Faith in God.

Here is Sarah Palin talking about God's role in life, including in the U.S. war against the Arabs in Iraq, which she likens to "a task from God". She is Christian, so some of the wording might sound alien or cheesy to Muslims like me and most of you, but the premise and intent is almost identical to what we hear constantly in our highly Islamic environment back home. This kind of rhetoric is presumptuous. It presumes that God exists just like molecules or waves of energy, instead of treating God in a way that I'd be more comfortable with, as a concept or a thought. While I pray that God is, the only acknowledgment I'm willing to make about God is to admit that God is a mystery. Beyond that, I don't like talking about God, or even mentioning God in everyday talk. One exception is "Insya'Allah," which is okay, because it doesn't presume anything. It just says, "If God wills." Which means, to my mind, "we don't know what the future holds, so let's not worry." It is the truest thing a Muslim can utter, for Muslims have pledged to submit to providence; our particular discipline is to give in to an unknown future.

And indeed, all futures are unknown. Even astrology doesn't portend or explain the future; astrology, so misunderstood by people, helps us to form scenarios about possible futures, just like Shell Oil does when it goes prospecting, so we can be braver as we take the next step. Life is fraught with tensions that must unfold in some logical way, which astrology helps us think about (e.g. when you hear a phrase like, "Saturn aspect the Sun," it means: when our intent is clear, hard work will help us prevail -- it's just common sense. When we are reminded of these common sense things, it strengthens our resolve. There's nothing magical about it.)

Things I hate hearing and make a conscious effort never to say: "Whatever is meant to be is in God's hands." (If that's true, then why live? Why make decisions? Why create anything?) "Our enemy failed because God is on our side." (God is not on anybody's side; God is a metaphysical concept that is within anybody's grasp, and belongs to everybody in a neutral way.)

Sometimes my mother will say, "Alhamdulillah, we found a parking spot!" To my mind, God had nothing to do with finding the parking spot. But I think it's okay for her to say "Thank God" in this context because to me, the meaning of it is, "There's a million other things I'd rather do than circle around looking for parking, and now that we've found a parking spot I'm so happy that my life is going to proceed as envisioned." ("As envisioned" connotes mystery: Although I have an idea of what I want to do, I don't know what my future holds, but here I come anyway.)

Belief in God is simply that: a belief. Nobody has ever met God, so we'll never know the reality behind God. In addition, I don't ask, "What is a cup?" and receive the reply, "A cup is a merciful thing." A more typical answer is, "A cup is a vessel." But with God, we are given 99 possible answers to ponder, none of them nouns. They are adjectives. What are we to make of this? It is utterly confounding. This is why I treat God like a metaphysical concept, like love or freedom, which are states of being, just like the 99 names: kind, compassionate, just.