THE QUR’AN: Reading for Moral Truth David D. Peck—Department of History The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed…received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to [him] by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals…. [W]e believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation, either in this life or in the life to come. (First Presidency Statement, February 15, 1978) n recent years Latter-day Saints have expressed growing interest in Ilearning about other religions, including Islam.1 Such investigations seem worthwhile given the First Presidency statement quoted above, and in light of the mandates of the thirteenth Article of Faith. Any inquiry into the beliefs of Islam must include reading the Qur’an, the Muslim Holy Book. Although Muslims regard the Qur’an as the literal word of God, it is also considered the “true mirror” of the character and accomplishments of a man singled out by the First Presidency as a purveyor of moral truth received from God. If there is moral truth in the teachings of Muhammad it should therefore be found in the Qur’an.2 Sayyed Husayn Nasr, a prominent Islamic intellectual, informs us that: “The purpose of reciting the Qur’an and other spiritual exercises is to ‘awaken the soul from the dream of forgetfulness’ and enable it to ‘gain the supreme principal knowledge for the sake of which it was created.’”3 This is an invitation to pierce the “veil of forgetfulness,” which Islam likens to a dream state. The first commands given by God to man fit The first this context perfectly, for we are commanded to wake up and then to commands given rise up to God. Thus, our existence is defined primarily as a two-stage process of awakening to our condition and of elevating ourselves morally. by God to man Lehi understood that Laman and Lemuel could make no moral progress fit this context until they began the process of awakening and rising up: “O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell…. perfectly, for we Awake! And arise from the dust….” (2 Ne. 1:13-14).4 are commanded to The processes of awakening and of rising up can be discerned in the structure of God’s commandments and instructions, and lies as the heart wake up and then of all moral progress. In this essay, the process will be simplified into a to rise up to God. three-stage progression. The Qur’an, if read as moral literature, is useful in defining these stages and in causing the reader to reflect upon their own situation in terms of moral progress. First, the text requires the reader to clarify their allegiance to God (versus their allegiance to mammon or the values of this telestial world). All humans must awaken to their condition as lovers of the things of this world, consistent with our natural tendencies, before further progress thinking in a troubled world • 101 is possible. The morality of one’s dedication to God above all else is frequently presented in the Qur’an in terms of idolatry. Muslims believe that the acceptance of idolatry in any degree is the essential immorality from which all others spring. So long as we are awake to our idols, we are asleep to God. Second, the Qur’an informs the reader as to the morality of worship. It is not enough to abandon idols (representing one’s personal dedication to the world and its values). The believer must redirect the impulses of the natural man toward the creation of personal virtues. Worship of the one true God is a first step in turning our back on the world and its values, and in acquiring virtue. In an effort to induce a worshipful Qur’an includes state of mind, the Qur’an includes poetry and prayers designed to lift the soul to God, in the same vein as Psalms, Isaiah, or the ecstatic poetry and prayers prayers of Nephi. designed to lift the Third, the Qur’an encourages the reader to perform acts of charity and service, as the mechanism for acquiring virtue. Allegiance and worship soul to God, in present an incomplete moral structure unless accompanied by active the same vein as participation in God’s work and glory. The concept of accountability for one’s deeds is central to an understanding of the Qur’an. All good deeds, Psalms, Isaiah, no matter how small or insignificant, will be rewarded. All evil deeds, no or the ecstatic matter how small or insignificant, will be punished: prayers of Nephi. When the Earth is shaken to its utmost convulsion, And the Earth throws up its burdens from within, And man cries distressed: “What is the matter with it?”— On that Day will it declare its tidings: For that thy Lord will have given it inspiration. On that Day when men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the Deeds that they had done. Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. (Qur’an 99:1-8)5 There is a consequence associated with our efforts at moral self improvement. The Qur’an was given in a specific historical context that impinges upon our ability to understand its moral message: a brief presentation of the life of Muhammad and the development of the Qur’an is in order. Muhammad’s own efforts at eliminating idolatry, worshipping God and cultivating personal virtue make him the example that devout Muslims imitate.6 Who Was Muhammad? Born in 570 ad, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age. His uncle, Abu Talib, took charge of the young orphan, and raised him in the city of Mecca (in western Arabia). Due to political shifts among the African 102 • perspective remnant states of the defunct Roman Empire, trade routes had shifted in Arabia. This transformed the small oasis of Mecca into an important regional commercial center. This change took place about a generation prior to Muhammad’s birth. Within Mecca traditional Bedouin tribal values (called muruwa) mingled with a new entrepreneurial spirit (that took the form of cutthroat capitalism). Caesar Farah refers to the situation in ancient Mecca as a “social and spiritual crisis.”7 Muhammad saw the negative side of this mixture, and expressed concern that tribal values of communal support for were eroding. The weaker members of his society (widows, women and orphans) were either co-opted to serve the nouveau riche Muhammad spent of Mecca, or were cast aside. Muhammad realized that muruwa tribal much of his youth precepts were inadequate to address this situation and spent much of his youth searching for a moral code that promoted fairness for all members searching for a of society. moral code that Muhammad married a wealthy widow named Khadija and helped manage a caravan business she owned. His subsequent travels from trading promoted fairness post to trading post brought him into contact with neighboring Jews for all members and Christians. Their practices and teachings awakened an interest in Muhammad to learn about Abraham (Ibrahim), the father of the Arabs of society. through Ishmael. There were in Mecca a number of Arabs called hanifa that claimed to follow the ancient teachings of Ibrahim. The hanifa taught that Ibrahim had been promised that one day “Allah” (a derivative of El, and similar to Elohim) would raise up a prophet unto the Arabs, and would teach them His truths in their own language. Muhammad joined with Meccan hanifa in hoping that the day would soon arrive in which this prophet would appear and teach truths to the Arabs designed to establish fairness and justice in boomtown Mecca.8 Muhammad engaged in the practices of the hanifa, including solitary meditation, prayer and fasting. In particular, the hanifa rejected idolatry (the religion of preference in the ‘new’ Mecca) in all of its forms. Idolatry was good business in Mecca, where an ancient building, called the Ka’aba was located. The Ka’aba, shaped like a large black-stone cube, housed numerous idols representing the animist gods of Arabia. Every twelfth lunar month Arabs from surrounding areas came to the Ka’aba to worship their gods. This ‘pilgrimage’ brought a good deal of money to Mecca. So long as the preaching of the hanifa was limited to “preaching” there was no conflict with local pagan businessmen and their moneymaking festivals. However, in 610 ad this changed when Muhammad came into town with a new message from Allah. thinking in a troubled world • 103 What Did Muhammad Teach? While fasting and praying in a nearby cave, Muhammad had a vision in which the Angel Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel commanded Muhammad to “Recite in the name of God.” Muhammad replied that he was unlettered and could not write or recite. In a scene reminiscent of the experiences of Jacob or of Ezekiel, Gabriel embraced Muhammad in a fierce grip, and releasing him said, “Recite in the name of God!” Muhammad again denied his capacity to recite, and Gabriel embraced him again, nearly crushing the life out of him, and for a third time gave the command to: Recite in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created—created humans out of a clot of blood.9 Proclaim: “Thy Lord is most Bountiful, who taught man to use the pen,10 taught man that which he did not know!” (Qur’an 96:1-5) The visit of Gabriel was followed by other revelations that soon posed The visit of Gabriel a threat to idolatry in Mecca: “Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is he begotten; and there was followed is none like unto Him” (Qur’an 112).