Making the Quran Untouchable

As humans, whenever we sanctify something, we make it untouchable. You can think of the famous people that are held dear, be them artists, leaders, etc. As soon as they acquire fame, those near to them create a protective wall; but that wall makes them unreachable and untouchable at the same time. The holy books are no exception to this habit of humans.

And when Allah made a covenant with those who were given the Book: You shall certainly make it known to men and you shall not hide it; but they cast it behind their backs and took a small price for it; so evil is that which they buy. (3/187)

When the Torah was revealed, those who were supposed to learn it and make known to people (i.e. priests) kept it to themselves, perhaps due to innocent intentions in the beginning. But later on, their hold of the word of God initiated a monopoly running on religion. In case of a conflict, these priests were held as the rightful judge by virtue of having and understanding the word of God. This position of theirs meant not only public influence but also financial gain. All of this was enabled simply by making the revealed word of God unreachable and untouchable by the public.

The same story repeated with the revelation that came to Jesus pbuh. Unlike Judaism, Christianity reached nations that spoke languages other than that of Jesus. Simply by forbidding the translation of the word of God and enforcing the Latin text during the religious ceremonies, the religious elite made the holy book unreachable and untouchable. The position of the priests meant, as before, public influence and financial means. This situation went on mostly unquestioned until Martin Luther in the 16th century.

Then, came the Quran...

The Prophet said "You will follow the wrong ways of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there." We said, "O Allah's Messenger! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?" He replied, "Whom else?" (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 3456)

As stated in the above hadith, Muslims, too, went into making the book of God untouchable and unreachable. Though, they did this through innocent intentions. During the first generations of the Muslims, most believers were Arabic-speaking people, and the tradition of memorizing the book entirely or partially was well fortified. So, the word of God was readily accessible for virtually everybody. As the non-Arabs became Muslims, the scholars started emphasizing the non-translatable nature of the Quran (see Renaissance - 2), and instantly the word of God became inaccessible to many believers, and the scholars became the only means to learn and understand it. In fact, as the number of non-Arab Muslims surpassed that of the Arabs, this situation worsened.

On top of this, it was ruled that one could not touch the book of God without ablution (wudu). So, even if you wanted to read the divine words for spiritual purposes despite not understanding a bit, you were still required to go through extra procedure to do that. But on this, the scholars produced a few details. They said if you are reading it from memory, no ablution is necessary. However, if you want to hold the holy book in your hands, you must make ablution.

In the end, for practical purposes, the holy book became inaccessible intellectually and physically. And all this happened in order to show respect to the word of God as demanded explicitly(!) in the Quranic verses:

Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an. In a book that is protected. None shall touch it save the purified ones. (56/77-79)

If you make a search on this issue, except a few, vast majority of the sources tell you that it is a sin to touch the Quran without ablution. Here, I am not going to go through the religious reliability of the evidences of this claim. Rather, I am going to do some critical thinking on the issue as repeatedly told by our Creator:

No one can grasp this fact except the people of reason. (3/7)

Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought.(16/11)

... so that you will reflect upon its verses and so the people of understanding will take heed.(38/29)

I want to start by asking a simple question. Assuming the ruling that we cannot touch the Quran without ablution, let's say there is a page that is as wide as four pages, and at center of this large page on a small area, there is a verse written. Can you still not touch the tip of this page without ablution? If the answer is negative, i.e. you can't, then how large a page should we have to touch without ablution? If the answer is positive, i.e. you can touch, then how small a page can you have for touching without ablution? Or perhaps, is there a special ratio of (written area/total area) that dictates the final ruling? In any event, in order for something to be forbidden, you must have a clear Quranic support for it. What is this evidence? At a time when paper industry had not developed, how is it possible that one can speak so sharply about what is a sin and what is not in this case?

The short answer to all these questions is that the scholars are mainly relying on their interpretations, and they are taking the safe way, i.e. not allowing touching the Quran at all without ablution. Do you want evidence to this conclusion? The scholars produced an exception to their ruling for the memorizers who read, repeat the text for extended periods. They said, for the memorizers, the prerequisite of ablution to touch the holy book was waived. If there is such a permission in context of a clear ban, there must be a clear evidence for it, but that clear evidence is nowhere to be found. If there is no clear evidence for a permission for the memorizers to touch the Quran without ablution, how do the scholars produce it? Well, they are not producing it; they are simply returning from their own ruling in the face of a need, which is proof that their initial ruling is actually based on interpretation and choice.

Another point in this case is that, although the Quran was written on tablets and alike following the initial revelation, it did not assume a book format until the reign of the first caliph, Abu Bakr. Had the verse above (56/77-79) related to the "not touching without ablution" been intended exclusively for this purpose, Quran would have been collected into a book format, as indicated by the verse, much earlier and without needing prior discussion among the companions.

Plus, if you can read the text without ablution, what is special about touching the paper and ink? Along the same line, imagine the cell phones and tablets of today. Can you touch your device without ablution, if the Quran is loaded in it? Or is it that you cannot touch it without ablution when you turn on the display of the holy book?

The questions and comments so far must have lead you to the point that the purity and touching in question must be related to the meaning and spirituality. In fact, if you read the relevant verses in their context, and bear in mind that they were revealed during the Meccan period when the revelation was far from completion, you better appreciate the merit of this latter interpretation:

Nay, I swear by the places of the stars -and indeed, it is an oath, if you could know, [most] great- indeed, it is a noble Qur'an. In a book that is protected. None shall touch it save the purified ones. A revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. (56/75-80)

In fact, another verse in this context leads us to a different direction as a prerequisite for reading the God's word (with or without ablution):

So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. (16/98)

Last but not the least, a person who does not know how to read and write, why would the messenger of God establish a ban on touching the paper and ink embodying the word of God in a time where the culture works through the tongue rather than the hand?

In conclusion, the safe-way approach of the scholars to respect the holy book served to distancing the people from it. Now, Quran is a book that can be read and pondered only after special procedures and preparations. Given the extremely hectic pace of the modern life, this artificial prerequisite only makes the Satan's job easier to widen the gap between the people and the Quran. In order for people to reunite with the Quran, they need to be able to have access to it physically and intellectually as much as possible. That is, they must understand that they don't need ablution to touch the holy book, or to read or study it in its original and/or translated form.

Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, who, by the pen, taught the human being: He taught the human being what he did not know. (96/1-5)

Renaissance - 8

An indispensable consequence of globalization is the enhanced interaction of the individuals of different faiths. Composing a third of the population on the planet, global peace is, therefore, incumbent upon the members of the heavenly religions. Achieving this goal, however, requires a proper understanding of "the other" and an acceptable use of the interaction among the believers. In this article, I want to discuss the issue from a Muslim's perspective.

The very first duty for the Muslims is to read their holy book, Quran, and see that the people of the book are not treated as a single entity, just like there are bad apples among the good ones in the Muslim communities. Going one step further, Muslims must use this situation as a mirror to themselves. Being born into a Muslim society does not necessarily make a person "one of the best on the planet". Quran praises, admonishes and reprimands both the Muslims and the people of the book. The good news of paradise and threats of hell in the Quran are both for the Muslims and for the people of the book.

Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans - those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve. (2/62; also see 5/69 for similar meaning)

The second point, which is a natural consequence of the first one, is that Muslims must give up treating the people of the book as "people to be saved from hell fire". This insidious urge to convert each other is mere a poison to the peaceful coexistence of the communities of different faiths. It is natural that people may change their faiths during the course of their lives and it is understandable that people want to spread the message of their faiths, but this must be with the purpose of "being known properly". For a healthy cohabitation, Quran's suggestion is to urge and collaborate with each other to do good.

For each [religious following] is a direction toward which it faces. So race to [all that is] good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth all together. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent. (2/148)

...To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ. (5/48)

Third, just like Christians and Jews are people of the book, Muslims are among the people of the book from the perspective of Christians and Jews. Remembering that the Prophet Muhammad warned the believers of following the mistakes of the people of the book, Muslims must contemplate upon what happened in the Christian and Jewish communities and among each other, then must reflect the lessons from this contemplation over themselves. In the remainder of this article, I am going to do this in context of a renaissance of faith.

"You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there." We said, "O Allah's Messenger! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?" He replied, "Whom else?" (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 3456)

This hadith is traditionally interpreted as imitating the people of the book, hence the cold shoulder against the western societies or rejecting celebrating the new year, etc. However, when thought in conjunction with the relevant verses in the Quran quoted at the end of this article, we can see a whole host of other lessons. In fact, we can see that this formal and superficial interpretation of this hadith is actually a hindrance to a much broader understanding.

A major reason of criticism against the People of the Book by the Quran is their differing in religion or falling into dispute in religion when there are clear signs or verses. What's more, this point is emphasized numerously throughout the Quran. Then, in the light of the above hadith, we can easily see that a similar fate, that is differing in religion, is waiting the Muslims, too. In fact, another hadith highlights exactly this point:

"The Jews split into seventy-one sects, or seventy-two sects, and the Christians similarly, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects." (Tirmidhi, 2640, Grade:Good)

Since the solution to a problem lies in understanding it first, Muslims can study the Christian and Jewish groups and their religious history in order to diagnose and treat their own ailments. Let's see some examples.

The belief of trinity in Christianity is a major point of discussion. I am not going to go into the same discussion here, but let's ask if there is something analog (not the same!) among Muslims. One implication of the belief of trinity is that Jesus is carrying godly properties. Being free of errors or not having any cultural/sociological bias is a godly property we humans lack, and when you look at the Muslims, you see that more often than not, prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is raised to such a perfection as to never make mistakes or to have no cultural biases so that his words possess validity over times and geographies (see Chosen from among us Humans). This conclusion is then carried on to making jurisdictions based on his sayings.

The same erroneous notion is repeated for the scholars. Again, Quran criticizes the People of the Book for treating their religious leaders as God. It is agreed among the Muslim scholars that this refers to their embracing those individuals' jurisdictions and interpretations as definitive and truthful as if coming explicitly from God.

They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah , and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. (9/31)

Namely, the status of Saint Paul among the Christians is a prime example of this. Without going into the discussion, I am going to ask whether the Muslims are doing the same mistake. Well, similar to the extreme attitude towards the last messenger of God, the scholars' jurisdictions and interpretations are treated as definitive and truthful among Muslims, too (sometimes even if they contradict with clear orders and prohibitions of God). Then, are those Muslims not assuming their religious leaders as gods besides Allah, according to the diagnosis of the aforementioned verse?

Last point in this discussion I would like to scrutinize is the concept of differing in religion. I will argue that this concept means creating a religion in religion. That is creating a humanly religious sect in an otherwise heavenly religion. I am not arguing against the formation of congregations but talking about the sects that treat other members of the same religion, but who are out of the sect, as out-of-religion. Such Christians or Muslims claim other members of their religion to be non-Christian or non-Muslim. That is, for example, although a person claims to be a Muslim and practicing the basic obligations thereof, they are counted as non-Muslim by these extremists, and furthermore are exposed to unfair treatments. Believers who are living in peace in their communities are counted as creators of conflict mainly because they are not carrying the same political views as some religious groups, and so, are tormented in various ways. Is this not differing in religion?

Remember that I made these comments, first, by reading and contemplating the history of the People of the Book, and then by studying the Muslims in the light of this contemplation. This practice is well-established according to the verses and hadiths I quoted in the article, and can be extended to other issues. Bottom line is, a renaissance in faith for Muslims requires a healthy interfaith interaction, and the same is valid for the members of the other faiths, as well.

Verses about "Falling into Dispute in Religion"

The Jews say "The Christians have nothing [true] to stand on," and the Christians say, "The Jews have nothing to stand on," although they [both] recite the Scripture. Thus the polytheists speak the same as their words. But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. (2/113)

(Their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but those who seek causes of dispute in the Book are in a schism Far (from the purpose). (2/176)

Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves. And Allah guided those who believed to the truth concerning that over which they had differed, by His permission. And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path. (2/213)

Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree. And We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear proofs, and We supported him with the Pure Spirit. If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends. (2/253)

Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah , then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account. (3/19)

[Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ. (3/55)

And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And those will have a great punishment. (3/105)

And We had certainty settled the Children of Israel in an agreeable settlement and provided them with good things. And they did not differ until [after] knowledge had come to them. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. (10/93)

And We had certainly given Moses the Scripture, but it came under disagreement. And if not for a word that preceded from your Lord, it would have been judged between them. And indeed they are, concerning the Qur'an, in disquieting doubt. (11/110)

Indeed, those who have believed and those who were Jews and the Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians and those who associated with Allah - Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, over all things, Witness. (22/17)

And We gave them clear proofs of the matter [of religion]. And they did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. (45/17)

Renaissance - 7

When you are subjected to an evil by someone, is this that person's will or is it God's will? Let's say you were praying for the termination of this injustice and cruelty, and things went on despite your countless prayers, and they came to an end only at a predetermined time by your abuser. Again, is this end God's answer to your prayers or is it purely your abuser's will, given that things progressed according to his plan made in the very beginning?

In the above question, if you want to keep God clear of evil and say that it was the other person's will at work, then you are unknowingly claiming that someone can go out of or despite God's will, hence a limit to God. Plus, your claim is against what God tells in His book (76/30, 81/29)! If, on the other hand, you say that it was always God's will, then you are charging God with committing evil! What is the solution?

Take a different example. Say you are a scientist or engineer, and are designing a device or an experiment. When you finish things, everything works as you planned. Then, is it your will at work or God's? Ask this question once more if that device is used to commit evil, e.g. murder. Where is God's will here?

Let's go one step further. According to current scientific understanding, the earth formed after the big bang and then through the interaction of natural forces. Where is God in all of this? Then also, it is claimed that living things came about through evolution. If this is ultimately proven to be the case (as there is growing body of evidence towards a full theory of evolution), did God not create us?

Last but not the least, had you been born into an atheist environment, you would have grown without an idea of God (at least not a positive one), whereas those born into believing families automatically develop belief in God in their minds. Then, is it your fault that you were born into such a family? Did God plant you into that family so that you, too, are going to grow as an atheist? If you ask the believers, they tell you that in the age of internet, nobody can claim not-knowing as a pretext, and either you become a Muslim and go to paradise or you stay as non-Muslim and go to hell thanks to the invention of internet!

The questions above and alike are related to two topics: "destiny and free will" and "science and religion". Several answers have been given to these questions, and they consist of a mix of personal opinions and the revelation, where revelation is buried under a growing body of cultural bias. Furthermore, many of these answers suffer either from a negligence and ignorance towards human nature or from an apologetic attitude that is anxious to please the ego of the modern minds. As far as I see it, in order for a renaissance of faith, these fundamental questions must be answered according to these three criteria: 1- based on revelation, 2- acknowledging the human nature, 3- non-apologetic towards arrogant ones but compatible with eager minds. So, below, I am going to list a compilation of answers, including my own, that are in line with these criteria.

Science and Religion

The cliche answer "science explains how, religion explains why" is problematic in the sense that it compartmentalizes the two, and also gives the impression that as if each has all the answers in its own domain. No! Neither science nor religion has all the answers.

The Creator of the universe did not reveal everything, because He created us with intellect, curiosity, reason, and most importantly with an ability to be inspired by Him. He wants us to question, experiment, make mistakes, take lessons and progress. Had He revealed everything through religion, then our creation as intelligent and progressive creatures would be meaningless. Consequently, science, too, which is humanity's common treasure, is a body of trials and errors, questions, thoughts and progress. Science does not have all the how's. And sometimes, it negates or changes the previous answers it has.

So, if your intention is to reach all of the answers to how's and why's in life through science and religion, I have got bad news for you. There is no such thing. Those who know everything are the ignorant ones! Yet, in the beginning, what distinguished humanity from the angels was learning and teaching, experimenting and taking lessons (2/30-34).

As told in the Quran, this worldly life is a game (29/64, 57/20), and it's got its own rules. We discover  some of these rules through science and learn some others from religion. Primarily, the rules from the first enable us to use the creation for our own purposes, but there is more than that. Learning science can help for the betterment of our relationship with our Creator, too, hence the betterment of the afterlife, as well. The latter benefit happens by virtue of the fact that God values the contemplation we do and rewards the appreciation and gratitude towards Him growing in us thereof (35/28).

When we discover the rules governing the nature and the universe, we are actually learning one of the languages with which to talk to God. That is, if I want to design something with a certain speed and strength, I make my calculations and material selections accordingly. This is because God has taught me what He is going to grant me when I do what. More clearly, science and the technology stemming from it is a prayer that is answered as is by God. Science and technology being a form of prayer can be understood by the following. Try to find a scientific proof that the laws of physics are going to exist or not change one second later. You are going to fail if you try to do so, because the ultimate answer you are going to get in this regard is "we haven't seen those laws invalid until now, and the more we try the more we see them valid". Clearly, this is not a proof and it says nothing about the future existence, whereas God is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth (2/255) and the laws in them (48/23, 35/43).

Before we go to the next section, which is on destiny and free will, the last point to talk about is the theory of evolution. There is a separate series of blogs on this (1,2,3,4,5,Atheism-5), so I am not going to make an elaborate discussion here. I am not going to argue whether it was the case or not, because this is irrelevant in our context. What matters to us for the current topic is that "whatever happened is how God created us". That is, be it through evolution or not, our coming into existence is God's creation, just like sun's illumination on us is a perceptional veil over the fact that God is illuminating us.

Next, it has to be realized that the believers must rid themselves off the cultural and historical biases so that they don't claim something in the name of God when He never made a clear comment on the issue (31/20). Put more clearly, if we don't have explicit comments on the creation, then we must be aware that we are working in terms of interpretations, not God's instructions. Specifically about evolution, let alone being against it, there are many Quranic verses that can be understood as favoring the theory evolution (e.g.71/17,76/1). Again, I am not saying that clear comments exist! All I am saying is that such verses that favor this interpretation exist, and we must know our limits in the relevant discussions.

Yes, this ambiguity can be used by some to support their disbelief, claiming that we came into existence through accidents and so, we don't owe anything to God. But this claim is a manifold of ideas, only one of which is evolution. The blunder in the rest of the claims of such disbelief does not negate the merit of the idea of evolution on its own.

Destiny and Free Will

Although the conventional title for this topic is stated above, it actually is very restrictive in terms of God's actions and manifestations in the universe and on our lives. Let me explain what I mean here. When we say destiny, we mean a list of events that will not change not matter what you do (31/22). The result has been decreed by God's unbounded and infinite will, and this decree obliges you in a certain way (57/22). This understanding is not incorrect, but it leaves no room for the free will. So, let's search for a more comprehensive answer.

We learn the limits of our free will only by trying and pushing our perceived limits. In this regard, science is the study of exploring the limits of our free will (55/33-34). That's how we play with the DNA, explore the space, etc. However, the fact that something is within our free domain doesn't mean that God has nothing to say about it. Just like He created that freedom for us, He also moves the boundaries thereof. He does this in different ways, including guiding people towards each other through inspirations, aspirations and natural needs (2/251,9/14). What we call politics, marketing, advertising, persuasion, etc. are actually the manifestations of God's moving boundaries among our free wills (3/140).

Next, as the classical answer goes, this life is but an examination, and we are tested by the free will (67/2). In a word attributed to Abraham Lincoln, he says "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power". Harriet Rubin, a modern day publisher, says "Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash". We do whatever we can, good or bad, and these actions of ours that we did willfully become the DNA of what we are going to become in the afterlife (17/49,20/125-126), as we are going to be created with a new creation, similar to being born into this life through our biological DNA's.

Before finishing, we must also find an answer for "going to heaven or hell". In this life, each individual is responsible for what they did with their free wills using what's given to them (2/286). No one can claim to exactly know their destination in the afterlife, unless told by God. And we don't know what is going to happen to anyone in the remainder of their lives. All we can do for ourselves and for each other is to enjoin good and forbid evil. We cannot claim to have a direct route to the paradise mainly because our birth place happens to be a Muslim-majority land and all we did is go with the crowd (7/99). By the same token, we cannot prescribe hell to someone mainly because their birth was not a Muslim-majority land and all they did is follow the crowd (12/87,39/53,29/23,15/56). We all know that evil-acting people exist among all groups of people, including Muslims, and good-acting people exist among all groups of people, including Muslims (3/113-115). So, we should leave the job of judging the hearts to our Merciful and Compassionate God, and strive to be good believers deserving the heaven.

Renaissance - 6

Due to the intertwining of the arts with various forms of sins, traditionally, there has been a cold shoulder among Muslims against arts, the exceptions being literary and architectural ones. Although there were some artistic endeavors in paintings (miniature) and architecture and also, to a much less extent, in music (sufi music), they remained mostly reserved to limited people, and arts in general were questionable due to the conditions existed during the onset of the Islamic history. Seeing this suppressed status of arts among a vibrant civilization that has affected today's world in many ways, and finding no concrete evidence from the Quran that supports such unconditional grudge against arts, it only makes sense to investigate the compatibility of the modern status of arts within an Islamic life style. That is we need to figure out whether, instead of being an instrument of sin, arts can be a form of worship, i.e. an act pleasing to God.

Before I go any further, I would like to expand the definition of arts in an unusual way. Sports in their various forms are actually a display of art performed with the body, much like a dance, solo or  in group, albeit with less concern for aesthetics. Still, the existence of an order in the movements in order to complete a big picture, the need for training for the body to perform those movements point at the fact that sports are in the larger family of arts. So, in this episode of reflections for a renaissance of faith, I want to look at the importance and indispensability of arts and sports.

The only acceptability of sports, from a traditional perspective, is due to their contribution to the strength in case of war. Recently, fighting with obesity has been added to the list of reasons to endorse the sports. Similarly, traditionally speaking, arts are acceptable mainly in shaping buildings or furniture. Aside from these advantages of arts and sports in the conventional thinking, if you come to the modern times, sports and arts are among the risky avenues of life, as the income thereof is limited, and there are few opportunities for singling out of the crowd and achieving great things. So, from a parent's perspective, what is the point in pursuing these highly risky ways when there are more certain ways of earning your life through being an officer, engineer or a tradesman?

With this kind of a background, the individuals with an aptitude towards sports and arts develop as the misfit, hyperactive and less attentive students who are not intelligent enough to succeed in the normal lessons and, so, have to be channeled towards less valuable (!) occupations. Overall, both from a traditional religious perspective and from a conservative family point of view, arts and sports are shunned or confined, let alone being an avenue of worship.

Is this what we would read from the Quran?

First of all, although Quran includes clear orders and prohibitions from God, it is not just a book of dos and don'ts. It makes sense that the God, who created the humans with free will and with a longing for freedom, guides them through some orders and prohibitions, but it doesn't make sense that He limits all of their actions. So, as a methodological principle, only the crucial rules are given or limits of certain practices are outlined. Accordingly, for example, the fact that interest is forbidden doesn't mean that making profit through trade is banned, the fact that intoxicating substances are forbidden doesn't mean that making medicine from plants or artificially synthesizing them is banned. With this principle and our topic in mind, let's look at the Quran to see verses about arts and sports.

Well, of course when reading the Quran, you wouldn't read the exact words "arts and sports", but you can see their precursors, implications or proxies. For example, a well-cooked meal may compel you to appreciate the blessings of God and to thank Him (7/31, 14/7), whereas a malcooked meal using the same raw materials may send you to the bathroom. Clearly, cooking well is a form of art, and those who are consuming well-cooked food everyday are exposed to art without knowing it. Furthermore, a person who has an aptitude for cooking can better appreciate the Great Artist through His work in the natural foods we have around.

A person who is into athletics can much better feel and experience the art engraved into their body (82/6-8) through the exquisite and extreme body motions they perform. And through this appreciation comes a gratefulness towards the Designer and Builder of that body. Plus, these individuals can better appreciate that Designer through the amazing movements and talents of the animals in the nature.

At a more fundamental level, read the answer of Moses pbuh to Pharaoh, when asked about his Lord:

"He said: Our Lord is He Who gave to everything its creation, then guided it (to its goal)." (20/50)

Artists have an innate tendency and urge for doing what their God-given nature tells them. The above verse clearly tells that it is God who gave that nature in the first place and is inspiring them. Accordingly, Quran is not telling to suppress this nature but to orient it. And I should tell in explicit terms that painting, drawing and sculpting live objects has received much negativity due to their historical link to idol worshiping, but "you cannot claim water as evil because of the floods".

Supporting the same idea, we are told that the humans are created in the best degree of quality (95/4, 15/29, 32/7). How would you know this really, unless you study and try to imitate that excellence created by God? The only way for us, humans, to appreciate something is through tasting it and testing it. Arts, in their various forms, serve to this end. Especially in the modern times, with the advent of technology and its merging with arts, those who are involved in the development of the bio-mimetic or robotic technologies have a better chance of understanding the quality in the creation of humans.

"He has also created people, beasts, and cattle of various colors. Only God's knowledgeable servants fear Him. God is Majestic and All-pardoning." (35/28)

From a different perspective, it has been traditionally known and scientifically proven that arts and sports reduce stress and help with the anger management. Being a religion of peace, Islam can't be against them. In fact, among the properties of the believers, we are told in the Quran, is the ability to control anger (3/134, 5/8). So, this means that activities that serve to this end are endorsed by the Creator.

Accordingly, imagining the death, paradise and hell are key elements in calming anger and frustration. Quran includes several depictions of these, e.g.  in chapters Al-Rahman, Al-Waqiah. But again, such depiction is a form of art performed by our Lord, hence an example for those feeling the inspiration.

A case of pure faith, the miracles of the messengers of God, in the eyes of the beholders, are a form of art. People realize the intimidatingly high quality and power in that art so that they come to the conclusion that the person working that miracle is sent by God. Then, those who are active in that field of art are more able to appreciate that quality, as happened with the magicians (20/70) at the time of Moses pbuh, and the eloquent poets (2/23, 36/69) at the time of Muhammad pbuh.

Through this last example, that is the case of the poets, we are given (26/224-227) the criterion to distinguish the limit. In the case of poets, the limit is lying and encouraging conflict among people. From the historical context of the time, we know that the art of  poetry in Arabia was the best tool for good and bad. So, Quran is instructing through this example that, as long as you don't violate the general principles of Islam, it is acceptable to exercise your art.

Overall, arts and sports fuel a thinking heart, and are actions originating from it. We know that a thinking heart is essential for an authentic and enduring believer (22/46, 7/179), and is the engine of contemplation. We also know that thinking and feeling without acting is the least level of faith, as the believers are those who enjoin good and forbid evil in every way and in the best way possible (3/104, 16/125, 20/44).

"By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you command good and forbid evil, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will call upon Him, but He will not respond to you." (Tirmidhi, Fitan, 9, Grade: Hasan)

"Whomever among you sees an evil, then let him stop it with his hand. Whomever is not able,then with his tongue, and whomever is not able, then with his heart. That is the weakest of faith." (Tirmidhi, Fitan, 11, Grade: Sahih)

If you consider the artistic and sportive talents as seeds sown by God, then not fostering them and not exercising them is like wasting a potential given by God. So, a renaissance of faith must restore respect to God (taqwa) in this regard.

"Say: 'O my Servants who have wasted against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Turn in repentance to your Lord and submit to His will before you are afflicted with the torment after which you can receive no help. Follow the best of what is revealed to you from your Lord before the torment suddenly approaches you and you will not realize how it came about.' " (39/53-55)

Renaissance - 5

 "And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth which they pass by, yet they turn aside from it." (12/105)

Have they not considered how Allah begins creation and then repeats it? Indeed that, for Allah , is easy. Say: Travel in the earth and see how He makes the first creation, then Allah creates the latter creation; surely Allah has power over all things. (29/19-20)

And indeed, We have made constellations in the heaven and We beautified it for the beholders.(15/16)

"Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth therewith fruits of various colors; and in the mountains are streaks, white and red, of various hues and (others) intensely black? He has also created people, beasts, and cattle of various colors. Only God's knowledgeable servants fear Him. God is Majestic and All-pardoning." (35/27-28) 

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Lord, you have not created all this without reason. Glory be to you. Lord, save us from the torment of the fire". (3/190-191)

If you have children that are fighting, put a movie in front of them and see the magic of "amazement". Suddenly the fights come to an end, the children who were fighting a few minutes ago have embarked on dreams in which they jointly build-modify-destroy things. You see them melted into a single spirit. The same effect is present among those who share a similar sense of awe beholding a magic or a rare beauty of nature. They feel lifted above their individual identities, united as a single entity sharing the moment of joy.  You can observe a similar situation among the students who are listening to a lesson that truly and deeply moves their minds and hearts.

As these examples tell, the feeling of awe has the power to unite us. It also triggers us to explore more. It functions as a vehicle towards an ecstasy, by which our minds and hearts dance in unison so that we rejoice both individually and communally. This fine state of the human soul is also essential for the burgeoning and development of faith, because a thinking heart (7/179, 22/46) is at the core of everything.

Today, nature has been mostly reduced to a picnic area or to a material for documentaries, whereas The Creator wants us to read the nature and universe as a book and reflect upon them. He is inviting us to His guest room, i.e. the nature, to meet with Him, where we can ponder over His words and make sense of our lives (e.g. 50/6-11). The key in all these and other realizations through a reunion with nature is the feelings of awe and serenity that energize our thinking hearts.

As everything with the humans, if you use a faculty, it develops; and if you don't use it, you say goodbye to it. It is the same for our thinking hearts as well. We are more easily moved when we are children, but as we grow older, our hearts are buried deep under a mountain of daily routines, worries and news, where thinking is simply too much of a luxury. Our cities are also contributing to the machine-like life drowning our hearts. But let's remember that what makes us human is our ability to think and use our free will. A person who is not thinking and not acting upon their free will but is living simply according to the social conditioning is alarmingly far from being a real human. Be aware that the first prerequisite of faith is not testifying to certain truths! It is having free will and sound reason!

So, for a free will and sound reason, you need a thinking heart. And for a healthy thinking heart, you need to be in nature. That's why we see countless references to the creation in the book of God. Aside from the verses in this regard, you can also look at the names of the chapters in the Quran: Cow, Women, Feast Table, Cattle, Heights, Thunder, Rocky Tract, Bees, Night Journey, Cave, Light, Ants, Spider, Gold Adornment, Smoke, Curved Sand-hills, Wind that Scatters, Mountain, Star, Moon, Iron, Pen, Ways of Ascent, Human, Constellations, Comer-by-Night, Dawn, Sun, Night, Forenoon, Fig, Clot, Time, Elephant, Daybreak. Reading these names, one feels a compulsion inside to get out and observe the existence.

In short, the Quran repeatedly instructs people to contemplate over the creation, instead of constantly worrying about things over which they have little or no control (34/39). We are called to feel that awe in the face of the creation and make a "reasonable leap of faith" (59/21). Then, what is necessary for a renaissance of faith is a reunion with the nature, being alone with our Lord and thinking (34/46), and submitting to His love (2/131). 

Renaissance - 4

If you look at the history carefully, you can observe that the people who valued and honored the women's rights entered a climbing trend. When I say rights, I am talking about the rights as an "individual", and not just as a "mother". A human being is a human being before anything else. Gender roles are secondary issues that come later. Therefore, a renaissance of faith must acknowledge this fact and manifest it in life.

If we are talking about a faith-based movement, it must be centered on the word of God. So, we must ask whether what I stated above is an authentic Quranic proposition. If it is not, even if it sounds nice, it cannot be accepted as a faith movement but as an idea produced by a mortal mind that is limited in knowledge and wisdom (2/216). We need a solid thesis statement supported by Quranic verses, and as explicit and as clear from interpretation as possible. Then, let's formulate our questions, and seek answers.

Are women, before anything else, "individuals", or are they essentially created to be wives and mothers who are going to stay at home, and do nothing but serve their husbands and raise children?

My first sentence in this discussion against those claiming the latter option is "based on which Quranic verses, are you claiming that?" Whatever you claim in the name of God, you must have a solid, explicit Quranic verse (31/20); otherwise, it can at best be an interpretation of Quran based on culture and psychological/sociological circumstances.

Now, let's see some verses that address both male and female believers, that treat them equivalently and specify the same individual duty to both of them: 

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. (49/13)

Their Lord answered their prayers saying, "I do not neglect anyone's labor whether the laborer be male or female. You are all related to one another. Those who migrated from Mecca, those who were expelled from their homes, those who were tortured for My cause, and those who fought and were killed for My cause will find their sins expiated by Me and I will admit them into the gardens wherein streams flow. It will be their reward from God Who grants the best rewards." (3/195)

And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise. (9/71)

Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, and who keep aloof from what is vain, who are active in deeds of charity; and who guard their private parts, except before their mates or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable, but whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits; and those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, and they who carefully maintain their prayers, (23/1-9)

O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah , nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs, nor will they disobey you in what is right - then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (60/12)

These examples can be extended, but the bottom line is being a believer and doing all the deeds thereof are equal trusts given to all individuals, regardless of their genders. This fact is a clue that the traditional gender roles that developed based on the existing life conditions in the past are not necessarily reflective of the essential duties of an individual outlined in the Quran. But again, let's not suffice with this clue, and let's go beyond. Let's see which verses are used to back up the other proposition that supports the subjugation of women to men and suppression of their presence in the social life.

The major Quranic verse that is quoted about the "inferior status" of women is the one below.

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means... (4/34)

Other than this, throughout the Quran, you see regulations regarding the marriage and divorce. In fact, even with the verse above, if you had the traditional perspectives and are siding with the subjugation of women to men, this situation would only be supported in case of marriage. That is, unmarried women, according to the traditional understanding of the verse above, cannot be under a subjugation towards men. I have shared a separate blog specifically on this verse, if you would like to read further. So, given that there is no verse ordering the women to marry, you must conclude that women's first and foremost duty is not to serve their husbands and the children. That is they are individuals before anything else. Even for the married women, if you had traditional views, you could justify an inferior status for them towards their husbands, not against all men! That is, in the general social life, even with the traditional views, you cannot support from the Quran your claims of a general suppression of women.

Now, let's leave the traditional stand point behind. If you have a broader horizon of thought and knowledge, and if you read, contemplate and critically think the whole of the book of God, then you would clearly see that a functional subjugation among individuals, be it at the family or society level, is emphasized in the Quran and that that functionality is not necessarily based on biological traits (see also Contemplating on Nisa-34). As the culture and technological circumstances change, so does the functionality of the individuals, regardless of their genders. So, a faith movement in the new century must accommodate females with the due respect.

Renaissance - 3

Do you believe in the messenger of God, because he performed miracles? What if he had not performed a single miracle! What if the revealed book that was sent with him did not have any miracles in it, but merely truths and goodness? What if the life and teachings of the prophet were merely rational, good and just! Would you still believe in him as a messenger of God, or would you say "there are a lot of philosophers and good people around, and Muhammad is a good person, too; but why would I hold him special when he is no different than others?"

The above paragraph includes several key elements for unlocking many Pandora's boxes or opportunities for growth in faith, depending on your perception of them. Let's see these one by one.

A significant factor that consolidates disbelief is the fact that the messenger of God is a normal person among others. Many a times, we hear the disbelievers voice this notion (e.g. 23/24, 23/33, 21/3). So, if you say that you wouldn't believe in "someone who claims to be the messenger of God but not performing miracles", then be aware that if you had lived at the times of the messengers, you could have been among the disbelievers. Then, you can ask, "how can I be sure that the man is actually the messenger of God?"

This question is reflective of a desire of the human nature, i.e. seeking the unusual, something that intimidates the reason in order to be convinced. However, in the Quran, God presents the normal things as His signs (trees, clouds, rain, stars, night-and-day,...) (e.g. 2/164, 35/27-28), rather than extraordinary miracles. Then, is Quran not trying to convince us? On the contrary, when you defeat the reason by a miracle, it is not called convincing. It is called surrendering. Quran is trying to make its addressees active players in the process of conviction, where they study and discover the connections to God through the commonplace things and events. When people shun such mental effort, they fail to get moved by the ordinary signs due to their familiarity, and they fail to recognize the godliness of the regular people among them, hence the disbelief towards the messengers. What is demanded from people is to remove the veil of familiarity and see the art and genius woven into everything surrounding them, and appreciate those things as miracles from God.

Similarly, in order for a renaissance in faith, it is imperative to modify/improve our faith of the prophet so that we believe in him not due to miracles but due to the content of the message he brought. During this new journey of faith, our conscience, our reason and a direct connection to the word of God are the devices given to us in order to distinguish and appreciate the truth. This improvement of faith can also alleviate the one-man-obsession among the Muslims, whereby they center everything around a single person who gradually becomes in their eyes an entity between God and them. Once this illness is healed, the believers can become helpers to each other on the path to God, that is normal people becoming proclaimers of word of God to each other (103/3). In order to elaborate on this topic, you can read these: Slaughter your Gods, Thousand Years Late, Misconceptions Among Muslims Leading to Intellectual Stagnation.

A consequence of the obsession to unusual things is the expectation that everything done or said by the prophet be miraculous. According to this mentality, "if you happen to see something in the life of the prophet that is not miraculous or something that is faulty, then that's because your limited and mortal human perception is unable to comprehend the infinite wisdom hidden in those words and actions". Furthermore, the owners of this mentality that holds suppression of human reason as a virtue present Quranic verses to support their claim, too:

Nor does he speak out of desire. It is not but a revelation revealed, (53/3-4)

And whatsoever the messenger gives you, take it. And whatsoever he forbids, abstain (from it). (59/7)

After such strong back up, miracle-obsessed minds find an unparalleled authority. So, they bring several implications of the words and actions of the prophet on our shoulders as "Islamic", and they erect many prohibitions around us to avoid the "non-Islamic". Among many others, stoning-to-death due to adultery, mistreatment of non-traditional genders, killing those who abandon Islam, waging an incessant war against non-Muslims, obsession to acquiring political and military power and using them to enforce "Islamic" life, suppression of women in social life are all jurisdictions that stem from this line of thought. After all, in that view, "even if you don't feel ok about these, you have to understand that your feelings are prone to Devil's plots, but the book of God and His messenger are not".

Do you feel appalled by the previous paragraph? The image above formed shortly after the prophet Muhammad pbuh. In fact, it was not the prophet who supported such zealotry, but those who came later did. And all of this is alarming for several reasons, but from an intellectual stand point, the things above, among many others, are suffering from one or more of the following:

1. Reading the Quranic verses out of context,
2. Lacking a holistic understanding of the Quran,
3. Treating the prophet above human level in all of his actions,
4. Copying rather than understanding the actions of the prophet,
5. Reading the prophet's actions out of context,
6. Lacking a holistic understanding of the philosophy of the prophet,
7. Interjected personal opinions of the "scholars and/or leaders", who are devoid of a divine connection and whose motivations may be contaminated by politics and worldly ambitions,
8. Downgrading the human reason and conscience in the face of blind imitation, which is a clear violation against countless Quranic verses.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh is a messenger of God, not because he was able to override the human limits at will but, because he was a man of reason, conscience and good morals who also brought the word of God to us and did his best to act according to what is revealed to him. For such a man, seeing his believers in the current imitative state would be a torture. And learning that all this is done in his name would crush his heart. For further reading on this matter, you can see To Praise or not To Praise the Messenger, Peace on the Messenger, Doing Prayers, Chosen From Among Us Humans.

So, in order to renew our faith in the prophet, it is imperative to read and understand both the Quran and the life of the prophet in a holistic perspective. Then, it is as essential to treat the prophet as human in his actions, unless he was known to act according to an explicit guidance from God. Last but not the least, you must trace something told in the name of the prophet or in the name of Islam to its roots, so that you can avoid deceptions and abuses.

"The superiority of the scholar over the worshiper is like my superiority over the least of you; verily, Allah, His angels, and the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in his hole, even the fish, send blessings upon the one who teaches people to do good." (Grade:Good, Tirmidhi, 2685)

Renaissance - 2

The central notion of Islam is to remove everything that becomes a permanent veil between God and humans. Oblivion to this fact brings about mistakes at different levels and magnitudes. Solution to all of these mistakes is simple: bring people face to face with God. In the coming episodes, God willing, I am going to elaborate on several solutions that can be helpful for the next renaissance of faith, where people can have a chance to see their Creator as clearly as possible.

Speaking of being face to face with God, the most readily available form of such experience is through His revealed word, the Quran. Accordingly, a person being a direct addressee of God without intermediaries is inline with the central notion of Islam, whereas erecting permanent and indispensable walls between individuals and the Quran is against it, hence a lethal error. Now, let's scrutinize what these mean, why they happen, and what a few solutions are.

When the Quran was revealed, it was readily available to everyone, because its addressees had the same language and it was being sent during their life time in context of actual events. So, Quran was not only a holy book but also a private communication between the first Muslims and God. However, after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, things started changing in irreversible ways.

First of all, Quran reached people whose mother tongue was not Arabic. Therefore, the language barrier automatically necessitated translators. But, the very people who were supposed to undertake this task, i.e. scholars, did something puzzling for the lay people. On one side, they translated the word of God into other languages, but on the other side, they firmly insisted on the "untranslatable" nature of it. Why untranslatable?

1. from any language to another, there is always a loss of meaning upon translation, and Arabic is no exception,
2. word of God is a manifestation of all names of God, each of which have infinite depth; so, it cannot be perceived in its totality by the human mind that is limited in time, space, knowledge,etc. So, the Quran must be re-translated and re-interpreted again and again over time and by different minds.
3. a major issue with the previous revelations was the fact that their originals were lost, for which translations played an important role, and the Islamic scholars knew better than emphasizing or focusing on the translations in order not to repeat the same mistake.

As a result, the public either stayed at a distance from the Quran due to the language barrier and sufficed with memorizing it, or they did a simple peek at its meaning without really thinking on it and relying on the scholars for understanding it. After all, who are they to claim anything about the word of God when there are scholars who are well trained and devoted for this task! So, in the eyes of a public who are unable to attain a face to face talk with God, scholars and their interpretations of the word of God gradually became impenetrable walls between people and God. However, it must be noted that even if these scholars had been perfect minds and had the purest of intentions in their hearts, their understandings and expressions would/could become obsolete or even wrong due to time. And we know that such perfection and purity was not the case always... So, as humanity came to the 20th century, Quran was surrounded by large and thick walls erected by the scholars and maintained by the public.

One of the revolutionist scholars at the beginning of the 20th century, Said Nursi reports a dream of his where the walls around the Quran are blasted away, and he interprets this dream as violent and open attacks to Quran when nobody is around to defend it. Looking back through the lenses of this article, we can interpret this dream differently. It can be claimed that in fact those walls (scholars and their works) were the obstacles that hindered a direct access to the word of God, and the authority of those scholars were "functioning" as idols that were intermediaries between God and people. Since the believers insisted on not destroying such "mental idols", God did that through the hands of the non-Muslims.

Now today, in this context, what can we do for the renaissance of faith in the 21st century? This is an open-ended question, and I would suggest that people do their own brain work on the issue based on their own experiences and share with each other their opinions. Without needing to generalize any given suggestion, a large set of different applications can be conceived. Below, I am sharing my ideas based on my experiences:

1. Every believer must acquire at least a basic level of Arabic language skills so that, when they are reciting the Quran during their prayers or at other times, they can feel an un-intermediated communication with their Lord (12/2).
2. A believer must compare the word-by-word translations and the regular translations in order to formulate questions about why the scholars preferred to express certain things in one way and not others? Such questioning may help overcome at least some of the limitations of a single-mind (2/170). 
3. Believers must scrutinize the Quran, and wherever they come across with something that sounds strange or discrepant, they must pursue it to the end. Only through such scrutiny that one can be truly guided and achieve a certainty of faith. Don't worry, this is exactly what the Quran challenges the people to do (4/82). As you read, compare and contemplate over the different verses of the Quran, the hadiths or historical events about them and the scholars' interpretations of them, you are going to exhibit your intention to connect with your Lord. And He is the best of those who respond to invitations. (2/186)
4. Increasing the Quran memorization and implementing its recitation to the daily prayers are essential to encourage exploration of the ocean of the Quran. As is, despite their advanced biological ages, believers are like little kids playing at the beach with the few short verses in memory, without ever venturing towards horizons beyond or under water. This suggestion can be inferred from God's invitation towards the unbelievers, which must be even further pronounced for the believers. (9/6)
5. Just like Quran is composed of verses of God, so is the nature and universe. Modern urbanization trends are ripping people from these two immense books of God. One simply cannot understand Quran well without developing close ties with the nature and universe. Otherwise, why is God making countless references to them? (2/164)