Acquaintances of mine who have participated in recent dialogues between Christian and Muslim theologians, such as those organized by A Common Word, report that one of the biggest misunderstandings shown by Christian theologians is the notion that Islam has little or nothing to say about love.
One of the several reasons for this mistaken view is that the early Orientalists -- those who first studied Islamic thought in the modern West -- imagined that a school of thought known as "Kalam" played the same role in Islam as "theology" does in Christianity. In fact, Kalam has been one of several approaches to knowledge of God, and certainly not the most influential.
Kalam was closely allied with Islamic jurisprudence and typically depicted God as the supreme law-giver. When it mentioned love, it claimed that God loves human beings by issuing commandments, and human beings love God by obeying him. Those who obey go to heaven, and those who disobey go to hell. God deals with human beings strictly in terms of carrots and sticks -- forget about love in any normal meaning of the word.
Despite the fact that more recent scholarship has done a much better job of describing the diverse theological approaches of Islamic thought, this has had relatively little effect on the prejudices that Christian theologians picked up years ago in seminary. Pope John Paul II, with all his remarkable accomplishments, provides a good example. In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, he wrote, "The God of the Koran ... is ultimately a God outside of the world, a God who is only Majesty, never Emmanuel, God-with-us." (his emphasis)
Even a cursory glance at the Quran should lead a reader to wonder why, if God is so majestic, does practically every chapter begin with the formula of consecration: "In the name of God, the All-merciful, the Ever-merciful." In the text itself, divine names and attributes associated with mercy and kindness are far more common than those associated with magnificence and majesty. Many verses say things like, "He is with you wherever you are" (57:4) -- whether before your creation, during your brief stay in this world, or after death. This divine "withness" is tightly bound up with the notion of love and mercy.
The formula of consecration contains the two names "All-merciful" (rahmān) and "Ever-merciful" (rahīm). Both are derived from the word rahma, which is variously translated as mercy, compassion, and benevolence. Rahma is an abstract noun derived from the concrete noun rahim, "womb." Mercy is the mother's attitude toward the fruit of her womb. When God says in the Quran, "My mercy embraces everything" (7:156), this means that God has mercy on the entire universe. Basing themselves on this sort of verse and on the very notion of mercy, some theologians referred to the realm of nature -- that is, the universe in its entirety -- as the divine womb.
The close connection between mercy and motherhood is obvious in many sayings of the Prophet. For example, he said that when God created mercy, he created it in one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts with himself and sent one part into the world. Mothers are devoted to their children and wild animals nurture their young because of this one part. On the day of resurrection, the Prophet added, God will rejoin this one part with the ninety-nine parts -- all for the benefit of those who dwell in the posthumous realms, whether paradise or hell. Among the several points embedded in this saying is the typical stress on tawhīd, the assertion of the uniqueness of the divine reality that is the foundation of Islamic thought: What we experience as mercy, compassion, and love can only be a pale reflection of a tiny fraction of the real thing.
Another account tells us that the Prophet had stopped to rest at a bedouin camp, where a woman with an infant was baking bread over an open fire. The child slipped away and approached the fire, and the mother quickly pulled him back. She turned to the Prophet and said, "Do you not say that God is 'the most merciful of the merciful'?" He replied that he did. She said, "No mother would throw her child into the fire." For a moment the Prophet turned away and wept. Then he said that God puts into hellfire only those who refuse to go anywhere else.
As a divine attribute, mercy is not identical with love, because love demands mutuality: "He loves them, and they love Him" (5:54). In contrast, mercy is one-sided, which is to say that God has mercy on creation, but not the other way around. People must certainly try to be merciful and compassionate, but that means they must love their neighbors as themselves. Failure to do so is a sure recipe for bad karma. As the Quran says repeatedly about those who do not act appropriately, "They are wronging only themselves."
Classical theologians spent a good deal of time explaining the subtle differences between the meanings of "All-merciful" and "Ever-merciful." Commonly they said that the All-merciful mercy is universal and the Ever-merciful mercy is particular.
Universal mercy begins with the bestowal of existence. Nothing has a claim on its own being or its own positive qualities. All are the gifts from the Creator. Everything other than God derives its reality -- however insubstantial that may be -- from the only reality that truly is. Life and livelihood do not come to us by chance, but because of the activity of the All-merciful.
Particular mercy is responsive. Some good things come to us because we seek them out. If you want to become a football player or a physicist, the ambition itself is a gift, and any aptitude you may have is also a gift. But achieving the goal has something to do with your own effort. Every mother will tell you that. If you do not strive for the goal, most likely you will not reach it.
God's particular mercy is his response to human effort. He bestows it on the basis of your engagement, commitment and love. When the Quran says, "God is the friend of those who have faith" (2:257), this means that he has special mercy and love toward those who search him out. Universal mercy reaches people in any case, just as a mother will never stop loving her children. Particular mercy is not guaranteed, because children may refuse to take advantage of their human status.
The goal of love is to overcome separation, to escape from the darkness and pain that define our existential plight, and to enter into the light. Or, it is to take advantage of the universal mercy that embraces everything and to seek out the particular mercy, the path to which is set down in prophetic guidance.
(The best survey of Islamic notions of mercy and motherliness is provided by Sachiko Murata in The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought).
God in Islam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interview on Tawhid (Islamic Monotheism) with Dr. Ja`far Sheikh ...
Peaceful Muslim demands that non-Muslims accommodate violent Muslims
And to finally answer your question, Islam has no value to anyone who is satisfied with their spirituality. If you are not, it is worth looking into, but keep in mind that with all the hate out there, this is the worst of time to be liking it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVQ1BWqjTjs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J5_VETwfew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiXpYZji5Ks
The Quran equally address male adultery, however, the Quran is the only religious book allows both side to just swear that they are innocence and it will be accepted.
Quran-4:17 . "Allah accepts the repentance Of those who do evil in ignorance and repent afterwards ; to them Will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of Knowledge and wisdom."
Quran 24:5-6 Unless they repent thereafter and mend their conduct; For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Quran 24:8 But it would avert the punishment from the wife If she bears witness Four times By Allah, that her husband is telling a lie;
The holy (by whatever scripture or holy writing you use) is not for cowards.
But I do understand your underlying point: being good is a challenge; to be relished! But it is a humanistic challenge as you can see in my testimony above.
Mark Webber- hadith's were compiled 200 years after the Qur'an and are subject to the manipulation of the rulers at that time. Bring Qur'an or I take it with a grain of salt. There is no abrogation in the Quran so that any verse becomes null and void. Qur'anic exegesis is clearly laid out in 3:7- "He it is who sent down the thee the book, containing messages clear, and these are essence of the book, along with ones not so clear. The ones with perversity in their hearts follow the not so clear verses seeking discord and seeking a final meaning. And none knows it's final meaning except God. Those deeply rooted in knowledge say 'we believe in it- the WHOLE of it's from the prescence of our lord. And none will grasp this except people of understanding."
Regarding Adrogation
// There is no abrogation in the Quran so that any verse becomes null and void. //
I doubt you know better than those guys:
AL-NASIKH WA AL-MANSUKH
http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?103174-About-Abrogation-in-the-Quran-%28al-Nasikh-wal-Mansukh%29
"When We substitute one revelation for another, and Allah knows best what He reveals (in stages), they say, "Thou art but a forger": but most of them understand not." Surah 16:101
None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause it to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: knowest thou that God has power over all things?' (2: 106).
[Some however say that this refers to the revelations before the Qur’an, which have now been substituted by the Qur’an itself. See Mawdudi. The Meaning of the Qur’an, Lahore,1967, Vol. I, p.102. note 109.]
• It is one of the important pre-conditions for explanation (tafsir) of the Qur'an.
• It is one of the important pre-conditions for understanding and application of the Islamic law (hukm,shari'a).
• It sheds light on the historical development of the Islamic legal code.
• It helps to understand the immediate meaning of the ayat concerned.
Tafsir (explanation of the Qur'an) or legal ruling is not acceptable from a person who does not have such knowledge.
AL-NASIKH WA AL-MANSUKH
http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/4983-uloom-al-quran-naskh-abrogation.html
When the message of Islam was presented to the Arabs as something new, and different from their way of life, it was introduced in stages. The Qur'an brought important changes gradually, to allow the people to adjust to the new prescriptions.
Example:
There are three verses in the Qur'an concerning the drinking of wine. Wine drinking was very widespread in pre-Islamic times and, although a social evil, highly esteemed. The three verses which finally led to the prohibition of intoxicating substances were revealed in stages (4: 43, 2: 219; 5: 93-4).
"Universal mercy begins with the bestowal of existence. Nothing has a claim on its own being or its own positive qualities. All are the gifts from the Creator. Everything other than God derives its reality -- however insubstantial that may be -- from the only reality that truly is. Life and livelihood do not come to us by chance, but because of the activity of the All-merciful."
to this understanding of the human condition:
'It is natural that doubt should arise in your minds.
I tell you not to believe merely because it has been handed down by tradition, or because it had been said by some great personage in the past, or because it is commonly believed, or because others have told it to you, or even because I myself have said it...
...But whatever you are asked to believe, ask yourself whether it is true in the light of your experience, whether it is in conformity with reason and good principles and whether it is conducive to the highest good and welfare of all beings, and only if it passes this test, should you accept it and act in accordance with it.'
- Kalama Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wheel008.html
The first view presages intellectual dishonesty and excuses inshallah fatalism, the second requires personal responsibility--the gold standard of human character.
"Particular mercy is responsive. Some good things come to us because we seek them out. If you want to become a football player or a physicist, the ambition itself is a gift, and any aptitude you may have is also a gift. But achieving the goal has something to do with your own effort. Every mother will tell you that. If you do not strive for the goal, most likely you will not reach it."
The general case is not disproven by the special case. There is a pecking order in these two paragraphs--they are not equal.
Your paragraph is a special case of the general proposition in the paragraph I quoted. Did you not understand that?
http://www.asmasociety.org/home/p_press_10.html
Inquirer: Readers may be surprised by your book's assertion that "America is substantively an 'Islamic' country" that complies with Muslim law, or shariah. Explain your idea of the United States as a "shariah-compliant state."
Rauf: Shariah embodies five fundamental rights, or objectives, which are deemed to be equivalent to our inalienable rights: life; freedom of religion; the right to property; family rights (the well-being of the family, the right to marry); and mental well-being. I map these to the American Declaration's "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
However among many things, unlike the US declaration people are not all equal in Is. .lam, there are four main categories of non-Muslims in the Khilafah. These are:
1. Mu’ahid
2. Must’amin
3. Ambassadors, diplomats, consuls and envoys
4. Dhimmi
http://www.islam101.com/dawah/newBorn.htm
If the child were left alone, he would worship Allah in his own way, but all children are affected by those things around them, seen or unseen.
The Prophet (PBUH) reported that Allah said, "I created my servants in the right religion but devils made them go astray". The Prophet (PBUH) also said, "Each child is born in a state of "Fitrah", then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian, the way an animal gives birth to a normal offspring. Have you noticed any that were born mutilated?" (Collected by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
1. “Mu’ahid” (“Promisor”) is generally referred to a non-Muslim living among Muslims who is promised to have protection, and he promises not to help enemies against Muslims.
2. Must'amin is one who has temporarily contracted with the Muslim state for permission to act
therein. The mustamin is guaranteed protection and may leave at any time with his property
3. Ambassadors, diplomats, consuls and envoys
4. Dhimmi generally means "the people of the Covenant or people of Peace") is a non-Muslim living under islamic rule. The dhimma is a theoretical contract based on a widely held Islamic doctrine granting special status to adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and other non-Muslim religions ("People of the Book"). Dhimma provides rights of and protection to residence in return for taxes generally equal to what the Muslims pay. Dhimmi legal and social rights and are excused from specifically Muslim duties, equal under the laws of property, contract and obligation.
Islam teaches equality of mankind. Why does that really bother you? more than a 1000 years ago, Islam devised a system to best deal internal issues? Compare to the Crusades or Israel!
In a hadith by Muhammad in regard to the status of the dhimmis: "Whoever wrongs one with whom a compact(treaty) has been made [a dhimmi] and lays on him a burden beyond his strength, I will be his accuser."
Please write a blog on the battle of ideas within Islam, represented by Al-Ghazali on the one hand and Ibn Rushd on the other, which was won by Al-Ghazali.
This would explain to people why Islam since that time (1000 years ago) cannot let go of the idea of the absolute supremacy of revealed, transcendent authority to the point that the use of reason to tell good from bad (as opposed to ambiguous revelation) has been thrust to the background ever since.
It is my view that if this ancient debate were to be reopened within Islam, then the view which you espouse, and which I applaud, could actually have a chance to become prominent within Islam.
Just wanted to say that Ghazali (whose arguments are seen a forerunner to Hume) did not oppose the use of reason. He just saw reason as insufficient for reaching truth and certainty. Ghazali says that in order to over come doubt, one must not rely on reason. He emphasized working towards supra-rational unveiling and realization (fresh vitality from God). He is the most celebrated among modern Sufi's for his mystical work "the revival of the religious sciences".
Ibn Rushd wanted to refute Ghazali's misunderstanding of the ancient Philosophers (which I think he did)-- but his rational approach can be held up to the same criticism that the modern philosophers leveled against the ancients.
Later, Ibn Arabi and Mulla Sadra were more balanced in their approach- believing you need a mixture of reasoning and divine inspiration to reach truth and certainty. The topic is very much alive among the learned- as it was in the past. Not everyone can be a philosopher though, some just need simple faith. I do agree that learning in general needs to be revived. The anti-intellectualism of the Salafi's has done much damage. Muslims who take college courses about religion know about these things. See Henry Corbin's history of Islamic Philosophy, Husayn Nasr and Abdul Karim Soroush. Thanks for trying to understand.
Fanned and Faved.
It implies that the 'lover' wants you to stay around a little longer.