“The whole society becomes visible to itself as an imperishable living unit. Generations of individuals pass, like anonymous cells from a living body; but the sustaining, timeless form remains.” – Joseph Campbell, ​The Hero With A Thousand Faces

If there is to be a future in which to write a history of the 21st century, a great listening must occur. There must be a re-inhabiting of the Earth where people are participants in its systems. If it happens, this century will then be known as the Holistic Age, an age in which humanity began to recognize its place as a keystone species within the ecosystem, urging responsible action, living, and thought.

This age, if it comes to pass, would be based on an interdisciplinary approach, with a balance of respect for empirical, intuitive, and indigenous knowledge, rather than an emphasis purely on empiricism. The recognition of the sacred in substance would begin to be the basis of social cohesion and practice in all areas. Objectivity, as was shown in Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, would be recognized as an approximation. The greater certainty with which one aspect of a particle is known, the less certain another aspect becomes. Science would begin to put back together what it took apart, studying systems rather than parts. A shift in thinking, from objects to relationships, would take place. This reintegration would be total: cultural, spiritual, social, political, and so forth, for each would function only with the health and connection of the other.

I will propose four branches that have advanced the illusion of the split between the human, nature, mind, and heart, and the Holistic Age would begin to heal this split.

For the first time in human history, the dawn of the 21st century saw the planet’s systems pushed to the limit. Industrialization spread commerce across the globe, tapping into a finite, planetary pool of resources. Technology advanced exponentially, linking the world’s communications via satellites and the internet. Civil rights movements encouraged the world’s marginalized to equalize the playing field. The split between the mind and spirit imploded, as the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics had opened new doors a century earlier. What was thought to be the final chapter of physics suddenly disintegrated into uncertainties that blew open previous structures of thought. The economic models of unlimited growth and colonialism put forth by classical economists such as Adam Smith led to a tipping point of change. This change was catalyzed by unsustainable land practices and the use of fossil fuels, both of which stemmed from this split between mind and spirit, human and nature.

The first branch of the split in the Western world was language, especially written language. The subject, “I”, is separate from the object and must agree with the verb. If there is no “I” separate from “all that is” then, for example, instead of saying “I am skipping rocks,” we could say “This human-cell-of-the-earth and this rock-cell-of-the-earth are drawn to one another and the rock is orbited into lake-earth.” Of course, this is clumsy. It would be easier to say, “Rock skips lake makes rings of water.” Any subsuming of the “I” or pluralization, as in “We skip rock,” is almost a caricature of our stereotypes of so-called primitive thought. But a language humble enough to leave out the human ego or separation from the rest of the cosmos is not primitive at all. Could it be that the cultivation of our mind-ego above all else is actually a neurosis? A linguistic evolution would necessitate breaking some of the rules we have held so dear. Language could be stretched to unite us further with reality rather than separating us from it. Perhaps this is the work of poets.

Poetry brings us to stories. All cultures of the past have told stories so as to order time, the cosmos, and society’s place within these structures. These stories were our myths, but also the dawn of our religions and sciences. During the Age of Enlightenment, matters of science and the spirit split into two opposing paths. This rift in thought was brought about by scientists such as René Descartes, who himself was spiritual, but saw matter as definitively separate from mind. The philosophies of scientists such as Descartes influenced a dualistic paradigm that sparked the Industrial Revolution, which perfected the machine and the mechanistic mindset. This led to a global ecological crisis as fossil fuels were extracted, forests were clear cut, and water polluted at exponentially increasing rates. Thus the mind no longer saw itself as part of the body, and the body suffered. Purely “rational” science was one split leading to the next: the mechanistic industrial paradigm.

Intent or goals are then defined clearly by analyzing our thought and speech, without disregarding that which cannot be quantified. For example, love, the intelligence of nature, justice, and peace cannot be quantified, but this does not mean they should be cut out of the goals of the system because productivity and capital can be quantified more easily. Our intent shapes our actions and the definition of our goal must be also shaped carefully in order to carry out this action with integrity.

The last two ways deal with our perceptions of the world, our paradigms. Our worldview is the set of concepts we take for granted, every value and principle from money to cosmology. In order for us to change our world, we must change our paradigm. In order for us to do this, we could implement a scientific inquiry into our modes of thought and create a model of our beliefs. We begin by stepping outside of our model and seeing it for what it is. We recognize the set of desired beliefs according to our values or doctrine may not match our thoughts, speech, and actions. Then we can see our set of belief systems, actual and desired, for what they are and analyze how they work or do not work.

At this last stage, we could begin to transcend paradigms altogether. In the Holistic Age, there would be a sense of spaciousness for every truth ever born. Every perception of each living being would be understood as creating the Cosmos. Each different perspective would be embraced as a necessary and beautiful unfolding. No truth would be seen as greater or lesser than another truth. They would be seen to function symbiotically in a vast interconnected network of truths, a living being that is the Universe, evolving and becoming friends with itself through the mirror of our consciousness. This could be nothing short of Enlightenment itself.

Tea comes from the plant Camellia sinensis. Nowadays, a myriad of tea options is available – green, black, and oolong. And though tea is now seemingly everywhere, its origin still remain uncertain, a remnant of ancient folklore claimed by both India and China [5].

Tracing the origins of tea

It is often believed in Chinese folklore that Emperor Shen Nong’s servants would serve him hot water. In one instance, tea leaves appeared in the pot of hot water. Presumably from a nearby tree, the leaves greatly pleased the emperor’s taste buds.

A separate story relays the experiences of Siddhartha, Buddhism’s founder, who supposedly tossed his own eyelids onto the earth, witnessing the birth of a tea bush. Though both stories may be apocryphal, Buddhists and the Chinese still value them [5].

Many centuries later, in 479, Turkish merchants began tea negotiations with China. Then, in 593, tea landed in Japan, into the welcoming arms of Buddhist monks. In 1618, green tea finally made the rounds in Europe, imported by the Dutch after their visits to Japan. And in the early part of the 20th century, Sumatra, Indonesia, and even Kenya become exposed to the drink [6]. Presently, millions of people, from all walks of life, consume tea on a daily basis, making it nearly ubiquitous. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, nearly 5 million tons of tea were produced globally in 2013 [7].

Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Soon, it might be even more popular – because it just might save your life.

Tea first, water second

Turkish people are so utterly obsessed with tea that it would be unjust not to declare it their national drink. One can find a teapot in nearly every household. It holds a special place in the minds and hearts of all, and has become deeply ingrained into Turkish culture. Turks profoundly cherish tea, in a similar manner to how Americans love their coffee and Italians their espresso.

Turkish people brew tea first thing in the morning and tea consumption continues throughout the day. While green and black are frequent options, the latter is generally more popular.

The preparation of “Turkish” tea is rather simple. A few spoons of ground tea are placed into a teapot following a cleansing and moistening process. The teapot remains situated upon a tea kettle, where water is boiled. At an appropriate time, water is transferred from the kettle to the teapot, brewing tea. In general, the hot tea is served in small teacups to prolong the mouth-watering pleasure.

This drink represents more than just a pinch of tea leaves swirling in hot water. It is a symbol of friendship, love, and unity. Regardless of the occasion, a cup of tea creates a welcoming atmosphere and can brew lifelong friendships.

While tea may be a cultural staple for those who drink it, they may not realize that the many antioxidants the drink contains may have serious benefits for their health.

On the molecular level, what makes tea special?

Antioxidants are an umbrella term for different chemicals that keep our body’s free radicals in check. Free radicals, with an unpaired electron in their outermost atomic shell, are harmful to living organisms as they wreak havoc on the body as they attempt to seize nearby electrons. This in turn can take a heavy toll on a body, causing damage at the molecular level and possibly leading to potentially fatal diseases. Therefore, the human body utilizes antioxidants as a first line of defense against the detrimental effects of free radicals.

Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant found abundantly in many of the foods and drinks we routinely consume, including tea, fruits, and veggies. Polyphenolic compounds found naturally in tea leaves have been shown to be effective in alleviating health-related concerns [8]. However, uncertainties abound as to whether or not tea compounds truly are capable of impeding cancerous cell growth or preventing other illnesses [9, 10].

Promising results against cancer

Our understanding of polyphenols and antioxidants is raw, with each new study bringing us one step closer to fully comprehending the inner-happenings of the human body. Researchers are still interested in solving the puzzling effect of tea compounds on the overall well-being of living organisms. Studies are relatively recent, but a substantial amount of scientific research has suggested that tea compounds have beneficial effects towards human or animal health [9-12].

In a case study conducted on 130 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients in Hangzhou, China, 124 patients who frequently consumed green tea for extended periods of time were less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who did not. Interestingly enough, the other six cancer patients also drank tea, just in the form of black [1].

Likewise, Bettuzzi et al. observed that men administered 200 mg dosages of green tea catechins had a 10x lowered prostate cancer incidence rate as compared to a placebo group. Of the treatment group, only one individual was noted to have developed cancer at the yearly biopsy check, while in the placebo group, nine individuals developed cancer at varying times [9]. Ultimately, their observations suggest that green tea may be a beacon of hope for desperate cancer patients.

Despite such promising results, it has been noted that green tea may not be nearly as effective as advertised in treating cancer. According to Choan et al., when 19 hormone-refractory, advanced-stage prostate cancer patients (for whom hormone therapy is deemed to be ineffective) were administered green tea in capsulated form, their conditions seemed to gradually decline [13, 14]. This was the case for all patients, less one whose body responded somewhat positively to the treatment. This study confirmed that green tea had little to no effect on the progression of cancer in the body [13].

A beacon of light

According to Stockfleth et al., when 503 wart victims were exposed to Polyphenon E 15% Ointment, a medication containing tea catechins, significant reductions in ongoing warts were noticed in nearly half of the treated individuals, with under 6 percent of those treated showing signs of wart recurrence [11, 15]. The efficacy of the treatment was more noticeable in women, with 60 percent reporting full clearance of warts [11].

Furthermore, independent studies on smoking men and non-smoking women reported a decreased risk of developing lung cancer following consumption of green tea [2, 3]. Both studies provide valuable insight into the fascinating workings of tea compounds; regardless of lifestyle choices, similar effects were observed.

Black and green tea have also improved the lives of rats suffering from debilitating high blood pressure, enabling them to achieve sound cardiovascular health [10]. Another study done on rats has passively urged the scientific community to start an inquiry into the health effects of green tea on humans after obtaining promising data regarding the regulation of lipid metabolism in blood plasma [12].

Lastly, drinking tea has been shown to be helpful in decreasing risks associated with developing diabetes, yet a cause-effect relationship between consumption and risk cannot be safely assumed [4].

Tea is still fun to drink!

Studies on this topic conclude that a definitive causal relationship between tea consumption and the efficacy of its health benefits has not been confirmed [1, 3, 4]. To be able to successfully elucidate the effects that drinking tea has on inhibiting cancerous growth, research studies in general need to provide the necessary specificity regarding consumption behaviors, lifestyle choices, individual physical characteristics, and so forth. This is in large part due to the intricate design and complexity of human physiology. Moreover, we should appreciate the chemistry that takes place in our bodies at the microscopic level and continue to assume healthy dietary practices at the macroscopic level. Once we develop a better understanding of the relationship between tea consumption and health, only then can we prescribe safe medical practices regarding an appropriate tea regimen for the general population.

For now, it should be okay for habitual tea drinkers to continue indulging themselves. Moreover, tea has the intrinsic power to instill energy in social settings and to establish a conscious appreciation for the life around us.

Deeply embedded in Turkish culture and revered by many around the globe, it comes as no surprises then that a renowned Turkish bard and poetic mastermind by the name of Aşık Veysel once said, “I do not have much to offer you. But for entertainment and pleasure, either have some tea and lend an ear to my melodies or travel somewhere your heart desires.”

References

1. Jian, L., L. P. Xie, A. H. Lee, and C. W. Binns. “Protective Effect of Green Tea against Prostate Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Southeast China.” Int J Cancer 108, no. 1 (Jan 1 2004): 130-5.
2. Mendilaharsu, M., E. De Stefani, H. Deneo-Pellegrini, J. C. Carzoglio, and A. Ronco. “Consumption of Tea and Coffee and the Risk of Lung Cancer in Cigarette-Smoking Men: A Case-Control Study in Uruguay.” Lung Cancer 19, no. 2 (Feb 1998): 101-7.
3. Zhong, L., M. S. Goldberg, Y. T. Gao, J. A. Hanley, M. E. Parent, and F. Jin. “A Population-Based Case-Control Study of Lung Cancer and Green Tea Consumption among Women Living in Shanghai, China.” Epidemiology 12, no. 6 (Nov 2001): 695-700.
4. Song, Y., J. E. Manson, J. E. Buring, H. D. Sesso, and S. Liu. “Associations of Dietary Flavonoids with Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, and Markers of Insulin Resistance and Systemic Inflammation in Women: A Prospective Study and Cross-Sectional Analysis.” J Am Coll Nutr 24, no. 5 (Oct 2005): 376-84.
5. “What Is the History of Tea?” Bigelow Teas. https://www.bigelowtea.com/Special-Pages/Customer-Service/FAQs/General,-Tea-Related/What-is-the-history-of-tea.
6. “Tea Outpost.” Tea Outpost. http://teaoutpost.com/tea-timeline-in-history/.
7. “World Tea Production and Trade: Current and Future Development.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/a-i4480e-7b3.pdf.
8. Khan, N., and H. Mukhtar. “Tea and Health: Studies in Humans.” Curr Pharm Des 19, no. 34 (2013): 6141-7.
9. Bettuzzi, S., M. Brausi, F. Rizzi, G. Castagnetti, G. Peracchia, and A. Corti. “Chemoprevention of Human Prostate Cancer by Oral Administration of Green Tea Catechins in Volunteers with High-Grade Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Preliminary Report from a One-Year Proof-of-Principle Study.” Cancer Res 66, no. 2 (Jan 15 2006): 1234-40.
10. Negishi, H., J. W. Xu, K. Ikeda, M. Njelekela, Y. Nara, and Y. Yamori. “Black and Green Tea Polyphenols Attenuate Blood Pressure Increases in Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.” J Nutr 134, no. 1 (Jan 2004): 38-42.
11. Stockfleth, E., H. Beti, R. Orasan, F. Grigorian, A. Mescheder, H. Tawfik, and C. Thielert. “Topical Polyphenon E in the Treatment of External Genital and Perianal Warts: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Br J Dermatol 158, no. 6 (Jun 2008): 1329-38.
12. Raederstorff, D. G., M. F. Schlachter, V. Elste, and P. Weber. “Effect of Egcg on Lipid Absorption and Plasma Lipid Levels in Rats.” J Nutr Biochem 14, no. 6 (Jun 2003): 326-32.
13. Choan, E., R. Segal, D. Jonker, S. Malone, N. Reaume, L. Eapen, and V. Gallant. “A Prospective Clinical Trial of Green Tea for Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer: An Evaluation of the Complementary/Alternative Therapy Approach.” Urol Oncol 23, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 2005): 108-13.
14. “Androgen-independent Prostate Cancer – Harvard Prostate Knowledge.” Harvard Prostate Knowledge RSS. March 11, 2009. http://www.harvardprostateknowledge.org/androgen-independent-prostate-cancer.
15. “Polyphenon E Ointment.” Drugs.com. October 31, 2006. http://www.drugs.com/polyphenon_e.html.

Resembling the “separation” described in the previous issue in many ways, doubled separation may arise either from a physical condition or from one’s spiritual state, or from one’s spiritual profundity and knowledge of God. In the third case, it is felt more deeply.

Doubled separation which arises from a physical condition is homesickness, separation from one’s family, relatives, and friends. Particularly when all the means for reunion no longer remain, the spirit sinks into an unbearable feeling of separation. If such a separation is not balanced with belief in God and the Resurrection, it becomes very difficult to endure. If one bears it with belief, one will die a martyr, as stated in the Prophetic Tra­dition, “The death of one away from his home is martyrdom” [1]. If it is not accompanied by heresy and unbelief, according to “Every misfortune brings a reward,” then it is a beneficial gift from God provided it leads to God. According to some, such separation, the pain of which has been softened by belief, is such a sweet suffering that it brings as great a reward as one has the strength to bear. Even though a person may sigh and moan when faced with this pain, the human conscience welcomes it. The follow­ing couplets of a poet express this well:

Those away from home and who see me in this state,
Let them sit by my grave when the time is due.
For only those suffering separation know each other’s state;
they are keepsakes entrusted to one another.

O my Lord! You are One Who provides means for those without means;
it is only You Who will provide means for both me and others.
As out of night You bring forth day, You are also able
to bring forth joy and happiness out of my sorrows.

The feeling of separation arising from one’s spiritual state is appreciated and honored in the Prophetic saying, “Glad tidings to the outsiders.” Such people are righteous people struggling with what a corrupt age brings: a scholar devoted to truth lost in a community drowned in ignorance; a faithful one dedicated to truth in a world permeated by hypocrisy—all those suffer separation within separation. When such people witness the great waves of corruption spreading over the land, the ruination of the ignorant masses, and the regard paid to hypocrisy and hypocrites, they find themselves in increasing loneliness and become possessed of a great desire to tell the truth to others in order to guide them.

As for the separation that arises from spiritual profundity and knowledge of God, those suffering from this feel and expect that which exists in the purely Divine Realm, and find them­selves in the depths of spiritual pleasures. Nevertheless, until they meet with the Almighty, they feel in their souls the separa­tion of those who are closed to the Ultimate Truth around them, never being able to free themselves from feelings of separation that arise while journeying toward God. Although they always yearn for nearness to God and to meet with Him in the warmth of His friendship, they are sometimes under the influence of the fear, worry, and sensitivity that they feel during the journey; sometimes the eyes of their hearts are veiled by some evil thoughts and imaginations occurring to them unintentionally. Such people suffer separation, each according to their particular degree. Though the separation of some may be substantial, the separation that most suffer is only imagined or of the kind that arises from worry and excessive sensitivity. They tremble with the fear that this separation, which arises during their relations with the Almighty in different wavelengths, may affect their faithfulness, loyalty and nearness to God, and wound them spiri­tually. Since initiates view such separation as a sign of loss while they are striving and advancing toward gain, they feel helpless. In the worries or thought of being abandoned or left alone, they sigh in great pain and may cry out: “I wish my moth­er had not given birth to me.”

While those who suffer separation from home console them­selves with the thought of the eternal union in the Hereafter, and those whose separation arises from their spiritual states can find comfort in their renewed pursuit and in glimpses of knowledge and love of God, the separation felt by those who have reached contentment in knowledge of God is absolutely unbearable. The worldly people, who neither see nor know what is beyond the material world, are unaware of what state such people are in. Nor can those known for their regular worship of God or those renowned for their asceticism recognize them or understand their condition, because they cannot get beyond their worship and asceticism. But the horizons and aims of those endowed with knowledge of God and the efforts that such make to reach their horizons and realize their aims, are as deep and high as the greatness of their relationship with the One Whom they adore.

O God! Show us the truth as being true and enable us to follow it, and show us falsehood as being false and enable us to refrain from it. And bestow blessings on our master Muhammad and on his Family and Companions. Amen, O the All-Helping!

Note

• Ibn Maja, “Jana’iz,” 5; Abu Ya’la, a-Musnad, 4:269.

So many times
I become a Majnun at Your door
And sensed You deep in the heart.
When deceived by the mirage of truth
I lost my sanity,
Lost, away from home.

At times, I am connected to You
With all of my being
As Jacob burned with yearning for Joseph.
I wail and lament with longing,
my fervor invisibly deep.

“Love,” I say, despite the wounds in my spirit.
“Yes,” said I already,
turning to ashes with Your Love
As the memories I conversed with appeared before my eyes
My head was at Your doorstep; Your yoke around my neck.

On the darkest nights, I took refuge in Your light.
My heart was devastated, and my tongue stuttered,
But I always praised only You.
The elixir of love, I’ve found it only in You
And I woke up from the sweetest dream.

My soul weeps and aches with pure enthusiasm
I pray it is not invaded by any other than You.
Oh, that I may not experience longing in the hands of the disloyal
When there is a Faithful Beloved like You
for the forlorn ones like me.

Most living things, including the human body, are made up of only 11 elements. We know the major elements, like hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, but what about the lesser known trace elements? They, too, have vital tasks.

Everything living and inanimate in the universe is built of atoms – that is, the elements. The endless variety of substances in the universe consist of various compounds and mixtures, but they’re all built of only 92 natural elements. This number is much smaller if we deal with living things: only eleven elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, chlorine, potassium and calcium) constitute about 99.9% of all living organisms.

The fact that the same element, although in different forms, has functions both in the living body and in inanimate matter is interesting. For example, an average 70 kg adult body contains 14 kg of carbon (C), which is the main component of both coal and oil. A human body, on average, contains 44 kg of oxygen (O2), the chief instigator of the respiratory system. Hydrogen (H), which is approximately 7 kg of a body, is used today as car fuel.

In a way, then, the human body is a pastiche of elements: it contains 2.1 kg of nitrogen (N2), 1 kg of calcium (Ca), 700 g of phosphorus (P), 170g of potassium (K), 140g of sulphur (S), 70g of chlorine (Cl), 70g of sodium (Na), and 30g of magnesium (Mg). More than 60 other elements are detected in the body in trace quantities, including gold, silver, and even uranium. (Trace quantities means as little as 100 mg – or, as big as four grains of rice.) These are usually ingested accidentally, often in food.

But our bodies need these trace elements. For example, a selenium (Se) deficiency may cause muscle weakness, a chrome deficiency may cause fatigue, and a lithium deficiency may lead to bipolar disorder.

The total percentage of these elements is about eight out of a thousand. The main trace elements in our body are chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iodine (I), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn).

Trace elements are found in very small amounts in the human body. While the function of some trace elements in the body has not yet been fully understood, many of them have vital tasks.

Copper (Cu)

100-150 mg of copper are found in the average adult human body. 65 mg are found in the muscles, 23 mg in the bones, and 18 mg in the liver. Copper moves through the blood after its absorption into the body and takes its place in the structure of some amino acids. Our daily copper need is 0.05 mg / kg in children and 3.5 mg / kg in adults. The main sources of copper are meat, shellfish, nuts, grains, and pulses. The main problems caused by a copper deficiency are excessive weight loss, bone disorders, anaemia, hair whitening, and irregularities in the heart muscles.

Iron (Fe)

Iron is an indispensable element for the circulation of oxygen in the body. Smaller quantities of iron are found in the blood plasma, whereas larger amounts are found in the structure of haemoglobin. The amount of iron in adults is about 4 g, which is enough to make a small nail.

Iron is mostly stored in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. How much iron a body needs varies according to age and person. Adult men and women need around 10 mg per day, while in women it increases to 15 mg during certain time periods.

Iron is found in food such as liver, other meat, beans, oats, and cocoa. The most important indications of iron deficiency are fatigue, shortness of breath, jaundice, headache, sleeping disorder, excessive tiredness, collapsed nails, and hair loss.

Zinc (Zn)

The average human body has 1.8 mg of zinc, which is found especially in the structures of the skin, prostate, bones, and teeth – though it can also be found in the kidneys, spleen, heart, brain, pancreas, and lungs in small amounts. Major zinc sources include unground cereal, pulses, spinach, lettuce, liver, eggs, milk, and dairy products. Zinc, which is found in the structures of some enzymes, plays an important role in the passage of vitamin A into the blood; it is also responsible for insulin secretion, and plays an active role in the growth and development of the body. A zinc deficiency results in forgetfulness, impaired genital development, weakening of the immune system, tissue problems in the skin, reduced mobility, and an impaired sense of smell and taste. The daily zinc requirement is about 12-15 mg.

Iodine (I)

The human body needs about 150 micrograms of iodine every day. Found in the body in the range of 20-50 mg, iodine is especially prevalent in the thyroid glands, the skin, and the skeletal system. The basic function of iodine in the body is assisting in the production of thyroid hormones. It is also used in the nervous system. Our main iodine sources are fish, other seafood, spinach, and rice. An iodine deficiency causes “goitre” disease. It also causes discomforts such as weakening heart rate and a slowing metabolism.

Cobalt (Co)

Cobalt element, the source of which is animal food, is found in the structure of the vitamin B12 and is stored in the liver. B12 is one of the most important vitamins for our body’s metabolism: it helps form red blood cells and thus makes us more energetic. It also is integral in the healthy functioning of the central nervous system.

One of the most critical tasks of trace elements is being part of the structures of enzymes. Enzymes are catalysts that speed up intracellular and extracellular biochemical reactions. These enzymes are involved in dozens of vital reactions. If the same reactions took place without enzymes, they would take a very long time and need very high temperatures.

Just as a deficiency of any of these elements can cause problems for the body, so can an excess of them. For instance, excess copper can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, or brain damage. Excess iron can lead to liver or other organ failure. Many of the trace elements, if consumed in excess, can lead to different kinds of cancers. If you suspect any of these problems, a doctor should be consulted, and all the trace elements should be consumed in moderation.

According to what our body needs, the amount of material that should be absorbed is encoded in our digestive system. The absorption process usually happens in the small intestine. Foods are first reduced in size by enzymes and bile salts from the stomach, pancreas, and liver. Later, during the journey through the intestines, the disintegrated molecules are absorbed into the blood. Of course, in this process, it is very important for specific molecules to absorb the right enzyme. Also important are the amount of specific enzymes to be secreted and how much of the element should be absorbed. All of this continuously happens in our bowels without our knowledge.

It’s quite remarkable: the elements we need are created in food, and the body has been specifically designed to break down these foods and extract exactly the elements our body needs. At the atomic level, we neither intervene nor know about the operations being performed with extraordinary precision. One can’t help but ask: how could all of this be so perfectly calibrated?                                                                                           

Reference

• MN Chatterjea, Rana Shinde, Textbook of Medical Biochemistry, JAYPEE, 2012

Exercising self-control and using willpower and reason to overcome one’s anger and greed is described by Prophet Muhammad as “the major jihad.” The message is clear: overcoming our own feelings of hatred and anger is much more difficult than overcoming our enemies. As Ali ibn Abi Talib said, “Who is the strongest (most powerful) of people? The one who controls his own anger.”

Exactly the same wisdom was expressed by a second century Jewish sage named Ben Zoma: “Who is a hero?” he asked. “One who conquers his own negative impulses.”  

The Jewish celebration of Hanukah is an excellent example of both the minor Jihad of physical warfare and the major Jihad of spiritual self-control and perseverance. Every year in December (starting the evening of December 12th this year), Jewish people throughout the world celebrate the eight-day holiday of Hanukah. If you ask any Jew to tell you how Hanukah began, or why Jews celebrate this festival for eight days, they will relate the following story.

Once a Syrian Greek king polluted the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by erecting a statue of himself in it and telling the Jewish people that he (the king) was the embodiment of God. The Jews rebelled and after more than three years of fighting, Judah the Maccabee and his warriors recaptured the holy Temple in Jerusalem and began to purify its alter. Unfortunately, all the pure olive oil for the lamp that should burn continuously had been polluted except for one little jar of oil that miraculously burned for eight days.

This Hanukah story is about two kinds of battle: the physical struggle (political and sometimes military) against others and the spiritual struggle within ourselves to trust in God and not to despair in times of persecution (as represented by the oil).

All of us need to avoid negativity, especially at times of persecution and oppression. Everyone needs to retain their trust in God and their future.

When the Maccabees recaptured and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, the physical struggle for religious freedom and independence did not end. It went on for another 20+ years until full independence was attained. But the spiritual struggle seemingly lasted only eight days.

Let us look more carefully at the oldest written sources around this story. About four or five decades after the first Hanukah, two books were written about the Maccabean Wars and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The First Book of Maccabees, compiled sometime before 130 BCE, was originally written in Hebrew. Today all we have is an early Greek translation. Its intended audience was the Jewish community in the Land of Israel. It describes the recapture of the Jerusalem Temple, its purification and its rededication (also known as Hanukah).

“They also made new sacred vessels, and they brought the lamp stand … into the Temple. They burned incense on the altar and lit the lights on the lamp stand, and the Temple was filled with light.… For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar. … Then Judah, his brothers and the entire community of Israel decreed that the days of rededication of the altar should be celebrated with a festival of joy and gladness at this same time every year beginning on the 25th of the month of Kislev and lasting for eight days” (First Maccabees 4:49-59).

This first ancient source does not mention the “little jar of oil” miracle. At that time, the miracle was the military victory itself; that God had enabled the Jews in Israel to physically and militarily defeat the far mightier Syrian Greek Empire.

The Second Book of Maccabees was compiled a decade or two after First Maccabees and covers most of the same period. It was written in Greek for the Jewish community outside the land of Israel. That Jewish community, whose primary language was Greek, was concentrated largely in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria.

The purpose of Second Maccabees, clearly stated in the two letters that open the book, is to urge the Jews of Alexandria to adopt this new festival. The author states that his source for the history of the Maccabean war was a (now lost) larger five-volume history by one Jason of Cyrene.

Second Maccabees describes the purification of the Temple, adding significant information that is not found in First Maccabees:

“Judah the Maccabee and his men, under the Lord’s leadership, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. … After purifying the Temple, they built a new altar; made a new fire; … offered sacrifices and incense … and lit the lamps. … On the anniversary of the very same day on which the Temple had been defiled, the 25th of Kislev, they purified the Temple.

“They celebrated joyfully for eight days, just as on Hajj Sukkot, knowing that (only two months before) on Hajj Sukkot they had spent the festival (hiding) like wild animals in the mountains and caves. That is why they now came carrying palm fronds and fruit, and singing hymns of praise to God, who had given them the victory that brought about the purification of His Temple. By a vote of the community they decreed that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate these festival days every year” (Second Maccabees 10:1-8).

The story of the small jar of oil that lasted much longer than anyone expected is not mentioned in the early sources because they focus on the physical military battle to liberate the Jerusalem temple from Greek rule and restore Jewish political independence.

However, two and a half centuries later, the Holy Temple and Jerusalem itself were in ruins. In the generations following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, the Jewish people could have despaired. They might even have lost faith in God when the Romans built a new pagan city on Jerusalem’s ruins, with a Roman Temple filled with statues of Roman Gods in its center.

So the rabbis started emphasizing the spiritual internal battle needed for Jewish survival. Everyone, even small children, need to believe in a better future. All of us need to avoid negativity, especially at times of governmental persecution and oppression. Everyone needs to retain their trust in God and their future.

The rabbis now taught that when the Maccabee soldiers realized it would take a week or more to produce the ritually pure olive oil needed for the lamp that must burn continually before the (Sakina) Holy Ark, most of them wanted to delay the Hanukah celebration, because they feared disappointing and dismaying their supporters if the light went out and spoiled the eight day celebration.

Only a minority led by a young child favored using the little jar of oil that they found, and trusting that somehow it would be enough. As the rabbis expressed it in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b): “Why Hanukkah? Our rabbis taught: ‘On the 25th day of Kislev begin the eight days of Hanukkah on which mourning and fasting are forbidden.

“For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oil; and when the Maccabees prevailed and defeated them, they searched and found only one jar of oil with the official seal of the High Priest, but which was only enough for one day’s lighting. Yet a miracle occurred, and they lit the lamp with it for eight days. The following year these days were decreed a festival with the recital of Psalms and thanksgiving.”

Notice that the miracle is two fold. That the oil lasted is a physical miracle. That they still lit it, thinking that it couldn’t last, is the spiritual miracle. To this day Jews still use one candle to ignite all the other Hanukah candles.

The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known attempt at suppressing a minority religion, but unfortunately not the last. Other well known attempts were the three century long Roman persecution of Christianity and the terrible persecution of Muhammad and his followers by the majority of pagan Arabs in Mecca.

All three religions emerged from their varying periods of persecution stronger than ever, and this is the ongoing spiritual lesson of the Hanukah lamp that long ago filled believers with hope and trust in God and lasted longer than anyone thought possible.

People who are oppressed by political powers and governments today, as Jews and Muslims were by the Inquisition in Spain, and who are forced to go underground, need to remind themselves of the lessons of Hanukah and to trust that the greater spiritual Jihad is more important than the lesser Jihad of power and police force.

The proof? Jews and Muslims are still here, long after the physical attempts to snuff them out – just like that candlelight on Hanukah.

Had Alhasan gotten his wish, that book would still have been worth reading. From the very first page Steffens brilliantly brings Alhasan’s internal character to life on the page, sketching a conflicted, fascinating portrait of a reluctant hero. It’s not easy to dramatize the acts of thinking and creating – and harder still to do so in a subtle, elegant style – yet Steffens manages the trick. Watching Alhasan’s mind work is a beautiful process, the prose moving along smoothly, like the gears of a reliable old clock.

Fate, however, did not grant Ibn al-Haytham his quiet life – or us our quiet book. While walking home from his friend’s study, Alhasan notices a mysterious stranger stalking him through the streets of Basra. His encounter with Al-Ghazi, a brutish emissary from the Fatimid Caliphate, will upend Alhasan’s modest existence, sending him on a journey to Cairo, where Al-Hakim – the Mad Caliph – demands a dam be constructed to block the Nile. Alhasan will be the man to design it and oversee its construction.

After its intimate, scholarly beginning, “The Prisoner of Al-Hakim” feels, for much of its middle section, like the best kind of adventure novel – a road-trip book full of swashbuckling, danger, and indelible scenery. Alhasan and Al-Ghazi make a classic odd couple. One is thoughtful and self-contained, the other gregarious but ferocious. Their relationship begins as captive and captor, two polar opposites forced by autocratic decree to coexist. This especially rankles the captured Alhasan:

As a young man, Alhasan had dreamed of becoming a warrior like the great generals of history, including his own grandfather, nicknamed Al-Haytham, “The Lion,” for his courage in battle against the Buwayhids.

Alhasan’s father had counseled him against becoming a soldier. “There are many ways to serve God and your people,” the elder Alhasan had said. “Taking up the sword is one way. Taking up the pen is another. Give your people knowledge, and you will make them great.”

In the end, Alhasan had taken his father’s advice. He had given his people knowledge, but now he found himself at the mercy of a brute with a sword.

When their party is beset by bandits, the two men are forced to rely on one another. The reader will recognize their relationship following a well-worn, but effective, arc – from enmity to grudging respect, and finally to friendship. This trajectory could feel pat in the hands of lesser writer, but Steffens’ myriad talents imbue it with grace and very real emotion.

Readers will likely tear through this middle section. Steffens’ gift for internal monologue is matched by his deftness with action sequences. It would be understandable if the contrast between quiet and internal and loud and external was jarring, but the changes in tone always feel natural and organic. The novel seems to bounce between at least four different genres: historical fiction; a character study; a book of ideas; and an adventure novel. Yet somehow Steffens makes it all fit harmoniously together. He creates vivid characters, through both dialogue and gesture, and he has the historian’s knack for never providing too many details, but always providing the right detail:

Alhasan stood and looked at the man in the gold-trimmed robe. He had piercing blue eyes flecked with reddish gold. No one had introduced them, but Alhasan knew he was standing before none other than Al-Hakim Bi-amr Allah, ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.

As Al-Ghazi and Alhasan reach Cairo, the real trouble begins. Their party, sent to survey the Nile, is beset by one disaster after another. Many members, including the Mad Caliph’s counsel, Al-Jarajarai, begin to think the project is cursed.

Part of the pleasure of reading is being surprised. All too often, the astute reader can sense where a book is going (of course, this is pleasurable in its own way, too). Halfway through The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, most readers will have a sense of where the book is headed – trials and tribulations, but ultimately triumph. But then the novel sharply veers off course, and the book’s action moves from the banks of the Nile to the confines of Alhasan’s mind. Again, were Steffens a less talented writer, such a dramatic swerve might seem forced; here, it seems natural. As with all good writing, the characters dictate the action, not vice versa.

The shift is surprising, but considering the characters involved – including the dangerous dogmatist Al-Jarajarai – it makes sense. Yet even here, Steffens shows restraint. Many writers would paint in broad strokes, framing Al-Jarjarai as a one-dimensional villain. But he is given long sections to expound on his ideas, interacting with – instead of against – the other characters. His frustrations with Alhasan are antagonistic, but also understandable; the two men’s personalities couldn’t be more conflicting.

With Alhasan’s future, as well as the dam project, in doubt, he once again sets his mind to all the proofs and ideas he’d wanted to explore back in Basra. He begins by memorizing the Qur’an. Showing religious faith – especially the kind of quiet, devout faith Ibn al-Haytham practiced – can be as difficult for the writer as depicting the inner workings of a great mind. In the book’s final third, Steffens does both, and he does so without losing the story’s momentum. As Alhasan grows in his faith, he grows intellectually, too. His scientific revelations are inextricably connected to his practice of Islam.

Of course, Alhasan is not working alone. He has an unexpected student and assistant helping him as he gets closer and closer to unraveling one of the great mysteries of his time. Through their interactions, Steffens turns one more trick of his own by introducing a fifth genre into the book’s latter stages: romance. They hurtle towards a surprising conclusion that has been earned by all parties – the characters, the author, and us readers.

Any work of fiction is a monumental undertaking, but historical fiction is an even taller order. Research must be seamlessly integrated into a plot; characters must be fleshed out based upon the historical record. Fact must coexist with fiction. With so many moving parts, it’s a nearly impossible balance. To do it as well as Steffens has – and to have it be as entertaining as The Prisoner of al-Hakim is – feels, as so many of Ibn al-Haytham’s discoveries must have felt, like magic.

“Give your people knowledge, and you will make them great.”

Interview with Bradley Steffens

How did you start writing?

I loved poetry as a kid—Dr. Seuss, song lyrics, and classic children’s poems like “The Children’s Hour,” “If Once You Have Slept On An Island,” and “Nancy Hanks”—and I tried my hand at versifying. When I was about ten I wrote a stanza-by-stanza parody of “Casey at the Bat” that I thought at the time was pretty good. (Unfortunately, I lost it.) I also read the sports columnist Jim Murray every day in the Los Angeles Times and thought that must be a nice job. I tried to follow in Murray’s footsteps in a sense when I began to create little sports pages for my father, who was a machinist who worked second shift at an aerospace factory. He couldn’t listen to baseball games at work, so I left him notes about the games before I went to bed. I was eleven. Once I was out of school for the summer, my descriptions became more elaborate, and I began typing them on my mother’s old Smith Corona manual typewriter. It got so that I was producing full-page accounts, which I really enjoyed doing. I added little sidebars, anecdotes, and even weather reports. When I was in sixth grade, my mother and I attended Open House Night, and she proudly told my teacher about the “newspapers” I made for my dad. I about died of embarrassment. But the teacher suggested I create newspapers based on the ancient history we were studying. There was no way out of it, so I did one on Socrates drinking hemlock. The teacher made copies of it and handed them out to the class as required reading. The other kids hated me. But that was my first publication and my first effort at bringing history alive. I did about ten more that year, and I began to form an identity as a writer.

Are you personally religious? In the character of Alhasan, you brilliantly capture what it’s like to be a scholar of religious persuasion – of showing how the religious mind can work. What role has your faith – or lack thereof – played in your writing?

I am religious. I pray every day. I was raised in the Lutheran Church. I considered the ministry at one point, in part because I loved listening to the sermons and I thought it would be exciting to make your living writing meditations on faith and scripture. Of course there are other facets of the ministry that didn’t suit me as well. I never got “the call.” As a teenager, I became serious about writing, and I followed that path.

One of the things that touched me deeply about Alhasan Ibn al-Haytham was his devotion to God. He was above all a man of faith. One of the things he said in a letter he wrote when he was sixty-three years old was: “It became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.” I use that quote early in The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, because it is essential to understanding not only the man, but also why he did what he did—why he pioneered experimental science.

In the West we have a schism between science and religion, but what I find fascinating is that experimental science was a product of Alhasan’s faith. As a Muslim, he believed that only God is perfect and that human beings are deeply flawed. As a result, he had a deep skepticism toward human endeavors, including human reasoning. In Doubts Concerning Ptolemy, he wrote: “The seeker after truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency.”

He yearned to find a way to avoid the pitfalls and limitations of human reasoning. Mathematics did that, but he wanted to expand on that. This is what drove him to devise what he called “true demonstrations,” what we call experiments. He wanted to bypass human opinion and interact directly with nature. At one point in the novel, he says, “If we are to know the truth about nature, we must enter into a dialogue with the universe itself.” While I invented that particular line, it closely tracks not only what I quoted above, but also a statement he made in the introduction to his Book of Optics. He said, “I formerly composed a treatise on light and vision in which I employed persuasive methods of reasoning, but when true demonstrations relating to all objects of vision occurred to me, I started afresh. Whoever, therefore, comes upon the said treatise must know that it should be discarded.” He realized that experimentation rendered all works based purely on “persuasive reasoning” obsolete, including his own. In this we see his tremendous humility and the attitude of a true scientist.

Where did you first hear about Alhasan? I know you wrote a children’s book about him; what inspired you to turn his story into a novel?

I first heard about him in 1991 when I was working on a book entitled Photography for a series called The Encyclopedia of Discovery and Invention. In the chapter about pre-invention technology, I talked about the camera obscura. Alhasan is credited as the first person to accurately describe the physics behind its workings. What I found interesting was that my source said Alhasan used the camera obscura in an experiment to test whether or not light rays travel in straight lines. I thought, “Hold on. Experiment? I thought Galileo was the first person to conduct experiments.” That got me interested in him. As it turned out, he devised the camera obscura to test something even more subtle than whether light rays travel in straight lines. He had already established that. He actually wanted to test whether or not light rays interfere with each other, or, as he put it, “Do lights and colors mix in the air?” He believed, based on observation, that they did not, but he constructed a camera obscura to test that hypothesis. That, to me, was groundbreaking. Others, such as astronomers, had tested their hypotheses by observing nature. But Alhasan imagined and built an apparatus to test a discrete hypothesis, and that, I believe, is an altogether different thing.

As I delved into the origins of modern science, I found that various people had been credited as the “first scientist” by different authors over the years, including Galileo, of course, but also Leonardo da Vinci, who preceded Galileo, and Roger Bacon, who preceded Leonardo. But no one had discussed Alhasan, even though Bacon actually referred to his work in his Opus Majus. In fact, Alhasan’s Book of Optics was known throughout Europe in a Latin translation and was one of the earliest printed books. So that gave me the idea of writing the biography Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist, which was published by Morgan Reynolds in 2006.

The idea for turning his biography into a novel came from an interview—like this one. I was interviewed about Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist by a reporter for The North County Times in Escondido, California, in 2007. After the interview, the reporter, Ruth Marvin Webster, closed her notebook and asked me if I wrote fiction. I said no. She said, “That is an amazing life story. You should write a historical [novel] based on it, then you could fill in all the missing details.” I didn’t write fiction and had no intention of doing so, but I wanted a good interview to appear, so I said, “That’s a great idea.” Then she added a sentence that changed my life. She said, “But of course he would have to have a love interest.” I almost laughed out loud. The idea of Alhasan and a love interest seemed farfetched, but, wanting the good interview, I suppressed the laugh and said, “Of course!”

When I thought about it the next morning, I did laugh out loud. But then I got to thinking about the facts in Alhasan’s life. There is one intriguing detail: The inscription in the oldest surviving copy of his Book of Optics states that the copyist was Alhasan’s son-in-law. That, of course, means Alhasan had a daughter and, thus, a wife—the love interest. I began to consider the date of the copy, the date Alhasan left for Egypt, the date of his release from house arrest in Egypt, and I suddenly envisioned who this love interest might be. I realized I had the kernel of a story. The question was, would I write it?

Did you find the process of writing a novel for an adult audience to be difficult? What was the transition like–from writing stories for children to this, a full-blown historical novel?

That’s the funny thing: I hadn’t written stories for children. I had never written fiction of any kind. I had published dozens of poems, and I had written some plays-in-verse that had been professionally produced when I was in my twenties, but I hadn’t written a word of fiction. It all seemed a bit overwhelming—plot, subplot, setting, mood, characterization, dialogue. However, I had this story, so I thought I would give it a try. I decided to keep it as simple as possible—to concentrate on the action and leave the insights and wisdom to Alhasan.

Why do you think Alhasan’s story is important for a contemporary audience?

First, it’s important to set the historical record straight. Experimental science has its origins not in Europe—as I was taught in school—but in the Middle East. Second, there’s the religious angle. Faith and science need not be opposed. Third, Westerners in general need to become more acquainted with Islamic history, culture, and achievements. Fourth, I hope that by bringing these characters to life, I will help readers of all backgrounds have a greater appreciation for the struggles these people went through and how they overcame obstacles. The world we have today didn’t fall from the sky. It was built step by step, increment by increment, by people just like us. They deserve to be remembered and appreciated.

A lot of historians have ignored the role that science played in the Islamic world. Alhasan is just one example of the important work Islamic thinkers were doing in the fields of math and science. Why do you think history – at least Western history – has discounted their achievements?

It’s complex. On the one hand, many of the first Europeans to learn about Islamic ideas were members of the Christian clergy, such as Roger Bacon. There may have been a general reluctance to give credit to Muslims. However, the Europeans did embrace Muslim scholars, including Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Al-Khawarizmi (Algoritmi). Alhasan himself was revered in Europe for hundreds of years. As I point out in my biography, when the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius published an atlas of the moon in 1647, the frontispiece bore the likenesses of two people: Galileo, shown holding a telescope, and Ibn al-Haytham, depicted with a geometric drawing in his hand. They were considered the two pillars of science at that time. What happened after that is that European scientists and mathematicians such as Newton eventually surpassed their work. Scholars stopped referring to it, and they were forgotten. But six hundred years was a pretty good run for Alhasan. I mean, just imagine: We are closer in time to Galileo than Galileo was to Alhasan.

Do you see evidence in today’s world of science and faith still working together, side-by-side?

I see it in the Arab world more than in the West. Islam has never had the same conflicts with science that Christianity has. Science in the West is very secular. If you’re a person of faith, you keep that kind of quiet. But I spent three-and-a-half years in Qatar, working in two scientific research institutes—as a communications consultant, not as a scientist—and there the Muslim scientists were quite open about their faith.

What is your hope for the book? Who do you hope will read it?

About a billion people would be nice! Actually, my thinking on that has changed over time. At first I wanted commercial success and the recognition of reviewers. But I have received such positive feedback from people who have read it—my “beta readers,” my editors, and a few friends—that now I realize there are people out there who are really going to enjoy this book, and I just want them to find it. I want them to have that pleasant experience. It is my gift to them.

Before I wrote the novel, I had several friends tell me that they loved historical fiction because it was an escape and at the same time they learned a lot about other times and other cultures. I remember one friend way back in the 1970s who told me how much she loved Shōgun by James Clavell for those reasons. That really stuck with me. I hope that people feel that way about my book, and that in some small way it succeeds in building bridges between cultures.

What is your next project? Do you think you’ll continue to write novels?

I’ve been busy writing more nonfiction books for young adults—I wrote eight last year alone, and I have contracts for four more. Last year, I started another novel set in the Islamic Golden Age. It’s deeper, more complex, and more psychological than The Prisoner of Al-Hakim. But about two months ago, I was talking to someone about The Prisoner, and he asked, “Have you thought of writing a sequel?” I had, vaguely, but had set the idea aside. A sequel, sure, but about what? But when this guy asked me about it, I thought back to where I had last seen the main characters, and I suddenly envisioned a scene that would kick off a new adventure. When I got home, I sat down and wrote that scene, and then several others. Things just clicked. I have written 17,000 words and am very excited about it. I can see why authors write series: Once you have created a cast of characters, you have a lot to work with. You just put them into new situations, create new problems, and see what they do. I love these characters, and the longer I can keep them in my life, the better.

However, many privacy advocacy groups are still not buying that claim. They believe the bill falls short of protecting civil liberties. The Electronic Frontier Foundation [2] stated, “We’ve been clear that we must end mass surveillance under all surveillance authorities. We’re disappointed that this bill does not do more toward that end, but the new USA Freedom Act serves as a welcome first step and should be seen as such.” The American Civil Liberties Union [3] opposed an earlier, similar bill (the CISPA), stating that “It still permits companies to share sensitive and personal customer information with the government and allows the military to collect the internet records of everyday Americans … We urge the members to vote ‘no’.”

Robin Koerner at WatchingAmerica.com argues that privacy vs. security is a false dichotomy anyway: “Either the math is wrong. Or the morality is wrong. Or both” [4]. He insists that the best strategy is not giving up any liberties – which stems from the frequently quoted Benjamin Franklin rule, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Corporate surveillance is even more invasive But new bills on the Hill are not the only issues threatening our privacy: there is the ongoing tradeoff between privacy and personalized commercial services. Even if we limit the government’s power, the corporate world is still collecting all kinds of personal information, supposedly to provide better service. (There is that “better service” argument again!) Moreover, thanks to the social media frenzy, most of us are willingly sharing all our personal information online. A 2013 survey by Visa security [5] shows that more than 58% of consumers have shared details over social media that put them at risk of fraud or identity theft.

When it comes to digital natives those numbers are even higher. A recent PEW Research survey [6] shows that more than 90% of teens share their real names and pictures, 80% share their birthdates, and 20% share their cell numbers and personal videos on the Internet. Considering this culture of sharing, and also the governmental and industrial mass collection of personal data, some argue there is no point in discussing this issue anymore, as privacy as we know it is already dead. It has been more than a decade since the CEO of Sun Microsystems famously said that, “You have zero privacy anyway… Get over it!” [7].

The renowned futurist David Houle argues the same in his short book, [8] where he explains that the definition of privacy changed over time, and we should accept the current reality: “It is hypocritical to complain about the lack of privacy if you post information on social media, use the GPS function of your smart phone, surf the Internet, or increasingly, drive on the toll ways and in the cities of America. Don’t complain if you are constantly letting convenience and the cool factor of technology trump concerns about privacy.” Is privacy already dead? Science magazine declared “The End of Privacy” in a special January, 2015, issue. The editorial concluded, “Meanwhile, how we think and feel about privacy isn’t static. Already, younger people reveal much more about their lives on the Web than older people do, and our preferences about what we want to keep private can change depending on the context, the moment, or how we’re nudged. Privacy as we have known it is ending, and we’re only beginning to fathom the consequences” [9].

In “Risk of Exposure,” another article from the same special issue, Martin Enserink demonstrated with recent real life examples that “When new or dangerous infectious diseases strike, public health often trumps personal privacy.” He explained that, “Reigning in bloggers and Twitter users may not be easy, but even professional efforts to track outbreaks pose new threats to privacy. Information about specific patients – although anonymized – is now shared worldwide on public email lists for emerging diseases …” [10].

In another article, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” the author concludes that, “In the end, human movements are often so predictable that they are hard to conceal. Location-hiding techniques are most valuable when you want to hide one-off trips… But when it comes to protecting the location of your home and workplace, you might as well give up on privacy” [11]. Hasan Elahi, an artist at the University of Maryland, seems to be taking this advice to heart. When the US Government mistakenly added his name to its terrorist watch list, he fought back by turning his life inside-out for the entire world to see [12]. He basically made his life an open book. He documented nearly every hour of his life, posted his debit card transactions, and used a GPS device in his pocket to report his real-time physical location. “If Big Brother was watching, Elahi would bore him to death” [13]. It might have worked for Elahi, but embracing such invasive surveillance raises a common sentiment: that there is nothing wrong with such invasiveness, and only the people who act bad or have something to hide care about privacy.

Why privacy still matters

In his TED talk, “Why Privacy Matters,” Glen Greenwald pointed out the hypocrisy of the social media moguls on the issue, for while these moguls pronounced that privacy is no longer a “social norm,” when it comes to their personal lives, they do their best to ensure to have a zone of privacy [14]. It is difficult to avoid all of these social media sites. For digital natives, having an online presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is an existential issue. But considering the pace and amount of data shared on these social media sites, a malicious person or corporation could easily connect the dots and draw a more complete picture of anyone than one would ever expect.

With the internet or smart TVs capable of listening to our conversations in our living rooms [15], we maybe already be living in an Orwellian world. Therefore, reading excerpts from the classic dystopia of George Orwell “1984,” Greenwald concluded his TED Talk by saying: … a society in which people can be monitored at all times is a society that breeds conformity and obedience and submission, which is why every tyrant, the most overt to the most subtle, craves that system. Conversely, even more importantly, it is a realm of privacy, the ability to go somewhere where we can think and reason and interact and speak without the judgmental eyes of others being cast upon us, in which creativity and exploration and dissent exclusively reside, and that is the reason why, when we allow a society to exist in which we’re subject to constant monitoring, we allow the essence of human freedom to be severely crippled. How do we protect our privacy? In the aforementioned special issue of Science, a recent book by the law professor and privacy expert Frank Pasquale was spotlighted [16].

In The Black Box Society, Pasquale argues that the classic remedy that requires informed consent from an individual does not work anymore. It “at best works for the rich, who can afford pricy lawyers and reputation managers to enforce their privacy rights…” The article continued Pasquale’s argument: In contrast, Pasquale argues for a fundamental shift in privacy protection, from a focus on notice and consent at the time of data collection to stringent regulation of the actual use of data by corporations and government agencies. His reasoning is sensible, and he is not alone; a growing number of privacy advocates are in favor of data use regulation. If such regulations were to be put in place, it would represent an epic change in how we aim to protect privacy in our society. Susan Landau, professor of cybersecurity policy at WPI, concluded similarly in her Science article – we must control the use of data to protect privacy [17]. “Controlling use is complex, but combining technology, policy, and law is the best way to control incursions from business and government.”

References

[1] Thorp, F. (June 2, 2015), “Barack Obama signs ‘USA FREEDOM ACT’ to reform NSA Surveillance”, retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nsa-snooping/senate-vote-measure-reform-nsa-surveillance-n368341

[2] Jaycox, M., Reitman, R. (2015), retrieved from https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/new-usa-freedom-act-step-right-direction-more-must-be-done

[3] Boorstin, J. (2013) “Privacy vs. Cybersecurity: The Debate Heats Up”, retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/100632315

[4] Koerner, R (2014), “Privacy vs. Security: A False Dichotomy”retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-koerner/privacy-vs-security-a-fal_b_4698157.html

[5] http://www.visasecuritysense.com/en_US/fraud-news.jsp#OMG2muchinfo

[6] http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/what-teens-share-on-social-media-2/

[7] Sprenger, P(1999), “Sun on Privacy: Get over it!” http://archive.wired.com/politics/law/news/1999/01/17538 [8] Houle, David, “Is Privacy Dead? The Future of Privacy in the Digital Age” http://davidhoule.com/books/is-privacy-dead

[9]Special Issue on “The End of Privacy” (January 30, 2015), Science Magazine, http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/privacy/

[10] Ensreink, M. (2015), “Risk of Exposure”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/498

[11] You, J. (2015), “Hiding in Plain Sight”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/500

[12] http://www.ted.com/talks/hasan_elahi

[13] Newman, Bruce. 2008. “I’m not a terrorist, says San Jose State professor who puts his life online,” The Mercury News.

[14] https://www.singularityweblog.com/glenn-greenwald-on-privacy/

[15] “Your Smart TV is eavesdropping on your private conversations” http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/technology/security/samsung-smart-tv-privacy/

[16] Mayer-Schonborger, V. (2015) “Connecting the Dots”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/481

[17] Landau, S. (2015), “Control use of data to protect privacy”, retrieved from https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Controlling_Use-478.pdf

Or think of yourself rejected by your father and your community because of your out-of-the-box beliefs that challenged theirs, and you have only a few who believe in you.

And just for good measure, add to these the wrath of the ruthless ruler of your land who has declared you his archenemy.

This would be more or less a very brief summary of the story of the great patriarch Abraham, peace be upon him, as told in the holy scriptures. Considered as one of the key figures in the history of monotheism, Abraham holds a very central role in the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions. Today, his mission is being revitalized through meetings and panels where his legacy is discussed from the perspectives of different traditions, in the hopes of creating friendships across faiths. I had the opportunity of participating in some of these events this past year and, while making new friends, I was also able to see my Abraham in the eyes of friends from other traditions. Despite some of the recent polarization, it is very hope-inspiring to see many American communities striving to consolidate bonds among different groups and treating diversity as a source of richness.

What you will be reading below is an effort to share some reflections on this great man, whose life can by no means be retold within the limited scope of an article.

At a time of tension between different religious and cultural voices, Abraham – the patriarch of monotheism – could be a uniting force.

Abraham in the Muslim neighborhood

Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic and Turkish) is a commonplace element of our cultural makeup, as many of our religious values are. Abraham and his family are remembered, praised, and prayed for by Muslims in their daily prescribed prayers, during the annual festival of sacrifice (eid al-adha), and also when performing the Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to the holy land of Mecca. How the name and the story of Abraham are reflected in Muslim worship will be detailed below in the section “Abraham and Islamic worship.”

“Abraham” is a popular name across Muslim communities. And especially in places like Urfa, Turkey, it is very difficult – perhaps even impossible – to find a third male name other than Halil or Ibrahim. “Halil” literally means friend and is one of the distinctive attributes of Abraham.

The historical city of Urfa, on the Turkish-Syrian border, is dedicated almost entirely to the memory of Abraham. Balıklı Göl, or Abraham’s Pool, one of the most visited ancient sites in Urfa, is believed to be the place where he was thrown into fire, and by God’s will, the fire turned “cool and peaceful” for him. According to the legend, the logs that were used in the furnace turned to fish, which still exist today.

Many restaurants across Turkey have the name “Halil Ibrahim Sofrası,” which is an allusion to the generous hospitality Abraham used to show his guests. In Turkish folk culture, it is told that he would not eat without having a guest at his table, and if there was no one, he would go out to find one.

Stories attributed to Abraham

Some of the stories that are recorded in religious literature and discussed in reading groups to impart moral lessons are believed to have been first told in the scriptures that were revealed to Abraham. Prominent Islamic scholar Bediüzzaman Said Nursi noted that the story he narrates and expounds on in his 8th Word in the Risale-i Nur collection did originally exist in the “scrolls” of Abraham. Also told as an “Eastern fable” by famous novelist Leo Tolstoy in his Confession (1884), Bediüzzaman paraphrased this story for the purpose of his religious wisdom, turning the “traveler” in the story into two brothers, one obedient and wise and the other rebellious. In Bediüzzaman’s version, although they aim to reach the same destination, the two brothers choose different paths on the same journey of life, yet going through the same ordeals, escaping from a beast and trying to survive in a well.

Bediüzzaman’s version reads like a lesson on the fate of two characters, the wicked and the prosperous, in the al-A’la Chapter of the Qur’an. This parable is recorded as “Man in Well” in the legend of two Christian martyrs from India, Barlaam and Josaphat, and in other earlier versions in Buddhist literature, too (Bilici 2014). Joseph Jacobs wrote that this parable “was one of the most popular morals of mediaeval sermonisers. Indeed, it puts in a most vivid form the most central practical doctrine of both Christian and Buddhistic Ethics. The supreme attraction of the pleasures of the senses amidst all the dangers of life and the perpetual threat of death has never been more vividly expressed” (Jacobs, 1896, p. lxx).

As we have no access to the scrolls of Abraham, we cannot prove whether they originally date back to him or not. However, considering the widespread existence of this parable across different traditions, if we are to credit it to a historical figure, Abraham is certainly the best fit.

Another story attributed to Abraham goes that he was once again hosting a guest. As he started eating, he called the name of God first, while his guest did not. Abraham asked him why he did not say God’s name first, to which his guest replied that he was a fire-worshipper. Abraham showed the man the door. Then, God asked Abraham why he did so. “He denied You, my Lord.” God said, “That man has been denying Me his entire life, and I am still feeding him.”

Whether this really took place as it is told here or not, the story reflects the infinite Mercy that rules the universe. God extends His mercy without questioning whether we truly recognize Him, and He asks us to do the same for others. This divine guidance is what lies behind Abraham’s legendary hospitality, the one that finds expression in so many restaurant names today.

Abraham, the friend of God

Islamic tradition records that God has sent every community a messenger to guide them to faith (Qur’an 10:47; 13:7). According to some narrations, there are as many as 124,000 messengers. Abraham, “the friend of God,” is among the five top messengers of God, the others of whom are Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them. They are called “ulu’l azm,” i.e. masters of determination, and are exclusively praised in the following verse from the Qur’an:

Of the Religion (that He made for humankind and revealed through His Messengers throughout history), He has laid down for you as way of life what He willed to Noah, and that which We reveal to you, and what We willed to Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, (commanding): “Establish the Religion, and do not divide into opposing groups concerning it.” What you call people to is hard and distressful for those who associate partners with God. God chooses whom He wills and brings them together (in faith and in obedience) to Himself, and He guides to Himself whoever turns to Him in devotion. (42:13)

Abraham and Islamic worship

Practicing Muslims who pray five times a day mention Abraham’s name at least 28 times (the number is double if one includes voluntary prayers) in the following way: “O God, send grace and honor to Muhammad and his family, just as You sent grace and honor to Abraham and his family.” Many Turks, and perhaps other Muslim nations too, add Abraham’s name to the Muslim prayer after eating when they ask for God to further His grace upon them (ni’mat Jalil-ul’lah), the Prophet’s mediation on the Day (shafaat ya Rasulullah) of Judgment, and the abundance God blessed Abraham with (barakat Halil-ul’lah).

A full chapter in the Qur’an is named after Abraham. A lengthy portion of this chapter (14:35-41) is a beautiful prayer of Abraham for Mecca to be a secure land and that his progeny to be protected from ever worshipping idols.

Abraham’s legacy manifests itself more thoroughly in the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is an obligatory duty for Muslims who can afford it. Almost all of the rites of pilgrimage, the hajj, and the locations where the hajj is observed have all been inherited from Abraham. The history of Mecca, the holiest place for Muslims, starts with Abraham, when he brought his wife Hagar and baby son Ishmael to begin the first human settlement there. Muslims remember the frustration of Hagar seeking water as they run between Safa and Marwa around the holy sanctuary. As the pilgrims wash themselves from the well of Zamzam, they remember God’s mercy upon her and upon humanity, when God sent them the angel to bring this abundant source of water from out of nowhere under Ishmael’s heel; a fountain so abundant that it keeps flowing even today, watering pilgrims.

The Ka‘ba, the cubic building located at the heart of Mecca, was built by Abraham and Ishmael. As Muslims circumambulate the Ka‘ba, they start from the corner of Black Stone, which was placed by Abraham, and after their cycles are complete, they stand for prayer behind the Station of Abraham (maqam Ibrahim), which is believed to be the rock he climbed while building the sanctuary. Another rite of the hajj is Jamarat, where pilgrims throw pebbles at three pillars. It is believed that Abraham and his son stoned Satan away when he tried to seduce them to turn back from the sacrifice. And at Mina, pilgrims offer their sacrificial animals whose meat are given away in charity, as they remember Abraham’s ordeal with his son, who God “ransomed with a sacrifice of tremendous worth” (Qur’an 37:107).

As a side note, a great majority of Islamic scholars agree that the son to be sacrificed was Ishmael, while some think he was Isaac. Whichever son was going to be sacrificed that day is not completely insignificant; however, there are more important lessons to be learned from this story, and it does not produce any benefit to engage in disputes on this matter. Besides, for Muslims, both Ishmael and Isaac are prophets and are equally respectable. This ordeal did not only testify to Abraham’s and his son’s incredible submission to God, but it also showed the atrocity of human sacrifice, which was, and unfortunately still is, one of the most violent forms of false devotion to the Divine.

Abraham’s mission

Islamic faith holds at its center the oneness of God, which is believed to be one of the key teachings of all prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them. Despite varying outward forms, all the messengers sent to humanity taught their communities God’s uniqueness (tawhid), resurrection and life after death (hashir), messengership (nubuwwa), and worship (ibada). However, Abraham’s firm stance against idolatry and other forms of associating partners with God (shirk), which had reached an unprecedented extreme in his time, made his mission even more connected to the revival of monotheism. Even when he was a child, he would not pay any respect to the idols his father was crafting. He always opposed his community’s worshipping of idols and celestial structures, like the moon and the sun. While he was staunchly against them, he still engaged in a “gradual” effort to invigorate his audience’s logical reasoning. The Qur’anexplains, in 6:76-79, how their deities are temporary, even if they might be as bright as a star or as glorious as the sun, which are doomed to eventually set. Abraham voices the inner conscience of every human whose desire for eternity cannot be truly satisfied by false deities when he says, “I love not the things that set” (6:76). Professor Ibrahim Canan notes that Abraham’s evident challenge to his own people “must have taken place after he had been thrown into the fire,” when an intellectual struggle ceased to be possible (Canan 2007, 47).

Despite his gradual and convincing argument to inculcate certainty of faith, the response he got from his community was what almost all messengers of God received:

We had showed Abraham (the ugliness and irrationality of polytheism and) the inner dimension of (the existence of) the heavens and the earth, and the eternal truth. We had done so that he might be one of those who have achieved certainty of faith (6:75). They replied: “But we found our forefathers doing the same” (26:74).

Abraham’s mission almost exactly matches the Prophet Muhammad’s. Between them are connections at multiple levels: ancestral relations through Ishmael, the Ka‘ba as the shared sanctuary, and their struggle to show the truth at times when idol-worshipping was at its highest. Leaving behind his hometown where idol-worshipping was the unbreakable norm, Abraham was ordered to build the Ka‘ba, to be a direction for prayer and site of pilgrimage, as a place to praise the only true God the Creator. The Prophet Muhammad was born in the shade of this holy sanctuary, but it was already filled with hundreds of idols, and his mission was to reinstate its holiness by purifying it from them. Not surprisingly, when he started calling his community to the One God, they said: “Enough for us (are the ways) that we found our forefathers on” (5:104).

Another interesting connection is that the Prophet was a descendant of Ishmael, whose mother, Hagar, was given by the ruler of Egypt as a gift to Sarah, who gave her to Abraham. Centuries later, Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, would send Maria to the Prophet as a gift, and the Prophet would name his son from her Ibrahim, or Abraham.

Submission

What stands tallest amongst Abraham’s many virtues is his confidence in, and submission to, the Almighty. It is told that an angel came to offer help when Abraham was being thrown to the fire, and Abraham said, “Sufficient for me is God.” He was in such a state of Divine refuge that he did not ask for the intervention of any other being.

Abraham’s trust in God was also proven when he was told to take Hagar and his son Ishmael away from home and leave them in the middle of the desert. Abraham did not answer Hagar’s questions about why he was leaving them there, until Hagar asked whether this was a command from God. The wisdom of this would manifest itself in time: Abraham and Ishmael would later build the Ka‘ba there, and the Arab nation would emerge from that community. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would come from that community, generations later.

Another ordeal Abraham had to face was his sacrificing his son. It is told that when Abraham had the dream, he waited for two more days, and when he saw the dream again, he was assured of the Divine source of it. Both he and his son had full confidence in this command, and they were rewarded when God’s ransomed the boy and granted us the “festival of sacrifice,” which we still celebrate today as we remember the honor and value of human life while sharing food with the poor.

Conclusion

Abraham’s story is a rich source of lessons for anyone who seeks a life of virtue and commitment to a Prophetic mission. More importantly, as we are living through difficult times of extreme polarization across religious, cultural, and political divides, Abraham can be held up as a unifying figure among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, whose scriptures praise him and his family as the father of all prophets. His path of full confidence in God in the face of imminent death and apparently unbearable ordeals could inspire all of us today, but is especially useful for those being persecuted and who are being forced to leave their homelands or to abandon their families, and who are even threatened with torture and death.

References

• Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. 2006. The Words. NJ: Tughra Books.
• Joseph Jacobs. 1896. Barlaam and Josaphat: English Lives of Buddha, London: Davit Nutt.
• Leo Tolstoy. 1983. Confession (Translated by David Patterson). WW Norton & Company, NY and London.
• Ibrahim Canan. 2007. The Message of Abraham: His Life, Virtues, and Mission. NJ: The Light, Inc.
• Mücahit Bilici. 2014. “Kuyudaki Adam: Tolstoy, Bediüzzaman ve Buda.” Istanbul: Taraf.

Abraham in the Jewish Tradition

The introduction of Abram in the twelfth chapter of the biblical book of Genesis, aids in the Hebrew Bible’s transition from a text focused on the general workings of the world, to a text specifically focused on the creation, development, and flourishing of the Israelite people and nation. God calls upon Abram to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s home in Ur of the Chaldeans (in the Mesopotamian region) and go on a journey “to the land that God will show him” (Genesis 12:1-2). That Abram followed such a call with such deeply trusting faith is quite remarkable.

As a result of Abram’s faithful journey, God chooses to establish a covenant with him. Renaming Abram as Abraham, God promises Abraham that he will “become a father of the multitude of nations,” that Abraham’s descendants will be “exceedingly numerous,” and that Abraham and his offspring will live in the land of Canaan as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:4-8). As a partner with God in this covenant, Abraham and his descendants must keep God’s commandments, and males will be circumcised as an indication of their adherence to God’s covenant.

In addition to the establishment of the covenant, Abraham’s character is developed in other scenes. We see Abraham as a man who cares deeply for his family and for the needs of others. In one remarkable episode, when God announces to Abraham the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham questions God directly, demanding that the Judge of the world act righteously. More gently, Abraham is regarded as a person of loving hospitality, welcoming three strangers into his tent, and feeding them, when he himself is recovering from having just circumcised himself. He also faces the tremendous trial of being called by God to bring forward his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice – until an angel of God intervenes. Teachings from rabbinic sages developed concepts surrounding Abraham’s unbreakable, unwavering faith in God, and that during his lifetime, he succeeded in overcoming ten specific trials regarding his faith, moments when God was testing his devotion to his faith.

Abraham is remembered in our daily prayers, traditionally recited three times a day. The opening prayer of a rubric in our service known as the Amidah, the “standing” prayer, is an extended reference to our patriarchs (and in egalitarian congregations to our matriarchs too). We praise God as the “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob” linking ourselves today with our biblical ancestors. Such an important historical connection inspires the Jewish people to aspire to a life in which we live by the best attributes of our ancestors, and continue to make those values our own.

Rabbi Paul Jacobson
Temple Avodat Shalom
River Edge, New Jersey

Jews refer to Abraham as Avraham Avinu, Abraham our father. He is very important to us: our first patriarch, the one whose family was chosen to have a covenant with God. Of course, not all Jews believe the same things about our spiritual ancestors, whose stories are told in our Torah. I will share the way I think about Abraham, with which many, but not all, Jews would probably agree.

It is not important, to me, to think of Abraham as perfect in any way. Rather, I see him as just as human as any one of us, and that is meaningful to me, because if Abraham was an imperfect human, and God chose him, it means God can choose us, too. One of the stories we learn about Abraham is that God told him that He, God, was going to destroy the great cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the evil behavior of the people there. Abraham does not simply accept this. He argues on behalf of any righteous people who may live there. He stands up to God, asking whether God will destroy the place if as few as 10 righteous people live there. God says no – though apparently there were not even 10, because the place is destroyed (Genesis, 18:17-33).

Later, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (Yitzchak), and Abraham does not object at all (Genesis, 22:1-19). This is troubling for many Jews, who struggle with how a father could agree to sacrifice his son, regardless of who is telling him to. When we find the behavior of our patriarchs and matriarchs troubling, we see it as an invitation to look more deeply at the story to find meaning for our own lives.

One of the ways I have understood Abraham’s lack of objection is that it’s easier sometimes to stand up for strangers, as Abraham stood up for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, than to stand up for ourselves. This is a reading that sees Abraham as being so devastated by the command to sacrifice Isaac that he numbly complies without argument. (Jews also understand the stories in our Torah as having multiple meanings, even contradictory ones.) This interpretation helped me to understand something about many people, not just Abraham.

We look to Avraham Avinu to find God’s first covenant with a family that later became the Jewish people. We look to him as an example of a relationship with God—he tries to understand, he questions, he argues, sometimes he looks out for himself, and sometimes he does as he is told. He isn’t perfect, but God chooses him. And we can strive to have that kind of relationship with God, too.

Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Temple Beth Emeth
Brooklyn, New York

Abraham in the Christian Tradition

From the deepest mists of time our Holy Scriptures tell of Abraham’s wanderings through life with his wife Sarah from Mesopotamia, possibly near Edessa (Urfa in modern day Turkey), across the Sinai and into Egypt and then back again into the Hebron Valley. These Holy Scriptures also tell of Abraham’s spiritual wanderings and even his stumbles, as he becomes ever more aware of the call to live in a covenant relationship of righteousness, trust and love with our One God and Father of Us All.

Like so many of us today, Abraham, this great and ancient archetype of so many faiths and cultures, was called into a personal relationship of righteousness and faith with God and humanity. Descriptions of the human experience as we struggle with both good and evil extend through his life and all through the genealogies of our faith for thousands of generations; the path of faith and righteousness, though life and culture is filled with both human weakness and yet also joy.

Christians take heart and great assurance in these accounts of the struggles and the enduring honesty, faithfulness and forgiveness shared between God, Abraham and Sarah. They are the ancestors of our Savior Jesus Christ, whom we believe has stepped into history to bring us forth in forgiveness and restoration from our own weakness and stumbles in our life of faith. So Christians also claim Abraham and Sarah as our own ancestors.

The Book of Genesis (25:9) tells us that when Abraham “was gathered to his people” his sons Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury his remains in the cave of Machpelah that was purchased earlier from the Hittites as a burial place for his wife Sarah.

I find this passage touched with love and hope for each of us today. For here we notice that Abraham’s sons, who took their separate ways as patriarchs in their own expressions of faith, came together once again to honor their father. They came together in peace even in the presence of their mutual and ancient enemy, the Hittites.

And so, may we, as brothers and sisters in faith like Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, and even those beyond the understanding of our faith, be brought together again under the high calling of living within God’s covenant of steadfast love, abiding justice and eternal mercy.

The Rev. Anne McRae Wrede
The Episcopal Churches of St. Stephen
Beverly and Riverside New Jersey

This article is a fruit of interfaith gatherings organized by a number of partners from different faith traditions. I am very thankful to everyone involved, but especially to Rabbi Paul Jacobson (Temple Avodat Shalom), Fr. Michael Perry (Our Lady of Refuge Church), Rabbi Matt Carl, Cantor Sam Levine, and Sally Hipscher (East Midwood Jewish Center), Rabbi Heidi Hoover (Temple Beth Emeth), Rev. Anne McRae Wrede (Episcopal Churches of St. Stephen Beverly and Riverside New Jersey), Mr. Ercan Tozan (Peace Islands Institute), and Mr. Fethullah Önal (Turkish Cultural Center), for their efforts to provide us with opportunities to reflect on the legacy of Abraham and to promote peace in our society.

Taqwa is having the due high regard for God Almighty. And those who adopt it as their life philosophy and accordingly adjust their feelings, thoughts, and deeds are called muttaqi. To live a life of sincere taqwa it is important to follow a certain discipline by avoiding extremes in all aspects of one’s life and to maintain a straight path. Putting forth some compelling criteria beyond the prescribed framework and trying to put them into practice may turn one’s life into an unbearable experience.

People should not be forced to practice what is voluntary as if it is compulsory. Instead of forcing people to do things, it is better to give good advice. In the case of a Muslim, for instance, the importance of supererogatory prayers like tahajjud should be emphasized. Muslims should be told that turning towards God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, in the darkness of the night when no one else is around may seriously help the faithful on their spiritual progress. It should be advised that we pray a great deal to the One Who showers us with His blessings – even if we do not deserve them – and enables us to accomplish more than we have the power to accomplish. Such blessings and benevolence require us expressing our gratitude verbally and in attitude. Therefore, it should be considered everyone’s essential duty to emphasize supererogatory prayer for a life of taqwa.

Before giving advice to others, it is important to practice additional prayers oneself; otherwise, your words will ring hollow. One’s own sincere practice makes a big difference, especially when it is to the point of losing one’s pleasure for anything when missing any such prayers.

One of the basics of piety that needs attention is the matter of a believer’s care with respect to what is permissible and what is not. I do not believe those who are not careful in observing what has been allowed and what has been prohibited, regardless of how insignificant the issue may seem, can attain taqwa or piety. Even if such people read the Holy Qur’an, for instance, they cannot feel the expected sense of awe in their spirit. The Holy Qur’an is a book that leads the pious to guidance (2:2). The basic characteristic of a pious person is escaping the unlawful and fulfilling compulsory obligations.

It can be said that one’s worldview also plays an important role in attaining the level of true piety. Yes, the world has two faces that lead people to both good and evil. In the words of a hadith, the world is “a prison for believers and a heaven for non-believers.” In another description it is called a ploughed field for the afterlife. Yes, a person comes to this world once and harvests in the afterlife what he has sown here. So we should appreciate the blessings we have been given here like youth, health, wealth, life, and time; and we should evaluate these blessings before we lose them. For these are like credit cards with which we can possess the worlds.

However, even though they possess all these blessings, there are those who are like fish in the ocean who are unaware of the water’s value. Yes, in spite of everything, a person should always live in awareness that there will be another life to come.

Another important matter for achieving piety or attaining new dimensions of faith is being able to escape from daily tasks and become busy with things that will provide metaphysical tension. A person should live such periods to the fullest and then during his new period of duty he can profitably work with enthusiasm. Yes, time set aside for this purpose, and the foundation laid and activities made during it, are indispensable dynamics for this world and the next.

Closing this section, I would like to mention a characteristic of people who have attained piety based on a statement in the Qur’an:

They remember and mention God (with their tongues and hearts), standing and sitting and lying down on their sides (whether during the Prayer or not), and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. (Having grasped the purpose of their creation and the meaning they contain, they conclude and say): “Our Lord, You have not created this (the universe) without meaning and purpose (3:191).