Where is your mind? - Said Nursi, God and the Universe

88. Said Nursi revisited

Tell me that you have reached

The deepest depth of

Inner space,

And

The furthest stars

Of outer space,

Before

You tell me that God

Doesn’t exist.

Otherwise it is all

Mere conjecture,

And that, o’ my disbelieving friends,

Is a playground for your imagination.

Hehehe.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi is a famous Turkish personality. He has passed away but before he did he inspired the resurgence of Islamic thought in the days when such endeavours were against state policy in Turkey.

New Turkey. The prose above describes Said Nursi's challenge to atheists to disprove the existence of God. Or rather, not to propagate as 'fact' that God does not exist. For these were the days when Turkey underwent a secularism blitz, one of which being the promotion of atheism and disbelief in the existence of God. This included the less than cerebral banning of the turban and other traditional Turkish / Muslim attire. Young acolytes of the New Turkey were educated in the state universities and sent to towns and small villages all over the country to correct the masses's misguided belief in this God of theirs. Often they were listened to the chagrin and amusement of the villagers.

Where is your mind? During one famous exchange, the government man challenged the villagers, "If there is a god, then show him to me! Where is he?" The huddled villagers were silent for awhile until an old man stood up and asked in return, "Young man. If you have a mind, show it to me. Where is your mind?"

If you think that Islam forbids you to think, read Said Nursi's books.
For him, the freedom to think and reason things out is an essential step
in understanding our place in the Universe and our relationship
With the Maker of the Universe.

Atheists like to say that religion is bad for mankind. But it is not true, rather it is mankind who is bad for religion because we spoil religion's name by our own faults. Almost all religion approach the world in two aspects - the form and the essence, in its apparent and the hidden nature. In a manner of speaking, this physical world is really just all conjecture. The reality of this world is in its hidden essence. Thus it is for man to adjudge the good and the bad of this world. And unfortunately, if a man is bigoted, hateful, envious, greedy, false and egoistic, then sadly he will colour his perception of this world with such follies. And if he is a 'religious' man, the Atheists will say - "Look, this is what belief in God has led him to!" However, if a man is kind and loving, patient and understanding, charitable and giving, honest and merciful, then verily he would colour his perception of this world with the very Divine Attributes of God. So the Atheists have to be fair in how they weigh and judge people and their belief systems. That is all.

Oh well. That is my penny thought on this. Have a beautiful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

You are a Dot, I am Nothing, and Angels are not Funny - Prose of Ramadhan Part 47

You are a Dot but I am Nothing.

(Ramadhan Verses 26)

People are like little dots of light in the night sky

They are like little pinpricks of love on my skin

They are truly wonderful but awfully small,

Like beads of sand by the sea

Of the Infinite Lord.

As a sinner, duly accredited

By the College of Sinners, Soulville, Tennessee

I am the incorrigible mendicant

A beggar with his begging bowl,

A fool thousand times over,

That's me.

In between my solitude and my writing

I have come across a great many dots -

Wonderful humans with good manners

And perfect hygiene.

I am the nothing connecting the dots,

Between you and my stories,

Between you and my friends and family.

Between Muslims, Jews and Christians,

Hindus, Trekkies and Buddhists.

You see a line between the dots?

Ah, yes... I must confess that

That is not me, you see.

Spiritogeeks call it

The Siratulmustaqim.

What is the Siratulmustaqim, you ask?

The straight path,

The unbending path,

The only path of a Lord

Whose Love is Infinitely

Greater than His wrath.

THEM MUSLIMS. In conventional Muslim lore, the Siratulmustaqim is the bridge that your soul has to cross in order to get that one-way ticket to heaven (Well, why the heck would you want a two-way ticket?). If you are a good boy, you will cross just fine. If you are bad? Well...

Angels - All they do is criticize my writing
and make snide remarks about my weight.

ANGELIC HUMOUR. Angels try to be funny. One was reading this prose and he commented to his companion, whispering just loud enough for me to hear...

"If he is nothing, why is he so fat?"

Like I said. Angels try to be funny.

Have a beautiful day, my beautiful dot.

Pax Taufiqa.

Regret not Regret - Prose of Ramadhan Part 35

I love the ending! (But I am a little worried
that it is such a short book...)

Regret Not Regret (Continuation from The Clown and the Ringmaster 1 Click Here)

The clown then said to the Ringmaster – “If in the end, God has forgiven me, then all of my tears and regrets are for nothing!”

The old man thought for a while, then he replied “Everyone has a book of life. They have probably not read it, because it is in God’s own stash of books and magazines in the ‘thou shalt not enter’ section of Creation. In the book, which should appropriately be called “Your Life”, all the happenstances and occurrences of your short mortality is described in the sort of detail that only God can muster.

If you skip everything and only read the end of the book, you will find your happy ending – God has forgiven you and you will be raised with the Prophets and Saints who have authority over you.”

“I love the ending!” the Clown interjected.

The Ringmaster smiled, “Yes, but what about the chapters in between your birth and your death? It is not as if you can skip actually living and find yourself at the Pearly Gates. You have to live your life still, and don’t you want to be happy here? This is where regrets come into play. Regrets and tears are like speed bumps on the road. Drive too fast, live too wrongly and your car will be jolted when it hit the speed bumps of regret.   

Had regret not brought you to me, the story of God’s forgiveness would not have come to you. That made you happy, did it not? There is a good reason why God gave you the ability to feel contrite and regretful. It is all always for you to understand yourself and God better. So don't regret your regrets”

...................

Something to ponder over your cup of life, my friends. (postscript, midnight - and boy, in my life have I had to learn to not regret my regrets. But we have to be thankful, yes? And then learn not to regret our not regretting our regrets. This can go on and on. Hehehe. I better stop now. Otherwise I might regret it later. Hehehe. Good night then.)

Pax Taufiqa