest, and also richest, surahs, so I'll end up having a lot to say about it down the road.
This passage starts off by confirming that the Quran was sent down to confirm both the Torah and the Gospels, and, from an Islamic perspective, also protect them. That doesn't mean that Islam agrees with entirely with Judaism and Christianity, of course, but that has much less to do with the message than what Jews and Christians eventually did with the message. The Islamic perspective would be that the earlier messages were incomplete, which doesn't mean they were incorrect. As the centuries progressed Jews and Christians moved farther and farther away from the message (which, obviously, is essentially what Martin Luther and the other Protestant reformers said in the sixteenth century). Now, could you make a similar argument that as the centuries progressed Muslims moved farther and farther away from the message? The official line would be no (as it would be inside of every religion) but I would argue yes, but that will doubtless be a number of blog discussions down the road.
More importantly, at least to me in this moment in regards to this blog post (well, truthfully, I'd say more importantly generally) it also speaks to the importance of religious diversity. As Nasr explains in the commentary from the Study Quran:
"Although vv. 41-47 taken together suggest the validity of Jews and Christians judging by their own scriptures and thus the continuing spiritual guidance to be found in those scriptures, this verse goes farther by asserting the providential nature of different religious communities and their distinct laws and practices. Indeed, the verse does not pertain only to Jews and Christians, but rather makes a universal statement about all religions. For each among you We have appointed a law and a way indicates that different religious communities may have different ritual and legal formulations specifically 'appointed' for them by God, and that each religious community is independent of the laws of other such communities, even if the essential truths and principles of the religions are the same." Nasr p. 301
The popular perception is that Islam doesn't respect or even recognize other religions, but nothing is further from the truth. Are there intolerant Muslims? Of course. That's like asking if there are human Muslims? But in the Quran we are reminded again and again to be tolerant and respectful of other traditions. What I like about Nasr's comment is that he's not simply stopping at the Peoples of the Book, and taking it to more general issues of faith. Now, is Nasr more ecumenical than most Muslims? Sadly, that is doubtless true, but I read the Quran the same way he does on this issue.
Nasr continues his commentary:
"The subsequent command vie with one another in good deeds (cf. 2:148; 3:114), however, seems most plausibly addressed to human beings as a whole and thus supposes not a process of supersession among religious forms, but rather a contemporaneous existence of different religious communities competing in virtue. The competition is in good deeds and thus on the practical rather than theological level. Resolving the intractable theological differences between the religions may not be a vocation for religious adherents in this world; rather, these may be matters only resolved by God in the Hereafter, when He will inform you of that wherein you differ. This verse carries enormous importance for the question of religious pluralism from an Islamic perspective. Since it is one of the key verses confirming the essential truth of different religious forms and indicating that the formal differences between religions have been Divinely ordained, it has played a central role in contemporary Islamic discussions of religious pluralism."
I know I quote Nasr an awful lot, but, seriously, I'm going to state it better than that? Devoting time to arguing about whether your view of God is better than another person's is some combination of counterproductive, onanistic and potentially dangerous. Rather, compete with them in good deeds. As I've often proposed, we can't understand and control the divine, but we can, hopefully, understand and control what we're doing on a daily basis. If I devote my time to being the best Muslim I can be, then any competition with someone else trying to be the best Hindu or Christian or Sikh or Jew or Buddhist they can be will only benefit ourselves and others.
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