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Common Ground - Islam and Buddhism

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Ethics of Detachment <strong>and</strong> Compassion<br />

What is to be noted here is that the proud <strong>and</strong> boastful owner of<br />

the orchards is a believer in God, at least overtly <strong>and</strong> formally: he<br />

believes in his ‘Lord’, he speaks of returning to his Lord, <strong>and</strong> is<br />

aware, at some level at least, that the Hour—the end of his life, <strong>and</strong><br />

that of the cosmos, the Day of Judgement <strong>and</strong> then eternity—is a<br />

reality that cannot be evaded; he believes, though, that even if he is<br />

‘returned’ to God, he will receive something even more satisfying<br />

‘as a resort’. Yet, despite his knowledge <strong>and</strong> apparent faith in God,<br />

his attitudes are described in terms of idolatry <strong>and</strong> disbelief: he falls<br />

into shirk <strong>and</strong> kufr because of his ignorance of the impermanence,<br />

<strong>and</strong> ultimately illusory nature, of ‘his’ possessions. His comrade, a<br />

humble believer, remonstrates with him not in relation to his pride<br />

<strong>and</strong> his boasting, but in relation to his subtle disbelief: Do you<br />

disbelieve in Him Who created you of dust, then of a drop, <strong>and</strong> then<br />

fashioned you a man? The vices of boastfulness <strong>and</strong> exultation in<br />

one’s possessions are here grasped at their root, as manifestations of<br />

kufr, <strong>and</strong> not just kibr (pride). For his part, the true believer affirms:<br />

But He is God, my Lord, <strong>and</strong> I ascribe unto my Lord no partner. The<br />

strong implication here is this: your attitude, by contrast, not only<br />

manifests disbelief in God, it also implies that you ascribe unto God<br />

a partner, thus becoming a mushrik, a polytheist. These implications<br />

are confirmed by the words of the owner of the gardens, after he sees<br />

them ruined: Would that I had ascribed no partner to my Lord!<br />

The ‘god’ of Desire<br />

Disbelief in God <strong>and</strong> ascribing partners to Him, therefore, are not<br />

simply questions of denying His existence <strong>and</strong> overtly setting up<br />

some stones <strong>and</strong> statues to worship instead of Him. Rather, one can<br />

delude oneself into thinking that one is a true believer, on the basis<br />

of some purely mental or verbal attestation of belief, while in fact<br />

being dominated by states of mind <strong>and</strong> being which belie that belief,<br />

<strong>and</strong> which indeed belie one’s religion, even if one is accomplishing<br />

its formal rites. This is the message which is given in the following<br />

short chapter of the Qur’ān, entitled ‘Small Kindnesses’ (al-Mā‘ūn,<br />

107:1–7):<br />

Have you observed him who belies religion?<br />

That is the one who repels the orphan,<br />

And urges not the feeding of the poor.<br />

87

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