Holistic Islam: Sufism, Transformation, and the Needs of Our Time (Islamic Encounter Series) 1940468558, 9781940468556

Citation preview

HOLISTIC ISLAN. Transformation,&- — en e Cha | enge of Our Time i

KABIR HELMINSKI

2

| i

is

=

A

7 |

C= 5 LONGER PROPERTY IES/ ANYTHINK LIBRARDI C™ _AGEVIEW LIBRARY STRI

EBTY oF No LONGER FROF S! IE ANYTHINK LIBRYARDI STRICT AR BR RANGEVIEW LI

Advance Praise for Holistic Islam Sufism has long been the kernel of Islamic truth and the embodiment of its wisdom. Kabir Helminski’s Holistic Islam is a sagacious and indeed perspicacious walk through the heart and soul of Islam. It is an essential source for anyone who is interested in Sufism or in the moral impulse that motivated great sages like Rumi and Hafiz. Perhaps, more importantly, I think this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the real Islamic faith. —Dr. Khalid Abou El Fadl, Distinguished Professor of Islamic Law at the UCLA Law School, and author of The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists Kabir Helminski has written an important and redolent book that deserves to be read and reread. His book, rebalances the under-

standing of Islam, away from the political and theological, and towards the realm of the spiritual and the ethical. For Islam above all is a way and a discipline that seeks to encounter the ever-present traces of the divine in the world. Helminski evokes the beauty and solace that countless millions in history have witnessed and experi-

enced in Islam, and continue to do so to this very day. Holistic Islam is not only about Sufism. It is about a profoundly spiritual religion that continues to be a touchstone for those seeking an authentic path of inner awareness and outer harmony. -Ali Allawi, author of The Crisis of Islamic Civilization (Economist “Best Book of the Year”), and former Minister of Finance and

Minister of Defense, Iraqi Transition Government

In this age when we see strife everywhere around us, it is no surprise that the spiritual and mystical dimension of Islam offers us a return to wholeness and unity. Kabir Helminski’s Holistic Islam reminds us that tawhid is not only about the oneness of God, but,

fundamentally, the means whereby we as human beings become whole, striving for a holistic path towards the One. -—Omid Safi, Director, Duke Islamic Studies Center, author of

Memories of Muhammad

Like Judaism, Christianity and every other religion, Islam has a variety of different stands and interpretations, some extremely repressive, others deeply enlightened. In the midst of an historical period of growing Islamophobia, Kabir Helminski’s presentation of the Sufi version of Islam, much like Christian and Jewish liberation theologies, opens us to the creativity, beauty, and spiritual wisdom of this tradition. Helminski himself is a spiritual master of great depth, and anyone reading Holistic Islam will inevitably find in it wellsprings of inspiration and have new insights about why 1.5 billion people on our planet are attracted to Islam. -Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine and author of the national bestsellers Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation and The Left Hand of God: oe Back our Country from the Religious Right Holistic Islam awakens readers to the realization that moral and spiritual perfection should be the primary goal of every Muslim. Normative models associated with formal religious practice—such as those embedded in classical Islamic law—should not be absolutized nor allowed to harden into dogma. In this book, Shaykh Kabir convincingly demonstrates how Islam may be practiced ina holistic manner, and thus help to bring about a world in which Islam, and

Muslims, are truly beneficent and contribute to the well-being of all humanity. -Kyai Haji Yayha Cholil Staquf, General Secretary, Supreme Council of Nahdlatul Ulama (50 million members)

Ber|IC ISLAM Sufism, Transformation, & the Challenge of Our Time KABIR

HELMINSKI

Ashland, Oregon

All rights reserved. Copyright © 2017 by Kabir Edmund Helminski. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. White Cloud Press books may be purchased for educational, business, or salespromotional use. For information, please write:

Special Market Depament White Cloud Press PO Box 3400 Ashland, OR 97520

Website: www.whitecloudpress.com Cover design concept, Kabir Helminski First edition: 2017 lyf Tks) 1) 2X0) ALP)

10) Ohbss / (HH AL By it

Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Helminski, Kabir Edmund, 1947- author. Title: Holistic Islam : Sufism, transformation, & the challenge of

our times / Kabir Helminski. Other titles: Holistic Islam

Description: Ashland, Oregon : White Cloud Press, 2017. Identifiers: LCCN 2017028623 |ISBN 9781940468556 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Sufism. Classification: LCC BP189 .H447 2017 |DDC 297.4--dce23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017028623

MIX Paper from

responsible sources

oe

FSC® C011935

Table of Contents Prologue Introduction

A World Out of Balance Islam as a State of Being A Religion of Love or A Religion of Fear? Reimagining Islam through Sufism The Coming Renewal: Rediscovering the Integrity of Islam A Renewal of the Islamic Spirit The Decline of Spiritual Civilization Relationship with the Divine Elements of Essential Islam: the Qur’an Elements of Essential Islam: Surrender Sufism as a Path of Transformation and Liberation The Raw and the Cooked Transformation of the Self

The Example of the Prophet A Path to Universal Spirituality What does love mean in Sufism?

Finding the Way by Spiritual Discernment Reading the Book of the Heart

Sufism as Ideal, Perception and Historical Reality Misperceptions and Misunderstandings Revealed Book and Living Book The Pure Religion of Abraham Essential Sufism Sufism Today Many Traditions, One Primordial Religion The Call to Awakening

A Spirituality Adequate to Our Time Satisfying the Heart

The Misplaced Center Propositions, Distortions, and Clarifications

A Spirituality Adequate to the Times Vital Questions

The Spirit of Emancipation & the Light of Oneness

A Revolution in Consciousness

Contemporary Jahiliyyah Authoritarian Religion Pathologies within Islam Islam: The Reconciler of Faiths Dialogue of Civilizations, Globalization of Spirit A Dialogue Among the Faithful The Remedy for Islamophobia What Islam Can Offer Envisioning Applied Spirituality Things You Wanted to Know But Didn’t Know How to Ask What Role Can Women Have in Islam? The Question of Spiritual Authority: What Does the Sura of Consultation Say? The Qur’an’s Guidance for Our Circumstances Today Islam & Eros Is Love Permitted in Islam? Cultural vs. Islamic Codes of Morality How the Tradition Views Intimate Relationships What the Qur’an Says About Sex

102

What is Shariah Really About?

IIlo

The Historical Context of Shariah The Place of Hadith

Western Fears and Misperceptions About Shariah Man-made Formulations vs. Eternal Truths 10.

Muhammad's Sunnah: Flexibility & Spiritual Perception Spiritual Perception A Messenger from Among Yourselves Muhammad's Sunnah: Flexibility & Essential Meaning The Gnostic as Witness Epilogue

Bibliography Acknowledgments

120

124 125 126

137 139

Note on Sources

The Quranic verses translated in this book are the author’s. A

special debt is also owed to Muhammad Asad who brought so many important linguistic issues to light. Translations of the writings of Jalaluddin Rumi are also the author's while translations of Shams Tabrizi and Niyazi Misri are the author’s in collaboration with Refik Algan.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2023 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

httops://archive.org/details/holisticisImsufi0000helm

Prologue

can easily imagine the questions that will arise from the title Holistic Islam. Some will say there is no need for any word in front of Islam because Islam is the true religion and there is nothing about Islam that needs to change. Some may accuse us of trying to adapt Islam to a fashionable trend of modern society. Our response will be that the word holistic is needed at this time as a corrective. It is needed to help us understand the potential and truth that was birthed fourteen centuries ago and is still in the process of being understood and applied in human life. If it were not for the extremely unholistic manifestations currently claiming to be Islam, the idea of holistic Islam would not be needed. Islam has been etymologically analyzed to mean “peace” and “surrender.” For some reason, another meaning of this word has

been either completely missed or left in the background. Salima, the active participle of the root, means whole, complete, healthy, safe. Another form of the word, salim, the adjectival form, means whole, pure, sound, unblemished, unimpaired, and secure. The

phrase qalb salim describes a healthy, purified heart, which is fundamental to spiritual well-being. So holistic 1s implied by the very word Islam. Holistic Islam, then, might be translated al-Islam al-Salim. Some people will be shocked to see these two words together, but for quite different reasons. The holistic movement is a global phenomenon, a corrective to a worldview that has focused on the parts rather than the whole in every sphere of life. This antiholistic worldview has led to countless negative consequences for the environment, the economy, as well as for human life itself. Holistic health focuses broadly on all the factors needed for health: hygiene, nutrition, exercise, attitude, relationships, and IX

x | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

emotion. The unholistic approach focuses mostly on the alleviation of symptoms. The alleviation of symptoms, however, may often ignore the root cause of the symptoms and even apply a medicine that reduces symptoms while compromising overall health. If we consider the health factors that constitute human well-being described above, and if we recall the example and the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, we will, I think, conclude

that Islam was originally holistic. Islam as a way of life incorporates cleanliness, wholesome diet, physical exercise in worship, positive relationships, patience in adversity, generosity, altruism, and much more. However, if that original message is reduced to a mere set of rituals and rules enforced primarily through fear, with attention focused on how others are following the rules and prescriptions, the heart will be severely constricted. Furthermore, if an interpretation of Islam becomes a ratio-

nale for isolating one portion of humanity, Muslims, so that they look upon the rest of humanity as “other,” that interpretation is betraying fundamental spiritual values. Finally, respect for humanity as a whole is enjoined upon Muslims:

O you who keep the faith! When you go abroad in the way of God, be clear and circumspect and say not to anyone who offers you a greeting of peace: “You are not a believer!” (4:94)

To every one of you We have prescribed a law and a way of life. If God had so willed He would have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in what He has given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is God; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you differ. (5:48) To perpetuate a suspicious and judgmental attitude toward socalled “nonbelievers” is also a betrayal of the fundamental principles of mercy and compassion that are the absolute foundation of the divine message. What began as a radical interfaith movement at the time of the Prophet has become more and more a self-enclosed community, seeking to define itself in opposition to the prevailing culture, rather than encouraging the recognition

XI_

| PROLOGUE

of common values. Every true prophet addressed his society as “O my people,” whether they agreed with him or not. The times we live in necessitate an approach to Islam that explores its soul and spirit, its heartbeat. Beyond the dogmatic formulations, the institutional arrangements, and the official spokesmen, lies a vast dimension of lived experience—of arts, literature, and music, of human relationships, of spiritual energy. Yet what unifies these diverse dimensions of “Islamic” experience is the relationship to a single text, the Qur’an, and the character of one man, Muhammad. The relationship to the Qur'an is a perpetually unfolding dynamic that does its work on the soul, awakening an awareness of the master truth of existence: the human need to be in continual relationship with the Real (al-Haqq), that wholeness signified (for Muslims, as well as

Arab-speaking Christians and Jews) by the word Allah. Allah is not a Muslim god to be in competition with other gods, but a unified, comprehensive reality that fulfills the ultimate longing of the human being. A profound relationship exists between the text that is described as “divine revelation” and each individual consciousness that directly engages with it. It is a relationship that is humanizing, transformative, and ultimately spiritualizing. Many Westerners who have come in contact with the hospitality, generosity, and altruism of Muslims have undergone a change of character, and experienced an entry into a new universe of meaning, despite all the prejudices, fears, and misunderstandings that abound regarding Islam. Some have understandably resisted explicit conversion, possibly because it is so often associated with the customs and externals of a foreign culture, yet have taken on the hue of its truth, in some cases conveying its quality to their own religious framework as Christians, Jews, or even Hindus and Buddhists. Beyond the various claims to authority, correctness, and orthodoxy of institutional Islam is a transformative spirit that we meet in ordinary Muslims. Rooted in an intimate connection with the still and quiet, yet majestic and awesome Sustaining Power of existence, this transformative spirit is betrayed by

XH

| HOLISTIC

ISLAM

anything in humans that is self-assertive, aggressive, exclusive, or dogmatic. The Prophet Muhammad has said, “Every religion has its characteristic virtue, and the virtue of Islam is modesty.”

And it is the human model that is Muhammad that offers us an integration and embodiment of this high truth. It is his character and virtues that bear witness to the possibility of living under the inspiration and guidance of this higher, holistic reality. The spirit of Muhammad lives on in the hearts of countless ordinary Muslims inspired by him. The term holistic is also used here as a corrective to suggest an organic wholeness that is obscured when we focus primarily on outer observances, formulations of belief, and doctrine. While

the term holistic Islam does not occur in the Qur’an, butthe term

Din al-Haqzq, the religion of the Real, does; suggesting a phenomenon beyond institutional religion and theological formulation, as when it says the religion of truth will prevail over all religion. This is precisely what we mean by holistic Islam, a higher force which when experienced brings with it a quality of certainty that is not dogmatic and exclusive, but liberating, comprehensive, and

universal. Above all, holistic Islam is transformative, a pathway leading from a limited egoic consciousness distorted by bias and contradictory desires, toward higher states of awareness and realization (ma‘rifah) and unconditional love (rahmah). In contrast to this,

dogmatic, prescriptive religion is one-dimensional and missing the very essence of the original revelation and the prophetic example. Instead of a system of legal prescription, holistic Islam is a path of spiritual perception. Instead of a religion of fear, it is a religion of Love.

a & & Too often today, Islam is being offered in a form that has lost its connection with the spiritual energy of its origin. “Islamic teaching” today sometimes seems like a massive edifice suffering from deferred maintenance. It may have its beauties, but it also

has its obsolescent features and hazards. This building, which is inspired by a divine revelation, is nevertheless formulated by

XIIL_

human beings and therefore

| PROLOGUE

a man-made construct. As such, it

always has the potential to become an idol worshipped for its own sake, obscuring its true purpose.

This once impressive building has also suffered from ill-considered and often tasteless attempts at renovation. In recent decades, especially, from certain angles the edifice has become almost unrecognizable. The expense of keeping it up grows greater by the day, and while many people express dissatisfaction with its condition, few people seem able to offer comprehensive solutions. There is, however, a living tradition that has survived within Islam and, to a great extent, preserved its essence. It is a school of love, rooted in the Prophet Muhammad’s beautiful character, flexibility, patience, and kindness. In this school of love, awareness is awakened, attention is trained, the heart is purified, and

the purpose of Islam is realized. Without creating idols of dogmas, institutions, or personalities, it is fully capable of offering a spirituality adequate to the times. A spirituality that is moral without being puritanical, that is rigorous without being rigid, that is beautiful without being ostentatious, that can heal a

wounded humanity and contribute to the elevation of civilization and culture. This is what we mean by holistic Islam.

hail oh byken

ali oa

ore

igh ely tare st

“

hnabaiic’np

He eee %

wm)

yorePe

; ae s

see

J 4.4 ri

Nt:

.

i

ted

sara wer?

eine

QI

hy

Msibiis :shy!

Alyxeky eee

wy

ie

7

-

a

Peal on

“2

estas % | A reve aaa e

Varo

“if baleen

deh Toanh

: SS

ele.

Cran re} ;

=a

€

:)

'

en?

}

.

a

Introduction

The Legend of Fruit QO" there were three men who came from a land where there was no fruit, but only legends of fruit. So all three of them went in search of the legendary thing called fruit, and eventually, since this thing called fruit is not so impossibly rare, they each found their way to a real fruit tree. One of the men had read a great deal about fruit, and thought himself an expert on the subject, but when he eventually came to a fruit tree, he was so preoccupied with the many descriptions he had read,

that he failed to recognize it as an actual fruit tree. The second man, who was of a very rigid, literalist temperament, found a tree, but the fruit on it were beginning to rot. Disappointed, he decided he was not interested in fruit after all. The third man also came upon a tree with overripe fruit, but he took the time to examine it, and discovered that inside the fruit was a stone. He took the stone back to his native land and showed it to some wise friends, who recognized that this stone was in fact a “seed” which he could plant and nurture, and eventually there would be produced that legendary something called “fruit.”

A World Out of Balance There are many reasons to believe that we are at an unprecedented point of global crisis. Our world today is more out of balance than ever before in human history: ecologically, economically, socially, and spiritually. Not only are the species (ummahs)' of the land, but the species of the sky and sea are suffering and dying. 1. This word, ummah, Muslims will recognize as referring historically to the worldwide community of Muslims. At the same time, it broadly

refers to the “communities” of the sky and sea, much as the Native Americans refer to “the sky people”; and “the sea people.” 1

2 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

Forgetting the sacredness of all life, we have become entangled in our own egoistic, nationalistic, and sectarian concerns.

Among the issues of great concern are, first, the displacement of traditional spiritual values by the globalization of consumer culture and commercial values. Second, there is the

growing power of finance capital, which propagates itself for the short-term benefits of certain elites. The result is like a cancer consuming the systems upon which all life depends, and leaving social disruption and ecological disaster in its wake. Finally, there is the pressing need for dialogue between Islamic civilization and other religions, ideologies, and societies. Those Muslims who believe this is an inherent conflict between Islam and the West are missing something very important. It is not simply a question of Islam and the West, of faith versus materialism or kufr, unbelief. Rather it is a gap between those who stand on the side of true humanness and those who represent the dehumanizing influences that threaten our souls and our very existence. -Pre-Islamic Arabian

society, based

in superstition,

social

injustice, and tribal warfare, was called a society of jahiliyyah or “ignorance.” The jahiliyyah of today is the sum total of forces that are bringing humanity to this point of global crisis. The events of September 1, 2011 seem to have set the West and Islam on a collision course. Whatever the truth of that day may be, it would be a tragic mistake to conclude that Islam is intrinsically at odds with the best values of the West or the universal human values that might be recognized from east to west, and from north to south. Unfortunately, the nominally Christian West (especially as it exists in the United States) fails to grasp that its own godless foe is not Islam, which shares profoundly in all the best values of the Abrahamic legacy, but the godless Mammon represented by the bottom-line profit-driven mentality of global corporatism that is undermining the best values of Western civilization. It is the maximize-the-bottom-line-profits mentality that makes it almost impossible even for people of good will to change the suicidal direction of contemporary corporate culture and the militarism that defends it.

3 | INTRODUCTION

The haves become either complacent or impotent with guilt. The have-nots try even harder to make it in the materialistic ethic or resort to forms of extremism. Even relatively poor nations have become enslaved to an international weapons industry, while the one remaining superpower finds it necessary to spend as much on weapons as the rest of the world combined. All of this violence is motivated by irrational fears and unconscious impulses that we clothe in ideological dress. The resulting misunderstandings are great. On the side of the West is a general ignorance of Islamic culture and teachings, and too often a self-righteous conviction that “we” alone represent democratic values and a respect for the freedom of the individual. On the side of Islamic cultures, unfortunately, is a preoccupation with the past and a lack of creative, engaged thinking on the issues facing the world today. At a time when the world is experiencing an explosion of knowledge, on one hand, and unprecedented challenges to sustaining life on Earth on the other, who in the Muslim world can offer a compelling intellectual or spiritual vision? Where is Islamic leadership in the face of the ecological catastrophe, disarmament, human rights?

Islam once was able to free the imagination, unleash creativity, unify human communities, and above all, inspire people with a Divine message. How is it possible that one of the highest truths ever revealed to humanity should become mere indoctrination or, worse yet, a

form of mind control? How is it possible that a message of peace and reconciliation should become a weapon in the hands of the intolerant and power-hungry? How is it possible that an expression of pure cosmic intelligence should become the subject for rote learning and rigid formulaic thinking? .

a & & When | identify myself as a Muslim within American society, the reactions that greet me range from bewilderment to suspicion. Preconceptions about Islam are so negative that I find myself

4 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

being called to answer for issues ranging from the repression of women, suicide bombings, and the perceived hypocrisy of certain religious leaders with regards to the political and cultural backwardness of the Muslim world. If I should say to people that in the Qur’an I found a reasonable, broad, tolerant, inclusive, and compassionate message,

if Ishould tell them that among Muslims I encountered courtesy, humility, generosity, altruism, and wisdom, if I tell them that in Islam’s practices I found a remarkably practical and profound spiritual discipline—well, then, I have a lot of explaining to do.

Islam as a State of Being I did not inherit Islam at birth; nor did I experience a sudden,

dramatic conversion. My first encounter with Islam was also not in a mosque, or through a book, but by meeting a Muslim. I don't mean a nominal Muslim, but someone who was actually in the

“state” of Islam, which literally means the peace that comes from submission to God’s will. I was not looking for a “religion,” but I was looking for what I imagined to be Truth or Reality, and I felt that Reality in the presence of this person. Only after a long spiritual search that took me from my birth religion of Catholicism, through Hindu philosophy and Buddhist practices, did I finally encounter Sufism, through Sufis of pure heart. This led me to the writings of Rumi, and with it, Islam.

Only gradually did I come to recognize that Islam might be different from the forms of religion I had known. Though it took more than a decade, I eventually came to realize that something profoundly true and essential had been revealed in the Qur’an. Here was a text that was not only pro-

foundly intelligent, but beneficent and loving, as well. The voice of the Qur’an is transcendent, cutting through all worldliness, awakening a sense ofthe eternal. I came to see the Qur’an as a body of knowledge that could profoundly reorient a person from the vanities and trivialities that preoccupy the ego to matters of fundamental and eternal importance. And yet this revelation came with a comprehensive and practical way of life, embracing everything from ethical business practices to the most intimate personal relationships.

S | INTRODUCTION

Not only did the Qur'an realistically and patiently address the practical needs of human beings, meeting us where we are, but the character of the Prophet Muhammad

(peace be upon him)

complemented what was revealed in the Qur’an. Here was a human being who touched, illumined, and transformed one’s own

selfin a thousand ways. In addition to the Qur’an and the Prophet, I was even more fortunate to encounter Islam through people who lived its essence. These were not only Sufis of remarkable sanctity and humanness, but also average people, met on a ferryboat crossing the Bosphorus, in a market in Damascus, or even in a bookstore in Los Angeles. For years my experience and understanding of Islam developed within a special context of people who lived their faith from their hearts: these were both my spiritual elders, Sufis from Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, as well as dear

friends from various countries who were my own peers, and finally Westerners who followed the same path as | did. For much ofthis time I lived in rural New England, where Muslims were few and far between. Although I was aware that there were understandings ofIslam radically different from what I knew, in such company and in my chosen environment I was sheltered from certain narrow and negative mentalities. I experienced the great love and humanity of those for whom Islam was a state of being long before I began to come up against the institutional forms and identities of Islam in America. Once I did, I often felt I could not recognize this Islam as the same path I had been following.

A Religion of Love or a Religion of Fear? While the sohbets?I heard from my Sufi shaikhs brought inspiration to my heart and tears to my eyes, the number one subject of Friday khutbas (sermons) in most mosques I have visited is sin and punishment. I remember a sermon preached in California to a congregation of well-educated professionals in which the 2. A typical form of Sufi teaching in which a shaikh will address an intimate gathering, recite poetry, tell stories, and quote Qur'an and hadith.

6 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Imam told us that if we postpone the dawn prayer our “heads will be crushed by stones in the afterlife.” When we are not being threatened with punishments for our sins, we hear the never-ending lament about Muslims’ victimization in today’s world, and even how this is a punishment for the failure to be “good” Muslims. For many Muslims in the West, Islam is bound up with, and, it seems to me, confused with other issues. Reluctant to be assimilated into a culture of decadence, consumerism, and depersonalization, they see Islam as a defense of their ethnic

identity and traditional values. For example, they may maintain the gender segregation that was so much a part of social and public life in the countries they came from, and argue about

dress codes and the permissibility of dating. But in the context of their adopted cultures, where men and women routinely mix

in the workplace and in the public sphere, this fear of women’s power to seduce men may seem anachronistic, if not immature

and hypocritical. Often this form of Islam wears ethnic dress, and the mosque

becomes an environment of nostalgia for a former life. I have noticed how, especially in Europe, these Muslim enclaves seem to be frozen in time, thinking and dressing as they did when they left their home country, while Muslims in the home countries actual-

ly change with the times. Given the wounds inflicted upon their cultures by the history of colonialism, the military and political successes of Zionism, and more recent events in which Muslims have been attacked (Kashmir, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen), it is understandable that a certain de-

fensiveness will characterize some Muslims’ experience of their faith. Yet a victim mentality is not an Islamic frame of mind, nor

a very spiritual state. When the Friday sermons are so often focused on minutiae of behavior, or mere harangues about how Muslims have fallen

from their greatness, people tune out. I suspect that many Muslims remain believers despite these weekly exhortations, not because of them. When the Qur’an reminds human beings of 3. Hadith.

7 | INTRODUCTION

the consequences of “spreading corruption,” I don’t think this refers to the minor misdeeds of human beings, but to the bigtime corruption: exploiting and enslaving people, destroying the environment, abusing the rights and dignity of others, and the

cruelties that a minority of people are prone to. But instead we encounter imams who talk of sins and punishments that strain belief and can potentially damage one’s faith. Too often, when I engage in dialogue with the official representatives of Islam, or find myself being preached to by people who take their religion very seriously, I find this chasm between us. How does the stereotype present itself? Their beards are long, their frowns are deep, and they don’t seem to appreciate women very much. They suggest that we cannot go to heaven without beards and scarves. I must add, however, that even among such people whose beliefs strike no similar chord in myself, I have generally encountered politeness, patience, and a certain gentleness. Iwould even expect to find this refined and modest demeanor among recruits for extremist organizations. Maybe this is a sign that some of the best Islamic qualities have not yet been eradicated even by the superficial and puritanical brand of Islam that is espoused by extremists.

Reducing religion to a legal contract, with a simplistic understanding of reward and punishment, appeals to the ego; but what message will take us beyond the ego? Our eternal accountability and the effects of sin should not be neglected, but the way to promote health is not to focus on illness. Allah has determined an appropriate measure for everything. The Qur’anic conception of the human being reminds us that the human being is created in the most beautiful proportions, imbued with Divine attributes, and capable of witnessing the signs of God within ourselves and on the farthest horizons. How much I would love to hear a khutba (sermon) on how

being a good Muslim means living with a sense of wonder and reflecting deeply on God’s signs in the natural world. How uplifted I would feel if I heard imams reminding us to love our enemies and “to do good to those who do not do good to us.” How right it would feel if 1heard Muslim clerics taking a brave

8 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

and progressive position on the major issues of our times: human

rights, gender rights, non-violence, the environment, the

military-industrial complex. What if Muslims could recognize that they have an inclusive, universal, and compassionate belief system with the potential to reconcile and bring true peace to the various nations and communities of faith? At times, I have wondered if I invented my own version of Islam. How can I even begin to explain how beautiful Islam has been for me? Why is it that what I have understood Islam to be seems to be so different from what many of the official spokesmen for Islam claim?

Reimagining Islam through Sufism This is not a book I wanted to write, but one I felt compelled to, out of the desire to address the painful incongruity between Islam’s essence, and what it could offer the world today, and how

it is conventionally understood and practiced, and much worse how it is distorted beyond recognition by the nihilistic militants who attempt to appropriate it. Born of my own observations and concern, it is an attempt to reimagine Islam at a higher level of consciousness. Central to this vision are the interlocking themes of Islam, Sufism, and a universal spirituality which is the true and

eternal message of the Qur’an. Sufism, at its best, has been an approach to Islam that con-

sciously incorporates the vertical dimension of human experience, the ascent of the soul through known stages of purification. This ascent is accomplished by nothing less than the power of Love that is the transforming force within spiritual life, and without which Islam is incomplete. In other words, Sufism, or Tassawuf, is the knowledge of the

purification of the heart that has been passed down from the time of Muhammad, peace be upon him, through a living chain of conscious, compassionate, and realized human beings.

I believe that Islam without this transforming spiritual power is a mere shell of what it must be, a valuable code of behavior

and practice that nevertheless runs the risk of becoming mere formality and moralizing. And yet anything that claims to be Sufism but ignores the essential principles of the Qur’an and

9 | INTRODUCTION

the human model of Muhammad will be partial, weakened, and trivialized. It may produce intoxicating states of consciousness; it

may be a self-improvement program; but it will be less than the communion with the Holy that is the highest engagement of the human soul. Ialso believe that the Qur’an itself offers an immense scope, a comprehensive view of all human endeavors, and a profound and universal teaching about the essence of religion itself. The truth of the Qur’an has the power to shed its light upon all Religion. And yet it may be presumptuous, inappropriate, and counterproductive to insist on what we know to be its power and truth, as if its purpose were to threaten the beliefs of others. On the contrary, the beauty, generosity, and truth of Islam can only be effectively communicated by those who live it, who embody the state of being which is truly Islam. It may be a challenge to encompass all three of these dimensions: the Revelation which is Islam, the spiritual practice which

is Sufism, and the pure, universal spirituality in itself; but I believe it is essential for the well-being of ourselves and humanity. Where I suggest in this book defining measures that could take us some way toward that goal, these are grounded in my experience as a Mevlevi sheikh, especially when it comes to rehabilitating the heart and developing human character through the disciplines of Sufi dervishhood. In other cases I can only offer my own questions. Broadly, my intention is to open a platform for an honest dialogue, especially on issues where many of us are still searching. What we all want, I believe, is to be inspired by the true dimensions of Islam, reminded of the character of our Prophet,

shown practical ways to live with remembrance of God, and finally become what we are destined to be.

-[-

The Coming Renewal: Rediscovering The Integrity of Islam

Hu traveled widely in Muslim cultures over the last forty years, I can say that today something new is stirring. We are living in a time of re-evaluation of the understanding of Islam. Both its essence and its form, its kernel and its shell, are being ex-

amined and questioned. Many Muslims are waking up to the fact that some Middle Eastern societies have fallen far behind much of the world in education, in science, in economic productivity, and in political institutions. The situation is also far from perfect when it comes to women’s rights and political freedom. At the same time, as most people who are familiar with the everyday life of most Islamic societies know, in the domain of human re-

lationships, the vast majority of Muslims are tolerant, humane, hospitable, generous, and conscious of the sacred dimensions of life.

A Renewal of the Islamic Spirit But the emerging trend is this: In Islamic cultures, people are searching for an alternative beyond the increasingly materialist and self-absorbed Western consumer societies, on the one hand,

and a rigid, reactionary, and harsh Islam, on the other. They are finding new insights from the Qur’an, and solving problems in ways other than those codified by medieval scholars. For instance the Quranic verse (ayat), The faithful men and women are awliya (friends, protectors, and saints) for one another. They will enjoin what is right, as what is required of Haqq, and 10

11

| THE COMING

RENEWAL

prevent each other from what is wrong (9:71), could be used to bring

women back into the space of Islamic worship where they have been effectively banned by the gender segregation practiced almost universally. This could even be interpreted to mean that the presence of women, rather than being a temptation to men, may actually improve their disposition and behavior. I believe this is a renewal of the dynamic, creative impulse

that is at the heart of Islam. We must regain that original inspiration. There is a golden thread that runs through time, a truth that is as real and effective today as it ever was. It can be discovered and renewed if we allow ourselves to engage with the living power of revelation. We cannot allow ourselves to hear the message only through its interpreters, but we can reflect on past interpretations

without being blinded by them. I say this in the awareness that when a Westerner brings a questioning mind into Islamic circles, it can make people uncomfortable, as if to question certain propositions were crossing a line, breaking some unspecified taboo. For example, a scholar from Al-Azhar was visiting a religion class at an American prep school. After the scholar gave a brief introduction to Islam, a sixteen-year-old girl, who had been studying the Qur’an intensively for some months, raised a question about something he had said. “Miss, you cannot question Islam,” he asserted. “Sir,” she replied, “I am not questioning Islam; I am ques-

tioning your interpretation of Islam.” It has been my experience that some Muslims find aspects of my own understanding of Islam “interesting,” or “unusual,” to

put it politely, and sometimes even threatening, and yet without this questioning, I believe the true essence and spirit of Islam may be buried underneath the accumulation of second-hand opinions that claim divine authority. Eleven centuries ago, an orthodoxy was formulated by em-

inent scholars doing their best in their own era to make sense of the sources of Islam, but we must not take those formulations as

the final word of God. I do not say this lightly or without years of research and reflection, and I aim to explain and justify this perspective more fully in the course of this chapter as well as those to follow.

12 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

The Decline of Spiritual Civilization The advent of Islam brought an incredible energy for learning. The Qur’an and the example of the Prophet provided the material for the great project of Islamic civilization building. What allowed the power of Islam to spread so quickly and widely across a vast part of the civilized world? While the adventure of gaining new territory may have played some part, a much greater factor in the spread of Islam was the unifying idealism and moral power that motivated its believers. And in speaking of the “conquest” of Islam, it is important to note that it was not imposed on anyone and that the Islamic nation offered protection to Jewish and Christian religious minorities. These minorities acquired rights under Islam that they did not have under Byzantine Christian and Persian Zoroastrian systems. Nevertheless, Islam came to quickly rule a wide area. There is nothing like it in human history. In little more than a hundred years, Islam, which began in one of the most backward regions of Arabia, became

a world civilization that

established human rights, pluralism, religious tolerance, economic justice, a comprehensive legal system, and a high level of spiritual awareness. Islamic culture, too, took on certain universal character-

istics—such as modesty, courtesy, hospitality—so that across different cultures its essence is still recognizable in human values and behavior. When it came to solving community and ethical problems, an initially ad hoc approach gradually gave way to a vast codification of laws and opinions, prophetic sayings and Qur’anic interpretations, which were an attempt to apply the inspiration of the revelation to the everyday life of a particular time and culture.

& & & In the first few hundred years of the Islamic era, now eleven cen-

turies ago, the five authoritative schools of Islam were established, and the gates of personal interpretation were finally closed. From this orthodox perspective it is the obligation of every Muslim to choose one of these legal schools (madhab) and accept its rulings.

13 | THE COMING

RENEWAL

These schools of thought hold that the human being’s relationship to God involves a legal dimension, as well as an obligatory practice which must be performed with fastidious awareness of its details. It is this legalistic mindset, with its emphasis on the external forms of religion rather than its internal content, that still seems

to pass for piety today. Because many Muslims have heard that a mistake in religion, a wandering away from the straight path, can earn them retribution in this world and the next, the fear of

making a mistake in ritual, dress, or conduct looms large in their minds and induces a state of fear as one of their primary religious emotions. While fastidiousness in morals, manners, and purity of heart is certainly praiseworthy, an obsessive focus on externals and a judgmental attitude turned outward is not. The codification of doctrine in the early Islamic era brought with it a certain consistency of interpretation, yet it also stifled creative thinking, and in many cases, freedom of conscience and

expression as well. A case could be made that Islam initiated and inspired the greatest civilization ever born on this earth, but today it appears to have collapsed—as a civilization, though not as a pure truth and an individual way to God. The vital energy of Islam has been seriously compromised; the creativity of Islam has disappeared. The real challenges to the Truth of Islam today are more from within the community of nominal Muslims than from secular propagandists. Looking at Islamic civilization in recent times, who would propose that it has led the way for the betterment of humanity? While some would propose a return to a “pure” Islam of the past and a simple adherence to the injunctions of shariah, the proposal is too simple-minded, black and white, too resistant to the complexities of human life. It attempts to reduce the moral

and the good to absolutes, to externals, and to outer

authority. Where has the institution of so-called shariah law solved contemporary problems or provided well-being for societies? Saudi Arabia? Iran? Sudan? Libya? Nigeria? Here, a very important distinction must be noted. The failure of Islamic thought in recent centuries need not be attributed to the message of the Qur’an, but rather to a faulty interpretation. To the extent

14 | HOLISTIC

that it is based

in resentment,

ISLAM

intolerance,

dogmatism,

and

authoritarianism it betrays the essence of Islam. If it were not for the mishandling of political issues both in the West and in the Middle East, the bankruptcy of this kind of approach would be more obvious, but unfortunately it is being given new life by the injustice and blindness of American policies in Palestine, and by the repression of legitimate democratic aspirations in too many countries with Muslim majorities.

My chief concern is that Islam is in danger of becoming an inward-turned, self-referential belief system rather than a universal system of essential human knowledge. At the heart of the matter is the integrity of Islam—a unified way of living, experiencing life, and deepening our relationship with spiritual Reality. It is unified for one reason: It puts God at the center of our attention.

Relationship with The Divine In a sense, you could say that Islam is not a formulation, an ethical system, a practice, or even a revelation, as much as it isa

relationship to the divine. The five pillars of Islam—bearing witness that there is one Absolute Being, worship, fasting, charity, pilgrimage—are a means to establish that relationship and are common to all sacred traditions. But that essential, conscious relationship with a

spiritual dimension is the heart of the matter. So orient yourself to the primordial religion, the innate nature upon which Allah has created humanity, without altering Allah’s creation. That is the authentic religion, but the great majority do not comprehend. Turn in repentance to Him and remain conscious of Him: be constant in prayer and do not be among those who worship other than God, those who split apart the Religion and create sects—each group separately exulting in what it has! (30:30-32)

This verse suggests a broad perspective, as it refers to the timeless faith associated with the Prophet Abraham. This primordial religion corresponds to the human nature instilled by God. The

1S | THE COMING

RENEWAL

purpose of religion, therefore, is to safeguard the human

soul

from “altering God’s creation,” from being less than human. It is possible, then, to make a distinction between that primordial religion or essential Islam, the authentic core of all revealed

traditions, and the Islam practiced by the community of Muhammad, which is one possible manifestation of humanity’s primordial religion. This is not meant to relativize or diminish the significance of the Islam practiced in Muhammad’s name. Understood rightly, it is meant to be an attempt to restore the primordial religion of humanity purified of the accretions and distortions that have corrupted earlier revelations. Yet, it will also adapt itself as needed to the societies and cultures it enters, even while ultimately

contributing to the transformation of society and culture. Islam is the original “indigenous” religion, explicitly recognizing that countless “messengers” have come to all human communities, reminding them of the beneficent, spiritual nature of reality. It is also, in another sense, the first “protestant reformation” calling into question the idolatry of Jesus and the authority of “the Church,” even while granting to Christians and Jews the absolute right to follow their beliefs. Some people today are calling for a “reformation” of Islam, based on the notion that Islam is an anachronistic,

medieval

moral system that needs to be corrected. While there are certain beliefs and practices identified with Islam today that deserve to be questioned, the essential message of the Qur’an itself is a

critique of the religious status quo, addressing the ways in which religion typically degenerates, and even warning that the same could happen again. This truth is summarized in the core message that “only God is worthy of worship.” Islam, as we propose

to show, is the Reformation.

Elements of Essential Islam: The Quran

What the world needs today is an integral, holistic Islam that recognizes transformation as essential to real religion. It has been exemplified by great Islamic mystics like Al-Ghazali, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, and Jalaluddin Rumi, who have emphasized human values, artistic expression, tolerance, service, and inner transformation.

16 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Based on the true and eternal message of the Qur’an, it is a creative Islam capable of renewing culture, balancing societies, and transforming individuals. The wisdom expressed in the Qur'an has a profound power to reorient us toward an essential, immutable Truth. It teaches

and reminds the human being of what it is to be a finite being in relationship to an Infinitely Compassionate and Merciful Reality. The Qur’an describes a humanity created in the most beautiful form, yet prone to willfulness, forgetfulness, and destructive behavior. It proposes that the needed corrective is an intimate relationship with an indescribable, incomparable Divine Being, which can rightfully be described as “surrender.” This state of “surrender” is true Islam, and only this surrender can bring harmony into our inner and outer lives.

—

The Qur’an was gradually revealed over twenty-three years as a dialogue between Muhammad and the One who is All-Wise, God (41:42). How we view and understand this dialogue will de-

termine our relationship with the religion of Islam. Of course, Muslims will refer to the Qur’an itself to answer this question. There is no doubt that the Qur’an is a revelation with a guiding wisdom that goes far beyond its place and time. To what extent it is an absolute, unchangeable truth applicable to all times and places is the critical question. Each person must answer for themselves: What is the Qur’an?

The strictly orthodox position is that the Qur’an is the uncreated word of God, the final, authoritative divine revelation for

all times and all humanity. By that logic, it offers the definitive moral guidance for all human beings for all times and cultures. But if that is the case, we should have to consider certain injunc-

tions as universally applicable—for instance, those that forbid the “beauty” of women

to be seen, except by close relatives, or

that which suggests that wives guilty of extreme misbehavior be subjected to a series of increasingly strong punishments leading up to being hit. Yet even with this “hard” or “absolute” understanding of the Qur’an’s applicability it must be admitted that there are verses that refer to circumstances specific to the time of its revelation—those, for instance, addressing the wives of the Prophet

17 | THE COMING

RENEWAL

cannot be applicable since there are no wives of the Prophet living today. If, on the other hand, we were to view the Qur’an as con-

taining both universal truths and particular advice for a specific time and place, we would begin to discern different degrees of applicability and appropriateness. Ayats such as those referred to above may need to be contextualized for our own era just like those verses that refer to slavery or tribal vengeance. Rather than being taken literally, ayats that refer to a particular time and circumstance can be interpreted according to the principles they illustrate. The Qur’an’s function as an ultimate reference point does not imply a slavish literalism in its interpretation, but rather a starting point for discussion that incorporates certain metaphoric truths as essential spiritual principles. For example, these verses, which could not be taken literally, would be well known

by the average Muslim: Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of God.

The likeness of God’s light is that of a niche, wherein is contained a lamp... The parable of a good word is that of a tree... From this point of view, the Qur’an can be understood as an in-

spired text, evidence of Muhammad's dialogue with the Supreme Being in response to particular historical situations. Its legacy for us may lie more in its general principles than in an absolute and simplistic reading. For instance, the emphasis on the struggle between faith and denial may be seen less as an imperative to establish Islam outwardly as a social system or political power, and more as an internal struggle among the elements of faith, denial, and hypocrisy within ourselves. Those who have adequately studied the history of shariah are well aware how nuanced and merciful the application of shariah has been. Some people will object strongly, saying that this opens the door to the chaos of subjective choice, personal interpretation, and the ultimate weakening of the authority of the Qur'an. But

18 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

from another point of view, such flexibility is the only way to guarantee that the essential meaning and message of the Qur’an will not become obscured by historical and irrelevant considerations. When understood in this way, the Qur’an can provide a consistent and authoritative source for human values and the search for truth. The Qur’an is thus read for guidance, as a primary source for understanding the human situation vis-a-vis the Divine Reality.

Elements of Essential Islam: Surrender Recognizing the commonality between the formal Islam practiced by the community (ummah) of Muhammad

and the pri-

mordial religion (din) or essential islam that is at the core of all authentic spiritual experience, we come upon the essence of all true religion. As the Qur’an says:

Behold, the only religion in the sight of God is man’s self surrender to Him. (2:19)

Rather than a one-dimensional belief system governed by dogmas and rules, it is an Islam that shifts consciousness to more comprehensive forms of awareness, awakens spiritual perception, and transforms our experience of the self. Holistic Islam is an Islam that is complete because it is an encounter with the divine. Only by reducing the egoism that is at the very root of denial, hypocrisy, injustice, and violence, can the aim of authentic religion be attained. The wise have always realized that the purpose of Islam is not merely to forge an Islamic social identity, but to lead the human being to Truth. The person of faith (mu’min) is someone who moves through life with all the qualities that derive from being connected with the divine reality, always in the divine presence. Such a person will embody trust, contentment, courage, peace, virtue, and love.

Islam is a state of being of the one who is surrendered. It is therefore transmitted primarily by contact with a human being in that state, more than by any written material. Even with the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad was required to bring it to

19 | THE COMING

RENEWAL

people. His character was described by Aisha as being “like that of the Qur'an.” To realize the essence of Islam, we ourselves must cultivate

it as a state of being; the true relationship of surrender to and trust in the Infinitely Compassionate Being. This requires more than information; it requires a development of our conscious intention (niyah), our tranquil presence (hudhur), our mindfulness of God (taqwa), a sound heart (galb selim), and our continual remembrance of God (dhikr).

Fortunately, the knowledge and energy for undertaking such a development of the human being has been preserved and protected through the centuries. Although Islamic civilization and culture may be in a state of distress, the hidden treasure of Islam, Sufiam (Tassawuf), has remained intact.

-2-

Sufism as a Path of Transformation & Liberation

or years my experience and understanding of Islam developed within a special context of people who lived their faith from their hearts: these were both my spiritual elders, Sufis from Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere; dear friends from various

countries who were my own peers; and finally those Westerners who followed the same path as we did. Once, for instance, when

visiting one of our teachers

in

Canada, we spent a long rainy weekend with about ten people in a one-bedroom apartment. Our teacher and his wife insisted that we and our two sons take their bedroom while they slept in their living room with four other dervishes on the floor. We had just come from a short vacation in Hawaii, but that holiday could

not compare with those few days we spent packed into a tiny apartment in that pressure cooker of love. On another occasion we were spending a few months in Istanbul when I had had a herniated disc and was in tremendous pain. Some of our dervish friends were in the medical field. First they sent the head of acupuncture from a local hospital to treat me every day. We enjoyed the talks we had on Sufism together and he seemed to be in no rush to get back to his hospital. “This is Turkey, not Germany,” he explained. However, after a week of treatment and not much improvement in my condition a friend told me, “If you accept, we will arrange neurosurgery for you. We will even find a neurosurgeon who doesn't know you, because if it was someone close to you his hand might shake more. And don’t worry. You will pay nothing. You are our guest!” This is dervish hospitality. 20

21

| SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

I also remember receiving a phone call from two young men who wanted to attend one of our weekly dhikr sessions. I told them they would be very welcome. On Saturday night they arrived a little early for the meeting and I found out that they had driven eighteen hours to be with us. They had sleeping bags and asked if there was a place they could sleep, but that they would have to leave early in the morning to get back in time for work on Monday. True wayfarers. They are close to us still. I could tell many more such stories of extraordinary generosity, service, and devotion, but you get the idea.

The Raw and the Cooked The fully ripened, spiritually mature human being is so non-defensive, so inwardly free of any need to impress, or to establish any sense of superiority for itself, that we experience that person as if they were our best friend. When we say the word “Sufi,” what should come to mind is someone totally in service to life, asking nothing for themselves. The metaphors of “ripening” or “cooking” are used in Sufism to denote the process of transformation of the ego, or nafs, into a fully developed human being. The practices of Islam are understood as a spiritual training system in Sufism. Rituals such as ablution, worship, fasting, zakat, and hajj, are given a different meaning. They are respected in their traditional forms, but also viewed as a means of communion with the divine. The primary emphasis is on sincerity and lived interior experience. Instead of scanning the environment to see who is performing the outer practices incorrectly, we examine ourselves, our motivations, our

own subtle forms of idolatry. The result of the harmonious application of this methodology is to produce a coherent individual. Coherence includes balance of all our human functions: thinking, feeling, bodily awareness, empathy, and transcendent awareness. And this coherence is the result of developing a strong, awakened, purified heart.

Transformation of the Self

The root of the Arabic word for human, insaan, is anasa: to experience and perceive. It also has the meaning of being intimate. This

22 \SHOLISTIG ISLAM

is both our rich endowment and our failing. The human being is a perceptive, significance-gathering, center of will. The central issue of the spiritual life, the essential problem to be solved, is how to transform this self of ours from a controlling,

appropriating, and even violent individual ego into a mature self with impartial understanding, purified will, and a generous heart. In other words, a creature which is part donkey and part angel is trying to become one whole, harmonious being. As Rumi says, “Don't make the Jesus of your being carry the donkey of your ego; let Jesus ride the donkey.” It is difficult if not impossible for the ego (nafs) to train itself. The training of the ego is very difficult. The training of a horse is difficult, too, but much, much easier than training the devious

human ego. Will the nafs accept the training with humbleness and gratitude, or will it try to take control in subtle ways? The ego that loves chocolate will eventually claim that chocolate is sacred and holy. Even under the guise of submitting to a practice, the ego tries to get its own way. People will change 98 percent of themselves only to avoid the 2 percent that would really make all the difference. Rumi's teacher, Shams, says, “The few obligations prescribed

for you are a thousand times more valuable than the thousand things you choose to do for yourself.” Shams also said:

The best person is the one who is furthest from his own desire. No matter how refined and mature his ideas are, he is lost if he has not left his own desires.

When people hear the words, “Do whatever of this you want to do,” they go to sleep, they content themselves with their ignorance and become lazy about their work. All they hope for is to be saved by their last breath. If someone says, “What kind of religious law is this that causes desolation to people.”

23 | SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

We say, “To lead them into a safety removed from these frightening cautions is a hundred thousand times more terrible. That would actually be like throwing them into a well. If you walk this path, if you struggle on this way, working hard night and day, the way you will travel is right and real. The way of ease that you propose is like lying down in a rabbit’s sleep. Are you merely an imitator of this way? Or is this a false path?

If any servant becomes one of the community of Muhammad, that one whom all other prophets long for saying, “Ya Rabb, (O my Lord) let me be within the community of

Muhammad!” then he or she deserves to be regarded as intelligent and wise." Much of the education on the Sufi Path is the education of our ego. For many, this means transforming the negative into the positive: fear into courage, greed into generosity, dissatisfaction into gratitude. For others it is reducing our pride and self-importance, our pretensions and illusions. The community of seekers, the tariqah, has its own courtesy,

adab, because the Way must be a place of purity of heart, purity of intention, and purity of action. Adab is knowing one’s place in the big picture. There is adab of community, adab of the path, and adab in relationship to God. Therefore, dervishes usually pass through many years of apprenticeship and training; only a few are eventually given the authority to guide or teach others. The best teachers are usually those who are not seeking to teach others. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If you are seeking power, you shouldn't have it.”

1.

Helminski Shams Tabrizi, Magalat (Discourses), translation by Kabir

with Refik Algan.

24 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

The Example of the Prophet Now let us look at the biography of the Prophet as the story of the individual self living out a relationship with the Divine. It is the story of a person receiving revelation, being rejected and driven out of his community, then being attacked, having to learn to defend himself from attack, and finally returning to Mecca through a moral victory, offering amnesty to the rebellious elements that were the cause of the whole conflict. That is the outer story. The inner story is that a Prophet, or Messenger, must be someone who lives under divine grace and guidance. Not someone who acts in a self-serving, self-aggrandizing way. This is exemplified in the Prophet Muhammad, who was offered kingship of Mecca, if only he would give up his “unreasonable” spiritual demands. The demands he was guided to make were namely the recognition that there is but One guiding, merciful Spiritual Reality, and to recognize this leads inevitably to the abandonment of idolatry, superstition, and exploitive injustice. It was not the imposition of a religion on a community, but the recognition of spiritual principle and the necessary consequences of that recognition: human rights, religious pluralism, justice, equality, and freedom. To thee We sent the Scripture in truth confirming the scripture that came before it and guarding it in safety; so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed and follow not their vain desires diverging from the truth that hath come to thee. To every one of you We have prescribed a law and a way of life IfAllah had so willed He would have made you a single people but the plan is to test you in what God has given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is God that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute.

(5:48) The Prophet Muhammad is the embodiment not of a superhuman ideal, but of a human being who had made the devil of his ego into the faithful servant of the divine pole of his inner being. According to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib,

25 | SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

When I put the sword of Allah’s Messenger to my chest, I found inscribed on the hilt: “Pardon those who have oppressed you, keep in contact with those who have cut you off, behave excellently towards those who have done evil to you, and say the truth even if it’s against yourself!”! The Prophet accumulated no wealth or material privilege for himself or his family. Although he was the leader of a large community, he owned only a mat and a block of wood for a pillow. When he appeared before his people shortly before his death, his most important question was: Have I delivered to you without distortion the message I was given by God?

God has sent down the best of teaching in a Book fully harmonious with itself, repeating the truth in manifold ways and often repeated in recitation; A Book sending a shiver over the skins of all who stand in awe of their Lord, but in the end their skins and their hearts soften at the remembrance of God. Such is God's guidance. (39:23)

Surely it is a sublime Book. No falsehood can ever attain to it from before it nor behind it; it is a bestowal from on high by the One who is All-Wise, ever due to Him all praise. (41:41-42)

A Path to Universal Spirituality Sufism has taken shape from the seed crystal of this revelation. All of Sufism is harmonious with the real message of the Qur’an and has grown organically out of it. If understood in the right way, this message can lead to a spirituality that is awesomely sublime and universal. It is sublime because it is not the product of the human personality expressing itself within the human condition, but an expression of the deepest intelligence of the universes. It is a universal message for humanity that reminds all people of faith that if we do the good, remain aware of our eternal accountability, 2, Authenticated by Sheikh al-Albaani in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth al-Sahee-

er, hah, #1911; also graded as sound by al-Suyuti in Al-Jaami’ al-Saghe

#5004.

26 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

and entrust ourselves to a spiritual reality, we will be liberated from grief and fear, and inevitably come to know the support and guidance of the Unseen Beneficence. I once asked a friend the question, “Why do you need Sufism? Isn’t Islam enough for you?” I was trying to elicit some fresh insight by asking a fundamental and challenging question. He pondered the question for a while, then thoughtfully replied. “I was born as a Muslim, but after encountering the Sufis I realized I was seeing Islam really lived for the first time. | was in an environment of such love and mercy and I had something to learn from it.” Sufism is a process of intensive spiritual realization. It is a path of experience more than beliefs. It is not for everyone, because not everyone has that yearning that keeps pushing them beyond both the satisfactions of worldly life and conventional religious life. Yet Sufism is a particularly potent remedy for the ills of the contemporary soul. It has the power to overcome the separation between our human personality and our spiritual nature. It helps us to experience how God is both infinitely transcendent and, at the same time, the most intimate Friend. It

heals our nameless grief and shame by offering the experience of being unconditionally loved. It teaches not only that God is the Beloved, but that the human being is the beloved of God. Sufism is, therefore, not a sect among other sects. It is an-

other level of experience characterized by presence, hudhur. This presence is the portal to real dhikr, taqwa, and iman. Rumi writes in the Mathnawi: “The Sciences of Wisdom” The sciences of Wisdom are God’s armies, by which He strengthens the spirits of the initiates, and purifies their knowledge from the adulteration of ignorance, their justice from the adulteration of bias, their generosity from the adulteration of ostentation, and their forbearance from the adulteration of foolishness;

and brings near to them whatever was far from them in their understanding of the hereafter;

27 | SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

and makes easy to them whatever was hard for them in respect of obedience and energetic endeavor. (Mathnawi, III, Prologue)

With presence we find a new quality of relationship to the nafs, the false self. Presence invites a comprehensive awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that, to a certain extent, frees us

from the unconscious compulsions of the nafs. Whereas before we may have been imprisoned by envy, resentment, or pride, with presence we have a space outside of those states from which we can at least see them, and through this seeing they are transformed. We become less contained and limited. This wider field of awareness allows us to experience and resonate with an ontological realm, a plane of divine attributes, which can enrich, mature, and perfect the human soul. By de-

veloping a capacity to remember our highest aim, our highest truth, by holding positive qualities in our hearts and minds, and by attuning ourselves to the plane of divine attributes through the asma al-husna (the most beautiful names of God), the very

content of our souls is transformed. Finally, with presence comes

an increased capacity for

love—divine, unconditional love. In that state, we are closer to

the core of our being, and from that core we are capable of a more authentic love.

What Does “Love” Mean in Sufism?

In Sufism love encompasses three dimensions: First, love of creation and creatures. Second, love of the prophets, messengers, and saints. Third, love of the divine, love of Allah. Everything else

follows from these loves: our worship, our search for knowledge, our ethics, our spiritual courtesy, or adab, our values, our way of life. You could say that Sufism itself is based on this love and the fruits of love: humility, forgiveness, gratitude, guilelessness, endurance, generosity, patience. If we keep our minds focused on these qualities, if we shine the light of conscious will through the spectrum of love’s qualities, our energy will increase and we will gradually radiate more holiness into the world.

28 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

I discovered the religion of Love for myself through Sufism, and especially through Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, who expressed this religion of Love with such purity and comprehensiveness. While his roots were in the Abrahamic tradition, his branches

were in the open sky of Being for all to see. It is the vibrant beauty of Jalaluddin Rumi, whose writings are still a wide-open door for humanity, bringing countless souls to the threshold of Dar al-Islam. He has been the most popular poet in North America for the last thirty years. In commemoration of Rumi’s eight hundredth birth anniversary, UNESCO declared 2007 “Year of Rumi.” If Rumi could come back today, what would he be teaching, how would he express his realization now? This is the question that has guided my life and work for decades. The Love that Rumi describes is the context in which we live, the very essence of Reality. It is our task to bring the individual human self into harmony with this Love. The human being is given a profound dignity within this system. It is not a matter of earthly life needing to be “transcended,” or the self being “illusory”; both this earthly existence and the self can be contextualized in such a way that they are seen in the light of the Divine Presence. To be a Sufi is to be a lover, but not just any kind of lover.

We need discernment to know what to love and what love asks of us, in order that we might become love itself. Mevlana Jalaluddin

Rumi says: “There is no greater love than love with no object.” Truly, those who are faithful and do righteous deeds the Compassionate will endow with love. (19:96)

Finding the Way by Spiritual Discernment Spiritual discernment is, perhaps, the central problem of the spiritual life. The health of our souls depends on it. The central factor compromising our spiritual discernment is the nafs al-ammara, or false self, and all its concerns, which can be summarized as pleasure, money, the need to control, narcissism, and

ego-aggrandizement. Even when these coarse issues are more or less resolved, there are subtler issues having to do with the

development of real virtue, and beyond virtue there is finally

29 | SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

the reduction in the density of the self, the refinement in the experience of the “I” itself, which is the true art of presence and living in the present moment. This is the chosen journey of the greatest souls that have ever lived. The guidance for this journey must come from a very high source. It is not the business of psychology or even religion as we know them. Both the revealed Book and the living Book of the comprehensive human being, or al-insan al-kamil, play necessary roles. The nafs cannot teach the nafs. The ego cannot plan its own liberation. Yet by submitting to a transformational process in harmony with the highest levels of Reality, the self may be transformed and attain the necessary discernment to see its Way. Spiritual discernment is the effective relationship between an awakened and purified interior presence and our life in the outer world. From the perspective of traditional Sufism, spiritual discernment is based on the following elements:

Innate Disposition, galb, fitrah: Having something within our own being with which to discern.

Objective Knowledge, al-kitab, ‘ilm, ‘irfan, hikmah: Having a frame of reference outside ourselves based in an objective, trustworthy source.

The Path, tassawuf, tariqah: Having a teaching that effectively challenges the self-serving narcissistic ego. Sincere Commitment, iman, himmah: Having the sincerity

and intention to persist on the spiritual journey.

Work and Service, ‘amal, salihah: Application to the conditions of our personal lives. Accepting the struggle, sustaining the work.

The spirituality of Sufism is most often a spirituality of explicit Love, of integration with life, of virtue grounded in community and human relationships.

30 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Reading the Book of the Heart Sufism is not the state of having preexisting answers to every question; it is understanding our place in the divine context and thus being open to the moment, responsive to the Divine Intelligence. As Mevlana Rumi says: The Sufi’s book is not of ink and letters, it is nothing but a heart white as snow. We are all students in the school of love. Niyazi Misri, a six-

teenth-century Turkish Sufi who was a martyr of the religion of love, had a remarkable gift for expressing the essence of Sufism with clarity and simplicity: O hearts, come, leave everything behind you and give yourself to love. All those who have believed in love and truth have done so. There was nothing before love. Love is the truth and the fountain of creation. Only love will remain, because only love is without beginning or end. My God, please, give me your love as a partner and don’t separate me anymore— not even by one heartbeat. Take out of my heart all that is not true love. Give me your love as a friend. Paradise is that place where people are in love even if it be hell. And whoever is in paradise but does not feel any love, is living in hell. O Niyazi, if you want to become a master of this path, give yourself to this love, because love showed all the saints the way to the truth

In conclusion, Sufism in its most comprehensive form is not a purely individual activity, nor a mere intellectual preference, but 3. Author’s translation with Refik Algan.

31 | SUFISM AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

& LIBERATION

a commitment in relationship to a sacred path under the guidance of someone who has matured on such a path, and in the company of others who are in the process of transformation from immaturity to maturity, from heedlessness to God-consciousness, from false independence to servanthood. Sufism is not practiced primarily in a tutorial situation, because the individual human ego is not the ultimate unit of reality. Sufism is the path toward divine communion in synergy with a community of people who share common values and a common vibration. It is a relational spirituality. As Rumi says, “If you want to know love, become we.” The goal is, after all, tawhid, the experience of oneness, for

wheresoever you look is the face of God.

=3-

Sufism as Ideal, Perception, and Historical Reality

ufism, or tasawwuf, today, is misunderstood as much within

mainstream Islam as Islam is misunderstood within the mainstream culture. This is a recent development, the result of a Wah-

habi mentality that has been promoted by the enormous wealth of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. In Pakistan, the regime of Zia ul Haqq (d. 1988) also indoctrinated a whole generation with attitudes antithetical to the traditionally tolerant and inclusive spirit of South Asian Islam that for eight centuries venerated its Sufi saints and culture. This gentle form of traditional Islam has been superseded by a harsh and even violent mentality propagated by these negative influences. Unfortunately, such extremism continues to spread, substituting itself for the more nuanced approach of classical Islam. Yet today many people in South Asia - and elsewhere — have known only this fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and believe it to be Islam's only “true” form.

Misperceptions and Misunderstandings Along with this has come the notion of Sufism as an aberrant form of Islam based in saint worship, and mired in fatalism and superstition. In this view Sufis are naive followers of fraudulent shaikhs who withdraw from the responsibilities of everyday life and neglect the practices of the faith. This is, of course, a very

distorted caricature of Sufism and a betrayal of Islamic civilization and history as well. Many of the most respected, accomplished, and creative Muslims throughout history have either been Sufis or under Sufi guidance. These have included major figures of Islamic oe

33 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL

REALITY

law, literary geniuses, vizirs and sultans, such as the Imams Jafar al-Sadiq (d. 765 C.E.), Abu Hanifa (d. 767 C.E.), and Shafi (d. 820 C.E.), as well as great saints who have lived lives of humble service.

After Islam’s early period of expansion, most of the subsequent spread of Islam can be attributed to Sufis who carried the fragrance of love and noble character. They include Abdul Qadr Jilani (d. 1166 C.E.), Ahmed Rifai (d. 1181 C.E.), and Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (d. 1258 C.E.), primarily among the Arabs; Ahmed Yasawi (d. 1166 C.E.) and Haji Bektash (d. 1271 C.E.) among Turkic peoples; Moinuddin Chishti (d. 1236 C.E.), who spread Islam in the Indian subcontinent, and Ahmed Tijani (d. 1815 C.E.), whose

influence spread through much of Africa. Among the philosophers we count luminaries such as Al-Ghazali (d. 1111 C.E.), Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240 C.E.) and Mulla Sadra (d. 1640 C.E.). Among the

literary geniuses are too many to be named, but a few dearest to our hearts include Attar (d. 1220 C.E.), Rumi (d. 1273 C.E.), and Hafiz (d. 1390 C.E.). Among political leaders and revolutionaries, we recall Imam Shamil (d. 1871 C.E.) in the Caucasus, and Abdul

Qadir al-Jazaeri (d. 1883 C.E.) in North Africa. It was the great founder of Islamic Law, Imam Shafi, who

said: “Sufism without Shariah is misbelief and Shariah without Sufism is also misbelief.” Sufism is a current that has flowed through the core of Islam, not something extraneous to it. Its very nature is of the Qur'an and the character of the Prophet. To propose that Sufism has no essential relationship to Islam is to disregard the fact that virtually all classical Sufis considered themselves Muslims. While these Sufis sometimes contended with the status quo of their respective societies and religious establishments, particularly with those members of the religious establishment who had a narrow and literal understanding of Islam itself, they never repudiated the Qur’an or the centrality of Muhammad. The Islam they followed was, of course, a mystical

Islam, but in their view no more mystical than the Islam that Muhammad himself lived and taught. The great Sufis were not merely dressing themselves in the appearance of Islam because it was the prevailing belief system; they were affirming, and insometimes reclaiming, what they believed to be the original to end an spiration of Islam. It is so today, as well. We must put

34 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

the misinformation that marginalizes Sufism, and restore it to its

proper place within Islam. As part of this effort, a dialogue among Sufis of all traditions and with adherents of mainstream Islam may be necessary. For more than thirty years I have considered the issues involved, and would like to share my experience, especially where there are questions around areas of spiritual life that need clarification, such as:

1. The relationship to Islam, including the place of the Qur’an,

the shariah,

and

the sunnah.

The

need

for

simplicity so as not to let religious behavior become the dominant concern, in order to stay free of identifications and compulsions that can get in the way. 2. The

importance

and

function

of the Saints

(awliya),

especially those pirs (Sufi masters) who were the inspiration and origin of the various paths, or tariqahs. How to approach their writings and teachings, as well as other sources of knowledge. 3. The relationship with a teacher, or spiritual friend, and

the principles of community life, including relationships between men and women. 4. The practices of the path appropriate to the contemporary world. The practices appropriate to different levels of attainment. 5. The place of culture: music, literature, the visual arts.

Revealed Book and Living Book In the history of Sufism, there have been two major centers of

influence: The Divine Word and the Completed Human Being (insaan al-kamil); that is, the Revealed Book and the Living Book, or, the Qur’an and the Friend of God, also known as the wali.

The profound connection between these two elements has been recognized historically. If we look at the teachings of all great Sufis, at least up to the twentieth century, we find that they constantly referred to the Qur’an. As Rumi, for instance says, “Have your realizations and openings, but seal them with the Qur’an and Hadith.”

35 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL REALITY

This complementary relationship between revelation and sainthood helps to keep the Revelation alive through the light offered by realized beings. However, when the Divine text is commented on by those who lack the lived experience of the Divine, its message is at best diminished, and at worst, betrayed. To the

extent that those with this deeper experience are marginalized, the religion becomes dry, legalistic, and possibly oppressive. Divine Guidance comes into the world with a message challenging the status quo of human egoism. The eruption of the Divine into the world is the eruption of Truth, of Light, of

Guidance. It brings with it a transformation of self and society. At first the ego, with all its vested interests, resists and even

attacks this challenge to its autonomy, but sooner or later, it is hoped, it will recognize the futility of its resistance. Those who can embrace the transformative message embody its reality, but inevitably some will merely repeat the words without real understanding or inner experience. It is the awliya, the friends of God, who keep the message alive. Broadly speaking, there are two ways in which the original message can be contaminated by human egoism. On the one side is an “orthodoxy” dominated by an authoritarian mentality preoccupied with rules, behaviors, rituals, dress,

and sexuality. Not only may it miss the beauty and depth of spiritual life, but it tends toward oppression. It makes idols of its own dogma and authority. The other side of the egoistic distortion is when mysticism is contaminated by human ego. Sufism is not necessarily immune to the temptations of self-indulgence, moral laxity, abuse of power. If there is such a thing as real gold, there will always be imitations gilded to look as much as possible like real gold. The sincere seeker should always be discerning of false teachers, cults, and

teachings designed to coddle the ego rather than transform it. It is the tendency of the ego to reduce the Truth to fit its own desires. In a way, there is no greater corruption than to distort that which is most sacred to conform to the desires and expectations of the ego. This can lead to a self-indulgent and narcissistic spirituality in which the untransformed self seeks secret knowledge or ecstatic states, under the guise of spirituality.

36 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

Some Eastern gurus back in the 1970s showed how one can attract a mass of followers by offering a mix of eclectic mysticism, self-indulgence, and loose sex. In our Western culture, which for

centuries has equated spirituality with life-denying practices and beliefs, there is now a thriving market for a romanticized, hedo-

nistic mystical-eroticism. Once, in fact, a magazine of literary erotica ordered from us a few cases of Rumi’s quatrains to offer to new subscribers. The boundary between mystical love of God and romantic infatuation was hazy. Or perhaps the magazine editors went to the only experience they knew that could be associated with the sheer beauty and power of these quatrains—a forgiveable confusion. When the ultimate love a human being can experience is reduced to a mere romantic indulgence, or worse yet a cult of sexuality, and given an esoteric justification, what is most sacred is cheapened. Nevertheless the sacred can be experienced through the pleasures of human intimacy, and we will explore this in a later chapter. While the pendulum of human activity may swing from one extreme to another, from puritanism to indulgence,

Sufism has traditionally done a good job of keeping the balance by viewing human sexuality in the context of mutual respect and responsibility. And the popularity of Rumi in our time is evidence that there is a remedy for those life-denying attitudes and wounds, as well as a possibility of divine love embodied.

The best of orthodoxy strives to be a guarantee that we have some frame of reference outside ourselves by which we can check and confirm our own inner experience. The worst of orthodoxy is a religious tyranny that stifles critical thinking and betrays the mercy that is the essence of Islam, leading to conditions rife with harshness and hypocrisy. The best of that Sufic or “gnostic” trend is the reliance on authentic immediate spiritual experience, the humility to accept guidance from a trusted mentor, and to fastidiously question one’s own motives. The worst of it is the reduction of the sacred to the demands of the human ego—a narcissistic spirituality—and the subservience to false teachers who appropriate the language of the mystics and prey on the gullible.

37 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL REALITY

The Pure Religion of Abraham The reconciliation and the ideal is a complementary relationship between the Qur’an and the perfected human being (alinsan al-kamil). The best of Sufism that takes its guidance from the essential spiritual principles revealed in the Qur’an and further illuminated by the saints. It is a spirituality that is dynamic and never loses its own spirit of emancipation. In fact, it derives its sustenance from the universal dimensions of the Qur’an.

One of the themes that runs through the Qur'an is the pure religion of Abraham. It is not a formal religion, but a quality of relationship with God. Abraham was called Khalilullah, the intimate friend of God. He arrived at that state by heeding the call of God within his own being. He surrendered. AND LO! We made the House to be a goal to which people might return again and again, and a sanctuary: take, then, the place whereon Abraham once stood as your place of prayer.

And thus did We command Abraham and Ishmael: “Purify My House for those who will walk around it, and those who will abide near it in meditation, and those who will bow down and prostrate themselves [in prayer].” And, behold, Abraham prayed: “O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure, and grant its people fruitful sustenance — such of them as keep faith in God and the Last Day.”

God answered: “And whoever shall deny the truth, I will allow to enjoy himself for a short while — but in the end I shall drive him to suffering through fire: and how unfortunate a journey’s end!”

And when Abraham and Ishmael were establishing the foundations of the House, they prayed: “O our Sustainer! Accept this from us: for, indeed, You alone are all-hearing, all-knowing! “QO our Sustainer! Make us surrender ourselves unto You, and

make out of our offspring a community that shall surrender itself unto You, and show us our ways of worship, and accept our

38 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

repentance: for, verily, You alone are the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace! “O our Sustainer! Raise up from the midst of our offspring a messenger from among themselves, who shall convey unto them Your messages, and impart unto them revelation as well as wis-

dom, and cause them to grow in purity: for, verily, You alone are almighty, truly wise!”

And who, unless he be weak of mind, would want to abandon Abraham’s community, seeing that We have indeed raised him high in this world, and that, truly, in the life to come he shall be among the righteous? (2:125-130)

AND THEY say, “Be Jews” — or, “Christians” — “and you shall be on the right path.” Say: “Nay, but [ours is] the Way of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who ascribe divinity to anything beside God.” Say: “We keep faith in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descen-

dants, and that which has been given to Moses and Jesus, and that which has been given to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”

And if others come to faith as you have, they will indeed find themselves on the right path; and ifthey turn away, it is but they who will be deeply in the wrong, and God will protect you from them: for He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing. Ah, the hue from God! And who could give'a better hue [to life] than God, ifwe but truly worship Him?” Say [to the people of various religions]: “Do you argue with us about God? But He is our Sustainer as well as your Sustainer — and unto us shall be accounted our deeds, and unto you,

39 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL REALITY

your deeds; and it is unto Him alone that we devote ourselves.

(2:135-139) Essential Sufism The strength of Sufism is that it leads to the reality of surrender. The value of Sufism does not lie merely in specific techniques, which can be borrowed to suit our needs, as some pragmatic Westerners might at first think. Sufism is a total matrix of meaning that revises our understanding of existence and our relationship to the Divine. In other words, Sufism is not Sufism unless it renovates our egoistic conceptions and orients us to a direct relationship with Divine Being. The Qur’an teaches and reminds the human being of what it is to be a finite being in relationship to an Infinitely Compassionate and Merciful Reality. If Sufism is to be relevant today it must be grasped in its most essential understanding and then translated in a new way without losing its core values. We need today an essential Sufism which is the essence of that spiritual process purified as much as possible from the “relative” aspects of the historical Sufism, and from the secondary cultural aspects in which it has

been embedded. Essential Sufism is that which has remained more or less constant through time and which can be handed over to the present age. Essential Sufism is that which is beneficial and utilizable in historical Sufism and which can provide a contemporary means for developing and perfecting our humanness. Essential Sufism, in my view, can be understood as:

1. The essential revelations and inspirations received and applied by enlightened messengers throughout the history of humanity and in which we can acknowledge

a progressive revelation as humanity itself has matured. This wisdom and inspiration does not necessarily end with Muhammad, but may continue through certain inspired individuals and their teachings. The significance of Muhammad, as the Seal of the Prophets, is that the revelation which came through him confirmed the truth of previous messengers and was the last to offer a religious law (shariah) for a community.

40 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

2. Those essential principles confirmed in the Qur’an, for instance: the reality of an Unseen Beneficence guiding and sustaining humanity the lawful consequences of the denial of this Benefi-

cence the oneness of God « the covenant of free will given to mankind ¢ the unique value of the human being as representative of God « the necessity and value of the remembrance of God and regular prayer universal principles of social justice and human rights For human beings in general, essential Sufism offers a perspective that both dignifies our humanity and puts the Divine Reality at the center of our consciousness. For Muslims, Sufism can restore the Mercy and Beauty that lie at the heart of Islam. It is the very essence of the religion they claim to profess. For Sufis, and especially those drawn by the great teachers such as Ahmad Rifai, Abdul Qadir Gilani, Imam Shadhili, Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi, Jalaluddin Rumi, and Mullah Sadra, as well as the more modern expressions such as Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938)

and Shaikh Alawi (d. 1934), Islam provides the matrix of charac-

ter, relationship, practice, and worship that give Sufism its beauty and transformational power. My intention is not to convince everyone to join a Sufi order, but I do believe that Sufism can offer the spirit of emancipation that is so needed now. At its best it is a living tradition that is dynamic and has the energy to inform, ignite, and inspire.

Sufism Today Sufism, this path of remembrance, love, ecstasy, and freedom, has

developed within the spiritual universe of the Qur'an. It has existed and developed in relationship with Islamic spiritual practice which touches every sphere of life. Islam is not a religion of individual salvation alone, but also a way of ordering human life, both internally

41

| SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL REALITY

and externally, individually and collectively. Even the free-spirited mysticism of Rumi was not divorced from this framework of revealed meanings, human relationships, and ritual practice. Classical Sufism encompasses a broad spectrum of mentalities, from the intoxicated and testy verse of Hafiz, to the

sweeping poetic panoramas of Attar and Rumi, to the almost Talmudic

reflections

of Ibn ‘Arabi, to the austere

and pious

Islam of Abdul Qadir Jilani. There is no doubt that Sufism was embedded in the practical obligations, disciplines and devotions of Islam: the ritual prayer, Quranic study, fasting, vigils, charity, and pilgrimage. There is also no doubt that Sufism contributed new practices and circumstances for the realization of human possibilities: methods of contemplation, great music and literature, ceremonies of remembrance, and Sufi lodges that were institutions of

continuous education and service to people. These contributions, however, are organically related to the original inspiration of Islam: its revealed Book and its Prophet. For example, I have found that the Qur’an can help to keep me oriented toward the deepest Truth and the widest perspective, which is the Divine rather than the human perspective. I find that I can factor in the guidance of the Qur’an without becoming obsessed with the past or a narrow sectarian view of existence. For many years I have done my best to observe and express the values of Islamic Sufism, complete with a gentle introduction to its practices and moral principles. I have held people in the bosom of tradition to the best of my ability. Every time I reconnect to my own Mevlevi tradition, I am reminded of its beauty and integrity—as well as its resilience in the face of hostility that has surfaced in different forms over the centuries. Recently, for example, I have discovered Ankaravi, a seventeenth century Mevlevi, known for his commentary of Rumi’s Mathnawi, as well as studies of Ibn ‘Arabi and Suhrawardi.

Ankaravi had to bear the attacks of literalist interpreters of the shariah who considered virtually all of Sufi practices—the whirling ceremony, the audible zikr, and other devotions—as condemnable bid‘ah, or innovations. And yet, it is typically these great Sufis that we remember today, not their attackers.

42 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

In my role as a Mevlevi shaikh, I have wanted to put forth a vision that embraces in equal measures an appreciation of the past, a concern with the needs of the present, and a hopeful vision for the future. Having been nurtured in the womb of this living tradition, it is my wish to offer the knowledge, practice, tools, and individual transformation I believe are necessary to survive spiritually in the new millennium. Having established a foundation of traditional practice, with a spiritual microculture somewhat free of the prevailing culture of spiritual pampering, narcissism, and pseudo-individualism, I feel that we can now begin to share the personal experience and teachings that are fully consistent with the Sufi spirit of emancipation.

Many Traditions, One Primordial Religion of Humanity Once, while in the airport in Kuala Lumpur, I noticed a mid-

dle-aged blonde woman dressed in a black abaya. She seemed to be encumbered by the weight of some invisible burden. I wondered what had led her to choose to be covered as she was,

so different even from the surrounding Muslim women in their brightly colored kaftans and scarves. Her dress was a statement of her faith, no doubt, and perhaps a need to reinforce her commit-

ment outwardly. I could not help but wonder about other choices she might have made, including the choice of blending invisibly into secular society without losing her spiritual commitment. Religion (din) for some is a way of dressing, or a social identity, or a political tool. For others it may be a disguise to cloak their sense of victimization or rage. For yet others it may be the form which their own self-serving ambition takes. Yet true spiritual growth is the continual transformation of our egos. It is the journey from limited beliefs to a comprehensive faith. Some,

fully conscious

of the choice, choose

tradition.

What they receive in return is participation in a community of faith, the value of which is not to be underestimated. One

of religion’s positive functions is to unify people in a common set of beliefs and rituals. Many people are most comfortable situating themselves within universes of belief which may be labeled as Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, or Islamic.

43 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL

REALITY

Each of these has been a container for shared experience and wisdom. Each has also accumulated a burden of unnecessary beliefs and outright distortions that sometimes veil the soul from Truth itself. I am well aware of the hazards of trying to stand outside of tradition, and I am equally aware of the limitations, divisiveness, stagnation, and rigidity often sustained by tradition. I sense in our hearts the spirit of guidance at this time in human history, a spirit of reconciliation and harmony. What is needed most today is an appreciation for the primordial religion of humanity—a way that honors all authentic spiritual paths and sacred traditions, and yet includes a transcendent perspective. In the interest of the unity of mankind and the healing of the wounds of separation, there is a need to recapture this transcendent perspective. For those of us who are Muslims, we need to understand the

Revelation with all of the knowledge and human experience that is now at our disposal. The era of ijtihad, of living interpretation and application, is not ended; if the Qur’an is what it claims to be, it must inspire us anew to find the most real and appropriate solutions to the challenges the human spirit faces. The reality of the message of Muhammad has been in serious trouble before, but it can be revived, insh‘Allah (God willing). Instead of a

preoccupation with the past, living solely in our recollection of a former purity, we need to have the courage to be of this moment. Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “He whose one day is like the next is not of us.” Because tradition can easily crystallize into social conditioning, we might keep in mind that our tradition has always been a

tradition of transcending identification with forms and concepts. La illaha il Allah (There is no god but God) is a self-transcending

affirmation that does not define God but allows us to move from one level of reality to the next. As a matter of principle, we should be willing to let go of our limited conceptions, our personal mental idols. With faith in an ongoing spirit of guidance, we can choose

a way of integrity and directness, a way that emphasizes the experience of Divine Presence and Love. The experience of Divine Presence that we seek requires a transformation of the human ego

44 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

out of an identity that is shaped by fear and insecurity, propped up by material possessions, social roles, egoistic opinions, and sectarian beliefs. Rigid opinion and negative judgment darken the heart. Opinion, the contracted, critical part of the mind, is the distorting lens

that magnifies our identifications and differences, creating a world of self-importance, disharmony, and imbalance. Opinion veils the heart. Opinion says: “I know and you do not.” It minimizes our own fallibility and searches for the errors of others. It makes ourselves into competitors with each other and finally competitors with God, the only Knower. Opinion tends toward intellectual arrogance, an occupational hazard of esotericists. It leads to false claims that make orders, shaikhs, and religion more important than God. Cultic behavior can undermine any group that does not place itself under the purest auspices of Love and illumination. The illuminated heart is content and at peace with God. An illuminated heart is rare; opinion is all too common. The illuminated heart sees the Divine Reality, the Balance in all things; it sees with the impartial light of Allah. Illumination says: “Let's see what God does, what God does is always beautiful.”

When the heart is purified, Truth becomes an objective reality that can be known by human beings. This Truth is not equivalent to the formulations of beliefs and concepts. For the human being, Truth is the direct experience of Divine Presence. Freed from our illusions and enslavement, we can go on to discover the treasure we really are, which will inevitably lead to the sharing of this treasure, a spontaneous service to Life itself.

The Call to Awakening It is essential to work for the unity of mankind, to safeguard the planet for future generations, to show a way in which humanity can free itself from egoism and fear. We must remember the facts of our situation: the potential for devastation, the economic injustice, the secret powers that shape our lives. Humanity is on the brink of catastrophe and we have been asleep. What, therefore, is the most effective means of issuing a call to awakening? It is time to break out of our prisons of private pleasure and security. To use all our powers of presence and communication to

45 | SUFISM AS IDEAL, PERCEPTION, & HISTORICAL REALITY

remind all human beings of the essential reality of the Heart, and the unity that can be achieved if we live from the Heart. When the Heart fills with the breath of fana,'we can float on the stormy seas of life. We do not own ourselves anymore, we are only the servants of Hu.’ This Hu is the divine immanence burning within us. In order to be a servant of this Hu, we have to make funda-

mental changes in our lives, to live a heroic generosity, a spiritual chivalry, and to create enduring relationships for the sake of God

alone.

And verily your people are a single people and I am your Sustainer: therefore be awake to Me and no other. But people have fragmented their purpose among themselves into sects: each party rejoices in that which is with itself. (52:53) Real human solidarity may be rare, but it is natural and human to

forget our self-interest in love, to cultivate enduring relationships over worldly interests and accomplishments, to build something in the spiritual dimension, something real and eternal. This material existence is a canvas that we paint with the qualities of our own selves. What we see on this canvas is what we have created. If we do not make these changes we will continue to see a desperate, depressed humanity and a ravaged environment. If we don’t find the jewel of the Divine Reality within our hearts and begin to live from it, the bazaar of this existence may be destroyed stone by stone. With this objective knowledge and spiritual nuance, we must create a culture of love. We must invite the era of enlightenment by putting spiritual education at the center of all education. We have only one kind of work to do and it is the divine work. This is Essential Sufism. Sufism is nothing less than the path of experiencing our Divine Essence, our Hu, the secret of our Hu-manness. When we

appear before our Sustainer, bringing all the accomplishments of

our lives, our Sustainer will say, “Bring me the Heart. If the Heart 1.

Fana, the effacement of the false self.

2. Hu, the masculine pronoun in Arabic, employed in many languages as the “pronoun of Divine Prsence.”

46 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

is pleased with you, I am pleased with you. Your relationship to your inmost Heart is your relationship to Me.” Sufism is essentially the education of the heart. This education consists of both enlightenment and maturity. The enlightenment is the light of continuous dhikr in our hearts, light upon light, nur ala nur. The maturity consists of the human attributes we choose to develop which reflect the beautiful names of God. The human heart is the most precious substance in existence. We are the people of Heart, who have heard from deep within our own hearts a voice that says: God is Great.

ot hey

A Spirituality Adequate to Our Time

Bae we address some of the critical spiritual issues of our time, let us call to mind some of the basics of Islamic spiritual

psychology. This will help us to more clearly recognize the challenges we face. The human heart occupies a central place in the anatomy of Reality. In Sufi terminology, the Heart (qalb) is the midpoint between ego-self (nafs) and Spirit (ruh). The heart is suspended

between these two equally powerful and attractive forces. If the heart gives itself to nafs alone, it does not receive what it needs for its own healthy life. It becomes first veiled, then hardened, and

finally diseased. If, on the other hand, the heart opens itself to the influence of Spirit, it begins to receive the spiritualizing energies and to distribute them to every aspect of the human being and, eventually, to the wider world. What hidden power put our tender hearts in this seemingly merciless situation, pulled between the two poles of ego and Spirit, nafs and ruh—and why? Could it be that we find ourselves in this dilemma in order that we might learn to ask for help, to call out in our weakness, to make a clear call to the Infinite?

Satisfying The Heart

The real and essential needs of the human being have not changed very much over the centuries. Who would disagree, for instance, with Al-Ghazali’s assessment eight centuries ago that: “Human perfection resides in this, that the love of God should conquer a man’s heart and possess it wholly, and even if it does not possess it wholly, it should predominate in the heart over the 47

48 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

love of all things.”! What has changed since the time of Al-Ghazali is the form and pressure of the forces that can displace the love of God from the heart. Today we are swimming in a tide of unconsciousness, consumerism, mind-numbing distraction, aimless subjectivity, neu-

rotic individualism, and philosophical fragmentation. The artificial conditions of modern industrial and post-industrial societies are accelerating time, increasing stress, isolating individuals, reducing our human interactions, and fragmenting every aspect of our existence. We have lost the sense and purpose of life. As we have lost our wholeness, we have fashioned a world that is

not a garden, but a place where people are enslaved, where the beauties of nature are pillaged, and where unjust and unnecessary wars destroy what the human heart would create. The fragmentation that we see on the level of society is, of course, only mirroring what we are inside. The compulsive ego (nafs al-ammara) is not a unified tyranny, but a many-headed monster, a shape-shifting phantom. The fragmentation of the self is the fundamental cause of all our problems, and this fragmentation is the direct result of our loss of an objective knowledge of the self and Reality. Yet an even greater concern is the possibility that human beings could lose the whole notion of love of God as the criteria of human perfection and well-being. I see two major trends operating in the world today. One draws seekers toward a generic, mass-media spirituality drawn from the ever-increasing self-help literature, most of which is

preoccupied with ego themes and feeds upon itself rather than drawing from one of the authentic sources of universal Spirit. The other trend takes people toward fundamentalisms that offer rigid simplifications and indoctrination into a one-dimensional reality. Do we live in a post-religious, post-denominational era? And if we do, from where will we draw our discipline and practice?

The Misplaced Center Our postmodern world has seen a profound disillusionment with the Judeo-Christian tradition, as well as with the scientific 1. Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, The Alchemy of Happiness. Translated by Claude Field. London, 1991.

49 | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

materialism that has largely superseded it. This disillusionment has become so thorough among some people that we are seeing a reaction against these worldviews in the name of the “new.” At the root of this reaction may be a wish to restore a lost wholeness,

to heal a deep division within the psyche. Reactions against religions that have abandoned their own wisdom tradition, or against a science which could not respond to the needs of the soul, are understandable and to some extent justifiable, but the reaction is in danger of being so extreme and unbalanced that it denies what has been known and practiced by authentic wisdom traditions for countless centuries. I see tendencies arising these days that are rationalized through a spiritual rhetoric, yet lack a spiritual center, and which therefore are at the mercy of distortion by the ego and its narcissistic demands. This is especially the case when there is any opportunity to tell the ego what it wants to hear, rather than telling the truth. Examples include celebrity spirituality, quantum affluence, psychological polytheism, mythological paganism, mystical eroticism, ego-empowerment, get-what-youwant-mysticism.

Considering these waves of invented spiritualities and pop psychologies that besiege us, I feel it is appropriate to examine their characteristic beliefs in the light of traditional spirituality and the tawhidic (non-dual) perspective.’ In some important respects, many of these self-attempted corrections only exacerbate the illness instead of remedying the disease. Each in subtle and not so subtle ways misplaces the center, and therefore is out of

balance. Let us examine why this is so. First, there are the untruths and problems in our cultural situation that plainly need to be remedied. Next come the “rediscovered truths” touted as apparent remedies to these problems. Yet these new truths often contain distortions, and have dark sides of their own. In my view, such distortions are like an allergic reaction. If Western culture has been ill, in other words, then psychological polytheism and 2, Equating “tawhidic” with “non-dual” may seem surprising, we should remember that tawhid as the essential meaning of “oneness.”

50 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

other regressive cultural currents are signs of a hypersensitive immune system. Some of the most common propositions and their distortions are outlined below, along with a clarification from the Sufi

perspective.

Propositions, Distortions, and Clarifications Proposition: God is not to be found merely through a belief system, but through experience.

Distortion: Turning the idea of “God is within you” into an experience independent of any revealed tradition, implying that there is no authentic revelation. This leads to the facile notion that all someone needs to do is to rely upon themselves. Clarification: Unfortunately, if our own being has not been purified, all we will find within is our own ego and its fantasies, not our essential self nor its imaginal capacities. To be purified we need the orientation that revelation gives and an authentic tradition of enlightenment. Sufism offers insights into the purification from egoism and the refinement of self, such as this statement that a shaikh recounted to me from the ninth-century Sufi saint Abu’'l Hossain Nuri: “Sufism is emancipation, chivalry, giving up affectation, and generosity. Emancipation is to be free of self-will; chivalry is to be rid of the conceit of chivalry; giving up affectation is to bring an end to all attachments; and generosity is to leave the world to the worldly.” (Attar, Tadhkirat al-Awliya) Proposition: Because “man-made religion’—meaning the distortions of the original, primordial revelations of the Divine—devalued and damned the body, the earth, and this life in favor of disembodiedness and the afterlife,

truth lies in reintegrating spirit with the life of the body. Distortion: The belief that there is no experience apart from the body. Placing our faith too much in the coddling

S1 | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

and manipulation of the body, or in dependence on techniques of mental concentration or mind-calming. Clarification: We must not forget that it is indeed possible to be born from this material existence into an awareness of a wider spiritual world, which nevertheless can be simultaneously apprehended while living in this world. Proposition: Since the Western mind has narrowed its view to encompass only the materialistic, scientific model of reality, we must now open to the more subtle dimen-

sions of existence. Distortion: An indiscriminate attraction to the occult or

psychic phenomena. Clarification: The psychic realm, though subtler than the physical realm, has its own traps, illusions, and negative thought forms. Focusing our attention and faith on the purity of Spirit, we must remember the One Being through whom everything exists and which is the fundamental ground of Reality, the truly Holy.

Proposition: Patriarchal monotheism is guilty of many of the crimes that have brought us to the point of an exhausted ecology and an alienated humanity. This is a time for honoring nature and the earth. Distortion: Reverting to the polymorphous and polytheistic myths of paganism and goddess worship. This merely substitutes one form of sexism for another. Also, some

forms of honoring the earth can be distorted into the deification of the earth and the devaluation of humanity as a mere parasite upon it. Clarification: It is possible to go too far in the direction of creation-centered spirituality. In Sufism this has been called “falling in love with the Inn and ignoring the Innkeeper.” Finally, such a form of nature worship risks

52 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

taking a step backward in consciousness, since the historical movement from mythological paganism to pure monotheism was a shift from finding meaning in complex mythologies and rituals, to seeing the Divine manifest in everyday life. Proposition: The Judeo-Christian and materialistic models of reality were equally dogmatic, leading to closed-mindedness and rigidity of belief. Distortion: A total relativizing of values that proposes to go beyond dogmas and realize there is no single Truth, making doubt into a virtue. “All we can know is that we don’t know.” Clarification: This perspective can lead to denying that Divine Intelligence, the Heart of Reality, is capable of and has been communicating with humankind through a history of inspiration and revelation. We must recognize that faith in an invisible Beneficence leads to a different outcome than a belief in the randomness of existence.

Proposition: The majority has been wrong and has forced their conventional belief systems on the individual. Distortion: An exaggerated value placed on the individual self in its untransformed state. The individual must be considered sacred and its independence guarded and honored above all else. Clarification: This can make an idol of the individual’s quest and cast into doubt the reality of mature guidance and the value of spiritual work within a tradition. It can also cut people off from community, undermining humility and our fundamental need for other human beings.

Within the broadly tolerant culture of our time, few people seem to have much passion or conviction about metaphysical principles. If the Prince of Darkness himself were to offer a workshop at one of today’s “growth centers,” there would very likely be any

53 | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

number of people who would give him a fair hearing and perhaps find quite a few ideas to agree with, before going on to the next lecture or workshop. This willingness to not judge anything is one of the naive “virtues” of our age, but if this openness does not lead to some developing certainty based on inner knowing, we are lost in the shifting sands of conjecture. Perhaps the most important contribution that any authentic wisdom tradition can make is that of establishing the quality of discernment based on clear spiritual criteria. This metaphysical clarity can be a spiritual compass in our ever-changing cultural environment. More importantly, it can lead us beyond metaphysics to a deepening experience of the inward reality of the human being and offer the human heart what it longs for. The human heart is an instrument of fine gradations and subtlety. It is an instrument commensurate with the qualities of the Divine Reality. To satisfy it, we need a spirituality of subtle nuance, as well as objectivity. We need a religion that is as much art as it is law. Does Sufism, with its roots deep in Islamic reve-

lation, differ from the values and beliefs gaining acceptance in the spiritual tumult of these times? Does it bring any light to the situation we are in today? If Sufism is indeed a spirituality adequate to the times we live in, it should be able to provide convincing answers to the following questions:

« By what criteria can I make the right choices in life? « How will I establish some structure in my own life while living in a society that seems to have lost its bearings? « What will help me to sort through the mass of information and opinions that I’m continually bombarded by?

A Spirituality Adequate to Our Time

As spiritual seekers, we know that the objective knowledge we require cannot be constructed by human intellect alone. Intellect can perform many useful functions; it can divide, critique, and negate, but intellect is not the source of inspired knowledge about the purpose of life. Intellectual conjecture too often leads only to a labyrinth of opinion. Rather it is the heart that is the seat of true knowing.

54 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

The heart is not merely a metaphor for an undefined capacity for feeling. The heart is an objective, cognitive power beyond intellect. It is the organ of perception which can know the world of spiritual qualities. It is the heart that can love, that can praise, that can forgive, that can perceive the Divine Majesty. Only the human heart can say yes, can affirm wholeness, can know the

Infinite. Guided by its inner discernment, al-Furqan, the heart can apprehend what is Real. As a Hadith Qudsi says: “The heavens and the earth do not contain Me. Only the heart of my faithful servant contains Me.” We need an education of the heart to receive this qualitative knowledge. For the heart to become an adequate cognitive instrument, a mirror of the Divine qualities, it needs to be cleared of the conditioning that clouds it. This reconditioning of the heart is a task that must be guided by objective principles. The traditional knowledge of Sufism can offer an education of the heart grounded in a true psychology of the human being, a science of the soul. We have been provided a reliable guide to the questions of life in the form of Divine Revelation and in the example of complete human beings, beginning with the Prophets and continuing through the renewers and heirs of the Prophetic inheritance. This spiritualization process, this education of the heart is not just a matter of transmitting information and technique. It must inevitably be a soul-to-soul relationship, a sharing of a state of being, hal. This is accomplished both through knowledge and practice with a teacher, as well as a kind of spiritual resonance that uplifts the consciousness and emotional tone of the “student.” Based on my experience of this process within Sufism, I believe the rehabilitation of the heart in the modern world has three prerequisites: first, an appreciation of and willingness to engage in the process; second, contact with the living traditions that still maintain this education and this “state of being;” and third, a willing collaboration between the sources of tradition and

3. A saying of God related by the Prophet Muhammad Qur’an.

outside the

5S | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

contemporary people to design and implement the format that is needed in modern societies. Based on my own experience, I offer

some thoughts on what this might look like in the chapters that follow. At the same time, I also believe there must be a dialogue about the spiritual needs of our time that is informed by a spirit of open and honest inquiry.

Vital Questions If we are looking for the complete development of the human being, where will we find it today? We can search the available paths, compare

their goals, methods,

and outcomes,

but we

would do well to ask ourselves: What is it we wish to develop? Is it will, consciousness, selflessness, love? How can we understand

the essence of spirituality? In considering any spiritual path, we would do well to use the following as criteria for discernment: « Whether it frees us from personal slavery, in the form of the burden and preoccupation with the self. Whether it liberates us from self-delusion. « Whether it is non-coercive and preserves our freedom of choice. ¢ Whether it cuts us off from other communities or offers possibilities of unifying humanity more broadly. « Whether it supplies a body of knowledge that is diverse yet unified enough to engage our emotional and mental faculties in the long run. ¢ Whether it stimulates our creativity and develops our essential human faculties, including awareness, will, intentionality, creativity, compassion, and love.

« Whether it allows ideas as well as the ¢ Whether it offers which will connect

for the free and open discussion of expression of doubts. a language with metaphoric power, us with a wider community.

e Whether its mythos motivates us towards sacrifice, faith,

and selflessness. - Whether it allows development.

continuous

experimentation

and

56 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Whether it offers a reliable path to the highest spiritual attainment.

Whether it has a corresponding reality in the Unseen rather than a mere invention of human extrapolation. Whether it does justice to the human heart.

As we reflect on these criteria for a complete spiritual path, we would do well to consider the following questions: « What is the purpose of being human? « How can we become aware of ourselves as spiritual beings? ¢ How can we increase our love for the Divine so that it is always and everywhere the center of our consciousness? « How can we harmonize our nervous system so that we function harmoniously? ¢ How do we attain and sustain right relationship? ¢ How do we increase our capacity for love? ¢ How do we develop a healthy will? ¢ How do we heal our emotional wounds? ¢ How do we become liberated from the tyranny of the ego with its fear, anger, desire, and self-preoccupation?

¢ How can we continue to learn from the sacred history of humanity?

In today’s world, it can be difficult to know whether we are living in a new age or a dark age. The major religions seem to have become contaminated by man-made beliefs, dogmas, and prejudices. Are there any that seem to be leading the way toward human well-being and true spiritual progress? So much of mainstream religion today is characterized by mediocrity and compromise. We are surrounded by examples of superstition and repetitive formulaic thought. While there are people of integrity, generosity, courage, and spiritual awareness in all the religious traditions, and outside of them, it seems that no expression of religion can be embraced without a careful sorting of all its propositions, assumptions, ten-

dencies, and implications. As one well-known religious leader and writer said to me recently, “You have to be quite humble to

belong to anything these days.”

57 | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

We should be alert to certain dangers of religious belief, especially if it: ¢ Encourages a know-it-all attitude, or is in danger of absolutizing its own limited, doctrinaire understanding of certain propositions, whether these be revelations or

sayings of the founder. ¢ Leads us to believe that all we need to know has already been expressed and to neglect the development of methodologies and ways of thought that could genuinely awaken us and enhance our humanness. ¢ Focuses on trivialities, fighting battles that are not really essential to the development of an open heart. « Diminishes individual inquiry and independent thinking. ¢ Does not offer a full place to women and the feminine. ¢ Breeds an oppressive and toxic puritanism. ¢ Condones violence as a solution to problems. - Encourages a mindless acceptance of external authority, whether that be political or spiritual. Is there some way to integrate and balance our self-initiated reason, consciousness, and love with the grace and guidance froma

true spiritual Source? Some hope lies in the study of enlightened, selfless, and mature human beings and the teachings and ways they opened for others. Through them we may find a teaching suited to an advanced, more conscious portion of humanity. This is what I have found in Sufism, but not only for myself and other contemporary seekers. History shows that Sufism has provided a dynamic spirit of emancipation that has been the impetus for the renewal and reinvigoration of cultures in the past: in Central Asia after the Mongol devastation; in Mughal India, in the Ottoman world. And it has operated throughout all the lands where Islam was present as countless Sufi communities met for dhikr circles, hadrahs, sohbets, and semas.4

4. Hadrah, literally, “presence.” Communal spiritual gatherings of Sufis using music, chant, and movements. Sohbet, spiritual conversation,

usually with a spiritual master. Sema, worship involving music and sometimes whirling.

58 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

The Spirit of Emancipation and The Light of Oneness All authentic sacred traditions have offered ways to know God. And there is still so much we can learn from the wisdom and forms of the past, but we must not become trapped in an idolization of the past. The era of parochial religious beliefs must make room for the objective understanding of spiritual principles and for a time of unification of humanity under the Light of conscious realization. At this time in history, when human technical capacities have increased more in the last one hundred years than they have for thousands of years before, should there not also be a corresponding development in our spiritual understanding? Perhaps it means being in touch with the highest range of human experience, a state in which we are relatively free of egoism and able to perceive with the heart. It is possible to hold an awareness of life under the light of eternity, fully aware of our own death and the importance of not wasting a precious moment of this life. Living this life fully means knowing that which is worth knowing, and loving that which is most worthy of love. As if the sun has risen on a new day, the Light of Oneness is beginning to shine upon a unified humanity. Those who can live in this consciousness will not feel separate from anyone of good faith and will also respect those who have chosen to be nourished by more than a single faith tradition. The true spiritual teachers and leaders are those who can wash away the negativity of others and strengthen the community of hearts. No authority or privilege over others is involved. The Friends are those who free others; they will never encourage bonds of dependency. Man and woman are equal partners, side by side, complementing each other in every respect: as the Qur’an says, they are awliya, friends and supporters of one another. The elders respect the purity, flexibility, and honesty of the young. The young gradually grow in their respect for the wisdom and experience of their elders. Love is connectedness. Meditation,

ritual worship,

chanting,

and

ceremony

are

Opportunities to open a channel to the Divine Reality. Their intention is more important than their form, but the form supports the intention as well. Every breath is a meditation,

acommunion,

59 | A SPIRITUALITY ADEQUATE TO OUR TIME

a prostration, and a potential blessing. Within every human heart is the possibility of the marriage of the formless with form, the gift of timelessness to time. Humanity’s greatest possibility lies in this awareness of Infinite Spirit. The Qur’an was revealed as a corrective to the failures of humanity’s religious institutions, a reminder of the primordial religion of humanity. Perhaps its true message has not been fully realized yet. Even in the midst of a world too often desecrated by tyranny and violence, divisive beliefs, and distortion of truth, where the in-

stitutions and belief systems that should secure our well-being are corruptible, we can hold our own vision of humanity’s potential. I believe it is possible to begin building the foundations of a new moral order that recognizes the sacredness of all life, the dignity of the human being, freedom of belief and conscience, partnership of man and woman, economic cooperation and justice, ecological sustainability and acknowledgment of a Spiritual Reality.

They would like to extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah insures that His light will be perfected, even though the deniers detest it. He it is Who sent His Prophet with guidance and the religion of Truth, uplifting it over all religion, no matter how hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to other than God. (9:33)

This ayah describes a dynamic between human beings’ tendency to darken the Light, the compulsion to talk down the truth, and then the inexorable power of the Divine Light to shine upon everything nevertheless. The Prophet Muhammad was sent with guidance and the religion of truth (din al-haqq) in order that it might stand out, manifest itself, be uplifted and enlighten (yudhirahu) all religion. Some have translated this word as “prevail over,” implying domination, but given the Qur’an's recognition of religious pluralism, this would not seem the most appropriate interpretation. It is possible to understand this instead as: the Religion of Truth shines upon all religion. From the Sufi perspective, the Qur’an is a revelation which has been preserved and protected from human alteration. It is

60 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

therefore a primary source of guidance. And yet to be able to receive this guidance we need a pure and receptive heart. Obviously, not all who speak in the name of the Qur’an come to it

with a pure heart. We cannot receive the essential message that revelation brings unless we have a minimal sincerity that will allow us to hear its guidance.

The sincerity we need must come from the depths of human intelligence, which is the divine in humanity, our innate nature (fitrah). Otherwise, we will only raise up new and temporary idols made in the image of the false self. We do not need more manmade beliefs, more invented religions, more artificial gods. We need, quite simply, a religion of Love. Despite the distortions and misapprehensions of Islam, its presence and acceptance in the contemporary West, primarily through Sufism, is a sign of its essential truth and vitality. If the meaning of what was revealed in the Qur’an and lived by the Prophet could be freed from its bondage to what has imprisoned it, then its essential impulse could inform and benefit humanity again. The beauty, generosity, and truth of Islam must be effectively communicated by those who live as artists of spirituality, reflecting God's creativity and love of creation. Embodying the state of being which is truly Islam means allowing our hearts and minds to resonate at the highest level. Those who can live in this Truth will radiate its blessing by living in this state with authenticity.

gos

A Revolution in Consciousness

f the Qur’an is, indeed, a guidance and a mercy for humanity, it must be able to speak to all conditions that are met in human life. War, tyranny and violence are a significant part of human history. Because the Qur’an was revealed in stages and often in response to events concerning the Muslim community, it reflects

the challenges of those times. During the twenty-three years of Muhammad's prophetic career, his community faced persecution and aggression from hostile tribes. The Qur'an, therefore, is answering a real need when it deals with injustice and conflict. The struggle between faith (iman) and denial (kufr) is one of its primary themes. Although Islam was born in tribulation, it spiritually magnetized a large portion of humanity with a moral and spiritual power that created a new civilization. Clearly that civilization has declined in many respects. What can save it now? The problems we are facing today cannot be solved by anything less than a revolution in consciousness similar to the change that took place

fourteen centuries ago.

Contemporary Jahiliyyah

Today the conflict is between those who stand on the side of true humanness and those who represent the jahiliyyah or “ignorance” of our own times. Let me try to describe the jahiliyyah of today:

1. The great jahiliyyah is the belief that violence solves problems, whether through the bullying tactics of national power or the tactics of terror that justify the killing of non-combatants. This unjustified violence, which is the vast majority of violence 61

62 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

today, is a downward spiral that takes us from the light into the darkness. The terror perpetrated by the minuscule minority of Muslim extremists is a reflex against the asymmetrical balance of power in the world today. The rationale for this thoroughly non-Islamic terror is that the ends (resistance to Global Mammon) justifies

the means (arbitrary violence against innocent civilians). It is the same rationale used by those who see aggressive, pre-emptive war as a means to attaining global security. What such rationalizing fails to consider is that when the means are unjust, we ourselves become degraded by the acts. We poison ourselves by cultivating a culture of violence. Extremist terror feeds militarization, which

further feeds the terror in a never ending cycle. Indeed, shaytan is always ready to stir the evil impulses within the hearts of people, whatever they call themselves. There are people of every faith and in every nation who are too quick to order young people off to kill and die. 2. Today's jahiliyyah puts money values over human values. It promotes a commercialized way of life and subordinates most aspects of life to the demands of the marketplace. Success is defined in transactional terms. Eventually even religion is colored by the marketplace. It is the rush to accumulate more and more, takathur, which disperses the human soul (see Surah Takathur, 102). The rush to-

ward materialism is also taking place in the East and the Middle East, only not as successfully as it has been in the West. Meanwhile in the West there is already a disillusionment setting in, where a significant percentage of people are turning away from consumerism and materialism toward voluntary simplicity and humane values. The remedy for this takathur is irfan, or tassawuf, by which I mean the ‘Im of self-purification, that is, an education of the soul.

3. Today’s jahiliyyah is destructive of the fabric of life itself, because we have within our power the ability to consume the environment the same way that cancer consumes its host. The powers that support this cancerous growth include those undemocratic,

63 | A REVOLUTION

IN CONSCIOUSNESS

secretive institutions of corporate globalization that represent no sovereign republic and no sacred tradition, but only elite power and greed. This almost unrestrained corporate imperialism buttressed by military force is the most significant threat facing Islam and the world.

Authoritarian Religion Within the Muslim world, today’s jahiliyyah has taken some particular forms. Chief among them is a reactionary spirituality whose features include intolerance, literalism, and the need to control and

limit free expression and creative thought. Reactionary spirituality claims for a privileged group the unique right to interpret the truth. Muslims must be aware of the dangers of oversimplification that lead to self-righteousness and disrespect for others. The Qur’an does not assign a monopoly on righteousness or truth to any human authority. Rather it says: For each one of you We have appointed a Law and a Way of Life. If God had so willed, He would have made all of you one community, but He has not done so that He may test you in what He has given you; so compete in goodness. To God shall you all return and He will tell you (the Truth) about what you have been disputing. (5:48)

This suggests that there is a Divine purpose in the diversity of humankind’s beliefs and practices. God has not granted a spiritual monopoly to any religion. Competition in virtue reduces the chances that we will become complacent and lazy, while competition in goodness increases the likelihood of humility and cooperation.

To every people have We appointed ways of worship which they observe. Therefore let them not dispute with thee, but bid them to thy Sustainer for thou art on the right way. (22:67-69)

These ways of worship have been established by the Divine. Muhammad is not asked to convert people, but to establish

64 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

a harmonious relationship with them by acknowledging one Sustainer. This verse in particular seems to guide the Prophet to a cooperative relationship with other faiths. The Islamic worldview accepts other faiths, guaranteeing the right of other religious communities to follow their own revealed tradition. As the Qur’an says: Let there be no coercion in religion.

& & & Now let us turn to some verses of the Qur’an which have been

misused by those who try to limit Islam to a narrow, exclusive belief system.

Indeed, with God religion is submission, and it was only because of envy that the People of the Book developed other views, and only after knowledge had come to them, but whoever denies the signs of God, with God the reckoning is swift. (3:19) Here we have one of the most important passages in the Qur’an, one that deserves careful reflection. Its context is a discussion of the essential elements of faith. The passage begins with a confirmation of the authenticity of books revealed to Moses and Jesus, referring specifically to the Torah and the Gospel. Within the context of this acknowledgement of religious pluralism, humankind is given a clear warning: “Those who reject the signs of God will suffer the severest penalty” (3:4). What does it mean to reject the signs of God? It is said that various things distract us from recognizing the signs of God: women and sons, heaps of gold and silver, fine horses (or nowadays cars), and real estate. Our exclusive preoccupation with the things of the world blinds us to the signs. Therefore, submission, here, should be understood as “is-

lam” with a small “i”—a state of being, a kind of relationship with God, rather than the specific forms of religion we understand as

“Islam” with a capital “I.” To explain the distinction, allow me to tell a story. A friend of mine was visiting a Sufi lodge, or tekkye, in Bosnia. It was an enchanting location under an immense rock near a beautiful river. My friend asked a young man there how long Islam had been

65 | A REVOLUTION

IN CONSCIOUSNESS

in Bosnia. “Two thousand years.” was the reply. “How could that be?” my friend asked. “We here in Bosnia have been practicing Islam even before the coming of the Prophet Muhammad,” the boy replied. Therefore a verse like this one: And whoso seeks a religion other than islam, it will not be accepted from him, and he will be at a loss in the Hereafter (3:85), needs to be understood in light of others

such as the following: We bestowed from on high the Torah, in which there is guidance and light. . . If any fail to judge by what Allah has revealed, they are unbelievers (kufar) (5:44). In other words, Jews

who sincerely follow the Torah are “muslims.” Finally, we have what may be considered a definitive statement on the subject in this verse: Those who believe (Muslims), the Jews, the Christians, and the

Sabaeans—whosoever keep faith in God and the Last Day and do good deeds, they shall have their reward from their Lord, they shall have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:62)

There are those who claim that this verse has been “abrogated,” or overturned, by verses like: And whoso seeks a religion other than Islam... Nevertheless, Islamic commentators say that a verse can't be abrogated if it applies to a promise. Abrogation is permissible only with legal judgments, which may be altered because of changing times. What principles of conduct and communication are proposed by the Qur'an in relation to people of other faiths? Without a doubt, it is an approach based on courtesy and gentleness:

And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most dignified manner. (29:46; cf. 17:53, 16:125-128)

Even in the most extreme cases, where it is believed that people

are following beliefs that are out of accord with reality:

But do not revile those whom they invoke instead of God, lest they revile God out of spite, and in ignorance: for We have made the deeds of every people seem fair to them. In time, they must

66 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

return to their Lord, and then He will make them understand what they have done. (6:108)

When the great Sufi Jalaluddin Rumi heard of two people arguing about religion, he said, “These people are involved in a very trivial affair. Instead of arguing which of their religions is best, they could be considering how far each of them are from the teachings of their own prophets.”

Pathologies within Islam Where is the leadership in the Muslim world to counteract its own reactivity and sense of victimization with a more heroically magnanimous posture? Where is today’s Saladin? Where is a Muslim Gandhi? Where even a Muslim Dalai Lama or Martin Luther King? As many people have said, we are facing a struggle for the soul of contemporary Islam. The body of the ummah is suffering from a range of pathologies that will not be healed until they are recognized. The pathology of victimization and self-preoccupation. When Muslims are preoccupied with the blame-game, they are betraying their fundamental obligation to assume responsibility. God will not change a people until they change themselves.

The remedy: Magnanimity. Muslims can assume a position of responsibility and leadership in using their inherent wisdom to contribute to solving the problems of the world: economic injustice, militarism, and environmental degradation.

1. The pathology of formalism and sectarian identity. Islam was once a vital moral and spiritual presence. It spread across one-third of the inhabited world in less than two hundred years. Its period of greatest expansion happened before the formulation and codification of Islamic Law and before even the collection of Hadith. Today, however, we see that the dynamic energy of Islamic culture has largely stagnated. Engagement with the spirit of revelation has been eclipsed by a preoccupation with the forms of religion.

67 | A REVOLUTION

IN CONSCIOUSNESS

When Muslims focus on Islam as an identity rather than a state of being, they adopt the external appearances that proclaim their otherness. Often the garments that are chosen, especially in Europe and America, may be the ethnic dress of a culture not even their own, but serves as a uniform of identity, much as mo-

torcyclists wear black leather, punks spike their hair, and bankers wear pin-striped suits. While this can be an innocent attempt to affirm a spiritual commitment, it can also be an adolescent form

of acting-out, as for example when new British women converts began veiling all but their eyes, a practice that has little religious or practical justification. Hijab and niqab for some may be a measure of their devotion to Islam, yet many other women who are

equally committed to their spiritual lives simply choose modest dress that does not proclaim a religious affiliation.

The remedy: Restoring the essential spirituality of Islam: humility, servanthood, and the continual remembrance of God, avoiding any sense of superiority or specialness, and remaining free of judging others on the basis of the clothes they choose to wear. Islam is a state of being, a continuing relationship with the highest spiritual Reality which compassionately guides each human soul toward realization and surrender. It is not primarily an identity to be established by a beard or a scarf, but the integration of the qualities of mercy (rahmah) and steadfastness (iman) expressed in reconciliation (salihati) of conflicts. We sent you as a Mercy to the worlds.

2. The pathology of Puritanism. Puritanism is the high-octane fuel of extremism. It seems that oftentimes men and their need to be in control focus on sexuality as the field of greatest interest. It is an atavistic viewpoint, which was nota feature of early Islam,

but has become an increasingly obsessive concern, at least in the

minds of modern-day Puritanical extremists. While modesty, personal sexual responsibility, and faithfulness are inherent in flow Quranic ethics, Puritanism and the various cruelties that

from it are not inherent to Islam.

The remedy: Islam accepts sexuality as a positive aspect of human nature and sanctifies it in marriage. Divorce is permitted, though

68 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

with the awareness that, “Of all things permitted, that which is least liked by God is divorce.” Many aspects of the Prophet's conjugal relations were detailed without prudishness, and the extreme reticence about sexual matters we witness in Islam today

seems not to have been part of the culture of early Islam. 3. The pathology of legalism and obscurantism. By reducing the human-divine relationship to the status of a legal contract, the minutiae of behavior and legal rulings take on exaggerated importance, as if the observance of these particulars were the primary route to realizing our purpose here on Earth. The Qur’an teaches that we are here to serve God. Legalism and the concern with obscure details of religious performance take our attention away from the more essential requirements of spiritual life and character development. This can lead to the arguably graver sins of self-righteousness and sitting in judgment of others. The remedy: Mercy, patience, forgiveness and leaving judgment to God. The faithful are those who love God and His creatures. They live with the awareness of the Quranic dictum: Respond to evil with something better. On those rare occasions when there seems to be no other way to right a wrong except through force, the faithful do not themselves become hateful, but only reluc-

tantly employ force to right injustice without going to excess.

Islam: The Reconciler of Faiths Muslims have failed in recent times when they have assumed the arrogant posture of a victimized minority, of “us against them.” The greater Islamic community, the ummah, can and must assume its true position as a mature, generous, and merciful reconciler of all of humanity, all the children of Adam. Islam enjoys this unique role because Islam has built into its very nature a tolerance and respect for all religious communities and sacred traditions. Furthermore, we are in a position to help realign other communities with the original spirit of revelation. I can say that from my own experience, although I was raised as a Catholic, my

affection for and understanding of Jesus only deepened through

69 | A REVOLUTION

IN CONSCIOUSNESS

my Islamic perspective; I have heard others say the same. Islam can help followers of other faiths understand the extent to which man-made beliefs have led to irrational theologies and self-serving institutions. We must safeguard our own religion from the same corruption. We can say to those pained souls who are drawn to the ideology of ISIS or Al-Qaeda: stop and reflect, what does your heart tell you? How does this violence and hatred honor Islam or the Prophet when it contradicts the sunnah of the Prophet, and violates the principles of the Qur’an? Those who seek to strike against people who never took arms against them are truly the companions of the Fire, not the companions of the Garden. Islam invites us to the Garden, to the Civilization of Par-

adise. True Islam is a state of being, a hal (state) that is a portal to Allah’s Rahmah (Mercy).

Anyone who thinks that these reflections contribute to a weakening of faith is, in my opinion, missing the point. It is precisely because of this perspective that I can call myself'a Muslim. What is spirituality, or iman, if not the widest possible perspective on our lives, and what is misbelief or denial, kufr, ifnot a contraction

upon our own narrow, egoistic concerns. It is because of this

sweeping panorama of faith that I can take the Divine Revelation given to Muhammad into my heart and try to walk in his footsteps.

6: The Dialogue of Civilizations & the Globalization of Spirit

iversity is part of the Divine Plan; no one culture, nor any

| ye religion for that matter, has a monopoly on virtue, knowledge, and creativity. It is inevitable that Islam and the West will engage one another more and more. More than that: we need each other. It has been said that the abrasiveness of the West can polish the corrosion from the mirror of the East. The engagement that I wish for is one in which the best qualities of each will impact the other. I have come to know many people who are already the result of such an engagement, people who have been liberally educated in the West and who have then had a deep encounter with the heart of Islam; usually, though not always, through contact with one or another of the traditional Sufi tariqahs. Whereas, for in-

stance, many conventional Muslims see the polarity between the faithful (mumineen) and the misbelievers (kafireen) as a historical,

external drama, some Western Muslims, more psychologically aware, see it as a drama unfolding within each of us. These people have been transformed by the spirit of Islam, but they also ask different kinds of questions, see different things in the Qur’an.

Traditional shaikhs and imams can learn much from the kinds of questions these people ask.

A Dialogue Among the Faithful To my mind this shows that the dialogue that is necessary today may be less a dialogue between Islam and the West, in general, than between those elements that can reawaken their respective 70

71 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

civilizations’ highest ideals. There are great numbers of people in the West who would be ready to cooperate with the human, progressive, and spiritual goals of Islam if they were to be welcomed as partners. Conflict arises when both sides forget that patience, courage, and magnanimity lie at the heart of a true civilization, while reaction, fear, and selfishness are the lowest of human motivations. From an Islamic perspective, we can join arms with all people of faith, mumineen. Rumi said, “While beliefs vary from place to place, faith is essentially the same.” If we look at the root ideas and values of the major civilizations, in most cases, we find that they are based on the idea of a correspondence between the human realm and a spiritual realm. Christianity expresses it in terms of man being created in the image of God. Islam acknowledges that the human being is the khalifah, the representative and caretaker of the earthly realm. The American Republic, too, was established upon spiritual

principles: We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote these words, was an open-minded, spiritually aware human being who held to a simple theology in harmony with what we would call Islam. In fact, he had the practice, strange

for his times and culture, of waking up at dawn and washing his hands, face, and feet with cool, fresh water—a practice possibly learned from his African slaves. Just as Muslims refer to the Qur’an when they feel their rights are threatened, Americans refer to their Constitution and its Bill of Rights, which express a vision of the God-given dignity of the human being. Unfortunately, in these times both documents are being ignored, distorted, and, in some cases, shredded by those

people who claim their authority. It is equally dismaying to see the best minds of the Islamic world today preoccupied with confronting the hostility to fresh ideas. Their energies are drained by battling the regressive forces within their own societies, while Muslims in the West too often focus on ethnic and parochial concerns. In order to have a productive dialogue, both sides need to

72 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

adopt a broader perspective that includes seeing the main points of concern from each other’s point of view.

The Remedy for Islamophobia In my view, Muslims outside the West seem to have little comprehension of the fears that non-Muslims have about Islam, or

of the urgent questions that Westerners are asking. It is time for Muslims to clarify the values and beliefs they stand for in critical areas. Some common concerns include: ¢ What is their relationship to other faiths? Does Islam tolerate other religions when it comes to power? Is there any basis for religious pluralism under Islamic orthodoxy? « What is Islamic teaching on the position of women? Are they second-rate citizens under Islamic law? Are they to be under the domination of men? Do they have fewer rights than men? ¢ Does Islam recognize freedom

of conscience,

thought,

expression, and dissent? What are the limits on freedom of religion? Why do some propose the death penalty in the case of aMuslim changing his religion? ¢ Does Islam condone the use of force in achieving political goals? What is meant by a kafir (usually translated as “unbeliever”)? Does the Qur’an ever condone killing of non-believers? « Can Islam coexist with secular democracy, or should we be on guard against Islam's will to dominate the world? I believe that all these questions can be answered in a way that would allow the minds and hearts of the non-Muslim world to find a positive relationship with Islam. Muslims have failed to present Islam in its humane and universal dimension, too often

presenting it as a form-heavy, legalistic, and intolerant system. Even worse, Muslims have not always taken a clear stand against the distortions and injustices done in the name ofIslam. While there have been many denunciations of terror, I still believe we need leaders of a progressive and transformative Islam who would expose the simplistic and retrograde mentality that

73 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

characterizes fanatical Islam. Where are the voices who would reclaim the beauty of this sacred tradition that was once the creator and preserver of civilization itself? Too many Muslims seem to have taken the position that any criticism from within Islam is a weakening of the Islamic ummah as a whole. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are betraying the well-known hadith: “Someone who walks with a wrongdoer, knowing they are a wrongdoer, has aided them in their wrongdoing.” Islam has yet to take its place as the “middle” or “optimal” community enjoining all that is good. Islam must raise the banner of Mercy, Rahmah, for all to see. We must demonstrate that

we can heal the body of the ummah of the diseases of intolerance, gender oppression, and terrorism. We must demonstrate that Islam favors an open, tolerant society within the framework of the

universal moral values expressed in the Qur’an. But beyond even that, Islam might offer its point of view on some of the global emergencies we face today:

How can Islam help solve the ecological crisis? The Qur’an offers a radical critique of those human tendencies that have led to the exhaustion of our environment. We need to express a clear rationale for Islamic environmentalism.

What does Islam say about the power of unrestrained capital? From the beginning Islam has offered a clear critique of the misuse of money. The Qur’an points the way to a just economic order. And yet today, most people who know anything about the Islamic economic system think it is impossible to implement in the contemporary world, imagining, for instance, that it would prohibit mortgages. Should there be an Islamic critique of the weapons industry that is consuming the world’s talent and resources?

to Under the Islam of the Qur’an, it would not be conceivable

kill indiscriminately or to kill with fire. The foremost jihad of today must be the jihad against modern warfare’s weapons of mass destruction. Muslims must unite with the forces of peace and justice in other societies and reach out across all boundaries

74 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

to those sincere human hearts that are ready to recognize that all of humanity is one. I am convinced that the answers to these questions would begin to shift perceptions about Islam and help it to become a vital force for social transformation. Muslims must put their knowledge and beliefs in the service of all, joining groups that are working for shared goals. In other words, we must begin to demonstrate that Islam serves humanity, not just the apparent interests of those who are nominally Muslims. I would also like to see my own country return to the essential principles that inspired this great Republic, which was founded under the light of taqwa (mindfulness of God), and which ac-

knowledges that human beings have certain “inalienable rights”

by virtue of being created in the image of God. The greatest threat to world peace and the natural environment is not posed by Western values per se. Consumerism and materialism are not the traditional values of the West; these are

the preoccupations of the dunya, of worldliness magnified by ever more powerful forms of technology. The West may have had longer exposure to consumerism, materialism, and a pop culture

that caters to the lowest drives of human beings, but Eastern and Middle Eastern societies are quickly falling prey to the same disease and seem to have even less immunity. Many in the West have become disillusioned with what the consumer culture can offer, and have already turned the corner. Every time my own consciousness or moral understanding has grown or matured, I have gone back to the Holy Qur’an and found that truth somewhere in words that I did not previously understand. Might humanity be even more prepared for the true message of Islam today than in past centuries? If so, how can we communicate it?

What Islam Can Offer If one considers both the numbers of people who are Muslim (today it is one-fifth of the earth’s population—approximately equal to Christianity) and the depth of its influence on their lives, it is not unreasonable to say that no religion or ideology has a more significant impact on humanity.

75 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

Those who have had the benefit of being brought up in a traditional Islamic milieu often have strong qualities of character that would be admired in any environment: modesty, manners,

generosity, altruism. Meanwhile, people who discover Islam and embrace it also bring qualities that are needed: honesty, straightforwardness, critical thinking, and, above all, yearning. In my experience, seekers drawn into the world of Sufism are surprised to discover that many “problems” of the Western mindset do not exist in the same way within the Sufi/Islamic worldview. Much of what spiritually sensitive people in the West have been struggling with, especially in recent decades, was resolved in the Islamic context more than 1400 years ago. For instance, within the cultures of Islam, generally, the

following is true:

© Presence of the Numinous The spiritual dimension was not as displaced by the narrow materialistic, scientistic worldview. The divine has not disappeared from everyday life as it has in the Western world. For most Westerners, God is to be called on only asa last resort, when everything else has failed. But within Islamic culture, God is very present in people’s thoughts and feelings, and in everyday language with phrases like God willing, praise God, thanks be to God, and God

is great.

© Radical Equality The Qur’an offers a profoundly egalitarian message stressing the solidarity of people of faith. To a great extent, Islamic society has minimized stratification along class and economic lines. Racism has been moderated too. A cosmopolitan, broad-minded perspective was fostered as the faithful from all over the world converged in Mecca for the pilgrimage, free to exchange ideas and witness ethnic diversity united in a common faith. A fundamental principle of Islam has been that human society ought to be as much as possible a mirror of the Divine Oneness. © Equality of Men and Women The equality of men and women has been recognized and sanc-

76 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

tioned by the Qur'an. This equality is based on the different but complementary natures of men and women, at one level, and the

recognition that both, as souls, are essentially the same in the eyes of God. If this complementary equality is abused today by Muslims, it can and should be restored and defended through Quranic principles. In fact, no document in the history of mankind has done more to secure the rights and privileges of women than the Qur’an. Fourteen centuries ago it established for women a position of affection and respect, the recognition of spiritual equality, the right to own their own property, their rights within marriage and divorce, and their right to participate in business and political life. That this liberation of women was eroded over time cannot be denied or defended. Yet while religion may have been used as a justification for this erosion, the real explanation for the hideous distortion of male-female relations that we have seen in some Muslim majority countries lies elsewhere—namely, in patriarchal cultural or tribal influences. To see the Islamic and Quranic view of gender relations from the Western perspective of recent decades is to overlook a more timeless truth of male and female relations extending over centuries. It also must be said that those who point the finger at Islamic cultures often blindly overlook the degree of physical abuse and sexual exploitation that has gone on within their own supposedly liberated societies. The position of women in Islamic societies was on the whole probably better than in most other cultures over the last fourteen centuries because certain fundamental rights were explicitly granted by the Qur’an. Finally, the value of family life has been strongly emphasized, encouraging men

to love their wives, daughters, and mothers,

and giving

women a secure and honored position. € Communal Values Interpersonal, communal values have not been as displaced by neurotic individualism and compulsive consumerism. Hospitality, generosity, courtesy, manners, family solidarity, and the communion of the faithful remain relatively strong. This is to a great extent because the sayings and example of the Prophet

77 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

continue to live. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke, after visiting Egypt early in the twentieth century, said that one could feel the presence of Muhammad as if he had died only last week. © Spirituality and Sexuality The conflict between spirituality and sexuality that is taken for granted in the Christian West has never been supported by the Quranic revelation. While modesty is expected in the public sphere and chastity may be emphasized outside the bonds of marriage, sexuality is considered fundamentally spiritual and a gift of human life. Muhammad said, “Marriage is half the faith.” © Religion without Clerical Privilege The message of the Qur’an does not establish a clerical hierarchy, nor any intermediaries between the individual human being and God. The foremost criterion among human beings is mindfulness of God (taqwa). Because Islam requires no priesthood or professional religious class, no monasteries, seminaries, or convents,

institutional religion did not become the means of exploitation nor of the accumulation of wealth and power. Islamic learning is generously supported by the community, but in Islam religion is not a business.

@ Unity of Practice There is also less competition and rivalry within the Islamic community, because there are essentially no sects within Islam. The division between Sunni and Shia has to do with issues of historical succession of the Caliphate after Muhammad;

both

Sunni and Shia read exactly the same Qur’an and follow nearly the same understanding of religious law. The ritual prayer of Islam, salat, is essentially the same in any mosque in the world; theoretically, and often in practice, a Sunni can pray side-by-side with a Shiite. € An Inclusive, Pluralistic Framework

The Islamic worldview is fundamentally accepting of the diversity of faiths, guaranteeing the right of other religious communities to follow their own revealed tradition.

78 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Westerners fear Islam because they confuse it with the political reaction known as Islamic fundamentalism. They believe Islam aims to establish political control over everyone's lives through some form of theocracy. While there are radical elements that sufficiently distort traditional Islam and even Sufism for their own fanatical ends, seeking to impose their own ideas on Muslim and non-Muslim alike, they are clearly in contradiction of the fundamental principles of Islam. The Qur'an directs: “There shall be no coercion in religion” (Qur'an: Surah Bagqara,

256) and: Those who believe (Muslims), the Jews, the Christians, and the

Sabaens—whosoever believe in God and the Last Day and do good deeds, they shall have their reward from their Lord, shall have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:62) When we in the West think of theocracy, we think of the medieval Divine Right rulers of Europe, or people who wield arbitrary power justified in the name of God. In other words: religious belief shaped by the powerful. But in Islam, a “divinely” ordained ruler or dictator who rules independent of the Qur’an cannot be sanctioned. The Holy Book is the Constitution of Islamic society.

The Qur’an contains a clear revealed body of human rights and ethical principles which every Muslim, including the rulers, are answerable to. Although this has not stopped some governments from appointing their allies to posts of religious influence in order to win approval for their policies or political ambitions, there is a limit to how far even this can go, without completely contradicting the fundamental principles of the Qur’an. Within Islamic society, “the people of the Book,” meaning other religious communities with a sacred revelation, are granted the right to exist and to be ruled by their own laws. The Qur’an guarantees human rights—including religious freedom. The revelation of the Qur’an is clear on the basic rights and obligations of human life. It does not, however, prescribe a political system, leaving this for human beings to work out themselves.

79 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

& Ecological Awareness Islam does not condone the exploitation of the natural world, either explicitly or implicitly. The Qur’an is full of examples of former civilizations that destroyed themselves by going to excess, ignoring the justice and balance of the natural order. The human being is God’s representative on Earth, with knowledge and creative power, but to exploit and exhaust the earth is a clear sign of lack of submission to the natural order. It is unfortunate that many Muslims today are only dimly aware of the radical ecological message of the Qur’an. © Faith in Harmony with Reason While we cannot expect the Qur’an to speak directly to us in the scientific language of our own time, there is nothing in the Qur’an that contradicts reason or science, and there are mysteri-

ously prescient statements like “everything living is created from water.” While there may be metaphoric language that would have meaning for people living centuries ago—a description of seven celestial heavens—we do not find misinformation that is the product of the limited scientific awareness of seventh-century Arabia. Although in the sayings of the Prophet himself we may sometimes find remnants of the conventional beliefs and scientific untruths of his day, Muhammad advised his followers to heed his spiritual guidance but to remember that his opinions in worldly and practical matters were not sacrosanct.

& Traditional Versus Fundamentalist Islam Fundamentalism in the Christian sense—that is, the literal un-

derstanding of religious language—is not consistent with the traditional viewpoint of Islam, which accepts and invites different levels of meaning and symbolic expression. The message of, the Qur’an allows for interpretation, acknowledging that human beings have different capacities for understanding. It takes into account that truth has many levels and that words are to be understood not so much in a literal way than as keys to meaning. Some passages of the Qur'an, such as those prohibiting have intoxicating drinks, gambling, usury, and fornication, do

80 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

a clear meaning and prescribe fundamental moral principles. But many of the Qur’an’s verses are not so obvious, and function

more like a mirror: they reveal to us what we need to see about ourselves, and help to purify us of the qualities that keep us separate from God. The current wave of fundamentalism within Islam is primarily a political reaction. The threat to the traditional values of Islam is represented by materialism, associated with Western powers, many of them former colonial powers, or countries that have supported repressive regimes and economic exploitation. © Revelation The Muslim believes that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad

from God through the Archangel Gabriel. The idea of angelic intelligence requires some explanation. “Angels” are understood to be those energies or powers directly serving the will of God. Sufis have gone as far as to propose, without detracting from the exalted status of these angelic powers, that they are objective faculties inherent in our human nature. The Qur’an is a revelation confirming previous revelations and messengers. It only asks that the human being consider its claims for itself; and if any of these claims contradict human reason, or if any internal contradiction or obvious falsehood is

found, the Qur’an as a whole would itself come into question. In other words, while faith in the Western sense has required a laying aside of reason, faith in the Islamic sense is a very reasonable proposition. From the Quranic perspective, it is faithlessness which is unreasonable instead. © The Crisis of Faith Faith in the Western Christian sense may require a “leap” in order to accommodate its doctrines, yet faith in the Islamic sense

proceeds from a heart attuned to spiritual truth and the support of reason. From the Islamic perspective, faith is a faculty of the human being which is neither evident to the senses nor wholly graspable by the intellect, and yet which contradicts neither. In other words, faith is still intellectually respectable. The spiritual hunger that has caused many thoughtful

81 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

people in the West to turn to the East holds little attraction for most Muslims. Sufism—which

is neither Western nor Eastern,

nor exclusively Middle Eastern—exists within a larger frame of reference which reconciles East and West, reason and faith, the human and the divine, the secular and the sacred.

© The Potential for Transformation One who encounters Islam in its traditional forms will discover an interplay of form and essence, mutually supporting each other. Even in the most exoteric understanding of Islam, mere ritual without conscious presence is considered incomplete and insufficient. The Prophet said, “One moment of conscious reflection is worth more than seventy years of mere ritual.” In other words, it is never the production of religious acts which is intended, but the conscious remembrance of God. Likewise, the mere remembrance

of God is incomplete without living a life of patience, generosity, self-sacrifice, right livelihood, regular prayer, fasting, and purity. In the broadest sense, what sets Islam apart from our Western idea ofreligion is that Islam is more than a set ofreligious or mythological beliefs. It is a complete way oflife in which every healthy human activity is recognized and made sacred. Beyond prescriptions around such personal matters as cleanliness, manners, and familial and conjugal relations, the Qur’an also addresses social and economic issues such as the importance of productive work and a prohibition against unbridled capital, e.g. usury in all its forms. Its scope encompasses criminal law, charity, arbitration and consultation, and the principles of a just war, including forbidding the killing of non-combatants or the unnecessary destruction of property and agricultural lands. The Islamic way of life was not instantly revealed, but gradually took shape over a period of twenty-three years in which the Qur’an was revealed and applied by Muhammad and his community. During the first half of this time, the message was focused almost entirely on the Being of God and the centrality of worship and remembrance; only during the latter period were the social dimensions revealed and put into practice. Yet we are not living a truly Islamic life on either count a brand when we focus on Islam as an identity. Islam is not

82 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

name. Islam is that which is in harmony with Reality. Islam is not a membership club; it is a hal, the state of being of one who

has surrendered to Truth. As such it must embody purity and flexibility, responsibility and humility, justice and mercy. The true dialogue of civilizations will begin when Muslims with spiritual understanding address themselves to the hearts of all human beings. In some cases they will instruct; for example, to counter the hegemony of the financial markets, Islam has a rationale for how and why wealth must serve human needs and not merely the proliferation of capital. In other cases, Muslims may have to learn, especially from Westerners who have been deeply involved with the problems of ecology, nonviolence, and gender equality. Westerners have been living longer with some of the contemporary diseases of materialism, consumerism, and depersonalization, and they may

be able to offer some remedies. Yet the greatest gift Islam can offer to the world today is its potential to transform human beings. The transformation we need is not of mere outer behavior, or even of the precarious en-

vironmental and economic conditions of our planet, but a deeper transformation of the will of the human being: dynamic taslim. We need to discover essence, the kernel (al-lubb), and become

people who see to the essence of things, people of true understanding and insight (basirah). We need soul-education that will develop human beings who have a true capacity for intentionality (niyyah), mindfulness of God (taqwa), and remembrance of God (dhikr allah).

Envisioning Applied Spirituality Without a profound renewal, Islam will suffer the erosion of faith

that other religions have suffered in much of the West, where only a small minority of people attend church and actively affiliate themselves with a religion. I am not suggesting that Islam needs a “reformation” such as Christianity experienced. Rather, a renewal suggests reconnecting with the original moral energy and inspiration of the faith. If Islam is to survive in the West, in other words, if the next generations are not to be lost to the

worldliness of global consumerism and pop culture, we will need

83 | DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

& THE GLOBALIZATION OF SPIRIT

active centers for the spiritual life, not mosques that are merely places of immigrant nostalgia. In other words, we are in need of an Institute of Applied Spirituality. We must apply the deepest wisdom of Islam to contemporary problems. We need to forge cooperation between spiritual practitioners, scholars, social activists, popular writers, filmmakers, and musicians. The foundation for it all must include the knowledge of heart-purification and self-transformation. We need a form of continuing education in our communities that can encourage and teach the inner reality of Islam through spiritual practice. One way this continuing education can be accomplished is through retreat programs that take people out of the manic stream of their lives, optimally including some contact with the beauty and peace of nature. Another essential part of spiritual education is dhikr—a spiritual rite—performed in gathering (majlis) or individually, following clearly articulated principles of practice and organization. Thirdly, retreat programs should include open forums where Muslims, especially young adults, can feel free to ask any questions that are in their hearts

without recrimination or embarrassment. And fourthly, for the accomplishment of continuing education, we need to establish Muslim interfaith centers, where such activities can flourish,

where teachers can develop, and where the community can have a respected environment and format for communication and a deepening of spiritual practice. In the contemporary

world,

so full of distractions

and

challenges to our humanness, our spiritual sanity requires a concerted effort to strip away the veils of social conditioning, which include the religion of consumerism, the idolatries of pop culture, and the heedlessness of social ambitions. It also requires

an appreciation for the kind of spiritual practice known as meditative awareness (muragaba) that reawakens our receptivity to God’s presence through an inner silence and stillness. A Muslim is not someone who dresses a certain way, or claims a Muslim identity. A Muslim is someone who lives in a state of presence, and from that state gains a perspective on the ego (nafs). With that perspective on the self, one is liberated from the slavery to the ego’s demands. Little by little the nafs is transformed. By

84 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

the continual remembrance of God, through gratitude and trust,

by awareness that God’s Face is everywhere, and everything is perishing but the Face of God, the nafs is humbled and becomes a servant. The nafs cannot be an ignorant servant, because that servant will gradually be guided in the education of the soul by his Rabb, his Lord and Sustainer. That’s a promise from God. But to receive that education we must be available and receptive to God, we must know how to empty ourselves inside, how to listen, how to

be still. This is what spiritual practice offers. Without practice we live behind the veils of our habitual thinking, disordered desires, and emotional negativity. With practice we become receptive to the Light of God which enters our heart and transforms our perceptions, our thoughts, and our emotions. A Muslim is someone who feels the divine breath in his or her own breath. According to a Hadith Qudsi, God said: As my servant attempts to draw near to me through his or her voluntary devotions, I become the hearing with which he or she hears, the seeing with which she sees, the foot with which he or she walks, the hand with which he or she touches (Al-Bukhari). The human being is meant to

know a profound bonding with God. That is our purpose and our destiny. The greatest education is the education of heart and soul that makes this possible.

pa

Some Things You Wanted to Know About Islam but Didn’t Know How to Ask

What Role Can Women Have in Islam?

€¢

hould women have a public role in spiritual leadership?” As

an American, this is what I would call “a no-brainer.” But it seems to me that for Muslims of other cultural backgrounds, the

question itself is tantamount to storming the walls of the City of Faith, as if the whole edifice of Islam would crumble if women

were allowed to lead prayers. That is what seems to have very nearly happened on Friday March

18, 2005. Amina

Wadud,

whose

name

means

Faithful

Love, led a Jum‘ah worship of men and women in New York City. This single act sent a religious tsunami throughout the Islamic world. Some saw it as a threat to the very foundations of Islam. Some saw it as a neoconservative plot hatched to provoke and divide Muslims. Some saw it as women finally standing up to be heard. And some saw it as an inevitability whose time had come.

The Question of Spiritual Authority The Amina Wadud incident touched a nerve among people who feel that a Muslim woman's place is not in religious leadership. Some even imputed motives to her of “trying to imitate a man” and thus being ungrateful for her God-given womanliness. There seemed to be many who felt threatened and reacted emotionally out of a sense that “this is not how we have always done it.” To some extent this might arise from a wish to fastidiously follow the Prophet’s example and not make arbitrary innovations. But I feel it is worth asking whether we were really following the Prophet 85

86 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

in this case or merely following what we found our forefathers doing. The Qur’an is very clear that we are responsible for questioning inherited practices and beliefs, and that we will be held responsible for who and what we followed. It is worth recalling that Muhammad himself challenged the inherited beliefs and practice of his own time and changed the status quo within his own society.

The muftis and religious spokesmen who condemned Amina Wadud’s act based their opinions on male authorities from the early centuries of Islam. The support for their position in the hadith is very meager. There is a single hadith saying, “A woman should not lead men in prayer” (Ibn Majah Vol: 1, p. 343). If it is true, we know little of its original context and intent. And then

we have another narration from Abu Dawud, on the authority of Umm Waraqah: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit her in her own home; he appointed a muadhin (one who calls the adhan for Prayer) for her, and ordered her to lead

her people (in salat).” This hadith was quoted in the article, “Can a Woman be an Imam” by Ingrid Mattson. If this narration is true, it is evidence that the Prophet was willing to go against the prevailing societal expectations of his time and permit a woman to lead worship within her own tribe. Some have suggested that the permission was granted for her to lead only her immediate family, but this cannot be supported linguistically or circumstantially: This permission, moreover, was given to a woman in Medina, not in some isolated region

far from other available masjids, to lead her people (ahl) and a muadhin was appointed presumably to reach the ears of at least the immediate neighborhood. Medina at that time was like a sprawling suburb more than a city, with tribal enclaves extending throughout the oasis. Other than these two conflicting hadiths, the rationale for

exclusive male authority in worship is based on a “consensus” of early male authorities. As we examine the hadith, we find apparently contradictory attitudes on women. Given that the collectors of hadith sifted through hundreds of thousands of hadith to arrive at those they considered “sound,” it is also possible that forgeries

slipped through the filters. If we find some hadith that defend or

87 | SOME THINGS YOU WANTED

TO KNOW ABOUT ISLAM

support the status quo and others that go against the prevailing attitudes of the time, which is more likely to be a forgery and which true? Obviously, the hadith that breaks new ground and that

challenges accepted beliefs is more likely to be a truly Prophetic utterance. And so, if we find words of the Prophet that empower and ennoble women, they should not be so easily discarded. Perhaps we should look to the Holy Qur’an itself for some guidance on this matter. Would anyone deny that it is the primary source of spiritual truth for Muslims? In the Qur’an we find no hint that males should have a monopoly on religious or spiritual authority. Nowhere are women expressly forbidden to assume leadership, whether in the social or religious sphere. But there is a serious warning in the Qur’an about forbidding what God has implicitly allowed as lawful. It is a persistent theme that human beings have made things unlawful to themselves which God never intended and thus created unnecessary burdens and restrictions that do not serve any spiritual purpose. Say: “Have you ever considered all the means of sustenance (rizq) which God has bestowed upon you from on high—and which you thereupon divide into ‘things forbidden’ (haram) and ‘things lawful’ (halal)?” Say: “Has God given you permission— or do you, perchance, attribute your own guesswork to God?” But what will they think—they who attribute their own lying inventions to God—on the Day of Resurrection? Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto human beings—but most of them are ungrateful. (10:59-60) The word rizq, translated here as “means

of sustenance,” can

signify all that God has provided us with to live a rich and human life. Razaga means to endow, provide, or give as sustenance. It is a

basic principle of Islam that only what is explicitly forbidden in the Qur’an is haram, while all else is lawful and for the benefit of

our human lives, unless it can be clearly shown otherwise. Verse 10:59 is a solemn warning to any who claim to exercise spiritual authority by forbidding things that the Qur'an itself does not

forbid; people who, in other words, make arbitrary prohibitions.

88 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

What Does the Sura of Consultation Say? Now, is there any clear advice for determining how the Muslim

faithful should conduct their activities, organize their lives, and settle their problems? Providentially, we have the noble Sura of Consultation, which offers this counsel

AND [remember that] whatever you are given [now] is but

for the [passing] enjoyment of life in this world—whereas that which is with God is far better and more enduring. [It shall be given] to all who attain to faith and in their Sustainer place their trust; and who shun the more heinous sins

and abominations; and who whenever they are moved to anger, readily forgive; and who respond to {the call of] their Sustainer and are constant in prayer; and whose rule [in all matters of common concern] is consultation among themselves; and who spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance; and who, whenever tyranny afflicts them, defend themselves. But [remember that an attempt at] requiting evil may, too, become an evil: hence, whoever pardons [his foe] and makes

peace, his reward rests with God—for, verily, He does not love evildoers. Yet indeed, as for any who defend themselves after having been wronged—no blame whatever attaches to them: blame attaches but to those who oppress [other] people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right: for them there is grievous suffering in store!

But withal, if one is patient in adversity and forgives— this, behold, is indeed something to set one’s heart upon!" (42:36-43) Not only does this passage recommend that communities of the faithful govern themselves by means of mutual consultation, 1.

Cf. Surah 41:34-35.

89 | SOME THINGS YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT

ISLAM

deciding matters ina kind of citizens’ democracy, it further advises people who have been unjustly oppressed. What impresses me about this passage is how extraordinarily balanced it is, even while recognizing that we may face “outrageous offenses” in this life, we should defend ourselves after having been wronged, correct those wrongs, and, at the same time, set our hearts upon patience and forgiveness. Looking at the history of Islam, have women been adequately consulted in matters of essential spiritual concern to them? Are their hearts at rest regarding their position in the ummah today? If not, why not? Let us ask the question then: Does a particular community of believers, men and women, have the right to conduct their af-

fairs by mutual consultation, as long as they do not transgress the explicit terms of Divine Revelation? Do we accept that we are one ummah, and implicit in this oneness is the essential requirement that one community not impose itself on another, that a variety of ways of life (minhaj) be allowed to flourish and that hearts be free to choose, and that God will help us to understand the matters in which we differ?

Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law (shir‘ah) and way of life (minhaj). And ifGod had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ. (5:48)

“To each and every one of you” signifies not only other religious communities, but also the diversity among Muslims themselves. The term shir‘ah signifies literally “the way to a watering place,” including the various religious dispensations that have been given to mankind (Jewish and Christian, for instance) as well as the

broad path in harmony with the Divine offered by Islam as the seal of previous revelations. The term minhaj is more specific and suggests an “open road,” that is, “a way of life” that may vary and

90 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

reflect the inevitable minor differences that arise with the needs

and circumstances of time and place.

Applying the Qur‘an’s Guidance to Our Circumstances Today How can we apply the principles outlined in these surahs to contemporary questions around the role of women in our ummah that become more pressing in situations such as the Amina Wadud controversy? On one hand, American Muslims might need some help in understanding how threatened Muslims from other cultures might feel by women suddenly leading mixed congregations. This does not mean that their objections are right, but that sensitivity and understanding is called for. The best course of action would be an expression of ihsan, not of hostility or contempt. Change can happen in ways other than through confrontation. On the other hand, those who could not imagine a woman leading a prayer might reflect on whether their own understanding of Islam may be culture-bound, and whether there are communities and cultures where insisting that the female presence be out of sight and out of mind might seem, at the very least, an arbitrary and unfortunate restriction. One of the major problems with all religions throughout history is the emergence of an authoritarianism motivated by fear and the need to control. It seems that the Qur’an is warning us about such religiously justified oppression. What possible reason could there be to exclude women of knowledge and sanctity from the public life of Islam? It does indeed seem strange that the exclusion of women from public religious life should be justified on the basis of a concept of what is inherently feminine, as if the

feminine is relegated by nature to a merely secondary, supporting role. What justification is there in condemning a community of people who freely make this choice and who welcome a sister who loves Islam, has devoted her life to it, and attempts to speak

her conscience? The Prophet himself appointed a female imam in Medina. In Islam we refer to each other as brothers and sisters,

implying familiarity and equality. From its beginnings Islam, established a social order in which there was no privilege on any basis other than knowledge and virtue.

ERs

Islam and Eros

©: the first day of a new semester, a colleague of mine teaching at a university in an Arab country came into the classroom and sensed that the students had been involved in some kind of debate. He asked the students what they had been discussing. A young lady stood up and said, “We were discussing the issue of whether ‘love’ is permitted in Islam. What is your opinion, Doctor?”

Is Love Permitted in Islam? The professor reflected a moment before responding to the students’ question. Then he said: “Let me share with you an important verse from the Holy Qur’an that should give you something to think about.” He quoted the following:

O you who have attained to faith! If you ever abandon your faith, God will in time bring forth [in place of you] people whom He loves and who love Hin—humble

towards the believers,

confident towards all who deny the truth: who strive hard in God’s cause, and do not fear to be censured by anyone who might censure them: such is God's blessing, which He grants unto whom He wills. And God is infinite, all-knowing. (5:54)

When my colleague related this story, my first reaction was to wonder how the profound and beautiful teachings of love, so familiar to Sufis over the centuries, could have been displaced to the degree that young educated Muslims could wonder whether love is permitted in Islam. And yet I myself have heard the question raised by Muslims as to whether “love” is an applicable word 91

92: | HOLISTIC

IS TAM

to describe a human being’s relationship with God—the only true love being an attribute associated with the divinity and not properly applicable to human beings. Love is the very heart of humanness and the essence of our relationship to the divine. When our religious authorities are more concerned with matters of form and procedure than matters of the heart, humanness is violated. When human nature is

violated in the name of politics or economics, although masses of people may suffer physical and social degradation, at least the evil of it is obvious and may be corrected by social reform or revolution. But when this distortion occurs in the name of morality and religion, good people with good intentions are misled down paths that yield no benefit and may cause spiritual and emotional damage. This aberration from true humanness finally leads to the rejection of spirituality itself, to alienation from the inner spirit. We thus deviate from the path of our well-being and humanity because of man-made concepts. Such a divergence is especially poignant when it takes place in the name of God. Our sexuality is one of the areas of human life most contaminated by man-made beliefs and taboos. In the West, our attitudes have been dominated by a pathological mistrust of sexuality and a failure to understand its spiritual significance. Eventually, this would lead to a reaction characterized by sexual freedom, indulgence, and promiscuity. Building as it did on Roman and Judeo-Christian foundations, Western culture, whether Christian or secular, has seldom offered a healthy model of human sexuality. Not until the Provencal troubadours began to spread their influence originating from Islamic Spain did the sensibilities of Europe begin to be elevated. The chivalric values that ennobled the feminine and sang of the “beloved” came from troubadours who were imitating not only the poetic forms and meters of Arabic song, but the Arab conception of the exalted and redemptive nature of woman as well..It was at about this time that the veneration of the Virgin Mary entered the cultural stream. Contrary to the notion that the feminine is degraded in the Islamic context, Arab culture, through cross-pollination

resulting from the Crusades and the influence of the high civilization of Islamic Spain, helped to civilize Europe.

93 | ISLAM & EROS

Turning to the East, the religions of Asia, while not as sexual-

ly repressive as in the Christian world, hada tendency to promote the idea that celibacy is somehow a higher spiritual state than sexual fulfillment. Of all the major faith traditions, Islam can of-

fer to the modern world an understanding of sexuality that is in harmony with human nature. Unlike Christianity, which has no use for sex except for procreation, or Tantra, which uses sex for

psychic exploration and experimentation, or Taoism, which uses techniques of conserving sexual energy for the sake of longevity, Islam understands how sexuality can contribute to spiritual maturity in a relationship of intimacy and love. Nowhere in the Qur'an is sexuality denigrated. While lewdness and adultery are condemned, sex within a relationship of mutual commitment and responsibility is viewed as a very positive human activity, one of the many blessings and forms of sustenance (rizq) to be thankful for and appreciated. The Prophet said to his companions, “Intercourse with your wife is a righteous act.” The companions wondered, “O Messenger of God! How can the pursuit of our sexual desires be righteous?” He replied, “If you fulfill these desires in an unlawful way, would you not be accountable? Likewise, if you fulfill your desires in a lawful way it is righteous.” According to al-Ghazali in his Ihya Ulumu Deen (Book 12, Kitab Adab Al Nikah), the Prophet would advise his companions to

be playful, gentle, and loving with their wives and to take the time to make sure their wives’ sexual desires were fulfilled. It is reported that he said, “When you have intercourse with your wife be attentive to her. If you reach orgasm before she does do not rush her but continue to attend to her until she has reached orgasm.” He is also related to have said, “Be playful with each other in bed,” and “A man who has sex with his wife without foreplay is cruel).”” During the reign of the Caliph Omar, a woman came to him to complain that her husband abandoned their conjugal bed in 1. 2.

Anas Ibn Malik, Majma’ Al-Zwa’id, 4, p. 298. Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, [nya Ulumu Deen, Kitab Adab Al Nikah, p. 489.

Further information can be found at: http://www.zawaj.com/articles/ kissing-and-foreplay.html.

94 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

favor of ascetic practices. He delegated Ka’ab Al-Asadi to mediate between them. When the man explained that his acts of worship and God-consciousness caused him to detach from women, Ka’ab told him, “She has a right over you, man! Do not neglect

her. Devote yourself to your practices three days and be with her on the fourth day.” This tradition of healthy appreciation and respect for human sexuality continued in the coming generations and much is reported in Wasa’il Al-Shia: Imam Ali is reported to have said, “When you are about to have intercourse with your wife do not rush, because she also has needs to be fulfilled.” Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq said, “If there is mutual foreplay between the husband and wife it will be better for sex.” Imam Muhammad AI-Bagir said, “The best of women is the one who discards the armor of shyness when she undresses for her husband.” The Imams of the Ahl-i Bayt, i.e. the descendants of the Prophet, have all agreed that both husband and wife should feel free to explore their sexuality and that it is perfectly acceptable for a woman to be active and responsive during sex.’ Finally, the classical jurists have agreed that a woman is free to choose whether she wants to be pregnant or not and has the right to practice contraception. The reasons can range from fear of death in childbirth to concern over loss of her bodily beauty.

Cultural vs. Islamic Codes of Morality But as one friend put it, “Hovering over Islam’s ‘positive’ approach to sexuality is the following issue: Isn’t there something in the Qur'an or in the teachings of Muhammad which says that men are so low and weak that they must be protected from the evil snares of women, and so it is necessary to hide the women, so

that if they must come out, then they should cover their whole bodies in black except their eyes and forehead?” The Islamic world has been portrayed as puritanical in sexual matters and as repressive of women. In the eyes of the West, the women of Islamic countries have no rights, are traditionally treated as chattel, must be draped in black from head to toe, and

3. More complete information on these intimate concerns can be found at http://www.zawaj.com/articles/kissing-and-foreplay.html.

95 | ISLAM & EROS

confined to the home most of the time. While such practices exist and may even have spread in recent years, they belong either to the Salafi/Wahabi distortion of Islam or to local tribal practices which may predate Islam. That such practices are intrinsic to Islam is a misconception acquired from the media and other poorly informed sources. We need to distinguish between those social customs which are derived from or validated by the Qur’an and those invented by particular societies or imposed by some clerics. In other words, Islam as it is sometimes practiced may not be Islam as it is meant to be. Incidental social custom, often justified on religious grounds, must be distinguished from the essential and timeless guidance offered by the Qur’an. Islam gave to women many rights not enjoyed in the Western world until very recently, including a womans right to maintain property independent of her husband. Furthermore, the right to divorce is given to both men and women, although it is said that

of all things that are allowed, divorce is that least liked by God. The practice of women veiling their faces or not allowing their hair to show is of uncertain origin. Some say that these were Mesopotamian and Byzantine customs that predated Islam and were adopted by Muslims as a sign of status. While it is true that the Prophet’s wives were enjoined to carefully cover themselves when they went into the streets in order to distinguish themselves and thus acquire a degree of protection, the command was specific to the Prophet's family. The Qur’an does not propose that women should cover themselves in black. What is clear from the Qur’an is that women

and men should dress modestly in public, and in ways appropriate to the occasion. These are the lines in the Qur’an that refer to

modesty in dress:

And say to the bélieving women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except as much as must ordinarily appear thereof, that they should draw their shawls over their breasts and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, etc. (24:3)

96 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

The same principle of modesty and lowering the gaze is also enjoined for men: Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: That will make for greater purity for them: And God is well acquainted with all that they do. (24:30)

It would seem that the Qur’an is proposing modesty in public for men and women. To those accustomed to traditional Islamic sensibilities, there would seem to be an undue emphasis on

routinely highlighting the sexual features of women’s bodies. Feminists deplore the sexual objectification of the female body, and yet many women bristle at the notion that such dress might have negative consequences for society, and for the relationships between men and women. In the view of some Muslims, some contemporary women

seem rather unaware of the loss of dignity resulting from oversexualized styles of dress dictated by current fashion. Acknowledging that Nature has put a great deal of beauty in women, this beauty need not be advertised by explicitly accenting a woman's sexuality or by showing publicly what should be appreciated more privately. Some might argue that while it may be a pleasure for men to superficially and casually enjoy the physical attractions of women, this may not contribute to the overall well-being of society, and even lead to a state of continual titillation and

discontent among men that ultimately weakens contentment within marriage. These, at least, are some of the issues that are

undercurrents—issues, however, which will neither be effectively resolved by external coercion, nor need be given the exaggerated importance that the puritanical mind is inclined toward. In traditional indigenous societies women pass naturally and innocently from childhood, to puberty, and motherhood. One is struck by the feminine innocence met with especially in indigenous cultures. In the contemporary consumer world, however, even childhood is being increasingly sexualized, and women enter an extended period of consciously or unconsciously presenting themselves as a sexual objects. The clash of civilizations here is a clash of the burkah versus the G-string bikini. Perhaps

97 | ISLAM & EROS

there is a happy medium somewhere between the extremes. It is difficult for a culture that broadcasts sex, and that caters to weakness, egoism, and the least evolved parts of the human

imagination, to understand modesty. But perhaps when the glut of artificial stimulation subsides, and this culture realizes that it has not reached the pinnacles of sexual satisfaction and “freedom” that it imagines, perhaps then, in its exhaustion, dis-

sipation, and loneliness, it will begin to search for the treasure of sexual maturity and modesty. Meanwhile, the puritanism found today in some Islamic cultures seems to have more to do with the generally conservative outlook prevalent in many traditional cultures from Europe to the Far East. I have seen that among certain classes of people in the Middle East, for example, especially among less educated villagers, the sexes are segregated by default for most social and religious activities. Many of these practices are not inherent within Islam itself. For our purposes, it is enough to say that such strict gender segregation is not specifically required by the Qur’an, and that there is more than one school of thought on the subject. Because Islam began not only as a religion, but also as a social and political entity, religious law governed the community’s everyday affairs. It is a basic teaching of Islam that just as God hides our faults, people should not gossip about nor broadcast the faults of others. It was only those actions seen as a threat to the social fabric, or as crimes against the community, which called for public punishment. The penalty for adultery, for instance, was one hundred lashes, but adultery had to be proved

by four witnesses, thus guaranteeing, we might suppose, that the adultery had been both flagrant and somewhat public. Anyone accusing another of adultery might face a grievous punishment if the accusation could not be proved. And if adultery were considered a serious transgression, it was said by Muhammad that backbiting was a greater offense than ten adulteries!

How the Tradition Views Intimate Relationships Having attempted to set right some of the major misconceptions about sexuality in Islam, we can now turn our attention to

some subtler aspects of the tradition. In Muhammad we have

98 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

an example of a human being of the greatest spiritual wisdom and practical accomplishment. Thus, Muhammad's example, or sunnah, is considered a model for the truly human life. Because his companions wished to preserve the memory of his example, there is probably no historical figure about whom we know so much. His sexual life, like every aspect of his life, is known in de-

tail. We know that for him, sexuality was both natural and sacred. At the age of twenty-five, Muhammad married Khadija, a successful businesswoman forty years old. He remained faithfully married to her until her death about twenty years later. She bore all his children except Ibrahim, son of Mariyam. The trust and affection between them is a model of what the monogamous life can be. It was Khadija who stood by Muhammad during the difficult days when the first revelations of the Qur’an came, when

he himself doubted that God could be speaking to him. “A man as sincere as you, Muhammad, could not be losing his mind, so

trust the message that is being given to you,” she told him. The insinuation in Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, that Mu-

hammad feared to marry a woman who was his equal, is belied by Muhammad's marriage to Khadija, as well as by his subsequent matriages. During

his later life Muhammad

had

nine wives, all of

whom—except Aisha, who was most likely a teenager when he married her—were either divorcees or widows, and thus rather

mature women. These unions were seemingly motivated as much by a wish to establish solidarity among the Arabian tribes as they were by personal attraction, and yet it is clear that Muhammad treated all of his wives with respect and conjugal affection. The Quranic revelation requires that any man who takes more than one wife treat them all equally well, giving to each her own household quarters, and fulfilling with each his conjugal responsibilities. “Marriage is half of faith,” Muhammad said. Just as Islam en-

courages a life of productive work and social involvement, it also considers marriage and family life a high station. It is significant that Muhammad's life exemplified both the virtues of monogamy in one period and polygamy in a later period. When it comes to relations between the sexes more broadly, the Qur’an concedes that men are physically stronger than

99 | ISLAM & EROS

women, and offers men some simple advice about how to live with women. First of all, men and women have “mutual rights.” Women are in general to be reverenced as “the wombs that bore you.” The “righteous women” are “obedient to their husbands,” but husbands should live with them “on a footing of kindness and equity.” Reverence Allah through Whom you have mutual rights, and reverence the wombs that bore you, for Allah watches over you. (4:1)

Live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If there is something you dislike in them, it may be that what you dislike is something through which Allah does great good. (4:19)

And how could you take anything back when you have entered unto each other, and they have heard your vows? (4:21)

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given them more strength than the other, and because they support them by their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in absence what Allah would have them guard. (4:34)

Some women will surely bristle over the above passage and the implication that women should be obedient to their husbands. Shouldn't both partners be complete equals, they might ask? Why should one be obedient to another? How might we disentangle all the issues and motivations that enter into this equation? One important question to answer is: Does this verse describe an absolute rule that is essential to the ideal marriage, or is it merely meant to describe a practical working relationship? The expectations common today in some postmodern societies where women do work equal to men, and in some cases earn more and assume greater responsibilities than men, are very different from the conditions and expectations that have been typical for the last fourteen centuries. To take this verse as an absolute and rigid requirement contradicts the spirit of the Qur’an as a whole, which

100 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

emphasizes using our intelligence and compassion. We also have the example of Muhammad's marriage to Khadija, no shrinking violet, a woman of means and worldly accomplishment who was fifteen years his senior. On the other hand, women who might find this verse abso-

lutely objectionable may have something to learn from it. Most of us would agree that there are generally differences between man and woman in physical capacities and temperament. It is

generally a man’s place to take a certain kind of responsibility for his wife and family; at the same time, a wife and mother will

assume responsibilities according to her physical capacities and temperament. Realistically, we have different kinds of leadership in different situations, which benefits us as long as that leadership is intelligent and fair. Furthermore, there are different leadership

styles, and the best leadership inspires cooperation and loyalty rather than merely dictating obedience. Of course, in agreeing to a marriage one would hope that both husband and wife consider the character of the person they are marrying, and in the end, either husband and wife, if a marriage becomes intolerable, can make the difficult choice to divorce. A friend of mine with whom I discussed this passage had an insight that I would like to share. He said, “Perhaps men are insecure and vulnerable. Perhaps this obedience from the wife can help to support her husband in a way that he needs and will make him a better husband, and through this she will improve

her own situation.” Clearly, if the suggestion that “the righteous women are obedient” is used by men to lord it over women, we

have a problem. But if the passage can be understood by women in a positive spirit of cooperation, then it seems more likely the family could achieve a dynamic balance of well-being. It is important to remember that the Qur’an offers comprehensive guidance for living a spiritual life. Within the framework of this guidance, if a man does his part—supporting a family, living with kindness and equity—the wife’s cooperation and the husband's consideration would both arise naturally. And now we come to the final part of this verse, a subject of

some contention and misunderstanding, here presented in the widely respected translation of Muhammad Asad:

101

| ISLAM & EROS

And as for those women whose ill-will you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat

them; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great! (4:34)

Let’s be honest. When viewed from our own level of cultural development, most people today would find it difficult to accept this verse as a model of how to resolve even extreme misbehavior of a spouse (and should a wife have the same prerogative as the husband, given that the Quran 4:1 also affirms that men and women have “mutual rights”?). The verse has also disturbed Islamic commentators over the centuries who have felt it necessary to qualify the last step in this process. To “beat them,” or “hit them” could only be allowed as a final symbolic act, not as a form of physical punishment that would leave lasting physical hurt. It is also clear from many authentic hadiths that the Prophet himself detested the idea of striking

a woman.

According to another Tradition, he forbade

the beating of any woman with the words, “Never beat God’s handmaidens”

(transmitted by Abu Da’ud, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah,

and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, among others). More recently, some women

.

commentators, well-aware of

the Prophet’s sentiments, have argued that the word should not be read as “hit them” but offered other interpretations such as “leave them,” which, apart from other linguistic issues, simply ignores the primary meaning of the word dribuhun. If, on the other hand, we are to take from this verse a prin-

ciple, rather than a justification for punishment, we could say that the verse is recommending the principle of gradualness. In a culture where men might have been accustomed to controlling women through physical coercion, men would be restrained, forced to consider controlling the impulse to strike out at their wives. Instead, they would be required to speak with the woman, then forego their conjugal relations, and, only in extreme cases of

immorality, take the final step of striking her. It is important to remember that the Qur’an offers comprehensive guidance for living a spiritual life. The essence of this is that partners have mutual rights, that God has instilled love and

102

| HOLISTIC

ISLAM

mercy in their hearts (30:21), and that the purpose of relationship is peace and tranquility. In light of this, the conclusion of verse 434 can only be viewed as a possible last recourse in a most extreme situation, never forgetting that the purpose and ideal of marriage is to live in mutual tenderness, respect, and love. Allow me now to share the most essential lessons I have learned from my teachers and from my own life. The fundamental sin in an intimate human relationship is a lack of equality between the partners. If there is a lack of equality in maturity, power, trust, and desire, then exploitation, misuse, and emotion-

al damage are likely to be the result. One of our teachers said that there can be adultery even in marriage if there is a lack of equality. He defined adultery as something that adulterates the purity and maturing of the relationship, just as a pinch of salt can adulterate the fermentation process of a fine wine.

What the Quran Says About Sex Is there any advice in the Qur’an addressed specifically to sexual relations? Let us remember, first of all, the most fundamental

aspect of the conjugal relationship: And among His signs is that He created partners from among yourselves that you might dwell in tranquility with them, and he has instilled in you love and compassion. Truly, these are signs for the reflective. (30:21)

It is interesting to note that nowhere does the Qur’an recommend arranged marriages such as have been common for centuries in so many Islamic societies—such marriages may be beneficial or not, but they are a cultural custom, not a divine

prescription.

One of the few verses that addresses sexual intimacy is this important and succinct passage:

Your wives are your tillage (for cultivation) to be approached when and as you wish, but do some good for your souls beforehand; and be aware of Allah, and know you will meet Him, and

give these greetings to the faithful. (2:223)

103

| ISLAM & EROS

Unfortunately, some men's insistence on the first part of this verse and negligence as regards the rest of it has resulted in a legacy of emotional abuse and worse. The absolute minimum that is required of a faithful Muslim man is contained in the verse, “Live with them on a footing of kindness and equity” (4:19). And if this verse could be grasped in its entirety it would bring conjugal relations into a context of spiritual consciousness and practice. What elegant and delicate advice: Do some good for your souls beforehand. And what an awesome reminder: Be aware of Allah, and know you will meet Him—a meeting not to be found in the Day of Judgment alone, but potentially in the intimate exchange of lovers. Yusuf Ali, a leading translator of the Qur’an, gives the following commentary about this form of cultivation in one of the most respected and commonly available editions of the Qur'an:

Sex is not a thing to be ashamed of, or to be treated lightly, or to be indulged in to excess. It is as solemn a fact as any in life. It is compared to a husbandmen’s tilth; it is a serious

affair to him: he sows the seed in order to reap the harvest. But he chooses his own time and mode of cultivation. He does not sow out of season nor cultivate ina manner which will injure or exhaust the soil. He is wise and considerate and does not run riot. Coming from the simile to human beings, every kind of mutual consideration is required, but above all, we must remember that even in these matters

there is a spiritual aspect. We must never forget our souls,

and that we are responsible to God.* After an extended discussion of various aspects of womanhood,

and conditions and rules for divorce, Allah says:

Do not treat Allah's signs as a jest, but be mindful of Allah's gifts to you, and the fact that he sent down the Book and Wisdom, for your instruction. (2:231)

4. Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Noble Qur'an, 2006, p. 28. Online at http:// www.qurandownload.com/english-quran-with-commentaries(yusuf-ali).pdf.

104 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Among Allah’s “signs” are the differences between men and women, the strengths and weaknesses of each sex. Particularly in times of personal conflict, these should not become the subject of sarcastic humor; instead, we are to remember God’s gifts and

consider the guidance given in the Holy Books.

a i & Finally, the issue of homosexuality needs to be addressed. More and more LGBT people are coming forth and claiming a place within the Islamic community. So-called “inclusive” mosques are appearing where various approaches to sexuality and lifestyle are not only tolerated but compassionately welcomed. All of this is happening in the face of a Muslim establishment which almost universally condemns homosexual behavior. Many people have come to believe from their own experience that sexual attraction and its form of expression is an innate,

that is, God-given phenomenon, not a “choice” or a socially constructed desire. A certain percentage of people find themselves drawn to members of their own sex, not out of promiscuity, but

out of the deep need to intimately express their affection through sexuality. Many, too, have suffered greatly under the weight of society's condemnation; many have tried desperately to reorient their sexuality in order to conform to society’s expectations, only to find themselves incapable of experiencing heterosexual attraction. Many have been driven to suicide because of the social condemnation they have faced. This is not the place for an extended discussion of this subject, except to say that it is time for an open discussion within the Muslim community. Those calling for a reassessment of how homosexuality is viewed will make the claim that the Qur’an does not condemn a loving, faithful relationship between people of the same sex. There are certain hadiths that strongly condemn homosexual behavior and even prescribe capital punishment. In our view, however, those that add prescriptions not supported by the Qur'an should be viewed with skepticism, if not rejected. As we have said elsewhere, the hadiths do not have the same standard

10S | ISLAM & EROS

of verifiability as the Qur’an, nor does the Qur’an mention hadiths as a source for moral guidance or legal rulings.° The condemnation of homosexuality is derived from references to the degenerate and predatory behavior of the people of Lot. The people of Lot, in addition to wanting to have sex with Lot’s two guests, were guilty of many forms of corruption, public acts of indecency and aggressive sexual behavior. Sodom was destroyed, the entire population, except for Lot and some of his family, perishing. Furthermore, in the several places in the Qur’an referring to the people of Lot, the blame for lusting after men was uttered by Lot, not by God. A far-ranging and scholarly discussion of this and other issues can be found in Homosexuality in Islam by Scott Kugle. A shorter discussion of the subject can be accessed online,° as

well as an example of the opposing, dominant view.’

The Mystical Union of the Sexes As with any natural human function, sexuality can be perverted from its sacred character by the human ego, yielding lewdness, obscenity, and vice. Sexuality, in essence, is pure and sacred.

When human beings live in a state of surrender and devotion to God, loving God in one another, sexuality can assume its rightful place in human life, neither denigrated nor exaggerated in importance. The Sufis offer another understanding of the relationship between the sexes. Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240), perhaps the greatest mystical theologian in the history of Islam, in his important work, The Bezels of Wisdom, chose to interpret the following saying of Muhammad: Three things have been made beloved to me in this world of yours: women, fragrance, and prayer. The Bezels explains the inner meaning of each prophet who is explicitly recognized in the Qur'an. Ibn Arabi’s exposition of Muhammad's “uniqueness” focuses on the love between man and 5. We hope one day the book Hadith: A Reevaluation by Kassim Ahmad will be in print again. It is available online at https://sufism.org/ wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HADITH-a-Reevaluation.pdf. 6. http://www.mpvusa.org/sexuality-diversity/ 7h https://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/homosexuality.htm

106

| HOLISTIC

ISLAM

woman. Man’s longing for woman is analogous to God’s longing for the human being, and just as the human being was created in

God’s image, woman was created from man: Then God drew forth from him (man) a being in his own

image, called woman, and because she appears in his own image, the man feels a deep longing for her, as something yearns for itself, while she feels longing for him as one longs for that place to which one belongs.... Love arises only for that from which one has one’s being,

so that man loves that from which he has his being, which is the Reality, which is why he says, “were made beloved to me,” and not “I love,” directly from himself.

His love is for his Lord in Whose image he is, this being so even as regards his love for his wife, since he loves her through God’s love for him, after the Divine manner. When a man loves a woman, he seeks union with her,

that is to say, the most complete union possible in love, and there is in the elemental sphere no greater union than that between the sexes. It is precisely because such desire pervades all his parts that man is commanded to perform the major ablution. Thus the purification is total, just as his annihilation in her was total at the moment of consummation. God is jealous of His servant that he should find pleasure in any but Him, so He purifies him by the ablution, so that he might once again behold Him in the one in whom he was annihilated, since it is none other than He Whom

he sees in her.

When man contemplates the Reality in woman he beholds God in a receptive aspect, while when he contemplates God in himself, as being that from which woman is manifest, he beholds God in an active aspect.

Because of this the Prophet loved women by reason of the perfect contemplation of the Reality in them. Contemplation of the Reality without formal support is not possible, since God, in Essence, is far beyond all need of

the cosmos. Since, therefore, some form of support is necessary, the best and most perfect kind is the contemplation

107

| ISLAM & EROS

of God in women. The greatest union is that between man and woman, corresponding as it does to the turning of God toward the one created in the Divine image, Allah’s

representative, so that God might behold God.’ Ibn ‘Arabi is suggesting that the contemplation of God is possible, indeed enhanced, through the human form: When man contem-

plates the Reality in woman he beholds God. The Epiphany that Ibn Arabi found in the contemplation of the feminine need not be exclusive to the feminine. Indeed, as the Qur’an says in Surah Tin, the human being is created in the most beautiful proportions, created on an archetype of beauty. What Ibn Arabi found in his contemplation of Woman is a profound recognition of the divine in the “other.” Since God has breathed His spirit into human beings, the outward form is creaturely, while the inner nature is divine. Therefore, God is loving Himself in us, and we

are loving God in each other. In the same way, man is loving himself in woman, and she is loving herself in him. But the finding of wholeness within oneself doesn’t necessarily cancel out the beautiful polarity between lovers. Ibn ‘Arabi is describing sexual union as a mirroring of God within God, as a Divine union of

deep awareness, and this is the appropriate human state for sexual relations. Sexuality is sacred because it is a form of relationship within this great electromagnetic field of Love. To disparage this polarity is a denial of the divine origins of our very humanity. To ignore its spiritual potential is to deny the Spirit that has been breathed into us.

a a & Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273), nearly a contemporary of Ibn Arabi, who undoubtedly knew of his teachings, acknowledges this mirroring and interpenetration in many ways. Rumi takes it to levels of even greater subtlety, dispensing a whole psychological teaching in a few lines: 8. Ibnal-‘Arabi, The Bezels of Wisdom. Translated and Introduction R. W. J. Austin (New York: Paulist Press, 1980), pp. 274-275.

108 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Always search for your innermost nature in those you are with, as rose oil imbibes from roses. (Mathnawi, V1, 2994-95, 3007)

When Shams departed from his life, Rumi would discover the reality of Shams and this love in his own being. He would be freed from the need to find an object of love, and had become

“love with no object.” For the rest of his life he would experience this love in countless situations, expressing it spontaneously in thousands of quatrains and ghazels, his everyday reality transformed into a continual revelation of love. It may sometimes be bewildering to the reader who does not grasp the cosmic context and spiritual nature of Rumi’s love: I could reach great heights with Your love, and with longing for You I will increase a hundredfold. They ask, “Why are you circling him (or her)?” O ignorance, I am circling myself. (Quatrain 1138)

The way the Beloved can fit in my heart, two thousand lives could fit in this body of mine, One kernel could contain a thousand bushels,

and a hundred worlds pass through the eye of aneedle. (Quatrain 569)

In love there is no low or high point, neither consciousness, nor the lack ofit. There is no leader, no shaikh, no follower,

but there are hidden ways, slight of hand, and revelry. (Quatrain 674)

Love is the essence of this religion. I pray that we will approach all of our questions and concerns, especially the most difficult and intimate questions, with love, in order to be able more and more

to solve our problems with love. The Sufi lives in a compassionate

109

| ISLAM & EROS

and passionate universe, a universe born from a spark of Love. This puts Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, in a unique position as a spiritual path.

4.9 je

What is Shariah Really About?

hariah is generally thought to be an agreed-upon body of law, a codification of rights and wrongs, of lawful and unlawful behaviors, as well as punishments for misbehaviors. In the Western mind, shariah is generally equated with punishments assumed to be Draconian: whip-lashings, stonings, and so forth. Muslims have a very different perspective. Many believe that the four major Sunni schools of law comprise the God-given expression of optimal human behavior, and that following these prescriptions is the primary method of attaining spiritual well-being and realization. For these believers it is the essence of Islam,

and religion is conceived of as following the commands laid down by Allah, commands which are detailed in the body of shariah. It may be surprising for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to learn that shariah itself, despite being so emphasized by orthodox religious thinkers, is not originally a Quranic concept, but rather a formulation of Islamic scholars beginning two or more centuries after the death of Muhammad. The only direct reference to shariah in the Qur’an is the following verse:

... then We set you on a pathway from the command (shari‘atim min al ’amri). (45:18)

This verse appears to have been revealed during the Meccan period when some of the Quraysh were trying to convince the Prophet (peace be upon him) to return to the ways of their forefathers. In other words, the choice here was between the broad

pathway being revealed by God versus the customs, ignorance, and superstitions of tribal society. 110

111

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

Another verse uses a related form of the word, shirah, but

here it applies to an individual’s own unique path to God, rather than a defined legal system, and yet it advises the Prophet to always bear in mind the essential principles revealed in the Qur'an: And unto thee [O Prophet] have We vouchsafed this divine writ, setting forth the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations and determining what is true therein. Judge, then, between the followers of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high, and do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee. Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law (shirah) and way of life (minhaj). And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto, you. Vie, then, with

one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ. (5:48)

This passage describes the purpose and significance of the Quranic revelation, how it is to be thought of and used, and fi-

nally where human responsibility lies. While it is addressed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it also applies to all who follow his way. It tells us that this Qur’an “sets forth the Truth and confirms whatever truth remains in former revelations,” admitting that there are errant views in circulation as well. It also says that a law and a way of life have been appointed to “every one of you.” While this obviously applies to the major “God-given” sacred traditions, it also applies to every individual human life, since it says, “Unto God you all must return.”

This passage is the foremost justification for the existence of shariah, since the word shir‘ah occurs here. Shariah, however, has

had many different interpretations through the centuries, and it is not clearly defined otherwise in the Qur'an. Iftekhar Hai, the president, United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance, writes:

112) | HOLISTIC ISLAM

There are various ways of looking at it depending on what school of thought you belong to. Honest and sincere people understand it in different ways. This is part of human nature. Allah has been giving the same standards (divine sharia) to all the Prophets which is embodied in their own Holy Scriptures or in their Conscience. The natural law or embodied goodness is there in every human being. This is why I see the breath of Allah in all divergent religious or spiritual individuals. Muslims who are learned also see it this way. Allah knows best. May He guide all good people to a universal code of values which is deeply rooted in all of Allah’s revelations. Compassionate justice cannot follow if it is not preceded by compassionately inclusive interpretation.'

The Historical Context of Shariah During the first two centuries of Islam, which was its period of

greatest expansion, there was no agreed-upon formulation of shariah. The Islamic legal system was rudimentary. It mainly relied upon the customs of local cultures, and was amended as

necessary by the few legal pronouncements in the Qur’an and what was remembered from the practice of the Prophet Muhammad himself. The early Caliphs did not commission a written collection of hadiths in order to avoid a possible confusion between God’s words and Muhammad’s. More than a “religion of laws,” what sustained this burgeoning civilization was a moral magnetism and spiritual energy. Muslims then were reluctant to replace the authority of the Qur’an with human formulations. As time went on, however, the

need for a more formal legal system became apparent. There is evidence that Muslim scholars turned to Jewish law as the most obvious example of a functioning legal system. Jewish law was written in Arabic, and had its center in Baghdad. By the time Imam Shafi formulated his own legal school, key concepts of I. Personal correspondence.

113

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

Jewish law had been incorporated into Islamic law as guiding principles: Classical Islamic law recognizes four usul al-figh, “roots of jurisprudence.” This metaphor implicitly compares law to a tree, just as the sages of the Talmud had done in interpreting the proverbial “tree of life” to mean the Torah. The four roots of Islamic law are: gur‘an, divine scriptural revelation; sunna, oral tradition from the Prophet; ijma‘

consensus of the jurists; and qiyas, the juristic method of logical argument. Although these “roots” took hold in the early days of Islamic law, it was left to the ninth-century jurist Shafi to cultivate and refine them into the theory which was to form the basis of classical Islamic jurisprudence as set forth in the figh literature... The four usul al-figh, “roots of [Islamic] jurisprudence,” are quran, sunna, ijma’‘, and qiyas. It is here proposed that these roots correspond, both linguistically and conceptually, with four basic sources of Talmudic law. Qur’an, the Islamic scriptural revelation and first root of the law,

corresponds with migra, the Talmudic term for the Jewish scriptural revelation (i.e., the Torah). Sunna, the Islamic

oral tradition and the second root of the law, corresponds with mishnah (the Mishnah), the basic source-text of the Jewish oral law. The third root, ijma’, the consensus of

the Muslim jurists, corresponds with the ha-kal juristic consensus found in the second component of the Jewish oral law (the Gemara). The fourth root is giyas, the Muslim

juristic logic. This, based originally on analogy (though it came to have a wider scope), corresponds with the Talmudic heqqes, reasoning by analogy.”

Roman law may have also influenced early Muslim scholars, as it was the other primary legal system in the Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. 2. Judith Romney Wegner, “Islamic and Talmudic Jurisprudence: The Four Roots of Islamic Law and Their Talmudic Counterparts,” The American Journal of Legal History, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan., 1982), pp. 25-71.

114

| HOLISTIC

ISLAM

Useful as it may have been to draw on other legal systems, the unfortunate side effect of formulating Islamic law in strict and detailed terms was that the relationship with God also began to take on the character of a legal contract. While the emphasis of early Islam was on sincerity of heart and a direct experience of the Divine, the religion began to be increasingly colored by a dogmatic approach to the spiritual life. The “never-changing Divine laws” came to be understood as rules, commands,

and

punishments, rather than spiritual laws governing human souls and the cosmos. With this came a belief that we please God most by following external rules, rituals, forms of dress, and behaviors.

Such a legalistic understanding transformed Islam from a religion of faith and love into a religion of fear and judgment. In this restricted view shariah also came to be equated with fiqh— the practical legal application of the Quranic revelation. Robert Crane, a scholar of Islamic law, observes:

I consider shariah to be what Muhammad Asad calls “the unchanging spiritual truths which, according to the Qur’an, have been preached by every one of God’s apostles.” It differs from the figh, which are the rules and regulations developed by judges in an effort to contextualize or apply the higher principles of justice for a specific time and place. Muhammad Asad says that the din includes both the general principles applicable to all times and places and the specific rules applicable according to “the exigencies of time and each community’s cultural development. Asad appears to restrict the meaning of the shari’ah to what might better be called the figh. Unfortunately, Asad’s understanding is common among Muslims today, most of whom also confuse the issue by calling the figh “jurisprudence” and the shariah “law,” which reverses the meanings accepted in the art of comparative jurisprudence, which is my specialty. The Qur’an specifies two “ways to a watering place.” In only two places (42:13, 42:21), Allah refers to the shar,

which applies in all religions (specifically at least to all the Abrahamic religions). Elsewhere it generally refers to the

115

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

shir‘ah, as it does in Surah al-Ma‘ida 5:48, which refers, as

Asad says, “to the laws relating to a specific religion.” This verse of the Qur'an does not refer to the shariah, although

Asad says it does by interpretation in his footnote (shir‘ah or shari‘ah). In my view, the term shariah should be reserved for the normative principles that Allah has ordained as a system of governance for all human beings as part of the sunnat Allah, which is the system of governance for the universe. The shariah (45:18) is a system of normative jurisprudence that each community must seek for itself with full knowledge that every other community is equally designed to seek it for itself. What is sought is universal, though the search may differ from one community to another. Once the basic principles or magasid al-shari‘ah are found, each community must then seek to apply them asa framework and guidelines for interpreting and developing its own figh.

Pak Yahya Stoquf, Secretary General of the Nahdlatul Ulama,4 in personal correspondence to me expresses a similarly flexible approach: The attainment of moral and spiritual perfection should be the primary goal of every Muslim’s religious practice. Normative models associated with formal religious practice—such as those embedded in classical Islamic law—should not be absolutized nor allowed to harden into dogma. For, in fact, the purpose of normative models

is simply to provide a means to attain perfection of moral character amid the ever-changing reality that faces each new generation of Muslims. Normative models of religious behavior should be constantly revised in order to reflect this changing reality and thus facilitate moral and spiritual perfection, rather than 3. Personal correspondence.

.

4. The largest Sunni Muslim organization in the world, with a following

of 50 million people in Indonesia.

116 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

lead Muslims astray by encouraging them to engage in acts diametrically opposed to the noble purpose of religion. Figh, then, should include the re-contextualizing of Quranic principles to reflect the constantly changing level of cultural development in which human beings seek moral and spiritual perfection. There is a tendency for religious prescriptions to proliferate under those who claim religious authority. Some of the problems arising today in Islamic jurisprudence can be traced to rulings which make use of questionable hadith that add prescriptions not contained in the Qur’an.

The Place of Hadith There is a hadith of the Prophet that suggests that he himself had expressly forbidden the writing down of any hadith. According to Muslim and Ibn Hanbal: Abi Said al-Khudri reported that the Prophet said, “Do not write down anything from me except the Qur’an. Whoever writes down anything other than the Qur’an must erase it.” Even after the Prophet’s death and after the Qur’an had been carefully bound into its present form, the followers of the Prophet still refused to write down anything of the Prophet’s sayings. This is evidenced from another hadith of Ibn Hanbal: “Zayd ibn Thabit (the Prophet’s personal aide and scribe) was visiting the house of Mu‘awiya and was narrating to the Caliph a story about the Prophet. The Caliph, who became much impressed with the story, immediately asked his scribe to record the story. Zayd then cautioned the Caliph, “The holy prophet has forbidden us from writing down anything from his hadith.” While people did refer to the sayings of Muhammad in the early days, we are on less solid ground in accepting a considerable collection of hadith, some of which, at least, either address issues

not in the Qur’an or even in some cases contradict the Qur’an (the stoning of adulterers, for instance).

Furthermore, we must question the acceptance of the hadith literature as an irrefutable source for Muhammad’s words. The hadith collections came into existence two to three hundred years

117

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

after the life of the Prophet. Bukhari, Muslim, and other schol-

ars of hadith were said to have sifted through close to a million hadiths, from which they finally gave their approval only to some thousands. It is clear that some people forged or invented hadiths, often for their own sexist, political, and sectarian reasons. We see, for instance, quandaries over legal issues in the

very early decades and centuries, which would have been easily resolved if the jurists had access to certain hadiths now accepted as sound. Why is it that a century or so later there is a well-attested hadith in existence, complete with its own isnad (chain of transmission) that no one seemed to know a century earlier? We witness over time how hadiths grow in detail. We can only conclude that even the sound hadith are not beyond question, especially if they are legal rulings that appear to contradict or add to the Qur’an.

In the Mathnawi Mevlana Rumi tells the story of a deceitful preacher among the early Christians who outwardly preached the Gospel yet hid in these teachings all kinds of deceits and distortions. He uses this as an example to remind us that the Prophet warned his followers of the possible corruption of his original teachings that could happen at any time. Outwardly he was a preacher of religious laws, but inwardly he was the decoy and snare (of the trapper). For this reason some Companions asked the Prophet about the deceitfulness of the monstrous nafs,

Saying, “What hidden selfish interests does it mingle in acts of worship and in pure spiritual devotion?” They were not seeking from him excellence of piety; they were not inquiring where lay the outward defect. Hair by hair, speck by speck, they were uncovering the deceitfulness of the ego (nafs) as plainly as distinguishing rose from parsley. Even the (the most scrupulous) hair-splitters among the Companions used to become distraught in spirit at the Prophet’s warnings to them. (Mathnawi, I, 365-370)

118 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

We are confronted with a very serious dilemma. What are we to do knowing that many hadiths have been forged? So much beauty

has come down to us through words attributed to the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. These words have contributed immensely to the formation of character in Islamic civilization. At the same time, if certain sayings attributed to him

distort his original message or diminish the beauty of his character, we also bear the immense responsibility not to propagate these distortions. A safe approach to the hadith would be to accept and appreciate those hadith that are inspiring to our hearts and elevating to our moral standards, while being cautious about those few hadiths that add legal precedents not in the Qur'an. I suggest that there is a greater danger in acting upon a hadith that troubles us than in setting it aside until it can be confirmed by the heart and mind. In the end, what we inherit from the prophet Muhammad are not these written collections of sayings, but a spiritual transmission, a light that we find in the true heirs of the prophet, who embody this light with their modesty, refined manners, flexible disposition, courage, nobility, and tender compassion. Mustafa (Muhammad) said, “Happy he that has seen me and he that looks at him that saw my face.” When a lamp has derived its light from a candle, every one that sees it certainly sees the candle. If transmission occurs in this way till a hundred lamps are lighted, the seeing of the last lamp becomes a meeting with the original light. Either let your soul be illuminated from the most recent light or from the original candelabrum—there is no difference. Either behold the Light from the lamp of contemporaries (the saints of today), or behold His light from the candle of those who have gone before. (Mathnawi, I, 1946)

May it be that the Name and Light of Muhammad will protect his real followers from their own egos now and forever.

119

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

Western Fears and Misconceptions About Shariah Any discussion of shariah in the contemporary context must also take into account the widespread belief in the West, often fueled by media reporting and screeds written by anti-Islamic polemicists, that there is something inherently violent about Islam. So much of what appears on the internet about Islam is formulated by an extremely well-funded “Islamophobia industry.” As part of this project, the Prophet Muhammad himself has been misrepresented as a cruel and self-serving figure. Of course, it is not necessary for Muhammad to be morally perfect or to fit the expectations of another, later era; he is primarily a message-bringer, who was even told in numerous verses to seek

forgiveness of God. Nevertheless, anyone who gives any credence to these accounts would have their notion of the exemplary nature of the Prophet's character somewhat compromised. Also affected would be the high regard given to the sunnah, exemplary practice of the Prophet. Writers attempting to impugn the character of the Prophet have generally made use of an early biographical account of the life of Muhammad. In this narration we encounter events not usually reported in detail in the more selective biographies of later centuries. The first biography of the Prophet, by Ibn Ishaq (d. circa 150 A.H.), is concerned more with his military exploits

than his personal characteristics.° In Ibn Ishaq, it appears that during Muhammad's lifetime he ordered and condoned a number of assassinations

of political enemies

and, in some

cases,

against feeble people whose crime was merely to speak against Muhammad or Islam. But here is the rub. The narration of Ibn Ishaq was written more than a century before the rigorous collections of the Prophet’s sayings by Bukhari, Muslim, and others. There is certainly

reason to believe that Ibn Ishaq’s stories, which were collected without any particular methodology or criteria of truth, represent embellished folk tales created to satisfy a hunger for entertainment. I would suggest that they are something like the “B” 5. Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad (Sirat Rasulullah). Translated by A. Guillaume (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955).

120 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

movies of their times. Constructing history on their basis would be a little like recreating the history of our civilization based ona television crime series. In the third and fourth centuries after Muhammad, when the

time came to collect and sort through the stories of Muhammad's life, very stringent criteria were applied. To gain admittance into the canon, the sayings had to have been transmitted by more than one reliable source and in an unbroken chain of reliable transmitters. Almost nothing in Ibn Ishaq’s narration met those criteria. If there is an issue to be faced here, it is that the sensibilities

and values of seventh-century Arabia are different from those of the world we imagine ourselves to inhabit today. (I say “imagine” because I believe that we, especially in the West, are largely in a state of denial regarding the moral rectitude and effects of our own power.) The violence that characterized the Prophet’s time seems difficult to reconcile with our current idealized values. The flagrant abuses of our governments notwithstanding, the actions reported in some of the early biographical writings (sira) of the Prophet Muhammad and some of his companions would be difficult to justify in today’s world. We also know that within a short period of time, three out of four of Muhammad’s successors died violently, assassinated by other Muslims. It is also true that many of the early Muslim companions expected to die a martyr’s death and actually preferred it to living into a feeble old age. Finally, not too long after Muhammad’s

death, the armies of two of Muhammad’s

most

beloved people, his wife Aisha and his son-in-law, Ali, engaged in battle, each in the name of Islam. While they battled nobly, even stopping for prayers at appointed times, this was a tragedy for the Islamic community as a whole. Aisha herself eventually came to regret her position and carried a burden of guilt from these events for the rest of her life.

Man-made Formulations vs. Eternal Truths Such examples, even from the early period of Islamic civilization, vividly demonstrate the dangers of man-made formulations that claim the authority of God. These cannot only result in an

121

| WHAT

IS SHARIAH

REALLY ABOUT?

unnecessary proliferation of dos and don'ts, but also in injustice and oppression. I believe it was in anticipation of such distortions

that Allah revealed: Say: “Have you ever considered all the means of sustenance which God has bestowed upon you from on high—and which you thereupon divide into ‘things forbidden’ (haram) and ‘things lawful’ (halal)?” Say: “Has God given you permission— or do you, perchance, attribute your own guesswork to God?” But what will they think—they who attribute their own lying inventions to God—on the Day of Resurrection? Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto men—but most of them are ungrateful. (10:59-60) It is important to recognize that no human formulation can adequately represent the divine will. Shariah and figh need to be understood from this perspective, and not be made absolutes. For us on the Sufi path, shariah is the broad way that leads to spiritual well-being. It is a true blessing for the human being to conform one’s life to the Divine Order. Salat, dhikr, fasting, and

contemplative reading of the Qur’an have always been the foundation of Sufi practice: these outer practices polish our hearts. At the same time, a word of caution is in order regarding an obsessive preoccupation with the external details. It would be a mistake to think that the more detailed knowledge one attains and the stricter one is in matters of observance, the holier one

is. The people of greatest spiritual attainment, in my own experience, have not been examples of this kind of religiosity. And, indeed, religiously obsessive behavior, sometimes mistaken for

virtue, may not be a healthy disposition. For the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, fastidiousness in matters of the heart took precedence over mere religious form. The Pfophet himself said in well-known traditions, “Woe to anyone who makes this religion difficult for others.” And when asked how much of the awesomely comprehensive religion one must absolutely practice, he replied, “The best practice is that which you can sustain with regularity.” Statements such as these should not become an excuse for laxity in practice, but a

122 °MHOLISTIC ASLAM

reminder that we should not tyrannize others, or ourselves in matters of faith. Moving into a new millennium, guided by the universal truths so comprehensively illuminated by the “Noble” Qur'an, a human being will surely benefit from a simple but disciplined practice of awakening presence, cultivating an inner spaciousness, purifying the heart, increasing our capacity for love, seeking opportunities for service, and developing our communication and reasoning skills. Such spiritual development cannot happen without a metaphysical framework and the inspiration of human exemplars. The classical Sufi tradition draws from the teachings of the great Sufi saints (may God be pleased with them), the

example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Holy Qur'an. In particular, the founders of the great Sufi lineages provide a reliable approach to the Qur’an and Hadith. Those great beings who attained intimacy with the Divine help us to grasp the true and universal dimensions of the Revelation. Rather than orienting ourselves to a set of rules and regulations, we are always trying to keep in mind the original pure inspiration of revelation, the essential transformation of the ego,

and the fully mature development of the human being’s capacities for service, relationship, and creativity in cooperation with the grace and guidance of the Real.

-[O-

Muhammad's Sunnah: Flexibility and Spiritual Perception

S27

I was not born into Islam, but came to it in my adult

years, a day arrived on which I asked myself the question: What would my life be like if I never knew the Prophet Muhammad or Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi? What values would I hold as precious? What kind of character would I have striven for? What would be the quality of my relationships? And, most of all, what would be my relationship to the Divine? This book has been an answer to questions such as these. “How many idols did Anmad (Mohammed) break in the world,

that the (religious)

communities

might cry “O

Lord”! Had it not been for the efforts of Ahmad, you also, like your ancestors, would be worshipping idols. This head of yours has been delivered from bowing to idols, in order that you may acknowledge his rightful claim upon the (gratitude of the religious) communities. If you speak, speak thanks for this deliverance, that he may also deliver

you from the idol within. (Mathnauwi, II, 366)

I know from my own experience that we perceive, know, and understand the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, only as much as we are able, only as much as the Divine has illuminated our hearts.

Abu Jahl saw Muhammad and said, “He’s an ugly figure that was born from the sons of Hashim!” 123

124 | HOLISTIC ISLAM

Ahmad said to him, “You are right, you have spoken truth, although you are impertinent.” The Siddiq (Abu Bakr) saw him and said, “O Sun,

you are neither of East nor of West: shine beauteously!” Ahmad said, “You have spoken the truth, O dear friend, O you that has escaped from this world of nothingness.” They that were present said, “O king, why did you call both of them truth-tellers when they contradicted each other?” He replied, “I am a mirror polished by the Divine hand: Turcoman and Indian behold in me that which exists in themselves.” (Mathnawui, I, 2365-2370)

An ignorant and hateful person will give one description of him based on their darkness and prejudices. Good-hearted people will admire or even fall in love with him. A few may experience some degree of the transformation that Muhammad called us to. A human being must be spiritually prepared to be able to see and know Muhammad as he would want to be seen and known. Few of us know him as he deserves to be known, especially those of us who have merely inherited him: You avoid giving thanks for your religion, you don’t praise Allah for creating you a Muslim. You don’t know the value of the religion that Hazrati Muhammad brought to you because you didn't expend any effort for it. You received your religion from your father as an inheritance. (Mathnawiiz, I, 371)

Spiritual Perception To truly know the Prophet requires that we be cleansed of our egoistic desires and prejudices, including and especially any self-righteousness, fanaticism, and tribalism. To truly know the Prophet is to increase in the qualities of spiritual perception that he had:

To the Prophet, this world is plunged in glorification of God, while to many it looks inanimate. To his eye this

125

| MUHAMMAD'S

SUNNAH

world is filled with abundant love; to the eyes of others it is inert and lifeless. To his eye, valley and hill are in fluid motion: he hears subtle discourses from sod and bricks. To the vulgar, this whole world is a dead thing in chains: I have never seen a veil of blindness more amazing than this. (Mathnawi, IV, 3532-3535) Spiritual knowledge is not the result of a process of human thought as much as it is a gift, given by the Divine after we have purified ourselves to receive the gift. Muhammad himself indicated this when he said, “O My Sustainer, I have not known You as

You deserve to be known.” We need to ask, we need to supplicate. This is one of the first things we learn from him. Just as he said, “Ya Rabb, show me the truth as the truth and give me the blessing of following it, and show me the false as the false and given me the protection of avoiding it.”

A Messenger from Among Yourselves There has come to you a messenger from among yourselves: he grieves at your loss. He is ardently anxious for your success; he is gentle and compassionate to the believers. (9: 128)

On the most basic level this is who he was. A child can understand him on this level by hearing about his gentleness, generosity, patience, and forgiveness. He was pure Mercy, Rahmah. And most significantly, he was one of us, a human being like ourselves—not an angel, not a god. We meet him as a friend who could laugh and joke with us, who had companions, not sycophantic devotees. And yet, as Rumi tells us: “The prophet’s soul has no friend except God: he has nothing to do with the acceptance or rejection of the people. The reward for delivering His messages comes from God: even if we have become hateful and seem like enemies (to some people) for the Beloved’s sake” (Mathnawi, III, 2930). Muhammad has freed us from idolatries, and we must

continue to cleanse our hearts of the subtle idolatries our egoism continually creates. “The prophets have conferred a great

126 | HOLISTIC

ISLAM

responsibility on us, because they have made us aware of the end. That which the youth sees in the mirror the Elder sees reflected beforehand in the opaque brick” (Mathnawi, V1, 3770).

The revelation of the Qur’an has many dimensions: legal, moral, and esoteric. Esoteric knowledge can't be attained merely by reading. It is bestowed to the deserving by the favor of Mighty God. Some people imitate Muhammad in what they imagine to be his dress and behaviors, but Shamsi Tabrizi tells us that:

Obeying Hazrati Muhammad is to follow him when he experiences Laylat al-Miraj.' Work so that you have a place in their hearts. If you desire only the world and work only for this world, you will be among the losers. If you search within the religion, you won't lose. Then you will worship, look for haqq,” and follow the path of lovers of haqq!

Muhammad's Sunnah: Flexibility and Essential Meaning Those Muslims who are focused primarily on the outer world and are distant from the inner world imitate Muhammad’s actions and what they imagined to be his appearance. They may even turn these outer details into religious prescriptions, believing this to be the primary way of pleasing God. Because they are preoccupied with the outer and have little access to the inner consciousness of Muhammad, they neglect the prophetic qualities of consciousness. Can a man who has known God as intimately as Muhammad be preoccupied with externals, with imposing a uniform code of behavior and appearance through force and coercion, even subtle coercion? If we look carefully at the behavior of this Prophet, we see that he always penetrated to the essential meaning of circumstances, always preferring to understand the essence of the situation guided by mercy and empathy, rather than by predetermined rules. It was the Sunnah of flexibility and essential meaning that 1. The night on which it was announced that Muhammad was raised to the most intimate presence of Allah. 2.

Haqgq, Truth, Ultimate Reality.

3. Shams ofTabriz, Maqalat, v. 2, p. 11.

127

| MUHAMMAD'S

SUNNAH

transformed early Muslim society, awakening forgiveness, virtue, brotherhood, and solidarity. Abu Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, A man from the time before you was called to account in the Hereafter and nothing good was found with him except that he was lenient in his business with people and he would order his servant to relieve the debts of those in hardship. Allah the Exalted said: “We are more worthy of such actions, so overlook his sins.”4

Anas bin Malik reported: We would travel with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and those who fasted did not rebuke those who broke their fast and those who broke their fast did not rebuke those who fasted.’ Abdullah

ibn Umar

reported: The Messenger of Allah,

peace and blessings be upon him, made an announcement on the day he returned from the confederates, saying, “Nobody should pray his afternoon prayer except in the vicinity of the tribe of Quraiza.” Some people were afraid that the time for prayer would expire, so they performed their prayers before reaching Quraiza. Other people said, “We will not perform our prayer except where the Messenger of Allah has ordered us to pray, even if the time expires.” When the Prophet heard this, he did not blame anyone from the two groups.° Nisha

(Allah

be

pleased

with

her)

reported:

Allah's

Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to kiss (his wives) while fasting and embraced (them) while fasting;

but he had the‘greatest mastery over his desire among

you.’ . Sahih Sahih . Sahih Sahih Naya

Muslim, Muslim, Muslim, Muslim,

1561. 1118. 1770 2439

128

| HOLISTIC

ISLAM

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that a person came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I am undone. He (the

Holy Prophet) said: What has brought about your ruin? He said: I have had intercourse with my wife during the month of Ramadan. Upon this he (the Holy prophet) said: Can you find a slave to set him free? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet again) said: Can you observe fast for two consecutive months? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Can you provide food to sixty poor people?, He said: No. He then sat down and (in the meanwhile) there was

brought to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) a basket which contained dates. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Give these (dates) in charity. He (the man) said: Am

I to give to one who is poorer than I? There is no family poorer than mine between the two lava plains of Medina. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) laughed so that his molar teeth became visible and said: Go and give it to your family to eat.®

The Gnostic as Witness This orphan placed all his hope in something hidden from the people around him, unknown to his society. In he dark night of this world, where the Sun of Reality is hidden behind the

clouds of human ignorance, Muhammad's eyes were focused on the Divine. His single-minded search for Reality awakened a response from that Reality and the angel of revelation descended upon him and taught him to perceive all the levels of consciousness, all the stations a human being must pass through to reach nearness to Reality. Finally, because his eye did not swerve, and his tongue did not lie, God named him the Witness. Many in this world pretend to know, but their testimony is false or only half true. The Witness whose vision is not distorted by tribe, or lineage, or personal desire, can be trusted with the message of Truth. He taught us to be scrupulous to receive the Divine Breaths. 8. Sahih Muslim, 2457.

129

| MUHAMMAD'S

SUNNAH

In the Mathnawi: The Prophet said, “In these days the breathings of God prevail: Keep ear and mind attentive to these (spiritual) influences, receive such breathings as these.” The (Divine)

breathing came, beheld you, and departed: it gave life to whom it would, and departed. Another breathing has arrived. Be heedful, that you may not miss this one too, O friend. (Mathnaui, I, 1951-1954)

He taught us that purity of intention prevails over all outer circumstances:

One day Aisha said to the Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah, openly and secretly You perform a prayer in whatever place you may find, unclean and low are running about in the house; Although you know that any dirty child pollutes every place he enters. The Prophet said, “Know that God makes impure pure for the great. On that account the grace of God has made my place of worship to be pure up to the seventh tier.” (Mathnawi, II, 3424-1325) In a hadith, we read:

The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us that, above all, religion is sincerity. He said, “The religion is a sincere relationship (nasihah).” We said, “With what or whom?” He (peace be upon him) said, “With Allah, His Book, His

Messenger, and to those of the Muslims who take responsibility and their common people.” The Messenger brings a teaching of how to untie the knots that bind us to what is false, trivial, and destructive. The Messenger

brings the remedy for ailing hearts. When hearts are restored to health they can be filled with light. God has not created anything g. Sahih Muslim, 55.

130 | HOLISTIC

more amazing of the Human. and is watched then becomes

ISLAM

than the enlightened heart that reveals the Spirit Such a human being becomes the beloved of God over by the Divine. The whole phenomenal world the theater of manifestation for the pleasure of

God’s beloved. And God says, “If not for you I would not have

created the universe.” The purpose and destiny of all existence is gnosis (marifah), the knowingness of the true knower. Muhammad became that Arif (Knower) who in humility would say, “O Lord, increase me in knowledge, deliver me from all indignities, and after bringing me near to You do not distance me from Your presence.”

a & & An Afghan woman

raised in Europe, whom

I met at a retreat

in India, had formed some negative opinions about the Prophet Muhammad. She could not understand, for instance, how a true

prophet could engage in battles. Sensing that she was alienated from the legacy of her own tradition and ancestry, I encouraged her to visit Konya, beginning with the Mosque where Rumi’s mentor and friend Shams of Tabriz is venerated. As I watched her emerge from a period of meditation in the presence of Shams, I could see that her eyes were red with weeping. “Did you meet Shams?” I asked her. “Yes,” she said.

“And what was it like?” I asked. “I felt like Iwas meeting the true Islam for the first time, and he told me ‘You are now in the Army of Muhammad.’ A while ago, when you shared with me that Shams had said that the greatest Saints—Bayazid Bistami, Junaid, Hallaj—were no more than hairs in the beard of the Prophet, I didn’t understand. So I

asked Shams, ‘Why is Muhammad so important?’ He answered me, saying, ‘I enlightened one man, Rumi, but consider how many great ones were illuminated by Muhammad's light.’ Next I asked him, ‘What should I do now?’

‘Study the Mathnawi. Everything you need to know is there,’ he told me.”

131

| MUHAMMAD'S

SUNNAH

In the end, who is this beloved of God? Let us conclude with my own translation of these words spoken by Shams of Tabriz almost eight centuries ago: Our Prophet was a single horseman on the path, who opened a way where none existed. One needs to note that with a single misbehavior toward him, trouble soon catch-

es up with that person. Muhammad is the kind of person before whom human beings and angels put their ladders down in admiration of his qualities and words. Acrobats who astonish people with their rope skills are amazed at the length and strength of his rope, and by the fearlessness and heroism of his feats. Hearts leap at the sight of his miracles. And those who see him riding and cropping a black lion as if it were a lazy donkey can never forget him.” A holistic Islam will be founded first of all on the Qur’an

as the singular reference point for our relationship with Divine Truth. The function of revelation is not to impose dogma on the human mind, but to point toward that Truth which will be veri-

fied by the heart of the human being. The Qur’an emphasizes the importance of human intelligence (aql) and describes some basic principles for living a moral and healthy life. At the same time, there is the living transmission that comes from the Prophet, who has been described in the Qur’an as a “mercy to the worlds” and who was, in his function as a Prophet, an embodiment of Univer-

sal Intelligence (aqI-i kull). It is through the synergy of revelation, human intelligence, and prophetic transmission that a holistic Islam is possible.

10. Shams of Tabriz, Magalat (Discourses), translation by the author with Refik Algan.

=.

yy

a

won

oye ivcua

i

ani hayry caer

pis.)

poh APTI ag ‘

Sinag Up heed ae sared att

PS Lviv

Conon Pad i }

ae

ta?

,

Fa

Sion »

Posi

rer

i peta

itffexya THe

Aer

id

sell Tater -

‘

ary

ria

-

eteTS ‘Fae > wy

>