Centuries back, in a town in Syria, a man lived in a simple home, where usually people with modest income would live. His Arabic was broken, he obviously was not from the area. But that was not uncommon.
He had good relations with his neighbors. After having lived there for some time, one of his neighbors who would often walk with him to the Mosque, finally asked him, where he was originally from. This is his story.
This article is about Religion and the Depth And Breadth Of Viewing Existence.
* Why Tranquility Is Essential
* Why Civility Is Indispensable
* Why Open-mindedness is Crucial
Notes:
-The information here is based on my general understanding of the issue. Every individual might need specific advice based on his or her particular requirements. It is best to consult experts for personal advice.
- This is not a guideline on health, it is simply things that caught my attention regarding the relationship between religion and what I believe might be seen as healthy practices or a positive style of daily life.
Introduction
I don't recall where or when did I read a brief note on a sort of a general prescription for a "good" life. I don't even recall who said it, or of which religious background he was, or even if he was religious or not.
There are four aspects of a "good" life:
- Tranquility / Inner Peace
- Minimal Food and Drinks / Regular Fasting
- Avoiding Negative Things:
Harmful (or unfavorable to health) food and drinks
Negative feelings
Negative behavior
Negative thoughts
- Adopt / Acquire Positive Things:
Food and Drinks
Behaviors
Feelings and Thoughts
Sounds reasonable and maybe even naturally instinctive. I think the note was interesting, and maybe that's why it stuck in my mind.
I feel that there is an interesting sort of a reciprocation between a deep spiritual religious mindset and a Healthy life style. Signs can easily be found in the literature of different Religions.
So, why would Religion have any thing to do with a Healthy life style?
The Quran says [16:97] : "Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions."
Yusuf Ali's comment: "Faith, if sincere, means right conduct. When these two confirm each other, God's grace transforms our life. Instead of being troubled and worried, we have peace and contentment; instead of being assailed at every turn by false alarms and the assaults of evil, we enjoy calm and attain purity. The transformation is visible in this life itself, but the "reward" in terms of the Hereafter will be far beyond our deserts."
As I understand, the Essence of Religion is to know God. And it is clear that the Path to know God has guidelines that include improving human behavior, moral values, inner tranquility, adopting beneficial and positive social and personal habits and eschewing negative manners and habits. So, as far as I can tell, anyone who sees the above as positive and good to follow is leaning toward the Path to know God, whether he or she focuses on the Essence of Religion or not, and anyone who misses or is distracted from or not interested in any of the above is leaning away from the Path to know God, whether he or she is interested in Religion or not.
The following verses for Ibn Arabi (and verses with similar expressions for other well-known Sufis) appear to have been, and still are, attracting interest and can be found quoted and translated:
لقد صار قلبي قابلا كل صورة فمرعى لغزلان ودير لرهبان
وبيت لأوثان
وكعبة طائف وألواح توراة ومصحف قرآن
أدين بدين الحب أنى توجهت ركائبه
فالحب ديني وإيماني
A possible translation:
"My Heart has become 'a container of' / 'a mirror reflecting' every Image,
A Pasture for a Deer herd , a Temple for Monks and Priests,
A Home for Idols, a Ka'abah for someone circling around,
The Tablets of the Torah and the Pages of the Quran.
I believe in the Religion of Love, whatever direction its Caravan goes,
Since Love is my Religion and my Faith".
- There appears to be a certain understanding that, by such verses, Ibn Arabi was saying that different Religions are literally, seamlessly and equally the same. Hence, as it goes: Ibn Arabi accepted all Religions, unconditionally.
Some religious people who do not approve of Sufism, appear to have such an understanding. That understanding was used, by them, as a basis to claim that Ibn Arabi was a heretic.
The same verses (with what appears to be the same understanding) have also been claimed to be a proof of Ibn Arabi's universal call for brotherhood among people from different religions, by people who appear to have a favorable opinion about Sufism, but who appear to be thinking that the verses support their understanding of what they probably see as an aspect of Sufism (Note #2).
- However, Ibn Arabi himself explained the above verses in his book 'ذخائر الأعلاق', so I think, maybe it is straightforward to get to the bottom of what he meant. And as far as I can tell, what he meant is different from the above understanding.
This article is about two types of comments regarding why I should not be writing about Sufism.
- "Sufism is a fine and a pretty advanced subject. And one has to be qualified to write about it."
- "Sufism is irrelevant and not needed. There are fake mystics taking advantage of innocent people. Should such a subject be promoted in this day and age?"
Contents:
* Introduction
* Trust in God.
* Living Peacefully.
* Inner Peace
* Freedom
* Getting the best in Life
* Selflessness
* Ethics
* Coexistence
* The Way Ahead
* Introduction
There is what appears to be a natural basic need to understand what is going on, and that is why maybe one does not have to be a religious scholar or a sufi or a philosopher or a scientist, to read about religion, philosophy and science. Maybe it is better to consider different ways to look at the same existence and its events, in an attempt to get a better view.
Dealing with events, and trying to make sense of what's transpiring, are two related things. Usually one learns from experiences one goes through in Life. But, maybe there are differences between individuals regarding how curious and serious one might be to understand what's going on, and how deep one is willing to go in this regard.
Note: I understand that the subject deserves to be covered by experts, and I am not one of them. I felt the need to write because, as far as I can tell and based on what I have seen and read so far, the angle from which the subject is considered below is not satisfactorily covered, and my hope is that this effort may contribute in a better understanding of the subject, given of course the limits of what I think I understand about it.
* Introduction
It appears that the subject of ancient civilizations has been drawing attention in recent decades, including from the general public. There is a notable amount of writings and videos on the subject.
Religion is usually a prominent part when discussing ancient civilizations.
As I understand, the essence of Religion is about knowing God. It is a journey that starts from self improvement and awareness about one's own being (definitely not in a limited, narrow and selfish way at all) and requires peace of mind, purity of heart, clarity of inner sight, integrity, high moral values and open eyes and minds. The path to know God is not something that any intelligent being can invent, the Path can only be discovered, as it is. The Path is about the underlying or the deep spiritual inner structure of all beings, and every intelligent responsible being in creation can benefit from.
However, regarding modern popular media coverage of ancient civilizations, when the subject of Religion comes up, I would always feel that there is something missing in what I see and read, and I have often found myself wondering how strange some views sound, given just a basic religious background, about basic religious concepts (such as presented here: Al-Ghazali's Aqeedah), that an average religious person like yours truly would know about.
Contents:
* Introduction
- A student once asked a Sufi master, "Why most wise men are poor?". The master, noting that the student confined the meanings of the Arabic word رزق 'Rizk' (provisions) to material things, said "Wisdom is part of Rizk, and they have plenty of it."
Rizk or provisions that humans can benefit from are much more than to be confined to material things. Some of what the word includes are:
- Availability of basic natural resources (food, water, fresh air).
- Total wellbeing (covering man's whole "being", it used to be the natural way to look at wellbeing in ancient medicine, in many different cultures, as I understand).
- Security
- Shelter
- Relationships
- Inner Peace
- Inner Sight
- Knowing God
None of the first five is necessarily tied to any particular amount of financial resources. And the last three have definitely nothing to do with financial resources. And the last three are the focus, and advancement in this aspects is the most prized and the most precious a human being can ever have, as far as mystics are concerned. A Sufi saying goes : "What did he find [of worth], he who did not find You [God]? And what is it [of worth] he missed, he who found You?" [from Ibn Ata-Ellah's Munajat (Prayer)].
ملاحظات على النقاش حول الدين والعلوم المعاصرة
هذه المقالة تستند إلى معلومات ذكرت (وفيها متابعة لبعض النقاط التي جاءت) في المقالة التالية:
المنطق بين الرؤية العلمية المعاصرة والآراء الإسلامية التقليديةوسأفترض فيما يلي إطلاع القاريء الكريم على تلك المقالة.
Al-Burdah - Translation and a Brief Explanation - Verses 30 to 47
Related Article: Al-Burdah Verses 1 to 29