Livelihood And Life In This World

 

Contents:

• Introduction
• Prophets And Worldly Gains
• Means And Ends
• "Glitter of Wealth and Power"?
• Moderate Consumption, Without Excess Or Waste
• Charity
• Being "Possessive" about what appears in existence as Possessions
• Social Harmony
• Limits Of Human Knowledge about Livelihood
• Final Note

 

* 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

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 التقليدية

وسأفترض فيما يلي إطلاع القاريء الكريم على تلك المقالة.

Al-Burdah - Verses 30 to 47

Al-Burdah - Translation and a Brief Explanation - Verses 30 to 47

 

Related Article: Al-Burdah Verses 1 to 29

 

 

Virtual Machines And The Concept Of Oneness Of Being

Editions of Yusuf Ali's Translation

There are many translations of the meanings of the Holy Quran. The one I usually refer to first is Yusuf Ali's translation. Specifically the following old edition:

Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, "The Holy Quran, Text, Translation and Commentary", Hafner Publishing Company, New York, 1946. (PDF Download - Over 1800 pages - Size: About 90 MB. I hope it is ok to offer a download link. I have not seen this edition sold anywhere. Please note that the whole preface has been moved to the end of the pdf file, most likely to keep the page numbers in sync between the printed pages and the pdf file pages.)

This edition came in two large volumes. It was part of father's book collection, and was the first English translation that I started to explore.

Later on, I bought a newer edition, that came in one volume with better paper quality and better printing. However, I was surprised to find that there were changes (in the translation of verses and the associated comments) compared to the original edition. In many cases, such changes would give a meaning of a verse that is different from the original.

Prophets Stating Their Certainty Of Knowing God - "إني على بينة من ربي"

The phrase "على بيّنة من ربي" appears several times in the Quran, specifically when different Prophets were arguing with nonbelievers.

In Surat Al-An'am (ch. 6), Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is addressed as follows (Quran 6:57):

"قل إني على بينة من ربي"

Yusuf Ali's translation of (6:57): "Say: 'For me, I (work) on a clear Sign from my Lord'."

Pickthall's translation of (6:57) : "Say: I am (relying) on clear proof from my Lord".

Imam Al-Razi (in his exposition, Mafateeh Al-Gaib) interprets "على بيّنة من ربي" in his comment on (11:28), saying it means: "Knowing the Essence of God and His Qualities".

Sufi shiekh Ibn Ajeeba (in his exposition Al-Bahr Al-Madeed) interprets (6:57) as: "Say: I am on a clear Path that leads to Realization of Knowledge of God, and being exposed to the good pleasure of God "رضوان الله" (which is described in Yusuf Ali's translation of (9:72), as the greatest bliss and the supreme felicity), myself and those who follow me." A couple of paragraphs later, he adds about the same phrase, that it points to "having a penetrating insight which enables to clearly see/experience the secrets of the Lord".

 

Views About Religion In The Media

Notes about some views on Religion in the Media:

The Pilgrim and the WC - A Sufi Story

This story happened about a couple of generations back. It is about a Pilgrim in Makkah Grand Mosque who needed to go to a WC.

The Invisible Painter - A Sufi Story

A story about a young man and his experience with reading about Wars in History books.

Ibn Arabi's Al-Salat Al-Akbariah - Translation and Notes

This is an attempt to translate the text of Ibn Arabi's Al-Salat Al-Akbariah, which presents a summary of his view of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and how that view relates to a view of the spiritual nature of Existence.

Please note that, regarding Sufism, I am an outsider both to Academic communities and Sufi fellowships.

Familiarity with concepts of Aqeedah (Elements of Faith) and Oneness of Being is expected.