1. Confirmation of all books of revelations (3:3–4, 84, 199)
2. Interpretation of messages from the Qur’an—foundational guidance (Mohkamat) versus directional guidance (Mutashabihat)—using analogy, examples, and/or relevance to context and prevailing conditions (3:7)
3. Islam as the accepted way of life (3:19–20, 85)
4. False notion of entitlement (3:24–25)
5. Alliance for goodness (3:28, 118–120)
6. Realities on the Day of Judgment (3:25, 30)
7. The story of Mary and Jesus (3:35–61, 79)
8. Bringing all people of revelations together (3:64–71)
9. Community and global leadership (3:104, 110)
10. Sense of unity (3:102–103)
11. Lessons from the Battle of Uhud (3:165–169)
12. Constancy and Persistence (3:139–143, 186, 196, 200)
13. Prophet Mohammed is mortal (3:144–145).
14. The Prophet as a compassionate human being—being gentle, seeking harmony, and governing by mutual consultations (3:159)
15. Conflicts and evils in this world are expected (3:13, 178–180, 186, 188).
16. Nature and life for reflection (3:190–191)
17. Man and woman entitled to equal reward and equal opportunity (3:195)
As one can see from the above list, this chapter (surah) addresses a multitude of issues of social concerns, faith as practiced by Christians in particular, human nature and the nature of things, persistent conflicts between good and evil, lessons learned from such conflicts, human origin and the nature of all prophets, call for dedication to preserve justice and fight evil, equality of man and woman in the eyes of God, and so on. Such diversity of thoughts, creeds, natural laws, and purposefulness of human life again point to the true nature of Islam (faith in God and goodness) as a way of life and not a mere religion and hence the declaration from God in this chapter that the accepted ways of life for human beings is Islam (not a label but what it means—faith in God and the practice of goodness), which can be followed by anyone without calling themselves Muslims, if they choose not to.
1. Confirmation of all books of revelations (3:3–4, 84, 199)
The notion of oneness of God and singularity of guidance resonates well with the millennium generation as it did with the generations who were close to the prophets in their times. Even though earlier revelations and prophets were sent to specific tribes or communities or geographies, the central tenets of faith around morals and ethics as contained in the Ten Commandments given to Moses, the commandment for forgiveness and spiritual purity given to Jesus, and the commandment of justice, equity, and unity of humanity given to Mohammad are all part of the same tapestry of faith, unity of purpose, and service to God and humanity.
The Qur’an is very emphatic in its deliberation that the Bible, the Torah, and other books of revelations from antiquity are all from the same God, a manifestation of the commitment made to Adam and Eve to send guidance to their children (the human race) to make the best of their lives on this planet. Similarly, the prophets from all ages (from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Lot to Jacob to Joseph, to name a few of the earlier prophets prior to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) propagated the same message of oneness of God and a common human purpose.
It is this fundamental unity of message and guidance that is central to our faith and our purpose that we all need to embrace in our current generation and beyond. Other than theological differences and rituals created by laypeople and clerics, the fundamental values and principles of all major religions in the world and especially the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—are essentially the same, and it is the call of the Qur’an to us to confirm these fundamentals and go back to the purity of faith and goodness of humanity. We can pay attention to parts of the following verse (5:48): “For every group [of people], We [God] had allowed different rules and different ways of life [as they opted for]. If God had willed, He could have made all into a single community, but He wanted to test each group in what they find themselves. Therefore, compete for goodness [no matter what faith you subscribe to]. Since to God all of you will eventually return, He will then inform you about all that you were differing about [on earth].”
2. Interpretation of messages from the Qur’an—foundational guidance (Mohkamat) versus directional guidance (Mutashabihat)—using analogy, example, and/or relevance to context and social conditions (3:7)
As I have stated in the key Arabic terms for Mohkamat (foundational) versus Mutashabihat (analogy, example), I find this verse of fundamental importance and guidance on how to define and shape our thinking, interpretation, conclusion, and implementation of such directives and guidance contained in the Qur’an and put into practice in our contemporary societies.
Foundational messages (ayat or verses) pertain to directives in these areas:
· Realities of our universe—One God, life after death, accountability, the Day of Judgment, angels, the book of revelations, the messages brought by prophets, the laws of nature, the evolutionary/creative process evident in nature, and so on
· The values and principles on which the success of human society rests—absolute equality of human beings in terms of human dignity; equal access to justice and fairness in our dealings with one another, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, position, personal wealth, family background, sexual orientation, and so forth; sanctity of human life and property; and human freedom of choice to act, to govern, and to prosper
· Commitment to truth, justice, knowledge, civility, and rule of law and established norms, and goodness against falsehood, injustice, anarchy, ignorance, and evil
· Faith-based obligations for spiritual growth and personal connection with God through prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, charity (Zakat), and the spirit of these obligations to fellow human beings as these permeate our inner core and our social constructs
This is not an exhaustive list but a reminder to us of the types of guidance in the Qur’an that would be considered foundational in nature to achieve faith and goodness.
These are part of the fabric and rubrics of our creation, our existence, and our human norms that have to be universally acknowledged, accepted, and acted on accordingly. These foundational verses would also then govern the way we interpret and make operational other verses (Mutashabihat) and directives that shape our personal, social, communal, and national and international rules and regulations that affect our personal and family life, marriage and other human relations, financial and business dealings, political processes and norms, and governance for our collective social, political, and financial well-being.
Messages in the Qur’an that provide guidance to better our understanding or to act in certain ways or to establish certain rules and regulations will fall under the second category (Mutashabihat), where we have the freedom, the creativity, and also the obligation to understand the intent, the context, the environment, the underlying principles and values, and so forth to further adjust and improve the guidance and directives to benefit society and humanity. For example,
· what tools, instruments, or methods we use to decide when to start fasting (month of Ramadan) and how to prepare for logistics, contain conflicts, conduct financial transactions, and so on;
· how to formulate and continuously update rules, regulations, and laws pertaining to social laws, inheritance allocations, economic endeavors, financial markets, corporate governance, wealth distribution and taxation, and so forth;
· positions that the Qur’an acknowledged or took on slavery, provision for polygamy, prisoners of war, inheritance that favors men over women, capital punishment, and so on—on what basis and based on what method we can and should deliberate and adjust with continuous evolution of human society and societal norms.
Again, this list is not exhaustive but reminds us of the types of guidance in the Qur’an that we can consider to be examples and analogies that can be changed within a workable framework that we need to develop and evolve collectively, if not already in existence.
As I am encouraging our readers and Muslims, in particular, to deliberate on this verse, there will be strong disagreement and sometimes unpleasant rhetoric that we need to contain as civilized people by taking appropriate measures and methods that are widely accepted and not impose our personal views or biases without adequate facts, first principles, and complying with the foundational guidelines. We also need to learn the etiquettes of how to disagree and how to minimize disagreeable conduct that undermines unity and peaceful coexistence. I consider this to be an important undertaking for the community so that we can restore the legitimacy of the guidance of the Qur’an as our generation understands it and to restore the legacy of the Prophet as the best lawgiver and social builder for all time. This is one of the single most important verses, if not the most important, from social and political perspectives, for Muslims to embrace and to invigorate our collective lethargy on this important driver for change. It is important to reflect on several verses from the Qur’an in this context:
· “There shall be no coercion in matters of practicing your way of life [religion]—the right way has indeed been made distinct from the wrong way. Therefore, whoever rejects the devil [evil faith and practices] and puts his faith in God [truth, justice, and good works] has taken a firm grip on a covenant, which will not break. God is full of Hearing and Knowing” (2:256);
· “God does not change the condition of the people until they change themselves” (13:11); and
· “When they are told, ‘Follow what God has revealed,’ they say, ‘No, we follow only that which we found our forefathers believing in and doing.’ [God’s reply:] ‘Are you following them even if your forefathers had neither proper reasoning nor followed proper guidance?’” (2:170).
It is really important to rethink and reconsider verses in the Qur’an with respect to, for example, gender equality, slavery, polygamy, women’s inheritance, religious plurality, women’s clothing, and the like and apply the spirit of Mutashabihat in understanding the truer meaning and implications rather than blindly accepting the earlier jurists and scholars who, in my opinion, did not get it right all the time, nor are their opinions binding on our generation as the verse 2:170 above amply demonstrates. Each one of us of this generation has to take on personal and collective responsibility to expand and apply the concept and the creativity afforded by God under Mutashabihat (subject to interpretations) using the framework of what is Mohkamat (foundational).
3. Islam as the accepted way of life (3:19–20, 85)
Most of the world’s religions are named after a person, a tribe, or some aspect of the deity that is central to that religion. Christianity is named after Jesus Christ, who to some Christians has taken on a divine being, as in the concept of the Trinity. The Qur’an refers to Christians as Nasara or helper (of Jesus Christ), a group of people who follow the creed and teachings of Jesus. Jesus himself was sent as a Jewish prophet to reform Judaism as it was practiced in his time. Judaism is named after the tribe of Judah (one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites), who were freed by Moses and settled in a new land in and around current-day Palestine. The Qur’an refers to Jews as Yahud, similar to Aramaic Yahud, meaning one of the descendants of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob. In a broader sense, the Qur’an also refers to Jews as the Children of Israel, a reference to the descendant of the biblical prophet Jacob. One of his sons, Joseph (chapter 12: “Yusuf” in the Qur’an), occupies one of the largest narratives of any of the biblical prophets in the Qur’an. Similar norms were applied for naming other ideologies or beliefs such as Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and the like.
Unlike the Torah or the Bible, the Qur’an took the step to finally define the guidance of God that came through centuries of revelations and teachings by prophets, under a system or way of life, and gave it a name—Islam, which comes from a root word meaning peace, something that is whole and holistic without blemish, a self-surrender to or a willing alignment with God and His guidance without reservation, to be at peace with oneself and with the environment, a greeting of peace. Muslim became the name of a person who follows Islam—not in words but in acts, and Salam (Peace) became the universal greeting for those who accept Islam as a way of life. This preponderance of peace as the central theme for this way of life, its rituals, and its interaction with one another within the religions and outside of it is the defining attribute that God wanted to connect to His guidance. This affinity toward peace and godliness is available to anyone who believes in God and does good things and is the essence of what faith should be, as defined in the Qur’an and contained in other books of revelations, notably the Torah and the Bible.
When one looks at the Muslim world and average Muslims, sometimes one does wonder what way of life they are following, just the way many Muslims say the same regarding Christians and Jews. Losing the essence of our faith and creating double standards on how to view ourselves and others is something that continues to create division among people within the same faith and people from different faiths, while our fundamental belief should be that anyone who believes in God and wants to do good for people are following God’s guidance, that is, Islam. When God says that Islam is the acceptable way of life, I do not necessarily think that God is interested in your acknowledgment only or that you have a Muslim name or that you are from Muslim parents, but that you fully understand the guidance, accept wholeheartedly God as your Creator, and accept all prophets of God, including Mohammad, Jesus, Moses, and others as message bearers and truly commit to uphold this guidance in your life to establish a peaceful and just world for all of its inhabitants.
4. False notion of entitlement (3:24–25)
Every religion evolves to create a false sense of entitlement or special favors from God to the exclusion of other religions or followers of other faiths. This is no different than our common psychology where we tend to elevate our individual position versus someone else’s. This is also the same notion of tribal territory or rights to the exclusion of other tribes that existed from time immemorial. This is part of the same human trait to accumulate wealth to the exclusion of others—the phenomena that is creating a huge income and wealth disparity in the world as we see it today.
From a religious perspective, for example, Jewish people feel that they are God’s chosen people just because they are Jewish. Christians feel that only through accepting Jesus Christ as a part of the Godhead can one achieve true salvation, and anyone else would suffer eternal damnation. Many Muslims, especially from the Middle East and certainly the fundamentalists in the Muslim community, feel that unless you are Muslim, you are not good people or entitled to God’s favor. Every religion, especially its clerics, rabbis, and imams, crafts its own narratives to justify its favored positions and does it in the name of the same God that we are all supposed to worship.
God’s guidance is to believe in God alone and to serve all fellow human beings irrespective of a faith label, as God does each and every moment to sustain our lives on this planet. It is our common humanity and our collective sense of responsibility that are the main distinguishing features as God said in the Qur’an: “O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know each other. Surely, the most noble among you is the one who is most responsible to God [and to fellow humans]. God knows, and He is aware” (9:13).
As we go back to history and look back to the time of the emergence of these prophets of God, we do see special attention given to the followers in the scriptures as these revelations came to guide them, and for a certain period, the followers of these prophets had spectacular successes. But all of them also suffered spectacular failure caused by another emerging group or by the previous group against whom they had initially succeeded. These ebbs and flows of successes and failures have nothing to do with God’s special favor or lack thereof, but the human conditions, the laws of nature, and the critical factors that bring success or cause failure. When we have individual and collective commitment to acknowledge God and to do good in society to improve the human condition by gaining knowledge and wisdom, ensuring human equality, establishing justice and freedom of choice, and dedicating resources for common good—these are the recipes that bring success and God’s favor. It is not our name, our superficial religious affiliation, or the land we belong to that bring God’s favor. The way of God is to allow us the freedom to make choices to be good or bad, and the results follow from that, though He will intervene, as He wills at times, to aid good people if they are weak at the moment or to curtail evil people if they are too powerful and abusive. God’s favors come in accordance with our conduct and our intention to do good in this world and not because of any entitlement or favor. There are no justifications for God’s favor in the scripture other than that He aids those who believe and do good.
5. Alliance for goodness (3:28, 118–120)
These verses advised early Muslims as they were creating a new society and a new norm in a world of tribal disunity, social injustice, severe persecution of vulnerable members of the society, and corruption of faith based on superstitious beliefs, laws, and practices that were an affront to human dignity. These early Muslims were eager to form an alliance with Jewish tribes and Christian nations because of a genuine belief that they all believed in the same God and followed the same set of scriptures that reinforce each other to be good people and to support human upliftment from ignorance, injustice, and indignity.
The Prophet of Islam, in his early days of prophethood, sought guidance from Christians such as Waraqa, a cousin of his wife Khadija, who was an informed and practicing Christian. He sent his followers to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to seek protection of the devout Christian king, Negus, from persecution at home and to confirm their common faith in Jesus’s teachings and God’s revelations. Once he moved to Medina, he immediately established treaties for peaceful coexistence with various tribes, especially with the Jewish tribes in and around Medina, a type of collaboration that was unheard of in his time and in his tribal communities and in the existing tribal norms.
Over the next ten years of his prophecy, which were undoubtedly the most productive years of his life and the most formative years for humankind, he encountered serious hostility and continued persecution, not only at individual levels but in armed conflicts, resulting in battles and fights involving larger and larger groups of people and tribes from Medina, his hometown Mecca, and in between. There was a concerted effort to curtail and wipe out the new group of faithful—no different than what Jesus and Moses suffered and what is a common evolutionary path of any new ideology that questions the established norm and disrupts the special-interest groups and power brokers in their contemporary societies. There were also internal disruptions as a group of hypocrites emerged who were creating doubts in the minds of the faithful and aligning themselves with the hostile tribes.
For any group to succeed or any ideology to take root, there has to be a set of core beliefs and values and alignment of collective efforts among its followers. The group has to be open and accessible so that ideas and information exchange do happen with larger groups, but it has to be vigilant also in the face of active opposition and especially when physical safety and safe passages are curtailed by others. It is under these circumstances that the Qur’an advises to be vigilant, to form alliances with like-minded people and groups, and to be ever on guard for the safety and security of the community and the emerging nation. This is not against any specific group, religion, or ideology forever or without due deliberation. We live in a world today where some Muslims use such verses to restrict interactions with other faiths, and it is also used by some people of other faiths to justify their claim that Muslims are not open and are against modernity.
The propaganda machine of fringe groups like ISIS in Iraq and Syria, their heinous crimes against Muslims, Christians, and other groups, and their barrage of baseless claims to entitlement in the community are causes for major concerns for all peace-loving people in the world. Muslims themselves need to deal with this group and have to form an alliance with other people and nations to protect the people who are suffering from such tyranny and coercions. The goal of such an alliance has to be to assist and empower people to decide their own fate rather than impose something from outside or from within. There has to be longer-term commitment to aid in society building once the forces of evil are removed, failing which creates a vacuum that gives rise to fringe groups such as Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, ISIS in Syria and Iraq, IRA in northern Ireland, and FARC fighters in Colombia, to name a few.
We also see the misuse of such guidance by developed nations in the West, where alliances are formed to perpetuate their coercive influence on less developed nations and demonstrate lack of genuine concern about human beings in general and where lives of their citizens are protected with a zeal that ignores the lives of other nations and people. I know we can do better, and each one of us has to do his or her part to restore human dignity and justice in our world for all of us. Those of us who live in a free society and have been educated professionally have a much higher obligation to take on this persistent challenge, since we have a responsibility (act of Taqwa) to propagate and share the blessings of God as we consider ourselves more fortunate in terms of livelihood and education. There is a real danger that we get comfortable with ourselves and become negligent of this fundamental responsibility, which is the basis of God’s final judgment on our lives and our pursuits as human beings.
6. Realities on the Day of Judgment (3:25, 30)
The belief in the Day of Judgment is one of the fundamental tenets of Islamic teaching and one of the realities that are unseen but certainly talked about in multiples instances in the Qur’an and in prophetic traditions. The books of the Torah and the Bible certainly talk about life after death, as well. The Qur’an is very explicit about the Day of Judgment and goes into sufficient details for us to get a sense of what to expect and why it makes sense. The central notion of accountability for our lives and our actions is certainly evident in our daily lives and in our professional lives. We all can attest to its logical placement in our belief system and in the realities of our existential presence on this planet. We are all accountable to each other. Our families, social groups, and institutions are based on defining roles and the associated accountabilities whether explicitly defined or not.
Verse 3:25 asks a very rhetorical question—how will it be when we all come together on the Day of Judgment? This is a day about which we should entertain no doubt and a day when each soul will be given its wages based on meticulous assessment of our efforts, our intent, and the outcome as judged by the Best of Judges, that is, God Himself. Verse 30, on the other hand, reminds us that on that day each soul will find all of its good works and evil works equally present and visible, and one would wish on that day would be to be removed as far as possible from its own evils. Various verses throughout the Qur’an bring out different aspects of the day that most of us remain relatively unconscious about and hence indifferent to. Our contemporary experience and technological advancements already show that it is not that difficult to keep track of all that we do, all that we say, all the places that we have gone to, and all the transactions we have made that are captured electronically and can be collected, analyzed, and presented in a very coherent manner in a relatively short amount of time and in an automated fashion, with limited human intervention. It is certainly easy for God to capture our life’s work and present it to us on the Day of Judgment in the form of an open book that we can read and know that nothing has been left out. Let’s reflect on another verse from Chapter 36: “Surely We [God] bring you back to life after death, and We document what you have done and your whereabouts. All things [pertaining to your lives] are detailed by Us in a clear writing!” (36:12).
On top of that, it is said in the Qur’an that our own bodies—our arms, our hands, and the like—will speak on that day and will speak the truth, if we contest our record as laid in front of us. Certainly life after death and the Day of Judgment are matters unseen except what has been made known through revelations and through conversation with prophets who had limited access to these unseen matters, as much as God had intended for them to know and convey. But there are sufficient details and clarity to get a picture of this day from the Qur’an and some details and reinforcement from the Prophet’s tradition, so we cannot claim on this day that somehow we were unaware of this reality, no matter what part of the world you live in and what faith (or lack thereof) you belong to. The sense of accountability is an innate part of our human construct—the yearning of our soul to connect to its Creator, our sense of justice and fairness, and our sense of human dignity in a world that each of our generations inherits. We are in a constant struggle to shape our lives and our world according to our divine origin, purpose, and aspirations. (For additional comments on the Day of Judgment, please see volume 1, key concepts, chapter 1: Surah Fatiha.)
7. The story of Mary and Jesus (3:35–61, 79)
As we all know, Jesus Christ is a Prophet of God and came to the Jewish people in Nazareth. He came from the family of Amran, who descended from the lineage of Isaac, the second son of Abraham. Prophet Moses also came from the lineage of Isaac. Prophet Mohammad, the last Prophet of God to the human race, came from the lineage of Ishmael, the firstborn of Abraham. Hence, all three great religions of today—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—have roots back to Abraham. According to Islamic tradition, all prophets of God came to propagate the same message of unity of God and unity of human purpose, but the followers of these prophets (especially of Jesus and Moses) divided themselves and created separate religious doctrines and rituals long after the prophets were gone. The Qur’an, which was revealed to Prophet Mohammad, unites all religious doctrines into pure monotheism, simplifies many existing rituals, and provides for a more comprehensive framework for social, political, and family lives as well as spiritual upliftment for all of humanity.
Stories of Jesus and Moses play an important narrative in the Qur’an to confirm that they were prophets of God, and all of them preached the same way of life—the life of a person of faith and the life of a person of goodwill to all of humanity. The Qur’an has provided more details about Mary, mother of Jesus, and Jesus himself that are not available in the Bible itself and dispels many of the misgivings and misinformation about Jesus and his mother, especially in the minds of contemporary Jewish people and also the later-day Christians.
According to these verses, Mary was born to the family of Amran, and her mother was hoping to give birth to a male—as the expectation for a male child was always favored in ancient time and even today. Due to advancements in ultrasound, one can ascertain the sex of the fetus, and unfortunately, many female fetuses are being aborted in disproportionate numbers in countries like India and China even in these days. When Mary’s mother expressed dismay at the birth of Mary, God informed her that her daughter would be superior to any men of her generation, and in a subsequent verse (3:42), God let Mary know that God had chosen her to be above all women in the world. There is an entire surah (chapter 19) named after Mary in the Qur’an, and a number of different surahs touch on Mary and Jesus.
The birth of Jesus without a father is made analogous to the birth of Adam, who was created without a father and a mother (see verse 3:59), and Muslims are asked to accept this fact and not dispute it like Jewish people of his time who accused Mary of unchaste behavior due to giving birth to Jesus in the way it happened. Jesus received prophethood at an early age and primarily dedicated his teaching to remove the corruption of teachings that Moses brought to the Jewish people and to remove the excess rabbis and Jewish priests who were exploiting people for their personal interests and were giving higher priority to preserve their relationship with the Roman rulers than protecting the average Jewish person in their societies. The Qur’an is also very emphatic that Jesus worshipped God and had never, in any form whatsoever, implied that he was the son of God or that people should worship him (3:50–51, 3:79). The Qur’an also disputes the common belief among Jews and Christians that he had died on the cross or was even put on the cross like a common criminal (4:157). Some accounts in the various Bible narratives even show that he survived the death on the cross (Mark 15:25, 44, 46, and 16:4; John 19:14, 19:32–33, and 20:15, 25–28; Luke 24:39–43) and moved to Galilee for safekeeping after surviving the cross, if he was put on the cross at all, as is commonly believed (Matt. 28:10).
8. Bringing all people of revelations together (3:64–71)
It is a fundamental belief of Islamic faith that all prophets were prophets of the same God, worshiped the same God, and conveyed the revelations and messages from the same God. This universal belief in One God, the oneness of the message, the oneness of humanity, and the oneness of purpose are weaved into all the books of revelations and contained in the undertakings by all prophets and people of faith and goodwill. Muslims should take an active role in bringing people together, first within our faith by reconciling peacefully among Sunnis and Shias, for example, if not in terms of some of the nuanced doctrine that we might fail to agree on but agree to live peacefully by focusing on our common belief, the common book (the Qur’an), the common prophet, Mohammad, and the collective obligations to better our lives and our societies.
In a similar fashion, Muslims and people of other faiths (especially Jews and Christians) who share revelations (the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an) that reinforce the same message and same belief system as made very clear in the last book of revelation (the Qur’an) should come together and confirm our common faith and common purpose. This is an undertaking that the millennium generation should pursue as a challenge. We all know that Jesus did not preach a new religion but came to reform the Jews and the Mosaic laws; Moses did not come to preach a new religion but to give the message that Abraham had brought to the world, and Prophet Mohammad was emphatic in recognizing the prophethood of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and other prophets, many of whom are mentioned in the Qur’an and the Old Testament (the Torah) and confirming that Islam is the same religion preached by Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. This is essentially the sentiment expressed in verse 3:64.
To make sense out of our meaningless disagreement regarding our faith, especially among the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, an example is given with regard to Abraham. Abraham is claimed by Jews to be a Jew, by Christians to be a Christian, and by Muslims to be Muslim, whereas, we all know that Abraham was born long before Moses and Jesus and Mohammad. He could not be a Jew, as he did not follow Mosaic laws, but on the contrary, Mosaic laws are derived from and conform to the revelations that came to Abraham and his teaching and provided additional guidance and clarifications. In a similar vein, Abraham did not follow Christian laws, but it was Jesus who followed the teachings of Abraham and Moses and provided additional guidance and clarifications. While Jews and Christians deny such conformity of faith and have over time curved out their respective faith and laws and claim that they have nothing in common, Muslims have always maintained the oneness of the message and the oneness of God and fully accept the legitimacy of the prophethood of Jesus, Moses, and Abraham and named this universal faith Islam (peaceful and willing acceptance of God and goodness in all of us) to remove any attachment to individuals, to tribes, or to any geographic preferences. Islam, in its meaning and in its tenets and through the teaching of the Qur’an and Prophet Mohammad, brings closure on the idea that all faiths (especially the faith of the Abrahamic line of revelations) are the same, and a follower of such a faith is called a Muslim—not as a label but as one who willingly submits to One God and accepts the role of peacemaker on this earth, a role that we all can relate to and can accept. It is in this context that the Qur’an says Abraham was a Muslim, not a Jew or a Christian (3:67).
In our contemporary world, there are Muslims (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and other fringe groups) who are making a mockery of our faith by claiming special privileges from God, denouncing people of other faiths, and killing innocent human beings from various faiths, most of whom happen to be Muslims. There is also a media bias and a tendency to provide selective and faulty narrative to label these people as inspired by Islam. They are not inspired by Islam, despite the shameful claims by these misguided Muslims, and the people of faith from all walks of life need to come to our common faith to worship the same God who created and established us on this planet so that we can create a peaceful coexistence and help each other grow.
While the world is getting caught with shortsighted overreaction to elements like ISIS, there are even greater dangers eating away at our societies, such as random gang- and drug-related violence each day, where many more people are getting killed or living in fear; income disparities that are depriving billions of people from meaningful pursuits of the gift of life; environment degradation and unprecedented increase in toxicity and poor quality of food by our ever-present industrial complex; societal greed and conflicts of interest between Wall Street (financial market owned by the superrich) and Main Street (average citizens providing all the labor, intellectual capital, and common decency to build and maintain our society) around the world; and the rise of corruption and political gamesmanship that do not empower citizens, even in countries with democratically elected (sometimes by questionable means) government.
These are major challenges that will require going back to some basic tenets of human equality and human dignity; providing more even distribution of wealth and natural resources among the world’s population; reevaluating our governance and capital structure, the purpose of our scientific and technical innovations, and the social responsibility of our industrial complexes; and factoring in the true cost (all positive and negative aspects) of our lives’ endeavors, especially endeavors that create visible disharmony in our society, our environment, our food supply, our health, and the safety and security of each and every human being.
9. Community and global leadership (3:104, 110)
These two verses point to attributes and endeavors a society has to undertake to create successful social order and progress and to earn the leadership in the community and among the nations. First and foremost, each community has to have groups of individuals whose primary focus is to
a. encourage and invite people to do what is good for everyone—be it charity, be it acquiring knowledge and wisdom, be it civility and rule of law in society, be it fairness and justice for everyone, be it to have access to capital without undue burden to form businesses and enterprises, and be it to have access to clean energy, clean environment, clean water, and healthy food, and so on so that everyone has the opportunity, the tools, and the empowerment to be successful;
b. actively engage to establish what is right in the society—rightful ownership of property and business; democratic institutions to allow everyone equal opportunity to improve his or her life; justice and fairness to all people in society; rules, regulations, and laws that do not favor one group over another; and empowering each member through education, safety, and good health, and through political and social norms, financial systems, and capital markets that facilitate unconstrained pursuit of life, freedom, and pursuit of fulfilment without constraint or obstacle, whether material, mental, or spiritual; and
c. an active opposition to all forms of injustice, evil, violence, racial and gender biases, tyranny, and practices of usury and excessive profiteering; financial markets and rules that favor those with capital over those who need capital and provide labor; democratic government and institutions that protect citizens’ rights and do not hinder their rights through income disparities that drive large portions of humanity to live in poverty all over the world, including the developed countries; active opposition to the manufacture and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and so on.
These people have to come from all walks of life—professionals, teachers, social workers, media experts, politicians, industrialists, entrepreneurs, and celebrities. No matter what pursuit we have to sustain our earning and living, a part of our effort has to be dedicated to the above three things through organizations we belong to, organizations that we create with specific objectives (for profit or nonprofit), and institutions that support the above three imperatives. I feel that, in order of priorities, each society should ensure the following:
a. Provide education to all, and make this a societal, national, and global priority—anyone who wants to be educated and who can be inspired to be educated should have access to good education. Each one of us has to advance the cause of education for ourselves and other individuals, in whatever way we can do and support. A simple test would be what part of our budget goes to education versus other priorities, again at the personal, national, and global levels. How do we measure education—to what extent does it contribute to better life (physical, material, mental, and spiritual), better society, and better environment (human as well as natural)? The first word of revelation in the Qur’an is read (Iqra) and to gain knowledge beyond what we know today: “Read in the name of God who created…Read and your God is the most Generous—Who taught the use of pen; taught mankind what they did not know” (96:1–5). In another place God said when He wishes to impart His blessing, He gives knowledge and wisdom.
It is no surprise that the United States has more universities than the rest of the world combined and has shown more commitment to education and knowledge than any other country that I know of. It is also very unfortunate that Muslims, who had a long and rich history of knowledge gathering, dissemination, and creativity in science, mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, religious science, and the like for over one thousand years until the sixteenth century and have inspired generations of people all over the world, have become the least educated group with very little national and personal commitment to education. American Muslims and educated Muslims all over the world have a moral and faith-driven responsibility to bring Muslims out of this intellectual poverty, which will also lead to material prosperity, and once again Muslims will realize the essence of God’s call for knowledge, which is the foundation of human creation, as God said: “And He [God] taught Adam names [knowledge], all of it” (2:31).
b. Good healthcare and reasonable housing should be ensured for all families, irrespective of their social and income condition. Unless we can master the resources and the societal will through individual commitment, shared resources, fair and equitable income taxes, and business enterprises that provide living wages to those who provide labor so that items one and two can be successfully implemented, we will not create a level playing field for all citizens and we will fail as a human species—no matter how successful and materially advanced a segment of the human race might be.
c. Institutionalize freedom of expression, movement, and opportunities by building democratic institutions and social foundations based on democratic representations so that each person has an equal voice, irrespective of social status, wealth, race, gender, and ethnicity. Unless we can ensure this framework as a working model and constantly stay vigilant against any attempt to corrupt the system, we will fail to reach our human potential. Though the United States is the best living model of a democratic nation ever created, we already see how our democratic values are being eroded through campaign financing that favors the rich over the poor, the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street, the inability to balance our budget, jealous overreaction to global events and spending trillions of dollars in global antiterrorism fights without finding and addressing root causes in basic human terms, the richest nation on earth allowing a third of its citizens to live in poverty and supporting autocratic rules and tyrants around the world while advocating democratic values, and so forth. US Muslims have a major responsibility to add to the voice of goodness in our country and to inspire people of faith all over the world and the Muslims, in particular, to change their societies where they live.
d. Actively and widely distributed grassroots and institutional efforts to remove all evils in society—racism, gender inequality, sexual exploitation of women and minors, social disparity in income and wealth, gang violence and homicide, drug and alcohol abuse, wide practice of monopoly and oligopoly in business pursuits, negating the essence of a free market and costing consumers billions of dollars in disposable income that goes to the coffers of the rich, shrinking of middle-income families in a society, special-interest groups that steal elections away from people and compromise the very foundation of democracy by the people, of the people, and for the people—there is a grave danger that such reality is eroding in democratic and developed nations and failing to take roots in other developing and poor countries for the same reasons.
People of faith and goodwill have a special responsibility to feel empowered and obligated at the same time to respond to this call in the books of revelation (the Qur’an, the Bible, the Torah, and other books). It is a responsibility that we cannot shrug off and say someone else should do this. It is an individual as well as a collective responsibility, and the success of a community, a nation, and the world depends on this.
10. Sense of unity (3:102–103)
A sense of unity in purpose, vision, and priorities is fundamental to successful progress at all levels of human endeavor—personal, professional, familial, societal, and global. We are social, economic, and spiritual beings; we have the innate desire to connect with one another, we strive for economic well-being and independence, and we strive to be bigger than ourselves and to connect with the Creator who encompasses everything—all of us, our existence, and our universe.
God calls for unity of faith and unity of purpose for the human race—each one of us as a person of faith should connect to others with faith and build communities that unite in a common purpose of human dignity for each and every human being, continued and unfettered progress in human potential for everyone, and human bonds between communities that might differ in color, in ethnicity, in faith elements, and in ideological difference by finding common grounds that are rooted in shared human values, again of dignity and continued and unfettered human progress.
This sense of unity has to come from our sense of accountability and responsibility to God and to fellow human beings; a sense that we are bound by the same set of rules of engagement with one another and by the same yardstick for relationship with the Creator, irrespective of our differing faith elements and ideologies that we follow. Each community, nation, or geographic region has gone through periods of unity and disunity in human history, and our progress has been intimately connected with periods of relative unity to allow for knowledge acquisition and sharing and peaceful coexistence for our human potential to flourish, unhindered by disunity, envy, bloodshed, and disruption of daily life. God reminds us that it has been His favor that He united the early Muslims to whom the revelation of the Qur’an came, while previously they were enemies of one another in different tribes and in constant conflicts. Such union is fragile unless one keeps constantly in focus the unity of faith and unity of common human purpose and obligations.
For unity to exist, several key elements have to be in place:
a. Agreement on and commitment to a common purpose of life, its pursuits, and its priorities
b. A sense of equity and fairness to rein supreme in our conduct with one another as individual human beings and as distinct communities and societies (as well as nations on this planet)
c. A set of moral, ethical, societal, and economical rules of engagement and interactions (e.g., human rights and gender equality for each and every human being and rules and regulations that treat each person equally) that favor no one in preference to another
d. A persistent commitment to do what is good and what is right (from a human perspective)
e. An uncompromising stance against all sorts of evil, injustice, and affronts to human dignity. While we strive for these in our own faith community and society, the same set of rules and standards has to be exercised with respect to other faiths and other global communities—any kind of double standard creates resentment and lack of fairness among human beings and is the root cause of discontent and disunity.
11. Lessons from the Battle of Uhud (3:165–169)
The growing community of the faithful, who immigrated along with Prophet Mohammad to the city of Medina, had undergone a series of conflicts with the community of Mecca and those in between. Over a period of ten years, which perhaps is the most significant period of social and political evolution in the history of the human race to date and perhaps forever, a significant part of the Qur’an that provided profound insight into the human condition and promulgated rules and regulations ranging from gender equality, family relations, community unity, intercommunity relations, rules of engagement in human conflict—whether in war or in doctrinal differences—democratic principles and leadership, and social justice and human dignity was revealed. These rules and regulations earned Prophet Mohammad the distinction of being the best lawgiver in the history of humanity and the most influential and accomplished human being by some notable authors and commentators such as, Michael Hart, who wrote The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.
The Battle of Uhud (during the third year of immigration to Medina) was the second major armed conflict the emerging group of faithful faced after the Battle of Badr (in the second year of immigration to Medina), which was the first test for the resolve of the new faithful regarding their faith and reliance on God and commitment to their cause for social equality and justice for all. The Battle of Badr was the first major attempt by the early followers to settle the score with the Meccan tribes who had forced them out of their home, kept all their possessions and lands, and continued to torture and humiliate whoever they could get their hands on from the early converts. The battle was drawn between three hundred lightly armed early followers with a group of one thousand well-armed men from Mecca. The first victory greatly increased their conviction in God, the Prophet, and the just cause they were pursuing and laid the foundation for their onward march to establish themselves first in Arabia and around the world in the next several centuries.
The Battle of Uhud was a mixed success, and some of the verses in this surah dissected the causes and the lessons to be learnt. This conflict served as an early warning and a test for the resolve of the newly faithful in times of success but also in times of failure. Sometimes you need to face failure to create better success in the long run—this is true of any human endeavor in science, business, social, and political pursuits, and it is also true in our spiritual pursuits.
This battle was fought in and around the mountain of Uhud on the outskirts of Medina and was very well planned by the followers of the Prophet, certainly more so than the Battle of Badr, where they were not prepared to engage an army but rather a caravan of traders with merchandise, a relatively easier engagement than they had presumed. There had been a number of minor skirmishes and blockage of the trade routes to frustrate the Meccans and their allies as well as to respond to hostile actions by various individuals and tribes in the vicinity of Medina—all of which led up to the next major battle, the Battle of Uhud, a battle that was initiated by the Meccans coming to Medina and invading the city. Initially, the Muslims were of the opinion to stay in the city and defend it if attacked but later on decided to engage the enemy outside the city and took a strategic position on the higher elevation of Mount Uhud. They placed a group of archers on a strategic high ground to block certain paths by which the enemy could attack from the rear. Several major elements of long-lasting lessons, reflections, and consequences came from this battle:
a. The Prophet duly consulted with his followers from the immigrants (Muhajireens) who followed him from Mecca and the locals of Medina who hosted him (Ansars—helpers as they were known, a name that resonates with the helpers of Jesus in his time) and in due course reversed his earlier decision to stay in the city—a decision made collectively with respect for the opinions of his followers, which showed the respect that had permeated his management style and governance his entire life.
b. A brilliant strategy and battle position was put in place, showing the depth and the details of the battle preparation and the strategy and the leadership capabilities of the Prophet and his close followers. He also always left someone in charge any time he left the city for a potential conflict or an extended journey, thereby showing the democratic notion of leadership and an early sign and practice of succession planning.
c. A group of people known as hypocrites (Munafiqun) were exposed during this difficult decision-making process and subsequent battle preparation, whereby they opted to stay in the city initially because they were not inclined to fight for the cause and later on abandoned the army during its march to the battlefield, causing loss of morale and confusion among people at such a critical junction of history and establishment of the new community and its leadership.
d. Though the Muslims fought valiantly and brilliantly, the critical positions of the archers were compromised when the majority of them left their position at the early signs of victory, despite clear instructions not to do so—in victory or in defeat—exposing a critical route for the enemy to infiltrate and attack the Prophet himself. These archers were too eager for war booty and personal gains, at the expense of neglecting their duty and their commander in chief. It was a critical mistake that cost the Muslims a near defeat, serious injury to the Prophet himself, and a chaotic situation that led to the deaths of a number of very able and important members of the community that was still in its growth phase.
The lessons from the Battle of Uhud are something that we all can learn from. These lessons served the community well in the long run and should continue to motivate us all to pay attention to the events in our lives and in our current existence. Successes and failures are intertwined in life; early success should not lead to too much rejoicing and abandonment of purpose and commitment, while failure should not lead to premature despair and similar abandonment of purpose and commitment. Steadfastness of purpose, patience in all situations, reliance on God and respect of leadership, strong and persistent commitment to truth and justice, attention to details, and sticking with well-thought-out plans and decisions that have been reached and committed to are critical factors that lead to success in the long run, even if there are temporary setbacks and failures. The presence of people who undermine such resolves is ever present, including our own internal state of mind and self-doubts, and we need to stay focused, have faith, and truly believe in the virtue of justice and truth at all cost and in all circumstances.
12. Constancy and persistence (3:139–143, 186, 196, 200)
These are some of the most powerful verses to caution, to inspire, and to relate the underlying social, political, and spiritual dimension when we face difficulties or face hatred from others; lose property, wealth, jobs, or security due to natural or man-made causes; and even encounter death in times of armed conflicts or in peacetime when you least expect such adversity. Each one of us experiences these difficulties in our own ways and in our unique circumstances, and sometimes we share such misfortune as a group during social upheaval and armed conflicts, whether local, regional, or global. Also, such difficulties are not confined to one group or another, but we all share them at different times and under difference circumstances.
In our contemporary history, we know of major loss of life and property during the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition against Jews and Muslims by Christians, colonial abuse against large segments of humanity by Europeans, the large-scale practice of slavery of African Americans in North America, the Holocaust against Jews by Nazi Germany, the cultural revolution in China against innocent farmers, the Bolshevik Revolution and French Revolution against wealthier and abusive power brokers in society, World Wars I and II, Japanese aggression against China and Korea, the Vietnam War causing loss of life and destruction of natural habitat, the dropping of nuclear weapons on Japan that led to indiscriminate and instant killing of innocent human beings, apartheid in South Africa, the loss of homeland in Palestine, the utter destruction of a country like Afghanistan by Russians, and the list goes on.
In addition to these major conflicts, there are ongoing and persistent acts of violence, abuse, and income disparities against innocent people by autocratic leaders, drug dealers, greedy business practices, and social orders that marginalize people based on race, ethnicity, language, gender, and religion. Large groups of human beings today live in substandard environmental and social conditions. Many countries are controlled by autocratic rulers, leaving their people voiceless and vulnerable to arbitrary abuse and humiliation.
These human conditions give rise to terrorism, deep frustration, desperation, and revolution that does not go anywhere without able leadership and conscientious citizenship, which do not develop in such hostile environments where human beings are too poor, too illiterate, lacking any semblance of empowerment to change their conditions.
Against such a backdrop, it is instructive to consider the various verses in the Qur’an, educating, encouraging, and giving solace to the early Muslims who suffered a near defeat in the Battle of Uhud, suffered prolong persecutions from their families and tribes, and were forced to leave their homes, property, and dear ones in Mecca and settle in a new place called Medina. Even here, they were not allowed to live in peace but in constant restriction of their faith and their livelihood and under constant threat of their safety and security from Meccan tribes, the surrounding communities in Medina, and from within their own ranks of hypocrites who were causing dissention, confusion, and loss of morale. These verses can also inspire us all to amend and shape our future by focusing on the key aspects of this guidance as follows:
a. It is important to focus on strong faith in God and a strong belief that acts of righteousness and acts of preserving human dignity will always win in this world despite periodic setbacks and will ultimately provide rewards in the life to come after death. The achievements of Mohammad, Jesus, Moses, Mandela, and the Allied forces in World War II, and the American Civil War, the rising of various nations against colonial rule, and the statehood of Bosnia in the backdrop of ethnic cleansing are some of the examples of such successes.
b. Any acts against human dignity, social justice, life, property, and human freedom create an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to God and to righteousness and a proof to God and to fellow human beings as to who is truly committed to such lofty goals of the upliftment of the human race—such events are ever recurring and follow some cycles due to our lack of persistency and constancy and are the natural process of purging those who are evil in favor of those who are good.
c. Overabundance of evil in society, loss of control due to autocratic rules and tyrants, lack of human dignity due to poverty and lack of education, turns of history in favor of one group over another, and worsening environmental conditions are but forms of trials that God brings about (not directly but as a consequence of our own actions or lack thereof); such times are also the time to renew our vow to do what is right and prohibit what is wrong and reaffirm our faith in God and our potential for goodness.
d. In the face of any and all difficulties and adversities, one has to stay focused on the real meaning of life and our purpose—to serve people and to serve God in manners that are ethical and moral and that preserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of fulfilment and never compromise the values and principles that have been taught by prophets of God and by true leaders of the human race in all social and cultural backgrounds.
e. Such commitment and wisdom of action can be achieved if one is patient in adversity, does not lose heart or become overwhelmed with grief, recognizes and empathizes that others have suffered similarly, remains ever conscious of his or her roles and responsibilities as a human being and as a servant of God, recognizes that some level of misfortune is part of life and can be a blessing in retrospect, depending on one’s attitude to such events, and tries one’s best to perform to the best of his or her abilities to excel in such pursuits and to acquire the best means possible and attainable.
f. Adversity is a great teacher for conscientious human beings if we reflect on the underlying causes, take lessons from such events, challenge our resolve in our shared vision for humanity, take control of our lives, and transition from daydreaming and inactivity to action and active pursuit of life, freedom, and fulfilment.
God makes us aware of certain facts in this constant struggle against evil and toward justice—(1) you cannot achieve nearness to God, to justice, and to success in life on this planet and in the afterlife without facing such struggles and without exerting conscientious efforts; (2) God is looking to see demonstrated evidence from us as to who is committed and who acts and who does not, which is an act of purging to elevate one group over another and to deprive the unjust from the blessings of life; (3) these struggles test our character and our resolve in the face of prolonged or imminent danger to life and property, which puts all of our moral, ethical, and fairness stances to the real test; and (4) people of faith and goodwill will face real enmity, hatred, and life-threating struggles caused by those who are evil, who lack faith, and who claim to have faith on the surface but in reality make a mockery of faith and justice. Our understanding and awareness of these underlying facts of life and realities of our existence are key to drive our intentions, actions, and eventual success.
13. Prophet Mohammed as a mortal (3:144–145)
Given the controversy over the nature of Jesus Christ, who was the prophet of God before Mohammad, and the long-established human tendency to elevate prophets, exceptional leaders, and spiritual teachers to some of level of divinity, sainthood, and supernatural being, God took the first opportunity, when the early faithful faced the real possibility that Prophet Mohammad might have been mortally injured during the Battle of Uhud, to establish several basic facts of life and prophethood such as:
a. Each and every human being will face death, and it will come at a time and a place that God had already ordained. Nobody can change that. Nobody knows when he or she will die, where, and in what manner.
b. Prophet Mohammad, as a human being (true of any other leader or people of exceptional capabilities such as Jesus, Saint Paul, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Krishna, and people of lesser stature in the history of humanity), will die as well and will not live forever.
c. Given these basic facts, a person who wants to establish faith and guidance that prophets brought to this world must be prepared to continue that pursuit with equal vigor during the life of the prophet when he is present and after the prophet is gone. This is the challenge for our generation and for any generation—how we continue to assess, adapt, and materially intimate the knowledge, guidance, and wisdom imparted by the prophets and documented in the books of revelations. Some of these books are still with us, the most recent one being the Qur’an.
As a matter of fact, accepting prophets as human beings enables the thought and the possibility that we, too, as human beings can aspire to follow in their footsteps, and despite the same physical, mental, and spiritual challenges they faced, we, too, can overcome those challenges and prove ourselves as worthy human beings. In one of his sayings (the book of tradition), Prophet Mohammad mentioned that even though the world will not have the benefit of another prophet after him, God will still enable people of faith and determination (reformers) to achieve high degrees of spiritual and human leadership similar to (if not equal to) the life-changing leadership that prophets were endowed with. This is very reassuring and should inspire all of us to do our best and to support the best among us in creating and sustaining societies and social orders that benefit and elevate our lives in the way that the Creator guided us through generations of prophets and leaders.
14. The Prophet as a compassionate human being—being gentle, seeking harmony, and governing by mutual consultations (3:159)
We have a crisis of leadership around the world. In the developed world, democratic institutions and practices are on the defensive because of undue influence of special-interest groups and campaign finances that are becoming an ever-larger determinant of who wins or loses rather than public sentiments and citizen aspirations; in addition, party politics predominate as opposed to the interests of the people and the country. The income disparities throughout the world—in developed and underdeveloped countries—are eroding the sense of fairness in our social consciousness and business practices. In third-world countries, widespread corruption in the political systems controls the country and its resources for the benefit of the few, even if the government is elected under the pretense of democracy, not to mention the prevalence of autocratic rulers and political machinery that perpetuate tyranny and oppression. There is also the rise of religious extremism; the distribution of weapons of mass destruction, especially in the underdeveloped countries but supplied by sources in the developed countries; widespread violence against ordinary citizens and erosion of human dignity by political operatives; gang- and drug-related crimes; terrorism and counterterrorism; extremely low wages for employees even by profitable organizations, and so on.
One can hypothesize many reasons why such conditions exist and continue to worsen. Many theories are being advocated by academicians, solutions are discussed by multinational organizations and sovereign governments, ideas are tested by global think tanks, and solutions such as microfinancing are being advanced and put into practice. All of these are necessary and fruitful and show their impacts at one level or another, but until we question our core values and motives as human beings and as human societies, we will continue to fail or fall short of our desired results.
These core values and motives have to do with our sense of who we are as human beings, what obligations we have toward one another, and how we interact with one another. I would like to iterate several simple but fundamental core values and commitments that are critical to bring about and sustain changes to reverse the worsening situation of our race on this planet.
a. First and foremost, we need to fully embrace facts and self-evident truths that are part of our reality. Environmental degradation due to deforestation, industrial practices, and burning of fossil fuels, for example, is a fact, while it is a self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal. Such truth and facts are abundant in our world, but there are too many temptations and narrow interests that deny or distort such realities, leading to solutions that further worsen the situation or efforts that provide partial improvement.
b. Second, everything in nature, including our own evolution and transformation, our propensity to act or procrastinate, the way a plant germinates or conflicts get resolved, and so forth are subject to rules and laws already in place in nature and in human construct, and our ability to play with these natural rules, that is, to speed up or to slow down, is constrained within certain limits. Acceptance of such limitations by being patient and persistent while striving for changes are virtues that need to be cultivated and developed in our culture, in our education systems, and in our spiritual and mental upbringing. Such patience leads to constancy in purpose and intention, allows room for forgiveness and stability of relationships, and restrains temptations for instant gratification or solutions that have not been proven for sustainable improvements.
c. Third, our mutual human interactions and relationships with others and with nature has to be based on empathy, compassion, a genuine sense of mutual obligations, interdependency, and a profound sense of togetherness without excluding anyone or anybody. This happens in a way that is perhaps similar to how each of the body cells and vital organs operates and interacts within our bodies.
d. Fourth, safety, security, and justice for each and every human being in terms of access to education, affordable housing, good health care, and a just and civil society that enables and provides free and unhindered access to all human pursuits for the betterment of individual lives and our collective existence is important for our betterment.
e. Last but not the least, a system of governance based on mutual consultation, giving equal voice to each and every human being, is essential for human progress.
In one single verse, the Qur’an laid out some of the foundations of a great society and great leadership. Throughout history, books of revelations, prophets, and leaders who influenced human minds and human societies have all expounded on the values of mental condition and spiritual predisposition around truth, patience and empathy/compassion. The Qur’an has been very emphatic about these core human values and emphasized these from time to time throughout its revelations over twenty-three years as is evidenced in this particular verse, attesting to the attributes of compassion and empathy in the Prophet as a great signature of his enduring influence on his followers and on the human race.
Another set of verses in chapter 103 (Surah Al-Asr: The Time) and chapter 90 (Surah Al-Balad: The City) points out the other two virtues in the context of our constant propensity to decay and disorganize: “Reflect on the declining part of the day (late afternoon before dusk)—surely man is in a state of constant loss, except those who have faith and do good work; they exhort one another to truth and encourage one another to be patient” (103:1–3) and “interact with one another with true empathy and compassion” (90:17).
In a personal context where personal relationships are at stake, the order in which these virtues have to be applied is as follows: compassion or empathy or forgiveness first, without being judgmental, to diffuse any negative situation or keep the perspective of the other person first; then patience has to see the days during which we bear the pain, feel the negative consequence, and deal with its implications; and lastly, we need to assess, find facts, look for natural laws and the causality for the situation to bring reason, rationale, and underlying truth into the dialogue when everyone is ready for such a dialogue.
In a social context where governance, policy making, or social or community harmony is concerned, one has to reverse the order—facts and truth need to be assessed first to reduce the possibility of over- or underreaction; patience has to be displayed while facts are being gathered, asking for calm and civility, so that peaceful coexistence can be maintained in the situation or during decision making on the policy; and finally, when the decision, policy, or assessment needs to be rendered, compassion, empathy, the overall goal of the community, fairness, forgiveness, and lowering every individual’s burden according to capacity have to be part of the overall equation.
Only through these five essential elements are great civilizations shaped and formed as evidenced from history and our contemporary experience. All people of faith need to take lessons from books of revelations, thought leaders from various generations, and from conscious day-to-day civic leaders who truly believe in these attributes at a personal level and at the level of society they want to build and govern.
15. Conflicts and evils to be expected in this world (3:13–14, 178–180, 186, 188).
Verse 13 draws our attention to two parties who came head-to-head to eliminate one another (a reference to the Battle of Uhud). One group is characterized as having a defensive posture who wish to be left alone so that they can exercise their God-given right to practice their faith in God as they choose to and to advance freedom of conscious for everyone, whereas the other party is drawn toward aggressive posture to coerce people to their ways of life of evil social practices, oppression of women and orphans, slavery, and extreme greed for worldly gains (verse 3:14). These evil people are also arrogant for what God gave them in terms of wealth from trade and commerce and wish even to be praised for what they have not achieved, such as humility and justice (verse 3:188). In the political environment of the 2016 US presidential campaign, US citizens and the global community is given a sample of such conflicts between two leading presidential candidates, while in the backdrop of world stage, armed conflicts and evils against innocent human beings are being carried out by established governments in Syria and Yemen and by groups like ISIS and Boko Haram while the civilized world seems to be at a loss as to what to do.
The fact that God allows such people to exist and persist in such ways of life is not an endorsement of such conducts but a mechanism to confirm their arrogance and evils so that they can eventually be requited for such evils, while at the same time, test and prove the commitment of those who wish to establish truth and justice in societies. The Qur’an even mentions (verse 3:186) that such evils will also be practiced in the name of faith by various groups. We have such evidence during the Crusades and current atrocities by ISIS, to name a few instances. Such conflicts are persistent patterns in every generation of human societies in small or large scale to continually test human beings individually and collectively.
Only human beings can contain such excess by fellow human beings. The recipe for success, which will not be easy and will be constantly tested in very generation, is personal responsibility and consciousness of God, persistent adherence to moral and ethical conducts in all circumstance, patience in the face of extreme adversity, and a generous heart for all human being. Such guidance permeates the narratives in the Qur’an so that we can read, take to heart, and practice these in our societies—an opportunity that God gives us with our limited tenure to live and serve so that we demonstrate our humanity in this life and earn the right to be with God in the afterlife.
16. Nature and life for reflection (3:190–191)
The Qur’an from time to time calls to our attention the daily routines, experiences, and blessings that we take for granted, and we fail to recognize the profound impact these have on our existence and our life experiences and how these convey the inner realities of our purpose. In this first verse, attention is drawn to the construct and arrangement of our planet, Earth, and the surrounding solar system on which we are intimately dependent and are an integral part.
The position of the earth, roughly ninety-three million miles from the sun, puts it at a distance that is the perfect distance for life to evolve and survive. Had Earth been closer by fifty thousand miles or farther by another fifty thousand miles, life would not have formed as we know it. One would wonder if this distance is a pure coincidence or a planned positioning or as Stephen Hawking, in his book The Grand Design, would say, God plays dice, and over billions of planets and solar systems, a number of earthlike planets are reasonably likely to show up. Perhaps that is how God creates things, by putting the natural elements in motion and letting things settle down according to physical laws so that over time, elemental life would appear, given the right conditions and right materials, and then would evolve to more complex forms of life, such as plants, fish, animals, and human beings.
But that does not explain how complex life-forms, such as human beings, develop consciousness, which is vastly different and superior to other animals and life-forms on the earth. We do not know if we will come in contact with life-forms from other planets to see how differently, perhaps, they had evolved and to compare our own evolution and life-forms versus others in different planets.
The rotation of the earth around its axis on a daily basis (as it orbits around the sun) gives rise to seamless alterations of day and night, which creates the cycle of rest and work for us and regulates many of the biological clocks and rhythms in our voluntary and involuntary activities—physical, mental, and spiritual—to be all inclusive, and profoundly affects and provides meanings for the cycle of life and death on this planet. The change of seasons is affected by the overall orbiting of the earth around the sun in a yearly cycle, giving us a glimpse of the way life goes through its own seasons of joy versus sorrow, childhood versus old age, prosperity versus days of need, days of good harvest in summer versus days of scarcity during bitter winter months, the lushness in tropical areas versus the permafrost of the northern and southern tips (poles) of the earth.
The amazing diversity of life-forms on the earth, the genetic makeup of life-forms from the primitive to the most complex human forms, the abundance of air and water, which are two critical elements for life to form and sustain itself, the vast resources embedded on this planet in terms of soil for growing plants, fruits, and grains as food, underground sources of minerals and energy, the movement of wind, the cycle of rain, and the constant rays of sun in a measured way, supporting life and its magnificent diversity, are things that the Qur’an calls for deep and thoughtful reflection, contemplation, and analysis. We are endowed with the knowledge and ability to uncover the inner workings of our world and the free will to make sense of it for our betterment or be tempted to selfishness and the harm of our own existence.
Faith in God is fundamentally about understanding His creation, understanding and appreciating His abundant blessings and grace to all of His creation, developing a sense of purpose and unity among all created beings and nature, being responsible in our means and ways of life on this transient earth to demonstrate our capacity for goodness to everything that we come in contact with and all that we can influence and have stewardship over—fellow humans, animals, trees, nature, and its resources—all being gifts from God. A good steward has to protect, sustain, and put them to use in a responsible manner that benefits all in a fair and equitable manner and to abstain from any kinds of injustice, acts of harm or evil, and selfishness and greed to the exclusion of others. We ought to be awed by the beauty of this world, the magnificence of God’s creation, and the consistency and conformity that exist in the universe and be part of it and not destroy this balance, this harmony, and the unity of purpose and vision. This is a grand challenge of our time, when humanity is faced with too much discord among people on issues such as faith, races, and gender; increasing and appalling income disparities; wide spread environmental pollution; and general lack of consciousness of our own existence and purpose.
As the Qur’an says in this verse, a thoughtful and faithful person will come to the realization that none of what we see and are part of is without purpose and meaning, and we do not want to be like those about whom God said in the Qur’an: “Your overwhelming attention to create material abundance, to greed, and to selfishness [to the exclusion of fairness, justice, and spiritual growth] takes your attention [away from realities, the inner purpose, and your true responsibilities] until you step into the grave [death comes to you]…but you will face the consequence [in this life and in the hereafter] and know for sure the evils [of your actions] with certainty and visual clarity…you will face questioning [from God] about the gift of life” (102:1–8). We cannot afford such situations and outcomes for the human race and for us individually; God’s cautionary messages, forceful reminders, and our own consciousness should guide us to the proper course to save ourselves and our planet.
17. Man and woman entitled to equal reward and equal opportunity (3:195)
As far as I can understand and comprehend from the teachings of the Prophets and from the Qur’an, faith in God is incompatible with gender bias. Evil acts and discrimination against women are one of the many reasons why God questioned, “If you say you are a believer, then your faith indeed bids to evil and shameful acts?” (2:93). In other words, what kind of faith is it that allows such evils? This particular verse (3:195) categorically states that each person, irrespective of gender, is entitled to equal reward for equal work, equal endeavor, and equal motivation. Other verses, such as 4:32 and 4:124, also confirm similar standards and norms.
If one begins to gather evidence of gender-equality statements made in the Qur’an and practices encouraged by early Muslims, one has to wonder why the world in general and many Muslims in particular, especially those who fail to distinguish between Islamic teachings and cultural biases, continue to perpetuate discrimination, violence, and exploitation of women.
“For what crime was she [a female child] buried alive?” (81:9). This was a practice common in Arabia at the time of Prophet Mohammad, not unlike what is still being practiced in terms of disproportionate abortion of female fetuses in many parts of the world. “Women have rights similar to what can be exercised [by men] against them, as goodness demands such rights” (2:228). Such rights in terms of marriage, divorce, children’s custody, and financial well-being were pronounced and encouraged to create a new social norm at a time when women had no rights whatsoever and were treated as property owned by men. While such situations as rights to witness in court and in dispute, to execute financial transactions, and to inherit property by women were not even conceivable in the prevailing societies (2:282, 4:11), they were not only openly encouraged in the Qur’an but specific provisions were made to make them even more clear and to be put into practice. Such provisions were directed to start the process and were not to be frozen in time, which many conservative religious clerics and so-called scholars and past jurists would like us to believe. Let us be reminded of verse 3:7, which keeps the door open for continuous interrogation of such provisions and encourages us to use deep and evolving knowledge and community engagement to further such provisions and social norms.
“Do not exploit or abuse bounties that God has given some of you more abundantly over others. Men shall benefit from what they earn, and women shall benefit from what they earn. Seek from God His bounty, and God is Ever Aware of all things” (4:32).This verse reminds either gender who thinks that God has given him or her abundance in any matter (perceived or real) over the other that he or she should not use such abundance or advantage to exploit or deprive the other, which is evident and is done in so many ways by the religious establishment as well as by secular societies toward women—in religious space and leadership, in educational aspects, to inheritance, in domestic-violence and sexual-abuse cases, in their unfair treatment regarding medical leave for childbirth or lower wages for the same work done, in the prevalence of single parenting by women, and the list goes on.
These verses are some of the examples that convey how Islamic teaching about the rights of women has been, from the beginning, ahead of contemporary societies. It is a shame to see how much we have regressed in recent times in various parts of the Muslim world. Islam is receiving negative coverage due to the conduct of various groups and countries who profess to follow Islamic rule and principles but in reality act contrary to its core tenets of equity, fairness, social justice, personal responsibility, collective consciousness for good, and fight against evil.
Some verses I mentioned are also used by some Muslims and Muslim clerics to justify discrimination against women, which are not only unfounded but also come from cultural biases and male dominance found in almost all cultures, even in current developed societies. It is a challenge that all people of faith and goodwill have to fight more seriously in the coming days and decades to give women the rightful position, dignity, opportunity, and freedom on this planet.
The next chapter is appropriately labeled as “The Women” to recognize the need to clearly identify and declare that women’s issues deserve special attention, and unprecedented steps needed to be taken to start that process of change. Every generation needs to continue that march and bring continued progress in our equality for both genders and not regress to the detriment of our social and human evolution and onward journey.