An earnest, if occasionally dry, introduction to the Quran.
An examination of different aspects of the central Islamic holy text.
The Quran, Ahmad (Aspects of the Quran, 2009) explains, is meant to serve as “an eternal book of guidance for all of mankind.” As he explores this guidance in detail, he supports his interpretations with a plethora of quotations from its text. For example, he notes that the Quran highlights the importance of caring for the poor (“Islam detests poverty”) and the necessity of protecting the environment (“Those who corrupt the land are thieves”). What does the holy book have to say about the just nature of God? One example that Ahmad offers includes this Quranic quote: “And none shall be dealt with unjustly on the Day of Judgement.” The interpretations are mostly the author’s own, but he occasionally references the opinions of other authors, such as those of neuroscientist Sam Harris, whose anti-Islamic sentiments, Ahmad says, misconstrue the peaceful nature of the religion. The author also criticizes Muslim scholars for what he characterizes as misinterpretations or overemphasis on particular aspects of Islam. He notes, for example, that both Muslims and non-Muslims appear to be obsessed with the ways in which women are permitted to dress, according to the Muslim holy book. Ahmad points out that, out of more than 6,200 verses in the Quran, “only three regulate women’s dress.” So, he wonders: Why do so many people make such a big deal out of it? This book will best serve readers who are largely unfamiliar with the Quran. It reveals the thoughts of a lay Muslim who proffers no agenda in his work other than to explain the central text of his religion in a way that anyone can understand. This relatively brief work isn’t an exhaustive dive into Islamic thinking but a digestible primer on its most important text. It provides extensive examples in an attempt to neutralize hostility leveled at Islam, and, as a result, readers will come away with an understanding of the faith that goes beyond news headlines and the rehearsed opinions of professional spokespeople. But although the book does offer a heartfelt defense, it might have proven even more effective if it had taken a more deeply personal tone. The author does share one anecdote from his childhood—regarding his youthful indifference to the lives of some small frogs and the resulting lesson that he learned from his mother—but readers may find themselves largely at a loss as to how Ahmad and those close to him made use of the Quran’s teachings in their own lives. He does clearly lay out his interpretation of the holy book’s “universal message,” but he could have better shown the impact of its teachings on individuals. An extensive foreword provides some insight into his reasons for writing the book—pointing out, for instance, that the market was “flooded with anti-Islamic literature” following the 9/11 attacks—but more personal context might have resulted in a truly nuanced reading experience.
An earnest, if occasionally dry, introduction to the Quran.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5049-5820-2
Page Count: 246
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.
The Book of Genesis as imagined by a veteran voice of underground comics.
R. Crumb’s pass at the opening chapters of the Bible isn’t nearly the act of heresy the comic artist’s reputation might suggest. In fact, the creator of Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural is fastidiously respectful. Crumb took pains to preserve every word of Genesis—drawing from numerous source texts, but mainly Robert Alter’s translation, The Five Books of Moses (2004)—and he clearly did his homework on the clothing, shelter and landscapes that surrounded Noah, Abraham and Isaac. This dedication to faithful representation makes the book, as Crumb writes in his introduction, a “straight illustration job, with no intention to ridicule or make visual jokes.” But his efforts are in their own way irreverent, and Crumb feels no particular need to deify even the most divine characters. God Himself is not much taller than Adam and Eve, and instead of omnisciently imparting orders and judgment He stands beside them in Eden, speaking to them directly. Jacob wrestles not with an angel, as is so often depicted in paintings, but with a man who looks not much different from himself. The women are uniformly Crumbian, voluptuous Earth goddesses who are both sexualized and strong-willed. (The endnotes offer a close study of the kinds of power women wielded in Genesis.) The downside of fitting all the text in is that many pages are packed tight with small panels, and too rarely—as with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—does Crumb expand his lens and treat signature events dramatically. Even the Flood is fairly restrained, though the exodus of the animals from the Ark is beautifully detailed. The author’s respect for Genesis is admirable, but it may leave readers wishing he had taken a few more chances with his interpretation, as when he draws the serpent in the Garden of Eden as a provocative half-man/half-lizard. On the whole, though, the book is largely a tribute to Crumb’s immense talents as a draftsman and stubborn adherence to the script.
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-393-06102-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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