Islam
Chapter 966 Theology
Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
TheologyPrayerDevotional Prayer |
Catholic-Muslim Statement on DialogueTo Think About |
Preliminary Questions
Bibliography
Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, Karen Armstrong, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1993ISBN#: 0-06-250886-5
Theology
Thus when Muhammad asked the Quraysh to accept his revelation as coming from God, he did not demand that they assent to a creed or to a set of theological opinions. As in Judaism, there is no cult of orthodoxy in Islam, where ideas and concepts about God are essentially private matters. In fact the Qur'an is highly suspicious of theological speculation, which it sees as mere human projection and wish-fulfillment. Such doctrinal thinking, applied to the transcendent reality of al-Llah, can only be 'guesswork' (zanna): this habit of idle conjecture about ineffable matters had divided the People of the Book in to warring sects. Instead of promoting orthodoxy or right teaching, Islam and Judaism both insist upon orthopraxy, a common customal observance. In the Qur'an, therefore, a 'believer' is not one who has made an assent to a list of propositions, like the various Creeds or the Thirty-Nine Articles. He had acquired an immediate, heart shaking apprehension of the divine reality to which he had surrendered, expressing his Islam in the twin practices of prayer (salat) and almsgiving. (Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, pg. 100)
Prayer
4. The Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam. (Islam is more about "right actions" than about "right beliefs".) One who surrenders to God is one who practices the following divinely ordained acts:
#2. Salat the ritual prayers, or worship services, performed daily during five specified intervals, facing Mecca, at (1) dawn, (2) midday, (3) mid-afternoon, (4) dusk, and (5) after dark.
Devotional Prayer
The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God You may see Muslims "praying the rosary" -- The string of beads -- 99 in number often shortened to 33, much for the same reasons that our 150 beads are often shortened to 50 -- are an aid to reciting (and meditating on) The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God
And God's alone are the attributes of perfection; invoke Him, then, by these, and stand aloof from all who distort the meaning of His attributes. Al A'Raf 7:180, tr. Asad
A list of The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names and links to their source in the Holy Qur'an (which I find can be a beautiful and rich source of meditation and prayer) can be found at http://www.sufism.org/society/asma/index.html
For a musical video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFh6gXmWdIo
The following attempt to render into English the 99 names of God is taken from Jacques Jomier, How to Understand Islam. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1991, p 42.
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The Merciful The Compassionate The Sovereign The Holy The Consummate The Guardian The Masterful The Almighty The Compeller The Proud The Creator The Evolver The Fashioner The Oft-Forgiving The Vanquisher The Bestower The Donor of Livelihood The Revealer The All-Knowing The Constraining The Munificent The Degrading The Enhancing The Exalting The Abasing The All-Hearing The All-Seeing The Judge The Just The Subtle The All-Cognizant The Clement The Supreme |
The Remitter The Prodigal The Sublime The Great The Maintainer The Sustainer The Sufficer The Majestical The Bounteous The Vigilant The Responder The All-Embracing The All-Wise The Benevolent The Glorious The Resurrecter The Witness The Verity The Champion The All-Powerful The Puissant The Protector The Laudable The Reckoner The Originator The Restorer The Life-Giver The Life-Taker The Omniscient The Dominating The Entire The Illustrious The One |
The Sanctuary The Potent The Omnipotent The Advancer The Retarder The First The Last The Evident The Immanent The Lord The Transcendent The Benefactor The Accepter of Repentance The Avenger The Oft-Pardoning The Most Kind The Owner of Sovereignty The Lord of All Glory & Honor The Equitable The Congregator The Absolute The Endower The Averter The Harming The Useful The Enricher The Splendid The Guide The Superb The Sempiternal The Heir The All-Wise The Infinitely Patient |
Catholic-Muslim Statement on Dialogue
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (Vatican) and the Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation (Tehran, Iran) held their sixth Colloquium in Rome from 28 - 30 April 2008 under the joint presidency of His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis TAURAN, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and His Excellency Dr. Mahdi MOSTAFAVI, President of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation.
The delegation of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was composed as follows:
- His Excellency Archbishop Pier Luigi CELATA
- His Excellency Archbishop Ramzi GARMOU
- Reverend Monsignor Khaled AKASHEH
- Reverend Monsignor Prof. Piero CODA
- Reverend Father Prof. Michel FÉDOU, S.J.
- Prof. Vittorio POSSENTI
- Dr. Ilaria MORALI
The delegation of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation was composed as follows:
- Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Jafar ELMI
- Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad MASJEDJAMEI
- Dr. Abdolrahim GAVAHI
- Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Seyyed Mahdi KHAMOUSHI
- Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Hamid PARSANIA
- Dr. Rasoul RASOULIPOUR
- Mr. Mohsen DANESHMAND
The participants, with the help of six papers presented by three scholars from each side, examined the theme Faith and Reason in Christianity and Islam, which was developed through three subthemes from the point of view of Catholics and Shi'a Muslims: 1) Faith and reason: Which relation? 2) Theology/Kalam as inquiry into the rationality of faith; 3) Faith and reason confronted with the phenomenon of violence.
And the end of the meeting the participants agreed upon the following:
1. Faith and reason are both gifts of God to mankind.
2. Faith and reason do not contradict each other, but faith might in some cases be above reason, but never against it.
3. Faith and reason are intrinsically non-violent. Neither reason nor faith should be used for violence; unfortunately, both of them have been sometimes misused to perpetrate violence. In any case, these events cannot question either reason or faith.4. Both sides agreed to further co-operate in order to promote genuine religiosity, in particular spirituality, to encourage respect for symbols considered to be sacred and to promote moral values.
5. Christians and Muslims should go beyond tolerance, accepting differences, while remaining aware of commonalities and thanking God for them. They are called to mutual respect, thereby condemning derision of religious beliefs.
6. Generalization should be avoided when speaking of religions. Differences of confessions within Christianity and Islam, diversity of historical contexts are important factors to be considered.
7. Religious traditions cannot be judged on the basis of a single verse or a passage present in their respective holy Books. A holistic vision as well as an adequate hermeneutical method is necessary for a fair understanding of them. The participants expressed their satisfaction with the level of the presentations and the debates as well as the open and friendly atmosphere during the colloquium.
The participants were honored and pleased to be received at the end of the colloquium by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who was particularly satisfied with the choice of the theme and the venue of the meeting. The next colloquium will be held in Tehran within two years, preceded by a preparatory meeting.
To Think About
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