Purple Noor

 Surah Al Hujurat I love this Surah for the reminder it gives regarding how Muslims should be to each other and in self and in presence of Allah SWT and his Messenger SAW. It also distinguishes Islam and Iman and explains what Iman is. Allah says he created us from one man and woman and fashioned us into tribes so that we may know one another. And He adds, that the most noblest among us are the ones who are most righteous. And as we interact with one another, we are to 1) not jeer at one another assuming we are better 2) not spy at each other 3) not call belittling names 4) speak behind each other's back 5) not to make too many assumptions or sinful assumptions. We are to check information before acting on it and possibly bring harm to others.  When it comes to believers there is more guidance on how they are to be. There are special codes of conduct when factions of believers fight. We are to make settlement between them and fight against the ones that oppress. We are to act ...

 In the way I understand it, every second of time, there is the human Qalb negotiating, responding, to impulses from Jism, Ruh, Nafs (mind/body/spirit complex cumulative) and deciding the course of being. There are moments when Qalb routes in the Fitrah to the whole being. There are times when Jism influencees the self's state of being through influencing Qalb. There are times when Nafs (as in the blood pumped into heart from rest of body) come with its set of being and influences the Qalb and course of action. I believe here is the spot of play of freedom. Where Qalb is presently choosing the course of action. We can choose a way to be that is informed by Fitrah- Fitrah coming from Allah who respects free will, is a nudge not a compulsion. And each moment exercising freedom to choose our purpose- worshipping Allah we experience freedom from the inertias, waswas, trappings of worldly living.  In this way Freedom is a morally positive concept. Positive in the way it breaks us f...

 In Islamic worldview, centered around the Quran, the Heart is the center for reason, enlightenment. A corrupt heart makes one blind to the truths and especially the One Truth that Allah is the only one worthy of our worship. Trying to make sense of the centrality of heart i come to this conclusion. Heart sets the agenda- it is the initiator of action and thought and with the impulse it creates, brain goes to task doing necessary fact reminding, reasoning, information processing. Just like a human uses a computer to do complex tasks. Just like the stage sets the context for other details to fall in place. Like that Heart dictates the actions and thoughts' nature, mood and context.  In order to be fully peaceful and alive, we can make the heart peaceful. Peaceful with the reminder (dhikr) of Allah. Then lead with that peaceful heart. And the facts and details can follow later, in sha Allah.  Peace is of the Heart. Order and Sense is of the Brain. Let's prioritise Peace in ...

 Reading principles of Hermetic philosophy. It seems- they say- that Good and Bad is relative. That it is our preception that make things good and bad. It accepts polarity as a natural law. Thereby validating the existence of evil. Its a cowardly attempt to protect oneself from pain, uncertainty. Buddhism- atleast when we do Vipassana- we try to neutralise pain and pleasure. Working at the sensory level to weaken our pain-pleasure reactions.  What is we ARE supposed to feel both pain and pleasure unadulteratedly. And seeking Allah in times of both not obfuscating both a part of straight path? I have never heard Islamic scholars say things that neutralise pain. Instead they seem to stress on patience, fortitude, asking forgiveness. 

 Sirat Bridge Questions in the 7 stations is said to be as in http://www.myreligionislam.com/detail.asp?Aid=5951  1. Faith 2. Salat 3. Fasting 4. Zakat 5. Hajj 6. Human Rights 7. Ghusl, Cleanliness

 I incline to choose that nature of my custodianship of other beings on Earth is that, as a Muslim who prays, I can pray for the well being of believing beings on Earth. The more sentient I am, the more I can maybe understand their needs. The more pure and clean I am and the more faith I have, I can pray better for them. 

 Magic has many degrees, connotations. I when I started thinking about this subject was thinking about magic as in the "alchemical transactions" cultures of people make with spirits, nature, deities in order to gain/appease them. It can range from the offering of coconuts to Ganapati to Spells to invoke spirits or so called deities. I was wondering, if Adam AS were sent to be Calipha on Earth, did that include him understanding the alchemical secrets of nature spirits and other beings that inhabit this realm or did Allah want us to totally not speak to Nature that way through alchemical transactions. I found the answer two ways. One through deduction and the other through an enlightening video.  What I deduced is nothing new. I was just chancing upon insight most Muslims already have through their faithful thinking. Allah SWT wants us to approach Him and Only Him for help. If we are appeasing river and forest spirits and asking for interpretation from supernatural beings what...

 When the world cup final was on, I was hoping praying desperately that Argentina wins. In the first half it seemed the easy outcome. But as things took different turn in the second half of the match I became so consternated... the suspense seemed to be too much. I wished it wasnt so. I even lost a bit of courage to pray because I thought Allah intended to make Argentina lose. What is the purpose of prayer I thought in such a scenario. But towards the penalty I was praying again and finally Argentina did win! The outcome of the game was just as I wished - Argentina's win.. But the way Allah maximised the game as an event where the best skills of so many people could be stimulated and exhibited - made me feel that Allah is the master scriptsman. He knows how to pen an exhilarating masterpiece.. While those faint of heart like me was praying for a simple, straightforward, placid victory scenario to be painted.. I use this as a metaphor for many events that happen in life. Each time, ...

Is the essence of human life to only obey what has been revealed to the Prophet PBUH and the Quran? What about diversities of ways of being and ways of living?   If a woman who lives in a tribal context who has to climb trees to seek food for herself doesnt dress in a hijab, is she a sinner? Doesn’t her immediate context justify her way of dressing? Or should she strive to go beyond her immediate context upon her contact with Islam and give up her livelihood, immediate community, ease and relatedness and be a woman   who covers herself up and secludes herself from the men in her community? Let me think through this… i imagine her coming to contact with Islam.. she progressively becomes attracted to it’s principles… she starts practicing the religion little by little. some of her family and community members supports, some resists. she engages in constant dialogue with her community about why she is changing. the dialogue sometimes validates her decisions to be Muslim and somet...

 Here is how I see Divine will in operation. Penning it down just so that I can come back to reading it when I need a "theory" on how things are determined. I take from Islam that Allah the All Knowing, knowing of the subtle and the explicit, knows clearly what is to happen in every creature's life- down to the minutest detail. I personally believe that All is All Knowing. But he has given Choice to us humans atleast to choose our course of action. These two statements are compatible. Allah's knowledge and ability is so all encompassing and intimate that He is aware of every swerve, turn, move we make with our "free will"- a gift from Allah. This notion I hold is influenced by the book Ra Contact. There is a lot of freedom that we have to choose our life's course. I even believe that the life we lead was a choice/tryst we made with Allah before we were born. The exact nature of that tryst I don't know.. But a hint i get is from the literature that ta...

In Bhagavad Gita the exhortation is that Do action without expecting reward. In Islam the reminder is that Do action but expect the reward to be from Allah and not others.

 The edifice of Islam as a religion is constructed in  such a way that it makes the most important aspect of human life possible- the ability to conceive in as much accuracy as a human mind can conceive and fathom.  We clean the floor, and light up incense to place a revered object or do a reverential act. To make the stage ready for Allah in hearts, Islam creates a scenario that is clean, holy and highly evolved.  The 5 times prayer, the tone of submission, the reiteration of the inconceivable, pervasive, almighty nature of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala through Quran, the 99 names of Allah, the many advice to not try relate Allah to created forms, the prohibition of music, the reminder to be reverent in prayer, in holding Quran, in mentioning Prophets' (AS) and Allah's (SWT) names all creates a mindspace that is highly subtle and sensitive to the subtle sensitive aspects of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala.  Islam's spirituality is rendered in a incese infused lit up pastel c...

What do I mean when I say a green heart.  I mean a pulsing, living, sentient heart.  I see two kinds of them.. one- sentient to the suffering in this world the second- humbled in awe and in obedience to the One Creator The liberals the first green heart kind, they see the injustice, they see the destruction of people, trees, rivers and meadows.. and they search for justice in a seemingly arbitrary world.. Like stubborn Tuskers they shake their heads against "dogmas" of religions, established social conventions, empty their pockets and resources to advocate and fight for social justice.. And they don't see a God because they think its all too unjust in this world for there to be a benevolent CreatorSustainer The believers the second green heart kind, they see the magnitude, they see the expanse of life on this world, the complexity in their own minds and in the whorls of flowers, and they submit to the force of the one Grand Creator..Like humble herds, they enjoin on the p...

The title to this article is pretty stuffy. But I thought it captured best what I had to say about the tendency to ascribe everything to Allah SWT.. even the faults in our paths. Like the propensity to say it was Allah that made me even do the mistakes, so that I could find myself.. kinda thing. I myself have used that logic in the past.. to bring in a sense of sanctity to the mistakes I have made. trying to see all my hiccups as part of God's plan.. I recently heard a speech by Yaser Qadihi that talked about the difference between Satan's and Adam's (AS) sins. When Satan disobeyed Allah SWT and incurred his wrath, his words were, But Allah, you made me do it! Where as Adam AS stated, O Allah! Indeed I have wronged myself and you.. Forgive me. This difference in response is very enlightening. There is this brand of spirituality.. and I too have dabbled with it.. Where the notions are that-  1)  "Everything -all good and bad comes from the One creator. So there is no tr...

  There is a hadith about Prophet Muhammad (SAW) advising a person. The person was praying to Allah to give him the virtue of patience. The Prophet SAW said, do not ask Allah that lest you be tested with hardship. It was also reported in another hadith that our Prophet (SAW) mention the dua for Afiyah, ease in hardship as the most beloved dua to Allah (SWT).  Two things are implicit here.. 1) Allah SWT really listens and responds to Duas.. He gives cognisance to the choices we present to him as our sought duas.. 2) In his eyes, us acknowledging our vulnerability and seeking his protection is more endearing than any brave venture to prove ourselves before him in any other stylish values.. The desire to prove ourselves. Its so embedded in us..  It's also embedded in our diminutiveness that we can't fathom the extent of our diminutiveness and the greatness that is Allah SWT.  My experience with the Dua for Afiyah itself was a testimony for that. There are different...