But if the intent was to present a vision of how muslims should understand their faith under the challenge of modernity, it falls way short. The 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. Intra-Islamic Sectarianism. This is a welcome tendency in his book.) All four craved food, but the Persian wanted to spend the coin on angur; the Turk, on uzum; the Arab, on inab; and the Greek, on stafil. God willing., As a text, the Quran is more than the foundation of the Islamic religion; it is the source of Arabic grammar. The intention of the United States government in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war was to curb the spread of Irans revolution, but it had the more disastrous effect of curbing its evolution., Some have argued, a few of them violently, that the Caliphate should be restored as the emblem of Muslim unity. At the center of these developments were political machinations as well as simple practical exigencies. We found no such entries for this book title. 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. . Reviews tend to be written in a professional, detached voice and provide detailed coverage of the content included. 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. It would be interesting to know whether Aslan would rather live in an Islamic democracy than in a democracy such as we have in the United States today. My impression is that he is a sincere monotheist who believes that Islam is greatly in need of reform, that this reform requires reinterpretation of Islams history and sources of authority (the Quran and sharia law), that reinterpretation along these lines is nevertheless faithful to Muhammads original vision, which included, most fundamentally, a commitment to social egalitarianism, and that being a Muslim is more a matter of ethnic orientation and cultural conditioning than it is of maintaining allegiance to a particular creed, beyond the shahadah. It has been translated into 13 languages. Aslans own account of Muhammads community indicates that non-Muslim citizens had more limited rights than the Muslims who shaped the ideals and social arrangements of their society. Readers will have recognized that Aslans understanding of Islam differs from that of the Traditionalists; yet, he is a committed Muslim. Aslan, Reza _ No god but God.. . This last point bears repeating. ________ Reverend William Spooner was famous for a type of funny verbal mistake that became known as a (n) _____ . Chapter 7, In the Footsteps of Martyrs: From Shiism to Khomeinism, brings this sectarianism up-to-date. He segues to this chapter with this brief paragraph: Fourteen hundred years of rabid debate over what it means to be a Muslim; of passionate arguments over the interpretation of the Quran and the application of Islamic law; of trying to reconcile a fractured community through appeals to Divine Unity; of tribal feuds, crusades, and world warsand Islam has finally begun its fifteenth century (248). The categorization and separation of native peoples was a common tactic for maintaining colonial control over territories whose national boundaries had been arbitrarily drawn with little consideration for the ethnic, cultural, or religious makeup of the local inhabitants. Because it immersed me in a religion I don't know in a compelling way, and gave me enough of a platform of information to perhaps start seeking other answers, and for that I'll overlook a lot. The Islamic Reformation is already here. Aslan begins his apologetic story talking of modern Islam as in a period of reformation, comparing it to the Reformation of the 16th century. Because of the variability of the Arabic language, both of these translations are grammatically, syntactically, and definitionally correct. From the Islamic perspective, however, the attacks on New York and Washington were part of an ongoing clash between those Muslims who strive to reconcile their religious values with the realities of the modern world, and those who react to modernism and reform by revertingsometimes fanaticallyto the fundamentals of their faith., God is, in other words, wholly Other: the Mysterium Tremendum, to borrow Rudolph Ottos famous phrase., The Kaba, like the Pyramids in Egypt or the Temple in Jerusalem, may have been constructed as an axis mundi, sometimes called a navel spot: a sacred space around which the whole of the universe revolves, the link between the earth and the solid dome of heaven., For the Sufi, reality is neither emptiness nor illusion; reality is God., The Spanish philosopher and physician Ibn Rushd (112698), better known as Averros in the West, pushed al-Jabbars conception of truth to its limit by proposing a two truths theory of knowledge in which religion and philosophy are placed in opposition to each other. As the quintessential colonialist, Cromer had no interest in the plight of Muslim women; the veil was, for him, an icon of the backwardness of Islam, and the most visible justification for Europes civilizing mission in the Middle East., Grateful for their generosity, Muhammad orders the land to be leveled, the graves dug up, and the palm trees cut down for timber to build a modest home. 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. One could argue that the clash of monotheisms is the inevitable result of monotheism itself. But this will be more than a home. . He then returned to the men and gave them each a bunch. Alone we can do so little, yet together we can do much. Fundamentalism, in all religious traditions, is impervious to suppression. Despite these concerns, I recommend Reza Aslans book. Copyright FreeBookNotes.com 2014-2023. The book very elegantly explains this magnificent yet misunderstood faith, Islam. Having divorced myself from Islam a couple of years back but continued to struggle with a lot of resentment regarding current "theological" and cultural affairs, coming across this book parted some clouds in my mind. To me, this was worth reading, because Reza Aslan made the story if Islam come alive and told me so much I didn't know about Islam. He took pot shots at Christianity and Judaism, and his comments about those religions contained several inaccuracies, such as Aaron having brought the Jews to the Promised Land. The person who brought the conversation together began the discussion by saying atheism doesn't imply nihilism and that she was becoming rather impatient with those who imply such a thing, wagging her finger at theists, saying her life without God has been very happyvery happy, indeed. Its no secret that I have an intellectual crush on Reza Aslan. BrothersJudd reviews vary significantly in style and length, focusing more on the individual reviewers personal opinion of the title and only a cursory plot summary. Reza Aslan's book No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam has been appreciated by the world. . vocabulary. The Quran suffered a similar fate, as different schools of interpretation emerged. This is an online-exclusive from theChristian Research Journal. This website generates no revenue, has no banner ads, and does not collect information to sell to third parties. ASH is a website for cultural outreach, and to unite people who seek goodness and knowledge. 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. God didn't exactly die, god chose to become the universe and ceased being a separate entity. He suggests that if ever there is a conflict between the two, it must be the interpretation of Islam that yields to the reality of democracy, not the other way around (266). I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. Prophets are, above all, reformers who redefine and reinterpret the existing beliefs and practices of their communities, providing fresh sets of symbols and metaphors with which succeeding generations can describe the nature of reality., The separation of church and state of which America is so proud was established in Islam fourteen centuries ago, when it was decided that no Caliph would have religious authority over the community., In fact, the term holy war originates not with Islam but with the Christian Crusaders who first used it to give theological legitimacy to what was in reality a battle for land and trade routes. The hadith, insofar as they addressed issues not dealt with in the Quran, would become an indispensable tool in the formation of Islamic law. This in my language is stafil, said the Greek. Are they now going to inherit just like men who have worked to earn that money? Muhammads response to these complaints was both unsympathetic and shockingly unyielding. No God but One: Allah or Jesus? Depending on the study guide provider (SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc. Aslan goes on to say that this does not mean that the religious authorities would have no influence on the state. He says that such influence can only be moral, not political. Very good primer on Islam--it's a thorough and sweeping history and very engaging and well-written. Language This book can be a good starting point to those who want to discover more about Islam. Myth typically includes miracles, and heroic portrayals of people involved. Elsewhere the Quran is more explicit: Permission to fight is given only to those who have been oppressed who have been driven from their homes for saying, God is our Lord (22:39; emphasis added)., This creator God was called Allah, which is not a proper name but a contraction of the word al-ilah, meaning simply the God., There are striking similarities between the Christian and Quranic descriptions of the Apocalypse, the Last Judgment, and the paradise awaiting those who have been saved., But tawhid, which literally means making one, implies more than just monotheism. At university he was converted to Islam because of its visible action on behalf of a class of oppressed people. Minds are not changed merely through acquiring data or information (if that were the case it would take no effort to convince Americans that Obama is, in fact, a Christian). But this is what I call uzum, replied the Turk. No, Christianity and Islam are not two paths to the same God. 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. The front pages of No god But. Summary: Orel Puppingtons favorite thing in the universe used to be God, but with how his prayers have been turning out, how the Christians around him act, with how scary his life is, he isn't so sure anymore. Of course, such a process takes time. I also thought it shameful the glancing way he wrote about Sept. 11. I'm not reverse FoxNewsing him and saying he must be a staunch muslim to write a book on Islam. Rather, it is solely through the slow and steady building of personal relationships that one discovers the fundamental truth that all people everywhere have the same dreams and aspirations, that all people struggle with the same fears and anxieties. Muhammad, unfortunately, made no clear arrangements for a successor, and the era immediately following [his] death wasa tumultuous time for the Muslim community (66). On the other hand, the barrage of information is withering. It was the followers who came after both of them that twisted their message. Counter it with cruelty, and it gains adherents. Given sentence below refers to a numbered sentence in the passage. In No god but God, challenging the "clash of civilizations" mentality that has distorted our view of Islam, Aslan explains this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion. BuffaloLib's library catalog tends to include a brief plot synopsis and a collection of selected trade reviews for each entry. 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. Belief in the existence of God (or gods) is definitional of theism and characteristic of many (though not all) religious traditions. Oh man. While both are considered equally valid approaches, the tension between tafsir and tawil is but one of the inevitable consequences of trying to interpret an eternal and uncreated scripture that is nevertheless firmly grounded in a specific historical context., Nor is it surprising that three of the first four leaders of Islam were killed by fellow Muslims, though it is important to recognize that both the rebels who murdered Uthman and the Kharijites who assassinated Ali were, like their spiritual successors among the Jihadists of today, far more concerned with maintaining their personal ideal of Muhammads community than with protecting that community from external enemies.. This converted drying-ground and cemetery will serve as the first masjid, or mosque, of a new kind of community, one so revolutionary that many years later, when Muslim scholars seek to establish a distinctly Islamic calendar, they will begin not with the birth of the Prophet, nor with the onset of Revelation, but with the year Muhammad and his band of Emigrants came to this small federation of villages to start a new society. A must-read book for anyone who is not only interested in learning more about the world of Islam in the past and nowadays, but also for all those who seek the historical truth of facts through the path of the Abrahamic religions. Written in clear prose and filled with memorable stories both personal and traditional, I found my mind and heart easily staying engaged with this book. . Aslan, in Chapter 6, describes a welter of variants of Islam, and intramural disputes that were dramatically polarizing. Please see the supplementary resources provided below for other helpful content related to this book. He envisions a courtyard roofed in palm leaves, with living quarters made of wood and mud lining the walls. Email Address: Follow 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. -- who casually overturned some of Mohammad's famously moderate teachings after he died, by claiming they'd heard Mohammad say otherwise. But because every path eventually leads to the same destination, which path one takes is irrelevant., However, Saudi Arabia quickly discovered what the rest of the world would soon learn. No god but God by Reza Aslan Genre: Of course you may argue that every author has their own belief and whatnot. Cliff Notes , Cliffnotes , and Cliff's Notes are trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc. SparkNotes and Spark Notes are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. The chief victors in the intero-Islamic skirmishes took shape in sharp contrast to what Muhammad had envisioned. 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. La Ilaha Illallah: There Is No God but Allah 14th April 2023 La ilaha illallah -There is no god but Allah -is the basis of the unity of God. In Sunni Islam, the imam is merely the person who stands at the head of the mosque and leads the congregation in prayer. According to Aslan, Islam is experiencing an internal struggle between individualistic reform and traditional clerical authority similar to what took place during the 16th century Reformation in Christianity. Inshallah. Do read the book. Aslan briefly recounts the high points of his childhood, as preserved in traditional Islamic legend (see 1921). Muslims believe he created the world in six days and sent prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,. It concludes with enthusiastic expression of hope for reform in the direction of a democratic Islamic culture, but Aslan offers little reason to believe that this is the likely outcome, to say nothing of its inevitability. His prognostication and current realities are utterly discordant. Second, paradoxically, authors of books and magazine articles, bloggers, and interviewees on radio and television bombard us with perspective. This cornucopia of informants is a mixed blessing, however. When I thought Martin Luther King Jr., I would think of the Civil Rights Movement, the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the seminal I Have a Dream. My understanding of him was limited to a single optic, that of racial justice. This timetable reflects Aslans desire to educate non-Muslim Westerners about Islam in the wake of 9/11. An easily read, clear account of the origins of Islam and its subsequent evolution into a religion with millions of followers. . For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam Addeddate 2014-10-19 17:22:37 Identifier RezaAslanNoGodButGod Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t02z43q5n Ocr ABBYY FineReader 9.0 Ppi 300 . Holy war was not a term used by Muslim conquerors, and it is in no way a proper definition of the word, [] pluralism implies religious tolerance, not unchecked religious freedom., The Perfect Man is he for whom individuality is merely an external form, but whose inward reality conforms to the universe itself. That year, 622 C.E., will forever be known as Year 1 A.H. (After Hijra); and the oasis that for centuries had been called Yathrib will henceforth be celebrated as Medinat an-Nabi: The City of the Prophet, or more simply, Medina., The Shiah believe that salvation requires the intercession of Muhammad, his son-in-law Ali, his grandsons Hasan and Husayn, and the rest of the Prophets legitimate successors, the Imams, who not only serve as humanitys intercessors on the Last Days, but who further function as the eternal executors (wali) of the divine Revelation., The word Imam has multiple connotations. (2122). Summary The Islamic religion is indeed facing hard times. . Does he believe that all religions are equally valid? Muhammad also forbade a husband to touch his wifes dowry, forcing him instead to provide for his family from his own wealth. The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the religion. As a Christian who grew up in a . Fight in the way of God those who fight you, the Quran says, but do not begin hostilities; God does not like the aggressor (2:190). When this occurs, the individual achieves fana: ecstatic, intoxicating self-annihilation. No god but God had been on my list for a long time and it was totally worth the wait. There are, of course, many paths to the summit-some better than others. All of a sudden, the men realized that what each of them had desired was in fact the same thing, only they did not know how to express themselves to each other. Therefore, the entity God can be seen as dead in so much of the identity or character God no longer exists, but is still there in the universe. Tawil delves into the concealed message of the text, which, because of its mystical nature, is comprehensible only to a select few. Other chapters explore the concept of jihad, Sufi mysticism, and the Islamic response to colonialism up through the early twentieth century. This set the stage for the emergence of a bona fide monotheism. 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. Islamic clergy may be able to exert considerable influence within a democratic state, by seeking to establish an Islam-friendly consensus among the people of that state. Despite that, it cannot be the primary source of reference when it comes to Prophet Muhammads biography for few of the account of events are arbitrary and moot point to what I as a Muslim has been born and raised taught with.
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