Speech by Dr. Hedieh Mirahmadi SOAS, London, England January 24, 2013

Walking the Path of Love Tolerance, acceptance and love are important themes interwoven throughout Islamic spirituality. Today’s challenge, however, is practicing these principles in a world wrought with misunderstandings between different cultures.

Islam calls people to the middle way in all things-- in belief, worship, behavior, individual interactions and social interactions, as well as in intellectual understanding:

God says in the HQ: Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that you may be witnesses

over mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness over you.1

The “Middle Way” means a way which does not exaggerate, that avoids the extremes of being either too strict or too lenient. The Middle Way is not harsh, but it does not allow the ego free rein. It is a way that all should strive for.

Ayesha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad, (upon whom be God’s blessing), said, "If the Prophet was given the choice between two options, he would always choose the easier one.” The Prophet, who was “the best example” to Muslims and whom all sincere Muslims strive to emulate, rejected extremism. Prophet Muhammad’s title was “mercy to all creation.” For that reason, you find almost every chapter of the Qur’an, commences with the Divine Attributes of mercy and compassion, in the phrase, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”

About himself and his way, the Prophet said, "Allah did not send me to be harsh, but He sent me to teach in a gentle and easy manner.''

While modern-day Muslim scholars often repeat the catch-phrase, “Islam tolerates other religions,” this is a far cry from the true principle of Islam. The true principle of Islam is something other than to merely tolerate others. Tolerate, as defined in Dictionary, means, “to endure, put up with, to bear.”

But Islam stressed that it is not sufficient to simply tolerate others. In fact Islam encourages us to listen to and observe others that we may truly understand them for who they are and accept them as part of God’s creation. Acceptance goes beyond tolerance and breathes life into the social paradigm, potentially shifting it from a stance of conflict to one of mutual respect between cultures. God said in the Holy Qur’an:

1 Holy Qur’an, 2:143.

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other, not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most

righteous of you.2

This verse is the strongest affirmation of Islam’s belief in the unity of mankind and the equality of each soul, applying to both men and women, as well as to every race, tribe and ethnicity. It emphasizes that the true measure of value is not a person’s wealth or status, but rather his or her moral character, “righteousness.” This is a yardstick which everyone understands, for every person innately knows whether a person is endowed with goodness or not.

The principle of human dignity and unity is emphasized over and over again in the Qur’an. Allah says:

Now indeed, We have honored the children of Adam, and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favored them far

above most of Our creation.3

Humankind, being all descended from one father and one mother, are unified at the root of the tree of human existence. For that reason, all are brothers and sisters and that family relationship holds sway despite what differences exist.

One day as a funeral procession honoring a Jewish community member passed by, the Prophet Muhammad (S) stood up, out of respect. When someone in his company expressed surprise for this gesture towards a non-Muslim, the Prophet responded, “but is it not a human soul?”

This story demonstrates how the Prophet’s love for the Divine extended to the whole creation, enabling him to indiscriminately see God’s beauty, His goodness, and His attributes in everyone. Over time, this principle led to the development of a social ethos of caring for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Inherent in the principles of equality must be the equal rights afforded to both genders. This principle exists in the Qur’an as cited in the verse above, “We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female.” Thus, in sharp contrast to some forms of Islam we see in practice today, which are subjugated to prior norms of culture and conditioning, Islam emphasized the principle of equality of men and women. This is no more strongly highlighted than in the incident of revelation for Qur’anic verse 33:35:

Imam ibn Hanbal (780 - 855 CE), renowned as founder one of the four schools of Sunni Law, recorded that Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet said, "I said to the Prophet, ‘Why is it that we [women] are not mentioned in the Qur'an as men are?’ Then one day without my realizing it, he was calling from the pulpit and I was combing my hair, so I tied my hair back then I went out to my chamber in my house, and I started listening, and he was saying from the pulpit:

Verily, for all men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are

2 Holy Qur’an, 49:13. 3 Holy Qur’an, 17:70.

patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and

women who remember God unceasingly: for [all of] them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a tremendous reward.” 4

In this verse we see that Prophet Muhammad brought gender equality, a revolutionary concept, in a time and place where women were considered nothing but chattel. It is interesting to note that in Islam, women were granted freedom to own property, run their own business and to teach the highest knowledge of the religious sciences, on equal terms with men 1400 years ago – rights not granted in modern nations until the last century, and only after the tremendous struggle of suffrage and the women’s movement.

This dialogue would be incomplete without reference to the righteous Muslim women on whom Prophet Muhammad relied at various times, the scholars and activists who exemplified moral excellence. By example, Prophet Muhammad taught that women must also be respected as they carry within them the secret of human life. They were pillars in early Islamic society and shared in the outcome of community building. Much has been written on their illustrious contributions from which there are a lot of lessons to be learned.

Although we often have a different impression of Muslim women, the fact is Islam gave women rights and freedoms not realized in the West until the 20th century. Specifically, Islam guarantees women’s right to a life free from female infanticide; the right to an education; the right to choose, reject, or divorce a husband; the right to own personal property exclusive of anyone else; the right to a dowry; the right to keep her family name after marriage; the right to run a business, trade, and employ men, and to reserve and manage her wealth without a father, brother or husband; the right to legal and religious counsel without coercion, and much more. The majority of Muslims believe these rights help communities grow. Certainly we can agree these rights are inalienable, and yet, in some parts of the world, these God-given rights have been systematically denied women by people who have misinterpreted our faith.

Muslims have a cliché nowadays “Don’t judge Islam by what Muslims do” and sometimes this is all too true. The legacy the Prophet Muhammad is what Muslims should strive for and is the ideal we carry in our hearts and try to emulate. I leave you with a quote from the World Leader of the Naqsh Haqqani Sufi Order, Mawlana Sh Nazim Adil al Haqqani. “Let us look at the world around us with new eyes. Let us look at each other with the eyes of love. Let us recall that God fashioned each and every one of us with His Hands, and blew into each and every one of us from His Spirit. Can anyone seek to harm the Spirit of God? Let us leave this holy meeting, this gathering of spirituality and love, and return to our home saying, “I met many believers, and I forgave all of them and asked them to forgive me. I asked them what I could do for them, and they responded, ‘love us as your brothers and sisters.’” Thank you for taking the time to be with us today and for walking the path of love with us.

4 Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani and Laleh Bakhtiar, Encyclopedia of Muhammad’s Women Companions and the Traditions They Related, 1998. ISBN 1-871031-42-7.