From the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh:
We testify that He is One in His Essence, One in His Attributes. He hath none to equal Him in the whole universe, nor any partner in all creation.
(Bahá'u'lláh: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 98)
He, in truth, hath, throughout eternity, been one in His Essence, one in His attributes, one in His works. Any and every comparison is applicable only to His creatures, and all conceptions of association are conceptions that belong solely to those that serve Him. Immeasurably exalted is His Essence above the descriptions of His creatures. He, alone, occupieth the Seat of transcendent majesty, of supreme and inaccessible glory.
(Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, p. 193)
Regard thou the one true God as One Who is apart from, and immeasurably exalted above, all created things. The whole universe reflecteth His glory, while He is Himself independent of, and transcendeth His creatures. This is the true meaning of Divine unity. He Who is the Eternal Truth is the one Power Who exerciseth undisputed sovereignty over the world of being, Whose image is reflected in the mirror of the entire creation. All existence is dependent upon Him, and from Him is derived the source of the sustenance of all things. This is what is meant by Divine unity; this is its fundamental principle.
Some, deluded by their idle fancies, have conceived all created things as associates and partners of God, and imagined themselves to be the exponents of His unity. By Him Who is the one true God! Such men have been, and will continue to remain, the victims of blind imitation, and are to be numbered with them that have restricted and limited the conception of God.
He is a true believer in Divine unity who, far from confusing duality with oneness, refuseth to allow any notion of multiplicity to becloud his conception of the singleness of God, who will regard the Divine Being as One Who, by His very nature, transcendeth the limitations of numbers.
The essence of belief in Divine unity consisteth in regarding Him Who is the Manifestation of God and Him Who is the invisible, the inaccessible, the unknowable Essence as one and the same. By this is meant that whatever pertaineth to the former, all His acts and doings, whatever He ordaineth or forbiddeth, should be considered, in all their aspects, and under all circumstances, and without any reservation, as identical with the Will of God Himself. This is the loftiest station to which a true believer in the unity of God can ever hope to attain. Blessed is the man that reacheth this station, and is of them that are steadfast in their belief.
(Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, pp. 166-167)
Whatsoever in the contingent world can either be expressed or apprehended, can never transgress the limits which, by its inherent nature, have been imposed upon it. God, alone, transcendeth such limitations. He, verily, is from everlasting. No peer or partner has been, or can ever be, joined with Him. No name can be compared with His Name. No pen can portray His nature, neither can any tongue depict His glory. He will, for ever, remain immeasurably exalted above any one except Himself.
(Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, p. 151)
And now concerning thy reference to the existence of two Gods. Beware, beware, lest thou be led to join partners with the Lord, thy God. He is, and hath from everlasting been, one and alone, without peer or equal, eternal in the past, eternal in the future, detached from all things, ever-abiding, unchangeable, and self-subsisting. He hath assigned no associate unto Himself in His Kingdom, no counsellor to counsel Him, none to compare unto Him, none to rival His glory.
(Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, p. 192)
From the Writings of the Báb:
God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms in the heavens and on the earth and all that is between them. He is exalted above the comprehension of all things, and is inscrutable to the mind of every created being; none shall be able to fathom the oneness of His Being or to unravel the nature of His Existence. No peer or likeness, no similitude or equal can ever be joined with Him.
(The Báb: Selections from the Báb, p. 154)
From the Utterances of 'Abdu'l-Bahá:
The great and fundamental teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the oneness of God and unity of mankind.
('Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 156)
Bahá'u'lláh appeared upon the horizon of the East, proclaiming the oneness of God and the unity of the world of humanity. He promulgated the teaching that all mankind are the servants of one God; that all have come into being through the bestowal of the one Creator; that God is kind to all, nurtures, rears and protects all, provides for all and extends His love and mercy to all races and people.
('Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 174)
There is also the divine unity or entity, which is sanctified above all concept of humanity. It cannot be comprehended nor conceived because it is infinite reality and cannot become finite. Human minds are incapable of surrounding that reality because all thoughts and conceptions of it are finite, intellectual creations and not the reality of Divine Being which alone knows itself. For example, if we form a conception of Divinity as a living, almighty, self-subsisting, eternal Being, this is only a concept apprehended by a human intellectual reality. It would not be the outward, visible reality, which is beyond the power of human mind to conceive or encompass. We ourselves have an external, visible entity; but even our concept of it is the product of our own brain and limited comprehension. The reality of Divinity is sanctified above this degree of knowing and realization. It has ever been hidden and secluded in its own holiness and sanctity above our comprehending. Although it transcends our realization, its lights, bestowals, traces and virtues have become manifest in the realities of the Prophets, even as the sun becomes resplendent in various mirrors. These holy realities are as reflectors, and the reality of Divinity is as the sun, which, although it is reflected from the mirrors, and its virtues and perfections become resplendent therein, does not stoop from its own station of majesty and glory and seek abode in the mirrors; it remains in its heaven of sanctity. At most it is this: that its lights become manifest and evident in its mirrors or manifestations. Therefore, its bounty proceeding from them is one bounty, but the recipients of that bounty are many. This is the unity of God; this is oneness - unity of Divinity, holy above ascent or descent, embodiment, comprehension or idealization - divine unity.
('Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 192-193)
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Women/Qur’an
A PERSONAL VIEW
If ever there has been a controversial verse in the Holy Qur'an, it certainly is verse 4:34. Used by opponents of Islam to label thisreligion woman-unfriendly (to put it mildly), Muslims themselves arestruggling with interpreting it. For yes, let us agree about this:there is no such thing as “the” one and only correct interpretation ofthe Word of Allah – only Allah knows what He meant. We can only try tounderstand. And in this particular case, an alternative for thetroublesome interpretations of this verse may bring us a bit closer tothat objective.Let us have a look at a (partial) translation of this verse 1:"Men are the {qawwam} of women, because Allah has given the onemorethan the other, and because they support them from their means.Therefore the righteous women are {qanitat}, and guard in the husband'sabsence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whosepart ye fear {nushuz}, admonish them first, then refuse to share theirbeds, and finally {adriboo} them; but when they {ataa:} to you, thenseek not against them means of annoyance: For Allah is Most High, greatabove you all. "Disobedient women?The key word to answer this question is {qanitat}, which is a feminineplural of {qanit}, based on the root {q-n-t}. This word appears on manyother occasions in the Holy Qur'an 2, where it is used exclusively inthe sense of 'submissive, obedient to Allah'. Verse 4:34 contains noreason at all to depart from this meaningand to change it into'obedience to a husband'. This verse is about pious women who, justlike pious men, are obedient to Allah. And a wife (husband) who isobedient to God, must live up to her (his) marital duties.Superior husband and inferior wife?Throughout the Holy Qur'an, Allah emphasizes that men and women areequal for Him – Allah will judge them in exactly the same way 3. So itwould be strange indeed if a verse would contradict this equality. Butis that really the case here? The Arabic word used is {qawwam}, anintensive form of {qaim}, meaning: 'to take care of, to look after'.Therefore, does this verse say that men are superior to women? Not atall. It says: men must look after women. In Islam, men are obliged tofinancially provide for their wife and children. They have to pay fortheirhousing, clothing, food, medicines, etc. That is what{qawwamoona} means: men must take care of women.Misbehaviour?Is this verse about what a man should do when his wife 'misbehaves'?The exact word used here, {nushuz}, means 'discord, hostiliy,dissonance'. In this context it could be interpreted as 'maritalproblems'.Beating his wife?The verse instructs a husband whose wife causes problems in theirmarriage to first talk to her about it, then leave the marital bed,then {adriboo} his wife, and all of this in view of pursueing areconciliation as is evident from the subsequent verse 4:35.The Arabic word used here, {adriboo}, from the root {d-r-b}, hasseveral dozens of meanings, such as: 'to beat', but also: 'to forsake,to avoid, to leave'.How do we know which interpretation to choose? One way to find out, isto relate this verse to other verses in the Holy Qur'an and to check ifthe meanings make sense. In this case, let us look at verse 24:2, whichdescribes what should be done in case of adultery :"The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each ofthem with a hundred stripes..." (Holy Qur'an 24:2)4This verse establishes the principle that for men and women, equalactions lead to equal punishment. When for adultery men and women mustreceive equal punishment, surely there is no reason why they should betreated differently for any lesser marital problem.Now let us take a look at the consequences of interpreting {adriboo}one way or another.Suppose {adriboo} means: 'to beat'.In this case, verse 4:34 says that when a wife causes a problem in themarriage, her husband should first talk to her about it, then leavetheir bed, then beat her and all of this in view of increasing hischances of a reconciliation. On the emotional level, this certainlydoes not sound like a very promising course of action. So let us checkthis meaning against the bigger framework and in particular against theprinciple of 'equal behaviour leads to equal punishment'. This wouldimply that when ahusband causes a problem in the marriage, his wifecan beat him. At which he could invoke verse 4:34 to beat her again, sothat the result would be a perpetual physical fight between spouses!Surely, this makes no sense at all. And indeed, it is not what Allahprescribes for the situation where a husband causes a rift, as will beexplained in a moment.Suppose {adriboo} means: 'to forsake, to avoid', possibly, as MohammedAbdul Malek5 suggests: 'to separate, to part' .Now what do we get? Verse 4:34 now says that when a wife causes aproblem in the marriage, her husband should first talk to her about it,then leave their bed (forsaking his sexual satisfaction), then avoidher even more (not talking to her anymore, leaving the room when sheenters it, and possibly even leaving the house for a while), inorderto prevent things from getting worse, and on the contrary to letthings cool down and create enough space in view of increasing chancesof a reconciliation.This sounds like a very logical chain of events.Also, application of the general rule of verse 24:2 ('equal actions,equal punishment') now means that when a husband causes a maritalproblem, his wife should forsake a few of her rights, avoid her husbandin increasing ways, and try to work towards a reconciliation. And yes,that is precisely what verse 4:128 says:"If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part, there isno blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement betweenthemselves" (Holy Qur'an 4:128)4Understanding {adriboo} as 'to forsake, to (gradually) avoid (more andmore), possibly eventually leave altogether', clearly makes sense whenrelating several verses to one another.And there is more. Beating a wife, would contradict hadiths of the HolyProphet who repeatedly said: “do not beat believing women!”. It wouldalso contradict the Holy Prophet's instructions about anger – which(unless it is caused by injustice) he explained to originate from Satanand which he described as "a living coal on one's heart". One shouldnot act upon ones anger, lest one would do things one would regretlater. When you are angry when you are standing, sit down, the HolyProphet said. And when you are still angry when you are sitting, thenlie down. Interpreting this verse as allowing a husband to beat hiswife, surely contradicts these rulings on anger.Furthermore, Allah says in the Holy Qur'an that one must meet badbehaviour with something that is better, not with something that isworse, in order to turn a hostile situation into a friendly one:"Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better:Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thyfriend and intimate!" (Holy Qur'an 41:13)4Therefore the word {adriboo} cannot really have meant “to beat”, canit. It must mean something that is better than causing problems, andavoiding the problem certainly is exactly that.Based on the evidence presented here, it would seem that interpreting{adriboo}as 'to beat', causes several internal conflicts with themeaning of other Qur'anic verses and hadiths, while interpreting it as'gradually forsaking, more and more and possibly leaving altogether',is a much more logical interpretation that is entirely consistent withthe interpretation of other rules in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah ofthe Holy Prophet Muhammad.What makes much more sense, is that this verse does not allow a'superior' husband to 'beat' his 'inferior, disobedient' wife. On thecontrary, this verse appears to tell us that a husband must look afterhis wife (an equal partner who, like he, is obedient to God), and thatwhen his wife is causing problems in their marriage, he should firsttalk to her about it, if that doesn't help, he should begin avoidingher by leaving the marital bed. If that still doesn't resolve thesituation, he should forsake her presence even more,avoidconversations, leave a room when she enters it, avoid her companyaltogether, and possibly leave the house for a while, so that noproblems are added to the conflict, and so that things can cool down abit to maximise chances for a later reconciliation.Return to obedience?When the problem is solved, when the wife is committed to the marriageagain, then the husband is advised not to keep using the incidentagainst her and to consider the incident closed.The exact Arabic wording is: "when then they (fem.pl.) {aTa:} (with)you (masc.pl.), then seek not against them (fem.pl) means ofannoyance". The verb {aTa:} (alif taa alif ayn) has several meanings,such as: 'obey', but also: 'comply, comply with, accommodate, giveinto', or in French 'filer doux'. Consequently, the verse can beunderstood to mean: "when then they are committed to the marriageagain", or: "when then they give in to/comply with the efforts of thehusband to save the marriage", or "when they no longer cause marriageproblems", ... Linguistically there is no compelling necessity totranslate {aTa:} as "obedient to the husband" . Other interpretationsare possible and indeed preferable. Earlier in the verse, there was noreason at all to translate {qanitat} as women who are "obedient totheir husband" so that here there isn't any reason to imply that thisverse is about a temporary disobedience and a subsequent return toobedience to their husbands. It is not a matter of obedience to him, itis a matter of {nushuz} (marriage problems). And the Holy Quran advisesthat when one of the partners causes a marriage problem, the othershould gradually avoid the person who causes the problem, in order tosave the marriage -irrespective of who started the strife (4:34,4:128)
-----FROM BAHAI DISCUSS LIST
A PERSONAL VIEW
If ever there has been a controversial verse in the Holy Qur'an, it certainly is verse 4:34. Used by opponents of Islam to label thisreligion woman-unfriendly (to put it mildly), Muslims themselves arestruggling with interpreting it. For yes, let us agree about this:there is no such thing as “the” one and only correct interpretation ofthe Word of Allah – only Allah knows what He meant. We can only try tounderstand. And in this particular case, an alternative for thetroublesome interpretations of this verse may bring us a bit closer tothat objective.Let us have a look at a (partial) translation of this verse 1:"Men are the {qawwam} of women, because Allah has given the onemorethan the other, and because they support them from their means.Therefore the righteous women are {qanitat}, and guard in the husband'sabsence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whosepart ye fear {nushuz}, admonish them first, then refuse to share theirbeds, and finally {adriboo} them; but when they {ataa:} to you, thenseek not against them means of annoyance: For Allah is Most High, greatabove you all. "Disobedient women?The key word to answer this question is {qanitat}, which is a feminineplural of {qanit}, based on the root {q-n-t}. This word appears on manyother occasions in the Holy Qur'an 2, where it is used exclusively inthe sense of 'submissive, obedient to Allah'. Verse 4:34 contains noreason at all to depart from this meaningand to change it into'obedience to a husband'. This verse is about pious women who, justlike pious men, are obedient to Allah. And a wife (husband) who isobedient to God, must live up to her (his) marital duties.Superior husband and inferior wife?Throughout the Holy Qur'an, Allah emphasizes that men and women areequal for Him – Allah will judge them in exactly the same way 3. So itwould be strange indeed if a verse would contradict this equality. Butis that really the case here? The Arabic word used is {qawwam}, anintensive form of {qaim}, meaning: 'to take care of, to look after'.Therefore, does this verse say that men are superior to women? Not atall. It says: men must look after women. In Islam, men are obliged tofinancially provide for their wife and children. They have to pay fortheirhousing, clothing, food, medicines, etc. That is what{qawwamoona} means: men must take care of women.Misbehaviour?Is this verse about what a man should do when his wife 'misbehaves'?The exact word used here, {nushuz}, means 'discord, hostiliy,dissonance'. In this context it could be interpreted as 'maritalproblems'.Beating his wife?The verse instructs a husband whose wife causes problems in theirmarriage to first talk to her about it, then leave the marital bed,then {adriboo} his wife, and all of this in view of pursueing areconciliation as is evident from the subsequent verse 4:35.The Arabic word used here, {adriboo}, from the root {d-r-b}, hasseveral dozens of meanings, such as: 'to beat', but also: 'to forsake,to avoid, to leave'.How do we know which interpretation to choose? One way to find out, isto relate this verse to other verses in the Holy Qur'an and to check ifthe meanings make sense. In this case, let us look at verse 24:2, whichdescribes what should be done in case of adultery :"The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each ofthem with a hundred stripes..." (Holy Qur'an 24:2)4This verse establishes the principle that for men and women, equalactions lead to equal punishment. When for adultery men and women mustreceive equal punishment, surely there is no reason why they should betreated differently for any lesser marital problem.Now let us take a look at the consequences of interpreting {adriboo}one way or another.Suppose {adriboo} means: 'to beat'.In this case, verse 4:34 says that when a wife causes a problem in themarriage, her husband should first talk to her about it, then leavetheir bed, then beat her and all of this in view of increasing hischances of a reconciliation. On the emotional level, this certainlydoes not sound like a very promising course of action. So let us checkthis meaning against the bigger framework and in particular against theprinciple of 'equal behaviour leads to equal punishment'. This wouldimply that when ahusband causes a problem in the marriage, his wifecan beat him. At which he could invoke verse 4:34 to beat her again, sothat the result would be a perpetual physical fight between spouses!Surely, this makes no sense at all. And indeed, it is not what Allahprescribes for the situation where a husband causes a rift, as will beexplained in a moment.Suppose {adriboo} means: 'to forsake, to avoid', possibly, as MohammedAbdul Malek5 suggests: 'to separate, to part' .Now what do we get? Verse 4:34 now says that when a wife causes aproblem in the marriage, her husband should first talk to her about it,then leave their bed (forsaking his sexual satisfaction), then avoidher even more (not talking to her anymore, leaving the room when sheenters it, and possibly even leaving the house for a while), inorderto prevent things from getting worse, and on the contrary to letthings cool down and create enough space in view of increasing chancesof a reconciliation.This sounds like a very logical chain of events.Also, application of the general rule of verse 24:2 ('equal actions,equal punishment') now means that when a husband causes a maritalproblem, his wife should forsake a few of her rights, avoid her husbandin increasing ways, and try to work towards a reconciliation. And yes,that is precisely what verse 4:128 says:"If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part, there isno blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement betweenthemselves" (Holy Qur'an 4:128)4Understanding {adriboo} as 'to forsake, to (gradually) avoid (more andmore), possibly eventually leave altogether', clearly makes sense whenrelating several verses to one another.And there is more. Beating a wife, would contradict hadiths of the HolyProphet who repeatedly said: “do not beat believing women!”. It wouldalso contradict the Holy Prophet's instructions about anger – which(unless it is caused by injustice) he explained to originate from Satanand which he described as "a living coal on one's heart". One shouldnot act upon ones anger, lest one would do things one would regretlater. When you are angry when you are standing, sit down, the HolyProphet said. And when you are still angry when you are sitting, thenlie down. Interpreting this verse as allowing a husband to beat hiswife, surely contradicts these rulings on anger.Furthermore, Allah says in the Holy Qur'an that one must meet badbehaviour with something that is better, not with something that isworse, in order to turn a hostile situation into a friendly one:"Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better:Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thyfriend and intimate!" (Holy Qur'an 41:13)4Therefore the word {adriboo} cannot really have meant “to beat”, canit. It must mean something that is better than causing problems, andavoiding the problem certainly is exactly that.Based on the evidence presented here, it would seem that interpreting{adriboo}as 'to beat', causes several internal conflicts with themeaning of other Qur'anic verses and hadiths, while interpreting it as'gradually forsaking, more and more and possibly leaving altogether',is a much more logical interpretation that is entirely consistent withthe interpretation of other rules in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah ofthe Holy Prophet Muhammad.What makes much more sense, is that this verse does not allow a'superior' husband to 'beat' his 'inferior, disobedient' wife. On thecontrary, this verse appears to tell us that a husband must look afterhis wife (an equal partner who, like he, is obedient to God), and thatwhen his wife is causing problems in their marriage, he should firsttalk to her about it, if that doesn't help, he should begin avoidingher by leaving the marital bed. If that still doesn't resolve thesituation, he should forsake her presence even more,avoidconversations, leave a room when she enters it, avoid her companyaltogether, and possibly leave the house for a while, so that noproblems are added to the conflict, and so that things can cool down abit to maximise chances for a later reconciliation.Return to obedience?When the problem is solved, when the wife is committed to the marriageagain, then the husband is advised not to keep using the incidentagainst her and to consider the incident closed.The exact Arabic wording is: "when then they (fem.pl.) {aTa:} (with)you (masc.pl.), then seek not against them (fem.pl) means ofannoyance". The verb {aTa:} (alif taa alif ayn) has several meanings,such as: 'obey', but also: 'comply, comply with, accommodate, giveinto', or in French 'filer doux'. Consequently, the verse can beunderstood to mean: "when then they are committed to the marriageagain", or: "when then they give in to/comply with the efforts of thehusband to save the marriage", or "when they no longer cause marriageproblems", ... Linguistically there is no compelling necessity totranslate {aTa:} as "obedient to the husband" . Other interpretationsare possible and indeed preferable. Earlier in the verse, there was noreason at all to translate {qanitat} as women who are "obedient totheir husband" so that here there isn't any reason to imply that thisverse is about a temporary disobedience and a subsequent return toobedience to their husbands. It is not a matter of obedience to him, itis a matter of {nushuz} (marriage problems). And the Holy Quran advisesthat when one of the partners causes a marriage problem, the othershould gradually avoid the person who causes the problem, in order tosave the marriage -irrespective of who started the strife (4:34,4:128)
-----FROM BAHAI DISCUSS LIST
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