Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe Embraced Islam
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe (1749-1832) is widely
recognized as the greatest writer of the German tradition. He was a poet, novelist, playwright and natural
philosopher, one of the greatest figures in Western literature after whom
countless institutes and associations have been named all over Europe and
North America, namely Goethe Institute. All evidence have been taken from his
own works and his letters to friends.
As a young man Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe wanted to study oriental studies - but
his father finally wanted him to study law; he always admired the first
travellers to Arabia (Michaelis, Niebuhr), he was fascinated by it and read
everything they published about their trips. In 1814/15 at the time of his
"Divan" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe trained himself with the professors for oriental studies
Paulus, Lorsbach and Kosegarten (Jena) in reading and writing Arabic. After
looking at his Arabic manuscripts and having known about the Qur'an, Johann
Wolfgang v. Goethe
felt a great yearning to learn Arabic. He copied short Arabic Du'as by himself
and wrote: "In no other language spirit, word and letter are embodied in
such a primal way." (Letter to Schlosser, 23.1.1815, WA IV, 25, 165)
At the age of 70 Johann Wolfgang v.
Goethe writes (Notes and Essays to
the Divan, WA I, 17, 153) that he intends "to celebrate respectfully that
night when the Prophet was given the Koran completely from above" He also
wrote: "No one may wonder about the great efficiency of the Book. That is
why it has been declared as uncreated by real admirers" and added to it:
"This book will eternally remain highly efficacious/effective" (WA I,
7, 35/36)
Still today we have the handwritten manuscripts of his first
intensive Qur'an-studies of 1771/1772 and the later ones in the Goethe and
Schiller-Archive in Weimar. Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe read the German translation of Qur'an by J.
v. Hammer (possibly as well from the more prosaic English translation of G.
Sale) out loud in front of members of the Duke's family in Weimar and their
guests. Being witnesses Schiller and his wife reported about the reading.
(Schiller's letter to Knebel, 22.2.1815) Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe always felt the shortcomings
of all the translations (Latin, English, German and French) and was constantly
looking for new translations. In his "Divan" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe says:
"Whether the Koran is of eternity?
I don't question that!...
That it is the book of books
I believe out of the Muslim's duty."
"Ob der Koran von Ewigkeit sei?
Darnach frag' ich nicht ! ...
Da_ er das Buch der B|cher sei
Glaub' ich aus Mosleminen- Pflicht"
(WA I, 6, 203)
He studied Arabic handbooks, grammars, travel-books, poetry,
anthologies, books on the sira of the Prophet Muhammad - may Allah bless him
and give him peace! - and had a widespread exchange with oriental scholars
about these matters. Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe liked the German translation of Hafis' "Diwan" by
Hammer (May 1814) and studied the different translations of Qur'an of his
time. All of this inspired him to write his own "West- stlicher Divan" and of
course many poems of the "Divan" are clearly inspired by and relate to
different Ayats of Qur'an (see Mommsen, p. 269-274).
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe bought original Arabic manuscripts of Rumi, Dschami,
Hafis, Saadi, Attar, Qur'an-Tafsir, Du'as, an Arabic-Turkish dictionary, texts
on matters like the freeing of slaves, buying and selling, interest, usury and
Arabian scripts from Sultan Selim.
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe considered it not to be a mere accident but rather as
meaningful incidents, in fact as part of his decree and signs of Allah, when
in Autumn 1813 he was brought an old Arabic handwritten manuscript from Spain
by a German soldier coming from Spain which contained the last Surat An-Nas
(114). Later Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe tried to copy it himself with the help of the professors
in Jena who had helped him in finding out the manuscript's content in January
1814 he visited a prayer of Bashkir Muslims from the Russian army of Zar
Alexander in the protestant gymnasium of Weimar.
See the letter to Trebra, 5.1.1814 (WA IV, 24, 91) where he
says: "Speaking of prophecies, I have to tell you that there are things
happening these days, which they would not have allowed a prophet to say. Who
would have been allowed some years ago to say that there would be held a
mahommedan divine service and the Suras of Koran would be murmured in the
auditorium of our protestant gymnasium and yet it happened and we attended the
Bashkir service, saw their Mulla and welcomed their Prince in the theatre. Out
of special favour I was presented with a bow and arrows which for eternal
memory I will hang above my chimney as soon as God has decreed a lucky return
for them."
In a letter to his son August from the 17.1.1814 (WA IV, 24,
110) he adds: "Several religious ladies of us have asked for the
translation of the Coran from the library." Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe's positive attitude
towards Islam goes far beyond anyone in Germany before: He published on
24.2.1816: "The poet [Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe]... does not refuse the suspicion that he
himself is a Muslim." (WA I, 41, 86) In another poem of the "Divan" Johann
Wolfgang v. Goethe
says:
"Stupid that everyone in his case
Is praising his particular opinion!
If Islam means submission to God,
We all live and die in Islam."
"Ndrrisch, da_ jeder in seinem Falle
Seine besondere Meinung preist!
Wenn Islam Gott ergeben hei_t,
In Islam leben und sterben wir alle."
(WA I, 6, 128)
Apart from Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe's - the poet's - fascination for the
language of Qur'an, its beauty and sublimeness, he was mostly attracted by its
religious and philosophical meaning: the unity of God, the conviction that God
manifests in nature/creation is one of the major themes in Johann Wolfgang v.
Goethe's work.
During his first intensive Qur'an-studies Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe copied and partly put right
the text of the first direct translation of the Qur'an from Arabic into German
in 1771/1772.
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe wrote down different Ayats of Qur'an which teach man
how he should see nature in all its phenomena as signs of divine laws. The
multiplicity of the phenomena indicates the One God. The relation towards
nature as the Qur'an presents it connected with the teaching of the kindness
and oneness of God - as Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe writes it down from the Ayats of Sura No. 2 -
became the main pillars on which Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe's sympathy and affinity towards Islam
was based. Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe said we should realize "God's greatness in the small" -
"Gottes Gr 'e im Kleinen" and refers to the Ayat of Surat Al-Baqara, vers 25
where the metaphor of the fly is given.
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe was very impressed about the fact that Allah speaks to
mankind by prophets and thus he confirmed the prophet Muhammad - may Allah
bless him and give him peace!: In 1819 Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe writes (referring to Sura
"Ibrahim", Ayat 4) "It is true, what God says in the Qur'an: We did not send a
prophet to a people but in their language." (Letter to A.O. Blumenthal,
28.5.1819, WA IV, 31, 160) Referring to the same Ayat Johann Wolfgang v.
Goethe repeats in a
letter to Carlyle: "The Koran says: God has given each people a prophet in
its own language." (20.7.1827, WA IV, 42, 270) It appears again in 1827 in
an essay of Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe in: German Romance. Vol. IV. Edinburgh 1827 (WA I, 41, 307)
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe affirmed the rejection of the unbelievers' challenge
to the prophet Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace! - to show
them miracles where he says: "Wonders I can not do said the Prophet, / The
greatest miracle is that I am." (Paralipomenon III, 14 of the Divan, WA I,
6, 476)
In "Mahomet" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe wrote the famous song of praise
"Mahomets Gesang". The meaning of the prophet is put into the metaphor
of the stream, starting from the smallest beginning and growing to be an
immense spiritual power, expanding, unfolding, and gloriously ending in the
ocean, the symbol for divinity. He especially describes the religious genius
in carrying the other people with him like the stream does with small brooks
and rivers. On a handwritten manuscript of the Paralipomena III, 31 of the
"Divan" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe writes on the 27.1.1816:
"Head of created beings / Muhammed". (WA I, 6, 482)
Furthermore that true religion is shown by good action. Here
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe especially liked the action of giving Sadaqa, giving to the needy. In
several poems of the Divan, "Buch der Sprche" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe speaks about "the
pleasure of giving" / "die Wonne des Gebens" / "See it rightly and you will
always give" - "Schau es recht, und du wirst immer geben" (WA I, 6, 70) which
already in this life is full of blessings.
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe is also well known for his rejection of the concept of
chance/accident: "What people do not and can not realize in their
undertakings and what rules most obviously at its best where their greatness
should shine - the chance as they call it later - exactly this is God, who
here directly enters and glorifies Himself by the most trifling."
(conversation with Riemer, November 1807)
The increasingly firm belief in the decree of God
(conversation with chancellor Miller, 12.8.1827, WA I, 42, 212, WA I, 32, 57)
and the verse of a Divan-poem: "If Allah had determined me to be a worm;/
He would have created me as a worm." (WA I, 6, 113) and more "they
[-examples of metaphors used in the Divan -] represent the wonderful guidance
and providence coming out of the unexplorable, inconceivable decree of God;
they teach and confirm the true Islam, the absolute submission to the will of
God, the conviction, that no one may avoid his once assigned destiny." (WA
I, 7, 151ff) resulted in his personal attitude of submission under the will of
God, i.e. Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe saw it as an order to accept it thankfully and not to rebel
against it. See famous examples for this in his "Egmont", "Dichtung
und Wahrheit", "Urworte Orphisch" and "Wilhelm Meisters
Wanderjahre" etc.
A deeply moving example from his own life was his reaction to
the accident of his coach when he started his third journey to Marianne von
Willemer (July 1816), who he intended to marry after Christiane had died about
which he felt extremely unhappy. Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe took this as a clear warning not to
pursue his wish anymore and completely refrained from his original intention.
After that Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe wrote: "And thus we have to remain inside Islam, (that
means: in complete submission to the will of God)..." (WA IV, 27, 123) He
said: "I cannot tell you more than this that also here I try to remain in
Islam." (Letter to Zelter, 20.9.1820, WA IV, 33, 240)
When in 1831 the cholera appeared and killed many people he
consoled a friend: "Here no one can counsil the other; each one has to
decide on his own. We all live in Islam, whatever form we choose to encourage
ourselves." (Letter to Adele Schopenhauer, 19.9.1831, WA IV, 49, 87)
In December 1820 Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe wrote thanks for the gift of a book
of aphorisms of his friend Willemer and says: "It fits ... with every
religious-reasonable view and is an Islam to which we all have to confess
sooner or later." (WA IV, 34, 50)
As a participant in the war of 1792 against France
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe
said that this belief in the decree of God has its purest expression in Islam:
"The religion of Mohammed gives the best proof of this." (WA I, 33,
123)
According to Eckermann's conversations with
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe
(11.4.1827) the latter said to the first speaking about the education of the
Muslims by constantly seeing opposites in existence, therefore meeting doubt,
close examination of a matter and thus finally arriving at certainty: "That
philosophical system of the mohammedan people is an excellent measure which
one can apply spirit because it indicates for man the unity within his own
self." (Noten und Abhandlungen zum West- stlichen Divan, chapter Mahmud
von Gasna, WA I, 7, 42)
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe tells about the difference between a prophet and a
poet and the confirmation of Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him
peace! - as a prophet: "He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his
Koran is to be seen as a divine law and not as a book of a human being, made
for education or entertainment." (Noten und Abhandlungen zum
West- stlichen Divan, WA I, 7, 32)
Sufism / Practice of Dhikr
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe is fascinated by Saadi's metaphor of the "fly in love"
flying into the light where it dies as the image for the Sufi. See here
especially the poem of the "Divan" about the butterfly flying into the
light "Blissful yearning / Selige Sehnsucht" whose earlier titles were
"Sacrifice of the self / Selbstopfer" and "Perfection /
Vollendung". In the chapter about Rumi, Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe acknowledges the invocation
of Allah and the blessing of it: "Already the so-called mahometan rosary
[prayer-beeds] by which the name Allah is glorified with ninety-nine qualities
is such a praise litany. Affirming and negating qualities indicate the
inconceivable Being [Wesen]; the worshipper is amazed, submits and calms
down." (WA I, 7, 59)
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe and Christianity
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe said that there is "much nonsense in the doctrines
of the [Christian] church." (Conversations with Eckermann, 11.3.1832) In
his "Divan" Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe stresses the value of the precious present moment rather
than having the Christian attitude of only waiting for the next life and
therefore, disgracing what God gives man in every moment of his life.
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe refuses the christian view of Jesus and confirms the
unity of Allah in a poem of his "Divan":
"Jesus felt pure and calmly thought
Only the One God;
Who made himself to be a god
Offends his holy will.
And thus the right(ness) has to shine
What Mahomet also achieved;
Only by the term of the One
He mastered the whole world"
"Jesus f|hlte rein und dachte
Nur den Einen Gott im Stillen;
Wer ihn selbst zum Gotte machte
Krdnkte seinen heil'gen Willen.
Und so mu_ das Rechte scheinen
Was auch Mahomet gelungen;
Nur durch den Begriff des Einen
Hat er alle Welt bezwungen."
(WA I, 6, 288 ff)
Besides Jesus and Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him
peace! - in the following verses Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe also names Abraham, Moses and David as
the representatives of the Oneness of God. It is a known fact that Johann
Wolfgang v. Goethe felt
a strong dislike for the symbol of the cross. He wrote:
"And now you come with a sign ...
which among all others I mostly dislike.
All this modern nonsense
You are going to bring me to Schiras!
Should I, in all its stiffness,
Sing of two crossed wooden pieces?"
"Und nun kommst du, hast ein Zeichen
Dran gehdngt, das unter allen ...
Mir am schlechtesten will gefallen
Diese ganze moderne Narrheit
Magst du mir nach Schiras bringen!
Soll ich wohl, in seiner Starrheit,
Hvlzchen quer auf Hvlzchen singen?..."
Und sogar noch stdrker:
"Mir willst du zum Gotte machen
Solch ein Jammerbild am Holze!"
which among all others I mostly dislike.
All this modern nonsense
You are going to bring me to Schiras!
Should I, in all its stiffness,
Sing of two crossed wooden pieces?"
"Und nun kommst du, hast ein Zeichen
Dran gehdngt, das unter allen ...
Mir am schlechtesten will gefallen
Diese ganze moderne Narrheit
Magst du mir nach Schiras bringen!
Soll ich wohl, in seiner Starrheit,
Hvlzchen quer auf Hvlzchen singen?..."
Und sogar noch stdrker:
"Mir willst du zum Gotte machen
Solch ein Jammerbild am Holze!"
Also in Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre Johann
Wolfgang v. Goethe quite frankly
wrote that it is a "cursed insolence ... to play with secrets that are
hidden in the divine depth of suffering" One should rather "cover it
with a veil".
Finally, in the poem of the Seven Sleepers of his "Divan"
Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe calls Jesus a prophet: "Ephesus for many years/ Honours the teaching
of the Prophet Jesus. (Peace be upon the good one!)" (WA I, 6, 269)
Conclusion
After examining the material evidence above and recognising
its corroborative proofs in the writing of his close friends, Thomas Carlyle
and Schiller it is possible to come to a clear conclusion without ambiguity or
doubt.
Everything contained in his scientific writings, especially
"Zur Morphologie" stands as a lifetime's propagation of the view that the
universe is the creation of a Divine Being and that the Creator has no
connected aspect to His creation.
While he lived his life in a non-Muslim country, he
wholeheartedly adopted and declared commitment to the double Shahada and
confirmed that there can be no god but Allah, the One, and that His messenger,
and seal of the messengers was Muhammad, may Allah bless him and give him
peace.
Uninstructed in Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj, he nevertheless
proudly and with deep emotion took the rare opportunity to attend the Juma'a.
In all this it is clear that he saw Islam as his own Deen.
From the several renowned and confirmed Hadith in Muslim,
Bukhari and the Sunnan collections it is known that confirmation of Allah and
His messenger was itself the indisputable door of Islam, and the key to
Jannah.
Thus it can be clearly accepted that Europe's greatest poet,
and the glory of the German language and intellectual life is also the first
of the Muslims in modern Europe, re-awakening in the hearts of people desire
for knowledge of God and His messenger, a knowledge that had lain dormant
since darkness had descended on Islamic Spain.
In the light of his dazzling confirmation of the prophet, may
Allah bless him and give him peace, he should be known among the Muslims as
Muhammad Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe.
Götz von Berlichingen (1773)
The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774)
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1796)
Faust (1808) (VaTech)
Wilhelm Meister's Travels (1821)
Shaykh 'Abdalqadir Al-Murabit
Authorized by the Amir of the Muslim Community in Weimar,
Hajj Abu Bakr Rieger
Weimar, 19th December 1995
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