tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131895292024-03-09T20:48:10.451-06:00Islam and EconomicsRandom thoughts about Islam, Muslims and
issues related to economics and finance.<p>
<a href="https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~elgamal">
Mahmoud El-Gamal is a Professor at Rice University<p>
https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~elgamal</p></a></p><p>
<b>(Blog feed at <a href="https://elgamal.blogspot.com/atom.xml">
https://elgamal.blogspot.com/atom.xml</a>)</b></p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-72854993994011719262023-09-14T10:12:00.045-05:002023-09-15T12:27:56.089-05:00The Beneficent: Majesty and Splendor<p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">كل من عليها فان</span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">All life upon (earth) will perish</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">و يبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال و الإكرام</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">and your Lord's face remains: majestic and splendid.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(11, 83, 148);"><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">Our Lord, Al-Rahman (the Beneficent), has manifestations of </span></i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(11, 83, 148);"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">majesty and manifestations of splendor. </span></i></div><div><i style="caret-color: rgb(11, 83, 148);"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">تجليات جلال و تجليات جمال</span></i></div><div><i style="caret-color: rgb(11, 83, 148);"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i style="caret-color: rgb(11, 83, 148);"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">We may wish </span></i><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">to experience only the latter, but we cannot avoid the former. </span></i><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">Last week, we witnessed terrifying manifestations of majestic power: </span></i><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">An earthquake in Morocco that took several thousand lives, </span></i><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">followed a few days later by flooding in Libya that took many </span></i><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">more thousands of lives.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92);"><i>But the refrain in this chapter, Al-Rahman, continues:</i></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92);"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>How is it possible that those manifestations of overwhelming power, causing pain </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">and suffering, are still bounties? The repeating refrain t</i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>ells us that </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">they are, in the grand scheme of things, beyond time. The verses that follow explain this to us. </i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>We have to pass through those manifestations of </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">power to get to manifestations of beauty. We can't reach heaven without experiencing the painful loss of others or at least our own painful death, leaving loved ones behind in grief.</i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><br /></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">Of course, those of us who have the means to help others in their hour of need must do their best. Help is desperately needed, and may reduce some of the suffering, but it cannot relieve the deep pain of losing loved ones, which we all experience or cause, sooner or later. </i></p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">يسأله من في السموات و الأرض كل يوم هو في شأن</span></div><div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Everyone in heavens and earth </span><span>implore Him; </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">every day He manages some affair</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">We pray that Allah will be merciful to those who have lost their lives, </span></i></span><span><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">assist those who are still stranded, and give comfort and support </span></i></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><span>to people who loved them</span><span>. </span></span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">سنفرغ لكم أيها الثقلان</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We shall turn our full attention to you two weighty species.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>The Lord warns ominously that </i></span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>He will </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">turn his full attention to us. Nothing can be more terrifying.</i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">يا معشر الجن و الإنس إن استطعتم أن تنفذوا من أقطار السموات و الأرض فانفذوا لا تنفذون إلا بسلطان</p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>O families of jinn and humans, if you can escape</span><span> the boundaries of </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">heavens and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">earth, then escape. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You cannot escape </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">without permission.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>We cannot escape the manifestations of power, however </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c;">painful they may be. Nor can we escape accountability on the day of judgment. </i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>This does not mean that we have no agency. When `Umar (r) led an expedition toward Damascus, news arrived that </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">there was an epidemic in the city. He consulted his companions and then </i><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><span>decided to return to Madinah. Abu `Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah (r) questioned</span><span> his decision: "Are </span></i><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">you escaping from God's decree, Umar?" </span></i><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/0/3206/باب-ما-يذكر-في-الطاعون?idfrom=5500&idto=5505&start=1" target="_blank">`Umar replied</a>: "I wish </span></i><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">someone else would have asked this question. Yes, we escape from </span></i><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">God's decree toward God's decree نفرّ من قدر الله إلى قدر الله." </span></i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">That was a good illustration of the <a href="https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/240940/شرح-حديث-لقد-كان-فيمن-قبلكم-من-الأمم-ناس-محدثون" target="_blank">Prophetic saying</a> that if there were </span></i></span><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">to be inspired people محدّثون among Muslims, `Umar would surely be one.</span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يرسل عليكما شواظ من نار و نحاس فلا تنتصران</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>[If you try to escape], you will be bombarded by</span><span> flames </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and molten brass; and you will fail.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, comes a </span>terrifying</i></span><i style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> vision of the Day of Judgment.</span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">فإذا انشقت السماء فكانت وردة كالدهان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, when the sky is torn and looks like an oil-painted rose.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); font-family: inherit;"><i>For a vivid illustration, see any telescope picture of a nebula. </i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">One of my favorites is the <a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/3882-Image?keyword=NGC%205189" target="_blank">Cat's Eye Nebula picture from the </a></i><i style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/3882-Image?keyword=NGC%205189" target="_blank">Hubble Telescope</a>. A dying star sends out burning hydrogen </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">and dust that we see thousands of light years later as pinkish red. Those pictures are beautiful in the grand scheme of things, with the benefit of time and distance (thousands of light years), but they are violent emissions that would destroy us completely if we were close in time and space.</i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><br /></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(19, 79, 92); color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">This is the paradox of manifestations of power and beauty. The same phenomenon is horrifically violent up close, but beautiful when viewed from a 3000 light year perspective. </i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">فيومئذ لا يسأل عن ذنبه إنس و لا جان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>On that day no human or jinn will be asked about their</span><span> sins.</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يعرف المجرمون بسيماهم فيؤخذ بالنواصي و الأقدام</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Transgressors will be identified by their features, and carried away head to foot.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>How humiliating?</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">هذه جهنم التي يكذب بها المجرمون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>This is the </span>hellfire<span> that transgressors deny;</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يطوفون بينها و بين حنين آن</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">they oscillate between its flames and boiling water.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><i>Now that we have passed through the frightening manifestations of </i></span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">majestic power, we receive the comforting news that if we nurture proper fear of immorality, </i><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;">we may receive beauty, which is the proper reward for beauty هل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسان!</i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Beautiful reward is described in great detail. No commentary is needed. </i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">و لمن خاف مقام ربه جنتان</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But the one who feared his Lord's watchfulness will have </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">two gardens</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ذواتا أفنان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With many branches</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">فيهما عينان تجريان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therein are two running water springs</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">فيهما من كل فاكهة زوجان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therein are two pairs of every fruit</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">متكئين على فرش بطائنها من استبرق و جنى الجنتين دان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Reclining upon couches lined with </span>thick silk<span>, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">as the garden's fruits get draw to their hands</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">فيهن قاصرات الطرف لم يطمثهن إنس قبلهم و لا جان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Therein are maidens with full </span>attention<span> to them, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">untouched before them by any human or jinn </span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">كأنهن الياقوت و المرجان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As if they were rubies and coral.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">هل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسان</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>What is the reward of goodness other than</span><span> goodness?</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</span></div></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-44248195834197168072023-08-02T10:39:00.015-05:002023-08-03T13:37:21.681-05:00Navigating Existential Hypocrisy: Aleph Lam Meme<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>الم<br /></span><span>1. Aleph Lam Meme</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه هدىً للمتقين</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>2. This Book is free of suspicion; it guides the God-conscious<br /></span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">Free of suspicion also means free of doubt:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>روى الترمذي و أحمد و النسائي عن الحسن بن علي. قال صلعم<br /></i></span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>"دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك فإن الصدق طمأنينة و إن الكذب ريبة"</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>[Al-Tirmidhi narrated on the authority of Al-Hasan ibn Ali (r) that the Prophet (p) said:</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>"Leave what you suspect for what you do not suspect; truth begets serenity and falsehood begets doubt"]</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">الذين يؤمنون بالغيب و يقيمون الصلاة و مما رزقناهم ينفقون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Those who have faith in the Unseen, pray regularly, and spend of our provisions to them;</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>These are the criteria of Islam. </i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و الذين يؤمنون بما أنزل إليك و ما أنزل من قبلك و بالآخرة هم يوقنون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span>4. And they have faith in what was revealed to</span><span> you and revealed before you; and they are [becoming] certain of the h</span></span>ereafter.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span>These are the criteria of Iman (true faith). They require certainty rather than merely faith in the hereafter. As a </span>post-enlightenment<span> person, this type of certainty is not </span>available<span> to me most of time: certainty equal to that about one's own death:</span><span> </span></i></span><i style="color: #2b00fe;"><span>و اعبد ربك حتى يأتيك اليقين. This quest for certainty is a lifelong journey. </span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-caps: normal;">أولئك على هدىً من ربهم و أولئك هم </span>المفلحون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Those are guided by their Lord and they are the felicitous.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">May we be among them.</span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After three verses on Islam and Iman, two verses warn us against the other extreme, which is total and irremediable rejection of faith.</span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>إن الذين كفروا سواء عليهم ء</span>أنذرتهم<span> أم لم تنذرهم لا يؤمنون</span></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Those who rejected faith will not acquire it whether or not you admonish them;</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ختم الله على قلوبهم و على سمعهم و على أبصارهم غشاوة و لهم عذاب عظيم</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>7. God has sealed their hearts and ears</span><span>, and their eyes are masked. They will receive great punishment.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>This is obviously figurative: Their physical sight may be fine, but their insight may be masked/blinded, hence they have no access to the unseen.</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">Thirteen verses follow to describe people between the two extremes of total faith and total rejection. </i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">Most exegetes call them hypocrites (munafiqin), in specific reference to those in Madinah who pretended to have accepted the faith but conspired against the Prophet (p) and the faithful.</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">But the descriptions fit the vast majority of people, myself included, at least some of the time. </span></i></p><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و من الناس من يقول آمنا بالله و باليوم الآخر و ما هم بمؤمنين</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Then there are people who profess faith in God and the hereafter without being faithful.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يخادعون الله و الذين آمنوا و ما يخدعون إلا أنفسهم و ما يشعرون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. They aim to deceive God and the faithful, but they only deceive themselves, and they don't feel it.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">في قلوبهم مرض فزادهم الله مرضا و لهم عذاب أليم بما كانوا يكذبون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Their hearts were sick so God made them sicker, and they will be punished severely for their lies.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The hypocrites of Madina intentionally tried to deceive God and the faithful for worldly advantages. </span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span>This is not our condition today, but thinking honestly: There are many issues on which I disagree with </span>the<span> majority of Muslims today, and we do not have access to the Prophet (p) to ask him who is right. </span></i></span><i style="color: #2b00fe;"><span>I follow along in public, to the extent that I can, but I still don't agree with them. Whom am I deceiving?</span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و إذا قيل لهم لا تفسدوا في الأرض قالوا إنما نحن مصلحون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. When told not to corrupt in earth, they say: "but we are reformers."</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>ألا إنهم هم </span>الفاسدون<span> و لكن لا يشعرون</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Verily, they are the corruptors, although they don't feel it.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">This sounds familiar. As the world has changed over the centuries, many people have tried to discover how to live fully in their time and still be authentic to the teachings and example of the Prophet (p). </span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Today's Salafism in all its forms is clearly no solution to the problem of modern Muslims: Salafists </span>merely<span> invented a mythical society and proceeded last century to create highly disfigured versions thereof.</span></span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><span><span>At the other extreme: acquiescing to the extreme materialism of secular modernity is not reform either. We have seen many examples of emulation of the worst aspects of consumerism and materialism, </span></span></i></span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i>which no person can honestly reconcile with authentic Islam.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و إذا قيل لهم آمنوا كما آمن الناس قالوا أنؤمن كما آمن السفهاء</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>ألا إنهم هم </span>السفهاء و لكن لا يعلمون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">13. When told to have faith like others, they say: "shall we believe like the foolish?" Truly, they themselves are the foolish, but they know not.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>Herein lies a conundrum. We surely cannot have the same type of faith as illiterate people who lacked even a rudimentary understanding of science and mathematics. </i></span><i style="color: #2b00fe;">Nonetheless, we should not denigrate them as foolish, since we may ourselves be the foolish for failing to find an authentic reconciliation between Islam and modernity. </i></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و إذا لقوا الذين آمنوا قالوا آمنا و إذا خلوا إلى شياطينهم قالوا إنا معكم إنما نحن مستهزئون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">14. When they meet the faithful, they say: "we are faithful," but alone with their demons, they say: "we are [still] with you, but we only mock them."</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">الله يستهزئ بهم و يمدهم في طغيانهم يعمهون</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">15. [Consequently,] God mocks them and lets them proceed blindly in their transgression.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">أولئك<span> الذين اشتروا الضلالة بالهدى فما ربحت تجارتهم و ما كانوا مهتدين</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">16. Those have sold guidance for misguidance. Their trade is not profitable and the will never be guided.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>This is the state of false reconciliation between Islam and modernity: showing different faces to different people. It is a losing trade even if it gives us some temporary utility.</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>Two examples follow to describe the limitations of potential means of access to the unseen, using the recurring Qur'anic parable of light.</i></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">مثلهم كمثل الذي استوقد ناراً فلما أضاءت ما حوله ذهب الله بنورهم و تركهم في ظلمات لا يبصرون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">17. Their example is like one who exerted effort to light a fire, but when the fire illuminated his surroundings, God took away their [inner] light and left them blind in layers of darkness.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">صم بكم عمي فهم لا يرجعون</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>18. They are [thus] deaf, dumb, and blind -- so they cannot return;</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>The first example points to conscious efforts of the intellect that we possess, which can shed some light on the immediate surroundings, including science, mathematics, and ethics. However, this limited intellect cannot pierce the veil of ignorance to give us reliable access to the unseen realm (metaphysics). We need access to Divine inspiration for authentic knowledge of the latter عالم الملكوت.</i></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">أو كصيب من السماء فيه ظلمات و رعد و برق يجعلون أصابعهم في آذانهم من الصواعق حذر الموت و الله محيط بالكافرين</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">19. Or like a storm with dark clouds, thunder and lightening: They put their fingers in their ears for fear of death, and God knows well the affairs of the unfaithful.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يكاد البرق يخطف أبصارهم كلما أضاء لهم مشوا فيه و إذا أظلم عليهم قاموا</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و لو شاء الله لذهب بسمعهم و أبصارهم إن الله على كل شيء قدير</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20. Lightening almost blinds them, but with each flash, they walk a bit, and then they stop with the ensuing darkness. Had God wished, he would have taken their hearing and sight; God has power over all.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-variant-caps: normal;"><i>The second example points to sporadic insights of the unseen that we may receive during times of tremendous stress. We instinctively reach out to the unseen for support and comfort, and the mercy that we receive gives us a </i></span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i>glimpse of that unseen, but it is only a brief flash of light, and we revert back to our state of dark ignorance.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يأيها<span> الناس اعبدوا ربكم الذي خلقكم و الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">21. So, people, worship your Lord who created you and those before you, perchance you may attain God-consciousness.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>This gives us the recipe: Worship your Lord, and perhaps you will proceed in the direction of greater God-consciousness, and then verses 2 and 5 tells us that scripture will guide us to salvation.</i></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></p><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>And we find comfort in the very last verse of the chapter:</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">لا يكلف الله نفساً إلا وسعها لها ما كسبت و عليها ما اكتسبت<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">286: God does not encumber any soul beyond its capacity; it earns its credits and deserves its debits</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;"><i>followed by the most beautiful supplication:</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">ربنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Lord: Do not make us accountable for our forgetfulness or error<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">ربنا و لا تحمل علينا إصراً كما حملته على الذين من قبلنا<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Lord: Do not encumber us with the same heavy burden of our predecessors<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">ربنا و لا تحملنا ما لا طاقة لنا به<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Lord: Do not encumber us beyond our capacity<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">و اعف عنا و اغفر لنا و ارحمنا<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Disregard our sins, forgive us, and shower us with mercy<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">أنت مولانا فانصرنا على القوم الكافرين<br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">You are our Lord, so make us prevail over the faithless</span></span></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-70591741821721854032023-07-13T10:53:00.063-05:002023-07-13T20:04:39.611-05:00The Beneficent (A Meditative Translation)<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم</span><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">We begin every activity by reciting the first verse of the first chapter of the Qur'an: </span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">"In the Name of Allah, Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem." </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">The first mentioned is the transcendent name: Allah. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">The second and third mentioned names express two types of outpouring of mercy</i><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> = رحمة</span></i><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">Al-Rahman is the prior and more generous outpouring. As we shall see in today's selection from the Qur'an, </i><span><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Al-Rahman is the creator -- the author of our universe, the provider of the ultimate and prerequisite mercy of existence. </span></span></i></span><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Al-Raheem bestows mercy upon existing creation. </span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><br /></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">I wish to offer a grateful meditative translation of the first few verses of the 55th chapter:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">الرحمن</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Beneficent:</div><div style="text-align: left;">علَّم القرآن</div><div style="text-align: left;">He authored the scripture. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">While علَّم also means "to teach," as in common translation, it literally means "made marks," or wrote. In the ideal plane, prior to physical creation, which comes in <span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">the</span> third verse, Al-Rahman authored two types of scripture: the sacred book that we recite, marked ideally on the preserved tablet اللوح المحفوظ, and the book of nature, on which the chapter expounds, to inspire gratitude in His discerning creations:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">خلق الإنسان</div><div style="text-align: left;">He created the human;</div><div style="text-align: left;">علَّمه البيان</div><div style="text-align: left;">taught him discernment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>There is no "and" و or "then" ثم between the third and fourth verses. Discernment is the essential nature of the human, not an added feature. Hence endowing humans with discernment <u>is</u> the very act of their creation.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">الشمس و القمر بحسبان</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">The sun and the moon follow precise mathematics,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">و النجم و الشجر يسجدان</div><div style="text-align: left;">and crawling plants and tall trees submit (likewise).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The visible solar system (heaven, with lower case "h") may be read as a metaphor for the ideal world (Heaven, with upper case "H"), in which everything is precise and meaningful, like the mathematics of astronomy (and by extension all Physics). The seemingly messy world of earthly biology (different types of trees) also follows precise mathematical laws. The two verses thus tell us that "it is on earth as it is in heaven:" biology also follows precise mathematics and has meaning, even if we cannot (yet) discern them.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254); color: #2b00fe;">We now turn from the way things are, which is the realm of science, to the way things should be, which is the realm of ethics:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">و السماء رفعها و وضع الميزان</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">He lifted the heaven and set down the scale:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">ألا تطغوا في الميزان</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Do not overweigh,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">و أقيموا الوزن بالقسط و لا تخسروا الميزان</div><div style="text-align: left;">but weigh justly, and do not underweigh.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i>Lifting of the heaven may be read as a metaphor for absolute justice being inaccessible to us, while setting down the scale may be read as endowment with our intrinsic sense of justice, so that we may exercise it correctly, without increase or diminution.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">و الأرض وضعها للأنام</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">And the earth was set down for all living creatures.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i>We are being prepared to accept that there are earthly life forms that are manifest and others that are hidden. Thus, examples of the bounties created on earth are chosen carefully in pairs that indicate manifest and hidden configurations:</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">فيها فاكهة و النخل ذات الأكمام</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">On (earth) are (manifest) fruits and date-palms with sheaths,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">و الحب ذو العصف و الريحان </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">and grains hidden in blades and fragrant leaves.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>Two sets of examples were thus given, to make the metaphor unmistakably clear: The first pair of examples are fruits that are manifest and others (palm dates) that are hidden in sheaths. The second pair of examples illustrates how "leaves" may be protective cover (like wheat chaff) and may be themselves fragrant and edible, like Basel.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div style="text-align: left;">So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>This verse addresses explicitly two types of discerning beings on earth: one manifest (humans) and the other hidden (jinn). The latter name literally means "hidden," as every conjoining of the Arabic letters "jeem" and "noon" indicates (e.g. جن الليل the night hides things in darkness, جنين is an embryo hidden in the womb, and so on). </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>When I was a child, my late father taught us that every time we recited or heard this verse, which is repeated several times in the chapter, we should say: و لا بأي آلائك نكذب يا ربنا فلك الحمد "None of your bounties do we deny, our Lord, praise to you." When I searched for the Hadith, I found a slight variation narrated separately in a number of compendia on the authorities of Abdullah ibn Umar and Jaber ibn Abdillah. The version in Al-Tirmidhi was <a href="https://dorar.net/hadith/sharh/61556">deemed by Al-Albani</a> to be a good Hadith حسن. In this Hadith the Prophet (p) told his companion<span><span style="font-family: inherit;">s after reciting the </span>chapter<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that they were less attentive than the jinn were, because the jinn always responded to the verse by saying:</span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i> </i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">ولَا بشيءٍ مِّنْ نعَمِكَ ربَّنا نُكَذِّبُ فلَكَ الحمْدُ</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>Having addressed the two species of discerning beings, the chapter proceeds to tell us about their origins:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">خلق الإنسان من صلصال كالفخار</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">He created the human from clay like pots',</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">و خلق الجان من مارج من نار</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">and created the jinn from swarming fire.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">We are thus offered an explanation why we cannot detect or interact physically with the jinn: While we, humans, were created from the elements of the earth (oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and so on), the jinn were created from mass-less swarming fire. As the exegetes liked to say, their density is infinitely lower than ours, so our physical sensors cannot detect them, even though they are accessible through our imaginal sense ملكة الخيال, as the Sufi masters (most notably Mohieldin Ibn Arabi) liked to say.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>رب المشرقين و رب المغربين</div><div>He is the Lord of the two beginnings and the two ends.</div><div><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>The rising of the sun in the East and its setting in the West are thus used as metaphors for beginning and end, and the hidden and manifest species have distinct beginnings and ends (as the Qur'an tells us elsewhere that the creation of jinn preceded the creation of humans و الجان خلقناه من قبل من نار السموم).</i></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>The next set of verses explain in metaphor how the two realms coexist with minimal intermingling</i><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i>:</i></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">مرج البحرين يلتقيان</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">He brought the two seas, they meet,</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">بينهما برزخ لا يبغيان</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">between them is an isthmus that they don’t transgress.</span></div><div><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><i>The metaphor here appeared elsewhere in the Qur'an -- referring multiple times to the manner in which higher-density salt water (now a metaphor for denser humans) and lower density fresh water (now a metaphor for the lighter jinn) appear not to mix at their meeting points where rivers pour into seas (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary">at an estuary</a>, with a <a href="https://www.riverkeeper.org/blogs/water-quality-blogs/sea-level-rise-will-drive-salt-front-up-the-hudson-prompting-water-quality-concerns/">salt front</a> at which the two mix very slowly), as the difference in density causes layering and slow diffusion of the fresh water above in the salt water below, neither overwhelming the other. </i></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">يخرج منهما اللؤلؤ و المرجان</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);">Out of the two (seas) emerge pearls and coral reefs.</span></div><div><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>These are jewels created by secretions of hidden soft animals (inside oyster or mussel shells in the case of pearls, and inside the hardened coral reef by soft coral polyps). The forms of life that produce these jewels would die in an overly dense (salty) sea. The measured infusion of fresh water allows marine life to thrive and produce such jewels, just like our limited interactions with the ideal plane allow us to be creative in scientific discovery and art.</i></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div>و له الجوار المنشآت في البحر كالأعلام</div><div>And to him also belong the structures, like mountains, that run in the sea.</div><div><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>While we may think that ships and other inventions are our creations, the verse makes it very clear: Allah is our creator, and to him we belong, along with all our mediated creations, which are still His, by a simple transitive property: و الله خلقكم و ما تعملون.</i></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><div>كل من عليها فان</div><div>All life upon (the earth) will perish</div><div>و يبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال و الإكرام</div><div>and your Lord's face remains: majestic and splendid.</div><div><div>فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان</div><div>So, which of the bounties of your Lord do you deny, you two?</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-9831045906410524992023-05-26T11:56:00.000-05:002023-05-26T11:56:48.487-05:00The Gift of Tranquility<p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;">{</span><span style="text-align: right;">و</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">اتقوا</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">الله</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">و</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">اعلموا</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">أن</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">الله</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">مع</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">المتقين</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;">} </span><span style="text-align: right;">البقرة</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="text-align: right;">١٩٤</span></span></p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be God-conscious and know that God supports those who are God conscious</span></p></blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p>
<div style="text-align: left;">In our age of anxiety, we can rarely find peace of mind without Divine assistance, which takes the form of tranquility (in Arabic = سكينة). This quietude descends upon the faithful to give them a temporary sense of peace, albeit short of serenity (in Arabic = طمأنينة), the permanent station that we hope to reach before we die. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: right;">Ibn Qayim al-Jawziya recounted in his quasi-Sufi manual مدارج السالكين that whenever he or his teacher Ibn Taymiya felt anxious or disturbed, they would contemplate the six verses of the Qur'an in which tranquility = سكينة is mentioned ... and this is the plan for my sermon today.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: right;">The Prophet (p) advised us to conjure up a human version of this </span>tranquility as we travel to the mosque:</div>
<p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">روى البخاري<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مسلم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَبَي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هُرَيْرَةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ( </span>سَمِعْتُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَسُولَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَلَّى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَسَلَّمَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَقُولُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِذَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أُقِيمَتْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الصَّلَاةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَلَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَأْتُوهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَسْعَوْنَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَأْتُوهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَمْشُونَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السَّكِينَةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَمَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَدْرَكْتُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَصَلُّوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَمَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَاتَكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَأَتِمُّوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ).</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">[Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (p) said: "When prayer is called, do not approach it in a rush, but walk calmly with tranquility upon you; then pray whatever you catch and make up whatever you miss."]</p></blockquote><p>Then, as we contemplate the Qur'an here, actual Divine tranquility = سكينة would descend upon us:</p><blockquote>
<p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">روى مسلم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أبي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هريرة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> (… </span>وَمَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اجْتَمَعَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَوْمٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بَيْتٍ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بُيُوتِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَتْلُونَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كِتَابَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَيَتَدَارَسُونَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بَيْنَهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِلَّا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نَزَلَتْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السَّكِينَةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَغَشِيَتْهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الرَّحْمَةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَحَفَّتْهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْمَلَائِكَةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَذَكَرَهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِيمَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عِنْدَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">…)</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">[Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (p) said: "Whenever a group gather in one of the houses of God, reciting His scripture and studying it, then tranquility descends upon them and angels gather around them and God mentions them among His host."]</p></blockquote>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">The first verse that mentioned tranquility = سكينة appears in the second chapter of the Qur'an, and connects directly to the Hebrew version of the word = <i>Shekhinah</i>, tied to the Israelite tabernacle (the tent that served as their mobile temple) and the ark of the covenant (in Arabic = التابوت), which is described as "carried by angels", in possible reference to the ancient-Egyptian-style cherubim decorations the Israelites had carved on its lid:</p><p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span>وَقَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نَبِيُّهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِنَّ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آيَةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مُلْكِهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَأْتِيَكُمُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>التَّابُوتُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِيهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَكِينَةٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَبِّكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بقية<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ترك<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آل<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>موسى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آل<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هارون<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تحمله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الملائكة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>في<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ذلك<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لآية<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لكم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كنتم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مؤمنين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span>البقرة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>٢٤٨</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal;">[And their Prophet (Samuel) told them: "The sign of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal;">his kingship is that the ark (of the covenant) will come to you, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in it (you </span>will<span style="font-family: inherit;"> find) tranquility = سكينة from your Lord, and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal;">relics from the families of Moses and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aaron, carried by angels</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. This will surely be a sign for you if you have faith.]</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p></blockquote><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The context, recounted in the biblical books of Samuel, is that the Israelites had carried the Ark to battle up North, where they lost it, causing great anxiety that God had abandoned them. Thus, the Prophet Samuel told them that Saul (in Arabic = طالوت) will be their king, and that recovering the Ark will be a sign that this was God's will, and that He had not abandoned them.</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The next two mentions of tranquility = سكينة are in the 9th chapter, and they recount, in reverse chronological order, two tests that could have meant the end of Islam. The first is the battle of Hunayn, in the 8th year after Hijra, shortly after the Muslims had entered Makkah without fighting, and thought that they were finally safe. Then allied tribes, including the mighty Hawazin and Thaqif, came to attack them in Makkah, but the Prophet (p) decided to meet them outside, in the direction of Ta'if:</p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">لقد</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">نصركم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">الله</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">في</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">مواطن</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">كثيرة</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">و</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">يوم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">حنين</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">إذ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">أعجبتكم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">كثرتكم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">فلم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">تغن</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">عنكم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">شيئاً</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">و</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ضاقت</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">عليكم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">الأرض</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">بما</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">رحبت</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ثم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">وليتم</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">مدبرين</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> * </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ثُمَّ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">أَنْزَلَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">اللَّهُ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">سَكِينَتَهُ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">عَلَى</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">رَسُولِهِ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">وَعَلَى</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">الْمُؤْمِنِينَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">وَأَنْزَلَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">جُنُودًا</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">لَمْ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">تَرَوْهَا</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">وَعَذَّبَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">الَّذِينَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">كَفَرُوا</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">وَذَلِكَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">جَزَاءُ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">الْكَافِرِينَ</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">التوبة</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">٢٥</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">-</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">٢٦</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">[God has helped you on many fields, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and on the day of Hunayn, when you were proud of your numbers, but they did not help, and the vast land seemed to collapse on you, and you turned in retreat. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then God sent down His tranquility = سكينة upon His messenger and</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the faithful, and He </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">sent down forces that you did not see, and He </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">punished the unfaithful, for such is the fate of the unfaithful.]</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">The </span><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);">second</span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"> mention of tranquility = سكينة in the 9th chapter goes back to the migration of the Prophet (p) from Makkah to Madinah. He and Abu Bakr (r) were hiding in a cave (غار ثور) from the idolators who had caught up to them. Abu Bakr (r) told the Prophet (p): "If one of them just looks at his sandals, he would surely see us," and the Prophet's (p) answer was immortalized in the Qur'an:</span></p><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span>إلا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تنصروه<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فقد<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نصره<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إذ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أخرجه<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الذين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كفروا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ثاني<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اثنين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إذ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>في<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الغارإِذْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَقُولُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لِصَاحِبِهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَحْزَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِنَّ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مَعَنَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَأَنْزَلَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَكِينَتَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَأَيَّدَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِجُنُودٍ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَرَوْهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>جعل<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كلمة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الكافرين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السفلى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كلمة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>العليا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عزيز<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>حكيم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span>التوبة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>٤٠</span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[You are not the ones who help him, for God had already helped </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">him, (for example) when the unfaithful expelled him</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">; he was the second of two in that cave</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and he said to his companion: "Do not grieve, for God is with us," then </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">God sent down His tranquility = سكينة, and supported</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> him with forces that you did not see; </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and He made the word of the unfaithful the </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">lowest and God´s word the highest; for </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">God is mighty and wise.]</span></p></blockquote><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The last three mentions of tranquility = سكينة appear in the 48th chapter, which chronicled a time of great anxiety after the treaty of Hudaybiya, which was heavily biased in favor of the idolators, but miraculously turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So, we conclude with those three verses:</p>
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<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span>هُوَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّذِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْزَلَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السَّكِينَةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلُوبِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْمُؤْمِنِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لِيَزْدَادُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِيمَانًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مَعَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِيمَانِهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>جنود<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السموات<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الأرض<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كان<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عليماً<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>حكيما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span>الفتح<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>٤</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">[It is He who sent down tranquility = سكينة </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">into the hearts of the faithful, thus to increase their faith. T</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">o </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">God belong the forces of the heavens and the </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">earth; God is </span><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38);">knowing</span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"> and wise]</span></p></blockquote><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p>
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<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span>لقَدْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَضِيَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَنِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْمُؤْمِنِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِذْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يُبَايِعُونَكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَحْتَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الشَّجَرَةِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَعَلِمَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلُوبِهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَأَنْزَلَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>السَّكِينَةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَأَثَابَهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَتْحًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَرِيبًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span>الفتح<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>١٨</span></p>
<p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">[God was well pleased with the faithful when </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">they gave you their covenant under the </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">tree. He knew what was in their hearts, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">so He sent down tranquility = سكينة upon them, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and rewarded them with near victory.]</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>
<p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">{</span>إِذْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>جَعَلَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّذِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كَفَرُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلُوبِهِمُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْحَمِيَّةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>حَمِيَّةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَأَنْزَلَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَكِينَتَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَسُولِهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَعَلَى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْمُؤْمِنِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ألزمهم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كلمة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>التقوى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كانوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أحق<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بها<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أهلها<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كان<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بكل<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>شيء<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عليما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">} </span>الفتح<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>٢٦</span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">[When the unfaithful ignited in their hearts the</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> fierceness of ignorance, then </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">God sent down His tranquility = سكينة upon His m</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">essenger and the believers, and made them steadfast in God consciousness, of</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> which they were the most deserving, and God knows all.]</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-39576876940072317652023-05-18T10:33:00.021-05:002023-05-18T17:44:31.733-05:00Serenity and Contentment at Dawn<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><blockquote dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a draft for my sermon this week:<br /></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left;"></span></span></div><blockquote dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left;">روى مسلم </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left;">عَنْ الْعَبَّاسِ قال رَسُولَ اللَّهِ (ص) ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الْإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولًا </span></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">[Muslim narrated on the authority of Al-`Abbas; the Prophet (p) said: "One has tasted faith who is content with God as lord, Submission as religion, and Muhammad as messenger."]</p></blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"></p><div style="text-align: left;">"Tasted faith," the Prophet (p) said, and taste is a temporary state = حال. This is the starting point of faith, but it guides us to the permanent station of Contentment = مقام الرضا, which is the final objective of faith.</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 89th chapter of the Qur'an brings glad tidings to those who achieve this station: <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<i>O soul at peace,</i><i> r</i><i>eturn to your Lord, content and satisfied. Join</i><i> with My worshipers into My<span style="font-family: inherit;"> heaven.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">" </span></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(27--30)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is often challenging to find serenity and contentment. So, t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he beginning of the chapter points to special times for solitary restoration, starting with the</span> most hopeful time of all -- dawn, when darkness yields to light <span style="text-align: right;">(1--5)</span>:</div><blockquote dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">و الفجر<br />By the dawn<br />و ليال عشر<br />;and ten nights<br />و الشفع و الوتر<br />by the even and the odd<br />و الليل إذا يسر<br />.and by the passing of the night<br />هل في ذلك قسم لذي حجر<br />?Are these not significant for the mindful <br /><span style="text-align: left;"></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is consistent with the Prophetic tradition:</span></div><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></span></p><blockquote dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">روى البخاري عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ (ص) قَالَ ... وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالْغَدْوَةِ وَالرَّوْحَةِ وَشَيْءٍ مِنْ الدُّلْجَةِ </span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (p) said: "... and seek support at the </span>beginning<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and end of each day, and part of the night.]</span></p><p>Corruption, oppression and injustice disturb our peace. But the chapter goes on to teach that we should adopt different timeframes when thinking about these civilization-scale issues. <span>The only constant is change, but it happens at its own pace — over centuries, not lifetimes or years. </span>We are thus reminded in this chapter how major changes have evolved over centuries <span style="text-align: right;">(6--14)</span>: </p><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>ألم تر كيف فعل ربك بعاد<br />,Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with `Ad<br />إرم ذات العماد<br />,Iram of the great pillars<br />التي لم يخلق مثلها في البلاد<br />;the like of which had not been created<br />و ثمود الذين جابوا الصخر بالواد<br />,and Thamood, who carved rocks in the valley<br />و فرعون ذي الأوتاد<br />;and Pharaoh, with the massive tents<br />الذين طغوا في البلاد<br />those who transgressed in their nations<br />فأكثروا فيها الفساد<br />,and multiplied corruption therein<br />فصب عليهم ربك سوط عذاب<br />;and thus your Lord poured severe punishment upon them <br /> إن ربك لبالمرصاد <br />!for your Lord is ever watchful</blockquote></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Of course, we should not confuse contentment with inaction. On the contrary, being content with God's decree is conducive to good action, even as we acknowledge that only God can change the world. In one narration of the long Hadith of `Abdullah ibn `Abbas, the Prophet (p) teaches him:</div><blockquote dir="rtl"><div>فإنِ استطعتَ أن تعملَ للهِ بالرضا مع اليقينِ فافعل ، فإن لم تستطع فإنَّ في الصبرِ على ما تكرهُ خيرًا كثيرًا <br /></div></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">[If you can work with contentment and certainty, then that is better; but if you cannot, then there is much good in perseverance through what you dislike.]</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">In the holy tradition (حديث قدسي) narrated by Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurayra:</div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: inherit;">قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُؤْذِينِي ابْنُ آدَمَ يَسُبُّ الدَّهْرَ وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ بِيَدِي الْأَمْرُ أُقَلِّبُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Allah (s) said: The son of Adam insults Me by cursing time. But I Am Time, I control all, and alternate nights and days.]</span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">The chapter then turns to the individual human time scale, the most relevant for us </span><span>(15--20)</span><span style="text-align: left;">:</span></div></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"></div><blockquote><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">فأما الإنسان إذا ما ابتلاه ربه فأكرمه و نعمه</div>فيقول ربي أكرمن<br />As for man, whenever his Lord tries him <br />,with honors and blessings<br />;then he says: My Lord has honored me<br />و أما إذا ما ابتلاه فقدر عليه رزقه<br />فيقول ربي أهانن<br />,but when He tries him with restricted provisions<br />.then he says: My Lord has humiliated me<br />كلا بل لا تكرمون اليتيم <br />,No! You honor not the orphan<br />و لا تحاضون على طعام المسكين <br />,and you enjoin not feeding the needy<br />و تأكلون التراث أكلاً لما<br />and you devour inheritance voraciously<br />و تحبون المال حباً جما<br />.and you love wealth unreasonably<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">This juxtaposition is reminiscent of the admonition of Ibn `</span></span>Ata'-Illah:</div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: right;">اجتهادك فيما ضمن لك و تقصيرك فيما طلب منك دليل على انطماس البصيرة منك</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">[Your striving for what He has guaranteed for you and falling short on what He has required of you is a proof that your inner sight is blind.]</div></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The chapter concludes by describing opposite destinations for the faithless and the faithful <span style="text-align: right;">(21--26)</span>: </p><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>كلا إذا دكت الأرض دكاً دكا<br />No! When the earth is pounded into dust<br />و جاء ربك و الملك صفاً صفا<br /> ,and your Lord comes amidst ranks of angels<br />و جيء يومئذ بجهنم، يومئذ يتذكر الإنسان و أنى له الذكرى<br />;and hell is brought forth<br />!then man will remember -- and what a remembrance<br />يقول يا ليتني قدمت لحياتي<br />.He will say: I wish I had forwarded for my true life<br />فيومئذ لا يعذب عذابه أحد<br />On that day, none other shall punish him<br />و لا يوثق وثاقه أحد<br />.and none other shall bind him</blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br />Abdul-Qader Al-Jailani mentioned in his exegesis of this verse that self punishment through regret is the worst. This is the fate of souls that do not find serenity and contentment.</div></div><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">As for those who do, may we be among them <span style="text-align: right;">(27--30)</span>:<span style="text-align: right;"> </span></p><blockquote>يأيتها النفس المطمئنة<br />,O soul at peace<br />ارجعي إلى ربك راضية مرضية<br />;return to your Lord, content and satisfied<br />فادخلي في عبادي<br />Join with My worshippers<br />و ادخلي جنتي<br />.into My Heaven</blockquote><br /></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-35407452555762770232022-06-28T12:16:00.097-05:002022-08-11T20:18:20.946-05:00The Foreigner Who Wants To Be A Citizen: A Fourth of July Sermon<p> This is a draft of my sermon for this Friday, July 1, 2022 at ISGH Main Center.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 40px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا (الأحزاب: 70)</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">[O, Community of Faith, be God conscious and aim your words carefully (Allies: 70)]</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra (r) that the Prophet (p) said:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 40px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">بدأ الإسلام غريباً و سيعود غريباً كما بدأ فطوبى للغرباء</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">[Islam began as a foreigner, and it will again become a foreigner as it had begun, so blessed are the foreigners.]</span></p></blockquote><p>And Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar (r) that the Prophet (p) held him by his shoulders and told him:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 40px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">كن في الدنيا كأنك غريب أو عابر سبيل</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> [Be in life like a foreigner or a wayfarer.]</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">We find comfort in these teachings, and accept being perpetual foreigners in this sense, both in our native and adopted countries. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;">But we also want to be citizens, and t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he legal basis for my naturalized citizenship of the United States, and for my children's natural-born citizenship, is the </span><a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992" style="font-family: inherit;">Fourteenth Amendment</a> of the Constitution.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Article 1 reads:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."</span></span></p></blockquote><p>It was devastating late last week when the Supreme Court of the United States <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf" target="_blank">took away</a> from American women a constitutional right that had been anchored fifty years ago in the same Fourteenth Amendment.</p><p>Leading legal scholars have noted that the ruling is oppressive to Muslim women, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/abortion-bans-religion-17259119.php?fbclid=IwAR16QBKc_wdkxhs9kSmqZz86JtRAnU1fplsONack2Gt-K7BUXejQ69fsQzY" target="_blank">enumerating</a> the different views on abortion in contemporary Islamic jurisprudence, while others have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapol/article/29/4/483/653159?login=false" target="_blank">noted</a> that several Muslim-majority countries allow legal abortion and many medieval Muslim jurists had allowed it in different circumstances, especially during the first trimester. </p><p>But I would argue that as Muslim Americans, the dictates of Islamic jurisprudence on abortion are not relevant factors in defending the legal rights of others. To explain by analogy: I observe the Islamic prohibition of alcohol meticulously, but this does not mean that I would advocate for returning to early twentieth century <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Prohibition-United-States-history-1920-1933" target="_blank">prohibition</a> laws (imposed by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eighteenth-Amendment">Eighteenth Amendment</a> in 1919 and repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933). </p><p>We are all protected by the separation of church and state. Whether it is the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Ayatollahs of Iran, or the so-called "religious scholars" of my native region, appeals to religion to take away human rights are nothing more than naked power plays -- which vary only to the degree that states allow it. </p><p>In this regard, <a href="http://islamport.com/w/tkh/Web/2893/1375.htm" target="_blank">Al-Tabari narrated</a> that Ali ibn Abi Talib (r) criticized the Khawarij who had insisted that only the Qur'an should settle the great dispute of his time by saying:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 40px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">هذا القرآن إنما هو خط مسطور بين دفتين لا ينطق إنما يتكلم به الرجال</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">["T</span></span>his Qur'an is just a set of written words between two covers; it does not speak, but men speak with its authority."]</p></blockquote><p>The same is true of the U.S. Constitution: Written words interpreted by men. No system is ever perfect, and we should strive to make progress by choosing interpretations that progressively increase human rights.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The constitutional right to abortion under <i><a href="https://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/factsheets/Constitutional-Protection-for-the-Right-to-Abortion-Fact-Sheet2.pdf" target="_blank">Roe</a></i> was anchored in the Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy (as part of liberty). In this regard, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/fbi-v-fazaga" target="_blank">ACLU and other</a> civil rights organizations had argued that the types of surveillance, manipulation and entrapment to which our community has been subjected in recent years were violations of our Fourteenth Amendment rights to privacy. Alas, in March of this year the <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-828_5ie6.pdf" target="_blank">Supreme Court</a> dismissed disputation of the legality of sending undercover agents as spies who apparently attempted to radicalize and entrap Muslims in Southern California. To be clear, our community, if anything, is excessively eager to cooperate with law enforcement, but nobody benefits when overzealous agents try actively to radicalize vulnerable people. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The methodology that the Supreme Court used in <i><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf" target="_blank">Dobbs</a> </i>to overturn <i>Roe</i>, is so-called <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/white-papers/on-originalism-in-constitutional-interpretation">"originalism"</a>: The justices ask what the framers of the constitutional amendment meant at the time of writing. The basis of their ruling was that women did not have the right to abortion when the Fourteenth Amendment was drafted in 1868. This methodology (and I must say that <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wisint25&div=35&id=&page=" target="_blank">the same applies</a> to much of what sadly passes for "Islamic jurisprudence" today) is fundamentally <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/30/supreme-court-originalism-constitution/" target="_blank">ahistorical</a> in its lack of respect for historical trajectory and modern advances in Humanities, Social Sciences and Legal Theory. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The same legal methodology in <i>Dobbs</i> can be used to prevent or take away Fourteenth Amendment citizenship from naturalized citizens like me and natural-born citizens like my children. Indeed, the same Mr. John Eastman, now of the January 6th insurrection infamy, had <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg23690/html/CHRG-109hhrg23690.htm" target="_blank">argued</a> before congress in 2005 that the Fourteenth Amendment should be interpreted within the narrow confines of its intended nineteenth-century goal of granting citizenship to emancipated slaves and their progeny. Native Americans were not granted citizenship at the time, because they were viewed as subjects of the jurisdictions of their "Indian nations," and hence not of the United States. This pseudo-historical legal jujitsu has been a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/birthright-citizenship-fundamental-misunderstanding-the-14th-amendment" target="_blank">mainstay</a> argument for opponents of immigration and birthright citizenship.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We wish to defend our citizenship rights, and the best way to defend these rights is to defend the rights of others. In this regard, I close with another story attributed by <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/مجمع_الزوائد_ومنبع_ال/Agd7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=الطبراني+أكلت+يوم+أكل&pg=PT79&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank">Al-Tabarani and others</a> to Ali ibn Abi Talib (r) as he predicted his own tragic murder a few years after the tragic murder of Othman ibn Affan (r):</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">There were three bulls in the forest -- one red, one black and one white. They were too strong together for the lion to attack any of them. One day, the lion told the black and red bulls that the white bull was visible from afar and dangerous to them. "If I eat him," he said, "you both will be safe in the forest." They let him. A week later the bull convinced the black bull that the red one is too arrogant because of his fancy color, so he let him eat the red bull. The lion came the following week and told the black bull "I'll eat you now," to which the black bull replied: "No, I was eaten on the day that the white bull was eaten."</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-48831250481151593322022-06-02T12:51:00.007-05:002022-06-02T16:32:12.437-05:00Religion As Antidote for Religious Nationalism<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> This is the draft of my sermon scheduled at ISGH Main Center on June 3, 2022.</span></p><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (آل عمران: 200)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[O, community of faith, be patient, persevere in your patience and be steadfast; and exercise God consciousness so that you may succeed. (Family of Amram: 200)]</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>0. The Global Problem of Rising Religious Nationalism</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyone following recent election results in France and primary results in the U.S. must be concerned about the continued rise in Christian nationalism that targets Western Muslim communities like ours with special animus. This is particularly disconcerting in light of the growing tides of religious nationalism that have turned violent around the world: For example, Hindu-nationalist pogroms in majority-Muslim Indian villages, Buddhist-nationalist persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and Jewish-ultranationalist provocation and attacks on Arab populations in Israel and the Palestinian lands that it occupies.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this sermon, I would like to make three points.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. Religious Nationalism Cannot Be Countered by Another Religious Nationalism</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2005/07/old-khutba-sermon-against-nationalist.html" target="_blank">I delivered a sermon at this mosque eighteen and a half years ago</a>, denouncing Islamic-nationalist thought, which was invented in the middle of the past century by semi-educated activists who confounded the classical Muslim notion of Ummah (religious community) with the modern concept of nation (which was invented in the eighteenth century). I do not wish to rehash the same arguments that I made then. But I want to recognize that this unfortunate Islamic-nationalism was a reaction to subjugation of Muslim populations by European colonial powers. I also wish to warn against allowing it to resurface in reaction to the current wave of resurgent Christian nationalism in our backyard. Responding to Christian (or any other religious) nationalism with Islamic nationalism would only exacerbate the problem by providing further fuel and justification for anti-Muslim religious nationalism. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10357711003736436?casa_token=KclFnvKJIMMAAAAA:anpNR5ff0lcOEnOqc7h_osFWUQENDfo5lBYvlbEG-XJx50K3yaUt_XDdInPLdqL7wgZocaVeNgQM" target="_blank">Sociologists who studied the rise of religious nationalism</a> have shown that it may arise even among groups who belong to dominant majorities but who feel that their identity and way of life is threatened by social currents. Thus, analysis has shown that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/opinion/republicans-religion-conservatism.html" target="_blank">Christian-nationalist sentiments in the United States are driven by the view that the country's dominant religion is in fact secular multiculturalism</a>, which those groups find threatening. Several surveys have shown that adherents to this view have grown in numbers and conviction that Christianity is integral to Americanness, and that they view Islam in particular as an alien ideology that is incompatible with American values. Prominent former and prospective candidates for President of the United States and numerous lower offices have made statements to this effect explicitly on several occasions.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">2. Religious Nationalism Cannot Be Countered by Courting Secular Ultra-Liberalism</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, many members of our community have seen the errors of Islamic nationalism of the previous century and sought to find better political responses to the rise of Christian nationalism that targets our communities in particular. They exercise the patience, perseverance and steadfastness that are enjoined in the opening verse of this sermon. This is the right approach religiously: not to respond angrily to insults. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the central message of the verse:</span></span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span class="text-success" style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: right;">وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ </span><span class="t3" style="text-align: right;">(فصلت: 35)</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Yet none shall receive (this great reward), except the steadfast; none shall receive it, except those who are very fortunate. (Well Expounded: 35)]</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In their commentaries on this verse, exegetes have cited the Prophetic Tradition narrated by Ahmad on the authority of Abu Hurayra (r) that Abu Bakr (r) was sitting with the Prophet (p) when a man insulted Abu Bakr repeatedly, while Abu Bakr (r) was silent and the Prophet (p) continued to smile in amusement. Then after the their third insult, Abu Bakr (r) answered the man, at which time the Prophet (p) left. Abu Bakr (r) followed him and said: "The man kept insulting me in your presence and I kept forgiving him and refraining from responding; but then when I answered him to defend my honor, you left, O Messenger of God." The Prophet (p) replied by saying:</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(111, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura41-aya35.html#tabary" target="_blank">" إنَّهُ كانَ يَرُدُّ عَنْكَ مَلَكٌ من المَلائكَةِ, فَلَمَّا قَرُبْتَ تَنْتَصِرُ ذَهَبَ المَلَكُ وَجاءَ الشَّيْطانُ, فَوَاللهِ ما كُنْتُ لأجالِسَ الشَّيْطانَ يا أبا بَكْرٍ"</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[O, Abu Bakr, an angel was replying on your behalf, but once you decided to defend your own honor, the angel left and Satan came, and by God, I would not stay sitting down with Satan, Abu Bakr.]</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That was from a purely religious standpoint, but of course patience, perseverance and steadfastness do not constitute an invitation to do nothing. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Politically, what most members of our community have decided to do has been to ally themselves with the strongest political opponents of the Christian </span>nationalists, who happen to be secular ultra-liberals<span style="font-family: inherit;">. This is also a natural reaction, to align with the strongest opponents of your opponent, albeit just as </span>counterproductive<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as using your own incoherent religious nationalism to counter a hostile religious nationalism. This is especially the case because the latter has adopted a "replacement theory" that suggests that Muslims were </span>brought<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to this land to replace its rightful voters and workers. Thus, aligning exclusively with the mostly secular and ultra-liberal political </span>opponents<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of Christian nationalism can only lead to escalation by reinforcing this narrative. Moreover, from a pragmatic point of view, coalitions of convenience with the </span>ultra-secular<span style="font-family: inherit;"> liberal left are unlikely to survive for long because of the wide cultural gulf between the social preferences of rank and file Muslims and </span>the social preferences of those allies of convenience. We have seen in recent elections how large numbers of religiously-conservative Black and Hispanic communities have not found this alliance to be viable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Authentic Religion Is The Best Antidote for Religious Nationalism</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Where does this leave us? Who can we court as natural allies to counter toxic religious nationalism? The answer may not be obvious at first, but it should be clear in retrospect. Our natural allies are other communities of faith: religious Christians to counter Christian-nationalism, religious Jews to counter Jewish-ultranationalism, religious Hindus to counter Hindu-nationalism, and so on. Those religious groups have both the credibility and tools to defang their ultranationalist coreligionists by teaching their authentic religious doctrines that call for peaceful coexistence and cooperation. Toward that end, our best rhetorical tool is interfaith dialogue, and our best political tool is to form alliances with like-minded members who adhere to authentic (not nationalist) Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc., regardless of their party affiliations.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text-success" style="font-family: hafs, Times, "Traditional Arabic", Arial; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-30123652651052095432022-04-08T11:51:00.002-05:002023-03-24T11:38:55.120-05:00Fasting as Anger and Pride Management<div style="text-align: left;"> This is a draft of my sermon for today.</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br />يٰأَيُّهَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ٱلَّذِينَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آمَنُواْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كُتِبَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْكُمُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ٱلصِّيَامُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كَمَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كُتِبَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَى<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ٱلَّذِينَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِن<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَبْلِكُمْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَعَلَّكُمْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَتَّقُونَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> (</span>البقرة<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>١٨٣)<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">[O Community of faith, fasting has been made obligatory for you as it was made obligatory for those who preceded you, so that you may attain God consciousness. (Al-Baqara: 183)]</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the first of five verses on fasting in the second chapter of the Qur'an. The second and third verses discuss the specific days to fast (the month of Ramadan), exemptions and deferrals for the sick and traveling, etc. Then the fifth verse discusses what is permissible during the nights of Ramadan, and when the night ends.</div><p>Surprisingly, the fourth of those five verses seems to discuss something else altogether:<br /></p><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><p dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Geeza Pro"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">وَإِذَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَأَلَكَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عِبَادِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَنِّي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَإِنِّي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَرِيبٌ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أُجِيبُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>دَعْوَةَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ٱلدَّاعِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِذَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>دَعَانِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَعَلَّهُمْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَرْشُدُونَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> (</span>البقرة<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>١٨٦<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">[And if my servants were to ask you about me, then I am near, answering the call of the one who calls to me; so let them answer My call and have faith in Me, so that they may attain discernment. (Al-Baqara: 186)]</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Most exegetes did not question the location of this verse amidst the other four verses of fasting, even though it seems to me that the verse breaks the temporal day and night sequence to make an important point. Most exegetes merely pointed to the occasion of revelation of this verse: A bedouin asked the Prophet (p) whether our Lord is far, so that we may call to him loudly, or near so that we may whisper to him tenderly, and the verse came to answer that the Lord is near to whoever asks the question. (Of course, the Lord is both transcendent and imminent, far and near in different attributes of His divinity.)</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">The exegesis of Al-Fakhr Al-Razi was the only one that I could find that inquired about the location of this verse, and even he gave an unconvincing explanation that it follows the announcement that the believers should fast the full month and then glorify the Lord and be thankful to Him.</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">A more convincing explanation for the location of this verse -- between the detailed rules of fasting the day and what is permissible at night -- is that this "call" is integral to fasting, that the person who is truly fasting is constantly calling to her or his Lord. The word for "call" (دعا يدعو دعوة) implies both supplication and invitation. The verse implies that the Lord had already invited us to invite him in our lives, in our hearts and our minds, to transform us for the better.</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Let me prove my point with a Prophetic Tradition that is agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim:</p><div><br />عن<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَبَي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هُرَيْرَةَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ( </span>قَالَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَسُولُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَلَّى<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَسَلَّمَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كُلُّ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَمَلِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ابْنِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آدَمَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِلَّا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الصِّيَامَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَإِنَّهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَأَنَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَجْزِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَالصِّيَامُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>جُنَّةٌ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَإِذَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كَانَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَوْمُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَوْمِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَحَدِكُمْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَلَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَرْفُثْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَلَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَصْخَبْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَإِنْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَابَّهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَحَدٌ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَوْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَاتَلَهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَلْيَقُلْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِنِّي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>امْرُؤٌ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَائِمٌ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَالَّذِي<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نَفْسُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مُحَمَّدٍ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِيَدِهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَخُلُوفُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَمِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الصَّائِمِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَطْيَبُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عِنْدَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رِيحِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْمِسْكِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لِلصَّائِمِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَرْحَتَانِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَفْرَحُهُمَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِذَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَفْطَرَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَرِحَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَإِذَا<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَقِيَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَبَّهُ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَرِحَ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِصَوْمِهِ<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ).</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">[On the authority of Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (p) said: "Allah said: All of the son of Adam's work is his, except for fasting, which is mine and I reward with it. And fasting is a shield. So, when it is your day of fasting, then refrain from sexual relations and from being a loud person; and if someone were to insult you or pick a fight, then say 'I am a fasting person'. By the one who holds Muhammad's soul in his hand, the bad odor of the fasting person's mouth is more beautiful to Allah than the smell of musk. The fasting person is happy twice: once when he breaks his fast and another when he meets his Lord.]</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The first part of this Tradition is a Hadith Qudsi (a statement attributed to Allah Himself), and it is very puzzling. Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, the great commentator on Al-Bukhari, wondered: Aren't all acts of worship for Allah, and doesn't He reward for all of them? Why is fasting thus separated from the rest? He gave ten lengthy explanations why this may be the case, only the first two of which appear often in exegesis and other commentaries: namely, that hypocrisy is more difficult in fasting than in other acts of worship.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">But hidden in the middle of Ibn Hajar's list of ten explanations, we get a hint in the fifth and sixth explanations, which are, respectively, that fasting is the only act of worship in which the worshiper seeks to get closer to Allah by emulating His or the angels' attributes. A more direct explanation along the same lines is that the fasting person refrains from many natural and common behaviors, going against his lower instincts and desires and leaves room for Allah to work on his heart and mind, invites Allah to transform his heart and mind. This would fit perfectly with the literal meaning of the Hadith Qudsi: "All other work is his, except fasting, which is Mine."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">This also fits perfectly with the ordering of the verses as well as the next two parts of the cited Prophetic Tradition. The second part instructs us to go against our anger -- even when provoked by someone who insults or picks a fight with us. All exegetes agree that the verse "And if you are provoked by Satan, then seek refuge in Allah, for He is All-hearing All-knowing" [Al-'A`raf 200] refers to anger as satanic provocation. The third part of the Tradition goes against our pride in keeping good hygiene and pleasant smell (which the Prophet was also very keen on, always brushing his teeth, wearing perfume, etc.). Pride, we must remember, is the satanic essence: "He (Satan) said I am better than him (Adam); you created me from fire and created him from clay." [Al-'A`raf 12]. Pride is the satanic essence and anger is the portal through our limbic brain that Satan controls our actions, by shutting down our advanced cortical brain. Interestingly, this is also the analysis that Aristotle gave in his ethics and porto-psychology for anger as a destructive but perversely pleasurable emotion that emanates from pride.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">So, while in the act of fasting, we suppress our lower nature of pride and anger, which emanate from our limbic system, our lower nature that is inviting to Satanic provocation. Instead, we invite Allah (s) to empower our higher nature, to make our angelic and rational natures prevail, to make us better people who can transcend pride and anger. With practice, day after day in Ramadan, and year after year, we hope to make that change permanent.</div></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-54364943717125342172021-12-14T09:38:00.000-06:002021-12-14T09:38:11.215-06:00Immutable Laws of Power and Goodness<p>1. The amount of power one can accumulate is proportional to how low one is willing to go</p><p>2. The amount of good one can do is proportional to one's capacity for self sacrifice</p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-46157986434779467452021-09-24T11:07:00.003-05:002021-09-24T11:10:03.786-05:00Our Bequest -- A Sermon<div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> This is a draft of my sermon planned for later today at ISGH.</span></div><div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">يَاأَيُّهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّذِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آمَنُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اتَّقُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَقُولُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَوْلًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَدِيدًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يُصْلِحْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَعْمَالَكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَيَغْفِرْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ذُنُوبَكُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَمَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يُطِعِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَرَسُولَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَقَدْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَازَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَوْزًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَظِيمًا</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">[O, people of faith, be God conscious and make your speech carefully aimed, so that your actions may be felicitous and your sins may be forgiven, and whoever obeys God and his Messenger has won a great reward. 33:70]</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">This same formula of God consciousness and carefully aimed speech also occurs with reference to our greatest worldly fear: our children.</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">وَلْيَخْشَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّذِينَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَوْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَرَكُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>خَلْفِهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ذُرِّيَّةً<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ضِعَافًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>خَافُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَلْيَتَّقُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَلْيَقُولُوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَوْلًا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَدِيدًا</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[And let those fear who, if they left behind them weak seed, would be afraid on their account, so let them be God conscious and make their words carefully aimed. 5:9]</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have struggled with this verse for several weeks. It is revealed in the midst of verses dealing with inheritance. The verse just before it instructs those administering distribution of the estate of a deceased person to give a portion to non-heir relatives, orphans and poor people who may be present at the time of distribution, and to say kind words to them.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>So, the central verse for this sermon "let those fear..." seems on the surface to remind us that those whom we love may someday be orphans, poor, etc. and thus the verse reinforces the injunction to be kind and charitable to them. Indeed, some exegetes, e.g. Al-Qurtubi quotes Al-Hasan making this inference, and citing the Prophetic Tradition:</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أبي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هريرة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>النبيّ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صلى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عليه<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وسلم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قال<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: "</span>من<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أحسن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الصدقةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>جاز<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>على<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الصراط<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ومن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قضى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>حاجة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أرْمَلة<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أخلف<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>في<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ترِكَته"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet (p) said: "Whoever is generous in their charity will pass their test on the day of judgment, and whoever takes care of a widow will have their rewards deferred to their heirs."]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Al-Qushairi went further in his exegesis to emphasize that God said "let them be God conscious," not "leave them money," but this is in reaction to the most dominant strand in exegeses, which is to say that the verse relates to people who may urge a person near death to give away all or most of their estate to charity, saying "your children will be of no use to you in the afterlife, so give it all to charity," and the admonition, the vast majority of exegetes say is meant to warn such people to think of their own children who may need their inheritance to live well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those who </span>advocated<span style="font-family: inherit;"> such pragmatism cite the following Prophetic Tradition:</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">عَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>سَعْدِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بْنِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَبِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَقَّاصٍ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَضِيَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَنْهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ( </span>جَاءَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>النَّبِيُّ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَلَّى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَلَيْهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَسَلَّمَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَعُودُنِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَأَنَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِمَكَّةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَهُوَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَكْرَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَمُوتَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِالْأَرْضِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّتِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هَاجَرَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَرْحَمُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ابْنَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَفْرَاءَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلْتُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَسُولَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أُوصِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِمَالِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كُلِّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلْتُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَالشَّطْرُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قُلْتُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الثُّلُثُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَالثُّلُثُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَالثُّلُثُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>كَثِيرٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِنَّكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَدَعَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَرَثَتَكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَغْنِيَاءَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>خَيْرٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَدَعَهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عَالَةً<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَتَكَفَّفُونَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>النَّاسَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَيْدِيهِمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَإِنَّكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مَهْمَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْفَقْتَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مِنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نَفَقَةٍ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَإِنَّهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صَدَقَةٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>حَتَّى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللُّقْمَةُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الَّتِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تَرْفَعُهَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِلَى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>امْرَأَتِكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَعَسَى<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أَنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَرْفَعَكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فَيَنْتَفِعَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نَاسٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَيُضَرَّ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بِكَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>آخَرُونَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>وَلَمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَكُنْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لَهُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يَوْمَئِذٍ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إِلَّا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ابْنَةٌ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ).</span></span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas said that the Prophet (p) came to visit him during his sickness in Makkah... </span>Sa`d asked him if he can donate all his estate to charity, and the Prophet (p) said no, so he asked if he could donate half, and the Prophet (p) said no, so he asked if he can donate a third, and the Prophet (p) said: "A third, and a third is plenty: It is better to leave your heirs financially independent than to leave them dependent and asking others for charity..."]</span><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The lesson on finances seems easy enough to resolve: To those who are too generous, we say "keep more for your children," and to those who are too stingy, we say "you need to give more." </div><div><br /></div><div>But my great concern is about the other inheritance that we leave or don't leave to our future generations: religion. Developing a viable modern understanding of this religion -- one that is compatible with contemporary physics, biology, psychology and ethics -- is difficult business for which we often have to sacrifice personal comfort and social standing. Selfishly, we can stick to the anachronistic religion that we learned, like our parents learned before us. But if we are that selfish, then we cannot blame our children if they don't find this anachronistic religion appealing to them. I accuse myself and the community at large: Are we consuming too much religious comfort now and taking too much to our afterlife, failing to leave enough viable religion for our children? They will need it when we pass away.</div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-79691602930362980282021-06-29T17:26:00.012-05:002021-07-01T17:27:54.231-05:00The Preacher, The Informant and the Critical Race Theorist on the Fourth of July<p> This is a draft for my sermon this week.</p><p>After the liturgical opening</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">يأيها الذين آمنوا أنفقوا مما رزقناكم من قبل أن يأتي يوم لا بيع فيه و لا خلة و لا شفاعة و الكافرون هم الظالمون (البقرة ٢٥٤)</p><p style="text-align: left;">[O people of faith, spend out of Our provision to you before a day comes in which there will be no trade, no friendship and no intercession; and those who reject the faith are the unjust (2:254)]</p><p style="text-align: left;">The verse that follows -- commonly known as the verse of the lower dominion or <i>kursiy</i> كرسي -- is a master class in Muslim theology to which I shall return toward the end of the sermon in order to explain why those who reject the faith do injustice, first and foremost toward themselves. But first, let me focus on spending from God's provision to us, which was the subject of this previous verse.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There is no doubt that all of us here are obeying this order to some degree. The greatest provision that we have from God is our very existence, including the limited time that we get in life, and we are choosing to spend nearly half an hour or more of this precious time here at the mosque. But, in addition, coming here, speaking in public, donating to the organization, and so on, we wear our religion on our sleeves, as it were, and thus "spend" even more than just our time or money.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This weekend coincides with the Fourth of July, the highest holiday of what the <a href="http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm" target="_blank">late eminent Sociologist of Religion Robert Bellah had called American Civil Religion</a>. Coining the term in the 1960s, Bellah saw American Civil Religion as a force for good in the world, forged through American history as an antidote to the evils of British colonialism, slavery and the Cold War. He even dreamt that American Civil Religion can enable and serve as a template for a global civil religion. While many questions have been raised regarding Bellah's assessment, including in his own later thought, we generally accept American Civil Religion as a force for good, and go to great lengths to show our reverence for its scripture -- the Constitution -- and adherence to its rituals, waving the flag, wearing lapel pins, bragging about community members that serve in the armed forces, and so on. This came naturally to many of us, because immigrant Muslims had earlier celebrated similar civil religions in our native countries, and many even continue to do the same to this day. But others among us have gone to the other extreme, even refusing to partake in some central rituals of American Civil Religion -- for example, you may remember<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelrush/2020/07/02/nba-should-apologize-to-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-and-rescind-anthem-standing-rule-to-support-freedom-of-expression/?sh=5edc9f8f63b0" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelrush/2020/07/02/nba-should-apologize-to-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-and-rescind-anthem-standing-rule-to-support-freedom-of-expression/?sh=5edc9f8f63b0" target="_blank">former NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who was suspended and fined by the league in 1996</a> for refusing to stand during the singing of the national anthem, long before Colin Kapernick's ordeal and the Black Lives Matter movement made some forms of abstention from American Civil Religion acceptable as exercises in freedom of speech. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Fourth of July arrives this year while intra-American culture wars are raging, among other things, <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5441df7ee4b02f59465d2869/t/5d8e9fdec6720c0557cf55fa/1569628126531/DELGADO++Critical+Race+Theory.pdf" target="_blank">around Critical Race Theory</a>, which has been resonating increasingly for Muslims because <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/8/9/165" target="_blank">the renewed racialization of Islam in recent decades</a> has become impossible to ignore (the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2529506" target="_blank">non-whiteness of Muslims and Arabs had been a hallmark of US immigration law</a> in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). Ironically, while it has its defects and excesses, like all academic enterprises, Critical Race Theory may, in fact, provide some partial exculpation for many of the people and laws that others have blamed for injustice in American society. It is, at its core, an institutional legal theory that suggests that we can have seemingly good laws as well as well meaning people implementing those laws -- in other words, neither the laws nor the people are consciously racist in themselves -- and yet the system may proceed in practice, by inertia, to profile the wrong people, exclude them from vehicles of generational wealth creation, and so on. Theoretically good systems populated by people who try to do good may still produce bad outcomes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The same principle applies to theistic religions, including our own. All religions that called for peace, justice and love have been abused by some adherents to justify violence and hatred. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.12408" target="_blank">Religion is a double edged sword in this way</a>: it changes people's preferences, intentionally, with the explicitly professed aim of changing them toward good: overcoming our impatience, greed and so on. However, once we possess the tool to change preferences, we can also use it perversely to change them toward evil. French enlightenment thought that inspired the American founding fathers had assumed that replacing traditional religion with civil religion could solve that problem. But we have seen the horrors of nationalism, which is the uglier edge of civil religion taken to extremes, in two devastating world wars that eclipsed the carnage of all earlier wars combined. Eliminating religion left a vacuum that was filled with other religion-like forces of preference modification, equally capable of evil as well as good. Unlike F<span style="font-family: inherit;">rance, where the civil religion of <span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56);"><i>laïcité</i> is opposed to almost any public display of religiosity, the U.S. </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56);">accepts religion and its public display as potential forces for good, but <a href="https://adamah.media/a-double-edged-sword/" target="_blank">also recognizes their potential as a forces for evil</a>, and thus our law enforcement agencies are justified in their aim to distinguish good from bad religion.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;">This brings us to the third coincidence this year, which was <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/557128-supreme-court-to-hear-case-over-fbis-surveillance-of-california" target="_blank">the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to hear a case</a> about the excessive use of undercover informants at a California mosque. The case reminds us of the perils of the informant industry that has thrived in our communities since the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, which were tragically perpetrated by misguided adherents of our religion. The current situation at our mosques reminds me of a sad joke from my native Egypt, in which someone saw a news article that read "half of all Egyptians are spying on the other half." He asked his friend "are you spying on me?" The second friend said "no." So, the first friend said, "O, no, then I must be spying on you!" Aiming proactively to detect potentially radicalizable Muslims, overzealous informants have probably caused radicalization that may not have occurred had they themselves not provoked it. Moreover, the case now going to the Supreme Court suggests that we have had instances of informants reporting on other informants: an infinite loop that makes our mosques increasingly uncomfortable.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So, I return to my original question: Why do we still come here and engage in these public displays of religion that consume our precious time as well as social capital that we could otherwise accumulate by buttressing our American Civil Religion credentials? </p><p style="text-align: left;">For most of us, we just come to the mosque because it is a religious obligation that we can fulfill habitually. Moreover, the mosque still provides a somewhat comforting place to socialize with people from similar cultural backgrounds. Those are both legitimate reasons that I don't wish to minimize in any way. However, because this is a religious sermon, I would like to highlight the central theological dimension of our communal religious rituals.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We come here because our faith in a good deity who manages all affairs provides us with genuine hope and comfort, even when pure reason tells us that our condition is as dire as Critical Race Theory suggests. Moreover, the world is a very complex place. Thus, we may do everything right and still get a bad outcome, which can lead to despair if we don't have faith in a greater power. In this regard, the verse immediately after the one that I recited at the beginning of the sermon, the master class in Muslim theology that I had mentioned, defines the Divine in extremely comforting terms:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">الله لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم لا تأخذه سنة و لا نوم له ما في السموات و ما في الأرض من ذا الذي يشفع عنده إلا بإذنه يعلم ما بين أيديهم و ما خلفهم و لا يحيطون بشيء من علمه إلا بما شاء وسع كرسيه السموات و الأرض و لا يؤوده حفظهما و هو العلي العظيم (البقرة ٢٥٥)</p><p style="text-align: left;">[Allah: there is no deity other than Him -- the essentially-existent sustainer of all; He is never overtaken by drowsiness or sleep; to Him belong all that is in the heavens and in the earth; who can intercede with Him, except with His permission? His lower dominion encompasses the heavens and the earth, and sustaining them does not burden Him; He is the most transcendent 2:255]</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Prophet (p), whose intercession we seek, taught his beloved daughter Fatima (r) a supplication for divine assistance -- a distress call, if you will -- that invokes these divine names of the essentially-existent and universal sustainer (يا حي يا قيوم). When all rational means seem to lead nowhere, we can thus find comfort in our faith in the ultimate sustainer:</span></p><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">روى النسائي و البيهقي و غيرهما عن أَنَس بْن مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه؛ قال: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِفَاطِمَةَ: ((مَا يَمْنَعُكِ أَنْ تَسْمَعِي مَا أُوصِيكِ بِهِ، أَنْ تَقُولِي إِذَا أَصْبَحْتِ وَإِذَا أَمْسَيْتِ: يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ، أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ، وَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ)).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet (p) said to Fatima (r): "What prevents you from following my prescription for you? Every morning and evening, say: O, essentially-existent sustainer of all يا حي يا قيوم, I call on Your mercy to rescue me; make all my affairs felicitous, and do not delegate me to myself for the blink of an eye."]</span></p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-70716820751756081422021-06-16T12:39:00.018-05:002021-06-18T10:02:16.704-05:00A Sermon Against Religious Identity Politics Untethered to Ethical Calculus<p> This is a draft of my sermon scheduled for today.</p><p>After the liturgical opening...</p><p>I wish to speak today about religion, ethics and politics -- in particular to explain why institutions that purport to speak for Muslims should continue to steer clear of efforts to drag them into politics.</p><p>This is not to say, naively, that religion and politics can be separated. Separation of church and state, which is one of the foundational principles of our country, means that the state cannot support or favor any particular religion above others. It does not mean separation of religion and politics. Indeed, as Gandhi has been quoted to say: "<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/657248" target="_blank">Those who believe that religion and politics aren't connected don't understand either.</a>"</p><p>My argument, in a nutshell, is this: Religion defines an ideal, ethics is practical reason guided imperfectly by that ideal, and politics is exceedingly pragmatic, which takes it several degrees away from the idealism religion, even if the two remain connected.</p><p>There is no doubt that our religion affects our politics, as the circle is closed from religion through ethics to politics and back to religious reflection. This is the rational path from religion, through ethical calculus, to politics. But there is the danger of taking a shortcut in the opposite emotional direction, directly from religion to politics without the mediation of ethical calculations. This is usually done through the emotional channel of identity politics and victimization narratives, and it is dangerous: Lamenting one's own dehumanization by others is the most direct path to dehumanizing others in turn, which leads to escalation and greater injury to oneself as well as to others. </p><p>If we take the emotional -- rather than rational -- route, we risk polluting our ethics with the extreme pragmatism of politics, and then corrupting our religious ideals with the corrupted ethics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSMD4xwbkFira99PUr1KHcKeXC33kqOeEPSlQqc-fprfeWlhdeYm4OeTF2qN9AWbOnM4anfcN9wb_6CIEBCtswHuYKkwxxTFOYrIjoRH_jUbW-V3MaGXBUzL1VPDynYDmOhZhGg/s848/Screen+Shot+2021-06-18+at+9.58.53+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="848" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSMD4xwbkFira99PUr1KHcKeXC33kqOeEPSlQqc-fprfeWlhdeYm4OeTF2qN9AWbOnM4anfcN9wb_6CIEBCtswHuYKkwxxTFOYrIjoRH_jUbW-V3MaGXBUzL1VPDynYDmOhZhGg/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-06-18+at+9.58.53+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>This is why our religious discourse should focus on the rational connection from religion to ethics, to reinforce the necessity of mediating our politics and other conduct through the ethical channel. Let me illustrate:</p><p><b>Religion</b></p><p>Qur'an teaches the ideal of pursuing global friendship:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">و لا تستوي الحسنة و لا السيئة * إدفع بالتي هي أحسن فإذا الذي بينك و بينه عداوة كأنه و لي حميم [فصلت ٣٣-٣٤]</p><p style="text-align: left;">[Good and bad deeds are not equal. Repel (bad deeds) with that which is better, and behold: the one who was separated by enmity may become like a loyal friend 41:33-34]</p><p>To be clear, our religion does not teach turning the other cheek, but it simultaneously forbids transgression and urges restraint and deescalation:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">و إن عاقبتم فعاقبوا بمثل ما عوقبتم به و لئن صبرتم لهو خير للصابرين [النحل ١٢٦]</p><p>[And if you punish, then punish similar to how you had been punished; and yet if you exercise patience, that is better for those who are patient. 16:126]</p><p>But how do we decide on the best mix of resistance, on the one hand, and restraint in order to deescalate, on the other? Ethics is the exercise of practical reason to perform the necessary calculations. At the individual level, it produces a set of rules for personal conduct, often formalized in jurisprudence/<i>fiqh</i>. At the social level, it produces another set rules for social conduct, likewise formalized in jurisprudence and sometimes codified in law.</p><p>Consider <i><a href="https://maqam.najah.edu/legislation/158/" target="_blank">Majallat Al'Ahkam Al-`Adliya</a></i>, the legal code based on Hanafi jurisprudence that was applied by the Ottoman Empire in several countries, where it continues to be applied to this day, especially in family law. <a href="https://maqam.najah.edu/legislation/158/item/7536/" target="_blank">Article 19 of the <i>Majallat</i></a> reads as follows:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">لا ضرر و لا ضرار</p><p style="text-align: left;">[No injury should be caused to others or to oneself].</p><p style="text-align: left;">This religious ideal is established as a <i>Hadith</i> (prophetic tradition) narrated in <i>Al-Muwatta'</i> of Imam Malik on the authority of Amr b. Yahia Al-Mazini, in <i>Sunan</i> Ibn Maja and <i>Musnad</i> Ahmad on the authority of Ibn `Abbas, and elsewhere. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As such, this Canonical rule is part of our religion. But how do we apply it? In jurisprudence, some use it to forbid smoking, because it causes manifest harm to oneself and nearby others. But how about eating fatty meats? How about eating a bit more than we should? Sugar?... Obviously, jurists have to make all sorts of judgment calls when it comes to ethics, and even more judgment calls translating those ethics into jurisprudence and codified law.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Ethics and Law</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Let's see how the jurists codifying the <i>Majallat</i> proceeded. Obviously, injuries do take place in real life, so what do we do when the religious ideal of no injury is infeasible? <a href="https://maqam.najah.edu/legislation/158/item/7537/" target="_blank">Article 20 reads</a> as follows:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">الضرر يزال</p><p style="text-align: left;">[Injuries should be rectified.]</p><p style="text-align: left;">Fine and good, but how, exactly? Once an injury has taken place, correcting it most likely causes other injuries (think, for example, of affirmative action: to favor a disadvantaged minority candidate, you obviously must give them a position that someone else might have taken otherwise). Articles 25 and 27 of the <i>Majallat</i> help to some extent, but not really:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">٢٥. الضرر لا يزال بمثله</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">٢٧. الضرر الأشد يزال بالضرر الأخف</p><p style="text-align: left;">[25. An injury cannot be rectified by an equal injury.</p><p style="text-align: left;">27. A greater injury may be rectified by a smaller injury.]</p><p style="text-align: left;">But now we are fully in the realm of cost-benefit analysis, with the added complication of having no purely religious metric that tells us which injury is smaller than which... </p><p style="text-align: left;">And we haven't yet entered the murkier world of politics. But even before we get there, let's recount another juristic principle that was codified in the <i>Majallat</i>; <a href="https://maqam.najah.edu/legislation/158/item/7556/" target="_blank">article 39</a> states the following:</p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">لا ينكر تغير الأحكام بتغير الأزمان</p><p style="text-align: left;">[It cannot be denied that legal rulings change because times change.]</p><p style="text-align: left;">As I have explained earlier, pragmatic calculations of politics take this periodic change of heart and ruling to an entirely different level.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This is one reason why we would not want the code to be called <i>Majallat Al-Ahkam Al-Islamiya</i>, or the like. We avoid the religious label in order to protect the timeless ideal while allowing human effort in ethics, law and ultimately politics to change with the times.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Politics</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">So now we get to politics, and take an extreme example of how bad politics can get. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In a famous story <a href="https://islamweb.net/ar/library/index.php?page=bookcontents&idfrom=1003&idto=1003&bk_no=59&ID=1129" target="_blank">narrated by Ibn Kathir in his historical magnum opus <i>Al-Bidaya w Al-Nihaya</i>,</a> Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan was very learned in religion. When they came to tell him that he had become the Khalifa, he had a <i>Mushaf</i> (written Qur'an) in his lap, apparently reciting or studying the text. Once he received the news, he closed his <i>Mushaf</i> and said </p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">هذا فراق بيني و بينك</p><p style="text-align: left;">[This is when we part ways.]</p><p style="text-align: left;">Abdel-Malik considered the contested Khilafa to be a great injury to the Muslim polity, and proceeded to rectify the situation in the way that he deemed best. Despite his vicious conduct during the fight with Abdullah ibn Al-Zubair, which included bombardment of the Ka`ba, crucifixion and several other atrocities, we don't consider Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan or his ruthless minister Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf to be any less learned about religion. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The historical vignette with the <i>Mushaf</i> merely indicates that Abdul-Malik recognized how politics is many layers of calculation removed from the religious ideal, as did his Umayyad predecessors and successors, each of whom we Sunnis still called Amir-ul-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful). It is impossible for us to know what would have happened under counterfactual historical scenarios, and leave religious judgment of those historical actions to Allah.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I will avoid getting into details of current affairs, because that would mean bringing political analysis to this sermon itself, which would undermine the message that I wish to convey. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Nonetheless, I must acknowledge that political events have stirred very strong emotions in our community -- and some of these emotions are no doubt informed by our religious beliefs and ethical standards. The temptation is strong to take the shortcut from religious identity to politics, but we must resist that impulse.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We must continue to distinguishing between religion (the ideal that guides our striving, on which we do not wish to make any compromises), ethics (our best effort to approach that ideal, which requires some guesswork and compromise) and politics (which ventures much farther away from the religious ideal than ethics ever could). </p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-80056181219070590812021-05-19T11:14:00.004-05:002021-05-20T13:18:53.472-05:00False Dichotomies on Israel and Gaza<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html">In his address to the nation on September 20, 2001, former President George W. Bush famously</a> declared: "<span style="background-color: white;">Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." The first quoted sentence makes it clear that the second was not a mere rhetorical device: It was a warning for nations or regions that might have otherwise refused to cooperate when the U.S. launched its "war on terror." This is too many levels beyond mine, and, therefore, does not fit easily in my list of false dichotomies below, which are offered to avoid rhetorical traps when we engage in interfaith as well as intrafaith dialogue, although one can easily hear echos of President Bush's false </span>dichotomy in this partial list of rhetorical devices built on false dichotomies.</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #1: </b>"If you condemn the mass murder of civilians in Gaza by IDF, you must be supporting the (attempted or actual) mass murder of civilians by Hamas rockets."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. In fact, I condemn both. </p><p><b>False Dichotomy #2:</b> "If you condemn IDF operations, then you deny Israel's right to defend itself."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. It is coherent to assert Israel's right to defend itself but deny that a particular action is either acceptable or conducive to said self defense. In fact, I assert that this recurrent unleashing of extreme violence is neither acceptable (because of its unjustifiable result in loss of innocent life and property) nor productive (it fits Einstein's definition of insanity).</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #3:</b> "If you condemn Hamas rocket attacks, then you are an accomplice in the subjugation of Palestinians."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. In fact, I support Palestinian freedom and rights, but assert that recurrent acts of terrorism against civilians are neither acceptable (because of their unjustifiable result in loss of innocent life and property) nor productive (it fits Einstein's definition of insanity).</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #4:</b> "If you cannot offer any alternative workable solutions, then you should shut up."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. In fact, I assert that the current "strategies," if you can call them that, are extremely harmful in the sense that they make it impossible to find alternative workable solutions, regardless whether those are readily available at this time.</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #5a:</b> "If you refuse to say who is more at fault, then you are supporting vigilante terrorism."</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #5b:</b> "If you refuse to say who is more at fault, then you are supporting state terrorism."</p><p><b>False Dichotomy #5c:</b> "If you refuse to say who is more at fault, then you are claiming moral equivalence."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. When dealing with the sanctity of human life, we must invoke the principle of incommensurability. One murder does not justify one or many; many murders do not justify one or many; and the temporal order of murders is immaterial. </p><p><b>False Dichotomy #6:</b> "If you engage in interfaith dialogue and cooperation with others who do not at the very least condemn Israel's aggression, you undermine our efforts to highlight the issue."</p><p><b>Response:</b> Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. In fact, I would argue that talking to those with whom we disagree is much more important than talking to those with whom we already agree. How else can we make progress?</p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-80630427522546654812021-05-14T12:19:00.000-05:002021-05-14T12:19:15.490-05:00A Most Difficult Eid Sermon<p>This is a draft of my sermon scheduled for today. It is the most difficult sermon that I have ever given, because of the circumstances -- on the one hand Eid, which should be the happiest time of the year, and on the other hand the pain, suffering and bloodshed that makes us very sad and anxious. I agonized for several days over what to say, and this is what I have settled on two hours prior to delivery:</p><p>After the liturgical opening...</p><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">May Allah accept our fasting, prayers, and good deeds during the month of Ramadan that has just ended, and may He make this Eid auspicious</span></p><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"البخاري<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أبي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هريرة،<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قال<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صلعم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: "</span>للصائم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فرحتان<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يفرحهما،<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إذا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>أفطر<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فرح<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إذا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لقي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ربه<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فرح<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بصومه<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (p) said: "The fasting person has two occasions for happiness: the first when he breaks his fast, and the second when he meets his Lord"]</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But is it possible for us to experience happiness when there is so much pain, suffering and bloodshed? Is it right or wrong to try? I checked the </span><a href="https://www.aldiyaar.com/?p=253411&=1&p=253411" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">sermon that was offered earlier today in the Haram in Makkah</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and it was unequivocally advocating for happiness and celebration: This is not the time to express sadness, said the preacher. I found his argument </span>partially<span style="font-family: inherit;"> compelling, but need to take a slightly different approach for our situation here.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps we can find a useful analogy from the injunction to pay Zakatul Fitr, which I hope that we all paid before Eid prayers yesterday.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"الدارقطني<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>عَنِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ابْنِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عُمَرَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> , </span>قَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>فَرَضَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>رَسُولُ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اللَّهِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صلعم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>زَكَاةَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْفِطْرِ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> , </span>وَقَالَ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">: "</span>أَغْنُوهُمْ<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>فِي<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هَذَا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الْيَوْمِ</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Daraqutni narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Prophet (p) made Zakatul Fitr obligatory, and said "make them [the poor] have no need on that day"].</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Obviously<span style="font-family: inherit;">, this temporary condition that the payment of Zakatul Fitr enables does not eliminate poverty, but it offers respite for the poor. They were needy before and will be needy after, but on the day of Eid, if we have lived up to our duty, they can have no need.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Likewise, celebrating Eid does not negate our sadness or remove the reasons for this deep sadness, but it gives us a temporary (and perhaps partial) break from pain and anxiety, which we need to sustain us mentally and even physically.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is also important from a religious standpoint, and some scholars have said obligatory, to show some measure of happiness and thankfulness that we have been able to conduct our fasting and prayers safely. Failing to do that, they argue, would constitute ungratefulness toward our Lord.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is especially important for those who have small or even teenage children or grandchildren, whose emotional and mental development may be severely impaired if they are subjected to constantly elevated levels of stress, fear, and anxiety, and if they also lose the opportunity to enjoy a happy Eid.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We cannot hide the facts from them, because they have access to news, and they can clearly see our distressed emotional states, but we need to explain the world to them in a manner that they can understand, and which allows them to function in this world</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"عن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ابن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عباس<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قال رسول الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صلعم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> "</span>نحن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>معشر<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الأنبياء<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>نخاطب<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الناس<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>على<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>قدر<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عقولهم</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (p) said: "We prophets speak to people according to their level of comprehension"]</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, this is primarily to minimize the adverse effects on their emotional and mental </span>development:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Ignoring the issues is not helpful, but obsessing over them constantly is not either </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is also important to figure out how to explain the situation to them because we live at a time when every narrative has a counter-narrative that is echoed constantly on news and social media, targeting audiences that exclusively receive that alternative worldview. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our children and grandchildren will interact with people and friends who view the world and events very differently, and we must prepare them to engage only in civil discourse with those who may not only disagree with them, but who may see them perversely as part of the problem.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dealing with this takes a level of restraint and wisdom that is normally beyond their years, but we must help them to learn it for their own mental wellbeing and to be effective members in society.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is not to say that anger at injustice and transgression is unjustified. It merely means that we do not act on this anger. The best example for this, I believe, is <a href="https://al-maktaba.org/book/32238/443" target="_blank">the example of the Prophet (p) in the Truce of Hudaybiya: Umar was very angry</a> that they could not perform pilgrimage as they had planned, and that the terms of the treaty favored Quraysh very hevaily. As narrated in Bukhari and Muslim, Umar asked the Prophet (p) harshly: </span></p><p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;">ألست<span style="font-family: inherit;"> نبي الله؟ ألسنا على حق؟ أليسوا على باطل؟ فلم نعطى الدنية في ديننا؟</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">["Are you not the Prophet of Allah? Are we not right? Are they not wrong? Then why should we expect this demeaning of our religion?"]</p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But the Prophet (p) was patient, and told him that they will perform pilgrimage another year, and to trust his decision to sign the Truce. Umar went complaining the same to Abu Bakr, who told him also to accept the Truce of Hudaybiya that the Prophet (p) had accepted.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is, indeed, how<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Allah educated his Messenger, and thus educated us as his followers:</span></p><p dir="rtl" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اصبر<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>صبرك<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>إلا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>بالله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تحزن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>عليهم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>لا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>تك<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>في<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ضيق<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مما<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>يمكرون<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>إن<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الله<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>مع<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الذين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>اتقوا<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>و<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>الذين<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>هم<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>محسنون</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">[So persevere in patience, for your patience comes from God. And do not feel sorry for them, nor feel constrained by their stratagems. Truly, Allah is with those who are God-conscious, and those who act in the best of ways.]</p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-19720412321971936942020-11-06T15:50:00.003-06:002020-11-06T15:50:50.409-06:00The End of Petrodollar Recycling and The Future of Islamic Finance<p>This piece: "<a href="https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/11/06/the-end-of-petrodollar-recycling-and-the-future-of-islamic-finance/" target="_blank">The End of Petrodollar Recycling and the Future of Islamic Finance</a>," just published on the <i>Georgetown Journal of International Affairs</i> website, summarizes, builds upon, and links together two research strands to which I have tried to contribute intermittently over the past several years.</p>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-90782426631618528992020-07-27T14:57:00.002-05:002020-07-27T14:57:35.701-05:00A Question of Trust, RevisitedI wrote here <a href="http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-question-of-trust-religion-and.html">five years ago on the question of trust</a>, when I was terrified by what I saw in the US political primary season that year. Since then, there have been many changes, including Brexit. Unfortunately, data from UK is not available in the latest wave. However, data from U.S. is available, albeit already a bit dated. For some comparison to another Western country, I have chosen Germany.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8ODEpTu-zRJSNXG31Qxhc8Gca59_KAtuEbcgrhLHDR5Rs3vKlCY28q6U6f5f_hCR4phWeYcBEd2q4QOZrXd666c0gz6aLRJ7ovowZl5yMtLBAWfxWddSCL0R2ZRtlWMcU3GqGw/s1090/usger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1038" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8ODEpTu-zRJSNXG31Qxhc8Gca59_KAtuEbcgrhLHDR5Rs3vKlCY28q6U6f5f_hCR4phWeYcBEd2q4QOZrXd666c0gz6aLRJ7ovowZl5yMtLBAWfxWddSCL0R2ZRtlWMcU3GqGw/w381-h400/usger.png" width="381" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>The 2006-11 increase in levels of American mistrust of people with other religions and nationalities had begun to reverse course by 2017, but remains worse than it was 15 years ago, albeit not by very much (approximately 5% of respondents have moved from cautious trust of both groups of "other" to cautious mistrust when comparing 2017 to 2006). The U.S. remains more cautiously trusting than Germany, but the latter has been moving steadily in the direction of more cautious trust of "others."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-18992703620844427352020-04-04T03:33:00.000-05:002020-04-04T04:54:06.674-05:00Masks everywhere <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3gzqsmx1KGU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3gzqsmx1KGU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Coronavirus, and the masks we don,<br />
Remind us of Egyptian roses, gone:<br />
How in their Spring of freedom they had found<br />
Some dignity, and formed, from many, one.<br />
<br />
But that one fractured, and we fractured here,<br />
<i>Out of one, many</i>: No one wants to hear,<br />
How all the lessons, once from history learned,<br />
Have been forgotten, and replaced with fear.Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-90961819942741152452020-02-15T11:45:00.001-06:002020-02-16T12:39:15.351-06:00Black History Month Sermon: Al-Jāḥiẓ and LuqmanPrologue:<br />
<br />
This is a script of my sermon given yesterday at Brand Lane mosque. Most people seemed to like the sermon, but I was told afterward that one person walked out and told one of the mosque officials that "this is not Sunnah (Prophet's tradition)." I don't know what he disliked. Another young man spoke to me later and said that he enjoyed the sermon but was surprised that I portrayed the Muʿtazila in a positive light, because everything he had heard about them before was very negative. We had a nice conversation, and I hope that it encourages him to read more. He said that they "took an extreme position on God's transcendence," so he had read some, and I asked him if it wasn't correct for them to take that extreme position when it came, for example, to anthropomorphism. Would he really in this day and age object to the view that references to "God's hand," "God's face," and so on must be understood metaphorically -- which was the Muʿtazila position? He conceded the point but then said that he "had heard" (!) that Ibn Sīna used to hold drinking parties and that he preferred "the intermediate position taken by Al-Ghazāli." This suggested that he was unaware of the difference between the proto-phiosophical rationalism of the Muʿtazila and later development of Greco-Arabic Philosophy by Al-Kindi, Al-Fārābi and Ibn Sīna... We didn't have much time to chat, but I simply said that Al-Ghazāli was definitely much more enlightened than many who came later, especially after the intelligentsia of the Muslim world was decimated by the Mongol invasion and Black Death.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, I thought that it is probably better to write down the script of my sermon.<br />
<br />
Sermon script:<br />
<b><br /></b>
After the liturgical opening, I mentioned that ICNA and ISGH hosted a series of lectures last year by local and national Black Muslim leaders, and that I had attended three out of the four weekend events. Because it was now February, I felt compelled to speak about Black History Month, but, unlike those Black Muslim leaders, I cannot speak with any authority or connection to the Black experience in America. After all, I have led a privileged life, going to private schools in my native country and coming to the U.S. for graduate school at prestigious schools. Moreover, while the speakers last year tried to emphasize the number of Muslim victims of the Atlantic slave trade, which we know was in the tens of thousands, and highlighted some like ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd and Ibrahima ibn ʿAbdulraḥmān, the history was much darker: Many victims of the Atlantic slave trade were sold into slavery by Muslims, and some of the Muslims who were themselves enslaved in the process had themselves owned slaves in West Africa. Moreover, the Muslim slaves who showcased their ability to write Arabic and knowledge of the Qur'an, etc., oftentimes did that to distance themselves from other Black slaves, and in some cases were successful in gaining their freedoms through interventions of the U.S. and/or Moroccan governments (see, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XBTWE2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o02?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">for example, this book</a> and the references therein).<br />
<br />
Therefore, this history was very depressing in many ways, and, given that I had no direct experience that allows me to speak to the immense pain that is still carried by those whose ancestors came to this country against their will, I chose to speak about two black characters from my own tradition. The first is perhaps the greatest literary figure in all of Arabic literature, Abu ʿUthmān ʿAmr ibn Maḥbub Al-Kinānī, better known by his nickname Al-Jāḥiẓ, meaning the one with bulgy eyes, due to his appearance (d. 255 AH/868 CE). He and the rationalist school that he represented, known as Al-Muʿtazila, were a product of the massive translation project in the late second century and early third century after Hijra, under the reigns of the Abbasid Caliphs Al-Mansur and Al-Ma'moun. Their maxim was that "Reason/Mind is the primary arbiter of truth."<br />
<br />
Most importantly for our context, Al-Muʿtazila, who were known as "The People of Justice and Monotheism" concluded from God's justice that man must have free will, otherwise fair accountability would be impossible if sinners had no choice in their actions. They cited the verse<br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ۗ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ ﴿فصلت ٤٦﴾</span></div>
[Whoever does good does it for himself, and whoever sins does it against himself, and your Lord does not treat his servants unjustly.]<br />
They affirmed that "God, transcendent is He, does not do injustice; all his acts are good, he does not act badly, and He never fails to fulfill His duties." The inevitable conclusion, which is relevant to our context, is a strong focus on social justice and equality. Thus, the Muʿtazili jurist Abu Bakr Al-Asamm (d. 279 AH/892 CE, whose exegesis of the Qur'an was so highly valued that the later Muʿtazili Qadi Abdul-Jabbar almost cited it exclusively) concluded, against traditionalist jurists who reasoned by irrational analogy, that blood money for wrongful killing of a woman should be the same as that for a man. He also forbade marrying girls before they reach the appropriate age of marriage, reasoning logically that while the girl's father can be her guardian/agent in marriage, the guardianship/agency when it comes to marriage does not exist before the girl is of the appropriate age (unlike, say, his guardianship/agency over her property). The Muʿtazili jurist Thumama ibn Al-Ashras (d. 225 AH/840 CE) also went against traditionalist jurists and their political masters when he opined against enslavement of prisoners of war. No wonder, then, that later secular/military leaders colluded with traditionalist fuqaha against the rationalist scholarship of their time.<br />
<br />
Also relevant for our context is a treatise that Al-Jāḥiẓ wrote, which is the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MXVYDD2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">fourth in this volume</a>. As I have already mentioned, Al-Jāḥiẓ himself was black, and it is clear that he wrote this essay, entitled "Advantages of Blacks over Whites," to counter the racism of his time. One example he gave was the fact that the Prophet (p) prayed over people only during their procession janaza or at their graves, except one case in which he prayed on an absent person, and that was the Ethiopian King Al-Najashi (who was obviously black, and had protected the first Muslim migrants before the migration to Madina). He also cited, in his typical witty style, that the best of many species are the blackest: camels, horses, sheep, stones, mountains, dates, musk, amber, and so on. He even cited the verse from the Qur'anic chapter Al-Rahman, which praises two gardens as very black, pointing out that the blackest soil is the most fertile. Finally, he cited the Hadith narrated in Musnad Ahmad on the authority of Abu Dharr, which said بعثت إلى الأحمر و الأسود (I was sent to the Red and the Black), and then he reasoned that because Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, etc. were not Red, they were clearly Black, even though their shades varied.<br />
<br />
Al-Jāḥiẓ also pointed out the Qur'anic literary character Luqman, who was black, and described as blessed with wisdom, which generated a voluminous literature that rivaled that about Aesop (who was also black). In Al-Muwatta', Malik narrated that when Luqman was asked how he came to possess such great wisdom, he said: "being truthful in speech, safeguarding and fulfilling my trusts, and avoiding that which does not concern me." There is very little in the authentic Hadith literature (the Sihah, the Sunan, and the Masanid) about Luqman, but there is a very interesting Hadith narrated in exegeses of Al-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi, etc., so I will close with <a href="http://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura31-aya12.html" target="_blank">the version in Al-Qurtubi</a>, who narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar (r) that the Prophet (p) said: "Luqman was not a prophet, but he was a thoughtful person with certitude in faith. He loved God, and God loved him, and thus gave him the gift of wisdom, and gave him the option to be a just ruler. He said: 'Lord, if you are giving me the option, then I prefer safety and avoidance of this severe test, but if you force me then I obey and trust that you will protect me from error.' The angels asked him why he chose not to be a ruler, and he said: 'Because a ruler is in the most difficult and worst of positions, because he is responsible for victims of injustice in every direction; he has a very slim chance to succeed, and error can lead him away from paradise. It is better to be oppressed on earth than to be honored. Indeed, one who chooses this world over the next will be rejected by this world and will never succeed in the next.'"Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-63931945272029939422019-12-27T07:43:00.001-06:002019-12-27T12:22:06.920-06:00The truth about pursuit of Truth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Today, I was given the Divine gift of silence (originally scheduled to give a sermon, I was asked if I’d rotate out to allow scheduling of a visitor). What a wonderful gift to be given, because to speak is to err.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTyyUETL-7U6MuwtQB41c0Xv5xeE4jRZog47fa0_U0pyqBWrrUj1aku271VvdYvLeg3uMSiWaxKAXOVOS2RlQIuIeua04CwVMyE2W0uDHdg5-LoE91v-rBgV8S-hawrpSS9fEoA/s1600/8B15D26B-0247-455A-9783-94522FD90579.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTyyUETL-7U6MuwtQB41c0Xv5xeE4jRZog47fa0_U0pyqBWrrUj1aku271VvdYvLeg3uMSiWaxKAXOVOS2RlQIuIeua04CwVMyE2W0uDHdg5-LoE91v-rBgV8S-hawrpSS9fEoA/s320/8B15D26B-0247-455A-9783-94522FD90579.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Islamic terminology, the word for Truth, as Platonic form, is “Al-Haqq,” which is one of the Divine names, and which, in addition to “Truth,” also means “Reality,” and “Justice.”</div>
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When we go all the way in this pursuit, we end up with St. Thomas Aquinas’s silence, because, as Wittgenstein put it at the end of his <i>Tractatus</i>, “whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.”</div>
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This is what in Muslim tradition would be dictated by observing proper manners, Adab, with Truth/Reality/Justice. Of course, speaking about Justice gets one in trouble at the social level. But speaking about other aspects of the Divine is also troublesome. However, when permission is given, and we have no ability to stop the overflowing of words, we speak... and then we err. </div>
Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-78154510091906886802019-10-28T17:14:00.002-05:002019-10-28T20:43:45.662-05:00Teach, Dragon, TeachThis morning, I went against my previous <a href="http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2019/10/shut-up-and-compute.html" target="_blank">post</a> and gave a spirited lecture on the virtues and challenges of financial regulation at the domestic and global levels.<br />
<br />
I began by telling students that I was wrong to hold back last week. If there is anything that we teach at an American university, it is critical thinking. Even if they will go into the financial industry on the money making side, they will surely benefit from hearing well-reasoned arguments from all perspectives, even from those, like myself, who have an axe to grind on regulatory hubris.<br />
<br />
It's been a year now since I have had a painful sinus surgery trying to treat the accumulated damage that five decades of battling asthma and allergies have wrought upon my body. A few months later, I paid a few visits to a local expert on traditional Chinese medicine, who was surprised on my second visit to find out that I had read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Emperors-Classic-Medicine-Translation/dp/1570620806/ref=sr_1_2?crid=23R84YYP8GVY2&keywords=yellow+emperors+classic+of+chinese+medicine&qid=1572300561&sprefix=yellow+amp%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2" target="_blank">The Yellow Emperor's</a> classical book on TCM after my first visit. His diagnosis was that I have been trying to make myself smaller for so long, that there is too much "fire" building up in my chest... I called it my dragon syndrome.<br />
<br />
So, this morning, I decided not to care. If the dragon needs to roar and breathe fire, let it roar, and teach away!Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-15619179447588705662019-10-23T14:21:00.003-05:002019-10-23T14:21:53.724-05:00"Shut up and compute"The phrase "shut up and compute" is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/opinion/sunday/quantum-physics.html" target="_blank">in/famous in physics circles</a> as a put-down to people who complain about the epistemological sense of quantum physics (as in: it makes remarkably accurate predictions that no other theory does; so shut up and compute).<br />
<br />
I <a href="http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2017/07/was-adam-smith-economist-mediocre.html" target="_blank">wrote here previously</a> about my career: I would not have been admitted to graduate school, given academic positions, awarded tenure, etc. were it not for my abilities in mathematics and computing. There is a sense in which it may have been dishonest to focus on the type of work that gave me those opportunities, and then not to continue doing the same. I prefer to think about it in another sense: This is how I paid my dues to the profession, in order to get these opportunities, and I am perfectly happy to forego whatever success I may be able to achieve going forward by continuing along the same trajectory. In this latter sense, I was not at all dishonest, and those who have known me at any level will have known my cynicism about my profession of academic economics. They may have had expectations that my desire to succeed would keep me wedded to "computing," but they cannot blame me for gaming the system or pretending to value what I was doing any more than I did.<br />
<br />
But now there is another ethical dilemma that I must face -- in teaching. I have undeniably strong opinions about a variety of topics, and I recognize that my opinions are more likely to be wrong than right. However, as a teacher, the professor-student relationship endows the former with power (of rhetoric and persuasion, grading authority, body of accumulated facts, etc.) that may make it unethical to color students' views in ways that may alter their career plans and other choices. In the meantime, it is unethical to pretend like the material we teach is not pregnant with ethical judgments (obviously, this is a problem for all social sciences). We try our best to tell students about our biases ahead of time, and warn them to adjust their own views accordingly, but this does not eliminate all problems.<br />
<br />
So, I am asking my department chair if I can just exclusively teach mathematical and computational material, where there are correct answers and useful skills transferred in all circumstances.Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-83452630867889215242019-07-22T13:15:00.000-05:002019-07-26T10:55:21.892-05:00It's Just A Frivolous GameThis is the draft of my sermon for this Friday at ISGH Main Center.<br />
<br />
<b> Preamble: Remember</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
After the liturgical opening... <br />
<br />
I remind and urge you and myself to be mindful of God, who said:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
إن الذين اتقوا إذا مسهم طائف من الشيطان تذكروا فإذا هم مبصرون</div>
[<i>Those who are mindful of God, when a visitation of Satan troubles them, remember, and their vision is restored.</i>] (Elevated Places: 201 الأعراف)<br />
<br />
In this context, the exegetes assured us that the blinding “visitation from Satan” is anger. The verses leading to this one (201) had ordered the Prophet (p) to respond to others' negative behavior with positive kindness and forgiveness:<br />
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<div>
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خذ العفو و أمر بالعرف و أعرض عن الجاهلين * و إما ينزغنك من الشيطان نزغ فاستعذ بالله إنه سميع عليم</div>
[<i>Take what comes easily to people, bid them to what is honorable, and turn away from the ignorant. And if an affliction from Satan should provoke you, seek refuge in God; He is All-hearing, All-seeing.</i>] (Elevated Places: 199--200 الأعراف)</div>
<div>
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When the Prophet (p) received the first verse (199), he asked the Archangel Gabriel (p) about its meaning, and Gabriel (p) returned with the explanation that this is what God had ordered:<br />
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صل من قطعك و أعط من حرمك و اعف عمن ظلمك</div>
[<i>Reconnect the ties of kinship with those who severed them; be generous to those who withheld your rights; and forgive those who did you injustice.</i>]<br />
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Then the Prophet (p) asked:<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
و الغضب يا ربي و الغضب</div>
[<i>My Lord: And what about anger?</i>]<br />
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In answer to which the next verse (200) was revealed, calling that anger "an affliction from Satan," advising us to seek refuge in God, mindfulness of whom reminds us who we are and who we strive to be, thus restoring our vision.<br />
<br />
<b>Adversity As A Blessing In Disguise</b><br />
<br />
We live in a time of apparent difficulty, and we should be very thankful for this.<br />
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<b><i>First</i></b>, we should never say (or think) that our time is particularly bad:<br />
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:روى البخاري و مسلم عن أبي هريرة (ر) قال، قال رسول الله (ص) ، قال الله تعالى</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
يؤذيني ابن آدم يسب الدهر، و أنا الدهر، بيدى الأمر، أقلب الليل و النهار</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
و في رواية أحمد: و أبدل الملوك</div>
[Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra (r) that the Prophet (p) said that God said: <i>Humans insult me when they curse their time. For I am time. I control everything. I alternate day and night,</i> (and in the narration of Ahmad:) <i>I replace kings</i>.]<br />
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<b><i>Second</i></b>, during times of ease, whenever we score some minor victories, in business, elections, or other endeavors, we are prone to make more mistakes by losing our discipline, becoming haughty, insulting others, and so on. Times of apparent hardship, like the current one, are necessary to re-teach us discipline. <br />
<br />
For this reason, Ibn `Ata’ Illah said in his Hikam:<br />
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العارفون إذا بسطوا – أخوف منهم إذا قبضوا، ولا يقف على حدود الأدب في البسط إلا قليل</div>
[<i>Those who know are more apprehensive during times of ease and expansion than they are during times of difficulty and constriction; because very few can remain disciplined during times of ease and expansion.</i>] <br />
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With regard to which condition we get to experience in any given time, faith is primarily about accepting fate. That is why Ibn `Ata'Illah also wrote in Hikam<br />
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ما ترك من الجهل شيئاً من أراد أن يحدث في الوقت غير ما أظهره الله فيه</div>
[<i>He is all-ignorant: The one who desires to cause something different from what God has made manifest in any given time.</i>]<br />
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<b>It's Just A Frivolous Game, As God Said</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
What we find so troubling, even to watch, is just a frivolous game. It is a game for accumulation of delusional wealth and power. This is what God tells us in the Chapter that mentions Iron: <br />
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إعلموا أنما الحياة الدنيا لعب و لهو و زينة و تفاخر بينكم و تكاثر في الأموال و الأولاد كمثل غيث أعجب الكفار نباته ثم يهيج فتراه مصفراً ثم يكون حطاما و في الآخرة عذاب شديد و مغفرة من الله و رضوان و ما الحياة الدنيا إلا متاع الغرور</div>
[<i>Know that the present life is but a frivolous game, an adornment, a cause for boasting among you, and a rivalry in wealth and children. It is like rain whose vegetation pleases farmers; then it withers, and turns yellow, and finally lies in ruin. But in the world to come there is severe punishment, forgiveness from God and contentment; and the present life is but the joy of delusion.</i>] (Iron: 20 الحديد)<br />
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Impermanence is the name of this game. Today's winner is tomorrow's loser, and the spoils all turn to dust.<br />
<br />
So why do we get more unsettled watching this game -- watching news, hearing insults, or suffering discrimination -- compared to how we feel when watching a frivolous game of baseball or basketball? <br />
<br />
I recognize that it is hurtful when we find ourselves -- to belabor the frivolous-sport simile -- turned into the balls being kicked around, or the ants being stomped upon. But the point of religion, at its best, while we take every legal precaution to protect ourselves, is to do the necessary internal work to avoid counterproductive anger.<br />
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Notice here that suppression of anger is not sufficient, albeit the first stage. If we stop at suppression of anger, we can eventually be so full of anger that it overflows in our conduct; as the poet said that every pot overflows with its content: كل إناء بما فيه ينضح. Rather, we have to go through the three stages that God has listed:<br />
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الذين ينفقون في السراء و الضراء و الكاظمين الغيظ و العافين عن الناس الله يحب المحسنين</div>
[<i>Who spend in prosperity and adversity, restrain their anger, and pardon the offenses of others; and God loves the good-doers</i>.] (Family of Imram: 134 آل عمران)<br />
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Because our tradition does not teach not resisting evil and turning the other cheek, we can certainly duck or block to avoid the next slap, while assuming a spectator's perspective to contain anger. Beyond that, our tradition teaches إحسان: responding to negativity with positivity:<br />
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و لا تستوي الحسنة و لا السيئة إدفع بالتي هي أحسن فإذا الذي بينك و بينه عداوة كأنه ولي حميم</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
[Good and bad cannot be equated. Repel with the most beautiful response, and behold, he who was your enemy will become like a close friend.] (Well Explained: 34 فصلت)</div>
<br />
When we adopt the spectator attitude, we can see that all mundane occurrences, including mean politics and social strife, are just parts of a frivolous game. Admittedly, some people make ungodly amounts of money from various mini-games, and some others suffer, or even lose their lives or livelihoods. But in the grand scheme of things, as we have recited earlier in (Iron: 20), it remains a frivolous game! All joy, pain, profit and loss are temporary phenomena that wither away and turn to dust.<br />
<br />
It is often difficult to remember this. Therefore, the verses in the Chapter that mentions Iron began with a call to remember: Is it not time to remember?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
ألم يأن للذين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبهم لذكر الله و ما نزل من الحق</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
و لا يكونوا كالذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبل فطال عليهم الأمد فقست قلوبهم و كثير منهم فاسقون </div>
[<i>Is it not time for the hearts of the faithful to be humbled to the Remembrance of God and the Truth that He has sent, and for them not be like those to whom the previous Book was given, but the term seemed long, so their hearts have hardened, and many of them are sinners?</i>] (Iron: 16 الحديد)</div>
<div>
<br />
Al-A`mash reported that this verse was sent as admonishment to the Prophet's companions (r) after they had settled in Madina and found ease. Abu Bakr (r) was sitting with a group from Yamama when this verse was recited, and they wept. He said: <i>We used to be like this before our hearts hardened</i> (هكذا كنا حتى قست القلوب).<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion:</b><br />
<br />
We have no choice but to watch this frivolous game, which is played by very few, and watched by all. But we must not forget what the game is and who we are, lest we may act incorrectly.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
As I recited in the beginning of this sermon from the Chapter that mentions Elevated Places, the Prophet was -- and by extension we were -- ordered to respond to negativity with positivity, and to use mindfulness of God as a vehicle for protection from blinding anger. <br />
<br />
The reward is immense, as God said:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
ألا إن أولياء الله لا خوف عليهم و لا هم يحزنون * الذين آمنوا و كانوا يتقون * لهم البشرى في الحياة الدنيا و في الآخرة لا تبديل لكلمات الله ذلك هو الفوز العظيم * و لا يحزنك قولهم إن العزة لله جميعا هو السميع العليم</div>
[<i>Those close to God; fear not for them, nor shall they grieve, (they are) those who have faith and God consciousness. For them are glad tidings in this world and the next; and God’s words are immutable: This is the great victory! And let not detractors’ words cause you grief. All glory belongs to God, who hears and knows all.</i>] (Jonah: 62--65 يونس)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
عن سعيد بن جبير، قال: سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن أولياء الله، فقال: الَّذِينَ إذا رُؤُوا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ</div>
</div>
<div>
[It was narrated on the authority of Sa`id ibn Jubayr that the Prophet (p) was asked about who those close to God were, and he (p) said: <i>Whenever they are seen, God is remembered</i>.] May we be blessed to be in their company!</div>
Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-27917939012715324012019-07-05T10:53:00.000-05:002019-07-05T10:53:47.056-05:00On The Responsibilities of Muslim Financial ProvidersI was invited to participate on a Muslim conference panel on home financing, and rather than decline the invitation, outlined my views (which would be familiar to any reader of this blog) and indicated that I would be happy to participate if the objective was to offer a variety of opinions, but that it may be better to find another panelist if the objective was not to undermine the alternatives offered in this forum. The gentleman who had invited me thanked me for my candor and chose the second option.<br />
<br />
I followed up this morning with an email, from which I thought that I would quote some excerpts below... I have redacted all parts of the email that would identify my interlocutor, and thought that the main message is one that I should put in the public domain through this blog post:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;">... </span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">I </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">hesitate to say more in the meantime, but I have sensed in your email a rare sincerity that merits taking the risk.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">First, ...</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">Second, I do not know your model, but submit to you what you certainly know: that whether or not a model in finance is “working” can only be determined at extreme and very rare events such as bankruptcy, which stress ownership structure and priority of claims to assets, which require courts to determine what happens under circumstances that financial engineers and regulators had not considered throughly (and had no court precedent upon which to base their analysis). Does a model of co-ownership expose your members to legal risks from which they are protected under the regulatory framework of conventional mortgages? Are the benefits they get from your model sufficient to counterbalance such (and other) potential risks?</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">Third, I am not surprised that you have a long waiting list (my friend ... had also mentioned something similar). But do we not recognize that this demand is the result of terrible miseducation by the ideologue propagandists of the second half of the past century, who convinced many Muslims (wrongly) that interest is the same thing as the categorically forbidden riba? As someone who is responsible for the financial well being of your community, do you not have the responsibility to deprogram your community, who are waiting for your alternative, so that they may pursue the other permissible conventional financial alternatives available to them?</span><br /> </span></blockquote>
Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-5808777189133105872019-07-01T11:32:00.000-05:002019-07-01T11:49:25.492-05:00Summer Peace<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZzAW7jIZpchgNdb-DeXdEDOOaBxCWXm-hm9tTqmL9xpLnpK2LJV-4wyfjQAPmk0Wvgz3ZXfP7_XEHOq2WTiw4zY8CvMwPXvF5L3KCnR-YV5AQx9Jbd8V0vzu7Yq4vLhTcfB37A/s1600/IMG_1063.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZzAW7jIZpchgNdb-DeXdEDOOaBxCWXm-hm9tTqmL9xpLnpK2LJV-4wyfjQAPmk0Wvgz3ZXfP7_XEHOq2WTiw4zY8CvMwPXvF5L3KCnR-YV5AQx9Jbd8V0vzu7Yq4vLhTcfB37A/s400/IMG_1063.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">I took this photo of the </span><a href="https://www.nps.gov/azru/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?event=8FB5D897-1DD8-B71B-0B358BB5A9B0A979" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Summer Solstice Sunrise at Aztec Ruins in New Mexico on Friday, June 21, 2019</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summer Peace</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This old Egyptian boy<br />
is finally at peace<br />
now that the Spring has gone,<br />
and Fall is drawing near.<br />
<br />
Egyptian Spring tormented<br />
him with blooming hopes,<br />
defying all logic...<br />
<br />
He knew throughout his life<br />
that those Egyptian Springs<br />
have always burned his lungs<br />
with fifty-day sandstorms,<br />
and yet somehow he thought:<br />
"This Spring could be different."<br />
He foolishly inhaled!<br />
<br />
But now, Summer is here,<br />
and now he can exhale,<br />
relinquishing all hope,<br />
reclaiming sweet surrender,<br />
and waiting for the Fall,<br />
his sweet eternal Fall.<br />
<br />Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13189529.post-86738710237852719692019-05-20T09:59:00.002-05:002019-06-05T12:25:54.625-05:00The Malaise of Modern Islamic Jurisprudence -- Disappointed and disheartened by Sanhuri's analysis on RibaI will have to proofread my translation of Sanhuri before posting it (<a href="http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2019/03/looking-for-new-beginning-in-al-sanhuri.html" target="_blank">see previous posting for context</a>), and then will plan to follow up with a more elaborate analysis. For now, while I am sitting at a car shop, I wanted to use the time to post my first reactions, which are a combination of (1) understanding how we got here, and (2) great disappointment at Sanhuri and his generation of legal scholars.<br />
<br />
[UPDATE on 6/5/2019: I have posted <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~elgamal/files/SanhuriOnRiba.pdf" target="_blank">the translation here</a>.]<br />
<br />
A quick note on style: Sanhuri wanted simultaneously to use the methodologies of classical Islamic jurisprudence and modern legal analysis, which resulted in some significant discontinuities. In my analysis of his thesis, I will try to summarize his arguments more linearly, and in the process try to avoid the frequent repetition that is characteristic of his as well as most Arabic writing, especially in the genre of jurisprudence.<br />
<br />
How did we get here? Anyone who is familiar with my writings on Islamic law and finance, on this blog and elsewhere, will understand my frustrations with an industry that sells inferior products at higher prices, and reinforces a mindset that makes reconciliation of authentic Islamic teachings with modernity even more difficult.<br />
<br />
One feature of Sanhuri's analysis that I found very disheartening was his deference to "juristic craftsmanship," as he put it, which leads him to conclude that all forms of <i>riba</i> (pre-Islamic or <i>jahiliya</i>, deferment or <i>nasi'a</i>, and inequality or <i>fadl</i>) are forbidden. He chooses from among the different schools of classical jurisprudence the middle ground of considering the first categorically forbidden for its own sake, but deems the latter two forbidden as means to the end that is the first. Interested readers will have to wait for the full translation and analysis, but the main import of this distinction is that the first type of prohibition (for pre-Islamic or <i>jahiliya riba</i>) is thus overruled only in cases of extreme necessity (equivalent to ones that would allow consuming forbidden meat to preserve life), while the latter two may be overruled in cases of mere need, which would include net economic benefits that would be foregone if one were to ban certain transactions. On interest bearing loans, he follows the traditional juristic view that they are not explicit forms of <i>ri</i><i>ba</i>, because the latter is only considered possible in commutative sales, but that they can inherit the rulings of <i>riba</i> because they can lead to the explicitly forbidden <i>riba al-jahiliya</i>, and thus is likewise forbidden as a means to forbidden end (<i>saddan lil-dhara'i`</i>) rather than for its own sake.<br />
<br />
He thus defers to jurists by extending the prohibition on modern forms of finance, but then argues that in capitalist economies, capital must earn a rate of return, and the fear of exploitation is non-existent when large corporations or governments borrow from small savers. He thus argues for permitting conventional finance with regulations such as interest rate ceilings and limiting the amount of compound interest so that the total accrued interest cannot exceed the principal, based on the rule of necessity applied to cases of mere economic need. Unfortunately, but understandably given the period in which he was writing, he says that maybe in a socialist system (to which he seemed to look forward!), where the government owns all capital, the need for interest would vanish and the default rule of prohibition would be reinstated.<br />
<br />
This explains something about <a href="http://www.arabbarometer.org/" target="_blank">Arab Barometer questionnaires</a> that I had found puzzling. In their question on bank interest, they surveyors ask if all bank interest should be banned or if it should be allowed because it is needed for economic development. It appears that they are appealing to this argument from necessity as need in the lower forms of <i>riba</i>, as Sanhuri had accepted.<br />
<br />
It also explains the argument that proponents of today's so-called "Islamic Finance" have advanced: that now that they have provided "Islamic" alternatives that technically avoid the prohibition of <i>riba</i>, the argument from necessity/need no longer applies, and customers must thus, they argue, buy their (more expensive and inferior) product because it avoids <i>riba</i>.<br />
<br />
The technical ruses used to circumvent the prohibition, e.g. credit sales that hide interest as price premium, leases that hide interest as rental payments, and the like, are also justified in Sanhuri's analysis, which did not take offense at a popular Hanafi trick that he cited verbatim from classical sources numerous times. In this trick, A asks B to lend him $100. B says that he cannot do that, but he sells A a piece of cloth worth $40 for a deferred price of $60, and follows that credit sale with an interest-free loan of $60. The net result of both contracts is that A now owes B $120 (desired principal of $100 plus 20% interest) to be paid later, and he has received $60 plus a piece of cloth worth $40, which he may promptly convert to cash at that price, thus having received the desired $100 now for a debt of $120 later. Classical jurists split hairs over whether the transaction is allowed if both parts were included in the same contract, or if one was explicitly stipulated as a condition in the other, and so on. But, ultimately, variations on these tricks were incorporated as elaborate ways to reproduce the desired financial outcome, and jurists allowed them. Sanhuri at times makes labored attempts to argue that such complex transactions are not as conducive to exploitation as traditional forms of <i>riba</i>, but his logic and quasi-economic analysis are extremely weak on those points. It is obvious that a loan-shark can use this exact classical trick, or some of the more modern <i>murabaha</i> and similar variations, to effect usurious behavior that is ruinous to his debtors.<br />
<br />
It is at once illuminating and disheartening to see so clearly that the best Arab legal mind of the 20th century reflected the mindset that resulted in our current malaise.Mahmoud El-Gamalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15714069493254663627noreply@blogger.com0