Muslims believe Islam is the oldest ordained since the beginning of life and etched on Lawh-e-Mahfuz—an eternally preserved plaque. Historically speaking, Islam has existed for over one and a half millennia. It is reckoned amongst the youngest religion with large followings. Presently, more than two billion people claim to be Muslims worldwide.
Islam has had the distinction of being one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. Its distinctive characteristics have attracted criticism or disagreements with certain aspects of Islam. These may be attributable to the fear, prejudices, and hostility emanating from the history of the rapid rise of Islam not only as a religion, but also as a political power.
It is, however, crucial to distinguish between legitimate criticism or disagreement with certain aspects of Islam or its practices and generalise them into what is now referred to as Islamophobia. Critiquing any religion or ideology should be based on respectful dialogue and understanding rather than perpetuating stereotypes or promoting hatred. Creating an environment that values religious freedom and encourages tolerance, empathy, and acceptance for all individuals, regardless of their religious beliefs, is critical.
A recent book, “Understanding Islam: Its Spirit and Values” by Abad Ahmad (Harper Collins Publishers India, 2023), is the most refreshing and comprehensive reading seeking to present the message of Islam in its truest sense. The volume aims at mitigating misgivings about Islam by highlighting its core message of peace, harmony, human values, universal brotherhood, and global citizenship.
Abad Ahmad is a renowned name and an established authority in management education and research. He has long been associated with Delhi University as a professor in the faculty of management studies, director of the south campus and pro-vice-chancellor. He led several eminent institutions like Management Development Institute (MDI) and Agha Khan Foundation as its chairman, where he initiated many educational, social and economic development initiatives.
Aside from his institution-building and developmental roles, he is an accomplished scholar with research and teaching experience at world-famous universities like Western University, Harvard, Stanford University of California, Los Angeles and Indiana University. He has been known for his scholarship on strategy, organisation behaviour, change management and organisation development.
A Muslim with a modern progressive look and appearance seldom wore his religion or morals on his sleeves. He has, however, been profoundly but quietly engaged in understanding Islam’s true meaning and spirit. He never gave any inklings, except to a select few, that he was engaged in a pursuit of swimming across and diving deep into the unfathomable oceans of religion.
The present book is thus a pleasant surprise even to those who have known him for a long time. A glance at the content suggests that a profound work of this magnitude would have taken many years of burning midnight oil to sift, arrange and organise the universal messages enshrined in the Holy Quran.
Understanding Islam is complex and time-consuming task. The Holy Quran presents revealed knowledge. Most of its verses are straightforward, simple and easy to understand. Others may warrant a thorough and nuanced understanding of other significant sources of Islamic learning and beliefs like ‘Hadith’ (recorded sayings, actions and deeds of the prophets) and ‘Fiqh’ (Islamic jurisprudence). Most messages of the Quran are universal and eternal. But there are also some which are contextual.
Abad Ahmad is known for his remarkable ability to present and explain complex and complicated concepts and ideas in a simple and easily comprehensible manner. Most importantly, while doing so, he ensures that their essence and substance are preserved. So is the approach for this work.
He has steered clear of many different meanings and interpretations of other translators and commentators of the Holy Quran. He has relied almost exclusively on the most popular, contemporary and authentic translation and commentary of the Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali – The Meaning of Glorious Quran: text, Translation and Commentary.
The author has painstakingly gathered, interpreted and put together all the Holy Quran’s verses that speak of and emphasise the universal message of human values, harmony, love and peace. The result is a beautiful bouquet of plenty of Quranic verses exhorting not only the Muslims but humanity as a whole to preach and practice human values.
The book’s preface and introduction present a succinct preview of the larger perspective and the context for the proper understanding of what follows in the twenty brief chapters. The book seems to have been conceptualised as an anthology of verses from the Holy Quran. He has ensured that they are not cited and reproduced out of context.
The book goes beyond being an anthology. The brief commentaries that prelude and interpose the collected verses add immense value in understanding their meaning in their proper context. The arrangements and organisation of the contents into contemporarily understood themes make it easier for people to understand the spirit and values that Islam stands for. The most appreciable aspect of this work is the author’s keen desire to communicate and convey select contents of the Quran in their proper contexts to obviate misunderstandings that presently prevail. This short but comprehensive work would go a long way toward addressing misunderstandings about the real message of Islam. The book can potentially eliminate Islamophobic prejudices that manifest in many forms like hate speech, stereotypes, discrimination, violence and exclusion.
It is written with the belief that most misunderstandings about Islam and Muslims emanate from ignorance or lack of familiarity with Islam’s basic philosophy, principles, tenets and practices and its followers. A large section of society, national and global, would benefit immensely from this work. At the least, the book would provide an authentic and reliable basis for respectful dialogue and understanding.
Yet another strength of the book is that the author is least bothered about the sceptics, who might feel that most misunderstandings are deliberate and mischievous and that no amount of messaging would stop them from doing what they do. But one can awaken only those who are asleep.
Furqan Qamar, former Adviser for Education in the Planning Commission, is a Professor, Department of Management Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal.
