{"id":150,"date":"2008-02-09T19:30:37","date_gmt":"2008-02-10T03:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doctorsoroush.com\/english\/?p=150"},"modified":"2012-09-24T19:32:20","modified_gmt":"2012-09-25T02:32:20","slug":"mohammads-word-mohammads-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/mohammads-word-mohammads-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"Mohammad\u2019s Word, Mohammad\u2019s Miracle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with Abdulkarim Soroush by Kargozaran newspaper<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Q. Some newspapers and websites have been saying recently that Dr Soroush has officially denied that the Koran was revealed by God and has said that it is the earthly word of Muhammad. Is this true?
\n<\/strong>
\nA. Maybe they\u2019re joking or, God forbid, they have political or personal motives.<\/p>\n

Q. So, what\u2019s your view and your explanation?
\n<\/strong>
\nA. God willing, they\u2019re well-intentioned and have simply misunderstood things. Otherwise, anyone who is acquainted with the divinity\u2019s dominion and with the closeness of God\u2019s saints to God – and knows about the experience of union – would not speak in such a repudiatory manner. God\u2019s saints are so close to God and they so lose themselves in God that their word is the same as the word of God, and their commands and prohibitions and their likes and dislikes are the same as God\u2019s commands and prohibitions and likes and dislikes. The beloved Prophet of Islam was a human being and he acknowledged and was conscious of his humanity, but this human being had, at the same time, acquired such a divine hue and quality – and the intermediaries (even Gabriel) had so fallen away from between him and God – that whatever he said was both earthly and divine; these two things were inseparable.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a stone that\u2019s turned into a dazzling ruby \/ it\u2019s brimming with the traits of the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

God willing, if people reflect on this fine, mystical point, the problem will be solved and the key to what is being said will be discovered.<\/p>\n

Q. So what about Gabriel descending to bring down revelation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. Mystics are of the view that Gabriel isn\u2019t closer to God than Muhammad is; in fact, it is Gabriel who complies with the Prophet. Do we not have it in the story of the Prophet\u2019s ascension to heaven that Gabriel was unable to accompany the Prophet and was afraid that his wings would be singed and burn? What does this story tell us? Didn\u2019t the late Khomeini say: \u201cIt was the spirituality of God\u2019s Prophet that brought down revelation to us\u2026 In other words, the Holy Prophet brought truthful Gabriel into this world.\u201d (Sahifeh-ye Nur, Vol 20, speech dated 14 April 1987) Does this mean that it wasn\u2019t God who sent down Gabriel? Or does it mean, in Mowlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi\u2019s words, that \u201cI need no intermediary or wet nurse to give me the kindness of God \/ for, Moses-like, my wet nurse and my mother are one and the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

To say that the Koran is Muhammad\u2019s word is exactly like saying the Koran is Muhammad\u2019s miracle. Underlining one is not a negation of the other. Anything that happens in the world happens in accordance with God\u2019s knowledge, permission and will. A monotheist has no doubt about this. Be that as it may, we say that the cherry is the fruit of the cherry tree. Do we have to say that the cherry is the fruit of God in order to be a monotheist? Let\u2019s not wrap the old Ash\u2019arism in the garb of modern sanctity. Let\u2019s speak in a righteous way and strive to understand the meaning of delicate and subtle points. The Koran was the product of a virtuous tree – the Prophet\u2019s persona – which bore fruit by God\u2019s permission, and this is identical to revelation being sent down to us and an act of God.<\/p>\n

My advice to the fair-minded (I don\u2019t know what to say to the ill-intentioned) is exactly the same as Rumi\u2019s advice: They must set aside any suspicion of God\u2019s saints and not view them as separate from God. They mustn\u2019t dislodge and bring down these beloved, revered figures from God\u2019s presence, proximity and dominion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with Abdulkarim Soroush by Kargozaran newspaper Q. Some newspapers and websites have been saying recently that Dr Soroush has officially denied that the Koran was revealed by God and has said that it is the earthly word of Muhammad. Is this true? A. Maybe they\u2019re joking or, God forbid, they have political or personal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drsoroush.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}