"And do you (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in your (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not of those who are unheedful." 007.205
"Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur'an, or are their hearts locked up by them?" 047.024
In preparation for the next AIF meeting, I have been reading, "The Qur'an: A Biography" by a Duke University Professor, Bruce Lawrence. Through this work I am discovering various ways that people have used this amazing book throughout its history.
I am discovering that it has been used as a book of enlightenment, guidance, law, and even for healing. It has been perceived and understood in thousands of different ways. It is believed to hold special force in its spoken utterance as well as explicit and implicit meaning in its verses. I knew much of this before, being familiar with many different interpretations and perspectives of Islam. What struck me today was my own prejudice.
Being an 'intellectual' person trained by academic thought and processes, upon reading that the Qur'an has been used for healing among the illiterate, I scoffed inwardly. My academic self rolled its eyes at the implausability of this phenonmena. But then, I stopped an reconsidered.
The Qur'an and its Message are larger than words on a page, bound by a printing press. Are the teachings of Islam only for the educated? The poverty stricken in Africa and India are just as entitled as I am to identification as a 'Muslim.' While literacy is certainly beneficial, it is not a prerequisite of faith. If this is the case, what benefit does an illiterate Muslim glean from a silent, incomprehensible book? Perhaps it is the power of that which we do not know. It occurs to me that, to the illiterate, the Qur'an may represent all of the unknown wonder and majesty in the world, and that there exists something greater than all of it, something that bears all knowledge.
But, how would the Qur'an be used in the daily life of one who could not read it? It could become an icon or an idol or perhaps, it could be used in faith acts through participating in rituals of healing, hope, and prayer. In this context, is it not possible that God would afford the Qur'an special properties in order to participate in the lives of those who will never read the words therein?
For those of us privileged enough to take literacy for granted, I remain skeptical of magical tomes. Yet, I believe in Faith. Words are empty symbols until they are given meaning by the speaker, reader, or listener. Taken out of context of one another, the words in the Qur'an are stripped of meaning, like poetry magnets. It is only through their cohesiveness and inter-context that they relate messages of the unknown. The cohesive quality of the Qur'an is something I hope will be mirrored in the community of the AIF.
Much Peace
-Melissa
American Islamic Fellowship
blog@americanislamicfellowship.com
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