Description
Saeed Malik Meeting of two Seas by Malik a Saeed
KIRKUS REVIEWA thorough examination of Chapter 18 of the Quran exemplifies allegorical interpretation and reconciles common dichotomies like heart and mind science and religion.Having lived a life immersed in physical sciences I now find myself drawn by an irresistible appeal to the mystical shorelines of the hidden sea Malik (A Perspective on the Signs of AlQuran 2010) writes. Such watery metaphors pervade the authors language as he expounds on various parables in the Surah Kahf. A central story has Mosesthe Qurans mostmentioned prophetsetting out to find the meeting place of two seas. While this might be a real place this is also a mystical journey to the union of heart and mind. Moses companion on the quest for knowledge Khidr impairs a boat kills a boy and thenin a sudden merciful turnrepairs a crumbling wall. For Moses its a lesson in unquestioning obedience even when Gods will doesnt make sense. As Malik observes this is like the journey of faith: the big picture is usually hidden from mortals. Another key parable concerns some young men who take refuge inside a cave and Rip Van Winklelike emerge to find that centuries have passed. Malik cleverly links this example of time dilation to quantum physics concepts of time and space while also invoking metaphors of resurrection. Bypassing the usual quagmire that results when religion tries to disprove science he instead imagines the two coexisting. Indeed his modus operandi throughout this learned guide is to seek intersections between two ideas: empirical and subjective; free will and predestination. To those who have made the plunge of faith Malik insists those seemingly contradictory pairs become a nonissue. The book written in an inviting firstperson plural makes scholarly comparisons between different translations of the Quran (in italics with footnote references) accompanied by Arabic script and color images. Erratic hyphenation is a rare stylistic flaw in an otherwise fluid text. Dense with details this impressive volume rewards a slow meditative reading.Eyeopening in terms of the parity between the Abrahamic faiths this fine model of scriptural analysis merits study by mystics of any faithKirkus Reviewsshow more