Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Sharia for Ramadan

‘All that is left to us by tradition is more words. It is up to us to find out what they mean.’ Ibn al Arabi— Ramadan— In pre-Islamic times, the tribe of Quraysh observed Ramadan and Jews would fast on the day of Ashura, marking two historical events: the day when Noah left the Ark and the day when Moses was saved from the Egyptians by God. –During the downpour of his revelations, God proclaimed to Prophet Muhammad that fasting for His sake was not a new innovation, but rather an obligation practiced by those truly devoted to the oneness of God.— During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are called upon to re-evaluate their lives in conformity with Islamic traditions, making peace with those who have wronged them, strengthening ties with their family and friends, avoiding harmful thoughts and acting nobly and courteously toward mankind.—Visiting the poor and the sick, comforting them with kind words, fulfilling their needs.—Striving toward uniting families together as a mark of faith and charity.-- During this month every part of the body must be purged of every evil impulse or inclination. –The tongue must be restrained from gossip and backbiting. –The eyes must not covet that which is unlawful.— The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or angry expressions. –The feet must refrain from approaching dens of vice and violence.-- That way, every part of the body can participate in fasting, rejecting the corruption of sin, hatred and malice, and purifying one’s body and soul to seek God’s grace and guidance.— War is not permitted during the month of Ramadan. – War is a great transgression in the sacred month of Ramadan. (2:217 Quran) -- Fasting is not only abstaining from food, but purging oneself by shunning the forces of evil, draining out hatred, malice, enmity and the lust to kill and abstaining from defiling the sanctity of any woman’s body or soul. – Allah is not in need of leaving his food and drink, and He will not accept the fast of the one who tells lies, acts on lies and refrains not from evil actions. - Prophet Muhammad/Al Bukhari [3:127-O.B] – Shall I inform you of a better act than alms, prayer and fasting? Making peace between one another. Enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots. - Prophet Muhammad— Times of Fasting— A fast begins before sunrise and ends immediately after sunset. Muslims fast from fajr— dawn, until dusk. Fajr means the light of the morning, and Prophet Muhammad said: “God has ordained for you to eat and drink until you can discern the white streak of dawn against the blackness of the night, then resume fasting until sunset.”— These are the bounds set by God. Do not then offend against them. It is thus that God makes clear His messages unto mankind, so that they might remain conscious of Him. (2:187 Quran)— Eat and drink and do not be misled by the ascending white light. Eat and drink until the redness of dawn appears. - Prophet Muhammad— Laila-tul-Qadr— Also known as the Night of Power or Night of Decree, Laila-tul-Qadr is the night during the month of Ramadan when the Quran first began to be revealed.— Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord with all decrees. That night is peace until the rising of the dawn. (97:1-5 Quran)— Look for the Night of Decree among the odd nights of the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. - Prophet Muhammad— The whole month of Ramadan is a period of spiritual training during which Muslims devote much of their time to prayer, recitation of the Quran and remembrance of Allah. They practice charity and goodwill, doing good deeds and striving toward feeling the presence of God in their own hearts and in the hearts of God’s creations.— Muslims believe that during the Night of Power, God accepts all the prayers of believers.— Once Aisha asked the Prophet Muhammad what her prayer should be if she had the privilege of being awake on the Night of Power. –The Prophet Muhammad said, you should say: Allah, Thou art most forgiving and does love forgiveness, then do Thou forgive me.— Itikaf— Itikaf means staying in one place and a vow of silence.— During the last ten days of Ramadan, some Muslims choose to stay in the mosque for itikaf while fasting. –The mosque becomes a silent retreat for them, where they occupy themselves with mindfulness of Allah, performing voluntary prayers in addition to the obligatory ones and reciting the Quran. –Food and all the necessities of life are provided for them during their vow of silence so that they do not have to leave their retreat.— Announce O Muhammad unto my slaves that verily I am Forgiving, Merciful. (15:49 Quran)— And He is the Forgiving, the Loving (85:14 Quran)— And O Muhammad say: My Lord forgive and have mercy for thou art best of all who show mercy. (23:118 Quran)— Kindness is a mark of faith. And whoever does not kindness hath no faith. –Prophet Hoping and praying for release of Raif Badawi/royal pardon from King Salman in the month of Ramadan?— Publication of new book for pre-order The Moghul Saint of Insanity/Amazon—The Moghul Saint of Insanity depicts the life of Aurangzeb, the sixth emperor of India. – His reign of tyranny tore the fabric of the Moghul Empire into shreds. – Learning too late of his follies of hatred and bigotry he prayed fervently for forgiveness on his deathbed. – The gist of this book can be summed up in his last letter to one of his sons:-- Soul of my soul!-- Now I am going alone. – I grieve for your helplessness. –But what is the use? -- Every torment I have inflicted, every sin I have committed, every wrong I have done, I carry the consequence with me. –Strange that I came with nothing into this world, and now am going away with this stupendous caravan of sins. – Wherever I look I see only God. I have greatly sinned and I know not what torment awaits me? -- With fundamentalism on the rise, this book would serve as a gong of warning for the would-be-suicide-bombers that zeal and violence would be the annihilation of their own factions if they continued the practice of hate, brutality and intolerance. –It would also be a learning tool for the young victims—educated by hateful mullahs, and hypocrites, to glean truth out of lies and to dispel ignorance. –Hoping that this book would set the tone of contemplation, touching the hearts of the clerics, religious leaders and leaders of the Islamic nations to raise their voices in unison against the ones involved in crimes of torturing and murdering innocent men, women and children! – May this book promote and nurture the gifts of compassion, learning and understanding.— Peace to the World!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Raif Badawi

Sharia for Jurists— Harm shall neither be inflicted nor reciprocated in Islam. Hadith— Raif Badawi’s punishment by Saudi Arabia is UnIslamic, giving rein to bigoted clerics to rule the country.—First of all not a single person was given lashes during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, not even for apostasy, least of all for Insulting Islam.—Below is an excerpt from my next book for Saudi King Salman’s kind perusal, begging him to free Raif Badawi and earn the blessings of his family with three little innocent children, one little boy and two little daughters.— Sharia snatched from the Traditions of the Prophet speaks to the judges in simple terms, stressing that they must remain true to the cause of justice.— A small example is when before going to the war the Prophet forbade maiming, injury to women, children and elderly as well as damage to the animals and took to task those who caused abuse and hardship.— Aisha was the first female jurist of Islam. Through her, almost one third of Islamic laws were transmitted by the virtue of her sharp memory and intelligence.— Laws pertaining to family, marriage, divorce, marital life, succession were related by her with great clarity and precision.— Any ruling that abandons justice in favor of tyranny, mercy for its opposite, public interest for corruption and wisdom for futility, would have nothing to do with Sharia even if it is shown, by some remote interpretation to be a part of it. Ibn Qayyim— O ye who believe, fulfill faithfully all your contracts. (Quran 5:1)— God commands you to render the trusts to whom they are due and when you judge among people, you judge with justice. (Quran 4:58)— And speak not, concerning that which your own tongues qualify as clean or unclean, the falsehood: this is lawful and this is forbidden? So that ye invent a lie against Allah. Lo, those who invent a lie against Allah will not succeed. (Quran 16: 116)— The Islamic Law orders men to do good and reject what is reprehensible, and it is also obligatory for Muslims to enjoin right behavior on their fellows and deter them from wrong action. Al-amr bi al-Maruf— Prophet’s Quranic justice and jurisprudence:— I am but a human being. When you bring a dispute to me, some of you may be more eloquent in stating their case than others. I may consequently adjudicate on the basis of what I hear.— If I adjudicate in favor of someone a thing that belongs to his brother, let him not take it.— For it would be like taking a piece of fire.— If men were to be granted what they claim, some will claim the lives and properties of others.— The burden of proof is on the claimant and an oath is incumbent on him who denies.— Every one of you is like a shepherd, and every one of you is responsible for his flock.— The ruler is a shepherd and so is the husband, who is responsible for his family.— A woman is a shepherd who looks after her husband’s household and his children.— Thus, every one of you is a shepherd, and every one of you is responsible for his flock.— Be kind to your children and give them a proper education.— Be kind to your daughters, as I also am the father of daughters.— He is not one of us who is not kind to children.— A juristic conclusion drawn from these guidelines is that bringing ease to the people and removal of hardship from them is one of the cardinal objectives of Sharia. Hence it is not permissible for a judge or a jurist to opt for a harsh verdict in cases where an easier alternative can be found. Mohammad Hashim Kamali— And the firmament has He raised high and set up therein the fine balance in order that you do not transgress the balance. So establish weight with justice and detract not from the divinely ordained balance. (55:7-9 Quran)— It was by the mercy of Allah that thou wert lenient with them, O Muhammad, for if thou hast been stern or fierce of heart they would have dispersed from round about thee.— So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them upon the conduct of affairs.— And when thou art resolved, then put thy trust in Allah. Lo, Allah loveth those who put their trust in Him. (3: 159 Quran)— Please King Salman, for the love of God and in memory of Beloved Prophet in anticipation of Holy Ramadan, free Raif Badawi so that he can join with his wife and little children. May Allah grant you and your family great blessings.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

God-Ideal/WW1

A little over a century ago Hazrat Inayat Khan came to US to unite the east with the west with his wisdom.—Below is the article which he wrote after Word War 1 and still it resonates afresh in this pandemonium of warring sects, sowing seeds of hate, brutality, intolerance:— God and the God-Ideal may be explained as the sun and the light.— And as there come times when the sun becomes covered by clouds so there come times when the God-Ideal becomes covered by materialism.— But if the cloud for a moment covers the sun, that does not mean that the sun is lost to you; and so if in the reign of materialism the God-Ideal seems to have disappeared yet God is there all the same.— The condition of the world is just like the ever-rising and falling waves.— Sometimes it seems to rise and sometimes to fall, but with every rising and falling wave the sea is the same; and so with all its changes life is the same.— We find that, during the past few years all over the world, there has come a phase when the God-Ideal seems entirely forgotten.— It does not mean that churches have disappeared, it does not mean that God does not exist, but that a light that once was there has been covered, has ceased to light us.— But at the same time, as there is night after the day so these changes of condition come in life, light and darkness.— In the age of science on the one side and materialism on the other, and commercialism on the top man seems to have blinded himself in acquiring wealth and power, and sees nothing else.— It is not that there is not the search for light, (it is the nature of every soul to search for light) – but the great question is, how can the light come when nation is against nation, race against race, the followers of one religion against the followers of another: how can there be Peace and how can there come Light?— The sign of the day is that all things are clear, and the sign of the night is that nothing can be found or seen, there are clouds.— The most dreadful nightmare the world has ever seen has just passed away (WWW1); and although that wave, that nightmare, seems to be gone its effect is still here, and the effect that is left is worse than the cause, for prejudice is worse than bloodshed.— And when man thirsts for the blood of his fellow man how can we say that there is light?— If a man can eat joyfully at his table when his neighbor is dying of hunger, where is the light?—That is the condition of humanity today.— And what is the cause?— It is because the Light, the God-Ideal, is not there, I was once amused by a very simple answer from a maid, when somebody came to the door and knocked, and the maid was not free to go at once but took her time; and when at last she came the man was very cross and said:— 'Why did you not open the door quickly?'— And then I asked the maid:— What do you think was the reason for the person's being cross?'— and she said with her innocent expression, 'Because there is no God with him.'— Friends, the word of Christ is that God is Love and if God is Love then we, every one of us, can prove God in us by expressing God in our life.— Yes, according to the external customs of the different religions, one goes to church, one to the mosque, one to the synagogue, one to the temple of Buddha; but the inner church is neither in the mosque, nor in the synagogue, but in the heart of man, where God abides and which is the habitation of Christ.— With this divine element lighted in man's heart he will go to the house of prayer and then his prayer will be heard.— There is a well-known story in India that girl was crossing a place where a Muslim was performing his prayers; and the law is that one should not cross where a person is praying.— When the girl returned, the man said to her:— 'How insolent!— Do you know what sin you have done?'— 'What did I do?' said the girl.— And the man said that no one was allowed to cross.'— 'I did not mean any harm,' said the girl,' but tell me, what do you mean by praying?'— 'For me, prayer is thinking of God', said the man.— 'Oh! she said, but I was going to see my young man, and I was thinking of him and I did not see you; and if you were thinking of God, how did you see me?'— The idea, therefore, friends, is that prayer becomes living if it is offered from a living heart; from a dead heart, prayer has no meaning, and is dead.— There is a story of an Arab, that he was running to the mosque where the prayer of God was being offered, but before he could arrive the prayers were finished.— On his way he met a man coming from the mosque and asked him:— 'Are the prayers finished?'— The man replied that they were finished, and the other sighed deeply and said 'Alas!'— Then the man asked: 'Will you give me the virtue of your sigh in exchange for the virtue of my prayers?'— And the other agreed.— Next day the simple man saw the Prophet in a dream, who told him that he had made a bad bargain, for that one sigh, was worth all the prayers of a lifetime, for it was from the heart.— There are different human beings in different stages of evolution, and it is natural that every human being according to his particular stage of evolution, imagines God before him when he prays.— And is it a question for anyone else to judge the one who prays, and to say, 'God is not this or that?'— Persons who force their beliefs on others often put them against that belief even if that were the true belief.— It requires a great deal of tact, thought, and consideration to explain the belief, or to correct the belief, of another.— In the first place, it is insolent on the part of man to want to explain God, although man today, would like not only to explain, but even to examine whether the spirit of God exists!— The other day I was so much amused to hear that there are people who not only want to take photographs of the spirits, but even to weigh the soul!— It was a good thing in ancient times when the State had respect for the God-Ideal and religion, and taught that respect to humanity.— Today man wishes to use what he calls 'freedom' in religion, even in the foundation of all religions, the God-Ideal!— But then it must be remembered that it is not the path of freedom that leads to the goal of freedom, but the path of the God-Ideal that leads to the goal of Truth.—Hazrat Inayat Khan