Sunday, December 19, 2010

Commanded to Kill

Exiled from the Grace of God
Not ever knowing
The bliss of Illumination
Suicide Bombers
Think and act
As if they are separate
From the ones they kill
Most brutally and savagely
Alas, not willing to discover
That we are all one
Inside the ocean of oneness
Under the waters of
Unity in multiplicity
Lacerating our own souls
When hurting others
Offending God
By shattering the gift of life
Which Almighty has bestowed
Upon us all with divine love
Yet killers grand and lustful
Blaspheming most ignorantly
That Allah the Merciful
Is commanding
To kill, maim and disfigure
Humanity holy and precious
From the bounties of
All gracious, all loving, all compassionate

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Bin Laden's Baggage of Lies

So heavy is this baggage that one needs eons to reveal its contents. But for the sake of brevity it is suffice to say that in the entire history of human race Afghani women have not been so brutally oppressed as by the dictates of Bin Laden and his pious horde. They have been raped, beaten, tortured, beheaded and publicly flogged in the name of Islamic laws and Islamic justice. Still the tongue of hypocrisy is not silent as Bin Laden dares assert that hijab and veiling is Islamic, talking about virtue and vengeance over the vainglorious mounds of his brutality, violence and misogyny.

Hijab and veiling is not Islamic, though many believe it to be so, including Muslim men and Muslim women who question not the veracity of such customs imposed by so-called men of learning since centuries. Such customs have become solid beliefs, repeated so often by so many with such passion and persistency that they have assumed the aura of truth. Yet it is possible to shatter this false aura of truth by chiseling away layers upon layers of lies where the purity of expression still breathes love and radiance within the pages of Quran and Hadith. There is not a single verse in the Quran with any injunction of veil or hijab. Below are two verses from the Quran prone to misinterpretation by the arbiters of Islam.

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display their adornments only that which is apparent, and to draw their scarves over their bosoms... Quran 24:31

O ye who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for a meal without waiting for the proper time, unless permission is granted you. But if you are invited, enter, and when your meal is ended, then disperse. Lingering not for conversation. Lo, that would cause annoyance to the Prophet and he would be shy of asking you to go, but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when ye ask of the wives of the Prophet anything, ask it from them from behind a curtain... Quran 33:53

Pagan women as well as women from Judeo-Christian background wore veil and hijab as a mark of wealth, status and distinction. To instill the virtue of equality amongst Muslims Prophet Muhammad forbade Muslim women to wear veils. The pearls of Hadith below attest to this fact.

Abu Dawud 11:29
The veil was worn in Arabia as a mark of rank: and it was therefore disallowed, as pilgrimage required obliteration of all differences of rank. Forbidding a veil in a pilgrimage is a further conclusive proof that Holy Quran did not enjoin the wearing of veil, as in that case the prohibition here stated would be a contradiction of the Holy Quran. Gloves are not allowed because like the veil they are a mark of rank. Ornaments are allowed because they are not a mark of rank, and are worn by even ordinary people and laboring classes.

As for fighting--only in self-defense...

Hadith 16
Non-combatants were not killed in the battle, there being a prohibition against the killing of women and children. Fighting was to cease if the enemy offered peace, even though his intention might be to deceive.

Praying for peace in the world.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Judaic Law?
Hands of the Muslims

Cutting off hands for theft has nothing to do with Islamic Law with the exception that any punishment mentioned in the Quran is followed by For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Anything ancient resembling such laws/injunctions are mentioned in Jewish Scriptures, though Jews--rarely if ever, have not practiced those laws since centuries, now being adopted by Iran in this time and age of so-called civilized world.

And We prescribed for them therein: The life for the life, and the eye for the eye, and the nose for the nose, and the ear for the ear, and the tooth for the tooth, and for wounds retaliation. But whoso forgoeth it in the way of charity, it shall be expiation for him. Whoso judgeth not by which Allah hath revealed, such are wrongdoers. Quran 5:45

Hatred, violence and hypocrisy are becoming the laws of the Muslims, who are not willing to understand the message of the holy Quran, save alone reading the other four holy books of Islam, Torah, Bible, Psalms, Suhuf--scrolls of Abraham. They are the ones blackening the name of Islam and soiling the character of the Prophet by going against what he taught by the example of his life of loving kindness, compassion and forgiveness.

Law of any religion is love and love is God. When one ceases to love God's creatures, that person rejects the love of God and of the Prophet, guided by one's own will of false piety and a sense of self-righteousness. A great tragedy when Islam is usurped by the will of man guided by man-made laws, and his will kindling the bonfire of cruelty, oppression and corruption. Tragic indeed when young Muslims are exposed to the evil of violence and espousing it as the virtue of Islamic Law and Islamic Justice. Thus banished forever from the Grace and Guidance of God, joining the ones who malign the very name of Islam by nurturing violence.

In the name of the loving, merciful, forgiving God, and for the sake of the loving, forgiving, compassionate Prophet, upon whom you pronounce peace be upon him, Please Pious Muslims, desist from violence and teach your children the virtues of love, peace and harmony, not the vices of violence and virulence. If you can only heed the first verse of the first sura in the Quran, PLEASE--A Plea and a Prayer:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds
The Beneficent, the Merciful
Owner of the Day of Judgment
Thee alone we worship, Thee alone we ask for help
Show us the straight path
The path of those whom thou hast favored
Not the path of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. Quran 1:1-7

May everyone in the whole wide world feel the breeze of God's grace and guidance through the gates of Love.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mockery of Islam

Muslims have made a mockery of their own religion by presenting Islam as the most hateful and intolerant of all religions without even a trace of love or compassion. Mohammadi Ashtiani imprisoned in Iran to be stoned to death for adultery is just one of the examples in blackening the name of Islam with lies and distortion. Quran doesn't sanction murder of the adulterer or the adulteress, or stoning to death for woman.

Let the man who has not sinned, throw the first stone at the Jewish adulteress. These words of Christ still appeal to the sea of corruption in the hearts of men with the intention of purifying it with the flood of love, compassion and understanding.

And yet no Muslim woman was stoned to death during the life of Prophet Muhammad.
And as for two of you who are guilty thereof, punish them both. And if they repent, let them be. Allah is relenting, merciful. 4:16 Quran

And yet again no Muslim woman was stoned to death during the life of Prophet Muhammad even after the revelation below which doesn't excuse the adulterer, since both are to be punished equally.
The adulterer and the adulteress, scourge ye each with hundred stripes. 24:2 Quran
Where is this nameless, faceless adulterer while Mohammadi Ashtiani is being scourged so brutally by pious, ignorant men, blinded by the shafts of their own cruelty, hypocrisy and malfeasance?

How can the All Merciful, Infinitely Compassionate Allah sanction murder when killing is forbidden in Islam?

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, Infinitely Compassionate
Say: O my servants who have transgressed against your own selves, do not despair of Allah's Compassion. For Allah is often forgiving, infinitely merciful. Turn to your Sustainer and surrender to Him before the suffering comes upon you. After that you will not be helped. And before the penalty suddenly comes upon you, without your perceiving it. Follow the best which your Sustainer had revealed to you. 39:53-55

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, Infinitely Compassionate
He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book. In it, there are verses that are decisive in meaning, they are the basis of Book. And there are others that are susceptible of different interpretations of it. And none know its right interpretations except Allah, and those who are fairly grounded in knowledge. They say, we believe in it; the whole is from our Lord, and none heed except those guided with understanding. 3:7 Quran

Please women of the world, join hands against the tyrannical, man-made laws, appealing to the valleys of bigotry in Iran or wherever it takes root and sprouts, to release Mohammadi Ashtiani from the dungeon of cruelty, injustice and madness.

May All Loving, All Beneficent, All Forgiving Allah guide Muslim men on the path to love, peace and harmony, honoring the rights of women as Prophet Muhammad did, teaching the message of love, peace and equality by the example of his own life/actions.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

For Taliban And Zabiullah Mujahid

Christ of Mercy is healing the Muslims
While Muhammad of Love is weeping for Christians
And for Muslims, murdered most brutally
By so-called pious Muslims
In the name of what
Come, join hands in love and pencance
O Terrorists of affliction
Respect the virtue of healing
Shun the vice of killing
Hatred is the enemy in your hearts
And cruelty the poison in your souls
Corrupting the sanctity of life
By hurting the hearts of others
And by defiling the name of Islam
Only pure of heart by their kind actions
Deserve to be called Muslims
The rest impure of heart
By the very curse of their evil actions
Fall into the self-made dungeon
Of their own making, vile heretics
Learn the art of loving
If not from the boundless ocean of love
Inside the heart of Prophet Muhammad
Then from the Prphets of the Creator
Abraham, Christ, Brahma, Bhudda, Nanak...
Have pity on the young ones
Whom you train to kill
Mothers, sisters, wives plead with you
For life and sanity
For peace in the world
For the holiness in loving and living
For honoring the gift of life
For obeying the commands of Almighty

Lo, those who believe in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad, and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans--whoever believeth in God and the Last Day and doeth right--surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall be no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve. Quran 2:62

Lo, Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed. Quran 16:90

Keep to forgiveness O Muhammad, and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant.
Quran 7:199

Friday, July 2, 2010

Hooligans of Islam

Desecrating the shrines in hearts
Is a crime much more heinous
Than committing the sacrilege of
Torturing to smithereens
The shrine of Data Durbar
And whipping the children of God
Into puddles of blood and gore
GHAZI
This name itself, heartless hooligans
Have degraded
Into the lowest pit of bestial connotation
By acts vile and deplorable
Amidst the fever of ignorance
Wounding countless hearts
That mourn and lament
The loss of love and their loved ones
Love by any name, by any color
Is a flower of veneration
Not a thorn of destruction
Please accept one moment of peace
From the gift of this life
All young and piously besotted
Inhale the fragrance of this flower
Which is a beautiful rose
Inside the rose garden of the Sufis
Learn from their love
Pure and boundless
Which speaks from heart to heart
Singing everlastingly
'Fill your heart with so much love
That there is no room left in it
For anything else.'

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Privileged Children of God

Israel and Palestine
Gaza Strip and blockade
American and Taliban
From Pakistan to Afghanistan
Such murder and brutality
Savages and madmen
No one worthy of the name human
Daring to challenge Israel
Or stop the madness of war and greed
Such pity and shame
That drones which kill
Wicked and innocent alike
Are much like the human-bombs
Blowing themselves to smithereens
Madmen over the borders holy and parched
Slaughtering with the sanctimonious
Sword of sanctity
While sanctity of life
Bleeds on the streets
Ah, the civilized West
And the enlightened Europa
Talking of peace and warring indiscriminately
Americana and Britannia
Lawless Israelites
And hooligans of the east
Privileged children of God
Inheritors of the holy land
To murder, gloat and oppress
Where, O, where the prophets of peace
If any
Condemn the false jihadists
Or embrace the suffered and the suffering
Blood and bloody acts
Crimson and congealed
Hope still flutters somewhere
Pandora of the prophetess
Wailing and lamenting
Her tears hot and scalding
Flooding the gates of ignorance
Sparkling like myriad of stars
Searching the sands of wisdom
Alas, hearts turned cold
Polished as the mirrors of vengeance
Stare back aghast
Hopelessness all, death and desolation
Cross of peace is fallen
Crescent of love is no more
And yet, that pale, mournful light
Escapes the shroud of darkness
A cry of agony ripping through the sky
From the lips of the orphans and the widows
The bereft and the bereaving
Send down the rain of sanity, Lord
Thy grace of blessing
To purge clean the rivers
Of hatred, malice, cruelty
Hush, listen
A song of love
Remote and ineffable
Can anyone hear

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Sect Most Abhorred, Taliban

Infidels all, savages and murderers
The foul, faceless fundamentalists
The ones who lust for blood
Feeding on the agony of their victims
The so-called Muslims
Defiling the name of Islam
And of the Prophet of Islam
Did God command them
To be the executioners of His children
Did Prophet sanction killing
Muslims and non-Muslims
Does Islam teach not love, unity, harmony
Who is nurturing all this hatred and hypocrisy
The all merciful Allah commanding Muslims
To be hateful and merciless?
No sects existed during the life of the Prophet
The severing of Islam with the knives of ego
Is a man-made creation
Creating Sunnis, Shias, Ahmedis, Wahhabis...
Who is worthy to be called human
Should this question not become
The prime concern of the scholars of Islam
Denouncing the followers of false piety
Who dare divide the indivisible God
Into chunks of personal idols
Worshipping the idols of rage and cruelty
Inside the ocean of corruption
Within their hearts and souls
The hum of drones is no more terrible
Than the chant of pious lunatics
Drumming terror and violence
Spilling the blood of the innocent and the defenseless
Where are all the learned mullahs
Speak you all, rise and plead for peace and sanity
How ineffable the expanding of love
Which could embrace and discipline
Even the executioners of love
Make it happen
One raindrop after another
With the grace of merciful God
A miracle sublime

O ye messengers! Eat of the good things, and do right. Lo I am aware of what you do.
And lo, this your religion is one religion and I am your Lord, so keep your duty unto Me.
But the mankind have broken their religion amongst them into sects, each sect rejoicing in its tenants. 23: 51-53 Quran

But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that which Allah hath given thee, and neglect not thy portion of the world, and be thou kind even as Allah hath been kind to thee. And seek not corruption on earth. Lo, Allah loveth not corrupters. 28: 77 Quran

Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow in worship.
Enjoin ye righteousness upon mankind while ye yourselves forget to practice it? And ye are readers of the Scripture! Have you then no sense? 2: 43-44

It was by the mercy of Allah that thou wast lenient with them O Muhammad, for if thou hast been stern and 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

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bridegrooms of Death

Please look deep into your souls, Taliban, and pluck out that lamp of ugly threats, replacing it with the light of beauty in friendship. Woo not death for yourself and for others, and embrace the miracle of life as enjoined by God. This earth is the gift of Grace from Almighty to be cultivated with love and peace, not to be riddled with the bullets of hate and violence. Look again, deeper and profounder, into the souls of your soul, look for that star of virtue which guides toward wisdom and goodness, search for peace within and without...

Nay but the chosen of Allah is he who fulfilleth his pledge and wardeth off evil. For, lo, Allah loveth those who ward off evil. Quran 3:76

Kabul, the bride of the Moghuls
Ravished and desecrated
By the breath of the bigots
Stripped naked of her silks and jewels
Wandering desolate
Into the heart of the pine-valleys
The gardens blasted and scarred
Nurturing black soot
From the seeds of raids and bullets
The flowers buried with the dead
The lost bride wailing alone
Kneeling beside the tomb of Babur
Stricken and bereft of hope
Come back, Padishah
The song and feasting in your palaces
And the dance of color in your gardens
Awaits your return
Reclaim your Jerusalem, King-Kalendar
Console your bride of youth
Scorched and abandoned
By the lamps of zeal and tyranny
Reviled by Taliban
Console her heart with couplets divine
From the gold-dust of memories
Yes, come back
Heed the pleas of your bride

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Unveiling of the Veil

Historically, veiling of women has nothing to do with Islam but with customs of the pagans. During the life of Prophet Muhammad, pagan and Jewish women wore veils as a mark of royalty and distinction. Prophet Muhammad, in order to cultivate the virtue of equality forbade women to wear veils, that's why women are not allowed to wear veils at the annual pilgrimage at Mecca. There is not a single verse in Quran with the injunction that women should wear veil, niqab, hijab or burqa. Of course, distortions and misinterpretations of the verses in the Quran have nurtured many false beliefs which emerge as truth since lies have been told since centuries by so many and with such pious conviction that truth in this age and time sounds like a lie when confronted face-to-face against mountains of lies. Below are three verses (the first one for men with the intention of clarity) from the Quran which most likely are misconstrued in favor of veiling prescribed for women or as a commandment?

24:30 Quran
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. This is purer for them. Lo! Allah is aware of what they do.

24:31 Quran
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to cover their bosoms...

33:35 Quran
... and men who guard their modesty and women who guard their modesty, and men who remember Allah and women who remember--Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward.

Legacy of the Pagans

Irreverent pagans
From the coffers of their legacy
Have bestowed upon women
Heathen gifts
Veil and hijab and niqab
Gift wrapped in silken shroud
Of false piety
Marks of status and wealth
Those gifts rejected by Islam
For the ultimate gift of equality
Now paraded as heirlooms of Islam
Religion scarred by lies
Pearls of truth rusted
The glitter-dust of distortions
How should one wear religion
This new millennium
Like any garland of truth
Perhaps
Strewn with love
And woven with the gold-thread of
Wisdom and understanding

A question if one may ask? Have theologians ever wondered why Arab men wear that head-gear? Is it commanded by God, or is it a protection against sun, heat, sand-storm? Or, just a cultural head-gear which has nothing to do with any religion... to be continued in quest of answers from the bottomless ocean of knowledge.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Tea Party

Republican extravaganza
Of hate and violence
Sour-dough cookies
Kneaded with anger
Baked with bitterness
Rising higher and higher
Much like the gall of the self-righteous
Hurling stones of anarchy
Not only corrupting the virtue of healthy endeavors
But rendering the health of America cankerous
The aim of the tea-party-goers
To maim and to disfigure
The fabric of justice and equality

The glitter of lies
And the dust-gold of immaturity
Sparkling and kindling
Bonfires of hate-mongering
Veiled and perfumed
Sits the bride of wisdom
Laughing at the invidious malevolence
Of the bridegrooms of zeal, greed, ignorance
A grand festival
Of March madness of the Republicans
Thinking only of maligning the President
Ignoring the needs of the Americans
Swaddling their rags of false piety
Inside the silken shrouds of revolt
Glorifying dissension
Parading the pennants of perfidy
Celebrating ever-vernal ritual of Tea Party

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Heart of God Bleeding

Yes, God's heart is bleeding afresh in the city of Lahore by the violence of the suicide bombers.

Hadith Qudsi
God said: The earth and the heavens could not encompass Me, only the heart of a faithful servant of Mine can contain Me.

Suicide-bombers-to-be, please take a moment to contemplate, by killing the innocent victims, you are not only destroying the precious lives, but the heart of mankind within hearts where God dwells. Each heart dead or alive, carving blood-red wounds inside the heart of God which is bleeding silently, magnificently.

God how you endure
The zealous horde of humanity
Bigots and the hypocrites
The snivelling fools
Gluttons to hatred
Grovelling in the mire
Of their own sins and lusts
Vile and arrogant
Blood-thirsty and demented
Coveting peace in paradise
While creating hell on earth
Defiling Your Name
In the blood-bath of atrocities
Dying with hatred in their hearts
Their minds cankerous
With the desire-sickness
Of paradise
Greedy of just rewards
For what
For hatred, murder, insanity
If they only knew
How they would find
Hell in Paradise
Since they remained blind
To the beauty of paradise
This God's creation on earth
Love, laughter, sunshine

Hadith Qudsi
Prophet said: O Lord, guide my people, for they do not know.
The heart of the believer is between the two fingers of the Infinitely Merciful.

Hoping for peace and sanity...

Friday, February 26, 2010

Chemistry of Taliban

Tyranny/transgression
Anger/aggression
Lies/lunacy
Ignorance/insurgency
Bigotry/blasphemy
Anathema/
Nemesis/

The good deed and evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better. Then, lo, between whom and thee there was enmity, would become as though he was a bosom friend. 41:34

Starting from the dregs of the chemical offal, Nemesis of Taliban at the bottom is not death (for them, who are still plotting murder by the most cowardly means--suicide bombing) but the torment in living as they are shunned, despised and condemned. Living in utter isolation, worse than the lepers until the merciful hands of death are to save them from the torment in living. No great wonder then that to escape the tortures in life they choose the fetters of death in eternal damnation. Since by killing the innocent Children of God in ignorance of the laws of nature they are to suffer the tortures of the damned in conformity with the cause and effect of reward and punishment meted out to those who reject the treasures of love. Sad and tragic that these hate-mongering disciples of hatred most likely are the victims of love-deprivation, so incapable of cultivating this virtue prized by most God-fearing people who believe in the God of love, beauty and laughter. Not in the god of hatred, cruelty and ugliness. Also, passing sad that these 'suicide bombers' are snuffed out like a puff of smoke, unloved, unmourned, faceless and soulless. Miracle of miracles if someone could teach them the power of love?
May almighty God guide them to the light of love, peace and understanding, and comfort their wounded hearts with the balm of love and healing. Cauterizing their hearts of all malice, hatred and ignorance.
The second from bottom in the hourglass of dregs is Anathema... may the murderers-to-be accept this gift of knowledge:
For that cause We decreed for the children of Israel that whosoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption on earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came to them of old with clever proofs of Allah's sovereignty, but afterwards, lo,many of them became prodigals on earth. 5:32
The third in order of ascent is Bigotry... may the young recruits chosen for killing perceive the truth of Quranic injunctions:
This it is which Allah announceth unto his bondsmen who believe and do good works. Say O Muhammad unto mankind: I ask of you no fee thereof, save loving-kindness among kinsfolk. And whoso scoreth a good deed, We add unto its good for him. Lo, Allah is Forgiving, Responsive. 42:23
Ignorance is the fourth kernel in the scheme of tragedies rising toward the top... may this revelation destroy the animal instinct of killing in the minds and hearts of the young-would-be-suicide-bombers:
Enjoin ye righteousness upon mankind, while ye yourself forget to practice? And ye are the readers of Scripture. Have you then no sense? 2:44
Third in the order of lunacy is Lies... may the scent of brevity wipe clean the cobwebs of madness:
Woe unto each sinful liar. 45:7
Second from top in this concoction is Aggression... may the self-righteous heed the voice of wisdom:
The way of blame is only against those who oppress mankind, and wrongfully rebel in the earth. For such there is a painful doom. 42:42
Up on the top sits the brand of Transgression... may the brethren in faith take pity on their young wards and teach them love, not hatred, while being guided themselves first and foremost, somehow, miraculously...
Yet ye it is who slay each other and drive out a part of your people from their homes, supporting against them by sin and transgression. And if they came to you as captives ye would ransom them, whereas their expulsion itself was unlawful for you. Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do. 2:85
Last but not least:
A gift of welcome from the Forgiving, the Merciful. 41:32
To be continued...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Gift of Life Most Precious

At fourteen you die
Serving the devils incarnate
Pressed by their zeal if not by their ignorance
To kill and maim God's creatures
Preaching murder and carnage
Commanding the young unfortunate
To spill their guts and blood
In the name of WHAT
Hatred, hypocrisy, vengeance
Cloaked under the blood-red mantle of
False piety, false pride, false belief
The corrupted, cankerous kernels
Of fabricated feast in religion
Fed to the young-martyrs-to-be
By the hate-mongering pack of
Mullas, Wahhabis, ignoramuses
Alas, the young ones draped
In shrouds of death
Would never know the wealth of
Well-preserved pearls in Quran
'In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds
The Beneficent, the Merciful
Owner of the Day of Judgment
Thee alone we worship, Thee alone we ask for help
Show us the straight path
The path of those whom Thou hast favored
Not the path of those who earn Thine anger
Nor of those who go astray.' 1:1 Quran
Their precious lives wasted
The gift of life spurned by madmen
Mothers drowned in raging flood of
Grief and mourning
Fresh buds of youth
If not claimed by bigots and zealots
Wondering in shock and disbelief
Why anyone in the name of God
Would teach torturing and slaughtering
Mankind
Shunning the jewels of
Love, peace, harmony
'Ye who believe! Be steadfast witness for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo, Allah is informed of what ye do.' 5:8

Go, figure?
To be continued...

Friday, January 8, 2010

Love, global resolution for Peace

Teach Islam
Islam as taught by the Prophet from the purity of his heart, soul and divine inspiration.

Hoping that the young victims of would-be-suicide bombers might accept the gift of love from their beloved Prophet to escape the curse of killing and to shun the vile mentoring of hateful mullas, Wahabis and ignoramuses bent on corrupting the message of love with the coals of zeal, brutality and hypocrisy.

Islam is the Alphabet of Love with Quran as its dictionary, seeking dialogue or conversation with the People of the Book and with the people of all Faiths, who wish to study its message in the light of wisdom and Understanding. Its one hundred and fourteen verses (with the exception of one, Surah 1X Al-Bara) beginning with: The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious, The Most Compassionate God, testify the universal love for mankind. Though its verses appear harsh at first, poetic when one gets into the rhythm of reading, enveloping and enlightening at the same time, but they are to be understood in context to the times when Arabia was caught in the fever of greed, cruelty, debauchery, drunkenness, not to mention, in violent conflicts with tribes within tribes. Blood feuds were common, slavery was rampant, women were oppressed, infant girls were buried alive, and gods were revered and mocked with the same passion as the passionate needs and greeds of men, striving toward riches and power.

Now the power of understanding, or the lack of it?

Reading as one reads, the Divine Word of God, as one believe the Quran to be, with one’s limited intelligence, one tends to squeeze out a handful of interpretations, most of which become gilded with distortions, if not becoming the victims of lies, depending upon the intent or the inclination of the author or a scholar. If moved by zeal, such persons mold each interpretation into fire-brands, and if others who are guided by the purity of their own minds and hearts, the same verses lend the glow of well- preserved pearls. And yet, they melt against the hurricanes of lies and distortions. If one were to riffle through the pages of history, one would not fail to discover that many truths lie buried under the mounds of lies, and that lies have been repeated so often, by so many, and with such pious persistence that if someone, even in this age and time dared speak truth, it would sound like a lie.

And yet, it is a difficult task, to know truth, since truth is a relative term, but we do walk in its shadow of love and light, our hearts tortured with this longing to be good and to do good. More difficult since the Scriptures speak to us in parables, while we wade through the waters of doubts and conflicts. The Quranic verse which cautions us not to fall into error, or to dispute with others in regard to different interpretations, becomes our guide that we know not what we claim to know.
He it is Who hath revealed unto thee Muhammad the Scripture wherein are clear revelations—they are the substance of the Book—and others which are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical, seeking to cause dissention by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah. And those who are sound of instruction say: we believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed. 3:7 Quran

But before quoting from the Quran or Hadith I am taking the liberty of sharing the loving life of the Prophet as a man, as a husband, as a father, and as a friend to all who sought his advice or friendship. History knows everything about him, no doubt, exploring all facets of his life, passion, ambition. Many faces and countless facets! Harsh, stern, rebuking, commanding, and then kind, loving, forgiving. Yet, reading in between and lines, and gleaning facts with as much precision as my own limited intellect permits, I have attempted to portray the Prophet as I see him through the veils of Hadith, Quran, History. Skipping quickly beyond his childhood, he emerges as a young man, endowed with wisdom and compassion. His friends call him Al Amin, meaning truthful. He has earned respect of the young and old by the sheer virtue of his good manners. At the age of twenty-five when he marries a widow of forty by the name of Khadija, twice married before and the mother of one son and two daughters, he loves and respects her on the verge of reverence, remaining faithful to her till her death. His character stands out in this happy marriage of almost twenty-five years; especially, when polygamy was the norm, and men treated women as their property, marrying, divorcing or simply abandoning them as their whim or caprice dictated. Another outstanding character which distinguished him from others was the shimmering ocean of love in his eyes which could never be dimmed, even against the fires of grief and adversity. When he was chosen as the Messenger of God, the Light in his own eyes appeared to be his guide, wavering at times, but never dying against the assaults of insult, violence or persecution. Peaceful by nature and averse to violence, he desisted from striking back even in self-defense. One time when pelted with stones and hounded by mobs, his shoes filled with blood, he almost collapsed with sheer pain and exhaustion, and his followers asked him to curse the tormentors, he prayed for forgiveness instead, much in the manner of Jesus, when he said: forgive them, O Lord, for they know not. Revelations upon revelations came to him to guide him toward patience, forgiveness, compassion. And one night he was taken to the Throne of God, called Night Journey. He shared the experience of this Journey with his cousin, in which he was taken to Jerusalem, then to the heavens, meeting all the previous Prophets, including Jesus, and finally before the Throne of God, his Allah, his Beloved. When this story was circulated amongst the Meccans, one of the Prophet’s bitterest of opponents Abu Jahl ,accused him of making up this story. He told the Prophet to lift his one foot, then the other, to which he complied, and when he asked him to lift both his feet up, the Prophet replied he can’t do it. So Abu Jahl mocked, you can’t even lift your two feet up in the air and you profess that you went to the heavens. To which, the Prophet replied: I didn’t say I went, I said I was taken.

Glorified be He Who carried His servant from the Inviolable Place of Worship (Mecca) to the Far Distant Place of Worship (Jerusalem) the neighborhood thereof. We have blessed that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He only He, is the Hearer, the Seer. 17:1 Quran

Briefly, his prophethood, his later marriages and his boundless love for all became the gateway of his divine message which he delivered by living it, as a loving, caring, forgiving man. His followers were prone to zeal even while he lived, and he rebuked and checked them; exclaiming at times, by these pious fools, my back hath been broken. His love didn’t extend to human beings alone but to all God’s creatures. Once during the sermon, a cat came to sit on the edge of his robe, and he wouldn’t get up, lest he disturb the cat. At the time of his final pilgrimage to Mecca, he noticed a bitch on the road with a litter of pups, and commanded his men to change their route so as not to frighten the young pups. As a conqueror, his forgiveness was wholesale and unconditional. No vengeance was wreaked even upon the woman who had torn open the breast of his slain uncle, chewing on his liver, and making garlands of his intestines. He had come not to avenge, but to reconcile, to stress his message of unity, to abolish slavery, to grant equality to women, and to tell all before the sight of God that he is not the messenger of a new religion, but confirming the religion of the old prophets. After his death, when his youngest wife Aisha was asked to describe the character of the Prophet. She said: he smiled often and laughed much. Quoting often from the Quran:
We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples. 21:7

Now the teachers of Islam, the Quran, the Hadith, the Prophet

And lo, there is a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say: it is from Allah, when it is not from Allah, and they speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly. 3:78 Quran
Confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth. 2:42 Quran
Beautified for mankind is love of the joys that come from women and offspring, and stored-up heaps of gold and silver, and horses and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life of the world. Allah, with Him is a more excellent abode. 3:14 Quran
It is not for believer to kill a believer unless it be by mistake… 4:92 Quran
Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose, his reward is hell forever. Allah is wrath against him and He hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom. 4:93 Quran
O ye who believe, squander not your wealth among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual consent, and Kill Not one Another. Lo, Allah is ever merciful unto you. 4:29 Quran
Whoso doeth that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into Fire, and that is very easy for Allah. 4:30 Quran
Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo, He is the forgiving, the merciful. 39:53 Quran
The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo, he, between whom and thee there was enmity will become as though he was a bosom friend. 41:34 Quran
And when we made with you a covenant saying: shed not the blood of your people nor turn a party of your people out of your dwellings. Then you ratified our covenant and you were witnesses thereto. 2:84 Quran
Wrong not mankind in their goods, and do not evil, making mischief in the earth. 26:183 Quran
O mankind! Lo, We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the best in conduct. Lo, Allah is Knower, Aware. 49:13 Quran
And each one hath a goal toward which he turneth; so vie with one another in good works. Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you all together. Lo, Allah is able to do all things. 2:148 Quran
Keep to forgiveness, O Muhammad, and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant. 7:199 Quran
Announce, O Muhammad, unto my slaves that verily I am Forgiving, the Merciful. 15:49 Quran
And for such it may be that Allah will pardon them. Allah is ever Clement, Forgiving. 4:99 Quran
O ye who believe, be steadfast witness for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo, Allah is informed of what ye do. 5:8 Quran
Whereby Allah guideth him who seeketh His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He bringeth them out of darkness unto light by His decree, and guideth them unto a straight path. 5:16 Quran
And when it is said unto them: make not mischief in the earth, the say: We are peacemakers only. 2:11 Quran
Those who spend of which Allah hath given them in ease and in adversity, those who control their wrath and are forgiving toward mankind. Allah loveth the good. 3:134 Quran
O mankind, call upon your Lord humbly and in secret. Lo, he loveth not aggressors. 7:55 Quran
Work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering thereof, and call on Him in fear and hope. Lo, the mercy of Allah is nigh unto good. 7:56 Quran
Yet whoso doeth evil or wrongeth his own soul, then seeketh pardon of Allah, will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful. 4:110 Quran
And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo, He is the Hearer, the Knower. 8:61 Quran
And O Muhammad say: My Lord, forgive and have mercy, for Thou art best of all who show mercy. 23:118 Quran
It may be that Allah will ordain love between you and those of them with whom you are at enmity. Allah is mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 60:7 Quran
Whoso doeth right, whether male or female, and is a believer, all such will enter the Garden, where they will be nourished without stint. 40:40 Quran
Ask pardon of your Lord and then turn unto Him repentant. Lo, my Lord is Loving, Merciful. 11:90 Quran

Prophet Muhammad’s sayings:

The Islam of heart is its purity, and the Islam of tongue withholding it from fruitless words.
A man cannot be a Muslim till his heart and tongue are so.
Conscience: if you derive pleasure from the good which you perform, and be grieved for the evil which you have committed, you are a true believer.
The best of the God’s servants are those who, when seen, remind of God, and the worst of God’s servants are those who carry tales about, to do mischief and separate friends, and seek for the defects of the good.
Humility and courtesy are acts of piety.
Abuse nobody, and if a man abuse you and lay open a vice which he knows in you, then do not disclose one which you know in him.
Meekness and modesty are two branches of faith, and vain talking and embellishing are two branches of hypocrisy.
He is of the most perfect Muslims, whose disposition is most liked by his family.
To do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you, and to reject for others what you would reject for yourself.
Adore God as if you saw Him, for if you see Him not, He sees you.
Feed the hungry and visit the sick, and free the captive, if he be unjustly confined. Assist any person oppressed, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.
The proof of a Muslim’s sincerity is that he pays no heed to what is not his business.
The faithful are those who perform their trust and fail not in their word, and keep their pledge.
That person is not one of us who invites others to aid him in oppression, and he is not one of us who fights for his tribe in injustice, and he is not one of us who dies in assisting his tribe in tyranny.
Do not say, that if people do good to us, we will do good to them, and if people oppress us, we will oppress them; but determine, that if people do you good, you will do good to them, and if they oppress you, you will not oppress them.
There is a polish for everything that takes away rust, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God.
Verily those who are patient in adversity and forgive wrongs are the doers of excellence.
That person is nearest to God, who pardons, when he has in his power to injure who would have injured him.
God is gentle and loves gentleness.
God says: The person I hold as a beloved, I am his hearing by which he hears, and I am his sight by which he sees, and I am his hands by which he holds, and I am his feet by which he walks.
God is One and likes unity; God said: I was a hidden treasure. I would fain be known. So I created Man.
God is not merciful to him who is not so to mankind.
God says: verily my compassion overcomes my wrath.
If you put your whole trust in God, as you aught, He most certainly will give you sustenance, as He does the birds, they come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests.
O My servants who have oppressed your own souls by sinning, despair not of the Mercy of God (when asked what about the unbelievers) know that him also God forgives, if he repents. If the unbeliever knew of the extent of the Lord’s mercy, even he would not despair of Paradise.
Islam is purity of speech and charity.
Excellent actions are: to gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the wrongs of the injured.
Whoever is kind to His creatures, God is kind to him, therefore be kind to everyone on earth, whether good or bad.
Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever has no kindness, has no faith.
He dies not who gives life to learning.
An hour’s contemplation is better than a year’s adoration; go in quest of knowledge even unto China.
Seek knowledge from cradle to grave…what weakens the foundations of Islam: the errors of the learned destroy it, the disputations of the hypocrites, and the orders of the kings who have lost the road.
To spend more time in learning is better than spending more time in praying. It is better to teach knowledge one hour in the night than to pray the whole night…the pursuit of knowledge is a divine commandment for every Muslim, male or female.
God hath treasuries beneath the Throne, the keys whereof are the tongues of poets; he who knows his own self knows God.
Acquire knowledge. It enables its possessor to distinguish from right and wrong; it lights the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert; our society in solitude; our companion when friendless; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is an ornament amongst friends and an armor against enemies.
To the light I have attained and in light I live.
O Lord, grant me the love of Thee, grant that I love those who love Thee, grant that I may do the deeds that win Thy love, make Thy love dearer to me than self, wealth or family.
O Lord, I make my complaint unto Thee, of my feebleness, the vanity of my efforts. I am insignificant in the sight of men, O Thou Most Merciful. Lord of the weak, Thou art my Lord. Forsake me not. Leave me not a prey to strangers, nor to mine enemies. If Thou art not displeased, I am safe. I seek refuge in the Light of Thy Countenance, by which all darkness is dispelled, and peace cometh in the Here and Hereafter. Solve Thou my difficulties as it pleaseth Thee. There is no power, no strength, save in Thee. This was Prophet’s prayer when he was wounded at Taif.
Shall I inform you of a better act than alms, prayers and fasting? Making peace between one another. Enmity and malice tear up the heavenly rewards by the roots.
Prayer is the annihilation of ego and union with the Divine, which lifts one’s soul higher and higher in its journey toward the Beloved.
He whom prayer preventeth not from evil and wrongdoing, increaseth in naught save in remoteness from the Lord.
God is beauty and delights in the beautiful, but pride is holding man in contempt.
They will enter the garden of Bliss who have true, pure and merciful heart.
God has not created anything better than Reason, or anything more perfect, or more beautiful than Reason; the benefits which God gives are on its account; and understanding is by it, and God’s wrath is caused by disregard of it.
He is perfect who does good to his relatives when they do not do good to him.
Much silence and a good disposition, there are no two works better than those.
No man is true in the truest sense of the word but he who is true in word, in deed, and in thought. It is not worthy of a speaker of truth to curse people. He is not of me who, when he speaks, speaks falsely; who, when he promises, breaks his promise; and who, when trust is reposed in him, fails in his trust.
A Muslim must not hate his wife, and if he be displeased with one bad quality in her, then let him be pleased with another which is good. What you must never do is to raise your hands against your wife. Treat each woman with respect and kindness.
God enjoins you to treat women well, for they are your aunts, wives, mothers and daughters.
The rights of the women are sacred: see that women are maintained in the rights assigned to them.
To die before dying…to die to the darkness within, and to live in the Light of God
The ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr.
Say unto the people of the Scripture: dispute ye with us concerning Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? Ours are our works and yours your works.
Hadith

The Prophet said that on the day of resurrection, God will manifest Himself to the creatures in the forms that they themselves refuted, announcing ‘I am your Lord’. In the face of this unfamiliar apparition, they will seek refuge in their own representation of God. Then God will appear in that representation, and then they will believe that indeed it is Him.
Bilal—Islam’s first Muezzin said: if a Muslim forces a conversion, he doesn’t risk hell, he is certain of hell.
God sent to the world since its creation 200,000 prophets, twenty-five of them are referred in the Quran. The greatest of those are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Prophets are to be regarded as free from sin, the most sinless of all being Jesus. Muhammad speaks of him as the Word of God, the Spirit of God, born of the Virgin Mary, and Worker of Miracles.
To be continued...