From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Fri Aug 16 11:12:42 1996 Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 14:01:30 -0400 (EDT) From: tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Reply-To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com Subject: tariqas-digest V1 #100 tariqas-digest Monday, 12 August 1996 Volume 01 : Number 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: barzakh@idola.net.id Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:46:32 +0700 Subject: Re: Health and Illness Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Assalamu'alaykum, At 08:53 AM 8/8/96 -0700, you wrote: >> There's a hadith saying that illness will lessen one's sin. I believe that >> you believe what The Prophet (pbuh) have said. > >Yes, to the degree that our records are accurate and correctly >interpreted >and in context. > Dear Michael, I got this from Hadith Bukhari 7.565: Narrated 'Abdullah: I visited the Prophet during his illness and touched him while he was having a fever. I said to him, ``You have a high fever; is it because you will get a double reward?'' He said, ``Yes. No Muslim is afflicted with any harm, but that his sins will be annulled as the leave of a tree fall down.'' Wassalamu'alaykum, Michael Roland ------------------------------ From: woodsong@juno.com (Carol Woodsong) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 23:40:32 PST Subject: Re: why one doesn't post often Fred Rice writes: >I am not qualified to give people instruction on the Sufi path, but >I expect some people are keen, then when an authentic Sufi teacher >asks them to do something, they refuse to do it. Many people like >to mold God in their own image, which is the opposite of what should >be done on the true path. hmm.... I'm not sure i understand this. If the 'authentic Sufi teacher' is someone's chosen teacher, wouldn't that person be obligated to do as the teacher instructs? I agree with you re: the true path being "the opposite of molding God in our own image". I would not do something /any/ Sufi Guide suggested i do.... but if s/he were my /chosen/ Guide, i would certainly hope that i would be trusting enough to do exactly as i was told. Isn't that what it's all about? What am i misunderstanding? >============================================================================= >There was a certain ascetic who was one of the great >saints of Bestam. He had his own followers and admirers, >and at the same time he was never absent from the circle >of Abu Yazid al-Bistami. He listened to all his discourses, >and sat with his companions. >One day he remarked to Abu Yazid, "Master, today is thirty >years that I have been keeping constant fast. By night too >I pray, so that I never sleep at all. Yet I discover no >trace of this knowledge of which you speak. For all that I >believe in this knowledge, and I love this preaching." What is it he is desiring here? To have 'knowledge'? Why? Where's the commitment to Allah? Surrender?? [...] >"Very well," said Abu Yazid. "This very hour go and shave your >beard and hair. Take off these clothes you are wearing, and >tie a loincloth of goat's wool about your waist. Hang a bag >of nuts around your neck, then go to the marketplace. Collect >all the children you can, and tell them, `I will give a nut to >everyone who slaps me.' Go round all the city in the same way; >especially go everywhere people know you. That is your cure." > >"Glory be to God! There is no god but God," cried the disciple >on hearing these words. > >"If a nonbeliever uttered that formula, he would become a >believer," remarked Abu Yazid. "By uttering the same formula >you have become a polytheist." > >"How so?" demanded the disciple. > >"Because you count yourself too grand to be able to do as I have >said," replied Abu Yazid. "So you have become a polytheist. >You used this formula to express your own importance, not to >glorify God." > >"This I cannot do," the man protested. "Give me other directions." > >"The remedy is what I have said," Abu Yazid declared. > >"I cannot do it," the man repeated. > >"Did I not say you would not do it, that you would never obey >me?" said Abu Yazid. I'm lost here. /WHY/ wouldn't he do it? And can you explain the reference to polytheism.... > [From the "Memorial of the Saints" of Fariduddin Attar.] Thank you for this story. Please excuse my ignorant questions... i realize that what people 'get out' of stories may be very different for each individual... and there may not be anything to specifically "get".... but if this has anything to do with 'surrendering' to Allah... i would really like to understand, if possible... Thank you. love, carol ------------------------------ From: maarof Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 14:47:18 +0800 Subject: Islam etc Assalamualaikum, I read with interest br. A N Durkhee's post why the reluctance to post to Tariqas. I am from a country/culture where public dialogue/debate between religious faiths is considered "sensitive" and might lead to "public disorder". As a Muslim, I can understand this. It is frequently said about the Malays: "A Malay might only pray twice a year on Eid festivals, but if you insult his religion, he will defend Islam with his life." I think this is still true today and probably with other religious faith too. I've said enough. Its not my intention to alarm anyone... salam maarof ------------------------------ From: maarof Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 18:03:56 +0800 Subject: Carol's Question Re: Abu Yazid Bistami and the fakir (ascetic). Assalamulaikum I have read this story before. Stories, like poetry, lost some of its beauty and its "feel" when translated to other cultural environment. It reminds me when a Japanes translated a haiku, he said: "What I give you is the visual imagery, but not its meaning." To me, the real story is when the fakir sighed: "Subhanallah, La ila hailallah." This is surrender. This story is about surrender to Allah, and the master/teacher used the story to explain the "true" meanings of "Subhanallah" and "La ila hailallah." This is THE STORY in a story. The story about what the master asked the fakir to perform at market is insignificant. Compare this to the translated version as "Glory to God! There's no God but Allah!". Hmmm... salam maarof ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 08:49:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Community Net Experiences (fwd) Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 08:28:06 +0800 Message-Id: <199608100028.IAA28241@cobra.nus.sg> X-Sender: sci30342@cobra.nus.sg X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: tariqas@europe.std.com From: Imaan Shivani Joshi Subject: Re: Community Net Experiences > As salaalmu 'alaikum, sister I can relate to how you feel, cos I have felt the ame way so many times:_) I have not ben part of tariqas for long, but I sense much sincerity from you:-) May He guide you, and all of us, especially when things get tough:-) Imaan ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:20:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: more... (fwd) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 19:19:55 +0800 Message-Id: <199608111119.TAA19997@cobra.nus.sg> X-Sender: sci30342@cobra.nus.sg X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: sci30342@nus.sg, tariqas@world.std.com From: Imaan Shivani Joshi Subject: more... as salaamu 'alaikum !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O God, You called and we were slow. Alas! alas! what we did we did in poor judgement. [Kwaja'AbdullahAnsari-- Munajat] What we shall be is written, and we are so. Heedless of Good or Evil, pen write on! By the first day all futures were decided; Which gives uor griefs and pains irrelevancy." [Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayaam--Omar Ali Shah translation.] "If I should will something that my Lord does not will for me, I should then be guitly of unbelief."-- Rabi'a al Adawiyya. ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:32:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Rabi'a (fwd) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 19:23:10 +0800 Message-Id: <199608111123.TAA08178@cobra.nus.sg> X-Sender: sci30342@cobra.nus.sg X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: sci30342@nus.sg, tariqas@world.std.com From: Imaan Shivani Joshi Subject: Rabi'a as salaamu 'alaikum I am rather strongly influenced by Rabi'a, hence the following: Rabi'a to Hasan of Basra: Shall not He who provides for those who revile Him provide for those who love Him? He does not refuse sustenance to one who speaks unworthily of Him, how then could He refuse sustenance to one whose soul is overflowing with love for Him? "If I should will something that my Lord does not will for me, I should then be guitly of unbelief."-- Rabi'a al Adawiyya. ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:33:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Sorry! Rabi'a (fwd) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 19:28:00 +0800 Message-Id: <199608111128.TAA17959@cobra.nus.sg> X-Sender: sci30342@cobra.nus.sg X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: sci30342@nus.sg, tariqas@world.std.com From: Imaan Shivani Joshi Subject: Sorry! Rabi'a as salaamu 'alaikum I am so sorry! My hand slipped, and the message was sent half composed. Apologies. Rabi'a to Hasan of Basra, who asked her to accept something from a rich man wishing her well on the latter's behalf.: Shall not He who provides for those who revile Him provide for those who love Him? He does not refuse sustenance to one who speaks unworthily of Him, how then should He refuse sustenance to one who is overflowing with love for Him? Ever since I have known Him, I have turned my back upon mankind. How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know, whether he acquired it lawfully or not?...Make my excuses to that merchant, that my heart may not be in bondage [to a creature]. wasalaam. Your sister, Imaan "If I should will something that my Lord does not will for me, I should then be guitly of unbelief."-- Rabi'a al Adawiyya. ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 09:37:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: So Long/ Maqam1(Harden Ego) (fwd) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 16:30:46 -0400 (EDT) From: Sam Sengupta To: Maqam1@aol.com cc: mfpowell@mail.telis.org, tariqas@europe.std.com, listing Subject: Re: So Long/ Maqam1(Harden Ego) In-Reply-To: <960811131913_453822344@emout12.mail.aol.com> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ******************************************************************************* May you have a wonderful day! ******************************************************************************* On Sun, 11 Aug 1996 Maqam1@aol.com wrote: > > Now your next Q' should be who took you through this seclusion? > Answer: 1.ALLAH, My Shakyh, The Quran, Shaitan > > So if there is no me then there is no you either, the me who I have become > is nothingness and until a person comes into the realm of nothingness how can > they truly say they love and worship ALLAH totally if they choose to worship > a higher power at all > and if they choose not to worship then then my Q' to you is this; > 2. Could there harden Ego let them truly love, show mercy or compassion? > > So if I truly thought I was a diamond, fore humans look at the diamond as a > source of perfection so when my students(mureeds) say I'm a diamond I reply > in the" rough" fore I say the only perfection is ALLAH. > > Maqam1 > Salam my brother! What is there but ALLAH? Warmest regards Saumen (sengupta@sunyit.edu) ************************************************************************ ------------------------------ From: Maqam1@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:05:15 -0400 Subject: Re: So Long/Maqam1(Important) In a message dated 96-08-12 02:25:36 EDT, you write: >>>>1. I'm only a slave servant to ALLAH one of HIS creations who has a >>>>lot to work on from with-in. >>>> >>>How is it that ALLAH would ask and reward servitude >>>on the part of human beings? Is not ALLAH infinitely >>>powerful and beyond all need? >>> >A question remains unanswered here, if you >have nothing to write that's entirely OK! > Of course ALLAH does'nt need us and I never said he did, We all need ALLAH because when we came from the womb we knew nothing. To answer another Q" on ego; Once I had stop being driven by ego and I was'nt letting Shaitan(Satan) be the director of my life and learn that ALLAHU AKBAR Min Kulli Shayi (which means ALLAH is greator than everything) I finally seen Kenyatta for who he was a jerk, arrogant fool, one who needed ALLAH more than the next person, Why? Because at that point I was His worse creation, slave servant etc... >>>>2. My purpose for being is to worship GOD and to have humble >>>>compassion toward all creation from the smallest insect to the >>largest >>>mammal. >>>> >>>Are you then a vegetarian? Aren't even plants >>>included in "all creation" and therefore due >>>"humble compassion?" >>> >>Know I'm not a vegetarian and according to the laws of islam hunting >>for sport is forbidden to me, so to take substance from the plant life >is >>to only take what I shall consume. I also make walking staffs & canes it >is >>forbidden for me to cut down a living tree. So my friend Bruce does this >show >>compassion? >> >I cannot read your heart, oh shaykh, through >this device. Let me say that if your dietary >practices come from awareness of suffering >and of our responsibility to those living >things less powerful than us, then there may >well be compassion in them. If they are the >result of what is found in scripture, then >there is only obedience, which is a hollow, >mechanical thing and by its nature not >compassionate. > > Compassion if any comes from what ALLAH has taught me through others, seeing my true ego was guiding me, and yes the criteria of my life the Quran. So I could never think that I'm so great fore I can take that return trip in my mind and see where I came from and where ALLAH has me today. P.S. You can send all of our transmissions to any list you would like, TFA Your Friend Maqam1 ------------------------------ From: Maqam1@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:10:03 -0400 Subject: Re: So Long/Maqam1(Important) In a message dated 96-08-12 02:25:36 EDT, you write: >>>>1. I'm only a slave servant to ALLAH one of HIS creations who has a >>>>lot to work on from with-in. >>>> >>>How is it that ALLAH would ask and reward servitude >>>on the part of human beings? Is not ALLAH infinitely >>>powerful and beyond all need? >>> >A question remains unanswered here, if you >have nothing to write that's entirely OK! > Of course ALLAH does'nt need us and I never said he did, We all need ALLAH because when we came from the womb we knew nothing. To answer another Q" on ego; Once I had stop being driven by ego and I was'nt letting Shaitan(Satan) be the director of my life and learn that ALLAHU AKBAR Min Kulli Shayi (which means ALLAH is greator than everything) I finally seen Kenyatta for who he was a jerk, arrogant fool, one who needed ALLAH more than the next person, Why? Because at that point I was His worse creation, slave servant etc... >>>>2. My purpose for being is to worship GOD and to have humble >>>>compassion toward all creation from the smallest insect to the >>largest >>>mammal. >>>> >>>Are you then a vegetarian? Aren't even plants >>>included in "all creation" and therefore due >>>"humble compassion?" >>> >>Know I'm not a vegetarian and according to the laws of islam hunting >>for sport is forbidden to me, so to take substance from the plant life >is >>to only take what I shall consume. I also make walking staffs & canes it >is >>forbidden for me to cut down a living tree. So my friend Bruce does this >show >>compassion? >> >I cannot read your heart, oh shaykh, through >this device. Let me say that if your dietary >practices come from awareness of suffering >and of our responsibility to those living >things less powerful than us, then there may >well be compassion in them. If they are the >result of what is found in scripture, then >there is only obedience, which is a hollow, >mechanical thing and by its nature not >compassionate. > > Compassion if any comes from what ALLAH has taught me through others, seeing my true ego was guiding me, and yes the criteria of my life the Quran. So I could never think that I'm so great fore I can take that return trip in my mind and see where I came from and where ALLAH has me today. P.S. You can send all of our transmissions to any list you would like, TFA Your Friend Maqam1 ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 06:43:05 -0700 Subject: RUMI 3264 IF YOU CAN ONLY REFLECT like a clean mirror you'll be that magical spirit transmute from a wave to an ocean from an abyss to surpass an angel your soul and mine used to be mingled breathing as one journeying as one though you're in the limelight now you must still kiss a candle to feel the essence to feel the light ghazal number 3264, translated January 4, 1992, by Nader Khalili tanzen ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 07:30:12 -0700 Subject: Re: So Long/Maqam1(Important) Maqam1@aol.com wrote: > Of course ALLAH does'nt need us and I never said he did... [...] > Compassion if any comes from what ALLAH has taught me through others, You are giving it your all, Maqam1, but what comes to mind: "The way of love is not a subtle argument. The door there is devastation. Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom. How did they learn it? They fall, and falling, they're given wings." --Jelaluddin Rumi Presently my plate is filled with the orders: Reduce need to defend, judge, or rationalize. So I just state my experiences, thoughts, as best I can, and post and respond to what seems useful coming from others, and then move along the groove, else the groove becomes a rut. I try to follow these orders. Peace, dear brother, tanzen ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 07:41:14 -0700 Subject: Re: more... (fwd) From: Imaan Shivani Joshi > Subject: more... > > as salaamu 'alaikum > > !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! > O God, > You called and we were slow. > Alas! alas! what we did we did in poor judgement. > [Kwaja'AbdullahAnsari-- Munajat] > > What we shall be is written, and we are so. > Heedless of Good or Evil, pen write on! > By the first day all futures were decided; > Which gives uor griefs and pains irrelevancy." > [Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayaam--Omar Ali Shah translation.] > > "If I should will something that my Lord does not will for me, I should > then be guitly of unbelief."-- Rabi'a al Adawiyya. More Rubaiyyat: 76 Evil and Good dispute the heart's possession; (78,52) Sorrow and Joy are man's predestined lot. Live in no awe of planets. Planets are One thousand times more impotent than we. 77 Truth is hyperbole, my heart of hearts. (,) Why are you so distressed by grief and labour? Yield to your destiny, conform, conform! Tomorrow too is framed by destiny. 78 Yesterday they determined your today (80,) Exempt from yesterday's inept desires. Rejoice that by no effort of your own Tomorrow also is mapped out for you. Hello, Imaan, dear sister! Do you feel that Khayaam is letting God know that he knows? letting us know that we should also know? Peace and love, tanzen ------------------------------ From: barzakh@idola.net.id Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 22:14:02 +0700 Subject: Re: Help on the Path. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Assalamu'alaykum, Dear all, At 02:22 PM 8/11/96 -0700, Bryce G. Hoffman wrote: >Assalamu alaikum. > >I have been trying to learn as much about Sufism as possible through the >Internet, with mixed success. I feel the time has come for me to choose an >Order, but I still have many questions (read nafs). > Welcome to the Path, dear one! Your decision to find a Tariqa (Sufi Order) is a sign that God have called you to traverse His Path. I suggest that you start looking for a tariqa nearsest to your home, and find a teacher who SPEAK your language. Your effort will be rewarded, Insha Allah. >I would very much like to hear from anyone out there who is part of an >active Order. I am particularly interested in the Naqahbandi-Haqqani >tariqa, but would like to hear from as many different voices as possible. > I believe there are many tariqas in your country (USA, isn't it?). Maybe it's best to start your search from a local mosque. Or maybe the list of Sufi homepages from Habib may help, but I think there are also many tariqas which do not have a website. I live far from your country, I hope other sisters and brothers in USA can give more help. Good luck! May Allah be with you always. Wassalamu'alaykum, Michael Roland Jakarta, Indonesia ------------------------------ From: gmtn@mail.comet.net (Green Mountain School) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:16:13 -0500 Subject: carol woodsong's question{s} as-salaamu 'alaykum, carol woodsong wrote, > okay. I've been warned not to do this... but i'm throwing caution to the > wind these days! ... I am one of the 'unknowledgable'. I wish > to see Truth. I wish to do God's Will. I have absolutely no > undersatanding of Islam -- but i do have an intense desire to "surrender > to Allah".... TELL ME how to do that! Obviously you have not yet really reached the point of throwing caution to the wind as evidenced by your which is perhaps better phrased . If you truly believe you are 'unknowledgable' why place it in quotes? Perhaps you sincerely wish to do what you imagine to be "God's Will" but i would suggest that you have a long way to go until you reach the point of even knowing what that might be meant given the off-hand and flip way you open this most important subject. If you want to develop your understanding of Islam there are a number of fine teachers living throughout the world who might help you do that. If you are not prepared to deal with living human beings or if you are but would rather first get an idea of the terrain then there are a number of books written on many different levels presently available in English. These range from Hammudah Abdulati's book "Islam in Focus" thru a very wide spectrum to say "the Way of Muhammad" by 'Abdu-l-Qadir Sufi or to "Understanding Islam" by F. Schuon". There are also quite a few books written in English which clarify the integral relationship between Islam and Sufism which might be helpful to you as well. I would be glad to try to put together a short list of 10 or 12 books that could help you to come to some basic understanding of what Islam {and Sufism} is and what it isn't. Similarly I would be glad to suggest the names of a few teachers in the world who might {and i can onlyu say might becuase that would be between you and whoever that teacher might be} be inclined to help further your understanding of Islam and Sufism which rests at the heart of Islam. Regarding surrender to Allah for which you profess to have an intense desire i would simply say that it begins with a deep recognition that there is no deity {at whatever level} save Allah and that Muhammad, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him, is the final messenger and the mercy to all the worlds from the Lord of All the Worlds. How this realisation is arrived at -- suddenly as it is for some -- or as a result of patient study and deep inquiry as it is for others -- is between you and Allah for Allah says, {translated into English} "Allah guides to His Light whom He chooses." {Q24:35}. As to your last request "TELLME how to do that!" i would simply say that a pure mind and a clean heart {along with other subtleties and fine tuning in various personal dimensions} are certainly very basic to the "how" of surrender {Islam}. I should say that the word in Arabic that Allah uses in the above quoted 'ayat {or verse} to say "He chooses" has two meanings. It means simultaneously whom He chooses and he who chooses. {I trust here you will not get involved in gender issues as it is simply the use of the third person singular masculine which is generic and not specific. The meaning is sexually inclusive rather than exclusive and is understood as such by readers of Arabic.} Thus the same ayat might be written, "Allah guides to His Light he who chooses {to be guided}". So it is really a matter of providential conjunction of Divine and human choice. I pray that you find your self to be among those fortunate ones who are both chosen and have chosen. wa salaam {peace} ------------------------------ From: Hugh Talat Halman Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 13:55:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Fatwa declares Goethe a Muslim (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 13:20:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Carl Ernst To: Bruce Lawrence , Vincent Cornell , Duke University graduate students -- Eric Boyd , Frederick Colby , Hina Azam , Munis Faruqui , Omid Safi , Simi Ghazi , Hugh Talat Halman , Zia Inayat Khan Subject: Fatwa declares Goethe a Muslim (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 19:36:49 -0500 (CDT) From: Frank Lewis To: adabiyat@listhost.uchicago.edu Subject: Fatwa declares Goethe a Muslim A long but very interesting and literarily documented fatwa from Shaykh Abdalqadir al-Murabit arguing that Johann W. von Goethe should be recognized as a Muslim has been sent out on the MSANEWS network by a group called the al-Murabitun World Wide Network. This al-Murabitun Network has a web page of its own where this message can also be accessed: http://eldarco.com/murabit/goethe.html - ------------------------------ From: msanews@faith.mynet.net (MSANEWS) Sat, 10 Aug 1996 12:21:42 -0500 (CDT) To: msanews@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: MSANEWS: Shaykh Abdalqadir al-Murabit: Fatwa on the acceptance of Goethe as being a Muslim ______________________________________________________________________________ __ __________ _ _______ ______ / |/ / __/ _ | / |/ / __/ | /| / / __/ / /|_/ /\ \/ __ |/ / _/ | |/ |/ /\ \ /_/ /_/___/_/ |_/_/|_/___/ |__/|__/___/ ______________________________________________________________________________ Source: Al-Murabitun World Wide Movement URL: http://eldarco.com/murabit/goethe.html Title: Fatwa on the acceptance of Goethe as being a Muslim By: Shaykh 'Abdalqadir Al-Murabit TEXT: The Evidence Goethe and Christianity Goethe said that there is +much nonsense in the doctrines of the [christian] church; (Conversations with Eckermann, 11.3.1832) In his Goethe stresses the value of the precious present moment rather than having the christian attitude of only waiting for the next life and therefore disgracing what God gives man in every moment of his life. Goethe refuses the christian view of Jesus and confirms the unity of Allah in a poem of his : +Jesus felt pure and calmly thought Only the One God; Who made himself to be a god Offends his holy will. And thus the right(ness) has to shine What Mahomet also achieved; Only by the term of the One He mastered the whole world.; +Jesus f|hlte rein und dachte Nur den Einen Gott im Stillen; Wer ihn selbst zum Gotte machte Krdnkte seinen heil'gen Willen. Und so mu_ das Rechte scheinen Was auch Mahomet gelungen; Nur durch den Begriff des Einen Hat er alle Welt bezwungen.; (WA I, 6, 288 ff) Beside Jesus and Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace! - in the following verses Goethe also names Abraham, Moses and David as the representatives of the Oneness of God. It is a known fact that Goethe felt a strong dislike for the symbol of the cross. He wrote: +And now you come with a sign ... which among all others I mostly dislike. All this modern nonsense You are going to bring me to Schiras! Should I, in all its stiffness, Sing of two crossed wooden pieces?; +Und nun kommst du, hast ein Zeichen Dran gehdngt, das unter allen ... Mir am schlechtesten will gefallen Diese ganze moderne Narrheit Magst du mir nach Schiras bringen! Soll ich wohl, in seiner Starrheit, Hvlzchen quer auf Hvlzchen singen?...; and even stronger: +You want to make it God for me Such a picture of wretchedness at the (piece of) wood!; +Mir willst du zum Gotte machen Solch ein Jammerbild am Holze!; Also in Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre Goethe quite frankly wrote that it is a +cursed insolence ... to play with secrets that are hidden in the divine depth of suffering; One should rather +cover it with a veil;. Finally, in the poem of the Seven Sleepers of his Goethe calls Jesus a prophet: +Ephesus for many years/ Honours the teaching of the Prophet Jesus. (Peace be upon the good one!); (WA I, 6, 269) Sufism / Practice of Dhikr Goethe is fascinated by Saadi's metaphor of the +fly in love; flying into the light where it dies as the image for the Sufi. See here especially the poem of the about the butterfly flying into the light +Blissful yearning / Selige Sehnsucht; whose earlier titles were +Sacrifice of the self / Selbstopfer; and +Perfection/ Vollendung;. In the chapter about Rumi Goethe acknowledges the invocation of Allah and the blessing of it: +Already the so-called mahometan rosary [prayer-beeds] by which the name Allah is glorified with ninety-nine qualities is such a praise litany. Affirming and negating qualities indicate the inconceivable Being [Wesen]; the worshipper is amazed, submits and calms down.; (WA I, 7, 59) Goethe and Islam As a young man Goethe wanted to study oriental studies - but his father finally wanted him to study law; he always admired the first travellers to Arabia (Michaelis, Niebuhr), he was fascinated by it and read everything they published about their trips. In 1814/15 at the time of his Goethe trained himself with the professors for oriental studies Paulus, Lorsbach and Kosegarten (Jena) in reading and writing Arabic. After looking at his Arabic manuscripts and having known about the Qur'an, Goethe felt a great yearning to learn Arabic. He copied short Arabic Du'as by himself and wrote: +In no other language spirit, word and letter are embodied in such a primal way.; (Letter to Schlosser, 23.1.1815, WA IV, 25, 165) At the age of 70 Goethe writes (Notes and Essays to the Divan, WA I, 17, 153) that he intends +to celebrate respectfully that night when the Prophet was given the Koran completely from above; He also wrote: +No one may wonder about the great efficiency of the Book. That is why it has been declared as uncreated by real admirers; and added to it: +This book will eternally remain highly efficacious/effective; (WA I, 7, 35/36) Still today we have the handwritten manuscripts of his first intensive Qur'an-studies of 1771/1772 and the later ones in the Goethe and Schiller-Archive in Weimar. Goethe read the German translation of Qur'an by J. v. Hammer (possibly as well from the more prosaic English translation of G. Sale) out loud in front of members of the Duke's family in Weimar and their guests. Being witnesses Schiller and his wife reported about the reading. (Schiller's letter to Knebel, 22.2.1815) Goethe always felt the shortcomings of all the translations (Latin, English, German and French) and was constantly looking for new translations. In his Goethe says: +Whether the Koran is of eternity? I don't question that!... That it is the book of books I believe out of the muslim's duty.; +Ob der Koran von Ewigkeit sei? Danach frag' ich nicht!... Da_ er das Buch der B|cher sei Glaub ich aus Mosleminen-Pflicht; (West-vstlicher Divan, WA I, 6, 203) He studied Arabic handbooks, grammars, travel-books, poetry, anthologies, books on the sira of the Prophet Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace! - and had a widespread exchange with oriental scholars about these matters. Goethe liked the German translation of Hafis' by Hammer (May 1814) and studied the different translations of Qur'an of his time. All of this inspired him to write his own +West-vstlicher Divan; and of course many poems of the are clearly inspired by and relate to different Ayats of Qur'an (see Mommsen, p. 269-274). Goethe bought original Arabic manuscripts of Rumi, Dschami, Hafis, Saadi, Attar, Qur'an-Tafsir, Du'as, an Arabic-Turkish dictionary, texts on matters like the freeing of slaves, buying and selling, interest, usury and Arabian scripts from Sultan Selim. Goethe considered it not to be a mere accident but rather as meaningful incidents, in fact as part of his decree and signs of Allah, when: - - in autumn 1813 he was brought an old Arabic handwritten manuscript from Spain by a German soldier coming from Spain which contained the last Surat An-Nas (114). Later Goethe tried to copy it himself with the help of the professors in Jena who had helped him in finding out the manuscript's content - - in January 1814 he visited a prayer of Bashkir Muslims from the Russian army of Zar Alexander in the protestant gymnasium of Weimar. See the letter to Trebra, 5.1.1814 (WA IV, 24, 91) where he says: +Speaking of prophecies, I have to tell you that there are things happening these days, which they would not have allowed a prophet to say. Who would have been allowed some years ago to say that there would be held a mahommedan divine service and the Suras of Koran would be murmured in the auditorium of our protestant gymnasium and yet it happened and we attended the Bashkir service, saw their Mulla and welcomed their Prince in the theatre. Out of special favour I was presented with a bow and arrows which for eternal memory I will hang above my chimney as soon as God has decreed a lucky return for them.; In a letter to his son August from the 17.1.1814 (WA IV, 24, 110) he adds: +Several religious ladies of us have asked for the translation of the Coran from the library.; Goethe's positive attitude towards Islam goes far beyond anyone in Germany before: He published on 24.2.1816: +The poet [Goethe]... does not refuse the suspicion that he himself is a Muslim.; (WA I, 41, 86) In another poem of the Goethe says: +Stupid that everyone in his case Is praising his particular opinion! If Islam means submission to God, We all live and die in Islam.; +Ndrrisch, da_ jeder in seinem Falle Seine besondere Meinung preist! Wenn Islam Gott ergeben hei_t, In Islam leben und sterben wir alle.; (WA I, 6, 128) Apart from Goethe's - the poet's - fascination for the language of Qur'an, its beauty and sublimeness, he was mostly attracted by its religious and philosophical meaning: the unity of God, the conviction that God manifests in nature/creation is one of the major themes in Goethe's work. During his first intensive Qur'an-studies Goethe copied and partly put right the text of the first direct translation of the Qur'an from Arabic into German in 1771/1772. Goethe wrote down different Ayats of Qur'an which teach man how he should see nature in all its phenomena as signs of divine laws. The multiplicity of the phenomena indicates the One God. The relation towards nature as the Qur'an presents it connected with the teaching of the kindness and oneness of God - as Goethe writes it down from the Ayats of Sura No. 2 - became the main pillars on which Goethe's sympathy and affinity towards Islam was based. Goethe said we should realize +God's greatness in the small; - +Gottes Grv_e im Kleinen; and refers to the Ayat of Surat Al-Baqara, vers 25 where the metaphor of the fly is given. Goethe was very impressed about the fact that Allah speaks to mankind by prophets and thus he confirmed the prophet Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace!: In 1819 Goethe writes (referring to Sura +Ibrahim;, Ayat 4) +It is true, what God says in the Qur'an: We did not send a prophet to a people but in their language.; (Letter to A.O. Blumenthal, 28.5.1819, WA IV, 31, 160) Referring to the same Ayat Goethe repeats in a letter to Carlyle: +The Koran says: God has given each people a prophet in its own language.; (20.7.1827, WA IV, 42, 270) It appears again in 1827 in an essay of Goethe in: German Romance. Vol. IV. Edinburgh 1827 (WA I, 41, 307) Goethe affirmed the rejection of the unbelievers' challenge to the prophet Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace! - to show them miracles where he says: +Wonders I can not do said the Prophet, / The greatest miracle is that I am.; (Paralipomenon III, 14 of the Divan, WA I, 6, 476) In +Mahomet; Goethe wrote the famous song of praise +Mahomets Gesang;. The meaning of the prophet is put into the metaphor of the stream, starting from the smallest beginning and growing to be an immense spiritual power, expanding, unfolding, and gloriously ending in the ocean, the symbol for divinity. He especially describes the religious genius in carrying the other people with him like the stream does with small brooks and rivers. On a handwritten manuscript of the Paralipomena III, 31 of the Goethe writes on the 27.1.1816: +Head of created beings / Muhammed;. (WA I, 6, 482) Furthermore that true religion is shown by good action. Here Goethe especially liked the action of giving Sadaqa, giving to the needy. In several poems of the Divan, +Buch der Spr|che; Goethe speaks about +the pleasure of giving; / +die Wonne des Gebens; / +See it rightly and you will always give; - +Schau es recht, und du wirst immer geben; (WA I, 6, 70) which already in this life is full of blessings. Goethe is also well known for his rejection of the concept of chance/accident: +What people do not and can not realize in their undertakings and what rules most obviously at its best where their greatness should shine - the chance as they call it later - exactly this is God, who here directly enters and glorifies Himself by the most trifling.; (conversation with Riemer, November 1807) The increasingly firm belief in the decree of God (conversation with chancellor M|ller, 12.8.1827, WA I, 42, 212, WA I, 32, 57) and the verse of a Divan-poem: +If Allah had determined me to be a worm;/ He would have created me as a worm.; (WA I, 6, 113) and more +they [-examples of metaphors used in the Divan -] represent the wonderful guidance and providence coming out of the unexplorable, inconceivable decree of God; they teach and confirm the true Islam, the absolute submission to the will of God, the conviction, that no one may avoid his once assigned destiny.; (WA I, 7, 151ff) resulted in his personal attitude of submission under the will of God, i.e. Goethe saw it as an order to accept it thankfully and not to rebel against it. See famous examples for this in his +Egmont;, +Dichtung und Wahrheit;, +Urworte Orphisch; and +Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre; etc. A deeply moving example from his own life was his reaction to the accident of his coach when he started his third journey to Marianne von Willemer (July 1816), who he intended to marry after Christiane had died about which he felt extremly unhappy. Goethe took this as a clear warning not to pursue his wish anymore and completely refrained from his original intention. After that Goethe wrote: +And thus we have to remain inside Islam, (that means: in complete submission to the will of God)...; (WA IV, 27, 123) He said: +I cannot tell you more than this that also here I try to remain in Islam.; (Letter to Zelter, 20.9.1820, WA IV, 33, 240) When in 1831 the cholera appeared and killed many people he consoled a friend: +Here no one can counsil the other; each one has to decide on his own. We all live in Islam, whatever form we choose to encourage ourselves.; (Letter to Adele Schopenhauer, 19.9.1831, WA IV, 49, 87) In December 1820 Goethe wrote thanks for the gift of a book of aphorisms of his friend Willemer and says: +It fits ... with every religious-reasonable view and is an Islam to which we all have to confess sooner or later.; (WA IV, 34, 50) As a participant in the war of 1792 against France Goethe said that this belief in the decree of God has its purest expression in Islam: +The religion of Mohammed gives the best proof of this.; (WA I, 33, 123) According to Eckermann's conversations with Goethe (11.4.1827) the latter said to the first speaking about the education of the muslims by constantly seeing opposites in existence, therefore meeting doubt, close examination of a matter and thus finally arriving at certainty: +That philosophical system of the mohammedan people is an excellent measure which one can apply to oneself as well as to others in order to know on which station of spiritual virtue we actually are.; About things man should not be occupied with, Goethe writes in +Maximen und Reflexionen;: +The most beautiful luck of the thinking man is to have explored the explorable and to admire calmly the unexplorable.; - This refers to the fact that the muslim should not ask for things which cannot be known by man. * * * * * About the unity of Allah Goethe said: +The belief in the one God has always the effect to elevate the spirit because it indicates for man the unity within his own self.; (Noten und Abhandlungen zum West-vstlichen Divan, chapter Mahmud von Gasna, WA I, 7, 42) Goethe tells about the difference between a prophet and a poet and the confirmation of Muhammad - may Allah bless him and give him peace! - as a prophet: +He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as a divine law and not as a book of a human being, made for education or entertainment.; (Noten und Abhandlungen zum West-vstlichen Divan, WA I, 7, 32) * * * * * Conclusion After examining the material evidence above and recognising its corroborative proofs in the writing of his close friends, Thomas Carlyle and Schiller it is possible to come to a clear conclusion without ambiguity or doubt. Everything contained in his scientific writings, especially +Zur Morphologie; stands as a lifetime's propagation of the view that the universe is the creation of a Divine Being and that the Creator has no connected aspect to His creation. While he lived his life in a kafir country he wholeheartedly adopted and declared commitment to the double Shahada and confirmed that there can be no god but Allah, the One, and that His messenger, and seal of the messengers was Muhammad, may Allah bless him and give him peace. Uninstructed in Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj, he nevertheless proudly and with deep emotion took the rare opportunity to attend the Juma'a. In all this it is clear that he saw Islam as his own Deen. >From the several renowned and confirmed Hadith in Muslim, Bukhari and the Sunnan collections it is known that confirmation of Allah and His messenger was itself the indisputable door of Islam, and the key to Jinnah. Thus it can be clearly accepted that Europe's greatest poet, and the glory of the German language and intellectual life is also the first of the Muslims in modern Europe, re-awakening in the hearts of people desire for knowledge of God and His messenger, a knowledge that had lain dormant since darkness had descended on Islamic Spain. In the light of his dazzling confirmation of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, he should be known among the muslims as Muhammad Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Shaykh 'Abdalqadir Al-Murabit Authorized by the Amir of the Muslim Community in Weimar, Hajj Abu Bakr Rieger Weimar, 19th December 1995 _ ------------------------------ End of tariqas-digest V1 #100 *****************************