Blog 2: Religion or Belief Systems
Being in a predominantly Muslim part of the world when we come from a predominantly Christian country, it is not hard to recognize these as differing identities. A particular aspect of our tour in Medina that piqued my interest was the cleaning ritual (Wudhu or Wudu) that Muslims partake in before praying. To quote our wonderful guide for the day with additional requirements from BBC (2022), the process of this washing is as follows:
- Right then left hand three times
- Mouth three times
- Breathe water in through the nose softly three times
- Wash face at least once, but usually, this is done three times
- Right arm up to the elbow three times
- Left arm up to the elbow three times
- Water from wet hands goes through the hair from the hairline to over the head
- Wipe the back and inside of ears
- Right foot up to the ankles three times
- Left foot up to the ankles three times
This ritual is done in order to prepare for an "appointment before God" as described by Imam Shareef (PBS, 2016). I also learned from BBC (2022) that this cleansing lasts for up to a day when not traveling. It will need to be redone after using the restroom, passing gas, bleeding heavily, having contact with feces, vomiting, going to sleep, or consuming intoxicating drugs (BBC, 2022).
A societal issue that may arise includes being able to realistically sustain and complete the cleaning in a continuously growing, modern society. On IslamQA there are questions from a concerned Muslim about the conditions in which they live/work and personal health problems (passing gas a lot) that cause them to continuously break Wudu (Jakhura). All of their challenges make the process very complicated to complete multiple times throughout the day. They were answered from a respected scholar in the Islamic faith who said things like," your Wudu will only be deemed to be broken if you are absolutely certain that your Wudu is broken" and "You could seek medical treatment regarding your condition...". The first answer confuses me because I am curious if it is implying that passing gas does not actually mean that the ritual has been broken. For the second answer, doesn't that counteract praying to God about the situation (first or at all)? Some of the answers had no correlation to the question that was asked and all of the questions were not answered.
Pondering on this has also lead me to wonder why the entire body is not washed? What happens if someone is not able to do the cleaning ritual after using the restroom, vomiting, etc.? If something is not done correctly in the ritual, does this mean that people are not able to pray to God at all? Personally, I believe that I can go straight to God in prayer, just as I am, because of Jesus's sacrifice and God's grace. I believe it is important to have cultural understanding/intelligence on aspects of others that are different as this allows me to effectively function across cultures as a leader in and around my community. It's not necessary that I always agree, but I value understanding and being able to dialogue with others about our differences with no offense taken or given. I understand the importance of this physical cleansing to Muslims from what I have read and heard thus far throughout the trip, but my opinion is that these physical cleansings are no longer necessary because Jesus's once for all time sacrifice. I don't desire to nitpick anothers religion or cause any offense, but these are just my observations and questions.
Zaharia, I find it very interesting that you and I both wrote about the Islamic faith, yet I wrote about similarities and you wrote about differences. I appreciate you capturing the steps of the washing ritual, as the guide explained it too fast for me to record it all. While I agree with you in that my God will take me just as I am, I also think of this as a sign of respect. Similarly, when I was growing up, we were told to “wear our Sunday best.” Many people have gone to a more casual style of worship. However, there are many references in the Old Testament to the sanctity of worship, being anointing in preparation, cleansing rituals, and so forth. You mention the washing no longer being necessary after having Jesus’ sacrifice. While I do not argue that point, I would like to reflect you to how many rituals are in the Christian church which may also “not be necessary.” Communion – I do not have to go to the alter to have the body and blood of Christ, but I do. Feet Washing – I can wash my own feet or go to ceremonies without clean feet but once a year for Maundy Thursday, my church offers a foot washing ritual. Baptism – I believe as long as I accept Christ as my Savior, I do not have to be baptized with water and still millions of Christians around the world participate in this ritual. My point is, being “not necessary” is not equivalent to “not important” and there are many Christian acts that are equitable to this ritual, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteTo offer a suggestion to your other conundrum, I think the respected scholar was trying to get the idea across that, at the end of the day, it is between you and God. Yes, we may have rituals and expectations, but who am I to say you are clean or unclean? Only you can answer that question. This reminds me of the following verses from Matthew 15: 10-11, “Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.” Only you and God know what comes out of your heart and youth mouth. Only you and God knows whether you have been soiled and need a cleansing. Further, we know that Muslims do not do this ritual EVERY time they pray because the same guide you mentioned actually prayed in the silk shop that day. Also, on the parts of the body washed – I assume it is because those are the most exposed. Similar to us washing our exposed hands before using them to eat. If we wash our hands to feed ourselves, why wouldn’t we wash them to worship the Creator?