Let me begin by saying what this is NOT. This is not intended to be an argument against Islam. I do not entirely agree with Islam, and I may at times make that clear. But this is an attempt to learn from Islam, and thereby to grow deeper in my own faith.
At the time I began working on this blog, I was teaching religious studies at the college level in the United States, and as I began to prepare to teach great world religions, I realized that one challenge was that many of my students came to me already convinced that Islam was an ugly and perhaps an evil religion. Several years ago, as I was looking for ways to counteract this initial prejudice, I came across the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, initially in the form of this Nasheed.
Over the years, I have continually been drawn to these names, and wanted to spend time thinking about them. I have thought about doing this many times, and in 2011, I thought the time had come, and I wrote, " It may not be the perfect time, but if I wait for that I may never start. I am planning to spend some time sitting with each of the 99 names of Allah, and seeing what they can teach me as a Christian. This is not intended as an argument, for or against Islam or Christianity. It is a spiritual exercise for myself that I hope might prove to be a blessing for some others. My goal here is to look at the 99 beautiful names of Allah, and reflect on them in the light of Christian belief and teaching. I want to understand how they are understood in Islam, so I will certainly look at where there occur in context in the Qur'an. How much farther I will be able go in looking at the names in the Islamic context remains to be seen."
I got through only 13 of the names at that time. As I write this, it is now 2024. I had completely forgotten that this blog even existed. Probably the season of attempting to write a Ph.D. dissertation before joining the ranks of the permanently A.B.D. (All But Dissertation) got in the way. A friend asked me for resources in understanding world religions and in the process rediscovered this blog, filled with broken links, and not very far advanced. As I looked through it, though, I liked what I had done.
I would like to clarify that as I ponder these names, I am not primarily turning to the Quran for truth. I am attempting to understand through writings of Muslims, what they understand by these names. In most cases, the Quran itself merely uses the name without further clarification. I want to learn from Muslims what they understand by these names, but then I am turning to the Bible and to God in prayer and contemplation to find what I believe to be the truth hidden in each name.
I've recently been advised, by someone who had no idea that this project might be in the offing, not to do things that might be confusing or divisive. Yikes. With college campuses being torn apart by pro- and anti-Palestinian protests, this is probably not the time to go public with a project like this. But I feel called to it. And, usually, nobody much visits my blogs. Let's see what happens if I go forward.
I want to "sit with" each of the names, and just see what happens. On my own, that's going to mean some time of just writing the name in Arabic, while I think about its meaning. (In 2024, as I am taking this project up once more, I have pretty much forgotten what I once knew of how to write in Arabic. I may some day have time to take that up again, but the day for that part of the project to be taken up is not now. For now, I play with each name in Photoshop using someone else's calligraphy, until I have an image of the name that I like.) As I begin this project, I do not know exactly what each post will look like. I am someone who tends to respond with both head and heart, so I expect that there will be a mixture of scholarship, art and prayer. Only time will tell what the balance will be.
I don't really know how long I will sit with each name. At least a day for each one, but I'm sure it will take more time with some of them for something meaningful to grow in my mind and heart. On the other hand, I do not want to take forever with this project.
I want to "sit with" each of the names, and just see what happens. On my own, that's going to mean some time of just writing the name in Arabic, while I think about its meaning. (In 2024, as I am taking this project up once more, I have pretty much forgotten what I once knew of how to write in Arabic. I may some day have time to take that up again, but the day for that part of the project to be taken up is not now. For now, I play with each name in Photoshop using someone else's calligraphy, until I have an image of the name that I like.) As I begin this project, I do not know exactly what each post will look like. I am someone who tends to respond with both head and heart, so I expect that there will be a mixture of scholarship, art and prayer. Only time will tell what the balance will be.
I don't really know how long I will sit with each name. At least a day for each one, but I'm sure it will take more time with some of them for something meaningful to grow in my mind and heart. On the other hand, I do not want to take forever with this project.
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