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Islam: Peace
through
Surrender
by Thomas Ryan,
C.S.P.
A radical
militant fringe
of Muslims
leaves us with a
media image of
Islam as
fanatical
terrorists. Many
Americans are
surprised to
learn that at
the heart of
Islam is the
notion of peace
through
surrender.
Etymologically
the root of the
word Islam is
slm which mean
peace. From this
comes aslama,
surrendered,
submitted.
Al-Islam is
religion which
brings peace to
humanity when it
commits itself
to God and
submits to God's
will.
Why submission?
Muhammad was
thunderstruck by
his experience
of God's
revelations and
conveyed a clear
sense that,
after one
experiences God,
it is impossible
to do anything
but simply and
totally
surrender.
The
transcendence of
God is the
dominant belief
for a Muslim.
This was
Muhammad's
central message
and is the first
of the five
pillars in
Islam, a
profession of
faith called the
shahadah: “There
is no god but
Allah, and
Muhammad is the
prophet of
Allah.”
To emphasize
God's oneness
and
transcendence,
no proper name
is given to God.
Állah in Arabic
is not a proper
name but simply
means “the
Divinity” and
cannot be
construed in any
way to the
proper names of
pagan gods such
as Zeus, Jupiter
or Baal. To name
God would be to
place the
Divinity in the
power of us
humans and
reduce God to
our measure and
resemblance.
Muslims live out
their surrender
to Allah through
the other four
pillars: prayer,
almsgiving,
fasting, and
pilgrimmage.
Surrender is the
way of
salvation. Every
person must
submit in body,
mind and will in
assent to God's
transcendence.
Muslims' place
of worship and
manner of
praying reflects
this. A mosque
literally means
“a place to
prostrate.” The
prayers offered
are not so much
petitions as
declarations of
praise and
submission to
Allah's holy
will. Allahu
akbar (“God is
great”) is
repeated again
and again in a
time of prayer
that begins with
the fatiha, the
first words of
the first
chapter (sura)
of the Qur'an:
Praise belongs
to God, the Lord
of all Being,
The
All-merciful,
the
All-compassionate,
The Master of
the Day of
Judgement.
Thee only we
serve, to Thee
alone we pray
for succor.
The postures of
the
body--kneeling,
bowing,
prostrating—also
reflect the
submission
before the
transcendence of
God.
In her book,
Islam Is . . .
(NY: Lantern
Books, 2003),
Benedictine Sr.
Mary Margaret
Funk, who served
several years as
general
secretary for
the Monastic
Interreligious
Dialogue, writes
that when she is
present for
Muslim prayer (salaat)
she feels as
though she is
back at home
with her nuns in
the monastery:
“it's the same
God, the same
praise, and the
same bended
knee.” And the
“letting go” of
what you are
doing to honor
the call to
prayer is the
same, too:
When the call to
prayer is made,
you have to stop
what you are
doing and go to
chapel or the
mosque. There is
no fudging or
promising to
pray twice as
hard later. You
have to leave
your computer,
your hoe or
basket. There is
a higher power
that rightfully
claims your
time, over and
over again,
commanding you
to acknowledge
your submission
and allowing you
to respond “yes”
over and over
again to that
demand: “God is
God and I obey
(p. 41)."
One of her
insights into
Islam is that
its origins in
the vastness of
a desert and the
scarcity of
water, food and
shelter created
an archetypal
psyche that had
to be tough
enough to “make
do”, to make
sacrifices and
defer comfort.
The survival
mentality
encourages
thinking ahead
and using things
in moderation.
The desert is
fierce and only
the strong can
negotiate it.
From its origins
this religion
has the strength
of the desert
with built-in
adaptation
mechanisms for
traveling fast
and light.
There is no
complex
doctrinal
baggage to carry
along, no
political
superstructure
or elaborate
symbology. The
faith system is
direct,
immediate,
personal and
specific. “There
is no god but
Allah . . . “
Submit and obey.
Islam's
straightforward
approach has
demonstrated a
capacity to
initiate and
sustain
God-consciousness
in persons and
entire
civilizations.
Whether we are
lay or
religious,
Christian or
Muslim, Funk
writes, “we
cannot afford to
delegate this
dialogue to
specialists,
academics,
politicians and
military
generals. We
must bow our
heads and bend
our knees and,
upon rising,
extend our
hands. We are
friends.”
Thomas Ryan, CSP,
directs the
Paulist North
American Office
for Ecumenical
and Interfaith
Relations in New
York City.
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