From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Wed Sep 18 14:26:34 1996 Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 07:59:58 -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 #138 tariqas-digest Thursday, 12 September 1996 Volume 01 : Number 138 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rabia Kathleen Seidel Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:32:11 -0400 Subject: Re: Ahmad al-Yasavi (was: curious question) niztaev@bgumail.bgu.ac.il wrote: > > Dear frieds, I have a question. Does anybody know about Khodza Ahmad > Yassawii (he was a one of the Sufi leaders in Central Asia, before > Tamerlan emperia period)? I will very appreciate if someone will send me > references about Sufism. > Thanking and looking forward to hearing from you. > Yours, Ali. Salaam aleikum. Dear Ali, I can recommend several books in English with information about Khwaja Ahmad al-Yasavi: Masters of Wisdom of Central Asia, by Hasan Shushud (Coombe Springs Press, 1983; out of print, but available in the U.S. through interlibrary loan and from some used book dealers such as Weiser and J.L. Holmes); The Masters of Wisdom, by J.G. Bennett (republished this year by Bennett Books and available from Threshold Books or ), and The Eye of the Heart, by Yasar Nuri Ozturk (Redhouse Press, 1988). Hasan Shushud wrote of Yasavi: "He is the 'top link' for the Turkish shaikhs. One of the celebrated Turkish shaikhs living in Central Asia in the fifth and sixth centuries of the Islamic era, he was born in Sayram, a small town on the Karasu in the Tarim Basin, in the Chinese Province of East Turkestan, around the middle of the fifth century... The venerable Khwaja Ahmad was endowed with splendid charismatic powers and lofty spiritual degrees... Many people came to him for guidance and, as a means of instructing them in morals, sacred law, mysticism and spiritual reality,he would compose rhymed and metrical aphorisms in Eastern Turkish... Under the title Divan-i Hikmet they have been printed again and again in Chagatay Turkish, in Kazan, Tashkent, and Istanbul. "All the verses in this work contain advice on how to attain to Reality by way of piety and devotion, discipline and inner work. They recount the hardships on the path of Love. They make detachment from worldly ties a precondition of spiritual progress. Apart from those aphorisms which expound the Qur'an and the exemplary conduct of the Prophet, reconcile the principles of Sufism and sacred law, or explain to ecstatics the necessity of obedience, mahy of the verses collected in the Divan are pieces composed in praise of the venerable Messenger, on him be peace, or of the Supreme Imam and other great men, while some are about acts of faith, conditions in the Hereafter, and the manners and customs of the Sufi orders..." Yasar Nuri Ozturk noted that: "Ahmad Yesevi was so intent upon imitating the Prophet Muhammad in all things that he wished to die, as the Prophet had, at the age of sixty three. With this in mind he had a tomblike, underground cell built for himself. On his sixty third birthday he entered this cell, having vowed that he would not leave it for the rest of his life. As the date of his birth is unknown, we do not know how long he actually lived in this chilakhana. Yesevi died in 1165." >From the Divan-i Hikmat: "The station of love is strange, intellect alone will not suffice thee. Filled with difficulty and suffering, its affliction never endeth. And if there are accusations and betrayals they will pass not away, Thus have I taken lessons from God in eternity. "If the affliction of love befalleth one, its pang is woe. It astoundeth, and overwhelms with wonder. When the eye of the heart opens, love bringeth sorrow, Thus have I taken lessons from God in eternity." Yasavi was the third in line after Yusuf Hamadani, the first head of the Khwajagan, an organization said to be part of the highest levels of the spiritual hierarchy. There is a brief appendix on the Khwajagan with a bit of information on Yasavi in Ernest Scott's book The People of the Secret (Octagon, 1983). Scott asserts that the Yasawiyya Order survives to this day in the Gobi Desert, and "continues to transmit the spiritual science of the Khwajagan, making use of ritual movements and dances accompanied by music called the Salna." Correct understanding of this work is said to enable one "to submit his mind to the Supreme Intelligence and to attain mastery of his (or her) own body." Bennett tells a tale of how Yasavi appeared to Tamerlane in a dream shortly after a visit to Yasavi's tomb in Tashkent. Yasavi transmitted to him this poem, and encouraged him to remember it in times of difficulty: "Upon the longest night light a candle in the dark In a flash the world becomes a rose garden. However hard the task take hold and it will go The galley itself makes the rower's labour light." Years later, Tamerlane recalled the poem during a battle with the Turkish Sultan Bayazid the Thunderer, recited it continuously during the battle, and led his forces to victory. Ashk olsun -- Let it become love! Rabia Kathleen Seidel ------------------------------ From: pathway@dnet.net (John Womack) Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:46:12 -0500 Subject: Re: caffeine >I > >I have found that salaat helps. I feel more alert after >salaat and so feel a reduced need for caffeine. I am not >attributing anything magical to salaat (nor am I denying it) >but just placing your head upside-down will have the effect >of creating alertness. > >The biological effect is called vestibular stimulation. >The technique of lowering the head is used on children >with 'attention deficit disorder' to aid in their concentration >ability. > >-- >Michael J. Moore You might also consider sarvangasana, halsana, and shirsasana, among many others. John. ------------------------------ From: Zainuddin Ismail Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:21:20 +0800 (SGT) Subject: Re: love your enemy Salams.Does anyone know Idries Shah's forwarding address.I know , however for a fact that Idries Shah feels that it is not practical in his circumstances to answer letters.Even then I do need his address. At 15:01 9/10/96 -0700, you wrote: >Craig Johannsen wrote: >> >> Hi Michael, >> >> As-salamu alaykum. >> >> You wrote: >> > What follows is MY understand of what Gurdjieff and Ouspensky >> > taught about the meaning of 'neighbor' as intended by >> > Isa (pbuh) in his command "Love thy neighbor..." >> > >> > Simply put, our neighbor is the one that is closest to us. >> > Now, it seems clear that Isa (pbuh) was NOT concerned with >> > physical proximity, so, in what manner is one person close >> > to another? It is in a person's 'state' or level of >> > consciousness. We are to love people that close to us >> > in development; these are our neighbors. >> > [snip] >> >> The G & O meaning of "neighbor" which you related would seem >> to contradict what we know about Jesus or Isa (pbuh). One of >> the most remarkable things about his life and a central point >> of his teaching was his emphasis on showing genuine love and >> concern for those who are most downtrodden and hated (e.g., >> prostitutes, lepers, thieves, etc.). He taught this by example >> as well as by words. Surely, he was showing us by his actions >> the true meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself." >> >On a related note - I just read this last night. >From "Learning How to Learn", by Idries Shah. p.219 > > "The first illustration we can use is the saying of Jalaluddin Rumi to >the effect that "things which are apparently opposed may in reality be >working together." > "Secondly, if you cast your mind back to the New Testament, where Jesus >is credited with saying that you should 'love your enemy', you will see >that, from this point of view, you might as well harmonise with someone >who opposes you, because this opposition is quite possibly the beginning >of friendship, however it may appear on the surface. 'Love your enemy' >Therefore, is not to be regarded as a noble sentiment which makes you a >better person, especially: but as an injunction which actually describes >the deeper dimensions already existing in the relationship." > " On the perceptual, as distinct from the superficial level, there is a >communication which leads to harmony between nominally opposed people or >attitudes. Were this not so, we would never get agreement following >disagreement." > > Food for thought. > > peace, Aaron > ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 08:05:13 -0700 Subject: Re: 63 Earth Years Carol Woodsong wrote: > > Hello, tanzen! > > >Well, these are my beliefs, maarof, backed-up by intuition. Jesus > >didn't die on the cross, lived to be an "older" man, to the age of 63 by my > >"reckoning", the same age accepted for that of Muhammad's age at > >physical death, the same age that I was when the inspiration came to me. > > Did the inspiration simply 'come to you', or did you seek it? :) If so, why? As I believe I stated "I was compelled to determine... " Such came from a friend asking me to resolve a dispute between Rosicrucians and Christians about Jesus' death on the cross. I did give an answer! The dispute goes on... and on. > hmmm... did any of the cross stuff happen? Was Jesus on the cross at all? > What's the story? :) Maybe that's up to me to intuit if i need to know? :) That would be a good idea, as most of us know history is so unreliable. Develop intuition! Yes! Balance that with instinct and we have the perfect circle, ouroboros! It is whispered that God is the Perfect (Absolute) Recycler. > Isn't the age of 63 rather old for that time/place? Not really. At the same time it is reported many Native Americans were living to over 100. Some data indicates that female shaman, medicine people, lived to an average age of 107. But here again, you will have to rely on your intuition to know what it is you wish to know with certainty. Be. Be still. Breathe gently. 1 - 2 - 3 ! You have heard about the stories of yogis living 200, 300 years of age? > >Through spirit and mind all the past is at hand... a human consists of > >many levels of consciousness (many mansions in Creator's house)... > >within the subconscious mind (instinctive mind) there lodges all the > >past experiences of the soul, and individual soul is a "fragment" of > >The Soul (Allah, Creator). > > I believe.... now, how to KNOW? Through pure desire (willfullness, spirit), through mindfullness. Through right practice (action). (Now this is a beautiful triad, following Law of Causality, Law of Three; remember Ray of Creation?) > (i think i know how you will answer this... ) Well? > >maarof, there are more things in heaven and earth than can be put into > >words. > > tanzen! stop that! <> Okay. Thanks, O teacher, for such advice... I need advice if I am to learn more than I presently know. Now, maarof, I ask for your forgiveness for my arrogance and crudeness. Please, we ask... that our tact and tolerance be extended, and extended, until we fully know Thee. Amin. > >Understand, know High Self (intuition, heart) as aspect of inner > > understand. okay. how? By first making friends with your closest neighbor. You know how to make friends? You know who your closest neighbor is? Then friends with all your neighbors, then the whole world, then... > "Just believe that we are children of Light. Once you truly believe > this, you definately cannot serve only yourself." -- Swami AmarJyoti Now we be speaking about divinity! Thank you again! You are exactly what you truly believe you are. Now truly, rhetorically, what do you believe? O Beloved of God, Spirit of Guidance, O Master, send peace; let it spread far and wide, so that humanity knows the joys of bliss, tanzen ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 07:29:54 -0700 Subject: Re: 63 Earth Years maarof wrote: Bismillah ar-Rahman ir-Rahim > Assalamualaikum, > Someone give me a koan today: How to break a stone with a raw egg. He said > he get the answer after years and years of thinking about it. Maybe, if > i live to 63, i'll get the answer to your riddle, tanzen. Didn't try to make a riddle out of my answer regarding Jesus' 63 years. Sorry, I tried to explain as clearly as I could how I came up with the age. Would be happy to try to answer any questions you have, maarof. > ok... back to poetry of stone-egg koan. Is the answer: Life is stronger? If I ever get an answer to this koan I'll hold it to myself. That way you will have the opportunity to get an answer for yourself. Now, to the matter of divinity... Love, harmony, and beauty, down these silver threads of gold, tanzen ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 07:11:36 -0700 Subject: RUMI 0119 I DON'T NEED a companion who is nasty sad and sour the one who is like a grave dark depressing and bitter a sweetheart is a mirror a friend a delicious cake it isn't worth spending an hour with anyone else a companion who is in love only with the self has five distinct characters stone hearted unsure of every step lazy and disinterested keeping a poisonous face the more this companion waits around the more bitter everything will get just like a vinegar getting more sour with time enough is said about sour and bitter faces a heart filled with desire for sweetness and tender souls must not waste itself with unsavory matters ghazal number 119, translated May 3, 1992, by Nader Khalili. tanzen ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 08:20:58 -0700 Subject: Re: pray for world peace.... work for a transfiggured Earth Lilyan Kay wrote: > > On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Zainuddin Ismail wrote: > > > There are no clergy in a theodemocracy.That is why it is not known as a > > theocracy.Muhammad said that the leader of a people is their servant.This is > > stressed in the meaning of the Maula which also means Leader and Servant > > like we find further in the arabic term Mawali. > > asalaam-u-aleikum > > For the most eloquent and in-depth description of such a state, read Imam > Ali ibn Abi Talib's (ra) advice to Malik Ashtar, the governer of Egypt. It > can be found on the web at: > > http://www.hal-pc.org/~amana/ismaali.html > > Lily Thanks, Lilyan, for the tip to the www page... Yes, I agree, most eloquent from Imam Ali... now if we could only figure out a way to bring about this ideal. Many feel the USA system comes closest to allowing for the human condition and as such has become a model for others to follow, complete separation of church and state. Oh well, for now, let us each practice tact and tolerance and maybe one of these days we will find "heaven on earth". Peace and love, tanzen ------------------------------ From: Zainuddin Ismail Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:58:55 +0800 (SGT) Subject: Re: Love thy Neighbor Assalamu 'alaikum w.w. Some twenty years ago or more I used to spend a lot of time at the local library reading books written mostly by Christian missionaries against Islam.Although I could not instinctively accept the terrible slanders against the Prophet,I had to spend years to resolve the issues.And in the process I had to really do deep research on my own on the Life of the Prophet and in the process failed my LLB examinations which were far far less interesting.Some of the misunderstandings are still cropping up and although I have dealth with them before , the detailed answers have to be researched again and again for the benefit of others. To understand the Life of the Prophet in detail I would recommend the reading of Shibli Numani's Seeratun Nabi which has been translated by Fazlur Rahman and by the Pakistan Historical Society.Shibli Numani was not only the Shamsul Ulama or the Sun among the Religious Scholars he was also a historian.In it are also enumerated principles of verification of Hadis. Please note that apart from the Quran there is not one book which does not contain inaccuracies and one has to use reason , logic , history and the criterion of the Quran as the yardstick when going through the huge corpus of hadis literature.Ayesha said that "his morals are the Quran" but even here scholarship is needed. Sometimes even a companion would misunderstand what the Prophet said.Abu Huraira r.a said that the Prophet s.a.w. said that three things may be affected by bad luck: a woman, a house and a horse.Yet Ayesha quoted the very opposite: The Prophet said that the Jews are alienated from spiritual grace for believing that bad luck can be with 3 things : a woman, a house and a horse.She said that Abu Huraira came into the house when the Prophet had already some some words and he missed the first part of the saying. Sometimes it can really be very trickly as illustrated by my understanding of "It is more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven than a camel to enter into the eye of a needle" Michael Moore gave another reason for believing in the correctness of the tradition which view I have also heard before. In every area of religion there is gross misunderstanding and this should be understand because all the forces of evil are arrayed ( or is it arraigned) against any Prophet. "Punishment for Apostasy in Islam " is a classic of a research work on gross misunderstanding of the Prophet's decision.It was written by a former Chief Justice of Pakistan S.A.Rahman.Hammudah Abdalati's Family Structure of Islam removes other types of misunderstanding . I have to go now although I have to continue sometime later..... At 10:31 9/10/96 -0700, you wrote: >Zainuddin Ismail wrote: >-snip- >> The hadis quoted by Moore is extracted from a book of unedited hadis.This is >> the danger .Always revert to the unassailable , incontrovertible Quran when >> doubts cross your mind. > >Does not the Quran say that every word from the Prophet's lips are >Quran? >If so, then we need to know what he said. > >> I have more to say on this subject. Brother Moore, look into your heart and >> question why you brought up this clearly false hadis > >Why are you questioning my motives? Perhaps we both need to do some >looking. > > Since I took shahada less than a year ago, >I am still very much learning. I am not a scholar by any means. I only >wish to know the external arguments used against ISLAM and how to >respond >to them. There are those who will question me and I want to know the >best way to respond. I don't believe that "Look into your heart" is >sufficient to combat the enemies of Islam. If "look into your heart" >was good enough, then the Prophet would have just said "look into your >heart, you don't need a Quran and hadiths". > > >> which no Muslim scholar >> worth his salt qould accept.Remember we are dealing with someone whom many >> believe to be the Beloved of God. > >Yes, and those same people see nothing wrong with the Prophet's actions >as >described in these false hadiths. The fact that he is the Beloved of >Allah >should be all the more reason why I would want to defend him against >these false hadiths. > >> I pray with all other believers here, that Allah our Lord, >> Cherisher,Nourisher and Sustainer will put solace into your wounded heart.Salam. >> >Thank you, I will take all the prayers I can get. > >YOU are seeing a wounded heart, so I will pray for you too. > >Salaams >-- >Michael J. Moore > ------------------------------ From: Craig Johannsen Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:22:43 -0700 Subject: Re: love your enemy Hi Zainuddin, You wrote: > > Salams.Does anyone know Idries Shah's forwarding address.I know , however > for a fact that Idries Shah feels that it is not practical in his > circumstances to answer letters.Even then I do need his address. He can probably be reached through Octagon Press, who have a web site at http://www.bookshop.co.uk/octagon/ Best regards, Craig ------------------------------ From: frank gaude Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:39:04 -0700 Subject: Re: Love thy Neighbor Hello, sentient beings, Beloved of God! Carol Woodsong wrote: > > Dear Zainuddin, Michael, and All, > > >I reject this hadis and so would all my friends who are familiar with > >the Seerat of Prophet Muhammad. > > This brings up an interesting point. [...] > In the Bible the LORD reportedly says through the prophets, "I will give > you a new heart and place a new spirit within you", and elsewhere, "I > will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts..". And in > the New Testament, Jesus is reported to have said, "I use parables when I > speak to them because they look but do not see, they listen but do not > hear or understand..", and the often quoted, "The Kingdom of God is > within." There are many more references to God within, the Light within, > etc. But more important to me, is what this brings to my life... "What this brings to my life... " [...] > " ... This opened me so that > it cut me to the heart... And I cried in my spirit to the Lord, 'We are > all thieves, we have taken the Scriptures in words and know nothing of > them in ourselves.'"--Margaret Fell , 1652 Carol, you have hit on the primary difference between intellectual and instinctive activities and intuitive (heart) activities. "Know nothing of them, i.e., The Scriptures, Holy Book of Nature, in ourselves!" Does it matter who said what when? It matters to the extent that words and observations can move us to action, to reduce sloth, to come to know WHAT we are... humans have been given the title "Slayer of Sloth", such put into writing over 2500 years ago, but what does such mean? It means that all other beings of creation follow instinct, follow spirit, follow law, but we humans have wills, spirits, unique. We can choose to be lazy, not do, not follow law, not use the gifts provided to us. The rock people try to assist us, the angels try to assist us, but in the end, we must use our conscious minds and choose our way, if we are to return home, through all the diversity permitted by laws laid down. Those beings above and below us each have paths that permit, require them to follow laws; we do not. There are some few laws we cannot break, but there are many that don't apply, ones we don't have to follow if we choose not to. We are blessed with free will that pleases Allah, for from such Allah gets to know creation, the create, and we each assist in that wonderful, mysterious task. Let's each do our part by reducing sloth, by moving, by aligning our wills with that of our fate, by becoming more conscious of WHAT and who we are. Peace! Love, harmony, and beauty, down the lines, tanzen ------------------------------ From: "Michael J. Moore" Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:49:07 -0700 Subject: Re: caffeine John Womack wrote: > You might also consider sarvangasana, halsana, and shirsasana, among many > others. John. Salaams, What are these, assanas? herbs? - -- Michael J. Moore ------------------------------ From: Saint Download Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 17:54:13 -0800 Subject: Re: 63 Earth Years salaams I believe that he passed out (gave up the ghost) and that he ressurected. Did not Mohammed himself ressurected? What are the hadiths on that.I believe Jesus physical body dissapeared into a higher being body. James Hallam Please Oh God lead unto the truth(His). ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 22:38:42 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Most Beautiful Names (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 02:53:35 -0400 (EDT) From: tariqas-approval@world.std.com To: tariqas-approval@world.std.com Subject: BOUNCE tariqas@world.std.com: Non-member submission from [Bryan Conn ] >From habib@world.std.com Wed Sep 11 02:53:33 1996 Return-Path: Received: from world.std.com by europe.std.com (8.7.5/BZS-8-1.0) id CAA14759; Wed, 11 Sep 1996 02:53:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: from alpha.wright.edu by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA14524; Wed, 11 Sep 1996 02:52:45 -0400 Received: from Cust49.Max9.Indianapolis.IN.MS.UU.NET by alpha.wright.edu; (5.65v3.2/1.1.8.2/19Sep95-0858AM) id AA32336; Wed, 11 Sep 1996 02:52:24 -0400 Message-Id: <32366194.7E0C@paladin.wright.edu> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 02:53:02 -0400 From: Bryan Conn X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win95; I) Mime-Version: 1.0 To: tariqas Subject: The Most Beautiful Names - (8) Al-Muhaymin Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Assalaamu Alaikum The following is from "The Most Beautiful Names" compiled by Sheik Tosun Bayrak, published by Threshold Books - Amana Books. ________________________________________________________________________ Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful ________________________________________________________________________ Al-Muhaymin He is the Protector and the Guardian. He is the one who sees to the evolution and the growth of His creation, leading them where they are destined to go. Nothing escapes His attention for a moment. He is the one who watches the good deeds and rewards them fully. He counts the sins exactly, not adding to their punishment even an amount the size of a mustard seed. One may find the reflection of al-Muhaymin in oneself through consciousness and awareness - by watching intently one's actions, words, thoughts and feelings, and by trying to control them. ________________________________________________________________________ Peace to All, bryan - -- Birdsong brings relief to my longing. I am just as ecstatic as they are, but with nothing to say! Please, universal soul, practice some song, or something, through me! - Rumi via Coleman Barks ------------------------------ From: pathway@dnet.net (John Womack) Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:38:47 -0500 Subject: Re: caffeine >John Womack wrote: > >> You might also consider sarvangasana, halsana, and shirsasana, among many >> others. John. > >Salaams, >What are these, assanas? herbs? > >-- >Michael J. Moore Yes, asanas. Postures used in hatha-yoga, ie the postures and breathing practices done in conjunction with each other and which help to revive and refresh organs and chakras, and help to flush these places with blood, oxygen and prana, and help with the elimination of undesirable toxins. Also, while it takes more time to learn, Tai-Chi is excellent for what you are speaking of, it does the same as hatha-yoga, only is far more powerful. Happy twisting. John. ------------------------------ From: Zainuddin Ismail Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 19:59:24 +0800 (SGT) Subject: Re: Love thy Neighbor Dearest Michael Moore,Salamu 'alaikum w.w Inspiration comes in a few forms 1)Firstly we have the Immutable Quran 2)Then we have the Sayings of the Prophet which are not the revelation of Allah brought down to the Prophet s.a.w.This is part of the Sunnah recorded in Hadis .Sunnah also includes a fi'l an action or practice of his or a taqrir -his silent approval of the action of practice of another. 3)Then in between the Quran and the Hadis are words called Hadis Qudsi for example" My earth and my heavens do not contain me but what contains me is the heart of a believer" Hadis Qudsi is the Message of Allah but in the words of the Prophet whereas the Quran is the Message of Allah and in words chosen by Allah s.w.t. Whereas every single part of the Quran to the very last dot is perfectly authenntic and Allah in the Quran promises that He will protect the Quran which is the testimony of history itself ,Hadis has different levels of authenticity from those which are mutawatir which are of the highest authenticity and to the daif which are weak hadis but which are not necessarily false. Ilal Liqq.I'll be back Insha'Allah. At 23:58 9/11/96 +0800, you wrote: >Assalamu 'alaikum w.w. >Some twenty years ago or more I used to spend a lot of time at the local >library reading books written mostly by Christian missionaries against >Islam.Although I could not instinctively accept the terrible slanders >against the Prophet,I had to spend years to resolve the issues.And in the >process I had to really do deep research on my own on the Life of the >Prophet and in the process failed my LLB examinations which were far far >less interesting.Some of the misunderstandings are still cropping up and >although I have dealth with them before , the detailed answers have to be >researched again and again for the benefit of others. >To understand the Life of the Prophet in detail I would recommend the >reading of Shibli Numani's Seeratun Nabi which has been translated by Fazlur >Rahman and by the Pakistan Historical Society.Shibli Numani was not only the >Shamsul Ulama or the Sun among the Religious Scholars he was also a >historian.In it are also enumerated principles of verification of Hadis. >Please note that apart from the Quran there is not one book which does not >contain inaccuracies and one has to use reason , logic , history and the >criterion of the Quran as the yardstick when going through the huge corpus >of hadis literature.Ayesha said that "his morals are the Quran" but even >here scholarship is needed. >Sometimes even a companion would misunderstand what the Prophet said.Abu >Huraira r.a >said that the Prophet s.a.w. said that three things may be affected by bad >luck: a woman, a house and a horse.Yet Ayesha quoted the very opposite: The >Prophet said that the Jews are alienated from spiritual grace for believing >that bad luck can be with 3 things : a woman, a house and a horse.She said >that Abu Huraira came into the house when the Prophet had already some some >words and he missed the first part of the saying. >Sometimes it can really be very trickly as illustrated by my understanding >of "It is more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven than a camel to >enter into the eye of a needle" Michael Moore gave another reason for >believing in the correctness of the tradition which view I have also heard >before. >In every area of religion there is gross misunderstanding and this should be >understand because all the forces of evil are arrayed ( or is it arraigned) >against any Prophet. >"Punishment for Apostasy in Islam " is a classic of a research work on gross >misunderstanding of the Prophet's decision.It was written by a former Chief >Justice of Pakistan S.A.Rahman.Hammudah Abdalati's Family Structure of Islam >removes other types of misunderstanding . >I have to go now although I have to continue sometime later..... >At 10:31 9/10/96 -0700, you wrote: >>Zainuddin Ismail wrote: >>-snip- >>> The hadis quoted by Moore is extracted from a book of unedited hadis.This is >>> the danger .Always revert to the unassailable , incontrovertible Quran when >>> doubts cross your mind. >> >>Does not the Quran say that every word from the Prophet's lips are >>Quran? >>If so, then we need to know what he said. >> >>> I have more to say on this subject. Brother Moore, look into your heart and >>> question why you brought up this clearly false hadis >> >>Why are you questioning my motives? Perhaps we both need to do some >>looking. >> >> Since I took shahada less than a year ago, >>I am still very much learning. I am not a scholar by any means. I only >>wish to know the external arguments used against ISLAM and how to >>respond >>to them. There are those who will question me and I want to know the >>best way to respond. I don't believe that "Look into your heart" is >>sufficient to combat the enemies of Islam. If "look into your heart" >>was good enough, then the Prophet would have just said "look into your >>heart, you don't need a Quran and hadiths". >> >> >>> which no Muslim scholar >>> worth his salt qould accept.Remember we are dealing with someone whom many >>> believe to be the Beloved of God. >> >>Yes, and those same people see nothing wrong with the Prophet's actions >>as >>described in these false hadiths. The fact that he is the Beloved of >>Allah >>should be all the more reason why I would want to defend him against >>these false hadiths. >> >>> I pray with all other believers here, that Allah our Lord, >>> Cherisher,Nourisher and Sustainer will put solace into your wounded >heart.Salam. >>> >>Thank you, I will take all the prayers I can get. >> >>YOU are seeing a wounded heart, so I will pray for you too. >> >>Salaams >>-- >>Michael J. Moore >> > > ------------------------------ End of tariqas-digest V1 #138 *****************************