Pray Together; Stay together

            I want to elaborate on Andie’s post about the Islamic community as a whole in contrast with one’s individual journey. THE OPENING primarily sparked this conversation.  I noticed the use of plural pronouns, which inherently joins everyone reading and reciting this Sura together. The line that seemed to cause the most debate was “guide us along the road straight” (42). This seems to mean the road is meant to be the same for everyone since it does not apply to “those with anger upon them” or “those who have lost the way” (42). Others like Andie believe this road is truly individualized. I thought I might explore this idea further in my post.
           Islam creates a deep sense of community, as in most religions such as Christianity or Judaism. For those practicing Islam, this sense of community is formed in many ways. For instance, the 5 pillars generate a shared sense of purpose among followers. People who pray together five times a day have a unique bond. A journey to Mecca or fasting during Ramadan also solidifies these beliefs.
           Additionally the Qur’an itself tries to merge everyone. “The Suras are attributed, in a more theologically neutral fashion, to the Qur’an as a text, rather than to whomever the interpreter considered the true author” (4). By talking about the Qur’an as a unit, no one contributor is deemed as more important than another. It is one book, one path, and one way.
  Allah also aids in developing a strong sense of community.  “Humans tend to hide, from others and from themselves, what they really are, but that Allah, the one God, sees into the inner being of each person and at the moment of truth will reveal each person, inside and out” (18). This trust in Allah makes everyone equally inferior. Every “normal” person is on a level playing field. This passage also shows the similar trait among humans of hiding, showing we can all improve.
         I think it is not only possible but also inevitable that people will have extremely different life paths. However, I think the Qur’an and Islamic law is in place trying to guide people down as similar a path as possible, which furthers the deep sense of community.