Magicians and Moses : Learning from the story

Almost universally, the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh is branded on human culture and memory. That epic face-off evokes familiar empathy for things like justice, struggle against apparent odds, and spectacular escape and triumph. If you're a reader of the Quran, you can't help but notice how the confrontation is told in several places and that the treatments offer subtle changes in emphasis and scope. But consistently they feature two mortals of opposing archetypical mien meeting on ancient soil. One is a man of tremendous temporal authority, whose conspicuous quality is apparently incurable hubris, a narcissism that has become part of the national myth. The other is an Israelite Prophet confessing his fears and shortcomings. No polity or standing army behind him, he comes with only his brother, a warning and promise from above, and a special staff that challenges the Pharaonic serpent cult.

The Moses-Pharaoh narrative is packed with nuance. Take, for example, the sudden conversion of Pharaoh's Magicians in their contest with Moses . That stunning public announcement in favor of the God of Moses and Aaron provokes discussion about modern reactions to spiritual awakening and the deconstruction of a continuous sacred narrative.

Moses is commanded by God to go to Pharaoh
To set it up, Moses receives the voice of God commanding him to go to Pharaoh, which he does, ultimately standing before Pharaoh and his courtiers, demanding the release of the Israelites from humiliating bondage. Moses tells Pharaoh that he has clear proofs from "your Lord," contravening Pharaoh's own declaration of himself being the lord most high. Pharaoh taunts Moses to show him these proofs. Moses throws down his staff which transforms into a slithering serpent. His courtiers move in and assure Pharaoh that this is some kind of sorcery. They plot to give Moses and Aaron unmolested respite, so that the courtiers would gather the very best and brightest among Egypt's magicians to expose the "ensorcelled" trick of Moses' staff. Pharaoh assents and challenges Moses to a kind of dual set for a day of festival that had communal meaning to Pharaoh's Egypt. Prior to making their appearance before the multitudes, the Magicians eagerly ask Pharaoh what their boon would be if they prevail over Moses . Pharaoh guarantees that their place is secure with him, a proximity that comes with inducements and untold perks.

Moses and the challenge of the magicians
When the big moment arrives, the Magicians offer Moses the option to cast first or last. Moses demands that they throw first. The Magicians then throw their cords and staffs, and they appear to turn into serpents. The Magicians exult in their accomplishment and vow "by the might of Pharaoh" that they are the victors for having bewitched the eyes of the onlookers. Internally, Moses is strengthened by heavenly sakina that steadies his heart. He throws his staff, which not only becomes a serpent, but a serpent that gulps up the "machinations" of the magicians who suddenly are dumbfounded by what they had just seen. Aware that their "serpents" are well-done machinations that spellbind "the eyes" of the spectators, what they see in Moses' staff is something else altogether, a true break of the natural order. To boot, the miracle swallows their prefabricated magic, which they know, perhaps better than anyone, is impossible in the realm of magic and the occult.
Magicians realize the ultimate truth
It is here that the Magicians have an epiphany, in the older sense of the word: a sudden revelation or manifestation of the truth, which creates a pointed expansion of the mind. Uninterested in Pharaoh's disappointment and unmoved by the loss of their boon, the Magicians fall to their faces in prostration and declare their belief in the unseen Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh is incensed that his prized Magicians would have a religious makeover without his permission. His threats are not subtle: torment, severed limbs on opposite sides, and crucifixion. He spins the embarrassing situation by claiming that the Magicians had been part of the Moses-Aaron axis the whole time, a sleeper-cell perhaps. Inspired by the inner roar of awakening, the Magicians are unimpressed with what Pharaoh may do to them. They restate their resolve and affirm that regardless of what they are forced to endure, they ultimately will return to God, a short journey obliged to all, the tormented and the tormentors alike.

The Magicians' spiritual makeover speaks to what we observe of our context today, specifically, the diminishing role of the "universal storyteller," a term coined by theologian and professor Robert W. Jenson, who correctly laments postmodern pressures to dismiss the notion of an unbroken sacred narrative that permeates the entirety of time. This sacred narrative is a continuous, supernal line of thought and perspective that answers unchanging questions of human origin, purpose, and post-soil existence. This narrative, moreover, is not squeamish about attaching values to human conduct; it stoutly raises issues about morality, ethics, and consequences, all associated with "teachings" that are universal and timeless.

If we look at the Magicians again, these masters of the dark arts had a peculiar reaction to their defeat-a reaction outwardly inconsonant with their strutting just moments before. It's one thing to realize that what Moses threw down was truly otherworldly. Responding is something else. The Magicians' hearts could have merely sunk at Moses' triumph; they could have despaired of their fate in the face of such humiliation; they could have tried to conjure up excuses to spare their lives or to save face. But what their realization unveiled was irrepressible, and their reaction to it was connected to the presence of a sacred narrative that survived Pharaonic pressure and cult.

Abrahamic message continues
For all the religio-babble and tyranny of Pharaoh, the Abrahamic message of monotheism did not lose traction. How it dodged dilution and meaninglessness in that Egyptian context is something to study, particularly as it relates to the presence of the Israelites, regardless of their station in Egypt. We do know that the Magicians boldly took refuge in the "Lord of Moses and Aaron," and you sense that the option to do so was available even in the political straits of ancient Egypt. Within a short span of time, the Magicians moved from Pharaoh's delight to his utter scorn; from the promise of a life of privilege to a sentence of crucifixion; from champions of the occult to devotees of the great Lord of the worlds, unseen and all-powerful.

Thoughtful men and women representing various faith communities observe the modern dilution of all things sacred. The insistence that truth is closely attached to historical currents and, therefore, should be deconstructed and reinvented as the "times" and history change seriously threatens modern man's receptivity to divine signs and, yes, epiphanies. The raucous handling of the "past" tells the dull progression of humankind as measured by the tools we invent and irreverently denies the freshness and relevance of sacred beliefs established thousands of years ago.

It's unlikely that there's ever been unanimity about these critical questions of human existence and purpose. Religious thoughts and philosophical paradigms have been numerous, diverse, and conflicting. But what has consistently poked out as essentially unchanged and remarkably relevant is the oneness of God and our return, as preserved by the gracious Abrahamic narrative, Israelite then Ishmaelite. It seems that the great challenge of this tradition is to reaffirm the continuous nature of the sacred narrative and reclaim its inarguable importance in human life.

Ibrahim N. Abusharif is a Chicago-area writer and editor of Starlatch Press. He also maintains a blog at http://fromclay.blogspot.com He can be contacted via e-mail at starlatch@hotmail.com 

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Prophet Abraham ~ The Inter-faith Superstar

All prophets / ambiya are said to have spoken with divine authority; but only those who have been given a major revelation are titled "rasul' or messenger. Notable rusul/messengers include prophets Adam, Noah/Nuh, Abraham/Ibrahim, Moses/Musa, Dawud/David, Jesus/'Isa, and Muhammad (peace be upon all of them).

Prophet Ibrahim is considered the first known international religious personality; having been born in 'Ur/'Urfa, traveled throughout the Middle East, established in Jerusalem, ventured to Makkah and lies buried in Hebron, Palestine. Each of these places still of historic, religious and spiritual significance today.


 Description in the Qur'an

Prophet Abraham / Ibrahim is mentioned 69 times by name in the Qur'an with an entire chapter (14) titled Ibrahim. Muslims consider Ibrahim the khalil/ friend of the Divine, as Allah states: "Who can be better in faith than one who submits his whole self to Allah, does good deeds and follows the way of Ibrahim, the one who was true in faith? For Allah did take Ibrahim as friend." [Qur'an 4:125]

Prophet Ibrahim is referred to as ...  inspired [Qur'an 4:163], most truthful [Qur'an 19:41], a prophet [Qur'an 19:41], mild, imploring, penitent [Qur'an 11:75], soft-hearted and long-suffering [Qur'an 9:114], upright [Qur'an 3:67,95; 16:120,123]. Believers are called "millat- Ibrahim" the people /community of Ibrahim throughout the Qur'an [Qur'an 2:130; 135; 3:95; 4:125; 6:161; 12:37-38; 16:123; 21:73; 22:78]. Another verse in the Quran portrays Ibrahim as the ab/father of all believers. "Strive in the way of God as you ought to strive with sincerity and discipline. He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in the observance of your faith - the faith of your father Ibrahim." [Qur'an 22:78] Yet another verse confirms that Ibrahim is part of the fraternity of God's prophets. "(O Muhammad), We have sent revelations to you just as We sent to Noah and the Prophets who came after him. We also sent revelations to Ibrahim, Ishma'il, Ishaq, Ya'qub, his descendants, 'Īsa, Ayyub, Yunus, Harun, and Sulayman, and to Dawud We gave the Zabur/Psalms." [Qur'an 4:163]

Positive and benign attitude

Prophet Ibrahim's logical attitude in his search for truth [Qur'an 5:75-79]; his respectful debate with his unbelieving father [Qur'an 19:41-49] and his loving relationship with his son [Qur'an 37:102] are all timeless examples of excellence. True Believers are those who follow the way of Ibrahim [Qur'an 2:258; 16:123; 6:162-163]. Faithful worshippers send (darud- Ibrahim) salutation on Ibrahim and his family along with the Prophet Muhammad and his family in every one of their daily prayers.

Unifier

Prophet Ibrahim is pioneer of universalizing tawhid, the only scriptural figure who enjoys the unanimous acclaim of all three major faith traditions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), the only one referred to by all three as "father". Allah advises us; "Strive in the way of Allah as you ought to strive, with sincerity and discipline. He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in the observance of your faith - the faith of your father Ibrahim." [Qur'an 22:78]

In theory, this remarkable consensus should make Prophet Ibrahim an interfaith superstar, a special resource in these times of conflict and mistrust. His history constitutes a kind of multi-faith harmony, a case study for monotheism, a unifying symbol for people of faith in a time of tremendous strife. O Allah! Send salutations upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent salutations upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim; indeed, You are Worthy of all Praise, Most Glorious. O Allah! Bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim; indeed, You are Worthy of all Praise, Most Glorious. 

*****

Shaykh Sadullah Khan is the Director of Impower Development International www.impowerinternational.com.
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Woman Leads A Wave Of Change For U.S. Muslims

Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer 


A former Catholic, Canadian-born woman who is a widely respected scholar is arguably the most influential Muslim in America.

Ingrid Mattson, the recently elected president of the 43-year-old Islamic Society of North America, is the first convert, first non-immigrant and first woman to lead the largest Muslim umbrella organization on the continent. Her rise to prominence comes as more women and native-born Muslims are defining the faith, making Islam more of an American religion.

"There certainly has been a very strong tendency in Muslim societies to consider it better for women to not assume public office, although (Muslim) women have been political leaders, religious leaders and scholars," said Mattson, 43, who will speak tonight and Saturday at a conference of Muslims in Santa Clara about the life of the prophet Muhammad.

"The fact that our community has decided that being female is not a barrier is the result of many years of scholarship and education on the part of a number of scholars and teachers in our community."

The soft-spoken Mattson is not afraid to challenge long-held assumptions among believers. She wears a head scarf and loose clothes, and she is a forceful advocate for women's rights. She wields a powerful administrative role in establishing American Muslim institutions, and she's hands-on in shaping the minds of the nation's Muslim chaplains.

The Islamic Society of North America serves as an incubator for an array of Islamic institutions around the country, building the infrastructure for a faith that is relatively young in the United States.

Prominent mosques in Fremont and Santa Clara as well as a Muslim domestic violence hot line in Palo Alto have their roots in ISNA or its members.

Mattson's ascendancy underscores the complex roles of Muslim women in America. They have founded and operate several nonprofits and institutions, particularly in the Bay Area. Many sit on the boards of their mosques, especially those run by African Americans, the single largest ethnic bloc of American Muslims.

But there are mosques that physically exclude women, segregate them behind walls or block them from leadership. Mattson's rise has been celebrated by many Muslims as a harbinger of the future.

"Muslim organizations have been dominated by an immigrant group of men that has had a hard time passing the torch to the next generation," said Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, founder and past president of the Muslim Women's League, based in Los Angeles. "She represents that change."

Mattson's coming of age brought her to Islam. Growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, her family lived near a Catholic complex, including a convent, church and school. But at age 15, the once-pious child had more and more questions, and the nuns who taught her had fewer answers. They sent her to a priest, who couldn't satisfy her either. God disappeared.

"Religion wasn't ever to me about dogma," she said. "It was more about how I felt, my own spiritual connection. How much my inability to grasp Catholic theology had to do with my fading spiritual connection, I don't know." She stopped attending church.

In her senior year of college, she went to Paris and befriended several Senegalese, who happened to be Muslim. "As I got close to them, I wanted to know more about them," Mattson said. She returned to Canada and began reading the Quran.

Certain verses gripped her, explaining God to her in new ways. The verses "brought me to believe in God, which I didn't," she said. "It just opened this complete, new universe of meaning to me."

Mattson had never heard of a Muslim before going to Paris. But within a year, she became one. She believes her Christian upbringing -- and a sister who converted to Judaism -- frees her from inter-religious barriers others might have. She thinks her perspective will allow her to better mediate between a minority faith and Christianity in the United States.

"I feel very privileged," she said. "I'm sure I have my own barriers, but I think I'm able to be pretty open to people ... about who they are and what they believe."

After college, in 1987, Mattson volunteered in a refugee camp in Pakistan. There, she met and married her husband, Aamer Atek, an Egyptian engineer and fellow volunteer.

She went on to earn a doctorate in Islamic studies from the University of Chicago. Since 1998, she has taught courses on Islam at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

In 2001, she was elected to the first of her two terms as the Islamic Society's vice president, foreshadowing her current position.

When Mattson was elected president in August, it was because "she was the most qualified," said Ameena Jandali, a Berkeley resident who was on the five-member election committee overseeing the process. "It wasn't a matter of gender."

Mattson's most important role may be as the director of the nation's only Islamic chaplaincy program, also at Hartford Seminary. Mattson is responsible for helping train a generation of leaders who will counsel the most vulnerable believers: those in colleges, prisons, hospitals and the military.

Her students' stories about her help reveal her perspective on Islam. In one class three years ago, she stood before her students, urging them to question the authenticity of a quote long attributed by Muslims to the prophet Muhammad.

"If God had told anyone to bow to anyone but him, then he would tell women to bow to their husbands," Muhammad reportedly said, according to one hadith, a religiously sanctioned compilation of the sayings and deeds of Islam's revered prophet.

Several students disagreed with Mattson's questioning of the verse. They said she was introducing subjectivity into centuries of tradition that had validated the quote.

But Mattson calmly gave them criteria to weigh a hadith's authenticity -- whether it is congruent with the Quran, congruent with Muhammad's other sayings and logically a part of Islamic teaching.

Mattson said the quote didn't pass muster with the Quran's call for gender equality, or Muhammad's body of teachings. Questioning had nothing to do with subjectivity, she said. In fact, Islamic tradition required it.

"She's thought-provoking," said former student Sohaib Sultan, 26, now a chaplain at Wesleyan and Trinity colleges in Connecticut, recalling the scene. "She makes us think outside the box. But by her own calm demeanor, she shows how we can have differences of opinion and at the same time respect each other."

Mattson said her quiet confidence in conflict is the product of her childhood.

"My ability to remain calm is the fruit of having grown up in a large family -- four brothers, very opinionated, a huge extended family," she said. "I was smaller than everyone. I couldn't yell louder. I just had to be calm."

She wants her students, particularly women, to leave her classes with the same quality. She verbally pushes them, and some students initially think she's mean.

"If they're a woman and they're trying to make a point, they have to learn to hold their ground, to articulate a point without getting upset," she said. "If they can't handle me challenging them, they can't handle the rest of the world."

Hazrat Shah Jalal

Shah Jalal is one of the most revered legendary Islamic heroes of Bangladesh and one of the key founding fathers of Islam in the country. He was a great saint and a great warrior. He, along with his disciples, had unique contribution in liberating the people of Sylhet region both from the racial rule of the Hindu kings and the prejudices of paganism.

His full full name is Sheikh-ul Mashaek Mokhdum Sheikh Shah Jalal Mozorrodh Bin Muhammed. Although historians are divided on the issue of his birth-palce, the majority of them thinks that he was born in 1271 in Konya, Turky.

Shah Jalal's father was contemporary to Mawlana Jalal Uddin Rumi. Rumi's mazaar is also situated in Shah Jalal's birthplace, Konya in Turky. His ancestors came from Yemen, hence he is also called the Mozorrodh-e-Yemeni. Shah Jalal was raised by his maternal uncle, Syed Ahemd Kabir, in Mecca. He became a Hafiz (those who know the Holy Koran by heart) and also became proficient in Islamic theology. Legend has it that one day his uncle gave him a handful of earth and ask him to go to Hindustan with the instruction that whichever place in Hindustan matches this earth completely in smell and color, he should settle down for preaching and establishing Islam.

Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached Hindustan (modern India) in c. 1300. In Ajmir, he met the great Sufi mystic (Dervish/Pir), Kwaja Gharibnawaz Moinuddin Hasan Chisty. He also met with Nizam Uddin Awlia (1236-1325), a prominent Dervish, in Delhi. Nizam Uddin requested him to go to Sylhet to rescue Sheikh Burhan Uddin. The Sheikh was only a handful of Muslims living in the kingdom of a Hindu King, Gaur Gavindha. He secretly slaughtered a cow to perform his son's Akika (christening of child in Muslim culture). It is said that a crow carried a piece of meat and dropped it in the king's yard. The enraged king ordered killing of the Sheikh's son and the Sheikh himself was imprisoned. Sheikh Burhan Uddin's mazaar (shrine) is located in the banks of river Surma in Sylhet town.

Shah Jalal reached Sylhet with 360 Awlias (disciples). Some of the awlias originally followed him from Delhi, and some joined on the way to Sylhet. Knowing that Shah Jalal was advancing toward Sylhet, the king removed all ferry boats from the river Surma. Legend has it that Shah Jalal crossed the river Surma by sitting in a Zainamaaz (prayer rug). Muslim force was defeated by the king twice previously. However, this time the king ran away after being deafeated by the force led by Shah Jalal after a fierce battle. Shah Jalal also found a match of the earth his uncle once gave him. He settled down in a placed called Drag Mahallah, near Choukidhiki. He preached Islam from there. He and his disciples also travelled as far as Mymensingh and Dhaka.

In his book "Afdalul Hawaade", poet Hazrat Amir Khosru gave exact dates of Shah Jalal's travel to Sylhet. Khosru was a Moghul court poet, and considered the founder of Urdu language. Persian traveller, Ibn Batuta, also came to Sylhet to meet Shah Jalal.

The exact date of his death is unknown. According to Ibn Batuta, it was 1347. He died at Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Shah Jalal's nephew, Hazrat Shah Paran, lived out of town, in Major Tila area. Legend says that he was of very high temper and would curse people when they are unruly and the curse would come true. To save people from his wrath, Shah Jalal ordered him to settle down just the outskirt of the town.

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Source: http://www.islam-bd.org/heros/shahjalal/shahjalal.html