Giving Thanks.

This week I was invited to a multi faith thanksgiving celebration at our local church. The pastor there began by singing what I would call a highly devotional piece known as “It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, please won't you be neighbor etc” reminiscent of our our dear Brother Imam Mr Rogers. I say this because our tradition tells us to value our families. If we do not value blood, how will we ever value othes? In Surah Baqara Ayah it says in ayah 27 not to sever the bonds that Allah has commanded to be tied? There is a hadeeth that says do not go three days without speaking to a relative and if you go one year, it is like taking a life. So how far out does that extend? To our immediate family, extended? To the family of humanity?

This is Thanksgiving week, a time when we traditionally gather with family, sometimes in a room with people we have not seen or wanted to see for a while. Perhaps we are part of blended families, divorced families and so on. There are jokes about how we have to brace ourselves for this type of events etc.

Many families have the tradition of going around the dinner table and asking what we are thankful for. Even though my children cringe audibly, I continue this ritual to this day. Sometimes it is hard to find things to be thankful for. Sometimes we have had very difficult years. We are reminded to look at those worse off than us and so we listen out for the voices of Gaza, Pakistan,Syria, Ferguson and so on. How do we make sense of any of this. How can we thankful when there is so much suffering and tragedy in the world? One of my children responded that they were thankful they did not have to live the life of an African American teen in the Southern states. I had no response to this.

There will always be unanswered questions. The Quran begins with أ ل م

letters whose significance we don't know. So that means that we must immediately and consistently submit to the fact that there are things we will never understand. However, I think more is required of us. We ARE the priveleged ones. We are thankfully not being tortured. We are in a land where we ARE being accepted despite everything. We are fortunate. We have access to the media, to being civically engaged, to being vocal. We can alert people to causes and so on.

(There is a Turkish vase on the table)

Islamic art is known for its patterns and symmetry. I believe this is mirrored in the teachings of Islam too. For instance, here are two hadeeth:

Whoever suffers an injury done to him and forgives (the person responsible), Allah will raise his status to a higher degree and remove one of his sins.' (Sunan At-Tirmidhî)

The Prophet said: 'Whoever does not thank people (for their favors) has not thanked Allah (properly), Mighty and Glorious is He!' (Musnad Ahmad, Sunan At-Tirmidhî)

What happens to you on Earth will be mirrored in the hereafter. How you treat people is how Allah will treat you.Now this gratitude thing. We are taught that the word shukr in Arabic highly important. It is considered a highly spiritual state in Sufi traditions. What does gratitude involve ? Well it includes recognizing our blessings, naturally. What about when we have been wronged, what then? We are taught to forgive, that it will set us free, that it is better for our souls and so on. I believe this. But if it were only all that simple.

We know the stories of the Prophet where he was able to forgive people who wished him harm, the woman who threw garbage in front of him. The woman he helped carry her belongings and who criticized him all the way and never told her who he was and so on. Ultimately, the very person who killed his beloved Uncle Hamza.

I think the Seerah stories we hear often portray our Prophet as somoene who just went around forgiving people because he had some super human forgiveness powers. Well maybe he did. But we are taught that he was human too. Which one was it? We have to remember the Prophet was also the strongest, savviest military leader anyone had known. Think more powerful than Kevin Costner in Braveheart, or Gengis Khan huffing and puffing around with Mongols. How does a person who can be such an aggressive warrior find it in himself to forgive such offences?

I think there are a few things that go on in the pardoning process. Recently I read an article about somoene who was being put in a position where they had to constantly interact with a verbal abuser. They asked the Rabbi what they should do about this. I wondered what advice I would give such a person.

First of all, yes we have the right to protect ourselves if required. But if we avoid the person who has harmed us, we have given our power to them. Therefore it takes that warrior's soul to actually forgive someone. To be be able to be soft and tender, we need to make our insides strong. That symmetry again. Also in war, you look at the big picture. If you look at how war works, it is 90% strategy. At the Battle of Uhud, the Muslims were told to be on high ground to be able to have a more effective vantage point. It is all about wider outcome and long term vision.

Therefore, I am sure that the Prophet was not unaffected by things that happened to him, I think it was that he had that sense of strong self worth of course, was far above pettiness etc, knew that nothing that others said defined him, knew that Allah was with him that was all that mattered.

“Keep to forgiveness (O Muhammad), and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant.” (Quran 7:199)

But he also knew that he had to look at a broader spectrum. By not being able to overlook others' faults, he would not have been able to achieve a fraction of what he did. The killing of his uncle did affect him and he was unable to speak to Hind who carried this out. As an aside,  that inner struggle of his makes me feel even closer to him and makes me understand what is really humanly possible. We always have to be looking at a wider perspective. This vase contains symmetry and intricacy within its designs but the artist's overarching goal was probably to create a stunning piece of art.

Rabbi ‘j’alni muqima’s-salati wa min thurriyati. Rabbana wa taqabbal du’a.Rabbana ‘ghfirli wa li walidayya walil-Mu’minina yawma yaqumul-Hisab.

My Lord! Make me keep up prayer, and my off-spring too. Our Lord! Accept the prayer.  Our Lord!Forgive me and my parents and the ones who believe on the day that the reckoning will be taken.

SH

Tracing the Paths

A’uzu Billahi Min ash-Shaitain ir-Rajeem.

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem.

Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen.

Wasa’atu Wassalamu ‘Ala Muhammad wa ‘Ala Alihi was Sabhihi was Sallim.

Man yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa man yudlill falan tajida lahu waliyan murshida.

Anyone who has been guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been misguided, you will never find a guardian to guide him.

The title of my khutbah today is “Tracing the Paths”.

The subject of my khutbah is my struggle with shari’ah because when I hear the word shari’ah I have this instantaneous gag reflex. So, I am struggling to find a better definition for myself, and this khutbah is a reflection of my personal struggle.

My struggle started with a definition of shari’ah that really made me think and ponder.  Shireen Hunter defined shari’ah as “the path of life that it has traced.” (p 291 Reformist Voices of Islam). Her definition is in contrast to fiqh, “Islamic law as produced by Islamic scholars”. Part of my problem is that I have always conflated the two, but they are actually distinct.

What is a path of life that has been traced? Many people use the analogy of a river. If your life is the water and the path your life takes is the river, then eventually all rivers lead to the ocean, or all lives/souls lead to God.  Which river you choose to go down has certain consequences.  When you have well defined river banks, it is obvious which way you will flow.  But if the banks are too constrictive, the water may become stagnant or flow underground, or if the water exceeds the bodrders of the riverbanks, floods over the land, then chaos and destruction can result. This is why some Islamic scholars, such as Muhammad Khatami, have said that “Islam totally rejects fascism while it offers a critique of liberalism.”

I think the argument against fascism example is pretty self-evident, but I would like to expand on this notion of a ‘critique of liberalism.’, well, I would actually call it libertarianism, but whatever you want to call it, the idea is of having complete freedom to do whatever you want. I would argue, that this kind of freedom is not always a true freedom. Let me give a personal example to illustrate this point.

Right now I have a cousin who is dying of liver failure caused by decades of alcohol abuse. He lives in a society where he has the freedom to drink alcohol, he had a choice whether or not to drink, and he drank. He had a choice whether or not to get help, and he chose not to fight his addiction. Yes, he had the freedom to make his choices, to make bad choices, but in the end, did these choices give him freedom? He hasn’t had a driver’s liscence for thirty years, his daughter won’t see him, he hasn’t held a job and the only cure for his liver disease is a liver transplant, which he absolutely cannot get because he shows no sign of sincere rehabilitation, so he won’t get on the transplant list.  He has been free to choose addiction, but has addiction given him freedom? To me, no it hasn’t.

It sounds paradoxical, but sometimes following rules which appear restrictive can actually help you achieve true freedom.  I’m not saying this very eloquently, so I will quote from Wendell Barry who wrote a beautiful essay on marriage and poetry.

Barry argues that marriage and poetry are both bound by particular ‘forms’,  poetry by the restriction of meter and rhyme, marriage by the vows you take. He says:

“In marriage as in poetry, the given word implies the acceptance of a form that is never entirely of one’s own making. When understood seriously enough, a form is a way of accepting and of living within the limits of creaturely life. We live only one life, and die only one death. A marriage cannot include everybody, because the reach of responsibility is short. A poem cannot be about everything, for the reach of attention and insight is short.” (from Poetry and Marriage: the use of old forms)

Just to get back to the topic of shari’ah, I’m trying to make the argument that these ‘forms’ are like paths, the same paths or rule sets as ‘shari’ah’.  The first surah that starts the Qur’an is called, “Al-Fatiha” – the Opening. The Qur’an is giving us the invitation to open our hearts to its poetry and to experience it. But what will we be opening ourselves up to?

Barry writes:

“The second aspect of these forms is an opening, a generosity, toward possibility. The forms acknowledge that good is possible; they hope for it, await it, and prepare its welcome — though they dare not require it. These two aspects are inseparable. To forsake the way is to forsake the possibility. To give up the form is to abandon the hope.”

In Al-Fatihah, the Muslim is asking for God’s guidance, not demanding guidance, but hoping for it. Once you accept the path, then there will be some restrictions placed on you. However,  when you follow those rules some pretty interesting things can happen.

Barry says: “It may be, then, that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and that when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.    

     In this way the keeping of the form instructs us… The world, the truth, is more abounding, more delightful, more demanding than we thought. What appeared for a time perhaps to be mere dutifulness, that dried skull, suddenly breaks open in sweetness — and we are not where we thought we were, nowhere that we could have expected to be. It was expectation that would have kept us where we were.”

Sometimes, we do not always choose what is best for us. We have expectations that may not be realistic or healthy. We work towards goals or ideals, that often when realized, leave us feeling hollow. How many times have you found it was the unexpected surprise or circumstance that gave you the most joy? As it says in the Qur’an, “God is the best of schemers.”

Given human nature, we don’t always follow rules or good advice. We make mistakes, sometimes very bad mistakes. Wendell Barry writes:

Marriage too is an attempt to rhyme, to bring two different lives-within the one life of their troth and household — periodically into agreement or consent. The two lives stray apart necessarily, and by consent come together again: to “feel together,” to “be of the same mind.” Difficult virtues are again necessary. And failure, permanent failure, is possible. But it is this possibility of failure, together with the formal bounds, that turns us back from fantasy, wishful thinking, and self-pity into the real terms and occasions of our lives."  

  

Failure happens, rules get broken. Sometimes there is forgiveness, sometimes not. But I believe, as Louise Erdrich says in her book “The Round House”, "The only thing that God can do, and does all the time, is to draw good from every evil situation."

PAUSE

Wa barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala ‘alee Muhammad kama barakta ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala alee Ibrahim. Fil ‘alameena innaka Hameedun Majid.

Send Your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in as much as you blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are the Majestic in the whole universe.

I look at the Qur’an as a source of guidance. There are rules, but some of these rules are eternal and some of them are bound to a particular society at a particular time and place. Just as in a marriage, you might have certain expectations for who is going to be the breadwinner, and that might be true for a while, but things can change and roles can change in a marriage. What is important to look at is what are some of the consequences that these different paths will take.

So for instance, what are we to make of the Qur’anic injunction that  “a woman’s testimony is only worth half of a man’s.” What happens in a society, or a marriage for that matter, when women have no say in the justice system? What happens in a society when certain people are privileged over others because of their class rank, race, or gender? What happens to a society where class, race, and gender are irrelevant to the justice system, where all are treated equally under the law?

This Quran’ic surah has problems for Muslim societies. What are we to make of hadith that are narrated by women, particularly hadith that then go on to form components of Muslim law, fiqh? Are we only to accept hadith if they are narrated by two women? Furthermore, what are we to do with female judges? Must their opinions be signed off by a male judge? There have been well respected and eminent female judges during the early years of Islam and their opinions stood firm and were not disputed. I will only mention two today Amrah bint Abdur Rahman and Umm al-Darda. Both of these women are Tabi’een, or Successors, the name for the generation that came after the Companions of the Prophet.

Amrah bint Abdur Rahman was a student of Ayesha bint Abu Bakr, and a specialist in hadith as well as giving respected opinions in law. The Umayyad Caliph, Umar bin Abdul Aziz said, “No one remains alive who is more learned in the Hadith of Aisha than Amrah.”  Another example of the respect accorded to Amrah bint Abdur Rahman was once a judge in Medina ruled in a case involving a Christian thief who had stolen something. The judge had ordered that his hand to be severed. When Amrah bint Abdur Rahman heard of this decision, she immediately told one of her students to tell the judge that he cannot severe the man’s hand because he had stolen something whose value was less than a single gold coin (dinar). As soon as the judge heard what Amrah had said, he ordered that the man be released, unharmed. He did not question her authority, nor did he seek a second opinion from other scholars, who were quite numerous . This incident is recorded in the Muwatta’ of Imam Malik, and this ruling is also his opinion in such cases.

The second female jurist I want to mention is Umm al-Darda, also of the Successors generation who lived in Damascus and Jerusalem in the seventh century. Her husband, Abu Darda, was a companion to the Prophet. Umm al Darda lectured in the male section of the mosque, and was a teacher to many students, including the caliph of Damascus. One story I like about her is narrated by Ibrahim ibn Abalah. He said that a man came to Umm Al Darda and reported to her that someone had criticized her in front of the caliph. Her reply was, “If we are rebuked for something that is not found in us, then very often we are also praised for something that in not in us.”

Both Amrah bint Abdur Rahman and Umm Al Darda were well respected scholars of hadith and law, whose opinions set legal precedents. Their authority was not questioned because of their gender, their intelligence and wisdom was recognized and valued by their communities.

Shari’ah is the path our lives trace in accordance with our religion’s injunctions and guidance. Our choices and their consequences create a record which we will be judged upon by God on the Day of Judgment. But we must keep in mind that these rules and guidance must be tempered to the context of the times in which we are living and must never violate the eternal message of Islam: the respect for justice, mercy and human dignity.

Our Lord! Pour down patience on us, and make our steps firm and assist us against the folk, the ones who are ungrateful (2:250)

Rabbana afrigh ‘alayna sabran wa thabbit aqdamana wansurna ‘alal-ghawmil kafirin.

Ameen

You're Invited

A’uzu Billahi Min ash-Shaitain ir-Rajeem.

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem.

Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen.

Wasa’atu Wassalamu ‘Ala Muhammad wa ‘Ala Alihi was Sabhihi was Sallim

Wa ash-hadu an la ilaha Illal lahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadin ‘abduhu was rasooluhu al-Mustafa.

I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah; the One who has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger who was chosen by Allah.

Al-Hamdu Lillahli-lathi Anzala Ala ‘abdihil kitaba wa lam yaj’al lahu ‘iwaja.

Praise be to the One (Allah) Who revealed the book to His servant and did not make any distortion to it.

The title of my khutbah is “You’re invited.”

A few weeks ago, I was on the internet reading some of my favorite blogs and one person had suggested that everyone try to write one ‘devotional’ poem every day for a week. So after writing for six days about autumn leaves and pumpkins and the coming of winter, I decided I hadn’t really written a proper ‘devotional’ poem. What in my religious tradition was I ‘devoted’ to?  It only took me a few seconds before I had the answer, and then a few more minutes before I got the poem. See if you can guess what it is from my poem:

The best magic is mind-reading

For this amazing feat, I require two things:

One- a pen with which I will write

Two- my reader who will decipher my words.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen!

The ability to read minds of all persons

Living or dead

As long as they

Remembered

The pen.

This poem is really a homage to the first words that were ever revealed to our Prophet, as recorded in 96: 1-5:

Iqra bismi Rabbikal-lathi khalaq. Khalaqal ‘insana min ‘alaq. Iqra’ wa Rbbukal- ‘Akram. ‘Allathi ‘allama bilqalam. ‘Allaml-‘insana ma lam ya’lam.

“Read in the name of thy Sustainer,  who has created man out of  a germ cell. Read for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One who has taught (man) the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know.”

Now, given that the Prophet was illiterate, was the first word “read”? Some people translate the word as “Recite”, but the problem with ‘recite’ is that you can recite something without understanding what it is you are saying. A parrot can recite. The reason people use the word ‘read’ is because reading has the intentionality of trying to understand that which you have been given to read. The reader is trying to make a mental connection to the author.

God has given human beings the remarkable capacity to understand the minds of other human beings through reading .We can read books (if we can translate their languages into our own), of people who lived thousands of years ago, like Sappho or Plato or Buddha or Lao-Tze. Humans can construct vast networks of knowledge and information and pass these on to future generations. If I want to know whether Rumi missed his friend, or what Charles Dickens was concerned about, or what Sigmund Freud dreamed about or how Emily Dickenson felt about that spider on her wall, all I have to do is pick up one of their books and start reading. This is an amazing gift. The ability to produce and transmit our ideas to other humans has led to amazing advances in technology and science.

Now in the case of the Qur’an, we have a very special author. Although the Qur’an is just one of His books, His creation is not limited to books, His creation of all elements of the natural world surround and sustain us. The Qur’an says of God’s authorship:

18:109 "Say: if all the sea were ink for my Sustainer’s words, the sea would indeed be exhausted ere my Sustainer’s words are exhausted! And (thus it would be) if We were to add to it sea upon sea."

As well as

31:27 "And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea (were ink) with seven (more) seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for verily God is almighty, wise."

When I think about the symbols of different religions, I look at them as invitations to contemplation as well as types of action. In Hinduism there is the symbol of the dancing Shiva-it is hard to be complacent and self-satisfied when someone asks you to dance. In Christianity, there is the symbol of the Cross- self sacrifice and redemption in service to others. In Islam, I think that our symbol is the invitation, “Read!”

When I look around this room and I see you, I know that all of you read, some of you are even in book clubs, some of you are book sellers and writers. I know that you have helped your children learn how to read, and you have modeled reading behavior to your children by reading to them. You have all been faithfully practicing your Islam, so praise God for that blessing, for these opportunities that you have been given.

PAUSE

Innal-la ha was malaaikatahu yussalloona Alan-nabiy.  Yaa aiyuhal latheena aamanoo, salloo alaihi, wa sallimoo tassleema.

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the prophet. O you who believe! Ask blessing on him and salute him with a worthy greeting.

Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala alee Muhammad kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala alee Ibrahim.

O Allah! Send Your greeting upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in as much as You sent your greeting upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.

Ash-Shifa bint Abdullah, may God be pleased with her, was one of the Companions of the Prophet and a frequent guest in his home. Her real name was Layla, she converted in Mecca, and later migrated to Medina. Ash-Shifa refers to her ability to heal others. Umar ibn Al-Khattab appointed her administrative officer of the marketplace. She was also his advisor before she died.

Perhaps the most important contribution Ash-Shifa bint Abdullah made to Islam is she taught the Prophet’s wife, Hafsa, how to read and write. Ash-Shifa was well versed in traditional healing, ‘rquyal al-namlah’. She asked the Prophet whether it would be permissible to use this method of healing, and he responded by telling her :“Teach Hafsa the ruqyal al-namlah like you taught her how to write.” (Dawud, Book 28, 3878)

Why is this important? Because Hafsah collected all the ayat of Quran, written down on scraps of paper or animal skins. Ruqayya Khan has called Hafsa the first editor of the Quran.

 There is a hadith that Umar ibn al-Khattab consulted Hafsa when there were disputes about the Quran:

Abu l-Aad related [that] ‘Urwa b. al-Zūbayr said, “People differed over the recitation of ‘Those who disbelieve from among the People of Book . . . ’[Q 98: 1], so ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb came to Hafṣa, [bringing] with [him a scrap of] leather (adīm). He said: When the Messenger of God comes to you, ask him to teach you ‘Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book’ . . . and tell him to write it for you on this [scrap of] leather. She did [this], and he [i.e., Muḥammad] wrote it for her. This reading became public and widespread [’āmma].sw

In one Islamic tradition, when Caliph Uthman wanted to compile all the surahs of the Quran into one book, or mushaf, he asked Hafsa for her collection of Quranic ‘sheets’. She only agreed to hand  over her documents to him if he promised to give them back. He agreed to her conditions. After her death, Hafsa’s Quranic sheets were destroyed by the governor of Medina, Marwan ibn Hakam.

I would like to conclude with the words of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father and first president of Pakistan, who said, “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world: one is the sword and the other is the pen.  There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.”  (speech given 25 March 1940, Islamia College for Women).

I would like to add that if you are a woman in command of a pen, then you are one of the most powerful forces in the world. Use your power wisely!

My concluding du’a is from 3:191-194:

"O our Sustainer! Thou hast not created (aught of) this without meaning and purpose. Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe then, from suffering through fire. O our Sustainer! Whomsoever Thou shalt commit to the fire, him, verily wilt Thou have bought to disgrace, and such evildoers will have none to succor them. O our Sustainer! Behold, we heard a voice inviting us unto faith ‘Believe in your Sustainer’- and so we came to believe. O our Sustainer! Forgive us, then, our sins, and efface our bad deeds, and let us die the death of the truly virtuous. And O our Sustainer, grant us that which Thou has promised us through Thy apostles, and disgrace us not of the Resurrection Day. Thou never failest to fulfill Thy promise."

Rabbana ma khalaqta hadha batilan, subhanaka faqina ‘adhaban-nar. Rabbana innaka man tudkhilin-nara faqad ‘akhqaytahah. Wa ma liz-zalimina min ‘ansar.

Rabbana innana sami’na munadiyany- yunadi lil imani ‘an ‘aminu bi-Rabbikum fa’amanna. Rabbana faghfir lanan dhunubana wa kaffir ‘annna sayyi’atina wa tawaffana ma’al-abrar. Rabbana wa atina ma wa’attana ‘ala Russulika wa la tukhzina yaum-al-qiyamah. Innaka la tukhlifu-l-mi’ad.

END

Notes

Quran translation = Muhammad Asad “The Message of the Qur’an”.

“Did a Woman Edit the Qur’an: Hafsa’s famed Codex” by Ruqayyah Khan, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Feb 2014

Links to Ash- Shifa bint Abdullah: http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/al_shifa_bint_abdullah/

http://en.islamway.net/article/20953/muslim-women-in-history-ash-shifa-bint-abdullah-al-qurashiyyah-al-adawiyah

Tips- Famous Muslim Women

Think about incorporating stories of famous Muslim women in your next khutbah.

There is a growing collection of these stories to be found at the Women's Initiative in Spirituality and Equality website, under the Muslim Women Past and Present section (follow link).

Once you have a name, start a Google search and begin to research some inspiring Muslim women.

Happy researching!

On the Question of Halloween

A’uzu Billahi Min ash-Shaitain ir-Rajeem.

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem.

Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen.

Wasa’atu Wassalamu ‘Ala Muhammad wa ‘Ala Alihi was Sabhihi was Sallim

Ahmaduhu subhanahu wa Ta’ala wa ashkurhu wa Huwa Ahlul-Hamdi wath-thana.

I praise Him (Allah) the Exalted One and the High and I thank Him. It is He who deserves the praise and gratitude.

Ah-hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wa nassta’eenuhu wa nasstaghfiruhu, wa natoobu ilayhi, wa na’oozu billahi min shurouri anfusina wa saiyaati a’maalina.

Praise be to Allah, we Praise Him and seek help from Him; we ask forgiveness from Him; we repent to Him, and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and from our own bad deeds.

Surah 113, Al-Falaq:

Bismil-lahir-Rahmanir-Rahim

Qul a’udhu biRabbil-falaq,

Min sharri ma khalaq.

Wa min-sharri ghasiqin idha waqab.

Wa min-sharrin-naffathati fil-uqad.

Wa min-sharri hasidin idha hasad.

Say:  I seek refuge with the Sustainer of the rising dawn,

From the evil of aught that He has created,

And from the evil of the black darkness whenever it descends,

And from the evil of all human beings bent on occult endeavours,

And from the evil of the envious when he envies.

Late in the afternoon of Halloween, chances are that kids will come to our front doors dressed in costumes, holding out bags or buckets into which we are expected to put candy.  I grew up with this tradition.  Since we lived on a farm, and houses in our area were pretty spread out, my mother would drive my brothers and I around from house to house.  It was great fun, and the neighbors were always happy to see us, especially the ones we knew who could guess who we were under our costumes.  When we got home, we would dump out our bags and see who got what treats, and trade with each other – three pieces of bubble gum for a Reeses Cup, etc.  I loved Halloween, and I still love Halloween.  Summer has gone, the pumpkins are harvested and decorated, leaves are blowing around, and the chill in the air reminds us that we had better enjoy whatever warmth is left because ice and snow are on the way. 

After I converted to Islam, I discovered that Muslims have a real problem with Halloween.  Some of them take it very seriously.  Imam Zaid Shakir summed up this attitude recently on a post to his blog entitled “Between the Deen and Halloween”:

"One the tragedies of our times is found in the easy willingness some Muslims accept practices, rituals or cultural symbols that have their roots in demonic or occult practices. Halloween is a perfect example. Most scholars trace the origins of Halloween to the then pagan Celtic people who believed that on a certain night, the dead would come alive and could walk among the living. On this night some of these people would dress up in ghoulish costumes believing that the spirits of the dead would mistake them for one of their own and not harass them. Others would offer these “spirits” sweets in order to earn their good favor. This is the origin of the Halloween costumes and the gifts of candy…. The darkness surrounding these practices is compounded by the representations and symbols rooted in the world of the occult and demons, such as witches, werewolves, vampires, etc. Like many aspects of demonology and the occult, Halloween has been sanitized and made to appear as something “cute.” Along these lines, some Muslims actually have “Halaloween” parties. It’s just “fun.” This is one of the ways children in our society, increasingly Muslim children are no exception, are introduced to occult and demonic symbols and rituals. Make it appear cute and fun and no one will notice the dark underside…. Halloween as well as Halaloween are Haram!”

Imam Shakir is right about the roots of Halloween.  It dates back to pagan rituals in England and Ireland, before the advent of Christianity.  But it is also associated with the Christian celebration of All Saint’s Day, Nov. 1, and All Souls Day, Nov. 2, during which Christians are enjoined to pray for those who have died.  The word Halloween is reported to date to about 1745 and to be of Christian origin. The word "Halloween" means “hallowed evening" or "holy evening."

My purpose here is not to present an exhaustive history of the roots and development of Halloween.  Suffice it to say that the history is long, complex, and multi-faceted.  My purpose is rather to explore the question of whether my faith really does proscribe me from celebrating this holiday.  As an American convert who does not believe that my conversion to Islam requires me to reject the positive or unharmful aspects of my native culture, I naturally ask myself this question.  For Muslims who grew up in places where Halloween was not a part of their childhood and youth, or for converts who may have negative memories of their childhood, it might be easy to dismiss this holiday as a celebration of demonology.  I cannot blame them.  If I thought Halloween is a celebration of demonology, I would also want nothing to do with it. 

But that has not been my experience of Halloween.  As a Muslim and as a mother, I did not feel that allowing my child to dress up in a fantasy costume and get candy from the neighbors was something that was prohibited by my faith.  In fact, I felt that nothing in my faith could justify preventing her from doing something that obviously brought so much joy and fun for her classmates, friends and cousins, and the sense of alienation and confusion that would bring.  It seemed ridiculous to tell her that she could not celebrate Halloween because it is a demonic holiday.  It was so obviously being celebrated as something fun, and not demonic.  Was she supposed to believe in demons, and that her friends and cousins could become possessed by them by putting on costumes? 

There is a different way of understanding Halloween.  I have always understood the holiday as a way of poking fun at superstition and the idea that demonic forces have any real power over us.  Making fun out of ghosts and skeletons and witches and vampires makes us realize that we can conquer our fears.  Those scary things aren’t real, after all, it’s our imaginations that make them scary.

Pause

Our faith tells us that God has power over Satan, and all demonic forces.  They have no power other than the power we let them have over us.  In Qur’an, Satan is the symbol of the rejection of God’s will.

            Surah 14, Ibrahim:

And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say:  “Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!  I, too, held out promises to you – but I deceived you.  Yet I had no power at all over you:  I but called you – and you responded unto me.  Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.  It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:  for, behold, I have refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God’s divinity… (22).

Surah 34, Saba:

Say:  Point out to me those beings that you have joined with Him in your minds as partners in His divinity.  Nay – nay, but He [alone] is God, the Almighty, the Wise.  (27)

Thinking about Halloween as a symbolic conquest of our fear of evil and superstition made me ask myself, is there any practice in the Islamic tradition that also symbolizes our need to confront and disempower the demons in our minds?  And then I remembered the Hajj rituals.  One of the last of the Hajj rituals is the symbolic stoning of three pillars at Mina – the three pillars representing Satan.  The act of stoning the devil commemorates the three attempts the devil made to tempt the Prophet Ibrahim, pbuh, out of following a directive from God that he could not understand.  Prophet Ibrahim rejected all three of the devil’s attempts, stoning him and driving him away. The three stone pillars represent the places where the failed temptations took place and the act of stoning commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s constant obedience to Allah and the vanquishing of the devil.

Halloween can be understood as a holiday that, through satire, disempowers the belief that evil spirits and demonic forces have any real power over us.  It robs those beliefs of their power to instill fear in us.  Seen in this way, Halloween can be understood as an expression of faith in Allah, al-Rahman, al-Raheem – God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. 

Of course I recognize that not everyone, Muslim, Christian or otherwise, will agree that this interpretation of Halloween is an accurate representation.  But it is one possible interpretation.  I am not arguing that all Muslims should now celebrate Halloween.  We should all do what we feel comfortable doing, or not doing.  But I am arguing for the need to broaden the Muslim perspective and acknowledge that there are different ways of understanding things, and they all deserve consideration, and that those who do not reject this holiday are not necessarily doing something haram.

Separation

A’uzu Billahi Min ash-Shaitain ir-Rajeem.

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem.

Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen.

Wasa’atu Wassalamu ‘Ala Muhammad wa ‘Ala Alihi was Sabhihi was Sallim

Ahmaduhu subhanahu wa Ta’ala wa ashkurhu wa Huwa Ahlul-Hamdi wath-thana.

I praise Him (Allah) the Exalted One and the High and I thank Him. It is He who deserves the praise and gratitude.

Ah-hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wa nassta’eenuhu wa nasstaghfiruhu, wa natoobu ilayhi, wa na’oozu billahi min shurouri anfusina wa saiyaati a’maalina.

Praise be to Allah, we Praise Him and seek help from Him; we ask forgiveness from Him; we repent to Him, and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and from our own bad deeds.

The title of my khutbah today is “Separation”.

As Muslims, we recite, aloud or in our heads,  surah Al-Fatihah with every raka in every prayer that we make to God.  When we say this prayer we don’t say, “to You alone I pray” or “Guide me to the path of the righteous”- the pronoun that is used is “we”. “To You we pray”, “to You we ask for guidance”.  This pronoun is a reminder that “we”, as human beings- like it or not- we are all on this world in this experiment with human free will, together at this time. All of us. Surah Fatihah also doesn’t mention Muslims, or Christians, or monotheists or polytheists- it is vague. It is an interfaith moment.  It is ‘we’, humans. When we are down on our luck, losing hope and need strength and guidance, we ask for help from the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, the Most High. These are just a few of the names we give God in our feeble attempt to define the divine. When we are suffering from spiritual thirst, it is to God that we cry out to for succor.

It would be nice if we could remember we are all in the same boat on this blue planet, but unfortunately, remembering is not one of humanity’s strong suits. We tend to get distracted easily, make mistakes, and forget our connections. This has been our story starting with Adam. The German theologian, Paul Tillich, believed that man’s original sin consists in our forgetting our connection to God and our life on this earth is a separation from God.

As Muslims, we believe that it It is our higher nature, our fitra, that seeks to re-establish this connection to the Creator of the Worlds, despite living in a world where we are easily distracted. It is in our prayers that we seek connection to the Most Merciful, and it is in the ritual prayer with other Muslims when we stand shoulder to shoulder, where we can remember our connection to one another.

Although we are all human beings and we share a connection, we are also completely unique. Even down to the microscopic level of the physical manifestation of our existence, our DNA code, we are unique. Our brain chemistry and how our brains are wired and information processed is unique. All this gives rise to a rich diversity of preferences and desires, which at times can seem quite puzzling. And although we all share that same spiritual thirst, each of us may choose to sate that thirst in different ways. Some may prefer a tall glass of chilled well water, others want apple juice, or Coke or Pepsi or a hot cup of tea, or a gin and tonic.  Our personal preferences, the choices we make, and how we carry out our actions can also lead to separation. Getting too involved in the 'cola wars' leads to separation.  But just ritual prayer reminds us of our common human existence, it also reminds us of the Day of Judgment when all of humankind will be arranged before God.

Surah The Sundering  74:1-14

“When the heaven is split asunder and attentive to her Lord in fear, and when the earth is spread out and hath cast out all that was in her, and is empty and attentive to her Lord in Fear! Thou, verily, O man, art working toward thy Lord a work which thou wilt meet (in His presence). Then whoso is given his account in his right hand, he truly will receive an easy reckoning and will return unto his folk in joy.  But whoso is given his account behind his back, he surely will invoke destruction and be thrown to scorching fire. He verily lived joyous with his folk, he verily deemed that he would never return (unto Allah).” (Pickthall translation)

On this day, God will judge us and He will separate us based on our actions and how well we remembered our connections to Him and to one another. In this final separation, we will be rewarded or punished. The last lines of Surah Fatiha serve as a reminder of the defining features of bad choices,

“Ghayril maghdubi ‘alayhim wa lad-daalin”

“(Make us ) Not of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray”.

PAUSE

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil ‘alameen was-salutu was-salamu ‘ala khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin al-nabiyil ummiyee, wa  ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’een.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe. May the greeting and the peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, and upon his family and upon all of his companions.

Innal-la ha was malaaikatahu yussalloona Alan-nabiy.  Yaa aiyuhal latheena aamanoo, salloo alaihi, wa sallimoo tassleema.

Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the prophet. O you who believe! Ask blessing on him and salute him with a worthy greeting.

In all communities there are differences of opinion and belief. Although the Prophet Muhammad’s community is often held as an exemplar for all communities, they too, had their own problems. In reading through Surah Tauba, there are many historical references where the Medina community failed to meet the expectations of the Prophet. This surah is the only one that does not begin with “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem”, and there is a lot of harsh pronouncements in it. For example 9: 97-99:

“The wandering Arabs are more hard in disbelief and hypocrisy, and more likely to be ignorant of the limits which Allah hath revealed unto His messenger. And Allah is Knower, Wise. And of the wandering Arabs there is he who taketh that which he expendeth (for the cause of Allah) as a loss, and awaiteth (evil) turns of fortune for you. The evil turn of fortune will be theirs. Allah is Hearer, Knower. And of the wandering Abarbs there is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day, and taketh that which he expendeth and also the paryers of the messenger as acceptable offerings in the sight of Allah. Lo! verily it is an acceptable offering for them. Allah will bring them into His mercy, Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful”  (Pickthall translation)

Clearly, even in this “best of communities”, there were problems. While there are some that look back on the Prophet’s community as some kind of utopia, I don’t get that feeling in reading Surah Tauba. There was a lot of intrigue, hypocrisy, and jostling for rank and privilege. In this respect, not much has changed since the time of the Prophet!

In surah Tauba, there are many references to a historical incident that I found particularly interesting.  This centers around the Tabuk expedition, in which the Prophet asked his community to follow him to the northern most border of the Muslim territory to defend themselves against the Romans. 

Muhammad Asad writes in his note 142 of his translation of Surah Tauba:

“Ever since his exodus from Mecca to Medina the Prophet was violently opposed by one Abu Amir (‘the Monk”) a prominent member of the Khazraj tribe, who had embraced Christianity many years earlier and enjoyed a considerable reputation among his compatriots and among the Christians of Syria. From the very outset he allied himself with the Prophet’s enemies, the Meccan Quraysh, and took part on their side in the battle of Uhud. Shortly thereafter he migrated to Syria and did all that he could to induce the Emperor of Byzantium, Heraclius, to invade Medina and crush the Muslim community once and for all. In Medina itself, Abu Amir had some secret followers among the members of his tribe, with whom he remained in constant correspondence. In the year  9 H, he informed them that Heraclius had agreed to send out an army against Medina, and that large-scale preparations were being made to this effect (which was apparently the reason for the Prophet's preventive expedition to Tabuk). In order that his followers should have a rallying place in the event of the expected invasion of Medina, Abu Amir suggested to his friends that they should build a mosque of their own in the village of Quba, in the immediate vicinity of Medina (which they did). And thus obviate the necessity of congregating in the mosque which the Prophet himself had built in the same village at the time of his arrival in Medina . It is this ‘rival’ mosque to which the verse refers:

“Only a house of worship founded, from the very first day, upon God-consciousness is worthy of setting thy foot therein (a house of worship) wherein there are men desirous of growing in purity; for God loves all who purify themselves.” 9:108

This rival mosque was demolished at the Prophet’s orders immediately after his return from the Tabuk expedition. Abu Amir himself died in Syria shortly afterwards.” (more commentary from Tabari and Ibn Kathir on this verse)

So, here you have a situation where people are being asked to go out and fight, and some of them don’t want to do it- for good reasons and for not so good reasons. People are making excuses right and left on why they can’t go. There are mosques being built as meeting points in a conspiracy.  But, you might say, in the end, the Tabuk expedition was a wash.  The Romans never showed up, no one had to actually fight. So in a way, this seems like a moot point. Why are you getting so upset when we didn’t have to fight anyhow? Well, God  actually got irritated at Prophet Mohammad because the prophet excused  people from going on the expedition. God was using the battle, or just the concept of battle, to separate the hypocrites from the believers. By being too easy on them, the Prophet now had a much more difficult time distinguishing the hypocrites from the believers. 

I guess what this reminds me is that while we are all one community, our intentions, desires, and actions make us distinct, separate. While this separation can be painful because most of us do not like to fight,  the separation leaves you the truth. You know where you stand, and they know where they stand. And on the Day of Judgment, that’s where we all will be; standing with the history of our choices.

My closing Du’a is from 2:286. Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not load on us a severe test as You did burden on those before us. Our Lord! Do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear; and pardon us and forgive us and have mercy on us, You are our Defender, so help us against the ungrateful people.

Rabbana la tu’akhizna in-nasina aw akh-ta’na. Rabbana wa la tahmil ‘alayna isran kama hamaltahu ‘ala-llatheena min qablina. Rabbana wa la tuhammilna ma la taqata lana bih, wa- ‘fu ‘anna wa ‘ghfirlana warhamna anta Maulana fansurna ‘alal-ghawmil kafirin. Ameen.

The Language of Quran

The second verse of the longest surah in the Quran, Surat Al-Baqara, states the following:

Dhalikal-Kitabu la rayba fih.  Hudal-ilmuttaqin.

This Divine writ – let there be no doubt about it - is a guidance for all the God conscious.  (2:2) 

As Muslims, we accept this as a literal truth.  And yet, the Quran presents us with a paradox.  It claims itself to be a book for all those who are conscious of God.  And yet, it came in the language of one specific people, with a very specific culture.  As Muslims in the 21^st century we cannot escape this paradox:  the Quran is our holy book, and yet it was not revealed to us.  The more I study the words of Quran – in English and in Arabic - the more I realize how specifically it addressed one Prophet and his community as they grappled with the circumstances engendered by its revelation.

The language in Quran is uniquely tailored to the 7^th century Arabs.  Poetry was the creative form of expression they used and admired above all.  The poet or sha’ir filled the role of historian, soothsayer and propagandist - poets were the “rock stars” of that era.  The sha’ir represented an individual tribe's prestige and importance in the Arabian Peninsula, and mock battles in poetry or zajal would sometimes stand in lieu of real wars.  ‘Ukaz, a market town not far from Mecca, would play host to a regular poetry festival where the craft of the sha’irs would be exhibited.

The Quran not only capitalized on that cultural norm, it took poetic expression to a whole new level, with the introduction of hundreds of words previously unknown in the Arabic language, with an elegance of phrasing that could communicate complex ideas in astonishingly few words, and turns of phrase that could communicate ideas on multiple levels simultaneously.   Quran even challenges the Arab poets to produce anything comparable. 

Surat 2, Al-Baqara:

And if you doubt any part of what We have bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant Muhammad, then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you – if what you say is true. [2:23]

And if you cannot do it – and most certainly you cannot do it – then be conscious of the fire whose fuel is human beings and stones which awaits those who deny the truth! [2:24]

The words of Quran also reflect the culture and sensibilities of 7^th century Arabs.  Tribes frequently fought each other; life was harsh and dangerous.  Intra-tribal and inter-tribal relationships were governed by a complex code of social conduct in which there was the ever-present menace of death, especially untimely death.  Religious ideas were little developed before the Quranic revelations.

One of the early collections of pre-Islamic poetry related to war is contained in the Hamasa, an anthology compiled by Ilabib ibn Aus at-Ta'i, surnamed Abu Tammam.  The collection includes poems descriptive of constancy and valor in battle, patient endurance of calamity, steadfastness in seeking vengeance, and manliness under reproach and temptation.  This poetry was full of vivid portrayals of violence; graphic descriptions of fighting and killing.  An illustrative example from this collection is a verse by the poet Qais bin al-Hatim al-Ausi:

Out of vengeance I wounded Abdalqais with a spear and made a wound so great that it would have been filled with light had not blood poured from it on all sides.  I kneaded in it (the wound) with the palms of my hands and widened the opening, so that there could be seen what lay behind it.[1]

This is the kind of language that is referenced in some of the verses of the Quran.  It seems to be tailored to resonate with the tribal Arabs at an emotional level.  It seems to have been crafted to make sense to them.   But Quran uses this language to illustrate concepts about faith that the Prophet was instructed to share with his community.  I am going to take verses out of context here, which I do not normally advocate.  Every verse has its own story, and it will be useful to explore those stories elsewhere, but now I am citing them just to make the point about the language used in them.

There are 83 references to fighting in God’s cause in Quran, (as indexed in M. Asad’s The Message of the Quran).   Some of the main themes are “fighting is ordained for you” (2:216-218), “fight in God’s cause” (2:243-245, 4:71-76 and 84-85, 8:5-10), “rewards for those fighting in God’s cause” (4:95-104), “those slain in God’s cause are protected in heaven (47:4-10), “those who fought are above those who did not” (57:10), and references to the hypocrites who refused to fight in the Battle of Uhud  (3:152-155).  Here are some of the examples:

Surah 2, Al-Baqara:

Fighting is ordained for you, even though it be hateful to you; but it may well be that you hate a thing the while it is good for you, and it may well be that you love a thing the while it is bad for you:  and God knows, whereas you do not know. [2:216]

Surah 4, An-Nisa:

Hence, let them fight in God’s cause – all who are willing to barter the life of this world for the life to come:  for unto him who fights in God’s cause, whether he be slain or be victorious, We shall in time grant a mighty reward. 4:[74]

Those who have attained to faith fight in the cause of God, whereas those who are bent on denying the truth fight in the cause of the powers of evil.  Fight, then, against those friends of Satan:  verily, Satan’s guile is weak indeed! [4:76]

Fight thou, then, in God’s cause – since thou art but responsible for thine own self – and inspire the believers to overcome all fear of death.  God may well curb the might of those who are bent on denying the truth:  for God is stronger in might, and stronger in ability to deter. [4:84]

The language of God as punisher was the language needed to communicate the idea of consequences to 7^th century tribal Arabs.  The language of burning flesh and scalding water were apt metaphors to describe to them the agony of dying in a state of disbelief.  Quran promises that those who fight in God’s cause will attain paradise, and those who defy God will go to hellfire, from which there will be no escape.  

There are 160 references to punishment in Quran, such as:

Surah 2, Al-Baqara

…If they who are bent on evildoing could but see – as they will when they are made to suffer – that all might belongs to God alone, and that God is severe in punishment. (2:165)

Surah 12, Yusuf

…never can Our punishment be averted from people who are lost in sin. (12:110)

Surah 13, Ar-rad

Nay, goodly seems their false imagery to those who are bent on denying the truth, and so they are turned away from the [right] path: and he whom God lets go astray can never find any guide. (13:33)

For such, there is suffering in the life of this world; but truly [their] suffering in the life to come will be harder still, and they will have none to shield them from God. (13:34)

And the descriptions of God’s punishment in Quran are at times quite graphic.  There are 122 references to hell in Quran, described as an “evil,”  or “vile resting place,” for those who fail to grasp the Truth. 

Surah 4, An-Nisaa:

And nothing could be as burning [as the fire of] hell:  (4:55)  For verily, those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages We shall, in time, cause to endure fire:  [and] every time their skins are burnt off, We shall replace them with new skins, so that they may taste suffering [in full].  Verily, God is almighty, wise. (4:56)

Surah 9, At-Taubah:

on the Day when that [hoarded wealth] shall be heated in the fire of hell and their foreheads and their sides and their backs branded therewith, [those sinners shall be told:]  “These are the treasures which you have laid up for yourselves!  Taste, then, [the evil of] your hoarded treasures! (9:35)

Surah 11, Hud:

[as for those who refuse to avail themselves of divine guidance,] that word of thy Sustainer shall be fulfilled:  “Most certainly will I fill hell with invisible beings as well as with humans, all together!”  (11:119)

Surah 14, Ibrahim:

And [thus it is:] every arrogant enemy of the truth shall be undone [in the life to come], (15)  With hell awaiting him, and he shall be made to drink of the water of most bitter distress (16)  Gulping it [unceasingly,] little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it.  And death will beset him from every quarter – but he shall not die:  for [yet more] severe suffering lies ahead of him.  (14:17)

Surah 17, Al-Isra:

…for those whom He lets go astray thou canst never find anyone to protect them from Him:  and [so, when] We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection, [they will lie] prone upon their faces, blind and dumb and deaf, with hell as their goal; [and] every time [the fire] abates, We shall increase it for them [its] blazing flame.  (17:97)

We cannot escape the fact that, in English translation as in the original Arabic, the Quran is filled with language that glorifies fighting, and provides graphic descriptions of eternal suffering for those who deny God, and vivid descriptions of the paradise waiting for those who fight in God’s cause.  I accept that these are the words revealed to the Prophet.  And yet, I have to understand them in context. 

It would not have worked for God to send a message to 7^th century Arabs in a way that speaks to me now.  If God had communicated something along the lines of – “There are spiritual laws of cause and effect just like there are physical laws of action and reaction, and you came into physical being subject to those laws, but you have the power to separate yourself from this life-giving Creative Spirit – the

Source of all things - and if you cut yourself off from belief in One Creator and life beyond the physical realm, you will have one heck of a time when you ultimately pass from life in this world” – or something to that effect – it would have gone right over their heads.   

Quran did not come to us in our own native languages and does not refer to events in our own time and culture.  God put us in the position of being, of necessity, interpreters of Quran.  I thank God for the gift of a brain, a brain designed to be put to use to understand how revelation applies to me today.  And as I study, the miracle of Quran becomes all the more apparent to me…. the miracle that an opening to the Creative Force beyond our earthly existence was manifested through human language at a certain point in time, in linguistic and cultural perfection, to change the course of human civilization.

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[1] From The Hamasa of Abu Tamman, Felix Klein-Franke, 1972, p. 158.