Hello Benjamin,
>If this is the next phase of human evolution, and God has sent his
Teacher once again, what has the Teacher come to say to us that He may not have
said in the past? In other words, what is unique to the Baha'i Revelation,
beyond the changing of the
Qiblih and prayer/fasting requirements?<
An explicit, written Covenant, which preserves the unity of the body of
believers,
A clear, written explanation, in detail, of how the Baha'i community
should
be organized and governed. These are both new.
Tim Nolan
Dear Tim [and Ben] and indeed all my dear
friends.
This change of the Qiblih [Qiblah] point of turning in
adoration is in itself the clue to many substantive
issues.
Consider this i beg you. For centuries, for millennia the
Jews, Christians, Samaritans, H.anafís [such as Waraqah ibn Nawfal the cousin of
Khadijah the beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammad] all turned to Jerusalem to
Zion during their prayers invocations pleadings. Jerusalem was their Qiblah
[Qiblih].
Through turning to that Spot on earth men felt they were
calling God the Creator of Earth and Heaven the Uncontainable, the Unconstrained
the S.amad.
Jesus referred to My Father's House [when He was in
Jerusalem discussing with the Rabbis]
Now the Prophet of God comes into the World
[Muh.ammad, may my life be a sacrifice in His path]. What does He do? Where
does He turn in Prayer. Throughout two-thirds of His Ministry [Risálat] He too
turns to Jerusalem. So does the Imam 'Ali, so do 'Abbas, Umar, Abu-Bakr, Uthman,
so do those who migrated to Ethiopia and then came back [after the relative
easing of persecution.
There is indeed a Mosque called [The Mosque of the Two
Qiblahs [Qiblihs] Masjid il- Qiblatayn] see
for its image
But in the midst of the s.alaat the obligatory Prayer the
Prophet turns to Mecca and the Ka'bah [which had still not been purified of its
idols]
When we wonder why and
wherefore?
God. exalted be His Will, says it is thus so that WE
know who will follow the Messenger...who will
obey...
i think as [Baha'u'llah] reveals it: Therein is the clue to
many many things.
for example today the Qiblah-changing equivalent for
example dear Tim and Ben could be the traditional understanding of
the "Seal" or the Signs of the Great Day and Its fulfilment or
or...
Tests come in many forms [i face them you may face them
etc]
Look at this Divine Verse
2:143
***and We appointed the
Qibla to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Apostle from
those who would turn on their heels. Indeed it was A change momentous, except to
those guided by God [Yusuf 'Ali]
notice God's Intention =ONLY TO TEST
not that We did not respond to the Prayers Invocations
Supplications of Past Peoples and Centuries turning to Jerusalem but Now THIS
WAS ONLY TO TEST!
We appointed the
kebla which thou formerly hadst, only that we might know him who followeth the
apostle, from him who turneth on his heels: The change is a difficulty, but not
to those whom God hath guided. [Rodwell]
wama jaAAalna alqiblata allatee kunta
AAalayha illa linaAAlama man yattabiAAu alrrasoola mimman yanqalibu AAala
AAaqibayhi wa-in kanat lakabeeratan [transliterated Text]
ONLY THAT WE MIGHT
KNOW
Could not God [Exalted Be He] have devised an easier way to
know? a human may ask...
Baha'u'llah says PORTALS OF UNDERSTANDING open up
should we humbly reflect on this
Even as He hath revealed: "The East and West
are God's: therefore whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God."
Notwithstanding the truth of these facts, why should the Qiblih have been
changed, thus casting such dismay amongst the people, causing the companions of
the Prophet to waver, and throwing so great a confusion into their midst? Yea,
such things as throw consternation into the hearts of all men come to pass only
that each soul may be tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be
known and distinguished from the false. Thus hath He revealed after the
breach amongst the people: "We did not appoint that which Thou wouldst
have to be the Qiblih, but that We might know him who followeth the Apostle from
him who turneth on his heels."
Were you to ponder, but for a
while, these utterances in your heart, you would surely find the portals of
understanding unlocked before your face, and would behold all knowledge and the
mysteries thereof unveiled before your eyes
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 51-52)
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 51-52)
f or the picture of the
Mosque see
Qiblatayn Mosque
This Mosque is situated in Madinah. In the beginning the Muslims offered their prayers facing in the direction of "Baitul-Maqdis" (Jerusalem). Once during the second year of Hijrah the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was leading the prayers on this mosque, at Banu Salma, when Allah's command came to turn from then on towards The KAABA. So the Mosque came to be called as Masjid-e-Qiblatayn, or the Mosque of two Qiblahs.
This Mosque is situated in Madinah. In the beginning the Muslims offered their prayers facing in the direction of "Baitul-Maqdis" (Jerusalem). Once during the second year of Hijrah the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was leading the prayers on this mosque, at Banu Salma, when Allah's command came to turn from then on towards The KAABA. So the Mosque came to be called as Masjid-e-Qiblatayn, or the Mosque of two Qiblahs.
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