Therefore, the entity God can be seen as dead in so much of the identity or character God no longer exists, but is still there in the universe. . A two-page chronology marks key events from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in 570 up to Al-Qaedas attack on New York and Washington in 2001 (pp. Your Spirit mixed with my Spirit little by little, he wrote of God in his Diwan, by turns, through reunions and abandons. For some, Muhammads actions in Medina serve as the model for Muslim-Jewish relations; for others, they demonstrate the insurmountable conflict that has always existed, and will always exist, between the two sons of Abraham. 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. Holy war was not a term used by Muslim conquerors, and it is in no way a proper definition of the word, [] pluralism implies religious tolerance, not unchecked religious freedom., The Perfect Man is he for whom individuality is merely an external form, but whose inward reality conforms to the universe itself. Tenets of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity mingled with native paganism, and this amorphous mix congealed into a kind of henotheism, where tribes acknowledged a panoply of gods but reserved their highest respect for one or another particular god. shahada. . The Islamic Reformation is already here. On the other, we have an author so blinded by personal bias that I routinely had to put the book down and walk away. Respond with despotism, and it becomes the sole voice of opposition. Of course, such a process takes time. Someone recommended this book and it turned out to be a great choice. Sunni and Shiites had always been merely exotic names but for the first time I could understand why these groups might despise each other all these centuries later. For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. It has been translated into 13 languages. Aslans own account of Muhammads community indicates that non-Muslim citizens had more limited rights than the Muslims who shaped the ideals and social arrangements of their society. He is the copy of God, in the words of al-Arabis greatest disciple, Abdul Karim al-Jili: he is the mirror in which the divine attributes are perfectly reflected; the medium through which God is made manifest., More than a thousand years before Christ, Zarathustra preached the existence of a heaven and a hell, the idea of a bodily resurrection, the promise of a universal savior who would one day be miraculously born to a young maiden, and the expectation of a final cosmic battle that would take place at the end of time between the angelic forces of good and the demonic forces of evil., It is a shame that this word, myth, which originally signified nothing more than stories of the supernatural, has come to be regarded as synonymous with falsehood, when in fact myths are always true. I want to write two reviews for this book. Its history is better known and better founded. God is Unity: wholly indivisible, entirely unique, and utterly indefinable. There are, of course, many paths to the summit-some better than others. We are fortunate to have accepted the teachings which completely safeguards against associating partners with God. No wonder, then, that when the colonialists were finally expelled from these manufactured states, they left behind not only economic and political turmoil, but deeply divided populations with little common ground on which to construct a national identity., It is pluralism, not secularism, that defines democracy. Al-Tabari recounts how some of these men brought their grievances to Muhammad, asking, How can one give the right of inheritance to women and children, who do not work and do not earn their living? It would be interesting to know whether Aslan would rather live in an Islamic democracy than in a democracy such as we have in the United States today. This set the stage for the emergence of a bona fide monotheism. Among the summaries and analysis available for No god but God, there 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). Philosophy, however, is itself truth; its purpose is merely to express reality through the faculty of human reason., Thus, the Quran promises that all those who believethe Jews, the Sabians, the Christiansanyone who believes in God and the Last Days, and who does good deeds, will have nothing to fear. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). GoodReads community and editorial reviews can be helpful for getting a wide range of opinions on various aspects of the book. As the transcendent Iranian poet, Saadi of Shiraz, wrote, I am a dreamer who is mute, And the people are deaf. This book explains how this can happen to a sensible young man, and gives cause to worry about Americas universities, many of which have been endowed funds by radical Islamic sects to provide programs in Islamic studies. 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. Or: at the end of the show Orel turns out okay somehow and still has his faith despite everything. This website generates no revenue, has no banner ads, and does not collect information to sell to third parties. The Arabian desert was the habitation, geopolitically, of warring tribes, and religiously, of waning pluralism. He is the founder of AslanMedia.com, an online journal for news and entertainment about the Middle East and the world, and co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of BoomGen Studios, the premier entertainment brand for creative content from and about the Greater Middle East. Alarmists warn of the imminent dissolution of civilization, longsuffering multiculturalists call for sharp discrimination between the militant minority and the peace-loving majority within the Muslim community, and others greet Muslim immigration with the expectation that little will change in American culture as a result of the assimilation of Muslims. 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). I am struck by the contrast with Christianity, a historically older tradition. It would seem that for a state to be Islamic in any meaningful sense, it would have to be informed by Islamic religious ideals. Among the summaries and analysis available for No god but God, there are 1 Short Summary and 7 Book Reviews. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam (Reza Aslam), Quran Interpretations of the COVID19 Pandemic, The rainbow, a Sign of Peace in the Bible, A must-read book for anyone who is not only interested in learning more about the world of Islam in the past and nowadays, but also for all those who seek the historical truth of facts through the path of the, Each chapter of the book deals with a specific topic within Islam. Al-Tabari writes that while Muhammads father, Abdallah, was on his way to meet his bride, he was stopped by a strange woman who, seeing a light shining between his eyes, demanded he sleep with her. The four travelers represent humanity in its search for an inner spiritual need it cannot define and which it expresses in different ways. . FreeBookNotes has 2 more books by Reza Aslan, with a total of 3 study guides. Rather, sacred history is like a hallowed tree whose roots dig deep into primordial time and whose branches weave in and out of genuine history with little concern for the boundaries of space and time., [God] has established for you [the Arabs] the same religion enjoined on Noah, on Abraham, on Moses, and on Jesus, the Quran says (42:13)., The single most important factor in the performance of any Muslim ritual is the believers intention, which must be consciously proclaimed before the ritual can begin., The reformation of Christianity was a terrifying process, but it was not, as it has so often been presented, a collision between Protestant reform and Catholic intransigence. Each chapter of the book deals with a specific topic within Islam. Aslan explains the development of Muhammads prophetic consciousness as a series of smaller, indescribable supernatural experiences that climaxed in a final violent encounter with the divine (36). This led to a series of increasingly violent clashes between Muhammad and his entourage and the Quraysh. My research suggests that many genuine progressives have been silenced or marginalized by the exploits of the rabid and the bigoted. Their voice is not yet heard at a level that convinces me of their significant influence, but let us hope their effectiveness continues behind the scenes. The book describes the history of Islam and argues for a liberal interpretation of the religion. Given sentence below refers to a numbered sentence in the passage. quran/iqra. There is no god but God may refer to: The beginning of the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith Tawhid, the Muslim concept of the oneness and uniqueness of God No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, a 2005 book about Islam by Reza Aslan A Bill Kenny song sung by Elvis Presley on the album He Touched Me (album) This would be compelling if 1) he ever returns to this argument in any sustained fashion later in the book and 2) if he understood the Reformation as anything more than a violent religious response to modernity that threw off authority. Do read the book. The four men left Mecca and went their separate ways, preaching the new religion and seeking out others in the same condition. . God presented three conditions and signs. Second, the book is devoted mostly to historical documentation. Sites like SparkNotes with a No god but God study guide or cliff notes. Inshallah. He valued her and she was his advisor, advocate, lover and friend. 320 pages. But returning home after one of his painfully violent revelatory experiences, or after suffering another indignity from the Qurayshhis head covered in dirt, his tunic defiled with bloodand not having Khadija there to wrap him in her cloak and hold him in her arms until the terror subsided must have been an unimaginable sorrow for the Prophet., Yet lost in the debate about Americas true intentions in the Middle East was the fact that large majorities in every Muslim-majority state surveyed told pollsters they wanted to see their countries move toward greater democracy. Very good primer on Islam--it's a thorough and sweeping history and very engaging and well-written. 626 likes, 14 comments - Holistic lifestyle + fitness (@katie.bevington) on Instagram: "I almost lost it today. I would like to know what specific strategies have been developed for this purpose. . Certainly, it contains the moral framework for living a holy and righteous life as a Muslim. No god but God by Reza Aslan Genre: The phrase qawwamuna ala an-nisa can be understood as watch over, protect, support, attend to, look after, or be in charge of women. A democratic state can be established upon any normative moral framework as long as pluralism remains the source of its legitimacy. English, l-nsi il popolo ; i popoli ; le nazioni Read more , The five pillars of Islam (arkn al-Islm ; also Read more , A doxology (Ancient Greek: doxologia, from , doxa, glory Read more , raqiya sky ; firmament ; heaven Read more , Assiah (or Asiyah, also known as Olam Asiyah, Read more , Abrahamic Study Hall 2015-2023 - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - About Us, I just wanted to remind you of a statement that represents the thinking here at ASH (Abrahamic Study Hall): Reza Aslan, with a total of 3 study guides Christianity, a historically older tradition living holy! Study guides holy and righteous life as a Muslim a Muslim can not define which. 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