Voices of Islam (4 page)

Outside the Muslim world, the belief that Muslims are arch-traditionalists has given Islam a bad name. Recent polls suggest that over 40 percent of Americans have a negative opinion of Islam. In Western Europe, Islam has replaced Catholicism as the religion that secular intellectuals most love to hate. According to this view, the traditionalism of Islam is the main problem. Islamic traditionalism, it is said, leads to the ghettoization of Muslim minor- ities in Western societies. It leads as well to the rejection of Western political values and the oppression of women. It desires theocracy rather than democ- racy. Muslims, it is said, are the most uncivil members of civil society. The

xviii
Introduction

negative attitude toward Islamic tradition in contemporary Europe is summed up in the following statement by Jacques Ellul, a right-wing Protes- tant thinker from France: ‘‘What a wonderfully civilized empire would have been set up if all Europe had been invaded [by Muslims]! This position, the opposite of the prevailing one in history up to about 1950, leads people to forget the horrors of Islam, the dreadful cruelty, the general use of torture, the slavery, and the absolute intolerance notwithstanding zealous apostles who underline Islam’s toleration.’’
2
In short, for many in the West, the tradi- tions of Islam are fanatical, intolerant, antidemocratic, oppressive of women, and a representation of all the evils of religion that the Enlightenment sought to overcome.

Of course, the aware reader hardly needs to be reminded how unfair Ellul’s criticism of Islam is or how easy it would be to apply the same arguments to the history of Christianity. Furthermore, many Muslims in countries such as France, Russia, Germany, Denmark, and Israel would respond that the majority populations of these countries are not civil to them either, even when they try to act as responsible citizens. The road to toleration is a two- way street. School districts in the United States offer civics classes because responsible citizenship needs to be taught to everyone, not just to religious minorities. Being a citizen in a pluralistic society is a skill that is learned, not a characteristic that is present from birth. It is a challenge for democratic soci- eties to maintain the principle of minority rights along with majority rule. This challenge is particularly acute when the rights claimed by minorities are sanctioned by religious beliefs not shared by the majority or when minor- ity traditions go against majoritarian norms. The right for women to cover their hair is just as important for Orthodox Jews as it is for Muslims, and the right to have more than one wife is claimed by Mormon Fundamentalists just as it is claimed by some traditional Muslims. When the state interferes with the free practice of such traditions, issues that normally would remain in the background suddenly take center stage. The relationship between reli- gious minorities and democratic states is characterized by negotiations that constantly pit the demands of tradition against the pluralistic values of modernity. The challenge for religious people today is to remain authenti- cally true to the traditions of the past while recognizing that all human beings now share the ‘‘original sin’’ of modernity.

‘‘Tradition demands to be served even when it is not observed.’’
3
This fur-

ther aphorism by Jaroslav Pelikan is particularly apt for Islam and Muslims. One of the most important issues debated by Muslims today is where cultural traditions end and where religion begins. The Qur’an, Islam’s Holy Scripture, states, ‘‘Verily, the religion (
din
) of God (
Allah
) is Islam’’ (Qur’an 3:19) and ‘‘I have chosen Islam for you as a religion (
din
)’’ (Qur’an 5:3). Some observers have taken these verses as a sign of Islam’s unique ability to defi itself doctrinally and ideologically.
4
However, these verses alone do not tell us what either ‘‘Islam’’ or ‘‘religion’’ means.
Din
is indeed the

Introduction
xix

modern Arabic word for ‘‘religion.’’ In premodern times, however,
din
meant both more and less than the Western idea of a ‘‘church’’ or an institu- tionalized religion. The root from which this word comes has four primary signifi (1) mutual obligation, (2) submission or acknowledgment,

(3) judicial authority, and (4) natural inclination or tendency. Never, in its premodern connotation, did the term
din
refer to a ‘‘system’’ or to the idea of religion as a subject to be studied in comparison with other subjects called religions.
5
However, two of the classical significations of
din
, mutual obliga- tion and judicial authority, have social implications. This means that religion in Islam is more than just a personal relationship with God. It also entails a relationship with a community of believers and a society, which necessitates an involvement with culture and tradition. Throughout Islamic history, the traditions of the majority of believers always had to be served, even by those who chose to reject them.

The early chapters in this volume deal with the concept of religion in Islam and its relationship to traditions of personal practice and Qur’anic scholar- ship. ‘‘The
Qur’an
, the Word of God’’ by Mustansir Mir introduces the reader to the basic scripture of Islam, the only scripture in which every sen- tence—indeed every word—must be accepted by Muslims as divine truth. For Muslims, the Qur’an is not only the foundation of religious teachings but also the touchstone for religion itself. In ‘‘Encountering the Qur’an: Contexts and Approaches,’’ James Winston Morris introduces the reader to the experience of the Qur’an. He shows the non-Muslim reader the different ways by which Muslims traditionally encounter their sacred scripture, and how one can ‘‘see,’’ ‘‘hear,’’ and ritually enact the Word of God. He does this not only by explaining how the Qur’an can be approached by those who read and recite it, but also by providing a unique guide for non-Muslim and non- Arabic-speaking readers who approach the Qur’an in English. Finally, by demonstrating how the Qur’an has inspired the arts and intellectual life in the Muslim world, he reconnects the idea of religion in Islam to the wider traditions of Islamic expression that are often overlooked in the debate between religion and culture.

The above analysis of the premodern meanings of the word
din
reminds us that the concept of religion in Islam puts a high premium on the idea of reci- procity, which creates both personal and social obligations. The Qur’an tells believers that God ‘‘owes’’ the human being a fair return for her worship. ‘‘Who is the one who will lend to God a goodly loan, which God will double to his credit and multiply many times?’’ (Qur’an 2:245) asks the Holy Book. The Qur’an also reminds believers that a person’s ‘‘loan’’ to God is to be paid not only in worship but also in works of charity for other human beings: ‘‘Verily, we will ease the path to salvation for the person who gives out of fear of God and testifies to the best. But we will ease the path to damnation for the greedy miser who thinks himself self-sufficient and rejects what is best’’ (Qur’an 92:5–10). Qur’anic teachings such as these moved the Moroccan

xx
Introduction

Sufi Abu al-‘Abbas al-Sabti (d. 1205
CE
) to declare, ‘‘Divine grace is stimu- lated by acts of generosity.’’ For Sabti, each charitable act performed by a human being called forth a response from God that rewarded the giver in proportion to her gift. Sabti, the patron saint of the city of Marrakesh, used this doctrine to encourage the elites of the city to provide charity for the poor.
6
How should the modern reformer of Islam assess a tradition such as this: is it ‘‘culture’’ or is it ‘‘religion’’?

The idea of reciprocity that leads from the Qur’an to the social ethics of Abu al-‘Abbas al-Sabti is an important corollary to the Five Pillars of Islam, which are discussed in Karima Diane Alavi’s chapter, ‘‘Pillars of Religion and Faith.’’ Alavi’s chapter comes first in this volume because for Muslims, the Five Pillars of Islam frame the entire concept of religion, including the divine revelation of the Qur’an. The pillars of religion and faith are also a product of tradition, since they come from a
Hadith
account, discussed by Alavi, in which the Angel Gabriel quizzes the Prophet Muhammad on these subjects. An important part of the tradition of the Hadith of Gabriel is the concept of virtue (
ihsan
). This means, in the words of the
hadith,
‘‘to worship God as if you see Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you.’’ The notion of reciprocal awareness that is expressed in this tradition—the human being looks to God as God looks to the human being—is fundamental to the concept of religious obligation in Islam. It is also a bridge to the type of social awareness expressed by the Moroccan Sufi Sabti, for Muslims are accountable to God both for how they fulfill their responsibilities of worship and for how they fulfill their responsibilities toward their brothers and sisters in the family of Adam.

In the Qur’an, accountability to God is expressed as a covenant, in which humanity takes responsibility for the heavens and the earth. This covenant constitutes a major criterion by which faith and actions are judged. Some- times called ‘‘God’s covenant’’ (Qur’an 2:27), it separates Muslim hypocrites and those who assign spiritual or material partners to God from true believers, who maintain their trust in the Qur’anic message (Qur’an 33:73). The person who trusts in God and does not break the covenant in thought, word, or deed is a trustee or vicegerent (
khalifa
) of God on earth (Qur’an 2:30–33). The society that is made up of such individuals is a normative com- munity, one that serves as an example for the world and is a collective witness to the truth (Qur’an 2:143). The Qur’an calls such a community the
Umma Muslima
(Qur’an 2:128), a community of people who submit to God. The word
umma
, which is related to
umm
, ‘‘mother,’’ connotes a primary com- munity, literally, a ‘‘Mother Community.’’ It implies that all Muslims, wher- ever they may live, share a common bond that transcends all other ties, from nationality to family. The tradition of being part of this community is as much a part of Islam as are its traditions of worship.

The leading members of the universal
Umma Muslima
are the Prophets of Islam, who are discussed in Joseph Lumbard’s chapter, ‘‘Prophets and

Introduction
xxi

Messengers of God.’’ According to Lumbard, God’s Prophets are the keep- ers of the promises and signs (
ayat
) of God. They are bearers of the divine message and reminders to countries and peoples of humanity’s obligations to God and to each other. Because all Prophets serve the same function and transmit the same general message, all of them are Muslims, even if they are revered by the followers of other religions, such as Jews and Christians. Start- ing with Adam and ending with the Prophet Muhammad, they form a single holy community that represents the continuity of tradition in what scholars of comparative religion call the ‘‘Abrahamic Faiths.’’

The collective tradition of the Prophets of Islam forms the background of the
Sunna
, the model of religious and ethical practice established by the Prophet Muhammad. Hamza Yusuf Hanson’s chapter on the Sunna is called ‘‘
The Sunna
: the Way of Muhammad.’’ However, it is understood by Mus- lims that the values the Prophet Muhammad’s way of life promoted are the same as those of the other Prophets of Islam. Thus, the Sunna of Muham- mad, the last Prophet, is also the Sunna of the previous Prophets, just as the message of the Qur’an is the same as the message of all previous revelations. The Sunna is also the basis for the second type of scripture in Islam, the col- lections of traditions of the Prophet Muhammad known as
Hadith
. The acceptance of a particular Hadith account is not an article of faith in Islam as is the acceptance of a verse of the Qur’an. However, taken collectively, the Sunna has become an authoritative teaching on par with the Qur’an in the eyes of many Muslims.

The Sunna as a model for Islamic practice was developed in the community created around the Prophet Muhammad in Medina between the years 622 and 632
CE
. The practice of this community also established the foundations for ‘‘The
Shari‘a
: Law as the Way of God,’’ which is the title of the chapter by Mohammad Hashim Kamali. As Kamali explains, when Muslim jurists looked to the Hadith for sources on Islamic law and ethics, they found that some accounts elucidated religious precepts, while others dealt with customary behaviors such as matters of personal hygiene and etiquette. Modern scholars of the Sunna look at these traditions to decide which are part of ‘‘religion,’’ and hence obligatory, and which are part of ‘‘culture,’’ and hence optional. Premodern jurists asked similar questions, although without the modern concern for the concept of culture. They developed the tradition of Islamic jurisprudence (
fiqh
) to determine how to integrate the Qur’an and the Sunna into the social and religious life of the Muslim community.

The final chapters in this volume trace the historical development of three major Islamic traditions that developed out of the teachings of the Qur’an, the Sunna, and the early history of the Islamic community. The most impor- tant development of this period was the separation of the Muslim
Umma
into separate communities over the issue of leadership after the Prophet Muham- mad and over who—the leader of the community, the community itself, or a special class of scholars—has authority over the interpretation of the Qur’an

xxii
Introduction

and the Sunna. These issues are detailed in the chapters, ‘‘What Is Sunni Islam?’’ by Feisal Abdul Rauf, and ‘‘What Is Shiite Islam?’’ by Azim Nanji and Farhad Daftary. Both these chapters take the question of tradition into political, juridical, and theological dimensions that relate to present-day con- cerns, such as the tension between Sunni and Shiite communities in modern Iraq. Each chapter is unique in its own way. Abdul Rauf’s chapter on Sunni Islam focuses discussion on the technical term for the Sunnis,
Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a
, and details how the concept of Sunni Islam was based on the authority of the collective opinion of the community and the jurists (the meaning of
al-Jama‘a
). The chapter on Shiite Islam by Nanji and Daftary is unique in that it devotes more space than usual to a discussion of Ismaili Shi‘- ism. Although the Ismailis are a minority among today’s Shiites, they were the majority for more than two centuries and created the only major Shiite state until the rise of Safavid Iran in the early sixteenth century. Finally, ‘‘What is Sufi by Ahmet T. Karamustafa recounts the development of the most important nonsectarian tradition in Islam today,
tasawwuf
, which is often described as ‘‘Islamic mysticism.’’ Karamustafa’s chapter is an impor- tant corrective to those who overemphasize the ‘‘mystical’’ aspect of Sufism. In particular, he traces Sufism’s origins to early Muslim traditions of renunci- ation and the desire to explore the inner dimensions of faith and the human personality.