Islam and Ignatian Spirituality

Renato Oliveros, PhD.

Half-a-century past from the time that the Catholic Church declared in the 2 nd
Vatican Council’s Nostra Aetate1 that “The Church regards with esteem also the
Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-
powerful ... Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a
prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times, they even call on her with
devotion.” Since then the Church has consistently taken every initiative to reach out to
Muslims, and build bridges to the Muslim world. By the end of the 20 th century,
mission in the Muslim world has become one of the Church’s biggest challenges.
Despite the risk the call in proclaiming the Gospel remains for the Lord Jesus Christ has
commissioned her to “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you [Mt. 28:19-20, NIV]. His words as such are sufficient to compel
every missionary to change one’s attitude towards Muslims, and find ways to work
with them in solidarity.

But by the turn of the 21st century on 9-11, 2001, the good about Islam as a peaceful
religion has gradually been eroded by misguided extremists. It is painful for moderate
mainstream Muslims to see their religion being hijacked by a few radical Islamist
groups. Mission in the Muslim world has become riskier; in fact, it can be a frightening
thought for a missionary to be sent to there. It could be fear of the unknown and the
violence associated with Islam that raises many questions about the religion.

Is Islam Inherently Violent?

Fr. Henri Boulad, SJ, traces the irrational violence in Islam to the Qur’an as he
cites Qur’an 9:5 also known as the ‘sword verse:’ "When opportunity arises, kill the
infidels (mushrikun) wherever you catch them" (fa-uq'tulū l-mush'rikīna ḥaythu
ُ ‫)فَا ْقتُلُوا ْال ُم ْش ِر ِكينَ َحي‬, and seize them, beleaguer them, and wait to
wajadttumūhum ‫ْث َو َج ْدتُ ُموهُ ْم‬
ambush them in every stratagem (of war). This verse and other verses cited by
Fr. Boulad have been used by Muslim extremists to justify their violence against non-
Muslims. If that is the case how then can Islam be liberated from violence when its
basis to justify violence are in the Qur’an?
Boulad reminds Catholics engaged in dialogue with Muslims who seek to defend
Islam at all costs—(that) based on the pretext of openness, tolerance and Christian
charity --are actually betraying the truth.2 But how does one challenge the purported
truth that Islam indeed is a violent religion? For sure, God does not contradict himself.
Can He be a Merciful and Compassionate God (ar-Rahman arRahim) and at the same
time, condone violence? Allah is the God of Peace. In fact, Peace (Salaam) is one of His
1
2nd Vatican Council, 28 October 1965.
2
Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register, 2017.
names—as-Salam (‫)السالم‬. If He is God of Peace, can He contradict Himself when verses
revealed in the Qur’an go contrary to peace?
As Christians, we respond with compassion to the situation of most Muslims
today. Without evading the truth, we seek for answers to the violence in Islam rightly
because God abhors violence, and is never the author of violence. If the Qur’an is His
word, the “sword verse” must be read in context of when and where it was revealed. In
situations of conflict, the Church is exhorted by Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for
they shall be called the children of God.” (Mt. 5:9) These words of Christ are enough to
move every missionary to persevere, respect, and understand Muslims and their
religion, Islam. For it is the nature of the Catholic Church to work for peace even
willing to subsume a humbled position so that peace and understanding will reign
between Islam and Christianity.
To assist our missionaries, we can adapt a Catholic spirituality that mirrors Islam.
This can serve as a platform and entry-point to the world of Islam and its spirituality.
Ignatian spirituality, a spirituality familiar to priests and religious, is one Catholic
spirituality that is aligned with Islamic spirituality. Its discernment method, embedded
and unexplored in Islam, can contribute to liberate Islam from violence. By raising it to
the level of spirituality is to subject Islam to its original intent as a path to peace when
the Prophet Muhammad (‫;محمد‬ c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE) first received it as revelation.

The Ignatian and Islamic Link

The absolute reality of the Oneness of God and the vow to fully submit to God’s
will is that spiritual foundation that both Islam and Ignatian spirituality share in
common. Although the Spiritual Exercises (SPEX) of St. Ignatius of Loyola mirrors
Islam’s core and foundational tenets, the purity of the spirituality must not remain at
the level of academic discourse. It can best be realized in the realm of prayer. Muslims’
fidelity to five daily prayers (salat) as the second pillar of Islam has the same fidelity to
the ‘examen of consciousness’ that St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) required his brother
Jesuits at least twice daily, at noon and at the end of the day. A mid-morning and mid-
afternoon examen can be integrated in so far as it helps spiritually. St. Ignatius taught
that the key to a healthy spirituality was two-fold: Find God in all things and constantly
work to gain freedom to cooperate with God’s will.3

Islam and Ignatian Spirituality (see Diagrams 1 & 2)

3
Phyllis Zagano, http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0303.asp.
 ISLAM (Diagram 1)

Tawhid

Islam as Submission

Din (God’s Will)

in the Ibadah, Shari’ah, and Belief

IGNATIAN (Diagram 2)

Holy Trinity (One God)

Suscipe as Submission

Discernment of God’s Will

1. Tawhid

The entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of tawhid. Seyyed
Hossein Nasr summarizes that “The One God, known by His Arabic Name, Allah, is
the central reality of Islam, in all its facets, and attestation to this oneness, which is
called tawhid, is the axis around which all that is Islamic revolves.”4 The 112th Sūrah al-
Ikhlāṣ (Arabic: ‫سورة اإلخالص‬, "Fidelity"), also known as Sūrah al-Tawḥīd (Arabic:  ‫سورة‬
‫التوحيد‬, "Monotheism"), believed to belong to the very early Meccan revelation, is the
basis of the prophet’s earliest proclamation. Mecca in the early 7th century was
immersed in polytheism-- the worship of many gods was the root cause of social
disorder and tribalism. It was the mission of the Prophet Muhammad to proclaim the
tawhid: lâ ilâha illallâh, there is no god but Allah. The tawhid is the answer to the
ignorance (jahiliyyah) and social ills of Mecca. It constitutes the foremost article and first
pillar of Islam, the Shahadah.

4
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004, p. 3.
 Tawhid is the sole basis of any authentic religion. It is not exclusive to Islam.
Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic religions, too. In fact, traditional Jewish
monotheism is the basis for Christian and Islamic monotheism. Judaism and Islam
have asserted a strict monotheism while Christianity adopts the Trinity which is a more
complex form of monotheism. The Trinity is the Christian doctrine of tawhid where
the same attestation is recited in the first line of the Apostle’s Creed Credo in unum
Deum, I believe in one God. It takes into account what Jesus himself says about his
relationship, especially 'oneness' with the Father-- 'the Father and I are one' (John 10:30),
and to remain within a framework of God being one. Mainstream Muslims, however,
reject the Trinity since it goes contrary to the tawhid despite the Catholic declaration
“We believe in One God.” What Islam and the Muslims contribute is its radical and
uncompromising stand towards the Oneness of God.

2. Islam (Peace a Consequence of Submission)

Islam has been popularly defined as ‘the religion of peace’ because the Arabic
word, Islam, as they say is derived from the Arabic word ‘al-salaam’ which means peace.
But the root of Islam is not ‘al-salaam’ but ‘al-silm’ which means ‘submission’ or
‘surrender.’ The verbal noun ‫سالم‬ ْ ‫إ‬ (ʾislām) literally means ‘submission,’ and the active
participle of  ‫سلَ َم‬ َ
ْ ‫أ‬ (ʾaslama) is ‘he submitted.’ The Arabic word for a person who is
a ‫سلِم‬
ْ ‫ ُم‬ (muslim) literally means as ‘someone who submits’ as the Qur’an ascertains that
the ideal Muslim is someone who submits totally to God.

At the heart of Ignatian and Islamic spirituality is man’s predisposition to surrender

to the will of God. The Prophet Muhammad said, "No babe is born but upon fitrah”5
--every child is born a ‘Muslim.’ The Arabic word Fitrah ( ‫ )فطرة‬means 'primordial
human nature’ or predisposition. ‘Muslim’ here does not mean that the child will end-
up belonging to a religion. It meant that every child born into the world, regardless of
religion, has a predisposition to submit to God. The child Jesus is a case in point. In
Islam, Jesus is called Abdullah (`abd-Allāh) or someone who is a ‘slave of Allah.’ Jesus
(Issa in the Qur’an) was declared ‘slave of Allah’ from the time he was born. The child
Jesus said: “Qaala innee 'abdullaahi” (Verily! I am a slave of Allah) Q. 19:30.

Submission to God’s will is the sole basis of any authentic religion. All the Prophets
of God even in the Jewish tradition, which the Qur’an mentioned, called their people to
submit to the One and only God. The only true religion as far as God is concerned is
‘Submission to God’ (Islam). Peace is a consequence and result of that total submission
to God’s will. Most religious traditions share in this general meaning of Islam that the
one who strives to submit to the will of God at the deeper levels of faith and virtue
achieves inner peace. Tawhid commands that all life must be ordered according to
God’s will. Although God’s will in mainstream Islam is specified in the Shari’ah, every
Muslim is invited to seek and discern God’s will in the person’s life. But it takes into
consideration that all human beings have free will, allowing them to choose to fulfill
5
Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6426.
their given purpose. If humans do not understand the purpose for which God made
them, they are likely to make wrong choices, and consequently, live unfulfilled and
chaotic lives. However, if a Muslim is moved, spiritually, to submit to the will of God,
then Muslims ought to learn the rules in discerning the will of God. The result of this
submission is peace. In Arabic, this submission to the One God in order to gain peace is
denoted by the word Islam. Most religious traditions share in this general meaning of
Islam. Thus, a Muslim is one who strives to submit to the will of God, and at deeper
levels of faith and virtue, achieves peace in the various aspects of his or her life.

3. Suscipe

After witnessing and affirming that “there is no god but God” lâ ilâha illallâh, the
logical response for man is to surrender to the all-powerful living God. Paragraph #234
of the Spiritual Exercises is a prayer entitled Suscipe (receive) popularly known as ‘Take
and Receive’ or ‘Paghahandog ng Sarili’ that is commonly sang in liturgies. The prayer-
hymn goes. Note the moving simplicity that underlies this “surrender” to God:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is
Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this
is sufficient for me. --Ignatius of Loyola

The Pilipino translation of the italicized line of the suscipe is Kunin Mo, O Diyos,
at tanggapin Mo ang aking kalayaan at ang aking kalooban. “Ang buo kong kalooban” (my
entire will) fully captures the Latin phrase “universam meam libertatem” as the suscipe
phrased it in accipe memoriam, intellectum, atque voluntatem omnem” [all my liberty, my
memory, my understanding, and my entire will]. The single word kalooban captures
perfectly the essence of “with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength” that Jesus Christ
emphasized in loving God (Lk. 10:27). In the same way that “ang buong kalooban” in the
suscipe means the person’s whole being that is directed towards God. The person praying
the suscipe is aware of one’s free will yet prays to God to take and receive one’s freedom
and align this with God’s will. One’s personal freedom is no longer important— what
is important is that the will of God will reign in one’s life, and ideally, in the Church as
well.

(3.1) Our Father: Abu-nan (Aramaic) / Aba-na (Arabic)

The person who prays the suscipe desires only to imitate the Christ who
submitted totally to the will of His Father. The total submission to the will of God is the
integral to the kerygma of Jesus to proclaim the “Reign of God”. God’s reign is absolute
and to belong to God’s kingdom, one must submit to His will or rule. Abu-nan, the
prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, after honoring and blessing God, stress
submission to the “Reign of God” when it states, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven.” The same intensity of submission to God’s will is expressed in
the Suscipe’s surrender of one’s entire will. The “Our Father” is at the very heart of the
Suscipe when St. Ignatius composed that prayer for retreatants who desire only the love
of God which solely is sufficient that one must desire for. This makes the Suscipe radical
for it is rooted in the Abu-nan, the perfect and radical prayer taught by Jesus.

4. Din (The Will of God) (see Diagram 3)

SHARED SPIRITUALITY (Diagram 3)

Reign of Absolute God

Submission/Surrender (Suscipe/Aslam)

Discernment of God’s Will In Scriptures—

Context of Revelation/Asbab al-nuzul

Qur’an 5:3 in English has translated the Arabic word din as religion: "This
day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor upon you and have
chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (alyawma akmaltu lakum dinakum wa atmamtu
'alaikum ni'matee wa radeetu lakumul Islaama dina). Yet when the Prophet Muhammad
first proclaimed Islam in the 7th century Mecca, he was not establishing an
institutionalized religion. The word Islam is never used in the Quran as a title for the
religion. Muhammad was proclaiming a right path to God based on a right
relationship with Allah based on submission (Islam) to the will of Allah. He wanted
to restore that right relationship in Mecca that became polygamous and used
their gods for their convenience. After all, the etymology of ‘religion’ is from the
Latin word religare refers to a relationship such as binding together. Perhaps a
more appropriate English translation of Qur’an 5:3 is: “This day I have perfected for you
your path ... and chosen for you Submission (to Allah’s will) as the path.”

When the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed Islam, his proclamation was not just
to witness that there is only one God—la illah ila Allah (There is no god but God), but
it demanded submission to the one God that every Muslim is witnessing to. “Islam as a
technical term to denote the system of beliefs and rituals based on the Kuran, is derived
from the recurrent use of the verb aslama (submit oneself) in the Kur’an to denote the
characteristic attitude of the true believer in relation to God.”6 It is to restore the right
relationship between man and God by witnessing first to the Oneness of Allah. But the
6
Lidzbarski, “Islam and Salam” and D. Kunstlinger, 1936; Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, H.A.R. Gibb
and J.H. Kramers, 4th edition, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1995, p. 176
submission to Allah is still broad and abstract. It becomes specific and concrete
only when the object of submission is the ‘Will of God’ or Din in Islam. The
witness must lead to submission specifically to Allah’s will referred to as ‘din’. The
etymology of the Arabic ‘din’ literally means ‘the act of submission to God’, and the
object of verb act is the will of Allah. The Arabic word ‘din’ or the Anglicized ‘deen’ is
revealed in 79 verses in the Qur’an.7 Din has been loosely translated as ‘religion’ but the
Arabic word for “religion” is madhhab/mahzab (‫)مذهب‬, the Arabic root of which is ‘zahab’
which means to pass by or walk. This is different from the usage of din in the
Qur’an, interpreted by Muslim scholars as ‘faith’ (e.g. belief), concretely a
belief that is lived by following the shari’ah. And this relationship is man
submitting to the “will of Allah.”

In Hebrew ‫ דין‬din (religious law) is a cognate with Arabic ‫ ِدين‬ (dīn), and Aramaic 

‫דינָא‬ (dīnā)
ִּ means ‘law’. The most respected Muslim scholar, Fazlur Rahman,
suggested that dīn could mean "the way-to-be-followed,”8 and that it is a correlate of
the concept ‘Shari’a’ which means ‘path or road leading to the water’, i.e. a way to the
very source of life; "if we abstract from the Divine and the human points of reference,
Shari'a and Dīn would be identical as far as the 'Way' and its content are concerned".9
The verb shar’a literally means ‘to mark out a clear path to water’ as the Qur’an says
that God ordains the Shari’a as the Way and man is the one who follows that Way.10

Al-fatiha (the Opening), the first and most recited of all suwar11 in the Qur’an,
begs Allah to guide Muslims to the straight path-- Ihdināṣ-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm, Ṣirāṭ al-
laḏīna an’amta ‘alayhim (The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor--). It is
God who ‘may guide you on the right path’ (Q. 48:20), and thus to Allah alone that man
prays for guidance-- Ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm, Guide us to the straight path. (Fatiha Q.
1:6) That ‘straight path’ and guide is the Qur’an. Since the Qur’an is not a book of law,
there are principles in it for human living that can be the bases of Islamic law. Through
Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), the Divine Law (Shari’ah) is formed for Muslims to follow.
That way or path is the will of Allah enshrined as the Islamic Law or Shari’ah. The
Shari’ah is believed by Muslims to represent divine law, its primary source is the
Qur’an and the Hadith, recorded teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad.
In as much that Muslims are obliged to follow the Shar’ah —the will of Allah ought not
to be reduced to the Shari’ah which after all is a product of human interpretation and
jurisprudence no matter how noble or precise they maybe.

7
Gulam Ahmed Parwez, "Exposition of the Qur'an", p. 12, Tolu-E-Islam Trust.
8
Fazlur Rahman, Islam, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2nd edition, p. 100.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
A Surah (‫سورة‬, plural ‫سور‬ suwar) is translated as a chapter of the Qur’an.
 Aside for the Shari’ah, some Muslim scholars like Yusuf Ali and Tarif Khalidi
translate dīn as ‘faith’, (Q. 60:9)12 However, faith or iman in Islam is different from
Christianity. The Arabic iman is generally translated as faith or belief that consists of
Six Articles of Faith in Islam: (1) Belief in Allah, the One God, (2) Belief in the Angels,
(3) Belief in Holy Books (Torah, Gospel and Quran), (4) Belief in the Prophets, (5) Belief
in the Day of Judgement, and (6) Belief in God's predestination.

Christianity, on the other hand, distinguishes beliefs from faith. Beliefs refer to the
Nicene Creed, and faith is defined by St. Paul in Hebrews 11:1 that “Faith  is the
substance of things to be  hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not.”   It is an
assent with one’s whole being to what is non-apparent or cannot be seen. The act of
faith in this instance is an act, personal or communal, in relation to God. The act of faith
contributes to the deepening of a person’s personal relationship with God in Christ. So,
every time a Christian prays in faith, s/he believes that God has heard his/her prayers
and will be answered in accordance to God’s will.

(4.1) Allah’s Will in the Shari’ah and in Worship (Ibadah)

The Arabic word for worship is ’ibadah. Ibadah in Arabic means praise, reverence,
worship and serve God. For Islam—this is a fixed path or act of what Allah wants,
command or willed it to be. For man to worship is actually doing the will of Allah.
It comes from the same Arabic root as ’Abd, the word for slave. ’Ubudiyyah or ‘slavery’
describes the state of worship in Islam, and the pious Muslim who makes himself/herself into
slave in the service of Allah is called abdullah. Both Surah Fatiha and the SPEX stress the
Principle and Foundation that “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our
Lord,” while Surah Fatiha states Iyyāka na’budu (Q. 1:14a--You alone we
worship/serve). Here is Maulana Muhammad Ali’s tafsir (exegesis) of Q. 1:4a:

“The first three verses of this surah speak of the grandeur of God and the last three of the
aspiration of man’s soul to attain spiritual loftiness, while this, the middle verse, speaks of
the relation of the spirit of man to the Divine Spirit. Here the way is pointed out through
which man can attain to real greatness. It is through ‘ibadat of God which means obedience
(tå‘at) combined with complete humility (khudu‘) (R), and through isti‘ånat, or seeking
help (‘aun) from God. The idea of ‘ibådat (service or worship) in Islam is not a mere
declaration of the glory of God, but the imbibing of Divine morals and receiving their
impress through humble service to God; hence the prayer for Divine help.” 13

The Principle and Foundation in the Spiritual Exercises [23] of Ignatius of Loyola
states God created human beings to praise, reverence, and serve God, and by doing this,
to save their souls. God created all other things on the face of the earth to help fulfill this
purpose.”14

12
Qur’an English Translations of Tarif Khalidi and Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Q. 60:9.
13
The Holy Qur’an, English Translation and Commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali, Ahmadiyya A.I.
Islam Lahore Inc., Ohio, USA, p. 5.

14
A Literal Translation by Elder Mullan, SJ and edited by Rick Rossi. (March, 2015)
The Will of God: Pre-Determined or Discernible?

Is the ‘will of God’ in the Qur’an already converted into law as Shari’ah? Is it
still open to discernment in some instances? In a catechism class in Tagaytay, I asked
the children— “Ano ba talaga ang gusto ng Diyos sa atin?” (What is God’s will and
expect from us?) They literally enumerated the Ten Commandments. I get the
impression that not only children but adults, too, interpret the Will of God as laid down
in the 10 Commandments, and submitting to these is expected. Same with mainstream
Islam—Muslims are expected to obey or follow the Five Pillars or/and the Shari’ah.

Every believer is invited to discern God’s will. Although God’s will in

mainstream Islam is laid down in the Shari’ah (Islamic law), every believer is invited to
seek for God’s will in the person’s life. Human beings have free will to choose to fulfill
their given purpose. If human beings do not understand the purpose for which God
made them, they are likely to make wrong choices and consequently, live unfulfilled
and chaotic lives. However, if one is moved, spiritually, to submit to the will of God,
we ought to learn the rules in discerning the will of God.

St. Ignatius of Loyola introduced exercises of the spiritual faculties through

contemplation that would enable one to find the divine will and to conform one's will to
the will of God. Although discernment in Ignatian spirituality or firasa (discernment) in
Islam may be understood theoretically, the gift of discernment can only be realized if it
is exercised primarily through prayer. As Muhammad discerned the spirit of revelation
of the Qur’an, Muslims ought to recognize the same spiritual gift available to them to
discern the will of Allah in their interpretation of the Qur’an, and in their daily life.
Islamic tradition cites firasa as a spiritual gift from Allah that can help a Muslim
penetrate the deeper meaning and insights on the signs of Allah present in the Qur’an
and in the world. Abu Sa‘id al-Harraz says: “If you say that one looks with the light of
discernment, it means that one looks with the sight of God.” Firasa can bring about its
discerning potential when applied to Qur’anic tafsir (exegesis).

(a) A Discerning Tafsir (exegesis) of the ‘Sword Verse’

Fr. Boulad, SJ cites Q. 9:5 also known as the ‘sword verse:’ "When opportunity
arises, kill the infidels (mushrikun) wherever you catch them" (fa-uq'tulū l-mush'rikīna
ْ ‫ )فَا ْقتُلُوا ا ْل ُم‬Aside from the ‘sword verse’ he cites
ُ ‫ش ِر ِكينَ َح ْي‬
ḥaythu wajadttumūhum ‫ث َو َج ْدتُ ُمو ُه ْم‬
other Medinan verses15. Yet Allah is not a God of violence; in fact, Allah abhors
violence. How then will we interpret Qur’anic verses that instigate violence?

Scholars of the Qur’an have applied naskh, an exegetical theory of abrogation,

wherein contradictory verses are decided on which verses be abrogated to uphold the
truth in the Qur’an in formulating the Shariah that for Muslims is Allah’s will. The
problem with naskh is in its supercessionism. Accordingly, if there are contradictory
verses, the weight of truth is on the verse that was revealed later. The presumption is
that the later verse rectifies the error of the earlier verse. If one is quoting from a surah
(chapter) revealed in Mecca and there is a contradicting surah revealed in Medina, it
automatically invalidates the Meccan quote. For example, the ‘sword verse’ in Surah 9
considered Medinan16 surah supercedes the more tolerant and peaceful Meccan17 surahs
(Arabic, pl. suwar). Since the jihad and harsh dealings with non-Muslims were revealed
in Medina then we have a huge problem. The tolerant, inclusive and peaceful face of
Islam revealed in Mecca can be abrogated or eroded by surahs from Medina despite the
fact that 2/3 of the surahs in the Qur’an were revealed in Mecca.

This, however, can be prevented if Qur’anic tafsir takes into consideration the
sitz im leben (context or occasion of revelation) of the surahs. For centuries, Qur’anic
interpreters have applied asbab18 al-nuzul (‫ )أسباب النزول‬or circumstances of revelation as a
tool to their tafsir. Asbab refers to the message being “sent down” (nuzūl). In Islam, it is
a metaphor of Allah revealing or sending down His message to the Prophet
Muhammad. Asbab al-nuzul considers passages of the Quran which were revealed in
response to specific events, incidents or questions raised to Muhammad. It refers to the
historical context in which Qur’anic verses were revealed. Knowledge of the context of
revelation is an important tool to explain the meanings of Quranic verses 19 This
approximates the sitz im leben that is applied in Biblical criticism.

15
Fr. Henri Boulard, SJ cites the following Medinan verses (ayah) in the Qur’an that Muslim
extremists quote to justify their violence:
(1) "Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them." Qur’an 2:191
(2) "Make war on the infidels living in your neighbourhood." Qur’an 9:123
(3) "When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them." Qur’an 9:5
(4) "Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable." Qur’an 3:85
(5) "The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them."... Qur’an 9:30
(6) "Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam" Qur’an 5:33
(7) "Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and
bellies." Qur’an 22:19
(8) "The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them." Qur’an 8:65
(9) "Muslims must not take the infidels as friends." Qur’an 3:28
(10) "Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur'an." Qur’an 8:12
(11) "Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels." Qur’an 8:60

16
Qur’anic revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received when he was at Medina (622-632 C.E.).
17
Qur’anic revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received when he was at Mecca (610-622 C.E.).
18
Asbāb is the plural of the Arabic word sabab.
19
Rubin, Eye of the Beholder, ISBN 0-87850-110-X, pp. 227-228
 If sitz im leben or asbab al-nuzul are applied to tafsir then there is no more need
to abrogate any ayah as each has a reason and purpose why they were revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad. The meaning, purpose and function of the surah and the ayat
(verses) within are rightly and contextually interpreted. The integrity of each ayah as
revelation is upheld and respected. Whatever was revealed in Mecca has the same
weight to what was revealed in Medina. No ayah supercedes another ayah for both and
every ayah is a revelation from Allah. The compassionate Allah has revealed His
guidance and instructions to the Muslim community through the Prophet Muhammad
in response to their prayers and struggles whether in Mecca or Medina.

The exegesis of scriptures adapting the historical critical method particularly sitz
im leben or asbab al-nuzul are necessary tools to liberate Islam from violence resulting
from an arbitrary application of naskh (abrogation) to justify the use of a sword verse and
overrule the tolerant universal messages revealed in Mecca.

(b) Mahmoud Muhammad Taha: Discerning Qur’anic Revelation

Consequently, the application of naskh in Qur’anic exegesis created two types of

Islam: (1) Meccan Islam based on Meccan surahs, and (2) Medinan Islam based on
Medinan surahs. Mainstream and moderate Muslims quote more from Meccan surahs
while extremists quote from Medinan surahs. A contextualized interpretation of the
Qur’an is a tool to discern Allah’s message in the Qur’an for Muslims today as they read
signs of the time. This echoes the mind of the relatively unknown Sudanese Mahmoud
Muhammad Taha (1909 – 18 January 1985) who struggled to bring the message of the
Meccan surahs to be lived by Muslims in the modern world. He postulated that the
verses revealed in Medina were appropriate as Shari’ah for the 7th century growing
ummah in Medina within the context of war against the non-Muslims of Mecca. But the
earlier Meccan surahs represented the ideal Islam with its universal message for all
humanity based on freedom and equality. 

Sudanese Muhammad Mahmoud Taha proposed

“The Meccan verses are addressed, through Muhammad, to humanity in general,

and are suffused with a spirit of freedom and equality; according to (Mahmoud) Taha,
they present Islam in its perfect form, as the Prophet lived it, through exhortation rather
than threat. In Taha’s most important book, a slender volume called “The Second
Message of Islam” (published in 1967, with the dedication “To humanity!”), he writes
that the lives of the “early Muslims” in Mecca “were the supreme expression of their
religion (Islam) and consisted of sincere worship, kindness, and peaceful coexistence
with all other people.” 20

He believed that the "Medina Qur'an", and Sharia laws based on them, violated the
values of equality, religious freedom and human dignity[4] and were outdated for the 20th
century. They were "subsidiary verses" – suitable for the backward society of the 7th century,
but "irrelevant for the new era, the twentieth century". Meccan verses, making up the
"Second Message" of Islam, should form the "basis of the legislation" for modern society.
(Taha, Mahmoud Mohamed (1987). The Second Message of Islam. Syracuse University Press. p.  40f.)

Conclusion

Of the 114 suwar (pl. of surah) 113 begins with a bismi-llāh ar-raḥmān ar-raḥīm  ‫بِس ِْم‬
‫َّحي ِْم‬
ِ ‫ر‬ ‫ال‬ ِ ٰ‫هللاِ الرَّحْ م‬ (In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful). Aside
‫ن‬
from introducing Allah as the most compassionate and merciful God there is a reason
why it is placed at the beginning of every surah. It serves as a reminder to all
interpreters (mufassirun)21 of the Qur’an that as one enters that surah conscious of Allah
as the most compassionate and merciful God—one’s interpretation of the surah must
mirror Allah’s compassion and mercy. If one’s interpretation does not reflect Allah’s
compassion and mercy, then the interpreter’s exegesis is definitely in error and should
be discarded. In this regard, the Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim serves a s a gateway to
protect Muslims from bad interpreters of the Qur’an.

Both Muslims and Christians benefit not only from revelation (e.g. Qur’an and
the Gospels). They have spiritual traditions and spiritual exercises that they can share
for the source is from one and same God. The “Spiritual Exercises” (SPEX) of Ignatius
of Loyola is one of those great spiritual gifts. On the other hand, I’tikāf (‫ )اعتكاف‬is
an Islamic practice of retreat or staying in a masjid for a certain number of days (3 days)
in the worship of Allah. I’tikaf must be performed with the intention (niyyat) of seeking
closeness to Allah who is not distant from His creation, but intimately concerned with
its welfare and growth. For God is always close to us—closer than the lifeblood in the
jugular vein (Q. 50:16). Muslims can experience such intimacy with Allah by
submitting to the Qur’anic precept to “Prostrate yourself and draw near.” (Q. 96:19)
Thereby it is through one’s total submission to Allah that the soul can realize the utmost
intimacy with Allah. That same God who graced and gave St. Ignatius the “Spiritual
Exercises” is the same God known as Allah in Islam.

I have always reminded my students in the seminary that it is not their calling to
engage in politics—be it political Islam or political Christianity (if there is such a thing).
Their vocation as priests, religious and missionaries must be grounded in a deep
spirituality. Their calling is to dig from that spiritual well, dig deep into the shared
spirituality of both Islam and Christianity and listen to God’s voice shared by both
20
George Packer, New Yorker, 11 Sept. 2006. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/09/11/the-
moderate-martyr
21
An author of tafsir (exegesis or interpretation) is a mufassir (‫ ;مُفسّر‬plural: ‫مفسّرون‬, mufassirūn). 
traditions. It is in that depth of spirituality where the well-spring of peace that only
God can give is reached, therefore, bring down your buckets and pull with minimal
wastage of water so that you can share with the faithful and quench their thirst for God
and peace.

is to state briefly who had ordered that the Medinan ayahs supersede or abrogate the Meccan ayahs, especially in connection to
the sword verse? Because if it happens to be the prophet Muhammad himself who ordered the peaceful ayahs to be abrogated,
then the situation may become problematic. Taha developed what he called "Second Message of Islam" after
a period of prolonged "religious seclusion".[4] His theory was that the Qur'an contains two general
messages that are apparently in contradiction. The message of verses of the Qur'an revealed while
Muhammad was living in Mecca ("Mecca Qur'an"), take a different approach to religious freedom
and equality between the sexes than do the verses of the Qur'an revealed after Muhammad had left
Mecca and was living in Medina (the "Medina Qur'an").Lichtenthäler, Gerhard.  "Mahmud Muhammad
Taha: Sudanese Martyr, Mystic and Muslim Reformer". Institute of Islamic Studies. Evangelical Alliance of
Germany, Austria, Switzerland. Retrieved 30 July  2014.

It became a blanket rule that Medinan verses always abrogating the Meccan verses if there conflcit. Mecca refers to the universal,
medina refers to the particular. the problem is the scandal of then particular.