Power of HEART and social structure of Islam
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This forum has made an impact on my way of understanding and practicing Islam. I always thought that it is intellect that should get most importance. I was used to think - believe - think process. I used to motivate myself to do things as per beliefs and decisions taken from thinking.
Did it help me as per my expectations? I think not. I read some verses in the Quran that say about eyes, ears and heart. I wondered why Allah did not include intellect in the trio with eyes and ears?
Eyes and ears are the two major and huge sensory devices. With eyes we get immediate perception of colors and shapes. The intellect has contribution to making the perception a knowledge but the perception or the resultant awareness of color and shape still remains immediate and direct. My intellect does not logically jump to the ?greenness? or ?redness? like in the case of my idea of matter where my intellect logically jumps or infers. I don?t have any immediate perception of matter-in-itself, rather I logically construct an idea of matter which I regard as the source of my immediate sensations. The same is applicable for ears which perceives sound and its rhythm, sweetness, harmony etc. What about heart? Unlike intellect heart feels what it feels and the feeling is immediate. Heart can move me from within. But the intellect only tries to rule from outside. Heart moves me to bloom spontaneously from within, the intellect only tries to keep me in line with a whip.
I have come to know that the Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be with him) thought much and talked very less. He discouraged his companions to ask him questions like the people of Moses did. It was a spark not in the intellect, it was a spark in their hearts. We talk too much. The listeners generally clap with their hands when we talk on Islam?s superiority. We are making all our appeals to intellect only and leave the listeners with a list of things mostly rituals. The boys are being frustrated by the conflict of their two opposite tendencies, inclinations and instincts.
The thing the people of this forum are trying to emphasize on seems similar to the approaches of past sufees. On the other hand, those sufees gradually moved themselves out of the social structure of Islam built by the Prophet. This led the people of huge law-books to be severely critical against them.
May be some day, another Imam Ghazali with most modern understanding will appear from within these people. Or else they will probably face the same fate as those sufees.
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Peace and thanks Parahant-kumar, I enjoyed reading it.
Very true the distinction about heart and inetellct. Many fail to recognize this.
A heart aflamed with the fire of Faith is responsible to help enlighten other hearts.
But remember GOD is the only one who can GUIDE. We can be merely conveyers. The rest is in HIS HANDS. Those who deserve guidance, will receive it and the others don't.
peace,
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But remember GOD is the only one who can GUIDE. We can be merely conveyers. The rest is in HIS HANDS. Those who deserve guidance, will receive it and the others don't.
But how can I reconcile between my denial of God?s Book of guidance the Quran, God?s last prophet Muhammad AND my waiting for guidance from God? This I just cant understand.
If I deserve guidance, shall I receive it from God as his prophets received?
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peace prashant kumar,
you wrote a very nice article, good job ).
well, i think the question you are trying to ask is why do we recieve signals, or the process of learning. my answer is that when somebody is trying to learn something we use eyes to see and identify it from our past experiences with the brain( i am not very sure)?;then we try to make connections to the object we saw(sensory organs, anyone). same goes for the smell, taste, and hearing. the human heart is the CENTER of the whole human body, since, a good lesson about the human body will teach you that blood flow through the arteries through the veind and back. the thing i learned from the quran is that every part of the body is somewhat connectd to the heart and that is through the flow of blood.
hope this helps...
peace, rifat
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quote
author=prashant_kumar link=topic=5586.msg83066#msg83066 date=1145817062]But remember GOD is the only one who can GUIDE. We can be merely conveyers. The rest is in HIS HANDS. Those who deserve guidance, will receive it and the others don't.
But how can I reconcile between my denial of God?s Book of guidance the Quran, God?s last prophet Muhammad AND my waiting for guidance from God? This I just cant understand.
Shall I receive guidance from God as his prophets received?
Peace Pashant-Kumar,
The answer to your last question is NO! Let me answer this question in an onorthodox way! please bear with me!
There is another SELF inside us which is very thankfull and positive. He sees a sense and a purpose to everything that happens around us! HE is amazed by the magic of creation and evolution! The world is full of intelligence! The moment that one recognizes that his action of good is a hand in evolving the creation! He has understood his purpose within the motion of creation.
This is a sense of awareness! an awakening to the meaningfullness of the motion of creation!
HOW TO ATTAIN IT !?
REMEMBERANCE+ACTION is embraced within many religions! Also in Quran! One Trains for a quality. It changes the recognition from MIND to HEART.
For example to become thankfull one can practice as following (just a method)
Reapeat the line
1- HOWAL AZZIZ ol SHAKOOR (HE IS THE MOST GRATEFULL) WITH LOUD VOICE. (with thoughts concentrated to be positive and thankfull and remembering HIS PRESENCE AS THE SOURCE.). 20X2- WITHIN 20 FOLLOWING REPEATITION LOWER gradually YOUR VOICE till it fades AND ONLY REPEAT THE THOUGHT WITH THE ECHO OF YOUR VOICE
3- NOW LET GO OF REPEATITION AND ONLY KEEP THE THOUGHT OF HIS ALMIGHTY AND BEING GRATEFULL
4- THEN GO AND TAKE A WALK IN THE NATURE, SEE THE SUN, OR FEEL THE RAIN.
ONE LEARNS THIS WAY , THE ART OF BEING! |While helping the needy remember that GOD would have done the same thing, if you were not his substitute on earth.
THIS WILL BRING ONE, IN THE STAGE OF GETTING TO THE OTHER SELF (THE REAL SELF)!
This is not a stage that you could get a revealation like prophets. but ONE would feel IT. It is the process of enlightment! which is real! The factual part of this transfer is that one,s dreams during sleeping gets vivid and one start remembering them. One become sensitive to colours and birds and nature. Compassion will be searched in action and one would search opportunities to forgive. and etc.Reading the sayings of prophet will be enjoyful.
Reading THE QURAN will be a blessing. As Quran says , there is no doubt that such a reader will be guided by the book.
Walking in nature is full of message. creation after creation. The words of the book are being manifested and it is the workshop of GOD and he asked us to go and see how HE DOES IT!HE has given us all the sources ( In the existence, in the book , within our heart,....) but responsibility of THE CHOICE remains ALWAYS on our shoulders.
HEART LEADS AND MIND FOLLOWS to grow further! No ending in sight!
peace,
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peace alpha97 and prashant kumar,
alpha 97 wrote
There is another SELF inside us which is very thankfull and positive. He sees a sense and a purpose to everything that happens around us! HE is amazed by the magic of creation and evolution! The world is full of intelligence! The moment that one recognizes that his action of good is a hand in evolving the creation! He has understood his purpose within the motion of creation.
what is the difference between the "higher intellectual being inside our heart" and nafs/ "part of our heart that is based on character"? please clarify?
peace, rifat
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Peace Mr Humble,
I give the pen to Inayat khan on this
The first self we realize is the false self. Unless the soul is born again it will not see the kingdom of heaven. The soul is born into the false self; it is blind. In the true self {RUH} the soul opens its eyes. Unless the false self is fought with, the true self cannot be realized.
Man struggles with things that are outside him, and so he gives a chance to the foes who exist in his own being. Therefore the first thing necessary in life is to make peace for the time being with the outside world, in order to prepare for the war which is to be fought within oneself. Once peace is made within, one will gain by that sufficient strength and power to be used through the struggle of life within and without... Life is one long journey, and the further behind we have left our self, the further we have progressed toward the goal. Verily when the false self is lost the true self is discovered.preace,
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peace,
The first self we realize is the false self.
then why do i hear so many exprssions concereing the innocence of a new born baby?
that is clearly a result of character development through life experience.
Man struggles with things that are outside him, and so he gives a chance to the foes who exist in his own being.
so compromise is not always necessarily the right answer...
Therefore the first thing necessary in life is to make peace for the time being with the outside world, in order to prepare for the war which is to be fought within oneself. Once peace is made within, one will gain by that sufficient strength and power to be used through the struggle of life within and without... Life is one long journey, and the further behind we have left our self, the further we have progressed toward the goal. Verily when the false self is lost the true self is discovered
very true and deep in meaning...
peace, rifat
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Peace Mr Humble,
Because a baby has not commited any sin yet! As He grows, he partly the gives into urges of a child to fullfill his own desires and partly he is shaped by the old generation learning him their ways. He comes to manifest a fals self. (I am now short of time, later I can come back with more details)
peace,
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Peace alpha97 and all.
Thanks brother for a nice writing. It is enlightning as usual.
The answer to your last question is NO!
What, then, makes the prophets different from us? What should be my response to the Prophets, and specially to Muhammad, due to such difference between them/him and me?
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Peace alpha97 and all.
Thanks brother for a nice writing. It is enlightning as usual.
The answer to your last question is NO!
What, then, makes the prophets different from us? What should be my response to the Prophets, and specially to Muhammad, due to such difference between them/him and me?
Peace brother Parshant-kumar, All
What, then, makes the prophets different from us?
Their level of awareness! And that GOD chose to use them as Medium for two tasks
1- To bring us the message.
2- To show us how the message is used and translated into the real world. (Wisdom)Prophets were just like us simple humans! but all of them had extraordinary childhood and life which gave them the opportunity to grow in purity of soul and richness of wisdom.
Humans are granted different levels of consciousness! based on the status of their souls.Each of us at any given moment is residing on one certain level of consciousness. This level contains two vantage points. We always look from Two vantage points the vantage point of HEART and the vantage point of MIND.
When we get aware that earth is rotating around the sun and that our senses are deceiving us, We reach a higher awareness in our minds. In reality this just changes our vantage point of MIND. We look from different point of view.
When we get aware that feeding birds in the nature is a joyful activity. In reality this just changes our vantage point of our HEART. We experience from different point of being.
We have a lot to learn from prophets! Muhammad was the walking Quran of his time! And for those principles which are timeless, prophets are the personage of the message!
Quran starts revealing itself, As our awareness start elevating. (2-2, 2-3). NOT BEFORE THAT. There is a need for an awakend soul to grasp the message and that awakened soul recognizes also which Hadith is authentic and which not!
But the Purpose of All The creation, the book , the prophets are all the same. TO AWAKEN US TO THE PRESENCE OF HIS ALMIGHTY! AND UNLEASH OUR GROWTH! TO LET US BECOME IMMORTAL!
peace
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@ alpha97
?What, then, makes the prophets different from us?
Their level of awareness! And that GOD chose to use them as Medium for two tasks
1- To bring us the message.? (Quote from alpha97)As you mentioned ?us?, I consider that I am also one that includes in ?us?.
The message should be in the form of language. At this point I would like to discuss the issues connected with language, its limitations and the relative advantages of language.
(a) A linguistic message shall have a textual presentation. Grammar and usage of a word is important here. It is not impossible that the general meaning of a text was clear to the Prophet and the people addressed by him. If some one got difficulty, it is reasonable to think that he would have discussed the matter with those who knew. It is always possible to make extended and deeper understanding of the meaning of the text by others. It is also possible that one may completely change the meaning and take some allegorical or too literalistic connotation that may not been the actual meaning. It is the case of changing the meaning. The connotation or intelligence in the text should be that which the Prophet and the forerunners among the companions understood. It is also not impossible that people changed the text itself.
(b) The proper understanding of the meaning of a text is dependent on the basic principles and the capacity to understand of a reader who do not have the opportunity of listening and understanding the text right from the Prophet. I certainly get myself entangled with history. There is a great problem with history too. But the problems associated with history can not lead me to deny it completely. If I do so I shall loose all grounds to even take a decision based on principle of induction and deduction. In the case of deduction, I consider the first two premises successively and then make the conclusion. When I make conclusion, I am to depend on my memory. Similar is the case with induction. I observe particular events, then I analyze, then I make induction to a general principle. I depend on memory, books written by others etc. All these are in fact history.
(c) Let us now compare a linguistic message to a message put is a sculpture or a paint. The later way has got some advantages. Yet I see that linguistic messages are much more easy to decipher the intelligence and has got much more objectivity. If some artist provides me with an art and a letter that describes his message in the art, I shall certainly look into the both and shall take the linguistic one as primary or the criteria. Because I may make myself a fool or deceived by rejecting the letter or by not considering the letter first. If the art is an intricate one, I shall certainly not take pride on my ability to understand the art directly while the letter is at my hand.
With due considerations on these points, the next natural questions shall be the following
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Is the message received by Prophet Muhammad, preserved intact by the people through generation after generations? If no, A Muslim just can not wipe out the history and simply say ?This is the Book from your Lord and take it as I interpret it, or interpret it yourself as your wish?.
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Is the general connotation of the terms that constitute at least the vital philosophy and the basic social structure founded by the Prophet himself has been preserved by the people generation after generation? If no, shall it not be logical for me to wait for another messenger?
What is your opinion in this regard?
?2- To show us how the message is used and translated into the real world. (Wisdom).? (Quote from alpha97)
I wish to have the opportunity to discuss this matter later.
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Peace Prashant-kumar,
We are asked to reason and think but connect it to our hearts as its center.If that does not happen our reason and thoughts will be used for other purposes
We will get intellectual.
We will become hypocrite
We will exploit other people
We will use it to collect wealth
We will use it to defeat others
We will go stray. We will get in love with the world and ourSELVES.Within the centrum of human there is a real soul and that soul is a knower. Quran teaches us how to awaken that. (2-2/2-3)
- Generate Faith in THE UNSEEN.
- Clean your soul with prayer
- Take care of others and fill the gaps of your society
There is no Lingu trick that can stand in the way.
The real soul recognizes VERY SIMPLE . He knows that MESSAGE OF RESURRECTION is not about the rise of Jesus-discussion. , He understands that It is about the next evolution of the world when our souls will become a higher being. It is about meeting HIS HIGHNESS , If we have become gracious enough to deserve that. That is very simple and clear.
I see many discussions among sects. But their discussion points are about that kind of detail which they can afford to chat about. They don't have a linguistic problem. Their eyes can not function yet. The truth is there.
peace,
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peace alpha97,
Generate Faith in THE UNSEEN.
how do i verify faith in the unseen? i am sure it branches off into different categories as well... for example what we cannot percieve from our dimension which we live in and the future! aren't they unseen?
is the unseen scientifically approved by human nature in general? or believing in the unseen could lead you to astray? for example the sunnis believe certain things will happen in the future and that's not part of the quran?
please clarify yourself if you think that you are clear.
faith in god is not faith in the unseen because there is evidence that god exists... we are not by chance... we are not from nothing... understand my confusion here ;D
peace, rifat
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If that does not happen our reason and thoughts will be used for other purposes
We will get intellectual.
We will become hypocrite
We will exploit other people
We will use it to collect wealth
We will use it to defeat others
We will go stray. We will get in love with the world and ourSELVES.From all your answers, I feel that you are very much committed to the Quran and the Prophet. But you are just reluctant in uttering these things. I thought and thought why you are so. May be that you are too concerned. I observed in my own life and the lives of other people that we remain engaged in making large hue and cry for Quran, Prophet, Islam etc. forgetting our Lord and being concernless about our own ultimate destiny. The commotion is so big that my Lord and my destiny gets buried in it, and the commotion fails to benefit me, rather harms me, as my approach is from the reverse and wrong direction. I got my best lessons from you. May Allah bless you, my brother.
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Peace Rifat,
If one purifies his soul in prayer and action, he is not to worry! GOD will guide him. he will not be sent stray. GOD HIMSELF will take care of that! If some people are gone stray, also GOD made them to go stray based on the status of their souls. It is very simple.
peace,
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peace alpha97,
well, but that doesn't mean that the truth and the purification of the soul is the same for everyone, does it?
is the sunni traditional salat for everyone? i gave it up for "personal reasons" even though no one told me to...
peace, rifat