Christian-Muslim Comparative Theology of Saints

Hans A. Harmakaputra, Ph.D. (2020), Boston College, is Visiting Assistant Professor in Comparative Theology and Muslim-Christian Relations at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, Connecticut, USA. He has published articles and book chapters, including a chapter in the book Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies (Georgetown University Press, 2022). Starting in Fall 2022, he will join Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as Assistant Professor of Religion.

“The Community of God’s Friends is an intriguing book not least because of its stated goals, chief among which is an attempt to “enrich” Christian understanding regarding the “communion of saints” by exploring ideas from “across” the religious and denominational divide, but also for its organic style of unpacking the issues involved. Harmakaputra is firmly grounded in the Protestant tradition and here he masterfully facilitates a conversation between perspectives from his own tradition and those from the Roman Catholic and Muslim traditions. By applying the comparative theology lens, the author is able to expand the scope of discourse to include interdisciplinary considerations. In other words, it will be useful for the specialist in religious studies and yet it also off ers ideas for engaging in interfaith dialogue for the general reader.”– Irfan A. Omar, Associate Professor Theology, Marquette University"Dr. Harmakaputra’s work of comparative theology offers an inclusive theology of saints grounded in the thought of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim theologians. His scholarship is truly impressive, displaying a great familiarity with and a masterful grasp of Catholic and Protestant theology of sainthood and Islamic theology of prophethood, especially in the Sunni and Sufi traditions. I strongly recommend this book for courses on interreligious dialogue and to those interested in a comparative understanding of Christian and Muslim concepts of sainthood and prophethood." – Peter C. Phan, The Igancio Ellacuria, S.J. Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University"The inclusive theology of saints developed by Hans Harmakaputra with the help of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim sources is comparative theology at its best: it offers an impressive solution for an important problem of contemporary systematic theology with considerable practical effects, it offers a convincing and understandable way of reception of non-Christian sources, and it develops a thought-provoking, stimulating systematic idea in a wide ecumenical horizon.“ – Klaus Von Stosch, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Bonn.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction1Why Saints?2Reconfiguring Saints and Sainthood: The Quest for an Inclusive Christian Theology of the Saints3Disciplinary Framework: Comparative Systematic Theology4Limits of the Study5Structure1 Contemporary Catholic Discourse on Theology of Saints1Canonization, Intercessory Roles, and Moral Exemplars:Three Features of the Saints in Catholic Teaching2Saints as Tangible Manifestations of God’s Grace in History:Karl Rahner’s Theology of Saints3Remembering the Saints as Friends of God and Prophets:Elizabeth Johnson’s Feminist Perspective on the Saints4The Invisibility of the Saint According to Jean-Luc Marion2 Contemporary Protestant Discourse on Theology of Saints1Protestant Reformers’ Criticism of the Veneration of Saints2Contemporary Protestant Churches’ Approach to Saints3Contemporary Theological Approaches to a Theology of Saints3.1A Worldly Saint: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and His Thoughts on Sainthood3.2Saints as Embodiments of Ultimate Reality: Paul Tillich and His Notion of Saintliness and Sanctification3 Friends of God and Sainthood in Islam: An Introduction1Clarification of the Key Terms Related to Sainthood2Signs of Awliya Allah: A Phenomenological Approach to Muslim Saints2.1 Reductionist and Relativistic Approaches to Sainthood2.2Approaching Sainthood as a Tradition in Islam2.3Miraculous Deeds as the Signs of a Wali: The Case of Abdurrahman Wahid3Friends of God in the Qur’an and Hadith: A Textual Approach4Formulation of Sainthood in the Early Period of Sufism:A Theological Approach4.1 Al-Junayd: Saints as Models for Believers4.2 Hakim al-Tirmidhi: Sainthood and the Seal of the Saints4 Friends of God and Sainthood According to IBN ‘Arabi1Clarification of Ibn ?Arabi’s Key Concepts1.1 Oneness of Being1.2 The Human and the Perfect Human1.3 The “God Created in Beliefs”2The Realm of the Walaya2.1 The Relationship of Sainthood to Prophethood and Messengerhood2.2 The Universality of Walaya3The Saints as the Heirs of the Prophets4The “Hiddenness” of Saints5 Saints as Manifestations and Revealers of God’s Self-Communication1The Universality of God’s Self-Communication1.1 Grace as the Self-Communication of God1.2 Anonymous Christians1.3 From Anonymous Christians to Saints2The Particularity of God’s Self-Communication2.1 The Role of Jesus Christ in God’s Universal Self-Communication2.2 Hidden Saints as Many Mediations3Towards the Recognition of Hidden Saints3.1 Hidden Saints as the Mystics of Everyday Life3.2 Universal Paths for Realizing God’s Grace3.3 Saints as Revealers of New Modes of God’s Grace6 The Hiddenness of Saints1Banality and Holiness: Sanctity as Liminal Space1.1 “He Who Eats Food and Walks in the Markets”: Saints in the World1.2 Worldly Saints: Sanctification as the Journey in the Liminal Space2“Only a Saint Can Recognize Another Saint”: A Phenomenology of Sainthood2.1 “The One Who Blames Oneself”: The Malamiyya According to Ibn ?Arabi2.2 Hiddenness as a Mark of Sainthood3“He Who Sees You Sees Me”: The Transparency and Mediating Role of a Saint3.1 Friends of God as Mediations between God and Human Beings3.2 Saints as Icons of the Invisible God7 Saints as Companions1Reinvigorating the Communion of Saints: The Significance of the Companionship Paradigm1.1 The Paradigm of Companionship and Its Significance1.2 The Seal of the Muhammadan Saints and the Problem of Hierarchy2Expanding the Boundaries of the Communion of Saints2.1 Friends of God and Cloud of Witnesses as Primary Metaphors of the Companionship Paradigm2.2 Reconfiguring the Concept of Intermediation of the Saints3Following in the Footsteps of the Friends of God3.1 The Intersections of Memory, Hope, and Praxis3.2 Multiple Paths of Holiness3.3 Encountering the Hidden Christ through Praxis8 Approaching Saints: An Inclusive Christian Theology of Saints in Practice1An Inclusive Christian Theology of Saints: Three Theological Constructs2The Vox Populi Approach to Sainthood: Weaving Remembrance and Imitation2.1 The Vox Populi and the Catholic Canonization of Saints2.2 Protestantism and the Vox Populi Approach to the Communion of Saints3Recognizing Saints Interreligiously: Two Case Studies3.1 Frans van der Lugt, SJ3.2 Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)3.3 Encountering the Hidden Christ through Praxis4 Redefining Sainthood: Saints as “Sign-Events”5 Remembering Gives Rise to PracticeConclusion1 Three Theological Constructs2 Types of Learning in Comparative Theology3 Further DirectionsBibliographyIndex