Journey Through the Past - A Different New Year's Eve

My brother Eric uncovered a treasure trove of pictures recently and shared some of them with me. Here's a couple pictures that I think were taken on New Year's Eve in 1977 passing into 1978. It seems that it was a skiing trip that a bunch of folks from my hometown went on up in Michigan. It would have been my senior year in high school and I recognize some of the folks, but sadly others I don't at all (which doubtless says something more bad about me than them).

That scrawny lad on the far left was me getting ready to turn eighteen. The scoundrel in front of the window in the back is Jack Schultz, who is still my great friend even today (I'll be seeing him in March for yet another fantasy baseball draft - and we're playing each other in our fantasy football league pity playoffs this week). My sister Lisa is in the center up front, marked by her classic gutter pipe curls.

The girl to my left is Dara, who was my girlfriend in high school. She clearly could have done better.

As my life seems to be in flux again I guess it's not that surprising that I'm reflecting on New Year's Eves past.

The Gospel According to Nasr

By now it should be clear to anyone who read this blog that I have a major academic/man crush in Seyyed Nasr, and sometimes it passes on to my students. Here's a great moment that I missed because I was laid up with a bum knee. My student Matthew squirrelled away a copy of Nasr's Islamic Art and Spirituality, which we read in the class, in this suitcase so that he could reread it to the rest of the students. Here he is reading from Nasr in front of the Monastery in Petra. Granted, the Monastery is not a great example of Islamic art and spirituality, but it's the thought that counts.

This reminds me of the time I dragged Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a much bigger tome, around on my first trip to Jordan and then read it to the other professors in the room in the castle that Lawrence was discussing (my most nerdy in a life of nerdy moments).

What It Means - Day 288

"Then [it was] by a mercy from God that thou wert gentle with them. Hadst though been severe [and] hard-hearted they would have scattered from about thee. So pardon them, ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in affairs. And when thou art resolved, trust in God; truly God loves those who trust."
Quran 3:159

This verse is drawn from the third surah, Al Imran, here rendered as "The House of Imran." While it specifically references the Prophet treating believers who had failed to uphold their obligations during a famous battle, it can also be read more generally as a call to kindness and gentleness.

Nasr tells us, "On the subject of gentleness, al-Razi quotes a saying attributed to Ali: 'God has been so good to us! We were idolaters, and if the Messenger of God has come with this entire religion all at once, and with the Quran all at once, the responsibilities would have weighed heavily upon us, and we would not have entered Islam. Rather, he called us to a single word, and when we accepted it and tasted the sweetness of faith, we accepted what came after it, word upon word, in a gentle way, until the religion was completed and the law was perfected.'"

What It Means - Day 287

"Thus did We make you a middle community, that you may be witnesses for mankind and that the Messenger may be a witness for you."
Quran 2:143

And yet another verse drawn from al-Baqarah, the second and longest surah, here rendered as "The Cow." We've discussed the notion of the Islamic world as the middle community before, in regards to 1) being a middle ground between the Jewish (law) and the Christian (spirit) world, 2) geographically, in that it touches upon all of the other religions of the world, 3) the call for a path of moderation, etc. I think I tagged the concept again for today's blog post because it struck me the other day how often we find ourselves as Muslims on the fringes, both through external and internal actions and perceptions.

What It Means - Day 286

"The fools among the people will say, 'What has turned them away from the qiblah they had been following?' Say, 'To God belong the East and the West. He guides whomsoever He will unto a straight path.'"
Quran 2:142

Here is another verse drawn from al-Baqarah, "The Cow," the second surah. It's not surprising that I've drawn so many verses from al-Baqarah, not simply because it's by far the longest surah but it is also a foundational one in so many ways. In this specific instance the decision to switch the qiblah, the direction of prayer, from Jerusalem to Mecca is discussed. As you know, at the front (almost universally) of every mosque you can find the mihrab, which indicates the direction of prayer; or, to put it another way, the mihrab points out the qiblah. Nasr tells us:

"The Prophet prayed toward Jerusalem for a certain number of months after arriving in Madinah after the hijrah (the emigration from Makkah); in the reports the number of months varies between thirteen and twenty, but most mention six or seventeen." (p. 63)

Now, how does one figure out which way to face? Again, from Nasr:

  "Determining the qiblah in locales outside of Makkah has been and continues to be a subject of lively debate. Several different methods have been employed throughout the centuries wherever Musolims have lived and traveled. One early method was to stand as though one were facing a wall of the Ka'bah that was extended far enough horizontally; in this system the Islamic worlds was divided into geographic sectors, each praying towards a different wall of the Ka'bah. Since of the corners of Ka'bah are oriented toward the cardinal directions and its sides face the summer sunrise and CAnopus (the souther pole star frequently used for navigation), the direction of prayer was often determined by these celestial markers.
   Later, increasingly sophisticated mathematical methods were developed and continue to be used to calculate the qiblah, among them the great circle, which is the shortest surface line between Makkah and any spot on earth. In North America, for example, the great circle to Makkah begins in a northeasrly direction, constantly changing compass bearing toward the southeast until it reach Makkah. The older method for calculating the qiblah direction for North America would give a southeasterly bearing, since North Amjerca would be part of the sector of the world corresponding to the Ka'bah wall that is perpendicular to that direction." (p. 63)

So, with all of our modern technology can we assume that we can universally agree exactly which way to face? Well, sort of. My Muslim Pro app (which I've discussed before) has a qiblah compass on it, although it never seems to point to the direction wherein I think Mecca is (again, this must be because it uses one of the methods above which I can't quite sort out). One of the questions that Muslims will sometimes ask is, "In which direction would a Muslim astronaut face during prayer?" In a famous hadith the Prophet once said, "Whatever is between the east and the west is a qiblah," which does give us much greater flexibility in lining up. To me this hadith is very much a metaphor for the entire experience of being a Muslim; God clearly wanted all of this to be easier than we've made it.

What It Means - Day 285

"He said, 'My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.' He said, 'Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak with men for three nights, [while thou are] sound.'"
Quran 19:10

"'And if thou seest any human being say, "Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man."' Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, 'O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing! O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.' Then she pointed to him. They said, 'How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?' He said, 'Truly I am a servant of God."
Quran 19:26-30

I've definitely been stuck in the nineteenth surah, Maryam, lately, which is fine because it's a fascinating one. As I've said before, when non-Muslims are interested in reading the Quran Maryam is one of the surahs I suggest. I found these two passage interesting because in both of them the recipient of this divine message responded with silence. As Nasr tells us in the corresponding commentary: "That both Zachariah and Mary were commanded to observe silence after these miraculous events suggests the spiritual significance of silence. Many Sufis have indicated that silence is the only true way to communicate or express an encounter with God's Presence, as all words are inadequate in such cases. Outward silence, moreover, can be a manifestation of an inward suppression or emptying of the self in the Face of the Divine." (p. 767)

I find this fascinating, and also challenging, because when is it OK to break that silence? If God is, by definition, ineffable, when do we have the power to express this Presence? Is it simply the passage of time? Would not all words fail, immediately and later? This is one of the reasons why I struggle with folks who pick out a specific passage to justify a decision. Is not the general understanding of the faith a separate approach? When we break the silence of God are we not doomed to misrepresent the divine?

Night Sky in the Wadi Rum

Here are some absolutely amazing shots taken by my student Kayle Bailey during our recent trip to Jordan. It's pictures like this that make me want to buy a great camera - and somehow develop some aesthetic sense.

What It Means - Day 284

"Since nearly all named figures in the Quran are considered prophets, and since Mary receives the message about her miraculous conception of Jesus, identified as God's 'Word,' from the Archangel Gabriel, the angel of revelation, a small minority of Islamic authorities, such as the Andalusian theologian Ibn Hazm (d. 456/1064) and the Persian Sufi Ruzbihan al-Baqli (d. 606/1209), consider her to be a female prophet. However, since Mary is not explicitly identified as a prophet in the Quran and Islamic tradition generally holds that all prophets are male (based n the description of prophets as 'men' in 12:109), most Muslim authorities do not consider Mary a prophet, but rather an exceptionally pious woman with the highest spiritual rank among women. In a hadith, the Prophet names Mary as one of the four spiritually perfected women of the world."
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Study Quran, p. 763

Actually, I'm borrowing this passage from Nasr's introduction to Maryam, the nineteenth surah. In this case I'm mainly tagging it for future study, especially in regards to the work of Ibn Hazm and al-Baqli. To me, and again I'm speaking only for me, this appears another example where religious orthodoxy and institutions are playing a role, in this case more than passive, of supporting the patriarchal suppression of women. It's typical, and sad, that the "rule" that "nearly all named figures in the Quran are considered prophets" doesn't apply to Mary. I'm not critiquing Nasr because he's not speaking as a separate individual here, but rather as a scholar trying to convey the complex combination of innumerable scholars commenting of a touchy issue. In fact, it would have been very easy for him to not even mention the fact that some scholars, even a tiny minority, would classify Mary as a prophet. Mary is left out, with the rules that apply to other named figures not applying to her; the ultimate glass ceiling. I find myself at odds with many of my brothers on gender issues, and this is definitely another one.

What It Means - Day 283

"Islamic tradition makes a distinction between the title prophet (nabi) which pertains to all those given a message from God - of either glad tidings or warning, or both - to deliver to their people, and 'messenger' (rasul), which refers to those prophets who have brought a new revelation or religious law for their people. All messengers are prophets, but not all prophets are messengers. The two terms are more distinct in meaning in Islamic tradition than they are in the Quran, however, where certain prophets, such as Hud and other Arabian non-Biblical prophets, who were given only a message of warning and not a new religion or scripture, are referred to as 'messenger' (rasul) rather than 'prophet' (nabi; see 7:67; 26:125, 143). Abraham is considered both a messenger and a prophet in Islamic tradition, but only the title 'prophet' is used explicitly for Abraham in the Quran itself. That Abraham is also a messenger (rasul) according to the traditional definition may be implicit in 4:163-65 and in his having been given scriptures in 55:36-37 and 87:19."
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Study Quran, p. 774

I choose passages for this year-long blog reflection for several reasons, one of them being simply because I'm trying to study and teach myself aspects of the faith. The difference between a prophet and messenger sometimes comes up in class, and students, well, at least the bright ones, find it an interesting distinction. So, as I was working on yesterday's blog post I came across this note in the commentary and decided to include it for today so that I could mark it. I'm surprised that anyone ever reads my blog, so I guess in the end it's always for me anyway. Note to self: "All messengers are prophets, but not all prophets are messengers."

What It Means - Day 282

"And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place. And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said, 'I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent!' He said, 'I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy.' She said, 'How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?' He said, 'Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, 'It is easy for Me.'' And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed. So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off. And the pants of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, 'Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!' So he called out to her from below her, 'Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee. And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee. So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being say, "Verily I have vowed a vast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man."' Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, 'O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing!' O sister of Aaron! Thy was not not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.' Then she pointed to him. They said, 'How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?' He said, "Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live, and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!' That is Jesus son of Mary - a statement of the truth, which they doubt. It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, 'Be!' and it is."
Quran 19:16-35

I thought that in honor of Christmas I'd feature the Quranic version of the story of Mary and Jesus. It is drawn, not surprisingly, from the nineteenth surah, Maryam. As we know Mary is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the Bible, and she's the only woman mentioned by name in the entire Quran. As is always the case in the Quran the stories that you're familiar with from the Old or New Testament are presented in shorter versions, meant less as a history and more as a point for reflection. So, not surprisingly, this version is brief. It is similar to the Biblical version, keeping in mind that there are differing versions in the Gospels, but in other ways different. There is no Joseph here and Mary is terribly alone, with no manger scene and no visitors. The biggest difference, obviously, is the Islamic emphasis that this happens because God wants it to happen, and should not be taken as proof that Jesus is the son of God (since in Islam, as in Judaism, no one is the son of God). The surah opens with a retelling of the story of Zachariah, which reminds the reader, and sets up the following Jesus story, that God does sometimes place babies in wombs, old or virginal, wherein it seems illogical or unbelievable.

Now, on a purely personal note, simply because I converted years ago this doesn't mean that I no longer love Christmas, because I think I love it just as much, if not more, than I ever did. I love what it represents, in much the same way that I love Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Part of it, undeniably, is history. I will sometimes tell my brothers and sisters that there is no way that I can ever love or even appreciate Ramadan as they do because I do not have memories to draw upon. Christmas has an emotional attachment which will never fade with age. I guess I'm the Muslim version of the old professor from The Bishop's Wife.

What It Means - Day 281

"When God's Help and Victory come and you see mankind entering God's religion in throngs, hymn the praise of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness from Him. Truly He is Ever Relenting."
Quran 110:1-3

This is entire surah of al-Nasr, here rendered as "Help," which is the 110th surah (out of 114) so we would expect it to be short. While some of the shorter surahs display a more demanding/vengeful god, this one emphasizes God's desire for forgiveness. As Nasr tells us, "The Divine Name 'the Relenting' is also coupled with the Merciful in several verses (see 2:37, 54, 128, 160; 4:16, 64; 9:104, 118; 49:12). God is portrayed as relenting unto human beings throughout human history, beginning with Adam and Eve (see 2:37c), and every revelation can be seen as a form of God's relenting." As I've opined before, why would God have created us if He/She/It were so angry and vengeful and why would we worship God if He/She/It were so angry and vengeful? At the same time, it makes sense that God would create us if He/She/It were merciful and relenting, and equally logical that we would willingly worship God if He/She/It were merciful and relenting.

What It Means - Day 280

"Say, 'O disbelievers! I worship not what you worship; nor are you worshippers of what I worship; nor am I a worshipper of what you worship; nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.'"
Quran 109:1-6

I can't believe that I haven't discussed this surah (the entirety of the one hundred and ninth, al-Kafirun, here rendered as "The Disbelievers") before, but according to my scribbled notes I haven't. My notes also say, "Learn in Arabic," in that it's a surah that I would like to routinely feature in my daily prayers. This is one of the best examples in the Quran of the leaving people of different beliefs alone; even if you think that they are wrong, and you take a more negative read on this, the notion is that God will sort them out in the end. I have my students read this surah quite often, although they, oddly, tend to take this more negatively, which may just relate to the fact that they take all religions and religious texts negatively.

Milking the Franchise

OK, so I swiped this meme off the internet, and that is remarkably unlike me. However, it seemed to encapsulate what has dominated so much of my break so far - and all my friends' response to it. If I'm ever going to finish this book on the epics I need to get serious, and right now I'm pouring into Virgil's Aeneid (which is better than I remembered, but still not nearly as good as the Iliad; oh, I know there are people who think that the Odyssey is better than the Iliad, and they are free to hold that opinion, although they're horribly, sadly, fatuously, comically, wrong).

I think most of my friends would be the guy on the far left.

What It Means - Day 279

"Truly We have bestowed abundant good upon thee. So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice. Truly thine enemy shall be the one with prosperity."
Quran 108:1-3

As we know the surahs in the Quran get shorter and shorter as it progresses, remembering that their is no chronological order to the work. With that in mind, his is the entirety of the 108th surah, al-Kawthar, here rendered as "Abundant Good."  In this case I'm mainly interested in the second verse: "So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice." Nasr tell us:

"Most interpret so pray as a command to perform the obligatory prayers. As it is connected to the command to sacrifice, others say it indicates the prayer of the Feats of Sacrifice (id al-adha), which is part of the rites of the hajj and comes at its end. In accordance with this verse and a well-known hadith, most maintain that the payer must precede the sacrifice in order for the sacrifice to be accepted. And sacrifice translates wa'nhar, which could also mean, 'and raise your hands.' In this interpretation it is taken as a reference to the practice of raising the hands to the ears during prayer. All schools of law agree that this should be done at the opening of the canonical prayer while saying, 'God is greatest' (Alahu akbar), marking the entry into the sacred rite." (p. 1569)

I've included links to videos showing Muslims praying before, and the raising of the hands repeatedly is what Nasr is referencing here. In a broader sense, he's talking about the importance of praying before any act. When we take students to Zanzibar we participate in a cooking class, and one of the most interesting moments (and for some students, alarming) moments is when our friend Omar puts in his traditional Zanzibari/Omari hat, say a prayer, and sacrifices a chicken. It would be haram otherwise. Taking a step back, it could be argued that the point is that we should approach all actions with a seriousness and an intentionality.

What It Means - Day 278

"By the panting chargers, by the strikers of sparks, by the raiders at dawn, raising a trail of dust, penetrating to the center altogether, truly man is ungrateful to his Lord, and truly he is a witness to that, and truly he is fierce in his love for good things."
Quran 100:1-8

Here are the first eight verses of the one hundredth surah, al-Adiyat, here rendered as "The Chargers." I love the imagery, certainly, and you can get a sense of the Arabic love of poetry - and of horses. In the end I think I chose it for the eighth verse, "and truly he is fierce in his love for good things." It's another Quranic reminder that human beings inevitably focus on the wrong things. It seems to me that with every passing year I care less and less about my possessions, and the things of this world. As Lester Burnham tells us in American Beauty, "it's just a couch! This isn't life, it's just stuff."

What It Means - Day 277

"Truly it is not the eyes that go blind, but it is hearts within breasts that go blind."
Quran 22:46

We're returning al-Hajj, the twenty-second surah, usually, not surprisingly, rendered as "The Pilgrimage." Nasr informs us:

"The blindness of hearts is alluded to throughout the Quran, in addition to deafness and dumbness. As discussed in the commentary on 2:7 and the introduction to Surah 47 and as exemplified in this verse, the heart is the seat of knowledge and the organ of spiritual understanding. This is further explicated in the hadith: 'In the body there is a lump of flesh; when it is healthy, the whole body is healthy, and when it is rotten, the whole body is rotten. Yea, it is the heart.'" (p. 841)

We seem to be a nation whose heart is rotten. I can't believe there was ever a time when that has been more true, sadly. We want to blame Trump, obviously, and he is playing a huge role in making it worse, but he's also a symptom as well.

What It Means - Day 276

"They said, 'Oh, woe unto us! Truly we have been wrong-doers.' And that did not cease to be their cry, till We made them a mown field, stilled."
Quran 21:14-15

And here's another passage drawn from al-Anbiya, the twenty-first surah, here rendered as "The Prophets." OK, I clearly have nothing to add to this one, other than the fact that I liked the symbolism. The punishment of unbelievers is described in many fashions in the Quran, but the notion of them as a "mown field, stilled" is simply beautifully constructed.

Shades

Has it really been three weeks since we were in the Wadi Rum? Was it all a dream? I almost arranged a trip to the Wadi Rum for the Trip of Mystery - and my great friends at Petra Moon Travel were going to put it all together - but then it seemed silly to go there when I would have just been in Jordan, and have been to Jordan a dozen time; it doesn't seem so silly now.

I swiped this picture from the truly excellent Erik Esckilsen. Wish we were back there right now.

What It Means - Day 275

"Yet they said, 'Confused dreams! Nah, he has fabricated it! Nah, he is a poet! Let him bring us a sign like those of old were sent!'"
Quran 21:5

I believe this is the first passage I've drawn from the twenty-first surah, al-Anbiya, here rendered as "The Prophets." Actually, I don't think I have a lot to add to this passage, other than it seemed like a worthy followup to yesterday's discussion of the suffering of the Prophet. There was certainly nothing about the early life or lineage of the Prophet which would have made people assume that he would serve as a vessel for God's messages. Consequently many people assumed that the revelations were fake, and that he was either a charlatan or a poet. For Muslims the majesty of the poetry inherent in the Quran, of course, is considered proof of the miracle.

What It Means - Day 274

"We did not send down the Quran unto thee that thou shouldst be distressed."
Quran 20:2

This is the first passage, after the separated letters, of the twentieth surah, Ta Ha. In the corresponding commentary Nasr tells us:

"The Quran was not give to the Prophet to cause him to be distressed over its acceptance or rejection by his people, or their belief or disbelief in its message. Thus this verse relates to the wider Quranic theme of God's addressing the prophets' human reactions to the trials they encountered when rejected by their people. According to another interpretation, the Prophet had been praying all night to the point that his legs had become swollen; so this verse was revealed, conveying that the Quran was not sent to cause him to weaken and exhaust himself in acts of worship, thereby causing undue hardship upon himself." (p. 789)

A couple things jump out at me from this verse, and especially from Nasr's commentary. First off, it's sometimes easy in religions to lose sight of the hardships and suffering of the founders of the faith. Christians, of course, focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus, although there's not a lot of time devoted to the rest of his life. Islam devotes considerable time discussing the challenges of the prophets, and especially of the Prophet. We've talked about the complexity of Muhammad's life, a matrix of religious, social, political and military responsibilities. Beyond that, he also suffered, physically and emotionally, and the revelation reminds us that suffering is not supposed to be part of the faith.

Secondly, I was looking over my copy of the Study Quran and I remembered that I had written, "g - what about more generally to all believers?" That is, are any of us supposed to suffer for this faith or any other? In Islam the answer is no, hence the Quranic statement, "God desires for you what is easy, not what is hard."  Does it mean that there are no consequences? Of course not. Instead the point is that following the faith is not meant to be painful, physically or emotionally.

What It Means - Day 273

"This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the reverent . . ."
Quran 2:2

This is the first verse, after the separated letters, from the second surah, al-Baqarah, "The Cow." I chose this so that I could discuss the concept of taqwa, which, I have to admit, I first came into contact with years ago while watching the Taqwacore, a documentary on the rise of punk Islam.

Nasr tell us in the commentary:

"Reverent translates muttaqin, which comes from the central Quranic concept of taqwa, rendered in this translation as reverence. Taqwa comes from the root w-q-y, which evokes the sense of wariness, care, and protection. As it concerns the attitude of human beings toward God, taqwa conveys the sense of fear, mindfulness, and a constant awareness of God's Presence and Power. As evidence in this verse and many others (such as 49:13: Surely the most noble of you before god are the most reverent of you), reverence is a central spiritual virtue in the Quran along with such other qualities as trust (tawakkul), hope (raja), piety (birr) fear (khawf), and contentment (rida)." (pp. 14-15)

As I always propose, everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, should own a copy of Nasr's Study Quran. Truthfully, I don't know where I would be without the beautiful translation and the rich commentary to add context. Now, what do I think a "constant awareness of God's Presence and Power" means? I think it means leads an active, intentional, mindful life, being constantly aware of your place in the universe and the needs of those around you.

The Shelves are Stocked

I just wanted to post a picture that I snapped yesterday at the South Burlington Food Shelf. A couple weeks ago I included a post touching upon the efforts to get it up and running, and it's amazing how far we've come in five weeks. The community has been very generous, and now out biggest challenges (beyond raising money) is to get the word out to all the folks who need help. This week Trader Joe's delivered fresh fruit and vegetables and prepared meals several times and we're stuffed.

In my faith charity is stressed to an incredible degree (it is one of the Five Pillars) but I hope that I would be as excited about this project, as well as the work of TechDren, even if I were not a convert. While I've been sad and more than a bit frustrated lately, at the same time I know that I'm very blessed and I hope to have many opportunities to give back.

Oh, and the other night my son came to the Food Shelf to volunteer, which made it even better.

What It Means - Day 272

Normally this is where I would include a passage from the Quran or the ahadith, but instead today I'll tell a brief story. After the sermon on Friday our Imam took a moment to answer a question that had been asked a couple of times that week, and he figured that he'd go ahead and answer it publicly because he figured others might have the same question. One or two brothers or sisters had raised the question of whether or not we should chop down the "Christmas trees" that surround the space that will become our new masjid next month (remember, we purchased a church and are in the final stages of converting it). Our Imam, gently and patiently, said no and explained why, focusing on two points. First, as Muslims we are told to honor and nurture all living things, trees included, and should never kill anything thoughtlessly. In addition, he points out that the trees, like all living creatures on earth, stood in submission to God, and that they certainly had no religion of their own - that it wasn't their decision to become Christmas trees. A couple things struck me as I sat their listening to his speech. First off, that all religions, and I mean every single one of them, fall victims to superstition. While faith may be true and pure, religions never are. Secondly, I was impressed by how carefully and gracefully the Imam handled this situation, and turned it into a teachable moment. Finally, I don't mean any of this as a shot at the person/persons who initially asked the question, because I'm glad they asked it. It's much better that these issues are dealt with in the light of day as compared to festering in the dark.

What It Means - Day 271

"God, ever mighty and majestic is He, says: 'The act of worship that is most beloved to Me is the giving of good counsel.'"
Muhammad, Hadith

Here is a hadith, or in this case hadith qudsi or "divine hadith" that is drawn from a collection prepared by the scholar and mystic Ibn Arabi. We've discussed the concept of hadith qudsi previously. As we know by now I'm always drawn to passages from the Quran or the hadith that lay out a practical code of conduct, and this one certainly falls within that category. Essentially, there are many ways to be a good Muslim, and one of them is to be a good friend and honest colleague.As I read this I think on the Islamic notion of always returning the worse with the better, which can clearly take many forms - one of which would be to help others understand and practice this approach.

What It Means - Day 270

"Truly We have bestowed abundant good upon thee. So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice. Truly thing shall be the one without posterity."
Quran 108:1-3

Here is the entire one-hundred eighth surah, al-Kawthar, here rendered as "Abundant Good." Right now I'm mainly interested in the second verse, "So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice."

Nasr opines:

"Most interpret so pray as a command to perform the obligatory prayers. As it is connected to the command to sacrifice, others say it indicates the prayer of the Feast of Sacrifice (id al-adha), which is part of the rites of the hajj and comes at the end. In accordance with this verse and a well-known hadith, most maintain the the prayer must precede the sacrifice in order for the sacrifice to be accepted. And sacrifice translates wa'nhar, which could also mean, 'and raise your hands.' In this interpretation it is taken as a reference to the practice of raising the hands to the ears during prayer. All schools of law agree that this should be done at the opening of the canonical prayer while saying, 'God is greatest' (Allahu akbar), marking the entry into the sacred rite."

What It Means - Day 269

"Say, 'I am only a human being like you. It is revealed unto me that your God is one God. So whosoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him perform righteous deeds and make no one a partner unto his Lord in worship."
Quran 18:110

I suppose as Muslims we shouldn't have "favorite" surahs, but, I guess, here's another example that I am not a particularly good Muslim because I'm culling out an example from one of my favorite surahs: al-Kahf, usually rendered as "The Cave," the eighteenth surah. I'm a little surprised that I haven't delved into this surah more thoroughly so far, but that may also be an indication of how much I love it. As we'll discuss down the road, it's a richly metaphoric surah, and one that surprised me the first time I read it (trapped, as I think I was, in the belief that the Quran was a harsh and painfully literal work). However, that's another discussion for another day. I chose this passage, the last in the surah, because it emphasizes one of the key elements of Islam, the notion that while Muhammad was an incredibly important prophet he was just a man. Recently I started reading Kecia Ali's The Lives of Muhammad, so expect a series of posts related to perceptions of the Prophet. After making this point clear the message then returns to a central theme of the Quran: the path to the next world is for those who "perform righteous deeds and make no one a partner unto his Lord in worship." So, Muhammad is revered, but he's not the point.

What It Means - Day 268

"And whosoever desires the Hereafter, and endeavors for it earnestly, and is a believer, it is they whose efforts shall be appreciated."
Quran 17:18

This brief passage is drawn from the seventeenth surah, al-Isra, here rendered as "The Night Journey."

Nasr tells us, "This verse is an important basis for the Islamic doctrine that deeds are judged according to their intentions, since here one is rewarded for desiring and earnestly endeavoring for the good, as a believer, without mention of the success or completion of all of one's endeavors." (p. 700)

I was talking to my Jordanian friend Mahmoud one time about the hajj and he told me that he had never had the time nor opportunity nor resources to go, but felt that he had successfully gone because he sincerely wanted to go. I'm not exactly certain this is what the Quran has in mind here, but it is another example from the Quran wherein we are reminded to lead an active and intentional life, focused on doing what is the right thing to do.

What It Means - Day 267

"Had God willed, He would have made you one community."
Quran 16:93

A short post in response to a short passage, drawn from the sixteenth surah, al-Nahl, here rendered as "The Bees."  It may be a short passage, but the implications, obviously, are profound. As we've discussed many times the perception from outside Islam is all too often that the religion is intolerant, and while we have more than our fair share of intolerant Muslims the faith itself is the furthest thing from intolerant. We are told repeatedly to respect other traditions, and in this passage we are told in no uncertain terms that diversity is a blessing, and not a punishment from God or something that must be overcome.

What It Means - Day 266

"Hast thou not considered how God sets forth a parable? A good word is as a good tree: its roots firm and its branches in the sky. It brings forth fruit in every season, by the Leave of its Lord, God sets forth parables for mankind, that haply they may remember. And the parable of a bad word is a bad tree: uprooted from the fact of the earth,; it has no stability."
Quran 14:24-26

Here is a passage drawn from the fourteenth surah, Ibrahim, rendered, not surprisingly, as "Abraham." Considering that the divine is, well, ineffable, it's not particularly surprising that all too often the prophets of all faiths resort to metaphors or parables to try and explain the unexplainable. In this instance the parable is more clear cut. Nasr tells us, "A good word is understood to refer here to the formula of the shahadah, 'There is no god but God.' . . . Like the date palm, which if firmly rooted in the earth, so too is the meaning of the shahadah ('There is no god but God') firmly rooted in the hearts of the people of Divine Unity. Al-Razi refers to this same reality by saying that when the tree of knowledge is firmly rooted in the land of one's heart, one becomes stronger and more complete, thereby enabling 'fruit' to issue forth from its 'branches' in abundance." (p. 634)

Dim Sum Carnage

When I have more time (Finals Week is upon us) I'll devote lengthy post to our trials and tribulations in making it to Jordan last week. Suffice it to say at this point that the normally reliable Student Universe was an unmitigated disaster this trip, with, seriously, five different screw-ups along the way. I'm still planning on using them this spring for the March trip to India, but they're definitely on a short leash. I don't have a lot of time - and should, truthfully, be grading right now - but the brief version of the story is that we ended up trapped in Montreal for an extra day on the flight out. Now, we could have sat in our hotel rooms and sulked, but instead we gathered our large crew and headed to China Town. Most of the students had never been there, and an even smaller number had ever tried Dim Sum. One Dim Sum Carnage later and they were quite content - and off we went for the Middle East.

One of the fundamental rules of student management is keep feeding them and they're usually happy.

At Sea Level

And yet another picture of me from the recent trip to Jordan. As I've made clear over the years I'm not a big fan of posting pictures of myself, and not simply because it is almost impossible to take a good picture of me. Still, it was a very memorable trip and thus I'll break the cardinal rule.

This was snapped on our last day as we traveled from Petra to the Dead Sea, with a brief stop to roam around Shobak Castle.

Yes, and there's the Rising Sun shirt again.

Road to Damascus

OK, so I swiped this picture from one of the students on the recent Jordan trip. I pity my camel.

As I opined on Twitter, the camel and I will reach Damascus before the Vikings make it back to the Super Bowl.

What It Means - Day 265

"And be thou patient. Truly God neglects not the reward of the virtuous."
Quran 11:115

Here's another passage drawn from Hud. I don't know if I have anything particularly profound to add to it; I chose it because I find it quite beautiful. On one level it's yet another Quranic admonition to bear patiently the challenges we face. Lately I've been feeling very sad and discouraged and feeling that my life will never bring me the happiness I want, and not a happiness based on fame or academic achievement but rather a more simple desire just to come home at the end of the day. Now, in this case the second line of the passage doesn't apply because I'm not a particularly virtuous person (so, in that sense, maybe I deserve my unhappiness). Instead, I need the reminder that I need to be patient and to focus on the many gifts and blessings that I already have.

What It Means - Day 264

"And perform the prayer at the two ends of the day and in the early hours of the night. Truly good deeds remove those that are evil. This is a reminder for those who remember."
Quran 11:114

This passage is drawn from the eleventh surah, Hud. Not surprisingly it reminds me of the next to last passage of the seventh surah, which is often featured in my own prayers: "And remember thy Lord within thy soul, humbly and in awe, being not loud or voice, in the morning and the evening, and be not among those who are heedless." (7:205) The reference to praying at the "two ends of the day" and "the morning and the evening" is certainly interesting in relation to a faith that requires five prayers a day. To me in this instance it's another metaphoric reminder to always at the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, to stop and carve off some meditative time to be thankful for the many gifts that we have and to reflect upon the ways that we can be better people.

In addition the reminder that "good deeds remove those that are evil" brings us back to the essential Islamic precept that good deeds outweigh bad deeds. As Nasr reminds us, "In a more general sense, it can refer to the manner in which the positive effect of good actions can offset the negative effects of evil actions, as the Prophet said, 'Follow up an evil deed with a good deed, and it shall erase it.' In a hadith the prophet said, 'For Everything there is a polish, and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of God.'" (p. 587)

What It Means - Day 263

"But the believing men and believing women are protectors of one another, enjoining right and forbidding wrong, performing the prayer, giving the alms, and obeying God and His Messenger."
Quran 9:71

Here is another passage drawn from the ninth surah, al-Tawbah, rendered as "Repentance." We've seen similar passages before, and on one level I chose it because it speaks the spiritual equality of women and men. As Nasr explains, "This verse is significant with regard to the spiritual and social standing of women (cf. 33:35), because it places upon them the same spiritual and social obligations placed on men, including moral authority and protection." (p. 525) I also like it because it, as part of explaining the equal responsibility, it lays out essential, foundational aspects of the faith: "enjoining right and forbidding wrong, performing the prayer, giving the alms, and obeying God and His Messenger."

Suleiman and Ali

When we arrived at the camp in the Wadi Rum I initially thought that not only was it different than our camp from last time, but the third different camp that we had visited in our three trips to the Wadi Rum. Actually, it was the same Rainbow Camp where we had stayed on our first visit five years ago, but one that had expanded so dramatically it was at first glance unrecognizable. Most of the credit for this expansion goes to the brothers, Suleiman and Ali, who own and run the camp. It was great to see them again, and we've already started planning for next year's trip.

We discussed the potential for expanding the trip to two weeks, with the obvious time slots being two weeks in January or two weeks in May. Suleiman told me that the camp is open in January and that we are very welcome, but that it is very cold. I told him that it would not feel as cold for a Vermonter, but I'll still take his advice anyway.

What It Means - Day 262

"Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wheresoever you find them, capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. Bu if they repent, and perform the prayer and give the alms, then let them go their way. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. And if any of the idolaters seek asylum with thee, grant him asylum until he hears the Word of God."
Quran 9:5-6

This passage is one that I've referenced several times in passing. It's drawn from the ninth surah, al-Tawbah, here rendered as "Repentance," and is one of the most famous and important in the entire Quran.  The first line, 9:5, is sometimes referred to as the "surah of the sword."

As Nasr explains: "This passage is significant for debates concerning the use of force. For some, v. 5 of this surah abrogates all previous treaties and obligations in relation to the idolaters. Other commentators and jurists interpret this to mean that the idolaters are fought by reason of their idolatry and polytheism. However, since this passage itself explicitly affirms the validity and propriety of keeping treaties with those idolaters who uphold their side of the treaty in good faith, a more plausible reading of this passage would not see the very fact that certain person were idolaters as a reason to fight them; on this question see also 2:256c." (p. 506)

Essentially, Nasr's point is that the crime of the idolaters was not that they were idolaters, but rather that they had broken a treaty and killed some of the Muslims. This is not a small distinction. Their crime was not that they were polytheists (even if God or Muhammad or the Muslim community would not have approved of this) but rather that they were oath-breakers.

What's troublesome about 9:5 is that it is, no pun intended, a double-edged sword, one that is often cited by people outside of Islam to justify their criticism of the faith and also cited by extremist elements inside of the faith to justify their actions.

This also takes us back, once again, to my long-standing distrust of the entire concept of abrogations. We're supposed to ignore the innumerable times in the Quran that we're instructed to be kind and intolerant and forgiving of others, even those of other faiths, simply because of one passage, and one that is all too frequently misinterpreted? This passage has a very specific meaning in regards to a very specific situation, and expanding it into a general statement covering all our relationship with others is as odious as it is inaccurate and misleading.

Mahmoud

Now that we're back from Jordan expect a deluge of pictures. It was another extraordinary trip, despite some real challenges at the beginning. Here's a great picture of our students creating a mosh pit around our guide Mahmoud. The bus (you can see the driver Naif in the background) was dropping us off at the airport in Amman and it was time for final goodbyes.

They, the students and Mahmoud, seem genuinely, insanely happy. There were more than a few tears at the airport, which simply doesn't happen on our trips to India or Africa.

What It Means - Day 261

"And if they incline toward peace, incline thou toward it, and trust in God. Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing."
Quran 8:61

Here is a brief passage from the eighth surah, al-Anfal, here rendered as "The Spoils." I chose it because it yet another of the innumerable passages in the Quran advising peaceful relations with others. Of course, however, it's not that simple.

As Nasr explains in the related commentary: "Like other verses pertaining to peace and war with non-Muslims, there is disagreement over whether verses such as this one, which have a message and peace and reconciliation, are abrogated by verses thought to be revealed later in time that command the believers to fight." (p. 497)

I've talked before about the concept of abrogation, and my problems with it. One of my biggest problem is the timeline issue, again, as I've discussed previously. As Nasr writes, "abrogated by verses thought to be revealed later in time . . ."  Beyond everything else there's sometimes a general uncertainty related to exactly when messages were revealed. Beyond that, however, I always come back to the need to take the religion in its whole: what does it add up to, as compared to cherry picking specific passages that back an ideology of the reader. An overwhelming majority of the time we are instructed to treat all others with peace and forgiveness, and that's what we need to do.

A lot of the abrogation argument relates to a specific passage in the ninth surah, which I really need to get around to tackling in this yearly discussion.

The Hat Thieves

Here's a not too horrible picture of me in our camp in the Wadi Rum. Sitting next to me are Holly and Ashley, who will always simply be referred to as the Hat Thieves. Ashley is long famous for swiping hats, a peculiarity that I relate to her similarity to Professor Moriarty. Clearly she has brought Holly into her underworld empire.

I keep thinking of the concept of sympathetic magic from Frazer's The Golden Bough. It's oddly endearing.

What It Means - Day 260

"Man is asleep, and when he dies he awakens."
Muhammad, Hadith

Here is a very famous hadith, or saying, of the Prophet. I first came upon it when reading the commentary from Nast related to surah 18 in the Quran. So much of this particular surah, which I'll be talking about in much greater detail soon, deals with the transitional space between worlds, whether sleep and waking or between the human and divine spheres or between life and death. This particular hadith brings us back to the notion, quite common in Islam (and most religions, I guess) that the things in this world are temporary and unreal as compared to the eternal reality of the divine.

Sally

On the recent trip to Jordan (much, much more on that soon) I was able to see my old friend Sally a couple times. She teaches at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia and in sheer happenstance she was visiting Jordan with students at the same time I was visiting Jordan with students. We've known each other for something like fifteen years but hadn't seen each other for around thirteen of those years, so it was such a pleasure to spend a couple hours gabbing with her. Although we both make it to Jordan quite a bit it seems like our schedules never quite line up, and I suspect this will be true for next year as well, which made this lucky alignment all the sweeter. That said, there's a beautiful, terrible, cruel poignancy to seeing a friend or lover for the first time after many years because, in the almost Dickensian sense of paths not followed, you'll almost certainly never see them again. As Proust reminds us, the memory of a particular image is simply regret over a particular moment.

On the roof of the Petra Moon Hotel waiting to catch another amazing Jordanian sunset.

Sally has decided to, cruelly, not age, while I, well, am obviously and sadly taking a very different approach.

What It Means - Day 259

" . . . those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find inscribed in the Torah and the Gospel that is with them, who enjoin upon them what is right, and forbids them what is wrong, and makes good things lawful for them, and forbids them bad things, and relieves them of their burden and the shackles that were upon them."
Quran 7:157

This particular passage is drawn from the 7th surah, which I've referenced several times, and will again, known as al-A'raf, here rendered as "The Heights." It is one of several references in the Quran to Muhammad's "unlettered" status, essentially that he was not an educated man. Far from Muslims being ashamed of this fact they take pride in it because it speaks to the miracle of the Quran. In the corresponding commentary Nasr takes this point even further, "That the Prophet was unlettered is understood to mean that his soul was not defiled by profane knowledge and that it was a tabula rasa upon which the Divine Word cold be 'inscribed in its purest form, untainted by humanly acquired knowledge and learning." (p. 460)

Nasr then makes an interesting connection to Mary: "This doctrine is analogous in an essential way to the virginal purity of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who represented a pure conduit through which Jesus, described as a Word from God (3:45) - like the Quran, which is the Divine Word - could be brought into the world."

What It Means - Day 258

"The Messiah, son of Mary, was naught but a messenger - messengers have passed away before him. And his mother was truthful. Both of them ate food. Behold how We make signs clear unto them; yet behold how they are perverted!"
Quran 5:75

We've talked at length about how Jesus and Mary are revered in the Quran and more generally throughout Islam, although, again, they are not viewed the same way that they are viewed in Christianity. Here is one of the statements that reminds the readers that they are both humans, who "ate food," which is an interesting turn of phrase to emphasize their humanity. While Jesus is referred to as "the Messiah," the point is once again made that he is "naught but a messengers - messengers have passed away before him." Somewhat passages also relate to the Prophet, who, although he is considered to be the final prophet, is still considered to be only a man.  This passage is drawn from the 5th surah, al-Ma'idah, here rendered as "The Table Spread."