RANDOM REFLECTIONS FROM MY HAJJ DIARY
Maryam Sakeenah
At the Maqam e Ibrahim:
I held on to the golden bars trying to keep my balance, with my nose pressed against the blurry glass screen smeared with many a finger mark. I bolstered up my wits and finally decided to look: footprints in the sands of time, etched into the sacred earth forever by divine decree_ blessed, immortalized. Ibrahim (A.S) had stood up and stood out. His standing was an act of worship and intense adoration, an act of courage, resistance, strength, integrity, dignity and true heroism. He laid the foundations of this modest little structure that stands in the heart of Makkah like an immense magnet drawing to itself millions who strive to stand in its shade. In its humble construction shorn of all grandeur and ostentation it inspires an inexplicable awe and reverence; giving direction and focus, unifying, holding together, reminding. Ibrahim’s was a labour of love. The builders had prayed, “Our Lord! Accept this from us! Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing. Our Lord! Make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation [in submission] to You.” (2:128)
Ibrahim (A.S) had questioned, wondered, reflected. He had thirsted for the Truth and sought the Light that rends all shrouding darknesses. He had refused ordinariness, refused to follow the crowd_ stood up and stood out, facing the winds alone. He had Loved_ truly, settling for nothing lesser than the perfection, wholeness, sublimity of Al Haqq (The Truth). In the darkness of the night he beheld the shining star, and in his very human search for the Object of the deepest Love the human heart is capable of, he said, "‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, he said, ‘I do not love those who fade away.’”(6:77) He had loved passionately through hardship, suffering and trial, and attained the Pleasure of Allah, so that the place of his standing_ this stone I beheld through the blurry screen_ became sacred hallowed ground; the endeavour of his hands and limbs became a ritual of worship observed by billions here forevermore.
Ibrahim (A.S) had stood alone to confront and expose falsehood that his innate fitrah had rejected, all the while ‘seeking the Face of His Lord.’ He was sensitive and honest to the divine essence breathed into the heart of man, which testifies to Monotheism. Today, as I look around at this immense unending crowd vying to stand where he stood, seeking to be honoured by walking the path he walked, I am educated in the meaning of leadership.
While on the theme of leadership, there cannot be a legacy more venerable, more awe-inspiring, powerful and enduring. Some wise old man said something to the effect that when you stand up for the truth against the odds, the whole universe conspires in your favour, because that truth you strive to establish is written in the heart of the earth; it is destiny.
The man whose footprint I beheld is acknowledged as the spiritual progenitor in all monotheistic traditions. Islam claims a direct link with Ibrahim (A.S) not through race or geography but primarily on account of theology, as its simple Monotheism of ‘La ilaha ilallah’(no god but Allah) is the ‘Way of your father Abraham’ (22:78).
Catching a Glimpse of Jabal Noor in the distance...
Years passed and the heart and mind of man was clouded again by ignorance while Ibrahim (A.S)’s legacy existed only as dusty remnants and soulless rituals in what had become ‘too much of a pathless wood.’ From the shadows of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance) emerged again a soul restive in search of the Whole Truth, refusing these untruths and half truths, attentive to the inner voice that had impelled Ibrahim’s struggle. It was convinced that the Truth lay waiting to be discovered. Not far from the Kaabah stands Jabal Noor, the Mountain of Light... Muhammad (SAW), wearied by the society that had lost its discrimination of right and wrong, ascended its steep, stony incline in order to contemplate the truth, seek out answers and pray to the One God of Ibrahim (A.S)_ to ‘get away from earth awhile... to come back and begin over. For, earth’s the right place for Love...’ Muhammad (SAW), the devoted follower of Ibrahim’s (A.S) honest creed was chosen to lead, and Jabal Noor irradiated the world with God’s final revelation.
(references from ‘Birches’ by Robert Frost)
From Makkah to Madina
I am on the way from Makkah_ the native city of Muhammad (SAW)_ to Madina where he had sought refuge. While reclining on the cushioned seat of an air-conditioned bus, I gaze outside to see rugged mountains and a forbidding, hostile landscape_ barren and treeless, with the desert sun mercilessly streaming down red hot. Roughly 1431 years ago Muhammad (SAW) and his followers had made the same journey in conditions as different from my journey today as possible_ on foot, with and sometimes without bare essentials of life; ragged, penniless, shelterless, fearing for their lives yet led on by one conviction_ their hope and trust in the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, the Owner of Destiny.
We often want ‘proof’ to vindicate faith: What can possibly account for this madness to leave hearth and home and traverse the hostile land in fear, hunger, pain and hardship seeking the Unseen? What can explain this passion, extraordinary resolve, grand sacrifice, courage, hope and belief that the Truth is destined to triumph? What can explain this limitless capacity to go on enduring trial and hardship not yielding an inch? What can explain giving up all seeking an ideal, an unseen God? Faith answers where reason fails.
In his work ‘Khutbaat Haram’, Abul Ala Maudoodi records when the Prophet (SAW) sat against the wall of the Kaabah in the early days of Islam when his few followers were being oppressed and tortured in vile ways. Khabab bin Al Aratt (R.A), who had suffered severe persecution for his faith, approached the Prophet (SAW) in pain and desperation, asking him to beg Allah for relief. The Prophet (SAW) replied, “This task will be fulfilled, O Khubaib, till a time comes when the traveller shall go from Sana’a to Hadrmout without fear or worry (meaning, peace will be established in the land through Islam). But it is you who turn impatient.” This hope in the darkest of times sprang from faith and trust in Allah, and mankind witnessed its fulfilment.
Standing up to pray in the shade of the green dome of the Prophet (SAW)’s mosque in Madina, I was reminded of that early surah revealed to the Prophet (SAW) at one of the lowest points in his life when he had been rejected and ridiculed: “By the forenoon (after sun-rise); And by the night when it is still (or darkens); Your Lord (O Muhammad (SAW) has neither forsaken you nor hated you. And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present (life of this world). And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased. Did He not find you (O Muhammad (SAW) an orphan and gave you a refuge? And He found you unaware and guided you? And He found you poor, and made you rich (self sufficient with self contentment, etc.)? Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression, And repulse not the beggar; And proclaim the Grace of your Lord (i.e. the Prophethood and all other Graces).” (Chapter 93)
“And whose word could be truer than Allah’s?” (4:82)
Circumambulating the Kaabah
This day I stand, a speck among these millions all moving on as wavelets of a shoreless ocean around the Centre, their whispered prayers merging into a chorus: “Glory be to You! All Praise and Thanks are to You! There is no god except Allah; Allah is great! There is no power or might except with Allah.” They all move forward yet are bound to the core, all seeking One Goal, One Direction. The ocean never recedes, never dwindles; from the far corners of the earth they come to witness this extraordinary legacy, to live this miracle, to stand where Ibrahim had stood, walk where Muhammad (SAW) had walked_ and be inheritors and sharers in the great legacy preserved, revived, immortalized by the Lord of the Kaaba: “Hence, [O Muhammad,] proclaim thou unto all people the pilgrimage: they will come unto thee on foot and on every [kind of] fast mount, coming from every far-away point [on earth]...” (22:27)
As I merge into the endless moving circle, I am enveloped by a sense of peace that reaches the innermost recesses of my being. For an instant all pain and fear drowns into the power and magic of the moment, and a swoon of blissful oblivion envelops me_ all is here and now. I rise, I float, I fly_ like those midget-birds that forever circle the azure skies around the Kaabah, daylong, nightlong_ a labour of Love.
There are also moments of intense self-awareness when you are struck by the realization of how unworthy you are of the honour to be here, how undeserving to set foot on this sacred earth. Witnessing the manifestations of His Glory, you become conscious of the darkness in your heart and soul, you feel a crushing shame that suffocates you... but like the winds bearing good news of the torrent, Hope in His Mercy comes to liberate. For, the Mercy of the One who brought you here is greater, so all encompassing. The feeling is reassuring as you rise above regret and shame onto the wings of hope and bask in the comfort of the knowledge that His mercy and forgiveness supercedes His wrath. “If it were not for Allah's grace and mercy on you and that Allah is Oft-Returning Full of Wisdom (ye would be ruined indeed).”(24:10)
The Victory:
I look at this gigantic mass of people of all shades and colours, these followers all sweat drenched, tear stained, barefoot, and I know this is the ‘Clear Victory.’(48:1) I know this is the ‘Fount of Abundance’: “To you (O Muhammad!) have We granted the Fount of Abundance. So pray to your Lord, and sacrifice. Surely, he who bears rancour against you shall be severed (from all future hope).” (Chapter 108)
And again:
“Have We not opened your breast for you (O Muhammad SAW)? And removed from you your burden which weighed down your back? And raised high your fame? So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is relief. So when you have finished (from your occupation), then stand up for Allah's worship (i.e. stand up for prayer). And to your Lord (Alone) turn (all your intentions and hopes and) your invocations.” (Chapter 94)
On Leadership
Ibrahim (A.S) and Muhammad (SAW) followed their inner voice and the Command of the Lord they recognized humbly and resolutely. They lead in their following, and present the highest level of leadership humanly possible_ a leadership of a holistic nature rooted in the heart and soul, springing from it and seeking to purify and satiate it; enunciating a veritable Way of Life followed today by billions as a matter of faith shaping individual lives, societies, economies and politics. Michael H. Hart, choosing Muhammad (SAW) to top his list of 100 greatest people in human history wrote: “My choice of Muhammad (SAW) to lead the best of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Muhammad (SAW) founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive. The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad (SAW), however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backwards area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art and learning. Orphaned at the age of six, he was reared in modest surroundings. Islamic tradition tells us that he was illiterate... When Muhammad (SAW) died in 632, he was the effective ruler of all of Arabia... The rapid spread of Islaam continued after the demise of Muhammad (SAW)... By 711, North Africa, to the Atlantic Ocean, then the Visigoth Kingdom of Spain . . . stretching from the boarders of India to the Atlantic Ocean, Islam was the largest empire that the world had yet seen”.
The Farewell
I walk away from the Kaaba turning to look back at the silent, circling sea I have been a droplet of, moving gently, eternally in the shade of this small landmark that wears an unexplainable, immeasurable awe, majesty and power. It still draws to itself to elevate, honour and bless. I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving and with an already rising nostalgia I will have to live with: “The lovers of Your faith shall never dwindle, even while I_ fleeting creature of an hour receding into the dust, am no more among those forever treading the Path of Love.”
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
'He of the High Desire'
‘HE OF THE HIGH DESIRE’
Maryam Sakeenah
“I will go where no road goes and the road shall go with me”.
When I first came across this verse by Joscelyn Ortt, it occurred to me how remarkably it fitted in with the story of Ibrahim (AS)’s Struggle to Surrender. Courageously honest to the innate Truth within the self, he sought out the truest ‘God’__ beginning with the negation of false pagan godhood, he ultimately found Allah, forever. It is fascinating to read the account of his search for the Truth as Allah tells it in the Quran: “When he (Ibrahim) saw the sun rising up, he said: ‘This is my lord. This is greater.’ But when it set, he said: ‘…Verily, I have turned my face towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth, and I am not of those who join partners with Him…’ And that (faith) was Our Proof which We gave Ibrahim against his people. We raise whom We will in degrees. Certainly, Your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”(6:80-83)
Ibrahim (A.S) brings together in his person an unafraid honesty and the invincible courage to proclaim it loud and clear. The search for meaning in life through the faltering intellect of man and the pursuit of the Highest Truth through human reason is most clearly and admirably articulated through the story of Ibrahim (A.S). He attained the truth through his lone, relentless struggle, and rejected once and for all whatever impeded the Way to his Lord. He fearlessly showed that truth to the world with all his passion. The Quran quotes Ibrahim (A.S) while addressing those who rejected the Truth: “The Lord of the Alamin, who has created me, and it is He who guides me. And it is He who feeds me and gives me to drink. And when I am ill, it is He who cures me. And He will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life. And who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Resurrection...”(26:78-82).
Taking ‘the road less travelled by’ demands strength, persistence, honesty, and only the ‘hanif’ (uni-focal) can come out through the trials it involves, triumphant, able to ascend to a higher realm of the Contented Self (nafs e mutma’inna). Ibrahim (AS)’s struggle was a struggle to win ‘Islam’ (peace through submission). This struggle begins with the negation of false gods (‘la ilaha’), and leads the soul on to a recognition and acceptance of the Only Truth that brings with it the peace of ‘ill allah’. “When his Lord said to him ‘(O Ibrahim!) Submit!’ He said, “I have submitted myself to the Lord of the worlds...” (2:131) Having internalized this faith and lived it out with his person, Ibrahim becomes the embodiment of Tauhid. “Verily, Ibrahim was an ‘ummah’(a leader or a nation), obedient to Allah, haneef (singly focused on worship of none but Allah), and he was not among those who join partners with Allah. He was thankful for Allah’s favours. Allah chose him and guided him to the Straight Path.” (16:120-121)
For when the sweetness of Eeman is tasted, nothing else satisfies, nothing else fulfils. Ibrahim (A.S) was possessed by this Single Idea which gave meaning to life and the world, which enlightened, elevated, enriched, purified. Ibrahim (A.S)’s faith in and love for Allah rings through the beautiful prayers of His that Allah records in the Quran: “My Lord! Bestow on me Wisdom and Authority, and join me with the righteous. And grant me an honourable mention in the later generations. And make me one of the inheritors of the Paradise of Delight...” (26:83-85) The achievement of the Contented Self brings out the human soul in all the richness, beauty and grandeur that human nature is capable of, till the exclusive title ‘ahsan i taqweem’ (the best of all creation) is earned and Allah Himself bears testimony hence: “Salam be upon Ibrahim (A.S). Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good. Verily he was one of our believing slaves...”(37:109)
The Faith of the Contented Self expresses itself in ways larger than life, much greater than what is humanly understandable. The patience of Ibrahim (A.S) through the trials he went through, his exemplary sacrifice was one such expression of the faith of the Contented Self, the intensity of which transcends the limitations of historical time. Allah has preserved it forever, to be relived, refelt. Ibrahim (AS)’s faith broke free from the tethers that bind man to the pettiness of the Minimal Self (nafs e ammara)_ from base desire, from egoistic impulse.
Allah reciprocates, blesses and preserves the glorious deeds of His righteous slaves. Hence Ibrahim, having triumphed over all of life’s trials, received the boundless Love of His Lord. The mention of Ibrahim A.S in the Quran resonates with Love of the Speaker, the Lord of Ibrahim A.S. Allah says: “And who can be better in religion than one who submits his face to Allah and does righteous deeds and follows the religion of Ibrahim (A.S). And Allah did take Ibrahim (A.S) as an intimate Friend.” (4:125), and “Verily, Ibrahim (A.S) was, without doubt, forbearing, used to invoke Allah with humility, and was repentant.” (11:75)
It is the Love from God for His slave who sought His Love with burning desire that announces: “And take you the station of Ibrahim (A.S) as a place of prayer...” (2:125)
Ibrahim (A.S) was blessed with leadership, honour and respect among all mankind. He is revered as the patriarch of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim people, from whom all monotheistic faiths spring forth. And yet, the position of Ibrahim (A.S) in Islam is unique. The pristine tauhid of Islam that accepts no semblance of shirk in any manifestation, is the continuation of the mission of Ibrahim (A.S). Allah insists in the Quran to ‘follow the religion of Ibrahim’, the pure Monotheistic tradition: “It (Islam), is the religion of your father Ibrahim (A.S).” (22:78) The Arabs even before Islam were conscious of and proud of their Abrahamic ancestry. Despite the corruption of polytheism and many rampant social ills, the concept of the One God of Ibrahim A.S, the Sublime, Omnipotent Being above all, was part of Arab tradition in one form or another. Islam purified, reinstated and revived that Abrahamic faith with its simple declaration of ‘La ilaha il Allah’ (no god but Allah), and hence has a legitimate claim of being a consummation of the Abrahamic mission.
It will not be an overstatement to say that the ritual of Hajj is in many ways a commemoration of the extraordinary life and struggle of Ibrahim (A.S) and his family. It celebrates the edifying legacy of Ibrahim (A.S), who, eons ago, had prayed: “Our Lord! Make us submissive unto You, and from our offspring, raise a nation submissive unto You... send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your verses, and instruct them in the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them...” (2:128-129). The rituals of Hajj immortalize Ibrahim’s faith and privilege the believers to take of the immensity of that boundless treasure. The Kaabah itself bespeaks Ibrahim’s faith and his belief in the Oneness, the Sublimity of God. Muhammad Asad writes: “Never had I felt so strongly as now, before the Kaába, that the hand of the builder (Ibrahim A.S) had come so close to his religious conception. In the utter simplicity of a cube, in the complete renunciation of all beauty of line and form, spoke this thought: ‘whatever beauty man may be able to create with his hands, it will be only conceit to deem it worthy of God; therefore, the simplest that man can conceive is the greatest that he can do to express the glory of God.’... Here in the Kaaba, even the size spoke of human renunciation and self-surrender; the proud modesty of this structure had no compare in the world.” Each time the pilgrim performs a ritual, he experiences again for a blessed moment, that edifying legacy, and revives within him again_ in a minuscule proportion_ that spirit. When he prays at the Maqam e Ibrahim, he reaffirms his association, as a monotheist, with Ibrahim (A.S) the Haneef, and realizes how the passionate faith of ‘those of the High Desire’ is immortalized by the Immortal, how the footsteps in the sands of time remain, leading, guiding, enlightening and blessing_ always showing the Way, the sirat al Mustaqeem; going where no road goes, taking the Road with them.
Maryam Sakeenah
“I will go where no road goes and the road shall go with me”.
When I first came across this verse by Joscelyn Ortt, it occurred to me how remarkably it fitted in with the story of Ibrahim (AS)’s Struggle to Surrender. Courageously honest to the innate Truth within the self, he sought out the truest ‘God’__ beginning with the negation of false pagan godhood, he ultimately found Allah, forever. It is fascinating to read the account of his search for the Truth as Allah tells it in the Quran: “When he (Ibrahim) saw the sun rising up, he said: ‘This is my lord. This is greater.’ But when it set, he said: ‘…Verily, I have turned my face towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth, and I am not of those who join partners with Him…’ And that (faith) was Our Proof which We gave Ibrahim against his people. We raise whom We will in degrees. Certainly, Your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”(6:80-83)
Ibrahim (A.S) brings together in his person an unafraid honesty and the invincible courage to proclaim it loud and clear. The search for meaning in life through the faltering intellect of man and the pursuit of the Highest Truth through human reason is most clearly and admirably articulated through the story of Ibrahim (A.S). He attained the truth through his lone, relentless struggle, and rejected once and for all whatever impeded the Way to his Lord. He fearlessly showed that truth to the world with all his passion. The Quran quotes Ibrahim (A.S) while addressing those who rejected the Truth: “The Lord of the Alamin, who has created me, and it is He who guides me. And it is He who feeds me and gives me to drink. And when I am ill, it is He who cures me. And He will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life. And who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Resurrection...”(26:78-82).
Taking ‘the road less travelled by’ demands strength, persistence, honesty, and only the ‘hanif’ (uni-focal) can come out through the trials it involves, triumphant, able to ascend to a higher realm of the Contented Self (nafs e mutma’inna). Ibrahim (AS)’s struggle was a struggle to win ‘Islam’ (peace through submission). This struggle begins with the negation of false gods (‘la ilaha’), and leads the soul on to a recognition and acceptance of the Only Truth that brings with it the peace of ‘ill allah’. “When his Lord said to him ‘(O Ibrahim!) Submit!’ He said, “I have submitted myself to the Lord of the worlds...” (2:131) Having internalized this faith and lived it out with his person, Ibrahim becomes the embodiment of Tauhid. “Verily, Ibrahim was an ‘ummah’(a leader or a nation), obedient to Allah, haneef (singly focused on worship of none but Allah), and he was not among those who join partners with Allah. He was thankful for Allah’s favours. Allah chose him and guided him to the Straight Path.” (16:120-121)
For when the sweetness of Eeman is tasted, nothing else satisfies, nothing else fulfils. Ibrahim (A.S) was possessed by this Single Idea which gave meaning to life and the world, which enlightened, elevated, enriched, purified. Ibrahim (A.S)’s faith in and love for Allah rings through the beautiful prayers of His that Allah records in the Quran: “My Lord! Bestow on me Wisdom and Authority, and join me with the righteous. And grant me an honourable mention in the later generations. And make me one of the inheritors of the Paradise of Delight...” (26:83-85) The achievement of the Contented Self brings out the human soul in all the richness, beauty and grandeur that human nature is capable of, till the exclusive title ‘ahsan i taqweem’ (the best of all creation) is earned and Allah Himself bears testimony hence: “Salam be upon Ibrahim (A.S). Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good. Verily he was one of our believing slaves...”(37:109)
The Faith of the Contented Self expresses itself in ways larger than life, much greater than what is humanly understandable. The patience of Ibrahim (A.S) through the trials he went through, his exemplary sacrifice was one such expression of the faith of the Contented Self, the intensity of which transcends the limitations of historical time. Allah has preserved it forever, to be relived, refelt. Ibrahim (AS)’s faith broke free from the tethers that bind man to the pettiness of the Minimal Self (nafs e ammara)_ from base desire, from egoistic impulse.
Allah reciprocates, blesses and preserves the glorious deeds of His righteous slaves. Hence Ibrahim, having triumphed over all of life’s trials, received the boundless Love of His Lord. The mention of Ibrahim A.S in the Quran resonates with Love of the Speaker, the Lord of Ibrahim A.S. Allah says: “And who can be better in religion than one who submits his face to Allah and does righteous deeds and follows the religion of Ibrahim (A.S). And Allah did take Ibrahim (A.S) as an intimate Friend.” (4:125), and “Verily, Ibrahim (A.S) was, without doubt, forbearing, used to invoke Allah with humility, and was repentant.” (11:75)
It is the Love from God for His slave who sought His Love with burning desire that announces: “And take you the station of Ibrahim (A.S) as a place of prayer...” (2:125)
Ibrahim (A.S) was blessed with leadership, honour and respect among all mankind. He is revered as the patriarch of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim people, from whom all monotheistic faiths spring forth. And yet, the position of Ibrahim (A.S) in Islam is unique. The pristine tauhid of Islam that accepts no semblance of shirk in any manifestation, is the continuation of the mission of Ibrahim (A.S). Allah insists in the Quran to ‘follow the religion of Ibrahim’, the pure Monotheistic tradition: “It (Islam), is the religion of your father Ibrahim (A.S).” (22:78) The Arabs even before Islam were conscious of and proud of their Abrahamic ancestry. Despite the corruption of polytheism and many rampant social ills, the concept of the One God of Ibrahim A.S, the Sublime, Omnipotent Being above all, was part of Arab tradition in one form or another. Islam purified, reinstated and revived that Abrahamic faith with its simple declaration of ‘La ilaha il Allah’ (no god but Allah), and hence has a legitimate claim of being a consummation of the Abrahamic mission.
It will not be an overstatement to say that the ritual of Hajj is in many ways a commemoration of the extraordinary life and struggle of Ibrahim (A.S) and his family. It celebrates the edifying legacy of Ibrahim (A.S), who, eons ago, had prayed: “Our Lord! Make us submissive unto You, and from our offspring, raise a nation submissive unto You... send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your verses, and instruct them in the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them...” (2:128-129). The rituals of Hajj immortalize Ibrahim’s faith and privilege the believers to take of the immensity of that boundless treasure. The Kaabah itself bespeaks Ibrahim’s faith and his belief in the Oneness, the Sublimity of God. Muhammad Asad writes: “Never had I felt so strongly as now, before the Kaába, that the hand of the builder (Ibrahim A.S) had come so close to his religious conception. In the utter simplicity of a cube, in the complete renunciation of all beauty of line and form, spoke this thought: ‘whatever beauty man may be able to create with his hands, it will be only conceit to deem it worthy of God; therefore, the simplest that man can conceive is the greatest that he can do to express the glory of God.’... Here in the Kaaba, even the size spoke of human renunciation and self-surrender; the proud modesty of this structure had no compare in the world.” Each time the pilgrim performs a ritual, he experiences again for a blessed moment, that edifying legacy, and revives within him again_ in a minuscule proportion_ that spirit. When he prays at the Maqam e Ibrahim, he reaffirms his association, as a monotheist, with Ibrahim (A.S) the Haneef, and realizes how the passionate faith of ‘those of the High Desire’ is immortalized by the Immortal, how the footsteps in the sands of time remain, leading, guiding, enlightening and blessing_ always showing the Way, the sirat al Mustaqeem; going where no road goes, taking the Road with them.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Lost Soul of the United States of America
THE LOST SOUL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Maryam Sakeenah
Secretary Hilary Clinton’s self-congratulation over American leaders’ unanimous disapproval of the intended burning of Muslim religious texts misses out the truth about American society and politics, and the crisis of its fundamental values.
The mass furore over the construction of a Muslim community centre blocks away from Ground Zero is symptomatic of a serious malaise. Public sentiment often manifests in funny ways, but what is worrying is that this has not very seriously bothered many of America’s stout guardians of values, its face-saving rhetoricians.
Protestors against the construction are not terrified by the prospect of bombs hidden away in the mosque’s secret chambers, but are offended by the symbolism of it, and this sheer audacity of America’s alienated Muslim minority.
The name ‘Ground Zero mosque’ is an inaccurate, exaggerated and dramatic construct indicative of the desire by some elements to exploit the widespread Islamophobia in the U.S in order to obstruct a venture essentially courageous and needful.
I say ‘needful’ because of its true symbolism that has escaped many who have been swept away by the tide of Islamophobia. If any community has borne the brunt of what happened on 9/11, it is the Muslims. Not only do they suffer America’s wars in tottering Afghanistan and devastated Iraq, but also the assault on civil liberties jeopardizing Muslim identity globally, Islamophobia in all its facets_ discrimination, racial profiling, stereotyping, bias and a sightless demonization campaign. The construction of an Islamic Community Centre could be America’s conciliatory overture to the marginalized Muslim community, its initiative to start the healing process. The Centre could function as a sacred space for a victimized community to work to restore its true image and ethos, to highlight the role and contribution of Islam in society, and to actively engage with the American community. The United States, priding itself for its liberalism, must yield that necessary sacred space.
President Obama’s outright support to the venture may help salvage his personal image among the Muslims, but it offers little consolation in the face of stark realities Muslims in America have to grapple with. A recent opinion poll shows over 53% Americans hold Islam in a very negative light_ and the government cannot shy away from responsibility for having contributed substantially through its propaganda machinery to rising anti-Islam sentiment in the U.S since 9/11. The American public is almost exclusively informed on national and global issues by influential media giants run by powerful lobbies. The indicators of rising Islamophobia in the U.S speak loudly about the media’s relentless campaign of dehumanizing and othering of the Muslim persona, and its failure to justly differentiate between a religion followed by billions and the actions of individuals in a particular context who claim to belong to it.
Even more telling is General Petraeus’s take on the matter. In his view, what makes the heinous task of burning scriptures worrying is its consequences that may threaten the U.S military abroad. By this logic, it is the consequences for men in uniform that render the act wrongful, not the act in itself; not the hurt this barbarism will wreak on the sentiments of billions of Muslims worldwide, not that this atrocity flies in the face of the most basic values of human civilization and violates the most fundamental rights of billions. Petraeus’s sentiment was echoed in what White House representative Robert Gibbs said of the matter: that ‘any type of activity that puts our troops in harms way would be a concern to this administration.’ Again, the reprehensibility of the act lies almost exclusively in the fact that it may endanger the lives of American troops. The logic exposes the narrow, narcissistic, nationalistic arrogance that puts the bloated Self over its perceived Other; that makes some lives more valuable than others, ‘óur values’ more inviolable than ‘theirs’.
There has been great concern and speculation in the U.S media over the death of an American soldier in the wake of an uprising in Southern Afghanistan sparked by the news of the 9/11 burning plans. The General shudders to think of what may happen if the images of burning sacred books end up being ‘used’ by terrorists to ‘incite violence.’ He forgets that it is not the ‘use’ of the resulting images that is the trouble, but the act in itself. And any Muslim knowing this could happen in the heart of the United States of America cannot but feel confounded over the state of a nation that allows that to happen.
The United States must stop presenting its warmongering as a result of misguided and ill-advised policies as if it were a clash between ‘our’ values and ‘theirs.’ It must get real and face the fact that it is not hated for its values, but for the lack thereof.
Petraeus enlightens with an analogy that the proposed act is like the Taliban’s, and that ‘The Taliban do the same (burn sacred books?!).’ This sweeping statement again takes as given the myth that the wars going on are about values, religions, scriptures and not policies. The Taliban’s fight never has been about American, Western or Christian values. The logic used here implies that if it was not for images being used to threaten American interests, deranged fanatics like Terry Jones may attack and insult what is most sacred to Muslim sensibility, stab in the softest part, strike where it hurts most and crush the very heart and soul of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims! The Taliban may be a reviled demon everybody loves to spit on. However, by attempting to strike a comparison between this global enemy and the despicable lunatic from Florida, Petraeus makes the contrast in their respective moral standing only too obvious.
Because, for a Muslim who takes his religion seriously, it is inconceivable to desecrate or even disparage any religious scripture or symbol. It is a core Islamic belief to acknowledge the Divine origin of all revealed religion. The Quran says: “Do not revile those who they invoke apart from God.. .” (Surah Anaam, verse 108). Muslims_ or even the Taliban for that matter_ cannot by any means respond to Jones’s lunacy in equal measure for the demand their faith makes on them. The universalism and pluralistic vision of Islam originating in its basic texts revealed 1400 years ago sets a standard that secular, liberal American society would take ages to reach. The fact that it can allow sick-minded hate-mongers like Jones to not only exist in society but actually propagate and promote their devilish cult with impunity while conventional self-congratulatory lip-service to pacify a minority’s raw sentiments goes on in the backdrop, ought to explode the bubble of what the U.S ‘stands for’. It ought to lead to a serious rethink, for it is about the very soul of America.
Maryam Sakeenah
Secretary Hilary Clinton’s self-congratulation over American leaders’ unanimous disapproval of the intended burning of Muslim religious texts misses out the truth about American society and politics, and the crisis of its fundamental values.
The mass furore over the construction of a Muslim community centre blocks away from Ground Zero is symptomatic of a serious malaise. Public sentiment often manifests in funny ways, but what is worrying is that this has not very seriously bothered many of America’s stout guardians of values, its face-saving rhetoricians.
Protestors against the construction are not terrified by the prospect of bombs hidden away in the mosque’s secret chambers, but are offended by the symbolism of it, and this sheer audacity of America’s alienated Muslim minority.
The name ‘Ground Zero mosque’ is an inaccurate, exaggerated and dramatic construct indicative of the desire by some elements to exploit the widespread Islamophobia in the U.S in order to obstruct a venture essentially courageous and needful.
I say ‘needful’ because of its true symbolism that has escaped many who have been swept away by the tide of Islamophobia. If any community has borne the brunt of what happened on 9/11, it is the Muslims. Not only do they suffer America’s wars in tottering Afghanistan and devastated Iraq, but also the assault on civil liberties jeopardizing Muslim identity globally, Islamophobia in all its facets_ discrimination, racial profiling, stereotyping, bias and a sightless demonization campaign. The construction of an Islamic Community Centre could be America’s conciliatory overture to the marginalized Muslim community, its initiative to start the healing process. The Centre could function as a sacred space for a victimized community to work to restore its true image and ethos, to highlight the role and contribution of Islam in society, and to actively engage with the American community. The United States, priding itself for its liberalism, must yield that necessary sacred space.
President Obama’s outright support to the venture may help salvage his personal image among the Muslims, but it offers little consolation in the face of stark realities Muslims in America have to grapple with. A recent opinion poll shows over 53% Americans hold Islam in a very negative light_ and the government cannot shy away from responsibility for having contributed substantially through its propaganda machinery to rising anti-Islam sentiment in the U.S since 9/11. The American public is almost exclusively informed on national and global issues by influential media giants run by powerful lobbies. The indicators of rising Islamophobia in the U.S speak loudly about the media’s relentless campaign of dehumanizing and othering of the Muslim persona, and its failure to justly differentiate between a religion followed by billions and the actions of individuals in a particular context who claim to belong to it.
Even more telling is General Petraeus’s take on the matter. In his view, what makes the heinous task of burning scriptures worrying is its consequences that may threaten the U.S military abroad. By this logic, it is the consequences for men in uniform that render the act wrongful, not the act in itself; not the hurt this barbarism will wreak on the sentiments of billions of Muslims worldwide, not that this atrocity flies in the face of the most basic values of human civilization and violates the most fundamental rights of billions. Petraeus’s sentiment was echoed in what White House representative Robert Gibbs said of the matter: that ‘any type of activity that puts our troops in harms way would be a concern to this administration.’ Again, the reprehensibility of the act lies almost exclusively in the fact that it may endanger the lives of American troops. The logic exposes the narrow, narcissistic, nationalistic arrogance that puts the bloated Self over its perceived Other; that makes some lives more valuable than others, ‘óur values’ more inviolable than ‘theirs’.
There has been great concern and speculation in the U.S media over the death of an American soldier in the wake of an uprising in Southern Afghanistan sparked by the news of the 9/11 burning plans. The General shudders to think of what may happen if the images of burning sacred books end up being ‘used’ by terrorists to ‘incite violence.’ He forgets that it is not the ‘use’ of the resulting images that is the trouble, but the act in itself. And any Muslim knowing this could happen in the heart of the United States of America cannot but feel confounded over the state of a nation that allows that to happen.
The United States must stop presenting its warmongering as a result of misguided and ill-advised policies as if it were a clash between ‘our’ values and ‘theirs.’ It must get real and face the fact that it is not hated for its values, but for the lack thereof.
Petraeus enlightens with an analogy that the proposed act is like the Taliban’s, and that ‘The Taliban do the same (burn sacred books?!).’ This sweeping statement again takes as given the myth that the wars going on are about values, religions, scriptures and not policies. The Taliban’s fight never has been about American, Western or Christian values. The logic used here implies that if it was not for images being used to threaten American interests, deranged fanatics like Terry Jones may attack and insult what is most sacred to Muslim sensibility, stab in the softest part, strike where it hurts most and crush the very heart and soul of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims! The Taliban may be a reviled demon everybody loves to spit on. However, by attempting to strike a comparison between this global enemy and the despicable lunatic from Florida, Petraeus makes the contrast in their respective moral standing only too obvious.
Because, for a Muslim who takes his religion seriously, it is inconceivable to desecrate or even disparage any religious scripture or symbol. It is a core Islamic belief to acknowledge the Divine origin of all revealed religion. The Quran says: “Do not revile those who they invoke apart from God.. .” (Surah Anaam, verse 108). Muslims_ or even the Taliban for that matter_ cannot by any means respond to Jones’s lunacy in equal measure for the demand their faith makes on them. The universalism and pluralistic vision of Islam originating in its basic texts revealed 1400 years ago sets a standard that secular, liberal American society would take ages to reach. The fact that it can allow sick-minded hate-mongers like Jones to not only exist in society but actually propagate and promote their devilish cult with impunity while conventional self-congratulatory lip-service to pacify a minority’s raw sentiments goes on in the backdrop, ought to explode the bubble of what the U.S ‘stands for’. It ought to lead to a serious rethink, for it is about the very soul of America.
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