Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Islamic Ark of Peace

Prophesied in Hadith this year 2014 is the year of peace when rifts between Muslims and non-Muslims would be dissolved.— Al-Qaida, Taliban and Muslim Brotherhood would be extinct.— Muslim sects within sects also would come to an understanding that in essence they are one and the same.— Scholars from all over the world would pool in their talents to dispel the vices of hatred, violence and intolerance.— A subtle sense of goodwill and camaraderie would descend upon earth to guide the ones gone astray.— Theologians from different faiths would reach out with a profound mission of spirituality to extinguish the firebrands of zeal, enmity and malice.— The veils of ignorance would be ripped apart to reveal the cankers of bigotry, hypocrisy and vengeance.— A year of peace and enlightenment, profoundly affected by forces invisible would infuse this world with the light of love and harmony.— This planet earth miraculously would be transformed from one of shattering conflicts to the virtues of global unity.— The whaling absurdity of wars would be viewed as universal cancer to be treated with the balm of compassion.— A world of magic and mystery for one whole year if it can be captured and trapped in the bubble of time till eternity.— ‘For God most high has promised to revive His religion of peace at the beginning of each century.’ Al-Ghazali— A miracle year, this Year 2014, as miraculous, hopefully and astonishingly, as this Arabic tale below translated by Tim Mackintosh-Smith.— From SAUDI ARAMCO WORLD A Turk and an Iranian met in a cafĂ©.— The Iranian said: ‘Our Shah has built a palace so tall that no one knows how tall it is.’— ‘How many floors does it have?’ The Turk asked.— ‘Oh, far too many to count.’ The Iranian answered. ‘But a builder dropped a hammer from the top of it two months ago, and it still hasn’t reached the ground.’— ‘Well.’ Said the Turk. ‘Our Sultan ordered some cucumber seeds from America and sowed them in his vegetable garden.—When the cucumbers appeared, one of them started growing at the rate of ten meters a day.—The Sultan gave orders that no one should interfere with it until they knew how long it would get.—Anyway it grew out of the garden and through the streets of Istanbul and eventually reached Lake Van—the Sultan had sent ten policemen to keep track of it, you see.—The cucumber went down from Lake Van, along the mountains of Kurdistan and across the Great Zab and then arrived at the River Tigris.—It then grew all the way down to Shatt-al-Arab, entered al-Muhammarah on the Iranian shore—’— ‘Hey, you can’t expect me to believe this.’ The Iranian interrupted.— ‘Okay then.’ Said the Turk. ‘You bring your hammer down to earth.—And if you don’t—’— Happy New Year!—Peace to the World!