Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland

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GOD’ S WAY t 159 pels’, even though the exemplars in the two instances may be sending somewhat different messages by their personal conduct. And though both men had the same concern for ritual purity—the Jew Jesus arguably somewhat less than the more “Jewish” Muhammad—neither redrew the strict lines between the sacred and the profane that are found in the Torah. If the Torah, looked on this life as a dangerous place, it was not by reason of its attractions but because its clustered yet clearly marked land mines of impurity threatened (apparently) both God and humans. The Jew, properly cautious of where the dangers lay, was free to enjoy the rest of the terrestrial landscape. The Christian and the Muslim were under a different kind of restraint, as we shall see. Note: Though perhaps some small case might be made for an inclination toward the good things of the table (Luke 7:34), the Jesus of the Gospels appears to be not so much denying himself as uninterested in the pleasures and pursuits of the world. He was more focused on the faith in God that made such a lack of interest and concern possible than on the dangers of indulging in them. A craftsman in Nazareth, Jesus gave up his profession to become an itinerant preacher, or perhaps even something of a scholar, in his native Galilee, supported, it appears, by friends and followers, many of them women (Luke 8:3). He was unmarried, we assume and the Christian tradition dogmatically asserts, although at least one of his followers, Peter, is so casually revealed to have had a wife (Mark 1:30) that we must wonder about all of them. Celibacy, at any rate, does not appear to have been an issue with Jesus. He associated easily with women, some of whom were devoted followers—Mary and Martha in Bethany (John 11:1– 2) and Mary of Magdala (Luke 8:2), for example—and it was women who first bore witness to his resurrection, or at least to the empty tomb (Mark 16:1; Matt. 28:9; John 20:11 ff.). Although the distinction between this world and the next, each with its own set of values, is clear, it is not fully fleshed out. The sins of this world seem to be chiefly of the spirit: lack of trust in God, lack of generosity toward the poor and needy. Intoxicating
160 t CHAPTER SEVEN wine is prohibited (Quran 2:219)—though it is served in Paradise (47:15)—and this is new; likewise forbidden are certain foods, most notably pork (5:3), and this is not. Judaism had gone there before, though the Muslim food menu is far less restrictive than the Jewish one. In addition, the Muslim had the example of the Prophet, which was, as already noted, not entirely unambiguous when it came to the licit things of the world. The Tradition Muhammad’s example and, equally important, his instruction, was carried forward to succeeding generations of Muslims in a great body of anecdotes that professed to record his sayings and deeds. These Prophetic reports flowed steadily and powerfully into the still nascent Islamic tradition and, together with the Quran, gave it shape and definition. Out of this mix of Scripture and report, and the Muslims’ interpretation of both, emerged the sharia, Islamic religious law. There is more than one problematic element in the combination of Scripture, reports about the Prophet, and what the Muslims call ijtihad, or “personal effort.” Something has already been said about the Muslims’ probing the meaning of Scripture; here it is a matter of its complement, tradition. All three communities of Scripturalists recognize a continued or continuing form of revelation, whether in the form of texts or voices, to guide the community along the “right way ” to its ordained goal. God’s voice is not stilled, as it turns out, but merely turns into other channels. Generically, this other channel of divine guidance was understood as something handed down from an older and indubitable source, and so it is fair to describe it as “tradition.” In English that word is used in the singular to describe a whole range of concepts, from a cast-in-stone practice, to authoritative counsels or exemplary guidelines, to mere customary action, with a semantic inclination toward the latter end of the scale. “Tradition” is being used here, however, in a rather precise, and perhaps unfamiliar, way. For all three Peoples of the Book, “tradition” is understood as a nonscrip-
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ISLAM A GUIDE
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ISLAM A GUIDE FOR JEWS AND CHRISTIA
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For Charlie and Bonnie taken much t
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Contents Introduction xi 1. Discove
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CONTENTS t ix Prophetic Reports; Fr
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Introduction THE POINT of this book
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INTRODUCTION t xiii always appear s
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1. Discovering Scripture in Scriptu
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DISCOVERING SCRIPTURE IN SCRIPTURE
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 31 The Muslim
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 33 Greco-Roma
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 35 doubt, how
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 37 cantile ce
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 39 the rebuil
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 41 of Mecca.
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 43 milieu of
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 45 There was
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 47 Quran seem
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THE PAST REMEMBERED t 49 tion on th
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3. “And Muhammad Is His Messenger
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“AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER”
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“ AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 69 of Medina
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 71 at Medina
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 73 fashion a
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 75 preaching
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 77 was succe
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 79 extent th
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 81 chose, wh
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 83 cousin, a
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 85 The Openi
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 87 Problems
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 89 Uhud onwa
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 91 and, to a
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 93 various w
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THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 95 longer an
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MUHAMMAD AND JESUS t 97 for us a ri
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5. The Muslim Scripture: The Quran
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THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 101 “New C
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THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 103 and char
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THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 105 Who Wrot
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THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 107 which ar
Page 124 and 125: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 109 precisel
Page 126 and 127: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 111 tion of
Page 128 and 129: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 113 many of
Page 130 and 131: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 115 Quran (2
Page 132 and 133: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 117 perhaps
Page 134 and 135: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 119 out of i
Page 136 and 137: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 121 Plain an
Page 138 and 139: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 123 The Musl
Page 140 and 141: THE MUSLIM SCRIPTURE t 125 Shiite T
Page 142 and 143: 6. The Umma, Allah’s Commonwealth
Page 144 and 145: THE UMMA t 129 After Mecca’s subm
Page 146 and 147: THE UMMA t 131 not legislate. For t
Page 148 and 149: THE UMMA t 133 among some Muslims t
Page 150 and 151: THE UMMA t 135 caliph to succeed hi
Page 152 and 153: THE UMMA t 137 rather non-Arab noti
Page 154 and 155: THE UMMA t 139 itories of the under
Page 156 and 157: THE UMMA t 141 tionally speaking, t
Page 158 and 159: THE UMMA t 143 ries. Then, in the s
Page 160 and 161: THE UMMA t 145 trine until the retu
Page 162 and 163: THE UMMA t 147 territory was called
Page 164 and 165: THE UMMA t 149 of single and unique
Page 166 and 167: THE UMMA t 151 ical territory in no
Page 168 and 169: THE UMMA t 153 believers” (muminu
Page 170 and 171: THE UMMA t 155 ment resolutions and
Page 172 and 173: GOD’S WAY t 157 but discernible r
Page 176 and 177: GOD’ S WAY t 161 tural pronouncem
Page 178 and 179: GOD’ S WAY t 163 ambiguity or con
Page 180 and 181: GOD’ S WAY t 165 in some form, ch
Page 182 and 183: GOD’ S WAY t 167 Abbas, in fact a
Page 184 and 185: GOD’ S WAY t 169 Islamic Justice:
Page 186 and 187: GOD’ S WAY t 171 was provided by
Page 188 and 189: GOD’ S WAY t 173 Note: The catego
Page 190 and 191: GOD’ S WAY t 175 and glossed it.
Page 192 and 193: GOD’ S WAY t 177 both rabbis and
Page 194 and 195: GOD’ S WAY t 179 tect the law and
Page 196 and 197: GOD’ S WAY t 181 was nothing more
Page 198 and 199: GOD’ S WAY t 183 modern Muslim st
Page 200 and 201: GOD’ S WAY t 185 rant in the Qura
Page 202 and 203: DEFINING AND DEFENDING BELIEVERS t
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DEFINING AND DEFENDING BELIEVERS t
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 217 structed
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 219 their ori
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 221 Friday Pr
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 223 paganism,
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 225 desacrali
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 227 from all
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 229 The Dista
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 231 of the Ho
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 233 done only
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 235 low Musli
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 237 day. Muha
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 239 or theolo
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 241 even, of
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THE WORSHIPFUL ACTS t 243 Semitic l
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10. This World and the Next ALL THR
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 247 in th
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 249 rathe
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 251 exper
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 253 Salva
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 255 when
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 257 on th
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 259 Eden,
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 261 A hea
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 263 dead
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 265 women
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 267 Islam
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 269 Shiit
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THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT t 271 taken
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Reflections after a Breakfast “TH
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REFLECTIONS AFTER A BREAKFAST t 275
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Index Aaron, 4, 64, 125 Abbas, 82,
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INDEX t 279 Dawud ibn Kalaf, 123 De
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INDEX t 281 Jeremiah, 8 Jerusalem,
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INDEX t 283 Palestine, 11-12, 15, 1
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INDEX t 285 Tawaf. See Circumambula
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