Thursday, December 30, 2010

What is "Islam"?

Pre-post: My thoughts here are very disorganized, but you'll bear with me. Thanks for understanding!

For the longest time now, I've been wondering what "Islam" actually is, and that's why I can't help but put it in quotations. I'm gonna paste my comments from friends' blogs 'cause I really don't have the energy or the good health at the moment to write it (am terribly ill. You understand) and will hope that'll do for the moment. One day, I'd also like to write a long piece on what Islam is and what it means to believe/submit.

We always hear Muslims saying, "That's not Islam." Really? Then what is Islam? If Islam isn't as difficult as they claim, then why is no one practicing the Islam that's not difficult, the Islam that's so easy to practice? Almost all (if not completely all) Muslims will also agree that they do not practice Islam the way they are supposed to or the way they understand they should be. Why not? Obviously, it's not easy, then. Obviously, it's not understood what Islam is or how it should be practiced -- or there are strong disagreements.

The problem is, we claim to have defined Islam, but we really haven't. Or maybe we have, and all of us know it, but no one wants to admit it loudly and clearly enough: Islam is what a group of male scholars and jurists during classical and medieval periods decided Islam is. Period. And, frankly speaking, I have a huge problem with that.

If that's Islam, then Islam is hellishly difficult; if Islam is what the Quran is, then it's not at all difficult -- why? Because the Quran is quite ambiguous, and that gives me room to breathe and think freely. And THAT is what I need! Hadiths, on the other hand, are very specific, and one's guaranteed to find a hadith on just about ANYTHING. (Oh, this reminds me of a joke between me and a friend, and this friend happens to be a very pious and strict Muslim. Once, I made a statement and she disagreed (as always), and I asked her to verify her claim, and she said, "Well, I can't, but I'm sure there's a hadith on it." LOL. Cracked me up. Of course there's a hadith on it. There's a hadith on EVERYthing.) But the reason they're specific is that they're Person A's interpretations of Person B's interpretations of Person C's interpretations of Person C's statements about the Prophet's interpretations and actions and thoughts. The hadiths are literally frozen in the 7th century, whereas the Quran is far more universal.


So, what IS Islam? And what does it mean to be a Muslim? Every Muslim's gonna give us a different answer, although most will certainly agree that it's "the Quran and hadiths." And then you remind them, "But hadiths and the Quran are nothing without the interpretations of classical scholars, right?" But most of them don't believe in "interpretations" and see it as an excuse for a Muslim to be deviated from the "real" Islam, whatever that might be.

But they, although they believe it, don't know that Islam = the Quran + hadiths + classical/medieval Muslim jurists' and scholars' interpretation of Islam. Really, what IS Islam without the interpretations of the scholars of the classical and medieval times? Absolutely nothing. It's our scholars who decided that "You know what? If we don't tell these people what Islam is and what this and that means, they'll start saying and doing whatever their hearts desire, and it'll be chaos."

Well, it's unfortunate that the interpretations of a certain gender (surprise, surprise -- they were all males! And still are!) and group of people from a certain time period have become frozen in time; it's quite unfortunate, indeed. And THAT is what is in practice Islam today.

And yet, we dare to pretend it is SO easy when we say, "ALL you have to do is follow Allah and the Prophet." Heck, but in actuality, it's not at all that simple. And, no, it's not that we're making it difficult for ourselves. If that's so, which group is the one making it difficult for itself and/or others? We don't know, and I am certain we'll never know. Thank God.

Everyone disagrees with everyone else, and all we can manage to say is, "Just study the Quran and hadiths. Simple." But you don't understand -- what if you actually DO do that and things are still complicated? What do you do when there are so many disagreements among the scholars themselves, and you're told that you can't have an opinion on any matter but only scholars can? The extremist Muslims might agree on some things, but they disagree on many, many other things among themselves! What's worse, we label ourselves and each other. Ahhh, but why have such labels in the first place if we're going to follow ISLAM, which is supposedly BOTH the Quran and the sunnah? But what many have done is completely neglect the QURANIC teachings (for the reason mentioned above -- that it's too ambiguous) and turn instead to the hadiths (for the same reason mentioned above -- that they're specific and detailed).

The extremists/literalists aren't the only ones who have so many differences of opinion, though. The non-extremists are no different. My problem is with our enforcing OUR own understanding and call it Islam while taking everyone else's and calling it non-Islam :S Or anti-Islam! Or deviation! Or shirk! Or something else that indicates that it's wrong or false. Dude, what makes your views better than another Muslim's? Go to hell already.

Funniest thing is, each Muslim will call her/himself "moderate" Well, duh, who'd call her/himself extremist? I mean, who's gonna say, "Oh, yeah, I'm an extremist"? And who is gonna say, "oh, yeah, I don't do what's right and what Islam says"? All are going to say that.

Further, there's no such thing as the "true meaning of Islam." If there is, no one knows what it is. Every group of Muslim is going to tell you that their understanding of Islam is the correct and true one. NO Muslim will ever say that her/his meaning of Islam is a false one. The question is, whose is really closest to the "true" one, if anyone's? And yet, no one can dare to claim that she/he is following Islam like she/he is supposed to. No, I don't think it's out of humility; I think it's because no one knows what that Islam is to begin with.

18 comments:

  1. And here I thought you were going to clear up some stuff..I think I'm more confused now:P

    I agree that there is a hadith on everything. I was told that this is why there should be no ambiguity in religion (because hadith exist). I have to admit, though, I have not studied Islam in detail.

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  2. LOL, Rukhpar Mor!
    Welcome to my blog, and thanks for your comment :)

    Oh, I must warn my precious readers: I don't clear up ANYTHING! lol. I only make them more unclear than they are :p ~sighs~

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  3. Greetings!

    Reading your article I am glad that we both agree that Islam is wrong. You did not say it explicitly, but implicitly it is there. Like a white elephant in the room.

    If there are problems with hadith, then one must also submit that there are problems with the Quran. We do not have evidence that God exists, and therefore it is impossible for the Quran to be reveal by God. As such, the Quran is also concocted by men to subjugate women.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Anon!
    Thanks for your comment!

    It's interesting that you read it that way, because I don't believe that Islam is wrong. It'd be good to see which of my statements led you to conclude that, though.

    And, no, hadiths and Quran are two completely different things. Hadiths aren't necessarily wrong, but Muslims need to be very, VERY cautious about accepting them (even if they're categorized as authentic). The Quran, however, is a whole different story, and I believe it's divine. I question the interpretations of the Quran, not the Quran itself (hence, to me, the Quran is interpreted a certain way ONLY to subjugate women, yes. That doesn't make the Quran at fault; it makes the interpreter at fault.) I question the interpretations of Islam, not Islam itself. If that wasn't clear in my article above, then it's either a mistake on my part for not making it clear enough, or then a mistake on the reader's part for misreading it. I'm always happy to clear up misconceptions! :D

    As for God's existence or the proof of Her existence, that's whole 'nother discussion on its own. Just because we don't have evidence that God exists doesn't mean that God really doesn't exist. And just because you don't believe in God doesn't mean that, indeed, there's no God for everyone else either.

    But the two topics (1. God's existence, 2. Islam) are two different topics, at least in the context of what has been written above, for, here throughout my blog, the assumption or strong belief is that God exists. Everything is then based on this premise. If one were to say God doesn't exist, then everything I've written becomes irrelevant, and the direction changes entirely.

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  5. Hi, Anon!

    I clicked "Delete comment" when I meant to click "Publish Comment"! I'm so sorry! I'm pasting it here and if you could please re-post it, I'll be thankful!

    Hi,

    As I said, it was implicit.

    First, was not Muhammad a man? Secondly, is it not written in the Quran to hit your wives? Thirdly, are not men made to be watchers (guardian) over women in the Quran?

    You mentioned (here or somewhere else in your blog I read)that it was men who had "interpreted" Islam and it has stay as such until now. But was not Muhammad a man? What makes him different than the other men? Why does God favour only men to give a message? Why can't a women be a watcher over a man? Why can't a women hit a man when he misbehaves? Why can't a women become a prophet? Even God is sexist.

    As I said, it was implicitly conveyed, or perhaps there are contradictions in your beliefs that you don't see. Otherwise, you would notice that men have established Islam and men have interpreted Islam and men will enforce Islam.

    Your article led me to think that God could not exist. Your blog suggests that it was men who have shoved their interpretation down women's throats, but the irony is that it was a man who established it in the first place. And if you are distinguishing that there is a difference between Muhammad and the other men, because the Quran is ambiguous, then I think you to be intellectually dishonesty and being apologetic by ignoring the fact that the Quran permits men to hit their wives and to rule over them.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,

    As I said, it was implicit.

    First, was not Muhammad a man? Secondly, is it not written in the Quran to hit your wives? Thirdly, are not men made to be watchers (guardian) over women in the Quran?

    You mentioned (here or somewhere else in your blog I read)that it was men who had "interpreted" Islam and it has stay as such until now. But was not Muhammad a man? What makes him different than the other men? Why does God favour only men to give a message? Why can't a women be a watcher over a man? Why can't a women hit a man when he misbehaves? Why can't a women become a prophet? Even God is sexist.

    As I said, it was implicitly conveyed, or perhaps there are contradictions in your beliefs that you don't see. Otherwise, you would notice that men have established Islam and men have interpreted Islam and men will enforce Islam.

    Your article led me to think that God could not exist. Your blog suggests that it was men who have shoved their interpretation down women's throats, but the irony is that it was a man who established it in the first place. And if you are distinguishing that there is a difference between Muhammad and the other men, because the Quran is ambiguous, then I think you to be intellectually dishonest and being apologetic by ignoring the fact that the Quran permits men to hit their wives and to rule over them.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for re-posting it!
    Yeah, I know you said implicit, and that's why I asked which of my comments in the article led to your making that assumption. There must've been something I said that caused you to believe that, no? But 's okay.

    Yes, Muhammad was a man. He didn't really "interpret" the Quran, if you ask me! Many Muslims argue that the hadiths are his interpretation of the Quran, but I completely disagree. You're not likely to find a hadith that says, for instance, "The word/phrase in hadith X:Y means this." We also have numerous hadith accounts themselves in which Muhammad clearly said, "Do NOT write down what I do/say" (you can imagine why, since anyone can misquote him or misunderstand his actions. Most hadiths aren't his words; they're rather his actions, and even more start off with "Person A said that Person B said that Person C heard Person D say that Person E saw the Prophet doing XYZ.")
    But hadith criticism discussions another time. I've been meaning to write a blog post on this but haven't been able to do it yet.

    So, yes, the Prophet was a man, but, no, he didn't really "interpret" the Quran. And even if he did, I wouldn't agree that his interpretation is universal. He was a human, just like everyone else.

    Ahhh - the ever-infamous Wife-beating verse :D:D:D!! My favorite in all of the Quran! Here's a blog post on the verse; take a look. "The Challenges of Quranc Verse 4:34": http://qrratugai.blogspot.com/2010/05/challenges-of-quranic-verse-434.html) Sooner or later, every discussion on Islam leads to this verse! The same verse also discusses the guardianship of women that you mention. You might also be interested in another blog, Metis' blog on Feminist Muslims. She has a post on the guardianship of women that I think you might be interested in learning from. The post is called "Why Men are in Charge of Women": http://musfem.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/why-men-are-in-charge-of-women/. I haven't posted my comment on there yet, but I will when I gather my thoughts. I've written extensively on this and will have to sort out of the documents on my computer for that.

    Regarding women's prophethood -- I have a blog post coming on that soon, so we'll discuss it there. There's an Indian Muslim preacher named Zakir Naik, and his reason for why no women prophets were ever sent is the typically cited reason and it's quite disturbing. For a part of my bachelor's thesis, I critically analyze his reasons and arguments, and this whole women-prophets happens to be one of the things I discuss.

    I'd think that my blog not just suggests that men have shoved their (misogynistic) interpretations down society's throats; I'd think my blog has that painted ALL over it ;) This is the one main reason I've entered Islamic Studies with emphasis on Gender Studies and Quranic hermeneutics.

    Cheers back!

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  8. Hi,

    strange, if Muhammad's interpretation does not matter, then why even follow a book brought by him? If he was flawed then I am pretty sure that the book itself is flawed. I am pretty sure that "God" would have chosen a more qualified person in order to avoid "misinterpretation." No? ;)

    I am not sure what to analyze anymore or digest from your blog (though it is informative). It seems that every time a Muslim feminist is cornered they simply remove the entity that is causing grievance, in this case that the interpretation of Muhammad does not account for anything, and in other cases that men have corrupted Islam.

    I am pretty sure that it is only a matter time before it is pinpointed that it is Islam itself which is the problem.

    From the looks of it the Muslim feminists don't have a proper yard-stick.

    I say leave God and His flaws and become a proper feminist, one who does not allow for men to rule her in any sort of way, even under the pretext of a misogynist "God."

    Cheers!

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  9. I didn't say it doesn't matter. If Muhammad did interpret the Quran, his interpretation still doesn't become eternal. Otherwise, why have the Quran at all? Why not just hadiths?

    I also have nowhere indicated (and if I have, that's a mistake on my part) that God is a misogynist. We have questions, Anon, but I don't believe they are reasons to leave a religion, any religion. This is why I don't believe in conversions from one religion to another. Do you know Ayan Hirsi Ali? She's written a book called "The Caged Virgin." She is an ex-Muslim, although she indicates in the first few pages of her book that she's a Muslim and then afterwards, she says she's not. But she makes the same conclusion you make: All Muslim women should leave Islam because there's a problem with Islam. I disagree, as do other Muslim feminists. By saying that, she's basically submitting to man's (the traditional) interpretation of Islam, something I'm completely against. My answer, unlike hers, is for us Muslim women to get back to the *original* source, the Quran, to study it and find our answers.

    So, like I said in another comment, it makes perfect sense why you should make that suggestion--that we shouldn't believe in God, that we should leave all religions--but I don't agree with it; I'm not convinced so far.

    Cheers back!

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  10. Hi,

    I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that you don't believe in conversions. This is my argument all along, with respect to yourself: You are afraid to leave, it is a culture to you, no matter how flawed your beliefs are.

    Anyhow, I don't wish to be a nuisance. Thank you for being accommodating!

    Good night!

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  11. You're discouraged to speak your mind because I choose to live one way and you choose another? But why, Anonnie?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi,

    actually, no, that is not the reason.

    The discussion is dead. It is pretty evident from your own admission that you are not open to discussion, you are stuck in a certain pattern of thinking and you wish not to come out of it. Nothing wrong with that, each to his own, but I would rather stay away from a stagnant conversation.

    Sorry to break it to you, but you can't be a feminist and a Muslim at the same time. Muslim-feminist is an oxymoron. Islam is against women, whether you like it or not; and, feminism is not. You can't turn a donkey into an intellect, no matter how hard you try. You will never be able to distance yourself from being ruled by men, not matter how many "sisters'" clubs you try to establish. Why? It is written in your book.

    Burn your book. Kill all of your men. Start from there, then I would say there is hope.

    Again, I am very much open to different styles of living, but not to contradictory and apologetic thinking. :)

    Cheers.

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  13. Anon you're extremely ignorant seriously.

    Islam is a set of beliefs (faith in one God, acceptance of Muhammad's prophethood, belief in Angels, belief in a life after death, belief in God's books).

    Concerning the ahadeeth you might find strange ones, but you will also find a lot of ahadeeth that carry deep wisdom and a greater meaning, so I focus on those who tell us e.g. "The true jihad is speaking a word of justice to an unjust ruler", or sayings of Ali such as "To forgive is the crown of greatness" etc.

    Problem is as soon as you start rejecting all ahadeeth you reject the Qu'ran itself in some way, as it was brought to us by Muhammad to whom it had been revealed. Each prophet had a miracle, Qu'ran al-sharif was his.

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  14. I agree - there are many hadiths that have a lot to offer us in terms of wisdom, whether we're Muslim or not. It's those kind that I enjoy reading and learning from and accepting. When it comes to the treatment of human or practice of faith, etc., I tend to keep away and rely mostly on the Quran.

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  15. There are hadiths that are simply ridiculous, plucking eyebrows haraam? Refusing to have sex with your husband will have Angels and Allah cursing you?!

    These hadiths in my personal opinion are a clear sign of chauvinism especially the latter one as it basically justifies and permits martial rape. However I know plenty of desis who observe it as it is "sahih" and one of my accquaintances even told me "There is no rape in marriage, it can only happen that a husband continues and his wife won't like it".

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  16. hehe ... yeah, I've a blog post coming up on how plucking eyebrows is haraam... and on how some of them justify marital rape (which is why many Muslims believe that there's no such thing as "marital rape" because a husband has the right to demand sex any time he wants, whether with or without your consent).

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  17. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO please I cannot wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello. Have you read articles and books by Asma Barlas? They are insightful.

    You will love them.

    ReplyDelete

Dare to opine :)

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