Month: July 2012

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Between ‘Divine Willing’ and ‘Divine Permitting’: A Reflection on Religious Diversity, Divine Mercy and Human Response

“For each [Prophetic Community] We have appointed a Law and a Way. Had God Willed, He could have made you one community. But in order to test you with what He has given you [he has made you as you are]. So compete with one another in good works. And Unto God you will all return. He will reveal to you [the truth] of that about which you differed” (Holy Qur’an, 5:48)

When something is considered Divinely Providential such as the Quranic recognition of religious diversity (such as in 5:48 above), is Divine Providence in regards to religious diversity understood to mean something which God directly Willed or just ‘Permitted’?

I think both the ‘Divine Willing’ and ‘Divine Permitting’, although not being mutually exclusive, are distinct categories. Providentiality encompasses both God ‘directly Willing’ something to occur and/or ‘Permitting’ something to occur. In a sense, God more directly Wills the good to occur while only ‘permitting’ an ‘experience’ of evil to occur in one’s life or destiny, for example. However, with regard to God’s Willing of diverse revelations and messengers  along with the human response to Divine Revelation in a given Traditional world, there is a kind of meeting between God’s direct Will ‘to be’ and God’s permission ‘to exist’. God directly Wills for a revealed Perspective or Narrative to take a particular form, while God ‘permits’ humanity (or a particular religious humanity) to exercise their free will and intellect in shaping and molding that revealed narrative in order to promote, maintain, and transmit in an integral fashion, a Divinely revealed teaching on the human plane of religious discourse, all of which serve to spiritually nourish the souls attracted to a given revealed religion. It is perhaps through this very process that a revealed wisdom tradition transmits in a dynamic and progressive fashion its ‘orthodox’ and traditional religious teachings from generation to generation, while weeding out heresies or forms of misguidance which result from the challenges inherent in the human condition throughout history.

In this regard, the perspective of Frithjof Schuon, the Western Sufi Master and Swiss Metaphysician of Comparative Religion, on what he terms the “human margin”, or the margin of human response to a Revelation in a given Traditional framework is an apt means of reconciling how religious diversity is both a “Divine Willing” and a “Divine Permitting”. The ‘human margin’ can be seen as a  kind of “margin” of human speculation “allowed” or “permitted” by God in order to transmit certain timeless and universal teachings of revelation within a given, particular human context which are diverse by nature.  This “margin” which is the meeting of Divine Mercy and human response can be seen intra-religiously and inter-religiously. Intra-religiously: with the flowering of many oft-competing Intellectual, Theological and/or Spiritual Schools from Christianity to Islam to even Hinduism or Buddhism for example, each school or perspective serving the psychological, intellectual and spiritual needs of its adherents. Inter-Religiously: with the human and Divine ‘barriers of mutual incomprehension’ (each developing in their own ways) which delineate the multiplicity of Revealed Sacred forms and allow their independent flourishing in space and time. In this sense, the ‘human margin’ is a ‘divine margin’ as well. To quote the above referenced Quranic verse (5:48) again:

“For each [Prophetic Community] We have appointed a Law and a Way. Had God Willed, He could have made you one community. But in order to test you with what He has given you [he has made you as you are]. So compete with one another in good works. And Unto God you will all return. He will reveal to you [the truth] of that about which you differed” (5:48)

In this particular Quranic verse, religious diversity is clearly seen in a very positive (and even dynamic and competitive) light, whereas in other verses the Quran does in fact remain a bit ambiguous about religious diversity and even at times views diverse religious opinion as negative especially when the Quran criticizes the human behavior to split into factions or sects after the clear coming of Guidance. Yet factions and sects based on ‘human desires’ and ‘conflicts’ (itself the result of the “test” of religious diversity as mentioned in this Qur’anic verse) is one thing, and the Divine Wisdom and Mercy in diversifying and multiplying revelation in order to meet real human needs, something else. It is this latter, positive view of religious diversity which this particular Quranic verse overwhelmingly seems to refer to.

All this dovetails nicely into certain inquiries regarding the Muslim or ‘Islamic’ critiques of Islamic Universality which serve more to delineate exclusivist views from universalist ones. From an exclusivist point of view which has its Quranic precedent as well, God only ‘permits’ the continuity of ‘false’ or ‘deviated’ religions while Willing directly the Truth (or more superior Truth) of the Islam of Muhammad (saw) to flourish and live on; much like how God permits falsehood and truth while directly Willing only the truth, etc. And this kind of reasoning underlies some of the more intelligent critiques of certain Muslim Universalist perspectives out there (in fact offered by Leggenhausen in his critique of Nasr’s ‘perennialism’, a critique which in our opinion does not do full justice to Nasr’s perspective which we would term “Islamic Universalism”). Yet the difference between Muslim exclusivists or critics of Islamic universality, and Muslim universalists is the ability of the latter to expand their awareness of Religious Truth in a manner which situate the exclusive nature of religious truth on a particular level of religious discourse while viewing this exclusivist level from the vantage point of a more profound and encompassing Quranic understanding of the Divine Nature, Wisdom, Justice and Mercy.

In other words, the universalist as defined in this blog, recognizes the religious legitimacy of the claim of Islamic finality (in the form of Islamic abrogationism, etc) on the level of religious awareness which views Truth only in  exclusivist terms for certain (in fact many) Muslims, and acknowledges how in certain ways this is sufficient to resolve any tension regarding the Truth of the Self and the continued existence of the Other for exclusivists. However, the universalist or inclusivist goes a step further in his understanding or awareness of Divine Providentiality as it pertains to the Divine Wisdom  of religious diversity and Islamic finality in the Holy Qur’an. For the universalist Muslim, or any kind of religious adherent whose intellectual or spiritual awareness of religion and religious truth expands to include the Other to some degree of universality, what appears to be God’s ‘neutral’ or ‘ontological permission’ to allow other religions to flourish is now seen to be more a direct and ‘positive’ Willing than a mere ‘Permitting’. Islamic finality then, can be seen to function not only in an exclusive sense through which all religions preceding the Islam of Muhammad (saw) are abrogated, but also (and more profoundly) in an inclusive manner through which the same revealed religions are “affirmed” and “integrated” into a more encompassing awareness of the ‘chain’ and ‘circle’ of  Prophecy. Ultimately, the awareness of the Divine Providentiality regarding the authentic Other expands to include and recognize not just an ontological and even ‘accidental’ ‘validity’ of the other, but rather a ‘substantial’ and ‘sacred’ validity for the Other: a validity ‘rooted’ in the same ineffable Sacred Root which is the ‘root’ and heart of one’s own Religious Self.

It was from this purely essentialist and universal perspective that many a Sufi in the history of the Islamic Tradition (from Persia, to Africa and to the SubContinent) elucidated their own versions of sublime and universal openings to the Religious Other through recourse to poetry while maintaining their Muslim normativity. These poetic outpourings on religious universality which make up a significant part of the heritage of Sufi Literature should not be seen as ‘heterodox’, or extraneous and separate from the Quranic and Islamic worldview. In fact such poetic expressions, far from just being reduced to “theoophanic elocutions” resulting from ecstatic spiritual states which Sufis should be “excused” for,  should be viewed as part and parcel of the Wisdom (Hikma) which the Islamic tradition has to offer especially our context. Such poetic renditions of the principle of religious universality find their direct source of inspiration in many Qur’anic verses which elucidate Truth from this level of religious discourse which in a way serve as commentaries on the Quranic verses pertaining to spiritual universality and religious diversity.

Many examples can be given (and shall be given in future posts) but the following should suffice for now as it serves as kind of commentary on the Holy Qur’an 5:48 in the context of religious diversity. To take for example the words of the Sufi martyr Al-Hallaj,  it should be duly noted that these words of wisdom were proclaimed about 1000 years before the wisdom of certain Western Sufis Sages such as Rene Guenon, Frithjof Schuon, Martin Lings, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr  ‘providentially’ ever came into existence in the form of the “Traditional School” in the West. Words which proclaim a teaching which views the “root of all religion” (asl al-din) to be inclusive of all revealed religions as “branches” of the one and only Tree of Tradition (al-Din):

“Earnest for truth, I thought on the religions:
They are, I found, one root with many a branch.
Therefore impose on no man a religion,
Lest it should bar him from the firm-set root.
Let the root claim him, a root wherein all heights
And meanings are made clear, for him to grasp.”
[emphasis added]

And God Knows Best

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Suggestions for further reading:

1. “Transcendent Unity of Religions”, by Frithjof Schuon. The most explicit and precise formulation of the Quranic understanding of the ‘inner unity of religions’, from a non-confessionalist, metaphysical and esoteric perspective. Other of Schuon’s articles which are noteworthy in this regard and present an almost complete but highly sophisticated teaching on this above topic are: “Diversity of Revelation” and “The Human Margin”, both of which can be found in “The Essential Frithjof Schuon”, edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

2. “Beyond Faith and Infidelity: The Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari”, by Leonard Lewisohn. A penetrating academic analysis of the universalist statements in the Poetry of the Persian Sufi Tradition, with a focus on the great Persian Sufi Poet, Mahmud Shabistari.

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Why Do Muslims Fast? By Seyyed Hossein Nasr

I have read many texts on Fasting, and sat in many lectures on this topic–as I am sure many of you have–yet, each time and every year just before Ramadan I return to this perspective on “Why Do Muslims Fast” by Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, I am astounded at the fresh insights and wisdom which is transmitted to me at each and every reading from this very same article found in Dr. Nasr’s “Islamic Life and Thought”. Perhaps the fresh new insights received are due to the lessons learned from emptying ourselves anew as much as God Permits through fasting in Ramadan and throughout the year. May God preserve Professor Nasr, one of the rare Sages of our times whose life and thought embody that Quranic Wisdom which is “Neither of the East nor the West”.–Amen!

Ramadan Mubarik to all.
“Certain truths are by nature evident and need not be discussed in normal circumstances.But, in a day and age when the most evident truths are shrouded by the clouds of doubt and questioned, one is forced to discuss even the most obvious of them.One such truth is the necessity for an ascetic element in human life. Without an element of self-denial and asceticism no religion and therefore no human culture is possible.One must withdraw occasionally from the full life of the senses even in order to be able to enjoy the fruit of sensual perception.As the Taoist saying affirms, it is the empty space of the wheel which makes the wheel. It is only a certain degree of restraint from the material objects of the senses that makes even the life of the senses balanced, not to speak of making possible an opening in the human soul for the spiritual life.One such practice of restraint is fasting, promulgated in Islam as obligatory for the month of Ramadan and recommended for other periods of the year. As the Holy Qur’an asserts, it is a practice which existed in older religions and in Islam it was only revived and institutionalized in the form of the sawm of Ramadan.Fasting during this month possesses, of course, many social and external benefits and features which have been discussed often and in fact even somewhat overemphasized in certain quarters, where the chief virtue of fasting is reduced to charity towards the poor.This element of charity is, of course, there but like all true charity it becomes spiritually significant only when it is directed towards God. And in fasting it is the obeying of the Divine Will which has as its fruit charity towards the poor and the needy and an actual participation in their hunger and thirst.But the most difficult aspect of the fast is the edge of the sword of abstention directed toward the carnal soul, the al-nafs al-ammarah of the Holy Qur’an.In fasting, the rebellious tendencies of the carnal soul are gradually dampened and pacified through a systematic submission of these tendencies to the Divine Will, for at every moment of hunger the soul of the Muslim is reminded that it is in order to obey a Divine command that the passions of the carnal soul go unheeded. That is also why the fast does not include only food but also abstention from every form of lust and carnal passion.As a result of this systematic restraint, the human soul becomes aware that it is independent of its immediate natural environment and conscious that it is in this world but not of it.A person who fasts with complete faith becomes aware very rapidly that he is a pilgrim in this world and that he is a creature destined for a goal beyond this material existence. The world about him loses some of its materiality and gains an aspect of “vacuity” and transparence which in the case of the contemplative Muslim leads directly to a contemplation of God in His creation.The ethereal and “empty” nature of things is, moreover, compensated by the appearance of those very things as Divine gifts. Food and drink which are taken for granted throughout the year reveal themselves during the period of fasting more than ever as gifts of heaven (ni’mah) and gain a spiritual significance of a sacramental nature.

To fast is also to wear the armor of purity against the passions of the world. It is to incorporate even “physically” in one’s body the purity of death which is of course coupled with spiritual birth.

In fasting, man is reminded that he has chosen the side of God over the world of passions. That is why the Holy Prophet loved fasting so much. It was a basic element of that “Muhammadan spiritual poverty” (faqr), about which he said, “al-faqr fakhri” (spiritual poverty is my glory).

This death of the passions cleanses the human soul and empties it of the putrid water of its negative psychic residues. The individual and through him the Islamic community is renovated through this rite and reminded of its moral and spiritual obligations and goals.

That is why the arrival of the blessed month is greeted with joy. For in it the doors of heaven are opened further for the faithful and the Divine Compassion descends upon those who seek it. To have completed the fast of Ramadan is to have undergone a rejuvenation and rebirth which prepares each Muslim to face another year with determination to live and act according to the Divine Will.

The fast also bestows a spiritual perfume upon the human soul whose fragrance can be perceived long after the period of abstinence has come to an end. It provides for the soul a source of energy upon which it feeds throughout the year.

The holy month has therefore been called “the blessed”, mubarak, one in which the grace or barakah of God flows upon the Islamic community and rejuvenates its deepest sources of life and action.”

Suggestions for further reading:
“Islamic Life and Thought” by Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981). This perspective on fasting is excerpted from this book.
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“Which Religion is Most Beloved To God”? Reflections On An Explicit Prophetic Response

Narrated by the Companion Ibn ‘Abbas:

“The Messenger of God was asked, ‘Which religion is the most beloved to God?’ He replied, ‘Primordial and Generous Faith. (al-hanifiyya al-samha)’”

Quoted by Ahmad b Hanbal. Authenticated hadith. Also found in al-Bukhari

The fact that God’s Beloved Messenger, Muhammad (saw), did not respond by claiming that the “Islam” brought through him was “the most beloved to God” or ‘the most superior religion’ and answered instead with a spiritual quality or innate orientation, rather than a name of a given religion is quite profound in and of itself. There is an inexhaustible teaching contained here in such a succinct Prophetic response, a teaching which is timeless and universal yet timely and particular to our context of religious pluralism. We shall try to distill some of this Prophetic wisdom below with God’s help, and shall begin with what is implicit in the Prophetic narration and then move to what is explicit in the same response.

Implicit in this Hadith is both the awareness of religious multiplicity as well as religious unity. Religious multiplicity: that there is more than one religion revealed by God and that beyond the formal diversity and human vicissitudes of revealed religions there is an inner quality which determines ‘when’ and ‘if’ a given ‘religion’ or ‘religious adherent’ is most beloved to God. Religious unity: that there is in essence only ‘one religion’ (al-Din) which manifests itself in time and space in diverse forms through the Prophetic founders of a given religion; and the more that this very essence or heart is realized or manifested by a given religion or follower of a religion, the more beloved that revealed religion or religious follower is to God. One witnesses such wisdom in many places in the Quran and Hadith, but the following should suffice:

“Every Religion has a special quality and the particular quality of Islam is modesty”–Hadith/Saying of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

“Say: We believe in God and that which is revealed unto us, and that which is revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was given unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have submitted. (3:84)

“Truly We have revealed unto you as We have revealed to Noah and the prophets after him, as We revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and the tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and as We bestowed upon David the Psalms; and Messengers We have mentioned to you before and Messengers We have not mentioned to you–and God spoke directly to Moses–Messengers giving good tidings and warnings, so that mankind might have no argument against God after the Messengers. God is every Might, Wise .” (4:163-165)

“…For each We have appointed a Law and a Way. And had God willed, He could have made you one community. But in order that He might try you by that which He has given you [He has made you as you are]. So compete with one another in good works. Unto God you will all return. He will disclose to you [the truth] about that in which you all differed.” (5:48)

From this inclusive point of view, “islam” encompasses all revelations and revealed religions. And since “islam” is the principle and essence of all revealed religions, than to the extent that a given religion manifests “islam”, that is “submission to God “and “peace with God”, it is to that extent that it is “most beloved” to God. In other words, since all authentic religions originate with God through Revelation and Prophecy, it is significant to note that what is being considered here as the answer by the Beloved Messenger is recognizing ‘when’ or ‘how’ a given religion or religious follower is ‘most beloved’ to God, and not ‘which’ revealed religion per se is more superior by point of fact. Again, this can be appreciated by looking directly at the Prophet’s response to his companion which does not relate the name of any revealed religion-even his own–yet relates a general quality or orientation which can be seen to be the essence and heart of all true authentic religion and religious following: ‘al-hanafiyya as-samha’, that is ‘primordial and generous faith’.

This truth directs us naturally to recognizing that “islam” is first and foremost a primordial state of being, an inner orientation: an innate disposition (fitra) of creation before one’s Lord who is The Originator (al-Fatir), even before ‘islam’ can be viewed as a revealed form of guidance or religion. We find this kind of “islam”, that is a mode of being in perfect harmony, peace and submission with the Divine Intention and Purpose for creation in the following verses:

“…And there is not a thing [in creation] that does not sing His Praise (17:44)

“Seek they other than the religion of God (Din Allah), when unto Him submits whomsoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly? (3:83)

It is this level or reality of “islam” which is to be identified with “universal submission” or “universal peace” which is found only through the awareness of one’s most intimate connection with one’s creator which even precedes all revealed manifestations of “Islam” through the Prophets and their revealed religions. It is in fact this kind of ‘islam’ which can be seen to be the “religion of the primordial monotheist” (din al hanif) who is purely and sincerely devoted to the Divine Reality through Religion (mukhlisina lahud-din) often affiliated with the Prophet Abraham, as well as “religion of the original/primordial nature” (din al-fitrah) which is the True Origin and True Goal of all revealed religion:

“So set thy purpose for Religion with unswerving devotion (din al hanifi)–in accordance with the original nature which God fashioned (fitra-t-Allah); for there is no altering God’s creation (la tabdillah khalqilla): and that truly is the right religion (dalika din al-qayyima), but most men know not.” (30:30)

To return to our Prophetic statement in light of the above, that which the Prophet of Islam (saw) identifies as “the most beloved religion to God” is that which the Qu’ran refers to as “the right religion”. It is this very religion, or spiritual orientation innately within us and within our revealed traditions, that in its essence is immutable, incorruptible, un-abrogated and unalterable (la tabdila khalqillah, according to the above verse). To spiritually strive with the utmost sincerity of sacred direction (qibla) towards the Divine Reality in order to realize the very substance, heart and essence of one’s very inner nature and connection before God, is to realize that which is ever-present at the heart and origin of all true revealed religion, and vice versa. For that which the Qu’ran refers to as the “right religion” (din al qayyima) is inextricably linked to the heart of one’s being and the heart of one’s revealed religion. It is truly ‘that religion’ (or ‘that which binds’–the root meaning of religare in Latin–in our case, to God), that original, primordially generous and unswerving faith (al-hanafiya as-samha), which is the “most Beloved” to God. And ‘that right religion’ should not be seen as privy or exclusively bound to one form of religion in space and time, but rather as the true heart and transcendent essence of all revealed religion beyond any historical and spatial accretion. A truth, which our Beloved Messenger (saw) so succinctly transmitted to us in a single sentence response. A truth which is so direly needed now more than ever before in a secular yet multi-religious world seeking to better understand and fully live with religious diversity in a new existential light.

And God Knows Best.

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Suggestions for further reading:

1. “The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam”, by Reza Shah-Kazemi. The most succinct and comprehensive evaluation of the Quranic, Prophetic and Historical roots and manifestations of the spirit of tolerance in Islam to date (published 2012). The book opens with this very hadith treated here.

2. “Generous Tolerance in Islam”, by Hamza Yusuf, in “Seasons: Semiannual Journal of Zaytuna Institute, 2 (2005), which provides a profound and much needed traditional perspective on the term “al-hanafiyya as-samha”. The etymological references to these Arabic words are discussed as well.

3. “Ideals and Realities of Islam”, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, especially his chapter: ‘Islam, the Last Religion and the Primordial Religion’. The whole book is a landmark book which is a pure classic and synthesis of Sufi and Philosophical teachings on the universal dimensions of Islam, and is catered to a Western audience.

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Despite Ourself: A Commentary on Ibn Ata’illah’s Hikam # 8

Despite Ourself:
“If He opens a door for you, thereby making Himself known, pay no heed if your deeds do not measure up to this. For, in truth, He has not opened it for you but out of a desire to make Himself known to you. Do you not know that He is the one who presented the knowledge of Himself (ta’arruf) to you, whereas you are the one who presented Him with deeds? What a difference between wha…t He brings to you and what you present to him!”
~Ibn Ata’illah al-Iskandariya Hikam #8

Too often do we, as seekers on a Spiritual Path wishing and willing to attain Nearness (qurb) to God, rely upon the ‘dead-weight’ of our deeds which we believe is the reason why we ‘feel’ a Nearness to God at this point in our lives, as opposed to another time and place when we were perhpas not as ‘righteous’, ‘good’ or even as ‘attained’ as we perceive ourselves to be now.
Yet it is too often that we fail to realize that despite ourselves, that during a given moment in our lives, God “opened a door” for us and made His grace and Mercy known to us and we responded ‘in kind’ with ‘good deeds’ and actions in thankfulness. Thinking that it was our “good deeds” that got us ‘here’, we are oblivious to the reality that there is an immeasurable gulf between our insignificant efforts and the immensity of God’s Eternal ‘Calling’ and Infinite ‘Response’. For it is very ‘easy’ for God to Be with us because of who He Is, yet it is very ‘difficult’ for us to be with God, because of who we have become.
Although our effort is on one level indispensible and even essential on our Path to realizing God’s Nearness to us, it is ultimately and forever insufficient. One’s will (irada)–along with one’s intelligence and character–must be utiilized and integrated into a higher unity (tawhid) of Being through God’s Revealed Remembrance, but when one’s will is too heavily emphasized, it tends to create an egoic tendency of ‘selfish reliance’. This kind of ‘reliance on deeds’ creates a veil between ourself and our Lord–a veil of reliance on our ‘good deeds’ and a veil of an excessive guilt created as a result of our ‘bad deeds’ which serves only to weigh down our lofty aspirations towards the Divine.
If we only really knew this, we would never be so attached to the perceived ‘fruit of our actions’–the good of them and the bad of them. Nor would we ‘rely’ on our own actions vis a vis God’s Will and “desire to make Himself known” to us at any given state of our spiritual moment–the good and the bad of these ‘states’. If we only really knew this, we would recognize the limited nature of our good and bad deeds. We would be ‘the son of the moment’ (ibn al waqt) and would “pay no heed if our deeds do not measure up” to God’s Mercy in the spiritual ‘Here’ and ‘Now’.
For it is despite ourselves and despite our ‘good’ deeds that God has Loved to make Himself Known to us. And it is despite ourselves and our ‘bad deeds that He Loves to Return to us.
If this is the case, and if we truly strive to recognize the insignificance of our limited actions and the immensity of the Divine Calling and Response, then how much easier is it to only focus on Remembering, Loving and Knowing God who is always Present, despite ourself!?

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On the Term “Wisdom Traditions”: Reflections on Its Significance for Muslims in the Modern Context

“Wisdom is the lost treasure of the believer, he may retrieve it wherever he finds it.”–Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Huston Smith, the great American Philosopher of Religion and Western Academic who  in many ways singlehandedly opened the doors for Western seekers to the wisdom traditions of both East and West was perhaps the first to coin the term “wisdom traditions”. This term is very apt for an Islamic appreciation of the religious traditions of the Other for multiple reasons. To focus on one reason, such an appreciation of the religous teachings of the Other uses the term “wisdom” which in Islam is considered a universally revealed quality which can not be delimited or confined to any one person or religion, but is defined by Prophecy or Prophetic Tradition as such. We find these revealed teachings in the following Quranic verses:

“For this We sent a Messenger to you from among you to recite our Verses to you and purify you and teach you the Book and Wisdom حكمة (Hikma) and teach you things you did not know before.” (Qur’an 2:151)

“Remember God’s blessings upon you, and what He sent down to you of the Book and the Wisdom (al kitab wal hikma) in order to enlighten you with it.”(2:231)

“He Gives Wisdom to whomsoever He Wills; and whoso is Given Wisdom  has been given abundant good; yet none remember save those with intellects” (2:269)

The first Quranic verse cited binds Wisdom to the agency of Prophecy and thereby roots any expression of authentic wisdom by any historical follower of a given Prophet–be that in the form of spiritual teachings, writings or commentaries on revealed scripture, or even medicinal therapies–in the Tradition of Prophecy. The second verse along with the first in which ‘Scripture and Wisdom’ are paired demonstrates the complimentary functions of Scripture and Wisdom: ie, one can be seen to explain, preserve and apply the other for generations of religious practitioners. The third verse universalizes the transmission of revealed wisdom to all of humanity and mentions that any human being who realizes such modes of wisdom has been given “abundant good” by God Himself , among whose many revealed Names in Islam is “Al-Hakim” (The Wise)!

Now, to appreciate the nature of wisdom and its diverse manifestations in space and time through the various revealed traditions in this Quranic sense, combined with the insights of the above hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) regarding the “lost treasure” of wisdom, allows a Muslim to firmly root all diverse, alien, and even ‘non-Islamic’* modes and expressions of spiritual wisdom as found in sages and revealed scriptures across religious frontiers in the reality of Revelation and Prophecy: or Tradition as understood in a universal and global sense. By way of example, to be able to recognize (or “retrieve”) the sayings of pure Non-Dualist Metaphysics of a Shankara as modes of a wisdom (hikma) elucidating pure tawhid (note that Pure Oneness/tawhid is non-Duality/advaita vedanta precisely) which at first sight may be unintelligible (aka “a lost treasure”) for a Muslim believer, can be very spiritually empowering. Such a process of “retrieval”  of a “lost treasure” for the believer can be a means of confirming a mode of Quranic and Prophetic discourse which can deepen one’s attachment to Islam through its universal openings and connection to other revealed or inspired “wisdom traditions”, which one is more capable of accessing in the modern and global context.

Moreover, to recognize the wise teachings of this same Hindu Sage for example as sacred when compared to certain modern or post-modern speculative philosophies is also to appreciate the difference between intellectual teachings which are rooted in the Sacred Tradition of Prophecy and those intellectual teachings divorced from the Sacred: ie, non-traditional. This distinction is equally empowering as it allows one to appreciate the difference between manifestations of sacred ‘wisdom’ and  profane ‘knowledge’ or ‘information’. In the Islamic worldview, any knowledge which was rooted in ‘tawhid’ (the awareness of the Reality of Divine Unity) was considered ‘Islamic’ and was easily integrated in the Islamic worldview regardless of where it was found. The saying of the Prophet whose extrinsic authenticity of ‘transmission’ is uncertain but whose intrinsic ‘meaning’ is sound comes to mind in this context: “Seek knowledge even unto China”. One need not look further than the many Muslim Philosophers and Sufis who were able to benefit from and integrate many of the teachings and sayings of Sages from religious traditions preceding Islam to make this point from an empirical or historical perspective.

What a profound change of attitude, approach, and understanding towards the “wisdom traditions’ of the Other (including traditional commentary and poetry traditions, and even traditional medicinal traditions) would such an appreciation entail, if Muslims were able to apply such universal principles as found in the Wisdom of their Revealed Sources and as found through various historical Muslim precedents in the Tradition, to the current context of religious dialogue and co-existence in the Modern West. Ofcourse, I am not advocating for syncretistic approaches to worship masquerading as ‘healing sessions’ for example. But what I am implying is that gaining an insight into the nature of Divine Reality from the teachings of a Sage (Hakim) of another ‘wisdom tradition’ can only reinforce, expand, and preserve a Muslim’s sense of the Sacred, whose Sacred Sources as well as existential context beckon him as a believer to assert his Prophetic right to finding the lost treasure of Sacred Wisdom in the Other.

All in all, such a ‘retrieval’ of a ‘lost wisdom’ can allow Muslims to be more inclusive of the Wisdom traditions of the Religious Other and view them as ‘extensions’ of a Prophetic or Traditional Wisdom that should not be confined  to one religious group (even one’s own religious group). Such a process of ‘retrieval’ which is both Prophetic and Quranic, allows the Muslim to be aware of the reality that not only where there is Islam there is Wisdom, but also and more profoundly, wherever there is Wisdom, there is ‘Islam’.

 

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[*Please note that the phrase “non-Islamic” is to be distinguished from “un-Islamic”. A truth  or form of wisdom can be ‘non-Islamic’ and not organically related to the formal teachings of the Islam of Muhammad (saw) and still be a mode or expression of Prophetic wisdom as found in the teachings of a Prophet preceding Muhammad (saw). As such, we would deem such truth or wisdom “Prophetic”, “Traditional” and/or even “Islamic” in a universal sense as witnessed in the last line of the above reflection. In contrast, an undertstanding which is “anti-Islamic” is always error or ‘misguidance’ from the point of view of Islam.]

 

Suggestions for further reading:

1. “The World’s Religions”, by Huston Smith. By far, still the best work on comparative religion in English. A pure classic and a pleasure to read.

2. “The Forgotten Truth”, also by Huston Smith.

3. “Islamic Life and Thought” and “Ideals and Realities of Islam”,  both by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. These landmark books respectively open such awareness of the Islamic view on the universality of Wisdom and Revelation.

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“Right Guidance” (Rushd) and the Three Levels of Islam

One of  the best ways to appreciate the different levels or dimensions of Islam is the tripartite definition given to ‘the Religion’ (al-Din) by the Angel Gabriel when he was discoursing with the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in front of his Companions, known famously as the “Hadith Jibril”. The tripartite division is categorized as: 1. ‘Islam’ or “following revealed praxis”; 2 ‘Iman’ or “faith and intellectual/creedal belief”; and 3. ‘Ihsan’ or “spiritual excellence, purification and virtue”.

The first level is defined by the Prophet upon being asked by the Angel Gabriel as “to accept the Shahada (the testimony of Faith in the Divine Unity and Prophecy), and the rest of the 5 pillars of Islam, that is, Prayer, Fasting, Charity/Alms due, and Pilgrimage. The second is defined as faith in God, the Angels, the Scriptures, the Prophets, the Day of Return and Divine Destiny. The third is defined quite elusively by the Prophet (saw) as “to worship God as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, know that He Sees you”.

Perhaps the most profound and universal way to view each of one these levels is to recognize that each dimension of Islam pertains to a particular mode of  ‘correctly’  or ‘harmoniously’ engaging the human being in one’s connection to Divine Reality. The first level of ‘islam’ is more formal and can be seen to engage the Divine reality through the means of the ‘body’. The second level of ‘iman’ can be seen to the engage the Divine reality through recourse to the ‘mind’, and the third level of ‘ihsan’ through the reality of the ‘heart’ or ‘spirit’. Hence the first level or dimension of Islam is related to “correct”, “harmonious” or “right practice”; the second to “right understanding” and the third to “right relationship” with God, self and others.

Seekers or Practitioners of Eastern Wisdom, especially as found in Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist paths shall appreciate the terms “right/correct/harmonious” as adequate descriptors for the terms ‘way’ or ‘nature/law’ (as in the terms Tao or Dharma respectively). The beauty of the English term “right” as a descriptor is that it is very ‘non-confessional’ or universal in scope and points to an objective quality which can be seen to be in ‘the nature of things’. Whether it relates to “right practice”or “right thinking”, it does not have some of the restrictive connotations that the terms “orthodox” and even “dogmatic” may have  in their respective Western Christian contexts, yet are wide enough to include the positive function and significance of these same terms which are sacred in certain forms of Christianity. From this point of view, it is interesting to note that the Quranic term “rushd” is probably best defined in English as “Right Guidance” and fits perfectly into the spirit of one of the intended meanings of the Quranic verse, “There is no compulsion in Religion (al-Din); Right Guidance (rushd) is clear from error/misguidance” (2:256). In this light, it is worthy to note that there is no formal Quranic equivalent in Arabic of the Western term “orthodox” as one finds in certain Western traditions, although the ‘meaning’ of the term ‘orthodoxy’ can be grasped through the Quranic term ‘rushd’.

As such, these three levels or dimensions of Islam can be viewed as levels of  ‘right guidance’ which is revealed from the Prophets to humanity on high, but recognized naturally and realized willfully from within the heart of human beings without any need for extrinsic coercion. Hence there is “no compulsion” in following “right guidance” according to this Quranic verse: by definition following ‘right guidance’ should occur naturally. When a human being recognizes Truth and Rightful Guidance in whichever revealed form it manifests itself in time and space, by their very nature that same human being naturally and freely starts inclining and orienting themselves towards “right guidance” (rushd) on the levels of ‘understanding’ (iman), ‘practice’ (islam), and ‘realization’ (ihsan).

And God Knows Best.

Suggestions for further reading:

1. “Vision of Islam”, by Chittick and Murata. This whole book is the most comprehensive introduction to Islam in the English language and runs like a traditional commentary on the aforementioned ‘Hadith Jibril’.

2. “The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi”, by Murata, Chittick and Tu Weiming. A very deep and penetrating book which is a translation of a Chinese Sage named Liu Zhiu’s teachings on Islam (died crica 1700’s) which uses the revealed wisdom of Neo-Confucian thought to explain the verities of Islam to the Chinese.

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What is Islamic Universality?

To answer this question as far as this blog is concerned, I will firstly try to define what “Islamic” and “Universality” mean to me within a Quranic worldview, and then proceed.

“Islam” means both ‘peace’ and ‘submission’ in Arabic and and also designates the ‘religion’ of all the Prophets in general and the final religion sent to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in particular who appears at the historical end of a whole chain (silsila) of plenary Prophecy. The Quran, which is the ‘Word of God’ revealed piece-wise in Scriptural form to the Prophet Muhammad (saw), utilizes all these definitions in appropriating ‘islam’ in various contexts within the Quran. That which is ‘islamic’ then, is anything  or any subject which is related to a state or condition of spiritual peace and submission before its Creator. The term “islam” is therefore appreciated both in an ontological sense as well as an application of any mode of Prophetic or Revealed guidance, wisdom and/or inspiration.  That which is “universal” pertains to notions, elements, or principles which are common and  broadly encompassing as well as inclusive of all categories and applicable to all conditions, situations and purposes while not necessarily being confined to any conditions, much like the Quranic metaphor of the “olive” whose Origin is described as “neither of the East nor the West”.

Therefore the term “Islamic Universality” will  be understood here to mean those elements or dimensions of revealed or Prophetic teaching which are essential, common and universal to all of humanity and are to be found at the heart of all true Revealed Guidance (rushd) in general (be that in the form of ANY revealed scripture and wisdom  or in the signs of God as found in the different levels of order of creation) and in the Revealed Guidance of Islam in particular. That which can be said to constitute the most universal dimensions of Islam understood in the general sense as the religion of all the Prophets, and in the specific sense as the revealed religion sent to the Prophet Muhammad (saw), is to be understood here as part and parcel of “Islamic Universality”.

The most universal dimension of Islam understood as the religion sent to the Prophet Muhammad is the teaching of the Unity of Divine Reality (Tawhid). This constitutes the very substance of everything and anything that can be considered as Truth and Reality (Haqq) in Islam, that is, as both ‘orthodox’ and ‘universal’ from a Quranic point of view. Tawhid is also considered to be the heart and essence of every revealed religion in the Quranic worldview: “And We sent no Messenger before you but We inspired him saying, ‘There is no God but Me, so worship Me” (21:25). Discussions or reflections related to this dimension shall be labeled under the heading of ‘Tawhid/Divine Unity”. It can be said without hesitancy and by  Quranic self-definition that the most Absolute reality and teaching in Islam is Tawhid.

‘Under’ this level of Islamic awareness concerning the Reality of Divine Unity would be the level of Prophecy (nubuwwah) which is the means whereby teachings, communications and transmissions regarding the Divine Reality are actualized in space and time for humanity. Any discussion connected to this level of discourse which may be confined to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) or include any and all Prophets and their respective revealed wisdom traditions shall be labeled under the heading of  “Nubuwwah/Prophecy”.

The final level of Islamic awareness for our purposes will be the recognition of humanity’s perpetual, spiritual returning (ma’ad) to the Divine Reality, which is our true Origin (mabda’). Any theme connected to spiritual purification and praxis, wayfaring, the day of ‘return’, (and even the “end-times”) in any way shape or form shall be categorized under the heading of “Mabda’ wal Ma’ad/Origin and Return”.

We shall attempt to confine ourselves to those elements on each one of the levels of Islamic awareness mentioned above which are the most universal. Some may find parallels to our categories with the notions of ‘islam’ ( submitting to/following religious praxis), ‘iman’ (faith and creedal/intellectual belief) and ‘ihsan’ (spirituality, moral excellence, practice and virtue) which have been understood by the Tradition to indicate the different ‘levels’ of the revealed teaching of “Islam”.  As such, these categories shall be utilized as well to delineate the differing levels of  “Islam” and ‘Islamic Universality’ when deemed appropriate.

A final word should be said regarding the scope of “Islamic Universality”. True universality must include religious particularity and thereby exclusivity. Therefore, my understanding of “Islamic Universality” shall always acknowledge both the “outward” and “inward” dimensions of Islam, along with the universal and exclusive elements relating to both of these dimensions.  As such, the perspective of “Islamic exclusivism” is acknowledged within the scope of our universal perspective,  with a view to integrating it (implicitly, but at times explicitly) into a higher unity of awareness of religious truth which we have defined here as “Islamic Universality”. If a universalist rejects or ‘excludes’ exclusivism, than such a “universalism” is itself a form of “exclusivism”.

We say all this to recognize that we discern in the Islamic Sources of Revelation (both in the Quranic and Prophetic Discourse) modes of universality, as well as particularity and exclusivity which we believe to be “Intended” by God who is aware of the diversity of intellectual, spiritual and moral needs of serious seekers of Truth. Moreover a religion can not be a religion which vehicles spiritual truths and saves souls without the elements of exclusivity and universality bound and woven together in a manner which expresses its unique particularity. If the Divine Nature is simultaneously Absolute and Infinite, then this must manifest itself in religious forms here below through the inclusivity and exclusivity proper to all revealed religions. It is through its character of inclusivity that a plenary world religion radiates itself to “all nations”, and it is though its exclusivity that the same religion preserves its quality and integrity through vicissitudes of time and space. As such, I believe no expression or understanding of “Islamic Universality” is complete without this recognition.

And God Knows Best.

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Suggestions for further reading:

1. “The Other in the Light of the One: The Universality of the Qu’ran and Interfaith Dialogue”, by Reza Shah-Kazemi. The most comprehensive academic and metaphysical analysis of ‘Islamic Universality’ in the context of interfaith dialogue. He gives the most precise meaning of the way we intend to use “Islamic Universality” on this blog from a Sufi Hermeunetical framework. He draws from a whole range of Sufi commentaries on the Quran, as well as citing many contemprary Western and Muslim authorities and academics regarding religious dialogue and creates a ‘pioneering synthesis’ much needed for our context of dialogue and coexistence.

2. “The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity”, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Written on the first anniversary of 9/11, this book presents the universal dimensions of Islam in an unparallelled manner which speaks directly to the current context. Dr. Nasr’s sections on “The Spectrum of Islam” includes a discussion on Sunnism and Shiism. His chapter which deals with Islam’s “sacred Law” is a welcome contribution which can serve to dispell many misunderstandings created by ‘Islamophobes’. His first chapter, “One God, Many Prophets” is phenomenal in both scope and depth. He writes as a Sage who actively identifies tawhid (Divine Unity) as the heart of every revealed religion, and is inclusive of all founders of religions (especially Christ) and includes references to the Buddha and Lao Tzu whom he decribes as Prophets.

3. “The Vision of Islam”, by Sachiko Murata and William Chittick. Probably the best and most comprehensive ‘introduction’ to the depth and breadth of Islam and the Islamic tradition, in the English language. The word ‘introduction’ is put in quotation marks because this book is much, much more than a mere introduction to the subject. It truly presents and unparalleled “vision” of the whole of the universal and particular dimensions which constitute the Islamic tradition in a most succinct fashion.

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Peace and Blessings! An Introduction.

In the Name of God, Full of Grace, Full of Mercy. May Peace and Blessings be unto you and welcome to this blog.

“God is the Light of the heavens and the earth; the likeness of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp that is in a glass; the glass, which as it were is a glittering star kindled from a Blessed Tree, an olive that is neither of the East nor of the West whose oil wellnigh would shine, even if no fire touched it; Light upon Light; God guides to His Light whom He will. And God strikes parables for men, and God has knowledge of everything.” (24:35)
I am a son to loving parents; a sibling to loving brothers; a husband to a beautiful wife; and a father to two equally beautiful children–with hopes for more children and prayers for their future here in the West. By vocation I am a Physician in Private Practice. My physical origin or land of birth is America, my ethnic origin is from the Punjab region of the Subcontinent associated with Pakistan; my religious origin is Islam; yet my ultimate identity is shared with all of humanity’s spiritual Origin which is found ‘with God in Pre-Eternity’ which is “neither of the East nor of the West”.  My interests include Traditional spirituality and Traditional thought in general, and Islamic spirituality and thought in particular; comparative religion and perennial philosophy; traditional and alternative medicines which serve to compliment my Modern Medical practice.
Upon the request of several friends, I have decided to start sharing some personal reflections upon the more universal dimensions of the Islamic Tradition as they specifically pertain to my existential context as a Western Muslim. I shall focus more on the spiritual and intellectual aspects of Islam without altogether ignoring the equally important role of the Sacred Law which defines and circumscribes all spiritual practice proper to Islam. As a spiritual seeker whose ethnic and cultural heritage hails from the East yet whose existential predicament is uniquely Western and Muslim, I often feel that I am “in” the worlds of both East and West, but not “of” these worlds. Such experiences have given me–and like minded persons I am sure–unique insights into things Sacred, both of the East and of the West. As such, this blog shall be dedicated to the inquiry of those aspects of Traditional, Revealed and Inspired Wisdom which, to use the above Quranic metaphor, are “Neither of the East nor of the West”.
My intention throughout this blog shall not be to circumvent the formal and creedal elements of the Islamic Tradition, but rather to compliment them through broadening one’s awareness of those very same elements in Islam and as they may relate to other revealed wisdom traditions. In this light, I shall focus on expressions of a Wisdom or “Light” rooted in the Sacred which is timeless or eternal, whose appeal is universal, and whose scope is ‘confined’ by “neither East nor West” yet ‘defined’ by my personal experiences in both East and West as a Muslim. I pray this endeavor to blog certain thoughts, discussions, and experiences over a few years of searching for such wisdom in Islam and other Revealed Traditions through mutually enriching intra-faith as well as inter-faith contact and dialogue may be of benefit to various seekers of Truth.
I pray these reflections lead not only to a heightened awareness of the beauty of Islam, but also to a more profound recognition of Divine Reality along with a deepening of one’s spiritual and religious practice in whichever revealed religion one finds themselves to be in. In particular I pray this blog may serve as a bridge for those Muslims who seek a similar bridging of the gap between their Western and Muslim identities in order to live in peace with themselves and in harmony with others in the Name of God. I also pray that this blog may be of benefit to those seekers across religious frontiers and global hemispheres who seek a similar bridging between a sense of “Self” and “Other” without blurring formal distinctions, all in order to bring deeper meaning into their lives. Amen.
~Hasan Awan