What is *If the Oceans Were Ink* about?

*If the Oceans Were Ink* by Carla Power is a memoir exploring Islam through dialogues with Oxford scholar Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. Structured around Quranic lessons, it addresses misconceptions about jihad, women’s rights, and Sharia, blending personal narrative with theological insights. The book humanizes Islamic teachings by framing them within a cross-cultural friendship and post-9/11 societal tensions.

Who should read *If the Oceans Were Ink*?

This book is ideal for readers seeking to understand Islam beyond stereotypes, including interfaith dialogue enthusiasts and those interested in Quranic interpretation. It appeals to fans of memoirs blending personal growth with cultural exploration, offering nuanced perspectives on contentious topics like the niqab and political Islam.

What are the main themes in *If the Oceans Were Ink*?

Key themes include reconciling faith with modernity, the role of women in Islamic history, and jihad as spiritual self-improvement. Power and Akram challenge stereotypes by emphasizing education’s role in empowerment and contrasting cultural practices with Quranic principles. Their friendship symbolizes bridging divides through mutual respect.

How does *If the Oceans Were Ink* address misconceptions about jihad?

The book redefines jihad as a personal struggle for moral growth, not violence. Akram explains its Quranic roots in justice and self-discipline, citing historical examples. Power contrasts this with post-9/11 media narratives, highlighting how extremist groups distort the term.

What does *If the Oceans Were Ink* reveal about women in Islam?

It uncovers forgotten legacies of female Islamic scholars, showcasing their historical influence on theology and law. Akram’s 57-volume work on women hadith experts underscores their intellectual contributions. The book critiques patriarchal cultural practices misattributed to Islam, advocating for Quran-based gender equity.

How does the Quran’s interpretation vary in *If the Oceans Were Ink*?

Power contrasts literalist and contextual approaches, analyzing verses on polygamy and inheritance. Akram emphasizes *ijtihad* (independent reasoning), arguing Islamic law adapts to time and place. Their discussions reveal the Quran’s layered meanings, from allegorical stories to ethical directives.

What role does friendship play in *If the Oceans Were Ink*?

Power’s 30-year friendship with Akram models interfaith dialogue, demonstrating how trust dismantles prejudice. Their debates—whether on hijab or Sufism—show respectful disagreement fostering deeper understanding. This dynamic humanizes theological debates, making abstract concepts relatable.

Is *If the Oceans Were Ink* biased toward Islam?

While Power admires Akram’s scholarship, she critiques issues like gender segregation and apostasy laws. The book balances reverence for Quranic wisdom with journalistic scrutiny of rigid interpretations, offering a secular Jewish perspective on Islamic traditions.

If the oceans were ink

an unlikely friendship and a journey to the heart of the Quran

Carla Power

4.12(2041 Reviews)

Overview of If the oceans were ink

A Pulitzer finalist exploring Islam through friendship, "If the Oceans Were Ink" follows journalist Carla Power's year studying the Quran with Sheikh Akram Nadwi. Praised by Fareed Zakaria as "the conversation that needs to be taking place around the world."

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Chapter 1

When Worlds Collide: A Journey Through Islamic Wisdom

In a world increasingly divided by religious and cultural tensions, Carla Power's "If the Oceans Were Ink" offers a rare glimpse into an unlikely friendship that transcends these boundaries. This National Book Award finalist chronicles a secular American journalist's year-long immersion in Quranic study with Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, a renowned Oxford Islamic scholar. Their intellectual journey together became a cultural phenomenon, praised by Fareed Zakaria as "extraordinary" and featured in Oprah's reading list for its unique perspective on bridging divides. What makes this book particularly compelling is how it challenges our assumptions about Islam through intimate conversations rather than abstract theory, revealing the nuances of faith in practice during our polarized post-9/11 era. As religious literacy becomes increasingly crucial for global citizenship, Power's narrative provides an accessible entry point into understanding one of the world's most misunderstood religious traditions.

Chapter 2

A Meeting of Unlikely Minds

When Carla Power, a secular Jewish-Quaker feminist journalist, began studying the Quran with Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, a conservative Islamic scholar, their friendship seemed improbable, especially in the polarized post-9/11 landscape. Their weekly meetings in Oxford cafes represented a rare space where genuine cross-cultural dialogue could flourish amid a world increasingly defined by Bush's "with us or against us" rhetoric. The Sheikh defied easy categorization. Conservative Muslims criticized him for challenging traditional practices, while progressives found his views on gender roles frustrating. When asked if he was a Salafi, liberal, or conservative, he simply replied, "I'm not this, I'm not that. I'm just Muslim." This independence had shocked congregations-declaring prayer caps merely South Asian custom rather than Islamic requirement, or that women could cut their hair short based on the Prophet's wives' example. Their conversations often revealed surprising commonalities and stark differences. When discussing women's rights, the Sheikh explained how he had worked with Muslim community leaders in Leicester to restore women's right to pray in mosques-a practice common during the Prophet's era that had been restricted over time. He used his research on historical female Islamic scholars like Umm al-Darda, a prominent seventh-century jurist who taught men in Damascus mosques, to challenge cultural norms that had prevented women's mosque attendance. During their first lesson, they studied "Al-Fatiha," the Quran's opening chapter. Called the "Mother of the Quran," these twenty-five Arabic words contain Islam's key themes and are recited seventeen times daily by devout Muslims. Its declaration "It is You we serve" established monotheism while implying human equality before God. This concept, Akram explained, undermines tyranny by establishing that no person has inherent authority over another. Power occasionally felt discomfort, such as when Akram mentioned that some interpret Al-Fatiha's final lines about "those who are objects of anger" and "those who wander astray" as referring to Jews and Christians. Though he personally believed these referred to any Muslims who veered from piety's path, the moment highlighted the tension between their worldviews-a productive friction that would characterize their year-long intellectual journey together.

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Chapter 3

Crossing Borders: East and West in Personal History

Power's fascination with Islamic cultures began in childhood, when her father, a law professor battling depression, found solace in the rhythms of Muslim societies. While their secular family had no formal belief system beyond faith in travel's restorative power, the sensory experiences of mosque domes against desert landscapes, wool carpets' smell, and women's graceful management of their chadors left lasting impressions on young Carla. Despite living in Iran and Afghanistan during the 1970s, Power's family remained oblivious to the Islamic revival unfolding around them. They watched Muharram processions without recognizing the revolutionary energy they contained. Western conventional wisdom held that Islam was retreating while modernization advanced-a perspective shattered by Iran's 1979 revolution. Even as adolescents watching the hostage crisis from America, Power questioned how they could have been so clueless about the societies where they'd lived. Though culturally sensitive, her parents were part of a 50,000-strong American presence in Iran pushing Westernization. Their privilege was demonstrated when her brother was accidentally hit by a truck-the driver was imprisoned simply because they were Americans. Years later, Power discovered this same treaty that protected Americans had fueled Ayatollah Khomeini's outrage in his famous 1964 sermon against American imperialism. Power's father's generation was the last to indulge in the orientalist fantasy of a distant, self-contained Islamic world. Today, the space between America and Afghanistan has collapsed-Kandahar is a household word, and migration has blurred lines between Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. While Muslims had lived in the West for centuries, only since the 1960s and 1970s has Islam become a permanent Western presence, as immigrants from former colonies settled and raised children. Working as a journalist, Power witnessed firsthand how Western categories for describing Muslims collapsed under scrutiny. An editor once dismissed the need for Palestinian perspectives, saying "I think we know what they're thinking." She fought against a "Jihad in the City" headline for a story about peaceful Christian-Muslim coexistence. Even "Taliban" stereotypes crumbled when she met a foreign minister's press secretary who rhapsodized about Rome's gardens in perfect Italian. The Sheikh's life similarly transcended neat categorization. Born in a small Indian village, educated in a traditional madrasa, and now teaching at Oxford, he embodied the complexity of contemporary Muslim identity. "Islam is not an idea," he told Power. "It is a history." While Christianity emphasizes abstract concepts like loving one's neighbor, Islamic spirituality comes through specific practices that follow the Prophet's example. Muslims seek closeness to God through historical particulars-praying five times daily or giving charity as Muhammad did.

Chapter 4

Journey to the Source: India's Islamic Traditions

To understand how a village boy from Uttar Pradesh became an Oxford scholar, Power accompanied the Sheikh back to his ancestral village and alma mater in Lucknow. Traveling on the Doon Express through the sepia-tinted landscape of northern India, she reflected on how their journey mirrored the intellectual paths of South Asian scholars they had researched together in Oxford. The Sheikh was continuing a centuries-old tradition by building two madrasas in his village of Jamdahan-one for boys and one for girls-using money earned in Oxford. As the first person from his village to attend Lucknow's prestigious Nadwat al-Ulama, he wanted to prepare local children to follow his path. In six years, his madrasa had impressively sent twelve students to Nadwah. After 9/11, Westerners came to view madrasas as "jihad factories" where students rote-learned the Quran and were taught to hate the West. While some fit this stereotype, many defied these assumptions. Power had seen madrasas offering English classes and progressive education. Akram's own madrasa included English language alongside standard classes on Arabic, Quran, and Islamic jurisprudence. During her visit, Power was invited to address the all-male audience at the madrasa. As the only woman present besides the Sheikh's ten-year-old niece, she felt conspicuously out of place but strangely comfortable in her outsider role. The audience's questions were pointedly political: "Is American media controlled by Jewish people?" and "Why does America act against Muslim interests?"-revealing that for these villagers, Islam's intersection with the West was shaped by geopolitics rather than platitudes about shared values. After her speech, Power was whisked to Akram's family home, entering the intensely feminine zenankhaneh (women's quarters). The house was built for purdah (gender separation), with women screened from the outside world except for a rectangle of sky above the courtyard. Throughout her visit, Akram remained absent from his family home, observing strict gender separation. "I don't like to mix with the wives of my brothers," he explained later in Oxford. "With me there, they can't laugh loudly, they can't talk freely." Power glimpsed how purdah restricted both genders, though women bore the heaviest burden. His sisters and mother never ventured outside without niqabs or male escorts. In Oxford, purdah was practiced but less strictly. When the Sheikh has male visitors, they separate into different rooms, but there's more freedom, particularly for younger women. Sumaiya, Akram's second-eldest daughter, laughed at being asked if she could drive: "I could drive before my husband did!" The journey culminated at Nadwat al-Ulama, Akram's intellectual home. The madrasa campus surprised Power with its beauty-black and yellow butterflies darting across green quads, a lemon-yellow Anglo-Indian style building with scalloped arches. Founded in 1898 during the decline of traditional Islamic education, Nadwah was deliberately designed to instill pride in Muslim scholars. Unlike its rival Deoband, which opposed British influence, Nadwah sought a middle path, supplementing Islamic sciences with Western subjects. Akram studied not only fiqh, Quran, and Arabic grammar, but also Shakespeare, Freud, and Sartre.

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Chapter 5

Faith in Migration: Building a Life Between Worlds

When Power worked at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in the early nineties, it was housed in a modest prefab building. One spring day, the Centre buzzed with preparation for Prince Charles's visit-red carpets, catering, security clearances. While administrators fluttered with excitement, Akram remained unimpressed, standing ramrod straight in his gray karakul cap and black sherwani as the prince mingled. His dignity stemmed from Islam's flattening of worldly hierarchies-there was only one power he truly respected: God's. Akram's first autumn abroad was challenging. He bought practical items-a bus pass, bicycle, sturdy shoes, parka-and borrowed books on Christianity that shocked him with their portrayal of Jesus "either as a god, or as just another human being." Though prayers remained the same, he missed Nadwah's spiritual continuity where worship and study formed an unbroken devotional chain. When asked what he missed most about Lucknow, he simply replied: "True friendship." Oxford's prestige neither daunted nor impressed Akram. While the Centre's administrators eagerly cultivated connections with the university establishment, donning academic gowns for High Table dinners, Akram only ventured into the university to use its libraries. He performed his duties at the Centre, then returned home to his real work. His calm acceptance of exile from Lucknow baffled Power's twenty-four-year-old American self. Raised on "the pursuit of happiness" and the "cult of specialness," she couldn't comprehend his unwillingness to return to India despite his homesickness. Years later, Power understood what she'd dismissed as passivity was actually "muscular submission." When Akram taught the Quranic story of Yusuf (Joseph), she saw beyond her vague recollection of "a man with great clothes and horrible brothers." Akram found in this prophet's story the tools to endure wherever he found himself: humility, patience, and adaptability. The Sheikh illustrated this with a simple diagram: a line representing your space (circumstances) and a circle representing your cycle of faith. While your space isn't in your control, your cycle is. Through taqwa (love and awe of God), any condition can improve. Yusuf never complained despite being thrown in a well, sold into slavery, or imprisoned on false charges. This perspective offers comfort to migrants worldwide-from laborers in Dubai to gas station attendants in Texas. The practice of patience and faith gives dignity and meaning to lives far from home. Akram criticized Muslims who obsess over creating perfect Islamic spaces or performing showy gestures of piety rather than purifying their hearts. "When you have taqwa, you don't need fatwas," he explained. His own humility-traveling alone by bus, dressing simply-embodied this philosophy.

Chapter 6

The Domestic Sphere: Family Life Through an Islamic Lens

The Sheikh's Oxford home reminded Power of pioneer life in "Little House on the Prairie"-a moral architecture built of privation, hard work, endurance, and fear of God. Their house was strikingly simple, with wooden floors and white walls adorned only with elegant calligraphy spelling "Allah." This simplicity reflected a sensibility of certainty, a worldview of streamlined spirit. The Sheikh's wife Farhana, a moon-faced woman in her forties, initially struck Power as the self-sacrificing "Angel of the House"-serving lunch without eating herself until guests started. Born to farmers in a village near Jamdahan, her education ended at age nine, and she married the Sheikh at sixteen through an arranged match. Power mistakenly framed her as isolated and imprisoned by tradition, but later discovered she was actually a lively community member with her own sewing business and impish humor. For the Sheikh, modesty was paramount in child-rearing. When his daughters earned good grades, he'd acknowledge them but always ask: "Is there anybody better than you?"-not from competitive instinct but to cultivate humility and God-consciousness (taqwa). Yet he never diminished his educational ambitions for his daughters, teaching them that the Prophet "never liked anyone who treated women differently from men." The family life was structured around Islamic education, with mornings devoted to Arabic study and evenings to hadith and Quran. Weekends meant exploring Britain by car, while summers began with dawn prayers followed by badminton in the park. There were no birthday parties-only celebrations for real achievements like finishing the Quran. The Sheikh's parenting philosophy centered on patience (sabr): "The fruit should come when God wants. If you can control your desire, then you will get what you want." While his daughters never experienced typical teenage rebellion or dating, they were given space to make choices within Islamic boundaries. Sumaiya, who met her husband through her father's hadith classes, valued the Islamic worldview that everything belongs to Allah rather than the Western individualism she saw in practices like Show and Tell. Despite the challenges of raising a colicky baby, she found comfort in Quranic recitation, particularly Sura "Al-Rahman," which reminded her of God's bounty and creation. The Sheikh's sense of cosmic gratitude permeated everything-even seeing a cup of tea as dependent on the entire universe God created. While demanding high standards from his daughters in both secular and Islamic education, he broke from tradition by sending them to local schools rather than madrasas after finding girls' religious education lacking. His daughters' achievements, including graduating from his Islamic sciences course, reflected his commitment to women's education.

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Chapter 7

Recovering Women's Voices in Islamic History

While reporting on the Taliban's ban on women's education in Afghanistan in 1998, Power learned that Akram was uncovering a radically different Islamic tradition. He had discovered thousands of women hadith scholars throughout Islamic history, challenging the perception that Islamic knowledge was exclusively men's domain. These women scholars were remarkably accomplished-many led cosmopolitan lives like Fatimah bint Sa'd al-Khayr, born to a Spanish Muslim father in western China, who studied across Asia before teaching in Damascus, Jerusalem and Cairo, dying at 78. The Sheikh found traces of these women tucked away in biographical dictionaries, travel books, private letters, and mosque records scattered across continents and languages. Despite the bare-bones biographical details, these women were significant authorities. Umm al-Kiram Karimah taught Sahih al-Bukhari (second only to the Quran in importance) and attracted students from everywhere. Women scholars were known for their accuracy-none were ever accused of fabricating hadith, unlike men who sometimes invented traditions to flatter rulers. After the 17th century, with European colonialism, women's scholarship declined as Muslim intellectual confidence waned. The Sheikh argues that denying women education is like the pre-Islamic custom of burying girls alive-"a live burial" of potential. His work has become revolutionary, providing historical precedent for Muslim women's education and religious authority today. If anyone proves a pious Muslim woman need not be submissive, it's Aisha, the Prophet's third wife. A top Islamic scholar, women's rights champion, military commander, and fatwa-issuing jurist, Aisha's intellectual standing and religious authority were astonishing by any standard. She knew her exceptional status, noting ten things that set her apart from Muhammad's other wives, including being his only virgin bride and the only wife in whose presence divine revelation came. Aisha isn't the only wife challenging notions of "traditional" Muslim womanhood. Khadija, Muhammad's first wife, was a wealthy caravan business owner, a twice-widowed single mother fifteen years his senior, and his employer who directly proposed marriage to him. While Khadija impresses, Aisha's personality shimmers across centuries through 2,210 preserved hadiths. Her bell-clear, courageous voice pronounces on matters from prayer to trade to sex. At Imperial College, the Sheikh delivered a lecture on Aisha to a packed, gender-segregated audience. He emphasized how Aisha enjoyed freedoms many 21st-century Muslim women lack-debating with men, attending mosque, and joining battles. Muhammad prioritized her happiness, even racing with her (which she sometimes won). The Sheikh lamented how modern Muslims neglect this example: "People, when they marry, they don't want to make their wives happy. Make them happy!"

Chapter 8

Navigating Gender and Modernity in Islamic Thought

The chapter opens with an anecdote about Sumaiya Akram, the Sheikh's daughter, who at sixteen decided to wear a niqab (face veil). When she first appeared wearing it, her father was so shocked he refused to start the car for her school ride, believing she might have fallen under the influence of a hardline group. The Sheikh worried she was merely copying someone rather than making her own choice. Sumaiya, however, maintains it was entirely her decision, partly motivated by teenage awareness of attraction and a desire for the hijab to serve as "a constant reminder" to control temptations. The debate around Muslim veiling stems from ambiguous Quranic verses. The most frequently cited passage in Surah "Light" instructs believing women to "lower their eyes and guard their privates, and not to show their ornaments except the obvious ones, and to draw their coverings over their breasts." This vague wording has been used by both proponents and opponents of veiling. The Sheikh, like many classical jurists, believes this allows women to show their faces and hands, while acknowledging other interpretations exist. The Sheikh firmly believes that modesty, like piety itself, must come from within rather than being imposed. "Laws don't make people pious," he observes. "They protect piety when it is already there." He argues that governments forcing women to cover, as in Iran and Saudi Arabia, doesn't automatically confer modesty. Without genuine fear of God and submission to Him, outward displays of Islamic identity are merely showing off rather than expressions of faith. Power explores how veiling has been politicized throughout history, representing "boundary problems" as described by Moroccan feminist Fatima Mernissi. Western imperial powers have used unveiling Muslim women as rhetoric for "liberating" them, from French Algeria in the 1840s to post-9/11 Afghanistan. Similarly, Middle Eastern dictators like Reza Shah of Iran used forced unveiling as a cheap way to signal "progress" and Westernization. While Muslim men's beards rarely draw human rights concerns, the veil provokes obsessive attention from Western commentators. Power notes that veiling disrupts secular notions of public and private-making the head an erotic site while displaying one's religion openly. As her Pakistani colleague Iftikhar once observed: "You Westerners make love in public and pray in private. We Muslims do exactly the reverse." Islam approaches sex with frank acceptance within marriage. The Quran's metaphor of women as "tilth" suggests preparation and care, not just access. Unlike Christianity's link between sex and sin, Islam sees marital intimacy as "a glimpse of transcendence." Both partners have sexual rights, and marriages can be dissolved if either cannot satisfy the other. Sheikh Akram views lust pragmatically-an urge from Allah for procreation that requires regulation. At a females-only seminar titled "What Every Muslim Woman Should Know," the Sheikh discussed topics from menstruation to wet dreams with clinical frankness. Young women asked numerous questions about makeup and beauty routines, which the Sheikh patiently addressed, noting "Islam makes life cheaper!" The session ended with a charity appeal for families of men detained under anti-terrorism laws, leaving Power to reflect on how Islamic discourse interweaves bodily functions, equality, trivial concerns and profound ideas in ways that challenge Western categorization.

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Chapter 9

Interpreting Sacred Texts in Modern Times

When a Muslim friend asked Power to question the Sheikh about why Muslim men treat women badly, he replied that it was because men weren't reading the Quran properly: "If they don't fear God, then they oppress their women." Their discussion centered on the controversial verse 4:34 from "The Women," which many scholars interpret as establishing men's authority over women-even allowing physical discipline. Various translations offer different interpretations, from men being "in charge of women" to being their "supporters" or "protectors." The Sheikh emphasized that this verse, often misused to justify oppression, actually appears in a chapter defending women's rights within its historical context. In seventh-century Arabia, where female infanticide was practiced and women had no property rights, the Quran's provisions were revolutionary, granting women inheritance rights and establishing their spiritual equality with men as beings "created from one soul." When asked about feminism, Sheikh Akram responded without hesitation that one cannot blame Muslim women attracted to feminism given their conditions in many Muslim societies. "People want justice," he said. "Feminism wants justice for women. Where Muslims aren't doing justice for the women, these movements will come." He noted that changing attitudes takes time, reminding Power that even in Europe, women's voting rights are relatively recent in some places. The Sheikh explained how Islam revolutionized women's inheritance rights in the seventh century, when most cultures denied women property ownership. He described his own family's transformation when, at nineteen, he realized his grandfather had unwittingly cheated his aunts out of their rightful inheritance by following village customs rather than Islamic law. "Injustice has its own order," the Sheikh observed. "After one or two generations, it can seem like injustice is the normal way of doing things." The Sheikh interprets the controversial verse 4:34 narrowly, seeing male "guardianship" (qiwamah) as simply financial responsibility rather than broad authority over women. "It's not that Islam does not want to give women authority," he insisted. "It's just in the house that the man is guardian." When Power pressed him about this power imbalance, he surprisingly claimed men's guardianship was burdensome: "Administration is slavery. The Quran wants to free women from administration." Power challenged the Sheikh on guardianship systems, asking whether they could adapt to modern realities where women work and shoulder economic responsibilities. When she questioned why men should automatically be guardians, especially when women might earn more or be better educated, Akram insisted the issue wasn't who was in charge but whether people feared God and acted justly. For him, the problem wasn't the qiwamah system itself but human flaws. They tackled the Quran's most contentious passage on marital rights-the verse some interpret as allowing husbands to hit rebellious wives. The Sheikh was direct: daraba means "to beat," not "to advise" or "to go away from" as some apologists claim. However, he outlined strict conditions: a husband must first try reconciliation and family mediation before considering physical discipline. Even then, three conditions apply: one cannot hit in anger, it must benefit the person being disciplined (not the hitter), and it must be merely symbolic with no pain or injury caused. Some jurists recommended using only a miswak (tooth-cleaning twig). The Sheikh emphasized that "the Prophet never hit his wives" and strongly reprimanded those who did.

Chapter 10

Between Worlds: Faith, Politics, and Personal Growth

One Sunday morning, Power attended her first sermon about Jesus Christ-not in a church, but in a Cambridge mosque where Sheikh Akram preached to a standing-room-only crowd. The mosque's simple white interior resembled a New England Congregational church, and the Sheikh's message echoed what millions of Christians might hear: people had forgotten their religion's true meaning, focusing on belonging rather than believing, on displaying piety rather than submitting to it. Akram explained that seventh-century Meccans likely knew biblical stories better than many today, as Mecca was a multifaith city. Muhammad's message continued the monotheistic tradition of Abraham-there is just one God. The Quran distinguishes between polytheistic Arabs and "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians), whom Muslims respect for their scriptures despite belonging to different communities. When Power asked Sheikh Akram about salvation for observant Jews and Christians who submit to God but don't acknowledge Muhammad, his answer was unequivocal: they must accept Muhammad's message. The Quran reveres earlier prophets, but clinging blindly to ancestral faith without acknowledging God's new signs is considered arrogant. Power found comfort in verses that seemed to endorse diversity and good deeds as paths to God, but the Sheikh maintained that when a new Messenger comes, people must believe in his message. The Sheikh emphasized the distinction between "Islam" with a capital I (the religion) and "islam" with a lowercase i (submission to God). He urged his students to focus on piety rather than identity politics, and to respond to criticism with prayer and "beautiful preaching" rather than protest. "Islam is not a property," he would say. "It's not your identity... Think about good character!" When a young woman named Mona asked the Sheikh about struggling against unjust rulers, he advised that even when worship spaces are restricted, believers must continue practicing their faith however possible. This advice had profound relevance for Mona, whose hometown of Cairo was experiencing violent upheaval. Egypt's army had toppled the democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi, and Mona's beloved brother Khaled, who had been Morsi's secretary of foreign affairs, was imprisoned along with other advisers. When Power asked the Sheikh about justice being Islam's cornerstone virtue, he surprised her with his response. Justice would come, he said, but not necessarily in this life-Allah would provide it in the Hereafter. He suggested that in political contexts, an overemphasis on justice could harm vulnerable communities. "Think of Palestine," he offered. "We have no doubt that there has been wrongdoing against the Palestinians by the Jews. But the way to help is not to bring justice." Instead, he advocated compromise to achieve peace, giving battered communities time to heal and rebuild.

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Chapter 11

The Final Lesson: Death, Doubt, and Return

In Cambridge, Power attended the Sheikh's "Magnificent Journey" seminars covering the Quran's final sections, where he delivered stark messages about death and the afterlife. The Sheikh emphasized that earthly life is merely preparation for the next world: "Your life is governed by death. The next world is our destination. This one is for travel." He vividly described paradise as a garden with rivers, shade trees, and believers dressed in silk sipping drinks from goblets. But he's equally explicit about hell, insisting its fires are literal, not metaphorical. Power's father died when she was twenty-six, beaten by men in Mexico who mistook him for someone else. The morning after learning of his death, she went to the office and found the Sheikh working alone. When she told him, he pressed his hand to his heart and recited an Urdu elegy the Pakistani poet Iqbal had written after his mother's death. His gesture captured the gray disorientation of parental grief. The Sheikh's recitation comforted her most among all condolences-not despite its foreign qualities but because of them, reminding her that death was universal. After a year of lessons, Power finally asked the Sheikh what he thought would happen to her-someone who believed in God but wasn't ready to submit to Islam. Gently but clearly, he explained: "In the way of the Quran, people have no salvation until they believe there is no one to worship except Allah." Good deeds without faith might bring worldly rewards but not salvation. Yet he admitted his own uncertainty-not about God, but about himself: "There is no guarantee that you will die a believer... Everything depends on God. Nothing is certain." The Sheikh criticized Western culture for denying death's reality: "Everyone knows death is coming. So why don't people mention it?" He argued that the West compartmentalizes life, showcasing only youth and beauty while hiding away the old, sick, and poor. "You see youth shining, but you never include death." Power shared how after her father died, she'd gone to Pakistan partly because she wanted to mourn where death was viewed as part of life, not a failure of medical science. A week after her final lesson with the Sheikh, Power's mother died. The twenty years since her father's death had worn her down, despite her attempts to forge a plausible life teaching feminist studies and traveling. Though she had worn her Judaism lightly in life, Power found comfort in Jewish rituals after her death. Shortly after her mother's memorial service, she learned that the Sheikh's own mother had died unexpectedly. When news of his mother's death reached the Sheikh, he responded with the traditional Muslim phrase: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon" ("We belong to God, and to God we return"). This Quranic verse encapsulates the circular journey of existence that gives meaning to the Sheikh's life. For him, existence is a circle with God at its beginning, end, and every point between. This awareness permeates his daily life through the ritual of prayer-thirty-five times weekly he returns to God through standing, kneeling, and prostration, which on good days feels like returning to "the arms of your mother, when you are a child." Through her year of study, Power came to understand the Quran not merely as a book to be read from beginning to end, but as a place to which the faithful return repeatedly. While she still doesn't understand it as a unified whole, she's accumulated multiple translations that reveal not its untranslatability but its richness. The Sheikh had challenged her understanding from their first lesson when he asked, "Ah, but is it a book?" The Quran transcends being merely pages between covers-it permeates Muslim societies through loudspeakers, radios, and as physical objects worn or displayed. While migrants, especially Muslims, are often portrayed as having lives broken in two by moving to the West, migration can double a self rather than halve it. As Salman Rushdie noted about "translated men," something can be gained in translation, not just lost. The Sheikh's migration from India to England has meant a layering of cultures rather than a break. His Western life provided perspective to distinguish between Islamic faith and ancestral traditions, while also giving him resources to return to Jamdahan and establish a girls' madrasa. Throughout their year together, Power's fundamentalist assumptions repeatedly collapsed. The Sheikh didn't oppose science to faith but saw it as another way to understand God's creations. The devout weren't spared doubt-Akram worried often about being faithful in the wrong way. Her neat opposition between post-Enlightenment worldview and Muslim one crumbled as she recognized how many Enlightenment values the Sheikh shared, with secularism being the main exception.

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Key Themes in If the oceans were ink

cross-cultural dialogue
quranic interpretation
female islamic scholarship
religious literacy
post-9/11 relations

Quotes from If the oceans were ink

I'm not this, I'm not that. I'm just Muslim.
It is You we serve.
Islam is not an idea. It is a history.
I think we know what they're thinking.

Characters in If the oceans were ink

Carla PowerSecular American journalist and the book's author
Sheikh Mohammad Akram NadwiRenowned Oxford Islamic scholar and teacher
Umm al-DardaSeventh-century jurist and female Islamic scholar

About the Author

Carla Power, Pulitzer Prize-finalist author of If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran, is celebrated for her nuanced exploration of cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue. A narrative nonfiction work, the book intertwines her decade-long friendship with a conservative Islamic scholar, offering a deeply personal lens into Quranic teachings and Muslim identity.

Power’s global upbringing across Iran, India, Afghanistan, and Egypt informs her empathetic approach to bridging cultural divides, further enriched by her academic background in Middle Eastern studies from Oxford and Columbia.

A seasoned journalist, Power’s career began at Newsweek, with bylines in Time, The New York Times, and The Guardian. Her follow-up book, Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism, was also a Pulitzer finalist, cementing her authority on global security and ideological reconciliation. Translated into multiple languages, If the Oceans Were Ink has been hailed as a seminal work in understanding contemporary Islam, lauded for its “lyrical precision” (The Washington Post) and adopted in university curricula worldwide.

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LEARNING PLAN

The Quran for Absolute Beginners

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1 h 30 m•3 Sections

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The Secret Colors of Water

This plan is perfect for curious minds and young scientists who want to understand the physics of the natural world. It explains the complex interaction between light and liquid, making the mystery of the ocean's color accessible to everyone.

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The Logic of the Divine

In an era of rising secularism, understanding the intellectual foundations of faith is essential for any serious student of theology or philosophy. This plan is designed for thinkers seeking to harmonize rational inquiry with divine revelation through the lens of Islamic scholasticism.

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The Culture: AI Minds and Human Purpose

This plan explores the intersection of advanced technology and social philosophy through the lens of Iain M. Banks's universe. It is ideal for sci-fi enthusiasts, futurists, and ethicists interested in the long-term implications of AI governance.

2 h•4 Sections

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The Edited Woman: Sovereignty & Artistry

This program is essential for women who feel their creative potential is limited by external expectations or internal blocks. It is designed for aspiring and established artists who want to align their personal autonomy with their professional craft.

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The Oxford Tutorial: Power, Gender, and Meaning

This interdisciplinary tutorial bridges political science, gender studies, and theology to dismantle traditional power structures. It is ideal for students and thinkers looking to challenge established norms and deepen their understanding of societal legitimacy and human purpose.

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The Oxford Scholar's Literary Compass

This program is essential for aspiring academics and writers seeking to master the rigorous standards of Oxford-style composition. It bridges the gap between creative prose and formal scholarship, making it ideal for those looking to elevate their critical argumentation.

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Power, Ideas, and the State

In an era of deep polarization, understanding the intersection of economic interests and political theory is essential for informed citizenship. This plan is designed for aspiring leaders and policy enthusiasts who want to move beyond headlines to the structural roots of governance.

1 h 30 m•3 Sections

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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

LOVED BY

1,000,000+ curious minds.

4.7

avg rating

1M+ learners

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

See more on how BeFreed is discussed

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Chapter 11

If the oceans were ink

OverviewOverview of If the oceans were ink

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Worlds Collide: A Journey Through Islamic Wisdom

A Meeting of Unlikely Minds

See every word as you hear it

Crossing Borders: East and West in Personal History

Journey to the Source: India's Islamic Traditions

Get more out of If the oceans were ink

Faith in Migration: Building a Life Between Worlds

The Domestic Sphere: Family Life Through an Islamic Lens

See every word as you hear it

Recovering Women's Voices in Islamic History

Navigating Gender and Modernity in Islamic Thought

Get more out of If the oceans were ink

Interpreting Sacred Texts in Modern Times

Between Worlds: Faith, Politics, and Personal Growth

See every word as you hear it

The Final Lesson: Death, Doubt, and Return

You made it to the end of If the oceans were ink

Key Themes in If the oceans were ink

Quotes from If the oceans were ink

Characters in If the oceans were ink

About the Author

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What is If the Oceans Were Ink about?

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Discover more

1,000,000+ curious minds.

1,000,000+ curious minds.

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Worlds Collide: A Journey Through Islamic Wisdom

A Meeting of Unlikely Minds

See every word as you hear it

Crossing Borders: East and West in Personal History

Journey to the Source: India's Islamic Traditions

Get more out of If the oceans were ink

Faith in Migration: Building a Life Between Worlds

The Domestic Sphere: Family Life Through an Islamic Lens

See every word as you hear it

Recovering Women's Voices in Islamic History

Navigating Gender and Modernity in Islamic Thought

Get more out of If the oceans were ink

Interpreting Sacred Texts in Modern Times

Between Worlds: Faith, Politics, and Personal Growth

See every word as you hear it

The Final Lesson: Death, Doubt, and Return

You made it to the end of If the oceans were ink

Users also liked

Discover more

Overview of If the oceans were ink