Those who would insist on understanding Islam through the conceptual framework imposed by the English language will likely find problematic many noncontroversial aspects of our religion. Here is a simple example...those who have been influenced by feminist critiques of what are viewed as patriarchal aspects of Christianity, starting with the very nature of the godhead, are troubled by the fact that Allah (God) is identify by the pronoun huwa, which is usually translated as He. Hence, they infer that Allah is male, a inference that has immediate and serious implications for females. What they fail to consider is that in Arabic, there is no neuter, it. Hence, in Arabic normally gendered language is used to describe phenomena that have no gender. Describing Allah as Huwa does not render Him masculine just as describing a car as Heya, the Arabic feminine pronoun, does not render a car feminine. These are simply neutered uses of normally, but not exclusively, gendered terms. Allah is exalted above gender or anything else existing in creation. - Imam Zaid Shakir There is NOTHING like unto Him, yet He is the All-seeing, the All-hearing (Quran, 42:11).
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 10:00:00 +0000
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