BSafi Kaskas: I asked my brother James David Audlin to comment on verse 3:19 "To God, true faith is submission [Islam]"
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ ۗ
He wrote the following answer that I think everyone should read:
James David Audlin: My spirit-brother Safi Kaskas, who is a brilliant scholar on the Qur'an, asked me my comments on a certain phrase in the Qur'an that means, more or less, "Islam is the only true religion." Normally I'd hesitate to open my mouth in the presence of wise people such as Safi. but he asked, and here is what I said...
I have always taken دين to mean "one" or "only" not in the sense most people take it, not to say this is the one true religion and the others are false, but that there is no other religion but this one, no matter what the brand name on the packaging. Let me explain...
As I have often said, the word "Islam" is used in two very different ways.
The first way is as the name of one religion amongst many in the world, like each person walks up to the smörgasbörd of religions and, after reviewing all of the religions available says, "Hmm, I'll take that one." This puts "Islam" the word in competition with "Christianity", "Judaism", and so on, all competing with each other and hating each other and starting wars with each other.
The other way is that دين refers to the essential core of ALL religions. For all religions are about submission to G-d. The word الإسلام ("islam") means "submission" to G-d, i.e., doing G-d's will, or better yet, eagerly conforming your own personal will to the will of G-d because it is more logical than the twisted paths of demagogues and it bears far more fruit to love G-d and love neighbor than to hate one or the other. This understanding results in loving G-d and loving each other. A is Christian but loves B his Muslim (in the first sense) neighbor, and B loves A right back. And both of them love C, their Jewish neighbor, and C loves both of them right back. And why? And how? Because all of them love G-d and recognize that the other two love G-d too.
The word الإسلام also means "peace". Islam is salaam, shalom -- words that mean "peace". If we are not at peace with our neighbor, we are not submitted to G-d. To submit to G-d is to look out for our neighbor and love that neighbor. John the Presbyter said "G-d is love", and he didn't mean that as poetry. He meant that we must submit ourselves to the love that makes us one. As long as we are divided amongst ourselves, we are not loving G-d and loving our neighbor.
I have always taken ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ in the latter sense. Allah is not saying "In the religion supermarket you'd better purchase Islam because all the others are false religions." What Allah IS saying is that the brand name on the package doesn't matter -- whether you're a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim (in the other sense), a Hindu, a Buddhist, or whatever -- no matter which, the CORE of that faith is submission to G-d. It's what they all have in common, and any ostensibly religious movement that demands you to submit yourself to the will of anything or anyone less than G-d -- to a demagogue, a human being, a creed, a flag, a country, a race, a "way of life" -- IS NOT TRUE RELIGION.
So ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ is telling us (no matter what our "brand name" religion might be) how we can evaluate if it is genuine religion or not if it is what we should submit ourselves to or not. If it requires us to submit ourselves to G-d's will, this phrase tells us, then forget about the brand name on the packaging -- it is true religion. But, if it demands us not to submit to G-d but instead to a finite thing of this world, then it is false religion and we should get away from it.
A true Muslim, no matter what brand-name-religion the person follows -- someone who is truly submitted to G-d, will encourage his Christian neighbor to be as good a Christian as possible, and his Jewish neighbor the same thing, her Muslim neighbor to be an exemplary Muslim, her Buddhist neighbor to be the best Buddhist he can be. How? By supporting these neighbors in their commitment to submit to G-d in their own way.
For Christians don't follow the laws of the Torah, which is what a good Jew does to submit to G-d. Jews don't pray five times a day facing Makkah, which is what Muslims (in that other sense) do to submit to G-d. But the Christian encourages his Jewish neighbor to obey the mitzvot of the Torah with a glad heart, and the Jew encourages his Muslim neighbor to pray five times a day with a heart full of gratitude and love.
Still, for all three, the Law is simple: Love G-d with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. As John the Presbyter put it, G-d is love. He wasn't trying to write a pretty poetic analogy. He meant that literally. Where love is, there is G-d. Where hate is, G-d is missing. Look into your heart and replace any hate you find with love. Make G-d more and more present in this world.
copyright notice: This article belongs exclusively to James David Audlin for use at his discretion.
Great thoughts! As someone following Jesus in the Christian tradition, I wonder though if a more helpful word than submission would be surrender, which sounds a lot less forced to me.
Posted by: Florian Berndt | June 18, 2020 at 12:43 AM