IDEA 56
Islamic Spirits
This is why it is so difficult to explain the path to one who has not tried; he will see only his point of view of today or rather the loss of his point of view. And yet, if we only knew how each loss of one’s viewpoint is a progress, and how life changes when one passes from the stage of closed truth to the stage of the open truth — a truth like life itself, too great to be trapped by points of view, because it embraces every point of view … a truth great enough to deny itself and pass endlessly into a higher truth. (Roger Walsh: The World of Shamanism, p. 177, quoting Satprem)
After The Opening, the first chapter of the Qur'an, the chapter which sets forth the foundation stones of the faith, we find in Q2:2 the first mention of the Book, referring back to the previous chapter as the summary of the contents of the Qur'an as a whole. We are told that there is no doubt in it and that it is a source of guidance for the vigilant / those who believe in the unseen. (Q2:3)
Many Muslims have adopted a Western materialist framework whereby GOD, His angels, and the Everafter are the main elements of the unseen, but nonetheless believe that the world in which we lead our humdrum lives is utterly encompassed by scientific view and analysis. Such banality of experience has drained the world of meaning and the soul of motivation. Some call it disenchantment; I call it dispiriting or demeaning. It is not a finished state but rather an ongoing process.
'The term "disenchantment" (German: Entzauberung),' according to the Google summary drawing on material from Wikipedia, 'was popularized by sociologist Max Weber to describe the transformation of Western society from a world imbued with spiritual and magical significance to one governed by rationality, science, and bureaucratic order. In traditional societies, the world was perceived as a "great enchanted garden," where supernatural forces and religious rituals structured daily life. Disenchantment marks the shift toward valuing scientific understanding over belief, and orienting social processes toward rational goals rather than tradition.'
I discussed this concept, with reference to the work of Marcel Gauchet, in three of my videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO4NQNm8AKY, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqN6fzFPoJA, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozio4O3-qzM.
Islam is much more 'enchanted' than modern Westerners, including 'rational' Muslims, would care to admit. The Qur'an is full of references to industrious jinn ('genies'), beneficent angels, malicious devils, amazing miracles, talking animals, mountains that sing, skies that crack open, redden, and blow away, and a gigantic range of apocalyptic events that presage the onrushing Doom and Judgement. None of the verses mentioning these phenomena are meant to be taken lightly, explained away, or filed as relics of a distant, outdated past. On the contrary, at a minimum, they serve to heighten our spiritual antennae, enhance our awareness of how little magic and mystery our current obsession with science fits us for life beyond the veil, and prepare our souls for the drama, delight, and dread that certainly await humanity in the near future. That is a future filled with visions of the Garden and the Fire, and actual pleasure in one or pain in the other depending on how alive we were to those realities here and now.
We have, for example, this passage from The Great Exegesis (At-Tafsirul-Kabir) by Fakhrud-Dinir-Razi, one of the foremost commentators on the Qur'an (Book I, Chapter 9): "Many people have stated that they [i.e., jinn and devils] are neither spatial, nor subsistent within spatial objects; rather they are incorporeal entities. These entities may be lofty and sanctified from [involvement in] the organisation of bodies altogether, and these are the angels brought near [to God]. ... The next level comprises those which are involved in the organisation of bodies, of which the noblest are the bearers of the Throne ('arsh) ... The third level are the angels of the Footstool (kursi); the fourth are the angels of the heavens, [decreasing] level by level; the fifth are the angels of the ethereal sphere; the sixth are the angels of the sphere of air (hawa), which is as the light breeze (nasim), and the seventh are the angels of the sublunary sphere (az-zamharir). The eighth level comprises spirits (arwah) connected to the seas; the ninth are the spirits of the mountains; and the tenth are the lower spirits which operate within bodies of this world, both plants and animals.
"... those spirits consist of both the radiant, godly, good and felicitous ones known as the righteous jinn, and the shadowy, lowly, evil and wretched ones known as the devils (shayatin)."
In every clime and eon, the traditional cultures of the countryside and wilderness, or those clustered in hamlets and villages, have been more attuned to these spirits by virtue of their greater proximity to GOD's creative work in nature. But with the ever-increasing urbanization of the Earth and the spread of urban, secular culture through modern communications and electronic devices to all corners of the world, this intimacy with spirits is being lost.
Islam is like a firm bridge that links the authentic beliefs of rural folk to the grand intellectual structures of spiritual theology, philosophy, and literature. The tales and myths of the past, redolent of animism and polytheism, could never form the basis of a credible, coherent faith and law for all humanity -- a structure fit for both urban society and traditional lifestyles. But standing on that bridge and strengthening it must not become a barrier to believing in and understanding the world of spirits that has been retained within the ambit of Islamic ethics, art, and mysticism.
His spirit (Q32:9) was blown into each one of us at our inauguration as GOD's servant; the tie that binds us to Him eternally is above all spiritual. We have much to learn about that tie, and what moistens and enlivens it. May AL-LAH grant us the favour of never letting us forget.
Download the PDF version for free at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’ān – Mont Redmond complete version, or purchase a hard copy at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an: Redmond, Mont: 9781738842506: Books – Amazo
