Chapter 5
In order to understand the interface between English Literature and Islam it is necessary to know something of the basics of the beliefs of the religion to try to achieve a realisation of why there were so many misunderstandings and ‘mysterious irrationalities’ in the relationship. Islam is a religion of toleration, peace and understanding, much maligned in the present day. It is a faith based on three pillars - La Illahah Il Allah – the monotheistic, arguably tautological, creed that there is no God but God. Secondly, Mohammadan Rasul Ullah the fact that Muhammad is the messenger of God, and thirdly the belief expressed in Malik Yaaum al-Deen [Master of the Day of Judgment] that there will be a judgment day when all souls will be tested by Allah and found to be qualified and able to enter Paradise or not.[198] Without these three protestations of faith, it is not possible to claim that one is a Muslim and that he/she believes in Islam.
The monotheistic basis of the religion is rooted in the divine inspiration that was given to the prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel. Prophets do not intercede directly with God but receive their revelations from the spirit world via angels. The concept takes its authority from the Qur’an where it states: "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[199] It is essential to understand that God does not beget anyone, thus explaining the difficulty with the Christian concept of ‘’the only son of God’’. In the sense that we are all the sons [and daughters] of God, this is feasible, but to suggest that God begets a son directly from his oneness is anathema.
It is axiomatic that Muhammad is the messenger of God, as it is he who revealed the holy Qur’an to his followers and to the world. The first of the devotees of this message was his uncle, Abu Talib.[200] As Prophet Muhammad was forty years old on the occasion of the revelations, it was clear that a successor would need to be chosen and the choice, according to the Shi’a tradition, fell to Abu Talib’s son Ali Ibn abu Talib, and to Abu Bakr, following the Sunni sect. There remains a difference, particularly amongst the Wahabbis, and not found in other traditions, whereby the Messenger of God is not supposed to be venerated nor have his tomb designated as a shrine because he is regarded as a human being who lived, died, and had a family and descendents in this world.
On Yaaum al-Deen, judgment day, there will be a last day upon which everybody will be examined by Allah and a decision will be made as to whether the soul may reach Paradise or not. Paradise is reputed to be a place where there will be gardens with rivers flowing beneath and every luxury will be on hand for your delectation and delight. There are a hundred levels of paradise, so the soul will qualify according to the actions on earth which enabled him or her to reach a higher level. On the other hand, Hell is a place where the soul will be condemned to perdition. One will be given boiling liquids to drink and the fires of hell will rage incessantly. It is reported by at-Tirmithi and al-Hakim that the Prophet said to Angel Gabriel:’
Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it. He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he found that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, no one who hears of it will enter it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by lusts. Then He said: Return to it. And he returned to it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it.’[201]
In the five pillars of Islam there are, additionally, other proscriptions that require the payment of the welfare due or ‘poor rate’ - a contribution of two and a half percent of one’s wealth; fasting which takes place during the month of Ramadan; and the pilgrimage to Mecca known as the ‘hajj’ during the month of al Hajj, [202]
Zakat, the welfare due or ‘poor rate’ is a payment that is required from all Muslims payable in the month of Ramadan. It includes any properties, land, gold, silver and jewellery that one possesses from which total a calculation must be made to define the required two and a half percent tax that is enjoined on all Muslims to help the poor and needy, particularly during the month of fasting. ‘Zakat’ is referred to thirty times in the Qur'an. However, it is also often termed the forgotten pillar of Islam, especially in Western Europe, where there has been a growing disconnect between the community of believers and the practical manifestations of a beautiful, spiritual institution.
Saum, which is the rule of fasting, requires the adherents to refrain from eating, drinking and sex between sunrise and sunset. It is observed during the month of Ramadan and expects adults from around age fourteen or puberty to observe a limited fast of about twelve hours depending on their location. In northern hemispheres this might increase to as much as twenty-three hours, in which case many jurists have decreed that the fasting believer should revert to the hours of sunrise to sunset at the capital city of the Muslims –Mecca, Saudi Arabia. What would happen in the case of a Muslim astronaut in space, it may be asked. In such circumstances, the astronaut would be advised to follow the time derived from timetables based on the latitude and longitude of Mecca. Fasting is not expected to be unduly onerous on the fasting person and allows exceptions for the elderly, the infirm and children, nursing mothers, those women who are in their menses and those who are ritually unable to qualify for such activity, meaning someone who is ritually unclean, or perhaps mentally or physically incapable or in special needs.
The pilgrimage, or Hajj is a traditional bulwark of Islam. It was enjoined on the Muslims by Prophet Muhammad, who encouraged believers to make a journey from the place where they reside to the holy Kabbbah in the city of Makkah al Makaramah at least once during their lifetime. The hajj is the largest single gathering of human beings on the face of the planet, numbering many millions. The major pilgrimage, or hajj amatul must take place between the 8th to 12thof Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar, whilst the minor pilgrimage or hajj umrah can be undertaken at any time. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, the year is eleven days shorter than the western calendar and hence moves forward by that amount each year. The pilgrim has to be dressed in seamless garments of cotton cloth, whilst for women covering the face at the scene of the Qibla is prohibited. The rituals of the Hajj include circumambulating seven times around the Kaaba, touching or kissing the meteoric stone, running seven times between Mounts Safa and Marwah to emulate the search for water for the baby Ishmael by his mother, Hagar, and finally stoning the Devil in Mina which is the symbolic act of remitting one’s sins by throwing stones at a pillar set up to represent Satan. Performance of the hajj often means that the pilgrim is feted in his or her community on return and gives rise to much celebrating and feasting.
Essentially, Islam considers the Bible and the Jewish Torah, the first part of the Jewish bible, to be formerly true revelations that did once agree with the Qur'an, but were rewritten over time. Many of the Bible stories about Solomon, Noah, Moses, etc are also in the Islamic tradition. An important story is that of Abraham and Ishmael. The Bible recounts that Abraham’s son, Ishmael, was by the handmaid, Hagar, and Isaac was begat by Sarah much later when Abraham was old. Isaac, as the favored son, became the father of the tribe of the Hebrews, while Ishmael established the Ishmaelites.[203]
According to the Qur'an, Solomon was a king of the land of Israel and the son of David. The Qur'an regards Solomon as a prophet and a divinely-appointed monarch. Solomon was the third king of Israel and, according to tradition, was a wise and just ruler of his country. He was one of the elect of God, and was given many gifts by Allah, including the ability to converse with the animals.
Noah was a prophet of Islam who evaded the flood that enveloped the known world at that time by building an ark made of wood and nails. He took on board animals, birds and insects and they survived the flooding of the earth despite Noah losing his son who remained and would not come aboard, and so was drowned with the infidels. When the water stopped pouring out from all the fissures in the earth and from the sky, calm returned and the sun shone once more. The earth absorbed the water and the ark landed on Mount Judi, which is believed to be in what is now Turkey.
Moses is regarded as a prophet from Egypt who was found in the reeds alongside the river Nile. His mother, Jochebed, had hidden him in the reeds when the Pharaoh ordered all newly born Hebrew males to be killed. The child was found in a woven reed basket, or an ‘ark’ according to the Qur’an, by the Pharaoh’s wife Asiya, not his daughter as in the bible. She convinced Pharaoh to keep him as their son because they did not have any children. Moses persuaded the Israelites to enter Canaan, but they were not willing to fight the Canaanites, fearing that they would be defeated. Moses replied by begging Allah that he and his brother, Aaron, would be separated from the Israelites. Following the Islamic tradition, Moses is interred at Maqam El Nabi Musa in Jericho.
A study of literature in any language is close to Muslim men and women, as well as discussion and conferences where people gather to debate upon cultural, literary, religious and other issues. Islam includes the secular as well as the religious, and therefore a Muslim’s liberal collection of books could and did include works on any subject. Throughout the Islamic world book purchasing took place and private and public (free) libraries were established and flourished, particularly in Muslim Spain; the famous libraries of Ibn-e-Umaid in Muscat and Ali bin-e Yahya bin-e- Munajjim in Qafs, Baghdad[204] and school and public libraries with sections on Islamic jurisprudence (Figh) Medicine, Astronomy, physical and natural sciences, arts and literature were set up everywhere in Muslimdom.
The perennial question in the literature remained ‘’Was Islam spread by the sword?’’ W Montgomery Watt provided the best argument against this notion where he pointed to the number of countries in which Christian and other religions remained in good numbers for centuries after the conquest. He argued that they would surely have been eliminated if it were the case that Islam was only spread by a violent form of jihad. For the first few centuries the majority of the people of those areas retained their Christianity, but slowly they began to convert to Islam, particularly in Andalusia. In Egypt the Coptic Christians remained, and until this day represent a substantial proportion of the population as well as Christians in the North African littoral and Syria, Jordan and in Lebanon, where the existing Christian minority survived against the Druzes, who were in the majority in that country. The argument that Islam penetrated many countries through trading routes is a persuasive one. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population and yet there had never been an invading army to impose Islam on either Indonesia or Malaysia. Truth, logic, justice, and reason were the best components of a religion that was spread intellectually, and as Thomas Carlyle maintained, one first had to get his sword, and where would one get his sword, one was alone in a minority of one before he could start propounding a religion, so to take up the sword would be little use for him.[205]
In the history of world literature, Islam was seen as monotheistic, Christianity was perceived by many as polytheistic (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost). Where Christians were regarded as monogamous, Muslims were portrayed as polygamous zealots whose carnal desires knew no bounds.[206] However, in the First World War, tens of millions of European and American young men lost their lives leaving behind millions of widowed and single women. These women were unable to remarry or find spouses, since there remained literally no men left to marry. Such women were forced into factory, shop and other work in order to survive. After the battles of Badr and Uhud, Muhammad decided that in a period of emergency such as the aftermath of a war, polygamy would be tolerated, thus allowing for the need for food, shelter and sexual gratification.[207]
The position of Muslim women has continued to bedevil the narrative propelled by opponents of Islam. Women have equal rights in Islam according to a close reading of the Qur’an. Muslim women do pray alongside of men, and they continue on equal footing with them in all areas – spiritual, social, economic, political, legal and matrimonial.[208] Women fought alongside the Prophet in early Islam and the Prophet’s wives hold the highest status in Islam among all. Women are endowed with property rights clearly established in Islamic law: as the Qur’an enjoins: "Whatever men earn, they have a share of that and whatever women earn, they have a share in that."[209]
The Qur’an grants the right to own property and wealth and to maintain that in the woman’s name after marriage; the right to vote; and the right to divorce. As Prophet Muhammad decreed:
the most perfect believers are the best in conduct and best of you are those who are best to their wives." "Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. [210]
The position of women and the issue of their rights are safeguarded in Islamic law. The inheritance laws allow for widowed spouses to receive a share of their deceased husband’s property, depending on the number of other brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, cousins and aunts left living. If there is only one daughter or granddaughter (and no other inheriting person) the share for them is calculated as one half, and if there are two or more daughters or granddaughters their share is two thirds. And the Qur’an also details clearly and unambiguously the permitted share of a widower:
And for you there is one-half of what your wives leave behind if there is no child, but if they leave a child then for you there is one-fourth of what they leave behind. [211]
It is a complicated system that allows for the inheritance to be divided equitably among families, with a preference given to male inheritors preserving the male estate and line. A female person who inherits thus, benefits from these laws applying to her family by marriage, by which she will also gain an advantage.
Women dress Islamically by choice, while some do not. The ‘Burqa’ is a full covering favoured by Afghanis under the Taliban. It is claimed as a legitimate, if somewhat overstated, cultural artefact, but by demonising the ‘Burqa’ opponents show to the world a lack of tolerance, a gap in humanity, and also a void in their empathetic qualities. The M.P., Philip Hollobone, a representative of the ‘people’, has declared that he will not interview female constituents wearing the burqa. Yet he would have no objection, it is supposed, to meeting a nudist, a lifeguard or a streaker. The burqa is a garment designed to provide modesty, chastity (can I use this word in a post modern, liberalist setting?) and individual privacy. And yet the above wearers of a kind of uniform wear it without hindrance. Nowhere in the Qur’an does it instruct women to cover their faces, only requesting them to attire themselves modestly. As the Qur’an advises: ‘’And say to the believing women/That they should lower/Their gaze and guard/Their modesty; that they/Should not display their/Beauty and ornaments except/What (must ordinarily) appear/Thereof.[212]
There has been recent progress on women’s family rights in Britain. New social contracts in line with Sharia law mean that, for the first time in a hundred years, a married Muslim couple will now have equal rights. According to a marriage contract sanctioned by leading Islamic non-governmental agencies,[213] a husband will have to waive his right to polygamy, that is normally allowed under Islamic law, in a new contract which has been described as "revolutionary" by certain commentators. It lays out the rights and responsibilities of the husband and wife in Islamic marriage, and emphasises the Qur’anic ideal of marriage as a relationship of mutual love, toleration and kindness. Circumcision of male infants remains a traditional Muslim practice; however there are human rights issues around a subject that has always been controversial, and questions have been raised about its effectiveness in preventing disease. Washing of the private parts of the body is also traditional in Islamic societies, and this leads to the contravention against using the left hand for eating. As the Qur’an endorses in the verse: "Therein are men who love to cleanse themselves;/and Allah loves those who cleanse themselves."[214]
It is unfortunate that a tribal Pakistani culture invades British Muslim thought today. Some mosques have been dominated by a rural backwoods cohort that would attempt to drag British Muslims back to the Dark Ages where a profoundly obscure, patriarchal, anti liberal, anti gender, narrative prevails. Insistence on obscurantist, isolationist and backward-looking ideas that have no relevance to the modern world has brought the present day ‘Ummah’ (the Islamic body) into a severe cultural conflict with the rest of Britain in terms of women’s rights, forced marriages and financial security for women. There needs to be recognition of changes in the Muslim world, including women’s greater public roles in law and commerce, educational achievements, and financial success and this is slowly beginning to happen through bodies such as the Muslim Institute.[215] Muslims in Britain are isolated in a mainstream culture, and the only hope for success is by transforming ourselves from inside the Muslim fold. We need to change attitudes towards women, democracy, justice, marriage, dress codes, religious observances, and much more, before we can become outgoing, less introverted and introspective people with a chip on our shoulder and believe that we can make British Islam a dynamic, innovative and progresssive culture to show to the world.