Paradoxes torment the ruthlessly logical. But they lie at the heart of religious faith, indeed perhaps of any insight into reality. They appear to be absurd, yet they point to a truth that cannot be expressed straightforwardly.
The scriptures of both Islam and Christianity are full of paradoxes. Some readers of paradoxes simply emphasise only one part of the paradox and neglect the other. Critics of Islam and of Christianity feast on one-sided interpretation of this sort. Other readers smooth over the apparent contradictions or are so dulled by familiarity that they do not even notice them.
But the best way to interpret paradoxes is to allow both sides to fascinate and challenge us. They can then lead us to new ways of thinking and feeling, and to a new appreciation of the greatness and the mystery of God.
I would like here to point to five paradoxes that are shared by Christian and Muslim scripture. The first is that Christians and Muslims regard themselves as both the servants and the friends of God.
The Christian scriptures say that Christ came to serve and not to be served, that his followers are to consider themselves merely as servants and that they are to be servants of one another. But Christ also had a very loving and intimate relationship with God, whom he addressed as 'Abba (Father)!'. By telling them that they were no longer his servants but his friends, Christ wanted his disciples to share in this loving relationship with God.
Similarly, the Qur'an calls believers the servants of God who surrender to God in obedient submission since God is almighty and has full knowledge of the secrets of the heart. But it also says God relates with people in a compassionate way: 'God is most compassionate and most merciful towards people.' The believing servant is invited to enter into a relationship with God through which the Almighty is closer to them than their jugular vein.
The second paradox is that Christians and Muslims regard their own faith as the true way yet also affirm the truth of other paths.
It is clear that, for Christians, Christ is the Way to God. Yet Jesus is also presented as saying, 'many will come from the east and the west to take their places with Abraham'. The Catholic Church acknowledges that those outside the community of the Church can attain salvation, thereby recognising the value of other paths to God.
Similarly, the Qur'an says that God has chosen Islam as the true religion: 'Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed my blessing upon you, and chosen as your religion Islam.' But the Qur'an also acknowledges the faith of those outside the community of Muslims: 'The (Muslim) believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians — all those who believe in God and the Last Day and do good — will have their rewards with the Lord.'
The third paradox is that Christians and Muslims must announce the truth of their own faith but are also committed to dialogue.
The New Testament represents Christ as sending his disciples out to teach and to baptise in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But at the birth of Christ, the angels made a universal announcement of 'peace to men who enjoy God's favor'. The Second Vatican Council encouraged Christians to live together peacefully with Muslims. Other documents support dialogue between faiths.
Similarly, the religious tradition based on the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad encourages Muslims to invite people to embrace Islam. But the Qu'ran also states, 'There is no compulsion in religion'. The Qur'an tells Muslims to find a common word between them and other believers, and states: 'Our God and your God are one and the same.'
The fourth paradox is that Christians and Muslims acknowledge two ways of being a believer: an ordinary way and a more perfect way.
Christ did not come to abolish the law or the prophets but instructs everyone seeking fulfilment to follow the way commonly recognised as obedience to the law. But he also makes it clear that 'it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life'. He told a questioner: 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor'.
The message of the Qur'an is also addressed to 'all mankind' and provides the same basic teaching of religion that has been taught by all the Prophets since Abraham: 'Say, "My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright religion, the faith of Abraham, a man of pure faith. He was not a polytheist. "'
But the Qur'an also recognises different degrees of closeness to Allah and speaks of 'a steep path' which makes more than ordinary demands on a believer. Sufism, which stems from the earliest period of Islam, has also developed a variety of 'paths' and 'stations' along which a believer may make progress in virtue.
The fifith paradox is that Christians and Muslims strive against evil but also encourage forgiveness and reconciliation.
Christ came not to bring peace but a sword. He publicly criticised the leaders of religion for their hypocrisy, and forcefully drove sellers out of the temple. But Christ also taught his disciples to forgive their enemies, and he himself forgave those who were crucifying him.
The Qur'an too allows believers to 'fight in the way of God' but forbids aggression: 'Fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not overstep the limits.' But it suggests pardon and forgiveness as the preferred option: 'In the Torah we prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, an equal wound for a wound: if anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will serve as atonement for his bad deeds.' Fighting must be balanced with pardon.
Both Christians and Muslims have encountered the presence of paradox in the history of their religious traditions. There is nothing to be gained from denying or avoiding the reality of paradox. On the contrary, paradoxes can be integrated into a believer's life by letting them speak to us of the mystery of God's greatness.
If we learn to be receptive to the presence of paradox in our own faith tradition we may be more understanding of the way paradox appears in the faith tradition of others. We shall avoid focusing on texts from other religious traditions that state only one side of the paradox. Ultimately, too, sustained reflection on the paradoxes to be found within each of our faith traditions may open us to a more profound awareness of the mystery of God.
Herman Roborgh SJ lived in Pakistan for eight years before going to India where he completed a PhD in Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University. He currently resides in Australia. The above article is an abridged article published in Dialogue Australasia, May 2009. The full text with references is available here.