Wisdom from Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi
Wisdom from Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi
13th Century Mystic and Philosopher (translated by Dr. M. Tabarra)
“Since it is through darkness that you recognise light,
so everything logically points to its opposite.
Misery and grief were created, so that
happiness and joy are appreciated as a contrast.
Thus every hidden thing is revealed through its opposite,
since God has no opposites, He remains hidden!”
posted by Unknown @ 4:59 pm
7 comments
Diary
7 Comments:
sigh of contentment
That's extremely reminiscent of the Tao
The kernel of all religion is the same. The water springs from the same well. Truth is truth.
Yes, I went back and read your story about converting to Islam and saw that part of it. So does it matter what path you choose to take?
Well we would say that although the heart of every religion is the same, and we believe that every religion that has been revealed from God to humanity through a prophet (and he is a prophet simply because he has been given a divine mission to call people back to Reality) we concur with what the Qur'an states in that all other religions have lost much of their message. Some scriptures are completely lost to history. Some prophets we will never know the name of (the Qur'an states that every nation and period of history has had a prophet or warner and there is no nation that does not know about God and what He expects of us). Some scriptures have suffered deletions and errors through transcribing or malicious intent or even well-meaning meddling. Some scripture has half truth mixed with the imaginings of people. All other scripture in effect is damaged but the Qur'an has never been changed since the time it was revealed, and what we would say is that since this path has never been changed or lost or altered it is for sure the path to God, the primordial religion which was *once* contained by all other religions before they were changed or turned into dogmas.
So it does matter what path you choose and the only example I can think of to let you understand our perspective on it is this:
You are in a house and the house is on fire. You need to get out and you search high and low for a ladder with which you may make your escape and Save Yourself. Some ladders are long but have no rungs. Some ladders are beautifully made but are too short. Some ladders are the right size but the material will not hold your weight. Then you mind the perfect ladder - the right size, material and craftmanship - it will get you out of the burning house.
This is Islam. It is the straighest path to your Lord. Or another example on the "straight path" scenario:
You are in a desert and need to find the quickest path out for survival. You find one path, but it is long and winding; some people take it and get lost in the maze of it all - some content to look at some ruins and some even forget why they are on the path at all. Then another path looks good, but halfway down it you realise it is incomplete. You cannot reach your destination. You try another path and at a certain point people have taken the paving to make an ornate building, which although beautiful cannot help you reach your destination; it is the wrong use of the paving and serves no useful purpose. Islam would be the path that is straight and the quickest way to reach your destination.
And that, as we would say, is to your Lord. We are all travelling back to Him.
Hope that helps?
My word verification is hirhiz. I like it - sounds persian...
Yes, that's a beautiful illustration of your beliefs. Thank you for sharing it.
Mine isn't really a word, rpcyk
masha'Allah, it is a beautiful description deb.
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