From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Mon Sep 2 08:15:34 1996 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 22:21:28 -0400 (EDT) From: tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Reply-To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com Subject: tariqas-digest V1 #113 tariqas-digest Thursday, 29 August 1996 Volume 01 : Number 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BRYAN CONN Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:06:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names Asalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters of Tariqas On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, Jacquie Weller wrote: > Some people have books about these names, which I don't (the ninety nine > names of God), and I sure would love it if one name a week, at least could > be put on the tariqa, and explained, also with phonetic pronunciation. Insh'allah I would undertake this task. I will post one name every few days, as time permits, insh'allah. I will start now: All information is reproduecd in part from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, published by Threshold Books - Amana Books. I recomend this book to all interested in these names. I will follow the order of names presented in this book, starting with: _ _ Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful ___________________________________________________________________________ Allah, the Greatest Name, which contains all the divine names and beautiful attributes and is the sign of the Essence and the cause of all existence. Allah, the cause of all existence, does not resemble in any way of His creation. Allah is Allah's name only. Nothing else can in any way assume this name nor share it. As it is said in the Qur'an, Hal ta'lamu lahu samiyan, "Do you know anyone who is His namesake?" (19:65) The name Allah contains 5 meanings, qualities that indicate the non-resemblance of Allah to anything else. They are: _ Qidam: He is before the before. He did not become. He always was. _ Baqa: He is after the after, Eternal; He always will be. _ Wahdaniyyah: He is unique, without partner, without resemblance, the cause of all. All is in need of Him, all has become by the order "Be!" and has died by His order. _ Mukhalafatun lil-hawadith: He is the Creator, bearing no resemblance to the created. _ Qiyam bi-nafsihi: He is self-existent, without any needs. Allah is perfection. The extent of this perfection is infinite. The greatest name, Allah, contains eight essentials indicating the perfection of Allah: _ Hayyah: Allah is ever-living 'Ilm: All is the all-knowing Sam': All is all-hearing Basar: Allah is all-seeing _ Iradah: All will is His Qudrah: All power is his _ Takwin: All existence and actions depend upon him _ Kalam: The word, all that is said and taught, is His __________________________________________________________________________ I hope this post and those to follow, insh'allah, will be of use to some of us seekers! Salaam, Bryan "Pale sunlight, pale the wall. Love moves away. The light changes. I need more grace than I thought." -Rumi ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:09:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SUBUD (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 23:50:14 +0800 (SGT) From: Zainuddin Ismail To: tariqas-approval@world.std.com Cc: tariqas@facteur.std.com Salamu 'alaikum waRahmatuLlahi waBarakatuhu ! Please enlist me in your networking group.I am sure that as one who is adequately familiar with turuq and pseudo-turuq activity in the ASEAN region -the Malayan Archipelego -I could Insha'Allah contribute soemthing useful. For a start I would like to know why some people consider Subud which is a contraction of Susila Bodhi Dharma to be somewhat like Naqshbandiya although as someone , who in his teens , investigated this phenomena , my conclusions are entirely different.There is a lot of occult activity in this area parallel to the activity of the turuq (singular: tariqat)one side deadly opposing the other like the hostility between the Javanese animistic mysticism known as kebatinan and the Muslim orthodoxy who are by and large not affected by the propaganda of followers of Syed Ahmad Dahlan, Hassan Bandung and Mohd Natsir( May Allah have mercy on them all )These three people whose only well known living colleagues , at least in thought, are Ustaz Imadudin Abdul Rahim featured in Naipaul's notorious book , Dr Rashidi of Rabita Office , Indonesia , people in Muhammadiyah organisations in the region and several dozen graduates of Saudi universities , are followers of Muhd Abduh (A.Y), Syed Qutb and Maududi combined. Well I have digressed but none of the above nor the Ahle Sunnah people can accept SUBUD as an authentic Islamic system. SUBUD is syncrestic and its founder with whom J.G.Bennet associated with for some time before he left SUBUD is a Javanese mystic who loves playing the gamelan and interpreting scripture on the basis of tawil. For Muhtar Holland to compare him with Syed Abdul Qadir Jailani R.A. is shocking. As a matter of strategy SUBUD made it clear that only Muslims can join its centres in Indonesia - that was when I was a teen. But in Singapore where I lived anyone who believed in One God could join it and so Hindus, Christians , Buddhists, nominal theists joined the SUBUD - only a few dozens anyway. A Muslim dances the temple dances of Kandy and a Christian verbalises the Hindu mantras both never having known any of such things in the past -as if in a trance.According to SUBUD it is the working of the Ruh Ilahi however you interpret the term but I believe that it could be the work of the jin. The only thing close to Naqshbandi is that they stand in a circle which is their only ritual apart from when they get into trances.They call the circle ritual "latihan" Any feedback please ? ------------------------------ From: BRYAN CONN Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:06:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names Asalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters of Tariqas On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, Jacquie Weller wrote: > Some people have books about these names, which I don't (the ninety nine > names of God), and I sure would love it if one name a week, at least could > be put on the tariqa, and explained, also with phonetic pronunciation. Insh'allah I would undertake this task. I will post one name every few days, as time permits, insh'allah. I will start now: All information is reproduecd in part from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, published by Threshold Books - Amana Books. I recomend this book to all interested in these names. I will follow the order of names presented in this book, starting with: _ _ Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful ___________________________________________________________________________ Allah, the Greatest Name, which contains all the divine names and beautiful attributes and is the sign of the Essence and the cause of all existence. Allah, the cause of all existence, does not resemble in any way of His creation. Allah is Allah's name only. Nothing else can in any way assume this name nor share it. As it is said in the Qur'an, Hal ta'lamu lahu samiyan, "Do you know anyone who is His namesake?" (19:65) The name Allah contains 5 meanings, qualities that indicate the non-resemblance of Allah to anything else. They are: _ Qidam: He is before the before. He did not become. He always was. _ Baqa: He is after the after, Eternal; He always will be. _ Wahdaniyyah: He is unique, without partner, without resemblance, the cause of all. All is in need of Him, all has become by the order "Be!" and has died by His order. _ Mukhalafatun lil-hawadith: He is the Creator, bearing no resemblance to the created. _ Qiyam bi-nafsihi: He is self-existent, without any needs. Allah is perfection. The extent of this perfection is infinite. The greatest name, Allah, contains eight essentials indicating the perfection of Allah: _ Hayyah: Allah is ever-living 'Ilm: All is the all-knowing Sam': All is all-hearing Basar: Allah is all-seeing _ Iradah: All will is His Qudrah: All power is his _ Takwin: All existence and actions depend upon him _ Kalam: The word, all that is said and taught, is His __________________________________________________________________________ I hope this post and those to follow, insh'allah, will be of use to some of us seekers! Salaam, Bryan "Pale sunlight, pale the wall. Love moves away. The light changes. I need more grace than I thought." -Rumi ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:28:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Atheism vs. agnosticism Assalamu alaikum. I have not been following closely the discussion on atheism. But, I would just like to clarify something. Please forgive me if someone has mentioned this. There is a big difference between atheism and agnosticism. I am much more familiar with agnosticism, so please forgive me if I am inaccurate in my definition of atheism. Atheists believe that God does not exist. Agnostics say that they don't know whether God exists. More specifically, according to Thomas Huxley, the founder of Agnosticism, it is wrong to believe in things without having evidence for that belief. I am a life time card carrying member of the Society for Evangelical Agnostics. I still consider myself an agnostic, as well as other things. I "believe" in God because I have had ample experiential evidence to support that belief. I know that there is "something" guiding my life (a "higher power" in the 12 step traditions) that is different than what I used to think of as myself. I am comfortable calling this God, since that is what other people seem to call this "something." I don't KNOW a whole lot more than that -- only what I have experienced. I am quite open to the possibility that many of my ideas about God are just that -- ideas, not Truth. >From my perspective, agnosticism and sufism are similar -- agnostics search with their heads, sufis with their hearts. Yours, Habib rose ------------------------------ From: Craig Johannsen Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 20:06:41 -0700 Subject: Re: Atheism vs. agnosticism Habib Rose wrote: > > Atheists believe that God does not exist. Agnostics say that they don't > know whether God exists. More specifically, according to Thomas Huxley, > the founder of Agnosticism, it is wrong to believe in things without > having evidence for that belief. > At what point does insufficient evidence become sufficient evidence for belief? Can a true agnostic ever have sufficient evidence? At some point there must be a leap of faith -- ahh now there is enough evidence. There is only a one in twenty chance that I am inferring incorrectly that God exists! ;-) ------------------------------ From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:35:01 +0100 Subject: Just chatting Hellow friends, since I've been on the net for this brief few months, I have found this to be a type of fellowship and inspiration on a daily basis that I have been lacking. I am most grateful for the contributions each of you make, and I am glad to be part of this tariqas family. This experience has helped me to take small risks in meeting people, tackling a subject I may only know a little about and hearing from the rich experiences of you all. In many ways I feel like a babe and so inexperienced in comparison with many of you who have been in this for yrs and yet you never had made me feel foolish because of whatever ignorance, I certainly have. The majority of the time, I experience complete tolerance of my shortcomings, and usually reserved silence. As I listen to you, I realize how much I do not know or understand, but this only increases my willingness to stay on this path. It is like you are what the future is for me if I stay with the program... With time my love increases, as I see your love increasing also. Kaffea Lalla ------------------------------ From: Ellen L Price Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 07:29:57 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names I would like to take this occasion to remind those interested in studying the Ninety Nine Beautiful Names that the Living School has produced some beautiful cards for this purpose. Each card is devoted to one of the Names and also includes the number associated with the Name. If you want information about the cards you may send me an e-mail message. In Love, Ellen Price On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, BRYAN CONN wrote: > > Asalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters of Tariqas > > > > On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, Jacquie Weller wrote: > > > Some people have books about these names, which I don't (the ninety nine > > names of God), and I sure would love it if one name a week, at least could > > be put on the tariqa, and explained, also with phonetic pronunciation. > > > Insh'allah I would undertake this task. I will post one name every few > days, as time permits, insh'allah. I will start now: > > All information is reproduecd in part from "The Most Beautiful Names" > compiled by Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, published by > Threshold Books - Amana Books. I recomend this book to all interested in > these names. > > I will follow the order of names presented in this book, starting with: > _ _ > Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim > In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful > ___________________________________________________________________________ > > Allah, the Greatest Name, which contains all the divine names and > beautiful attributes and is the sign of the Essence and the cause of all > existence. > > Allah, the cause of all existence, does not resemble in any way of His > creation. Allah is Allah's name only. Nothing else can in any way assume > this name nor share it. As it is said in the Qur'an, Hal ta'lamu lahu > samiyan, "Do you know anyone who is His namesake?" (19:65) > > The name Allah contains 5 meanings, qualities that indicate the > non-resemblance of Allah to anything else. They are: > _ > Qidam: He is before the before. He did not become. He always was. > _ > Baqa: He is after the after, Eternal; He always will be. > _ > Wahdaniyyah: He is unique, without partner, without resemblance, the > cause of all. All is in need of Him, all has become by the order "Be!" > and has died by His order. > _ > Mukhalafatun lil-hawadith: He is the Creator, bearing no resemblance > to the created. > _ > Qiyam bi-nafsihi: He is self-existent, without any needs. > > > Allah is perfection. The extent of this perfection is infinite. The > greatest name, Allah, contains eight essentials indicating the perfection > of Allah: > _ > Hayyah: Allah is ever-living > 'Ilm: All is the all-knowing > Sam': All is all-hearing > Basar: Allah is all-seeing > _ > Iradah: All will is His > Qudrah: All power is his > _ > Takwin: All existence and actions depend upon him > _ > Kalam: The word, all that is said and taught, is His > > __________________________________________________________________________ > > > I hope this post and those to follow, insh'allah, will be of use to some > of us seekers! > > > > Salaam, > > Bryan > > "Pale sunlight, pale the wall. > Love moves away. > The light changes. > I need more grace than I thought." > -Rumi > > ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 08:04:31 -0700 Subject: Re: Just chatting Jacquie Weller wrote: [...] > In many ways I feel like a babe and so inexperienced > in comparison with many of you who have been in this for yrs and yet you > never had made me feel > foolish because of whatever ignorance, I certainly have. Dear Kaffea! We are all babes in the woods when it comes to knowing Allah... we each share what we have experienced, what we believe... nonetheless, we are all worthy else we wouldn't exist, be here. Our beings are links in a chain so beautiful, along with the rock people, the plants, the animals, the jinns, and the angels... all are necessary to fulfill Allah's Will, of which none of us know anything. Kaffea, you being here with each of us produces love, harmony and beauty, this this poor soul knows. Thank you for being, tanzen ------------------------------ From: "Michael J. Moore" Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:47:42 -0700 Subject: The prediction of Islam Hello, What are the general arguments used to convince Christians that Islam is the fullfillment of the Christian prophecy. I would like to se the evidence posted here, but I understand that the subject may be to large for this forum in which case references to books or other materials would be appreciated. - -- It's a beautiful day just South of San Francisco Bay Indeed we may... say ! it's a beautiful day - -- (and no, this is not Volgon(1) poetry) Michael J. Moore - ------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Volgon - An intelligent species of space travelers feared for their enjoyment of inflicting severe pain on on captives by reciting Volgon poetry. See "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". ------------------------------ From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 21:03:45 +0100 Subject: re: 99 beautiful names, and Allah A heartfelt thanks and appreciation to you Bryon for posting about Allah and the ninety nine attributes every few days, in'shallah Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful ------------------------------ From: ASHA101@aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:00:03 -0400 Subject: Re: The prediction of Islam >>> general arguments used to convince Christians<< a) why would you want to convice Chiristians of something they aren't already convinced of .. b) what kind of conviction is it that is based on mental calculations anyway c) why agure ............... although if one wanted to share their thoughts on how Christianity and Islam are connected, and how Christianity and Judaism are connected, from whatever point of view, i would hope that it would be as genuinely received as it is given. Understanding seems allways the best first step. Understanding is awakening but who is qualified to be an awakener except The Awakener. So perhaps the first "argument" would be the depth to which one can be in touch with one's own awakening. What is the name of God, in arabic that means, The Awakener? al-Badi', al-Mujib, al-Raqib? I'm not saying that i know the meaning of these names of God, but perhaps someone who knows the name of God the Awakener, God the Time Clock (as it is said that Allah has set the time of our awakening) and perhaps to know something of how this is connected to awakening, well it seems to me that this would be the real first "argument". - - Asha ------------------------------ From: "Michael J. Moore" Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:17:00 -0700 Subject: Re: The prediction of Islam ASHA101@aol.com wrote: > > >>> general arguments used to convince Christians<< > a) why would you want to convice Chiristians of something they aren't already > convinced of .. I don't. I wish to know what the agruments are, not to apply them. I wish to evaluate these arguments. A tangential thought.... It is interesting to note here how people can draw conclusions such as 'he wants to convince Christians' and then treat the conclusion as a given. I also do this too frequently. But it is interesting. This seems to be related to a technique described in The 4th Way called observation. Observation in this context is a technical term and as such has very specific meaning. Through the practice of observation we attempt to see what is provided in the room and what we are bring into the room with us. > b) what kind of conviction is it that is based on mental calculations anyway Perhaps a seed that can grow into something with real roots. > c) why agure Why request agrument as in the question "why argue?". Because, this is how we as humans are convinced by words. Webster gives three meanings for argue: 1: to give reason for or against something 2:discourse intended to persuade 3:QUARREL. When I use the word 'argue' or 'argument', I never mean quarrel. If your question means 'why quarrel' then I think we are in perfect agreement that it has no merit. > ............... although if one wanted to share their thoughts on how > Christianity and Islam are connected, and how Christianity and Judaism are > connected, from whatever point of view, i would hope that it would be as > genuinely received as it is given. Understanding seems allways the best first > step. Understanding is awakening but who is qualified to be an awakener > except The Awakener. So perhaps the first "argument" would be the depth to > which one can be in touch with one's own awakening. What is the name of God, > in arabic that means, The Awakener? al-Badi', al-Mujib, al-Raqib? I'm not > saying that i know the meaning of these names of God, but perhaps someone who > knows the name of God the Awakener, God the Time Clock (as it is said that > Allah has set the time of our awakening) and perhaps to know something of how > this is connected to awakening, well it seems to me that this would be the > real first "argument". > - Asha Indeed! A holy argument for which there is no rebuttal! I was actually looking for more of an exegesis of Biblical scripture. I know that there was mention of 'the Comforter' that Jesus said was comming and there is apparently some reason to believe that this was in reference to Mohammad(saws). salam - -- Michael J. Moore ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 18:03:19 -0700 Subject: Re: Friend of Allah? (fwd) Bismillah ar-Rahman ir-Rahim Hello, everybody! maarof wrote: [...] > >It seems that if certain practices are performed each individual has the > >identical experience, at least to the extent words can be used to > >compare "notes". > > There were reported cases of individuals with kashaf ability... [...] > But this "experience" is different > from "the experience of Knowledge of God", which in sufi literature, the term > used such as ecstacy, annihilation or fana. The most celebrated case was that > of Hallaj with his famous proclamation "I am the Truth". But don't forget that there were many cases of such expressions coming from folks of high experiences, e.g., "I am the Way, The Truth, and The Light," from Jesus of the New Testament Gospels. Understand Ray of Creation and it is not hard to see that as a person moves into regions beyond the earth's seven levels into the heaven's levels that one could and does say that, "I AM". > Even these two > admit that the "experience" or "status" of Muhammad (saw) is much higher, and > acknowledge Muhammad's position as the teacher. The position of teacher is always that coming from the mureed, the one willing to surrender. > This is my explanation why I said the sufi experience (of the knowledge) of > God/One is diferrent individually. I fully agree that each individual "sees" differently, because each is unigue as to personal history. Has there even been two with the identical thoughts, words, actions? Seems reasonable to think that we each have had our own personal religions from the moment soul becomes individualized. > Although we can find similar accounts > of fana/ecstacy/annihilation but the "knowledge" is different. Such is hard to say, because the knowledge to that which is being pointed is beyond words. > It's like > Newton and Einstein experiencing the joy of "gravity"... the joy is the > same, but the knowledge experience of both men are different. Yes, for the reason that each is a unique soul-aspect of The Absolute, Allah. > >> In Islam, kashaf can be true or wrong, based > >> on how the experience compared with Sharia (Quran and Sunnah) > > > >My belief is that Mohammad became a sufi just to get the Knowledge of > >God through certain practices that have been used (called by some The > >Adamic Crack) since the beginning of human self-consciousness. > > Our beliefs are different here. The shahadah (There is no god but God, > Muhammad is His messenger) is the start and the end of the journey (in > Tasawwuf). I have no argue with shahadah... if I look at Muhammad as an aspect of I AM, just as I look at Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Moses, Jesus, Baha'u'llah, Hazrat Inayat Khan... [...] > But only when we are at our destination that we know better about the map. That's just what sufi practice is about, a map, that gets you back home with knowledge through personal experience. > I certainly talked too much from a few things I read. But I really like > to know the term "Adamic Crack". I have no idea what it is. I hope you like this because it seems to tie all religions, faiths together into a common source. As humanity becomes conscious of itself as separate from its Maker, the Moulder providea a clue (the crack) as to what life is all about, and that clue is planted deep into the core our hearts. Some call this core-place "intuition", others call it High Self, Lord of house, or that "small voice". But the point is: we each have a connection to that which (Allah) laid down the laws under which we live and that connection lets us get back to Source, for Source is all there is, The I AM, and is all and all is within it, without bounds, The Only Infinity without second, Allah. Another way to say this is we each already "know" (that is why we are drawn to practice, to worship) and the life experiment is to align our wills with that of our fate, the quick, short path home: peace. You see, we are of the same stuff as "I AM". How does a humanity experience God except that God experience us? Many say "God is All" without being fully conscious of what that means. O Lord, send Thy perfect and everlasting peace that we may know and thus think, speak, and act harmoniously according to Thy Will, tanzen al-Hamdu'lillah ------------------------------ From: Joshi Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 10:18:26 +0800 Subject: Rumi:-) as salaamu 'alaikum The unbeliever's argument is only this: "I see no home but this outward." He never reflects that every outward gives news of a hidden wisdom. Indeed, the profit of every outward thing lies hidden in the inward, like the benefits within medicine. -------------------------------------- Everyone has turned his face towards some direction, but the saints have turned in the direction without directions. In the direction without directions, all is spring; any other direction holds nothing but the cold of December. --------------------------------------- wasalaam. "If I should will something that my Lord does not will for me, I should then be guitly of unbelief."-- Rabi'a al Adawiyya. O God, You called, and we were slow. Alas! alas! what we did we did in poor judgement. ------------------------------ End of tariqas-digest V1 #113 *****************************