Charles tells us how to interpret Muslim sacred writings

In a recent speech to an audience in Pakistan, HRH Prince Charles said:

In a secular age you hear again and again the accusation that religion is the cause of so much misery and strife in the world. However, religion itself is not the problem—it is surely human misinterpretation of the sacred texts handed down to us that can lead to such appalling misunderstanding and hatred. A too literal reading of the texts, for instance, can so easily obscure the inner, symbolic meaning contained within them. As Jalaluddin Rumi put it so perceptively—“He who hears the inner voice within him has no need to listen to outside words.”

These are noble thoughts, worthy of a prince expostulating on the noble religion of Islam. Let us respond in like spirit by applying the Prince’s rules of scriptural interpretation to the following, admittedly thorny passage from the hadiths:

The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, so that Jews will hide behind stones and trees and the Stone and the tree will say, O Muslim, O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.

Now, as Charles rightly tells us, a too literal reading of this text could easily obscure the inner, spiritual meaning. What could that inner meaning be? The first thing to understand is that the “Jews” referred to in the passage are, of course, not actual Jewish people—what a crude misconception that would be, leading to deadly conflict! No, the Jews in this verse symbolize the inner evil impulses in each Muslim that separate him from Allah. These impulses must be extirpated. The trees and stones represent the idea that for a true Muslim, for a man who walks every step of his life in the way of Allah, even the forces of nature will help him remove the sins from himself. Alternatively, the trees and stones represent that part of a man’s mind that normally does´not want to see the truth, that conceals his imperfections and flaws from himself. But, on the day of judgment, all the faculties of the human mind will be turned godward, so that even our secret recesses will open themselves and expose the sinful thoughts lurking therein, and the sins be purged through total devotion to Allah. This is the true, inner meaning of “killing Jews.” And when each Muslim becomes clean of ungodly desires, free of his “inner Jews,” that man will be ready to ascend to heaven and its rewards.

Thanks to the Prince of Wales for inspiring us to leave the dark wood of inter-religious misunderstanding for a true glimpse of the inclusive truth that lies at the heart of Islam, and of all religions.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 10, 2006 10:30 AM | Send