Mortimer Adler’s “How to Read a Book” left a big impact on me as a young reader. It shaped my ability to read intelligently and think critically to such an extent, I consider the steps outlined in it prerequisite to discussion. For this reason, I keep this old post pinned to the top of the page.
Here are the steps to good reading as outlined in this now classic liberal arts work:
Continue readingIt occurred to me while studying the development phases of the Hadith tradition: ibn Hajar al-Asqalani lived a whole 600 years after al-Bukhari whose work ibn Hajar wrote the most authoritative commentary for. Bukhari himself lived 200 years after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. For perspective, when ibn Hajar was writing his commentaries, Muslims were still ruling Spain!
That’s like me writing a commentary today on a book from 1425 about events from 1225. I’m actually closer in time to al-Asqalani than he was to the Prophet ﷺ. This doesn’t invalidate Hadiths – not at all – but it does mean we inevitably conceptualize them differently than scholars from centuries past.
For context, here’s how the tradition developed1:
The canonization period especially shapes our understanding today. Think about it – the time between the Hijra and the end of canonization roughly equals the time between now and America’s founding. We understand the Constitution differently than the Founders did, right? So why wouldn’t understanding of Hadiths evolve too?
Dr. Jonathan Brown (whose work I deeply respect) has argued that controversial Hadiths were addressed and reconciled by classical scholars. That’s partly true, but oversimplified. Take the genuinely problematic Hadith where Umar mentions the stoning verse2 being removed from the Quran. The “reconciliations” offered by classical scholars are fascinating but hardly satisfying.
Al-Baqillani (d. 403 AH) suggested its recitation was abrogated but ruling maintained – essentially creating a two-Quran problem. Ibn Majah reported the verse was eaten by a goat (along with the breastfeeding verse). And Imam Suyuti argued that Quran 15:9’s promise of preservation only applies to what Allah intended to preserve – convenient, but circular reasoning.
These aren’t truly “reconciled” problems. Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) outright rejected this Hadith, arguing any Quranic verse would have been mutawatir lafzi (widely-transmitted verbatim). Al-Baqillani himself expressed doubts about “missing verses.” Ibn al-Wazir (d. 840) suggested narrators misunderstood Umar’s statement. Modern scholars from Muhammad Abduh to Rashid Rida have similarly rejected it on theological grounds.
The real question isn’t about authenticity but rather: why did many scholars accept such problematic narrations? Brown himself acknowledges in his “Canonization of Bukhari and Muslim” that the authority of these collections “was an illusion conjured up in the dialogic space of debate and exposition.”
We shouldn’t pretend all Hadith problems were neatly resolved by our predecessors. That’s not how scholarship works. The tradition includes acceptance AND criticism. Many serious Hadith scholars treat problematic narrations as data points – you don’t discard them, but you might exclude them from practical application.
Let’s stop assuming scholars from 600 years ago understood events from 800 years before them flawlessly. We could easily cite medieval scholars who rejected problematic Hadiths and claim a 1100-year tradition of criticism!
Next time, I’ll explore how our conception of Hadiths differs from our predecessors – and why that matters for contemporary Islamic thought.
In surah Maryam, the word for her labor pains is مخاض – makhāḍ. The root of مخاض makhāḍ is listed in most classical dictionaries as مخض m-kh-ḍ which means “to churn”. So the common theory is that labor pains are like the churning of the baby moving around. That seems reasonable. It would be on the pattern فَعال fa‘āl like سماء صباح سماع جمال etc…
But I propose the root is خوض kh-w-ḍ on the pattern مَفعال where the و is weakened. (It’s called lenition in linguistics. In the Arabic tradition, they just called it “substitution”). The root خوض means to wade through water and then metaphorically to force one’s way out. I think the imagery is clear here that the baby is forcing its way out, which is also technically more accurate as being the cause of labor pains. I’ll come back to this and the water motif later.
One problem to solve though is that we have words like the active participle ماخض meaning “in labor“. This is good evidence that the root is مخض. What I propose is they both may be correct, and I think it’s easy to see the semantic relationship between “wading” and “churning”. So how is this possible?
One way this works is a process where a word with a prefix like تَـ or مَـ becomes so common that it gets “stuck” due to common usage and thus forms a whole new word paradigm. This is well-attested in words like تقوى with the original root as وقي meaning to “protect” or “guard“, and the prefix ت from the pattern gets absorbed into the root! It’s a fascinating process that applies pretty much to any triliteral root beginning with a و or ي. And any word beginning with ت or ن are strong candidates for words whose original root was و, like توبة from تاب originally آب meaning return. Words with ت as the first root are extremely rare by the way.
This morphophonological change is called lexicalization, like in the word مكان. Initially the root is كون but due to high frequency of usage, the root gets reanalyzed as مكن. Or a word like مدينة whose original root is دين but over time a root forms into مدن. In English, a good example would be ‘percent’, which was initially ‘per centum‘, i.e. “by the hundred”
Words with م prefix are even stronger candidates of this process. If you know what you’re doing, you could literally open the Lane dictionary at م and have another screen open at أ or و and just go down the list.
أود = to bend –> مأد = a branch
وتع = sin –> مُتعة = pleasure
This is not intro stuff, and it probably conflicts with your understanding of how Arabic morphology works, so don’t worry if it’s hard to grasp right now. It doesn’t really help you learn the language. This is historical linguistics which you won’t find in even the most advanced Arabic classes. I wasn’t taught it when I studied Arabic. It’s just something you sort of figure out the deeper you go.
Now back to the water motif. Let’s accept the etymology of خوض and the word مخاض would be that time when the baby wades its way through the birth canal (notice the water motif in the English word canal). In the very same ayah that mentions the labor pains driving Sayyida Maryam to the tree trunk, she’s told there’s a rivulet or small stream beneath her. That word for rivulet سَريّ looks an awful lot like سُرّيّ = umbilical cord. Also remember the original meanings of نُطفة are pure water and pearl, we are created from “ejected water” in surah Tariq (i.e. her water breaking). Also, there’s the laden vessel in Surah yasin that is probably a symbol for the mother’s womb and the offspring in future generations. So in conclusion, the water<>birth motif is very strong in this passage about Maryam’s labor pains
Most animals cannot recognize their reflection in a mirror. They can see the glass, they can see the image, but they don’t understand it, or rather cannot interpret what they’re seeing. It’s as if the image doesn’t reach their sense of self – assuming they have one.
Most humans – except for those with rare neurological disorders – can see both the glass and recognize the image as our own. In fact, that’s the focus of all our attention to the exclusion of the glass itself. I would argue that we are created in such a way to be more attentive to any image reflected in the mirror than the glass itself. It is one of our most defining and innate endowments to be able to perform second level thinking of this kind.
Looking at the mirror to see only the glass is like looking in the creation to see only world, and not the reflection of the Creator’s attributes. This is the difference between a scientific method and a shuhudi method. First order and second order reflection. A scientific method principled on naturalism and materialism observes the world for the sake of the world, while the shuhudi method observes it for the sake of knowing its Owner. We can’t take the human propensity for asking innate questions out of our equation.
Looking at the mirror to see only the glass is like looking at the creation to see only the world, and not the reflection of the Creator’s attributes.
Scientism asks that we remove ourselves from the system to be able to observe “objectively” – as if we were gods above the world looking over our dominion to judge it, not intimately and irreversibly tied to it. Scientism looks for answers with no concern of meaning or purpose failing to see the most primordial needs of every human; needs which do not originate in this world, but are given to each and everyone of us. Without purpose and meaning we fall ill, depressed, neurotic, panicked, or worse. Scientism asks that we not care about the observer’s state or well-being.
From the moment of a person’s creation, he is created in a state of need. Recognizing this perpetual state of need is fundamental to Iman, but wholly insignificant to scientism. A shuhudi method acknowledges the centrality of mankind and his need for not only knowing his purpose, but the need to fulfill it1. That purpose is to recognize his Lord in His creation2, just as the purpose of the mirror is to recognize what is reflected in it. The scientific method – while efficient in achieving its purpose – is rudimentary at best for mankind. Like animals looking at the mirror. Like pointing at the moon but they’re looking at your finger. The moon is likewise pointing to something other than itself, because it – like all of creation – is an ayah that points to something truly meaningful and significant beyond itself. This is the second critical concept in the shuhudi method: that what is observed points to something of a second order. It points to the Rububiya or Lordship over that thing. Recognizing the ayat in the creation, we can fulfill our need of recognizing and knowing our Lord.
The challenge of seeing ayat before the materiality of anything is the same for every human being. It is our fitra to see all things as miraculous signs reflecting the Face of Allah, and it is the role of prophets to help remind us how to do this. The last critical step of the shuhudi method is acknowledging we are created to desire eternal life and that the One who gave us this primordial need for eternal life certainly would not neglect it while fulfilling our secondary needs.
Surah al-Duha3 describes this shuhudi method very succinctly. Allah first calls our attention to the testimony of the morning light and the night as it becomes silently still. As if to acknowledge how this silence would fill mankind with fear of abandonment, Allah immediately explains this is not the case – your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He showing contempt for you, His most beloved creation. In fact, the life to come is certainly made better for you than the first. And your Lord will certainly fulfill all your needs so that you’ll be pleased.
Then Allah asks you to center your relationship with Him: didn’t He find you with nothing and gave you this world? And He found you directionless with no purpose and guided you to Him through ayat in the creation, and He found you in need and satisfied those needs. Understand that He created you to need Him so that you can know Him. Mankind’s state of need is perhaps the greatest gift, because it is our direct and unmediated path to recognizing His Attributes reflected in His creation.
Allah then reminds: Do not oppress those in need, or you’ll obstruct their witnessing of His ayat. And do not chastise the beggar, because his Lord created him in need so that he may recognize Him. And tell others about the Grace your Lord bestows on His creation4.
Following the guidance of this surah and applying its wisdom, I believe, prepares the mu’min for witnessing and recognizing the face of His Lord in the creation.
Surah al-Ḍuḥa
By the morning light
and the night when it becomes quiet
Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He hate you.
But the next life is certainly better for you than this one.
And your Lord will certainly give so much to you that you will be satisfied.
Didn’t He find you as an orphan and shelter you?
Didn’t He find you lost and guide you?
Didn’t He find you needy and satisfy your needs?
So do not oppress the orphan.
Nor repulse the one asking for help.
But proclaim the blessings of your Lord!
– The word muslim (submitter) occurs 42 times in the Quran.
– Not once is it the subject of a sentence.
– It’s always a predicate.
That’s odd.
In other words, the Quran never says “The Submitters do this” or “The Submitters are that”.
For a noun occurring 42 times, we expect it to be somewhat evenly distributed between subject and predicate. Not necessarily 50/50. But never a subject? Always a predicate? That’s not noun behavior.
That’s adjective behavior.
What does this mean?
It means the Quran uses the word “muslim” as an adjective, not a noun. “muslim” in the Quran is an attribute or quality: “submitting”. Not an identity, a person, or a group of people.
That’s interesting.
We on the other hand use it almost exclusively opposite to the Quran. We only mean it in terms of identity or group membership.
That’s unsettling.
| # | Surah | Lemma | # | Surah | Lemma |
| 1 | 2:128 | رَبَّنَا وَاجۡعَلۡنَا مُسۡلِمَيۡنِ لَـكَ… | 22 | 21:108 | فَهَلۡ اَنـتُمۡ مُّسلِمُونَ |
| 2 | 2:128 | وَمِنۡ ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ اُمَّةً مُّسۡلِمَةً لَّكَ… | 23 | 22:78 | هُوَ سَمّٰٮكُمُ المُسلِمِينَ مِن قَبۡلُ |
| 3 | 2:132 | فَلَا تَمُوۡتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَؕ | 24 | 27:31 | وَاۡتُوۡنِىۡ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 4 | 2:133 | وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 25 | 27:38 | …قَبۡلَ اَنۡ يَّاۡتُوۡنِىۡ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 5 | 2:136 | وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 26 | 27:42 | وَاُوۡتِيۡنَا الۡعِلۡمَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 6 | 3:52 | وَاشۡهَدۡ بِاَنَّا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 27 | 27:81 | فَهُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ |
| 7 | 3:64 | فَقُوۡلُوۡا اشۡهَدُوۡا بِاَنَّا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 28 | 27:91 | وَّاُمِرۡتُ اَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَۙ |
| 8 | 3:67 | كَانَ حَنِيۡفًا مُّسۡلِمًا | 29 | 28:53 | اِنَّا كُنَّا مِنۡ قَبۡلِهٖ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 9 | 3:80 | اَيَاۡمُرُكُمۡ بِالۡكُفۡرِ بَعۡدَ اِذۡ اَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 30 | 29:46 | وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ |
| 10 | 3:84 | وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 31 | 30:53 | فَهُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ |
| 11 | 3:102 | وَلَا تَمُوۡتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 32 | 33:35 | اِنَّ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ وَالۡمُسۡلِمٰتِ |
| 12 | 5:111 | وَاشۡهَدۡ بِاَنَّـنَا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 33 | 33:35 | اِنَّ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ وَالۡمُسۡلِمٰتِ |
| 13 | 6:163 | وَاَنَا اَوَّلُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 34 | 39:12 | وَاُمِرۡتُ لِاَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ اَوَّلَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 14 | 7:126 | وَّتَوَفَّنَا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 35 | 41:33 | وَّقَالَ اِنَّنِىۡ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 15 | 10:72 | وَاُمِرۡتُ اَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 36 | 43:69 | وَكَانُوۡا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَۚ |
| 16 | 10:84 | فَعَلَيۡهِ تَوَكَّلُوۡاۤ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 37 | 46:15 | وَاِنِّىۡ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ |
| 17 | 10:90 | وَاَنَا مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 38 | 51:36 | فَمَا وَجَدۡنَا فِيۡهَا غَيۡرَ بَيۡتٍ مِّنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَۚ |
| 18 | 11:14 | فَهَلۡ اَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ | 39 | 66:5 | عَسٰى رَبُّهٗۤ اِنۡ طَلَّقَكُنَّ اَنۡ يُّبۡدِلَهٗۤ اَزۡوَاجًا خَيۡرًا مِّنۡكُنَّ مُسۡلِمٰتٍ |
| 19 | 12:101 | تَوَفَّنِىۡ مُسۡلِمًا | 40 | 68:35 | اَفَنَجۡعَلُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ كَالۡمُجۡرِمِيۡنَؕ |
| 20 | 15:2 | رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا لَوۡ كَانُوۡا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 41 | 72:14 | وَّاَنَّا مِنَّا الۡمُسۡلِمُوۡنَ |
| 21 | 16:89 | وَّبُشۡرٰى لِلۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 42 | ||
| 16:102 | وَّبُشرٰى لِلۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ | 43 |
رَبَّنَا وَاجۡعَلۡنَا مُسۡلِمَيۡنِ لَـكَ وَمِنۡ ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ اُمَّةً مُّسۡلِمَةً لَّكَ وَاَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبۡ عَلَيۡنَاۚ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيۡمُ
Our Lord, and make us submitting to You and from our descendants a submitting nation [in submission] to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
وَوَصّٰى بِهَآ اِبۡرٰهٖمُ بَنِيۡهِ وَيَعۡقُوۡبُؕ يٰبَنِىَّ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اصۡطَفٰى لَـكُمُ الدِّيۡنَ فَلَا تَمُوۡتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَؕ
And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], “O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are submitting.”
اَمۡ كُنۡتُمۡ شُهَدَآءَ اِذۡ حَضَرَ يَعۡقُوۡبَ الۡمَوۡتُۙ اِذۡ قَالَ لِبَنِيۡهِ مَا تَعۡبُدُوۡنَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِىۡؕ قَالُوۡا نَعۡبُدُ اِلٰهَكَ وَاِلٰهَ اٰبَآٮِٕكَ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ اِلٰهًا وَّاحِدًا ۖۚ وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, “What will you worship after me?” They said, “We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac – one God. And we are submitting to Him.”
قُوۡلُوۡٓا اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِ وَمَآ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَيۡنَا وَمَآ اُنۡزِلَ اِلٰٓى اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَ وَالۡاَسۡبَاطِ وَمَآ اُوۡتِىَ مُوۡسَىٰ وَعِيۡسٰى وَمَآ اُوۡتِىَ النَّبِيُّوۡنَ مِنۡ رَّبِّهِمۡۚ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Say, “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are submitting to Him.”
فَلَمَّاۤ اَحَسَّ عِيۡسٰى مِنۡهُمُ الۡكُفۡرَ قَالَ مَنۡ اَنۡصَارِىۡۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِؕ قَالَ الۡحَـوَارِيُّوۡنَ نَحۡنُ اَنۡصَارُ اللّٰهِۚ اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِۚ وَاشۡهَدۡ بِاَنَّا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
But when Jesus felt [persistence in] disbelief from them, he said, “Who are my supporters for [the cause of] Allah?” The disciples said, “We are supporters for Allah. We have believed in Allah and testify that we are submitting.
قُلۡ يٰۤاَهۡلَ الۡكِتٰبِ تَعَالَوۡا اِلٰى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَآءٍۢ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمۡ اَلَّا نَـعۡبُدَ اِلَّا اللّٰهَ وَلَا نُشۡرِكَ بِهٖ شَيْئًا وَّلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُنَا بَعۡضًا اَرۡبَابًا مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِؕ فَاِنۡ تَوَلَّوۡا فَقُوۡلُوۡا اشۡهَدُوۡا بِاَنَّا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Say, “O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.” But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are submitting.”
وَلَا يَاۡمُرَكُمۡ اَنۡ تَتَّخِذُوۡا الۡمَلٰٓٮِٕكَةَ وَالنَّبِيّٖنَ اَرۡبَابًاؕ اَيَاۡمُرُكُمۡ بِالۡكُفۡرِ بَعۡدَ اِذۡ اَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Nor could he order you to take the angels and prophets as lords. Would he order you to disbelief after you had been submitting?
قُلۡ اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِ وَمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ عَلَيۡنَا وَمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ عَلٰٓى اِبۡرٰهِيۡمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَ وَالۡاَسۡبَاطِ وَمَاۤ اُوۡتِىَ مُوۡسَىٰ وَعِيۡسٰى وَالنَّبِيُّوۡنَ مِنۡ رَّبِّهِمۡ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Say, “We have believed in Allah and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are submitting to Him.”
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا اتَّقُوۡا اللّٰهَ حَقَّ تُقٰتِهٖ وَلَا تَمُوۡتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except while submitting.
وَاِذۡ اَوۡحَيۡتُ اِلَى الۡحَـوَارِيّٖنَ اَنۡ اٰمِنُوۡا بِىۡ وَبِرَسُوۡلِىۡۚ قَالُوۡۤا اٰمَنَّا وَاشۡهَدۡ بِاَنَّـنَا مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
And [remember] when I inspired to the disciples, “Believe in Me and in My messenger Jesus.” They said, “We have believed, so bear witness that indeed we are submitting.”
لَا شَرِيۡكَ لَهٗۚ وَبِذٰلِكَ اُمِرۡتُ وَاَنَا اَوَّلُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
He has no partner, and this I am commanded, and I am the first to submit.
وَمَا تَـنۡقِمُ مِنَّاۤ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ اٰمَنَّا بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّنَا لَمَّا جَآءَتۡنَاؕ رَبَّنَاۤ اَفۡرِغۡ عَلَيۡنَا صَبۡرًا وَّتَوَفَّنَا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And you do not resent us except because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as submitting.”
وَقَالَ مُوۡسٰى يٰقَوۡمِ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ اٰمَنۡتُمۡ بِاللّٰهِ فَعَلَيۡهِ تَوَكَّلُوۡاۤ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And Moses said, “O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then rely upon Him, if you should be submitting.”
فَاِنۡ تَوَلَّـيۡتُمۡ فَمَا سَاَلۡـتُكُمۡ مِّنۡ اَجۡرٍؕ اِنۡ اَجۡرِىَ اِلَّا عَلَى اللّٰهِۙ وَاُمِرۡتُ اَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And if you turn away [from my advice] then no payment have I asked of you. My reward is only from Allah, and I have been commanded to be of the the submitting.”
وَجٰوَزۡنَا بِبَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرآءِيۡلَ الۡبَحۡرَ فَاَتۡبـَعَهُمۡ فِرۡعَوۡنُ وَجُنُوۡدُهٗ بَغۡيًا وَّعَدۡوًاؕ حَتّٰۤى اِذَاۤ اَدۡرَكَهُ الۡغَرَقُۙ قَالَ اٰمَنۡتُ اَنَّهٗ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا الَّذِىۡۤ اٰمَنَتۡ بِهٖ بَنُوۡۤا اِسۡرآءِيۡلَ وَاَنَا مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them in tyranny and enmity until, when drowning overtook him, he said, “I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the submitting.”
فَاِلَّمۡ يَسۡتَجِيۡبُوۡا لَـكُمۡ فَاعۡلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ بِعِلۡمِ اللّٰهِ وَاَنۡ لَّاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَۚ فَهَلۡ اَنۡتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
And if they do not respond to you – then know that the Qur’an was revealed with the knowledge of Allah and that there is no deity except Him. Then, would you [not] be submitting?
رَبِّ قَدۡ اٰتَيۡتَنِىۡ مِنَ الۡمُلۡكِ وَعَلَّمۡتَنِىۡ مِنۡ تَاۡوِيۡلِ الۡاَحَادِيۡثِۚ فَاطِرَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ اَنۡتَ وَلِىّٖ فِىۡ الدُّنۡيَا وَالۡاٰخِرَةِؕ تَوَفَّنِىۡ مُسۡلِمًا وَّاَلۡحِقۡنِىۡ بِالصّٰلِحِيۡنَ
My Lord, You have given me [something] of sovereignty and taught me of the interpretation of dreams. Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die submitting and join me with the righteous.”
رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا لَوۡ كَانُوۡا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been submitting.
وَيَوۡمَ نَـبۡعَثُ فِىۡ كُلِّ اُمَّةٍ شَهِيۡدًا عَلَيۡهِمۡ مِّنۡ اَنۡفُسِهِمۡ وَجِئۡنَا بِكَ شَهِيۡدًا عَلٰى هٰٓؤُلَۤاءِؕ وَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡكَ الۡـكِتٰبَ تِبۡيَانًا لِّـكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ وَّهُدًى وَّرَحۡمَةً وَّبُشۡرٰى لِلۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And [mention] the Day when We will resurrect among every nation a witness over them from themselves. And We will bring you, [O Muhammad], as a witness over your nation. And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things and as guidance and mercy and good tidings for the submitting.
قُلۡ نَزَّلَهٗ رُوۡحُ الۡقُدُسِ مِنۡ رَّبِّكَ بِالۡحَـقِّ لِيُثَبِّتَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَهُدًى وَّبُشۡرٰى لِلۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
Say, [O Muhammad], “The Pure Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth to make firm those who believe and as guidance and good tidings to the submitting.”
قُلۡ اِنَّمَا يُوۡحٰىۤ اِلَىَّ اَنَّمَاۤ اِلٰهُكُمۡ اِلٰـهٌ وَّاحِدٌ ۚ فَهَلۡ اَنۡـتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
Say, “It is only revealed to me that your god is but one God; so will you be submitting?”
وَجَاهِدُوۡا فِىۡ اللّٰهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهٖؕ هُوَ اجۡتَبٰٮكُمۡ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ فِىۡ الدِّيۡنِ مِنۡ حَرَجٍؕ مِلَّةَ اَبِيۡكُمۡ اِبۡرٰهِيۡمَؕ هُوَ سَمّٰٮكُمُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ ۙ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ وَفِىۡ هٰذَا لِيَكُوۡنَ الرَّسُوۡلُ شَهِيۡدًا عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَتَكُوۡنُوۡا شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى النَّاسِۖۚ فَاَقِيۡمُوۡا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاٰتُوۡا الزَّكٰوةَ وَاعۡتَصِمُوۡا بِاللّٰهِؕ هُوَ مَوۡلٰٮكُمۡۚ فَنِعۡمَ الۡمَوۡلٰى وَنِعۡمَ النَّصِيۡرُ
And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. [It is] the religion of your father, Abraham. He called you submitting before and in this, so that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the people. So establish prayer and give zakah and hold fast to Allah. He is your protector; and excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper.
اَلَّا تَعۡلُوۡا عَلَىَّ وَاۡتُوۡنِىۡ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
Be not haughty with me but come to me submitting.’ “
قَالَ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الۡمَلَؤُا اَيُّكُمۡ يَاۡتِيۡنِىۡ بِعَرۡشِهَا قَبۡلَ اَنۡ يَّاۡتُوۡنِىۡ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
[Solomon] said, “O assembly [of jinn], which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me submitting?”
فَلَمَّا جَآءَتۡ قِيۡلَ اَهٰكَذَا عَرۡشُكِؕ قَالَتۡ كَاَنَّهٗ هُوَۚ وَاُوۡتِيۡنَا الۡعِلۡمَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
So when she arrived, it was said [to her], “Is your throne like this?” She said, “[It is] as though it was it.” [Solomon said], “And we were given knowledge before her, and we have been submitting.
وَمَاۤ اَنۡتَ بِهٰدِىۡ الۡعُمۡىِ عَنۡ ضَلٰلَتِهِمۡؕ اِنۡ تُسۡمِعُ اِلَّا مَنۡ يُّؤۡمِنُ بِاٰيٰتِنَا فَهُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
اِنَّمَاۤ اُمِرۡتُ اَنۡ اَعۡبُدَ رَبَّ هٰذِهِ الۡبَلۡدَةِ الَّذِىۡ حَرَّمَهَا وَلَهٗ كُلُّ شَىۡءٍ وَّاُمِرۡتُ اَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَۙ
[Say, O Muhammad], “I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this land, who made it sacred and to whom [belongs] all things. And I am commanded to be of the submitting.”
And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our verses so they are submitting.
وَاِذَا يُتۡلٰى عَلَيۡهِمۡ قَالُوۡۤا اٰمَنَّا بِهٖۤ اِنَّهُ الۡحَـقُّ مِنۡ رَّبِّنَاۤ اِنَّا كُنَّا مِنۡ قَبۡلِهٖ مُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And when it is recited to them, they say, “We have believed in it; indeed, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed we were, [even] before it, submitting.”
وَلَا تُجَادِلُوۡٓا اَهۡلَ الۡكِتٰبِ اِلَّا بِالَّتِىۡ هِىَ اَحۡسَنُ ۖ اِلَّا الَّذِيۡنَ ظَلَمُوۡا مِنۡهُمۡ وَقُوۡلُوۡٓا اٰمَنَّا بِالَّذِىۡۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَيۡنَا وَاُنۡزِلَ اِلَيۡكُمۡ وَاِلٰهُـنَا وَاِلٰهُكُمۡ وَاحِدٌ وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ
And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are submitting to Him.”
وَمَاۤ اَنۡتَ بِهٰدِ الۡعُمۡىِ عَنۡ ضَلٰلَتِهِمۡؕ اِنۡ تُسۡمِعُ اِلَّا مَنۡ يُّؤۡمِنُ بِاٰيٰتِنَا فَهُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَ
And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our verses so they are submitting.
اِنَّ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ وَالۡمُسۡلِمٰتِ وَالۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ وَالۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ وَالۡقٰنِتِيۡنَ وَالۡقٰنِتٰتِ وَالصّٰدِقِيۡنَ وَالصّٰدِقٰتِ وَالصّٰبِرِيۡنَ وَالصّٰبِرٰتِ وَالۡخٰشِعِيۡنَ وَالۡخٰشِعٰتِ وَالۡمُتَصَدِّقِيۡنَ وَالۡمُتَصَدِّقٰتِ وَالصّآٮِٕمِيۡنَ وَالصّٰٓٮِٕمٰتِ وَالۡحٰفِظِيۡنَ فُرُوۡجَهُمۡ وَالۡحٰـفِظٰتِ وَالذّٰكِرِيۡنَ اللّٰهَ كَثِيۡرًا وَّالذّٰكِرٰتِۙ اَعَدَّ اللّٰهُ لَهُمۡ مَّغۡفِرَةً وَّاَجۡرًا عَظِيۡمًا
Indeed, the submitting men and submitting women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
وَاُمِرۡتُ لِاَنۡ اَكُوۡنَ اَوَّلَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And I have been commanded to be the first of the submitting.”
وَمَنۡ اَحۡسَنُ قَوۡلاً مِّمَّنۡ دَعَاۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ وَعَمِلَ صَلِحًا وَّقَالَ اِنَّنِىۡ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the submitting.”
اَلَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا بِاٰيٰتِنَا وَكَانُوۡا مُسۡلِمِيۡنَۚ
[You] who believed in Our verses and were submitting.
وَوَصَّيۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ بِوَالِدَيۡهِ اِحۡسٰنًاؕ حَمَلَتۡهُ اُمُّهٗ كُرۡهًا وَّوَضَعَتۡهُ كُرۡهًاؕ وَّحَمۡلُهٗ وَفِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوۡنَ شَهۡرًاؕ حَتّٰٓى اِذَا بَلَغَ اَشُدَّهٗ وَبَلَغَ اَرۡبَعِيۡنَ سَنَةً ۙ قَالَ رَبِّ اَوۡزِعۡنِىۡۤ اَنۡ اَشۡكُرَ نِعۡمَتَكَ الَّتِىۡۤ اَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلٰى وَالِدَىَّ وَاَنۡ اَعۡمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرۡضٰٮهُ وَاَصۡلِحۡ لِىۡ فِىۡ ذُرِّيَّتِىۡ ؕۚ اِنِّىۡ تُبۡتُ اِلَيۡكَ وَاِنِّىۡ مِنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ
And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the submitting.”
فَمَا وَجَدۡنَا فِيۡهَا غَيۡرَ بَيۡتٍ مِّنَ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَۚ
And We found not within them other than a [single] house of the submitting.
عَسٰى رَبُّهٗۤ اِنۡ طَلَّقَكُنَّ اَنۡ يُّبۡدِلَهٗۤ اَزۡوَاجًا خَيۡرًا مِّنۡكُنَّ مُسۡلِمٰتٍ مُّؤۡمِنٰتٍ قٰنِتٰتٍ تٰٓٮِٕبٰتٍ عٰبِدٰتٍ سٰٓٮِٕحٰتٍ ثَيِّبٰتٍ وَّاَبۡكَارًا
Perhaps his Lord, if he divorced you [all], would substitute for him wives better than you – submitting, believing, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshiping, and traveling – [ones] previously married and virgins.
اَفَنَجۡعَلُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ كَالۡمُجۡرِمِيۡنَؕ
Then will We treat the submitting like the criminals?
وَّاَنَّا مِنَّا الۡمُسۡلِمُوۡنَ وَمِنَّا الۡقٰسِطُوۡنَؕ فَمَنۡ اَسۡلَمَ فَاُولٰٓٮِٕكَ تَحَرَّوۡا رَشَدًا
And among us are submitting, and among us are the unjust. And whoever has submitted – those have sought out the right course.
Always remember you are from the Garden. It is your home.
Every bounty sent to you in this world is from home.
Care packages picked and carefully wrapped from leaves of the Garden.
Each one set in the river of Kawthar by angelic messengers.
Each one sent with a message tucked inside, handwritten by your Lord.
And the Quran – it is a love letter reminding you to open them all until you come home.
Looking for rules in the Revelation is like looking for a needle in a haystack while your horse is starving. To compare, the Quran devotes 10 times more attention to astronomical events than law or ritualistic minutia, yet that ratio is inversely proportional on nearly every Muslim bookshelf, layman or scholar. I know nearly zero Muslims who can identify Jupiter or the Pleiades and maybe hundreds who know where to put their hands during Salah according to each legal school – a fact never once mentioned in the Revelation.
Most of the Quran‘s discourse is devoted to encouraging the reader to pay attention to various observable phenomena in the world around him, and to understand what they are signifying as ayāt or signs pointing to their Lord. Not in a mystical or speculative way, but a rational and inductive approach.
Rather than making the Quran fit to my world, I should immerse myself in the world of the Quran. There I will discover how frivolous and tainted are my desires for “correctness”, no matter how much my nafs dresses them up as “religious” or “islamic” pursuits. Such is the entirety of the fiqh tradition
Secularism needs a reboot: A separation between State and Science.
Separating Church and State was not merely for the protection of the state, but also for the protection of the parishioners against political viruses overtaking the moral programming of the host. The state imports no values onto the citizen: only executive functioning. Consequently, agents of the state impose on religious bodies a separation of authority and influence that they themselves do not uphold.
Continue readingEvery claim put forth by the Quran – by God – must be validated by the audience regardless of who they think they are or who they think He is.
This goes double for any commentary about the Quran.
A friend asked me “what’s good about tradition?” Lots! Comfort, familiarity, a sense of belonging, ritual or automaticity that frees up the mind for new learning which is incredibly taxing on the nervous system. But the more appropriate question is perhaps: “What’s good about traditionalism?” Nothing.
Tradition itself does not impose any rules, but prescriptivists wield it (fallaciously) under the moniker of traditionalism. For example, a tafsir specialist recently insisted I root my interpretation of the Quran in “the tradition”. What he means is “you must adhere to my favorite medieval scholar’s beliefs”. Of course, this proposal becomes obviously false and logically fallacious when we expose the underlying contention, but his mistake reminded of the problem with the question “what’s good about tradition”. Traditional-ism as a validator or gatekeeper of interpretation is incoherent. While traditionalism may be reassuring in terms of pietistic customs (e.g. my uncle was an upright person, so I’ll do what he did), role models impart no value in the interpretation of a text, except in the effectiveness of their methodology. The traditional<>novel binary is itself inadequate and confused with other polemical frames which only mimic the core dilemma (4 and 5 below) underpinning the more ambiguous binaries.
(1) is mostly meaningless and should be rejected. It is the most abstract and ambiguous
(2) hinges on a fallacy ad populum and moving goal post (one man’s orthodoxy is another man’s heterodoxy). It is slightly more formal than (1).
(3) is poorly defined (where does tradition end and how is membership defined?) and is the least abstract of the false dichotomies.
(4) and (5) are the workable.
The reflections and analyses I propose are often mistaken as progressive, heterodox, and anti-tradition. This simply is not the case, as none of those dichotomies play a role in my interpretative methods to reach the potential of explanatory adequacy – methods that adequately explain the observations yielding a falsifiable interpretation. The methods I use are straightforwardly descriptive and inductive: I show my work as I reach a conclusion. This contrasts sharply with much of the medieval era when publishing was expensive, thus the bulk of exegeses were committed to preserving and relaying the conclusions of other scholars, not prescribing those conclusions. Today, however, enthusiasts of medieval discourses mistake those exegetical remarks as:
Two things to bear in mind, however.
First, an exegesis is a derivative of linguistic and/or semiotic description, which in turn is a derivative of linguistic observation. Once observational adequacy and descriptive adequacy are achieved, an explanatory adequacy can be pursued. In other words, every interpretation or explanation of the Quranic utterance itself is twice removed from the signs themselves, dependent upon linguistic analysis, and must be validated primarily by way of the linguistic observations and descriptions.
Second, a linguistic descriptive analysis is neither subject to nor subordinated by any tautological prescriptivism. It requires no validation from an imagined tradition. These linguistic observations need only be validated by the 6th century Arabian sociolinguistic context and the intertextuality of the Quranic utterance itself.
These are the first order questions of any exegesis, not “what did al-Razi say?” What al-Razi or others had to say must be validated through the inspection provided by the first order questions above. There are more questions of a pragmatic nature (why is the speaker telling me this?, can I confirm this?, etc) though not necessarily foundational to every interpretive approach. What is foundational, however, is observation, description, and inductive reasoning to construct an interpretation or theory.
I found myself unexpectedly moved by this utterance ولينصرنّ الله من ينصره “God helps whomsoever helps Him” Q22:40. It is one of the most explicit descriptions of the causal relationship between the Creator and His creation via the intimacy between humanity and His attributes; a description the intensity of which is muted in the English rendering. God’s ينصر is doubly stressed in this ayah لـ+ينصر+نّ, compared to man’s ينصر , as if to say “God’s help is immeasurable and unmistakably clear” to those who use their ‘aql.
"Those who have been driven unjustly from their homes only for saying, ‘Our Lord is God.’ If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God’s name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause- God is strong and mighty" Q22:40
The preservation of houses of worship established for knowing Him is indeed something virtuous, a reflection of His Attribute of “Helper”.
When I hear this utterance, I feel the primordial questions implanted in me are suddenly awakened:
“Who put me here? What is my purpose? Who or what is the source of this [attribute of ‘help’] in the world and what is its relationship to me?”
I know of nothing in this world that is inherently a “helper” — nothing owning this quality — rather this quality must be projected onto the members of this creation from some eternal infinite storehouse, as it is shared by myriads of apparent helpers of different forms. The appearance of this attribute — according to the Quranic Message — is a clear sign of my Creator, the Eternal Owner of this quality. The person who helps من ينصر , is thereby miraculously reflecting the sign of God’s attribute “The Helper”. This clear sign is communicated to everyone all the time in the myriad of “helpers” in this world, reaching our faculty of ‘aql which is fashioned to discern and recognize signs of God.
The ayah reaffirmed for me the famous verse in al-Anfal
"So, you did not kill them, but Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw but Allah did throw, so that He may bless the believers with a good favor. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing." Q8:17
That is to say, those who help God (by defending His houses) are in fact fulfilled by God’s Help. This I find in the meaning of ” Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of other” of Q22:40 above. It’s a reminder to me that everywhere I see Nasr/Help in this world – even in my own deeds – it is in fact only a reflective reminder/proof of God’s Attribute from His infinite treasury.
