From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Mon Oct 7 22:07:46 1996 Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 07:17:50 -0400 (EDT) From: tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Reply-To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com Subject: tariqas-digest V1 #156 tariqas-digest Tuesday, 24 September 1996 Volume 01 : Number 156 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jim Bier Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 19:09:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Together sharing You Kaffea Lalla, I, too have judged and God taught me not to do that. I thought that the Santeria religion was lacking or 'untrue' since it involves animal sacrafice. In early January '94, Somehow?? :-) my path led to Havana and initiation into Santeria and the assignment of a spirit-guide. I almost heard God saying 'Do you have any mor foolish, narrow-minded opinions or judgments? jim On Sun, 22 Sep 1996, Jacquie Weller wrote: > You are in my heart. You lead me many places, and even into churches, > synagogues, or mosques...or around a medicine wheel and in a Sufi Circle. > Your guidance is within. When I go here or there, I sometimes hear > People say do not, God is not there, that ritual is foolish, that is not > The way, that is false, and so many warnings are cried out. > Dear God, You are love. You lead and I follow you into all these places. > How many times I also have judged these humans of all their ways and teachings. > How wrong was i to decide the way anyone worships their Creator. How small has > Been my opionions of this or that. I am sure my Beloved Friend, that all who > live on the earth and commune with you in the sacred groves of the heart, are > Loved by you and have their life in You. > Kaffea Lalla > ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:25:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: to greet or not to greet women/Zainuddin (fwd) From: Zainuddin Ismail Salam.No I was not referring to women giving khutbah.JazakaLlah bil khairan. At 13:43 9/22/96 -0400, you wrote: >Assalamu Alaikum Zainuddin >Thanks for the info about Singapore and Malaysia. When you talk about women >lecturers are you referring to women giving Khutbah? >Salams >MFK > ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:26:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Nazarenes (fwd) From: Zainuddin Ismail Subject: Re: Nazarenes According to the famous Maududi a.y. the word Nasarani used in the Quran to denote Christians comes from the word Ansar meaning helpers.Jesus had asked "Who will be my helpers ?" By the way where was Jesus a.salam born? Bethlehem or Nazereth ? At 13:47 9/22/96 -0700, you wrote: >Here's from the Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. 7 pg. 970 (EJ Brill, Leiden) on nasara: > >Nasara, plural of nasrani, nasrana in feminine form is a noun which currently denotes Christians in the Arab world. Used 15 times in the Quran and is interpreted by the majority of commentators and Arab geographers and lexicographers as derived from the name of the locality of Nazareth (al-Nasira)... refers to name of Jesus by his contemporaries who called him the Nazarene, whence his disciples were initially called Nazarenes by the Jewish community as shown in Acts of the Apostles 24:5 where Paul is described as "a leader of the sect of the Nazarenes. The name, the most ancient applied to Christians, is attested in ancient Armenian, and is still in use today in the Malayalam district (in South India, Kerala) in the form nazranikal as the name of the evangelist of southern India, St. Thomas. The name Nazarenes, preserved in the Quran, thus precedes the name Christians which appears for the first time in Antioch in approximately AD 50... in sources later than the apostolic era of Christianity, but previous to Islam, there is a distinction made between Nazarenes and Christians, the term Nazarenes being then applied to Judeo-Christian sects which "acknowledged the Messiah as Son of God, but conducted themselves in all respects as Jews" as stated by Theodore bar Kuni around AD 800. > >But the term nasara does not seem to have had the Judeo-Christian connotation in the Quran where it appears rather to involve the more ancient denomination mentioned above and continuing in use, in the form nazeri, among the Jews, more numerous than Christians in the regions of Mecca and Medina. It recurs in the malediction against the Nazarenes contained in the official prayer of the Synagogue, the Tephilla, in the form codified by Rabban Gamaliel II towards the end of the first century. The influence of groups specifically described as Nazarene, Ebionites or Elkasaites (by the way, Mani grew up in an Elkasaite community on the Tigris-Euphrates, cf. the Cologne Mani Codex) which, it has been claimed, are perceptible in the Quran, have led some to believe that the Quran was a "Nazarene preaching mission" (cf. al-Kur'an da'wa nasraniyya, by al-Ustadh Haddad), but no such conclusions are to be drawn from the presence of the word Nasara in the Quran. Here the word denotes Christians in general, in the eastern groups known to the Muslims, groups which were to be distributed in the classical sources on al-milal wa 'l-nihal into sects: Nestorian (Nasturiyya), Melkite (Malkaniyya), and Jacobite (Ya'kubiyya). > >As for the term masihi (pl. masihiyyun), Arabic transcription of the Greek christianoi, and derived from the name Christ, al-Masih, it was only used according to the Muslim writer al-Sam'ani (12th c.) by Christians among themselves. > >And it goes on, and on, and on..... > >Blessings, > >Nur > ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:27:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Nazarenes (fwd) From: Zainuddin Ismail Subject: Re: Nazarenes Salam, Ma'arof.Jesus will descend at the main mosque in Damascus where the tomb of his friend John the Baptist a.s is located.It is very symbolic that he is coming down there. At 07:13 9/23/96 +0800, you wrote: > > > >Nur wrote: > >>As for the term masihi (pl. masihiyyun), Arabic transcription of the Greek >christianoi, and derived from the name Christ, al-Masih, it was only used >according to the Muslim writer al-Sam'ani (12th c.) by Christians among >themselves. >> > >Hello Nur, thanks for the background of the Nazarene. It seemed to me, they >are a Jewish sect which believed Christ as son of God. The Quran although honour >them (Nasara / Nazarene?) as People of the Book, specifically clarify to them >that Jesus is messenger of God and not son of God. > >Jesus Christ or Isa Al-Masih: In a hadith narrated by Annawwas bin Sam'an, >Prophet Muhammad (saw) said about the coming of Al-Masih son of Mary to >counter Dajjal. So, the tem Al-Masih was also used in Prophets time. > >It might be a coincidence with what has been said about the early Christian >base in Syria, because the Prophet said Al-Masih son of Mary will appear >or make himself known publicly in a place south of Damascus. > >salam >maarof > > ------------------------------ From: Steve H Rose Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:28:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: to greet or not to greet women (fwd) From: Zainuddin Ismail Subject: Re: to greet or not to greet women Salam.The Prophet when called would turn his whole body to reply in a beautiful manner.We are so different.We may turn our face to see the caller and sometimes just a little.Allahumma salli 'ala syedina muhammad wa 'ala ali syedina muhammad. At 13:02 9/23/96 +0800, you wrote: > >Assalamualaikum Farid and Michelle, > >Thanks for such an informative posts on the Muslim activities in >your respective areas. > I live quite near to a surau (it is actually a mosque, but in Malaysia >a mosque is where Friday prayer is held). It is quite big and can hold >about a thousand people. The prayer hall is situated at the 2nd floor, >while the below it are the offices and classrooms for 5-6 yrs old. There's >also a big garden in the surau compound. > However the "most" important part of the surau, where there is lot of >mingling between men and women is the "kitchen area". Cooking sometimes >done outside, and most of the time it is the men who cook. Almost every >Saturday there will be cooking activity, and usually just for a simple >reason of the surau having the weekly talk by guest speakers (always >men). There are talks by women, but they are for women only. > Sometimes I think it is rather comical that in the prayer hall, there is >segregation (with curtain), but in the kitchen (eating department) it >seemed everyone is happily shouting, talkative and cracking jokes. > I think this human nature, we sometimes pretend to be pious in front of >God (in prayer hall) but showed our true selves in front of food. > >salam :) >maarof > > > > >On Sun, 22 Sep 1996, Farid wrote: >> >>On Sat, 21 Sep 1996 MFKimball@aol.com wrote: >> >>> I find that it is very uncomfortable for me to be in mosques where men tend >>> to act as if there are no women in the room. The very sad truth is that most >>> mosques I have been to have been like this. I can imagine what it must have >>> felt like for blacks when racism was so prevalent, and they were treated like >>> non-people. It must have been similar to the Muslim gatherings I have been >>> to. Even in some Sufi gatherings I have experineced this. When a few of us >>> were gathering to leave the house where a Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi gathering >>> took place, the host and his teenage son said goodbye to my husband, but not >>> me. My gosh, to say goodbye is not a sexual act! I believe we are only >>> fooling ourselves if we think this is not a form of discrimination against >>> women. >>> >>> I recall the Prophet is said to have greeted people with a like greeting or >>> one better than they had greeted him with. >> >>Assalamu alaikum, Michelle, >> >>Sometimes this behaviour is cultural.... Allah knows best if it is a form >>of discrimination against women - to me, I think it probably depends on the >>cultural context. In some cultures, it might be seen as such, in other >>cultures, perhaps not, since in those cultures the women perhaps also do >>not greet the men, Allah knows best (i.e. it wouldn't just be one way).... >> >>In our Islamic society at university, there was/is always a curtain >>separating the women from the men. I felt this might be a form of >>discrimination against women, perhaps, since maybe they couldn't see the >>speaker etc. When I investigated further, to my surprise, I found out >>many Muslim women liked the curtain, since it gave them a feeling of >>privacy. >> >>Wassalam, >> >>Fariduddien >> >> >> >> > ------------------------------ From: Gale Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 20:39:24 -0700 Subject: Shamanism & Islam Carol asked:=20 > If you do not mind me asking, Michael, do you look at the "Shamanic > tradition" as being incompatible with Islam/Sufism? >=20 Carol, hope you don't mind my giving a response. Well, there are certainly some shamanic elements practiced by some = Sufis. A few years back i met an old Chishti pir in a graveyard in New = Delhi who was really more of a shaman-type than what one would call a = realized mystic (abiding in a mystica unitas). i was stuck waiting for = the fighting to quiet down in Kashmir so i could enter, and i didn't = have much else to do except sit around and breath polluted Delhi air, so = i hung out with this guy for a couple of weeks. For a couple hours each day, he would give me teachings on the = hierarchical worlds of the jinn and how to capture them, jinn as = personal guides, creating various talismanic figures with the divine = Names for healing and spells, exorcism, astral dreaming... stuff like = that. (actually, he was quite an accomplished dream yogi). A lot of this = can be found in a book popular in more occult Sufi circles in India = called Jawahiru 'l-Khamsah by Sheikh Abu 'l-Muwayyid (i think from = around the 16th c). Granted, however, it was considered to be worthy to = practice any of this stuff only after undertaking various chillas (40 = day retreats) of intense purification, which this pir did, and he still = never lost sight of the oneness and authority of Allah. i never felt compelled to actually practice anything he taught me, = fascinating as it was, (if i caught a jinn i wouldn't know what to do = with it, and i don't own any cages), and when i left for Kashmir i had a = feeling that he was stuck in a kind of astral world which shaped his = thinking dualistically. Then again, maybe he served some other = purpose. At night, he would always sleep in his yogic-dream states near = the entrance to Nizamuddin Aulia's dargah, and would tell me that during = that time he would be battling the negative jinn and demons. So maybe there is a place of capatability between shamanism and Sufism, = but again is it really worth the efforts, is it necessary? Is it not = better to endeavor to embrace the formless first, and then maybe hang = the Christmas tree tinzle. As for spells in the form of incantations to = produce particular effects, Muhammad pwbh is reported to have said in = the Mishkat 21.100.1, "There is nothing wrong in using spells (i assume = the word here is da'wa or "a call", "an invocation") so long as you do = not associate anything with God." Blessings, Nur ------------------------------ From: Lilyan Kay Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:02:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Strange Story On Mon, 23 Sep 1996, Michael J. Moore wrote: > > Hello Lily, > It was the Hijaab that kind of gave it away. But that is a good question > which leads me to wonder what percentage of muslim women in > Northern California ware hijaab. I had assumed that most did but > this assumption was based on women I have seen as the masjid which > is obviously NOT are representative sample. > -- > -Michael- > asalaam-u-aleikum and hello It seems, then, that there must be some advantage to wearing hijab, other than any impact it may have on male sexuality (which I consider irrelevant - - as I have stated before, men are responsible for this and any suggestion to the contrary is extremely demeaning and patronizing to men, in my opinion.) But the fact that you and we can assume others recognize women in hijab as Muslims - that is a different matter. This is in fact the reason that is given in one of the Qur'anic verses which refer to hijab. Why is it particularly important for women to be recognizable as Muslims? I guess things haven't changed a whole lot - a woman who looks like a Muslim is and always has been a woman who is likely to have the benefit of male protection of some kind. Aggressive, menacing men tend to gravitate away from this type of woman. Sorry to keep beating a dead horse, but it died some time ago and seems to have been resurrected. peace and blessings to all Lily ------------------------------ From: Fred Rice Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 17:46:00 +1000 (EST) Subject: Re: Re. Ebionites & Nazarenes Dear Nur, Assalamu alaikum, On Sun, 22 Sep 1996, Gale wrote: > Greetings Fariduddin. Here's what i have on the Ebionites/Nazarenes at >the moment.. > > Well, this is what Epiphanius (circ. 350) says about their presumed >founder - Epiphanius was a chronic witch-hunter living in Palestine who >must have been a cantankerous paranoid who probably wet his tunic a lot. >Anyway this is what he writes: [...long quote deleted, claiming that the Ebionites were founded by Eutaktos....] Certainly Eutaktos may have been one of their early leaders, who knows? However, to say they were _founded_ by him to me sounds strange. The Ebionites and Nazarenes were early Jewish-Christians -- we know this from other sources (like Eusebius's history). We know from the New Testament (particularly Acts and Galatians) that the Church in Jerusalem, headed by James (Jesus's brother), were Jewish-Christians also. The record of the schisms between the Church in Jerusalem and Paul -- regarding circumcision and eating kosher food, for example -- are recorded in the New Testament. See Acts ch.15 and ch.21 for evidence that the church in Jerusalem, headed by James, disapproved of Paul's teachings regarding leaving Jewish Law. More evidence on the differing view between the Church in Jerusalem and Paul regarding Jewish Law is told by Paul himself, in Galatians 2:11-14. > Another point. Not to raise the Catholic Church to heights of impeccable >worthiness, i would comment however that we have to be careful when >speaking about repressions and censorship with our associating what is >today the Catholic Church with the ruling Christianity(s) of the first 8 >centuries. As of the 6th century, the various churches with seats in >Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria were a single >unit, even if their theologies differed at times. Kind of like the >American Congress except with a few more parties, and Rome was given a >kind of special place like California has because it offers the most >electoral votes!) One minute a particular theology or christology was in >power, and the next minute another was favored. Politics as usual. This seems to ignore the Gnostic Christians and the Jewish-Christians like the Ebionites and Nazarenes. Maybe they were already wiped out by then? Actually, it also seems to ignore other competing Christian groups, like the Arians. I find it very hard to accept your last paragraph, even with the little I know about Christian history.... with all respect, it seems to me you might only know a "sanitized" version of the history, with all the other Christian groups (Gnostics, Arians, Ebionites, etc.) taken out.... Anyhow, here is part of a short post I made a couple of months ago.... I am still trying to learn about the Ebionites, here and there :) As is clear below, the reason for my interest is because the view of some of these early Jewish-Christians regarding Jesus (pbwh) is remarkably similar to the view in the Qur'an. ============================================================================= The earliest account we have of the Jewish-Christians is in fact in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts. This was the church established in Jerusalem, and headed at first by the Apostle Peter, and then by James, Jesus' brother. This church followed Jewish Law, according to the Book of Acts. The Gospel according to Matthew in the New Testament also quotes Jesus (p.) as stating that people must follow Jewish Law until the end of time, in Matthew 5:17-20. Jesus (p.) says he will reject those who call on him but do not do the will of "my Father in Heaven," i.e. who do not follow Jewish Law, in Matthew 7:21-23. Here also is what one book says about some of these early Jewish Christians: Within a few decades of Jesus' death, the Christian movement split into two factions: the followers of Paul, who believed that Christianity was a new religion completely separate from Judaism; and the Jewish Christians, who held that Christians should continue to adhere to the traditional religious practices of the Jews. The Pauline party developed into orthodox Catholicism. A group of Jewish Christians, who became known as the Ebionites, survived as a heresy. There were two schools of thought within the Ebionite movement. One group, known as the Nazarenes, claimed that Jesus was the Messiah, born of a virgin. [...] The doctrinal position of the Ebionites overlapped the beliefs of the Jews and orthodox Christians, and caused them to be condemned by both. In turn, the Ebionites regarded the Jews as unenlightened and damned Paul as the first Christian heretic. The sect proclaimed that most of the scriptures the Catholics revered were not authentic. [...] [From "Crimes of Perception: An Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics," by Leonard George (Paragon House, New York, 1995, under "Ebionites."] So, we find that a section of the early Jewish Christians, the Nazarenes, believed that Jesus (peace be with him) was the Messiah, and was born of a virgin. I have read elsewhere that they rejected that Jesus (peace be with him) was God. Therefore, their beliefs seem to be very close to what the Qur'an proclaims about Jesus (peace be with him). The Nazarenes, according to the above passage, considered Paul to be a heretic, and considered that most of the scriptures the Catholics revered (i.e. probably most of the New Testament) were not authentic. By the way, just as a point of interest, if I remember right, the word used in the Qur'an for Christians is "Nasara" (plural) or "Nasrani" (singular), which is very close to "Nazarene." ============================================================================= Wassalam, Fariduddien Rice ------------------------------ From: Imaan Joshi Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 16:10:23 +0800 Subject: Re: Strange Story At 14:06 23/09/96 EDT, you wrote: >Dear Carol, sorry if I seem to be butting in:_) >ahhh, but the BEAUTY of doing just that! The beauty of this list... >walking in one another's moccasins, if even for a brief moment! and the appreciation that would come from it; imagine, is some of the tyrants of the world had actually been able to place themselves in the shoes of their victims...would they have gone ahead with the terrible atrocities that they did:-)? the mentality that covers up something as innocent as a woman >>hair for fear that it may some how be provocative when I have >>danced naked with women and felt nothing but the common >>bond of our humanity and fraility in this vast creation. > >>From my perspective-- >it is difficult for me to 'be naked' (literally, and figurtively) in the >company of men -- especially men i do not know. I agree with this; I think IMHO, at least part of it is social conditioning; I remember when I was grwoing up, my mom used to tell me to stay away from boys, cos they "only want one thing from you." ironically enough, when you are older, one of those same "boys" is probably who you will end up marrying. Now his "wanting " is okay:-) The way we are brought up, it is difficult to fully relax and be yourselves in the company of members of the opposite sex. I remember abt three years ago, when I went to a friend's wedding reception; I was not yet a muslim, and was ..well, rather nicely dressed, long hair and all:-) It was a "dance" party; generally I hate parties, but this is one thing I love; traditional indian dance...with these...batons, for lack of a better word, where pple form two circles, and in time to music, move in opposite directions so that with each set, they face a new partner...difficult to explain, but I was approached by a friend who wanted to know if I was willing to meet a young man who had been staring at me the whole evening, with a view to marriage:-) This, understand was based purely on looks; he did not know me; I declined because I was due to return to Singapore in a week or so, altho certainly I was flattered, but the rest of the evening, he and his friends spent staring at me; his friends were apparently egging him to come over and talk to me...it was flattering, but...that is all it was; no way could we have even considered the possibility of just getting to know one another, as friends...sad... We are ALL naked >(literally and figurtively) in front of God... and much of life, i think, >is about learning this. all too often sadly enuff, we do not even realise this; it shows when we are embarrassed to be caught doing something by another person/muslim but hey, God sees us all the time..should we not fear Him more? I am certainly guilty of it! > >Even so... women's Circles are more comfortable for me... there is no >feeling of 'mental rape' as can be experienced in the company of 'less >enlightened' men. I agree; there is just something in the way they look at you, as if they are mentally undressing you...sadly enuff, I still encounter, hijaab and all, men like that, *muslim men, after jumu'at*, for example...what can I say? Is it my fault, or theirs? Nothing of me can be seen except my face and hands, and I still get looked at by these... With some men i feel completely 'safe'... free to BE generally, I find this to be especially true with older men; I do not know if it is their experience, or that they are wiser, and therefore,safer:-) some brs on this list, I would trust [ and actually have to an extent] with many 'deep dark secrets'...I can be who I am without fearing censure, or disapproval... >.... with others, well... i feel a need to hide... (this is likely /my/ >problem...) not completely:-) good pple are good pple; and bad ones, just bad:-) the heart seems to just know this better:-)IMHO. Imaan Shivani Joshi sci30342@leonis.nus.sg He who painted you all by Himself will not leave you alone in your mad desire. [Jalaluddin Rumi] ------------------------------ From: Fred Rice Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 18:33:54 +1000 (EST) Subject: Re: Re. Ebionites & Nazarenes Assalamu alaikum, Just another note (short, this time).... I just read that apparently, according to Robert Eisenman (a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar), the group who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls referred to themselves by various names, including "Ebionim" and "Nazarenes". Robert Eisenman then apparently suggests that the community at Qumran may have been a group of early Jewish-Christians, since many of these names -- like Ebionim and Nazarenes -- were names also used by the early Jewish-Christians. Interesting coincidence? I haven't read any of Robert Eisenman's work, so this is (so far) all second-hand, but I do intend to, since it sounds like an interesting hypothesis.... It might also explain why scholars have been withholding so many of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the public for over 40 years.... these historical documents are, perhaps, just too controversial regarding early Christianity, a major world religion, so they prefer to hush it up. Allah knows best. Wassalam, Fariduddien ------------------------------ From: Imaan Joshi Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 17:56:19 +0800 Subject: Limits:-) as salaamu 'alaikum:-) I am happy today:-) sitting here with a smile on my face...listening to one of my favorite songs...abt a couple questioning God what love is...it is beautiful:-) But I digress:-) ... [From "And the Sky is not the Limit" by Ama tullah Arstrong];-) The Perfect Man[ Person]... "...for just as water flows with irresistible penetration into the hollow in the rock, perfectly filling up every crevice down to its minutest detail, even so the true man perfectly fills the hollow of each moment of his life, while in his outlook towards Heaven he remains like a calm and level surface upturned to the sky." [Abu Bakr Siraj Ed Din --The Book of Certainty] Shaykh Ibn' Ata'Illah says in his Hikam: Among the signs of success at the end is the turning to Allah[swt] at the beginning." I am feeling very very mellow:-) alHamdulillah:-) wasalaam. Imaan Shivani Joshi sci30342@leonis.nus.sg He who painted you all by Himself will not leave you alone in your mad desire. [Jalaluddin Rumi] ------------------------------ From: Imaan Joshi (by way of Imaan Joshi ) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 18:19:19 +0800 Subject: Limits:-) as salaamu 'alaikum:-) I am happy today:-) sitting here with a smile on my face...listening to one of my favorite songs...abt a couple questioning God what love is...it is beautiful:-) But I digress:-) ... [From "And the Sky is not the Limit" by Ama tullah Arstrong];-) The Perfect Man[ Person]... "...for just as water flows with irresistible penetration into the hollow in the rock, perfectly filling up every crevice down to its minutest detail, even so the true man perfectly fills the hollow of each moment of his life, while in his outlook towards Heaven he remains like a calm and level surface upturned to the sky." [Abu Bakr Siraj Ed Din --The Book of Certainty] Shaykh Ibn' Ata'Illah says in his Hikam: Among the signs of success at the end is the turning to Allah[swt] at the beginning." I am feeling very very mellow:-) alHamdulillah:-) wasalaam. Imaan Shivani Joshi sci30342@leonis.nus.sg He who painted you all by Himself will not leave you alone in your mad desire. [Jalaluddin Rumi] ------------------------------ From: Imaan Joshi Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:15:37 +0800 Subject: Rumi as salaamu 'alaikum I was fortunate enough today, alHamdulillah, to be able to borrow the "Look! This is LOve" book by Rumi, translated by Annemarie Schimmel.:-) The man of God is drunken without wine The man of God is full without roast meat The man of God is all confused, distraught The man of God needs neither food nor sleep The man of God : a king in dervish's frock The man of God : a treasure in the dust The man of God is not of air nor earth The man of God : of water not nor fire The man of God he is a boundless sea, The man of God rains pearls without a cloud The man of God has hundred moons and skies The man of God has a hundred radiant suns The man of God knows through the Truth Divine The man of God is learned without books The man of God : no hearsy, nor faith The man of God knows not of wrong or right The man of God rode from Not Being. look! The man of God is hidden, Shamsuddin! The man of God : You seek and find him, heart! wasalaam Imaan Shivani Joshi sci30342@leonis.nus.sg He who painted you all by Himself will not leave you alone in your mad desire. [Jalaluddin Rumi] ------------------------------ End of tariqas-digest V1 #156 *****************************