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“God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The semblance of His light
Is that of a niche in which is a lamp,
The flame within a glass,
The glass a glittering star as it were,
Lit with the oil of a blessed tree,
The olive, neither of the East nor of the West,
Whose oil appears to light up
Even though fire touches it not,
Light upon light.
God guides to His light whom He will.
So does God advance precepts of wisdom for men,
For God has knowledge of every thing.”
Al-Qur’an 24:35 (Ahmed Ali)
Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
I’m glad to see Mr Wilders has been allowed into the country. British culture is based on certain principles, including liberty and freedom of expression. However, inciting hatred is not a constructive course of action, whoever is responsible!
Unfortunately, it’s true, some Muslims are stuck in the mentality of the dark ages; to point this out, is fair enough… But to state the Holy Qur’an is a fascist book; to imply that Islam is an anti-libertarian religion; is to aggravate many Muslims who are otherwise working to resolve some of these issues!
The protesters who were holding banners, come from certain groups, who by no means represent the majority of Muslims in the UK or Islam! To focus on them, misses the point that the majority of British Muslims were absent. While we may not agree with Mr Wilders views, the majority of us certainly wish him no harm.
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 October 2009 17.35 BST
A woman carries a child on her shoulders as Muslims pray to celebrate Eid al-Adha in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photograph: Supri/Reuters
Islam may be most closely associated with the Middle East, where it emerged in Arabia in the seventh century, but today the region is home to only one in five of the world’s Muslims, according to a study of the religion’s global distribution.
The world’s Muslim population stands at 1.57 billion, meaning that nearly one in four people practise Islam, according to the US Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which published the survey. This compares to 2.25 billion Christians.
Related: The world in muslim populations, every country listed
The ever smiling, well known Sufi - riding on his bronze donkey in Bukhara.
My beloveds, I travelled again to the village of my friend Tekka, after years away. He had become very devout in his ways, sometimes a little pompous, but still the kind soul I had loved for years.
I visited him, and we picked up our friendship as if we had never been apart.
“Nasruddin, you are a light to the eyes,” said Tekka, “Please stay with me. I insist.”
I accepted his kind invitation. He showed me my sleeping room, with a window to the east, and the bed made up. “I have arranged it so your head faces toward Mecca,” he said proudly. “You must always sleep with your head toward Mecca, out of respect for the Prophet, on whom be peace.”
My first night, I tossed and turned, and finally fell asleep. I am apparently an active sleeper, for when Tekka shook me awake the next morning, he was very agitated.
“Nasruddin, I am disappointed in you!” I looked at myself, and said, “I am often disappointed in myself, Tekka, what seems to be today’s problem?”
“You have slept with your feet toward Mecca! This is most disrespectful!”
“My apologies, Tekka, it was unintentional. I am a very active sleeper.”
Tekka was mollified, but insisted that the next night I must do better. I promised I would.
The next night resembled the first. I slept well, after some tossing and turning, but awoke to find my feet on my pillow and my head resting on the floor at the end of the sleeping mat. Just as I realized my predicament, Tekka stood in the door and clucked in concern.
“This will never do, Nasruddin. I am a good citizen and a good Muslim. You must sleep with your feet pointing the opposite way from Mecca, and your head pointing toward Mecca, out of respect for the Prophet and devotion to Allah.”
“What is your reason for insisting on this, my friend?” I asked.
“You must not point your feet toward God!” he said, and repeated it. “You must point your head toward God and your feet away from Him.”
I thought about this. We spent the day together, and that night Tekka was most emphatic. “Nasruddin,” he said, “If you cannot sleep with your head toward God, I regret to say I cannot have you in my house. It pains me to say this to an old friend, but my devotion is to Allah.”
The third night was much like the other two, except that this time I awoke with my nose pressed against the floor at the foot of the sleeping mat. It was pushed out of shape, and I was rubbing it when Tekka appeared. His face was clouded with anger and sadness.
“Before you speak, Tekka, answer me this,” I said, springing up. “Does Allah rule over everything, even the fate of men?”
“You know he does,” replied Tekka, puzzled.
“Is Allah there in every part of His creation?”
“Of course he is!”
I pointed out the window at the birds rising from the edge of the well. “Does he live in the birds of the air?”
“Yes,” said Tekka. “Why are you asking these questions?”
“Please have patience with an old friend,” I replied. “Is Allah everywhere, even across the desert and the mountains?”
“Allah is the creation. Allah is in the creation, and is the lord over the creation!” exclaimed Tekka.
“So, Tekka,” I said, holding out my feet. “Point my feet where God is not!”
Source: http://www.nasruddin.org/pages/stories/whereisGodnot.html
There was once a story about a wagon driver who fell asleep while leading his horses. His horses went on their own and landed in a deep pit. Suddenly the wagon driver woke up and saw that he was now stuck in a deep muddy pit.
He jumped off his carriage and started pulling and pulling but nothing helped, the wagon did not budge. People passed by and told him to bring a lift to pull the wagon out.
He listened and went to a nearby city to get a lift. The wagon was easily removed from the pit. Pleased with himself the wagon driver thought, “What do I need horses for? Horses need to be fed and cared for, yet in the end they abandon me, only the lift helped me!”
What did he do? He sold his horses and bought a lift. He placed his wagon on the lift and sat down but the wagon did not move…
They told him “This is not wise!!” the lift can only lift the wagon, but only horses can pull and go…
We just went through Ramadan, but that was only a lift. We need to occupy ourselves with a constant and regular schedule to be able to go on and be successful. Daily prayers, learning something new each day, to uplift ourselves and to be able to find our way to the right goal.
Let’s find a good coach and a good friend to teach us how.
By Binyamin Jadidi
Wulfruna Sufi Association wishes our Muslim brothers and sisters
a happy Eid Ul-Fitr, together with blessings of
peace and unity for all humanity!
