"The Quran does not teach that people should be detached from worldly affairs in order to attain this spiritual state. Rather, it is opposed to otherworldliness. It is by struggling to do what is right and good in our lives on this earth that we develop our spiritual depth and awareness. It is for this reason that the Quran addresses our closest and most contentious relationships - with family, neighbors, and business partners - emphasizing the need for integrity and honesty."
Ingrid Mattson, "How to Read the Quran," in Seyyed Nasr, The Study Quran, p. 1593
Yes, here's another passage from one of the informative essays found in The Study Quran. The last two days doesn't mean that I've run out of Quranic passages to explore (and doubtless misinterpret), far from it. From the beginning of this quest I've blogged on what was running through my mind on any particular day, and this is where I am today. This is an essay that I'll frequently have my students read at the beginning of my dar al-Islam classes because it lays out the Quran in a very logical fashion, including its origins, unique structure and also its major themes. Here Mattson is touching upon one of the things that first drew me to the faith: it's role in helping us live in this world and not simply the next. One of the constants in my daily prayers is the 103rd surah, often rendered as "The Declining Day," which goes: "By the declining day, truly mankind is in loss, save those who believe, perform righteous deeds, exhort one another to truth, and exhort one another to patience." We know that faith and good works are coupled more than fifty times in the Quran. Here you add truth and patience, which brings us back to Mattson's points. When I pray I never ask God to help ease my way into heaven, and, truthfully, I never devote any time to that question even when I'm not praying. Instead, I use the quiet time to reflect upon the many gifts I have in my life and this includes friends and family, and how I could be a better and more supportive friend to them. Again, we are exhorted to return the worse with the better. We may dream of another world, it's this world we live in, and what matters is what we do with those countless moments when we could make someone's life better.
Ingrid Mattson, "How to Read the Quran," in Seyyed Nasr, The Study Quran, p. 1593
Yes, here's another passage from one of the informative essays found in The Study Quran. The last two days doesn't mean that I've run out of Quranic passages to explore (and doubtless misinterpret), far from it. From the beginning of this quest I've blogged on what was running through my mind on any particular day, and this is where I am today. This is an essay that I'll frequently have my students read at the beginning of my dar al-Islam classes because it lays out the Quran in a very logical fashion, including its origins, unique structure and also its major themes. Here Mattson is touching upon one of the things that first drew me to the faith: it's role in helping us live in this world and not simply the next. One of the constants in my daily prayers is the 103rd surah, often rendered as "The Declining Day," which goes: "By the declining day, truly mankind is in loss, save those who believe, perform righteous deeds, exhort one another to truth, and exhort one another to patience." We know that faith and good works are coupled more than fifty times in the Quran. Here you add truth and patience, which brings us back to Mattson's points. When I pray I never ask God to help ease my way into heaven, and, truthfully, I never devote any time to that question even when I'm not praying. Instead, I use the quiet time to reflect upon the many gifts I have in my life and this includes friends and family, and how I could be a better and more supportive friend to them. Again, we are exhorted to return the worse with the better. We may dream of another world, it's this world we live in, and what matters is what we do with those countless moments when we could make someone's life better.
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