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Dear Gilberto
Simpson You have
again most kindly read my letter and made some comments. I appreciate your
comments and questions and although I know not where your home is in space or
cyberspace your thoughts of peace are reciprocated warmly. In fact the Holy Qur’an
says: Never say to any one who summoneth you unto Peace [SALAAM] Thou are not a
Believer. 004.094
So in the
spirit of replying to your Peace I offer a few more ideas but now night has
fallen here where I write so I will be brief [and our weekend is over]. I have
NUMBERED your points [ONE to THREE] Firstly in
relation to Point Two this servant was referring to a point which is highlighted
everywhere but of course not in the Baha’I sacred Scripture. It is the
politicization of Scripture and Faith. . Its
history is long in Islam. It started with Ibn Taymiyyah [God rest his soul]
rah.imahu Allah Shaykh ul-Islaam Taqi-ud-Deen Ahmad
ibn Taymiyyah [1263-1328 CE]. If you look Taymiyyah and follow it through you
will learn why so many people wish to follow him Something non offensive
is here too http://hnn.us/articles/1671.html in relation to your POINT ONE] Gilberto
namely**> The Faith of Islam is confirmed. Some of the rules, regulations,
and > ordinances of the
Dispensation are abrogated. And that sounds nice,
but in certain respects it falls short.** I do not know what “falls
short”. The Divine Revealer, the
Manifestation of God, has the power to change and alter whatever He [on behalf]
of God ordaineth. Again with all humility I
beg you to read and read again the Iqan. [A Bahá’í in the
East read it more than a hundred times and said that on the nth time he leant
infinitely more than he did on the [n-1]th time !] These "clouds" signify, in one
sense, the annulment of laws, the abrogation of former Dispensations, the
repeal of rituals and customs current amongst men, ****By the term
"clouds" is meant those things that are contrary to the ways and
desires of men. Even as He hath revealed in the verse already quoted:
"As oft as an Apostle cometh unto you with that which your souls desire
not, ye swell with pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying
others." These "clouds" signify, in one sense, the
annulment of laws, the abrogation of former Dispensations, the repeal of
rituals and customs current amongst men, the exalting of the
illiterate faithful above the learned opposers of the Faith. In another sense,
they mean the appearance of that immortal Beauty in the image of mortal man,
with such human limitations as eating and drinking, poverty and riches, glory
and abasement, sleeping and waking, and such other things as cast doubt in the
minds of men, and cause them to turn away. All such veils are symbolically
referred to as "clouds." These are the
"clouds" that cause the heavens of the knowledge and understanding of
all that dwell on earth to be cloven asunder. Even as He hath revealed:
"On that day shall the heaven be cloven by the clouds." Even as the
clouds prevent the eyes of men from beholding the sun, so do these things
hinder the souls of men from recognizing the light of the divine Luminary. To
this beareth witness that which hath proceeded out of the mouth of the
unbelievers as revealed in the sacred Book: "And they have said: `What
manner of apostle is this? He eateth food, and walketh the streets. Unless an
angel be sent down and take part in His warnings, we will not believe.'" (Baha'u'llah:
The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 71-72)**** ****** Among them is the tradition, "And when the Standard of
Truth is made manifest, the people of both the East and the West curse
it." The wine of renunciation must needs be quaffed, the lofty heights of
detachment must needs be attained, and the meditation referred to in the words
"One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious
worship" must needs be observed, so that the secret of the wretched
behaviour of the people might be discovered, those people who, despite the love
and yearning for truth which they profess, curse the followers of Truth when
once He hath been made manifest. To this truth the above-mentioned tradition
beareth witness. It is evident that the reason for such behaviour is none
other than the annulment of those rules, customs, habits, and ceremonials to
which they have been subjected. Otherwise, were the Beauty of the Merciful to
comply with those same rules and customs, which are current amongst the people,
and were He to sanction their observances, such conflict and mischief would in
no wise be made manifest in the world. This exalted tradition is attested and
substantiated by these words which He hath revealed: "The day when the
Summoner shall summon to a stern business." (Baha'u'llah:
The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 238-239)**** As for ‘ilm of H.adith
[knowledge of H.adith] I DO ADMIRE YOU ON THIS AND WE COULD LEARN FROM YOU [Gilberto
Simpson] ON THIS LIST http://members.cox.net/arshad/azmihad.html HADITH:
RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE AND TRANSMISSION But again for my own soul I look to this
Utterance in the start of the Iqan The essence of these words is this: they
that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must
cleanse themselves of all that is earthly - their ears from idle talk, their
minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes
from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and, holding
fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be made worthy of the
effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding, and become
the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen, inasmuch
as man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of the All-Glorious, can
never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge and wisdom, can never enter the
abode of immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine nearness and favour,
unless and until he ceases to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a
standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets. (Baha'u'llah: The
Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 3-4) . Then will the manifold favours and
outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon
the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new
heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe,
and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of
God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations
of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of divine
Revelation and the evidences of an everlasting manifestation. (Baha'u'llah: The
Kitab-i-Iqan, Page: 196) inasmuch as man can never
hope to attain unto the knowledge of the All-Glorious, can never quaff from the
stream of divine knowledge and wisdom, can never enter the abode of
immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine nearness and favour, unless and
until he ceases to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for
the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets. So do not worry about this one or that one
[when you mention the name of a particular scholar God rest his soul [rah.imahu-Allah] Gilberto Simpson Dear Khazeh Wow, thanks for all that
info. That's a lot of content. Let me just respond to a few
things: On Sun, 12 Dec 2004
11:17:19 -0000, Khazeh Fananapazir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote: > The Faith of Islam
is confirmed. Some of the rules, regulations, and > ordinances of the
Dispensation are abrogated. POINT ONE] And that
sounds nice, but in certain respects it falls short. > All the believers
were encouraged in innumerable letters to study Islam as > well. > But of course there
are many perceptions of "Islam" in the world...and all > issues have been
obfuscated because of "Islamism" or Qut.bism as > ideologies. POINT TWO] To be
honest I've never understood what "Islamism" is. I think it's a made up term but I'm not
sure there is a coherent consistent concept underneath. ... POINT THREE] Something
else to realize is that the Quran itself is not unlike the hadith. The Quran was
transmitted to subsequent generations by the companions who witnessed
Muhammad while he was reciting the verses of the Quran. And although
some of it was written down on different objects and surfaces,
some of it was preserved mainly in memory. And the same mechanism we
get Quran from is the same mechanism we get the hadith from. (In fact,
some hadith have about as many witnesses and transmitters as some
parts of the Quran) And if you trust someone enough to lend them $500
then you should trust them enough to lend them $5. Peace Gilberto You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu |
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Khazeh Fananapazir
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Mark A. Foster
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Mark A. Foster
- RE: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Khazeh Fananapazir
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Gilberto Simpson
- RE: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Khazeh Fananapazir
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Mark A. Foster
- RE: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Mark A. Foster
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Gilberto Simpson
- Re: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Gilberto Simpson
- RE: The Baha'i Praises of Islam Khazeh Fananapazir
