What It Means - Day 319

"And when Moses said unto his servant, 'I shall continue on till I reach the junction of the two seas, even if I journey for a long time.' Then when they reached the junction of the two, they forgot their fish, and it made its way to the sea, burrowing away. Then when they had passed beyond, he said to his servant, 'Bring us our meal. We have certainly met with weariness on this journey of ours.' He said, 'Didst thou see? When we took refuge at the rock, indeed I forgot the fish - and naught made me neglect to mention it, save Satan - and it made its way to the way in a wondrous manner!' He said, 'That is what we were seeking!' So they turned back, retracing their steps. There they found a servant from among Our servants whom We had granted a mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Our Presence."
Quran 18:60-66

OK, after a couple days break (caused by an insanely busy week tied to my life falling apart) we're back to our discussion of the 18th surah, al-Kahf, "The Cave." The other day I discussed my love of this surah, and its role is helping me understand the more complex, metaphoric and esoteric aspects of the Quran and Islam. Here we're entering into a lengthy section focused on Moses. As we've discussed, no character is mentioned more frequently in the Quran than Moses, and all of these references would be familiar to anyone who had read the Old Testament. However, this story is specific only to the Quran. There are two miracles associated with Jesus in the Quran which exist only in the Islamic tradition and not in Christian lore. This is the only non-Old Testament story told in the Quran. I routinely sing the praises of Nasr's Study Quran (and of Nasr himself, of whom I have a massive scholarly man crush - more soon on a very supportive email he sent me yesterday) and this is definitely one of those instances where the Study Quran earns its keep. Not only would you miss the profound esoteric aspects of the story, but also, truthfully, I don't even know how you would follow the story without Nasr's commentary. First off, "And when Moses said unto his servant . . .", who is the servant? Nasr tells us that scholars consider him to be Joshua, who appears and disappears very quickly in the story. He is then replaced by another servant, "whom We had granted a mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Our Presence." This second servant is Khidr or al-Khadir, "the Green One," and much more on him tomorrow. At this point the key is the journey to "the junction of the two seas," which sets up the metaphor of the entire story and is emblematic of the entire surah. As Nasr tells us, "this story shares the theme of intermediate realms: between life and death, between exoteric and esoteric knowledge, between the two seas, between the two mountain barriers . . ." And thus we launch an exploration of liminal spaces.

What It Means - Day 318

"Help one another toward piety and reverence; do not help one another toward sin and enmity."
Quran 5:2

Here is a very brief passage at the beginning of a lengthy surah, the 5th one, al-Ma'idah, here rendered as "The Table Spread," from which I've already drawn so many examples. This particular one is short and sweet, but I love its message of community and what we owe each other. As I grow older I increasingly think that solving the world's problems starts exactly on this level. It's almost like Muhammad Yunus (and in this case I guess it makes perfect sense that he's a Muslim from Bangladesh) and the micro-loans, in this case spiritual ones.

What It Means - Day 317

"We did not reveal the Quran to you to be miserable . . ."
Quran 20:2

I was originally planning on continuing my discussion of the 18th surah "The Cave" that I started yesterday, but this passage, which I saw on a Tweet from Shaykh Azhar Nasser, jumped out at me. I know we've talked about this before, but it always amazes (and saddens) me the number of folks of faith who seem to be made miserable by their own faith, and who, in turn, take out that pain on others. I will once again reference a line from Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer, where he reflects on people who, like spiders bloated by venom, can only relieve the pain by biting someone. That said, where does the venom come from? If the pain and venom comes from the faith then what are we really worshiping? As Nasser says in his Tweet, "If Islam is making you miserable, it's not Islam, it's something else disguised as Islam." And this brings me back to me continuing discussion of the internal versus the external aspects of the faith. It's not that both don't play a role in any religion, but how often do we stop at the more readily quantifiable, the external, and stop at the rules? We don't have the time - or the desire - to push through the transcendent truth and beauty, and only see Islam, or any religion, as a mechanism to control my actions and make me feel terrible about myself.

Complicated Legacy

My life has fallen apart pretty magnificently lately, although you wouldn't necessarily know it from my blogging. I made a promise to myself to write on faith every day for a year, and, much like my time with Proust, I'm determined to keep my promise. Truthfully, it also helps to distract me from personal problems. It has kept me from devoting much time to discussing my recent trip to Namibia, which, as I've said, was epic. I mentioned the complicated colonial legacy of Namibia before; it started out as a German colony before passing to the British and eventually to independence three decades ago (and it's not nearly that simple).  You can really see the lingering German influence in cities like Swakopmund, and not simply because of all the German tourists. On my one full day in Swakopmund, when I didn't end up going on my scheduled flight up and down the Skeleton Coast, I came across a monument dating back to the German days. The statue, dating from 1908 and known as the Marine Denkmal, celebrated the German suppression of a revolt against colonial rule led by the Herero and Nama ethnic groups. Obviously, one group's hero is another group's oppressor. You can clearly see the red paint that was recently sprayed on the statue by protectors who don't appreciate the celebration of colonial rule. If anything, it made the monument more real and more powerful, and shows that colonialism and decolonialism are an organic, and painful, process.

What It Means - Day 316

"When the youths took refuge in the cave, they said, 'Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Thy Presence, and make us incline to sound judgment concerning our affair.' So We placed [a veil] over their ears in the cave for a number of years. Then We raised them up again, that We might know which of the two parties had best calculated how long they had tarried. We recount their story unto thee in truth. Verily they were youths who believe in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. And We fortified their hearts. When they arose, they said, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall call upon no god apart from Him, for then we would have certain uttered an outrage. These, our people, have taken gods apart from Him. Why do they not bring a clear authority concerning them? For who does greater wrong than one who fabricates a lie against God? And when you have withdrawn from them and all that they worship save God, then take refuge in the cave. Your Lord will spread forth something of His Mercy for you, and make you incline to ease in your affair.' You wouldst have seen the sun when it rose, slanting away from their cave to the right; and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they were in an open space within it. That is among the signs of God. Whomsoever God guides, he is rightly guided; and whomsoever He leads astray, thou wilt find no protector to lead him aright. Thou wouldst have thought them awake, though they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, with their dog stretching forth his paws at the threshold. Hadst thou come upon them, thou wouldst have turned away in flight and been filled with terror on their account."
Quran 18:10-18

Here are some early passages from the 18th surah, al-Kahf, rendered as "The Cave." This is  a Quranic retelling/reflection on the Christian story of the Seven Sleepers, and it's the story that gives its name to the surah. I suppose when you're talking about the word of God you shouldn't admit to having a favorite surah, but, having said that, surah 18 is clearly one of my favorites surahs, and it's one that I reread consistently. We've discussed the notion, prominent outside of the faith, the Islam is a painfully literal faith, sort of like Protestants on steroids, which is simply not true. Instead, Islam is a faith where metaphor plays a huge role, which, considering the primacy of poetry in the Arabic world, should come as no surprise (although it surprises people all the time). The first surah that introduced me to this complex metaphoric world is al-Kahf.

As Nasr explains to us in the commentary: "Thus sleep is associated with the barzakh, the intermediate realm between two opposites; when one is sleeping, one is still alive, but one's soul has been 'taken' by God (6:60), so that it is a kind of 'minor death,' after which waking is like a resurrection . . . In this sense the story of the Companions of the Cave can be read not only as a proof of God's power of resurrection, but also as an allegory for the barzakh, or intermediate realm between individual death and universal resurrection. From a Sufi perspective, the turning of the youths in their sleep can also represent their alternation between the states of annihilation (fana) and the subsistence (baqa) in God." (p. 735)

I suppose it's only natural than when you convert to any faith you suddenly encounter an entirely new world of material, both sacred and non-sacred texts. One of my biggest joys, truthfully, after converting has been the challenge/pleasure to tackling this seemingly never-ending library of new ideas. It also works as an excuse for me not to devote as much time as I should to learning Arabic, as, instead, I spend many, many hours reading commentary on the Quran and the ahadith and related commentary, which is obviously not a bad thing, although becoming competent in Arabic would also be essential.

What It Means - Day 315

"For every community We have appointed a rite they are to perform; so let them not argue with thee over the matter. And call to thy Lord. Truly thou art following straight guidance."
Quran 22:67

This passage is drawn from surah 67, al-Hajj, rendered, not surprisingly, as "The Pilgrimage." Here is yet another passage reminding Muslims that every community has their own beliefs and rituals and that you should not argue with them about the differences, even if you're pretty certain that your interpretation is correct. As Nasr tells us in the commentary: "Let them not argue with thee is understood to mean that the Prophet, and by extension all believers, should not engage in debate with members of other communities over such questions, although some understand this to mean that those who would argue with the Muslims should themselves stop their dispute and embrace Islam. If the disputants continue, the believers are to remind them of God's Knowledge and that God will judge the difference between religions not in this world, but in the Hereafter." (p. 847) I often, gently, argue with my most excellent Steve about the significance of ritual (mainly because I like to wind him up) but it's humbling and discouraging how much time we as people of faith (and that includes all people of all faith) devote to arguing about the rightness or wrongness or a particular ritual.

What It Means - Day 314

"Say, 'I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of what He has created, from the evil of darkness when it enshrouds, from the evil of those who blow upon knots, and from the evil of the envier when he envies.'"
Quran 113:1-5

Here is the entirety of the 113th surah, al-Falaq, here rendered as "The Daybreak," which it seems I probably wrote on before but not according to my notes. As you would expect since it's the 113th our of 114 total surahs it's very short. It is linked to the final surah, and they both are, or were anyway, a little controversial. Initially the thought among some followers was that maybe they weren't actually meant to be part of the Quran at all (which would have left it at 112 surahs). We are told that someone even asked the Prophet if they belonged with the rest of the Quran and he replied, "They have been revealed to me, and I have recited them [as a part of the Quran]."

In his commentary Nasr tells us: "Among those who maintain that Surahs 113 and 114 are Makkan (Meccan), many say they were revealed in relation to an incident in which the Prophet was stricken with an illness as a result of a spell put upon him by a sorceress, a practitioner of black magic. The Archangel Gabriel is said to have told him the location of a knotted string upon which the sorceress had whispered her spell , and then revealed these two surahs as a means of undoing the spell. The Prophet sent Ali ibn Abi Talib to obtain the string and whisper over it these fourteen verses, which would undo the fourteen-knot spell. Together, the two surahs are known as al-Mu'awwadhatan, 'The Two Protectors,' and are used by Muslims to this day for protection from many evils, including the evil eye and the casting of spells." You can imagine why the Prophet's followers, doubtlessly gently, asked him if 113 and 114 belonged with the rest of the Quran.

In previous blog posts I've proposed that religions are like spongers, and tend to absorb all sorts of things as they evolve, some of them being superstitious. It doesn't make the core of the prophetic message any less valid, but I do think it is something to keep in mind.

What It Means - Day 313

This is normally where I post a selection from a Quranic surah or a saying of the Prophet (hadith), but actually I just wanted to talk about my experience from last night. Being a Friday I had already visited the masjid for the midday sermon. During his talk the Imam had been talking about surah 91, al-Shams, "The Sun," which I wrote about here months ago. He mentioned that the halaqa, a lecture/discussion, later that night would follow through on the same themes. I thought this was interesting, and while I don't get to the halaqa nearly as much as I would like to, I decided to definitely attend. Truthfully, I was also moved to attend because the Imam had mentioned the barzakh, which I had recently swapped emails with him about (and I wrote about last week). Anyway, I arranged my late afternoon schedule so that I could make it to the masjid in time for the 6:16 p.m. night prayer; as we've discussed many times, the prayer times moved depending upon the length of the day so right night the Isha'a prayer, the final prayer of the day, falls really early. What I had forgotten was that sometimes on Friday we push the Isha'a prayer back closer to the halaqa, and also the kids movie night. So, when I burst in at a quarter of six I had the place to myself, with the exception of a couple kids and moms running around upstairs. This meant that I had the first floor, the main section of the masjid, all to myself. I've confessed that when I pop into the masjid during odd hours for afternoon prayers, when it's often fairly deserted, I'm always afraid that one of the brothers will ask me to lead the prayer. As you know, I've also confessed that I, to my shame, haven't learned enough Arabic to do that yet, so in these instances I always have to beg off and allow the other brother to lead. One of my goals for this next year is to create a simpler life so that I can finally learn more of the Arabic that I need to more fully participate, including leading the ritual prayers when I'm tagged. Anyway, last night I had the whole main area to myself. I did my prayers, pulled won a copy of Nasr's Study Quran off the wall, and studied for a while, completely happy. I still had some time to kill before the halaqa started so I left to get some coffee and run an errand, and by the time I returned the masjid was much busier. The point of this poorly focused post is that I loved my time sitting quietly in the masjid, which it more proof that I think I've made the right choice.

What It Means - Day 312

"Whosoever brings a good deed, he shall have better than it; and whosoever brings an evil deed, those who perform evil deeds shall only be recompensed for that which they have done."
Quran 23:84

I haven't brought in anything from surah 23, al-Qasas, here rendered as "The Story" in a while.  That said, this is certainly a concept that I've touched on before: the fact that in Islam good deeds "weigh" more than bad deeds. This is one of several times that the point is made. It bears repeating mainly because the perception is that Islam is such an angry religion and the Quran is a holy book that devotes way too much time to calling down violent retribution for the smallest of crimes. Instead, Islam devotes far more time promoting good deeds over condemning bad ones. To me, that is a profound difference, and speaks to the positive heart of the faith.

What It Means - Day 311

"Purity is half of faith."
Muhammad, Hadith

I borrowed this from a tweet from Shaykh Azhar Nasser, who I follow on Twitter. He's a Shiite Imam and I find I retweet an awful lot of his comments, although there are others that I disagree with pretty passionately. He adds this commentary to the tweet: "The meaning of this hadith is that external purity, by means of purification & cleaning with water, is merely half of the faith; the other half is internal purity which is achieved through righteous deeds & noble character." It's not particularly surprising that I'm drawn to this hadith, and Nasser's commentary, since it touches upon one of my favorite themes, the balancing act between the internal and external dimensions of our faith (or any faith, for that matter). Maybe it comes down to the fact that so much of the external aspect of the faith is more quantifiable, whereas the internal is much more ethereal. Arguably this is unavoidable, although it is also self-limiting. Certainly in the moments waiting for the Friday sermon to begin I've had brothers ask me if I had carried out my wudu (ritual purification) or when I started fasting that day, but I can't remember anyone ever asking if I had questions about the faith or if I wanted to discuss interpretations of a challenging Quranic verse. I suspect our (and by "our" I mean all persons of faith) reliance upon the externality of religious observation, while all too often ignoring the internality of faith, is one reason why so many good folks are abandoning faith, and leaving it to the judgmental and sanctimonious.

What It Means - Day 310

"Strain not thine eyes toward the enjoyments We have bestowed upon certain classes of them, and grieve not for them, and lower thy wings unto the believers, and say, 'Truly I am the clear warner.'"
Quran 15:88-89

I think this is the first time I've drawn something from al-Hijr, the fifteenth surah.  We've seen the metaphor of "lower[ing] thy wings" before. In the commentary Nasr reminds us, "Lower thy wing unto the believers means that the Prophet should be humble and gentle toward them." (p. 652) Earlier, the Prophet is reminded "not to desire the things of the world that have been given to the Makkans who are rejecting him." Of course, it's easier to remember to show humility and kindness to those who believe as we believe, and much harder to show compassion and patience in relation to those who don't believe what we believe. In the end, of course, that's the bigger and more important challenge.

What It Means - Day 309

"Only they are believers whose hearts quake with fear when God is mentioned, and when His signs are recited unto them, they increase them in faith, and they trust in their Lord, who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them. It is they who truly are believers."
Quran 8:2-4

Today's post is drawn from the beginning of the 8th surah, al-Anfal, here rendered as "The Spoils." I think I chose this one because I think it speaks to the good and bad of scripture, or at least the perception that one might get from reading scripture (in this case the Quran, but maybe this is true of all scripture). True believers are defined, partially, as those "who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them," which speaks to the classic Quranic emphasis on both faith and good works. You are given certain gifts from God, and you should use those gifts to help those less fortunate than you. Earlier today I was scouting around Facebook and an old colleague of mine from the Atlanta days launched a well-written denunciation of Trump, pointing out that if you are supporting him simply because of perceived economic prosperity (which is over-rated and unsustainable) then at least be honest enough to admit that the President is a horrible person; essentially, don't be a hypocrite. I was amazed/disheartened not simply by the number of folks who kicked back against my friend's valid points, but pointed out that if they were doing OK financially then that's all the matters because it just comes back to us individually. When did we so completely lose our sense of our role in a community, and what we owe to the other members of that community. While I should definitely give more, one of the things that I love about Islam is the emphasis on giving aid. At the same time you have language in her that speaks to "hearts [that] quake with fear when God is mentioned." What I read that as is a discussion of awe, more than fear, but all too often we fall back on fear when describing God. We should always be in awe of the divine, but if we do things out of fear then what kind of god are we worshiping?  Being in awe of the majesty of the divine moment is one thing, but being afraid of God is something else altogether.

What It Means - Day 308

"Muhammad would also have associated with Yemenis of various faith traditions, pagan, Jewish, and Christian. Indigenous Yemeni inscriptions call the one God 'the All-Merciful' and contain the name 'Muhammad.' Since both terms are used in the Qur'an, it seems likely that Islam has a Yemeni context to some extent. Yemen's startling religious history in late antiquity is mainly known from somewhat cryptic inscriptions, bug it seems clear that from about 380 CE, the ruling elite of the kingdom of Himyar adopted some form of monoaltry (the worship of only one divinity), centered on a figure they called 'the All-Merciful.' Its state-sponsored temples to the many gods abruptly fell into desuetude, though commons continued pagan worship. Jewish and Christian inscriptions also call God 'the All-Merciful' in Yemen, but it seems most likely that the royal family followed a homegrown cult. Some of the inscriptions call on both the Himyarite All-Merciful and the lord of the Jews, which does not sound exactly like monotheism but certainly is not Judaism. By the early 500s, some princes and commoners had converted to Judaisim and others to Christianity, and those two biblical communities fell to warring with one another. In this struggle the Christians, backed by Ethiopia and the Roman Empire, prevailed in the 520s through about 570. Then Iran invaded and dethroned the Ethiopian Christian elite, depending politically instead on local pagans, pagan monotheists, and Jews among the Yemenis." Juan Cole, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires, p. 69

Here's another passage from Cole's biography of the Prophet. As I said yesterday, another copy of the book showed up unexpectedly the other day and I was leafing through the new one. Considering that I'm teaching a class this semester focusing on themes in Islam and the Islamic world through the lens of Yemen you can imagine how this jumped off the page. We know that large swathes of Yemen converted to Islam by 630, only two years before the death of the Prophet, making it one of the first places where the faith found a home outside the heartland between Mecca and Medina. What's interesting about Cole's point is that it speaks to not only Muhammad's role in shaping Yemeni religious thought, but, in turn, the influence of Yemen on the Prophet when he traveled there as a merchant. Guess this will play a role in class discussion very soon.

What It Means - Day 307

"A rich vein of peace thought runs through the Qur'an. Its earlier chapters celebrate thee tranquility of heaven, depicting well-being and concord as its spiritual reality and its pinnacle. The Qur'an goes on in the subsequent decades to address the ways the beleaguered band of Believers in the one God could live among intolerant pagans in Mecca and elsewhere, insisting on repelling evil with good, wishing tranquility and welfare on one's enemies, and urging forgiveness. It counsels a mixture of firmly preaching hellfire to the heathen and forbearance in this world of their foibles. 'To you your religion,' the Qur'an has Muhammad say to the pagans, 'and to me mine.' This tolerance grows naturally out of the conviction that it would be wrong to attempt to compel a person's conscience: 'Will you then coerce the people to become believers?' (Jonah, 10:99)" Juan Cole, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires, pp. 197-198

A new copy of Cole's biography unexpectedly showed up in the mail the other day. I initially read it last year and liked it quite a bit. Recently I donated some money in support of one of the young men at the masjid and I forgot that this was one of the thank you gifts. So, if any of you are looking for a nice biography of the Prophet this would be a good place to start. What's great about Cole's biography is that he focuses on the central role of peace in Muhammad's teaching, spoken during a remarkably warlike age. I guess I do now actually have an extra copy of Cole's work, which would make an excellent prize for the student in this semester's Islam class that achieves the highest grade . . .

What It Means - Day 306

"We judge according to the outward; and God is responsible for the inward."
Muhammad, Hadith

I found this particular saying of the Prophet buried in the commentary of the 18th surah, al-Kahf, always rendered as "The Cave." It's rather amazing that I haven't talked more about it since it's, arguably, my favorite surah, or at least the one I seem to reread and study the most. I like this particular hadith because I think it gets out the complexity of being a human. All we have is the external, even if we know in our heart of hearts that we should be focusing on the internal. Maybe in that way it's a lot easier for God, at least He/She/It/They knows the truth. We have to rely upon faith.

What It Means - Day 305

"Whosoever is rightly guided is only rightly guided for the sake of of his own soul, and whosoever is astray is only astray to its detriment. None shall bear the burden of another."
Quran 17:15

Here is a passage, drawn from the 17th surah, al-Isra, here rendered as "The Night Journey," which I don't think I've discussed before, although I've touched upon the theme. In Islam you own your fate, and no one can bear your sins. While there are many things that are similar between Christianity and Islam, this is one of the biggest differences. Often I'll talk about the notion of waking up on third and thinking you hit a triple. There are times when I think this is a very easy situation to find yourself in Christianity, especially in modern America where you also ended up on third base for economic or racial reasons. It makes it very easy to think that you truly deserve to be there, and that others deserve the more seemingly cruel fate they "earned." If, in addition, you think someone died for your sins does it makes it easier for you to ignore them, and thus your own shortcomings?

Failed Selfie

And this isn't, necessarily, a reference to my inability to live a happy life. Rather, this is the only selfie I've ever taken. I was walking the streets of Amman, Jordan in November with my excellent students (and friends) Ashley, Cat and Liza when they began to pester me to take a selfie. This was the result. We all do look happy, which I guess makes it a success.

Ashley, with her infamous Genius shirt and the Jordan hat she swiped from Mahmoud, and Cat made the picture, but somehow Liza disappeared; our ever present security guard did make the photo.

What It Means - Day 304

"Charity is the duty of every Muslim. He who has not the means thereto, let him do a good act or abstain from an evil one. That is his charity."
Muhammad, Hadith

And here's another hadith, saying of the Prophet, dealing with charity and giving back. We've talked before about the fact that in Islam good deeds count for more than bad deeds. There are actually different theories on how much more the good deeds "weight" than the bad deeds. I've made the point, too many times, doubtless, that this reflects a more positive religion that emphasizes doing the right thing as compared to making you feel absolutely terrible about doing the wrong thing. As we've discussed, in Islam we don't believe in original sin so humans are assumed to be born good, and not the other way around. What's interesting about the hadith above is the notion that Muhammad is telling people to either "do a good act or abstain from an evil act." That is, simply not doing a bad thing counts for something. We are told to always return the worse with the better, and in this case it's almost enough that you're at the very least not making things worse.

What It Means - Day 303

"And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and greater than patience."
Muhammad, Hadith

Islam stresses many things, but one of the biggest is patience. As we've discussed, this is one of the single biggest things that drew me to the faith in the first place. When I go back and look at the surahs or ahadith that I cull out an inordinate number of them deal with patience. Traditionally, it's not a virtue in which I excel. That said, I'm struggling with some stuff lately so need to focus on this even more. Now, the question is whether we can be too patient? Islam is not necessarily a reactionary faith, and we have to be out in the world. We've discussed that there's not a traditional Sabbath in the faith, so there's no day of rest. Instead, even on Friday, we need to be actively engaged in this world. And we are also enjoined to stand up against injustice. We don't sit anything out. But at the same time we are endlessly told to remain patient, so it is a delicate balancing act.

The Drive

As I approached my wretched 60th birthday I knew the general location, Namibia, for the Trip of Mystery but I was still left with the chore of trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself that day. I considered several options, one of them being actually flying from Windhoek to Zanzibar to surprise my friend Steve, who was leading a TechDren team delivering more laptops to elementary school children on Pemba (sadly, it proved too expensive). Simple logistics got in the way to my goal of being in Sossusvlei on my birthday; much more on Sossusvlei later. So, instead I woke up in Windhoek, rented a truck, and drove the four hours through the desert to make it to Swakopmund on the coast. My agent, Liza Kotze, from Wild Dog Safari had already arranged the truck rental, but I still had to go pick it up. The folks at the rental place, Namibia Car Rental, were very friendly, although when we sat down to chat about the drive to Swakopmund I had a few reservations. There was a big discussion about what I should do when (not if) a beastie ran out in front of me: slow down when you see it (whatever it is) coming, but just go ahead and hit it as compared to trying to swerve because you'll just end up doing more damage. Secondly, I was walked through what to do if a sandstorm suddenly popped up: drive off the road, point the car away from the sandstorm, and turn off the engine (my response: can I have some more water?). As it turned out the drive was pretty painless, although I got turned around in Windhoek (they're not big on signage) and also in the much smaller Swakopmund (the main road into town was unexpectedly closed, so my directions were faulty. The biggest challenge was getting around all the trucks driving back and forth on the two lane road. Happily the truckers were very cool, and would flip on their turn signals when it was clear for you to get around them.

The beast that I rented. It seemed a better fit for someone camping as compared to simply driving driving on a paved (tarred) road the whole way, but I was happy to have the option. Oh, and if looks like my beard is pretty scant it's because I shaved it off on the 31st before I took off. Partially I had already been travelling for a week so it needed a trim and I didn't have my trimmer, but I tend to do this when I want to change my luck.

Ah, there's nothing like driving a manual on the other side. I'm not particularly good at shifting with my right hand, and pretty utterly shite at shifting with my left. Luckily I had done this before when driving in the UK and in South Africa, so I had a little experience. The biggest challenge was after you'd been in 5th for an hour and then suddenly passed into one of the few towns and suddenly remembered that you were driving a manual on the wrong side.

Sure, you could have a sign that said Extra Wide Load . . .

What It Means - Day 302

"The period after death until the Day of Judgment is known as the barzakh, or intermediate state, although, according to some scholars, in Islamic eschatology it could also refer to a state similar to the Christian concept of purgatory. The barzakh involves the experience of waking up completely as if from a deep sleep."
Hamsa Yusuf, "Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran," in Seyyed Nasr, Study Quran, p. 1827

Several months ago I was talking to a Catholic colleague of mine and he was quizzing me about the Islamic eschatological beliefs (he didn't know I was a Muslim at the time, but he knew I taught classes dealing with Islam) and I had to tell him that it's kind of a mess. By that I mean that it isn't beautiful and essential, but rather that it's a mix tape of different concepts, many of which would be familiar to Christians. On my recent trip I was reading Nasr's Study Quran, both the holy book itself but also the fascinating supporting articles, including this one by Hamsa Yusuf. I had heard of the barzakh before, and as I read further I learned something that I, to my shame, didn't know. We've all talked to someone who had just lost a family member or friend and inevitably someone says, "they're in a better place now," meaning, of course that they're already in heaven. In Islam it's not that simple, although the belief in heaven and hell are profoundly strong in Islam. What happens in Islam is that no one goes to heaven or hell until the day of judgment which means that no one, with the possible exception of some saintly martyrs, is in either place now. Instead, souls are waiting in barzakh until the day of judgment, in which case they will be assigned. Now, their position in barzakh is better or worse depending upon their life on earth, and that alone would make give you a pretty clear premonition of what fate awaited you (although there is always a chance for late redemption, although that's a whole other story) but you're not technically in heaven or hell. I actually emailed my Imam and asked him if I was reading it correctly, essentially that no one is really in heaven or hell now (or at least they are largely empty), and he told me that I was thinking about it correctly. Now, of course, and as I've said before, I think the very specific views of heaven and hell are much metaphors than reality, but even if the specifics are more metaphoric that doesn't necessarily mean that the idea that nothing is happening until the actual is wrong (unless that is more of a metaphor as well). So, a complex issue, and I'm still amazed/horrified that I didn't truly understand this basic concept; although it also makes me happy that I've devoted this year to reading and reflecting and writing on my faith daily.

Back from Namibia

OK, I'm back from Namibia, which means you can expect a ton of stories and pictures from that amazing country. It was more than a bit of a bittersweet experience because of personal problems having over my head, but overall it was extraordinary. I'm still suffering from some pretty debilitating jet lag, but once I get organized - and the semester started - I'm looking forward to talking a lot about the trip and Namibia (and hopefully my plans to head back there sooner than later).

Here is a picture I snapped my last night in Swakopmund (much more on this beautiful and odd town soon) as I looked out on the south Atlantic.

What It Means - Day 301

When You Can Endure

When

The words stop

And you can endure the silence

That reveals your heart's

Pain

Of emptiness

Or that great wrenching-sweet longing,

That is the time to try and listen

To what the Beloved's

Eyes

Most want

To

Say.

Hafiz

OK, now I'm am officially going to finish with Hafiz. This doesn't mean that this is my favorite Hafiz poem, but I think I'm getting into a bad habit of depending upon these poems. There are so many things I want to discuss in the Quran and the adhadith (as well as the  other readings I do in this complex faith).  So, you've endured enough Hafiz (yes, bad pun intended). I've been struggling with a lot of pain lately, the physical has been lapsed by the emotional, sadly. Hopefully I can follow Hafiz's advice and figure out what the "Beloved's Eyes most want to say." I need the help.

What It Means - Day 300

The Foundation for Greatness

Greatness

Is always built upon this foundation:

The ability

To appear, speak, and act

As the most

Common

Man.

Hafiz

First off, how have I reached three-hundred posts in my year of faith discussion?  Of course, that pales in comparison to the seven-hundred thirty-seven blog posts that it took to grind my way through Proust. Obviously, I could devote years and years to this quest, and certainly will in a quiet, less formal way. For some reason the other day I was thinking of the things that I end up doing every day without fail: 1) study the Quran or the ahadith (and that will be true when this blog assignment is over), 2) go to the gym, 3) reach out to the world via Twitter, and 4) read literature of some form or another. So, this more public side of the quest will draw to a close in a little more than two months, but rest assured that it will continue in a quieter fashion (inshallah).

After saying all of that, I was drawn to this particular poem because of it's emphasis on acting as a "common man." Humility is stressed in Islam, and it's one of the things that drew me to the faith (and it's certainly something I need to work on since I'm the poster child for hubris).

What It Means - Day 299

Just Looking for Trouble

I once had a student

Who would sit alone in his house at night

Shivering with worries

And fears,

And, come morning,

He would often look as thought

He had been raped

By a ghost.

Then one day my pity

Crafted for him a knife

From my own divine sword.

Since then,

I have become very proud

Of this student.

For now, come night,

Not only has he lost all his fear,

Now he goes out

Just looking for

Trouble.

Hafiz

I've often proposed that the most valuable gift I can gift a student is courage.  I may teach them many facts, but unless I can inculcate in them a sense of intellectual courage there isn't too much they can do with those facts. Wouldn't this be even more true when it comes to learning about faith?  Trying to understand the divine is much more complicated and much more frightening than trying to master organic chemistry (speaking as a guy who ended up with a big fat D in organic chemistry in college, and, believe me, it was a gift in and of itself).

What It Means - Day 298

Love is the Funeral Pyre

Love is

The funeral pyre

Where I have laid my living body.

All the false notions of myself

That once caused fear, pain,

Have turned to ash

As I neared God.

What has risen

From the tangled web of thought and sinew

Now shine with jubilation

Through the eye of angels

And screams from the guts of

Infinite existence

Itself.

Love is the funeral pyre

Where the heart must lay

Its body.

Hafiz

When I'm trying to mess with the minds of first year students, which is essentially all the time, I will propose that death is actually a birth and vice-versa. It usually leads to quiet sobbing. However, isn't this what Hafiz is trying to get at here? Love, transcendent, divine love, is the funeral pyre where illusion (represented by pain and fear) has been destroyed.

The Brandenburg Girls

Just wanted to post yet another picture from the Jordan trip (well, I'm trusting the nano overlords to release it on schedule). Not only did I get to travel with my excellent friend Cyndi again, but also her sister Suzanne (who she has criminally kept me from meeting) and her wonderful daughter Maria (who was working on her Arabic). I've known Maria for ten years or more, but this was the first time when we really got a chance to spend some time goofing. It was a wonderful time.

Cyndi, Suzanne, Maria

What It Means - Day 297

And Love Says

And love

Says,

"I will, I will take care of you,"

To everything that is

Near.

Hafiz

OK, so I clearly lied when I said that I was just about finished focusing on Hafiz poems. Sorry, they just seem to be the perfect artifacts for the beginning of a new year. When I'm writing this blog, and not focusing so exclusively on Hafiz, I often opine that I'm amazed/disgusted that we as Muslims - and, well, people of faith of so many faiths - try so hard to turn our respective Gods into Gods of Righteous Anger and Hate, when how could God be anything other than love; if not, none of this makes any sense.

What It Means - Day 296

I Wish I Could Speak Like Music

I wish I could speak like music.

I wish I could put the swaying splendor

Of the fields into words

So that you could hold Truth

Against your body

And dance.

I am trying the best I can

With this crude brush, the tongue,

Top cover you with light.

I wish I could speak like divine music.

I want to give you the sublime rhythms

Of this earth and the sky's limbs

As they joyously spin and surrender,

Surrender

Against God's luminous breath.

Hafiz wants you to hold me

Against your precious Body

And dance,

Dance.

Hafiz

Ultra orthodox Muslims such as the Wahabbis have a very tortured relationship with music - well, actually, I suppose I shouldn't say tortured because they are actively opposed to music. It's probably better to say that Islam itself has a bit of a tortured relationship with music, since some like the Wahabbis think it is absolutely haram and others like the Sufis find it an essential path to the divine.  If you consider that the divine is, by definition, ineffable, then music seems as good a medium as any to express it.

What It Means - Day 295

Reverence

Because

There is nothing

Outside of my Master's body

I try

To show reverence

To all things.

Because

There is nothing

Inside of my Master's body

I am saved

From all reason

And surrender understanding.

No wonder, Hafiz,

It has been

Unusual

For a smile to forsake

You!

Hafiz

OK, I'll stop with the Hafiz poems soon, although I suspect you'll find them better than my generally witless reflections on the Quran or the ahadith.  This is another beautiful poem speaking of the universality of the divine. If there is "nothing/Outside of my Master's body" then we should show reverence to all things. This brings us back to the Hafiz poem from two or three days ago. And, with this knowledge, of course Hafiz would be smiling.

The Trip of Mystery Reveal

OK, it's 7 January 2020 and I've turned 60 today. Inshallah I'm still alive and am where I'm supposed to be on the Trip of Mystery itinerary. Those who had Swakopmund, Namibia in the pool are the winners! As you know, while all the proceeds went to TechDren and their work to bring laptops to Zanzibar, you do win two things: 1) glory (it is a big planet), and 2) I will take you to dinner on my own dime. Now, at this moment - and obviously and writing this months in advance and leaving it to the Nano Overlords to release on schedule - no one has in fact chosen Swakopmund, Namibia. In case no one actually jumps in with Swakopmund (which means that my efforts to distribute red herrings has worked) then I'll probably reward the person who has chosen the closest destination. Seriously, someone should win.

I'll apologize in advance for posting this picture, which I obviously borrowed from the Internet (my apologies, Internet). When I actually drive by the sign on 7 January, 2020 I'll snap another picture, hopefully with me in it somehow, and replace this one when I get back.

And I desperately hope to replace this one with my own. I'm sure Swakopmund is a lovely town and I'm looking forward to the stay, but giant sand dunes crashing into the ocean is clearly why I'm heading to this corner of the planet.

What It Means - Day 294

Stop Being So Religious

What

Do sad people have in

Common?

It seems

They have all built a shrine

To the past

And often go there

And do a strange wail and

Worship.

What is the beginning of

Happiness?

It is to stop being

So religious

Like

That.

Hafiz

I'm sitting here looking through The Gift, a collection of Hafiz poems that I often use in class. This is a clean copy, and thus not the one with my innumerable scribbles all over it, but it's amazing how many of the poems I remember. This is one of my favorites. Yes, and I know that it seems strange that a historian by training would cull out a poem featuring the line: "It seems/They have all built a shrine/To the past" but it is the real deal. Naturally, it always brings me back to Marcus Aurelius and his admonition that we only control this moment in time, but yet so many people are trapped by something that happened in the past. In a larger sense I do think it speaks to one of failings as people of faith, in that we should be living this spiritual moment and not focusing on what someone said centuries ago.

The Trip of Mystery Reveal Eve

Yes, it's 6 January 2020, which means that it is the day before my 60th birthday, and also the eve of the big reveal of my Trip of Mystery destination. So, where's Scuddo?  As you know I've been talking about the idea of heading off to parts unknown for my 60th birthday for seemingly ever, but in the end I decided to just plan it and go. As anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a huge believer that crimes of omission are much worse than crimes of commission. Happily all the proceeds from the Trip of Mystery contest are going to support TechDren, the NGO run by Champlain College students that collects, refurbishes and delivers laptops to elementary school children in Zanzibar; in fact, there is a TechDren team in Zanzibar even as we speak delivering laptops - the only reason why I'm not with them is that, well, I'm here, wherever here is.

Damn, the world is really big. I don't envy you guys having to figure out where I am right now. You're clearly going to earn your 1) glory, and 2) victory dinner on my dime.

My guess is that today I'm probably feeling more than a bit melancholy (obviously I'm writing this months in advance and leaving it to the Nano Overlords to release the blog post on schedule) as I head into 60, but who knows? It's going to be so strange to be that north/south of the Equator/Tropic of Capricorn/Tropic of Cancer and the days are so long/short . . .

Another Day at the Dead Sea

Traditionally we spend the majority of our last day in Jordan at a Dead Sea resort, in this case the Holiday Inn (which, ironically, is where I stayed on my first trip to Jordan fifteen years ago when I was there on a State Department grant). It's way too posh for the likes of our students (or their professors) but it does make them happy. And, well, they've spent the last two nights camping in the Wadi Rum.

I also have a video of this scene where they're playing White Christmas in the background, adding to the otherworldliness of it all.

Sadly, the Dead Sea, due to global warming, continues to drop precipitously. Not only can I tell the dramatic difference from fifteen years ago, but you can see if almost yearly.

This is when it really begins to get to the students that their time in Jordan is drawing to a close.

They were a uniformly happy group from beginning to end.

See, this is what happens when you leave your picture unattended for a couple minutes.

Yet another spectacular Jordan sunset, in this case setting over the Dead Sea. It has a strange Lake Champlain feel to it as the sun is setting.

And this is when I truly made the connection that this is where I stayed on the trip in 2004.

What It Means - Day 293

Where Is the Door to the Tavern

What is the door to God?

In the sound of a barking dog,

In the ring of a hammer,

In a drop of rain,

In the face of

Everyone

I see.

Hafiz

OK, I guess I'm in a bit of a Hafiz phase as we pass into the New Year.  In the Quran we are reminded that God is closer than your jugular vein. Since the time of the Enlightenment we've accepted the notion of God as the Great Clockmaker, a separate being who wound up the world and stepped away from it. Instead, isn't God simply everything and everyone? Of course, that sounds more like a a Hindu or Buddhist concept, and as Muslims we're sometimes so afraid of associating anything with God that we can also place God as a distance (even considering our admonition about God being closer than your jugular vein). Why does God have to be the OTHER? If you say that all of these things - a barking dog, a drop of rain, the face of everyone - are in submission to God, why can't they be a door to God as well?

What It Means - Day 292

I Have Learned So Much

I

Have Learned

So much from God

That I can no longer

Call

Myself

A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,

A Buddhist, a Jew.

The Truth has shared so much of Itself

With me

That I can no longer call myself

A man, a woman, an angel,

Or even pure

Soul.

Love has

Befriended Hafiz so completely

It has turned to ash

And freed

Me

Of every concept and image

My mind has ever known.

Hafiz

I know that many mainstream Muslims are somewhat suspicious of the Sufis - and we've discussed how Seyyed Nasr is more than a little suspicious about popular translations of Rumi or Hafiz or the other Sufi poets - but I love many of them, and they played a profound role in my path to Islam. This poem, especially, is one that speaks to me. It wasn't until I converted to Islam, and truly began to study it, that I began to understand the universality of all religions (making our centuries of internecine conflict all the more tragic).

Erik E

I'm just taking the opportunity to post a picture of my most excellent friend Erik, who traveled with Cyndi and me to Jordan on the Thanksgiving trip. As I've often opined, I should really hate him because he's better than me at absolutely everything, but he's such a great guy I can only love him. Here he is in the Bedouin camp on Thanksgiving morning prepping for the camel ride.

The pensive, faraway look of the novelist he is.

What It Means - Day 291

You know, as I've proposed before, for a person who doesn't care enough of about their faith I certainly spend a lot of time reading, studying and reflecting about it. Here are the books that dominate the window sill (which passes for a bookshelf in my office) behind my desk. One of the things that I love about my faith is that it opened up an entire new world of thought and study, which, I'm pretty certain, is what my Imam thought was the only thing I was interested in before I converted. Of course, I suppose I should be using some of this time to actually learn Arabic, but there are worlds within worlds which seem more important to me.

What It Means - Day 290

"There is no creature that crawls upon the earth, nor bird that flies upon its wings, but that they are communities like yourselves - We have neglected nothing in the Book - and they shall be gathered unto their Lord in the end."
Quran 6:38

We have visited the sixth surah, al-An'am, "The Cattle," before.  This particular passage is interesting for many reasons, especially the notion that, quoting Nasr, "nonhuman creatures have a relationship with God that is in some ways analogous to that of human beings." (p. 352) So, animals have their own communities - or ummah. If this is true, Nasr proposes, then, "If all creatures enjoy such a relationship with their Creator and were created to praise Him, then it cannot be assumed that human beings along enjoy the right to ethical treatment and consideration in His religion." Islam has a very strong ecological streak, and this also includes the notion of treating animals kindly and respectfully. On one of the spirit possession ceremonies in Zanzibar a chicken was killed during the performance, and afterwards the participants gathered around the body to pray. The chicken had died inappropriately and with no prayer said before to mark its passing, so you could see the genuine distress in the manner of their response.

The Little Easy - or the Big Uneasy.

And a New Year begins, and I'll try and put aside some overwhelming sadness and think about adventures that life may still hold.  Here's another picture my brother Eric unearthed. I think it's me, my sister Lisa, and my Mom in New Orleans. My guess is that I was around four at the time, which would have made my sister two. My mom is almost smiling, which for her was about as rare as one of my own.

Today, inshallah, I'll be heading out on the Trip of Mystery. Hopefully it will be an epic time, and help me turn the corner.

Even then I was the King of New Orleans.

What It Means - Day 289

"And when God said, 'O Jesus son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind, "Take me and my mother as gods apart from God/"' He said, 'Glory be to Thee! It is not for me to utter that to which I have no right.'"
Quran 5:116

This verse is drawn from the fifth surah, al-Ma'idah, here rendered as "The Table Spread." We've visited this surah several times. It includes one of the two miracles that Muslims associate with Jesus that are not known to Christians, one of which gives its name to the surah. That said, the point is made, once again definitively, that miracles associated with Jesus do not mean that he is the son of God, but rather miracles occurred because God can do whatever God wants to do. Here Jesus makes it clear that not only is he not the son of God, he would never claim to be the son of God. Sometimes these passages in the Quran are read by non-Muslims as being criticisms of Jesus when, on the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead the classic Muslim argument is that assigning this status or even this claim to Jesus is an insult to both God and to Jesus.