Even Angels Ask

I enjoyed reading the author's earlier published book entitled Struggling to Surrender so got straight to this one after finishing that one! This book is similar to the previous book and there is considerable overlap between the two but I'd still highly recommend reading both. Like his previous book, there's a good mix of the author's personal experiences and stories on what it means to be an American and a Muslim together with the author's reflections on the Qur'an. I particularly enjoyed in this book the author's discussions on the relationship between culture and religion: how the two can easily be mixed up over time, how the former can influence the way a person approaches the latter, and so on and so forth. Overall this book will probably be of more interest to Muslims living as a minority in a largely non-Muslim environment but there is much benefit and insight here for all.

A fantastic book a much more understanding of Islam in the modern world weldone Jeffrey just loved it !!!

In this book the professor of mathematics(who is no scholar of Islam nor even a student of knowledge in Islam) discusses things that some(if not most) converts to Islam find difficult to come to terms with. I believe some of his points are valid and need to be addressed by the Muslim community such as the lack of communication but a lot of the times he tries to bring solutions to these points through things that are blatantly unIslamic and contradict Sunni Islam. I thought that this book was more about how Professor(of Mathematics) Jeffrey Lang converted about Islam but i was wrong, rather what he addresses are some Islamic beliefs that he doesn't agree with and then tries to refute them, and i mention tries because they're nowhere near good refutations and then he tries to bring his unIslamic ideas which are illogical and then represent them as Islam especially to the new converts to Islam who can easily fall for his arguments that often misquote and misrepresent Sunni Islamic positions. What he has done is try to make Islam American and say that Islam should adapt to cultures and bring their beliefs into Islam at times and that this is inevitable and not the other way round. What he wants is to hold on to many of his old ideas and formulate new rationalizations and interpretations of Islam to suite his fancies. I myself find Islam very satisfying they way it is. Qur'an and Sunnah and the wonderful example of the Prophet's (Sallalahu Alaihi wa Sallam) companions are what I ask Allah to give me a love for. That which is perfect does not need perfecting. Islam is a religion revealed from Allah for the benefit of mankind, the Laws from Allah(who has perfect knowledge) are perfect as they are from the One who has created man. Islam is not in need of laws being made by man who cannot think objectively and thus his laws are obviously not going to be the best in all situations. This book shows a lot of ignorance from the author about Sunni Islam and scholarship and he often misrepresents evidences and denounces them through cheap tricks and phrases(like "that is weak" or "its just a theory") without citing credible evidences. He tells Muslims to look at the contexts of Prophetic tradions(as if the Muslim scholars don't know that!) yet he fails to heed the advice himself and frequently distorts proofs and passages. He thinks that we should follow his understanding of Islam rather than the understanding of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah who spent their parts of their lives(as Muslims) dedicated to the latter and wouldn't even think of disobeying him. He makes this clear on page 124 where he also thinks that we needn't follow Muslim scholars. After the Holy Prophet, Allah bless and greet him, called them(Sahaba-companions of the Prophet) "the witnesses of Allah on earth" (al-Bukhari and Muslim) and "the trustkeepers for my Community" (Muslim and Ahmad), guaranteed Paradise for "Those that follow that which I and my Companions follow" (mass-transmitted), and explicitly said "I recommend to you my Companions, *then* those that come after them" (al-Tirmidhi, hasan sahih), it is impossible to over-emphasize the superiority of the Companions to all subsequent generations including the greatest Mujtahid Imams, not only in piety but also in knowledge. Jeffrey Lang seems to dismiss such Prophetic traditions and instead make up his own religion. How would this person react when an high school drop out starts refuting mathematical equations and notions and saying that people needn't be mathematicians to understand mathematics and instead should not follow the laws formulated and made sound by mathematicians? Or how would he feel when a person without medical qualifications starts attemption heart transplants? Indeed the need for following qualified Muslim scholars who have dedicated their lives for the study of Islam is greater as not following them can negatively affect our soul which is much greater than our physical body. The book is an utter waste of my money and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone, especially to a convert who can easily be deceived by this author with his clever tricks of distortions and claiming "logic"(though a lot of what he says is illogical and considers only one side of the coin). His methods are seriously flawed as this book proves. Khalid Baig has written a good review on his other book "Struggling to Surrender", wthe review can be found online.

This is masterpiece. Dr Lang presents an independent and rationale arguments directly from the source. Even many life long and practising Muslims will find a unique perspective which can only come from someone who started reading the scripture without any baggage. The whole book is amazing but chapter 2 particularly stands out with rationale answers to major theological arguments. I have already read this book cover to cover twice and have a feeling will keep re-reading it for the rest of my life.

No words can describe this book really. It's so dense and very intellectual but it also has this spirituality that makes my heart shiver like a dry leave in a windy day.. I know a good book when I can't go through it without a pen or a pencil.. A book that reacts with my mind leaving me unable to hold back my thoughts as they crowd into my head.. A book that I fill its margins with the products of these reactions.. I don't know if I can say anything that would be sufficient enough to describe, review, or recommend this book.. The only thing I can be assured of is that my mind and perspective have so profoundly expanded, as a result of reading this book, that I am confident it will change my life forever. I have substantially learned, grown, been intellectually provoked and spiritually moved by this book. A relatively short yet dense book (230 pages), "Even Angels Ask" was not only a journey through Islam in America, but a journey through Islam for myself. Even if I'm reading it 18 years after it has been written (it's almost as old as I am!), I was still able to greatly relate to it. In fact, I believe that we live today in a world that is more "Americanized" and globalized than ever before, which makes the "Journey to Islam in America" key to journeys to Islam all over the world. In short, I absolutely believe this book is extremely precious and is a must-read for every Muslim and anyone interested in Islam.

It is a great book to read for new Muslims, people contemplating on Islam or any Muslims living in North America or Europe. It gives the prospective of Islam from the point of view of a Muslim living in North America. To be honest I am really tired of people who grew up in the Middle East or Muslim majority countries telling us what Islam should be for us here in the US. This book eloquently describes the struggles of new generation of Muslims living in the West and how to we reconcile our faith with the society we are living in. Being a Muslim and still being a patriotic American or a Canadian. Great read!

Good book.

The book is a rich source of information. Through out the book , different scholars who have investigated Islam are introduced. This, I believe, provides the reader with different insights about the topic being discussed. I initially thought it was a one person recount about their journey to Islam, only to find out it was much more that…highly recommend.