Book Review: The Imam and the Atheist, by Mohamed Abdul Azeez

This is a good introduction to philosophical arguments for the existence of God for anyone of faith who – like me – is a philosophy newbie. It's written as a series of conversations between an Imam and the uncle of a boy who has renounced his faith in God. The uncle is struggling to understand his nephew and the Imam is helping the uncle to understand the philosophical ideas that the youth is grappling with.

Framing the book as a series of discussions, each building on the last, gives the book a nice sense of a story. Framing the book as a series of discussions between the Imam and the uncle – a receptive listener – rather than the Imam and the atheist allows the author to get away with some oversimplifications of the opposing view. You could view this as a criticism of the book. However, this is what allows the book to remain an elementary level read so this is a good thing as far as I am concerned.

I must commend the author for having a go at a couple of really sensitive topics during the course of the book: Evolution and LGBTQA+. The chapter on evolution was my favourite of all the chapters by far. It has left me with food for thought to ponder on well beyond my reading of the book. Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone of faith who wants an easy to read introduction to a number of philosophical concepts. If you're like me, it will leave you with plenty of topics to plug into your conversational AI tool of choice during and after your read of it!

Below are some passages from the book that stood out for me:

"Helping my kids sail their intellectual boats to the shores of safety took priority over pretending that the ocean is stormless."

"... to say: God doesn't exist, is more of a statement of faith than a statement of science or reason."

"The Quran usually describes at length the fact that God created the diversity of life on earth, but it doesn't say how. It only alludes to the origins of everything, which is the Arabic word Turab, or the dirt of the earth. It certainly doesn't describe how it all happens."

"... 'be and it is is' doesn't necessarily suggest the instant sprouting of a being into existence. God in the Quran talks about how man is the product of 'be and it is' yet it takes us, and all creation really, actual time – in our case nine months – to come into existence. And if that is the case, then the evolution of one species from another could be one possible way by which God 'creates'..."

"... the evolutionary process, although it involves what we might consider random processes of natural selection and random genetic mutations, [may] not actually [be] random at all... they [may be] subject to a plethora of factors, of which we simply have no knowledge, and that's why we, out of mental laziness, call it random chance."

"... normalising sin and sinful lifestyle in the name of biological tendencies rips man of agency and free will."

"... things are not as black and white as some might think."

"... the enmity between established Christianity in Europe in the Middle Ages and any form of free thought, made the two mutually exclusive, hence it became necessary to neutralise religion if any progress in science, economics or politics were to be achieved. The same was not true in the Muslim world..."

"... no metaphysical idea managed to survive the incessant molestation of philosophy than that of a Creator."

"... the assumption that the universe has a Maker has not been committed to the museum of antiquated human thought, despite the constant battery. It's not a relic of the past, but an instrument of the present. What are we to do with this interminable lust for God?"

"... God endures."

Qur'an: Intercession

"... All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him.

Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave?

He knows what is before them and what is behind them..."

(Abdul Haleem's translation of Ayah 2:255)

Book Review: Even Angels Ask, by Jeffrey Lang

I enjoyed reading the author's earlier published book entitled Struggling to Surrender so got straight to this one after finishing that one! This book is similar to the previous book and there is considerable overlap between the two but I'd still highly recommend reading both. Like his previous book, there's a good mix of the author's personal experiences and stories on what it means to be an American and a Muslim together with the author's reflections on the Qur'an. I particularly enjoyed in this book the author's discussions on the relationship between culture and religion: how the two can easily be mixed up over time, how the former can influence the way a person approaches the latter, and so on and so forth. Overall this book will probably be of more interest to Muslims living as a minority in a largely non-Muslim environment but there is much benefit and insight here for all.

Below are some of my favourite short quotes from the book:

"... The question of the purpose of life is fundamental, and we can hardly know a person or a society until we understand how this question is treated..."

"... Repetition is indicative of the importance given to certain topics. It should be observed that the Arabic word for knowledge, 'ilm, and its derivatives appear 854 times in the Qur'an, placing it among the most frequently occurring words..."

"... The Qur'anic God is anything but impartial to mankind's condition. He sends prophets, answers prayers, and intervenes in and manipulates the human drama... All is under His authority, and nothing takes place without His allowing it..."

"... The Qur'an's "most beautiful names" of God imply an intense involvement in the human venture. These names, such as The Merciful, The Compassionate, The Forgiving, The Giving, The Loving, The Creator, etc., reveal a God that creates men and women in order to relate to them on an intensely personal level..."

"... the Qur'an shows that God intends to produce through this earthly experience persons that share a bond of love with Him..."

"... Trial and tribulation are held to be inevitable and essential to human development and both the believer and unbeliever will experience them..."

"... It is not surprising that the Qur'an upholds the so-called golden rule. Many do feel that it is better to give than to recieve, to be truthful rather than to live a lie, to love rather than to hate, to be compassionate rather than to ignore the suffering of others, for such experiences give life depth and beauty..."

"... in the winters of our lives, our past wordly or material achievements will seem less important to us than the relationships we had, loves and friendships that we shared, and times we spent giving of ourselves and doing good to others..."

Book Review: Struggling to Surrender, by Jeffrey Lang

Excellent read. Really enjoyed reading the author's journey to Islam and his take on what it means to be a Muslim. Also enjoyed reading the author's attempt at understanding and explaining various contentious issues such as the use of symbolism in the Qur'an, the authenticity of Hadith, the role of women in Muslim communities, apostasy, the People of the Book and many others! Of course not everyone will find the author's opinions agreeable and sometimes his opinions are not in line with the Muslim status quo but you can feel his sincerity and his strong desire to maintain objectivity throughout.

Here are some quotes from the book:

"... I learned very quickly that no one knows loneliness like an atheist. When an average person feels isolated, he can call through the depths of his soul to One who knows him and sense an answer. An atheist cannot allow himself that luxury, for he has to crush the urge and remind himself of its absurdity..."

"...'I do have one question.' I paused, not sure how to formulate it. 'Can you tell me what it feels like to be a Muslim? I mean, how do you see you relationship with God?'..."

"... To me, praying the dawn prayer in the mosque is one of the most beautiful and moving rituals in Islam. There is something mystical in arising while everyone else sleeps to hear the music of the Qur'an filling the darkness. It is as if you temporarily leave this world and commune with the angels in extolling God's praises at dawn...

"... You cannot simply read the Qur'an, not if you take it seriously. You either have surrendered to it already or you fight it. It attacks tenaciously, directly, personally; it debates, criticizes, shames, and challenges. From the outset it draws the line of battle, and I was on the other side..."

"... the Qur'an has no beginning and or end… its fundamental concepts can be ascertained regardless of the order in which it is read. But for one who is about to respond to its call, the arrangement of the Qur'an is pivotal, for the further you progress through it, in the correct order, the more intense and emotive is its expression. As a result, the closer one comes to conversion, the more magnetic is the summons..."

Qur'an: People of Understanding

Surely, in the creation of the heavens and the earth,

and in the alternation of night and day,

there are signs for people of understanding,

who remember God

standing, sitting and [lying] on their sides,

who ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth:

'Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain.

You are far above that!

So save us from the torment of the Fire.'

(Al-Qur'an, Surah Aal Imran, Verses 190-191)

Qur'an: Those who do good

"... Those who spend in prosperity and adversity

and who control their anger and forgive people.

And Allah loves those who do good.

And those who,

when they commit a shameful act or wrong themselves,

remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins

- and who is there to forgive sins except Allah? -

and do not persist in what they have done, knowingly.

Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord

and gardens beneath which rivers flow

where they shall live forever.

And excellent is the reward of those who work.

(Al-Qur'an, Surah Aal Imran, Verses 134-136)

We see here in this sequence of verses that qualities relating to the rights of men are mentioned together with qualities relating to the rights of God. It's important to remember though that the rights of God are not meant to benefit God in any way! God does not suffer in any way if they are not fulfilled. The one who worships Him is the one who gains.

Qur'an: Unity

"... Hold onto the rope of God, all of you,

and be not divided.

And remember the blessing of God upon you:

When you were enemies to each other

and He brought your hearts together

and you became, by His grace, brothers..."

(Al-Qur'an,  Surah Aal Imran, Verse 103)

The rope of God,

the connecting link,

between the believers and their Lord,

and the believers one to another,

it is the Qur'an.

And in the Qur'an is their unity,

and in their unity is their strength.

Qur'an: Spending the cherished

"You shall never attain righteousness

until you spend from what you love.

And whatever it is you spend,

God is fully aware of it."

(Surah Aal Imran, Verse 92)

Spending the cherished:

to give away what one likes and holds dear,

preferring another over one's self,
knowing with certitude that God recompenses.

Umar: Spiritual well-being

"Pay a great deal of attention to your heart.

Talk to your troops, exhort them

and remind them of the importance of good intentions

and of checking on themselves.

Patience, patience.

For the help of God comes

in accordance with how much one checks himself.

Ask God to keep you safe and sound,

and frequently repeat the words:

'There is no power and no strength except with God.'

Fear God and put your hope in Him,

and do not take anything for granted..."

(Snippets of Umar ibn al-Khattab's advice to Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas [may God be pleased with them both] when he appointed him commander over the Muslim army in Iraq)

Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib's summary of Islam for the Negus

"... we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality,

worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals,

committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds,

breaking the ties of kinship,

treating guests badly

and the strong among us exploited the weak.

We remained in this state until God sent us a Prophet,

one of our own people

whose lineage, truthfulness and integrity were well known to us.

He called us to worship God alone

and to renounce the stones and the idols

which we and our ancestors used to worship besides God.

He commanded us to speak the truth,

to honour our promises,

to be kind to our relations,

to be helpful to our neighbours,

to cease all forbidden acts,

to abstain from bloodshed,

to avoid obscenities and false witness,

not to appropriate an orphan's property

nor slander chaste women.

He ordered us to worship God alone

and not to associate anything with Him,

to uphold Salah,

to give Zakah,

and fast in the month of Ramadan.

We believed in him

and what he brought to us from God

and we follow him in what he has asked us to do

and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing..."

Qur'an: The desires of the heart

"Beautified for people

is the love of that which they desire;

of women and sons,

heaped-up sums of gold and silver,

fine branded horses,

and cattle and tilled land.

That is the enjoyment of the worldly life.

And God has with Him the best return."

(Surah 3, Verse 14)

How lucky man is
to have in the desires of his heart

a means
to distinguish himself:

to realise the temporariness of his wants;

to act on them only in what is necessary;

to overcome them for deeds eternal.

Qur'an: The Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining

"God:

there is no god but Him,

the Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining."

(Surah 3, Verse 2)

Herein lies a declaration and a proof:

God has no beginning and no end,

and it is He Who sustains all that exists.

And can there be two gods

who have no beginning and no end,

and sustain all that exists?

And can there by any other than God

who is worthy of adoration and worship?

Qur'an: God does not burden a soul

"God does not burden a soul

with more than it can bear."

(Surah 2, Verse 286)

Meaning:

man is not taken to account for involuntary thought

but for intent.

"Each gains whatever good it has done,

and suffers its bad."

The verses of Riba in Surah Al Baqarah

Here's some points taken out from Ma'aariful Qur'an about the verses of Riba (interest/usury) in Surah Al-Baqarah. Worth a ponder!

1. The verses of Riba (verses 275-279) are surrounded by the verses of charity (verses 261-274 and verse 280), signifying perhaps that the two concepts are related to and at odds with each other. One is to do with giving (decreasing one's stock), and the other is to do with taking (increasing one's stock).
2. God does not respond to the reasoned argument that "Riba is similar to trade" with a counter-argument but, rather, responds by stating that one is allowed and the other is not. (See verse 275.)
3. God has stated that one who lived his life in the consumption of Riba will be raised on the Day of Judgement like one tormented by Satan's touch. Raising the consumers of Riba in this state is perhaps indicative of a certain parallelism: They lived their lives in pursuit of money, senseless & unaware of the harms of their actions, and thus they will be raised.

The etiquettes of giving in charity

Here's some lessons on giving charity taken out from verses 261 to 274 of Surah Al-Baqarah:

1. Give to attain God's approval, and as an affirmation of your faith, and not to be seen by people.
2. Do not follow your giving with reminders of benevolence or hurtful words.
3. A kind word and forgiveness is better than a charitable deed followed by hurtful words.
4. Give from the good things you have acquired and not from the bad things which you yourself would not accept.
5. To give openly is good, and to give in secret is even better, and know that God is well aware of all that you do.

Why I pray

Because God will be increased if I do?
Because God will be diminished if I don't?
For the world around me to be changed?
That's not why I pray!

Because it's my challenge.
Because it's my joy.
For the strength to be that change.
That's why I pray.

Ikhlaas

Some say, it's
sincerity,
good faith
and a pure intention.

Ultimately, it's
that secret
none knows
but God and I.

Moses, the children of Israel, and cows

I can't believe I didn't see this til now! The story of the cow in the second Surah of the Qur'an (Verses 67 to 73). In brief: Moses instructs his people that God commands them to slaughter a cow, and they are reluctant, going off and coming back each time asking for specifics - what type of cow? what colour cow? what size cow? and so on and so forth. I passed this off, as I'm sure most people do, as his people simply being petty, slightly rebellious in nature perhaps.

However! This story and its real significance takes on a whole new meaning when understood in the context of other stories involving Moses, his people and cows! When Moses leaves his people to meet the covenant of God (at a time later to the above-mentioned story), what did his people do? Construct an idol, right? And what shape did that idol take? Exactly! That of a cow. You'll see that Moses' people had been freed from Pharaoh in person but they had yet to be freed from Pharaoh intellectually. A part of them still held those things deified by Pharaoh and his leadership as sacred. Another example of this of course is, after leaving Pharaoh and passing a group of people worshipping idols, they asked Moses to make for them a "God" like these people had "Gods".

So! Going back to the story under discussion: The coming back-and-forth of Moses' people and their questioning for specifics was not simply down to pettiness, or a rebellious nature. It was to buy time. In hope perhaps that Moses, or his God maybe, would change his mind! And, likewise, the command from God for Moses' people to slaughter a cow was not random. It was to be for them a step towards liberation.

Jesus

He ate.

He slept.

He prayed.

He was, a man.

Is my God different to your God?

"Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent'." (Al-Qur'an, Chapter 112, Verses 1-4)

It's pretty fundamental, one's understanding of God. There are those who don't believe in God and those who do. As for those who do, do they each believe in a different God or the same God, or multiple Gods even? It's a question often put forward by those of no faith, or of uncertain faith: "Let's say I am to believe in God, which do I believe in?!"

The problem, like a lot of things in life (!!), lies in a dependence on names over definitions. Call a God "God" or "Allah" or "Jehovah" or "Krishna" or whatever, but it matters little as compared to what one takes these names to mean. So, let's try our hands at a definition: God is the Originator of creation (the "universe" as we know it and the "angels" and so forth of which we know little), Who has no beginning and no end. What do you think? You like? You agree?

Now, let's work with that definition - of God being the Originator, Who has no beginning and no end - it's then impossible for there to be multiple Gods or for each of us to believe in a different God, i.e. assuming there is such a God, there can only be one such God and we each believe in and call out to that one same God. From this basis does all interesting discussion begin: is there such a God? Did God then create us and the world around us with a purpose? Are we to figure out this purpose ourselves or has God communicated it to us? Of those to have claimed such revelation ("prophethood"), how can we distinguish the truthful from the opportunist from the mistaken? How do we know that the teachings with us today attributed to these "prophets" are indeed the teachings of these prophets? And so on and so forth...