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The book draws on an old Muslim literary tradition in which a man sets out from home, ostensibly to make his pilgrimage to Makkah, but really to indulge his spiritual restlessness.
Desperately Seeking Paradise
Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim
By Ziauddin Sardar
Price: Rs. 395/-
Published by: Granta Books, Granta Publications, 2/3 Hanover Yard, Noel Road,
London N1 8BE.
(Available in major book shops in India)
Books remain valuable gifts for all times. The gloomy part of books authored by Muslims is that one never gets to know about them simply because there is no “formal launch.” These days, books are launched amidst fanfare and publicity. Books on Islam and Muslims get lost amidst the clutter, not just in the bookshops, but even in the minds of people.
Desperately Seeking Paradise draws on an old Muslim literary tradition in which a man sets out from home and friends, ostensibly to make his pilgrimage to Makkah, but really to indulge his spiritual restlessness… add some British-Indian blokery and some slapstick, and you will have some idea of the scope and charm of this book. Interspersed through these adventures are meditations on episodes in Islamic history and other political and religious Movements.
The author, Ziauddin Sardar, a broadcaster and columnist, was born in 1951 in Dipalpur, Northern Pakistan and migrated with his family to London as a child. He has worked as an information scientist, journalist and lecturer and has published some 40 books, most recently, the international bestseller, Why Do People Hate America? written with Merryl Wyn Davies.
Desperately Seeking Paradise-Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim, is a first person account of Ziauddin Sardar’s encounters with various Muslim groups as he sets out on his search for the truth. All groups promise him the “Key to Paradise.”
Ziauddin receives his first piece of wise inputs from his mother who tells him: “The fruits of paradise are not the kind of fruits you buy at the grocer’s, but the fruits of deeds done. And ilm is crucial in distinguishing good from bad deeds. So the sustenance on offer in the garden of paradise is achieved through knowledge.”
Ziauddin also writes in the book that his father liked to tell stories of saints and scholars. His father advised him: “But a good teacher is not enough. You must also know the best way to learn”. Narrating a very instructive story about Imam al-Ghazali, his father continues: “ The great author of The Book of Knowledge went to a university in Gurgan at the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea, where during his four-year course, he studied metaphysics, philosophy, mathematics… everything that could be learned there. On his way back from Gurgan, he joined a caravan, as individual travellers had to do in those days. The caravan was attacked by a set of Bedouins who robbed them of everything. Al-Ghazali had kept all his course notes in a little leather bag and they took that too. So he went to the Bedouin chief and begged him to return this bag, saying that it was of no use to the Bedouins who could not read and that it contained all the knowledge he had gained in Gurgan. The Bedouin chief threw the bag at him and said: “ I thought you went to the university to learn, not to take notes.” Al-Ghazali was very struck with this and went back to the university for another four years, taking no notes at all, but really thinking about it all to such good purpose that he became one of the leading scholars of Islamic civilization.”
Ziauddin further says: “ I get the message.” I said. “But what is the other thing that I need?”
“A man was visiting the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. As he went round and round the Kabah in the manner prescribed, he started to pray aloud: ‘O God, Grant me a few good friends and he kept repeating this prayer. Another man heard his prayers and cornered him. “ This is the House of Allah,” he said. “You should be asking for forgiveness, you should be asking God to grant you paradise. Not for a few good friends.” “ You need forgiveness,” the man replied. “ You ask for forgiveness. I need good friends. Only good friends will keep me away from bad deeds. This is the only way I know of getting into paradise.” ‘My father paused to make sure I understood the parable before adding: ‘Find yourself a few good and loyal friends to protect you.’
In the last chapter, Ziauddin says: “ My journeys led me to unavoidable conclusion: the Muslim paradise is not a place of arrival, but a way of travelling. Just as we cannot stop living, we cannot stop searching for our paradise. But the search is for a continual kind of becoming. All the failed paradises I discovered were founded on the misguided belief of arrival.”
Desperately Seeking Paradise shows us a Muslim world culpably ignored by most Western commentators… a culture which is endlessly lively and agile.
This challenging book not only acts as a guide for Muslims, but provides insight and clarification for those outside the Islamic faith. As a spiritual seeker, Ziauddin Sardar is funny, self-deprecating and humble and is one of the wittiest intellectual figures commenting on Islam.
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