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Learning objectives:
- Reflect and understand the verses from Kahlil Gibran.
- Identify the significance of studying the piece
- Explain some points from the piece and;
- Highlight the best things learned from Preciosa Soliven’s Understanding Islam and
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.

Understanding Islam
Preciosa S. Soliven

There are more than 1 billion people on this planet who are followers of the religion of
Islam. The problem is that we have such limited understanding of what Muslims believe
and who they are.
It is confusing to hear different signals. Government leaders make statements that, "Islam
is a peaceful religion." However, we also hear other leaders say that Islam is not a peaceful
religion.

Islam and Terrorism

Rev. Bruce H. Yurich, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and dean of a university
with subsidiary seminary, had trouble believing that Islam really is so committed to
destroying Christians and all non-Islamic governments. He states that "Dr. Mark Gabriel,
author of Islam and Terrorism, clearly documents the identification between modern
terrorism and Islamic theology." Reverend Yurich was especially impressed by Dr. Gabriel's
explanation regarding the love for Christians' passages in the Quran, which are from earlier
Mecca years of Prophet Muhammad.
Dr. Gabriel, a former professor of Islamic history at the most prestigious university in the
world - Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt - is a scholar who earned both master and
doctorate degrees in Islamic study. He offers a point of view of one who lived Islam, studied
Islam, taught Islam and preached Islam at mosques in the Middle East. He states historical
facts about Muhammad's teaching and practices that few Westerners have ever heard.

Disillusioned at Al-Azhar
In 1987, Mark Gabriel was the iman of a mosque (similar to pastor of a Christian church)
in the city of Giza, Egypt, where the famous Egyptian pyramids are located. He preached the
message of the week Fridays from 12 to 1 p.m.
He was preaching what he was taught, but inside he was confused about the truth of Islam.
“The teachings at the mosque and at Al-Azhar were not what I had seen in the Quran, which
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I had memorized in its entirety since I was 12 years old. What confused me the most was
that I was told to preach about an Islam of love, kindness and forgiveness. At the same time,
Muslim fundamentalists – the ones who were supposed to be practicing true Islam – were
bombing churches and killing Christians,” Mark explained.
If he wanted to keep his job and status at Al-Azhar, he had to keep his thoughts to himself.
Otherwise, he would be fired and would not be accepted to teach at any other university in
the nation.

Core beliefs of Islam

As a freshman at Al-Azhar, he asked a lecturer (a blind sheikh popular among students for
his passion for Islam): “Why is it that you teach us all the time about jihad? What about the
other verses in the Quran that talk about peace, love and forgiveness?”
His face turned red in anger, but calmly replied: “My brother, there is a whole surah called
‘Spoils of War.’ There is no surah called ‘Peace’. Jihad and killing are the head of Islam. If
you take them out, you cut off the head of Islam.”
Today, that man, Omar Abdel Rahman, is convicted and locked up in a United States prison
for masterminding the first World Trade Center bomb attack in 1993. Before he came to
America, he was the spiritual leader of the radical Egyptian group al-Jihad that assassinated
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He talked the Egyptian Supreme Court into setting him
free, which allowed him to travel to America and practice jihad there.

How the Quran was written

The word Islam means ‘submission’. The word Muslim means ‘one who submits to Allah.’
The Quran says you cannot be a true Muslim unless you submit.
When submitting to Allah, one must refer to the holy books of Islam – the Quran and the
hadith. The Quran was started in AD 610 when Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, said the
angel Gabriel spoke to him while he was meditating in a cave near Mecca. Muhammad
claimed these were the words of the one true god – Allah. He wrote down these words as
he received them over a period of about 22 years.
The books of hadith are another set of holy writings that record what the prophet
Muhammad said and did during his life. These were recorded by people who were close to
him, such as his friends and wives. Hadith serves to establish principles of warfare and
coercion that are practiced today.
Mark Gabriel used two different English translations of the Quran for his book: the version
translated by Abdullah Yusek Ali; and The Noble Quran published by the king of Saudi
Arabia in 1998. (The Quran, which is Islam’s holy book, is divided into 114 chapters called
surahs. The surahs are also divided into verses, like the Bible.)

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The entry to Paradise
It is important that Muslims do what Allah wants because Islam is a religion of works.
Entrance to Paradise (heaven) must be earned. The sad part is that Muslims can never have
assurance of salvation. When they die, they believe that they go to the grave, where they
await their judgment at resurrection day.
The only guarantee to enter Paradise is to die in jihad. It is defined in legal terms by Islamic
fiqh as: “Jihad is fighting anybody who stands in the way of spreading Islam. Or fighting
anyone who refuses to enter into Islam.” (Surah 8:39)
After a regular person dies, his body is washed and dressed nicely, as if going to the
mosque. When a person dies in jihad, his body is not washed or given clean clothes. He is
placed in a coffin just as he died. The blood is a sign of honor and the Muslims believe that
the angels will give him special treatment as they are presented to Allah.

Verses vary in the Quran

The Quran is filled with contradictions. You can find verses where Christians are
complimented as well as verses where they are condemned to hell. Some verses say that
Muslims can have a good relationship with Christians, but other verses say Muslims must
require Christians to convert to Islam.
Another contradiction is drinking of alcohol. During Muhammad’s day, Arabs stopped
drinking when going to mosque for prayer, but resumed drinking after. Another verse
prohibited alcohol at all times. (Surah 2:219 and Surah 5:90)
In the beginning of Islam, women were not forced to wear a hijab, but subsequent verses
commanded women to stay in the house and wear a cover.
To solve a contradiction, they decided that new revelations would override (nasikh)
previous revelations. The principle of nasikh is very strong, it is as if the previous verse
doesn’t even exist.
There are at least 114 verses in the Quran that speak of love, peace and forgiveness,
entitled, The Heifer (Surah (2:62,109). But, Surah 9:5 canceled out those previous verses
stating, “Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer
them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war), but if they repent and establish
regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-
forgiving, Most Merciful.”

The life of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam

The prophet Muhammad’s life in Mecca was all about prayers and meditation. The Quranic
revelations then talked about peace and cooperation with others, in order to attract
followers. But he encountered much opposition in Mecca, so he left in AD 622. He went to
Yathrib, now Medina, and built up military strength with a large number of followers.

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When Muhammad was in a position of power, he returned and conquered Mecca. This
move changed Islam from a spiritual religion to a political revolution. Since he received
most of the Quran after he left Mecca, 60 percent of the Quranic verses talked about
invasion in the name of Islam or jihad. (Mecca and Medina are in present-day Saudi
Arabia.).

Different kinds of Muslims

There are different kinds of Muslims, just as there are different kinds of Christians:
1. SECULAR MUSLIMS. They believe in the nice parts of Islam, but they reject the call
to jihad. They take on the cultural trappings of the message, but they are not living it
out completely. The majority of Muslims around the world – both in the East and in
the West – fall into this category.
2. TRADITIONAL MUSLIMS. There are two types of traditional Muslims. The first type
are those who study Islam, know it and practice it, but consider jihad as a spiritual
battle, like the Muslim Sufism movement. The second type are those who do not
participate in jihad because: they do not have the ability to do it by themselves; they
are concerned about what would happen to their lives, family and children; or they
want to live a nice life on earth instead of dying.
3. FUNDAMENTALIST MUSLIMS. These are the ones who perpetrate terrorism. They
sometimes have long beards and head coverings. Called radicals, their goal is to
practice Islam as Muhammad did.

The Prophet
Kahlil Gibran
(Notes: This is Kahlil Gibran's writings manifesting the expression of the spiritual
expression of men's inner life, leading to a state of joy and bliss. His philosophical thoughts,
supplemented in the book with his own mystical paintings try to present to the reader an
understanding of how it is to live better; how to deal with life's sorrow, freedom, reason
and passion. It also talks of everyday thoughts and doings such as the art of talking,
suffering and dealing with pain, friendship, prayer, good and eveil, even pleasure, religion
and death. Lebanese poet, Gibran is considered Lebanon's distinguished and well-known
poet, philosopher and artist at the same time. The simplicity of his writing styles captivates
the reader’s attention and awareness of life’s experience, in general. His adherence to the
rules of conduct is well expressed when he said: “I lay down no rules of conduct. Do
whatever you will so long as you do it beautiful.”
ALMUSTAFA, THE CHOSEN AND the beloved who was at dawn unto hi own day, and waited
twelve Years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to
the isle of his birth ......... .

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And as he walked he heard their voices calling his name, and shouting from field to field
telling one another of the coming of his ship…….. And when he entered into the city all the
people came to meet him, and they were crying out to him as with one voice ......... . And
there came out of the sanctuary a women whose name was Almitra. And she was a seeress.

And he looked upon her with exceeding tenderness, for it was she who had first sought and
believed in him when he had been but a day in their city. And she hailed him saying:

Prophet of God, in quest of the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your
ship.
And now your ship has come, and you must go.

Deep in your longing for the land of your memories and the dwelling-place of your greater
desires; and our love would not bind you nor our needs hold you.
Yet this we ask ere you leave us, that you speak to us and give us of your truth.
And we will give it unto our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish.
In your aloneness you have watched with our days, and in your wakefulness you have
listened to the weeping and the laughter of our sleep
Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that
which is between birth and death.
And he answered:

People of Orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving within your
souls?

Then said Almitra, Speaks to us of Love.

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you, follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you, yield to him,

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Though the sword hidden among his pinions may would you,
And when he speaks to you, believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the
sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of
God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your
course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a
running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon
your lips.

Then Almira spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master? And he answered
saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

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You shall be together when wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup' but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each on of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
(Gibran, pp.9-22).

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the self same well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your
tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And
is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has
given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are
weeping for that which has, been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is then greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

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Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board,
remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold
And his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
(Gibran, pp.34-35)

And then a scholar said, Speak of Talking. And he answered, saying:

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and
sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but
cannot fly.
There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which
they themselves do not understand.

And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the marketplace, let the spirit in you
move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered.
When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
(Gibran, pp. 63-64)

And one of the elders of the city said, Speak to us of Good and Evil. And he answered:

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Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when in thirsts it drinks
even of dead waters.
You are good when you are one with yourself.
Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.
And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the
bottom.
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet you are evil when seek gain for yourself.
For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her
breast.
Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever-giving of your
abundance."
For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.
You are good when you are fully awake in your speech.
Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.
And even stumbling in speech may strengthen a weak tongue.
You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.
Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming in
kindness.
You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good.
You are only loitering and sluggard.
In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness; and that longing is in all of you.
But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the
secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

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And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it
reaches the shore. (Gibran, pp. 67 - 69)

Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death. And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king
whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that they may
rise and expand and seek God un-en cumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
(Gibran pp. 8:1-83)

And now it was evening. And Almitra the seeress said, Blessed be this day and this place and
your spirit that has spoken.
'' '
And he answered, was it I who spoke?
Was I not also a listener?

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Then he descended the steps of the temple and all the people followed him. And he reached his
ship and stood upon the deck. And facing the people again, he raised his voice and said:
‘People of Orphalese, the wind bids me leave you’. (Gibran, p.84)

Fare you well, people of Orphalese.

This day has ended.
It is closing upon us even as the waterlily upon its own tomorrow.
What was given us here we shall keep.
And if it suffices not, then again must we come together and together stretch our hands unto
the giver.
Forget not that I shall come back to you.
A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body.
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.

Only AImira was silent, gazing after the ship until it had vanished into the mist. And when
all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall, remembering in her
heart his saying:

"A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me."
(Gibran, pp. 94 - 96)

Discussion questions:
1. What is your reflection after learning or reading the piece of Understanding Islam?
2. From the verses of Kahlil Gibran, what strikes you the most? What was your
realization after reading the verse?
3. Why do you think we need to understand and learn Islam through these pieces?
4. After learning or reading the piece, did your perception with Islam changed?
5. What do you think are the purpose of pieces for us, as future teachers?

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