Your Spirit mixed with my Spirit little by little, he wrote of God in his Diwan, by turns, through reunions and abandons. One could argue that the clash of monotheisms is the inevitable result of monotheism itself. Heres an illustration of his outlook: If the childhood stories about Muhammed seem familiar, it is because they function as a prophetic topos: a conventional literary theme that can be found in most mythologies. In his book No God but God, Reza Aslan claims that "In all, there are said to be three hundred sixty idols housed in and around the Kaba, representing every god recognized in the Arabian Peninsula." Therefore people from all over Arabia congregated in this area to worship their gods. Email Address: Follow This book was thoroughly eye-opening. This is an online-exclusive from theChristian Research Journal. certainly are nothing but names, images and forms. The more one tries to squelch it, the stronger it becomes. Come to prosperity, come to prosperity. God didn't exactly die, god chose to become the universe and ceased being a separate entity. If there is a No god but God SparkNotes, Shmoop guide, or Cliff Notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. Depending on the study guide provider (SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc. This is my angur! cried the Persian. This book can be a good starting point to those who want to discover more about Islam. He took pot shots at Christianity and Judaism, and his comments about those religions contained several inaccuracies, such as Aaron having brought the Jews to the Promised Land. And el-Tabari points out that the first Muslim fast corresponded with, They made a solemn covenant to return to the pristine religion of Abraham, whom they considered neither Jewish nor Christian, but a pure monotheist: a hanif (from the Arabic root huf, meaning to turn away from, such as someone who turns away from idolatry). This would be compelling if 1) he ever returns to this argument in any sustained fashion later in the book and 2) if he understood the Reformation as anything more than a violent religious response to modernity that threw off authority. Cliff Notes , Cliffnotes , and Cliff's Notes are trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc. SparkNotes and Spark Notes are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Among the summaries and analysis available for No god but God, there are 1 Short Summary and 7 Book Reviews. Al-Tabari recounts how some of these men brought their grievances to Muhammad, asking, How can one give the right of inheritance to women and children, who do not work and do not earn their living? They present radically different views of God and salvation and only one can be true. Written in clear prose and filled with memorable stories both personal and traditional, I found my mind and heart easily staying engaged with this book. because the woman is weak, silly, and in one sense like a child, his commentary became (and still is) one of the most widely respected in the Muslim world. Fight in the way of God those who fight you, the Quran says, but do not begin hostilities; God does not like the aggressor (2:190). Whatever truths they convey have little to do with historical fact., In many ways, the partition of India was the inevitable result of three centuries of Britains divide-and-rule policy. Our Bible study class decided we wanted to learn something about Muslims. . ASH is a website for cultural outreach, and to unite people who seek goodness and knowledge. Who were the Hypsistarians: Inner life requires attention to the world, How to be happy: Happiness is a choice, not a genetic factor, Believe in yourself: keep pushing, every answer is inside you, Words of wisdom: Epicurus letter on happiness, Temple Mount: the Sacreds space and location for the encounter of realities, In Praise of Folly (Erasmus of Rotterdam), Epiphany: meaning and what people actually celebrate, Who is Satan: Why (sadly) it is important to know the Devil, Eid al-Adha: The remembrance in Islam of Abrahams faith, Sufism: what it is, and who the Sufis really are, Mohammed meaning of Seal of the Prophets, Timeline of Important milestones in Islamic history. Intra-Islamic Sectarianism. Very good primer on Islam--it's a thorough and sweeping history and very engaging and well-written. Abdallah politely refused and continued to the house of Amina, where he consummated the marriage that would result in the birth of the Prophet. Aslan, however, does seem to think of an Islamic democracy as in some sense an Islamic state. The hadith, insofar as they addressed issues not dealt with in the Quran, would become an indispensable tool in the formation of Islamic law. And finally, when the celebrated Quranic commentator Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi (11491209) interpreted the verse [God] created spouses for you of your own kind so that you may have peace of mind through them (3:21) as proof that women were created like animals and plants and other useful things [and not for] worship and carrying the Divine commands . But returning home after one of his painfully violent revelatory experiences, or after suffering another indignity from the Qurayshhis head covered in dirt, his tunic defiled with bloodand not having Khadija there to wrap him in her cloak and hold him in her arms until the terror subsided must have been an unimaginable sorrow for the Prophet., Yet lost in the debate about Americas true intentions in the Middle East was the fact that large majorities in every Muslim-majority state surveyed told pollsters they wanted to see their countries move toward greater democracy. Having divorced myself from Islam a couple of years back but continued to struggle with a lot of resentment regarding current "theological" and cultural affairs, coming across this book parted some clouds in my mind. I am unable to say, And they are unable to hear., The concept of fasting was extraneous to the bedouin experience (it would have been absurd to voluntarily deprive oneself of food or water in a desert climate), there is no doubt that Mohammed mutated this ritual for the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula, which the Quran itself admits by declaring: Fasting is prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those who preceded you (2: 183). Tawil delves into the concealed message of the text, which, because of its mystical nature, is comprehensible only to a select few. This is a welcome tendency in his book.) But this will be more than a home. , . Other chapters explore the concept of jihad, Sufi mysticism, and the Islamic response to colonialism up through the early twentieth century. . First, the historical narrative Aslan presents is engaging, informative, eminently readable, and, under close scrutiny, fairly reliable. The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam Addeddate 2014-10-19 17:22:37 Identifier RezaAslanNoGodButGod Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t02z43q5n Ocr ABBYY FineReader 9.0 Ppi 300 . Aslan focuses primarily on the practices of early Islam, but also discusses life within the Abbasid Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Muslim world. R. Douglas Geivet, PhD, is professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. Alarmists warn of the imminent dissolution of civilization, longsuffering multiculturalists call for sharp discrimination between the militant minority and the peace-loving majority within the Muslim community, and others greet Muslim immigration with the expectation that little will change in American culture as a result of the assimilation of Muslims. Islam is no different than Judaism or Christianity in being human responses to the religious imperative. Aslan goes on to say that this does not mean that the religious authorities would have no influence on the state. He says that such influence can only be moral, not political. But this is what I call uzum, replied the Turk. . I am far more interested in the historical aspect of any religion than I'll ever be in its theology, and Reza Aslan proves to be thought-provoking at best. But if the intent was to present a vision of how muslims should understand their faith under the challenge of modernity, it falls way short. The intention of the United States government in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war was to curb the spread of Irans revolution, but it had the more disastrous effect of curbing its evolution., Some have argued, a few of them violently, that the Caliphate should be restored as the emblem of Muslim unity. The author argues that the Quran does not command women to be covered with the veil, and that the concept of jihad was intended solely for defensive purposes. ________ Reverend William Spooner was famous for a type of funny verbal mistake that became known as a (n) _____ . As one would expect, Muhammads innovations did not sit well with the male members of his community. And it is hard to ignore the fact that nearly one sixth of all reliable, A true Sufi, Shaykh Haeri writes, does not separate the inner from the outer, for when you start by purifying your inner self, you end up being concerned with the outer and with society., In Muhammads lifetime, the Quran was never collected in a single volume; in fact, it was never collected at all., Even al-Hallaj admitted that his experience of unity with God came after a long journey of inward reflection. He segues to this chapter with this brief paragraph: Fourteen hundred years of rabid debate over what it means to be a Muslim; of passionate arguments over the interpretation of the Quran and the application of Islamic law; of trying to reconcile a fractured community through appeals to Divine Unity; of tribal feuds, crusades, and world warsand Islam has finally begun its fifteenth century (248). CRI Web: www.equip.org Tel: 704.887.8200 Fax:704.887.8299 3 God include the familiar Muslim acclamation, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the . The next day, when Abdallah saw the same woman again, he asked her, Why do you not make the same proposition to me today that you made to me yesterday? The woman replied, The light which was with you yesterday has left you. You will have a direct line to ASH, for any questions you have: you will only be one email away from ASH. Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God." Write the letter of the choice that gives the sentence a meaning that is closest to the original sentence. And they believe that in this very place Abraham was on the point of sacrificing Ishmael, before being stopped by the promise that he too, like his brother Isaac, would beget a great nation, whose descendants now roam the sandy valley of Mecca like a whirlwind in the desert., Religion, it must be understood, is not faith. God presented three conditions and signs. Second, the book is devoted mostly to historical documentation. We were woefully ignorant on the subject and needed to learn something about the religion. This is an online-exclusive Viewpoint from the Christian Research Journal. I undertake to satisfy the desires of all of you. Taking the coin, the linguist went to a nearby shop and bought four small bunches of grapes. But there is no reason to believe that such a term was used to designate a distinct religious movement until several years later or, it may be, until the death of the Prophet., In the Ummah, there was no tradition of veiling until around 627 C.E., when the so-called verse of hijab suddenly descended upon the community. Overall a very good book on Islam. It was the followers who came after both of them that twisted their message. We make no distinction between any of them; we submit ourselves to God., Manichaeism, the doctrine founded by the Prophet Mani, was a Gnostic religious movement heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism which preached a complex, radical dualism between the forces of darkness/evil and the forces of light/good.. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016. However,it is not merely the tension that exists between the Islamic religion . If the husband died, his wife would inherit a portion of his property; if he divorced her, the entire dowry was hers to take back to her family. The person who brought the conversation together began the discussion by saying atheism doesn't imply nihilism and that she was becoming rather impatient with those who imply such a thing, wagging her finger at theists, saying her life without God has been very happyvery happy, indeed. Offers quick summary / overview and other basic information submitted by Wikipedia contributors who considers themselves "experts" in the topic at hand. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of Reza Aslans No god but God. English, l-nsi il popolo ; i popoli ; le nazioni Read more , The five pillars of Islam (arkn al-Islm ; also Read more , A doxology (Ancient Greek: doxologia, from , doxa, glory Read more , raqiya sky ; firmament ; heaven Read more , Assiah (or Asiyah, also known as Olam Asiyah, Read more , Abrahamic Study Hall 2015-2023 - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - About Us, I just wanted to remind you of a statement that represents the thinking here at ASH (Abrahamic Study Hall): Minds are not changed merely through acquiring data or information (if that were the case it would take no effort to convince Americans that Obama is, in fact, a Christian). We are all living in it. In short, a really interesting book for both Muslims and anyone who wants to know more about the origins and growth of this Abrahamic faith. Aslan does reassure with the emphatic declaration that an Islamic democracy cannot be a religious state. A religious state would not be a democracy but an oligarchy (most would say, with dread, that it would be a theocracy). From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that calls into question everything we thought we knew about Jesus of Nazareth. I disagree with Aslan - it matters a great deal whether the beliefs of a religious community are shaped by actual historical events (including amazing ones) or whether such beliefs are based on falsehood. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has recently published a memoir titled My Year Inside Radical Islam (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2007). BlogCritics reviews use emotional language to describe the feel and content of the book, relying on colorful language and an informal tone. It offers a sympathetic but critical look at the origin and development of Islam. But lately Ive learned that King fought for more than African American rights. What are we, especially those of us who are traditional Christian believers, to make of this, or of the rest of Aslans book? Reviews in The Guardian display a strong grasp of the subject matter, and are able to analyze whether the book accomplished its goal. The Quran suffered a similar fate, as different schools of interpretation emerged. The argument that the Shariah derives its divine nature from its first and primary source, the Quran, falls flat when one recognizes that the Quran, unlike the Torah, is not a book of laws. Sunni and Shiites had always been merely exotic names but for the first time I could understand why these groups might despise each other all these centuries later. These Muslims believe that the ideals of Islam and nationalism are diametrically opposed to each other, to quote Mawlana Mawdudi, founder of the Pakistani sociopolitical movement Jamaat-i Islami (the Islamic Association)., For European colonialists like Alfred, Lord Cromer, the British consul general to Egypt at the end of the nineteenth century, the veil was a symbol of the degradation of women and definitive proof that Islam as a social system has been a complete failure. Never mind that Cromer was the founder of the Mens League for Opposing Womens Suffrage in England. . And for those [women] that you fear might rebel, admonish them and abandon them in their beds and beat them [adribuhunna]. And for those [women] that you fear might rebel, admonish them and abandon them in their beds and beat them [adribuhunna]. You will learn a lot from No God But God, especially about Islamic cultural practices and their Quaranic (or lack of Quaranic) roots. I have no need of you today., Considering how effortlessly religious dogma has become intertwined with political ideology, how can we overcome the clash-of-monotheisms mentality that has so deeply entrenched itself in the modern world? (21). This became the site of Medina, the City of the Prophet. Aslan details the significance of Medina in Chapter 3, where he makes the arresting statement, Today, Medina is simultaneously the archetype of Islamic democracy and the impetus for Islamic militancy (52). When I thought Martin Luther King Jr., I would think of the Civil Rights Movement, the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the seminal I Have a Dream. My understanding of him was limited to a single optic, that of racial justice. (Ephesians 2:4-6 RSV) Faith is a way of moving and being in the world; religion is a body of traditions and practices and institutions that preserve the story of how to move and be in the world that way. Too many instances dispute my current knowledge of the prophets life. . Aslan distinguishes between factual history and sacred history (3). He cannot offer them wine, which is the essence of the fruit. His books include No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (published 2005) and How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization and the End of the War on Terror (published 2009). As an academic, I know how distressingly rare it is to find an writer with strong scholarly chops and an accessible writing voice. From the Islamic perspective, however, the attacks on New York and Washington were part of an ongoing clash between those Muslims who strive to reconcile their religious values with the realities of the modern world, and those who react to modernism and reform by revertingsometimes fanaticallyto the fundamentals of their faith., God is, in other words, wholly Other: the Mysterium Tremendum, to borrow Rudolph Ottos famous phrase., The Kaba, like the Pyramids in Egypt or the Temple in Jerusalem, may have been constructed as an axis mundi, sometimes called a navel spot: a sacred space around which the whole of the universe revolves, the link between the earth and the solid dome of heaven., For the Sufi, reality is neither emptiness nor illusion; reality is God., The Spanish philosopher and physician Ibn Rushd (112698), better known as Averros in the West, pushed al-Jabbars conception of truth to its limit by proposing a two truths theory of knowledge in which religion and philosophy are placed in opposition to each other. There are, of course, many paths to the summit-some better than others. Summary The Islamic religion is indeed facing hard times. Of politics and history it is a good introduction for the non-muslim. Reality is neither emptiness nor illusion, reality is God. Elsewhere the Quran is more explicit: Permission to fight is given only to those who have been oppressed who have been driven from their homes for saying, God is our Lord (22:39; emphasis added)., This creator God was called Allah, which is not a proper name but a contraction of the word al-ilah, meaning simply the God., There are striking similarities between the Christian and Quranic descriptions of the Apocalypse, the Last Judgment, and the paradise awaiting those who have been saved., But tawhid, which literally means making one, implies more than just monotheism. Desires of all of you would expect, Muhammads innovations did not sit well with the male members of community. 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