10: 9. Lo! those who believe and do good works,
their Lord guideth them by their
faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight, 10:10. Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to Thee, O
Allah -- subhanaka allahumma
! and their greeting therein will be: Peace--salamun
. And the conclusion of their prayer will be: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds -- alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameena !
--------
2.
RAHMAN
SALAMAN
RIZQU
019.061 Gardens of Eden, which RAHMAN
hath promised to His slaves in the unseen.
Lo! His promise is ever sure of fulfilment - 019.062 They hear therein no
idle talk, but only PEACE--SALAAM; and
therein they have sustenance
for morn and evening. 61. Jannati AAadnin allatee waAAada
alrrahmanu AAibadahu bialghaybi innahu kana
waAAduhu ma/tiyyan 62. La yasmaAAoona feeha laghwan illa
salaman walahum rizquhum feeha bukratan
waAAashiyyan
-----
19. 62:
C2512. Salam, translated "Peace", has a much wide signification. It includes (1) a sense of security and permanence, which is unknown in this life;
(2) soundness, freedom from defects, perfection as in the word salim; (3) preservation, salvation, deliverance, as in the word
sallama, (4) salutation, accord with those around us; (5) resignation, in the sense that we are satisfied and not discontented; besides (6)
the ordinary meaning of Peace, i.e., freedom from any jarring element. All these shades of meaning are implied in the word
Islam.
C2513.
Rizq: literally sustenance or means of subsistence, the term covers all the means of perfect satisfaction of body and soul. Morning and evening, i.e., early and late, all the time, always.
Yusuf Ali's Commentary from QuranTrans
-----
ON
THE OTHER HAND, HOW COULD YOU HAVE PEACE [ISLAM] ON EARTH WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT --
THE
DIVINE SALAAM -- MEANS AND/OR WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? HERE'S SOME FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
------
Our revelations --
bi- AAYAATINAA
--- salaamun
alaykum
6:54. And when
_t_h_o_s_e_
who _b_e_l_i_e_v_e_
in
Our 
revelations --bi-AAYAATINAA come unto thee, say:
Peace be unto
you--Salamun AAalaykum! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself
mercy -- kataba rabbukum AAala nafsihi
alrrahmata,
6. 54:
C873. The humble who had sincere faith, ... were honoured and were given a special salutation, which has become the characteristic
salutation in Islam: "Peace be on you,"-the word peace,
"salam"
having special affinity with the word
"Islam"
In words they are given the salutation; in life they are promised Mercy by the special grace of God.
Yusuf Ali's Commentary from QuranTrans
----
see how closely 'salaam--peace'
is connected to:
i. allah's
revelations;
ii. "aala nafsihi alrrahmata," ;
'for Himself mercy' and/or 'for his soul mercy.'
iii. and a faithful muslim's physical life;
iv. and spiritual well being.
undoubtedly, this was the
holy prophet's [sas] own practice as revealed in the holy qur'an and, which
had come down to us intact over the centuries past. this then, was the TRUE and practical
ISLAM or islam in practice.
there is neither any hypothesis nor abstraction
involved here. it is certainly more than just lip service.
you must remember too, that
allah himself had made a clear distinction between the 'momins -- believers' and
'muslim--submitters' -- between 'imaan--faith' and islaam--surrender or
submission.' see HQ 49:14-17.
and moreover, we have:
3:19. Lo! religion with Allah (is)
al-ISLAM --
Inna alddeena AAinda Allahi al-islamu
A. Those who received the SCRIPTURE -- wama ikhtalafa allatheena ootoo alkitaba
B. differed only after knowledge came unto them,
through transgression among themselves.
illa min baAAdi ma jaahumual ilmu baghyan baynahum
C. Whoso disbelieveth the REVELATIONS OF ALLAH
-- waman yakfur BI-AYATI ALLAHI
lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.
fa-inna Allaha sareeAAu alhisabi
-----
please note that al-islam is
made up of:
3:19. Lo! religion with Allah (is) al-ISLAM --
Inna alddeena AAinda Allahi al-islamu
A. SCRIPTURE -- alkitaba
B. knowledge-- ILMU
C. and the REVELATIONS OF ALLAH -- BI-AYATI ALLAHI
now, what are the REVELATIONS of Allah besides the scripture?
----
27:81. Nor canst thou be a guide to the blind, (to prevent them) from straying: only those wilt thou get to listen who believe in
Our
Signs [our revelations--AAYAATINAA, navali], and they will bow in Islam. Yusuf Ali's
QUR'AN Translation
save those who believe Our revelations
-- AAYAATINAA, and who have surrendered--fahum
muslimuun. Pickthal's QUR'AN Translation
-----
hence, not every disbeliever in
allah's revelations is a muslim either.
neither is 'that islam' minus the revelations of allah -- bi-ayati allahi.
reflection
with this divine definition
of 'imaan, islam, momin, muslim and its practice' etc., i believe every muslim,
regardless of his caste or creed, should/must for once at least, re-evaluate his faith and
practice of islam all over again.
this is the first concrete
step towards that 'recognition' -- and/or the first stepping stone, if you will, towards a journey
back to your original and ultimate home from where you have come.
7:172. And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying):
Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware;
7.172:
C1146. This passage has led to differences of opinion in interpretation. According to the dominant opinion of commentators each individual in the posterity of Adam had a separate existence from the time of Adam, and a Covenant was taken from all of them, which is binding accordingly on each individual. The words in the text refer to the descendants of the Children of Adam,
i.e., to all humanity, born or unborn, without any limit of time. Adam's seed carries on the existence of Adam and succeeds to his spiritual heritage.
Now we consider the implied Covenant of the whole of humanity, for the Holy Prophet's mission was world-wide.
C1147.
The Covenant is completed in this way. We acknowledge that Allah is our (Creator, Cherisher, and Sustainer: therefore we acknowledge our duty to Him: when we so testify concerning ourselves, the obligation is as it were assumed by us;
Yusuf Ali's Commentary from QuranTrans
-----
in other words, there can
be no real PEACE on earth between god and man -- and between man and man -- without
following this divine prescription to the letter and to the spirit.
take for example:
_Y_A_S_I_N_
36:58. PEACE--SALAAM a word from the Lord
RAHIIM -- 58. Salamun qawlan min rabbin
raheem
-----
what is the real and deeper
meaning of the above other than what is apparent at its face value? review
this verse in all its contexts and connotations, especially the surah in which
it was revealed.
having said that, how could you have
'inner peace' either, i.e., without even knowing
a. what it means ;
b. or what it is that you are looking for ;
c. and/or must do to attain it?
you would probably say, 'do some meditation, reflection and contemplation, etc.,' right? WRONG!
please allow me to quote
you in this respect, if i may:
Let me try a brief answer,
i.
based on my understanding of my faith – Islam.
ii. As a Muslim, I am called upon to reflect,
iii. recognise and
iv. _t_h_e_n_ _d_e_c_l_a_r_e_
v. my belief in the all-embracing transcendence,
vi. beyond which reality has no meaning.
------
although this is a good
starting point, your
article/presentation under review reflects NONE of the above, as claimed.
says the holy
qur'an:
6:102. Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no Allah save Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He taketh care of all things.
:103. Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.
------
question
i. how could one worship the god -- who, in his own words is 'beyond vision and thus, comprehension'?
ii. in other words, how could you perceive something if you have not seen or experienced it --
even once in your lifetime?
iii. and here we are talking about the
transcendent 'divinity,' as expressed in your presentation/article.
iv. therefore, how could one attain that knowledge and recognition of the
'all-embracing transcendence' of your context and connotation with absolute certainty
'and then declare my belief in the all-embracing transcendence, beyond which reality has no meaning'?
v. or, even attain the 'inner peace,' as claimed by you?
remember, one is
interchangeable with the other. and as such, what you start out with in your
search is not always
the same as what you end up with. take for example:
the
all-embracing transcendence, beyond which reality has no meaning.
for all
practical purposes, this phrase, 'the
all-embracing transcendence,'
has no real value or meaning other than what is in your head,
mind and soul.
and frankly, i don't know what is in your head, mind and soul.
so, not only are we at loggerheads here but also beyond that abstraction, the
said reality has no practical value or meaning for you either. hence, where will you draw a line between the
reality and abstraction in your own head, mind and soul? go ahead and try it.
on the other hand, how do we
define THAT PEACE in
any conceivable human terms either -- because that tantamounts to bringing the divine down to the human
level?
my point here is -- there
is nothing but confusion over the usage of allah's name
-- 'salaam -- peace as in allah' himself -- and attaining peace in the
political sense mentioned above. these are two different things.
take for
example:
the usa and
the international coalition had BOMBED a masjid--mosque on the first day of
ramadhan in afghanistan. the bombing continued right through the month
of ramadhan including the night of
laylatul qadr -- the most PEACEFUL NIGHT IN ISLAM. after a small break on
friday mornings, their bombing would resume after midday prayers.
whether or
not islam was mocked in this manner, i can not tell. however, the bombing had
stopped during christmas and the new year's day. so, feel free to draw your own conclusion.
regardless, this war is still
going on -- i.e., 4 months after the events of september 11,
2001, as you know.
now, how would you define --
'ISLAM AND SALAAM' in this case, especially with respect
to the aforesaid horrifying events together with those of september 11, 2001?
a. does it mean that neither --
['ISLAM AND SALAAM'] -- meant
anything to muslims during the holy month of ramadhan and the afghan war because
there was no
'political peace' in their small world?
b. what about the israelites and the palestianians?
have they seen any real--political peace for decades now?
c. what about the americans themselves after the events of
september 11, 2001?
d. why is the usa government, the world's only super power -- still on
the edge since that time?
all they can do and hope for
is to find some kind of political solution and reconciliation in order to find
and live in peace [without war] with each other.
please pardon
me for excerpting it as above and also for doing so without your kind
permission.
having
said that, i would like to ask you the following questions as well, address a
few concerns that have come to mind -- after reading the said article.
questions
and/or concerns
although
your name sounds familiar, i was not sure whether you are an ismaili. are you?
no pun or offence intended. i did not ask my friend.
pardon
my ignorance. my reasons for asking this naive or silly question are as
follows.
your timely and well done presentation cum article was titled -- _p_e_a_c_e_
and religions.
so,
as
a muslim -- perhaps of sunni persuasion or
whatever, you have quoted 2 most important and pertinent
prophetic hadiths therein.
The
Holy Prophet Muhammad (_p_e_a_c_e_
be upon him) is reported to have said: "TO
KNOW ONESELF IS TO KNOW ONE'S LORD."
-----
question
explain the above hadith -- and how it's applicable in this day and age when
people all over have more questions about islam than answers?
the
other hadith quoted is:
Let
me end by a poignant narration from PROPHETIC
TRADITION. On the Day of Judgement, ALLAH ASKS THE SON OF ADAM:
-----
question
is
this the only thing that allah will question mankind about on that day?
elsewhere
you have also claimed:
'based on my understanding of my faith – Islam.
As a Muslim, I am called upon to
reflect,
recognise
and then declare
my belief in the
all-embracing transcendence.'
-----
this
kind of flowery language -- devoid of any substance or meaning, is typical of the sunni
piety. rest
assured, such emotions, sentiments or even statements of faith are commonly expressed by spiritually advanced
individuals or highly charged muslims, as you know.
moreover, it would seem as though they are more
spiritually
advanced than our beloved holy prophet [sas], who himself had NO KNOWLEDGE OF
THE GAYBA -- HIDDEN vis-à-vis 'all-embracing
transcendence,' regardless.
did
you know what allah says in this regard about himself and the holy prophet's
[sas] knowledge of him? perhaps you don't. allow me to explain.
6:102. Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no Allah save Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He taketh care of all things.
:103. Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.
6:50. Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah,
nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me. Say: Are the
blind man and the seer equal? Will ye not then take thought?
007.188
Say: For myself I have no power to benefit, nor power to hurt, save that which
Allah willeth. Had I knowledge of the
Unseen,
------
so,
how
could one first of all, worship the transcendent god -- who, in his own words is beyond
'vision' and thus, comprehension?
frankly, to
say or claim otherwise is to knowingly belie allah and his messenger [sas] only, as well
as to challenge him.
believe
me, writing barren of insight such as this is indicative of
one and one thing only.
a. as just stated, you must be spiritually more advance than our beloved holy prophet [sas].
b. you are also claiming to possess more knowledge
about the GAYBA -- HIDDEN than he had.
c. under the same token, one might even say that you must be closer to allah than he
ever was!
if that be the case, CONGRATULATIONS --
because you would be the only person in the whole islamic world and history to date, to surpass the
holy prophet and messenger of allah [sas] in this regard. you must be the envy
of the muslim world.
on the other hand, i wonder whatever happened to:
One
critical lesson of history is to alert us to the danger of religious polemics.
Do these, perhaps, arise from conceit, the pride
of arrogating to oneself the monopoly of truth?
But true sincerity goes hand in hand with a sense of
humility?? -- [Shams
Vellani
-- Remarks
made at the XIIIth International Meeting of Peoples and Religions Lisbon, Portugal
September 24-26, 2000]
------
please review your sincere and humble words in
light of your bombastic claim cited above. insha'allah, if allah will my
meaning will become clear from hereon.
elsewhere, you have summarized the bible and the holy qur'an, respectively
like so:
Some traditions say that
THE HUMAN PERSON
is made in the image of God;
some say that God has breathed His own spirit in THE
HUMAN PERSON.
But what gives strength to this pragmatic framework
is the spiritual purpose of seeking to elicit the noble, which resides IN
EVERY HUMAN BEING.
-----
this
is a very tricky situation if not complex from the get go.
question
is
this all these scriptures have to say in this regard?
if
not then could you kindly elaborate on the same and also tell us, how they
would apply to muslims in this day and age, especially because you have also
asserted and i quote:
All
religions converge towards one essential message: respect for the DIGNITY
OF THE HUMAN PERSON
If
there is universal respect FOR
GOD'S GREATEST CREATION, MAN HIMSELF, then the joint challenge is
to bring down WALLS AND BUILD
BRIDGES.
------
remark
IT
IS SINCERELY HOPED THAT YOU ARE _N_O_T_
MAKING A MOCKERY OF
THE SAID MAN, NAMELY, THE GOD'S GREATEST CREATION -- WHO, IN YOUR
OPINION, SHOULD BE THE OBJECT OF 'UNIVERSAL RESPECT.'
dear
brother in islam, who were you alluding to here, if i may ask?
could
you explain:
whether he was ADAM or just another son of adam -- mentioned in the
prophetic hadith?
Let
me end by a poignant narration from PROPHETIC TRADITION. On the Day of Judgement, ALLAH ASKS THE SON OF ADAM:
-----
question
if
the latter, as it seems quite obvious from your writing, then why should
we treat him as 'god's greatest creation'?
frankly,
we ALL are god's greatest creations aren't we? why else did you assert as
above?
that
is, if he was/is not one of us then who was/is he and how could we tell the
difference from your ambiguous and elusive article vis-à-vis
presentation?
allow
me to quote the scriptures in this regard.
Genesis
9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, by man shall
his blood be shed:
for
in the image of God made he man.
-----
allah
shows a clear distinction
32:
7. Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of
man from clay; 32: 8. _T_h_e_n_ He made his seed from a draught of
despised fluid; 32: 9. _T_h_e_n_ He
fashioned him and breathed into him of
His
Spirit; and appointed for
you hearing and sight and hearts. Small thanks give ye!
------
i
have deliberately chosen this particular qur'anic text because here allah is making a
clear reference to and distinction between the HIGHEST OR THE GREATEST CREATION
namely, the 'MAN' -- and his despised seed.
unfortunately,
you have shown no such distinction in your presentation. rather, you have
depicted him as one of us.
regardless,
for all intents and purposes, this 'man' should be considered as
the god's
greatest creation as well because:--
' for in the image of God made he man.'
question
did this human being --[man's blood,] -- become god's greatest creation simply
because he was _A_L_S_O_ created in the image of god?
please
prove it from the bible only, if you believe so.
but then, do you know which man in the bible was created -- as the god's greatest
creation?
now,
review the following analysis in light of:
Isaiah
28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line
upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;
that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
17:106.
And (it is) a Qur'an that We have divided, that thou mayst recite it
unto mankind at intervals, and We have revealed it
by (successive) revelation.
------
see how allah had made a very CLEAR DISTINCTION between his GREATEST
CREATION -- MAN HIMSELF
and the rest of the mankind.
'_t_h_e_n_--_s_u_m_m_a_ He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid.'
'_T_h_e_n_ summa - He fashioned him and breathed into him of His
Spirit.
32. 9:
C3639. The third stage is indicated by "fashioned him in due proportion". The fourth stage here mentioned is that of
distinctive Man, into whom
Allah's spirit is breathed. Then he rises higher than animals.
C3640. As a complete man he gets the higher faculties. The five animal senses I understand to be included in the third stage. But in the fourth stage he rises higher,
and is addressed in the second person,
"you," instead of the third person "him". He has now the spiritual counterpart of hearing (i.e., the capacity of hearing Allah's Message) and seeing (i.e., the inner vision), and feeling the nobler heights of love and understanding the bearings of the inner life (both typified by the Heart). Yet with all these gifts, what thanks does unregenerate or corrupted man give to Allah?
Yusuf Ali's Commentary from QuranTrans
-----
'and appointed for
_y_o_u_
hearing
and sight
and hearts.'
interesting
isn't it?
however, what symbol or allegory did the above represent in islam per se?
if this symbol represents the essence of the true islam, and it does;
WHO WAS ALLAH'S GREATEST CREATION?
could
you NAME HIM, please?
despite
these qur'anic facts,
if
you still disagree with my analysis, then simply tell us WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM, namely,
the god's greatest creation of your interpretation AND, the son of adam -- [hadith] -- referred to in your
article/presentation?
how
could you claim any kind of distinction between them when NONE was/IS
DISCERNIBLE at all?
allow
me to touch on another aspect of your write-up, if i may.
COMMON
LINK
CONNECTS
TO
THE REAL PEACE--SALAAM
are you by any chance, talking about the 'abrahamaic
faiths' in general?
if so, do you believe 'ISLAM' -- to be a fair representation of that
[abrahamaic] faith too?
did
allah leave out anything in the holy qur'an? if he did then what is the
meaning of:
5:
3. This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour
unto you, and have chosen for you as religion
al-Islam--PEACE.
-----
what is a COMMON
LINK and/or denominator between the
true islam--PEACE and all the other major faiths of the world and humanity at
large?
why did islam--PEACE
claim or purport to be the religion for mankind?
did you know that this COMMON
LINK CONNECTS
each and every aspect and practice of islam--PEACE
to the other? take for example:
salaamun
alaykum
BISMILLAAHIR RAHMAANIR RAHIM
surah fatihah
the holy prophet's [sas] mission
the essence & foundation of the holy qur'an
ramadhan
sadaqah--zakat
salat--hajj
laylatul qadr
revelation of the holy qur'an
the essence & foundation of islam and allah's own nature
and so on and so forth
islam - as revealed in the holy qur'an only is ZIP-ZERO
-- without this COMMON
LINK - what to speak of the
islam that is being practiced without it? this is also true about other religions
of the world!
THEREFORE, HOW COULD THIS COMMON
LINK CONTRIBUTE TO THE REAL
PEACE- -SALAAM ON EARTH BETWEEN GOD AND
MAN -- AND BETWEEN MAN AND MAN?
------
Peace : SALAAM
on earth
_Y_A_S_I_N_
36:58. Peace:SALAAM a word from the Lord RAHIIM -- 58.
Salamun qawlan min rabbin
raheem
---
what
is the real and deeper meaning of the above other than what is apparent at its face value? review
this verse in all its contexts and connotations, especially the surah in which
it was revealed.
011.048 It was said (unto him): O Noah! Go thou down with
peace from Us and blessings--SALAAMIN-MINNAA WA BARAKATIN -- upon
thee and some nations (that will spring) from those with thee.
020.041 And I [ALLAH] have attached thee to Myself. 020.042
Go, thou and thy brother, with My REVELATIONS--AAYAATII , and be not faint
in remembrance of Me--FII ZIKRII. 020.046 He said: Fear not. Lo!
I am with you twain, Hearing and Seeing. 020.047 So go ye unto him
and say: Lo! we are two messengers of thy Lord. We bring thee a
REVELATION --BI- AAYAATIM -- from thy Lord. And
peace -- WAS SALAAMU -- will be for him
who followeth right guidance.
------
Our revelations -- bi-AAYAATINAA
--- salaamun
alaykum
6:54. And when
_t_h_o_s_e_
who _b_e_l_i_e_v_e_
in
Our revelations
-- bi-AAYAATINAA come unto thee, say:
Peace be unto
you--Salamun AAalaykum! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself
mercy--kataba rabbukum AAala nafsihi
alrrahmata,
-----
do
you understand what we have achieved thus far? none of the above has anything
to do with political pursuits.
rather, this is -- 'the
contribution
of religions to PEACE' and vice versa.
and
since this form peace or rather, understanding thereof is absent -- the
afghani warlords and taliban, etc., are out to annihilate each other -- a
muslim against muslim or man against himself. but all this is political! their
political agenda is greater than the religion of their profession.
we
need to find solution to both.
i guess this was the main purpose of:
'the Xlllth International Meeting of Peoples and Religions held in Lisbon,
Portugal from 24 to 26 September 2000 at the session entitled 'What is the
contribution of religions to peace' -- was it not?
SO WHAT WAS ACHIEVED AT THE END OF THE DAY IN THAT CONFERENCE, IF ANYTHING
AT ALL?
note
again: islam - as revealed in
the holy qur'an only is ZIP-ZERO
-- without this COMMON
LINK - what to speak of the
islam that is practiced without it? this is also true about other religions
of the world!
-----
if
the aforesaid is true and it is then, could you tell us how did or will your
presentation assist others 'to
bring down WALLS AND BUILD BRIDGES'??
allow
me to explain:
to begin with, which
-- important aspect of islam
-- as revealed in the holy qur'an, bible and bhagavad gita only -- was either completely ignored or
excluded from your very important and meaningful presentation, AND WHY?
did this deliberate
omission -- serve any
useful purpose other than to simply nullify your otherwise, fairly
commendable presentation on the 'abrahamaic faiths'?
likewise, why was the qur'an based 'abrahamaic faith of islam' -- compromised
in such a manner?
pardon
me for asking you the following personal questions now. they are definitely
related to the issue at hand.
which
particular sect of islam do you follow and WHY? are you proud to follow it?
does it give you PEACE--SALAAM alluded to in your presentation??
do
you have a spiritual leader? what is his position in islam, IF YOU HAVE ONE?
do
you feel that other muslims should follow him as well?
if
so, why were you so shy or afraid to say SOMETHING about him, when such an
important opportunity presented itself to you?
you blew it didn't you?
but
then, WHICH ASPECT OF YOUR FAITH -- whatever it is, do you believe was NOT REVEALED IN THE HOLY QUR'AN --
and which in turn, made you so uncomfortable, elusive and delusive THEN?
hence
the question, did you do any justice to him, your community, faith and the true islam
overall?
despite
the uncalled for secrecy and/or ambiguity and several distortions noted in
your write-up thus far, i was still impressed with your following intriguing
remarks.
by
the way, were these noble thoughts original in their sum and substance, as
presented by you? IF NOT, then could you kindly -- quote the ORIGINAL
SOURCE in its full and complete context and connotation, which inspired you so
profoundly?
allow
me to quote you:
All
religions converge towards one essential message: respect for the DIGNITY
OF THE HUMAN PERSON.
If
there is universal respect FOR
GOD'S GREATEST CREATION, MAN HIMSELF, then the joint challenge is
to bring down WALLS AND BUILD
BRIDGES.
------
i
am simply amazed at the power of that 'unaccredited'
source, which also seems to have been distorted or misrepresented in
your presentation.
question
was
this then, your way of showing others, mostly misinformed or uninformed people
in that conference and your community, how intelligent and smart you were? that
is, for knowingly taking credit for something that did not originate with you. i
wont go as far as saying that it was plagiarism. but you came pretty close.
on
the other hand, if
that was not the case, why could not you -- or did not you quote the original
source in its proper context and connotation and/or even accredit it in your presentation?
that
said, allow me to congratulate you for pointing out the following 2 very
important points, because every muslim should and must remind her/himself of
the same and remain focused.
frankly,
life is too short to take it for granted. the horrible and heinous acts of
september 11, 2001 in new york, usa should remind us of what is implied here.
anyway,
allow me to quote you one more time, if i may:
But
what gives strength to this pragmatic framework is the spiritual purpose
of seeking to elicit the noble, which resides IN
EVERY HUMAN BEING.
Let
me end by a poignant narration from PROPHETIC
TRADITION. On the Day of Judgement, ALLAH ASKS THE SON OF ADAM:
----
first
of, it is very nice and noble of you to bring the above to the attention of
others in general and muslims in particular. second of, all muslims
should and must live by these teachings, regardless of their castes or creeds.
on
the sad note, despite these well-intentioned reminders, it is indeed very
painful to note that most muslim scholars like yourself, have take upon
themselves to either misrepresent and/or misinterpret the holy qur'an -- in
pursuit of their private agenda and/or fear to tell the truth to others, even
when called upon in such meetings as under review.
and
for reasons unknown, they have/will even compromise the 'abrahamaic faith'
vis-à-vis the true islam.
now,
allow me to quote the holy qur'an on what else allah will question muslims
about on the day of judgment:
PUNISHMENT FOR
_H_I_D_I_N_G_ THE QUR'ANIC TRUTH
1. _H_I_D_I_N_G__M_I_N_A_L_ -- of the
manifest proofs-- bayyinaat --
versus
Islam is for muslims *al--Haqq — the Truth*
