Quran Redeemed

More peals of wisdom from M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen: We must look at the Qur’an in two different ways. There are the opposites of khair and sharr or good and evil, dhat and sifat God’s grace or essence and the manifested creation, and halal and haram or permissible and impermissible. One section exists as the laws and justice of God, and the other exists as the section of darkness. In this state, we who are the children of Adam (A.S.) must realize that we must discard all that is evil and accept and act upon only what is good. That is the law of righteousness. We must simply discard what is evil; we need not denounce or attack anything. What is called Islam was brought as perfect purity by the Qur’an. It is brotherly unity. Islam is to bring together as one family all the children of the one mother who have divided into four separate sections. The Qur’an teaches us to see what is good as good, while discarding what is evil. It is the law of justice. It shows us patience, inner patience, contentment, surrendering all to the will of God, and giving all praise to God. We, the children of Adam (A.S.), must understand this. The Qur’an and its explanations are very deep in meaning. Therefore, we who are the children of Adam (A.S.) should not hold up the Qur’an as a banner for the slightest reason. We should not quote from the Qur’an and use it for waging wars, for our fights and quarrels, for our anger toward others, or to gain things of this world. The world is sharr, evil, and has to be discarded. The opposite, khair, which is goodness, must be accepted and put into action. The Qur’an should only be used for what is good. It shows brotherhood and unity, not divisiveness and discrimination. It soothes those who are weeping in sorrow. It gives solace to those who are suffering and makes them smile. It comforts those who are ill and protects them. It explains the wealth of God to those who are poor. It gives peace to those who are mentally ill. It gives wisdom to those without wisdom. It creates faith in those without faith and makes them bow in reverence to God. What is called the Qur’an is, in reality, something that has great value and very deep meaning. The true meaning of Islam and the Qur’an is quite different from what people accept today, in the midst of so much fighting and strife. People quote Islam and wave the Qur’an as a banner for their wars. This is not correct. The Qur’an discards what is evil and shows only goodness, unity, and tolerance. Tawakkul-‘alalläh, giving all responsibility to God, and giving all praise to God, saying, “Al-hamdu lilläh,” with every breath is the Qur’an and Islam. No matter how large the ocean is, it cannot quench our thirst, can it? The ocean cannot quench the thirst of any life. But if there is a pond, however small it may be, it can comfort many lives, appeasing thirst and dispelling fatigue. Like that, the Qur’an comforts so many lives, dispelling fatigue and hunger and clearing away the dirt. This is the meaning of the Qur’an and Islam. When you quote from the Qur’an, those words must only demonstrate peace and equality. When you say “Islam,” you must show patience, equality, and peace. When you show what is good, that goodness points to Islam, but when you show what is evil, that evil is something that has been discarded from the Qur’an . The treasures, kingdoms, and titles of this world are all sharr and have been discarded from the Qur’an. Fighting and waging war for these worldly things, seeking vengeance, committing treacherous acts, telling lies for worldly gain, eating haräm or impermissible foods, lying out of jealousy for the sake of titles and positions—all these cannot be called Islam. And you cannot quote the Qur’an, saying that these actions appear there, because these actions are totally contrary to the Qur’an. The Qur’an shows the brotherhood where we live as one family and eat off the same plate in unity. The Qur’an shows the brotherhood where we live in harmony, the way it is in the church or the mosque, where the beggar and the king are equal. It shows the brotherhood where we embrace each other, whether in the place of prayer or in the home. If two people have a fight, the next time they meet, they will look each other in the face and embrace and beg forgiveness from each other. The Qur’an and Islam tell us to ask forgiveness from God for our own faults, to dispel our anger, and to embrace each other in the next moment. These are the explanations of the laws of the Qur’an from the beginning of creation to the hereafter. Lying, vengeance, treachery, jealousy, and murder should never be done in the name of Islam. Islam is brotherly unity, tolerance, and peacefulness. It is to purify each heart with the water of the Kalimah which the Rasul (Sal.) brought, washing away the darkness and creating peace. But there are some people who hold up the Qur’an with anger, jealousy, and selfishness, using the Qur’an and Islam for their own self-gain and pride. The Qur’an should never be mentioned with these qualities, but should be mentioned only where there is righteousness. Anger, treachery, deceit, discrimination, divisiveness, and all that is impermissible have been thrown out of the Qur’an. All these sections belonging to the world have been eliminated from the Qur’an, and they must be eliminated from man, too. Man must take what is khair and eliminate what is sharr. In this way, the Qur’an must be used to show what is good and to eliminate what is evil, and this is Islam. Just bringing to the lips the words Qur’an and Islam for the slightest reason is not correct. The word Islam means unity, brotherhood, and harmony. It does not see differences among people; it only sees peace and harmony among all lives. This is Islam. This is the Qur’an. Every one of the children of Adam (A.S.) must realize this. One who calls himself Islam will never harm anyone, take revenge, or be treacherous toward anyone. We must realize this. Islam must realize this. The name “Islam” has very deep meaning and is of inestimable value, and it should never be held up for falsehood, robbery, or murder. Islam is brotherly unity that can appease the thirst of the entire world. This is the Islam which was brought by Prophet Muhammad (Sal.). All of everything, all the universes, and all of creation is contained within the Qur’an. But failing to understand this, we hold up and quote the Qur’an and Islam for the slightest reasons. We who are in the world must realize that the Qur’an is the divine law of righteousness, which was given to show brotherly unity, to make lives peaceful, to forgive in the presence of faults, to teach patience and compassion and to comfort all lives. We must have sabur, shakur, tawakkul, and al-hamdu lillah. This is the Qur’an and Islam. All my brothers and sisters who have iman, perfect faith in God, must realize this. Amin. Amin. M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

Islam Made Simple

Sharing a few words of M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a few in series of many to follow... My son! This is a hadïth of the Rasülulläh (Sal.) about Islam: Brothers in Islam! You who are Ïmän-Isläm! You must not see differences between yourselves and your neighbors. You must not discriminate against any religion. You must not oppress or harm any man, no matter what religion or race he may be. Islam is one and Allah is one; just as we in Islam see Allah as one, we must see all mankind as one. All the prophets brought the words of Allah, and all the words they brought are true. Allah sent His messages through each of the prophets, and they brought His commandments step by step. In the revelations contained in the Qur’an, Allah has given the entirety of His teaching. The Qur’an is the ultimate and final teaching, showing everything in its fullness All the children of Adam (A.S.) are brothers and sisters. They are not different. Although they may stand on different steps of the teachings brought by the prophets in their respective times, you must not discriminate against any of them. You must not harass their places of worship, their bodies, or their hearts. You must protect them as you would protect your own life. To comfort the hunger of your neighbor, no matter who he is or what religion he belongs to, is Islam. When someone dies, to join together and give him a decent burial is Islam. To realize the pain and suffering of others and offer your hands in assistance, helping to alleviate their suffering, is Islam. To see division is not Islam. To see other men as different is not Islam. In this world and the next, there must be no prejudice in our hearts, for all will come together on the Day of Reckoning and the Day of Judgment. All of us will come together in heaven. Therefore, we must not see any differences or create any divisions here. Where Allah does not see a difference, we must not see a difference. We must not despise anyone whom Allah loves—and Allah loves everyone. He belongs equally to everyone, just as Islam belongs equally to everyone. Islam is unity, not division. Hurting another is not Islam. Failing to comfort the hunger of your neighbor is not Islam. The purity of Islam is to avoid hurting others; you must regard others as you regard yourself. You must accept Allah’s word totally. There must be no discrimination in your heart against the children of Islam. You who are Islam must understand what is haläl and what is haräm, what is permissible and what is forbidden. You must understand that there is only One worthy of worship. You must understand Qiyämah, the Day of Reckoning, and the Day of Judgment. To understand this world and the next world is Islam. Because Islam is the wealth of grace, you must use that grace to wash and comfort the hearts of others. To truly understand this and see all lives as your own life, without any differences, is the way of Islam. To see your neighbor as yourself, to heal the suffering of others, to share food from the same plate in harmony and peace, to live unified in food and in prayer, in happiness and in sorrow, is the way of Islam. To live separated and divided is not Islam. You must reflect on this. O you who have faith! Do not compare anything to Allah. Do not hold anything equal to Allah. Do not make distinctions between men; king and beggar must be equal in your sight. There must be no difference between rich and poor. No one is rejected by Islam. Islam is one. You must realize this. This is what the Rasülulläh (Sal.) has said. He has given countless ahädïth with his divine lips of grace, from the flower of his divine mouth, his mouth of faith, his mouth of Allah’s grace, and his mouth of Allah’s divine knowledge. O you who have received the wealth of faith! May you understand and act with the clarity of these teachings. M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

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!

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.

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

Insanity Versus Piety

The book, The Moghul Saint of Insanity, is about the sixth Moghul emperor of India to be published this year by the Cambridge Scholars Publishing UK.—But before the fever of insanity afflicting Aurangzeb, a little note about The Moghul Exile published by Editions Dedicaces US/Canada.—Guy Boulianne the editor of Editions Dedicaces first published Poet Emperor of the Last of the Moghul, Bahadur Shah Zafar.— The Moghul Exile—Humayun is the second Moghul emperor of India.— He is a mystic and a lover of poetry, literature, astronomy and astrology.—The intrigues of his brothers and Afghani lords compel him to seek exile in Persia, while his brother Karmran rules Kabul, keeping Humayun’s young son Akbar hostage.—Humayun is welcomed by the Persian king and in gratitude Humayun presents his precious diamond Koh-i-Noor to the Persian Monarch.—With the help of the Persian troops, Humayun conquers Kabul, loses it twice, but finally succeeds in freeing it from the yolk of his brother, returning to India to reclaim his lost empire.—Within a couple of years the Venus of his fortunes fades as he falls from the steps of his balcony while watching Venus in the sky.— The Moghul Saint of Insanity— This historical, biographical account of Aurangzeb’s life is the last in the sequels of the Moghuls, depicting the Fall of the Moghul Empire.— Aurangzeb stands out as the Master of Distortion, defacing the Face of Islam in conformity with his own sense of Perception and Interpretation.— Blind to his own sins and acts of violence, he plunges deep into the ocean of ruin and devastation.— His ancestors—the architects of beauty and tolerance, are forgotten by him in his mad zeal to conquer and subjugate all who don’t fit the Vision of his Islam.— The victim of his own spiritual leprosy, he fails to see his acts of cruelty and injustice as stark contradictions to the precepts of Islam.— More faces emerge in this war of ambition and hypocrisy, those of the foreign traders, lurking in ambush to posses the jewels of the emperors and the empire at the first golden opportunity.— And Aurangzeb becomes the first one from the progeny of the Moghuls to throw open the gates of this Golden Cage for plunder and invasion.— Leaving behind one legacy of a golden rule that tolerance leads to peace and prosperity, and intolerance, to doom and destruction.— The Fall of the Moghul Empire attests to the validity of this legacy.— Story Line:— 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? – Aurangzeb’s letter to his son before dying. – 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.

Sharia De Fabricated

‘Sympathy is the root of religion, and so long as the spirit of sympathy is living in your heart, you have the light of religion.’—Hazrat Inayat Khan:— Recent reprint in the series of the Moghuls is The Moghul Exile published by Editions Dedicaces.—Next book to be published is Sharia De Fabricated.—Below is a snippet of this upcoming book,but before that a little note about the tragedy of the victors and the vanquished.—Victory over Takrit, all victors, Sunnis or Shias have established themselves as ignorant, hatemongering barbarians, stabbing, slitting throats, hanging decapitated men, looting, burning.—Destroying properties, carving rivers of blood, in the name of what, vengeance? If sectarian violence is to continue with no peace/compassion/forgiveness in sight, then it matters not who wins.—Murderers, hypocrites All!—No one is worthy to claim victory until one learns how to forgive and start working toward love, peace and harmony.— A Few Quotes of Marcus Aurelius.— ‘The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the wrongdoer.—The soul of man does violence to itself, first of all it becomes an abscess and, as it were, a tumor in the universe, as far as it can.—If you will return to your principles and the worship of Reason, within ten days you will seem a god to those to whom you are now an ape and a beast.’— Thus we put you on the right way of religion. So follow it and follow not the whimsical desire of those who have no knowledge. (Quran 45:18)— Though Sharia as a legal code didn’t exist during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, many scholars believe that this verse above is the only sharia verse in the Quran.— Sharia literally means the straight path, or right way of religion.— Against countless definitions of Sharia, the simplest one in the literal sense of the word is, a way to the watering place and path to seek felicity and salvation.— This book deals with basic Sharia, the Quranic verses which have become the tools of tyranny in the hands of the zealots.— These tools are rough-hewn, ingrained with the rust of distortions. In order to take that rust off, one needs to polish them with reason, interpreting what is misinterpreted.— Then lending them the sheen of purity from the Quranic verses which need no interpretation since they are the embodiment of love, peace and harmony by the very essence of their candid rhythm in poetry and simplicity.— In this book, first and foremost, Sharia would gather the most neglected of gems from the Quran and the Hadiths which radiate love, peace and compassion before ripping open the fabrication of the verses which have become the weapons of war, hate and intolerance.— Sharia is much like the present day GPS of path-finding through byways and highways to reach a certain destination, depending upon the goals of each individual.— Sharia as Islamic Law defined by the traditions of the Prophet recorded in Hadiths as Sunnah and through the Quranic revelations is in sore need of being scrubbed clean of distortions to avoid the road blocks, where the ancient streets of redundant knowledge are overgrown with weeds and the construction of new streets have nothing new to offer, exposed to the need to demolish and reconstruct.— The revelations were sacred tools of problem solving during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad dealing with specific situations which needed immediate attention.— Islamic GPS of Sharia/Sunnah in twenty-first century is groping its way out of the labyrinth of time to shed its weight of human understanding of man-made judgments and recollections, resulting in volumes upon volumes of traditions.— More than three fourths of which have nothing to do with the life of the Prophet or his sayings, but with the need to control, subjugate and manipulate each and every aspect of life under the pretense of religion as viewed by the so-called Islamic caliphs, jurists, scholars, historians and theologians.— First of all Sharia as in the Quran and Hadith is to be taken into account and its layers of distortion, interpretation and fabrication to be peeled off slowly and gradually to reveal the purity of Islam which lies ensconced under the man-made laws of tyranny, those laws still vague and indecipherable.— To explain, discuss and disseminate in simple terms the Law of Islam without the weight of Arabic, unfamiliar terms is the aim of this book to reach young Muslims in this modern world, so that they can explore and understand Islam in all its aspects of morality and universality.— One of the most commonly used term by the Muslim scholars, Fiqh, is also avoided in this book for the benefit of easy-read and clear understanding.— Fabrication of Sharia by Fiqh—human understanding of Sharia and its interpretation is the theme of this book, aiming toward exploring the past and the present for a better future.— ‘The first sign of realization of truth is tolerance.—Verily, he is victorious who has conquered himself.’—Hazrat Inayat Khan