Well said Super piece. This one wins an excellence award. Habib Abou Jeng wrote: > Some thousands of years ago, when Huang-Ti, the yellow emperor took over > reign of government in what is today called China, a chronicler with a > visible penchant for fits threw himself to the ground and cried > vociferously; “Guardians of the skies and mountains, bless my emperor”. > Although this incident is purported to have happened way into the > anthropological dating of human existence, its relevance should not be > truncated to a dusty piece of history. > > Symbolically, it shows that there has never been a theology of solitude, for > a solitary man sufficient on to himself, has no God to lean on for material > or spiritual elevation. But above all, the chronicler’s action besides its > rhythmic antiquity lucidly unravels that man had always taken the skies and > mountains as untouchable “pieces of art” beyond his innovative skills and > influence. Alternately these imposing masterpieces, are to humans, an > unflinching acme of spiritual exhibition, soiree of inspiration and > appreciation, for “beauty” in the lustrous eyes of John Keats, “is truth and > truth beauty”. > > Arguably or rather evidently, right from the beginning, man had always > developed a flare for spiritual identity in great variety. From the per- > pharaohs era of Egypt, the scary hunters in the jungle of Borneo, the nomads > in the Sahara, the Eskimos in the frozen Arctic and to the urban dwellers in > the hotchpotch metropolis of today, all possess deified segments trusted to > monitor or appease the fearsome spirits and to gain the favour of the > benevolent. Indeed as Ivar Lissner intimated in a prelude to his thought > provoking Chef d’ouvre, Man, God and Magic, “one can only marvel at the > perseverance with which man has striven, throughout his history, to reach > outside himself. His energies were never directed solely towards the > necessities of life. He was forever questing, groping his way further, and > aspiring to the seemingly unattainable. This strange and inherent urge in > the human being is his spirituality.” And this human trait earns man a > spiritual dimension that makes him different from and superior to the less > meditative endowed creatures. > > Logically, religion, or any of its semblance, either hallucinatory or > meditative is as old as the history of mankind, irrespective of nebulous and > sometimes garrulous analysis of archaeologists and anthropologists. But > religion of all epochs, from all the multitudinous strata of the “spiritual > world”, modern or ancient, have always sought a justification for their > existence and reasons for adoption as codes of conduct for humanity. The > pretext was usually juxtaposed to self-satisfaction, superiority of > spiritual culture, a factor that endowed the advocates of various religions > with civilising missions for the human race. > > Yet man represents only a very small portion of the magnificent universe. > And if he can make plans and appreciate the merits of planning, then his own > existence and the survival of the universe must also be based on a planned > policy. This effectively translates that there is a Designing Will of > unrivalled artistic brilliance behind our material existence, and that there > is a Unique Mind streamling things into being. The marvellous wonders of our > world and the secrets of life are too mammoth to be products of random > accident or mere chance. > > In cognisance of these irreversible facts, and driven by obsessive needs, > the gleam of spiritual discovery, man dabbled in a sweaty exotic allure of > meditative stints as the insatiable rapacity for codified religious systems > gained pinnacle heights. The consequent was the systematic outburst of > theories and thoughts; a few convincingly perspicacious, some seemingly > pertinacious, others bore a semblance of a perverse coterie of coterminous > confetti of codes bereft with perspicuous features. > > But Islam, a religion that denotes peace and propagates for the complete > submission to Allah, has a stretching history of codified moral principles > glued by a chain of authentic spiritual revelations. The five pillars that > serve as an institutionalised source of reference and guidance, have unique > teachings that when combined, make Islam more of a way of life than a social > club propelled by artificial codes of imagination. > > Centuries before the birth of Muhammad in 571 AD, Islam had already > sojourned as a religion, though on a dizzy plane mainly manacled by violent > resistance from the millions of idol worshippers in Arabia, where the first > segment of Prophets were commissioned to execute special missions to a > selected catchment of people. These Prophets, such as Ibrahim, Ismael, Musa, > Essa (Alaihi ma -Wa -Salaam) etc had an unassuming personality that hid > their razor sharp visions. Belligerent and charismatic, these early Prophets > of Islam exploited every avenue to execute duties ordained by the Almighty > Allah. > > Notwithstanding, the story was not all that fine and dandy as they > encountered serious resistance in the midst of parochial minded infidels > trailing under the murderous lunacy of ignorance and decadence. Their > resistance, violent in the main for centuries, was not the assertion of some > abstract or remote historical rights, but explicitly a vital, seemingly > unchangeable rejection of a permanent act of condemnation against the very > roots of their lives. Some of these resistances were so brutish that Islam > almost wallowed in doldrums as the biting hurdle of animosity between its > handful propagators and millions of idol worshippers geared up in strength. > But does this mean that, at any moment in history, one ought to give up and > abandon oneself, to blows and accomplished hatred? Not at all. Pessimism and > despair are contrary to the spirit of Islam, and helplessness is > incompatible with faith in God. > > Apparently, the person who is ordained by Allah to be His active agent, must > necessarily have some power and authority, and be, at least potentially, > endowed with honour and integrity. And this is the status of man in Islam; > not a condemned race from birth to death, but a dignified being potentially > capable of good and noble achievements. The fact that the Almighty chose His > messengers from the human race shows that man is trustworthy and can acquire > immense treasures of goodness. > > Prophethood is an eloquent expression of Divine teachings of truth to help > man realise the purpose of his existence. The sending of these Prophets from > God is a clear manifestation of a strong link between Heaven and Earth, God > and man. The promulgation process of prophets of Islam continued for > centuries, covering the registered 124,000 prophets before the closing > curtains were raised in 644 AD. > > By 571 AD, a man poised to transform the world with stunning intellectual > standing and unrivalled spiritual significance was born to a peasant family > of the Quraish clan. His humble beginnings were characterised by routine > meditative spells in a secluded mountain in the outskirts of Mecca. This > man, Muhammad Rasulullah, is a supreme example of a fountain of hope and man > of action. > > As he grew up, he questioned the religious practices of his generation, > visibly disturbed by incessant quarrelling in the avowed interest of > religion and honour among the Quraish elders. Stronger still was his > dissatisfaction with the primitive survivals in Arabian religion, the > idolatrous polytheism and animism, the immorality at religious convocations > and fairs, the drinking, gambling, and dancing that were fashionable, and > the burial alive of unwanted infants. > > At around 621, Muhammad soon became the symbolic epitome of Allah’s > greatness. Ordained at age 40 with a herculean mission, his struggle for > survival and prominence had thus started. Unlike earlier prophets charged > with a sacred mission to a narrow catchment of inhabitants, Muhammad’s > mission had a universal bearing, the central theme of which was Submission > to the Will of Allah. His message was not simply a neutral revival, racial > monopoly, temporary change or reversion in the trends of history. The > message of Muhammad (S A W) was, and, ofcourse, still is, a universal > revival, a common blessing, a supranational heritage and an ever-lasting > spiritual deliverance. It is an evolutionary continuance of the previous > Messengers and a well-balanced incorporation of all the former revelations. > It transcends all boundaries of race, age, colour, and regional features. It > is addressed to man of all times and it is precisely what man needs. > Indisputably Muhammad’s message has the highest qualities of a truly > universal and conclusive faith. > > Indeed as professor Ninian Smart opined in his book Background to the Long > Search, “looked at from a human point of view, the achievement of an Arabian > prophet living in the sixth and seventh centuries after Christ is > staggering. Humanly, it was from him that a new civilisation flowed. But > ofcourse for the Muslims, the work was divine and the achievement that of > Allah.” > > Dr Hammudah Abdalati a renowned scholar in the Muslim Ummah minced no words > in his assessment of Prophet Muhammad; “his spiritual accomplishments, and > his mundane reforms are unparalleled in the entire history of mankind. > Victory did not spoil him, triumph did not weaken his excellent virtues, and > power did not corrupt his character. He was incorruptible, consistent, and > inaccessible to any notion of personal gain or glory. His words display > dazzling light of wisdom and truth”. > > But as humans cannot escape the dictates of mortality, no matter the value > and contribution of individuals, Muhammad finally succumbed to the > invincible hands of death in 644 AD. Today, Islam’s billion plus > congregations pronounce his name at least five times daily. Certainly a man > who had done so much and contemplated such large designs cannot be relegated > to an ordinary stand. Gone on a journey of eternity, his ideas strongly > remain to us living memories of pride. His sayings, major sources of > reference and his deeds model to the human race. > > Abou Jeng > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------