From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Wed Sep 18 14:20:28 1996
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 08:00:44 -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 #130
tariqas-digest Saturday, 7 September 1996 Volume 01 : Number 130
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: maarof <maarof@pc.jaring.my>
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 03:17:09 -0700
Subject: Re: World Peace
Kaffea Lalla wrote:
>
> What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result,
> or more people and ethic groups be eliminated?[...]
I doubt that the American (forces) will moved out of Iraq or Saudi
Arabia at present time or a near future. Besides being a strategic
milirary location, the presence of American forces act as a kind
of insurance for American investment esp. oil. I remembered
during the Arab oil embargo during Arab-Israel war in 1973, there
was a plan for Western countries to occupy militarily Arab lands. The
arguement was supposedly to protect Western civilisation.
So, I'm not suprised at what is happening there now.
Peace? Lets pray
salam
your 'adopted' brother
maarof
------------------------------
From: Craig Johannsen <johan@Ultranet.ca>
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 12:39:33 -0700
Subject: Re: pray for world peace while speaking out against oppression
Zainuddin Ismail wrote:
>
> Salams.
> The machinations of the anti-religion secularists whether Soviet,American or
> Maoist created a monster which I call Izlamic statism which is the very
> opposite of Islamic theodemocracy .Ayatollahism, Saudism,Zia-ul-Haqism and
> the ideology of those who are killing each other in Egypt , Algeria and
> Afghanistan are the contemporary manifestations of this illegitimate child
> of Middle Eastern emotionalism, materialism,statism ,secularism and
> nationalism.Let us look at the difference between
> the two.The one the opposite of the other:-
> [snip]
I like the way you contrasted the two types of state.
Which states would currently fit your definition of theodemocracy?
------------------------------
From: woodsong@juno.com (Carol Woodsong)
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 16:14:24 EDT
Subject: Re: World Peace
Hello, sister Kaffea,
>In my small way, I can turn all my ill will for anyone into
>love and good will and try on a daily basis to be a
>Peace maker...Kaffea Lalla
That Way is not so 'small' my beautiful sister!
"My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the
individual to develop non-violence. The more you develop it in your own
being, the more it overwhelms your surroundings and by and by and by
might oversweep the world."
- --Mahatma Gandhi
"The usual way to generate force is to create anger, desire, and fear.
But these are dangerous sources of energy because they are blind, whereas
the force of love springs from awareness, and does not destroy its own
aims. Out of love and the willingness to act, strategies and tactics
will be created naturally from the circumstances of the struggle. Thus,
problems of strategy and tactics are of secondary importance."
- -- Thich Nhat Hanh
"Aye, fight! But not your neighbor. Fight rather all the things that
cause you and your neighbor to fight."
- -- Mikhail Naimy
"Peace imposed by violence is not psychological peace, but a suppressed
conflict. It is unstable, for it contains the seeds of its own
destruction. The outer condition is not a true reflection of an inner
condition. But in peace secured by true nonviolent resistance there is
no longer any inner conflict; a new channel is found, in which both the
formerly conflicting energies are at work in the same direction and in
harmony. Here the outer condition truly reflects the inner condition.
This is perhaps one reason why Gandhi called this mode of solving
conflict /Satyagraha/ -- "holding to truth". Such a peace endures.
- --Richard B. Gregg
"If you have a nation of men who have risen to that height of moral
cultivation that will not declare war or carry arms, for they have not so
much madness left in their brains, you have a nation of lovers, of
benefactors, of true, great, and noble men. Let me know more of that
nation; I shall not find them defenseless, with idle hands swinging at
their sides. I shall find them men of love, honor and truth; men of an
immense industry; men whose very look and voice carry the sentence of
honor and shame; and all forces yield to their energy and persuasion.
Whenever we see the doctrine of peace embraced by a nation, we may be
assured that it will not be one that invites injury; but one, on the
contrary, which has a friend in the bottom of the heart of every man,
even the violent and the base; one against which no weapon can prosper;
one which is looked upon as the asylum of the human race and has the
tears and the blessings of mankind."
- --Ralph Waldo Emerson
------------------------------
From: Craig Johannsen <johan@Ultranet.ca>
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 13:50:30 -0700
Subject: Re: World Peace
Jacquie Weller wrote:
>
> What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result,
> or more people and ethic groups be eliminated? I am not saying who is
> guilty and who is not, and I am sure this is more political than concerns
> for anyone's welfare, and more economic self interest than humanitarian. But
> if we put down
> our weapons, would there be peace, or would this encourage more destruction
> and war and agression on others. [snip]
> I want to be a complete pacifist...but is this realistic
> or even possible in this world. Since this is a bigger problem than I can
> solve, I just pray God's solutions for peace will change our hearts so no
> killing is done. In my small way, I can turn all my ill will for anyone
> into love and good will and try on a daily basis to be a Peace
> maker...Kaffea Lalla
I pray everyone does the same as you, Kaffea.
If we look at how most of our peaceful communities work (both in the Western
and Eastern hemispheres), we may find a model that can be applied on a
world scale. Why is it we that we don't kill, rob, rape or pillage our
neighbors in these sorts of communities? It is not that they're necessarily
homogeneous. For example, in Vancouver, we have large minorities of
Chinese, Indians, Aboriginals (native indians), Eastern Europeans, Japanese,
Greeks, and Iranians. Yet, we all live and work together (for the most part)
in peace without requiring the minorities to give up the values and languages
they brought from their homelands. How do we do this? I think it has a lot
to do with respect and tolerance as much as love. All people are treated with
respect, much as though we are members of the same family. Tolerance of
those with whom you disagree is another important aspect -- we all agree that it
is OK to disagree. A lot of families work this way too. You can argue or even
quarrel with someone and still love them. [OK, maybe I'm over-generalizing and
making it sound too wonderful. In reality, not everyone respects everyone nor
tolerates absolutely all other viewpoints, but I think you understand what I
mean: respect and tolerance predominate.] If only we could get everyone
everywhere to accept that we all really are members of the same family.
On the other hand, what sort of thinking predominate where violence
rules? In my opinion, there are three really critical factors:
1.) Perception of threat
2.) Dehumanization
3.) Greed
If there is no threat, are you likely to attack? I would think not.
If there is a threat but you love and respect those who pose a threat,
are you likely to attack? Probably not -- you would want to compromise or
negotiate something mutually agreeable.
If you do not covet what your neighbors have, are you likely to try to
take it away from them? Certainly not.
Where violence rules, it seems to me that those perpetrating the violence
are behaving like psychopaths. It is like a mental illness where the
ill person is concerned only with their own needs (e.g., wealth, power,
attention, etc.), though they may be eloquent at persuading others
that they are acting on behalf of some higher principle. They persuade
their followers that some other people are a threat and are less than
human. They make them into objects and authorize their followers to do
harm to these objects. Its OK to mistreat, kill, or steal from these
objects because they don't really deserve to be treated like we would
treat each other. The followers allow themselves to be hypnotized into
this kind of psychopathic behavior because of their own fears and greed,
which indicates to me a lack of personal development, or, in some cases,
deprivation. If we could "immunize" people against this kind of manipulation,
we would go a long way toward achieving world peace.
I think that what happened in the former Yugoslavia shows that even
in the industrialized Western world we have not achieved complete
immunity to such manipulation.
Wa salaam,
Craig
------------------------------
From: BRYAN CONN <s001blc@discover.wright.edu>
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 17:53:05 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: The Most Beautiful Names - (6) As-Salaam
The following is reproduced from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by
Sheikh Tosun Bayrak, Threshold Books - Amana Books.
_____________________________________________________________________
Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem
In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
_____________________________________________________________________
_
As-Salam
_ _
In the Qur'an Allah says, salamun kawlan min rabbin rahim - The
_
Beneficient Lord sends a salam - peace, blessing, protection, salvation,
and salutation - to the believers in Paradise (36:57). In this
_
ayat Allah al-Rahim rewards the believers with the security and joy of
the wished-for Paradise. He is the one who saves the believing servants
from all dangers, bring them the peace, blessing, and security
_
of Paradise. As-Salam is this state of being free of all fault, error,
_
danger, and trouble. In this it resembles the divine name al-Quddus,
but it pertains to the future. It also means the one who is persisting,
uninterrupted, unfaltering, unweakening, continuing to eternity.
________________________________________________________________________
Assalaamu Alaikum! (Peace be with you!)
------------------------------
From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller)
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 16:49:53 +0100
Subject: Bee's and Madness
I was peacefully eating my chiken, oblivious to the world, when a swarm of
meat eating bee's was suddenly all over my chicken, darting between my eyes
and around my head like giant monsters in my mind. All my peace loving
ideas flew away and I grabbed a sack of stuff and swung it around my head
like david and goliath. Soon I saw I was overcome by an army of hungry angry
bees, and I grabbed my chicken and ran home, knowing that this was the only
path, the one of least resistance. Fortunately not one bee was killed and I
am now quite forgiving of my madness. Many people eyed the strange woman
circling around like a dervish with a sack of potatoes, only for a moment
she was at war.
Kaffea Lalla
------------------------------
From: Craig Johannsen <johan@Ultranet.ca>
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 17:53:35 -0700
Subject: Re: Bee's and Madness
Jacquie Weller wrote:
>
> I was peacefully eating my chiken, oblivious to the world, when a swarm of
> meat eating bee's was suddenly all over my chicken, darting between my eyes
> and around my head like giant monsters in my mind. All my peace loving
> ideas flew away and I grabbed a sack of stuff and swung it around my head
> like david and goliath. Soon I saw I was overcome by an army of hungry angry
> bees, and I grabbed my chicken and ran home, knowing that this was the only
> path, the one of least resistance. Fortunately not one bee was killed and I
> am now quite forgiving of my madness. Many people eyed the strange woman
> circling around like a dervish with a sack of potatoes, only for a moment
> she was at war.
> Kaffea Lalla
Fear was doing its work, o dervish.
(Weren't these wasps rather than bees?
Bees don't like chicken.)
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@po.pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 09:45:43 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: pray for world peace while speaking out against oppression
Salam.
Unfortunately there is not one single state that typifies Islamic theodemocracy.
If I may recaptitulate because I realise that there has been some
typographical mixture between the two types.
Firstly Islamic theodemocracy was typified in the constitution of the ciy
state of Madinah wherein the rights of Jews, Christian,Muslims and
non-theists among Arabs.I remember one clause which states the Jews and the
believers shall form one ummah or brotherhood.Please see Hamidullah's First
Written Consitution of the World (Sh.Muhd.Ashraf publication) which is proof
that the theodemocracy which Muhammad headed was the ideal one .The rights
of non-Muslims were assured .I remember one anecdote when Muhammad assured
the monks of the monastery of Sinai I think it was the monastery of
St.Catherine that their rights were for all time and that even if the cross
of the monastery were to be damaged the Muslims will repair it just as the
Muslims would repair
other things for them at their request.Both documents are still extant and
available I remember discussing them with an internationally famous
constitutional law lecturer Professor Hickling at the University of
Singapore in the mid 70s.He had stated in class that the French constitution
was the earliest modern-type constitution and I pointed out in class that he
was wrong by more than a thousand years.And for proof I produced the Arabic
and the English translation of the Medinan Constitution.
There are one or two Muslim states today that provides free education,
medical treatment and no taxes except Zakat.I know that there is one much
maligned hybrid state which gives an apartment, a car, a refrigerator ,etc
to each family within its borders and had plans to distribute its reserves
among the citizenry.
Well the theodemocracy must be a welfare state with the proviso that full
employment is available and idleness is deemed to be a sin.There is no
concept of citizenship in the city-state of Madinah .Anyperson of whatever
religion could come in and stay there as long as he is not seditious.Any
citizen could be the sponsor for anysuch person and the Madinite authorities
would have to honour the sponsorship of the citizen no matter how humble.
The non-Muslims or dhimmis pay jizyah which is the compensation one's pay
for not having to defend Madinah.Muslims pay a much larger zakat or
religious tithe .There has been one Christian tribe which refused to pay the
jizyah because it wanted to defend the state that it lived in (See Eternal
Message of Muhamamd by Abdul Rahman Pasha)
Except for the natural fulfilment of the biological differences of women for
whom the Quran demands " revere the wombs that bore you " (Surah Nissa)the
theodemocracy does not discriminate between men and women.Indeed the Quran
provides the example of Balqis Queen of the civilization of Sheba of whom
the Quranic words are "she possesses a mighty throne" She converted to Islam
at the hands of Prophet Solomon a.s. and continued with her rule of her
country which was located in Yaman and was famous for its intricate system
of irrigation canals and dams.
The Izlamists for example quote a false saying of the Prophet which states
"No nation would prosper if it is ruled by a woman " or words to that effect
but the narrator Abi Bakra r.a belied his own words when he accepted the
leadership of Ayesha r.a.Furthermore as hadis scholars have pointed out Abi
Bakar was punished by the Second Caliph Umar r.a for slander.
Muslim countries of the world have got bits and pieces of the Islamic
theodemocracy.Malaysian government in a erratic manner provides repairs to
Chinese or Hindu temples and has funds for repairs other religious buildings.
There is no standing police or army.Every Muslim adult must be prepared to
defend the wonderful Muslim theodemocracy.In this way the standing police or
army cannot be used against any section of the people.
The Hudud laws (mandatory punishment ) are a total travesty of Islam.It has
distorted the true picture of Islam.For example as the late S.Rahman former
Chief Justice of Pakistan has pointed out in his book " Punishment for
Apostasy in Islam" there is no capital punishment.One arch-apostate who did
worse things than Salman Rushdie ultimately became the Governor of Basrah
after he repented.When he was apprehended he did not repent of his gross
blasphemy .The gentle Usman came forward to sponsor him much to the chagrin
of those who hated him for his terrible words.
During the time of Umar some people stole camels.Were their hands cut ? No.
Instead Umar punished the camel owners for whom they worked.He had oppressed
them contrary to the Islamic Labour Laws and furthermore there was a drought
in the land.It was the great Umar r.a who said "If a camel were to die of
thirst , I Umar would have to account for it on the day of judgement"
Umar based on the spirit of Islam started a system where every citizen
received stipends from the state .
Abdul Rahman Azzam known popularly as Pasha was the first Secretary General
of the Arab League.He said that Islam forbids the usage of conventional
weapons.This is because of the finely detailed Ethics of War promulgated by
Prophet Muhammad.Islam forbids all aggressive wars.Wars are only allowed to
defend one's own country or to come to aid of an oppressed community.Scorch
earth policy or using weapons that destroy the environment or those that can
injure non-combatants are forbidden.Weapons that use radiation , laser or
fire even electrical fires are forbidden.
Intoxicants of any kind are not allowed.Even the cultivation , sale and
consumption of tobacco as one famous Shafie juriconsult Sulaiman al Bujarmi
rightfully pointed out.
My dear brother , it needs a lot of reading and thinking to find out the
truth of the theodemocracy called Islam because of the thick layers of
falsehoods and half-truths and distortions that time has piled on Islam.
Thank God that the Quran and the unedited corpus of Muhammad's sayings are
still available.It is interesting to read the works of the German Goethe and
the thoughts of Bernard Shaw on the benevolence of Muhammad.Napolean
Bonarparte's diary in French translated by Christian Cherfils many many
years ago provides Napolean's analysis of the Islamic laws which is unknown
today.I read when I was a boy in Raffles Library ,Singapore, a book called
Letters of Napolean .That too provides some clues on his analysis of the
theodemocracy.Indeed one writer claims that the Code Napolean was based on
Imam Malik's Muatta which itself is the collation of the words of Muhammad
on the theodemocracy.I have not read the Code Napolean of France and anyway
Napolean's behaviour was a contradiction of his so-called Islamic profession
which decorated every letter which he wrote to the Muslim sultans of his day.
For the economic system of Islam and the foreign laws there are many
books.For Islamic
Foreign laws read :Abdul Hamid Abu Sulaiman's Foreign Relationship in
Islam.He is prsently the rector of the International Islamic University.For
Family Law there is a good book titled "Family Code in Islam" but it should
be edited by a woman jurists because his failure was that he failed to see
the fine points which the Prophet provided in favour of women.
"Islam is in the QURAN and the Muslims are in the graves"
O Muhammad we weep when your name is maligned
You who are the hero of Goethe and Shaw
O Muhammad just a glimpse of you in my dream
Is all I ask for Prophet dear
You who are the description in the song of solomon
"Altogether lovely is Muhammadim"
SallaLlah 'ala Muhammad
At 12:39 9/6/96 -0700, you wrote:
>Zainuddin Ismail wrote:
>>
>> Salams.
>> The machinations of the anti-religion secularists whether Soviet,American or
>> Maoist created a monster which I call Izlamic statism which is the very
>> opposite of Islamic theodemocracy .Ayatollahism, Saudism,Zia-ul-Haqism and
>> the ideology of those who are killing each other in Egypt , Algeria and
>> Afghanistan are the contemporary manifestations of this illegitimate child
>> of Middle Eastern emotionalism, materialism,statism ,secularism and
>> nationalism.Let us look at the difference between
>> the two.The one the opposite of the other:-
>> [snip]
>
>I like the way you contrasted the two types of state.
>Which states would currently fit your definition of theodemocracy?
>
------------------------------
From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller)
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 18:50:40 +0100
Subject: Re: Bee's and Madness
>Jacquie Weller wrote:
>>
>> I was peacefully eating my chiken, oblivious to the world, when a swarm of
>> meat eating bee's was suddenly all over my chicken, darting between my eyes
>> and around my head like giant monsters in my mind. All my peace loving
>> ideas flew away and I grabbed a sack of stuff and swung it around my head
>> like david and goliath. Soon I saw I was overcome by an army of hungry angry
>> bees, and I grabbed my chicken and ran home, knowing that this was the only
>> path, the one of least resistance. Fortunately not one bee was killed and I
>> am now quite forgiving of my madness. Many people eyed the strange woman
>> circling around like a dervish with a sack of potatoes, only for a moment
>> she was at war.
>> Kaffea Lalla
>
>Fear was doing its work, o dervish.
>
>(Weren't these wasps rather than bees?
> Bees don't like chicken.)
>------
Well these bees are bigger than honey bees, and I heard them called meat
eaters but they could be wasps. Your friend, Kaffea.
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@po.pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 10:09:25 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: The Most Beautiful Names - (6) As-Salaam
Salams to you."Blessed are the people who make Salam for they shall......."
Guess who said those words.What do you mean with" it is like Quddus but it
pertains to the future ?
The human being is a theophany of the Divine Names and each time you mention
and meditate on a Divine Name the human reflection of that Divine Name
reverberates throughout one's being and Sufis are experts on the science of
the Divine Names because they are aware of the potency and potential of each
name.
That is why they provide the number of times that one recites this Name and
another number of times that one recites the other.I remember at one time
when I was praising the name of Al-Wadood and meditating on it, strange
things happened and people started to be attracted to me and loving me and
the effect of that relationship still persists.Well maybe it is subjective
butI dont think so.So the Divine Names within us are part of the matrix of
influences acting on the human being .
When I meditated and zikr-ed the name of Al-Matin and Al-Qawi , my God the
effects were unbelievable and until today I am thinking of those effects.I
remember a pugilist battering me up and I just walked away and went home and
looked at the mirror and there was not one spot.It took me some time to
realise that the Divine Names has a key and that key is the key of Love of
Human Beings, learning under a Master and Himmat not Nafs Ammarah.Greed for
power whatever kind of power will destroy and Singapore and Malaysia have
thousands of people who have blown their minds because they did not exercise
the wholesome restrain which they could have learned from the living Masters.
The human being has to develop himself with the Divine Names , inter alia,
until instead of being influenced by this matrix , he influences .This is
part of the meaning when Prophet Jesus said "Seek the Kingdom of Heaven
(within you) and all things will be added unto you" and this appears to be
the opposite of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs .To be fair to Maslow
who was the President of the American Psychological Association and one of
the famous psychologists of all time , he revised his theory towards the
later part of his life as my friend Ibrahim Ragab of the International
Islamic Univerity tells me.
Forgive me , friends and fellow-lovers.Until Internet came I could not
verbalise my thoughts so this is just a spontaneous outpouring of a pentup soul
SalAllahu 'ala Muhammad .SalAllahu 'alaihi wassalam.
At 17:53 9/6/96 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>
>The following is reproduced from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by
>Sheikh Tosun Bayrak, Threshold Books - Amana Books.
>_____________________________________________________________________
>
>Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem
>In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
>_____________________________________________________________________
> _
>As-Salam
> _ _
>In the Qur'an Allah says, salamun kawlan min rabbin rahim - The
> _
>Beneficient Lord sends a salam - peace, blessing, protection, salvation,
>and salutation - to the believers in Paradise (36:57). In this
> _
>ayat Allah al-Rahim rewards the believers with the security and joy of
>the wished-for Paradise. He is the one who saves the believing servants
>from all dangers, bring them the peace, blessing, and security
> _
>of Paradise. As-Salam is this state of being free of all fault, error,
> _
>danger, and trouble. In this it resembles the divine name al-Quddus,
>but it pertains to the future. It also means the one who is persisting,
>uninterrupted, unfaltering, unweakening, continuing to eternity.
>________________________________________________________________________
>
>
>Assalaamu Alaikum! (Peace be with you!)
>
>
------------------------------
From: Steve H Rose <habib@world.std.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 23:35:13 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: The Most Beautiful Names - (7) Al-Mu'min (fwd)
Date: Fri, 06 Sep 1996 19:41:07 -0400
From: Bryan Conn <s001blc@paladin.wright.edu>
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win95; I)
Mime-Version: 1.0
To: tariqas <tariqas@world.std.com>
Subject: The Most Beautiful Names - (7) Al-Mu'min
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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The following is reproduced from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by
Sheikh Tosun Bayrak, Threshold Books - Amana Books.
_____________________________________________________________________
Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem
In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
_____________________________________________________________________
Al-Mu'min
He is the illuminator of the light of faith in hearts.
He is the Comforter, the Protector of the ones who take refuge in Him.
Faith is the security that protects one from all dangers; therefore it
is the greatest gift of Allah. The absence of fear in the heart of the
believer is commensurate with the degree of his faith.
Men have enemies who continuously try to harm them, to disturb their
peace, to lead them astray. The worst of those enemies are their own
egos and the accursed Devil. The tyrants, the maligners, the enviers,
come after them. When one says, "I take refuge in Allah," one takes
refuge in the attribute of al-Mu'min. He does not refuse anyone who
takes refuge in Him. But to have faith in al-Mu'min, one has to have
faith first. In Islam there are three degrees of faith.
1. Confirmation of one's faith by one's words.
2. Confirmation by one's acts.
3. Confirmation by the heart.
What is essential is faith in the heart. If that leaves, may Allah
protect us, one becomes of the non-believers.
_______________________________________________________________________
I pray that no harm comes of these posts, but only benefit. And I pray
Allah leads us each to faith of the heart. Peace be with you Friends!
Salaam,
bryan
------------------------------
From: BRYAN CONN <s001blc@discover.wright.edu>
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 01:49:42 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: The Most Beautiful Names - (6) As-Salaam
Assalaamu Alaikum!
On Sat, 7 Sep 1996, Zainuddin Ismail wrote:
> Forgive me , friends and fellow-lovers.Until Internet came I could not
> verbalise my thoughts so this is just a spontaneous outpouring of a pentup soul
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! The knowledge of these Most
Beautiful Names can be building materials, like bricks. But the
experiences which you've shared are the mortar! We would be nowhere without
those experiences, standing in a pile of rubble, that could have been
a fortress. Jazak Allah!
Salaam,
Bryan
"Qul huwallahu 'ahad"
Say: He is Allah, The One!
Surah Iklhas, Purity, 112:1
------------------------------
From: Hudoyo Hupudio <hudoyo@cbn.net.id>
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 18:59:58 +0700
Subject: The Black Stone (Hajar Aswad)
Assalamualaikum, all!
I repost the following message from another mailing list for your
elucidation:
What is the Black Stone? What is its origin? What is its significance
in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)?
The same questions can also be asked about the Kaaba itself:
What is the Kaaba? What is its origin? What is its significance
in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)?
Your responses will be archived and posted to the original mailing list.
Thank you very much.
Wassalam,
Hudoyo
- ---------------------------<begin message>
QUESTION:
The Webster's Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary meaning for KAABA in MECCA
is "a muslim shrine in Mecca that houses a sacred black stone said to have
been given to Abraham by the archangel Gabriel and towards which followers
of Muhammad face praying."
Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Black stone was given to Adam on his
fall to earth and he erected a shrine for the Stone. At present the stone
is enshrined in Ka'ba and it has been broken into pieces. The "Stone" had
been held for ransom for 20 yrs. at one time by the fanatics. Abraham
"raised the foundations"(Koran ii. 127) of the old destroyed shrine and it
had been a place of worship to the pagans even before the rise of Islam.
Prophet Muhammad, when he reoriented (at later part of his life) the Islamic
prayer from Jerusalem, towards Mecca, (an important event in Islam) removed
all other pagan deities paintings, and ornaments from the interior of Ka'ba.
The Black Stone was not removed. (End of Encyclopedic reference)
One legend has it that this Black Stone was a Lingam. Any evidence for this
legend?
Any explanation as to what is the significance of this sacred stone and
praying to this enshrined stone which constitutes an idol worship. Is it
not against Islamic and or Jewish beliefs?
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End of tariqas-digest V1 #130
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