sporadic meditations: October 2007

Oct 20, 2007

Soccer Hijabs

Yet another incidence of hijab discrimination, this time the story comes from the US. See the news coverage here, here, here.

See my thoughts on this issue here and here.

Those interested in doing academic study of this issue may like to note that the countries I mention in these previous posts have their own local and national dynamics and histories of politics. Yet they all seem to discriminate the hijab using the same liberal political principles. It is this commonality in the liberal-secular framework of politics existing in all these countries that makes their comparison methodologically possible. And by extension, making broader, critical statements about the "West" possible while avoiding false essentializations. The comparisons in some studies could be just about discerning the differences and similarities in the operations and forms of power and discrimination among these countries on the hijab issue.

While we are at it, I recommend watching this 8-min, short Spanish film, 'Hijab in Europe,' by Xavi Sala. The film exposes the hypocrisy and shallowness of the anti-hijab, anti-muslim politics.

Oct 10, 2007

The Poor and Hungry

The photograph showing a starving Sudanese child being stalked by a vulture won Kevin Carter the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.

The photo depicts a famine stricken girl collapsing on the way to a United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so it can eat it. This picture shocked the world. No one knows what happened to the child.

Three months later Kevin Carter committed suicide due to depression.

My friends, let this not come to you as a surprise. This is the reality we are living in where it is 'estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That's roughly 100 times as many as those who actually die from these causes each year. About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger related causes... Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five.'

How you can help:

Don't waste natural resources. Be thankful to God for His gifts and blessings. Be mindful of your responsibility toward other human beings. Think about what the Prophet (saws) would do. Have mercy and compassion toward all humankind. Next time you spend money on those unnecessary luxuries of your life, think for a moment about the plight of the poor and oppressed children around the world. Be aware of the materialistic forces and the contradictions of the dominant economic systems that are at the roots of global inequality (here). Don't become a part of this system. Don't become a slave of consumerism and endless materialistic competition.

Among other things, join a local organization that is working against subtle forms of oppression, like hunger, poverty, illiteracy, domestic violence, anorexia and bulimia, perfect body images, and endless materialistic competition. If there isn't any, start one today! Check out matteela's following production for ideas about how to create social awareness: Ye Bacha (a poem by Ibn Insha, on the wretched conditions of the poor children and class disparities, illustrated in the context of Pakistan. Urdu with English subtitles).

You can also look into doing online activism. Check out moveon.org’s work for ideas. Some online organizations also invite web surfers to click on their sites regularly. They say every click earns them revenue to support their causes. The Hunger Site is an example. Some may also invite you to buy their T-shirts and other souvenirs. I guess, you can buy these items if you think they can help spread the word and encourage people to join a good cause. Otherwise, in general, more shopping and more consumption cannot be a solution to human suffering. And I don’t like the idea of selling consumers to products through clicks or ads. That feeds into the same loop of consumerism. My suggestion: Donate directly! And, encourage others to do the same!

Lastly, remember the advice Imam Ali gave in his Last Will:

"My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in your religion. Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it. Proclaim the truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed."

Become a friend and supporter of the oppressed people and an enemy of the oppressors and all forms of oppression.

Oct 5, 2007

"Iraq in Fragments": A Critical Review

Speaking of self-fulfilling prophecies and media images (see the previous post), have you seen this recent documentary called “Iraq in Fragments” directed by James Longley? (here)

Apparently, it has won tons of awards in the Sundance Film Festival and was also nominated for the Oscars. It was screened all across North America between November 2006 and April 2007. A few of us watched it last year. My immediate impression was: DISAPPOINTING - to put it politely. I jotted down below thoughts afterwards and shared them with a few friends.

Longley spent over two years in Iraq from 2003 for this documentary. He used the everyday, lived experiences of Iraqi people as a lens to tell a bigger story of the politics and experiences of factionalism in Iraq. The idea was great and the resources he had access to could have helped him knit an intricate and complex portrayal of the ground reality. Like it is in reality. But, that did not happen in this documentary.

The documentary focused on the obvious three communities in Iraq – the Sunnis, the Shias, and the Kurds – and how their 'differences' - political and to a lesser extent ideological - are disparately opposite and irreconcilable. No mention of commonalities among them - like shared culture and religion, and intermarriages, friendships, and tribal relations - that cut across these factional lines, which are widespread in that society according to many scholarly studies.
A logical question that may come to any critical mind is that if it's that bad, then how did these communities put up with each other over such a long history? Why did it become so bad recently? We get no answer to these questions. The documentary made no attempt at presenting the current escalation of violence in its political and historical context. Consequently, an uninitiated viewer only gets an essentialized image of the ‘differences’ that appear as irreconcilable among these three communities.

For the Kurdish and Sunni cases, the documentary focused on the lives of young boys and people surrounding them. You see innocence, suffering, feelings, emotions that are real and that any viewer can relate with. But in the Shia case, the focus was instead on a leader of a militia, his ideological views, rhetoric, leadership, etc. How are all these experiences comparable in the first place? Moreover, we see no representation of female experiences in the current turmoil. Such an imbalanced portrayal furthers the differences in the minds of the viewers and presents a division of Iraq as the only ‘natural’ solution.

A friend, who was with me at the screening, drew my attention toward an underlying and very subtle depiction of hypocrisy in all three stories in the documentary. The documentary seem to depict that what the adult say and what they actually want are two different things. It reminded me of the imagery of 'cunning' Arabs that cannot be 'trusted' which runs deep into the Orientalist discourse (remember the movie, "Lawrence of Arabia"). I thought that was an interesting observation.

I cannot help but think that this documentary was made with a specific kind of anti-war argument in mind: Iraq is a mess now; it may have been in a better state before we got in. The people are messed up, you cannot solve their ideological and political differences, they would keep fighting with each other. The best option for us is to get out as soon as possible. The reification of 'fragments' serves well for this argument.

Here is the screening schedule, fyi.

PS. I shared the above thoughts with a few friends. One friend wrote back with some insightful thoughts. Below, I copy a couple of points from my response to that feedback.

- My primary concern was about the simplistic portrayal of reality and the reification of identities in this documentary. I suspect that it is produced for the consumption of a specific kind of anti-war argument. This portrayal could also contribute to a policy consensus on the division-of-Iraq solution, although I don't think this was Longley's intention or his personal politics. But it works to that effect, in my opinion. My general argument is that no depiction of Iraqi reality in the US is without consequences on the future of Iraq. It would be too naive on the part of the director to simply think of portraying the reality with 'objectivity' and no concern for the political consequences. I don't think he is that naive. And I think that these kinds of documentaries, columns, blogs on Iraq all have profound effect on policy and politics.

- On my friend's point about the passive form of documentary structure, which avoids the issue of causal connection; that is, who is responsible. My comment: Reality is much more complex than the simplistic three categories Longley presents in his documentary. His documentary starts with a Sunni in Baghdad expressing that they were better off under Saddam. A particular kind of focus on a specific Shia Militia (them beating up people who sold alcohol; their militant might; how they want to control the country using the channel of elections) in the second section, following the Sunni case, would automatically make the viewer think that Shias have replaced the previous dictatorship. They are the new dictators now (something the an American-Muslim scholar recently claimed on his blog, calling the top religious authority in Iraq a new dictator after Saddam). True, Longley does not venture into tracing the cause-effect, i.e. who is responsible, what is the political and the historical context. But the structure of this documentary and its content inevitably leads an uninitiated viewer into make these causal connections, if un-intentionally. Documentary is a form of art, and art touches hearts and minds at a deeper level.

The simplistic causal connection that's coming off at the moment could be averted even in the passive documentary form, by presenting the complexity, the confusion, the contradictions, which is what the ground reality is. Why does the portrayal have to be in the neat, simplistic three categories? Does Saddam or ex-baathist represent all Sunnis and a particular Militia all Shias?

If Longley's aim was to present 'the other side of the story' or the 'actual experiences of people' or 'through the lens of their experiences a larger story', I don't think he did a good job at any of these. Hence, my disappointment.

Oct 4, 2007

Iraq in Fragments: A Self-fulfilling Prophecy?

The US Senate recently voted for a soft partition of Iraq. This was an unbinding resolution to divide Iraq on ethnic and religious lines into three federal governments. One wonders, who gave them to right to talk about dividing Iraq in the first place?! Who are they to decide the future of the Iraqi people? The US is part of the problem, not solution. As Juan Cole rightly says in his recent blog entry, "First they messed up Iraq by authorizing Terrible George to blow it up, now they want to further mess it up by dividing it. It makes no sense..." It seems to me that those in the US Senate are following a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, a false understanding or prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true.

Here is how a false understanding is fulfilling itself in the Iraqi case: You are a typical senator. You rely mostly on your staffers and mainstream media to learn about matters pertaining to foreign policy. Especially when you are not part of the Committee on Foreign Relations. Even when you are, you obviously don't have time to read the core scholarly research on all international conflicts and different regions by yourself. So you prefer to get a simplified, straightforward, summarized view of each issue and each region, including Iraq. But you start off wrongly, as in your quest for simplified understanding, you perceive the Iraqi society as fundamentally divided into three neat categories: the Shias, the Sunnis, and the Kurds. These people fall neatly into these 'distinct' categories in your imagination with clearly discernable 'differences' in beliefs, attitudes, dialects, cultures, life preferences, etc. There is not much fluidity or overlap among these identities. Further, you perceive these groups in existential opposition to each other: they hate each other, they do not want to live together, otherwise, how can you understand the current conflict. That they only needed a catalyst, such as a sudden break up of the political status quo and state structure, to start killing each other. In this simplified understanding, the policies of divide-and-rule of the current administration, such as the "The Redirection" (here) or "Shifting Targets" (here, both articles by Seymour Hersh), are supposed to have no effect in politicizing and transforming sectarian relations. As if politics had no role in generating hatred among these groups in Iraq. In this understanding, politics matters not as much as the supposedly primordial differences between Sunnis and Shias do. You see the people and their identities not in their complex social reality, rather, in simplistic categories that can help you make voting decisions, or at least, justify your voting track. This simplified image is very far from the ground reality, but you think that it is the truth.

The result: a) You neglect the role of politics, and consequently, the possibility of finding solution through politics. That is, through talks, through negotiations, through trust building, through just solutions. b) You miss the possibility of finding solutions in the common cultural resources, in the commonality of religion among the Iraqi groups, in their shared culture and history. Hence, you end up suggesting the old colonial solution of dividing up people through territorial boundaries. And how do you validate it? With a justification like this: ‘because they were divided in the first place, hence the divide-up solution.’ You justify and validate this logic by referring to none other than the logic itself. Talk about tautological reasoning! How a false perception is causing itself to become true!!

How should we perceive Iraq then? I refer the readers to an earlier post where I shared similar concerns. There I pointed out the dangers of focusing only on the ‘differences,’ and I stressed that we should not overlook the common cultural and religious factors that bind the Iraqi society together (See here).

It is so terrible to see that the public is also buying into this distorted imagery, this wrong portrayal of the Iraqi social reality. Even some Muslims, outside of Iraq, who are deeply saddened by the violence and bloodshed, have also started to see the division as the best solution. This is the power of media. It effectively distributes the public opinion messages, which reproduce themselves in the minds of the general public. Through these messages, these perceptions, these lens, the general audience interprets the news about Iraq and would judge political solutions like the division of Iraq. It is through this combined role of policy making (power) and media (knowledge) that the self-fulfilling prophecy about Iraq is materializing itself.

Another example of such this self-fulfilling prophecy can be found in the “clash of civilizations” theory by Samuel Huntington, which for many people has become the standard examining glass to interpret terrorism and the war on terror. (See its criticism here.)

In my next post, I want to look at James Longley's documentary, "Iraq in Fragments" (see image). This documentary is a good illustration of the concerns I share above.

Oct 3, 2007

Justice and Resistance: A Tribute to Imam Ali

On this day, the 21st of Ramadhan, the day of Imam Ali's martyrdom, I would like to pay him a tribute through Dr. Ali Shariati's words.

In his speech, On the Plight of the Oppressed People, Shariati talks to the graves of those slaves who did not have any control over their lives and who were killed while building the "great" pyramids for the false glory of the kings of the time. Shariati expresses his deep pain for all the people who were oppressed throughout history, under one form of oppression or another, and even after their death, when they were erased from the pages of history altogether. Shariati sees Imam Ali as one such person, who faced the oppression, yet who stood up for justice and truth and ultimately sacrificed his life for this cause.

"My friend, I am living thousands of years after you. Witnessing all the suffering of my friends, I began to feel that the "gods" hated the slaves. Religion seemed to reinforce the slavery system. Even people more intelligent than us, like Aristotle, theorized that, by nature, some people were born to be slaves and others to be rulers. I began to believe that I was born and destined to slavery.

Amidst all of this hopelessness, I learned that a man had descended down from the mountains saying, "I have been commissioned by God." I trembled thinking that it possibly involved a new deception or new method of cruelty. He stated, "I have been commissioned by God who has promised to have mercy on slaves and those who are weak on earth." Surprise! I still could not believe it. How could it be true? God was speaking with slaves, giving them good news of being saved, and prosperous, and being heirs of the earth.

I had doubts, thinking that he was also one of those prophets of China, India, and etc. His name was Mohammed, I was told that he was an orphan who was a shepherd behind those mountains. I was so surprised. Why did God choose His prophet from among shepherds ? I was also informed that his predecessors were prophets; all were chosen from among shepherds. He was the last in that series. With joy and astonishment, I became speechless and trembled. Has God chosen His prophet from among our class ?

I began to follow him because I saw my friends around him. Some of those who became leaders of his followers were: Bilal, a slave and son of a slave whose parents were from Abyssinia, Salman, a homeless person from Persia owned as a slave, Abu-Zar the poverty stricken and anonymous fellow from the desert, and lastly, Salim, the slave of the wife of Khudhaifa and an unimportant black alien.

I believed in the prophet Mohammed since his palace was no more than just a few rooms constructed of clay. He was among the workers who carried the loads and built the rooms. His court was made of wood and palm-tree leaves. This was everything he had. This was his palace.

I fled from Persia and the ruling system of the Mobedans who pushed us as slaves into war to protect their power and rule from their enemies. I escaped and came to the Prophet's country to live with the slaves, the homeless, the helpless, and with him. But when he died, "his eyelids under the heaviness of death, curtained our shining sun." Once more, the situation began to deteriorate.

My friend, again in his name, magnificent temples rose toward the sky. Swords engraved with the Quranic verses on holy war were pointed toward us. His representatives stepped into our homes and took our youth as slaves for the chieftains of their tribes, sold our mothers in distant markets, killed our men in the name of struggle in the way of God, and looted our belongings in the name of charity.

In despair, I could do nothing! A power came into being which, with an appearance of monotheism, really hid idols in the worship-palaces of God! Tricky fires (a fire was holy in pre-Islamic Persia) were glowing. In the name of God's vicegerency and successorship of the prophets, the faces of the Pharoahs and those of the false saints joined hands. They began to strike at us in the name of law. Again, it was the yoke of slavery around our necks which promoted the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus. The great contests to build splendid mosques, magnificent palaces, beautiful houses for the Caliphs in Damascus and the enactment of a thousand and one nights in Baghdad were all done at the expense of our blood and lives; but, this time it was pursued in the name of God! We thought there was no way to safety. Slavery and sacrifice were our unchangeable destinies!

Who was that man called Mohammad? Was his mission deceitful? Or are he (the prophet) and we being sacrificed in the system, a system in which we are decaying in prisons; witnessing the looting and destruction of our possessions and families, and being massacred ? ? ?

I do not know where to go! Where should I go? Should I go to the Mobedans (clergymen of Persia)? How could I return to those temples which were built to enslave me? Should I join those who claim to be examples of our national freedom but in essence are attempting to gain their inhuman privileges of the past? The mosques are no better than those temples!

I saw the swords which were engraved with verses on holy war. I saw the places for worship. I saw those who prayed. I saw the saintly faces who spoke in the name of spiritual leadership, the Caliphs, and the perservation of the Prophet's traditions. Nevertheless, collectively, they took us into SLAVERY! They, long before my time, put someone to the sword in a mosque. He was Ali, the son-in-law of that man of God (the prophet Mohammad). He was killed in a place where God was worshipped. He before me, and his family long before mine, were, like the suffering slaves of history, all destroyed. In the name of "charity," his house was looted before ours. The Quran long before it was used as an instrument to rob and exploit us, was raised on the swords to defeat Ali!

How strange! Five thousand years later, I found a man who spoke of God, not for the masters but for the slaves. He prayed but not to reach "Nirvana" nor to deceive people nor to unite with God (like the Persians). He prayed for the welfare and prosperity of mankind. I found a man for the whole world. He was a man of justice, one who was strong and disciplined enough to make his older brother the first subject. He was a man whose wife, the daughter of the prophet Mohammed, worked and suffered deprivation and starvation, during her lifetime as we did. I found a man whose children were the heirs of the red flag which throughout history belonged to our class.

My friend, I have sought refuge in this house which is built of clay due to my fears of the temples, pompous palaces that you know and were sacrificed for by formidable powers. The companions of the prophet are busy. The house is alone. His wife is dying while he is in the garden of Bani Najjar, working and telling God all about our misery. Fearing the terrifying temples, palaces and treasuries that have accumulated through our labor and blood, I have taken refuge in this house to mourn the sacrifices which were made!

My friend, all those who remained loyal to Ali belonged to our suffering class. He did not adopt his beautiful sermons (recorded in Nahjul-Balagha) in order to make excuses for our deprivation nor the excesses of those who seek power. They were adopted to educate and save us. He did not draw his sword to defend himself, his family, his race, nor to defend big powers. It was done to rescue us at all stages. He thinks better than Socrates, not for the sake of demonstrating mortal virtues of the noble classes in which slaves have no share, but for the sake of values which we possess. He was not an heir of the Pharoahs or those of similar class. He symbolized thoughts and considerations, not in closed libraries, schools, and academic centers like those who acquire knowledge, as an end in itself, living in the world of theories while remaining indifferent to the starving and suffering classes. His thoughts fly high and far. Simultaneously, his abstract thoughts and heart are transferred into sympathy at the sadness of an orphan's face. Concurrently, because he realizes God's greatness, while praying he does not pay attention to any suffering inflicted on his body by a daggar. However, because of oppression of a Jewish woman, he cries loud saying, "if a person dies because of this disgrace he should not be blamed!" He has excellent abilities to express himself, but never in the manner of one like Shahanama (a poet who praised kings) who makes no mention of our class except once in all of his sixty-thousand couplets.

My friend, at this time and in this community, we desperately need him. He is unlike the thinkers, philosophers and others who are either men of thoughts without action and struggle, or men of action without thoughts, wisdom, and piety. If we imagine someone beside him having all these qualities, perhaps he might not possess the tenderness of feeling, love and pure spirit. Perchance he might lack strong faith in God. He is a man whose essence is extended through all humanitarian dimensions. Like you and I, he works as a laborer. The same hands that recorded the glorious lines of divine guidance merge deep into the soil, tilling and fertilizing salty lands. He works for no one! While he makes water gush forth from the ground, his family looks at his work with joy. Before he and his wife rest, he declares, "good news for my heirs who will not have even one drop from this water as their share." My friend, he has made it a charity for you and me.

We need him. We need leadership like him. The civilizations, educational systems, and religions have made human beings into animals interested only in financial security or selfish and heartless worshippers or men of thought and reason who lack feeling, love and inspiration as well as knowledge, wisdom, and logic. But he is a man who combines all these dimensions in his persons. He is a leader of the working class and those who suffer. He is the expressing power who struggles for the well-being of the community. Sincerity, loyalty, patience, steadfastness, and the concepts of revolution and justice were the main features of his daily messages to the masses.

My friend, I live in a society where I face a system which controls half of the universe, maybe all of it. Mankind is being driven into a new stronghold of slavery. Although we are not in physical slavery, we are truely destined with a fate worse than yours! Our thoughts, hearts, and will powers are enslaved. In the name of sociology, education, art, sexual freedom, financial freedom, love of exploitation, and love of individuals, faith in goals, faith in humanitarian responsibilities and belief in one's own school of thought are entirely taken away from within our hearts! The system has converted us into empty pots which accommodate whatever is poured inside them!

Now, we in the name of party, blood, land, and system against system, undergo divisions so that each of us can be easily taken into service. His followers that is, the followers of his school of thought, are pushed to fight against one another. Why, under a global influence should they consider each other as enemies? One leaves his hands open in prayer while the other folds them together. One prostrates on a piece of clay while the other on a carpet. Fortunately less differentation is made now! Our thinkers are driven into exile; they have become guardians.

My friend, knowing that you were a slave, you could identify your master. You could endure the whip-lashed on your body. Why, how, and who made you slaves? We are facing the same destiny as yours, but unable to know why it exists. Who is making us slaves of this century? From where are we being invaded? Why are we submissive to misleading thoughts? Why are we engaged in worldly worships? Like animals, we have become victims of exploitation, even more so than your era and race!

We work for the systems, powers, machines and palaces which are maintained through our efforts. Riches are accumulated through our hard labor but our share is such a small portion; therefore, we are obliged to work the following day. We are more deprived than you! Cruelty and discrimination are more severe than that of your time!

My friend, Ali sacrificed his life for these considerations: School of Thought, Unity and Justice. It was evident in his twenty-three years of struggles and sacrifices to establish faith in the hearts of barbaric parties. It was evident in his twenty-five years of silence and endurance in order to preserve Islamic unity and save it from the dangers of the Roman and Persian empires. It was evident in his five years of work and suffering to achieve justice, using his sword to destroy hatred and liberate man. Though he was not able to achieve this, he managed to impart to us the meaning of the leadership of mankind and religion. He placed his life and the life of his family on these three slogans: School of Thought, Unity and Justice!"

THE WORLD IS THE BOOK OF GOD ALMIGHTY

I hope the readers were able to follow the ruminations in the previous six posts. The discussion started with the problem of ascertaining knowledge and culminated at outlining the Realistic Islamic Worldview.

Below I want to look at how this Realistic Islamic Worldview is presented by the Quran and how it may be applied to a few thematic issues, namely, On nature and its working, on human presence in this world, their relationship with God, and their interaction with their fellows. The Realistic perspective quite insightfully connects the natural laws, human volition, and Divine wisdom as part of the same reality. You don't need to have read the previous posts to follow the discussion here. Though, you would get the most out of it if you have read them.

To elaborate on these thematic points, I use the text from within the Quran, which is the most original and authentic source of Islamic teachings agreed upon by all Muslims. The exegesis technique adopted here may be called the 'hermeneutical circle,' which uses individual parts from the text to illuminate other parts in the same text. The individual parts are thus understood within the context of the whole text. The understanding of the whole text itself is built upon individual parts. Hence, the 'circle'. This approach does not make it impossible to interpret a text within its cultural, historical, and literary context. To my understanding, Allama Tabatabai has deployed similar techniques in his exegesis, Al-Mizan. On using thematic (topical) approach in the exegesis of the Quran, see Shaheed Sadr's discussion here.

In the beginning

Let’s begin with the story of creation in the Quran, which is rich with insightful metaphors and profound meanings.

Before the creation of Adam and Eve, God addresses all the angles, “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” The angels said, “Do you want to create a vindictive and mischievous creature to commit crime and bloodshed on earth, while we pray and glorify you?” But God said, “I know something you know not” (Quran 02:30). Note the trust endowed on humankind in Islam. From their very creation, Human beings were meant to go to earth, not as condemned sinners, but as God’s chosen representatives!

The Quran further tells us that humans are made of earth’s basest materials “clay” and “water”. But, at the same time they are possessors of “His Spirit” (32:7-9; 06:02; 21:30; 15:29; 38:72). The subtle reference to the material and spiritual composition is insightful in understanding human inclinations and desires.

Perhaps it was the material aspect that concerned the angels when they showed their apprehension about possible human conduct on earth. But humans were not meant to be merely material beings. They were to be the possessors and representatives of Divine attributes and perfection on earth including His knowledge, His creativity, His wisdom, His compassion, and His justice. Furthermore, material energies and desires in human beings have the potential to be channeled towards constructive ends.

With these talents and potentials, humankind has composed complex languages, built social relationships, and advanced rich cultures over the course of history. What more could add to human nobility, when the Quran describes the accomplishments of God’s vicegerent as signs of His Creativity and Magnificence!

“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know” (30:22).

“O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Surely, Allah is Knowing, Aware” (49:13, also see 25:54).

The World is the Book of God Almighty

Like human intellectual capacity and creative work, the work of nature is also an expression of His sagacity and wisdom. While referring to the laws governing the nature and universe, the Quran tells us that God created the universe with measure and balance (54:49; 35:13; 06:73), and the sun, the moon, the mountains, the trees are all “His Signs” that by following their natural course “bow down in worship” to God (55:03-08; 41:39; 22:18; 41:11; 84:01-05).

In Verse 22:05, the Quran uses technical terminology to illuminate the development of an embryo with terms like “sperm”, “clot”, and “morsel of flesh.” Also mentioned in the same verse is the natural effect of rain in stirring life from barren earth. However, the verse ultimately ties the scientific explanation of both formations of life to Divine Purpose and Creation.

In the realistic outlook that the Quran presents, the natural laws, their sustenance, and the gradual changes in the universe are all Signs of God, as seen in verse 02:164:

“Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships that run in the sea with that which profits men, and the water that God sends down from the cloud, then gives life with it to the earth after its death and spreads in it all (kinds of) animals, and the changing of the winds and the clouds made subservient between the heaven and the earth, there are signs for those who understand.”

Science, thus, complements faith in Islam. The universe is governed by a system of causes and laws, and the human free will lies in the utilization of these laws. Indeed, it is with the exercise of this free will that humankind has developed new technologies and advanced civilizations.

Islam proactively encourages its followers to advance in knowledge and science. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) has said, “The search of knowledge is a duty on every Muslim, male or female.”

Justice and Human Free Will

The idea of human free will is further supported by the Islamic belief in the Day of Judgment (Qayamat). Humans come to this world without any burden of original sin or predestination. Their choices in this world shape their fate in the hereafter (76:1-3; 91:1-10).

On that day, they will be rewarded or punished on the basis of choices they made in the world (02:286; 76:03). Without such choice of action, an individual’s accountability on the Day of Judgment would be against God’s justice. But the Quran explicitly declares that “Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom” (04:40; also see 03:108; 16:90; 16:111).

“If any do deeds of righteousness,- be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them” (04:124).

Society and History

With the same realistic logic and affirmation of human free will, the Quran explains injustice and corruption in the world as a consequence of individual and collective choices and actions of people in the present and the past (10:44; 03:117; 03:137; 09:70).

The Quran makes the followers responsible for the betterment of their society, which is part of their test in this world; after all, “God does not change the conditions of a people until they change themselves” (13:11 and 08:53; also see 06:34; 17:77; 33:62 where similar decrees for social change and trends of history are described as “His Words” and “His Sunnat” and are fundamentally tied to human actions and their consequences).

Thus, rather than presenting a fatalistic and unconcerned attitude toward this world and its miseries, Islam exhorts its followers to actively strive toward eradicating the social ills and injustices in society (09:71; 02:148; 04:135).

The Islamic society in the Quran is based on respect, harmony, justice, and responsibility. The Quran abhors disrespect and injustice in all social relationships, be they among family members, between opposite genders, or among different ethnic and national groups (04:135; 09:71; 30:21; 02:148; 49:09). According to the Quran, killing one innocent life is like killing the whole of humanity, and saving one human life is like saving the whole of humanity (05:32).

The Quran recognizes the diversity among human languages and cultures; however, it is against the use of such an identity for the assertion of false superiority by one group over another. In the Quranic outlook, human nobility lies is one’s piety, knowledge, and struggle in God’s way (30:22; 49:13; 2:31-34; 39:09; 16:110; 61:11).

In the End

From the above discussion, we see that Islam encompasses the ideals of human freedom and nobility. It points to the realities of His Signs, His Words, and His Sunnat in nature and history. It sets noble values and goals for humanity. And, it carries the ultimate Truth about the Creator of everything (03:83; 30:30). The word “Islam” means submission, and the first condition of being a Muslim is to submit to these ideals and truths.

Such is the realization expressed in the words of Imam Ali when he said, “My Lord! I did not worship you for fear of Hell nor for a desire of Paradise. Rather I found you worthy of worship.”

The ultimate drive, the ultimate meaning behind all human struggles in this world is to gain God’s Favor and to connect with Him, the Eternal (02:285; 84:06; 02:46: 29:2-5; 76:2-3; 35:18). After that connection, there is no end!

“Surely, to Allah we belong, and to Him is our return” (02:156).

Sources consulted:

- Allama Tabatabai Al-Mizan

- Murtaza Mutahhari Fundamentals of Islamic Thought: God, Man, and the Universe (Berkeley: Mizan Press, 1985)

- Murtaza Mutahhari Man and his Destiny
- Mohammad Baqir Sadr Trends of History in Quran
- Ali Shariati Man and Islam

sporadic meditations

Oct 20, 2007

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