June 2014 Editors: Shahid Aziz Mustaq Ali Contents: Page The Call of the Messiah 1 Environmental Protection By Prof. Henry Francis (Abdil Ghaffar) Espiritu 4 So What was Rumi talking about? By Mohamed Ghilan 7 م یْ حر الْ نٰ مر الْ اْ مْ سThe Call of the Messiah by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi The Scriptural Sign There is yet another point of resemblance. With regard to the last Khilafat of the Mosaic dispensation, it was written in the Torah that the system would come to a close and terminate with the appearance of the Messiah who had been promised to the Jews that his advent would take place at the head of the fourteenth century towards the close of the system, and that the sign of his appearance was that the kingdom and rule of the Jews would, at the time, cease to exit. Turn over Genesis, (49:10) and read: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from be- tween his feet, until Shi- loh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” The significance of this verse obviously was that the kingdom of the Jews who would disobey and displease God, would continue anyhow up to the Messiah’s appearance, and the sceptre of their kingdom would not break until the coming of their Mes- siah, Jesus the Christ, and that when he had come, the sceptre would break into pieces, and their kingdom or rule would be left nowhere in the world. In the same way, the Messiah of the Islamic system has been said in Bukhari to be a sign of the end of Christianity and the begin- ning of its decline and decay. The statement signifies that the progress of the Christian faith would not be hindered or impedited, nor its onward march slackened or shortened until the Messiah of Islam had made his appearance on the stage. He it is who will break the Cross into pieces, and kill the swine. The time when he will make his appearance, will be the time of decline of the Religion of the Cross; and even though he may not annihilate the dajjal, i.e. demolish and destroy delusive and sceptical ideas with the weapon of his argument, still it will be such a time that all those ideas will, of themselves, vanish away and disappear, and the Religion of the Cross, at the time of his advent, will reach the point of its decline and fall, so that his coming will be the sign of disintegra- tion and decay of that religion; that is to say, such a wind begin to blow, with his appear- ance, which will draw and pull the minds and brains against the Religion of the Cross. And thousands of arguments will crop up for the falsification and refutation of that faith, and there will be, excepting in- tellectual and heavenly signs, no other fight for re- ligion, and the age itself will desire and demand that change. Even if the Prom- ised Messiah had not come, even then the new wind of the time would have caused the perverting progress of dajjal to melt away an disap- June 2014 Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at www.virtualmosque.co.uk
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Transcript
June 2014
Editors:
Shahid Aziz
Mustaq Ali
Contents: Page
The Call of the Messiah 1
Environmental Protection
By Prof. Henry Francis
(Abdil Ghaffar) Espiritu 4
So What was Rumi talking about?
By Mohamed Ghilan 7
م می
ح الر
ن
م
ح اہلل الر
م س
ب
The Call of the Messiah
by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi
The Scriptural Sign
There is yet another point of resemblance.
With regard to the last Khilafat of the Mosaic
dispensation, it was written in the Torah that
the system would come to a close and terminate
with the appearance of the Messiah who had
been promised to the Jews that his advent
would take place at the head of the fourteenth
century towards the close of the system, and
that the sign of his appearance was that the
kingdom and rule of the Jews would, at the time,
cease to exit. Turn over Genesis, (49:10) and
read: "The sceptre shall
not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from be-
tween his feet, until Shi-
loh come; and unto him
shall the gathering of
the people be.”
The significance of
this verse obviously was
that the kingdom of the
Jews who would disobey and displease God,
would continue anyhow up to the Messiah’s
appearance, and the sceptre of their kingdom
would not break until the coming of their Mes-
siah, Jesus the Christ, and that when he had
come, the sceptre would break into pieces, and
their kingdom or rule would be left nowhere in
the world. In the same way, the Messiah of the
Islamic system has been said in Bukhari to be a
sign of the end of Christianity and the begin-
ning of its decline and decay. The statement
signifies that the progress of the Christian faith
would not be hindered or impedited, nor its
onward march slackened or shortened until the
Messiah of Islam had made his appearance on
the stage. He it is who will break the Cross into
pieces, and kill the swine. The time when he
will make his appearance, will be the time of
decline of the Religion of the Cross; and even
though he may not annihilate the dajjal, i.e.
demolish and destroy delusive and sceptical
ideas with the weapon of his argument, still it
will be such a time that all those ideas will, of
themselves, vanish away and disappear, and the
Religion of the Cross, at the time of his advent,
will reach the point of its decline and fall, so
that his coming will be the sign of disintegra-
tion and decay of that religion; that is to say,
such a wind begin to blow, with his appear-
ance, which will draw and pull the minds and
brains against the Religion of the Cross. And
thousands of arguments will crop up for the
falsification and refutation of that faith, and
there will be, excepting in-
tellectual and heavenly
signs, no other fight for re-
ligion, and the age itself will
desire and demand that
change. Even if the Prom-
ised Messiah had not come,
even then the new wind of
the time would have caused
the perverting progress of
dajjal to melt away an disap-
June
2014
Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at
www.virtualmosque.co.uk
2
June 2014
decay. It is a truth that notwithstanding the fact
that they are spending billions of rupees against
Islam. Islam is taking forward strides day after
day, so that the enlightened people of Europe
are becoming disgusted with the Religion of the
Cross, and for this reason the Christian minister
had to turn their attention to the educationally
and financially disadvantaged of this country.
And what is written in the hadith that the Prom-
ised Messiah will break the Cross, does not
mean that he will do so in the physical sense,
but the significance is that he will adduce such
strong arguments which will lay bare and ex-
posed the errors of the doctrine of Cross so that
sane people will come to believe in the falseness
of this religion. The hadith points clearly to the
fact that the time of the Promised Messiah will
be such a time when the falsehood of the Relig-
ion of Cross will itself come to light and be dis-
closed day after day, and the minds of people, of
themselves, will incline to the thought that the
Religion of Trinity is devoid of truth. To assert
and say that there will be fighting with the
Christians at that time, is to murder truth. Islam
and the Holy Quran has not permitted anywhere
or at any time that the people who propagate
their faith only with the help of the words of
their mouths and money, and wage no war for
the sake of religion, should be fought against
and killed. Such ideas are uncompromisingly
against the Quranic teaching. May the Most High
God be merciful unto the condi-
tion of our ulema. They are in
manifest error. The significance
on the other hand, is that during
the Messiah’s time, Islam will
make progress merely by means
of its spiritual power, and remove
all poisonous matter with its
remedial and healing power; and
that with the advent of the Prom-
ised Messiah such angels will
come from heaven who will in-
spire truth into human minds,
and change their thoughts; and
it is, therefore, written that the
Promised Messiah will descend
resting his hands on the shoul-
ders of two angels, its signifi-
cance being that with his ap-
pear in nothingness. But this honour will be
conferred on him, although it will all be the
work of God Himself. Nations will not be de-
stroyed, but the new change coming over the
minds will deal a blow to and destroy falsehood.
This is, in fact, the significance of the terms یکسر
.الصلیب و یضع الحرب It is merely wrong and incorrect to
say that Jihad will take place. The meaning of
the hadith is that with the Promised Messiah
will descend a heavenly weapon; that is to say,
the two factors, namely, the heavenly sign and
the new wind, will make away with and destroy
he cult of dajjal; and the Truth of Divine unity
and faith will make progress and flourish; and ill
-will an animosity will vanish away yielding
place to the days of peacefulness and tranquility
and then will the end of the world; and it is for
this reason that we have given to this book the
title The Age of Reconciliation.
True Significance of hadith
In short, the statement (what goes here?) in
the hadith points to the fact that Christianity,
until the advent of the Promised Messiah, will
make much progress, and spread in all direc-
tions, and achieve great power and dignity, so
that it will be considered as one of the great
religions. But when the Promised Messiah will
make his appearance, that day will be the day of
decline and decay of the Christian faith, and the
host High God will blow
such a wind, and create
such wisdom and under-
standing in the minds that
fair-hearted persons will
come to realize that it is a
mistake to raise mortal
man to the dignity of God-
hood, and a folly to seek
real salvation through some
one's hanging on the gal-
lows. And the truth of this
statement has been estab-
lished and proved in this
age. Prominent clergymen
have issued posters to the
effect that in this age the
Christian faith has, all at
once, fallen into decline and
June 2014
3
High God protected his Word in four ways: firstly,
He protected and preserved its words and their
arrangement by means of those persons who have
learnt the whole Quran by heart, and created in
every age millions of such people who preserve the
sacred text so perfectly in their memories that if
you should ask them one word, they would repro-
duce and recite it with all its context. In this way,
the holy Quran has been in every age guarded
against literal corruption. Secondly, by means of
such great Imams and divines who, in every cen-
tury having been endowed with a correct and true
understanding of the Holy Quran, have expounded
and explained the compendious and concise por-
tions of the Book with the help of the Holy
Prophet's traditions, and saved, in this way, the
Holy Quran and its sacred teaching from interpre-
tive contamination and explicatory errors. Thirdly,
by means of those persons spoken to by God, who,
reconciling the Quranic teaching with intellect and
reason have protected the sacred word of God
from the sneer and vilification of short-sighted and
indiscreet philosophers. Fourthly, by means of per-
sons favoured with spiritual gifts, which have
saved and protected the Holy Word of God, in
every age, from the attacks of the deniers of mira-
cles and Divine knowledge.
Footnotes:
* The only difference in the two prophecies is that in
the first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised
Messiah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish
kingdom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his
coming was said to be the decay and deterioration of the
Religion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to
do with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing
to do with religion.
** The only difference in the two prophecies is that in
the first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised
Messiah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish
kingdom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his
coming was said to be the decay and deterioration of the
Religion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to
do with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing
to do with religion.
The only difference in the two prophecies is that in the
first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised Mes-
siah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish king-
dom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his com-
ing was said to be the decay and deterioration of the Relig-
pearance will commence the influence and sway
of the angels, and people will gradually wake up
from their sleep of indifference and apathy. Since
all these things will begin with the advent of the
Promised Messiah, the whole work of the breaking
of the cross will be attributed to him; and what-
ever good and excellent knowledge will he ex-
pounded by any person against heresy and unbe-
lief, all that knowledge will be on account of the
Promised Messiah, and will be attributed to him;
for, he it is with whom the angels have descended,
and he it is who, taking into consideration the
spiritual lights, has descended from heaven, and
he it is who has come to sweep down, like a falcon,
upon the Trinity of Damascus, but not with vio-
lence and inclemency, but with peacefulness and
amity. The Most High God is the most merciful of
all, and showers His mercy on his slaves in a much
greater measure than will, do even their own par-
ents. It can
never be
p o s s i b l e
that in re-
gard to His
weak and
indifferent
people, He
will ever
adopt this
a t t i t u d e
that even
t h o u g h
f i n d i n g
them grop-
ing in the
darkness of
i n d i f f e r -
ence for
1300 years,
guide them not aright by clear arguments, and sat-
isfy them not by heavenly signs, but, on the other
hand depute some one to kill and destroy the indif-
ferent people. This thing is repugnant to His attrib-
utes which have been taught in the holy Quran. In
the Book of God a promise has been held out that
in the time of mischief and danger, the Host High
God will guard against and protect Islam. He says:
لنا نحن انا کرا نز surely we haveلحافظون لہ وانا الذ
revealed the Quran, and surely we are its guardian
(15:9).
So in accordance with his promise, the Most
4
June 2014
ion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to do
with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing
to do with religion.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC-
TION
PERSPECTIVES FROM THE QUR’AN AND
THE SUNNAH
By: Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu
One of the ninety-nine Names of Allah is “Al-
Quddus”. This particular attribute of Almighty
Allah has the following meanings: The Holy One,
the Pure One, and the Immaculate One. This Di-
vine Name of Allah as “Al-Quddus” is manifested
in ecology by the environment’s capacity to pu-
rify itself naturally. For instance, the bodies of
animals that die upon the earth and the putrefy-
ing remains of vegetation are subjected to
chemical transformation; and in time, they are
naturally deposited into the depths of the earth
thereby preserving the purity of the earth’s sur-
face. Likewise, rains regularly drench the earth,
the sun lights upon the earth, and the wind con-
tinually sweeps all impurities on the earth’s sur-
face. In like manner, a true Muslim must en-
deavor to take lessons and benefit from Allah’s
Divine Name of “Al-Quddus” by seeing to it that
his life and his environment are both pure and
clean. Muslims can only maintain the pristine
purity of the environment if they make it their
spiritual duty to actively protect the environ-
ment from all types of manmade ecological de-
struction.
Islam teaches that humans are stewards of
Allah’s creation. Declares the Holy Qur’an: “He
brought you forth from the earth and made you
dwell in it” (Hud:61). On the basis of the Islamic
concept of khilafah (stewardship), humans are
tasked by Almighty Allah to be protectors of
their environment. The Holy Qur’an further ex-
horts Muslims to protect the ecology and every-
thing that comprise it by these profound words:
“The seven heavens and the earth, and those in
them declare His glory. And there is not a single
thing but glorifies Him with His praise” (Bani
Isra’il:44). Since the whole universe is the out-
ward expression of Allah’s greatness, no Muslim
should cause destruction to the environment
nor engage in activities that destroy ecological
balance and sustainability. Islam invites all hu-
man beings in general and Muslims in particular
to be always on guard and mindful of ecology’s
welfare, by seeking to protect it from all harms,
destruction, and impurities. Allah has gener-
ously allowed humans to benefit from the crea-
tures and fruits of the earth for as long as they
are lawful and clean (halalan wa tayyiban). As
humans benefit from Allah’s creatures, they
have a spiritual duty to take care of their envi-
ronment and an ethical obligation not to offset
nature’s equilibrium and to ensure that future
inhabitants of the earth will continue to have
access to these bounties of Allah. In many pas-
sages of the Holy Qur’an, Allah warns us that
wastage of natural resources is a grave sin, and
destroying the balance of the earth through
wanton and indiscriminate use by greedy ex-
ploiters deserves punishment in the Hereafter
(See; Araf:31 and Bani Isra’il:26-27).
Almighty Allah, the Eternal Lawgiver of the
cosmos has provided us with sound environ-
mental principles as well as spiritual laws gov-
erning ecological spirituality so that we, His ser-
vants will be able to live our lives upon this
earth as His trustees and vicegerents in caring
for and protecting His creation. According to the
Holy Qur’an, the earth, and in truth, the whole
universe were created by Allah in the most
beautiful and perfect manner, since Almighty
Allah made the cosmos and everything in it, hu-
mans included, in perfect and beautiful balance
(See, Tin:4). Humans were tasked by Allah the
June 2014
5
duty of protecting the environment’s wellbeing
since it is the human beings who are the best of
creatures and are gifted by Allah with rational
discernment and freewill to carry-out His com-
mand in protecting the earth and the whole of
nature. However, there are many times when
humans show their ungratefulness and denial of
the covenant made with their Lord that they
started to behave despicably, as if they are “the
lowest of the low” by beginning to pollute their
environment and by greedily exploiting natural
resources simply to satisfy their lust, selfishness
and caprice (Tin:5). In the words of the Holy
Qur’an: “Corruption has appeared in the land
and the sea on account of that which men’s
hands have wrought, that He [Allah] may make
them taste a part of that which they have done,
so that they may return [back to
Him]” (Rum:41). No wonder, that in our present
milieu, many calamities emanating from the en-
vironment befall humankind. These environ-
mental catastrophes are reminders for us to re-
pent from our irresponsible ways and unsus-
tainable manner of treating our ecology, and to
return back to Allah’s instructions and guidance
in the manner of caring for our environment and
natural resources.
Time and again, the Holy Qur’an reminded
all the peoples of the world, Muslims and non-
Muslims alike, to take seriously this divine man-
date of khalifat-ul-ardh (stewardship of the
earth) by seeing to it that no wastage and ex-
ploitation of the earth’s resources are being
done by fellow humans. All of us should be
mindful that the satisfaction of our basic neces-
sities must not be done in a wasteful or prodigal
manner at the expense of the future generations
following us (See Surah Araf:31). We, Muslims
who are the direct inheritors of the commands
of Allah as found in the Holy Qur’an, should all
the more follow His directives in caring for and
protecting our environment. We must fully ad-
here to the Qur’anic commands against wasting
our natural resources and against exploiting and
polluting our ecology. By following the examples
of environmental protection undertaken by the
Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, and His Blessed Compan-
ions, we will be able to preserve our ecological
resources for the years to come.
Prophet Muhammad was a great exemplar
to all Muslims in respect to environmental man-
agement and ecological protection. The Holy
Prophet participated in the city planning of Me-
dina as an urban area with environmental sus-
tainability in mind. He forbade the cutting down
of trees, killing of wild animals and hunting
birds not just in Medina, but also in the city of
Mecca and the oasis surrounding Taif. The
Prophet declared that the distance of 1,000
square meter circumferential radius around
Mecca must be designated as conservation ar-
eas. Within these areas, he strongly prohibited
the cutting down of trees, hunting and killing of
insects and birds, and even breaking palm
branches (Sunan Ibn Majah, pp.113). He like-
wise forbade Muslims from wasting water while
performing their ablution, even if they are living
near streams or riverbanks. These prohibitions
show that indeed, the Holy Prophet is very con-
cerned with environmental protection and that
he wanted all Muslims to do likewise (Sunan
Abu Dawud, pp 43)
The Prophet saw that Medina was a verdant
oasis where date palms grew in abundance and
many cattle fed upon its fertile grasslands. In
Medina, he commanded that for every palm tree
that is cut, another must be planted in its stead.
The people of Taif sent a delegation to establish
alliance with Medina; and as one of the framers
of the terms of agreement, the Holy Prophet
added provisions declaring that the valleys of
Taif must be environmentally conserved, so that
destroying farms and hunting wild animals in
the region were forbidden and that all tribal eld-
ers of Taif must strictly implement this provi-
sion. Also, upon his peaceful conquest of the city,
the Prophet enjoined the Muslims of Mecca to
plant trees and date palms along the grassland
6
June 2014
periph-
e r i e s
a n d
n e a r
wells so
that un-
derground aquifers will not dry-up and grasses
will not be scorched by the desert heat. Again,
the Prophet prohibited the cutting of old giant
trees which were used by wayfarers and beasts
of burden for resting and shelter (Sunan Abu, 83
- 87)
The Prophet gave clear orders regarding
environmental sanitation. He was very con-
cerned about the health of cattle, camels and
horses as well as the cleanliness of their grazing
sites. He also gave orders that mosques should
be cleansed and perfumed regularly with aro-
matic herbs and wood resins, that the
frontyards and backyards of a Muslim’s house
should be thoroughly cleaned, and that no one
should urinate nor defecate near bodies of wa-
ters nor human waste be thrown near sources of
running water (Tirmidhi, pp.64-66 and Bukhari,
Kitab-ul-Wudhu, pp.103). Similarly, this state-
ment from the Holy Prophet illustrates well the
principle of sustainable land use: “If someone
revives an infertile piece of land by planting
trees and by farming on it, such person will be
rewarded by God for this righteous deed. If any
living creature benefits from this land or from
its produce, it will be recorded as charity for the
one who cultivates it” (Bayhaqi, pp.20-22). On a
personal level, the Prophet himself was a practi-
cal model to others in terms of environmental
sanitation. He, alongside his beloved wife Ai-
shah Siddiqah, would make their surroundings
clean by sweeping the floor of their own house,
courtyard, and backyard even as far as the adjacent
lot next to the Prophet’s mosque (Sunan Tirmidhi,
pp.11– 13)
The Sahabah-ul-Kiram (Holy Companions of the
Prophet), who themselves were ideal examples of
holiness, followed the Prophet’s guidance with re-
spect to ecological protection. For instance, the first
Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq warned the
armies who were defending the borders of Islam:
“Do not burn farmlands, nor uproot and cut down
fruit-bearing trees. Do not slaughter cattle or sheep
that are not yours”. It is narrated that one fine day,
Hazrat Abu Bakr was planting trees by the road-
side, a Bedouin passerby thought that for the Caliph
to plant trees with his own hands is beyond the
dignity of his office, he therefore frankly told Hazrat
Abu Bakr his opinion. Upon hearing it, Hazrat Abu
Bakr replied: “The Prophet said that if a person
plants a tree, the fruits eaten by any humans or any
of God’s creatures, or even those eaten by travellers
will be recorded as charity for the one who planted
it. This is why I am planting trees by the road-
side.” (The Virtues of Sayyidina Abubakr as-Siddiq,
pp.78).
For my final point, allow me once again to
quote from the Holy Qur’an: “Oh children of Adam,
attend to your adornment at every time of prayer,
and eat and drink and be not prodigal; surely He
loves not the prodigals” (Araf:31). We, Muslims
must endeavor to comply with this directive of eco-
logical sustainability given by Almighty Allah to us
and strive to teach this to our fellow believers. In
order to be true disciples of our Prophet Muham-
mad and to be truly obedient worshippers of Al-
mighty Allah, we Muslims must therefore strive to
live in accordance with nature, cease from wasting
resources from our environment, endeavor to pro-
tect our environment from man-made degradation,
and pro-actively promote ecological sustainability
measures. Furthermore, we should always be
aware of our responsibility to manifest God’s divine
character of “Al-Quddus” (The Most Pure) in our
lives, by our constancy in guarding our surround-
ing, making it pure and clean always. Above all, we
must constantly remember that Allah has entrusted
us to be His stewards in taking care of the earth and
all of His creatures. By the grace of Allah, we will be
faithful trustees of the environment which Allah
June 2014
7
has entrusted upon us to care for, cherish and
protect. In this way, we will, Insha’Allah, be able
to bequeath a cleaner, more habitable and more
livable world for the incoming future genera-
tions to come. Ameen.(Prof. Henry Francis B.
Espiritu is an Assistant Professor VII in Philoso-
encing the "Self" because it is the way to experi-
ence the "God" or "Goddess" within. As noted by
Peter Pels in his 1998 article "Religion, Consum-
erism and the Modernity of the New Age", the
New Age emphasis on self-spirituality is rooted
in late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century
occultism.
It is a de-traditionalised form of faith that
internalises religiosity, turning an individual's
reliance to be on "inner voices", and in turn re-
jecting any outside authority. The Self reigns
supreme in place of anything external to it. It is
therefore ironic that religious Sufi symbolism,
which was used to express annihilation of the
Self in the presence of the Divine, is now being
used to express the elation of the Self in the
presence of another's.
[A]s many Sufi poets and saints have
warned, their poetry begins at the metaphoric
level to indicate literal meanings other than
what first comes to mind, all of which revolve
around the Divine.
By worshiping the Self, the New Age move-
ment gave rise to a form of neo-paganism, which
survives through appropriation and consump-
tion of religious symbolism. Given the individual
nature of the consumption process, ultimate
meanings intended from religious symbols are
exchanged for relative experiences of Self-
worship, which ironically render the symbols
ultimately meaningless.
Moreover, given the tandem development of the New Age movement in popular culture alongside popular religion, it can be expected that popular misuse of religious symbolism will have an impact upon the religious. As religious
symbols are presented outside of contexts they were created to serve within, they begin to lose their significance for the religious in an insidi-ous way that de-sacralises the Sacred and grants
8
June 2014
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK)
The first Islamic Mission in the UK, established 1913 as the Woking Muslim Mission
Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, UK, HA0 4JQ
The misappropriation of Sufi poetry can be seen as resulting of unfamiliarity with how Sufis made their indications. For example, the intoxi-cation of wine refers to the loss of one's sense of
rational self in the sea of Divine Love. The tavern is the experience of being overwhelmed from being surrounded by Divine Presence. Layla is an Arabic female name that linguistically refers to the darkest night of the month, and in Sufi poetry refers to the hidden realm that lies be-
hind outward appearances of this world.
A Sufi line of poetry that talks about becom-ing intoxicated from a single sip of wine served in the tavern before Layla appearing naked, is not talking about getting drunk and losing one's mind out of love for a woman before proceeding to fulfill lustful desires after her.
The abundant use of metaphors and various
rhetorical devices in Sufi poetry has polarised Muslim theologians ever since they began. Some of their statements taken literally are in direct contradiction with basic foundational beliefs and practices in Islam. This polarisation was exacerbated with Sufi symbolism that would
invariably lead to misinterpretations if one were not familiar with it.
Wine, tavern, and Layla are among the re-curring symbols that in popular culture are un-derstood at the literal level first before they are taken as metaphors. However, as many Sufi po-ets and saints have warned, their poetry begins at the metaphoric level to indicate literal mean-ings other than what first comes to mind, all of which revolve around the Divine. It is interest-ing to note that out of fear of misappropriating their symbols, various Sufi figures have warned against reading their works without the guide of a teacher.
It is not uncommon to find within the Sufi tradition phrases like "We are a people of meta-phors, not of literalism," and "Metaphors for us are what literalism is for others." For this reason Al-Ghazali (c. 1056-1111 AD) said that no one has attempted to explain the essence of what
Sufis talk about except that they fall into explicit error. He also said, "Know that the wonders of the heart are outside of sensory experience."
Hence, if one seeks to gain a closer under-standing about what Rumand other Sufi poets
were talking about, they must suspend their own material and worldly projections and put such poetry in its proper metaphysical context.
In a culture of materialism and illusory ap-pearances, Rumi and other Sufi poets' works are meant to serve as indications that there is some-thing more than what we experience with our
senses. Their poetry was not about escapism through intoxication or loss of self-awareness for the sake of another material being. Rather, their message was to serve as reminders about the Formless Being by which all forms come into existence.
When Rumi speaks about the love of lovers,
he refers not only to the love they share be-tween each other, but about the love they both share towards the Being that transcends their beings. In this, the lovers become united as they share a common desire to transcend beyond each other's sense of Self and Self-worship.
Unless this is appreciated, the depths of Rumi's words will not be realised, as they should, and we risk the complete loss of their significance.
(The views expressed in this article are the
author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al
Jazeera's editorial policy. Source: Al Jazeera)
The Antarctic losing 160 billions tons of ice every year, twice as much as at the last time when it was surveyed.