He valued her and she was his advisor, advocate, lover and friend. The Quran suffered a similar fate, as different schools of interpretation emerged. You will have a direct line to ASH, for any questions you have: you will only be one email away from ASH. Do read the book. According to Ibn Rushd, religion simplifies the truth for the masses by resorting to easily recognizable signs and symbols, regardless of the doctrinal contradictions and rational incongruities that inevitably result from the formation and rigid interpretation of dogma. But returning home after one of his painfully violent revelatory experiences, or after suffering another indignity from the Qurayshhis head covered in dirt, his tunic defiled with bloodand not having Khadija there to wrap him in her cloak and hold him in her arms until the terror subsided must have been an unimaginable sorrow for the Prophet., Yet lost in the debate about Americas true intentions in the Middle East was the fact that large majorities in every Muslim-majority state surveyed told pollsters they wanted to see their countries move toward greater democracy. Fifth, there is an eerily sanctimonious thread in the final chapter that may be grounds for concern. The Green Movement in Iran lit the fuse, employing new social media technologies like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to break the governments monopoly over the media and to demonstrate to the world their aspiration for freedom and liberty., Unshackled by the state, the Ulama were now free to ascend to a position of unquestioned religious authority in the Ummah, which they used not only to institutionalize their legal and theological opinions into distinct schools of thought but also to formulate a binding, comprehensive code of conduct called the Shariah, forever transforming Islam from a religion into an all-embracing way of life: one that the Ulama claimed sole authority to define., As the ninth-century legal scholar Malik ibn Anas, founder of the Maliki school of law, once quipped, This religion is a science, so pay close attention to those from whom you learn it., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). I want to conclude by recommending another book. Language Yet regardless of whether one is labeled a Modernist or a Traditionalist, a reformist or a fundamentalist, a feminist or a, must recognize that greater knowledge about Islam is not enough to alter peoples perceptions of Muslims. He was in a monogamous relationship with her until she died. Its most important historical claim, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, is so well-attested that, in comparison with what is actually known about the life of Muhammad, it is refreshingly factual and free of mythology. The fact is that for fifteen centuries, the science of Quranic commentary has been the exclusive domain of Muslim men. Religion is the story of faith." This led to a series of increasingly violent clashes between Muhammad and his entourage and the Quraysh. I'm not reverse FoxNewsing him and saying he must be a staunch muslim to write a book on Islam. Why, then, should we be alarmed? . . From this perspective, Reza Aslan retells the story of Islam. I felt clouds parting in my brain and was able to comprehend some of the glories of the religion, and the hatred and factionalism, too. Its history is better known and better founded. On the other, we have an author so blinded by personal bias that I routinely had to put the book down and walk away. I adored Zealot and was charmed by Aslans ability to present a complicated history and an important mythology with clarity and precision. So who is God, Allah or Jesus? Islamic Modernists like the Egyptian writer and political philosopher Ali Abd ar-Raziq (d. 1966) pointed to Muhammads community in Medina as proof that Islam advocated the separation of religious and temporal power, while Muslim extremists in Afghanistan and Iran have used the same community to fashion various models of Islamic theocracy. Offers quick summary / overview and other basic information submitted by Wikipedia contributors who considers themselves "experts" in the topic at hand. Published last summer, the book serves as an essential resource to at least two groups: Christians who desire to share their faith with Muslims and Muslims interested in investigating the claims of Christianity. We got a stomach bug in the house.. Zachs down and out . In reality they are one and only one thing.. So why the four stars? He probes and asks many questions throughout, but he never seems to wonder why Mohammad never appointed a successor, and how the contenders and their descendants have been battling ever since (three of the four successors to Mohammad were poisoned or murdered), or why he didn't write down his revelations of the Quran at the time, which led to it being canonized and codified decades later by Uthman, a leader Aslan himself deems corrupt. And they believe that in this very place Abraham was on the point of sacrificing Ishmael, before being stopped by the promise that he too, like his brother Isaac, would beget a great nation, whose descendants now roam the sandy valley of Mecca like a whirlwind in the desert., Religion, it must be understood, is not faith. Browse books: Recent| popular| #| a| b| c| d| e| f| g| h| i| j| k| l| m| n| o| p| q| r| s| t| u| v| w| x| y| z|. Reza Aslan's book No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam has been appreciated by the world. This book explains how this can happen to a sensible young man, and gives cause to worry about Americas universities, many of which have been endowed funds by radical Islamic sects to provide programs in Islamic studies. Belief in the existence of God (or gods) is definitional of theism and characteristic of many (though not all) religious traditions. . Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day in America, the first I ever truly celebrated in full appreciation because only a few months ago I discovered that I had this eminent mans legacy all backwards. We believe in God, and in that which has been revealed to us, which is that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismail and Jacob and the tribes [of Israel], as well as that which the Lord revealed to Moses and to Jesus and to all the other Prophets. If Muhammads male followers were disgruntled about the new inheritance laws, they must have been furious when, in a single revolutionary move, he both limited how many wives a man could marry and granted women the right to divorce their husbands., Religion is concerned not with genuine history, but with sacred history, which does not course through time like a river. Wherever you turn, there is the face of God says the Quran God is Mighty and Wise (2:115). . God is most great (Allahu Akbar), God is most great, God is most great, God is most great, I witness that there is no god but Allah (the God); I witness that there is no god but Allah. Kill its leaders, and they become martyrs. This book was thoroughly eye-opening. As a Christian who grew up in a . You will have a direct line to ASH, for any questions you have: you will only be one email away from ASH. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam is a 2005 non-fiction book written by Iranian-American Muslim scholar Reza Aslan.The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the religion. It will not be considered reliable by Islamic Traditionalists, but Aslan makes a plausible case that their narrative is largely mythological. Eventually Waraqa, Uthman, and Ubayd Allah converted to Christianity, proving how influential this faith was in the region. This is the final station along the Sufi Way. No god but God had been on my list for a long time and it was totally worth the wait. Author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam to speak on campus, God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror, No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, George Gurdjieff: the remembrance of the true self. The four men left Mecca and went their separate ways, preaching the new religion and seeking out others in the same condition. , . He wrote about this journey in the New York Times bestselling book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Sites like SparkNotes with a No god but God study guide or cliff notes. The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the religion. The book deals with the history of Islam and provides arguments over the liberal interpretation of the religion. This updated edition addresses the events of the past decade, analyzing . On one hand, the magnifying glass of expertise is angled to offer a sharper image of the Muslim community, its history, its customs, and its ambitions, to show a bewildering array of specimens. However,it is not merely the tension that exists between the Islamic religion . God willing., As a text, the Quran is more than the foundation of the Islamic religion; it is the source of Arabic grammar. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The next day, when Abdallah saw the same woman again, he asked her, Why do you not make the same proposition to me today that you made to me yesterday? The woman replied, The light which was with you yesterday has left you. R. Douglas Geivet, PhD, is professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. At the center of these developments were political machinations as well as simple practical exigencies. ), the resources below will generally offer No god but God chapter summaries, quotes, and analysis of themes, characters, and symbols. Muhammad married an older woman, Khadija, a wealthy and respected businesswoman. How can this be? You have brought me my inab, the Arab said. Sites with a book review or quick commentary on No god but God by Reza Aslan. Whether man made or heavenly sent, timeless or bound to a specific era, there's a thing or two about Islam that one can learn to appreciate. Howeverand this is the most important aspect of the parablethe linguist can offer the travelers only the grapes and nothing more. We are all living in it. India was, until recently, governed by partisans of an litist theology of Hindu Awakening (Hindutva) bent on applying an implausible but enormously successful vision of true Hinduism to the state. Tight composition, fast pacing, authoritative tone: it's no surprise it was a bestseller. I dont want to spoil the ending by saying any more than that. In No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, Reza Aslan chronicles the development of Islam from its unpromising beginnings into a force to be reckoned with worldwide. And because each one of these exegetes inevitably brings to the Quran his own ideology and his own preconceived notions, it should not be surprising to learn that certain verses have most often been read in their most misogynist interpretation., There are two distinct methods of interpreting the Quran. The hadith, insofar as they addressed issues not dealt with in the Quran, would become an indispensable tool in the formation of Islamic law. It strikes me that since there are so many variant translations and editions that could be manipulated to mean anything, every group will continue to strive for what Mohammad intended by projecting their own beliefs on him. But this is what I call uzum, replied the Turk. This is my angur! cried the Persian. This became the site of Medina, the City of the Prophet. Aslan details the significance of Medina in Chapter 3, where he makes the arresting statement, Today, Medina is simultaneously the archetype of Islamic democracy and the impetus for Islamic militancy (52). This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). Depending on the study guide provider (SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc. Very good primer on Islam--it's a thorough and sweeping history and very engaging and well-written. With this simple profession of faith, Muhammad was declaring to Mecca that the God of the heavens and the earth required no intermediate whatsoever, but could be accessed by anyone., The occultation of the Twelfth Imam, or the, The relationship between the Jews and pagan Arabs was symbiotic in that not only were the Jews heavily Arabized, but the Arabs were also significantly influenced by Jewish beliefs and practices., For most of the Western world, September 11, 2001, signaled the commencement of a worldwide struggle between Islam and the Westthe ultimate manifestation of the clash of civilizations. Pre-Islamic Background. This website generates no revenue, has no banner ads, and does not collect information to sell to third parties. It seems, based on what he does say, that the United States of America could become an Islamic state. . I am far more interested in the historical aspect of any religion than I'll ever be in its theology, and Reza Aslan proves to be thought-provoking at best. As the events of the Indian Revolt demonstrated, the British believed that the best way to curb nationalist sentiment was to classify the indigenous population not as Indians, but as Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, etc. Aslan focuses primarily on the practices of early Islam, but also discusses life within the Abbasid Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Muslim world. That is the reader's key to this fascinating account of the origins and development of Islam. We make no distinction between any of them; we submit ourselves to God., Manichaeism, the doctrine founded by the Prophet Mani, was a Gnostic religious movement heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism which preached a complex, radical dualism between the forces of darkness/evil and the forces of light/good.. ()- ' ' . To say the Shariah is divine because the Quran is divine is akin to arguing that water and wine are the same, since water is a primary ingredient in wine., While the exact changes Muhammad made to this tradition are far too complex to discuss in detail here, it is sufficient to note that women in the Ummah were, for the first time, given the right both to inherit the property of their husbands and to keep their dowries as their own personal property throughout their marriage. Fourth, this methodology raises questions: Aslan is Muslim, but in what sense? He cannot offer them wine, which is the essence of the fruit. Having converted, he was gradually radicalized. Everything you ever wanted to know about Islam, but were too afraid or too benighted to ask. His books include No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (published 2005) and How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization and the End of the War on Terror (published 2009). As for women you feel are averse, talk to them suasively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them) and go to bed with them (when they are willing). They present radically different views of God and salvation and only one can be true. 15 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Salem Lutheran Church Jacobus, PA: Easter Day - April 9th After a few generations, almost anything could be given the status of hadith if one simply claimed to trace its transmission back to Muhammad. He is the copy of God, in the words of al-Arabis greatest disciple, Abdul Karim al-Jili: he is the mirror in which the divine attributes are perfectly reflected; the medium through which God is made manifest., More than a thousand years before Christ, Zarathustra preached the existence of a heaven and a hell, the idea of a bodily resurrection, the promise of a universal savior who would one day be miraculously born to a young maiden, and the expectation of a final cosmic battle that would take place at the end of time between the angelic forces of good and the demonic forces of evil., It is a shame that this word, myth, which originally signified nothing more than stories of the supernatural, has come to be regarded as synonymous with falsehood, when in fact myths are always true. Summary The Islamic religion is indeed facing hard times. And since the doctrine of Tawhid insists on the oneness of God, the Sufis argue, then reality must also be unique. A very good, eye-opening, mind-blowing read on the foundation and development of Islam as a religion, movement, identify, community, or in short, the. the text of islam. We found no such entries for this book title. Come to prayer, come to prayer. Aslan briefly recounts the high points of his childhood, as preserved in traditional Islamic legend (see 1921). This set the stage for the emergence of a bona fide monotheism. prophet/messenger. This updated edition addresses the events of the past decade, analyzing how they have influenced Islam's position in modern culture. Aslan distinguishes between factual history and sacred history (3). The Islamic Reformation is already here. In short, a really interesting book for both Muslims and anyone who wants to know more about the origins and growth of this Abrahamic faith. I witness that Muhammad is His messenger. The first, tafsir, is primarily concerned with elucidating the literal meaning of the text, while the second, tawil, is more concerned with the hidden, esoteric meaning of the Quran. Men are the support of women [qawwamuna ala an-nisa] as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them). As a young man, Muhammad lived in Mecca, a city severely stratified along economic lines, where a group called the Quraysh held the reins of political power and religious influence. We are all living in it., Today, Medina is simultaneously the archetype of Islamic democracy and the impetus for Islamic militancy. FreeBookNotes found 8 sites with book summaries or analysis of No god but God. xxxi-xxxii). GoodReads community and editorial reviews can be helpful for getting a wide range of opinions on various aspects of the book. Try to appease it, and it will take control., It took many years to cleanse Arabia of its false idols. It will take many more to cleanse Islam of its new false idolsbigotry and fanaticismworshipped by those who have replaced Muhammads original vision of tolerance and unity with their own ideals of hatred and discord. And for those [women] that you fear might rebel, admonish them and abandon them in their beds and beat them [adribuhunna]. As a Muslim, he is right to do all he can to hold fast his faith in a more peaceful outcome, but non-Muslims who would welcome the reforms he envisions would like to see evidence that they are prevailing against Islamic radicalism. This book can be a good starting point to those who want to discover more about Islam. Entries also contain a short biography of the author. Myth typically includes miracles, and heroic portrayals of people involved. 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