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Unit 4: Christianity and Islam

Unit 4 explores the development of both Christianity and Islam, two of the three primary monotheistic faiths in the world today, as well as their connection to the third, Judaism. This unit will trace the emergence of Christianity during the first centuries of the Roman Empire, highlighting important characters such as John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul of Tarsus. The story begins with the vibrancy of Roman polytheism and its general tolerance towards many different faiths, an important context for the growth of Christianity. Influenced by John the Baptist, Jesus preached a simplified faith based around tolerance, patience, and caring for the downtrodden of society. His closest followers began spreading the idea that Jesus himself was the long awaited Messiah foretold in Judaism, centering this new set of doctrines on him. The various Jewish sects, however, vehemently disagreed with Jesus and his small group of followers, with some believing their actions would only provoke the Romans, who were concerned about references to Jesus as King of the Jews, a notion that undermined the authority of the provincial Roman governor. Eventually Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate and crucified, but days after his burial followers claimed to see Jesus alive and well, marking the beginning of the idea that belief in Jesus and his teachings would result in an everlasting afterlife. Paul of Tarsus, formerly a persecutor of Christians but a convert to Christianity, fervently believed in faith’s ability to defeat death. It was Paul who advocated taking this new set of beliefs to Gentiles, or non-Jews, a process which effectively separated Christianity from Judaism, making it a new religion. Christianity was an innovative faith in that it argued that being good was better than doing good. Other faiths, primarily the polytheistic ones, stressed correctly practiced rituals and offerings as a means of pleasing the gods. Christianity, however, stressed the inner piety and righteousness of each believer, no matter how much good they did outwardly. Persecution by the Romans, although sporadic, continued, forcing Christianity to go underground and practice in secret, which only added to suspicion of Christians. Despite the worries of Rome, Christianity remained a small movement, making up a minute percentage of the Empire’s total population. It wouldn’t be until the 4th century that Christianity would rise to dominance in the Roman world.

Islam emerged much later, in the seventh century, and its early years center around Muhammad, who began seeing visions of a golden book containing God’s wisdom. Prior to Muhammad, Bedouin tribes inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula were polytheistic, and in fact Muhammad’s tribe was responsible for administering a central shrine for the many Arabic gods. Muhammad transmitted his message orally, and it wouldn’t be for many decades before his visions, and the messages they contained, were put down in writing, forming the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. After being expelled from the city of Mecca, Muhammad and his followers returned a few years later and conquered the city, purging it of its polytheistic past and setting the stage for Mecca to become the holiest city on Earth for Muslims, as followers of Islam are known. What happened next is one of the most incredible stories of world history-Islamic armies spread across the land, quickly subduing nearly the entire Middle East, then moving through North Africa and into Spain, while simultaneously proceeding east into modern day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. Unlike Christianity, which took centuries to gain influence, Islam became the dominant faith for a large area of the world in roughly one century, due to the work of Muhammad and his initial successors. In terms of doctrine, Islam is similar to Christianity in that there are messages of peace and kindness mixed with messages of intolerance and violence, resulting in conflicting legacies and opening the door to various interpretations. At Islam’s heart are the Five Pillars-belief in Allah and Muhammad, prayer five times per day, giving to charity, a trip to Mecca, and fasting from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan. Islam also asserts that it, Christianity, and Judaism are related, each one a more perfect version of the first, meaning that in Islam Abraham, Moses, and Jesus all play important roles in the development of belief. Eventually the militarism of early Islam gave way to a version more dedicated to culture and education under the Abbasid Dynasty in the eight and ninth centuries, which are considered Islam’s Golden Age. However, it was during this time that the enduring split between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims occurred, a split that still impacts the world today.

The sources for Unit 4 begin with the well-known Sermon on the Mount from the Holy Bible. Here Jesus preaches a number of the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith, including the idea of turning the other cheek, loving your enemy, and not worrying about what tomorrow will bring. Next up, Source 2 is a set of excerpts from two of Paul of Tarsus’ letters, one from his letter to the Galatians and the other from this letter to the Corinthians. In these letters Paul expresses his view that both Jews and non-Jews should receive the word of Christ, as well as his thoughts on the crucial role of love in the Christian faith. Source 3 is a short video from the Crash Course in World History series that you can find on both Patreon and YouTube. This particular video covers the basic history of the emergence of Islam, providing valuable context on the state of affairs in the Arabian Peninsula during Muhammad’s life as well as delving into the split between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. Source 4 in this unit is from one of the main non-Quranic texts used in Islam, the Sunnah. This selection contains passages on the place of women in Islam, the role of prayer and charity, and Muhammad’s vision of life after death. It’s important to note the many similarities to Christianity seen in the Sunnah as an indication of the connection between the two faiths. Finally for this unit, Source 5 is an excerpt from The Rescuer from Error by Islamic philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. The text is fascinating in its attempt to use reason and logic to legitimate the tenets of faith, and al-Ghazali develops an intriguing argument about the nature of certainty and how it’s possible to doubt both one’s senses and the very reality one believes in. We’ll see these particular arguments crop up again in France during the Early Modern Period.

1. Book of Matthew-Sermon on the Mount

Containing some of the foundational teachings of the Christian faith, the Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous and most quoted sections of the New Testament. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus teaches his followers about prayer, giving to the needy, judgment, love, and the afterlife. The specific selection below contains sections from the Sermon that establish the basic principles of Christianity.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MATT+5-7&version=NIV

Discussion Questions:

1. Summarize exactly who it is that are the blessed from “The Beatitudes”.
2. In the section “Murder” what is just as bad, according to Jesus, and what should one do if they feel this way?
3. What is the point of the “Eye for Eye” section?
4. Why does Jesus tell us to love our enemies?
5. Why should people give to those in need as well as pray in private?
6. Why should people amass spiritual wealth and not material wealth?
7. Why does Jesus say not to worry?
8. Why are we to not judge others?

2. Paul of Tarsus-Letters to the Galatians and Corinthians

Paul, formerly Saul, of Tarsus, is one of the most important figures in Christianity, especially its early development. Originally Paul was a zealous persecutor of Christians, but had an extraordinary conversion experience while on the road to the city of Damascus. After this experience Paul became an advocate and defender of the Christian faith. Seven of Paul’s letters are generally thought to be authentic, while the authorship of the others is under question. The excerpts below come from letters to the Galatians and Corinthians, which are believed to be authentic. The letters contain Paul’s beliefs about the relationship between faith and law and the role of love in the Christian faith.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=GAL+3%3A15-29&version=NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1COR+13%3A1-13&version=NIV

Discussion Questions:

1. According to Paul, what is the relationship between law and faith?
2. What point is Paul making in the final paragraph of his letter to the Galatians?
3. What role does love play in Paul’s interpretation of Christianity?

3. John Green-Crash Course in World History-Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars

The Crash Course in History videos present various historical topics like the French Revolution, the Age of Exploration, and many others. The presenter, John Green, breaks down these topics into 10-12 minute videos covering the basics of the topic. In this video, the beginnings of Islam are discussed, with a look at the Five Pillars, the expansion of Islam, and the split between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What was Arabian society like during Muhammad’s lifetime, and what does this have to do with his religions revelations?
2. Why is Islam referred to as a “radical reforming religion”?
3. What are the two main themes the Qur’an returns to again and again?
4. What does John Green explain about the Hadith in the “Open Letter” segment of the video?
5. What led to the division between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims?

4. The Sunnah

The Sunnah is a compilation of traditions and customs of Islamic culture. Composed of sayings and actions attributed to the prophet Muhammad and his followers that were originally transmitted verbally, the Sunnah is an important foundation of Islamic law. The excerpt below contains passages on women, prayer, government, labor, charity, and other concepts. As you read this compare and contrast the principles of Islamic faith with those of Christianity.

When God created the creation he wrote a book, which is near him upon the sovereign throne; and what is written in it is this: “Verily my compassion overcometh my wrath.”

Say not, if people do good to us, we will do good to them, and if people oppress us, we will oppress them: but resolve that if people do good to you, you will do good to them, and if they oppress you, oppress them not again.

God saith: Whoso does one good act, for him are ten rewards, and I also give more to whomsoever I will; and whoso does ill, its retaliation is equal to it, or else I forgive him; and he who seeketh to approach me one cubit, I will seek to approach him two fathoms; and he who walketh toward me, I will run toward him; and he who cometh before me with the earth full of sins, but joins no partner to me, I will come before him with an equal front of forgiveness.

There are seven people whom God will draw under his own shadow, on that day when there will be no other shadow: one a just king; another, who hath employed himself in devotion from his youth; the third, who fixes his heart on the mosque ’till he return to it; the fourth, two men whose friendship is to please God, whether together or separate; the fifth, a man who remembereth God when he is alone, and weeps; the sixth, a man who is tempted by a rich and beautiful woman, and saith, Verily I fear God; the seventh, a man who hath given alms and concealed it, so that his left hand knoweth not what his right hand doeth.

The most excellent of all actions is to befriend anyone on God’s account, and to be at enmity with whosoever is the enemy of God.

Verily ye are in an age in which if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will be ruined. After this a time will come when he who shall observe one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.

Concerning Prayer

Angels come among you both night and day; then those of the night ascend to heaven, and God asks them how they left his creatures: they say, We left them at prayer, and we found them at prayer.

The rewards for the prayers which are performed by people assembled together are double of those which are said at home.

Ye must not say your prayers at the rising or the setting of the sun: so when a limb of the sun appeareth, leave your prayers until her whole orb is up: and when the sun begins to set, quit your prayers until the whole orb hath disappeared; for, verily she riseth between the two horns of the devil.

No neglect of duty is imputable during sleep; for neglect can only take place when one is awake: therefore, when any of you forget your prayers, say them when ye recollect.

When any one of you goeth to sleep, the devil ties three knots upon his neck; and saith over every knot, “The night is long, sleep.” Therefore, if a servant awake and remember God, it openeth one knot; and if he perform the ablution, it openeth another; and if he say prayers, it openeth the other; and he riseth in the morning in gladness and purity: otherwise he riseth in a lethargic state.

When a Muslim performs the ablution, it washes from his face those faults which he may have cast his eyes upon; and when he washes his hands, it removes the faults they may have committed, and when he washes his feet, it dispels the faults toward which they may have carried him: so that he will rise up in purity from the place of ablution.

Of Charity

When God created the earth it began to shake and tremble; then God created mountains, and put them upon the earth, and the land became firm and fixed; and the angels were astonished at the hardness of the hills, and said, “O God, is there anything of thy creation harder than hills?” and God said, “Yes, water is harder than the hills, because it breaketh them.” Then the angel said, “O Lord, is there anything of thy creation harder than water?” He said, “Yes, wind overcometh water: it does agitate it and put it in motion.” They said, “O our Lord! is there anything of thy creation harder than wind?” He said, “Yes, the children of Adam giving alms: those who give with their right hand, and conceal from their left, overcome all.”

The liberal man is near the pleasure of God and is near paradise, which he shall enter into, and is near the hearts of men as a friend, and he is distant from hell; but the niggard is far from God’s pleasure and from paradise, and far from the hearts of men, and near the fire; and verily a liberal ignorant man is more beloved by God than a niggardly worshiper.

A man’s giving in alms one piece of silver in his lifetime is better for him than giving one hundred when about to die.

Think not that any good act is contemptible, though it be but your brother’s coming to you with an open countenance and good humor.

There is alms for a man’s every joint, every day in which the sun riseth; doing justice between two people is alms; and assisting a man upon his beast, and with his baggage, is alms; and pure words, for which are rewards; and answering a questioner with mildness is alms, and every step which is made toward prayer is alms, and removing that which is an inconvenience to man, such as stones and thorns, is alms.

The people of the Prophet’s house killed a goat, and the Prophet said, “What remaineth of it?” They said, “Nothing but the shoulder; for they have sent the whole to the poor and neighbors, except a shoulder which remaineth.” The Prophet said, “Nay, it is the whole goat that remaineth except its shoulder: that remaineth which they have given away, the rewards of which will be eternal, and what remaineth in the house is fleeting.”

Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captive if he be unjustly bound.

Of Labor and Profit

Verily the best things which ye eat are those which ye earn yourselves or which your children earn.

Verily it is better for one of you to take a rope and bring a bundle of wood upon his back and sell it, in which case God guards his honor, than to beg of people, whether they give him or not; if they do not give him, his reputation suffers and he returns disappointed; and if they give him, it is worse than that, for it layeth him under obligations.

A man came to the Prophet, begging of him something, and the Prophet said, “Have you nothing at home?” He said, “Yes, there is a large carpet, with one part of which I cover myself, and spread the other, and there is a wooden cup in which I drink water.” Then the Prophet said, “Bring me the carpet and the cup.” And the man brought them, and the Prophet took them in his hand, and said, “Who will buy them?” A man said, “I will take them at one silver piece.” He said, “Who will give more?” This he repeated twice or thrice. Another man said, “I will take them for two pieces of silver.” Then the Prophet gave the carpet and cup to that man, and took the two pieces of silver, and gave them to the helper, and said, “Buy food with one of these pieces, and give it to your family, that they may make it their sustenance for a few days; and buy a hatchet with the other piece and bring it to me.” And the man brought it; and the Prophet put a handle to it with his own hands, and then said, “Go, cut wood, and sell it, and let me not see you for fifteen days.” Then the man went cutting wood, and selling it; and he came to the Prophet, when verily he had got ten pieces of silver, and he bought a garment with part of it, and food with part. Then the Prophet said, “This cutting and selling of wood, and making your livelihood by it, is better for you than coming on the day of resurrection with black marks on your face.”

Acts of begging are scratches and wounds by which a man wounds his own face; then he who wishes to guard his face from scratches and wounds must not beg, unless that a man asks from his prince, or in an affair in which there is no remedy.

The Prophet hath cursed ten persons on account of wine: one, the first extractor of the juice of the grape for others; the second, for himself; the third, the drinker of it; the fourth, the bearer of it; the fifth, the person to whom it is brought; the sixth, the waiter; the seventh, the seller of it; the eighth, the eater of its price; the ninth, the buyer of it; the tenth, that person who hath purchased it for another.

Merchants shall be raised up liars on the day of resurrection, except he who abstains from that which is unlawful, and does not swear falsely, but speaketh true in the price of his goods.

The taker of interest and the giver of it, and the writer of its papers and the witness to it, are equal in crime.

The holder of a monopoly is a sinner and offender.

The bringers of grain to the city to sell at a cheap rate gain immense advantage by it, and he who keepeth back grain in order to sell at a high rate is cursed.

He who desireth that God should redeem him from the sorrows and difficulties of the day of resurrection must delay in calling on poor debtors, or forgive the debt in part or whole.

A martyr shall be pardoned every fault but debt.

Whosoever has a thing with which to discharge a debt, and refuseth to do it, it is right to dishonor and punish him.

A bier was brought to the Prophet, to say prayers over it. He said, “Hath he left any debts?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Hath he left anything to discharge them?” They said, “No.” The Prophet said, “Say ye prayers over him; I shall not.”

Give the laborer his wage before his perspiration be dry.

Of Judgments

The first judgment that God will pass on man at the day of resurrection will be for murder.

Whosoever throws himself from the top of a mountain and killeth himself is in hell fire forever; and whosoever killeth himself with iron, his iron shall be in his hand, and he will stab his belly with it in hell fire everlastingly.

No judge must decide between two persons whilst he is angry.

There is no judge who hath decided between men, whether just or unjust, but will come to God’s court on the day of resurrection held by the neck by an angel; and the angel will raise his head toward the heavens and wait for God’s orders; and if God orders to throw him into hell, the angel will do it from a height of forty years’ journey.

Verily there will come on a just judge at the day of resurrection such fear and horror, that he will wish, Would to God that I had not decided between two persons in a trial for a single date.

Of Women and Slaves

The world and all things in it are valuable, but the most valuable thing in the world is a virtuous woman.

I have not left any calamity more hurtful to man than woman.

A Muslim can not obtain (after righteousness) anything better than a well-disposed, beautiful wife: such a wife as, when ordered by her husband to do anything, obeys; and if her husband look at her, is happy; and if her husband swear by her to do a thing, she does it to make his oath true; and if he be absent from her, she wishes him well in her own person by guarding herself from inchastity, and taketh care of his property.

Verily the best of women are those who are content with little.

Admonish your wives with kindness; for women were created out of a crooked rib of Adam, therefore if ye wish to straighten it, ye will break it; and if ye let it alone, it will be always crooked.

Every woman who dieth, and her husband is pleased with her, shall enter into paradise.

That which is lawful but disliked by God is divorce.

A woman may be married by four qualifications: one, on account of her money; another, on account of the nobility of her pedigree; another, on account of her beauty; a fourth, on account of her faith; therefore look out for religious women, but if ye do it from any other consideration, may your hands be rubbed in dirt.

A widow shall not be married until she be consulted; nor shall a virgin be married until her consent be asked, whose consent is by her silence.

When the Prophet was informed that the people of Persia had made the daughter of Chosroes their queen, he said The tribe that constitutes a woman its ruler will not find redemption.

Do not prevent your women from coming to the mosque; but their homes are better for them.

O assembly of women, give alms, although it be of your gold and silver ornaments; for verily ye are mostly of hell on the day of resurrection.

When ye return from a journey and enter your town at night, go not to your houses, so that your wives may have time to comb their disheveled hair.

God has ordained that your brothers should be your slaves: therefore him whom God hath ordained to be the slave of his brother, his brother must give him of the food which he eateth himself, and of the clothes wherewith he clothes himself and not order him to do anything beyond his power, and if he does order such a work, he must himself assist him in doing it.

He who beats his slave without fault, or slaps him in the face, his atonement for this is freeing him.

A man who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into paradise.

Forgive thy servant seventy times a day.

Of Government

Government is a trust from God, and verily government will be at the day of resurrection a cause of inquiry, unless he who hath taken it be worthy of it and have acted justly and done good.

Verily a king is God’s shadow upon the earth; and every one oppressed turneth to him: then when the king doeth justice, for him are rewards and gratitude from his subjects: but, if the king oppresses, on him is his sin, and for the oppressed resignation.

That is the best of men who dislikes power. Beware! ye are all guardians; and ye will be asked about your subjects: then the leader is the guardian of the subject, and he will be asked respecting the subject; and a man is a shepherd to his own family, and will be asked how they behaved, and his conduct to them; and a wife is guardian to her husband’s house and children, and will be interrogated about them; and a slave is a shepherd to his master’s property, and will be asked about it, whether he took good care of it or not.

There is no prince who oppresses the subject and dieth, but God forbids paradise to him.

If a negro slave is appointed to rule over you, hear him, and obey him, though his head should be like a dried grape.

There is no obedience due to sinful commands, nor to any other than what is lawful.

O Prophet of God, if we have princes over us, wanting our rights, and withholding our rights from us, then what do you order us? He said, “Ye must hear them and obey their orders: it is on them to be just and good, and on you to be obedient and submissive.”

He is not strong or powerful who throws people down, but he is strong who withholds himself from anger.

When one of you getteth angry, he must sit down, and if his anger goeth away from sitting, so much the better; if not, let him lie down.

Of the State after Death

To whomsoever God giveth wealth, and he does not perform the charity due from it, his wealth will be made into the shape of a serpent on the day of resurrection, which shall not have any hair upon its head, and this is a sign of its poison and long life, and it hath two black spots upon its eyes, and it will be twisted round his neck like a chain on the day of resurrection; then the serpent will seize the man’s jaw-bones, and will say, “I am thy wealth, the charity for which thou didst not give, and I am thy treasure, from which thou didst not separate any alms.”

The Prophet asked us, “Did any one of you dream?” We said, “No.” He said, “But I did. Two men came to me and took hold of my hands, and carried me to a pure land: and behold, there was a man sitting and another standing: the first had an iron hook in his hand, and was hooking the other in the lip, and split it to the back of the neck, and then did the same with the other lip. While this was doing the first healed, and the man kept on from one lip to the other. I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘Move on,’ and we did so ’till we reached a man sleeping on his back, and another standing at his head with a stone in his hand, with which he was breaking the other’s head, and afterward rolled the stone about and then followed it, and had not yet returned, when the man’s head was healed and well. Then he broke it again, and I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘Walk on’; and we walked, ’till we came to a hole like an oven, with its top narrow and its bottom wide, and fire was burning under it, and there were naked men and women in it; and when the fire burned high the people mounted also, and when the fire subsided they subsided also. Then I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘Move on’; and we went on ’till we came to a river of blood, with a man standing in the middle of it, and another man on the bank, with stones in his hands: and when the man in the river attempted to come out, the other threw stones in his face, and made him return. And I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘Advance’; and we moved forward, ’till we arrived at a green garden, in which was a large tree, and an old man and children sitting on the roots of it, and near it was a man lighting a fire. Then I was carried upon the tree, and put into a house which was in the middle of it—a better house I have never seen: and there were old men, young men, women, and children. After that they brought me out of the house and carried me to the top of the tree, and put me into a better house, where were old men and young men. And I said to my two conductors, ‘Verily ye have shown me a great many things tonight, then inform me of what I have seen.’ They said, ‘Yes: as to the man whom you saw with split lips, he was a liar, and will be treated in that way ’till the day of resurrection; and the person you saw getting his head broken is a man whom God taught the Qur’an, and he did not repeat it in the night, nor practice what is in it by day, and he will be treated as you saw ’till the day of resurrection; and the people you saw in the oven are adulterers; and those you saw in the river are receivers of usury; and the old man you saw under the tree is Abraham; and the children around them are the children of men: and the person who was lighting the fire was Malik, the keeper of hell; and the first house you entered was for the common believers; and as to the second house, it is for the martyrs: and we who conducted you are one of us Gabriel, and the other Michael; then raise up your head’; and I did so, and saw above it as it were a cloud: and they said, ‘That is your dwelling.’ I said, ‘Call it here, that I may enter it’; and they said, ‘Verily your life remaineth, but when you have completed it, you will come into your house.=”

When God created paradise, he said to Gabriel, “Go and look at it”; then Gabriel went and looked at it and at the things which God had prepared for the people of it. After that Gabriel came and said, “O my Lord! I swear by thy glory no one will hear a description of paradise but will be ambitious of entering it.” After that God surrounded paradise with distress and troubles, and said, “O Gabriel, go and look at paradise.” And he went and looked, and then returned and said, “O my Lord, I fear that verily no one will enter it.” And when God created hell fire he said to Gabriel, “Go and take a look at it.” And he went and looked at it, and returned and said, “O my Lord, I swear by thy glory that no one who shall hear a description of hell fire will wish to enter it.” Then God surrounded it with sins, desires, and vices; after that he said to Gabriel, “Go and look at hell fire,” and he went and looked at it, and said, “O my Lord, I swear by thy glory I am afraid that every one will enter hell, because sins are so sweet that there is none but will incline to them.”

If ye knew what I know of the condition of the resurrection and futurity, verily ye would weep much and laugh little.

Then I said, “O messenger of God! shall we perish while the virtuous are among us?” He said, Yes, when the wickedness shall be excessive, verily there will be tribes of my sects that will consider the wearing of silks and drinking liquor lawful, and will listen to the lute: and there will be men with magnificent houses, and their milch-animals will come to them in the evening, full of milk, and a man will come begging a little and they will say, Come to-morrow. Then God will quickly send a punishment upon them, and will change others into the shape of monkeys and swine, unto the day of resurrection.

Verily among the signs of the resurrection will be the taking away of knowledge from among men; and their being in great ignorance and much wickedness and much drinking of liquor, and diminution of men, and there being many women; to such a degree that there will be fifty women to one man, and he will work for a livelihood for the women.

How can I be happy, when Israel hath put the trumpet to his mouth to blow it, leaning his ear toward the true God for orders, and hath already knit his brow, waiting in expectation of orders to blow it?

Citation:

Charles F. Horne, ed., The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, vol. 6 (New York:  Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb, 1917), 14-17, 18-19, 20-22, 23-24, 27-30. Located on the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/stream/SacredBooksAndEarlyLiteratureOfTheEastCharlesHornF.Vol6/Sacred%20Books%20and%20Early%20Literature%20of%20The%20East%20Charles%20Horn%20F.%20Vol%206#page/n27

Discussion Questions:

1. What do the opening paragraphs tell us about Islam’s god Allah?
2. What does this document tell us about prayer in Islam?
3. What does this document tell us about the importance of charity in Islam?
4. What do we learn about work and its role in Islamic life?
5. What were Muhammad’s thoughts on judgment?
6. What does this document tell us about the standing of women in Islam?
7. What do we learn about Islamic views of government?
8. What is the meaning of Muhammad’s dream in the section After Death?
9. Taking this document as a whole, what do we learn about the character of Allah?
10. Do you see any similarities between the concepts here and those in Christianity?  What are those similarities?

5. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali-The Rescuer from Error

Struck with the contradictions which I encountered in endeavoring to disentangle the truth and falsehood of these opinions, I was led to make the following reflection: “The search after truth being the aim which I propose to myself, I ought in the first place to ascertain what are the bases of certitude.” In the next place I recognized that certitude is the clear and complete knowledge of things, such knowledge as leaves no room for doubt nor possibility of error and conjecture, so that there remains no room in the mind for error to find an entrance. In such a case it is necessary that the mind, fortified against all possibility of going astray, should embrace such a strong conviction that, if, for example, any one possessing the power of changing a stone into gold, or a stick into a serpent, should seek to shake the bases of this certitude, it would remain firm and immovable. Suppose, for instance, a man should come and say to me, who am firmly convinced that ten is more than three, “No; on the contrary, three is more than ten, and, to prove it, I change this rod into a serpent,” and supposing that he actually did so, I should remain none the less convinced of the falsity of his assertion, and although his miracle might arouse my astonishment, it would not instill any doubt into my belief.

I then understood that all forms of knowledge which do not unite these conditions (imperviousness to doubt, etc.) do not deserve any confidence, because they are not beyond the reach of doubt, and what is not impregnable to doubt cannot constitute certitude.

I then examined what knowledge I possessed, and discovered that in none of it, with the exception of sense-perceptions and necessary principles, did I enjoy that degree of certitude which I have just described. I then sadly reflected as follows: “We cannot hope to find truth except in matters which carry their evidence in themselves that is to say, in sense-perceptions and necessary principles; we must therefore establish these on a firm basis. Is my absolute confidence in sense-perceptions and on the infallibility of necessary principles analogous to the confidence which I formerly possessed in matters believed on the authority of others? Is it only analogous to the reliance most people place on their organs of vision, or is it rigorously true without admixture of illusion or doubt?”

I then set myself earnestly to examine the notions we derive from the evidence of the senses and from sight in order to see if they could be called in question. The result of a careful examination was that my confidence in them was shaken. Our sight, for instance, perhaps the best practiced of all our senses, observes a shadow, and finding it apparently stationary pronounces it devoid of movement. Observation and experience, however, show subsequently that a shadow moves not suddenly, it is true, but gradually and imperceptibly, so that it is never really motionless.

Again, the eye sees a star and believes it as large as a piece of gold, but mathematical calculations prove, on the contrary, that it is larger than the earth. These notions, and all others which the senses declare true, are subsequently contradicted and convicted of falsity in an irrefragable manner by the verdict of reason.

Then I reflected in myself: “Since I cannot trust to the evidence of my senses, I must rely only on intellectual notions based on fundamental principles, such as the following axioms: “Ten is more than three. Affirmation and negation cannot coexist together. A thing cannot both be created and also existent from eternity, living and annihilated simultaneously, at once necessary and impossible.'” To this the notions I derived from my senses made the following objections: “Who can guarantee you that you can trust to the evidence of reason more than to that of the senses? You believed in our testimony till it was contradicted by the verdict of reason, otherwise you would have continued to believe it to this day. Well, perhaps, there is above reason another judge who, if he appeared, would convict reason of falsehood, just as reason has confuted us. And if such a third arbiter is not yet apparent, it does not follow that he does not exist.”

To this argument I remained some time without reply; a reflection drawn from the phenomena of sleep deepened my doubt. ” Do you not see,” I reflected, ” that while asleep you assume your dreams to be indisputably real? Once awake, you recognize them for what they are baseless chimeras. Who can assure you, then, of the reliability of notions which, when awake, you derive from the senses and from reason? In relation to your present state they may be real; but it is possible also that you may enter upon another state of being which will bear the same relation to your present state as this does to your condition when asleep. In that new sphere you will recognize that the conclusions of reason are only chimeras.”

This possible condition is, perhaps, that which the Sufis call “ecstasy”, that is to say, according to them, a state in which, absorbed in themselves and in the suspension of sense-perceptions, they have visions beyond the reach of intellect. Perhaps also Death is that state, according to that saying of the prince of prophets: “Men are asleep; when they die, they wake.” Our present life in relation to the future is perhaps only a dream, and man, once dead, will see things in direct opposition to those now before his eyes; he will then understand that word of the Koran, “To-day we have removed the veil from thine eyes and thy sight is keen.”

Such thoughts as these threatened to shake my reason, and I sought to find an escape from them. But how? In order to disentangle the knot of this difficulty, a proof was necessary. Now a proof must be based on primary assumptions, and it was precisely these of which I was in doubt. This unhappy state lasted about two months, during which I was, not, it is true, explicitly or by profession, but morally and essentially, a thorough-going skeptic.

God at last deigned to heal me of this mental malady; my mind recovered sanity and equilibrium, the primary assumptions of reason recovered with me all their stringency and force. I owed my deliverance, not to a concatenation of proofs and arguments, but to the light which God caused to penetrate into my heart the light which illuminates the threshold of all knowledge. To suppose that certitude can be only based upon formal arguments is to limit the boundless mercy of God. Someone asked the Prophet the explanation of this passage in the Divine Book: “God opens to Islam the heart of him whom he chooses to direct.” “That is spoken,” replied the Prophet, “of the light which God sheds in the heart.” “And how can man recognize that light?” he was asked. “By his detachment from this world of illusion and by a secret drawing toward the eternal world,” the Prophet replied.

On another occasion he said: “God has created his creatures in darkness, and then has shed upon them his light.” It is by the help of this light that the search for truth must be carried on. As by his mercy this light descends from time to time among men, we must ceaselessly be on the watch for it. This is also corroborated by another saying of the Apostle: “God sends upon you, at certain times, breathings of his grace; be prepared for them.”

My object in this account is to make others understand with what earnestness we should search for truth, since it leads to results we never dreamed of. Primary assumptions have not got to be sought for, since they are always present to our minds; if we engage in such a search, we only find them persistently elude our grasp. But those who push their investigation beyond ordinary limits are safe from the suspicion of negligence in pursuing what is within their reach….

These sciences, in relation to the aim we have set before us, may be divided into six, sections: (1) Mathematics; (2) Logic; (3) Physics; (4) Metaphysics; (5) Politics; (6) Moral Philosophy.

(1) Mathematics. Mathematics comprises the knowledge of calculation, geometry, and cosmography: it has no connection with the religious sciences, and proves nothing for or against religion; it rests on a foundation of proofs which, once known and understood, cannot be refuted. Mathematics tend, however, to produce two bad results.

The first is this: Whoever studies this science admires the subtlety and clearness of its proofs. His confidence in philosophy increases, and he thinks that all its departments are capable of the same clearness and solidity of proof as mathematics. But when he hears people speak of the unbelief and impiety of mathematicians, of their professed disregard for the Divine Law, which is notorious, it is true that, out of regard for authority, he echoes these accusations, but he says to himself at the same time that, if there was truth in religion, it would not have escaped those who have displayed so much keenness of intellect in the study of mathematics.

Next, when he becomes aware of the unbelief and rejection of religion on the part of these learned men, he concludes that to reject religion is reasonable. How many of such men gone astray I have met whose sole argument was that just mentioned. And supposing one puts to them the following objection: “It does not follow that a man who excels in one branch of knowledge excels in all others, nor that he should be equally versed in jurisprudence, theology, and medicine. It is possible to be entirely ignorant of metaphysics, and yet to be an excellent grammarian. There are past masters in every science who are entirely ignorant of other branches of knowledge. The arguments of the ancient philosophers are rigidly demonstrative in mathematics and only conjectural in religious questions. In order to ascertain this one must proceed to a thorough examination of the matter.” Supposing, I say, one makes the above objection to these “apes of unbelief,” they find it distasteful. Falling a prey to their passions, to a besotted vanity, and the wish to pass for learned men, they persist in maintaining the preeminence of mathematicians in all branches of knowledge. This is a serious evil, and for this reason those who study mathematics should be checked from going too far in their researches. For though far removed as it may be from the things of religion, this study, serving as it does as an introduction to the philosophic systems, casts over religion its malign influence. It is rarely that a man devotes himself to it without robbing himself of his faith and casting off the restraints of religion.

The second evil comes from the sincere but ignorant Mussulman who thinks the best way to defend religion is by rejecting all the exact sciences. Accusing their professors of being astray, he rejects their theories of the eclipses of the sun and moon, and condemns them in the name of religion. These accusations are carried far and wide, they reach the ears of the philosopher who knows that these theories rest on infallible proofs; far from losing confidence in them, he believes, on the contrary, that Islam has ignorance and the denial of scientific proofs for its basis, and his devotion to philosophy increases with his hatred to religion.

It is therefore a great injury to religion to suppose that the defense of Islam involves the condemnation of the exact sciences. The religious law contains nothing which approves them or condemns them, and in their turn they make no attack on religion. The words of the Prophet, “The sun and the moon are two signs of the power of God; they are not eclipsed for the birth or the death of any one; when you see these signs take refuge in prayer and invoke the name of God” these words, I say, do not in any way condemn the astronomical calculations which define the orbits of these two bodies, their conjunction and opposition according to particular laws. But as for the so-called tradition, “When God reveals himself in anything, he abases himself thereto,” it is unauthentic, and not found in any trustworthy collection of the traditions.

Such is the bearing and the possible danger of mathematics.

(2) Logic. This science, in the same manner, contains nothing for or against religion. Its object is the study of different kinds of proofs and syllogisms, the conditions which should hold between the premises of a proposition, the way to combine them, the rules of a good definition, and the art of formulating it. For knowledge consists of conceptions which spring from a definition or of convictions which arise from proofs. There is therefore nothing censurable in this science, and it is laid under contribution by theologians as well as by philosophers. The only difference is that the latter use a particular set of technical formulae and that they push their divisions and subdivisions further.

It may be asked, What, then, this has to do with the grave questions of religion, and on what ground opposition should be offered to the methods of logic? The objector, it will be said, can only inspire the logician with an unfavorable opinion of the intelligence and faith of his adversary, since the latter’s faith seems to be based upon such objections. But, it must be admitted, logic is liable to abuse. Logicians demand in reasoning certain conditions which lead to absolute certainty, but when they touch on religious questions they can no longer postulate these conditions, and ought therefore to relax their habitual rigor. It happens, accordingly, that a student who is enamored of the evidential methods of logic, hearing his teachers accused of irreligion, believes that this irreligion reposes on proofs as strong as those of logic, and immediately, without attempting the study of metaphysics, shares their mistake. This is a serious disadvantage arising from the study of logic.

(3) Physics. The object of this science is the study of the bodies which compose the universe: the sky and the stars, and, here below, simple elements such as air, earth, water, fire, and compound bodies animals, plants, and minerals; the reasons of their changes, developments, and intermixture. By the nature of its researches it is closely connected with the study of medicine, the object of which is the human body, its principal and secondary organs, and the law which governs their changes. Religion having no fault to find with medical science, cannot justly do so with physical, except on some special matters which we have mentioned in the work entitled, “The Destruction of the Philosophers.” Besides these primary questions, there are some subordinate ones depending on them, on which physical science is open to objection. But all physical science rests, as we believe, on the following principle: Nature is entirely subject to God; incapable of acting by itself, it is an instrument in the hand of the Creator; sun, moon, stars, and elements are subject to God and can produce nothing of themselves. In a word,nothing in nature can act spontaneously and apart from God.

(4) Metaphysics. This is the fruitful breeding-ground of the errors of philosophers. Here they can no longer satisfy the laws of rigorous argumentation such as logic demands, and this is what explains the disputes which arise between them in the study of metaphysics. The system most closely akin to the system of the Mohammedan doctors is that of Aristotle as expounded to us by Farabi and Avicenna. The sum total of their errors can be reduced to twenty propositions: three of them are irreligious, and the other seventeen heretical. It was in order to combat their system that we wrote the work, “Destruction of the Philosophers.” The three propositions in which they are opposed to all the doctrines of Islam are the following:

(a) Bodies do not rise again; spirits alone will be rewarded or punished; future punishments will be therefore spiritual and not physical. They are right in admitting spiritual punishments, for there will be such; but they are wrong in rejecting physical punishments, and contradicting in this manner the assertions of the Divine Law.

(b) “God takes cognizance of universals, not of specials.” This is manifestly irreligious. The Koran asserts truly, “Not an atom’s weight in heaven or earth can escape his knowledge” (x. 62).

(c) They maintain that the universe exists from all eternity and will never end.

None of these propositions has ever been admitted by Moslems.

Besides this, they deny that God has attributes, and maintain that he knows by his essence only and not by means of any attribute accessory to his essence. In this point they approach the doctrine of the Mutazilites, doctrines which we are not obliged to condemn as irreligious. On the contrary, in our work entitled, “Criteria of the Differences Which Divide Islam from Atheism,” we have proved the wrongness of those who accuse of irreligion everything which is opposed to their way of looking at things.

(5) Political Science. The professors of this confine themselves to drawing up the rules which regulate temporal matters and the royal power. They have borrowed their theories on this point from the books which God has revealed to his prophets and from the sentences of ancient sages, gathered by tradition.

(6) Moral Philosophy. The professors of this occupy themselves with defining the attributes and qualities of the soul, grouping them according to genus and species, and pointing out the way to moderate and control them. They have borrowed this system from the Sufis. These devout men, who are always engaged in invoking the name of God, in combating concupiscence and following the way of God by renouncing the pleasures of this world, have received, while in a state of ecstasy, revelations regarding the qualities of the soul, its defects and its evil inclinations. These revelations they have published, and the philosophers making use of them have introduced them into their own systems in order to embellish and give currency to their falsehoods. In the times of the philosophers, as at every other period, there existed some of these fervent mystics. God does not deprive this world of them, for they are its sustainers, and they draw down to it the blessings of heaven according to the tradition: “It is by them that you obtain rain; it is by them that you receive your subsistence.” Such were “the Companions of the Cave,” who lived in ancient times, as related by the Koran (xviii.). Now this mixture of moral and philosophic doctrine with the words of the Prophet and those of the Sufis gives rise to two dangers, one for the upholder of those doctrines, the other for their opponent.

The danger for their opponent is serious. A narrow-minded man, finding in their writings moral philosophy mixed with unsupported theories, believes that he ought to entirely reject them and to condemn those who profess them. Having only heard them from their mouth he does not hesitate in his ignorance to declare them false because those who teach them are in error. It is as if someone was to reject the profession of faith made by Christians, “There is only one God and Jesus is his prophet,” simply because it proceeds from Christians and without inquiring whether it is the profession of this creed or the denial of Mohammed’s prophetic mission which makes Christians infidels. Now, if they are only infidels because of their rejection of our Prophet, we are not entitled to reject those of their doctrines which do not wear the stamp of infidelity. In a word, truth does not cease to be true because it is found among them. Such, however, is the tendency of weak minds: they judge the truth according to its professors instead of judging its professors by the standard of the truth. But a liberal spirit will take as its guide this maxim of the prince of believers, Ali the son of Abu Talib: “Do not seek for the truth by means of men; find first the truth and then you will recognize those who follow it.” This is the procedure followed by a wise man. Once in possession of the truth he examines the basis of various doctrines which come before him, and when he has found them true, he accepts them without troubling himself whether the person who teaches them is sincere or a deceiver. Much rather, remembering how gold is buried in the bowels of the earth, he endeavors to disengage the truth from the mass of errors in which it is engulfed. The skilled coin-assayer plunges without hesitation his hand into the purse of the coiner of false money, and relying on experience, separates good coins from bad. It is the ignorant rustic, and not the experienced assayer, who will ask why we should have anything to do with a false coiner. The unskilled swimmer must be kept away from the seashore, not the expert in diving. The child, not the charmer, must be forbidden to handle serpents.

As a matter of fact, men have such a good opinion of themselves, of their mental superiority and intellectual depth; they believe themselves so skilled in discerning the true from the false, the path of safety from those of error, that they should be forbidden as much as possible the perusal of philosophic writings, for though they sometimes escape the danger just pointed out, they cannot avoid that which we are about to indicate.

Some of the maxims found in my works regarding the mysteries of religion have met with objectors of an inferior rank in science, whose intellectual penetration is insufficient to fathom such depths. They assert that these maxims are borrowed from the ancient philosophers, whereas the truth is that they are the fruit of my own meditations, but as the proverb says, “Sandal follows the impress of sandal.” Some of them are found in our books of religious law, but the greater part are derived from the writings of the Sufis.

But even if they were borrowed exclusively from the doctrines of the philosophers, is it right to reject an opinion when it is reasonable in itself, supported by solid proofs, and contradicting neither the Koran nor the traditions? If we adopt this method and reject every truth which has chanced to have been proclaimed by an impostor, how many truths we should have to reject! How many verses of the Koran and traditions of the prophets and Sufi discourses and maxims of sages we must close our ears to because the author of the “Treatise of the Brothers of Purity” has inserted them in his writings in order to further his cause, and in order to lead minds gradually astray in the paths of error! The consequence of this procedure would be that impostors would snatch truths out of our hands in order to embellish their own works. The wise man, at least, should not make common cause with the bigot blinded by ignorance.

Honey does not become impure because it may happen to have been placed in the glass which the surgeon uses for cupping purposes. The impurity of blood is due, not to its contact with this glass, but to a peculiarity inherent in its own nature; this peculiarity, not existing in honey, cannot be communicated to it by its being placed in the cupping-glass; it is therefore wrong to regard it as impure. Such is, however, the whimsical way of looking at things found in nearly all men. Every word proceeding from an authority which they approve is accepted by them, even were it false; every word proceeding from one whom they suspect is rejected, even were it true. In every case they judge of the truth according to its professors and not of men according to the truth which they profess, a ne plus ultra of error. Such is the peril in which philosophy involves its opponents.

The second danger threatens those who accept the opinions of the philosophers. When, for instance, we read the “Treatise of the Brothers of Purity,” and other works of the same kind, we find in them sentences spoken by the Prophet and quotations from the Sufis. We approve these works; we give them our confidence; and we finish by accepting the errors which they contain, because of the good opinion of them with which they have inspired us at the outset. Thus, by insensible degrees, we are led astray. In view of this danger the reading of philosophic writings so full of vain and delusive Utopias should be forbidden, just as the slippery banks of a river are forbidden to one who knows not how to swim. The perusal of these false teachings must be prevented just as one prevents children from touching serpents. A snake-charmer himself will abstain from touching snakes in the presence of his young child, because he knows that the child, believing himself as clever as his father, will not fail to imitate him; and in order to lend more weight to his prohibition the charmer will not touch a serpent under the eyes of his son.

Such should be the conduct of a learned man who is also wise. But the snake-charmer, after having taken the serpent and separated the venom from the antidote, having put the latter on one side and destroyed the venom, ought not to withhold the antidote from those who need it. In the same way the skilled coin-assayer, after having put his hand in the bag of the false coiner, taken out the good coins and thrown away the bad ones, ought not to refuse the good to those who need and ask for it. Such should be the conduct of the learned man. If the patient feels a certain dislike of the antidote because he knows that it is taken from a snake whose body is the receptacle of poison, he should be disabused of this fallacy.

If a beggar hesitates to take a piece of gold which he knows comes from the purse of a false coiner, he should be told that his hesitation is a pure mistake which would deprive him of the advantage which he seeks. It should be proved to him that the contact of the good coins with the bad does not injure the former and does not improve the latter. In the same way the contact of truth with falsehood does not change truth into falsehood, any more than it changes falsehood into truth.

Thus much, then, we have to say regarding the inconveniences and dangers which spring from the study of philosophy.

Citation:

Charles F. Horne, ed., The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, vol. 6 (New York:  Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb, 1917), 104-107, 112-121. Located on the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/sacredbooksearly06hornuoft/page/103

Discussion Questions:

1. How does al-Ghazali define “certitude” and why does this cause him to doubt his senses and various “fundamental principles”?
2. What are the “two bad results” produced by studying mathematics?
3. What weakness does al-Ghazali find in logic and physics?
4. Regarding metaphysics, describe the three propositions that, according to al-Ghazali, set philosophers against Islam.
5. Explain the “two dangers” discussed in the section on moral philosophy.