The Two Commandments - Part One
According to Imam Rauf, in his book What’s Right With Islam, there are at least two core values which are shared by America and Islam. First, both accept the principle that one should love God with all one’s soul, heart, strength, and mind. Secondly, each endorses the value of loving one’s neighbor, as one loves oneself.
While on the level of ideals, there may be some truth to the foregoing contention, in practice, one might raise considerable doubt as to the degree to which either Americans or Muslims actually seek to live in accordance with such ideals. Neither Americans nor Muslim are, on the whole, what they once were or might have become.
There is a reason why the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) indicated that if those who enjoyed the company of the Prophet were to leave out even one-tenth of what was obligatory upon them, they would face severe, spiritual consequences, but, nonetheless, there would come a time when if a people - who had not seen the Prophet - were to do even one-tenth of what was obligatory upon them, then, such people would, nonetheless, achieve Paradise. Spiritually speaking, on average, people are getting worse, not better, and the ramifications of such spiritual illnesses are reflected in the events of the world, both locally and as a whole.
To be sure, one comes across instances of humanity among both Americans and Muslims who are bright beacons of spiritual expression and living embodiments of the aforementioned ideals, but, unfortunately, not with anywhere near the frequency of what may have been the case in the past. In fact, there is often considerable disagreement among people with respect to just what it means to, for example, love God with all one’s soul, heart, strength and mind.
Moreover, one might also have reservations about being loved by someone else as they love themselves because, perhaps, one may not be enamored with the manner in which such people love themselves. One might feel more comfortable with having others do unto one as such people would have one do unto them.
Aren’t ‘loving one’s neighbor as one loves oneself’ the same thing as: ‘do unto others as one would have others do unto you’? Not necessarily.
Suppose I live my life in accordance with a particular theology, and let us further suppose that I really love this theology along with all that I believe it has done for my life. Now, if I follow the principle that I should love my neighbor as I love myself, then, I am going to want my neighbor to love this theology that I am loving for myself ... and, thus, is born the evangelical spirit which is at the heart of a lot of problems in the world, both with respect to Americans and Muslims, as well as the dynamics of some of their interactions.
If, on the other hand, I adopt the principle that I should try to do unto others as I would have others do unto me, then, my approach to things may be quite different. More specifically, since I would not necessarily like someone coming into my life trying to foist onto me what they love for themselves, I might be somewhat cautious about what I try to impose on such an individual, knowing that I am attempting to establish a precedent through my behavior which creates an invitation for the other person to interact with me as I am interacting with them - namely, if I don’t seek to proselytize in relation to you, please don’t proselytize with respect to me.
So, whether, or not, I want someone to love me as they love themselves really depends on how they love themselves. There are quite a few ways of loving oneself on which I would just as soon take a pass.
However, I can think of no exceptions to the principle of reciprocity which is at the heart of the Golden Rule. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
If I do not wish to be oppressed and exploited by others, then, I should not seek to oppress or exploit such individuals. If I wish to be treated with justice, then, I should endeavor to do justice to others. If I do not wish to be hungry, then, I should be willing to feed others. If I do not wish to be deprived of my livelihood, then, I should try to not deprive others of their livelihood. If I do not wish to be killed or harmed, then, I should strive not to kill or harm other people. If I wish to be forgiven for the injustices and unkindness which I have perpetrated against others, then, I need to entertain the idea of working on forgiving those who have done injustice to me.
If I do not treat others as I would want to be treated, then, it should come as no surprise to me if others should follow my lead and treat me as I have treated them. Extraordinary strength of character is required not to offer tit for tat, which, unfortunately, is the road most traveled by the majority of us.
Life lived in accordance with the Golden Rule is clean, simple, and straightforward - although doing so does require some integrity for which we must struggle. Life lived in accordance with the hypocrisy of wanting to be treated one way, but doing the opposite in relation to other people, tends to be a very messy affair which explains, perhaps, why the world is such a mess.
Thus, there are two kinds of reciprocity. One kind leads, God willing, to felicity, while the other form of reciprocity leads to nothing but difficulty and heartache.
The former kind is the more difficult path to pursue, but it leads, God willing, to ease. The latter form of reciprocity is born in the ease of giving expression to the natural inclinations of the unredeemed soul, but it ends, always, in difficulty - unless God wishes otherwise.
According to Imam Rauf, Muslims tend to fulfill this second commandment - that is, to love one’s neighbor as one’s self - through a strong sense of valuing the community over individualism, as well as by means of seeking to instill a deep-rooted sense of feeling a responsibility toward others, including through charitable acts. There is a great deal of wealth in the Muslim world, and there is a great deal of poverty, and, so, a natural question to ask is this: if what Imam Rauf says is true, then, why are the two aforementioned facts concerning the Muslim world simultaneously true?
Is one to conclude that the extent of poverty just overwhelms the capacity of rich Muslims who are being as generous as they can be? Or, does the answer to the foregoing question lie in another direction?
The Qur’an says: “And, they ask thee (O Muhammad) what they ought to spend (in the way of God). Say: that which is left after meeting your needs.” (Qur’an, 2:219) But, how many Muslims - rich or otherwise - actually adhere to this teaching? More often than not, they seek the advice of some of the kissing cousins of the accountants for Enron, Worldcom, and, others who are morally challenged, to help the wealthy make every luxury on which they spend money a “need” so that they will be free of any obligation to their fellow human beings, just as all too many very wealthy corporations often find ways not to have to pay any income tax.
There is a related idea in the Bible when Jesus (peace be upon him) says: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) How many Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, and, yet, hold on to their wealth as if the above words of Jesus (peace be upon him) had never been uttered?
Furthermore, to suppose, as Imam Rauf seems to indicate on page 2 of his book, that Islam favors community over the individual seems, at the very least, rather a questionable contention. Islam indicates that both community and individuals should strive to be in harmony with one another, but this is a matter of balance not of preferring one to the other, since both the community and individuals have responsibilities, one to the other.
In addition, the issue of charity is not a matter of favoring the community over the individual but of making sure that the community has the means of looking after, and helping, those individuals who are in need. Charity is an individual responsibility which, aside from being one of the pillars of deen, is also an expression of one individual’s compassion for, and empathy with, other individuals. Helping others is an individual responsibility which has communal ramifications, rather than being a statement of the priority of community over the individual.
Individualism which is an expression of nafs-i-ammarah is not acceptable within Islam, but this has nothing to do with the priority of community over the individual. Instead, this is an acknowledgment of the damage to others which the unredeemed nafs can do.
Individualism that is an expression of the unique gifts which God has bequeathed upon a human being is one of the resources of a community and, as such, should be both protected and encouraged so that, God willing, its inherent potential might be realized for the benefit of all - including the individual. All a person has to contribute is who, in essence, she or he is, and this is nothing other than our individuality which - when that locus is properly purified, calibrated, and activated - can serve as a locus of manifestation through which Divine Grace shines.
With respect to this potential of the individual, one has an obligation before God, and, as well, one owes a duty of care both to oneself and to others - individually and collectively - to struggle to fulfill one’s most essential nature or fitra. To state the foregoing, however, is a very different proposition than to claim that the community has priority over, or should be valued more than, the individual, as Imam Rauf seems to be claiming is the case in the Muslim world - in fact, to whatever extent this claim is the norm, it may constitute a distortion of the principles of Islam.
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In What’s Right With Islam, Imam Rauf states he believes that what Muslims do right is to observe the first commandment - that is, through observance of the five pillars, Muslims, he feels, fulfill the requirements of loving God with all their soul, heart, mind, and strength. Aside from the problem of trying to determine just how observant Muslims are with respect to the five pillars - and I think it is presumptuous and foolhardy to offer self-congratulations before the results of the Day of Judgment have been announced - one might note, as well, that reducing the idea of ‘loving God with all one’s soul, heart, mind, and strength’ down to the five pillars may also be problematic.
The term ‘love’ is used very loosely these days by all too many people. What is love?
Shaykh al-Shibli (may Allah be pleased with him) says that love “is like a cup of fire which blazes terribly; when it takes root in the senses and settles in the heart, it annihilates.” Hazrat Muin-ud-din Chishti (may Allah be pleased with him) concurs with the Shaykh when Khawaja Sahib says that the heart of one devoted to God is a fire place of love; whatever comes into it is burnt and becomes annihilated.”
Hazrat Ra’bia of Basra (may Allah be pleased with her) resonates with the same essential principle of love when she prays: “Oh, Allah, if I worship Thee out of desire of Heaven, then, deny me Heaven, and if I worship Thee out of fear of Hell, then, throw me into Hell, but if I worship Thee for Thee and Thee alone, then, grant me Thy vision”.
In addition, there is a tradition told among the Sufis which says: “God indicates that the souls of humankind were loving Him, and, then, they were shown the world, and 9/10ths of humankind forget about God and became immersed in the world. Then, the remaining 1/10th who are still loving God were shown the delights of Paradise, and 9/10ths of these souls forgot about God and became preoccupied with Paradise. Of the 1/10th who are left, still loving God, difficulties are showered on them, and, as a result, 9/10ths of these individuals ran away from God. Of the 1/10th of 1/10th of 1/10th of the original population who still remain, God tells them that He will visit such tribulations upon them that they will be crushed, and these souls responded: “As long as it is from Thee Oh Lord.”
All of the foregoing is rooted firmly in a Hadith Qudsi which says: “Whoever seeks Me, finds Me; whoever finds Me, comes to know Me; whoever comes to know Me, loves Me; whoever loves Me, that person I slay; whomever I slay, I owe that person blood-money, and to whomever I owe blood-money, I am the recompense for that blood-money.” Clearly, the one who loves God is slain in the fire of annihilation, known as fana, in which nothing but the Reality of Divinity fills the awareness of the one who is immersed in this condition.
Some Sufis speak about nine stages of love. These are: compatibility, inclination, fellowship, passion, friendship, exclusive friendship, ardent affection, enslavement, and bewilderment.
For most of us, there is more than a little daylight between our spiritual condition as we engage the five pillars and the stage of bewilderment as an expression of the dynamics of love between Creator and created. One may aspire to love God with all one’s soul, heart, mind, and strength, but the reality is that most of us fall far short of realizing this aspiration, and the sad fact is that one may not presume that all - or even a majority of - Muslims necessarily have such an aspiration.
Seeking to love God is somewhat like making New Year resolutions. It is often done with a sense of sacred commitment which tends to fizzle out in the midst of lived life when we come face to face with just how difficult our own carnal souls make the task to which we have so nobly offered our lives.
Trying to adhere to the five pillars of Islam is a good thing. But trying to accomplish this, and even, if God wishes, succeeding in doing this cannot necessarily be equated with the station of loving God with all one’s soul, heart, mind, and strength.
There is a reason why God instructed the Prophet through the Qur’an to tell the bedouins, who claimed they believed, to say, rather, that they submit, because belief had not, yet, entered their hearts. There is a reason why distinctions are drawn among: muslim, mo’min, and mohsin, or, islam, iman, and ihsan.
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