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Editor's
Note is a quarterly column with inspirational words of wisdom from
the Editor-in-Chief of Sufism: An Inquiry, Shah
Nazar Seyed
Dr. Ali Kianfar.
Heart
is the Center of Knowledge
Editor's
Note
from Vol. 2, No. 2
An
Essential Principle of Sufi Teaching
Editor's
Note
from Vol. 6, No. 3
Tariquat:
Way
Editor's Note from
Vol.8, No.2
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affiliated with the United Nations.
The
various articles presented
here represent the individual
views of their authors. SUFISM
does not imply any gender bias
by the use of feminine or
masculine terms, nouns
and/or pronouns.
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Sufism Journal and the
International Association of
Sufism. All rights reserved.
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"Belief in a particular religion does not qualify one as a member of that religion; submission to the principles revealed by its messengers does." From Vol. 8, No. 3 by Shah Nazar Seyed Ali Kianfar The word Islam means submission, humility, surrendering to the will of Allah (God) and obeying His Commandments. Experientially, Islam is the state of being in harmony, accord and peace with one's self and with one’s life. A Muslim is an individual who accepts — who is in accord with — the rule of Islam (peace) and who abides |
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the conditions and requirements necessary to experience Islam, without
interference from his or her own will. This truth was discovered by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). In 610 A.D., he began to share the essential message of Islam, revealed to him by the Lord of Existence, with his community (the Arabic nation) and ultimately with the entire world. His mission was to educate anyone who would listen about how to attain the ways and means of submission; so that they, too, could experience peace. The Prophet Mohammad was the last messenger in the succession of messengers of monotheistic religions, all of whom trace their lineage to Abraham (peace and blessings upon him). He began his prophetic mission by breaking the decorated idols in the temple in his hometown. Abraham admonished people not to believe in idols, as those idols were merely products of their own creation, manufactured according to their individual tastes and desires. Those idols were not worthy of worship. He was the first to introduce humanity to the one and only God. Abraham called upon his community to place their faith in the one true God, instead of in the products of their own imaginations. After his revelation, individually fashioned religions and their man-made laws began to disappear and the focus of religion shifted from the limited expressions of human hypothesis toward the all encompassing laws of eternal existence. This imperative law of limitless existence was further elucidated by Moses and Jesus (peace and blessings be upon them) and confirmed by the Prophet Mohammad as the revelation of La illaha illa Allah (there is nothing but Allah). In other words, monotheistic religions initiated by Abraham were perfected by the advent of Islam. There has been considerable confusion throughout history regarding the lineage of the prophets and the meaning of religion. People have argued aboutclaiming preceding prophets as a part of their own religions. For example, some wonder whether Abraham is a prophet of Judaism or Christianity. This is addressed in Sura III, Al-i-Imran, the Holy Qur’an. Verse 65 reads:
The
“Book” refers to the book of all the revelations delivered
by God’s messengers from Abraham to the Prophet. The verse
addresses all that Abraham is not confined to a religion but that
he was a hanif, a true believer, who introduced the one God, a divine
unity.
Abraham introduced monotheism by submitting his will to God’s. This is the meaning of Islam, introduced in the Holy Qu'ran. To note that Abraham practiced the submission to the will of Allah is not to deny his teachings to those who are not Muslims. It simply tells us that the principle of monotheistic practice is more important than names and titles. The holy Qur’an directs believers to begin applying the teachings of the prophets to their lives to experience what those prophets experienced: unity with God, rather than remaining attached to a name or a title. Belief
in a particular prophet does not qualify one as a member of that
religion; submission to the principles revealed by its messengers
To read the rest of this article, |
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