Ridiculing the Verses on Paradise?

Subjecting any of the Quranic verses to ridicule causes unbelief. Thus, the perpetrator of such an act is downright an unbeliever. The reason why I am starting this article with such a heavy subject as unbelief is because for the last 5-10 days I have been subjected to an intense trolling attack and a heavy campaign of defamation, under the ugly heading of “Divinity School Professor Ridicules Paradise Verses”. The gang responsible for leading and managing this defamation campaign are a couple of “religion fanatics”, who, in the words of Atasoy Müftüoğlu, need to be kept under psychiatric observation. These highly immoral individuals carry out all sorts of charlatanry, vileness, and malice in the name of religion and attack whoever they may set their eyes upon, relying on the means of pressure they gain through their membership to certain religious organizations and carrying out a manhunt by provoking government dignitaries.

            The most recent act of defilement committed by this group, which has created a particularly horrifying type of morality/immorality within the scope of Islamic ethics, is their slanderous act of cutting out a brief section, only a couple of minutes long, from a long talk that I gave on the descriptions of paradise in the Quran, posting it on social media with the slogan “Mustafa Öztürk ridicules Quranic verses on paradise”, and then calling for my head, addressing the political authorities. The remarks I make in the video, served to social media on a platter by this group, concerns the dim-witted understanding and interpretation of Quranic verses on paradise, much in the manner of this group’s way of thinking. There is, however, a long explanation right after this section about how descriptions of paradise should be understood and interpreted within their own historical context. If there is any ridicule in question, it is aimed at the imbecilic reading and interpretation of these verses.  

            Unfortunately, we live in a society where intellectual though is chased away like a rabid dog. In the words of Cemil Meriç, “My poor people, who run away from each light, mistaking it for fire- you are so used to darkness, that even stars bother you! In this country, where ideas are chased away like rabid dogs, how is a man of thought to be raised?” That’s why we have to pay a very heavy price when we voice a new idea/opinion regarding religion. On the other hand, just after celebrating our deliverance from the curse of FETO, we witness other nasty organizations filling the empty space it left behind. These nasty organizations seem to make it their business to find fault with almost all endeavors and activities in the field of religion, from the “Faith Symposium” to the “Symposium on Maturidi”, and labeling everyone who do not belong to their sect with heresy. However, in all their attacks towards individuals and groups – and most recently in their calumnies against me personally – they act not manly, but treacherously. That is to say, they cut out a section that is only one or two minutes long from a talk that is in fact one or two hours long. Thus, in the name of defending the religion, they provide a spectacle of immorality for all to see.  

            It is truly painful to see a handful of charlatans establish their rule in the field of Islamic Studies in this country, who grant themselves the authority to rule over everyone. It is a must to put a stop to this disgrace and vulgarity. If my head is to be put on the line for the vulgarity in the religious field to stop, I concede; my only wish is that the country be rid of the despotism of these charlatans who take it upon themselves to excommunicate everyone. Otherwise, we will be forced to live in an order reminiscent of the Wild West, where the dominant atmosphere will be “dog eat dog”. 

            As for the question of how to understand the Quranic verses on paradise, I would like to explain it briefly here. For example, in Surah Fatir verse 33, we are told that the people of paradise will be wearing silk dresses and adorned with golden bracelets and pearls. Imam Maturidi, as a Turkish exegete, remarks that Turkish men do not find such things very attractive, while Arabs find the said jewelry very attractive. Is Maturidi mocking and ridiculing the paradise verses when he says this? In my opinion, while this interpretation, which Maturidi puts forwards based on his own cultural world, is correct, it is also incomplete. In fact, the description in the verse conveys the message that believers will be hosted in paradise in the manner of kings. This is because in the period that the Quran was revealed, such jewelry as gold and pearls were particular to the dressing habits of kings, and this fact is emphasized openly by some exegetes like Ibn al-Jawzi. With regard to paradise, the Quran also mentions “salaam”, i.e. peace. Peace, in its current sense, is not something that could be perceived as a heavenly reward. However, when we take into account the situation of the Companions of the Prophet, who lived in Mecca under intense oppression, intimidation, and violence, we appreciate how important the promise of the word “peace”, which means “safety from all kinds of worry and fear” becomes. In conclusion, it is necessary to understand and interpret the verses of paradise within their own historical context from a broad point of view. Otherwise, we will be destined to interpret the following verses of Yunus Emre: “What they call Paradise / Is a house and some beauties / Whoever wants it give it to him / What I need is You” with the following bigotry: “The ugly words they utter about Paradise is open disbelief; they may be killed”. This is exactly what we are witnessing today.

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk 

Karar Gazetesi'nde 15 Kasım 2018 tarihinde yayınlanan yazının İngilizce versiyonudur.