When I first read that my assignment included the Islamic culture in the Ottoman Empire, I was ecstatic! Not only have I been taking an Islam and the Gospel class here at BYU, but I genuinely have always had a great curiosity for Middle Eastern culture.
Today, I’d like to focus on one specific text that relates to oral knowledge and mnemonics in the Ottoman Empire: the Hadith. First, it’s important to understand that Islam was the ideology that solidified and centralized the entire civilization. I would be amiss if I did not mention the key figure of this religion the Prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic belief, one day while meditating in a cave, this illiterate merchant had a vision in which the angel Gabriel commanded him to read. He replied “I cannot.” The angel then proceeded to thrust his arms upon as if in desperation and again commanded him to read. Eventually, Muhammad reached enlightenment and in the years after wards he received revelations which are now known as the Qur’an. What’s interesting is that because Muhammad was illiterate, he orally communicated his messages from God to his people and have scribes copy down word for word what he wrote (sounds like Joseph Smith).
Now, my key text source is known as the Hadith, which differs from the Qur’an in that it specifically focuses on the traditions of Muhammad. In a way, it’s structured like the four gospels in the New Testament in which details about Christ’s life and exemplary actions are revealed. An example of a typical Hadith is as follows:
“Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Apostle was the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an. Allah's Apostle was the most generous person, even more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds).“ (Hadith 1.5)
Just as Christians try to emulate Jesus, Muslims try to emulate Muhammad. What’s interesting about the Hadith is that its very structure is based on a process known by a type of mnemonic called isnad. Isnad refers to the chain of authority in which these traditions were passed down. One man would hear the words of the prophet, then recite them to another, and then to another, and so forth: almost like a massive game of “telephone”. Now, don’t think this cause for illegitimacy; these authorities well educated in the intense oral study of the Hadith known as ilm-al-rijal. What I find truly remarkable is that they spent so much time critiquing and studying these traditions all in the name of preserving their religion. Such devotion is rarely paralleled elsewhere in the world.
One of the more famous Hadiths or traditions that I’m sure we’re all familiar with in the Islamic is called the adhan—the call to prayer. Here’s a short video clip of a typical adhan:
The call to prayer symbolizes unifying Islams worldwide to set aside time from their daily lives and turn towards the Holy City of Mecca and pray to God. This dedication to prayer is repeated 5 times a day without hesitation by a typical Muslim. In a way, the adhan exemplifies the essence of oral knowledge. Through words and music, earnest testimonies of God's, or Allah's, greatness are transmitted and edify all who listen.
In closing, I’d like to express my appreciation for such an amazing culture in which the spoken word has so much meaning. If only we as members of the LDS could pass down the oral messages of the Apostles today; we could further spread the knowledge of God’s goodness and grace half as well as the Muslims.
Sources:The Hadith found at http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=1&translator=1
Lecture Notes from my Islam and the Gospel class
Islam: The Basics by Turner
I never realized how close the story of the Muslim faith is to ours. It's sad to see how two religious sects, Islam and our own, are sterotyped and portrayed in a negative light by so many. As you mentioned, true Muslims are just trying to live righteously and emulate the ways of Muhammad. It's amazing how much effort these men must put into studying and memorizing the Hadith, and I wonder what better missionaries and church members we would be if we studied our own books of scripture even a fraction of the time these Muslim scholars study their own.
ReplyDeleteI know! There are so many historical parallels even with the pioneers. Its such fascinating civiliazation. The reason that sometimes Muslims are sometimes portrayed badly is because radicals take the tenant of jihad, or being engaged in a good cause, too seriously. Ever since writing this post I myself have gained a stronger opinion on the mosque controversy at Ground Zero. Honestly, the controversy that arose was so stupid! The terrorists DO NOT typify what is Islam. The mosque had every right to be built and Americans need to learn how to not be easily offended!
ReplyDeleteI just think it's so cool that throughout all of these posts we see people who were so heavily relied upon for what you could claim we live for - the stories, our stories, that give meaning to our lives. It's like what Professor Burton mentioned in class, that Walter Fisher said we are "homo narrans" and stories are how we make sense of the world. I wonder who in our lives today would be the group of people we choose to rely upon to transmit those stories, and it amazes me, like with what you guys mentioned, that all of this knowledge has been so well-preserved - I would assume the Muslim call to prayer hasn't changed much over the years, although it has been transmitted in a written form for a long while, I guess. Interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs Dane and Andrew mentioned, I believe there are many similarities between our own religion and Islam. In the way of oral traditions, I think that our church places a heavy emphasis on the power of oral speech. Of course, there is great significance placed on the written word (the Book of Mormon is referred to as the word of God and represents the iron rod which leads to salvation in the dream of Lehi). However, all our prayers, beside the sacrament prayers, are oral and improvised. There are talks in sacrament meeting every week and once a month, we devote an hour to publicly and orally bearing our testimonies. And, as we will see this weekend, there is General Conference, a bi-annual conference where the prophet and apostles of our church give sermons or talks on the principles of our doctrine. There is even a program on Sunday morning before Conference entitled “The Spoken Word”. All these prove the importance in religion of not just written texts, but the impact of speeches, talks, sermons, and testimonies. This relates to the Islamic culture which, as Andrew explained, also has rich oral traditions like the adhan.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like that Summer. There is a special power that comes when hearing someone testify with their own voice. Makes it seem more personal.
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