Aslama — The Release of Letting Go
And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” — Mk. 14:35–36
The Arabic verb أسلم aslama underscores the prescribed biblical pedagogy of the scriptural deity. As the fourth verbal (hiphil) form of the triliteral S-L-M, it means to create a situation of peace by “giving up” or “surrendering”. The Hebrew equivalent to this form is הִשְׁלִ֫ימָה hishlimah — he made peace with. As a condition, the Qur’an calls this islam — a state of complete resignation.
Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam (surrender, resignation, submission) as your religion. — Q. 5:3
The Bible presents human history as a sad story of a lost and confused species, who continuously struggles to occupy the exalted space above the heavens reserved only for the scriptural deity. In short, mankind wants to be God. The conceited ego of the human being is the cardinal sin, according to the text.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. — Gen. 3:4–6
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” — Gen. 11:4–7
Man tries to forge his own genealogical story (toledot) which is best understood as a compendium of achievements and activity. This toledot ends with worldwide violence, and God’s punitive destruction.
Everyone knows this story. Genesis 1–11 contains the most famous narratives from the Bible: Six-day creation, Adam and Eve, the fall from grace, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the Tower of Babel. What is less popularly known, but nonetheless evident in the text, is the contrast this first section of scripture provides. On the one hand, you have the propensity for humanity to attempt control over its own destiny and to be self sufficient. This tract leads to fratricide over jealousy and the establishment of cities, dedicated to the “strongman’s” own progeny.
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch (Heb. dedicated). When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. — Gen. 4:17
So powerful is this inclination, that the descendants of Cain begin circumventing God’s natural order of men raising heirs through women and resorting to giving birth themselves. It sounds silly, but in chapter 4 Hebrew the active form יָלַ֥ד yalad — he gave birth is used instead of the niphal (passive) form יִּוָּלֵ֤ד yiwaled — was born (to). The active yalad is only used for Irad, Mehujael, and Methushael. These men did not like the humiliation of coming into the world via a lesser woman, so they went to the unnatural means of giving birth themselves. Of course, it is literary not historical. It is a parody of arrogant machismo. Having to reproduce like another one of the animals, and having to rely on women to bear and give birth to children is an inescapable reminder that man lacks the god-like control he desperately lusts after. We can see this frustration play out with historical figures like King Henry VIII of England, who tried desperately to produce a male heir, going through six women to do so. He did finally produce a son, but the boy did not survive infancy. Despite his efforts, Henry VIII was ultimately not in control. The same behavior is played out by Cain’s genealogy, who do everything to survive. It all comes to naught, however, because God wipes them all out in the flood. This type of arrogance that circumvents God’s natural order is patently unacceptable and an abomination, which is expressed in the sexual code of Leviticus.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. — Lev. 18:22
(This is not to be taken, as the religious fundementalist does, as a license to discriminate against people. This is not about sexuality in our post-modern understanding. It is about critiquing machismo, nothing more.)
On the other hand, we have the model of shepherdism personified in the character Abel (hebel), whose name in Hebrew means “vanity”. He persists in the open wilderness, with God as his reliance. If the book of Ecclesiastes is any indication, Abel represents the frailty of human life and the necessity for one to understand that condition.
So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity (hebel) and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. —Eccl. 2:9–11
These two tracts are emblematic of the scriptural mechanism of discontrol. The Summoner (qohelet) of Ecclesiastes relates his own deconstruction as he submits to surrendering his control. He understands, by the end of the book, that true religion is din: a response to and preparation for judgement. He says that the whole of man (that is, his purpose) is to fear God and keep his commandments.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. — Eccl. 12:13–14
God, being the puppet master of both good and evil, will render both into judgement on the last day.
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create evil (ra‘); I am the Lord, who does all these things. — Is. 45:7
This, of course, is difficult for people to submit to. Especially in the Western world, we are obsessed with theodicy. It is ironic that people ask themselves why God allows evil to exist, when the Bible goes farther than that question and asserts that God creates evil in the first place. As demonstrated by the introduction in the book of Genesis, God has both the forces of chaos and order firmly in his control. He can release chaos at any time. This, by scriptural definition, is “evil” in the sense that it creates a hostile environment for man. What is man to do? He must surrender any attempt to bribe or circumvent God and submit completely to his mercy. God is not like a post-modern parent, who tries to be friends his with children. God is like an authoritarian Arab father who finds two of his children fighting, admonishes both, and charges them to make peace with each other. This is the disconnect between the God of scripture and the many gods of people’s imaginations. People want (and thereby construct) a god who is essentially an adult imaginary friend, who guides you through all of your decisions: what car you’re going to buy, what job you’ll apply for, what partner you’ll start dating… The assumption for us should not be that God is our “friend” but that God is our judge. Many are uncomfortable with this notion. People want God to be their ally on the one hand, but to be harsh with their personal enemies on the other hand. God shows no partiality (Rom. 2:11–16). That alone should prompt us to fear the judgement. We have no control over the matter.
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. — Rom. 9:14–18
Paul, in his proclamation that the gentiles share the salvation of the Jews, also proclaims God’s total sovereignty. As an example, he uses the story of Pharaoh from the book of Exodus. Modern hearers are often troubled by that story because God is shown to be in complete control of Pharaoh’s actions, and yet still punishes him. It is God who hardens Pharaoh’s heart and keeps him from releasing the Israelites.
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. — Ex. 14:4
This display of God’s control over Pharaoh is simply meant to demonstrate what was relayed in Genesis 1, that being that God is fully in control of order and chaos. This is reflected also in the Qur’an, which says,
He punishes whoever He wills, and shows mercy to whoever He wills. — Q. 21:29
Again, this is difficult for us. Humans desire the control that only God has. Like the servant of Isaiah, we must become a “muslim”.
Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one (כִּמְשֻׁלָּ֔ם ki meshulam — as one perfect, at peace), or blind as the servant of the Lord? — Is. 42:19
This complete surrender is what Abraham demonstrated in Genesis 22.
He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. — Gen. 22:12–13
This act of “islam” is what defines Abraham as both the father of the faithful, and the “friend” of God. As Paul and the Qur’an after him proclaim,
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. — Gal. 3:7–9
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; he submitted (مُّسْلِمًۭا musliman) in all uprightness and was not a polytheist. — Q. 3:67
To walk in the way of biblical pedagogy, we must surrender completely to God. This means that we must also understand that God is also the God and savior of our enemies. Tribalism is not allowed. It is just as ludicrous and blasphemous for the United States to print “In God We Trust” onto US currency, and for Islamic countries to print the Shahada on their flags. God does not operate in human sectarianism. God remains outside of our camp. True freedom is to submit to this discontrol.
Most recently, Benjamin Netanyahu has been attempting to exert his control by extending his genocide against Gaza to Lebanon and the West Bank. In so doing, like the Cainites, he is orchestrating his own destruction. Little does he, and the world, know that God is in control. It is not Netanyahu destroying Gaza, but God himself. Netanyahu is nothing and God will tell him as such on judgement day.
And the disbelievers schemed, but God also schemed — and God is the best of schemers. — Q.3:54
May God have mercy on the poor in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and beyond.
