If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran

by Carla Power

“Sheikh,” I opened hesitantly, “I’ve never actually read the Quran.” I waited for the gravity of my confession to sink in. Admitting as much at this stage in my career felt shameful, akin to a literature professor revealing she’d skipped Homer and Hamlet. “Most Muslims haven’t read it either,” Akram said brightly, buttering his scone. “And even if they have, they don’t understand it. The Quran is alien to them. Usually, they’ll just go to the books of law. Or if they’re interested in piety or purifying the heart, they’ll read Ghazali”—a philosopher—“or Sufis like Rumi.”

To a tribal culture, Islam brought a radical new concept: a community based not on family or clan, but on faith. No longer could wealth or bloodlines protect you. Just piety. The new faith introduced other forms of equality as well. Islam didn’t tolerate the Arab custom of burying girls at birth. Women were no longer to be regarded as chattel, but as human beings with rights to inherit property and to dispose of their own wealth as they saw fit. The rich should give to the poor. All races were equal under God.

“In seeking peace and understanding for ourselves, we promise our own understanding to bring peace to all we meet.”