Pep Talk for the Prophet

 Its clear that the God of the Qu'ran remains adamant in his principles, mercy and bounty for his followers and punishment befitting the sin for non-believers and hypocrites. The monotony of such reassurances of God's power is now broken up by new reassurances to the Prophet of his mission rather than God's presence in creation. This dialogue is the first we see in the Qu'ran of its kind and wasn't present in what we read of Genesis.  The God of the Qu'ran while all powerful is recognizing free will of the Prophet, just as the God of Genesis does of his creations, but chooses to depend on the goodness of his Prophet where the God of genesis binds the chosen messenger in a convenant. I would loosely describe this dialogue as a of pep talk for the Prophet. God recognizes the skepticism in non-believers declaring that "those who do not expect to meet with Us say, 'Bring [us] a different Qu'ran, or change it"(Sura 10:15).  God furthermore goes on to explain to the Prophet how to proselytize to these individuals, literally giving the Prophet a script to work from when dealing with non-believers.  This is a marked change of pace from the Qu'ran's God's policy of strict tolerance or intolerance of non-believers; while it is shortly addressed in this sura "As for those who did evil, each evil deed wll be requited by its equal and humiliation will cover them"(Sura 10:27).  This is the first we see God allowing for potential conversion, in fact encouraging the Prophet to continue proselytizing despite his lack of success. Encouraging him to address these non-believers with the basics of life's essence to raise awareness of his God.  "Say [Prophet], 'Who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Who controls hearing and sight?...who governs everything?' They are sure to say, 'God....Then say, 'So why do you not take heed of Him?" (Sura 10:31).  This is a distinctly different side of God that as readers or posible converts we have yet to be exposed to.  It explicitly expresses God's omniscience; that God has the awareness to recognize skepticism in non-believers. More importantly it shows that despite the "true path" set before each individual by God it is up to each own's free will to look to the true text, the Qu'ran, for guidance and that the Prophet isn't responsible for every individual when he knows of the truth as shown by God himself.

Servitude: The Only Real Option

Servitude: The Only Real Option

 The Qur’an lays out the goal of life to be to make enough credit with God so that when the Day of Judgment comes, a person can receive God’s rewards.  God is shown in two extreme ways: One of being merciful and forgiving, and another as powerful and unremitting. God is the One keeping track of people’s good and bad deeds, and the only guaranteed way to be seen in His favor is by living a God-fearing life of servitude towards Him.

Upon Judgment day, the Qur’an warns that God the all-knowing “…grants His bounty to any of His servants He will” (10:108). Upon this Day of Judgment, only those who are truly worthy will be spared.  “…beware of a Day when no soul can stand in for another… nor will anyone be helped” (2:123) The God we see on Judgment Day is selective and merciless. This God is a big contrast between the forgiving God who “…would never let your faith go to waste” (2:143), and says “We take it upon Ourself to save the believers” (10:103)

These differing attitudes that God shows can be exemplified by the story in Sura 10:22 of sailors who “…are sailing on ships and rejoicing in the favoring wind.” When waves overtake their vessel, only then do they pray to God, promising to be good if He saves them. God shows his mercy to them but when they get back to shore, “they behave outrageously against all that is right.” God is merciful to those on earth so that they may have more chances to serve him. While God may be merciful in life, or give second chances, He does this only so that people will have more of a chance to serve Him and build credit towards receiving His rewards.

Because God is the final judge, the Qur’an offers no option but for humans to be His servants, if they wish be on His side upon Judgment Day – because he will be merciless upon Judgment Day.

Every Human for Itself

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.

God vs. God

            One of the striking differences that I found in the Qur’an versus Genesis is the nature of God’s power. In Genesis, God’s power is much more passive; he “sees” that his creations are good, implying that his knowledge of their success comes only after their creation (Genesis 1:3). This concept of sight versus knowing contrasts with the omniscient and all-powerful nature of God proposed in the Qur’an. In Sura 35, the capacity of God is specified early stating that, “He adds to creation as he will: God has power over everything” (Qur’an 35:1). God’s attitude towards the people who he destroys in the flood suggests that he feels his creation is a mistake in that he “saw the evil of the human creature was great on the earth and that every scheme of his heart’s devising was only perpetually evil” (Genesis 6:5). If this God were to be the same, all-knowing entity found in the Qur’an, he would not make the mistake of creating evil throughout the world. In contrast, the “One who is all wise, all knowing” never falters and makes no mistakes (Qur’an 27:6). I felt that this juxtaposition of the roles of God in each plays a large part in the interpretation of each religious text. The ambiguity of God’s role in Genesis allows for interpretation by the believers, while the straightforward God set forth in the Qur’an leaves no room for elucidation, or distortion, by its followers.

            Another significant difference in the texts is the relationship between God and Adam. Genesis addresses the betrayal of Adam and Eve in a retributive manner, cursing and ousting them from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-16). In this version of the story, there is a serious punishment for violating the rules of God. In the Qur’an, “the Lord brought [Adam] close, accepted his repentance, and guided him,” which shows the differing relationship of God and his creation (Qur’an 20:122). Unlike in Genesis, the God of the Qur’an seems to be more forgiving of those who admit to their sins.  This also illuminates the differing roles and duties of God throughout the Qur’an and Genesis.

Differences in the Stories from the Qur'an and Genesis

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Although the creation story of the Qur’an is supposed to be derived from the Genesis, it is actually very different. Firstly, verse 2:35 from the Qur’an states, “Adam, live with your wife in this garden. Both of you eat freely there as you will, but do not go near this tree, or you will both become wrongdoers.” However, in Genesis 2 God sets his human in the Garden of Eden and tells him “From every fruit of the garden you may surely eat. But from the tree of knowledge, good and evil, you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you are doomed to die” (2:16-17) and then goes on to make a woman that the human names Eve. In the Qur’an story Adam and his already created wife are able to live in a garden where they can freely eat, and they are told not to approach a tree or else the will become “wrongdoers.” The story of the Qur'an differs greatly in that Eve, or as labeled in the Qur’an Adam’s wife, entered the garden with Adam and therefore is able to hear God’s message (which is also different in each narration). In particular, I noted that in the Qur’an God says not to go near a certain tree, which is similar to what Eve explains to the serpent in Genesis 3 even though Eve does not repeat the exact command that God gave. Another point I found interesting was that the Qur’an directly states that Satan “lured them [Adam and his wife] with lies”(7:22) telling them that they will become angels or immortal. Where as in Genesis the serpent just says to Eve that their eyes will be opened and they will become like god in knowing good and evil. I find that these differences completely change the story from Genesis to a distinct one from the Qur’an.

The Qur'an: The New and Improved Bible?

The writer of the Qur’an amends and adds to certain sections of the first six chapters of Genesis to make Islam more appealing to Christians and Jews.

            The writer of the Qur’an knew it would be difficult for non-believers to convert to Islam. As we talked about in class, the repetition of God’s all-powerful and all-knowing nature shows this. Countless times, the Qur’an speaks of God as “ha[ving] knowledge of all things” (Sura 2:29). In order to make those of a Judeo-Christian background more comfortable with Islam, the Qur’an stresses the similarities between itself and Genesis. For example, in Sura 2 verse 117, the author writes “He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees something, He says only, ‘Be,’ and it is.” This directly mirrors Genesis 1 verse 3 where the author writes, “God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” The writer of the Qur’an purposefully shows this similarity so Jews and Christians would be more comfortable should they convert.

However, it is also clear that the Qur’an makes amendments to the Bible. The biggest amendment in the reading was the inclusion of Iblis. In the Qur’an, God has a conversation with Iblis in the garden in which God says “‘Get out! You are disgraced and banished!” This shows that God knows there is evil lurking in the garden, which is not the case in Genesis. The Satan figure in Genesis is the serpent, who “was [the] most cunning of all the beasts of the field,” but who God does not label as evil (Genesis 3:1). There are two possible reasons for the inclusion of Iblis. Firstly, Christians would be familiar with and could easily acclimate to Satan, and they may already see the serpent as an incarnation of Satan. Another reason is that the writer uses Satan to help God look more forgiving and righteous by comparison. The God of Genesis takes responsibility for both the good and bad he causes. He is the one in the sixth chapter who sets out to destroy humankind with a flood. However, the Qur’an reminds the reader of all the good things God has made like “the sky that He buil[t], raising it high and perfecting it...and the earth, too, He spread out...for you and your animals to enjoy” (Sura 79:27-32). This is in direct juxtaposition to Iblis who God warns not to let “seduce you, as he did your parents, causing them to leave the Garden” (Sura 7:27). The use of Iblis allows the God of the Qur’an to look more merciful than the Judeo-Christian God. This, in addition to the Christian’s familiarity with Satan, contributes to making Islam more appealing to Jews and Christians.

The Use of Fear as Motivation for Belief

One thing that I found particularly interesting about the Second Sura in the Qur’an was the use of fear to scare people away from being non-believers.  Throughout this section claims are made about the horrors that await the non-believers; “The disbelievers have ended up with wrath upon wrath, and a humiliating torment awaits them (11).”  These claims of pain and suffering awaiting the non-believers continue over and over again.   Also promises are made to those who believe that they will be rewarded.  I find it strange that one should be influenced to believe based on the fear of what happens if one does not believe.   I do not think that a person is necessarily good if they are influenced by the fear of not believing or the appeasement of believing.  What is so important about believing? Is one necessarily evil just because they are not a believer?  It seems strange to me that this notion of believing or not is what determines your overall goodness.   I think that one can be a moral person without believing.   The Qur’an almost appears to say that a person cannot be good without the motivation that comes from knowing that those who are good are rewarded in the afterlife.  It seems to me that a person is capable of being moral for the sake of being moral.   Having perks for being good appears to add some sort of falseness to its meaning.    Not being awarded for your morality or having no reason for being good except for the happiness of others, seems to be much more admirable.   Moreover, the use of fear and appeasement in the Qur’an to persuade people to be believers appears to take away meaning from the essence of being good.  Due to this, acts of good are motivated by selfish reasons instead of selfless reasons.  

Non-Discrimination in the Qur'an

Although God in the Qur’an frequently condemns nonbelievers, such as polytheists or atheists, to torment in the Fire, He accepts Jews and Christians. The Qur’an is the primary text of Islamic worship, but it does not discriminate against “The [Muslim] believers,” Jews, Christians, etc., because they all “believe in God and the Last Day and do good” (2:62). From the Qur’an’s perspective, as long as one believes in the “one true” god and does not do wrong, God will guide him/her to the Garden, regardless of which religion s/he follows. Christians and Jews have no problem going to the same Garden because, as the Qur’an states, “they both read the Scripture…, follow it as it deserves,” and “truly believe in it” (2:113, 2:120). Again, as long as a Jew or Christian is a steadfast believer who does good, God in the Qur’an approves of him/her. Though Christianity and Judaism primarily follow Jesus and Abraham respectively instead of Muhammed, God “[makes] no distinction between any of [the prophets]” because each received the truth directly from God, so each religion “devotes [itself] to Him” (2:136). God in the Qur’an makes no distinction because there is nothing to distinct. Each religion follows a different prophet, each prophet is a godsend, each is preaching God’s truth. God directs the Prophet to ask “’How can you argue with us about God when He is our Lord and your Lord?’” to a dissenting Jew or Christian (2:139). The answer is that the Jew or Christian cannot argue except over which exact practices of prayer are better than the other. God addresses these minute differences in religious practice with the promise that He “will judge between them of the Day of Resurrection,” whether a Jew or a Christian did enough good within their own religion to enter the Garden (2:113). Again, different religious practices are practically irrelevant, as long as a Muslim believes in the “one true” God and does good. The Qur’an states though “Each [religion] has its own direction to which it turns…God will bring [all followers] together” on the Day of Judgment (2:155). God in the Qur’an looks upon all His followers with favor as long as their belief is steadfast and they do good. God does not discriminate between followers of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity because they follow the same God and the same principles. Regardless these points, why do these three religions seem to constantly fight?

Intentions Vs. Actions

Something that stood out to me when reading Sura 2 was the amount of leeway allowed in the practices God prescribes to honor him. Though it may be required that a believer “Complete the pilgrimages, major and minor, for the sake of God”(2:196), there are accommodations made for those who are “ill or has an ailment of the scalp”(2:196). Even if a believer was simply “wishing to take a break between the minor pilgrimage and the major one”(2:196) they could do so provided they showed their devotion through “offering what he can afford”(2:196) as a sacrifice. Even those who could not offer material sacrifice could “fast for… ten days in all”(2:196) to make up for it. This flexibility extends to other practices as well.  For example with the matter of breast feeding a child though the Lord recommends “Mother suckle their children for two whole years”(2:233) there is option to “by mutual consent… wean the child”(2:233) with the further stipulation that the couple “not be blamed, nor will there be any blame if you with to engage a wet nurse, provided you pay… in a fair manner”(2:233). These show the common theme that one can do what is necessary for their own well being and happiness as long as they are “always… mindful of God” (2:196) for “the best provision is to mindful of God”(2:197).

                Such a focus on the intent of a believer’s actions rather than their exact form is in contrast to the strict, procedural, and formalized orders that God gives to the people of Genesis. Noah is told “you shall make the ark… and this I how you shall make it three hundred cubit; the arks length…”(6:15). Similarly Abraham is told, in no uncertain terms, to “Rise, walk about the land through its length and breadth” (13:17) and “take me a three-year-old she-goat and a three-year-old ram and turtle dove and a young pigeon” (15:9-10). These specific demands of God culminate in his request that Abraham sacrifice his own son to prove his loyalty (22:16-18). In Genesis there is a much different picture of a less accommodating God who requires stringent adherence to his instructions accompany mental devotion.

Genesis and the Qur'an

Within the assigned segments of reading, there are marked differences between the God of the Qur'an and the God of Genesis, as well as the texts themselves and how they interact with themselves. 

Whereas Genesis attempts to portray God and all that happens within the text from the point of view of a silent observer, the Qur'an is very emphatic of the fact that it is from the point of view of a human (Prophet) receiving directions from his God. The God of Genesis demands little of humankind, and gives little guidance other than requiring them to hold to the covenant. On the other hand, the God of the Qur’an "sent verses down to you [people] clarifying the right path" (Suras 24:34). He is very clear as to how one should enter houses, treat unbelievers, and even how to dress. (Suras 24:27, 24:31, 24:60) Apart from being more precise in his commandments, the god of the Qur’an is also very clearly omniscient (as is repeated many times throughout the reading) – “God knows everything you do openly and everything you conceal.” (Suras 24:29) This is a sharp change from Genesis, wherein God actually goes both into Eden and into Sodom, looking for humans. This clearly displays that he is not omniscient – if he were, he would not have had to “check” Sodom for the ten noble souls that would have saved the city, nor would he have had to call to Adam to find where Adam was within the Garden.

The Qur’an is also specific about its own origin. Where Genesis is presented as the narrative of an unfolding story, the Qur’an is very clear in that it itself exists, even about the time during which it was revealed to humanity, “in the month of Ramadan” (Suras 2:185). The Qur’an also recognizes the fact that some could consider it false, saying “if [the Qur’an] had been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it.” (4:82). This quote is speaking about those simple folk that can “barely understand what they are told” (4:78), showing that, compared to God, all of us are easily misled. There is no comparable awareness of self in Genesis. It is presented as a simple truth-filled story that has been passed on. 

Purpose and Clarity in the Qur'an

In The Qur’an purpose and clarity of words are important. The Qur’an is referred to itself in the text and this demonstrates the awareness and clear purpose of the writer. The book is defined and has a laid out purpose. The clarity of the Qur’an is also an important aspect of the text. The clarity of the writing helps to eliminate different interpretations. The text lays out things that are right and wrong and talks about everything deemed important for people to know. The clarity and precise purpose of the text are important because they leave little to ambiguous interpretation. They add significance to the text and make it easier for people to understand and follow the text.

First, I argue that the well defined purpose of the Qur’an adds weight to the text and makes it easier for believers to understand and follow. It is stated, “The Qur’an was revealed for guidance of mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong” (2:185). This purpose of the text written out makes known the goal of the Qur’an. As a reader, being told that the goal of the text is to guide and distinguish between right and wrong, it makes it easier to keep this in mind as this is illustrated throughout the text. Also, it is helpful that the author of the Qur’an is aware of what he is writing by referring to it as the “The Qur’an” in the text. By acknowledging the text they are writing, the writer can directly address issues such as purpose of the text, meaning, and more.

Next, I argue that the use of clarifying words in the Qur’an eases the reading of the text and make a great range of interpretation less probable therefore making the text easier to follow. It is stated, “It [the Qur’an] is a confirmation of what was revealed before it and an explanation of the Scripture. Let there be no doubt about it, it is from the Lord of the Worlds.” (10:37) In this section the words “Let there be no doubt” help us to know that the next thing said is absolutely true. So we know absolutely that the Qur’an is from the Lord of the Worlds. Another example of an instance with clear writing is, “We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything between them without a true purpose” (15:85). This is a informative statement that is not veiling the issue behind fancy words. The fact that the heaven and earth were created with a purpose is laid right before us. We do not have to guess because we are told it is so. This same type of writing is used throughout the book. The things we need to know are laid out clearly.

The defined purpose and clarity of the text are important because they add weight to the Qur’an’s writing and make it easier to follow. For a believer, this is important because they must follow what is written in the Qur’an and if it is not clear and purposeful than this can become difficult to truly do what is God’s will.