What the Qur’an Meant by Garry Wills

Garry Wills begins the book noting how misunderstood the Qur’an is, both by those who would use it for violence and by those who would hate it for that reason. He had heard that the Koran does not order the violence attributed to it, but had to admit he had never read it, hence the book. He found that it contains some similar stories and an organization by the size of the passage, rather than any chronological or topical order. The biggest Surah are first, the smallest last. None of the passages had any justification for the excesses of the Islamists, just as the Gospel has no justification for the violence of Christianity, from wars to inquisitions to current attempts to censure theologians or believers in ordaining women. Neither the Qur’an nor the Gospels was penned by Jesus or Muhammad. Transcription came from oral history. What is written is important, however, because the real believers are in the book, not the streets. Before getting into the book, Wills starts with addressing our ignorance about it and Islam, all having to do with the misguided decision to go to war in Iraq. He also credits The Study of Quran by Nasr et al in his search for understanding.

The first type of ignorance is secular ignorance. This relates to our lack of intelligence about Iraq itself, its lack of any involvement in 9-11 and the presence of weapons of mass destruction (although after Syria, it may be there were some that were moved west, but that is just my speculation. The main ignorance was assuming that, with the Soviets gone, the world had fallen to the neo-liberal ideal of democracy which should be exported to the world, especially to Iraq. After ”Mission Accomplished” the Iraqis should have embraced freedom so our military could move on (and let me add, maybe Iran?)/

The second type of ignorance is religious. The late 20th Century was becoming secular. The Fundamentalist started to fight back with its Year 2000 Project (although the rise of the Nones means not much success has been achieved, as if we could move the hearts of unbelievers by our rhetoric). This fundamentalism is revivalist, not marked by reason. It is deeply felt and reactionary.  It fights against modernization in the first and third worlds. Rumsfeld ignored the fact that the Iraqi people were not going to come quietly. The west saw the problem as Islam. It wasn’t. It was people in Iraq being told how to think. American reactionaries attacking Iraqi reactionaries is not a problem easily solved, with both parties coming from ignorance.  No wonder Trump is its crowning achievement. He has not a clue on Islam, which is why we must read the Qur’an, or at least this book, especially when Trump and our own fundamentalists fear us doing so, as occurred at UNC in 2002. Of course, this is not unique to Trump. In 2003, George W Bush acted with his faith and his gut and into Iraq we went.

Our fearful ignorance starts on September 11th.  The Patriot Act started the ball rolling. and spy budgets greatly increased, as did violence against Mosques and Muslims. There were attacks by Muslims, like the Boston Marathon bombing, but all were from fringe groups. Hate mongers seize on this, and get elected President because of it. The fear builds on both sides as Trump ban Muslims and both Obama and Trump use drones without worrying about the collateral damage. Iraq and Afghanistan have been long wars with no end in sight. The only way out must be understanding.

Wills starts his summation of the Qur’an by noting its setting. It is a Desert Book. Rain comes from God to revitalize the desert. It is the first item of creation. To survive, you must find it at an oasis by knowing the Path to get there. The Path is another name for the Way, which was what early Christianity called itself. Shari’ah is a religious path as well (a term used once). It is about survival, not conquest. Water is about purity. To be pure you must wash, sometimes using sand if necessary. Being without water harkens to the Israelites demanding water in the wilderness. (I would add the necessity of washing in Judaism as well). Water is both salty and sweet, with only sweet water in heaven. Also of the desert is the camel, both their reality and their use in predicting the end of time.

Next is the description of the watery Heaven, where it is abundant at any spot. It is garden always watered and an abundance of dates, grapes and rivers of milk,, honey, and a wine that does not make one drunk. Every spot is shaded there. It is, in essence, what the desert is not. Then there is Hell, with only boiling water to drink, with the only food, zaqqum, which increases thirst. Clothing is of fire and the punishments attack the mind and the skin, with the tongue proclaiming one’s own sin to others.

Chapter 5 is on conversing with a Cosmos of talking nature. This is a theme for Job, Jesus (the stones would shout) and Augustine querying creation as to whether it is God. It is almost like a Disney movie in some places, although the universe communicates silently in others. We
Agnostics in the AA Big Book is another example. God causes but is not of creation. Yet he is in his creatures, especially man, including in ourselves. Qur’an posits that the idea of the one is innate, with polytheism only arising later. This makes sense, since the multiplicity of gods are used to explain the human nature, not the divine one.

Chapter 6 gives us a perpetual stream of prophets, from Adam the repentant who sinned equally with his wife (whose name is not mentioned) rather than taking what was given him to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the rest and Muhammad and with the belief that there is a prophet for each age in the future. Adam and Eve were mortal before eating the fruit, unlike the golden age Jewish and Christian myth. One must wonder if Islam has reacted to Darwin as negatively as the staunch traditionalists in Catholic and Evangelical Christianity who cannot accept it as a myth having to do with blame rather than a story of disobedience, repentance and salvation.  Abraham is tied to Isaac but also Ishmael, who assists him in rebuilding Ka’bah in Mecca. Muhammad tried to cleanse Ka’bah and was exiled to Medina, returning later to purge it of idols.  On Abraham, in Qur’an, it is Ishmael who is sacrificed before Isaac is born.

Moses is one of the big three prophets (with Jesus and Muhammad) because of the complete covenant made and his monotheism. His life and mission are laid out in Qur’an. The Qur’an says the three faiths should not argue because they have the same goal. Of course, Christianity has rejected the dietary rules of Leviticus and much of Numbers (like forced abortion to test for adultery). Indeed, the Sociology of Mary Douglas demystifies the Law in Torah as building a nation in exile rather than as a revelation directly from God. In a world of gay weddings serving scallops wrapped in bacon at the reception, can much of the Qur’an’s moral precepts survive as well?

Next comes Jesus, with his mother Mary, who is the only woman named in the Qur’an. He is still born of the Spirit and is to come again at the final judgment, but is not considered One with God, although he is word of Allah. God teaches him Torah, although I suspect he learned it the old fashioned way (by being a Pharisee) and came to his faith in his divinity, which Islam does not accept, by the miraculous nativity story told to him by Mary. Qur’an tells the same story, but with Jesus defending his mother’s honor as an infant, so she could not be the source for his understanding of his unique status.  Instead of the Spirit, in Qur’an, Jesus promises Muhammad.

Jesus is a Messenger of the Gospel, but not a divine sacrifice. He did not die but was brought to God. This will make it hard to reconcile a belief that the Father, Son and Spirit are manifestations of the one God, not three Gods, mostly because this would have muddled the message in a setting in Mecca where polytheism was the enemy. That is no longer a concern, but the brand identity problem persists, just like an asexual clergy limits the advance of Catholicism into the modern world. Both will struggle with the concept of Jesus as part of a divine vision quest into human abandonment rather than as either a bloody sacrifice or an escape to Heaven. The Qur’an preaches a continuity of revelation. It is in that spirit that I offer further options in reconciling scriptural law to natural law (rather than going the other way) and in finding new ways to consider the sacrifice of Jesus and the necessity of his divinity within it.

Chapter 7 offers the Qur’an’s peace to believers. It does not disrespect any other people of the book. It is the latest revelation that does not supplant the Torah or the Gospel. Still, Muslims cannot flee the Qur’an for penance shopping, nor should Jews flee the Torah and its punishments, which are harsher on adultery. Likewise, Christians cannot flee the Gospel (not mention of Paul). In this, the Qur’an faults the ecumenical councils that seemingly go beyond the Gospel to deify Jesus, while Jesus himself preaches the One God. this seems to be a matter for future revelation to Islam on what his meant by the Trinity. I took a stab at this for Muslims and Jews at  http://xianleft.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-christians-understand-god-geocities.html Wills examines whether Qur’an has superseded Torah or the Gospels (it was not meant to), what to do with Apostates (honor Martyrs who were not) and affirms the family of believers in the one God. I wonder how Islam deals with Buddhists, who are actually a discipline rather than a religion?

Chapter 8 is about Zeal aka Jihaad. Zeal can become Zealot or Fanatic. It is a word like Crusade, which the Christian Right still does not disavow although cooler heads realize that crusades and inquisitions had nothing to do with the Gospel and are probably not a good way to oversee or monopolize the development of doctrine. I certainly found Dignitas Humanae uplifting for the Church while Dignitas Personae needed more discernment on the nature of the human soul. In Qur’an, just war is defensive war. There are rules, just as there is just war theory in Catholicism which seems more honored in the breach by today’s drone warriors. War was not to be waged around sacred sites like the Ka’bah in Mecca unless you are attacked.

Believers should attempt to reconcile before battle. Indeed, the war lords of Afghanistan seemed to do that with the US and we thought we were winning. Then we made the mistake of staying. Doers of evil should be left to themselves, that includes the misogynists of the Taliban (although perhaps we should allow passage to any Afghan woman who wants to leave with us). The unnamed Cain and Abel of Qur’an are an example of trying to avoid violence. Abel did not claim a right to pre-emptive murder because his brother was attacking him, so he was killed. Cain was then remorseful and sought mercy.

There are Sword verses in Qur’an and the Gospel. In Qur’an, in applies to idolaters, not Christians. In the Bible, it is used to mock carrying a sword, not to try to decapitate the High Priest’s servant. Jesus was making a joke about being a fugitive that Peter missed, as usual. Those ill-considered crusades came about because of the misunderstanding of Christ and the sword, which only brings death.  The Qur’an describes the taking of Mecca after exile and efforts to avoid collateral damage, something the CIA and Air Force could learn from. My father designed the autopilot for our drone systems. He meant them to save pilots, not to kill children. Some of my ancestors were American patriots. While we accepted French help, we believed in freeing ourselves on the field of battle. We cannot free people from the Taliban unless they are strong enough in spirit to hold that ideal. It is best we negotiate out now. Much as it would be delightful to have Ammon al-Zawahiri’s skull as a trophy, he is likely so old that it no longer matters. It is time to cut and run.

Chapter 9 takes us to the Right Path (Shari’ah), which is as misunderstood as Jihad. In the Qur’an, it is the basis for having a law for moral excellence, but it is not the law itself. Islamic law takes several forms, four for the Sunni and three for the Shia. Some are harsh, some are not. Many believers have abandoned the ones involving physical punishment just as Anglophones have abandoned burning heretics, pressing, hanging and drawing and quartering.

Those states that have outlawed Sharia have simply looked stupid. Sharia can be practiced as Canon Law is by Catholics. The phrases that are in Qur’an punish most crimes with alms, fasting or sexual abstinence. Unlike Islam, the west does not provide for foreign courts for its Muslim residents, although some Muslim nations do. American Muslims follow our civil law like anyone else. What they do devotionally is not a matter for U.S. law and infringing upon it is unconstitutional if it were enforced. It really cannot be because we don’t know enough about it.

I suspect that when most think of Shari’ah, they think of Saudi adulterers being beheaded or Daesh abusing other people of the Book, which is against Qur’an. In other words, they have a problem with the Saudis, whose law is called Hanbali. It would never be practiced here because it is cruel. Objecting to it, however, is the job of the Department of State, not any state legislature. I am all for forcing the Saudis to behave by measures from sanctions to invasion, but I doubt the current Secretary of State, a lifetime Exxon man, would agree.

Chapter 10 is about Commerce, which Muhammad knew something about as a merchant. He specified that commerce be written down, witnessed and equal. No one is allowed the upper hand. Goods must be of quality. Interest is allowed for long term transactions, but usury is not. You are not allowed to drive the other out of business with high fees. Unpayable debts are to be forgiven and God is a hidden party to all transactions and their execution. Hell is the penalty for bad intent unless forgiveness is sought.

You do commerce partly to be able to do Charity. When giving charity, you must give quality goods and food, not rubbish. Indeed, this parallels the idea in Matthew 25, where when you feed another, you feed Jesus. Do you want to give Jesus old clothes and rotted food?

There is no capitalism in this system, it is merely trade, but you easily see how modern capitalism is disagreeable to the Muslim commercial ideals. I pity the fool who adopts western models over what is required in Qur’an, as Allah still watches all. I find it hard to believe that Allah approves of monopsonistic wage structures that keep workers desperate and monopolistic pricing, especially for medicines, but cars as well. Don’t start me on housing finance. Islamic Socialism was a real thing, although sometimes it came with tyranny. It is time to include it any future cooperative socialist structure offered by other people of the Book.

Chapter 11 is about plural marriage and the status of women. Not polygamy, which is multiple marriages, but polygyny, which is having multiple wives. It is essential to establish such a system if you want to enforce discipline on women through withholding sex should she not respond to guidance. If all else fails, corporal punishment was advised, which is one of those verses that people struggle with now and not even something you can do in the West. In Qur’anic times, women and many men were not literate. Of course, this is still the case in some tribal areas in South Asia, but this is less all the time.

I suspect that these teachings applied to richer men, including the Prophet and his Harem and not to most Islamic marriages. There were Jewish examples of Polygyny in ancient times. It no longer happens. Teachings for Muhammad’s harem and descendants included limits on sumptuary finery (the Prophet tried to live modestly), use divorce as punishment, be careful marrying the wives of stepsons, and don’t allow scandal in the harem, especially false accusations. Also, be careful of the rotation of the conjugal relations, especially when an event changes the order. Of course, sometimes coupling is just companionship. There is more to marriage than sex. Radical Mormons have found that as well.

Chapter 12 shows how women fight back. They are entitled upon marriage to a bridal sum that they can leave with if they divorce their husbands or are divorced. Even without consummation they can take half of it unless they or the husband waives their share. If their husbands follow the Qur’an, they are not left destitute, especially if they marry well. This limits the ability of the husband to be high-handed or resort to hitting too much, or even once.

There is an equivalent in the United States. Divorce leaves women or men with half of their spouses retirement savings automatically and a portion of Social Security or Military Retirement. I am sure there are such provisions throughout the west, but Islam seems to have come up with them first. Being divorced in ancient Israel led to prostitution. Not so in Islam. The right to leave and remarry is a freedom not found in Catholicism, although other Christians seem to proof text St. Mark better when Jesus talks about divorcing a wife and, which should be in order to, marry another as being adultery. This is after polygyny was ended in Judaica or else one would have simply added the new talent and kept the first wife. Understanding this as one act should allow the Church to calm down on the issue of remarriage. As long as getting the new spouse was not the reason for ending the first marriage, it is not adulterous. Putting words in the mouth of Jesus that it is so is simply bad proof texting.

Chapter 13 covers the veil. Fighting against the veil has a bad history with western colonialists trying to disrupt wearing it to upset sexual relations in colonized Muslim nations. This is as bad as our agenda in Afghanistan, where the Taliban were and are cruel to women, at least in our eyes and probably in theirs, but this is not so much an Islamic thing as a tribal thing. Of course, in Islamic just war, you do not wage war simply because the enemy does evil things. You leave them to God. Still, I would propose offering free flights to any Afghan woman who wants to escape. I suspect the Taliban will come around quickly. A society that believes in freedom of expression and dress should not assume that it can tall others when to put away their traditional garb. Catholic sisters largely have, nuns have not. That the French went after the veil is scandalous. While Muslim women should be free not to wear it in western society, by the same token they should be free to. Qur’an says little on this. The Prophet’s wives veiled when dealing with the public and worked through a screen, thus keeping some amount of privacy. Indeed, this was not a general teaching, but if you live in a desert, men and women cover their heads to survive (see chapter 4). Finally, there is the question of women covering their charms by a more modest neck line. Whether these were décolletage or jewelry is not clear from Qur’an.

The Envoi on Fairness in reading should be read for oneself. It reiterates why this is an important exercise.

Peace be upon you.

Also see the National Catholic Reporter review at https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/include-yourself-muslim-conversation

Faruq F.A. Nelson has problems with how Wills presents the material, which is meant to be proclaimed in Arabic. He states what the book does is commentary, which is surely true, just as what I have done above is commentary on the commentary. Faruq also comments on the organization of the chapters, both within and among themselves, but Wills is not teaching Qur’an. He is helping his usual Catholic audience better understand Islam where they have not bothered to do so before. I do not believe any of his audience are looking for a conversion experience, but it is helpful to fund common ground on the issues facing the people of the book today, including the Saudi funded terrorists whose actions show nothing in the way of understanding Qur’an or their own traditions. If we can pity them rather than hate them, we can begin to move forward.