Hi guys, thanks.
Yeah, I must have snapped off a murky branch somewhere in the woods yesterday. And I just lifted a weeping, murmuring voice of autumn a little bit.
No matter what, I just feel (or rather, realize) that we, as humans, have common roots that we have long abandoned, even to the point that they (the roots) have sought us. While nourishing individual uniqueness is a must, we have been wounded by the errant skies of indifference long enough.
I was actually reading the posts randomly. I was being offensive, but mostly just towards myself. Here's what I mean(t) by 'you':
* you = anyone (including me)
I completely agree that discussing the existence or non-existence of God is part of being a sensitive, existential, epistemic human being. Very much so. Since God, in discussion, can even be stripped of shallow anthropomorphic attributes and personality (which is actually what Islam really does in a sense), as we've shown elsewhere. We may be left with God without (the prejudice of) mass-religion. That, among others, is healthy.
Like Emor, one of my very early interests has been religion (while my familial surroundings were easily agnostic). I tried to objectively study all religions on Earth, and not just in my spare time. Thankfully, during my travels in the Middle and Far East, I came across the objects of my curiosity and passion even more closely. Reading books and narrow self-reasoning wasn't enough; I needed some direct, genuine experience and disclosure. I longingly needed the Real Itself to face and mirror my intellect and soul in a genuine, singular encounter. I do not brag, but I do know almost all religions, in the East and the West, and what is not of the East and the West at all (which is, by the way, the other name of Islam).
It's just that Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the West nowadays, due to a lot of unhealthy prejudice and propaganda. Suicide bombers and the like are not actually Muslims. They are called 'Wahabis' or simply 'transgressors' by the Muslims themselves. To be specific, Wahabism is only some 2 centuries old and was practically unknown until 1926. It was born in the midst of Western colonialism in oil-rich territories of Najd, belonging to the Ottoman Empire.
Usually only (the unbiased) professors of Religion quite understand it with some accuracy, and, unfortunately, not the public. For instance, it's not true that Islam was spread by the Sword. Rather, Muslims are spiritual existentialists; unlike some religious people who always, and always, give away the other cheek, when one cheek is slapped.
While attempting to reform what was the most arid, barren, desolate form of humanity and civilization on Earth (in the middle of 'nowhere', the wilderness of Paran, Arabia), the earliest Muslim Community (Umma) was subject to heart-shattering, horrendous oppression by the Pagans of Arabia (including the Roman rulers and the Romanized, Ghassanid Arabs), for over 10 years. But the Prophet of Islam refused to fight back and reminded the community that the first duty of his true companions in the Way was to 'fight your carnal desires for the sake of AllaH', based on, and along with, the attainment of pure 'Ma'rifat' (Gnosis). Hence, during that period, the first Sufis of Islam emerged. They were mirrors of the Prophet's Inner Reality. They were men and women of Self-Exercise, Self-Restraint, Purity, and Gnosis. The metal-welding of the Sword had not taken place.
This, then, was the true 'Jihad', as maintained by the Sufis of Islam, and indeed the mystics of all other religions. Only after many, many years of brutal, inhumane oppression, the Prophet gave permission for the most SELECT of his disciples to carry the Sword against the tyrants of the world: "Your first Sword is indeed the perfect 'Aql (Intellect), sheathed in the pure Qalb (Heart) of Rahman (the Merciful), purified of all undesirable vices. By the Secret of Ikhlash (Sincerity), hold fast unto these two, and FIGHT the oppressors. Fear AllaH, and carry the Sword with maximum prudence." Also, "Only Prophets (Anbiya) and the Truthful (Shiddiqin) have the right to carry the Sword." (This is whenever the situation demands it; such was, and is, the STRICT requirement for a Muslim to carry the Sword, comparable to the Zen Art of Fighting.) And, "Wherever you are, during battle, avoid assaulting women and injuring children. Also protect the handicapped among them, especially the blind." Also, "Do not fight your enemy if you greatly outnumber them."
That was the famous case when once, during the battle of Badr, 'Ali (the Prophet's most cherished disciple and successor (caliph), regarded as the first Sufi Master---after the Prophet) had knocked his enemy off the horseback and was in a vantage position to finish him off with a single, quick, almost painless blow. The defenseless, toppled man spat on 'Ali's face. 'Ali was silent; his face reddening, his heart trembling. After a while, with a tenderest, conspicuous shiver in the air, he told his enemy, "Now go, you're free by AllaH's Mercy." The enemy replied, "Why? Did I not just anger you by disrespecting your countenance?" 'Ali said, "We have been ordered by the Prophet not to fight you people out of anger, avarice, and vengeance; but only because severe injustice has manifestly befallen us." He continued, "If I had killed you, surely, I would have gone against the Beloved Prophet's injunction and would have invoked the anger of AllaH, the Mercy-Giving, the Merciful. Now, I have no reason to kill you justly; you are free." Then, that man embraced Islam, without compulsion.
The early historic expansion of Islam, out of the Hejaz (the Land of 'Sheba'), was due to establishing communities of Justice and Equity under the Light of Prophethood, as they call it, and not under any indifferent, discriminative racial and socio-cultural banner. But it wasn't possible due to the presence of the oppressive, vainglorious Romans, especially in the Levant. With regard to territorial expansion, the Romans were in constant, colossal war with the Persians, centered in the East. Eventually the three clashed and victory belonged to the fresh-spirited Muslims. Immediately, after fighting in the spirit of 'Ali, they dropped the Sword and concentrated on forming a Just Government according to the Prophetic-Qur'anic Standards. They recalled the Prophet's saying, "Sleep in your houses only after feeding orphans and clothing the destitute." Once Peace and Morality had firmly been established in the newly expanded Muslim society, the Sufis began spreading Islam far and wide---without the Sword, but with Hikmah (Pure Wisdom). Eventually, in quite a short time, its realm spanned from Morocco to Indonesia.
That is what distinguishes between Muhammad and Jesus: the Sword of Muhammad is both 'Zhahir' (outward, exoteric) and 'Bathin' (inward, esoteric). And so is his Kingdom. In him, the 'Seal of Prophethood', are combined all lofty, if not the loftiest, existential-essential human qualities in perfect, almost unbelievable balance (see Michael Hart's famous list of the 100 most influential persons in history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100). And this is what, in a sense, likens Muhammad to the Hindu Avatar, Krishna (read the Bhagavad Gita), who, after witnessing the self-purification of Arjuna (his disciple), encouraged him to fight the 'dark forces' of Bharat in the name of Truth. Yet Muhammad's existential uniqueness surpasses Jesus, Krishna, and Buddha, if not all others, for he was born in the middle of 'nowhere', unlike the others who were lucky enough to be born in cradles of civilization.
Note that the mystical word 'AllaH' is highly untranslatable to any other language. Like 'YHWH' (of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism), or 'EloH' (in Hebrew; or 'EloHiM', the respective equivalent of the Muhammadan 'AllaHuMMa'), or 'AllaHa' (Syriac/Aramaic), or the Hindu-Buddhist 'OHM', the word is not even Arabic in origin (not derived from any 'human language' as well), but regarded as a highly mystical, sublime Sign of Knowledge, Existence, Singularity, Truth, and Love-Intimacy---closest to the Human Breath. So you see, it's not even translated, by Muslims, to 'God' in various different local languages (at least it wasn't the trend at all then); because most people cannot yet understand That as That should be understood, both with and without attributes. The Prophet of Islam said, referring to the levels of Direct Cognizance of Reality (the Real: al-Haqq), "The Intellect, the dearest thing unto AllaH, has 7,000 veils of light and 7,000 veils of darkness." Also, "The First Reality created by AllaH was my Intellect/Spirit."
In Islam, like in Taoism, the Hindu Vedanta, and the Buddhist Vajrayana, 'God'---as many people understand or misunderstand it---is just an attribute of That, not the Essence (Dzat, 'Ayn al-Haqiqah) Itself, let alone Being-in-Itself (Wujud). Rather, the Singular Essence is often denoted simply by 'Hu' (or 'Huwa', taking only the last letter H of 'AllaH', while the silent W (WaW, the Universe) faintly mirrors That), or 'HuM' (where M signifies the First, Absolute Manifest Mystery of the Unknown, the Logos, the First Intellect), or simply { }.
Hence, it's just relevant to focus on Islam here, as it shall mirror the cases with other religions quite profoundly. I'd suggest you read Karen Armstrong's brilliant works. She, a professor of Comparative Religion and further specializing in Islam, is not a Muslim, but is 'in love' with the teachings and magnificent history of Islam. She, like Goethe, finds, in Islam and the Qur'an, her Love carved in the violin of the spirit.
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