For Such a Time as This (Esther 4:14): Spiritual Practices to Ground & Center

Warfare, wildfires, transportation tragedies, and political rancor… We are living in times of what Amanda Ripley terms “high conflict.” How can our spiritual or religious practices help us steady ourselves and respond to these and other challenges as bridgebuilders with greater compassion, courage, and focus? In this month-long series, we invite veteran practitioners and educators to share with us the sacred rituals and ceremonies that help them ground or center themselves.  

It is our hope that in reading these brief reflections, you will gain insight and inspiration as you seek to build pluralism in this difficult moment in American and global life. 

Qur’an in Times of Political Tumult

By Celene Ibrahim

Within a few seconds of opening my eyes in the morning, I start reading one thing or another. In the last weeks, my morning reading has been consumed by accounts of the domestic social welfare infrastructure being dismantled and elected officials evading the rule of law. But I also engage in the practice of tadubbur, or focused reflection with the applications of Qur’anic verses. 

These days, I’m often reading and reflecting on verses about corruption.  

The Qur’an describes corruption (fasād) as an individual and collective affliction, a disease that threatens the heart of a person and the foundations of society. Of the many Qur’anic verses on corruption, the beginning of the Qur’anic section called al-Humaza (The Slanderer) is one of my regulars. My colleague, Arabic linguist Shawkat Toorawa in The Devotional Qur’an: Beloved Surahs and Verses (Yale University Press, 2024), offers a poignant translation (adapted slightly):  

A warning to those 
who slander and defame,  
who spend their time 
counting every gain,  
who reckon their wealth 
will make them live forever! 

Sūrat al-Humaza 104: 1–3 

Among the many verses that condemn corruption, the Qur’an also offers guidance on mustering fortitude for confronting injustice. I reflect on Sūrat al-‘Asr (103) and am reminded that confronting corruption requires networks of individuals who strengthen each other (as translated by Toorawa with minor adaptations): 

By the declining day, I swear— 
there is no hope for humanity
except for those who have faith 
and engage in charity, 
and those who enjoin truth 
and enjoin tenacity. 

Sūrat al-‘Asr 103: 1–3 

The Qur’an grounds anti-corruption social engagement in the concept of sabr, or perseverance, translated as “tenacity” above. Perseverance in times of trial is the grand test of life, according to the Qur’an, leading to character development and spiritual elevation. This is a theological context for viewing struggles, including collective anti-corruption political resistance, as collective and individual tests.  

Temporal authority is utterly contingent upon divine will, and setbacks that result from incompetent or immoral leadership are part and parcel of the human condition. The perspective helps me maintain perspective on volatility, even as I assess each day how to support the vulnerable.  

The Qur’an encourages its audiences to be on guard not only for corruption in the world but also within our inner landscapes, lest we be complacent or negligent. A verse in the Qur’anic chapter called al-Nisā’ (The Women) a Qur’anic chapter that offers guidance for marginalized social groups, mandates justice toward other people over self-interest: “O believers, be maintainers of justice, witnessing to God, even if against yourselves, your parents, or your close relations…” (Sūrat al-Nisā’ 4:135). 

As the contemporary political philosopher Muqtedar Khan details at length in his book “Islam and Good Governance” (2019), the Islamic concept of iḥsān, or spiritual excellence (as derived from the Arabic root connoting “beauty”) offers a transformative vision for political engagement—one that has interconnected dimensions: personal spiritual development, collective moral responsibility, and practical social engagements to alleviate hardships for the disenfranchised. 

Even as social media amplifies disdainful rhetoric and as essential social infrastructure and the rule of law continue to deteriorate, it’s helpful to have reminders of the loftier vision of a beautified society with institutions capable of withstanding corrupt actors. I contemplate the many Qur’anic verses on iḥsān to reify my commitment to striving for excellence through the beautification of my character and society. 

This Qur’an urges individuals to summon the moral courage to pursue the “steep path” toward justice. The Qur’an asks: “What will explain to you what the steep path is? It is freeing someone enslaved, feeding at a time of hunger an orphaned relation or a poor person in distress, and to be faithful and urge one another to steadfastness and compassion” (al-Balad 90:12–17). The “steep path” is like the moral arc that bends toward justice. However, Islamic conceptions of history are not built upon ideas of linear progress. Instead, they remind us that social justice may be elusive—but that we should strive for it anyway—and that inner tranquility amidst the vagaries of life can only be achieved and sustained through earnest spiritual striving.    

Even in this contemporary moment, as we busy ourselves attending to the needs of our most vulnerable social groups—migrants, gender minorities, those arrested without due cause, those whose work does not pay a livable wage, the sick and uninsured, and all those who endure systemic oppression—and even as we seek ways to hold our elected officials accountable to their promises to serve the public good, we can use contemplation to center ourselves, develop moral fortitude, and reaffirm high ethical standards in our interactions. We can commit to practices of introspection that help us discern where we can commit to striving against system-level corruption in our immediate spheres of influence. We can embody steadfastness amid tumult—even as we work to traverse the “steep path.” 

The practice of daily reflections on Qur’anic verses on justice, accountability, resilience, and governance offers a way to be resilient in tumultuous times. The Qur’an offers core principles that form a resilience-building framework with psychological dimensions (perseverance), theological insights (understanding worldly power’s temporary nature), and ethical foundations (justice-seeking, anti-corruption measures). In this way, contemplating Qur’anic wisdom, whether after reading abysmal morning news or at other times, offers insights for the healing and renewal of society—and myself.