Interpreting spiritual texts hinges on whether the language is read materially or spiritually

Evidence

It is interesting to note that the urbs beata Jerusalem, which is roughly contemporary with Muhammad, expresses spiritual delights of Heaven in a material language which Christians, of course, understood only in a spiritual sense. If the idiom of Qur’an and this hymn are similar they have certainly been very differently understood. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2198 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

Related

• The Qur’an and a Christian hymn share a material idiom but diverged in interpretation (similarity 0.94)
• Material heaven-language is read spiritually in one tradition and literally in the other. (similarity 0.92)
• Ritualized Quran recitation engages text non-hermeneutically rather than extracting meaning (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• The Qur’an and a Christian hymn share a material idiom but diverged in interpretation #exemplifies (0.85) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2198