While the Qur’an values kinship, it makes clear that God judges each person for their own actions, and as such allows individuals to define themselves separate from the family and ethnicity. While in Genesis God promises Abraham that his descendent will form nations and thrive, in the Qur’an He makes clear “‘My pledge does not hold for those who do evil’”(2:124). God’s promises and favor apply only to those who earn them, rather than being a hereditary right. Similarly, when God commands Noah to build the ark in the Qur’an he tells him save his “own family--except those against whom the sentence has already been passed--and those who have believed” (11:40). Noah is unable to save all of his family, as the ties of kinship are not enough to justify their survival. However, Noah is also able to save believers who are not part of his family. These individuals were spared from God’s wrath due to their beliefs, rather than their familial ties. By separating God’s judgement of a person from his judgement of their family, the Qur’an both motivates sincere faith within prophets’ families and inspires believers who are unrelated to the prophets with the chance of redemption.
God’s disregard for ancestral beliefs in the Qur’an is another example of the separation of the individual from the family unit; in this case, the separation is between current generations and their forefathers. The Qur’an makes clear that God wants the worship of all peoples, not just the Children of Israel. God sends a number of Prophets to different peoples telling them to “have no god other than Him” (11:62, 84). By sending Prophets to these different groups God shows his willingness to accept followers regardless of their ethnicity. This is different from Genesis, where God clearly favors Abraham and his offspring over other peoples. After being proselytized, the different ethnic groups God sent prophets to respond by asking the prophet, “‘does your prayer tell you that we should abandon what out forefathers worshipped...?’” (11:87). The prophet’s response to this question is consistently affirmative; God wants all people to worship him, regardless of how their family or ancestors would feel. By separating individuals’ beliefs from those of their ancestors and families, the Qur’an both opens itself up to a wider pool of possible converts and allows people the chance to redefine themselves separate from their original families and communities.
Lachlan makes very interesting points. This whole idea of separating from the familial ties by being accounted for one's actions is throughout the text. In the Qu'ran, it states that God has "destroyed whole generations when they did evil..." (Sura 10:13). Again, it states "God does not wrong people at all-it is they who wrong themselves" (Sura 10:44). I think that the text is amending this concept from the book of Genesis about being in a certain family does not define the individual, but the actions of the individual too. Possibly the text is playing off of how loyal Abraham and others were to the worshiping of God to display the correct actions individuals should be making. Then it is also reinforcing the ideas that Lachlan described as every human for itself, which means it depends on the relationship between the individual and God.
ReplyDeleteLachlan you begin your post saying "the Qur’an values kinship". I thought that kinship was an interesting idea to examine. In the Qur'an though there are examples of where kinship is valued, it seems that a higher relationship with God always takes precedence. A wonderful example of this is with the story of Abraham and his son. With Abraham, God uses his kinship with his son to test him. The son says, "Father, do as you are commanded and, God willing, you will find me steadfast." This plays on the idea that though human kinship is important, it is once again always the higher relationship with God that should come first. Both Abraham and his son accept the idea that God has asked for sacrifice and do not let their tie with each other get in the way.
ReplyDeleteMarlee makes an excellent point about about the Qur'an valuing relations with God above relations with family. An interesting example of this I found in the text was after God drowns Noah's son, He responds to Noah's distress by telling him "he was not one of your family. What he did was not right" (11:46). This quote demonstrates that God can revoke a person’s family. In addition, God is the one who decides who will be a person’s family in the first place, as he “creates life and reproduces it” (27:64). Because he is all-powerful, individuals' relationship with God is more important than their other relationships. God is the one who grants kinship relationships and can dissolve it whenever he chooses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lachlan's assertions and would like to point out some further evidence for God's changing attitudes in the Quran Vs. Genesis. God takes care to separate the misdeeds of earlier generation from the current generation by explicitly promising "you will not be answerable for their deeds" (2:141). Here God makes not only favor and bounty separate from ancestry but also disfavor and wrath an independent balance for each generation.
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