Stray Reflections

Here’s a truly evocative reading of this great poem by Allama with some beautiful pictures as well.

Another interesting piece related to the previous post.

Discussions of causality and necessity in Islamic thought were the result of attempts to incorporate the wisdom of the Greeks into the legacy of the Qur”an, and specifically to find a philosophical way of expressing faith in the free creation of the universe by one God. Moreover, that article of faith was itself a result of the revelation of God’s ways in the free bestowal of the Qur”an on a humanity otherwise locked in ignorance, which a purportedly Aristotelian account of the necessary connection of cause and effect might be taken to rule out. Thus free creation of the universe and free gift of the Qur’an formed a logical unit. The challenge, therefore, was to compose an account of metaphysical and ethical matters which permits rational discourse about them, without obscuring their ultimate source or precluding divine action in the course of world events and human actions.

The scheme of emanation elaborated by al-Farabi sought to give ‘the First’ the place of pre-eminence which the Qur’an demanded for the Creator, but did so by modelling creation on a logical system whereby all things emanated necessarily from this One. It was this necessity, further articulated by Ibn Sina, which al-Ghazalii took to jeopardize the freedom of God as Creator and as giver of the Qur’an. al-Ghazali’s objections were honed by a previous debate among Muslim theologians (mutakallimun), who had elaborated diverse views on human freedom in an effort to reconcile the obvious demand for free acceptance of the Qur’an with its claims regarding God’s utter sovereignty as Creator over all that is. Natural philosophy was also affected by these debates, specifically with regard to the ultimate constitution of bodies as well as accounts that could be given of their interaction. However, the primary focus was on human actions in the face of a free Creator.

Read the rest here.

Here is a brief but interesting summary of the impact and influence of Neo-Platonisn on Islamic thought by Ian Richard Netton who is the author of a number pf works on Islamic philosophy and mysticism. He writes:

Islamic Neoplatonism developed in a milieu already saturated with the thought of Plotinus and Aristotle. The former studied in Alexandria, and the Alexandrine philosophical syllabus included such figures as Porphyry of Tyre and Proclus. Associated with these scholars were two major channels of Islamic Neoplatonism, the so-called Theology of Aristotle and the Liber de Causis (Book of Causes). Other cities beloved of the philosophers at the time of the rise of Islam in the first century ah (seventh century ad) included Gondeshapur and Harran.

Islamic Neoplatonism stressed one aspect of the Qur’anic God, the transcendent, and ignored another, the creative. For the Neoplatonists, all things emanated from the deity. Islamic philosophers were imbued to a greater or lesser degree with either Aristotelianism or Neoplatonism or, as was often the case, with both. Al-Kindi, the father of Islamic philosophy, has a Neoplatonic aspect, but the doctrine reaches its intellectual fruition in the complex emanationist hierarchies developed by al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. Their views are later developed (or metamorphosed) by later thinkers into an emanative hierarchy of lights, as with Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi, or the doctrine of the Unity of Being espoused by Ibn al-’Arabi. While al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd both vigorously opposed Neoplatonic views, the latter attacked the former for his general opposition to the philosophers.

Neoplatonism itself had a major impact on that sectarian grouping of Muslims known as the Isma’ilis, and became the substratum for its theology. Historically, Neoplatonism in Islam achieved its climax with the Fatimid Isma’ili conquest of Egypt towards the end of the fourth century ah (tenth century ad). While Neoplatonism later declined in philosophical importance in the face of rampant Aristotelianism and Hanbalism, it may be said to have bequeathed an important religious, historical and cultural legacy to the Islamic world, which in the Isma’ili movement endures to this day.

Read the rest of the article here.

A classic rendition by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali of Allama’s poem JavedNama.

I would not give up my knowledge of dissenting opinions for the whole world.

Hz Ibn Umar (RA).

……It was by a chance encounter that my attention was drawn towards tawba (repentance). I was once honoured by the visit to the tomb of the author of the Masnavi Mawlana Jalauddin Rumi (RA). On the main entrance to the dergah I noticed a quatrain that says:

Return! Return! whoever you are return!

Whether you be an associator or disbeliever return!

Our hospice is not a hospice of despair

Even if you have broken a hundred vows return!

Each word of these verses entered my heart like an arrow to be lodged there permanently. I immediately realized the benefits, ease and greatness of tawba. The verse were an open invitation to me (and others like me) to return through the door of repentance and it seemed that there being placed in such a blessed place made their effect even more potent, rather like an invisible electric current sending beneficial shocks to our system.

Since that day I’ve been convinced that every muslim has the light of faith in his/her heart even though its effects may not be apparent. Rather like a beautiful person whose face is smeared with dust and his/her beauty is temporarily hidden. The moment they wash it clean the moon like radiance of their face will become apparent. Similarly the light of faith becomes smeared in some people through sin but the moment they repent that light will begin to shine again. If they fall into sin again and then return the soap of repentance will wash all sins away again; likewise time and time again for the mercy of the All-Merciful is vaster than the sins of human beings. However one should be aware that just as a garment that is sent to the washerman repeatedly loses some of its original lustre the human heart suffers a similar fate and it is important to to remain firm of resolve after repentance.

…Apart from Taqwa I was also quite confused about tawakkul (reliance/trust in God). Over time these verses of the Quran have helped to clarify things for me:

If Allah helps you, none can overcome you: If He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? in Allah, then, Let believers put their trust. (3:160)

For, Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord; (8:02).

And Moses said: O my people! If ye have believed in Allah then put trust in Him, if ye have indeed surrendered (unto Him)! They said: In Allah we put trust. Our Lord! Oh, make us not a lure for the wrongdoing folk;(10;84-85)

These verses mention both tawakkul and du’a (supplication) at the same time. This removed the doubt that du’a is against/contrary to tawakkul….. (Shahabnama) .

Since Green Sufi has already written on Shahab sahib’s views on tawakkul I will not reproduce it here but please do read it on his blog here.

…..I was also confused about the true meaning of taqwa (piety, God-consciousness), tawakkul( reliance on God) and tawba(repentance). I had read somewhere that in order to understand the Quran one must have a wholesome disposition, a wholesome intellect, breadth of vision and the “light” of understanding and these come about through taqwa. What is taqwa though? How is it attained? At that time I had no idea.

The Quran describes the person of taqwa thus:

It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the Allah-fearing. (2:177)

The Quran also tells us:

Deal justly, that is nearer to piety. (5:0
O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness,- that is the best. (7:26)

Apart from outer raiment there is also spiritual raiment, that is the raiment of taqwa which is even more needed than the outer garments. Just as the outer garment covers the nakedness of the body and adorns it, so does the garment of taqwa cover our bad traits and adorn our good ones.

After reading the descriptions of the people of taqwa in the Quran my heart was set free from the fear of those “righteous folk” who are often seen carrying the staff of their own righteousness and pouring scorn on their “weaker” fellows in a remorseless manner. Such people truly deserve to be pitied. The real people of taqwa are people of beauty and grace; of good character, clean hearted, full of faith, generous, just, truthful, soft-hearted, able to control their anger and their desires; free of arrogance, searching out the faults of others or being sarcastic and derogatory towards them.

Their outer garments are beautiful and pleasing and their inner garments are even more beautiful. This is the raiment of taqwa. Their outer form does not proclaim their righteousness and if their inner self ever entertains the idea that they are people of taqwa, this inner raiment is ripped to shreds leaving them stark naked in the valley of arrogance. This is a two-edged sword. Only that fortunate one  survives its blow whose taqwa is for God alone.

Shahabnama.

Eid Mubarak and best wishes to all of you!

Here’s more vintage wine from the master.

When you plant a tree
every leaf that grows will tell you,
what you sow will bear fruit.
So if you have any sense, my friend
don’t plant anything but love,
you show your worth by what you seek.
Water flows to those who want purity
wash you hands of all desires and
come to the table of Love.

Do you want me to tell you a secret?
The flowers attract the most beautiful lover
with their sweet smile and scent.
If you let God weave the verse in your poem
people will read it forever.

– Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
“Rumi: Hidden Music”
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001