What It Means - Day 227

"And he surveyed the birds and said, 'How is it that I do not see the hoopoe? Or is he among those who are absent? I will surely punish him with a severe punishment, or I shall slaughter him, unless he brings me a clear warrant.'"
Quran 27:20

This seemingly strange passage is drawn from the 27th surah, al-Naml, here rendered as "The Ants." The quoted speaker is Solomon.

Once again, thanks to Seyyed Nasr for his corresponding commentary in the Study Quran:

"The hoopoe (hudhud) is a medium-sized birth with a long thin bill, notable for a distinctive crest on its head. In the commentary, the hoopoe is described as knowing where the nearest water as, and when Solomon asked about the water, he discovered the hoopoe was absent; others say that he learned of the hoopoe's absence, because if was the bird's function to shield Solomon from the sun. Some note that Solomon's reaction shows one of the qualities of a great leader - he was aware of the condition of those he led, down to that of a single bird. As a spiritual allegory and symbol, this passage is interpreted to be a drama between the spiritual heart, or the spirit within one, and the ego. The hoopoe symbolizes an aspect or faculty of the soul, while Solomon is the spiritual heart that must control the soul and take it to task when it disobeys.. The soul can become lost in heedlessness of God; yet its faculties are able to bring to the soul knowledge and wisdom previous undiscovered." (p. 932)

I chose this passage for several reasons, one related to Attar's work (referenced below), the biggest being the fact that the Quran is an intensely metaphoric work (unlike the painfully literal work it is often portrayed to be by folks unfamiliar with it). Also,once again, how does one begin to understand the Quran unless you're willing to truly study it, which means owning and tearing into something like the Study Quran. There are worlds within worlds here, which from a Muslim perspective proves the miraculous origins; how could an unlettered merchant have produced this work of lyric poetry and transcendent philosophy?

And the actual hoopoe, who doesn't look that mischievous. Actually, this is making me want to get back to reading Farid un-din Attar's Sufi masterpiece the Conference of  the Birds, in which the hoopoe plays a very big role.

What It Means - Day 226

"He is not one of us who does not show compassion to our little ones or respect our older ones."
Muhammad, Hadith

Yes, I have quite a string of ahadith going here, and, for that matter, a string of seemingly simple ahadith. However, simply because it is "seemingly simple" does not mean that it is simple at all. One of the things that drew me to Islam in the first place is its collectivist nature - which also runs parallel to the fact that in other ways it is intensely individualistic (there is no strong priesthood, so there's really nothing between us and God). In the US today we've become a society that doesn't care enough about the most vulnerable members of our society, but ratchets that up by being almost intentionally cruel to society's weakest members. As people often point out on Twitter, it's the cruelty itself which is the point. However, as President Obama pointed out yesterday in his critique of "woke" online culture, it's not simply enough to call the president a motherfucker (and Lord knows I've done that enough). In the end what matters is what we do to help our "little ones" and "older ones" that matters. I've just started working in support of the South Burlington Food Shelf and my goal is to try and give back more and more every year.

What It Means - Day 225

"The one who tells another about something good will have a reward like those of the one who does it."
Muhammad, Hadith

And here's another example drawn the ahadith, the sayings of the Prophet.  There are many things I love about the ahadith, and one of the biggest being the subtle, and often oddly funny, common sense that they display. This particular hadith reminds me of one of my favorite ahadith: "Be easy. Do not be difficult." Not every aspect of our faith has to be so profound that a group of religious scholars argue about it for decades. We are often so quick to share snarky or embarrassing stories, but oddly less likely to share stories of kindness. So, something as simple as sharing kindness are an essential part of the faith.

What It Means - Day 224

"Verily Allah is Kind and loves kindness, and He rewards kindness in a way that He does not reward harshness."
Muhammad, Hadith

Yes, this is very short - and sweet - but I still like it very much. It's another passage drawn from the sayings of the Prophet, the ahadith, that i dip into now and then. I don't know why I love this one so much, other than it gets to what I think the faith is about; and, for that matter, what every faith is about. Why would we worship a cruel, judgmental god - and why would a cruel, judgmental god create the world in the first place?

What It Means - Day 223

"Why don't you struggle in the way of God and on behalf of those who are oppressed? On behalf of those men, women and youth who say 'O Lord! Help us to escape from this town whose people oppress us, give us a guardian appointed by you, and grant us aid from one close to you.'"
Quran 4:75

The more I study the Quran the more glaringly clear it is to me that Islam is a faith about, among other things obviously, justice. I mean, I knew this, and certainly writers like Nasr in the Heart of Islam made the point repeatedly, but as I read and reread the Quran and the ahadith it just keeps jumping out at me. Islam is not a faith that allows you to sit on the sidelines; rather, we are required to fight the good fight. to always stand against oppression. Increasingly this leads me to call out non-Muslims who attack our faith, but I think it also puts me at loggerheads with folks inside of my own faith. We can't be a religion that stresses justice, but then act unjustly towards women or members of the LGBT community within our own ummah.

What It Means - Day 222

As you know while I mainly talk about passages from the Quran or the ahadith or sometimes one of the Islam-themed books I'm reading, I do sometimes talk about other issues relating to faith. Today will be one of those days. Last night I was blessed to be invited to have shabbos dinner with my student Destiny and a group of wonderful young Jewish students from the University of Vermont.  We met at the apartment of Rafael, who is working on his Ph.D. at UVM, but Destiny was the main cook (which made her slightly nervous). I am happy to report, for her sake, that it was a delicious meal, and equally happy to report, for my sake, that it was a wonderful evening socially and spiritually. As Muslims we are taught to respect all faiths, and, as I've said, I think there are a thousand paths to God. One of my goals as part of my own journey is to learn more about other faiths, not simply as subjects in my classes but also as part of my lived experience. I'm also going to make a more concerted effort to get members of our masjid out and about more often to other religious organizations. We frequently invite other religious groups into our community for worship or meals, but we could definitely make a more a greater sustained effort to visit them as well, not simply because we're not akin to an exhibit at the zoo, but we also need to own that other religions are not the only ones with something to learn.

From right to left: Destiny, Rafael, Ben.

What It Means - Day 221

"Truly the believers have prospered, who are humble in their prayers, and who turn away from idle talk, and who give the alms, and who guard their private parts, save from their spouses or those whom their right hand possess, for then they are not blameworthy - and as for those who seek beyond that, it is they who are transgressors - and who keep their trusts and their covenant, and who are mindful of their prayers. It is they who are the heirs, who shall inherit Paradise, abiding therein."
Quran 23:1-10

Here are the first ten verses from the 23rd surah, al-Mu'minun, here rendered as "The Believers." Actually, this passage is very similar to a section from surah 70 that I wrote about a couple months ago, and, truthfully, I think I like the other one a tad better. I've said many times that I'm drawn to the sections in the Quran which provide a very specific list of actions to perform (not that I don't like the more metaphoric chapters as well, naturally). This particular passage calls for a very straight-forward, mindful and humble approach to life. And while I can't begin to understand God, I can understand this appeal.