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.