What do they say about Islam?

W. Montgomery Watt in his book: 'What is Islam?' said:
'Prejudice is only one of the difficulties to be met by the European or American student of Islam. As soon as he begins to describe Islam as 'the religion of the Quran', or 'the religion of the four hundred million Muslims of today', he introduces a category which does not fit, the category of 'religion'.
For what does 'religion' now mean to the occidental? At best, for the ordinary man, it means a way of spending an hour or so on Sundays in practices which give him some support and strength in dealing with the problems of daily life, and which encourages him to be friendly towards other persons and to maintain the standards of sexual propriety; it has little or nothing to do with commerce or economics or politics or industrial relationships. At worst it fosters an attitude of complacency in the more prosperous individuals and breeds smugness.
The European may even look at religion as an opiate developed by exploiters of the common people in order to keep them in subjection. How different from the connotations to the Muslim of the verse (3:19): 'the true religion with God is Islam!' The word translated as 'religion' is Deen, which, in Arabic, commonly refers to a whole way of life.
It is not a private matter for individuals, touching only the periphery of their lives, but something which is both private and public, something which permeates the whole fabric of society in a way of which men are conscious. It is all in one theological dogma, forms of worship, political theory, and a detailed code of conduct, including even matters which the European would classify as hygiene or etiquette.

What is Islam say ?

Islam is to submit to Allah in His Oneness (Monotheism) to be subservient to Him in obedience, and to shun associating any partners, rivals, and intercessors with Him. It is a religion of tolerance and ease.

Allah says:

Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.(2:185)
Islam is a religion through which one would be spiritually contented and would have peace of heart.

Allah says:
Those who believe, and whose hearts find their rest in the remembrance of Allah - for, verily, in the remembrance of Allah hearts do find their rest. (13:28)

Islam is a religion of mercy and compassion. The Messenger of Allah said:

"The All-Merciful shows mercy to those who show mercy. Show mercy to those on Earth, and you will be shown mercy by the One above the heavens." (Tirmidhi)

Islam is a religion of love and loving good for others. The Messenger of Allah said:

"The most beloved of people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to others." (Tabaraani)
Islam is a religion which has no confusion or ambiguity associated with it. Allah says:

"And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed [Our message]. So ask the people of the message [i.e. former scriptures] if you do not know." (16:43)

The Spiritual Healing Movement

The history of spiritual healing traces its roots back to ancient times. Evidence of healing exists in nearly every culture at some point, and healers have often been given positions of respect and even authority in various cultures. The team “healing” itself traditionally refers to healing of the mind, body and spirit, rather than the modern interpretation of physical healing. Ancient cultures generally recognized little difference between the body and the spirit, so healing necessarily involved more than just a physical approach. Ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece and the Far East all recorded variations of a spiritual healing practice, and many of their ancient symbols are still used today. Native Americans also had a strong belief in the power of spiritual healing, and shamans held a sacred position in the life of the Native American tribe. Judaism as well placed a heavy emphasis on the power of a supreme being to offer healing benefits. As people became more educated and the influence of science spread, the focus on healing gradually shifted toward the physical, as this was the part of the human being that could be seen and more readily understood. The medical practitioners used their new-found knowledge and understanding of the body to develop a more pragmatic and “earthly” approach to taking care of the sick and understanding human systems. Another blow to the spiritual aspect of healing came when spiritual healing was deemed to be the sole right of the Christian church. Non-religious practitioners were routinely prosecuted and even executed, and non-physical healing become more of a religious rite than a practical, everyday occurrence. In the Middle Ages, healing became largely the realm of the physician, and not the spiritualists. As a result, modern medicine came to develop as strictly a function of the body. Absent any focus on the mind or the spirit, much of the intuitive healing knowledge of our ancestors was relegated to the realm of “alternative” or “fringe” methodologies, and respectable physicians gave it little credence. The tide began to turn in the late 1800s, when Mary Baker Eddy founded the Christian Scientists, a sect that believed that all illness was a product of the mind and could therefore be healed without physical intervention. In the early part of the 20th century, a Japanese spiritualist named Mikao Usui defined the Reiki healing method, which sought to channel the vast spiritual energy that exists and can be harnessed for healing. His method is still popular today, and continues to gain support. Since the mid-20th century, a growing resurgence of the importance of spiritual healing has caused many in the health care industry to rethink their traditional view. Harry Edwards, a modern pioneer in the field of spiritual healing, helped to organize the practice by creating the National Federation of Spiritual Healers (NFSH). The organization helped bring legitimacy and wider acceptance to the various methods being practiced. Since then, the field continues to grow, with more and more people becoming aware of the power of various spiritual components in their healing regime. With the advent of the Internet, even more information is available, and people are exploring alternative therapies as never before. Studies and anecdotal information underscores the advantage of adding a spiritual component to traditional healthcare, and many enlightened physicians support their patients as they explore this complementary therapy option. Training is available for any number of specialized methods, and some healers even offer their services via email or online support groups. The field continues to flourish, and many people are finding healing relief in the traditions of our oldest customs and societies.

Spiritual Healing and Human Aura

For some individuals, it is possible to see a person’s aura, or colored mass of energy, emanating from and encircling each person. At any given time there will be several colors swirling about in varying degrees. Understanding what these colors mean, and how they relate, can offer guidance to an aural healer in knowing where to target the healing process. To understand healing as it relates to aura, let’s start with a brief discussion of the meaning of the general colors of the aura. Red – this is the color that indicates the physical life force. If an aura contains a lot of red, it indicates a very personal, earthy and vitalized human. However, it can also mean significant anger, repressed emotions and an overly competitive nature. Orange – generally thought to denote the creative portion of a personality. In fact, some healers believe that someone with a strong orange presence could themselves be a potential healer. On the negative side, however, is can indicate a propensity toward laziness and destructive tendencies. Yellow – this is the color of the intellect, and the way the yellow relates to other colors around it can tell much about how a person uses his or her mental faculties. For example, yellow tinged with black or brown is thought to be a negative expression of intellect, and may indicate a person who uses their intellect in less that positive ways. Yellow that shows a tinge of red can distinguish someone who uses the power of their mind to solve earthy and practical problems. Green – indicates the level of balance in a person’s overall energy field. If the green is somewhat muddies or murky, it can indicate a possessive nature (think “green with envy). Green that is influenced by the more positive colors can show a personal with a balanced personality, one who shows compassion toward others. Blue – representing the power of the spirit, blue comes in many shades and can indicate both positive traits (loyalty, psychic abilities and strong mental faculties) and negative (sadness, depression, or self-imposed difficulties). Indigo – a strong indigo presence in the aura tends to indicate a positive amount of spirituality in relation to others. This would tend to mark a person who is actively seeking a greater spiritual understanding and awareness, and willingness and desire to use it for good. Lack of indigo in a person’s aura can indicate a distinct lack of spirituality and a diminished desire to seek greater understanding. Violet – a mix of the blues and pinkish reds, violet is present in an individual who has reached a high plane in his or her spiritual development. True violet is rare, and is generally seen only in those who are seriously committed to a higher level of consciousness. Brown – this is an influencing color, mixing with other colors in the aura, generally in a negative way. Its presence indicates that the person has some negativity associated with one of the other colors. Black – a strong presence of black in an aura indicates an absence, or a blocking, of some sort. In its purest form, it can indicate the presence of evil intention. Mixed with other colors, it can indicate that the positive aspect of that color is being used with bad intent. White – in scientific terms, white is the balanced presence of all colors in the spectrum. Its presence in an aura represents a state of spiritual perfection and ultimate balance. Healers who work with the aura spectrum understand the subtleties implied by various combinations and shades within a person’s aura. They can then use their healing energies to correct imbalances, uncover blockages, and help bring about a more balance energy field.

Islam and Spiritual Healing

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In recent years, a small number of violent radicals, operating under the umbrella of the Islamic faith, have given the public a distorted view of the Islamic faith. One of the core beliefs of the Islamic faith is the health is a gift, emanating from the God. To those who follow the faith, they believe that next to faith itself, health is the second greatest blessing. Their belief is firmly centered around an understanding that good health is a state of grace, brought on by the divine. Muslims believe that the concept of one’s health should be viewed as a constantly changing and renewing entity, overseen by Allah. It follows, then, that the Islamic faith would be rich in traditions involving a variety of healing practices. Among these is a strong belief in the power of certain foods to promote well-being and good health. Barley, a staple of traditional Islamic culture, is thought to cure kidney problems as well as relieve a grieving heart. And following an illness, it is thought that eating a bread made from a mix of barley and beet roots would help bring back the patient’s strength and vitality. Dates are another traditional food for Muslims, and in fact most fasts are broken by enjoying dates, or dried grapes if no dates are available. They were thought to be cleansing to the body, a claim which modern science verifies by their high fiber content. And as a traditional source of energy, dates are high in sugar. Thus they make the ideal food with which to break a fast, when the body would be low in blood sugar and crave a good source of energy. And pregnant women of the Islamic tradition often have used dates to help prepare them for childbirth. Muslims also believe that honey was proscribed by Allah as a tonic for a variety of ills. Traditionally used to help treat sore throats and stomach ailments, modern science shows us that honey also can help stop bacteria from growing in the mouth, can help blood to circulate better, and even used to treat skin irritations and minor burns. The olive is another food that figures prominently in the Koran. In addition to its usefulness in maintaining good general health, olives are also knows for their nutritive value to the skin. And some even claim the olive oil can alleviate hemorrhoids. And once again, modern dieticians extol the virtue of this ancient food. The Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oils, has been show to help maintain good health and promote a stronger circulatory system. Throughout history, various religions have relied on certain foods to help maintain their followers’ good health. The Islamic faith is rich in these traditions, especially surrounding the fasting month of Ramadan. Islam also preaches other methods of healing with religious overtones. Among their beliefs is a prohibition against alcohol and mind-altering drugs. This complete ban comes from the understanding that behavior is controlled by the brain. Bad behavior is normally stopped by feelings of shame. Alcohol and drugs lessen or eliminate this shame reaction, causing the person to perform acts they normally would avoid. To learn more about healing practices as they relate to the Islamic faith, visit your local mosque. Most have community outreach programs, and their programs often include information healthy living as Muslims. If you don’t have a mosque near you, you may want to contact your local library or university to help you find local resources. Or, check the Internet; there is a wealth of information available on Islam and the healing arts.

Sufism;

Sufism; is a way to reach “Divine World” by sorting&cleaning the Real Self and puring the Soul. Sufism is not outside Religion, it is Religion itself.Tariqats are branches of Sufism.Religious Sects are branches of Figh. It is an ignorance to deny these. It is Love which distinguishes man from animal. Love is a Divine Mercy, a Divine Love and the Secret of Creation that Allah had granted to His Man to know Him better. The Spiritual Maturation of the Heart is provided by Sufism and by continuous Zikr of the Names of Allah.

If we want to be happy in this life and in the hereafter we should be in an effort to reach the joy of being a Man to Allah. We should not be away from the Joy of being an appropriate man of Allah.It should be our aim and joy to be in the rank of happy men of Allah who had been granted by eternal Divine Mercy, who had been delighted and had been the means of Divine Mercy. To perform our duty of being a man of Allah with belief and sincerity, to see with ‘eye of heart’ which is also a Mercy of our Creator, and to know the truth as needed. May Allah should not deprive from His Mercy!

With our attitudes and actions which have been granted by Eminent Allah, we should know to beg and demand in a Sufic Language.It is rarely seen that wish and demand which do not pass through heart whose Nazargah is Divine are complimented by Divine Presence.The way passing through heart to brain is a way of love of sufic masters.The flow from brain to heart has no reality rather than gathering knowlegde and knowing. Listen to the warning of Muhammed İkbal sincerely, and contemplate. Without considering the means which are Divine Mercy, it is gullibility to have the misbelief of obtaining both the substance and the spirit.

“You’ve collected and accumulated science, however you’ve neglected love, I pity that wealth you had lost.”

O Man! You are not the creature and thing which had been made servant to man.You are the secret and core of creation which had been a means by Eminent Allah to be known. It is obvious that you are alike to other creatures but you are a human being whom had been created suitable to be a man of the Spiritual Sea. You had been created from Divine Love. You had been granted suitable to know your Creator. You had been granted the opportunity and chance to know your Creator as much as you know your weakness.

O Loyal Man! who is trying to maintain his life with the pleasure of adapting to Divine Order by glorifying Allah and by mentioning Him much and who is marveling at his Creator by seeing the reality in every phase of his life; as much as you recognize that opportunity, never suspect! All these merits are withnesses showing that you are in love with your Creator.

Love as a meaning, is a divine concept.There is no metaphorical love. Wish is metaphorical.Demand is metaphorical. It is a need of real self. Metaphorical love ends after encountering with the thing being missed. As for divine love, it increases with closeness.And encountering is not the end of divine love.Manifestation of divine love is not the joy of real self, it is the nourishment of the soul, the means of the creation, the certificate of sufism as a meaning.

Without forgetting the addressing of Eminent Allah: ‘ O, Men! I’ve created the Earth, you will put it in order’, which had been organised and arranged by Allah and the men had been made responsible from performing, we should know our duties appropriate with our weakness, appropriate with the divine order.We should not act wrongly in submission to the arrengement and organisation of Eminent Allah. You should not go out of being a men to Allah by not performing the duties of our being a men of Allah and by saying, ‘ we also assign that job to you, please you perform this as well’ and by drawing back to a corner of oneness.Never tell the name of this insolence , ‘submission and our weakness’. Also never call this lasiness; Sufism, Tariqat, Sheria and Islam.The ones who live out of Allah’s orders have no precious attributes that are all divine mercy, Do not be unwary!...

Assigning the little will you have to Eminent Creator is out of being a men of Allah.Know that well!

How well had he told our deceased poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy in his poetry, the situation of the people who had formed bad beliefs because of ignorance and layzness without knowing the duties of being a Man to Allah. I try to announce his wise verses to my Dervish brothers sharing his beliefs with our unchanging belief and behaviour and wishing them to be taken as a sample.

“Kadermiş” Öyle Mi? Haşa, Bu söz Değil Doğru;
Belanı İstedin, Akkah Da Verdi..Doğrusu Bu.
“Çalış” Dedikçe Şeriat, Çalışmadın, Durdun,
Onun Hesabına Bir Çok Hurafe Uydurdun!

Sonunda Bir De “Tevekkül” Sokuşturup Araya,
Zavllı Dini Çevirdin Onunla Maskaraya!
Bırak Çalışmayı, Emret Oturduğun Yerden,
Yorulma, Öyleya, Mevla Ecir-İ Hasır İken!

Yazıp Sabahleyin Ecden Çıkarken İşlerini;
Birer Birer Oku Tekmil Edince Defterini;
Bütün O işleri Rabbım Görür: Vazifesidir..
Yükün Hafifledi…Sen Şimdi Doğru Kahveye Gir!

Çoluk Çocuk Sürünürmüş Sonunda Aç Kalarak…
Hüda Vekil-İ Umurun Değil Mi? Keyfine Bak!
Onun Hazine-İ İn’amı Kendi Veznendir!
Havale Et Ne Kadara Masrafın Olursa …Verir!

Silahı Kullanan Allah, Hududu Bekleyen O;
Levazımın Bitivermiş, Değil Mi? Ekleyen O!
Çekip Kumandası Altına Ordu Ordu Melek,
Senin Hesabına Küffarı Hak-Sar Edecek!

Başın Sıkıldı Mı, Kafi Senin O Nazlı Sesin:
“Yetiş” De, Kendisi Gelsin, Ya Hızr’ı Göndersin!
Evinde Hastalanan Varsa, Borcudur: Bakacak;
Şifa Hazinesi Derhal Oluk Oluk Akacak.

Demek Ki: Her Şeyin Allah…Yanaşman, Irgadın O:
Çoluk Çocuk Ona Ait: Lalan Bacın, Dadın O;
Vekil-İ Harcın O; Kahyan, Müdür-İ Veznen O;
Alış Seninse De, Mesul Olan Verişten O;

Denizde Cenk Olacakmış…Gemin O, Kaptanın O;
Ya Ordu Lazım İmiş…Askerin, Kumandanın O;
Köyün Yasakçısı; Şehrin De Baş Muhassılı O;
Tabib-İ Aile, Eczacı..Hepsi Hasılı O.

Ya Sen Nesin? Mütevekkil! Yutulmaz Artık Bu!
Biraz Da Syagı Gerektir…Ne Saygısızlık Bu!
Huda’yı Kendine Kul Yaptı, Kendi Oldu Hüda;
Utanmadan Da “Tevekkül” Diyor Bu Cür’ete, Ha?!...





Our Prophet has told Hazreti Ali that:

O Ali! You are the Lion of Allah, powerful, fearless, brave,

But do not trust and lean on your lionheart, Take shelter in the shadow of the Tree of Hope,

Take Shelter in the shadow of a Sheikh who could never be departed from the Straight with stories and rumors…

His shadow on Earth is like Mountain of Kaf, his soul is flying and travelling high like Simurg…

It will not finish even I praise and tell him till doomsday. Do not look for an end and interruption to this praising.

The sun has covered her face with a human shape, She has been hiden in human form. Well then you understand! Allah knows the truth.

O Ali! Among all worships for Allah, choose to take shelter in the shadow of a person who had reached Allah’s Mercy.

Everybody had hold a way of worship and sticked to a remedy for release.

You better take shelter in a shadow of a Sheikh so that you could release from the enemy who fights secretly.

This situation is better for you from all worships.By this way, you can pass all the people who has proggessed on the Way, you will be on the front.

As soon as you find a spritual guide, submit him immediately, be under order of Hızır and walk like Moses.

O! The one who never knows sowing discord…In order not Hızır to tell you “go on, it is time to leave!..”, you should be patient to things that Hızır do.

If he breaks down the ship, do not say anything, If he kills the child, do not tear your hair,

Since Allah named his hand as “it is My Own Hand”;

And had ordered (Surah Fetih, 10)..

Although Allah’s hand kills him, He will revive him again, not even He revives him He also will give him the eternal life.

Seldomly who had proceeded on this way on their own, had also taken the help of Sheikhs and reached their targets by their help.

A Sheikh’s hand is not short, it could reach the ones in the spritual world as well. It is nothing else than Allah’s handle…

Even it is given a Robe of Honor to the ones in the spritual world, the ones who are in the presence are better than the ones in the spritual world.

Think of what beautiful things they can put in front of a guest since they even fill up the ones in the world of absent…

Where is the one that people ties up the Belt of Service in his presence? Where is the one who stands outside the door?...


Once you’ve chosen your Sheikh, never be kind and impatient.Do not be loose like a mud and do not be hanging down in flabby folds.

If you get angry and hate in front of every difficulty, how could you be a mirror without being polished?..

Even a man is an angel, his Book will be black without getting assistance.

Even Angels need the help of Allah and the intercession of spiritually mature special men of Allah….

Hazret-i Muhammet Mustafa (s.t.a.v) Efendimiz Hazret,i Ali (R.A.) Şahsında, İnsan Olmanın Tertib-i Tanzim-i İlahinin Metafizik Ve İlm-i Ledünni Yönü Olan Varisün-Nebi, Nedim-i İlahi, Allah’ın Vazifelendirdiği Mürşide Biatı Has Kullarının Kemalata Ermesi İçin Elzem Kılmış Hazret-i Allah (C.C.)

Before beloved Ali had been granted by the Rank of “Shah of Sainthood” and when he had been granted by Divine Reward by being named as “Lion of Allah”, our beloved Prophet Mohammed Mustapha had had the necessity to name Ali as the “Shah of Sainthood” by declaring the Nur-U Muhammediye emerging from the Divine Radiance to Mohammedian Community in the name of Ali and to all believers of Allah.
Our Beloved Prophet had ordered that “ As you see, this true path is the divine path that goes to the City of Science of divine radiance of Mohammedian. The Way of “Masters of Tariquat” has had its explanation by the address “Ene Medinetün Ali Babuha”.

You should not be aware of Divine Mercy…There should be no suspicion. The spiritual personalities of our ‘Elders of Way’ of which have been made means to Divine Order, are the appearence and manifestation place of the divine radiance of Muhammed till doomsday.

Divine Orders are not only completed in our Prophet’s Character, divine addresses are for all man of Allah.

There is only one Sheikh of a dervish.He is called “father” by meaning, because he is a means of spritual birth.If you could notice, father is only one as in material world. It is the same in sipiritual world. They said, “if there are two fathers, the son will be illegimate”…Halik-I Zul Celal had ordered that:

“Call out the children with their fathers’ names.If you do not know their fathers’ names, they are your brothers of religion”.

If a Dervish whose Sheikh had been passed away, comes to another dervish lodge by a way of asking for divine guidance through a dream,and is accepted to their lodge on the condition that the Great Creator had not given another employed Sheikh.He is not responsible from the old Zikr but does the new Zikr and Lessons.His Sheikh is the previous Sheikh but his master of education has been changed.There is no any other change.A dervish should be loyal.

A dervish has only one Sheikh.There can not be two different Sheikhs.Aiming to become blessed, it is appropriate with customary observances and practices that Sheikhs help each other in the Way of Spiritual Maturity.It is a Divine Mercy. The doors of benefit are hold open. However it is limited by the sign of authority.

HOW CAN ONE THANK GOD FOR HIS BEING THE LORD?
He asked: ‘Am I not (your Lord)?’ and you responded: ‘Yes!’How can one thank Him for that ‘yes’? By suffering misfortunes! What is the mystery of that 'yes'? It is that you say:‘I am a slave in chains in the abode of poverty and perishing.’
What has he found who has lost God? And what has he lost who has found God?
Good tidings await those who are seen (by others) as strange and outlandish (because of their Islamic beliefs)!
Do you know what ‘sama’ (whirling in ecstasy) is?It is to enjoy permanence in absolute annihilation of the self.

IS “THE BEST OF THE YOUNG AMONG YOU ARE THOSE LIKE THE OLD AMONG YOU, AND THE WORST OF THE OLD AMONG YOU ARE THOSE LIKE THE YOUNG AMONG YOU,” A PROPHETIC SAYING? IF SO, WHAT IS MEANT BY IT?
I have also heard it referred to as a prophetic saying. What is meant by it is this: The best of the young is he who, like an old man, thinks of death and, without being captivated by fancies of youth, strives for his next life. As for the worst of the old, he is that old man who, trying to imitate the young in worldly aspirations in heedlessness of Divine commandments, obeys, like a youth, the temptations of his carnal self.

The correct form of the second part of your framed inscription is as follows – I hung it on the wall as a warning-notice and I look at it every morning and evening to take a lesson:
If you want a friend, God is sufficient. Indeed, if He is a friend to you, so is everything.
If you want companions, the Qur’an is sufficient. You may imagine yourself to be in the company of the Prophets and angels mentioned in the Qur’an, study their experiences and are intimate with them.

If you want wealth, contentment is sufficient. Indeed, the one with contentment becomes thrifty, and the one who is thrifty gets blessed abundance in his wealth.

If you want to feel enmity, your evil-commanding self is sufficient as an enemy. One who is self-conceited obtains grieves but one who is not haughty obtains care and peace.
If you want counsel, death is sufficient. The one who thinks of death, gets rid of love of the world and strives for his next life.

I am adding to your seven, an eighth, which is as follows:
A few days ago, a memorizer of the Qur’an recited a certain portion of the Sura Yusuf, down to the verse, Make me die a Muslim (submissive unto You), and join me with the righteous. (12:101)

Suddenly a subtle point occurred to me: Everything related to the Qur’an and faith is, no matter how insignificant it may seem, in fact, of great significance. Anything that contributes to eternal happiness is not insignificant, so, we should not regard it as unworthy of explanation.
This is the finest, most subtle point of the finest Qur’anic story: The verse, Make me die a Muslim (submissive unto You), and join me with the righteous, which marks the end of the story of Yusuf, upon him be peace, – the finest story in the Qur’an – is expressive of a glad tiding in a vivid and miraculous fashion. It is as follows:

The pleasure received from a joyful happy story results in a deep sorrow because of the final news of separation or death. This is really so, or arouses more sorrow, when we get the news of separation or death at a time when the character of the story has just found ease and happiness. However, the verse quoted above, even if it contemplates the death of the Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) at the happiest point of his life when he became the Aziz (grand-vizier or chancellor) of Egypt and re-united with his parents and brothers, it gives it in a different way and declares: In order to be the object of a far greater happiness, the Prophet Yusuf prayed God for his death and, through death, he received that happiness. This means that a more attractive and pleasure-giving bliss than the greatest happiness of the world is awaiting us at the other side of the grave. It is because of this that a truth-seeing person like the Prophet Yusuf, in order to find that bliss, asked for death, which is apparently very painful, when he was enjoying the greatest happiness of the world.

Look, then, at the eloquent way the Wise Qur’an reports to us the end of the story of the Prophet Yusuf, and see how it adds, instead of giving pain and regret, to the joy and happiness of the listener. Further, it guides us to the fact that we should strive for the other side of the grave, where are found real happiness and pleasure. It also demonstrates the exalted truthfulness of the Prophet Yusuf and announces that even the most joyful and brightest condition of the worldly life cannot captivate him, rather it leads him to ask for death and the other life

THE SPIRITUAL WAY TO PERFECTION FOR MAN BASED ON KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF GOD

THE SPIRITUAL WAY TO PERFECTION FOR MAN BASED ON KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF GOD

Man has innate inclination to know where he comes from, what his end will be, and what is his purpose in life
Man has innate inclination to know where he comes from, what his end will be, and what is his purpose in life. While traditional man had no difficulty in answering these questions and knew with certainty where he came from, why he was living and where he was going, modern man, under the heavy burden of modern life and the influence of modern conceptions, knows almost nothing of these essential problems arising from his very nature. This ignorance does not, however, change his situation: he, like the traditional man, is born and dies, and this fact has never changed nor will it do so, in spite of the ‘gigantic’ advancements in science and technology. The only difference is that what was once certainty has been replaced by doubt and fear.
He is a finite being contained by an infinitude
Man’s situation between these two fixed points, that is, birth and death, has not changed at all. He is still a finite being contained by an infinitude, who cannot escape being stirred by his very nature to an understanding of the Infinite and the Absolute. With regard to the Absolute and all the states of being which comprise the universe, man is what he has always been and always will be, one of the fairest creatures with the highest point of creation, yet with the potentiality to fall down to ‘the lowest of the low’.

According to the Qur’an, the process of creation is circular (As He brought you forth in the beginning so unto Him shall you also return. 7:29) in the sense that it ends at the point from where it started. The atheist is also of the same view, but he conceives matter, space and time or something presentable in terms of four dimensions as the point wherefrom the process starts and at which it also ends. Although matter is furthest from the state of perfection, he holds it, in its most chaotic condition, as the beginning and the end of the creation, which he deems as accidental and purposeless. Whereas according to the Qur’an, the existence starts with the highest state of perfection, and then proceeds down to matter, which has the least degree of perfection, and then again it turns back upward to the point from where it started.
He regulates the affair from the heaven to the earth, then shall it go up to Him in one day the measure of which is thousand years of what you reckon. (32:5)
Creation in the “Breath” of the Compassionate
This process is designed and administered by the Creative Will, and the Divine Grace and Compassion (rahma) is an a Priori factor in the manifestation of this Will. Therefore Compassion is the principle of the manifestation of the Infinite, so that the universe is called by the Muslim sufis ‘the Breath of the Compassionate’. Each particle of existence is immersed in this Breath, which endows it with a ‘sympathy’, with an ‘attraction’ to other beings, and above all with the source of the Breath, the Divine Compassion. That is why each atom of the universe is regarded as the theophany of the Divine Names and Attributes. Mahmud Shabstari, in his Gulshan-i Raz (The Mystic Rose Garden), expresses the Divine Being as manifested in everything, whether big or small:

Know the world is a mirror from head to foot,In every atom a hundred blazing suns.If you cleave the heart of one drop of water,A hundred pure oceans emerge from it.If you examine closely each grain of sand,A thousand Adams may be seen in it.In its members a gnat is like an elephant;In its qualities a drop of rain is like the Nile.The heart of a barley-corn equals a hundred harvests,A world dwells in the heart of a millet seed.In the wing of a gnat is the ocean of the life,In the pupil of the eye a heaven;What though the grain of the heart be small,It is a station for the Lord of both worlds to dwell therein. (Translated by E. H. Whinfield)
The Light of Muhammad is actually the theatre of the theophany of all the Divine Names and AttributesBecause existence is the manifestation of God’s grace or compassion, the order and hierarchy of creation begins with the highest and most comprehensive created entity, who is the compassion unto all worlds or beings, and the foremost in having within the fold of his existence all the excellences which are to be revealed in the chain of beings next to him in grade and elevation. This entity, being the most comprehensive in perfection and the embodiment of God’s Compassion, is presented in various terms but the most appropriate one is ‘the Light of Muhammad’ or ‘Reality of Muhammad’. Like sunshine radiating through everything from a molecule of water to the whole surface of the sea, and to the heavenly bodies, so the Light of Muhammad is actually the theatre of the theophany of all the Divine Names and Attributes, and the archetype of the cosmos.
The hierarchy of creation
The hierarchy of creation then unfolds itself in innumerable spheres of intellectual and angelical beings. In the Qur’an, they are termed ‘the Malakut’ or realms of unseen active spiritual and psychic entities. Each sphere is held by the one above it and this holds the sphere below it, ending in the four dimensional sphere known as material being. This is the lowest sphere which is held but has no holding faculty of its own at all, so it is termed in the Qur’an ‘Alam-i Mulk’ or ‘Alam-i Shadat’, the held-world or seen-world. This world forms the base of the hierarchy, the summit of which is the first and the most perfect and comprehensive entity. This base has nothing of the actual or the creative in it, but it is endowed with unlimited potentiality and recipience which forms the background of its upward and spiritually evolutionary movement.
Thus matter in its upward course begins with the simplest form of particles of atom and then proceeds towards the formation of atoms into nebulae and solar system, populated with inanimate and animate things, of plants, animals, man and other conscious and intellectual beings of various species, the nature and number of whom the Creator alone knows. So far as the earth is concerned, inanimate elements are employed by the Creator to develop into plants, thus being elevated to the simplest degree of life. Life evolves through plants and animals until it reaches perfection with man, who is the most complicated and the highest intellectual entity, into which matter has developed, and with which the hierarchy of creation returns to the point from where it started.
Man is endowed with the power of discovery and invention, and has been taught ‘the names’, which are the keys to the knowledge of all things
Man is endowed with the power of discovery and invention, and has been taught ‘the names’, which are the keys to the knowledge of all things. He is also gifted with the power to receive through his external and internal senses all that is manifested by God’s Will in the various spheres -terrestrial, celestial and supercelestial, and to reflect and reproduce all that he has received. Although man is at the summit of the hierarchy of creation on account of his celestial origin, he has to live upon the earth because of the vegetable and animal aspects of his existence. It is precisely because of these contradictory features of his being, the angelic nature and the terrestrial crust hiding the spiritual core, that man lives in this world and yet is bound by his own nature to transcend it.
Man is the bearer of the Supreme Divine Trust
The Qur’anic verse “Surely We created man of the fairest creature; then We reduced him to the lowest of the low” (95:4-5) defines the situation of man in this world in a manner that is at once perennial and universal. Man was created in the fairest stature, then he fell into the condition of separation and withdrawal from his celestial prototype, to a condition which the Qur’an calls the lowest of the low. Upon this point, a Muslim Sufi commentator writes that God created man as the most complete and perfect theophany, the most universal and all-embracing theatre of Divine Names and Attributes, so that he might become the bearer of the Divine Trust (amana) and the source of an unlimited effusion of light. He identifies ‘the lowest of the low’ with the world of natural passions and heedlessness. The grandeur of the human state, its great possibilities and perils, and the permanent nature of man’s quest after the Divine thus lie at the very root of human existence. Avicenna, a famous Muslim philosopher of the eleventh century, expresses in the following poem this idea that the human soul feels constrained to leave this world and to return to the angelic world from where it came:
...Now why from its perch on high was it cast like thisTo the lowest Nadir’s gloomy and dear abyss?Was it God who cast it forth for some purpose wise,Concealed from the keenest seeker’s inquiring eyes?Then is its descent a discipline wise but stern,That the things that it has not heard it thus may learn.So ‘tis she whom Fate does plunder, while the starSets at length in a place from its rising far,Like a gleam of lightning which over the meadows shone,And, as though it never had been, in a moment is gone. (E.G. Brown’s translation)
Finite forms in the cosmos reveal the traces of the Infinite
The cosmos continually reveals to man the eternal message of the Truth. Its finite forms reveal the traces of the Infinite. As Ali ibn Ali Talib said, “I wonder at the man who observes the universe created by God and doubts His existence.” The Qur’an says concerning this point:
To God belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and of the earth; and God is powerful over everything. Surely in the creation of the heavens and earth and in the alternation of night and day there are signs for men possessed of minds, who remember God, standing and sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth:
“Our Lord, You have not created this for vanity. Glory be to You! Guard us against the chastisement of the Fire. Our Lord, whomsoever You admit into the Fire, You will have abased; and the evildoers shall have no helpers. Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling us to belief, saying, “Believe you in your Lord!” And so we believe. Our Lord, forgive You us our sins and acquit us for our evil deeds, and take us to You with the pious. Our Lord, give us what You have promised us through Your Messengers, and abase us not on the Day of Resurrection; You will not fail the tryst.” And their Lord answers them: “I waste not the labor of any that labors among you, be you male or female -the one of you is as the other.” (3:189-195)
Man has need of revelation, which like the cosmos itself comes from the Infinite and the Absolute, and hence serves as the key for the unfolding of the mysteries of man’s own being as well as those of the universe. Revelation is in itself a gift that has descended from the Divine mercy to enable man to pass beyond the finite to the Infinite.
Revelation enables the human soul to make a journey from the outward to the inward, from the periphery to the center, from form to meaning, the journey which is none other than the mystical quest itself
Revelation enables the human soul to make a journey from the outward to the inward, from the periphery to the center, from form to meaning, the journey which is none other than the mystical quest itself. Because of the intimate relation the soul has with the cosmos, this journey is at once a penetration to the center of the soul and a migration to the abode beyond the cosmos. In both places the Divine Presence resides. Man, by following the ‘outer’ form of Islam, migrates into the inner and by the grace of God transcends the finite world to regain his primordial angelic state, and thus to complete the circle of creation. The spiritual path, as it exists in Islam, is one in which man dies to his carnal soul in order to be reborn in his angelic self.
Those who have found the Truth have found Him in their souls;Those who have been detained half-way have been hindered by conjectures.Who truly seeks will truly find Him, while the indolent can do neither;For His slaves on their spiritual journey, He is the final destination.The souls who do not recognize Him as friend, who do not die to themselves to be raised again in him,The souls who do not die for His sake are utterly bereft and destitute.Come, friends, let’s set out to reach the realm of the Beloved; And let us see the rose of His beauty for a moment in light.The world is pitiless and cruel, all around in fog and cloud;It is but a loss and waste of time to stay here even for a short while.We are travelers, and our home-coming is with Him alone; what an honor then to reach him; andFaith is the only means of attaining this aim by His leave and grace.
As frequently pointed out in this book, Islam is the religion of unity and all the aspects of the Islamic doctrine and practice reflect this central and cardinal principle. The Shari‘a itself is a vast network of injunctions and regulations which relate the world of multiplicity inwardly to a single center, and which conversely is reflected in the multiplicity of the circumference. In the same way Islamic art always seeks to relate the multiplicity of forms, shapes and color to the One, to the center and Origin, thereby reflecting Tawhid in its own way in the world of forms with which it is concerned.
Sufism, being the inner dimension of the Islamic revelation, is the means par excellence whereby Tawhid is achieved
Sufism, being the inner dimension of the Islamic revelation, is the means par excellence whereby Tawhid is achieved. All Muslims believe in unity as expressed in the most universal sense possible by the Shadah, La ilahe ill’Allah, that is, there is not deity but God.
The whole program of Sufism, of the Islamic spiritual way, is to free man from the prison of multiplicity, and to purify him of any mental process or physical action which diverts his ego-center towards temporal and sensual desires. It is to cure him of hypocrisy and to make him whole, for it is only in being whole that man can become holy. Men confess the one God but actually live and act as if there were many gods. Thus they suffer from the cardinal sin of ‘polytheism’ or shirk, and from a hypocrisy whereby they profess one thing but act according to something different. Sufism seeks to bring shirk into the open, and thereby to cure the soul of this deadly malady. The aim and goal of Sufism is to integrate man at every level of his existence.
Such an integration is brought about by the harmonization of all the faculties, the body, the mind, and the spirit, and not through the negation of the intelligence which so often occurs with modern religious movements. The methods of Sufism base themselves upon the practices of the Shari‘a, and in particular, the daily prayers, which are a most powerful means of integrating man’s psychic faculties and harmonizing them with his corporeal being.
The main method of Sufism, in fact, is to extend the prayers so that they become continuous. This extension is not only quantitative, but also qualitative, that is, Sufism uses this quintessential form of prayer, the dhikr or invocation, in which all otherness and separation from the Divine is removed and man achieves Tawhid. With the help of dhikr, combined with appropriate forms of meditation or fikr, man first gains an integrated soul, pure and whole like gold, and then by means of dhikr, he offers his soul to God so as to return to him in ecstasy.
The man who has achieved this integration possesses certain characteristics discernible to everyone; it leaves its imprint even upon his outward appearance, which of necessity reflects his inner state. Such a person is first of all cured of all the maladies of the soul, not by having all tensions and complexes removed in the manner of modern psycho-analysis, but by having those tensions which arise from man’s urge and need for the transcendent realized and fulfilled. Moreover, such a man does not live a compartmentalized existence, his thoughts and actions all issue from a single center and are based on a series of immutable principles. In him, the Islamic ideal of unifying contemplation with the practical is realized. He does not act or think in the normal manner, rather his contemplation and meditation are combined in the purest and most intense activity. By virtue of his becoming integrated, he reflects the Divine Unity and becomes the total theophany of the Divine Names and Qualities. He acts and lives in such a manner that there is a spiritual fragrance and beauty about all he does and says. Somehow he is in touch with that baraka or Divine grace which runs through the arteries of the universe.
The man who has achieved integration has reached the goal of his life, and is cured forever of the fear of death, which is so destructive to modern man. He perceives that death is not total annihilation but merely a shifting from a state of lesser sensitivity to a higher one. Man belongs to God, and as stated in the Qur’an, the movement of every individual, as well as the societies of beings a whole, is toward God. Death is, therefore, nothing but a shift and change from one stage of existence to a higher one which ultimately terminates with God. Of man’s sensory faculties, whether external or internal, none is destroyed by death, on the contrary, all these become refined and sharpened. The only relationship which is severed by death is the direct relationship of the conscious ego with the outer material world, with which it is connected through external senses. The material life is a veil to human senses and consciousness; on the removal of this veil by death all the faculties are sharpened. This is confirmed by a tradition of the Holy Prophet, who said, “Men are at present in a state of sleep; they will awake when they die.” So death is actually an ascension, and therefore not something to be feared by the sincere Muslim but is a gate opening towards the higher realities and pleasures of existence. It is a transference from the dungeons of worldly life to the gardens of Paradise, and from the world of labor and troubles to the abode of rewards.

In a Prophetic tradition in which God speaks God says:
My servant draws near unto me by works of supererogation, so that I love him; and when I love him, I am his ear with which he hears through Me, and his eye with which he sees through Me, and his tongue with which he speaks through Me, and his hand with which he takes through Me.
BIBLIOGRAPHYSaid Nursi, Mesnevi-i Nuriye, (‘Epitomes of Light’), IstanbulM. Abdulfettah Sahin, Truth through Colours, Izmir,1992Emerald Hills of the Heart, Izmir 1998S. Hussain Nasr, Sufi Essays, LondonThree Muslim Sages, Cambridge,1964Science and Civilization in Islam, London,1987Mahmud Shabstari, Gulshan-i Raz, (Turkish trans.) AnkaraM. M. Pouya, Fundamentals of Islam, KarachiM. Ibn al-Arabi, Shajarat al-Kawn, 1982Ataullah Iskenderani, Hikmetler Kitabi, (Turkish trans.)1981Martin Lings, Yirminci Yuzyilda Bir Veli (Turkish trans.)1980Titus Burckhardt, Islam Tasavvuf Doktrinine Giris (Turkish trans)1982Abdul-Karim al-Jili, Insan al-Kamil (Turkish trans) 1975Abdul-Karim al-Qushairi, Qushairi Risalesi (Turkish trans.) Istanbul

SOFI

SOFI

Sofi is a term used to name the followers of tasawwuf (particularly by those speaking Persian and Turkish). According to some, it is Sufi. I think the difference arises from the different views of the origin of the word. Those who are of the opinion that it derives from ‘sof’ (wool) or ‘safa’ (spiritual delight, exhiliration) or ‘safwat’ (purity) or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom, or that it implies devotion, prefer the word Sufi. Others who hold that it derives from ‘suffa’ (chamber) and stress that it should not be confused with ‘sofu’ (religious zealot), use the word Sufi.

The term sofi has been defined in different ways, some of which are as follows:
A sofi is a traveler to God who has been able to purify his self and acquired inner light or spiritual enlightenment.

A sofi is a humble soldier of God whom the Almighty has chosen for Himself and freed from the influence of his carnal, evil-commanding self.

A sofi is a traveler to the Muhammadan Truth who wears a coarse, woolen cloak not for show but as a sign of humility and nothingness and renounces the world as the source of vices and animal desires.

Sofis wear a coarse cloak made of wool and therefore are called ‘Mutasawwif’ in order to emphasize their states and their belief, conduct and life-styles. For it has been the characteristic of the Prophets and their followers and men of sincere devotion to wear a coarse, woolen cloak.
A sofi is a traveler to the peak of true humanity who has been freed from carnal turbidity and all kinds of human dirt to realize his essential, heavenly nature and identity.

A sofi is a man of spirit who deserves to be called a sofi because he tries to resemble the people of the Suffa—the poor, scholarly Companions of the Prophet who lived in the chamber adjacent to the Mosque of the Prophet—by dedicating his life to deserving that name.

Some are of the opinion that the word sofi is derived from ‘saf’ (pure). However, although their praiseworthy efforts to please God and continuous services of God with their hearts set on Him are enough for them to be called pure ones, it is grammatically wrong that sofi is derived from saf. Some have argued that sofi is derived from sophia or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom. I think this is a fabrication of foreign researchers who seek to find a foreign origin for tasawwuf.

The first to be called a sofi in Islamic history is Abu Hashim al-Kufi, a great ascetic of his time. Abu Hashim died in 150 after hijra, which means that the word sofi was in use in the second century of hijra after the generation of the Companions and their blessed successors.

Sufism which we encountered for the first time in Islamic history with Abu Hashim al-Kufi appeared as a way of the people of spirituality following the footsteps of our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and his Companions in their life-styles. This is why sufism has always been known and remembered as the spiritual dimension of the Islamic way of life. With respect to its original purpose, sufism has sought to educate people to set their hearts on God and burn with love of Him. It has concentrated on good morals and mannerliness in conduct in the footsteps of the Prophets. It may well be claimed that some slight deviations have appeared in it over time, but these deviations should not be exploited as an excuse to condemn that way of spiritual purity.

While describing the sufis who lead a purely spiritual life, Imam Qushayri writes:The greatest title in Islam is Companionship of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. This honor or blessing is so great that it cannot be acquired by any one other than the Companions. The second rank in greatness belongs to Tabi‘un, the title of the fortunate ones who came after the Companions and saw them. This is followed by Taba-i Tabi‘in, those came after the Tabi‘un and saw them. Just after the closing years of this third generation, and coinciding with the outbreak of some internal conflicts and deviations in belief, together with the Traditionists, jurisprudents and theologians who rendered great services to Islam each in their own field, the sufis realized significant accomplishments in reviving the spiritual aspect of Islam.

Especially the early sufis were distinguished, saintly persons. They led an upright, honest, austere and simple life, free from all kinds of blemish, far from seeking bodily happiness and gratification of carnal desires, and followed the example of the Prophet, our Master, upon him be peace and blessings. They were so balanced in their belief and thinking that it is not possible to regard them as followers of either ancient philosophers or Christian mystics or Hindu fakirs. For, first of all, tasawwuf was considered by its early followers and representatives as the science of the inner world of man, the reality of things and the mysteries of existence. A sofi was a student of this science, determined to reach the final rank of universal or perfect man.

Tasawwuf is a long journey leading to the Infinite One and demands unending efforts. It is a marathon to be run without stopping with an unyielding resolution and without anticipating anything worldly. It has nothing to do with Western or Eastern types of mysticism or yogism or philosophies. And a sofi, who is the hero determined to run this marathon and reach the Infinite One, is neither a mystic nor a yogi nor a philosopher.It is, however, a fact that prior to Islam some Hindu and Greek philosophers followed a way leading to self-purification and struggled against their carnal desires and the attractions of the world. But the way they followed and tasawwuf are essentially different from each other. For, first of all, while the sofis seek to purify their selves through invocation, regular worship, utmost obedience to God, self-control, and humility, and continue to follow their way until death, the ancient philosophers did not observe any of these rules or acts. Their self-purification—if it really deserves to be considered as such—usually caused conceit and arrogance in many of them rather than humility and self-criticism.
The sofis can be divided into two categories with respect to the path they follows:

The first category comprises those who give priority to knowledge and seek to reach their destination through knowledge of God (ma’rifa).
The second category consists of those following the path of yearning, spiritual ecstasies and spiritual discoveries.
The former spend their lives by continuously traveling toward God, progressing ‘in’ God and progressing from God on the wings of knowledge and knowledge of God, and try to realize the meaning of There is no power and strength save with God. Every change, alteration, transformation and formation they observe in existence and every event they witness or themselves experience, is like a comprehensible message from the Holy Power and Will experienced in different tongues.

As for the second category, although they are serious in their journeying and asceticism, they may sometimes, since they are in pursuit of discovering hidden realities or truths, miracle-working, spiritual pleasure and ecstasies, suffer deviations from the main destination and fail to reach God Almighty. Although it is grounded on the Qur’an and Sunna, this second path may yet lead some initiates to cherish certain desires and expectations such as having a spiritual rank, being able to work miracles, being known as a saint, etc. That is why the former path, which is the path leading to the greatest sainthood under the guidance of the Qur’an, is safer.
The sofis divide people into three groups:

The first group comprises those they call the perfect ones who have reached the destination. This group is divided into two sub-groups, namely the Prophets and the perfected ones who have reached the Truth by strictly following them. It is possible that some among those perfected ones are not guides; rather than guiding people to the Truth, they remain annihilated or drowned in the waves of the ‘ocean of union and bewilderment.’ Their relations with the visible, material world are completely severed and therefore they live unable to guide others.
Those belonging to the second group are called initiates. They are also divided into two sub-groups. The first sub-group are those who completely renounce the world and, without considering the Hereafter, seek only God Almighty. The second group consists of the initiates who aim to enter Paradise and do not completely give up tasting some lawful pleasures of the world. They are called by different titles such as ascetics, worshipping ones, the poor or the helpless.

As for the third group, since their aim is only to live an easy, comfortable life in the world, the sofis call them the settling or clinging ones - those who cling heavily to the earth. They are evil, unfortunate ones belonging, according to what the Qur’an calls them, to ‘the group on the left’, who are ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ and do not understand.

Some have also referred to the three groups mentioned as the Foremost or those brought near to God, the people on the right, and the people on the left.

THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF

THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF
As the history of Islamic religious sciences tells us, the religious commandments were not recorded in the earliest times of Islam. The practice and oral circulation of the commandments pertaining to belief, worship, and daily life enabled people to memorize them. This is why it was not difficult to compile them in books. What had been memorized and practiced was recorded and arranged on paper. In addition, since the religious commandments mentioned above comprise the vital issues in a Muslim’s individual and collective life, scholars gave priority to them and compiled books on them. Jurisprudents collected and codified in the form of books the Islamic Law and its rules and principles pertaining to all fields of life. Traditionists established the Prophetic Traditions and way of life and preserved them in books; theologians dealt with the issues concerning Muslim belief, and the interpreters of the Qur’an dedicated themselves to studying the meaning of the Qur’an, including the issues which would later be called the Qur’anic sciences such as Naskh (Abrogation of a law), Inzal (God’s sending down the whole of the Qur’an at one time), Tanzil (God’s sending down the Qur’an in parts on different occasions), Qiraat (recitation of the Qur’an), and Ta’wil (Exegesis), etc. Thanks to these universally appreciated efforts, the truths of Islam and all its principles were established in a way not to leave any doubt concerning their authenticity.
While all this work was being done in the fields of religious sciences, essentially based on jurisprudence, Tradition (Hadith), theology and Qur’anic interpretation, the Sufi masters who concentrated mostly on the pure spiritual dimension of the Muhammadan Truth tried to draw attention to the essence of man’s being, the real nature of existence and the inner dynamics of man and the cosmos, directing attention to the reality of things lying beneath and beyond their outer dimension. Adding to the commentaries on the Qur’an, the narrations of the Traditionists and the deductions of the jurisprudents, their asceticism, spirituality and self-purification, in short, their practice and experience of religion, the Sufi masters developed their ways. Thus, the Islamic spiritual life based on the actions of the spirit such as asceticism, regular worship, abstention from all major and minor sins, sincerity and purity of intention, love and yearning and man’s admission of his essential impotence and destitution, became the subject-matter of a new science called tasawwuf having its own method, principles, rules and terms. Even if there emerged over time some differences among the orders that were later established, it can be said that the basic subject-matter of this science has always been the essence of the Muhammadan Truth.
Unfortunately, it has sometimes occurred that, although they are the two aspects of the same truth, the commandments of Shari‘a and tasawwuf - which is in reality the spirit of Shari‘a, comprising austerity, self-control and criticism and continuous struggle to resist the temptations of satan and the carnal, evil-commanding self, and fulfill religious obligations, and so on - have been presented as contradictory to each other. While adherence to the former has been regarded as exotericism (self-restriction to the outward dimension of religion), following the latter has been seen as pure esotericism. Although this discrimination partly arises from the assertions that the commandments of Shari‘a are represented by jurisprudents or muftis, and the other by the sufis, it should be viewed as (the result of) a natural, human tendency, which is that everyone gives priority to the way more compatible with his temperament and for which he has aptitude.
As jurisprudents, Traditionists and interpreters of the Qur’an produced significant books based on the Qur’an and the Sunna and following the methods dating back to the time of the Prophet and the Companions, so also the sufis compiled books on austerity, spiritual struggle against carnal desires and temptations, states of the spirit and stations depending also on the same sources, with the addition of their own spiritual experiences, love, ardor and rapture. By doing so, they tried to attract the attention of those whom they regarded as restricted to practicing the outward dimension of religion and reflecting only on it, to their way and the spiritual aspect of religious life.
Both the sufis and the scholars, criticized for being restricted to the outward aspect of religion, aimed to reach God by observing the Divine obligations and prohibitions. Nevertheless, some extremist attitudes occasionally observed on both sides caused some disagreements between them. Actually, there was no substantial disagreement, nor should it have been viewed as a disagreement, that the different aspects and elements of religion were dealt with and presented under different titles. It is by no means a disagreement that while jurisprudence concerns itself with the rules of worship and daily life, with how to regulate and discipline man’s individual and social life, tasawwuf aims to enable man to live his life at a high level of spirituality through self-purification and spiritual training. In fact, tasawwuf and jurisprudence are like the two schools of a university which has undertaken to teach man the two faces or dimensions of Shari‘a and educate him to be able to practice it in his life. These two schools cannot be one without the other. One teaches how to perform the prescribed prayers, how to realize the canonical purity required for worship, how to fast, how to give the obligatory alms, and how to regulate his daily life from shopping to marriage, etc. The other concentrates on the meaning of these and other acts of, how to make worshipping an inseparable dimension of man’s existence and how to elevate man to the rank of a universal, perfect being, which is the true humanity. That is why neither of these disciplines can be neglected.
Although some impertinent ones among those claiming to be sufis have gone so far as to label religious scholars as ‘scholars of ceremonies’ and ‘exoterists’, the real, perfected sufis have always depended on the basic principles of Shari’a and based their thoughts on the Book-Qur’an-and the Sunna, deriving their methods from these basic sources of Islam. The Wasaya (‘Advices’) and Ri’aya (‘Observation of Rules’) by al- Muhasibi, al-Ta’arruf li-Madhhabi Ahl al-Tasawwuf (‘A Description of the Way of the People of Tasawwuf’) by Kalabazi, al-Luma‘ (‘The Gleams’) by al-Tusi, Qut al-Qulub (‘The Food of Hearts’) by Abu Talib al-Makki and al-Risala (‘The Treatise’) by al-Qushayri are among the precious sources where tasawwuf is dealt with according to the Book and Sunna. Among these sources some concentrate on self-control, the purification of the self, while others elaborate various topics concerned with tasawwuf.
After these great compilers mentioned came Hujjat al-Islam Imam al-Ghazali , the author of Ihya’ al-Ulum al-Din (‘Reviving the Religious Sciences’), his most celebrated work. He reviewed all the terms, principles and rules of the way of tasawwuf and, establishing those agreed on by all the Sufi masters and criticizing others, united once more these two disciplines, namely the outer and inner dimensions of Islam or jurisprudence and tasawwuf. The Sufi masters coming after him presented tasawwuf as one of the religious sciences or a dimension thereof, promoting the unity or agreement between themselves and those once called the scholars of ceremonies. In addition, they were able to make some subjects of sufism like the states of the spirit, certainty or conviction, sincerity and morality, which are dealt with by tasawwuf more profoundly, a part of the curriculum of madrasas-the institutions where religious sciences are taught.
Although tasawwuf mostly concentrates on the inner world of man and deals with the religious commandments with respect to their meaning and effects on man’s spirit and heart and is therefore abstract, it is not contradictory with any of the Islamic ways based on the Book and the Sunna. Far from being contradictory, it has its source, just like other religious sciences, in the Book and the Sunna and the conclusions the purified scholars of the early period of Islam drew from the Qur’an and the Sunna-ijtihad. It dwells on knowledge, knowledge of God, certainty, sincerity, perfect goodness and other similar, fundamental virtues.
Defining tasawwuf with different titles such as the science of esoteric truths or of mysteries or the science of man’s spiritual states and stations or the science of initiation, does not mean that it is completely different from other religious sciences. Such definitions are the results of experiencing Shari‘a throughout centuries by men of different temperaments and dispositions. It is a distortion to present the viewpoints of the sufis and the thoughts and conclusions of the scholars of Shari‘a as essentially different from each other. Although it is an undeniable fact that there have been some sufis fanatically adherent to their own ways, as well as some religious scholars-jurisprudents, Traditionists, and interpreters of the Qur’an-restricted to the outward dimension of religion, those who follow and represent the middle, straight path have always formed the majority. Therefore, starting from some unbecoming thoughts cherished and words uttered by some jurisprudents and sufis against each other, it is wrong to conclude that there is a serious disagreement between them. As compared with those always on the side of tolerance and consensus, the numbers of the others who have started or participated in conflict have been very few. This is what is natural, for like the jurisprudents who have depended on the Book and the Sunna in their ways, the sufis have also depended on these two main sources of Islam.
In addition, the priorities of tasawwuf have never been different from those of jurisprudence. Both of these ways or disciplines have stressed the importance of belief, doing good deeds and good conduct. The only difference is that, more than the jurisprudents, the sufis have also focused on purification of the self, deepening in the meaning of good deeds and multiplying them, and attainment of higher standards of good morals, by which man’s conscience awakens to knowledge of God and man can enter a way leading to the required sincerity in practising the religion and obtaining God’s good pleasure. Since man can, by means of these virtues, acquire another nature-another heart-spiritual intellect-within the heart, a deeper knowledge of God, and another ‘tongue’ to mention God-he can perform all the commandments of Shari‘a in a deeper consciousness of, and with a disposition for, servanthood to God, and in greater exhilaration.
It is by means of tasawwuf that man deepens in spirituality. Through the struggle with the selfhood, through solitude or retreat, invocation, self-control and self-criticism, the veils over the inner dimension of existence are torn apart and, as a result, man gains a strong conviction of the truth of all the major and minor principles of faith.

Book Description:The name of Mubarak-i Wakhani (1839-1903), a Persian (Tajik) mystic poet, musician, astronomer, and Ismaili religious scholar from Badakhshan, is hardly known in modern academic circles related to Persian and Ismaili studies. Despite his importance to Ismaili esoteric thought in general and the Ismaili tradition of the peoples of the Pamir Mountains in particular, Mubarak has received only scant attention from modern scholars. One of the major reasons for Mubarak’s relative obscurity is probably the geographic location of his homeland and its socio-economic, political, and intellectual environment. There has been no serious scholarly research conducted on Mubarak’s life and works. This book is the first introductory study on the subject, and provides the first systematic presentation of the seminal Islamic figure. In the desire to establish an accurate biography of Mubarak and to render his often confused Ismaili-Sufi ideas as lucidly and coherently as possible, this book, by Dr. Abdulmamad Iloliev (PhD, Cambridge University) of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, concentrates on assessing his life and thoughts in their historical and religious context. It explores how far Mubarak’s works represent the indigenous Pamiri perception of Ismailism and where he stands in relation to general Ismaili thought. Likewise, through the study of the works of Mubarak, it seeks to explore the distinctive elements of Pamiri Ismailism, which itself is an interesting, but relatively neglected area in religio-cultural studies of the minor nations within the diverse civilization of Islam in general and the former Soviet Union in particular. This is a must-have resource for all scholars in Islamic Studies.

Islam Sufism Imamt and Noor

The Ismāʿīlī (Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون al-Ismāʿīliyyūn; Persian: إسماعیلیان Esmāʿīliyān) branch of Islam is the second largest part of the Shī'a community, after the Twelvers (Ithnāʿashariyya). The Ismaili get their name from their acceptance of Ismail bin Jafar as the divinely appointed spiritual successor (Imam) to Jafar al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept Musa al-Kazim, younger brother of Ismail, as the true Imam. The Ismaili and the Twelvers both accept the same initial Imams from the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima Zahra and therefore share much of their early history.As Muslims, the Ismailis affirm the fundamental Islamic testimony of truth, the Shahada, that there is no God but God (Allah in Arabic) and that Muhammad is His Messenger. They believe that Muhammad was the last and final Prophet of Allah, and that the Holy Quran, Allah's final message to mankind, was revealed through him. Muslims hold this revelation to be the culmination of the message that had been revealed through other Prophets of the Abrahamic tradition before Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, all of whom Muslims revere as Prophets of Allah.In common with other Shia Muslims, the Ismailis affirm that after the Prophet's death, Hazrat Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, became the first Imam – the spiritual leader – of the Muslim community and that this spiritual leadership (known as Imamat) continues thereafter by hereditary succession through Ali and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. Succession to Imamat, according to Shia doctrine and tradition, is by way of Nass (Designation), it being the absolute prerogative of the Imam of the Time to appoint his successor from amongst any of his male descendants.After the passing away -- or occultation (according to Sevener Ismailis) - of Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic (zahir) oriented Akhbari and later Usooli schools of thought, Shi'ism developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismaili group focusing on the mystical path and nature of Allah, and the manifestation of himself in the personage of the "Imam of the Time" as the "Face of Allah", while the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharia) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and his successors (Ahl al-Bayt) who as Imams were guides and a light to Allah.Though there are several sub-groupings within the Ismailis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Nizari community, who are followers of the Aga Khan and the largest group among the Ismailis. While many of the branches have extremely differing exterior practices, much of the spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imams. In recent centuries Ismailis have largely been an Indo-Iranian community,[2] but Ismaili are found in India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia[3], Yemen, China[4], Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East Africa and South Africa, but have in recent years emigrated to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America

Sufism in Islam

Sufism in Islam1.

Briefly put, "sufi" is a second-century name applied to a type of Muslim earlier known as "zahid." The lexical root of sufi is variously traced to:
suf = wool

safa' = purity
and while the former is more likely, the latter is given preference. The two were nicely combined by Abu `Ali al-Rudhabari (d. 322) who said:

al-sufi man labisa al-sufa `ala al-safaThe Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity.
Imam al-Suyuti cited it in his book on tasawwuf entitled Ta'yid al-Haqiqa al-`Aliyya wa-Tashyid al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya. At any rate these are the likelier etymologies mentioned by al-Qushayri, al-Huwjiri, Ibn Taymiyya, al-Shatibi, and many others. Not that etymological purity mattered at all to the Sufis. They couldn't care less.

In his major work entitled al-I`tisam on the definition of bid`a (innovation), al-Shatibi (d. 790) rejected the categorization of sufis and tasawwuf as an innovation in Islam according to his criteria.Sources: - Suyuti, Ta'yid al-Haqiqat al-`Aliyya (Cairo: al-matba`a al-islamiyya, 1352/1934) p. 15.- Qushayri, al-Risala, introduction and chapter on tasawwuf and their commentary by Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, also al-Qushayri's short treatise, Tartib al-Suluk fi Tariq Allah.- Huwjiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, Introduction.- Ibn Taymiyya, see reference below.- Al-Shatibi, al-I`tisam (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1415/1995) p. 150-159.
2. As for the term "zahid" Imam Ahmad (d. 241) established that it applies first and foremost to the Prophet and his eminent Companions, upon him blessings and peace and may Allah be well-pleased with them, and it applies as well to all the Prophets of Allah, peace upon them.
`Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi (d. 429) mentioned the two terms zahid and sufi interchangeably in his classifications of the groups that belong to Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a in his al-Farq bayn al-Firaq:
Know that Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a are divided in eight groups of people... the sixth group being the Sufi Ascetics (al-zuhhad al-sufiyya), who have seen things for what they are and therefore have abstained, who have known by experience and therefore have taken heed truly, who have accepted Allah's allotment and contented themselves with what is within reach.
Sources: - Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd, 2nd. ed. (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1414/1994).- `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, n.d.) 242-243.
3. The term "sufi" has been used in contrast with "faqih" (jurist) by the great Imams of Fiqh and Usul. It is enough that Imam al-Shafi`i [1] said:
faqihan wa sufiyyan fa kun laysa wahidanfa inni wa haqqillahi iyyaka ansahuBe both a faqih and a sufi: do not be only one of them!Verily, by Allah's truth, I am advising you sincerely.
while Imam Malik [2] said:
man tasawwafa wa lam yatafaqqa fa qad tazandaqawa man tafaqqaha wa lam yatasawwaf fa qad tafassaqawa man jama`a bayn al-ithnayn fa qad tahaqqaqaHe who practices tasawwuf without learning Sacred Lawcorrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law withoutpracticing tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true.
See also Sufyan al-Thawri's saying on the best of people being the Sufi who is versed in fiqh, cited below.
Sources: - Al-Shafi`i, Diwan, (Beirut and Damascus: Dar al-fikr) p. 47.- Imam Malik: see `Ali al-Qari, Sharh `Ayn al-`Ilm wa- Zayn al-Hilm (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 1989) 1:33; Ahmad Zarruq, Qawa`id al-tasawwuf (Cairo, 1310); `Ali al-`Adawi, Hashiyat al-`Adawi `ala Sharh Abi al-Hasan li-Risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al-Musammat Kifayat al- Talib al-Rabbani li-Risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani fi Madhhab Malik (Beirut?: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-`Arabiyah, (n.d.) 2:195; Ibn `Ajiba, Iqaz al-Himam fi Sharh al- Hikam (Cairo: Halabi, 1392/1972) p. 5-6.
4. Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a 100-page book on al-Hasan al- Basri's life and manners entitled Adab al-Shaykh al- Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri. In his chapter on al- Hasan in his compendium of the saints entitled Sifat al-Safwa -- based on Abu Nu`aym's Hilyat al-Awliya' -- Ibn al-Jawzi mentions a report that al-Hasan left behind a white cloak (jubba) made of wool (suf) which he had worn exclusively of any other for the past twenty years, winter and summer, and that when he died it was in a state of immaculate beauty, cleanness, and quality.
As to when Sufis formally appeared, then a "terminus ante quem" seems established with Hasan al-Basri (d. 110) and his student `Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd (d. 177) who was the first person to build a Sufi khaniqa or guest-house and school at Abadan on the present-day border of Iran with Iraq. This is related by the hafiz Abu Nu`aym (d. 430) and confirmed by Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya. Al-Harawi al-Ansari (d. 481) says in his Biographical Layers of the Sufi Masters that the first person to be actually named "al-Sufi" was Abu Hashim al-Sufi (d. 150?), a contemporary of Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 165) who said: If it were not for Abu Hashim al-Sufi I would have never perceived the presence of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence. [3]
Abu Nu`aym narrated it in Hilyat al-Awliya' and al-Harawi al-Ansari in his Tabaqat al-Sufiyya while Ibn al-Jawzi, who was violently allergic to the word "Sufi," names him Abu Hashim al-Zahid in his Sifat al-Safwa.
Sources: - Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-Safwa 2(4):10 (#570) and 1(2):203 (#254).- Abu Nu`aym, Hilyat al-Awliya' 6:155 and s.v. "Abu Hashim."- Ibn Taymiyya, al-Sufiyya wal-Fuqara', beginning of volume 11 of his Majmu`at al-Fatawa al-Kubra entitled "al-tasawwuf."- Al-Harawi al-Ansari, Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, Mawlayi ed. (1983) 1:159.
5. Shaykh al-`Arusi said in his marginalia titled Nataâij al-Afkar al-Qudsiyya (Bulaq, 1920/1873):
"Religion (al-dîn) is an orchard of which the fence is the Law (al-sharî`a), the inner grove is the Path (al-tarîqa), and the fruit is the Reality (al-haqîqa). Whoever has no Law has no Religion; whoever has no Path has no Law; and whoever has no Reality has no Path."The way of the Sufis consists in ten items:
(1) The reality of tasawwuf which is defined by truthful self-orientation (sidq al-tawajjuh) to Allah Most High.(2) The pivot of truthful tawajjuh is to single out the heart and the body for [obedience of] Allah Alone.(3) tasawwuf in relation to Dîn is like the soul in relation to the body.(4) The Sufi examines the factors of perfection and deficiency.(5) The Jurist examines whatever discharges liability (mâ yusqitu al-haraj) while the scholar of juridical/ doctrinal Principles (al-usûlî) examines whatever makes one's faith valid and firmly established. Therefore the Sufi's perspective is more specific than both of theirs, consequently their criticism of him is valid, while his criticism of either of them is invalid. Hence 'the Sufi among Jurists is better than the Jurist among Sufis.'(6) To display the nobility of tasawwuf, its evidence being both by demonstration and by textual precedent (burhânan wa nassan).(7) fiqh [jurisprudence] is the precondition for the validity of tasawwuf and that is why it has precedence over it.(8) Terminology and its specific applicability to each discipline exclusively of others.(9) The keys of spiritual opening concerning which there are four rulings: first principles; truthful aspiration towards attainment; longing for spiritual realities; and quitting the guideline of what is transmitted (al-manqûl) once one obtains self-realization (al-tahqîq).(10) It is a wonderful and strange path built on the permanent following of what is better and best: in doctrines it consists in following the Salaf; in rulings, fiqh; in meritorious deeds (al-fadaâil), the scholars of hadith; and in high manners (al-âdâb), all that is conducive to the wholeness of hearts."
6. Some definitions of sufism: tasawwuf: Purification of the self from all that is other than the remembrance and obedience of Allah; the realization of ihsân (excellence); zuhd (asceticism) combined with ma`rifa (knowledge of Allah); the attribute of the Sufi. Ceasing objection (al-Su`luki); Abandoning the world and its people (Ibn Sam`un). tasawwuf is neither knowledge nor deeds but an attribute with which the essence of the Sufi adorns itself, possessing knowledge and deeds, and consisting in the balance in which these two are weighed. (Ibn Khafif)
Some definitions of the Sufi:
Sûfî, pl. Sûfiyya: One who follows the path of tasawwuf, He who gazes at the Real in proportion to the state in which He maintains him (Bundar). They wore wool (sûf): “I found the redress of my heart between Makka and Madina with a group of strangers - people of wool and cloaks - (ashâb sûf wa `abâ).” Sufyan al-Thawri as cited from Khalaf ibn Tamim by al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (Dar al-Fikr ed. 7:203).
7. As for the following misguided citations:
Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism: "If a person exercised Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he does not come to Dhuhur except an idiot." [Talbees Iblees].Abu Nu`aym narrated with his chain in Hilyat al-Awliya' that al-Shafi`i said: "If a person did NOT exercise Sufism at the beginning of the day, he would not reach Zuhr except an idiot." And this is true, as shown by the detractors of Sufism till our time. Some are dangerous idiots, some are harmless idiots, but they are all, without exception, idiots as the Imam said.
"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)." [Talbees Iblees].Except that the above statement is a forgery. In fact, Talbis Iblis is filled with forgeries but some people rely on it because they have no fear of Allah.
Concerning the famous Sufi leader, Al-Harith Al-Muhasbi, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbaal (R) said:"Warn (people) from Al-Harith (a Sufi leader) the strongest warning!... He is the shelter of the Ahl Kalaam (people of rhetoric)." [Talbees Iblis].Al-Dhahabi narrated with a chain he declared sahih, that Imam Ahmad praised al-Harith al-Muhasibi with the strongest praise. Al-Dhahabi also said of Ibn al-Jawzi, the author of Talbis Iblis, that he does not consider him a Hafiz because he finds him sloppy.
Sufism is a blend of various thoughts and philosophies. By intermingling a few traces of Islamic teachings with it, the Sufi thinkers attempted to sanctify their doctrines and demonstrate its conformity to Islam Greek philosophy, and in particular the teachings of Neo-Platonists.On this orientalist-wahhabi imaginary sufism see: http://sunnah.org [refering to the deragatory: "The Other Side of Sufism" at: www.qss.org; but see instead "From the Fatawa of Shaykh al-Azhar `Abd al-Halim Mahmud," (the chief religious authority in Egypt) : On Sufism at: www.uga.edu/islam; OKN]
A parting note. Ibn `Abd al-Hadi narrates in bad' al-`Ilqa bi-Labs al-Khirqa that Ibn Taymiyya boasted of having received the Qadiri Sufi Tariqa from Ibn Qudama. For his part al-Dhahabi in his Siyar twice states he received the Suhrawardi Tariqa from his beloved Egyptian Sufi teacher Ahmad al-Abarquhi. Siyar (Fikr ed. 17:118-119 #6084, 16:302 #5655). He boasts the same in his Mu`jam al-Shuyukh.
And the Hafiz who surpassed both of them, Ibn Hajar al- `Asqalani, was a Shadhili Sufi - as were his students al-Sakhawi and al-Suyuti.
In Sunni Islam it is unthinkable that a learned person not be a Sufi.

Salam.Hajj GibrilGF Haddad

Your thought is a tree rooted deep in the soil of tradition and whose branches grow in the power of continuity. My thought is a cloud moving in the space. It turns into drops which, as they fall, form a brook that sings its way into the sea. Then it rises as vapour into the sky. Your thought is a fortress that neither gale nor the lightning can shake. My thought is a tender leaf that sways in every direction and finds pleasure in its swaying. Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it. My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought allows you to believe in the unequal contest of the strong against the weak, and in the tricking of the simple by the subtle ones. My thought creates in me the desire to till the earth with my hoe, and harvest the crops with my sickle, and build my home with stones and mortar, and weave my raiment with woollen and linen threads. Your thought urges you to marry wealth and notability. Mine commends self-reliance. Your thought advocates fame and show. Mine counsels me and implores me to cast aside notoriety and treat it like a grain of sand cast upon the shore of eternity. Your thought instils in your heart arrogance and superiority. Mine plants within me love for peace and the desire for independence. Your thought begets dreams of palaces with furniture of sandalwood studded with jewels, and beds made of twisted silk threads. My thought speaks softly in my ears, “Be clean in body and spirit even if you have nowhere to lay your head.” Your thought makes you aspire to titles and offices. Mine exhorts me to humble service.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought is social science, a religious and political dictionary. Mine is simple axiom. Your thought speaks of the beautiful woman, the ugly, the virtuous, the prostitute, the intelligent, and the stupid. Mine sees in every woman a mother, a sister, or a daughter of every man. The subjects of your thought are thieves, criminals, and assassins. Mine declares that thieves are the creatures of monopoly, criminals are the offspring of tyrants, and assassins are akin to the slain. Your thought describes laws, courts, judges, punishments. Mine explains that when man makes a law, he either violates it or obeys it. If there is a basic law, we are all one before it. He who disdains the mean is himself mean. He who vaunts his scorn of the sinful vaunts his disdain of all humanity. Your thought concerns the skilled, the artist, the intellectual, the philosopher, the priest. Mine speaks of the loving and the affectionate, the sincere, the honest, the forthright, the kindly, and the martyr. Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In my thought there is only one universal religion, whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being. In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared. My thought holds that there are no riches but life; that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.
You have your thought and I have mine.
According to your thought, the greatness of nations lies in their politics, their parties, their conferences, their alliances and treaties. But mine proclaims that the importance of nations lies in work - work in the field, work in the vineyards, work with the loom, work in the tannery, work in the quarry, work in the timberyard, work in the office and in the press. Your thought holds that the glory of the nations is in their heroes. It sings the praises of Rameses, Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, and Napoleon. But mine claims that the real heroes are Confucius, Lao-Tse, Socrates, Plato, Abi Taleb, El Gazali, Jalal Ed-din-el Roumy, Copernicus, and Pasteur. Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas. But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth. No matter how long the tyrant endures, he will be the loser at the end. Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist, between the part and the whole, between the mystic and materialist. Mine realizes that life is one and its weights, measures and tables do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables. He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought is interested in ruins and museums, mummies and petrified objects. But mine hovers in the ever-renewed haze and clouds. Your thought is enthroned on skulls. Since you take pride in it, you glorify it too. My thought wanders in the obscure and distant valleys. Your thought trumpets while you dance. Mine prefers the anguish of death to your music and dancing. Your thought is the thought of gossip and false pleasure. Mine is the thought of him who is lost in his own country, of the alien in his own nation, of the solitary among his kinfolk and friends.
You have your thought and I have mine.

Channelling mediumistic: Encyclopedia - Channelling mediumistic

Channelling (mediumistic)
Channelling or channeling is the alleged communication of information to or through a physically embodied human being (the channel or medium), from a spirit or other supernatural entity outside the mind (or self) of the channel.
Channelling is part of the belief systems and rituals of many religions, such as shamanism, Candomblé, Voodoo, Kardecism, Umbanda, and more.
Channelling mediumistic - General
Research of articles by channellers has shown they allegedly have channelled ascended masters like Buddha, Jesus, or St. Germain.; people that have passed away; angels; and higher dimensional beings. Channelling is a popular source of revealed teachings in some New Age groups. Well known channellers like Diandra (Salem), Edgar Cayce, Esther Hicks (Abraham), Jane Roberts (Seth), and Lee Carol (Kryon) have volumes of teachings on angels, chakras, higher dimensions, future predictions, manifestation, meditation, non-judgment, now moment, past lives, and spirituality.
It is said there are two types of channelling using the spoken word. Conscious voice channelling and trance channelling. Conscious voice channelling is when the channeller calms their mind down and connects to the energy of the source being channeled. The source uses the vocabulary of the channeller to speak through them. The channeller usually has their eyes closed and is conscious of the room and what is being said but they are allowing the source to speak through them by calming their mind. Trance channelling is when the channeller does not want to become one with the energy of the source being channelled through them. A trance channeller therefore through meditation has their consciousness leave their body and the source consciousness enters it. Observers will notice the channeller's voice change when the transition is complete. This is not related to multiple personalities. The trance channeller makes a freewill choice for their consciousness to reconnect with their physical body. Trance channelling uses the same dynamics as astral travel.
The definition of channelling has not yet reached a consensus. Some constrict the definition to a narrow band of behavior and experience, while others see it as including almost any information-processing of an apparently self-transcending nature. For example,
Channelling mediumistic - Channelling Definition
The divine, inspired words (or energy) of God as imparted to Humans by Humans.
The above definition is what channelling actually IS. That means that not only were most of the sacred scriptures of the planet (all religions) channelled originally, but also much artwork and music too! It is absolutely commonplace, but like so many other re-emerging processes in the New Age, it has a stigma about it that is strange. God did not write the Bible... Humans did, while divinely inspired. by Lee Carol
The above definition, however, excludes all conscious and assorted altered states such as daydreaming and dreaming, as well as memories and the personal unconscious. It also excludes "talking to oneself" that falls in the realm of clinical and cognitive psychology, and also telepathy and ESP communication between minds of embodied persons that fall under parapsychology.
Channelling mediumistic - Hypotheses on Channelling
One hypothesis of channelling is anyone can develop the ability to channell. The channeller raises their consciousness through meditation and the source being channelled lowers their vibration to connect with each other. The channeller makes a freewill choice to connect to the source. The source creates an energy corridor through the vibrations of the mass consciousness in order to not be distorted by the lower vibration of the planet. The source can be from the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh dimension. At higher vibrations beyond the seventh dimension it is hard for the source to lower their vibrational conscious to the level of the third dimension. The awareness, intent and enlightenment of the source varies on factors beyond the scope of the definition of channelling.
Another hypothesis of channelling is that the human minds are really part of some vast impersonal sea of mind (or energy) with which humans interact to give birth to further, seemingly separate minds or personalities (or energy systems) that are the "entities" being channeled. According to this hypothesis, everything is "us", a single creative source generating, sustaining, and merging the endless possible sub-entities or sub-personalities of itself — a blending of what once appeared as separate minds, entities and energies.
For some, this concept is less bizarre than the prospect that there are totally separate beings living outside the physical universe who are communicating with us. This is one of many related hypothesis that goes beyond the stereotype that it is always some independent entity that is communicating, that humans are each, a bounded and autonomous entity as well, albeit an incarnate one.
However, there is another point of view about the phenomenon: that channelling is pure nonsense, an entirely self-generated phenomenon which very often involves conscious and unconscious fakery. The claims of some channels have been found to be without merit. One must therefore keep in mind that this subject is fraught with possibilities of deception and misunderstanding.
Because of its subjective nature, channelling may be not easy to verify and is an inherently difficult phenomenon to research. The problems faced are similar to those faced by philosophers and theologians who are trying to understand mysticism and the mystical experience. Channeling, like mysticism, is a phenomenon that has been a part of human experience as far back as human records go.
Professor Marcello Truzzi, a sociologist at Eastern Michigan University who co-founded the "Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal" and the "Center for Scientific Anomalies Research", prefers to maintain what he calls "constructive skepticism" until someone comes forward with channel information that is evidential.
Spiritualism, Spiritual medium, Spiritual possession, Automatic writing, Automatic drawing
Channelling mediumistic - Books channelled texts entities and mediums
Channelling mediumistic - Books and channelled texts
Several notable books describe the entering of a trance state to allow the dead to speak through the medium or channel, or a spiritual guide to convey messages from other spirit men to listeners (see seance).

A New Day Is Dawning: Channelled text allegedly from Jesus, channelled by Diandra founder of www.inwardjourney.com

Ask and it is Given: Channelled text, allegedly from Abraham, channelled by Esther Hicks.
Conversations with God: Channelled text allegedly from God channelled by Neale Donald Walsch.

Opening to Channel: How to Connect with your Guide (1987) by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer describes how to channel a spirit guide.
The Coming of Seth (1966): Jane Roberts describes the beginnings of her experiences with speaking for Seth.

The Cosmic Tradition of Max and Alma Theon seems to be based in large part of Mme Theon's channelling ability
The Michael Teachings

The Indigo Children: Channelled text.
Toward the Light: Channelled text.
Channelling mediumistic - Entities and mediums
Seth entity, channelled by Jane Roberts.
Abraham group of entity, channelled by Esther Hicks.
Kryon: Channelled entity.
Matthew Ward: Channelled entity.
Oahspe: Channelled entity.
Brazilian psychic surgeons, such as José Arigó, claim to work as channels for deceased surgeons.
Salem entity, channelled by Diandra
Channelling mediumistic - Channelling in fiction
In fantasy literature, the term channelling is sometimes used in other ways, particularly to describe a person's ability to draw on some form of magical power. The Wheel of Time series, for example, uses the term extensively (although it is by no means the only work to do so).
See also
Related ideas:
Spiritualism
Spiritual medium
Spiritual possession
Automatic writing
Automatic drawing
Sceptical criticism:
Pseudoscience
Hoax
Delusion
True-believer syndrome