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A review by davehershey
Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam by A. Helwa
4.0
Majoring in religion, I studied Islam at university. That was over twenty years ago now! As I seek to read more widely in other religions, I found this book and thought it was worth a shot.
Overall, this is a great introduction to Islamic spirituality and theology. Maybe introduction is not the right word, because its pretty deep at points. I am not sure what sort of popular-level books are being published by Muslims for Muslims. Comparing this to Christian books, this is much deeper then the typical book Christians write for a wide audience. This reminds me of something like Pope Benedict’s Introduction to Christianity combined with a little Thomas Merton. It offers much to reflect on as well as tools for spiritual practice, with each chapter ending with a couple pages of practical tips.
Also, while this book is primarily for Muslims the author makes a point to say anyone can read and benefit. She quotes non-Muslims such as St. Augustine, the Buddha and others. As a Christian, there is a ton here that overlaps with my own faith. I find a lot of beauty in that.
We Christians often say that other in religions you have to earn God’s love but only in Christianity does God love you from the start. The author of this book argues throughout that God in Islam (Allah being the Arabic term for God) loves you from the start. The five pillars of Islam and other practices are not offered as ways to get God’s love or earn heaven, but rather as how we grow as humans in response to God’s love.
Of course, as an outsider I have no idea how representative of Islam this book is. But I have no reason to assume it is not, and it would be uncharitable of me to discount it since it does not fit with what I was taught elsewhere. Perhaps the author does gloss over some problems in Islam. After all, there are A LOT of Christian books out there which I, as a Christian disagree with (at best) and am horrified by (at worst). I’ve read plenty of Christian books that act like there are no problems with Christianity!
I know my own spiritual life has been enhanced by reading widely in other religions, not looking for points of disagreement but rather points of overlap.
Obviously, there are points of disagreement. My beliefs about the person of Jesus, fully God and fully human, do not fit at all with a belief that Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet. But I hold out hope we can disagree well, have beneficial dialogue and still be friends as we figure out how to share this world.
Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I am learning to have faith in God who created all of us in God’s image and is able to love all of us regardless of our wrong beliefs about God.
Finally, as a postscript, I was especially interested in the discussion of heaven and hell at the end. The author kind of offered the free will defense - God allows people to reject him. From a Christian perspective, I have a lot to say. At the same time, the author held out hope for all people, seeming to end in a sort of Hopeful Islamic Universalism. That’s pretty cool.
Overall, this is a great introduction to Islamic spirituality and theology. Maybe introduction is not the right word, because its pretty deep at points. I am not sure what sort of popular-level books are being published by Muslims for Muslims. Comparing this to Christian books, this is much deeper then the typical book Christians write for a wide audience. This reminds me of something like Pope Benedict’s Introduction to Christianity combined with a little Thomas Merton. It offers much to reflect on as well as tools for spiritual practice, with each chapter ending with a couple pages of practical tips.
Also, while this book is primarily for Muslims the author makes a point to say anyone can read and benefit. She quotes non-Muslims such as St. Augustine, the Buddha and others. As a Christian, there is a ton here that overlaps with my own faith. I find a lot of beauty in that.
We Christians often say that other in religions you have to earn God’s love but only in Christianity does God love you from the start. The author of this book argues throughout that God in Islam (Allah being the Arabic term for God) loves you from the start. The five pillars of Islam and other practices are not offered as ways to get God’s love or earn heaven, but rather as how we grow as humans in response to God’s love.
Of course, as an outsider I have no idea how representative of Islam this book is. But I have no reason to assume it is not, and it would be uncharitable of me to discount it since it does not fit with what I was taught elsewhere. Perhaps the author does gloss over some problems in Islam. After all, there are A LOT of Christian books out there which I, as a Christian disagree with (at best) and am horrified by (at worst). I’ve read plenty of Christian books that act like there are no problems with Christianity!
I know my own spiritual life has been enhanced by reading widely in other religions, not looking for points of disagreement but rather points of overlap.
Obviously, there are points of disagreement. My beliefs about the person of Jesus, fully God and fully human, do not fit at all with a belief that Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet. But I hold out hope we can disagree well, have beneficial dialogue and still be friends as we figure out how to share this world.
Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I am learning to have faith in God who created all of us in God’s image and is able to love all of us regardless of our wrong beliefs about God.
Finally, as a postscript, I was especially interested in the discussion of heaven and hell at the end. The author kind of offered the free will defense - God allows people to reject him. From a Christian perspective, I have a lot to say. At the same time, the author held out hope for all people, seeming to end in a sort of Hopeful Islamic Universalism. That’s pretty cool.