THE GARDEN OF TRUTH & THE GARDENER HIMSELF

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We were created to transcend the finitude and limitations

of the human state.  The mystery of our life on earth is not only that we are born, live, and die in a journey whose beginning and end we know not; it is also that within this horizontal journey we are given the possibility of wayfaring vertically beyond all the temporal and spatial accidents of our terrestrial existence.  And it is essentially for thye sake of making this second journey that we were put here on earth.  This journey, which takes us to the abode of the One and the Garden of Truth, is the primary raison d'etre of our existence in this world and the end of the journey, the ultimate goal of human life.

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From one point of view, the journey considered horizontally seems to be long, but from the metaphysical point of view, which is based on the vertical dimension, it is nothing other than that single instant when we surrender ourselves to God and begin the path of ascent toward Him.  We were created to know the Garden of Truth and ultimately the Gardener Himself, and to reach it through the full realization of this knowledge.  Sufism is one of the major paths that the Gardener has created, within the framework of Islam, to the Garden.

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Surely there are other paths and Sufism would be the first to attest to the universality of revelation. 

Let us then take advantage of the here and now to travel beyond all times and places, before the hand of destiny removes from us the possibility of that vertical journey, which begins here and now and finally returns to Here and Now.  We travel to the There only to discover that it is Here, and to the future that is beyond earthly time only to see that it is Now.

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To make the journey to the Garden means to go from here to There, and the fruit of the journey is the realization that There is Here.  That is why in the Quran, God addresses the Prophet, "If thy sevant asks thee about Me, truly I am Near."  That Divine Reality, the Gardener, is Near; we have only to realize His Nearness.  As for the Garden of Truth, like the Gardener, it resides at the center of our being.  Happy are those who are able to reach this Garden while they are still in the human state and have the possibility of doing so.

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From THE GARDEN OF TRUTH

The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition

by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

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If you act as an instrument of God, whatever comes will not affect you; He will bear it. Then you will be able to finish what you started. You must be the instrument, then He will be the One who is the Doer. That is the point. Evil is everywhere, it is joined with you.
When you set out to do something good, when you are the instrument to do a good duty, the opposite of it, evil, will oppose you. If the “I” sets out to do something, it will be difficult, but if you become an instrument (of God), the weight is His. Then it will be easy. You must think of this. This point is the point of psychology. This is the way you must realize wisdom and truth in your life.
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 Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Sufi Philosopher (d. 1986)

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A MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE AND RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

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MERCIFUL GOD,
You made all of the people of the world in Your own image and placed before us the pathway of salvation through different Preachers who claimed to have been Your Saints and Prophets. But, the contradictions in their teachings and interpretations of them have resulted in creating divisions, hatreds and bloodshed in the world community. Millions of innocent men, women and children have so far been brutally killed by the militants of several religions who have been committing horrifying crimes against humanity, and millions more would be butchered by them in the future, if You do not help us find ways to reunite peacefully.
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IN THE NAME OF GOD,
 THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL,
 look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the controversial teachings of arrogance, divisions and hatreds which have badly infected our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; reunite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish Your purposes on earth; that, in Your good time, all nations and races may jointly serve You in justice, peace and harmony.
 (Amen)
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From the
Movement For Reforming Society
Main Canal Road
Near Fatehgarh Bridge
Moghalpura
Lahore, Pakistan
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SACRED SPACE AND MURDER

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The traditional burial site of Abraham

 is located in Hebron (in Arabic, al-Khalil) on the West Bank.

Two sites, the Cave of the Patriarchs and the Mosque of Ibrahim

 (the Arabic name of Abraham) hallow this space, which is considered sacred by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

 Periodically during the past sixty years conflicts and tensions have intensified at this site. On February 25, 1994, however, the sacred space became the venue for mass murder. It was the Jewish holiday of Purim, a day commemorating the deliverance of Jews from extinction by their oppressors. As hundreds of Palestinian Muslim men and boys were gathering for prayer at the mosque, Baruch Goldstein, an American medical doctor living in the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, entered the mosque disguised as an Israeli soldier.

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He opened fire with an automatic weapon,

 killing twenty-nine and wounding many more

 before being killed by those he sought to murder.

 Were the repulsive story of a devout and deranged man

 to end here, it would not be cited in this book.

Many individuals in all religions have perpetrated

 horrific acts of violence. But, sadly, there is much more.

 In the view of some extremist Jewish settlers and activists, Goldstein became a hero.

 His grave became a pilgrimage site complete with streetlights, a sidewalk and paved area for people to gather,

 and a cupboard with prayer books and candles.

The marble plaque on his grave reads,

"To the holy Baruch Goldstein, who gave his life

 for the Jewish people, the Torah, and the Nation of Israel."

 On the sixth anniversary of his attack in the mosque,

the BBC reported on a celebration by extremists who

gathered at his grave "dressed up as the gunman, wearing

 army uniforms, doctors' coats, fake beards."

 The story concluded by noting that an estimated

 ten thousand people had visited his grave in six years.

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The overwhelming majority of Israelis find
 the behavior of Goldstein and those who venerate him
 as repugnant as do all people of goodwill.
 Extremist settlers, however,
 exhibit a religious zeal that can be frightening.
 Many Israelis note that this zeal is one of the
 largest obstacles to a negotiated peace with the Palestinians,
 and yet the settlements in the occupied territories have
 continued to grow as the government of Israel subsidizes them
 with more than $300 million each year.
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From WHEN RELIGION BECOMES EVIL
by Charles Kimball
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THE VERSE OF LIGHT

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The Ayat an-Nur (Arabic: "the Sign of Light" or

"the Verse of Light") is the 35th line of the 24th sura

of the Qur'an, Sura an-Nur. The verse is renowned

for its remarkable beauty and imagery,

and perhaps more than any other verse

lends itself to mystical or esoteric readings

of the Qur'an.
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Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp—
the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were

a glittering star—
lit from a blessed olive tree,
neither eastern nor western,
whose oil almost lights up,
though fire should not touch it.
Light upon light.
Allah guides to His Light whomever He wishes.
Allah draws parables for mankind,
and Allah has knowledge of all things.
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Often employed by Sufis and Muslim Philosophers,

the Light Verse testifies of God as the

"Light of the heavens and the earth".

The short metaphor which follows, is both

visual enough to be grasped by anyone,

and yet suggests realms of meaning beyond any

literal reading of the Book.

This verse is also the primary source

of one of the 99 Names of God:

an-Nur,(النور) "The Light".

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From Wikipedia

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MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE

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In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.

Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has

created us and made us into tribes and nations,

that we may know each other, not that

we may despise each other.

If the enemy incline toward peace,

do thou also incline toward peace,

and trust in God, for the Lord is the one

that heareth and knoweth all things.

And the servants of God, Most Gracious

are those who walk on the Earth in humility,

and when we address them, we say "Peace."

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From the World Peace Day ceremony

in Assisi, Italy - 1986

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