Kyle Woodruff's Blog: TheDevoutHumorist - Posts Tagged "islam"

Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the for Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.

The Qur’an 2:62
(Translated by Muhammed Ali Shakir)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I lived in Saudi Arabia for a year after graduating college. I got to see the practice of Islam firsthand. While at first the practice of bowing down to pray five times a day seemed extreme, after a while I came to appreciate how peaceful and humble it could make you.

Imagine even taking five breaks out of your day to breathe and offer gratitude for what you have. How could that habit change your life?

Islam gets a bad rap from the radical terrorism that emerges from the religion, but all I met were warm and welcoming people while I was there. This quoted line appears early in the Qur’an and makes it seem like other (at least Abrahamic) religions are accepted amongst Muslims as well.

I’m curious to see what the exploration of the Qur’an has to offer.

That community passed away.
What they earned belongs to them,
and what you earn belongs to you.
You will not be answerable for their deeds.

The Qur’an - 2:134
(Translated by Abdel Haleem)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was listening to a podcast with addiction expert Dr. Gabor Maté yesterday. He said there’s no evidence alcoholism is a physical trait passed down through generations, but rather the pattern of trauma causing addiction that’s passed on. I thought it was interesting timing that I stumbled upon this quote while reading the Qur’an. It serves as a reminder that we’re not our ancestors, and that we can separate ourselves from their paths if need be.

Of course, this could go one of two ways: You’re not bound to the bad deeds or habits which your family performed, but then again, you’re not secured to any good that’s come before you either. You’re an individual when it comes to being seen by God (if you believe in such a thing. And if you don’t, you can still apply this wisdom in cutting ties with any preconceived stories about ending up like your father or mother or what have you).

In the context of the passage in the Qur’an, this was referring to how Judaism and Christianity began to deviate from the path Abraham set out on. From what I read, it seems Islam was of born from observing the self-righteous bickering between Christians and Jews, accusing each other of having no basis for their respective beliefs, even though they had the same Scripture. Islam was a reversion to simple faith of the Abrahamic ways, worshipping one god, without the need for any coming Messiah or divine offspring.

That said, the Qur’an encourages its followers to live in peace with those of other faiths, and accepts there are partial truths in all religions. It leaves the judgment of all men to God as a way of dealing with the irrational and futile arguments made by those who claim salvation is exclusive.

The Muslim conception of Allah seems to be broad, including what’s best in other religions, but free from any of their limitations. The principle in unity of faith, and unity of all prophets and messengers throughout the ages, is the cornerstone of Islam. This universal characteristic brings people under the same banner, free of prejudice and discrimination.

I’m officially intrigued.

We will surely put you to trial
by involving you in fear and hunger
and by causing loss of property, life and earnings.
Give good tidings to those who remain steadfast in these trials.

The Qur’an - 2:155
(Translation by Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes I wonder how much of these things are like horoscopes, meaning they’re general statements that could apply to anyone, really. Sure, God will put you through tough times to try your faith, but aren’t atheists also going to endure tough times as well? Sure, rewards will be given to those who hold onto faith through these trials, but won’t non-believers experience good times as well? Seems like ups and down are just the natural flow of things, whether you believe in God or not.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in God, but I wonder if with some minor tweaks omitting the spiritual nature we can boil these things down to generally good advice for all. Like this:

You’ll experience trials in life--fear, hunger, loss--but if you keep your head up, good things will come back around eventually.

I don’t know where I’m going with this exactly. Perhaps to say that wisdom can be drawn from these ancient texts by believers and non-believers alike, that they’re worth reading if you look for the right things. Everyone should strive to follow the same general principles of doing good, expressing love, respecting one another, and paying it forward to make the world a better place. These books are simply reminders of those timeless, universal lessons.

When you divorce women [...],
let them go honorably.
But do not retain them only to harm them
or to take advantage of them.
Whoever does that surely wrongs his own soul.

The Qur’an - 2:231
(Translated by Dr. Mustafa Khattab)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s interesting how soon divorce is mentioned in the Qur’an. I’m exaggerating (slightly), but it’s basically like, “Worship God, for the day of judgment is coming. Oh, and if you need a divorce in the meantime, here’s how to go about it.”

It’s mentioned before teaching anything about building a healthy relationship, working through challenges, or how to be a good partner. 28 pages into a 500+ page book and this is how we get things started?

We could argue the foundation of Islam was build on the biblical scripture, so let’s examine the first mention of divorce in Deuteronomy.

24:1 begins with a bizarre scenario where if a man takes a wife and finds her indecent and divorces her, and she marries a man who finds her indecent and divorces her, the first man is not allowed to marry her again, because this is detestable in the eyes of the Lord.

Any note on choosing a better spouse in the first place? Nah.

How about, “Try to make it work for the children”? Nay.

“Here’s a few tips and tricks for maintaining a happily ever after”? Nada.

(For perspective, this rule is mentioned around the time it says, “If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there,” so needless to say, there is some weird shit in here.)

At least Jesus was a little firmer in his beliefs, saying, “What God has joined together, let no one separate” (except for sexual immorality). But fast forward to Apostle Paul who goes on to suggest that if you’re single you should never marry, because that advice has the foresight to perpetuate the human race past a single generation 🙄

Back in the Qur’an, there are ten plus verses pertaining to the subject of divorce, and not one before them on how to actually handle a relationship. Then, as quickly as the topic comes, it goes. Talk about a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.

I’m by no means a religious scholar, but from what I’ve seen so far, I haven’t absorbed much quality marital advice from the Abrahamic traditions. I suppose I’ll stick to the best modern advisor we have: Dr. Phil 🥴

The parable of those who spend their wealth seeking God’s approval,
and to strengthen their souls, is that of a garden on a hillside.

If heavy rain falls on it, its produce is doubled;
and if no heavy rain falls, then dew is enough.
God is seeing of everything you do.

The Qur’an 2:265
(translated by Talal A. Itani)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was chatting with someone from one of the [*ahem*] less inclusive religions, and when I told them about the concept of this blog their reaction was, “I think it’s good to see the differences between other religions, but [my religion is the right religion, is what it basically boiled down to].” It stuck out to me that she would only consider studying other religions to note the differences, and not the similarities.

The next day I stumbled upon the parable above and noticed the message was identical to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:1, “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven.”

(This line is preceded with something like: Don’t nullify your charitable deeds with reminders of your generosity that hurt the recipient's feelings, like those who spend their wealth just to be seen by other people instead of in service to God. They’re like a rock with a little dirt on top, washed away by a heavy rainfall to reveal nothing but a hard and barren surface. They won’t gain the reward they thought they’d earned.)

I bring this up because my goal in writing this blog is to break down the walls between religions, to find out what are the core agreed upon values among them. I feel it’s counterproductive merely to identify the differences between you and others, and not look for what you have in common. I think you have to ask yourself if that’s what God really calls for. This example here is one of what I’m sure will be many to come.

Here’s to boiling religions down to the basic principles of being a solid human being.

Fighting is ordained for you, even though it repulses you.
You may hate something that is good for you,
or love something that is evil for you.
God knows, but you do not.

The Qur’an - 2:216
(Translated by Safi Kaskas)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How many times have you struggled through something, or questioned something, or wished something was some other way, only to look back and realize it made you stronger?

How many times has something or someone you tried to hold on to slipped away, only to look back and realize it only made you weaker?

I know I’ve experienced these things countless times, just short of kicking and screaming like a child wanting their way. But in retrospect, God always had another plan I couldn’t see, and had I gotten my way, I wouldn’t be who or where I am.

Whoever turns away from My remembrance,
then he will have a miserable life.

The Qur’an 20:124
(Translated by The Monotheist Group)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A recent discussion between Jordan Peterson and Mohammed Hijab called “Talking to Muslims About Christ” mentioned this quote.

Jordan was talking about differing religions, saying it’d be wise for us to see what we can jointly celebrate and manage that in a spirit of ignorance and hope. He then mentioned Carl Jung’s idea, “What you need most will be found where you least want to look.” He tied these statements together by saying we’re mostly likely to be ignorant about what we’re most afraid of, and that as an advocate of a given religious faith, one of the last places we might look is in the wisdom of another faith.

He followed that up with a typically deep JP question:

“But who are you to be such a committed advocate of a faith that’s so complex that there’s no way that someone like you could understand it?”

Which I thought was brilliant, because how many of us are such knowledgeable scholars in our own faith that we’re in a place to have an intelligent discussion of how it could really be “right” or “wrong” compared to another faith?

The conversation then swayed in the direction of whether or not the most fundamental truth is objective in the scientific sense and Mohammed proposed that:

“If you don’t believe in Truth with a capital ‘T’ in the correspondence theory sense…”

(a belief is true if there exists an appropriate entity--a fact--to which it corresponds. If there is no such entity, the belief is false)

“...that there is a God, and that’s a true statement like two plus two is four [...] and He created the world, He created you, He’s sustaining the universe, [etcetera]. If you don’t have that level of certainty, then you will end up being in existential angst and you will end up being depressed. Because that’s what the Qur’an says.” Then he went on to reference the quote above.

I bring this up because I thought it offered some understanding of where this fiery (and sometimes murderous) belief in “The Truth” comes from, and maybe the place from which we can sympathize with those on the other side in trying to understand them.

And remember Our servant Job,
when he called to his Lord,
“Satan has afflicted me with hardship and suffering.”

[…]

And We restored his family,
and their like with them;
as a mercy from Us and a reminder for those of understanding.

The Qur’an - 38:41-43
(Translated by Safi Kaskas)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My backpack was stolen the other night. Brand new Osprey with my phone, keys, and wallet. Went surfing at sunset and when I got in at dark it was gone. At least they left my sandals…

I was pissed. I got all, “Woe is me,” “I hate people,” “The world has gone to shit,” and I couldn’t sleep thinking about how much money and effort I’d spend replacing those things.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, while studying the Book of Job, philosophizing over why bad things happen to good people. As I lay in bed steaming I reflected on all Job went through, losing everything, including his children and health. I, on the other hand, only lost a few material things that could easily be replaced, caused nothing more than inconvenience that would pass within a few days. (I’m even smart enough to keep a spare car key under the tirewell and house key in a lockbox so I wasn’t even locked out.)

I drummed up my “Smile in the face of ____” mantra and filled that blank in with “a stolen backpack.” Then I absorbed a lesson I should have known all along: Don’t be so trusting of random strangers on the beach.

Except, when I went back to the beach early the next morning to look for it one last time, I asked a fireman at the station across the street if he knew of any kind of Lost & Found. Or rather, I prefaced this would-be question with, “It’s likely my backpack was just stolen, bu--”

“Come with me,” he cut me off, leading me into the garage. And there, sitting on a table between two fire trucks, was my backpack. “Some guy brought it in last night thinking it was left behind.” My hatred of mankind immediately melted. “Thank God for good people, huh?”

Yes, well, something like that, Mr. Fireman. Damn overly-ambitious do-gooders, leaving my sandals behind to get washed out to sea and whatnot. Thoughtless bastards…

Seek help through patience and prayers.
God helps those who endure in hard times.


The Qur’an - 2:153
(translated by Safi Kaskas)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hate waiting in lines. (I say this merely to distinguish myself from those who love waiting in lines.) They do, however, give you time to think.

I was thinking about how last night, as I set my alarm for 3:30AM to catch an early flight, I was putting positive thoughts out into The Universe that my travels go smoothly. Of course, when I arrived at the airport, I found out my flight had been canceled while I was stumbling out the door like a zombie…

So, in line for flight reassignment, I was wondering why people pray for outcomes that are ultimately out of their control.

Is it to make ourselves feel some semblance of control over our lives?

To reach for optimism in the face of pessimism?

To hope for order in a world full of chaos?

If there is a God, do we think one of a billion prayers coming in daily will influence His grand plan?

As hard as we pray for smooth travels, prosperity, or good health, can you really pray your way out of canceled flights, financial woes, or even cancer if they’re in the cards?

Is this behavior just reinforcing a desire for control over things that are out of our control when we could, instead, adopt the more practical approach of some of the Eastern religions in letting go of attachment to outcomes?

Is there a purpose in praying for things at all, or should we focus on being grateful for whatever comes our way while walking the path before us with grace?

If there is an omniscient God, He already knows what we want, doesn’t He? So do we really need to beg for it? Or does articulating our desires in the form of prayer fall under the “Ask and you shall receive” umbrella? Does God want us to voice the desires He already knows we have as a form of humbling action? But then again, He doesn’t always deliver on what we want now does He?

I’m afraid I have more questions than answers for you today, but perhaps the great religious scholar Mick Jagger’s words ring true here:

You can’t always get what you want,
but if you try sometime
you just might find
you get what you need.

Let there be no hostility,
except towards aggressors.


The Qur’an - 2:193
(Translated by W. Khan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What we see in the biblical stories are formally oral traditions with unknown origins. They were written down years after they came to into existence, in different languages, in different places, and the church voted on which should be kept. They were translated, edited, and rewritten countless times over the ages. Needless to say, there was room for manipulation when it came to the Word of God.

The reason I bring this up is because Islam believes the Bible can’t be trusted as the Word of God. They believe at one time there were untainted versions of the stories because they’re mentioned in the Qur’an, but the original texts have been lost.

They do believe the Qur’an, however, is the only holy text that can still be trusted. The only issue I have is that it references all these prophets from the very stories it discounts, so if that material can’t be trusted then there is no context to who these people were.

Imagine you’re reading a book and out of the blue it says, “And remember Bob, and all that he accomplished in the name of the Lord. Learn from him.” And then it moves on to Joe doing the same.

“Who? Why is there a name drop with no reference?” That’s what someone unfamiliar with the biblical stories might think when reading the Qur’an when it mentions Abraham or Noah or Job.

I made a post on Reddit’s r/Islam asking if Muslims read the Bible to derive context into their own text, and if not, where do they get their context from. Many jumped on it, trashing the Bible, but not one provided insight into the latter half of my inquiry. So, from my understanding, I’m gathering this is a belief system based on origin stories that don’t exist, which seems particularly unsatisfying.

Many good insights have come from reading the Abrahamic texts, but the more I dive in the more strange things bubble to the surface. At this point I’m just trying to derive any wisdom I can from what we have while taking everything with a grain of salt, which is probably a healthy way to approach anything in life really, especially religion.