He segues to this chapter with this brief paragraph: Fourteen hundred years of rabid debate over what it means to be a Muslim; of passionate arguments over the interpretation of the Quran and the application of Islamic law; of trying to reconcile a fractured community through appeals to Divine Unity; of tribal feuds, crusades, and world warsand Islam has finally begun its fifteenth century (248). God is Unity: wholly indivisible, entirely unique, and utterly indefinable. Which is what Aslan seems to do, as well. As an academic, I know how distressingly rare it is to find an writer with strong scholarly chops and an accessible writing voice. Tawhid means that God is Oneness. . God didn't exactly die, god chose to become the universe and ceased being a separate entity. It will not be considered reliable by Islamic Traditionalists, but Aslan makes a plausible case that their narrative is largely mythological. The final word in the verse, adribuhunna, which Fakhry has rendered as beat them, can equally mean turn away from them, go along with them, and, remarkably, even have consensual intercourse with them. If religion is indeed interpretation, then which meaning one chooses to accept and follow depends on what one is trying to extract from the text: if one views the Quran as empowering women, then Alis; if one looks to the Quran to justify violence against women, then Fakhrys.translators of the Quran.. He relies on this in his defense of the early history of Islam and of the peculiarities of Islamic tradition and the challenges of Quranic interpretation. Its history is better known and better founded. He then returned to the men and gave them each a bunch. He doubts the authenticity of the traditional narrative and says only that, we can reasonably conclude that Muhammed was a Meccan and an orphan; that he worked for his uncles caravan from a young age; that this caravan made frequent trips throughout the region and would have encountered Christian, Zoroastrian, and Jewish tribes, all of whom were deeply involved in Arab society; and finally, that he must have been familiar with the religion and ideology of Hanifism, which pervaded Mecca and which very likely set the stage for Muhammeds own movement. The Call of Islam Summary:The shahadah is comprised of two fundamental faith statements in Islam that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This spiritual calling is expressed through auditory calls to prayers or adhan five times a day. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of Reza Aslans No god but God. If you decide to subscribe to our newsletter, it will be a way to stay in touch, without being bothered by frequent emails. Clearly, education and tolerance are essential., Because the concept of the Trinity is not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament (the term was coined by one of the oldest and most formidable church fathers, Tertullian of Carthage, early in the third century C.E. Whereas a religion of many gods posits many myths to describe the human condition, a religion of one god tends to be monomythic; it not only rejects all other gods, it rejects all other explanations for God. Despite these concerns, I recommend Reza Aslans book. This is the final station along the Sufi Way. The Arabian desert was the habitation, geopolitically, of warring tribes, and religiously, of waning pluralism. Sites with a book review or quick commentary on No god but God by Reza Aslan. Islamic Modernists like the Egyptian writer and political philosopher Ali Abd ar-Raziq (d. 1966) pointed to Muhammads community in Medina as proof that Islam advocated the separation of religious and temporal power, while Muslim extremists in Afghanistan and Iran have used the same community to fashion various models of Islamic theocracy. (with Bonus Content) A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity Author: Nabeel Qureshi Publisher: Zondervan ISBN: Category: Religion Page: 319 View: 182 DOWNLOAD NOW BONUS: This eBook includes downloadable videos and a Q&A with Nabeel Qureshi that are not found in the print edition. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam is a 2005 non-fiction book written by Iranian-American Muslim scholar Reza Aslan.The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the religion. This website generates no revenue, has no banner ads, and does not collect information to sell to third parties. But there is no reason to believe that such a term was used to designate a distinct religious movement until several years later or, it may be, until the death of the Prophet., In the Ummah, there was no tradition of veiling until around 627 C.E., when the so-called verse of hijab suddenly descended upon the community. In No god but God, internationally acclaimed scholar Reza Aslan explains Islamthe origins and evolution of the faithin all its beauty and complexity. This tribe, in due course, evolved its own laws of social governance and developed into a religious cult. Men are the support of women [qawwamuna ala an-nisa] as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them). Not that I totally trusted Aslan's account. It is to Arabic what Homer is to Greek, what Chaucer is to English: a snapshot of an evolving language, frozen forever in time, All religions are inextricably bound to the social, spiritual, and cultural milieux from which they arose and in which they developed. All Right Reserved. I want to conclude by recommending another book. Please see the supplementary resources provided below for other helpful content related to this book. BuffaloLib's library catalog tends to include a brief plot synopsis and a collection of selected trade reviews for each entry. From this perspective, Reza Aslan retells the story of Islam. Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day in America, the first I ever truly celebrated in full appreciation because only a few months ago I discovered that I had this eminent mans legacy all backwards. This is an online articlefrom the Christian Research Journal. We believe in God, and in that which has been revealed to us, which is that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismail and Jacob and the tribes [of Israel], as well as that which the Lord revealed to Moses and to Jesus and to all the other Prophets. Come to prosperity, come to prosperity. Inshallah. Intra-Islamic Sectarianism. The four men left Mecca and went their separate ways, preaching the new religion and seeking out others in the same condition. That's why it's so chilling to read about leaders -- the Companions? Aslan is an excellent writer, and the book isn't too academic, but his command of Arabic and, at the same time, comprehensive familiarity with not one but at least three or four different English translations of the Quran (and the misunderstandings that result therefrom) makes this well worth reading. In reality they are one and only one thing.. ), it was neither widely adopted nor universally construed by the early Christian communities., Certainly the shahadah contained an important theological innovation, but that innovation was not monotheism. ASH is a website for cultural outreach, and to unite people who seek goodness and knowledge. Those inclined to believe in miracles may have difficulty with this approach, as he says that it doesn't matter whether miracles happened, but what role such myths play in shaping the beliefs of a particular religious community. Aslan, in Chapter 6, describes a welter of variants of Islam, and intramural disputes that were dramatically polarizing. An individual enters the final stages of the Way when the nafs [Arabic word for self] begins to release its grip on the qalb [the heart], thus allowing the ruh [Spirit]which is present in all humanity, but is cloaked in the veil of the selfto absorb the qalb as though it were a drop of dew plunged into a vast, endless sea. Aslan argues that Muhammad, born in the last half of the sixth century, would have been influenced as a young man by the religious landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia (17). (21). We are informed the Prophet was "indecisive", an "empty vessel", a "hooked nose" Arab, that the Quran *was dictated by* its environment, that the 5 daily prayers are apocryphal, and for that matter the entire hadith corpus should be thrown out the window, etc. Aslan does reassure with the emphatic declaration that an Islamic democracy cannot be a religious state. A religious state would not be a democracy but an oligarchy (most would say, with dread, that it would be a theocracy). This timetable reflects Aslans desire to educate non-Muslim Westerners about Islam in the wake of 9/11. Because of the variability of the Arabic language, both of these translations are grammatically, syntactically, and definitionally correct. shahada. No god but God is a text written by Iranian-American Muslim scholar Reza Aslan. It strikes me that all the various factions of Islam that developed (which Aslan over optimistically describes as conveying a wonderful cultural and spiritual diversity, conveniently ignoring the bloodshed), were all striving to arrive at what Mohammad really meant, the real Islam. Sites like SparkNotes with a No god but God study guide or cliff notes. We are fortunate to have accepted the teachings which completely safeguards against associating partners with God. Alone we can do so little, yet together we can do much. Does he believe that all religions are equally valid? FreeBookNotes has 2 more books by Reza Aslan, with a total of 3 study guides. That verse, however, was addressed not to women in general, but exclusively to Muhammads wives:, But perhaps the most important innovation in the doctrine of jihad was its outright prohibition of all but strictly defensive wars. And finally, when the celebrated Quranic commentator Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi (11491209) interpreted the verse [God] created spouses for you of your own kind so that you may have peace of mind through them (3:21) as proof that women were created like animals and plants and other useful things [and not for] worship and carrying the Divine commands . ________ Reverend William Spooner was famous for a type of funny verbal mistake that became known as a (n) _____ . It offers a sympathetic but critical look at the origin and development of Islam. 626 likes, 14 comments - Holistic lifestyle + fitness (@katie.bevington) on Instagram: "I almost lost it today. . Original Book Summary Overview In "No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam," Reza Aslan condenses fourteen centuries of Islamic history into a neat 336 pages. After a few generations, almost anything could be given the status of hadith if one simply claimed to trace its transmission back to Muhammad. The argument became heated as each man insisted on having what he desired. Muslims believe he created the world in six days and sent prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,. Come to prayer, come to prayer. But the cleansing is inevitable, and the tide of reform cannot be stopped. Aslan says nothing about the boundaries of a legitimate, democratic Islamic state. Respond with despotism, and it becomes the sole voice of opposition. . A fascinating, accessible introduction to Islam from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer FINALIST FOR THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD In No god but God, internationally acclaimed scholar Reza Aslan explains Islamthe origins and evolution of the faithin all its beauty and complexity. This is an online-exclusive Viewpoint from the Christian Research Journal. Of course you may argue that every author has their own belief and whatnot. Among the summaries and analysis available for No god but God, there are 1 Short Summary and 7 Book Reviews. Written in clear prose and filled with memorable stories both personal and traditional, I found my mind and heart easily staying engaged with this book. Myth typically includes miracles, and heroic portrayals of people involved. We are all living in it. Men are in charge of women, because Allah has made some of them excel the others, and because they spend some of their wealth. Having converted, he was gradually radicalized. India was, until recently, governed by partisans of an litist theology of Hindu Awakening (Hindutva) bent on applying an implausible but enormously successful vision of true Hinduism to the state. While both are considered equally valid approaches, the tension between tafsir and tawil is but one of the inevitable consequences of trying to interpret an eternal and uncreated scripture that is nevertheless firmly grounded in a specific historical context., Nor is it surprising that three of the first four leaders of Islam were killed by fellow Muslims, though it is important to recognize that both the rebels who murdered Uthman and the Kharijites who assassinated Ali were, like their spiritual successors among the Jihadists of today, far more concerned with maintaining their personal ideal of Muhammads community than with protecting that community from external enemies.. It is not important whether the stories describing the childhood of Muhammed, Jesus, or David are true. This set the stage for the emergence of a bona fide monotheism. You will have a direct line to ASH, for any questions you have: you will only be one email away from ASH. prophet/messenger. Even presuming the raft of hostile orientalists he draws from represented the most neutral and authoritative of western scholarship on Islam, the author's own tone and framing make it needlessly more odious. Yet regardless of whether one is labeled a Modernist or a Traditionalist, a reformist or a fundamentalist, a feminist or a, must recognize that greater knowledge about Islam is not enough to alter peoples perceptions of Muslims. muslim profession of faith, "there is no god, but god and muhammad is god's messenger." yathrib. Because of the variability of the Arabic language, both of these translations are grammatically, syntactically, and definitionally correct. The fact is that the financial and social advantages of being an Arab Muslim in the eighth and ninth centuries were such that Islam quickly became an lite clique, which a non-Arab could join only through a complex process that involved becoming first the client of an Arab., Because human beings do not have the capacity to attain knowledge of God on their own, the Imam becomes a continuous necessity for all societies and in every era. This converted drying-ground and cemetery will serve as the first masjid, or mosque, of a new kind of community, one so revolutionary that many years later, when Muslim scholars seek to establish a distinctly Islamic calendar, they will begin not with the birth of the Prophet, nor with the onset of Revelation, but with the year Muhammad and his band of Emigrants came to this small federation of villages to start a new society. FreeBookNotes found 8 sites with book summaries or analysis of No god but God. As for women you feel are averse, talk to them suasively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them) and go to bed with them (when they are willing). Too many instances dispute my current knowledge of the prophets life. Your Spirit mixed with my Spirit little by little, he wrote of God in his Diwan, by turns, through reunions and abandons. It concludes with enthusiastic expression of hope for reform in the direction of a democratic Islamic culture, but Aslan offers little reason to believe that this is the likely outcome, to say nothing of its inevitability. His prognostication and current realities are utterly discordant. User-submitted reviews on Amazon often have helpful information about themes, characters, and other relevant topics. Thoughtful Christians need historical perspective to develop a strategy for educating themselves about the opportunities and challenges that have emerged in Islam in recent years. Brenna Clarke Gray, . 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