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Terminology

النَّفْس: Nafs (Self)

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النَّفْس: Nafs (Self)

 

Inside2013

 

 

لسان العرب
والعرب قد تجعل النَّفْس التي يكون بها التمييز نَفْسَيْن،
وذلك أَن النَّفْس قد تأْمره بالشيء وتنهى عنه

Lisan Al-Arab

Ibn Manzour

Arab calls an entity by which two things are discerned Al-Nafs, for example what inclines a man towards good as opposed to foul i.e. discerns between good and bad.

Remark 1: This Rahi (Author) considers “entity by which” as “structure” i.e. a similarity between objects (spaces) which does similar actions or has similar attributes or behaves similarly.

This structure of Nafs is ubiquitous within every human being, quite similar in operations and attributes regardless of the person’s race or culture or religion.

This structure of Nafs is not limited to discernment between good and evil, but discerning between one’s own Self and others i.e. knowing cognizing that I am not you and you are not me; this discernment is exclusively possible by the instrumentation of this fantastic structure of Nafs. Else we could not find each other as different beings, as winds and eddies have no firm boundaries, as we were in the realm of Spirits wherein we could not be told apart.

Allah innovated most novel innovation called Nafs, a structure (similarity) endued in every human being, so otherwise entangled wind-like spirits could be discerned in the life on this planet:

Wa (Emergent) Nafs (Self) and how (amazingly) she was Sawwa (Engineered to Perfection)

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا

 

Structured for the purpose of discernment:

91:8 and how she (Nafs) was imbued with moral failings as well as with piety!

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا

 

This structure much larger than our cosmos! What we feel of our Nafs (Self) is a tiny fragment of the whole structure.

In Qidam (Infinitely Past) we all were like unto  eddies or currents namely spirits, those who loved one another intertwined versus disliked and repelled, and yet therein I could not say “I” and you could not say “you”.

 

Model

Nafs could be modeled as a Capsule, discerning two regions namely interior vs. exterior.

Inside this Capsule placed your person, outside placed other than you.

 

33:37. And what you (Muhammad) concealed within your Nafs (Self)

وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ

 

7:205. And remember your Lord within your Nafs (Self)

وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ

 

20:67 and in his Nafs (Self) Moses became apprehensive.

فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَى

 

This model extends to Allah as well having a Nafs (Self):

5:116. You know all that is within my (Jesus) Nafs (Self), whereas I know not what is in Your (Allah’s) Nafs(Self).

تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ

 

Furthermore the above verses indicate that this Nafs (Self) encapsulates to conceal as well. Therefore the said Capsule of Nafs (Self) has multiple purposes or you might say components.

 

Components

This Rahi (Author) ensembles the different derivations of the same word to render images and to form feelings within the modern English reader as were conjured within the ancient Arab when such words as Nafs were uttered.

 

Discernment

التمييز

Discerning between two entities.

 

With

عِنْد

To have something with one’s Self e.g. within my Self (Nafs) find many questions, I have no knowledge what is with Allah (Allah’s Self Nafs).

5:116. You know all that is within my (Jesus) Nafs (Self), whereas I know not what is in Your (Allah( Nafs(Self).

تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ

 

Individuation

الانفرادية

An entity individuates by means of becoming extraordinary priceless and perfected. Allah did not individuate these Selves as discernible entities unless they are, each, in most perfect and distinctly exotic forms.
لسان العرب
هو من المُنافَسَة الرغبة في الشيء والانفرادية، وهو من الشيء النَّفِيسِ الجيد في نوعه

 

Begotten

المَنْفُوس

There is no Nafs (Individuated Self) that is begotten (Manfus) except her place in Garden and Fire is pre-written, said the Prophet peace be upon him.

لسان العرب

والمَنْفُوس: المولود. وفي الحديث: ما من نَفْسٍ مَنْفُوسَةٍ إِلا وقد كُتِبَ مكانها من الجنة والنار،
ثعلب: نُفِسَتْ ولداً على فعل المفعول. وورِثَ فلان هذا المالَ في بطن أُمه قبل أَن يُنْفَس أَي يولد.

 

Begotten as in born from another another Nafs (Self) while maintaining the connection:

لسان العرب

، قال: وسميت النَّفْسُ نَفْساً لتولّد النَّفَسِ منها واتصاله بها،

 

This opens horizons for new thoughts:

Nafs (Self) as a complex multi-cellular structure which encapsulates and She begets and begotten.

 

Gender

Nafs gendered as female for the said structure that discerns between two entities, Nafs gendered as male to indicate human being or group of humans:

لسان العرب

وقالوا ثلاثة أَنْفُس يُذكِّرونه لأَن النَّفْس عندهم إنسان فهم يريدون به الإِنسان،

 

In the language of Arab the nouns and verbs are gendered i.e. shortest form of a noun or a verb is called Male and the Female the longer form of the noun or verb with suffix of Ta-Ha

ة

or Ha

ها

Remark 2:This terminology of male vs. female noun and verb configurations have nothing to with sexual organ nor reproductive physiology. It does not indicate power and authority in case of male and weakness and inferiority in case of female (as propagated by the Arab male).

Shortest form in terms of number of letters is male gendered, and longer forms female.

So Ruh (Soul, Spirit) is Male gendered and annexed to it the Nafs (Self) for discernment which is gendered as female, since it is the longer form due to the annexation. See Also:

http://www.untiredwithloving.org/kashani_3_5.html

However if Nafs is male gendered then it refers to human being.

 

Nearby Respiration

النَّفَس

التَّنَفُّس

Imagine being in a dark room, Nafas (Respiration) of another Nafs is felt while she could not be seen, yet we sense the breathing and we feel she is there quite close.

If applied to Allah indicates removal of hardship by means of the Nearness of Allah’s Divine Nafs (Self).

 

لسان العرب

وقوله في الحديث: بُعِثْتُ في نَفَس الساعة أَي بُعِثْتُ وقد حان قيامُها وقَرُبَ إِلا أَن اللَّه أَخرها قليلاً فبعثني في ذلك النَّفَس، وأَطلق النَّفَس على القرب، وقيل: معناه أَنه جعل للساعة نَفَساً كَنَفَس الإِنسان، أَراد: إِني بعثت في وقت قريب منها، أَحُس فيه بنَفَسِها كما يَحُس بنَفَس الإِنسان إذا قرب منه، يعني بعثت في وقتٍ بانَتْ أَشراطُها فيه وظهرت علاماتها؛ ويروى: في نَسَمِ الساعة، وسيأْتي ذكره والمُتَنَفِّس: ذو النَّفَس.

 

From this terminology came Nafas Rahmani or Rahman’s Respiration which indicates wind-like or something flow-like on this planet that removes the hardship from people and provides them with relief.

 

لسان العرب

والنَّفَس: الفَرَج من الكرب. وفي الحديث: لا تسبُّوا الريح فإِنها من نَفَس الرحمن، يريد أَنه بها يُفرِّج الكربَ ويُنشِئ السحابَ ويَنشر الغيث ويُذْهب الجدبَ، وقيل: معناه أَي مما يوسع بها على الناس، وفي الحديث: أَنه، صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم، قال: أَجد نَفَس ربكم من قِبَلِ اليمن، وفي رواية: أَجد نَفَس الرحمن؛ يقال إِنه عنى بذلك الأَنصار لأَن اللَّه عز وجل نَفَّس الكربَ عن المؤمنين بهم، وهم يَمانُونَ لأَنهم من الأَزد، ونَصَرهم بهم وأَيدهم برجالهم، وهو مستعار من نَفَس الهواء الذي يَرُده التَّنَفُّس إِلى الجوف فيبرد من حرارته ويُعَدِّلُها، أَو من نَفَس الريح الذي يَتَنَسَّمُه فيَسْتَرْوِح إِليه، أَو من نفَس الروضة وهو طِيب روائحها فينفرج به عنه،

 

Ishara (Vectorial Pointing)

Molecular Self(Membrane Capsule): Liposome

A liposome is an artificially-prepared spherical vesicle composed of a lamellar phase lipid bilayer. The liposome can be used as a vehicle for administration of nutrients and pharmaceutical drugs.

A liposome encapsulates a region of aqueous solution inside a hydrophobic membrane; dissolved hydrophilic solutes cannot readily pass through the lipids. Hydrophobic chemicals can be dissolved into the membrane, and in this way liposome can carry both hydrophobic molecules and hydrophilic molecules. To deliver the molecules to sites of action, the lipid bilayer can fuse with other bilayers such as the cell membrane, thus delivering the liposome contents. By making liposomes in a solution of DNA or drugs (which would normally be unable to diffuse through the membrane) they can be (indiscriminately) delivered past the lipid bilayer. A liposome does not necessarily have lipophobic contents, such as water, although it usually does.

Clear partition of interior vs. exterior:



 

Impromptu

Q: Are there any examples of entities without Self?

A:

Electrons

Many Physics experiments fail to identify the individual electrons i.e. there is no way to fix one electron and tell it apart from all other. In cases that is possible the original system ceases. Therefore there is indication that Electrons might not have the concept of the Self as we do and understand.

 

Clouds

Clouds are incredibly large entities teeming with microbial life and operations. It is now suspected that these microbial forms operate as  a collective to cause rain or snow or hail, or to stop such nucleation of the water vapor, while they transport themselves to the crust of the earth and ride upwards back to the cloud.

This life-form of the Cloud stretches many thousands of kilometers and yet difficult to say where it starts and where it ends, what is a sub-part, which part is this cloud and which part is another cloud.

This Rahi (Author) calls these clouds as Dis-Organisms!

Organism is compact with well-known boundaries of its being, Dis-Organism is as alive though non-compact i.e. has no discernible boundaries for being.

Therefore we model clouds as Dis-Orgnismans without Nafs (Self).

 

© 2016-2002,  Dara O Shayda

Uncategorized

Nasafi’s Advice for Murids (Seekers)

Nasafi’s Advice for Murids (Seekers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
See Also:
http://www.untiredwithloving.org/kashani_knowledge.html 

From the conclusion of Manāzil Al-Sā’rin by Nasafi:

O Darwish!

No matter what rank of knowledge you attained, and in each and every such rank, never rely upon your mind and your acquired knowledge and do not ever dare to consider or call your Self scholar or seeker of Truth or some such lofty titles.

Do not make a new field or school of thought or do not fabricate a new sect based upon your thoughts.

In other words no matter what rank of knowledge you reached, you must imitate the Prophet and do not forsake his Shari’at (Prophetic Ways); for sure all those who invented new false-religions and misguidance they were once  the virtuous scholars who placed full trust upon their minds and knowledge; each made a new claim as the final truth and refuted others’.

With certitude you know that there is only one Truth (Haqq), consequently they cannot all be of the same truth and yet differing. Now that you know these have no truths and yet claiming the truth, therefore (learn from their mistakes) and do not rely upon your mind and your knowledge to call yourself a scholar or a seeker of truth (who has already found it), since you will be one of them.

O Darwish!

Know forsooth that calling yourself a scholar or seeker of Truth is the deception of your Nafs (Self). Do not be deceived by the Nafs (Self) and know for sure that the foundation of all misguidance is the preference of Nafs’(Self’s) desires over Allah’s Ascent (Ridha)—Allow that not!

End and Al-Hamdu (All Perpetual Praise) for the Lord of Multiverse.

خاتمۀ کتاب منازل السایرین
بسم اللّه الرحمن الرحیم
الحمدللّه رب العالمین و العاقبة للمتقّین، و الصلوة و السلام علی انبیائه و اولیائه، خیر خلقه، و علی آلهم و اصحابهم الطیّبین الطاهرین.

 

در بیان نصحیت
ای درویش! در علم و معرفت در هر مقامی که برسی، و در هر مقامی که باشی، باید که اعتماد بر عقل و علم خود نکنی و خود را محقّق ندانی و نام ننهی، و برای خود طریقی پیش نگیری، و باندیشۀ خود مذهبی نسازی، یعنی در علم و معرفت درهر مقامی که باشی، باید مقلّد پیغمبر خود باشی و دست از شریعت وی نداری، که جمله اهل بدعت و ضلالت فضلا و علما بودهاند که اعتماد بر علم و عقل خود کردند، و هر یک این دعوی کردند که آنچه حقّ است ما داریم، و دیگران بر باطلاند و هر یک این گفتند و میگویند که محقّقیم و دیگران در خیالاند. و ترا بیقین معلوم است که جمله بر حقّ نتوانند بود، که حقّ یکی بیش نباشد. و چون بیقین دانستی که جمله بر حقّ نیستند و جمله دعوی حقیقت میکنند، اکنون تو اگر اعتماد بر عقل وعلم خود کنی، و خود را محقّق نام نهی، یکی از آن باشی که گفته شد.
ای درویش! بیقین بدان که این غرور نفس است که میگوید که تو محقّقای، و دیگران درخیالاند. بیش غرور نفس مخور و از خیال و پندار بیرون آی و بیقین بدان که بنیاد همه گمراهی تقدیم هوای نفس است بر رضای خدای و روا مدار! و این نصیحت ازمن قبول کن، و احتیاط از دست مده، یعنی شریعت را فرو مگذار که هر کس که شریعت را فرو گذارد، البّته پشیمان شود، که «ترک الاحتیاط و الحزم سوء الظنّ». هیچ زیان نخواهد داشت، که نفس آدمی بطبع کاه است و او را بکامی باید داشت، تا بکاری مشغول شود، و اگر نه، خود را و ترا بدبخت دو جهانی کند.
تمام شد و الحمدللّه ربّ العالمین

Dara: Call your Self nothing, avoid titles, no silly gowns and robes (are you a clown?), shun the followers, spend much time with the beginners, if you do not do something do not teach it instead teach something your Self does well and frequently, focus on members of your household first and foremost and then those surrounding you, accept no salaries but if you are starving accept a meal or transportation fee, satisfy your Self with your own woman and avoid desiring those coming to you for knowledge, walk or use public transportation, live below the average of your people, dress like them and eat like them, speak when spoken to for Allah needs no scholar to teach ITs servants, give your knowledge freely, accept corrections and expect no respect or approval from people, allow no one to serve you be it a cup of coffee, spend much time with the poor, prepare your meals clean your house and shop little.

But above all keep the following Dhikr (Remembrance):

2:255. And They shall not encompass anything of ITs Knowledge except by what IT willed

وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ

There is no one with any source of power who can snatch even tiniest knowledge from Allah, if you have knowledge it is not achieved it was an endowment from Allah.

© 2010-2002,  Dara O. Shayda

general

Speech: Personal Experience Not Dogma

3 Comments

Today Muslim does not know his or her religion, indeed severely exposed to American media cooks up a hodgepodge of Judea-Christian concepts of the contemporary Western retail media and (mostly) movies, grows its bread and puts a scarf on it and calls it Islam.

Today Muslim incessantly chatters half baked Arabic words he or she has no knowledge of, in every aspect of human life, daily life, and measure of Iman (Faith) is measured by the speedometer of the tongue: How fast blabbering nonsensical part-Arabic phrases.

First and foremost corrupter of the Islam of a man and a woman is his or her own words.

To incessantly utter Allah’s Grand Names as though personal gossip endeavors limitless foulness as opposed to piety.

If you enter a mosque, you notice the men in charge, no matter what you ask or say immediately respond with most profound Islamicalized blabber, usually centered around five to ten verses or Hadiths which they have no understanding of their Tafsir, their grammar nor lexicon.

Spectrum of this instant-blabber is wide ranging from Stem cell research to female hygiene. Knows no national boundaries Arab or Pakistani or Iranian, they just spew large amounts of most imaginative falsehood about Islam and the Prophet.

Our Sayyid The Prophet Peace be upon him said: The best of man’s Islam is his forsaking of what is not his business.

I apply that to my speech: Am I talking about what is directly my business or am I pontificating nonsense to an unsuspecting ear. Found mostly the latter.

Therefore I made these rules for DARA, not instructions to you and the Mankind, exclusively targeted guidelines in Dara’s  personal life for Dara’s speech:

  1. Speak when spoken to and talk about what is my immediate business or fall silent
  2. Speak about what I know, if I do not know say “I do not know”, and then make an attempt to research to learn with hugest verve, get back to the person and inform them accordingly, being it a long time later
  3. Shun any speech about what I do not do! Since Allah hates the actions of those who say what they do not do. I am not generous so I do not write about charity. I am not brave so I do not write about armed struggle. I have had difficulties in my personal life therefore I do not write about man woman relationship or marriage or sex.
  4. Seek yearn no compensation e.g. people following me or expect them to listen to me or call me some lofty title or publish my work or invite me for talks. So I think of my words as arrows, once they leave the bow better hit the target or I will harm someone, unintended target yet fully liable.

Obviously these advice(s) bear a dull life, no one interested to socialize with boring me or invite me to their homes or call me on the day of the Eid and probably the day of my passing no one will attend the funeral.

I ask Allah to aid me to win the battle against the demon in my mouth, the rest matters not!

 

Dara

 

Hadith, Terminology

Mu’min vs. Muslim

2 Comments

 

49:14 THE BEDOUIN say, “We have attained to faith (Mu’min).” Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: “You have not [yet] attained to faith (not Mu’min); you should [rather] say, ‘We have [outwardly] surrendered (Muslim)’ – for [true] faith has not yet entered your hearts…

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

The words Muslim and Mu’min are differentiated in Qur’an and by the Prophet’s sayings, these are different people with different definitions and virtues, different ranks:

33:35 VERILY, for all men and women who have sur­rendered themselves unto God (Muslims), and all believing men and believing women (Mu’min)…

إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

 

Muslim is whom other Muslims are at peace with his tongue and his hand (deeds), and Mu’min (Safe Trustworthy) is whom all people’s blood and belongings  are safe from, said the Prophet.
الجامع الصغير. – لجلال الدين السيوطي
المجلد السادس >> فصل: في المحلى بأل من حرف الميم

المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده، والمؤمن من أمنه الناس على دمائهم وأموالهم
التخريج (مفصلا): أحمد في مسنده والترمذي والنسائي والحاكم في المستدرك وابن حبان في صحيحه عن أبي هريرة، الطبراني في الكبير عن واثلة
تصحيح السيوطي: صحيح

There are two Darajat (Gradations) of safety provided by the followers of Muhammad peace be upon him, lower level with Muslim and higher with Mu’min (Safe Trustworthy).

Mu’min is a noun derived from the verb Amana or safeguarded or kept safe. Mu’min is a believer in Allah, with him or her people find safety and security for their lives and belongings.

Mu’min is not a man with beard nor a women with head cover.

Muslim is a lower gradation of safety, he or she provides safety for other Muslims from his or her words and his or her dealings e.g. does not use harsh angry language and does not steal or fornicates or usurps.

Q: What are the origins of the word Mu’min?

A: Al-Mu’min is one of the Divine Names and Attributes of Allah i.e. the Giver of Safety.

لسان العرب

المُؤْمِنُ في صفة الله الذي آمَنَ الخلقَ من ظُلْمِه، وقيل: المُؤْمن الذي آمَنَ أَوْلياءَ عذابَه

Mu’min is not the English language equivalent of the word “believer” in Christianity and Judaism, Mu’min means the person who was entrusted to carry certain knowledge i.e. profess the existence of Allah and the beings from the spiritual world; in other words Mu’min is a sanctuary to safekeep such knowledges within his or her own person and safeguard for those around, while keeping the people and their blood and belongings away from his or her reach to usurp.

This form of safety is called Iman, in the language of Qur’an and it has Darajat (Gradations):

Iman has seventy or so branches: The most important the saying “No deity other than Allah” and the least the removal of harmful things from the roads.
الجامع الصغير – لجلال الدين السيوطي
المجلد الثالث >> فصل: في المحلى بأل من حرف الألف

الإيمان بضع وسبعون شعبة: فأفضلها قول لا إله إلا الله، وأدناها إماطة الأذى عن الطريق، والحياء شعبة من الإيمان
التخريج (مفصلا): صحيح مسلم وأبو داود والنسائي وابن ماجة عن أبي هريرة

A Mu’min removing trash and harmful things from the walkways provides a measure of safety for people, and that is a part of his or her Iman as opposed to fetishes turned into religious symbols e.g. beards and scarves.

Almost all commandments in Qur’an are issued to the Mu’min, male or  female, and not to Muslims directly, following a few samples:

 

Order of Jihad is to the Mu’min not to Muslim:
4:94 [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith (Mu’min), when you go forth [to war] in God’s cause,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ

5:35 O YOU who have attained to faith (Mu’min)! Remain conscious of God, and seek to come closer unto Him, and strive hard (Jihad)  in His cause, so that you might attain to a happy state.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

Again keep trustworthy in presence of Allah for the prophets and for the people, not to betray for Allah hates the betrayers:

8:27 [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith (Mu’min), do not be false to God and the Apostle, and do not knowingly be false to the trust that has been reposed in you;

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَخُونُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُواْ أَمَانَاتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Any sins might be attributed to  a Mu’min except lying and betraying said the Prophet.

معجم الطبراني الكبير – للإمام الطبراني

باب الظاء >> عبد الله بن مسعود الهذلي >> باب

حدثنا علي بن عبد العزيز ثنا أبو نعيم ثنا سفيان عن منصور عن مالك بن الحارث عن عبد الرحمن بن يزيد عن عبد الله قال كل الخلال يطوي عليها المؤمن إلا الخيانة والكذب

 

For all these matters the Prophet ordered spread of Salaam (standing phrase: Peace be with you) amongst the Muslims to psychologically condition them to provide safety for other Muslims. Lowest levels of safety at that declaration, but when you read Salaam to someone, you are assuring him that he is safe from your words and your hand. If you cannot provide such measures of safety then stay silent and do not fake this declaration.
زيادة الجامع الصغير، والدرر المنتثرة – للإمام السيوطي
كتاب “زيادة الجامع الصغير”، للسيوطي >> حرف الهمزة

إذا لقي الرجل أخاه المسلم فليقل: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله.
(ت) عن رجل من الصحابة

 

Tha’lab said: Mu’min is by the heart, Muslim upon the tongue.
لسان العرب

قال ثعلب: المؤمِنُ بالقلب والمُسلِمُ باللسان

Many generations of Muslims come to pass to bear fruits of Iman in unborn Mu’mins, near or far future. People do not become Mu’min overnight, it did not even happen with the Prophet peace be upon him, he worked hard with his people to produce a small nucleus of Mumins (First thirteen years of Makkan period). Nations as a whole might strive hard and long to give birth to a Mu’min.

Mumin subsists solely upon Allah and yearns nothing of the people, while Muslim has relationships with people and thus expectations and yearnings from people while does also rely on Allah. This is their major difference, hence a large gap.

So Muslim might struggle to make people safe from his evil, but Mu’min is at a statioinary Maqam (Rank) which people find safety with him.

This Rahi (Author) found many instances of ancient Muslims’ writings who were not able to and refused to call themselves a Mu’min, and that word was reserved for special very few, and they all considered themselves as Muslims i.e. at lower ranks. Some said to call one’s Self Mu’min is an arrogant conduct!

 

© 2016-2002,  Dara O Shayda

 

 

 

Question

Life Expectancy

Even up to 1900s the average life expectancy was 31 years. Many factors resulted in short life span but what mattered for many communities was early marriages to maintain a population that could function as an organized society i.e. to farm and manufacture and secure and so on.

It is not for us to judge those marriages. We should only judge our own affairs with women and children in our own households, not what those millions of people did centuries back.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy

Era Life expectancy at birth
in years		 Life expectancy at older age
Paleolithic 33 Based on the data from recent hunter-gatherer populations, it is estimated that at 15, life expectancy was an additional 39 years (total 54), with a 0.60 probability of reaching 15.[11]
Neolithic 20 [12]-33 [13]
Bronze Age and Iron Age[14] 26
Classical Greece[15] 28
Classical Rome[16] 20–30 If a child survived to age 10, life expectancy was an additional 37.5 years, (total age 47.5 years).[17]
Pre-Columbian North America[18] 25–30
Medieval Islamic Caliphate[19] 35+ Average lifespan of scholars was 59–84.3 years in the Middle East[20][21] and 69–75 in Islamic Spain.[22]
Late medieval English peerage[23][24] 30 At age 21, life expectancy was an additional 43 years (total age 64).[25]
Early Modern England[14] 33–40
1900 world average[26] 31
1950 world average[26] 48
2010 world average[27] 67.2

Question

Age of Consent Laws

Source: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24

Age of Consent Laws

Annotation

Information on the ages used historically in western age of consent laws is not readily available. This table has been compiled from a combination of historical and contemporary sources. By 1880, the first date chosen, many western nations had established an age of consent for the first time, typically of 12 or 13 years. By 1920, when the influence of reform campaigns that established a new link between the age of consent and prostitution had run its course, most had revised their age upward, to 14 or 15 in European nations, and 16 in the Anglo-American world. In the last decades of the 20th century, states and nations with ages below those averages amended their laws to move closer to them. In Europe that growing conformity owed much to moves toward greater European integration. Given that the rationale for the age of consent has remained essentially unchanged in its emphasis on the need to protect ‘immature’ children, the table highlights the shifting and various definitions of childhood employed across time and cultures.

Source

Date compiled from the following sources: Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Homosexuality of Men and Women. Translated by Michael Lombardi-Nash. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2000; Killias, Martin. “The Emergence of a New Taboo: The Desexualization of Youth in Western Societies Since 1800.” European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8 (2000): 466; Odem, Mary. Delinquent Daughters: Policing and Protecting Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995; “Worldwide Ages of Consent,” AVERTing HIV and Aids, www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm (accessed November 29, 2007).

Primary Source Text

Age Limit in Age of Consent Laws in Selected Countries

1880 1920 2007
Austria 14 14 14
Belgium – 16 16
Bulgaria 13 13 14
Denmark 12 12 15
England & Wales 13 16 16
Finland – 12 16
France 13 13 15
Germany 14 14 14
Greece – 12 15
Italy – 16 14
Luxembourg 15 15 16
Norway – 16 16
Portugal 12 12 14
Romania 15 15 15
Russia 10 14 16
Scotland 12 12 16
Spain 12 12 13
Sweden 15 15 15
Switzerland various 16 16
Turkey 15 15 18
Argentina – 12 13
Brazil – 16 14
Chile 20 20 18
Ecuador – 14 14
Canada 12 14 14
Australia
New South Wales 12 16 16
Queensland 12 17 16
Victoria 12 16 16
Western Australia 12 14 16
United States
Alabama 10 16 16
Alaska – 16 16
Arizona 12 18 18
Arkansas 10 16 16
California 10 18 18
Colorado 10 18 15
Connecticut 10 16 16
District of Columbia 12 16 16
Delaware 7 16 16
Florida 10 18 18
Georgia 10 14 16
Hawaii – – 16
Idaho 10 18 18
Illinois 10 16 17
Indiana 12 16 16
Iowa 10 16 16
Kansas 10 18 16
Kentucky 12 16 16
Louisiana 12 18 17
Maine 10 16 16
Maryland 10 16 16
Massachusetts 10 16 16
Michigan 10 16 16
Minnesota 10 18 16
Mississippi 10 18 16
Missouri 12 18 17
Montana 10 18 16
Nebraska 10 18 17
Nevada 12 18 16
New Hampshire 10 16 16
New Jersey 10 16 16
New Mexico 10 16 17
New York 10 18 17
North Carolina 10 16 16
North Dakota 10 18 18
Ohio 10 16 16
Oklahoma – – 16
Oregon 10 16 18
Pennsylvania 10 16 16
Rhode Island 10 16 16
South Carolina 10 16 16
South Dakota 10 18 16
Tennessee 10 18 18
Texas 10 18 17
Utah 10 18 16
Vermont 10 16 16
Virginia 12 16 18
Washington 12 18 16
West Virginia 12 16 16
Wisconsin 10 16 18
Wyoming 10 16 16

How to Cite This Source

“Age of Consent Laws [Table],” in Children and Youth in History, Item #24, http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24 (accessed June 14, 2016). Annotated by Stephen Robertson

Question

Response to Shakir on Jihad

1 Comment

Shakir wrote:

There have been many VIOLENT Jihad (bloodshed,use of weapons etc.) during the time of the Prophet.

This statement is actually not correct, the modern Arab has made us believe that violent Jihad was often-occurring during the life of the Prophet, but is not a correct statement. The occurrences were no larger or smaller than the usual ancient Arab skirmishes among their own.

As a matter of fact the population of the Arab prior to the advent of Prophethood was decimated to a few, and they used to brag about their tribes’ numbers of gravestones (see Tafsir Takathur).  The population of the Arab exploded after the advent of the Prophethood indicating that the original common violence between the Arab was greatly reduced due to the proper implementation of Shariah.

So do not believe in the lies you are told.

Shakir wrote:

I was wondering WHO are supposed to participate in VIOLENT Jihad?

Mu’min i.e. the Believer who has a rank in piety and observant of Allah’s nearness (Qurb) and thus minimizes the bloodshed. The orders for the Jihad were not issued to Muslims, they were issued to Mu’min. Order of violent Jihad was not for settling tribal affairs or economic advantages. The individual Mu’min is self-disciplining in regards to his ability to inflict pain and suffering and therefore entrusted with limited exposure to warfare.

For many the Prophet peace be upon him forbade Jihad e.g. Abu Zar in the famous Hadith which you know about quite well. Not every believer can meet the standards of justice and restraint required to brandish a weapon.

Shakir wrote:

And AGAINST WHOM?

And for WHAT PURPOSE/INTENTION?

Jihad in its violent form are due when the populations are not allowed to worship Allah and read Qur’an or practice their religion. For example in the USSR until recently, and in parts of China and these days in Myanmar.

If you are able to conduct your religious affairs, read Qur’an and maintain prayers, even if you are abused and harassed you are not allowed to fight a physical fight. You are to persevere and forgive.

If mosques are burnt and Qur’an distribution forbidden and you are not allowed to exercise your freedom to preach and talk about your religion, then Jihad is mandatory in its violent form until such freedoms are restored.

The violence in Jihad is for institutions and governments not for the ordinary bigot who hates Muslims as do common folk.

To kill others to grab their land, or have upper hand over them or control their economy or subjugate them as inferior race, are away from the Jihad of any form.

Examples are those Muslim murderers you see in USA and EU attacks; where we are welcomed in America/Canada/EU and protected by their institutions, given rights to build houses of worship and publish our spiritual works and religious beliefs, and our women and children safe at home and work and school, yet the ignorant criminal in our midst commits heinous crimes under the false banner of Islam! And cowardly does so in restaurants and sidewalks against the unsuspecting innocent bystanders.

 

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاء لِلّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ

4:135 O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk.

Shakir we worship Allah, we do not worship Muslims nor Middle Easterners nor Sheikhs, we do not worship Jihad, we only answer to Allah for our religion and no one else. If you can practice that exclusivity, then you found the very beginning of the Path. And how hard to find the beginning of the Path…

Salaamaat,

Dara

 

 

 

 

Hadith, Tafsir Irfani, Terminology

Tajalli (Lucent Manifestation): Modern Experience

2 Comments

Tajalli (Lucent Manifestation)

See Also: http://www.untiredwithloving.org/kashani_tajalli.html

 

flower-bloom-animated-gif9

 

جلو  جلى

to be or become clear, plain, distinct, manifest, patent, evident, obvious, unequivocal, explicit; to manifest itself, reveal itself, come out, come to light, show, appear, surface, emerge; to be revealed; to be manifested.

Example usages in the language of Arab:

The bride debuted.

The sword brandished (scintillated).

The sky cleared (no cloud or fog).

The man balded (scalp clear in view).

 

Mufradat

Isfahani

The origin of Jalu/Jala is the uncovering of what becomes patent and most clear.

مفردات ألفاظ القرآن. – للأصفهاني
كتاب الجيم
جلو
-أصل الجلو: الكشف الظاهر، يقال: أجليت القوم عن منازلهم فجلوا عنها. أي: أبرزتهم عنها، ويقال: جلاه، نحو قول الشاعر:
95 – فلما جلاها بالأيام تحيزت * ثبات عليها ذلها واكتئابها
(البيت لأبي ذؤيب الهذلي، وهو في ديوان الهذليين 1/79؛ والمجمل 1/193)
وقال الله عز وجل: {ولولا أن كتب الله عليهم الجلاء لعذبهم في الدنيا} <الحشر/3>، ومنه: جلا لي خبر، وخبر جلي، وقياس جلي (يسمى قياس العلة، وهو ما كانت العلة موجبة فيه للحكم، كقياس الضرب على التأفيف للوالدين في التحريم لعلة الإيذاء راجع شرح الورقات للمحلي ص 20)، ولم يسمع فيه جال. وجلوت العروس جلوة، وجلوت السيف جلاء، والسماء جلواء أي: مصحية، ورجل أجلى: انكشف بعض رأسه عن الشعر، والتجلي قد يكون بالذات نحو: {والنهار إذا تجلى} <الليل/2>، وقد يكون بالأمر والفعل، نحو: {فلما تجلى ربه للجبل} <الأعراف/143>. وقيل: فلان ابن جلا (اللسان: جلا) أي: مشهور، وأجلوا عن قتيل إجلاء.

 

All usages in Qur’an:

91:3. Wa the day as it reveals the world

وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا

 

7:187. THEY WILL ASK YOU [O Prophet] about the Last Hour: “When will it come to pass?” Say: “Verily, knowledge thereof rests with my Sustainer alone. None but IT/He will reveal it in its time.

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي لاَ يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَا

 

92:2. Wa the day as it rises bright!

وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى

 

This is the particular usage of interest in spiritual sense:

7:143. … And as soon as his Sustainer revealed ITs/His glory to the mountain, caused it to crumble to dust; and Moses fell down in a swoon.

فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا

 

“ITs veil is light; if uncovered shall char any eye grasping the Flares of ITs Divine Face”, said the Prophet peace be upon him.

Flares of ITs Divine Face: Extreme beauty that can no eye behold!

This act of uncovering is called Tajalli (Lucent Manifestation).
النهاية في غريب الحديث والأثر.  – للإمام ابن الأثير
المجلد الثاني >> حرف السين >> باب السين مع الباء

وفي حديث آخر <حجابُه النورُ أو النارُ، لو كَشَفَه لأحْرقَت سُبُحاتُ وجْهه كُلَّ شىء أدْرَكه بصره> سُبُحات الوجْه: محاسِنُه، لأنك إذَا رأَيت الحَسَنَ الوجْهِ. قُلْت: سْبحان اللّه. وقيل معناَه تنْزيه له: أي سُبْحان وجهه. وقيل: إن سُبُحات وجهه كلامٌ معتَرَضٌ بين الفعل والمَفْعُول: أي لو كشَفها لأحْرقَت كُلَّ شىء أدرَكه بَصَره، فكأَنه قال: لأحْرقت سُبُحات اللّه كل شىء أبصره، كما تقول: لو دَخَل المَلكُ البلدَ لقتل والعياذُ باللّه كُلَّ من فيه. وأقربُ من هذا كُلّه أن المعنَى: لو انْكَشف من أنوار اللّه التي تَحْجب العِبادَ عنه شىءٌ لأهْلَكَ كلَّ من وقَع عليه ذلك النُّور، كما خَرَّ موسى عليه السلام صَعِقاً، وتقطَّع الجبلُ دّكاً لمَّا تَجلَّى اللّهُ سُبْحانه وتعالى.

 

Since directly facing ITs Lucent Beauty chars the cosmos, from ITs boundless Mercy another form of nonlethal Tajalli (Lucent Manifestation) was offered as a gift for all eyes, believing or unbelieving:

All praise and adoration for that which (Allah) made manifestation  (Tajalli) for ITs creation by means of ITs creation!

Quoted from someone not sure about the name.
سِيَرُ أَعْلاَمِ النُّبَلاَءِ، الإصدار 2.02 – للإمام الذَّهبي
المُجَلَّدُ الحَادِي عَشَرَ >> [تابع: تَتِمَّةُ الطَّبَقَةِ الثَّانِيَةَ عَشْرَةَ] >> 98 – هِشَامُ بنُ عَمَّارِ بنِ نُصَيْرِ بنِ مَيْسَرَةَ بنِ أَبَانٍ (خ، 4)

قُلْتُ: أَمَّا قَوْلُ الإِمَامِ فِيْهِ: طَيَّاشٌ، فَلأَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي خُطبَتِهِ: الحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي تَجَلَّى لِخَلْقِهِ بِخَلْقِهِ.

 

What the Sufis called Tajalli is a form of making Allah manifest by the very creation and its engineering all around us.

Irfan(Noesis) 1:

The fact that we do not see the Creator is due  to ITs Tajalli!

Ibn Abbas said about this verse:

6:103. No vision can grasp IT/Him

لاَّ تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ

“This is ITs true Light, if made Tajalli for something, nothing of it will survive”.
قصص الأنبياء، الإصدار 1.01 – للإمام ابن كثير
الجزء الثاني >> ذكر قصّة موسى الكليم عليه الصلاة والتسليم >> سؤال الرؤية

وقال ابن عباس في قوله تعالى: {لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ}. ذاك نوره الذي هو نوره، إذا تجلى لشيء لا يقوم له شيء.

The atheist feels the absence and thus bewildered, the unbeliever disbelieved, but little they suspect that their feel for the lack of the Divine Presence is again a modality of the Divine Presence when the Subuhat (Flares of the Divine Beauty) have charred all eyes, and they are left eyeless without a stare.

Irfan(Noesis) 2:

Tajalli is act of debuting an entity, displayed never before, as though under a light to show everyone: Behold and bedazzled!

 

Examples in Modern Experience and Thought

Evolutionary Radiation

Perhaps the most familiar example of an evolutionary radiation is that of placental mammals immediately after the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, about 66 million years ago. At that time, the placental mammals were mostly small, insect-eating animals similar in size and shape to modern shrews. By the Eocene (58–37 million years ago), they had evolved into such diverse forms as bats, whales, and horses.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_radiation

Mammals, Birds and Flowers were debuted on the stage of the earth, and they were as though radiated throughout  the planet like an inescapable flash of a powerful light source.

They were not there a cosmic moment before, then they appeared grazing and flying and blooming. They were in darknesses of Non-Being (‘Adam) and light uncovered them from the darknesses and made them patent and clear for eyes to see i.e. alive.

Call these Organic Tajalli or Botanical Tajalli:

24:35. Allah is the light of heavens and earth… like a radiant star:  [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree – an olive-tree

اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِن شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ

Think of Botanical Light, Organic Light, irradiating the cosmos with life.

Ironically Nur in the language of Arab also means flowers:
لسان العرب
والنَّوْرُ والنَّوْرَةُ، جميعاً: الزَّهْر، وقيل: النَّوْرُ الأَبيض والزهر الأَصفر وذلك أَنه يبيضُّ ثم يصفر، وجمع النَّوْر أَنوارٌ.
والنُّوّارُ، بالضم والتشديد: كالنَّوْرِ، واحدته نُوَّارَةٌ، وقد نَوَّرَ الشجرُ والنبات. الليث: النَّوْرُ نَوْرُ الشجر، والفعل التَّنْوِيرُ، وتَنْوِير الشجرة إِزهارها. وفي حديث خزيمة: لما نزل تحت الشجرة أَنْوَرَتْ أَي حسنت خضرتها، من الإِنارة، وقيل: إِنها أَطْلَعَتْ نَوْرَها، وهو زهرها.
يقال: نَوَّرَتِ الشجرةُ وأَنارَتْ، فأَما أَنورت فعلى الأَصل؛ وقد سَمَّى خِنْدِفُ بنُ زيادٍ الزبيريُّ إِدراك الزرع تَنْوِيراً فقال:
سامى طعامَ الحَيِّ حتى نَوَّرَا
وجَمَعَه عَدِيّ بن زيد فقال:
وذي تَناوِيرَ مَمْعُونٍ، له صَبَحٌ        يَغْـذُو أَوَابِـدَ قـد أَفْـلَـيْنَ أَمْـهــارَا
والنُّورُ: حُسْنُ النبات وطوله، وجمعه نِوَرَةٌ. ونَوَّرَتِ الشجرة وأَنارت أَيضاً أَي أَخرجت نَوْرَها. وأَنار النبتُ وأَنْوَرَ: ظَهَرَ وحَسُنَ. والأَنْوَرُ: الظاهر الحُسْنِ؛ ومنه صفته، صلي الله عليه وسلم: كان أَنْوَرَ المُتَجَرَّدِ.

Irfan(Noesis) 3:

Allah’s Botanical Organic Light irradiated the cosmos and life spread like blooming shafts of light from the Singleton Luminous Source Al-Hayy (The Ever-Living).

Thus Allah makes Tajalli, to show ITself to all eyes, yet no eyes could withstand ITs beauty, however Tajalli offered as a Divine Gift to allow us a second-hand glimpse of That Most Beautiful One, like unto viewing a reflection in a mirror, the direct view occluded but the reflection is view-able.

 

Irfan(Noesis) 4:

Tajalli is copious.

 

 

© 2016-2002,  Dara O Shayda

 

 

Hadith, Terminology

Anthropomorphism: Whisperer’s response

Salaam & Whisper wrote:
2. I have always wondered about the Hadith “kunto kanzan makhfian …” and tried to look some Hadith references where it is narrated. I do not know its origin as a reliable Hadith. I will appreciate if someone shares this knowledge.
3. Same for the Hadith that says: man arafah nafsohu fqad arafa rabbohu. I would appreciate knowing its standing as a reliable Hadith.

They are not established, with 100% assurance , that they are the sayings of the Prophet peace be upon him. Nor are many other statements you are being told are 100% from the Prophet. All and all, they are subject to the same rules of probabilities. So these two sayings are questioned by some to be of Prophetic origins.

Whisper worte:
4. When Allah talks about Himself to men, for example calling Itself a light, or referring to His appearance to Moses, or refering to Its Hands etc. In my very humble and admittedly very limited understanding, that description too, as a matter of contextual necessity, has an element of Anthropomorphism. Quran in my understanding refers to this possibility by declaring: latha kmislehi sha’an. In this situation all declarations about Allah become Anthropomorphic because of the contextual limitations that are necessarily present for all such declarations.

My meaning was:

Anthropomorphism of Allah by Allah is the Truth, Anthropomorphism of Allah by human beings is falsehood.

Anthropomorphism of Allah by Allah is the Haqiqa i.e. the Reality of how Allah is understood by us and others in cosmos, it is the way our minds work and our language formalizes and expresses.

Dara