Devan Hite

Islamic Theology

Final Paper (Graduate)

Due: Friday, December 14

introduction.

A short history. Comparisons between Muhammad and Islam, and Joseph Smith and Mormonism began in as early as the 1830s, when both were used as metaphorical punching bags for various Protestant groups in a handful of polemical treatises.[1] Reverend E.D. Howe is quoted as speaking of Joseph Smiths extreme ignorance and apparent stupidity, as the wardrobe of imposters, which was thrown upon the shoulders of the great prince of deceivers, Mohammad, in order to carry in his train the host of ignorant and superstitious of his time.[2] In the 1850s, W.S. Simpson writes that Mormonism bears in many respects a striking resemblance to Mahometanism, especially as to its sensual character, its founder, and its pretended revelations, calling the prophet Joseph Smith a Yankee or backwoods Mohamet.[3]

Then, according to a recent study published by the lds Church in the year 1855, Utahs newspaper, the Deseret News printed the sermons of Elders George A. Smith (181775) and Parley P. Pratt (180757) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostlesamong the highest group of ecclesiastical authority in the Church. Elder Smith writes that Muhammad was descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose to preach against idolatry. He sympathized with the plight of Muslims, who, like Latter-day Saints, found it difficult to get an honest history written about them. Speaking next, Elder Pratt went on to express his admiration for Muhammads teachings, asserting that upon the whole, [Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations.[4]

Since then, various studies have been conducted to compare, not only the two prophets, but the traditions they founded, which yields some startling findings. Particularly, Eduard Meyer, a German historian of the Near East, visits Salt Lake City in 1911, and offers such comparisons in his work Ursprung und Geschichte der Mormonen, or The Origin and History of the Mormons.[5] He notes how both Muhammad and Joseph Smith come from humble backgrounds; how they both seek experience with the divine through a phase of what is called, withdrawal and perplexity; how they were both visited by angels, which serves as the impetus to begin a biblical work; how both re-interpret revelations and the histories of earlier Biblical civilizations, applying them to contemporary issues of each founders own time. The list continues.

In Salt Lake City, where around 45% of the citys population are on the books as Latter-day Saint, a surprising amount of Muslims inhabit the area, and continue to flock there, which speaks of an ability for both to identify culturally. For instance, both religions place a high priority on the importance of family, and focus much on similar moral issues. Both groups worship and fast often, and pay monetary tithes; both adhere to strong dietary prohibitions and directives, which are unusual to the common public (considering the prohibition on the use of alcohol and to avoid tobacco and drugs, among others). Furthermore, both Mormons and Muslims in and around Salt Lake City tend to be actively involved in community issues, as both are generally misunderstood, while placing a large priority on education.

Latter-day Saints and Muslims both have canons of scripture, which are held to be directly granted for the populace by Godi.e., the Quran and what Mormons first called the Book of Commandments, but was later named the Doctrine and Covenants. In both of these works of scripture, one will find phrases that resonate: I the Lord or We have said or Hearken to My Voice Adherents from both traditions accept these accounts as the true voice of God (oddly so, the Book of Mormon does not claim to explicitly articulate the same sense of the voice of God, as a general theme throughout, although Mormons feel strongly that it is the Word of God, like the Bible would be).[6] Furthermore, both rely heavily upon and identify closely with the People of the Book. Mormons consider themselves literally the reestablished Israel, joining dispensations of prophetic and sacerdotal inheritances to the modern times.[7] Muslims accept, and in many cases reformulate earlier traditions, handed down through Israelitish roots. Both Muhammad and the Mormon prophets are a continuation of prophetic mantles, inherited from earlier time periods, where God speaks with humankind, gives directions, formulates ideal societies, and prescribes necessary legal practices. Furthermore, and in so doing, both migrate as pilgrims and pioneers, establishing homelands and unique theocratic governments, which designate their respective prophets as political leaders. Both groups begin with it in mind to change the religious interior of their homelands, with the intention to expand such visions to the world at large. The list continues. Indeed, a detailed analysis of this comparison is for a more extensive work. However, in this circumstance, I want to focus on the following. In the first section, I want to compare specifically the histories of Joseph Smith and the Prophet Muhammad. In the second section, I will present a brief and general examination of Mormon and Islamic theologies. We will find that although there are a plethora of historical comparisons on the surface, theological parallels are far less apparent.

joseph smith and muhammad.

The history of Joseph Smith and Muhammad appear similar in various ways, but I want to focus on four for this section. They are: 1) their early histories, 2) encounters with the divine, 3) migrations, and 4) apostasies and divisions. From the various sources we studied in class, we might compile the following basic outline of Muhammads early life. He was born and raised in humble circumstances, working in his youth and young adult life as a herdsman. At 25, he marries Khadija, which seems by the accounts to be a happy and blessed marriage. Then, at around age 40, he retires to Mount Hira to pray and meditate. There he receives his first revelation from the angel Gabriel, in response to his sincere and prayerful concern for his people, which commences the Islamic movement.

Each of these three points parallel the Prophet Joseph Smith almost identically. Joseph Smith was born into poverty in Vermont in 1805. Although, he was not an orphan, Smiths daily activities were humble and characteristically commonplace for a man of his circumstances. Smith married Emma Hale in 1827he was 22. Although, he was not brought into a position of prosperity through his marriage, most accounts of it affirm that the union was a positive one. There are varying conceptualizations of Emmas position on Josephs polygamist activity, which are obscured outside trustworthy historical accounts of it. However, what is significant is that both Muhammad and Joseph took plural wives, although Smiths were taken during the period of his primary marriage; justifications for polygamy parallel between Islam and Mormonism in contemporary, apologetic circles.[8]

The First Revelation and Following. The Mormon Prophets revelations began before his marriage to Emma, which earned him a rather rough reputation among his Puritanist surroundings.[9] Still, the accounts of his first revelations are striking. He is disturbed by the ideas circulating in his township on religion, which are indicative of a spreading tendency throughout the general area with an almost exponential fervency. Joseph records of how he retires to the woods to pray about his concerns, where God subsequently visits him. Earlier accounts of his first vision differ from the later, canonized accountsbut suffice it to say, the vision commences the Mormon movement. We might note that Smith writes of how he encounters a fierce emotional pressure and spiritual opposition prior to this revelation. The following is an excerpt from the official version of the account, written in 1838:

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction

Then, in this moment, he describes feeling a release from the opposing pressure, and the sudden appearance of God.[10] In this moment, Smith is instructed to wait for further visitations, which come to him in three years time by an angel. Later in this same testimonial, he writes of the origins of the Book of Mormon:

While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants.

Smiths account continues in this way, as he relates a very detailed process of obtaining, translating, and publishing what subsequently becomes known as The Book of Mormon.

Eight years after Joseph received the First Vision (1828), he began to record his revelations.[11] Richard Lyman Bushman writes, To the believers, the revelations sounded like scripture. They were immediately treated like the Bible, a status that no other contemporary visionary writings received. Then, How they achieved their status so quickly is not easily explained, but the revelations language made an impression. One rhetorical feature may partly account for their authority: the voice in them is purely Gods. Joseph as a speaker is absent from the revelations (128-29).[12] He continues, God speaks, with no human intermediary present. When Joseph figures in the revelations, he stands among the listeners, receiving instructions. When reprimands are handed out, he is likely to receive one. The first written revelation chastised him for losing 116 pages of the Book of Mormon translation (129). Bushman also notes how early converts to Mormonism took seriously the difference between Josephs own words and the words of his revelations. He says, [Joseph] spoke as if the revelations commanded him along with everyone else (129).

Parenthetically speaking, we might also note that revelation is made possible to Mormons through obedienceand each for his own jurisdiction (i.e., the Prophet for the Church, the Bishop for his congregation, and the father for his household, etc.). Furthermore, such may only come to those who God counts as worthy. There is the story of Smiths inability to receive revelation after a quarrel with his wife, Emma, which induces him to reconcile with her before he can continue with the revelatory work. We might recall al-Basris letter on Free Will and Determination, which I will use later in this paper, where he argues, Indeed God says this, that He will not alter a favour which He has bestowed upon a people until they change what is in their souls. The beginning of the blessing came from God but the change came from the servants (of God) because of their being contrary to what He commanded for them (116).[13]

Hans Kung, in his work Islam writes, does revelations of the Prophet Muhammad mean that the Prophet is the subject and the author of this revelation? As the Quran understands it, certainly not! The Prophet is nothing but an object, the one to whom this revelation is addressed, and the subject and author is the one God alone (63). We might declare with Kung something similar with regard to Mormonism: As the Doctrine and Covenants understands itcertainly not!

There are 138 Sections to the Doctrine and Covenants, which respond to specific needs of the early Church as they arise. Again, from the Introduction: These sacred revelations were received in answer to prayer, in times of need, and came out of real-life situations involving real people. The Prophet and his associates sought for divine guidance, and these revelations certify that they received it (emphasis added).

One will also read of what Mormons call the process of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times. Both ideologies are fundamental to Mormon beliefi.e., that the lds Church is not so much one of protest, but of restoration,[14] and that Joseph Smith represents one out of the long history of prophets from designated dispensations, or organized prophet-hoods since Adam.[15] Furthermore, we also read of instructions for a movement of the Church westward from New York and Pennsylvania, to Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, and finally into Utah. Lastly, one also reads of the mighty struggles of the saints in attempting to build Zion on the earth in modern times.

Mormons do not grant the same incarnate status to the Doctrine and Covenants (or any work of scripture, for that matter) as some Muslims do for the Quran. However, Mormon scriptures are created in the sense of the Mutazilites: what is not equal to God must be created, [thus] the Quran is also created.[16] If this argument were explained to the average Mormon, s/he would agree that the Doctrine and Covenants were created in this sense.

With regard to the history of revelation under the Prophet Muhammad, Karen Armstrong writes:

Muhammad woke to find himself overpowered by a devastating presence, which squeezed him tightly until he heard the first words of a new Arabs scripture pouring from his lips The revelations were painful to Muhammad, who used to say: Never once did I receive a revelation, without thinking that my soul had been torn away from me.[17]

Furthermore, she also writes, The Quran [sic] was revealed to Muhammad verse by verse, surah by surah during the next twenty-one years, often in response to a crisis or a question that had arisen in the little community of the faithful (5). This description by Armstrong of the great spiritual, psychological, or emotional turmoil that preceded each of his revelations, as well as the way in which it served as the impetus for further revelations is astonishingly similar to accounts of Joseph Smithby others or from his own pen. She continues, In the early days, the impact was so frightening that his whole body was convulsed; he would often sweat profusely, even on a cool day, experience a great heaviness, or hear strange sounds and voices (5). She explains that we might understand these experiences in secular terms, such that Muhammad was daftly aware of the social troubles which faced his people, and even on this level there is strong familiarity between the two prophets. When Joseph is imprisoned in Liberty Jail, he receives Section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants on behalf of his people, who are under persecution from the State of Missouri. Joseph writes, My heart bleeds continually when I contemplate the distress of the Church Oh that I could be with them I would not shirk at toil and hardship to render them comfort and consolation.[18] What follows is one of the most heart-felt revelations about Gods comfort and purpose in the lives of His people. We might also remember that almost prerequisite to Josephs first encounter with the divine, he is seized entirely by some pressure or force without him. To this day, Mormons consider Josephs testimony as a sort of modus operandi for receiving revelationeven personal. That is, in simple terms, most Mormons expect that trials will come before the blessings, usually as it regards seeking desired knowledge from God.

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Shiite Movement. Shortly after Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, Brigham Young began an exodus to the Rocky Mountains. Josephs wife, Emma, refused to follow. There was a question of whether or not the next prophet and president of the Church should come from Josephs line, or through a process of seniority in ecclesiastical order. Those who elected to stay behind with Emmaincluding her sons by Josephremained in Missouri and founded the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has since become known as the Community of Christ. Bushman writes,

Joseph had never explicitly named a successor, and events complicated the natural descent of authority. The two remaining Smith brothers were in line because of kinship Lucy Smith [Josephs mother] campaigned for William [his brother] to become presiding patriarch he made a bid for the Church presidency, but his unstable character kept him from being a serious contender.

In short, those who followed Brigham Young to Utah established mainstream Mormonism, with Young as the second prophet in a long line that has lasted to this day. The majority of Mormons follow from this trend, and numerical values, which are meant to represent the Mormon populace, reflect this group. The rlds followers no longer identify themselves as Mormons, per se. Their home base remains in Missouri.

The Shiites parallel the rlds view that the successor of the Prophet should preferably be a descendant of his founder. In the case of the Shiites, it begins with Mohammads declaration, which is, of course controversial, that Ali and his descendants should succeed him.[19] Now, this present comparison, admittedly, is a bit of a stretch, but what I find significant is the fact that both religions foster splinter, minority groups who claim that leadership, post-Muhammad should reflect his blood lineunder Fatima and Muhammads cousin-in-lawin the case of Muhammad, and Emma in the case of Mormonism. Various leaders of the mainstream lds Church have made comments about the rlds Church, whereby they are denounced as heretics, in so many words. However, it contains a long history of leadership under the descendants of Joseph Smith, even to this day.

the theology.

Theology on the being of God in the Mormon tradition has more or less remained intact since the 1840s. To Mormons, God is literally anthropomorphic. Furthermore, Mormons believe in a Godhead, but not in the traditional sense. There is a God, who is Father, Jesus Christ, who is the Son,both with physical bodies, and the Holy Ghost, who is in Spirit form. Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are among the children of God, as are all the members of humanity. They have received higher status, however, because of their faith. The theology gets tricky and a tad complicated at this point, so I will summarize as concisely as possible. Furthermore, it is necessary for later points I will make in this paper.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, The Father is a glorified, perfected, resurrected, exalted man who worked out his salvation by obedience to the same laws he has given to us so that we may do the same.[20] Statements such as these have the Church in trouble far too often, but it stems from the sincere belief that the process of salvation, is something which humanity shares with God. Key to this is the doctrine of the resurrection. Jesus represents a necessary prototype for eternal progression. That is, spirit children of God must come to earth, take up physical bodies, experience pain and spiritual degeneration, live by faith and obedience, die, and undergo the process of resurrection, glorification and exaltationall a process in which Mormons believe God, as Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ have undergone.[21] Furthermore, it is through this process that one is united with God the Father and all those who have warranted the same natural end through the same natural process. Thus, when Joseph Smith writes of seeing God at the First Vision, he means to argue for a God who is human-likewith a physical bodyonly glorified, resurrected, and unable to die. Furthermore, Smith (and most Mormons) would argue that if God were to visit us todayright here and nowHe would appear with the same description. As a result, obedience to Gods commandments is crucial, for it is Gods primary interest to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.[22]

For the Muslims, with falsafa and kalam enter interpretations of God that have since become traditional. McGinnis and Reisman write, Be that as it may, the Quran nonetheless does assert a number of what might be thought of as philosophical theses. Examples would include the affirmation that God exists as well as his having certain attributes, such as being perfect, unchanging, omnipotent, and omniscient; the claim that God is a creator and at least the strong suggestion that God created the world out of nonbeing at some first moment in time; and likewise the position that the human soul is immortal and the strong suggestion that there will be a bodily resurrection (xxviii, emphasis added).[23] These philosophical theses become the impetus a range of debates, which deal with descriptions of Goda number of which we have studied in class.

Of course, more often than not, general views in Islam will contrast with the Mormon view of God. Kung writes that Abu l-Hudhayl firmly attributes greatness, majesty, grandeur and glory to God, as an expression of Gods eternal perfections, while still accepting all the predicates which occur in the Quran (287). Furthermore, these characteristics, when in conflict with the minds understanding of God, are to be taken allegorically in some instances (i.e., the Mutazilites), because they are identical with his essence (287).

There would scarcely be found a dispute among Mormons that these same qualifications belong to Godeven to the point that many would join the Mutazilites to a point, so as to affirm that these qualities are God. But we might pull from various Mormon sources that they would add, not only God. That is, God is not just these attributes, but that He is the source of them. He is the Original. Such ideas about God also influence Mormon understandings of justice, for God does not necessarily demand justice alone, but is justicethe standard in which human beings strive to become. Therefore, that which is not of this standard is antithetical to correct living. This is primarily the view of God that we find in the Book of Mormon. However, interpretations vary, as they do in Islam as well. That is, Mormons also believe that God is bound, when we keep His commandments, as if we are to understand that the laws exist in and of themselves, independent from God, and that God Himself obeys them out of respect for them. The notion that God is bound, is the understanding that human beings will call upon them certain and necessary effects through the choices they makebe they of good or bad consequence. Thus, God here is almost a force in itself that the faithful tap in to through worship and daily living. With this take, the Kharijite notion of no judgment but Gods works to the extent that God is the force, not the person. Human judges, insofar as they reflect God as the perfect form of justice, are correct in their judgmentbut incorrect if they stray from this. To Mormons, Christ is the ultimate, human example, which demonstrates the necessity of scriptures, which describe his choices and his life.

This leads naturally to the question of free will. Like the Mutazilites, Mormons attach the utmost importance to the human capacity to choose, to free decision and thus to moral responsibility (Kung, 298). In Mormonism, human beings have free will in their choices, but not so much as regards the consequences of them. Natural law determines these consequences, which in some circumstances, God Himself respects. We might understand Mutazilite view of determination similarly, if we understand that it regards the natural effect of our choices, which again, we access through choice. That is, for every action, in Mormon belief, there is a necessary and natural reaction. Unlike the Qadarites, however, Mormons would in no way agree that God determines that we make one choice over the other, as an action in itself.[24] Rather, they would side more with al-Basris response. In the Quran 14:27 it says, God strengthens those who believe in His lasting word both in this life and the hereafter. He will lead the wrong-doers astray. God does as He pleases. If we mingle al-Basris view that it is God who does the strengthening and leading away, with the Mutazilite notion that God is His qualities, then perhaps, it might parallel nicely with Mormonism. Again, Mormons do not believe that God Himself is a force, but rather a being. However, the force is, in some instances, Godbeyond the mere quality He possesses, which our actions grant us natural access to.[25] Thus, a Mormon might say that God responds to our choices by way of strengthening or leading astray, depending on the choice.

conclusion.

I said earlier that the list continues, which is an understatement. This paper could have rightly focused on parallels between Mutazilite and Mormon theologies alone and still filled the page limit. Carl Ernst writes, The U.S. Muslim population has been variously estimated to be between 3 million and 7 million, although most observers would settle around 5 million, placing American Muslims in a position comparable to that of the Mormons (60).[26] Then, recently in an address directed at byu students, Elder Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had this to say: Ahead of us, indeed already all around us, is the world of Islam. Christianity and Islam will clasp hands in cooperation and understanding or clench fists in confrontation and prejudice (5). Then, in the same address he points out, Church members and Muslims share similar high standards of decency, temperance, and morality. We have so much in common. As societal morality and behavior decline in an increasingly permissive world, the Church and many within Islam increasingly share natural affinities (7).[27] Elder Packer has come a long way by declaring this, specifically the emphasis he gives to the statement: We have so much in common.[28] Without question, he means to appeal to what seems to be a common expectation that we must find similarities before we can begin the project of building bridges and working together. In a way, I find this somewhat problematicbut that is another paper. We might, however, speculate as to whether or not such parallels would be even more apparent had Islam commenced at a later date, or Mormonism vice versa, as it seems the contexts of both religions heavily influence their own theological outputs. Even still, the Mormon Church, as scholars, adherents, authorities and the like are quick to declare that the two traditions are strikingly similarparticularly in our shared histories.