The Rules of Religion
Feb 24th, 2014 by mbprasad
During Week 3 in class we discussed the recitation of the Qur’an, and this blog is a response to Al-Ghazali’s “External Rules of Qur’an Recitation.” What most stood out was the contrast between public recitation and a private reading of the Qur’an. However, after comparing this reading with Sardar’s Reading the Qur’an and Rasmussen’s The Quran in Indonesian Daily Life, I realized that the differentiation is not so much private versus public. Instead, it is more of a question of strict or flexible interpretation.
From the 12th century, Al-Ghazali writes traditionally and expects different practices of recitation than we might expect now. Recitation, especially as Al-Ghazali proposes, seems to be much more focused on constructing a persona. For example in rule six, Al-Ghazali says that we should weep while reciting the Qur’an. If we can’t weep, we should force ourselves. While I understand that forcing ourselves often produces genuine feelings in the end by association, it is still strange to think such rules will give us a better understanding of our own faith. Al-Ghazali propagates a much stricter interpretation of recitation of the Qur’an than Rasmussen does, which ties into the blog I wrote about Infidel. Does a strict interpretation and specific rules enhance our practice and ultimately make us a better believer?
This is the question that I sought to tackle through the artistic form of film. I asked members of the Harvard community questions surrounding rules and religion. Some of the questions include:
- How do rules and structure enhance or detract from your religious practice?
- Are you religious? If so, what rules do you follow in your practice?
While Al-Ghazali’s text focuses on Qur’an recitation, we have to ask ourselves how strict rules interact with religion in general. The students interviewed include a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Catholic, and Atheist. Farheen, a Muslim with roots from India, explained that Al-Ghazali’s views on Qur’an recitation are based upon a certain cultural context. While his rules can enhance a practice, they are not mandatory, which is also important to consider.
I made the film black and white to make each panel the same. The background music is a recitation of the Qur’an titled Surat Ash-Shu`arā’ (The Poets) from verses 69-104, recited by Muhammad Al Muqit. While I considered including music from a breadth of religions, I ultimately decided to put a Qur’an recitation in the background because it emphasized that this blog was sparked by Al-Ghazali’s rules on Qur’an recitation. As you listen to the respondents, also listen to the recitation in the background and think about if the style follows tartíl or tajwid and what emotions it evokes.
While I interviewed people of different faiths, different levels of education, and different backgrounds, I acknowledge that members of the Harvard community are not representative of the general population, as they tend to be more liberal and less religious. Still, filming this gave me an understanding of how these people approach religious practices differently and what values they see in rules if at all.
Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2JYi42qGFo&feature=youtu.be