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Tolstoy and Islam
The great Russian writer and thinker who contributed a lot to the
Russian literature and history is more famous as a writer, his
philosophical views and works that reflect his ideas of God, soul,
knowledge, love, the meaning of life, etc. are much less known.
The continuing quest for the meaning of life, the moral ideal, the covert
general regularities of existence as well as his spiritual and social
criticism run through all his creative work. Since the 1870s he pays more
and more attention to the subjects of death, sin, penance, and moral
revival.
His extraordinary way of thinking was in most cases incomprehensible to
the Russian society of those days.
He was excommunicated and committed to anathema, his friends and
acquaintances turned away from him. In 1910, at the age of 81, Lev Tolstoy
left home and died on the way to the station 'Astapovo'.
Why was the end of his life so sad and where was he going after leaving
home? Perhaps, some of his letters will throw light upon it.
Here is what he wrote about the Church: 'The world was doing what it
wished to do and was letting the Church keep pace with it providing as
good explanations of the meaning of life as it could possibly think of.
The world was setting its own mode of life which was entirely different
form the teaching of Christ, and the Church was inventing allegories which
would suggest that people who violated the law of Christ lived in keeping
with it. As a result, the world started living the life which was worse
than that of pagans, and the Church came to approve of it. Moreover, it
claimed that such life was what the teaching of Christ consists in'.
Yasnaya Polyana, March, 1909
The Russian woman who married the Muslim E. Vekilov, wrote to Tolstoy that
her sons wanted to convert to Islam, and asked for his advice. This is
what the writer answered her: 'As far as the preference of Mohammedanism
to Orthodoxy is concerned?, I can fully sympathize with such conversion.
To say this might be strange for me who values the Christian ideals and
the teaching of Christ in their pure sense more that anything else, I do
not doubt that Islam in its outer form stands higher than the Orthodox
Church. Therefore, if a person is given only two choices: to adhere to the
Orthodox Church or Islam, any sensible person will not hesitate about his
choice, and anyone will prefer Islam with its acceptance of one tenet,
single God and His Prophet instead such complex and incomprehensible
things in theology as the Trinity, redemption, sacraments..' Yasnaya
Polyana, March, 15th, 1909
We can adduce another letter of his which explains his world outlook which
formed as a result of his long painful search for the truth.
'I would be very glad if you were of the same faith with me. Just try to
understand what my life is. Any success in life- wealth, honor, glory- I
don?t have these. My friends, even my family are turning away from me.
Some- liberals and aesthetes- consider me to be mad or weak- minded like
Gogol; others- revolutionaries and radicals- consider me to be a mystic
and a man who talks too much; the officials consider me to be a malicious
revolutionary; the Orthodox consider me to be a devil.
I confess that it is hard for me? And therefore, please, regard me as a
kind Mohammedan, and all will be fine'.
Yasnaya Polyana, April, 1884
Russian literature and history is more famous as a writer, his
philosophical views and works that reflect his ideas of God, soul,
knowledge, love, the meaning of life, etc. are much less known.
The continuing quest for the meaning of life, the moral ideal, the covert
general regularities of existence as well as his spiritual and social
criticism run through all his creative work. Since the 1870s he pays more
and more attention to the subjects of death, sin, penance, and moral
revival.
His extraordinary way of thinking was in most cases incomprehensible to
the Russian society of those days.
He was excommunicated and committed to anathema, his friends and
acquaintances turned away from him. In 1910, at the age of 81, Lev Tolstoy
left home and died on the way to the station 'Astapovo'.
Why was the end of his life so sad and where was he going after leaving
home? Perhaps, some of his letters will throw light upon it.
Here is what he wrote about the Church: 'The world was doing what it
wished to do and was letting the Church keep pace with it providing as
good explanations of the meaning of life as it could possibly think of.
The world was setting its own mode of life which was entirely different
form the teaching of Christ, and the Church was inventing allegories which
would suggest that people who violated the law of Christ lived in keeping
with it. As a result, the world started living the life which was worse
than that of pagans, and the Church came to approve of it. Moreover, it
claimed that such life was what the teaching of Christ consists in'.
Yasnaya Polyana, March, 1909
The Russian woman who married the Muslim E. Vekilov, wrote to Tolstoy that
her sons wanted to convert to Islam, and asked for his advice. This is
what the writer answered her: 'As far as the preference of Mohammedanism
to Orthodoxy is concerned?, I can fully sympathize with such conversion.
To say this might be strange for me who values the Christian ideals and
the teaching of Christ in their pure sense more that anything else, I do
not doubt that Islam in its outer form stands higher than the Orthodox
Church. Therefore, if a person is given only two choices: to adhere to the
Orthodox Church or Islam, any sensible person will not hesitate about his
choice, and anyone will prefer Islam with its acceptance of one tenet,
single God and His Prophet instead such complex and incomprehensible
things in theology as the Trinity, redemption, sacraments..' Yasnaya
Polyana, March, 15th, 1909
We can adduce another letter of his which explains his world outlook which
formed as a result of his long painful search for the truth.
'I would be very glad if you were of the same faith with me. Just try to
understand what my life is. Any success in life- wealth, honor, glory- I
don?t have these. My friends, even my family are turning away from me.
Some- liberals and aesthetes- consider me to be mad or weak- minded like
Gogol; others- revolutionaries and radicals- consider me to be a mystic
and a man who talks too much; the officials consider me to be a malicious
revolutionary; the Orthodox consider me to be a devil.
I confess that it is hard for me? And therefore, please, regard me as a
kind Mohammedan, and all will be fine'.
Yasnaya Polyana, April, 1884
Comments on this journal
I dont think i quite understand the action element of what u refere to.
but interesting explanation of the tolsoty and goethe. I havent read much of mr bala, but that dialogue between satan of Gibral sounds very interesting.
There?s plenty right with the religion after all. However, when reading up on what great folks like Tolstoy and Faust say about Islam or the Prophet (pbuh), let?s not forget the light in which they see Islam. A light which Muslims of today REFUSE to see Islam as ? i.e. a faith based on actions ? and ONLY Action! - and where there is no condition placed on good action. And with action comes change ? action rejects stasis. With action come sins. Yet, actions are supreme because they are necessary and therefore always redeemable.
Do Muslims see it as that? Do you see it as that?
Some Muslims see it like that. And that is what Tolstoy and Goethe saw it as too.
Let?s take both these author?s and see how they projected their main characters from their major works.
In Tolstoy?s ?War and Peace?, Pierre starts off as a young man infatuate with Napoleon and thereby has elements of a revolutionary zeal. Yet as the book progresses, we witness the changes going through him as well some of the other characters. Bouts with freemasons, struggles with faith etc. etc.
In Goethe?s Faust, we see the ?ideal western man? ? a man of action. A man in order to embrace limitless action, he renounces ?faith? and sells his soul to the devil. In action, he makes many mistakes, destroys much, sins much, is responsible for murder, but in the end, he is redeemed. Because action is true faith.
That questionable poet, Bala (aka Allama Iqbal) considered Goethe along with Rumi as the great guides of humanity. Though Bala eventually disintegrated into nonsensical mumbo jumbo in the later part of his life, he always remain a great admirer of the ?action faith? of Goethe. Thus his poem ?Gibraeel aur Iblees? in which Bala speaks through the mouth of Satan and belittles the angel Gibraeel who?s wasting away in the filth of a static faith.
Anyhow, the point is both Tolstoy and Goethe were more in touch with Islam ? but not the Islam you or most Muslims would be comfortable with.
Goethe however had a different twist to pain, he made it more abour romance. Most other pain stems from poverty, squealor etc which then leads to social conditions falling on every step of life. but ofcourse you must reaad that goethe book.
tolstoy is one of my favourites, unmatchable.
...Dostoevsky maybe first...."Notes from Underground" its all about suffering and pain and then some more suffering...
...I personally enjoyed the themes of redemption through sacrifice and equality among the classes in Tolstoy's works...
have you read any of goethe? i think, like most people if you havent, i would stronly suggest " The sorrows of young werther ". i think thats the most painful book i have ever read. Small yet so beautiful. Its a universe in pages.
...honestly, I read somewhere that he had a positive view on Islam---this caught my interest... in the 19th century, Islam was seen to be something that the "Mohammedans " had copied/fabricated its parables from the Christianity religion and Judaic traditions....and the Europeans were only enamoured with either 'Colonialism' or Orientalism'...
...so when I read that a German writer by the name of Goethe actually respected Islam and defended it, I was intrigued to say the least...
...began searching on the net and found the following...I've added links so you may visit them to learn more ...some of the stuff goes on and on...but, if you're interested, there are references to explore further the position of Goethe on Islam...
"However often we turn to it at first disgusting us each time afresh, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence... Its style, in accordance with its contents and aim is stern, grand, terrible - ever and anon truly sublime -- Thus this book will go on exercising through all ages a most potent influence."
Goethe, quoted in T.P. Hughes' DICTIONARY OF ISLAM, p. 526.
muslim-canada.org www.backtoislam.com www.amaana.org www.humanities.ualberta.ca www.worldwideschool.org
...I have read Tolstoy...he always had a 'humanistic'
(equality and charity) feel to his writings...
...reminds me of what I had read about Goethe
(German poet) and his views on Islam..