From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Wed Sep 18 14:20:43 1996 Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 20:54:07 -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 #131 tariqas-digest Saturday, 7 September 1996 Volume 01 : Number 131 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: frank gaude Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 06:41:35 -0700 Subject: RUMI 258 IF YOU STAY AWAKE for an entire night watch out for a treasure trying to arrive you can keep warm by the secret sun of the night keeping you eyes open for the softness of dawn try it for tonight challenge your sleepy eyes do not lay your head down wait for heavenly alms night is the bringer of gifts Moses went on a ten-year journey during a single night invited by a tree to watch the fire and light Mohammed too made his passage during that holy night when he heard the glorious voice when he ascended to the sky day is to make a living night is only for love commoners sleep fast lovers whisper to God all night all night long a voice calls upon you to wake up in the precious hours if you miss your chance now when your body is left behind your soul will lament death is a life of no return ghazal number 258, translated April 13, 1992, by Nader Khalili. tanzen ------------------------------ From: Zainuddin Ismail Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 00:30:57 +0800 (SGT) Subject: Re: The Black Stone (Hajar Aswad) Salam. In Islam we are enjoined to worship only God Almighty.Beside God whom we worship without images, idols and intercession , everything is part of God's Creation.And anything which is apart from God cannot be worshipped ."There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah" Adam was the First Prophet.He was enjoined to build a mosque -call it a temple - if you like - where human beings could worship God.The Hajar Aswad was sent down like a meteorite to enable him to know where to build the first mosque also known as the Ka'bah.During the great floods of the time of Prophet Noah a.s. the Hajar Aswad was reputedly preserved in the nearby hills known as Jabal Qubais.When Prophet Abraham a.s raised the foundations of the ancient Ka'bah ,he placed the Hajar Aswad in one corner of the wall of the Ka'bah.Hajar Aswad is not an object of worship neither is the Ka'bah.It is however of meta-historical and sentimental value.Prophet Adam a.s., mother Eve who is buried nearby at Jeddah which means Grandmother ( in her memory )Prophet Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac a.s.Prophet Muhammad etc etc were associated with the history of the Hajar Aswad.It is the only remnant of the original Ka'bah.But it is not of substantive value.When the Qarmatians stole the Hajar Aswad and brought it to Damascus, worship carried on as per normal at Makkah.In fact according to Islamic Law even though the Kaabah is destroyed Muslims still orientate their face in that direction during worship.This is simply for a sense of direction and for discipline.Psychologically it gravitates the believer wherever he may be towards a geographical region which is important from the point of view of religious history.As far as God is concerned He is everywhere."My heavens and my earth do not contain me but what contains me is the heart of a believer" "Qalb Mu'min Arsh Allah" "The heart of a believer is the Throne of God" According to a tradition found in the hadis rescension known as Sahih Muslim , forty years after the Prophet Adam a.s.built the Ka'bah he built another mosque or temple at Jerusalem.By changing the direction from Jerusalem to Makkah , the Prophet Muhammd was simple correcting the orientation. It is significant that in one psalm perhaps some numher 82 , 83 or 84 that Prophet David expressed a longing to make a pilgrimage to Mecca otherwise known as Bacca in the Quran Pilgrimage is a memorial to the religious history of humankind.Prophet Adam , Abraham and Muhammad are the spiritual fathers of humanity. Your last question which mentions lingam is too gross to understand.There is not the slightest connection of Islam to pagan superstitions , fetishism , phallus worship as some polytheists outside Islam would like to believe. At 18:59 9/7/96 +0700, you wrote: >Assalamualaikum, all! > >I repost the following message from another mailing list for your >elucidation: > >What is the Black Stone? What is its origin? What is its significance >in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)? > >The same questions can also be asked about the Kaaba itself: >What is the Kaaba? What is its origin? What is its significance >in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)? > >Your responses will be archived and posted to the original mailing list. >Thank you very much. > >Wassalam, >Hudoyo >--------------------------- > >QUESTION: > >The Webster's Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary meaning for KAABA in MECCA >is "a muslim shrine in Mecca that houses a sacred black stone said to have >been given to Abraham by the archangel Gabriel and towards which followers >of Muhammad face praying." > >Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Black stone was given to Adam on his >fall to earth and he erected a shrine for the Stone. At present the stone >is enshrined in Ka'ba and it has been broken into pieces. The "Stone" had >been held for ransom for 20 yrs. at one time by the fanatics. Abraham >"raised the foundations"(Koran ii. 127) of the old destroyed shrine and it >had been a place of worship to the pagans even before the rise of Islam. >Prophet Muhammad, when he reoriented (at later part of his life) the Islamic >prayer from Jerusalem, towards Mecca, (an important event in Islam) removed >all other pagan deities paintings, and ornaments from the interior of Ka'ba. >The Black Stone was not removed. (End of Encyclopedic reference) > >One legend has it that this Black Stone was a Lingam. Any evidence for this >legend? > >Any explanation as to what is the significance of this sacred stone and >praying to this enshrined stone which constitutes an idol worship. Is it >not against Islamic and or Jewish beliefs? > >------------------------------- > > > ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 08:21:27 -0700 Subject: Re: World Peace Carol Woodsong wrote: > > Hello, sister Kaffea, > > >In my small way, I can turn all my ill will for anyone into > >love and good will and try on a daily basis to be a > >Peace maker...Kaffea Lalla > > That Way is not so 'small' my beautiful sister! That way is big, very big! Start by seeing that you are loveable, love yourself; then see that all your neighbors, your friends, your associates, your enemies are loveable, love them; and then, and then, God is easy to love, for there is nothing but God and love. > "My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the > individual to develop non-violence. The more you develop it in your own > being, the more it overwhelms your surroundings and by and by and by > might oversweep the world." > --Mahatma Gandhi [...] Let us be overwhelmed by love, brother tanzen ------------------------------ From: Asim Jalis Date: Sat, 7 Sep 96 13:32:49 CDT Subject: God My God has so many forms. Like sometimes he turns into the little gnat flying self-absorbedly in irresponsible randomness. Sometimes he becomes the sea-gull gliding effortlessly moving like a carefully crafted poem. Sometimes he becomes the entire universe in its own humming dance. All the people, the traffic, the planes, the internet, all these complicated systems dancing with each other. Anyway, so it is a way to personalize abstract things and to love them. And sometimes when I am running the branch of a tree lovingly caresses me. Or a squirrel looks at me amusedly, or a leaf that has been on a tree for many months decides to abandon the tree and float down into non-existence just as I pass the tree displaying for me its last eloquent dance. But sometimes God turns into a beautiful woman that I am in love with. And we talk to each other as if he were such a woman. And we play mind-games with each other and yearn for each other. I caress her face. Or lightly kiss her cheek as she blushes or perhaps reciprocates. Or I might hold her hand. Or he is my intimate friend who has been with me always. He walks with me wearing a middle-eastern robe and Birkenstocks. And suggests ways around my immediate "problems". Or we talk about the things around us and the trees. He is all these things and yet none of them and yet all of them. Of course these things are not really him but they point to him. And in the things around me I see messages. Like the river rushing with abandon to the sea shows me that this path requires surrender and abandon and not circumspect logic and hesitation. Asim ------------------------------ From: Aaron McEmrys Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 12:56:58 -0700 Subject: Re: World Peace maarof wrote: > > Kaffea Lalla wrote: > > > > What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result, > > or more people and ethic groups be eliminated?[...] > > I doubt that the American (forces) will moved out of Iraq or Saudi > Arabia at present time or a near future. Besides being a strategic > milirary location, the presence of American forces act as a kind > of insurance for American investment esp. oil. I remembered > during the Arab oil embargo during Arab-Israel war in 1973, there > was a plan for Western countries to occupy militarily Arab lands. The > arguement was supposedly to protect Western civilisation. > So, I'm not suprised at what is happening there now. > > Peace? Lets pray > > salam > your 'adopted' brother > maarof Besides, the American "powers-that-be" have no wish to see Saddam Hussein fall out of power. PBS recently aired an excellent documentary about how "building enemies" is a very important part of US policy making. During Israel's war with Jordan, the US government was selling identical weaponry to both sides! Manuel Noriega was trained at the School of the Americas, and recieved US funding for years, until he decided to go solo. In Central and South America, US policy has bounced back and forth, supporting one side long enough for it to catch up, then withdrawing support to prevent the war from ending. The US sold weapons to Iran to support her war against Iraq, and then sold arms to Iraq in their war against Iran. The US gave weapons to Israel, knowing that Israel was re-selling them to fascist South Africa for profit! Most recently, the Pentagon has been trying to scare Americans with the threat of a nuclear North Korea. North Korea presents absolutely *NO* threat to American security, nor does Cuba - a nation which our president recently singled out as one of the greatest threats to world peace - never a word about China... The United States has found a very clever answer to the age old plight of the perfect predator. What does a predator do when it has no natural enemies left to feed on? It *makes* them... As long as the Military-Industrial complex can persuade people that they need protection, the complex will live on, fatter and fatter all the time. As an interesting sidenote, Bob Dole proposes to increase military spending. He admits though, that there isn't really all that much to do with all those tanks and guns and young warriors. He proposes using them in the "war on drugs" in America's cities - using blanket search warrants, allowing troops to move through whole neighborhoods, kicking in doors, interrogating, and searching at will. Of course, he'd have to get rid of the constitution... Don't let my harsh tone mislead you. I do believe in the possibility of peace and brotherhood with all my heart. I just don't think the action (or inaction) of government will bring it about, except, perhaps, indirectly - by stimulating all of us into action as a community. in peace, Aaron ------------------------------ From: Aaron McEmrys Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 13:00:22 -0700 Subject: Re: pray for world peace while speaking out against oppression Craig Johannsen wrote: > > Zainuddin Ismail wrote: > > > > Salams. > > The machinations of the anti-religion secularists whether Soviet,American or > > Maoist created a monster which I call Izlamic statism which is the very > > opposite of Islamic theodemocracy .Ayatollahism, Saudism,Zia-ul-Haqism and > > the ideology of those who are killing each other in Egypt , Algeria and > > Afghanistan are the contemporary manifestations of this illegitimate child > > of Middle Eastern emotionalism, materialism,statism ,secularism and > > nationalism.Let us look at the difference between > > the two.The one the opposite of the other:- > > [snip] > > I like the way you contrasted the two types of state. > Which states would currently fit your definition of theodemocracy? This is a fascinating subject. I accidentally dumped the post with the two contrasting columns on them. If anybody has the post, please repost or forward to me. I had never thought of it that way, but looking at the two columns lined up like that was really revealing for me. Thanks. peace, Aaron ------------------------------ From: Aaron McEmrys Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 13:23:09 -0700 Subject: Re: pray for world peace while speaking out against oppression .It is interesting to read the works of the German Goethe and > the thoughts of Bernard Shaw on the benevolence of Muhammad.Napolean > Bonarparte's diary in French translated by Christian Cherfils many many > years ago provides Napolean's analysis of the Islamic laws which is unknown > today.I read when I was a boy in Raffles Library ,Singapore, a book called > Letters of Napolean .That too provides some clues on his analysis of the > theodemocracy.Indeed one writer claims that the Code Napolean was based on > Imam Malik's Muatta which itself is the collation of the words of Muhammad > on the theodemocracy.I have not read the Code Napolean of France and anyway > Napolean's behaviour was a contradiction of his so-called Islamic profession > which decorated every letter which he wrote to the Muslim sultans of his day. Napoleon was a great general perhaps, but he was an even better cynic! When Napoleon invaded Egypt, looking to hit England where it would really hurt - he used, when trying to convince his government to let him go - the excuse that they were only savages after all, and the French influence would help civilize them. He decimated the Brittish led armies opposing him with ease. He even compared the Great Pyramid to the even greater Empire he planned to build. Meanwhile, the french navy got the stuffing knocked out of it in the Mediterranian. Napoleon found himself sitting with a tired, demoralised army in the middle of Egypt, with a very hostile and resentful population all around him. He was low on supplies, and had no way of getting back to France. He knew it was unlawful for Muslims to kill each other, and to deny hospitality to the "needy". He then forced his entire army to convert on the spot! He also "converted", at least until he shipped out on a smugglers ship, leaving his entire army to find it's own way home. When it was prudent to be a democrat, he was. When it was prudent to be a monarchist, he was. When it was prudent to be a Muslim,he was. And later, when it was prudent to be a fascist... ------------------------------ From: Hafizullah@aol.com Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 16:49:45 -0400 Subject: Re: Dance In a message dated 96-09-06 07:41:05 EDT, you write: << Does anyone know (I'm making this enquiry for a friend) where one can learn Sufi dancing in London? A friend who learnt Sufi dancing a while back, tells me he learnt it off a master from Turkey. I'm ignorant in such matters, but is it the same as the 'Whirling Dervishes Dance'? In his case he did not wear a conical hat, but a Fez instead. He said he used to get the sensation it was not he who was spinning, but that he was standing still and it was the whole room around him that was spinning. He carried on for a whole year until one day it caught up with him and he got violently sick (from the whirling). He also told me there was no requirement, in his case, to have any acquaintance of Sufi teachings. Is this so? >> I'd have to know a little more about what you mean by "Sufi Dancing." There is a practice that originated with Sufi Murshid Ahmed Murad (aka Samuel Lewis, a student of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan) that is often colloquially termed "Sufi Dancing;" its practitioners prefer the term "Dances of Universal Peace." There is no requirement that one have any familiarity with Sufi teaching. "Sufi Dancing/Dances of Universal Peace" and the practice of The Turn (as it is called) of the Mevlevi Dervishes are not even remotely related, tho the practitioners of the aforementioned Dances often whirl in different directions. I have no clue as to what your friend learned in Turkey; The Turn is properly taught in conjunction with instruction in Sufi teaching (though the Turkish government will sometimes enlist the aid of Mevlevi shaikhs to teach The Turn to non-Sufis as pure performers in part of the annual celebration of the life of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, patron saint of the Mevlevi and a Turkish national treasure). If your friend got sick from spinning in circles, I would hazard a guess that he was not doing something correctly. I hope this helps. Hafizullah faqir -i Mevlevi ------------------------------ From: Jesa Macbeth Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 21:41:07 GMT Subject: Re: World Peace >> Kaffea Lalla wrote: >> > >> > What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result, >> > or more people and ethic groups be eliminated?[...] >> >>maarof wrote: >> I doubt that the American (forces) will moved out of Iraq or Saudi >> Arabia at present time or a near future. >> salam >> your 'adopted' brother >> maarof > >Aaron wrote: > Besides, the American "powers-that-be" have no wish to see Saddam >Hussein fall out of power. > in peace, Aaron > It's interesting that no one has actually tried to answer Kaffea Lalla's questions, which are good ones. It's always easier to look for someone to blame than to look for solutions - or at hard questions. peacefully noticing, Jesa ------------------------------ From: Aaron McEmrys Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 16:19:01 -0700 Subject: Re: World Peace Jesa Macbeth wrote: > > >> Kaffea Lalla wrote: > >> > > >> > What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result, > >> > or more people and ethic groups be eliminated?[...] > >> > >>maarof wrote: > >> I doubt that the American (forces) will moved out of Iraq or Saudi > >> Arabia at present time or a near future. > > >> salam > >> your 'adopted' brother > >> maarof > > > >Aaron wrote: > > Besides, the American "powers-that-be" have no wish to see Saddam > >Hussein fall out of power. > > > in peace, Aaron > > > It's interesting that no one has actually tried to answer Kaffea Lalla's > questions, which are good ones. It's always easier to look for someone to > blame than to look for solutions - or at hard questions. > > peacefully noticing, > > Jesa Point Taken! Thanks for noticing. Aaron ------------------------------ From: maarof Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 07:16:39 +0800 Subject: Re: World Peace Jesa wrote: >It's interesting that no one has actually tried to answer Kaffea Lalla's >questions, which are good ones. It's always easier to look for someone to >blame than to look for solutions - or at hard questions. > The globe is such a big place, about three-quarter is water. What we see as war or troubled spots (such the military activity in middle east) is only a small fraction of this planet's activity. Actually there is abundant PEACE on this planet, if we consider the "peaceful" areas of Atlantic and Pacific Oceans etc. salam maarof ------------------------------ From: Jesa Macbeth Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 23:34:17 GMT Subject: Re: World Peace At 04:19 PM 07/09/1996 -0700, you wrote: > Point Taken! Thanks for noticing. > > Aaron You're more than welcome. I was just swithering about whether or not I wanted to stay subscribed to this list - I've only been on a few days. Thanks for validating my decision to do so. With love, Jesa _____________________________________ jesamac@pobox.com http://www.pobox.com/~jesamac _____________________________________ ------------------------------ From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 17:10:57 +0100 Subject: Re: World Peace >Jesa Macbeth wrote: >> >> >> Kaffea Lalla wrote: >> >> > >> >> > What would happen if Americans moved out of Iraq. would more peace result, >> >> > or more people and ethic groups be eliminated?[...] >> >> >> >>maarof wrote: >> >> I doubt that the American (forces) will moved out of Iraq or Saudi >> >> Arabia at present time or a near future. >> >> >> salam >> >> your 'adopted' brother >> >> maarof >> > >> >Aaron wrote: >> > Besides, the American "powers-that-be" have no wish to see Saddam >> >Hussein fall out of power. >> >> > in peace, Aaron >> > >> It's interesting that no one has actually tried to answer Kaffea Lalla's >> questions, which are good ones. It's always easier to look for someone to >> blame than to look for solutions - or at hard questions. >> >> peacefully noticing, >> >> Jesa > > Point Taken! Thanks for noticing. > > Aaron > > I too have noticed no direct answer to my question. I think that if the USA left Iraq then Sadam would march south if he wanted to. He would destroy the Kurds, war could break out between Iran and Iraq, Kuwait would be in trouble, and more attacks on Israel, and then the middle east would be in a dangerous and precarious situation, to say the least. Everything is sitting on a precipice as it is but just having a little control could prevent hot heads from going wild. If this is farfetched then I am ignorant. But prevention can be worth more lives than we could ever know. Why wait until it is out of control? Now I stuck my neck out but it was already out when I asked the question. Those that do want us there cannot say publickly because of anti American sentiment. But I am sure that many peoples breathe a little easier also. May God bring real peace so we can lay down our arms. Until then let's face the truth about reality. Kaffea Lalla ------------------------------ From: maarof Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 08:35:25 +0800 Subject: Re: The Black Stone (Hajar Aswad) On Sat, 7 Sep 1996, Hudoyo Hupudio wrote: >Assalamualaikum, all! > >I repost the following message from another mailing list for your >elucidation: > >What is the Black Stone? What is its origin? What is its significance >in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)? > >The same questions can also be asked about the Kaaba itself: >What is the Kaaba? What is its origin? What is its significance >in Muslim worship? What level is the reference to it (Quran? Hadith?)? > >Your responses will be archived and posted to the original mailing list. >Thank you very much. > >Wassalam, >Hudoyo Assalamualaikum Hudoyo, Lets see, Black Stone? Black stone (hajar aswad) is placed in a corner of Kaaba. It is encased in a metal casing. It looks shallow, maybe because the of millions kissing on it. So it is just fit to put your face in :) I read somewhere, that black stone symbolised "God's Hand" (God's bounty etc). So the act of kissing it, I assume, is similar if we kiss God's "hand", thankful for the unconscious thing in life like the warmth of the sun, the smile of a child, be able to save enough money to perform the Haj etc. I'm not aware if there's any mention of the black stone in the Quran, but I think it is mentioned in hadiths (a stone from paradise, it used to be white in color). Significance to Muslim worship: I think how individuals look at it. Umar Al-Khattab (ra) thinks nothing about it -- mere stone but is sginificant just because the Prophet kissed it. Me? I don't know. I haven't been near it. It is significant though because it is there to see, something that has been part of the Prophet's life and action (How Muhammad pbuh solved the problem of which tribe turn to place the stone to Kaaba, by changing the rule a little bit i.e involving all of them carrying the the stone by putting it on a piece of cloth.) I think, if Clinton, Saddam and all the world leaders can be brought together to carry a piece of stone place on on a piece of cloth, maybe there will be a little more goodwill on Earth :) About the Kaaba. It is the direction of prayer/salat. It is also the place for pilgrimage/Haj. Both are obligatory and symbolised unity of ummah. I think there is much more about Kaaba (in spiritual sense) than the physical sturucture or from historical angle. salam maarof ------------------------------ From: Zainuddin Ismail Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 08:53:39 +0800 (SGT) Subject: Re: pray for world peace while speaking out against oppression What about his personal diary that he wrote in confidentially until his death which Mons.Christian Cherfils translated from French into English and which unlike his political games reflected what he truly felt.Everyone including cynics like Napolean and Shaw have their private moments .Perhaps his diary reflected his mind.Furthermore his writings in his diary show a different Napolean somewhat of a historian.Let's start this beautiful Sunday with a smile for God, for our neighbours and lets end it with a smile.In between no display of ego Insha'Allah.O Allah Let They Will be Done. At 13:23 9/7/96 -0700, you wrote: >.It is interesting to read the works of the German Goethe and >> the thoughts of Bernard Shaw on the benevolence of Muhammad.Napolean >> Bonarparte's diary in French translated by Christian Cherfils many many >> years ago provides Napolean's analysis of the Islamic laws which is unknown >> today.I read when I was a boy in Raffles Library ,Singapore, a book called >> Letters of Napolean .That too provides some clues on his analysis of the >> theodemocracy.Indeed one writer claims that the Code Napolean was based on >> Imam Malik's Muatta which itself is the collation of the words of Muhammad >> on the theodemocracy.I have not read the Code Napolean of France and anyway >> Napolean's behaviour was a contradiction of his so-called Islamic profession >> which decorated every letter which he wrote to the Muslim sultans of his day. > > Napoleon was a great general perhaps, but he was an even better cynic! > When Napoleon invaded Egypt, looking to hit England where it would >really hurt - he used, when trying to convince his government to let him >go - the excuse that they were only savages after all, and the French >influence would help civilize them. > He decimated the Brittish led armies opposing him with ease. He even >compared the Great Pyramid to the even greater Empire he planned to >build. > Meanwhile, the french navy got the stuffing knocked out of it in the >Mediterranian. Napoleon found himself sitting with a tired, demoralised >army in the middle of Egypt, with a very hostile and resentful >population all around him. He was low on supplies, and had no way of >getting back to France. > He knew it was unlawful for Muslims to kill each other, and to deny >hospitality to the "needy". He then forced his entire army to convert on >the spot! He also "converted", at least until he shipped out on a >smugglers ship, leaving his entire army to find it's own way home. > When it was prudent to be a democrat, he was. When it was prudent to be >a monarchist, he was. When it was prudent to be a Muslim,he was. And >later, when it was prudent to be a fascist... > ------------------------------ End of tariqas-digest V1 #131 *****************************