Proofs of the Existence of Allah Mankind, in general, has maintained a belief in the existence of the Creator of the Universe since time immemorial. The duty of the prophets of Allah was not so much to inform their people of Allah's existence as to warn them against associating others with Him, and to teach them how to serve Him. "Their messengers said, 'Is there any doubt concerning Allah, the originator of the Heavens and the Earth?'" [Qur'an, 14:10] The early Muslim scholars did not even have to address the issue of the Existence of God, for it was a blatantly obvious fact which nobody questioned. It was only around the fourth century after "hijrah" (Prophet's migration to Medina), when people's doctrine started being infiltrated with atheism and permeated by unbelief, that the scholars had to address the issue. The existence of Allah is established by various categories of proofs, which may be conveniently classified under four categories. 1. Scriptural evidence The major religions of the world have scriptures which teach the existence of the Creator. In particular, the Qur'an, the only revealed book which has remained totally intact and preserved, establishes the existence of Allah by compelling rational arguments, while at the same time serving as an enduring miracle testifying to His reality. It decisively establishes His uniqueness and non-resemblance to creation, and emphasizes that worship is only for Him. 2. The proof of "fitrah" (natural inborn belief in Allah) As already mentioned, the human being has an inherent and inborn recognition of his Creator. This is a consequence of a pledge which Allah took from the soul of every one of us before we came into this world: "And [remember], when your Lord took from the children of Adam, their children behind them, and made them testify over their own selves, [saying to them], 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yea.'" [Qur'an, 7:172] Every human being is born with this natural disposition, which is called "fitrah". Abu Hurayrah has reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Every child is born upon fitrah, then it is his parents who make him Jewish, or Christian, or Magian (Zoroastrian), just as an animal delivers a perfect baby animal; do you find it mutilated?" [bukhari] But, this "fitrah" sometimes becomes latent, especially when the human being is in a corrupt and spiritually degenerate environment which is devoid of reminder and exhortation towards the Lord. The "fitrah" surfaces, however, in times of calamity and distress. How many avowed atheists find themselves raising their hands to the skies in supplication when in affliction! And how do the staunch unbelievers cry out for deliverance when they are faced with death! "[Allah] it is who causes you to travel over land and sea; until, when you are in the ships, and they sail with [their passengers] with a fair breeze, and they are glad therein, a tempestuous wind reaches them, waves are coming at them from everywhere, and they think that they are overwhelmed therein; [then] they call to Allah, making their faith pure for Him [alone], 'If You save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful!'" [Qur'an, 10:22] Yet, this sincerity is often short-lived. "Then, when He saves them, behold, they rebel upon the earth wrongfully." [Qur'an, 10:23] Mankind is all too apt, during the course of his daily life of comfort and enjoyment, to forget his Lord. "And when some trauma touches man, he calls to his Lord, turning repentant to Him. Then, when He grants him a favor from Himself, he forgets that for which he called to Him before, and sets up partners to Allah." [Qur'an, 39:8] It is to awaken and alert this "fitrah" that Allah, in His mercy and wisdom, sent Messengers to remind people of their true religion, and to direct them towards fulfilling their commission of serving their Lord. Allah has ordered His prophet to proclaim, "O mankind! If you are in [any] doubt regarding my religion, then [know that] I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah, but I worship Allah Who will take your souls." [Qur'an, 10:104] The specific mention of death here drives home the stark reality, which even the pagans must concede to when faced with the glaring, intuitive evidence, that Allah alone causes death. The rational individual, then, should prepare for this inevitability by responding to his Lord. Islam is merely a hearkening by man to his nature, an acceptance of that which is naturally good and intuitively right. "So, set your face toward the religion in uprightness. That is the "fitrah" of Allah, upon which He has created mankind. Let there be no changing of Allah's creation." [Qur'an, 30:30] There are others who stubbornly resist this truth and reject Allah's message when it is presented before them, although they are well aware of its veracity. This was the attitude of Pharaoh and his supporters, and its consequences are severe, in this world and the Hereafter: "They rejected [Our signs], although their own souls were convinced of their truth, [and this they did] out of iniquity and arrogance. See, then, what was the sequel for those who cause corruption!" [Qur'an, 27:14] Yet, even hardened deniers who stand in the way of truth and resist it may grab hold of it at the last moment, before it is too late, for on account of the surfacing of the "fitrah", a disbeliever who is faced with death on the battlefield may suddenly embrace Islam. The Muslim who fights in jihad will similarly be exposed to death frequently, thus enhancing and sharpening his awareness of Allah. 3. Rational proof It is intuitively obvious, and confirmed by science, that the universe had a beginning. Every action requires a doer, and thus the existence of creation necessarily indicates the existence of the Creator. Allah appeals to the human mind and rationality in the Qur'an, saying, (translated), "Were they created from nothing, or are they [themselves] the creators?" [Qur'an, 52:35]. Quite obviously, we have been created, and brought into existence after being non-existent, and it is also plain that we do not create ourselves. A few years ago, the sands in the "Rub' al-Khaali" desert (the Empty Quarter) were blown away by a windstorm to reveal the ruins of a city that had been covered by the sands. Scientists began to examine the contents of the city to try to determine the period in which it had been built. Nobody among the archaeologists or others even suggested that this city could have appeared as a result of the natural actions of the wind, rain, heat and cold, and not by the actions of man. If anyone had suggested such a thing, people would have regarded him as crazy and would have taken pity on him. So how about if someone had said that this city was formed by the air from nothing in the far distant past, then it settled on the earth? Having recognized the necessity of the existence of a Creator, one then realizes that there can only be one Creator. "If there were in [the heavens and the earth] gods other than Allah, [the heavens and earth] would surely have been disordered." [Qur'an, 21:22] "Allah has not taken a son, nor is there any god with Him, for in that case, each god would assuredly have championed that which he created, and some of them would surely have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above that which they allege!" [Qur'an, 23:91] Further, this one and only Creator cannot possibly resemble creation. "Is, then, He Who creates, like he who does not create? Do you not reflect?" [Qur'an, 16:17] 4. Perceptual experience We witness and experience the answering of prayers, and this in itself indicates the existence of Allah. Allah says, "When you sought help of your Lord, and He answered you." [Qur'an, 8:9] Bukhari and Muslim have both narrated the "hadeeth" (Prophet's saying) in which a bedouin asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to pray for rain, since crops were perishing and people were starving. The prophet prayed to Allah for rain, and almost immediately clouds began to gather and it began raining heavily. Also in this category of evidence are the miracles which people witness at the hands of their prophets, including the splitting of the moon by Muhammad (PBUH), and the enduring miracle of the Qur'an. Finally, we should bear in mind that abundant as the proofs may be, they are only of avail to those who honestly and sincerely search for the truth. As for those obdurate ones who simply refuse to believe, they will not cease their idle disputation. "And they say, 'Our hearts are in a covering from that to which you call us, and in our ears is a deafness, and between us and you is a veil, so act, we [also] are acting." [Qur'an, 41:5] "Those against whom the decree of your Lord has been verified, will not believe, although every sign should come to them, until they see the painful punishment." [Qur'an, 10:96-97] Sources: 1-"Al-Jumu`ah" magazine by Abu'l-Hasan 2- Islamic Creed Vol. 1, Belief in Allah In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah By: Umar S. al-Ashqar LINK

Well done Warrior of Light; these all, be it speculative, include the possible likelihood scenarios which may result as consequences after taking these chemicals! However, I’m familiar with some scientific studies done few years back on the side-effects of these products. One side-effect often ignored is socio-psychological problems associated with the asymmetry between mind and body. Since these chemicals all mimic the physiological state of pregnancy, it also results in the unwanted psychological stress in the body to react certain ways in the bio-social setting. Often becoming bad tempered, leading to conflicts with close relatives...I don’t have much time to write about this, but lets say...it results in what we know in Somalia as WALLAC! Is there any non-married non-pregnant young sister around here who wants to go through life in the continuous station of wallac-hood ? I wonder :confused:

quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Castro: The trio of Chavez-Morales-Castro along with the left leaning Lula (of Brazil) could bring about enormous changes to Latin America. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Erm, Lula de Silva, er, no longer left? He is now center-right . You're right about Lula de Silve, even some voices in Brazil are predicting that Morales will end up much tha same way as Lula.... starting fresh off the blocks with the familiar rhetorics, but we've seen that too many times! Yahoo Brazil reported the interview in which Morales is quoted as saying: "O único terrorista do mundo que eu tenho conhecimento é o Bush. As intervenções militares dele, como a do Iraque, são terrorismo de Estado", disse Morales à Al Jazeera. lets wait and see!

Read the QUR'AN the LAST TESTAMENT. The most positive book in the world. Rather say THE FINAL TESTAMENT...

Thepoint, I was only trying to compliment your posts by adding some extra toppings, otherwise there's nothing to be worried about

Thepoint: Christmas, at least orginally, is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus etc. For many devoted Christians - that is primarily what it is about. Ok, I’ll try it again: The Christmas festival is originally not about celebrating the birth of Jesus; it has originated from a pre-christian pagan festivals, which was very important in the heathenish days of pagan European culture to welcome the winter season among other things. This pagan festival has evolved in the last two millennia to the present day Christmas, with its Christian and commercial flavour as experienced today. Therefore all of these are crucial ingredients to the forming of Christmas-holidays where if even a single element is taken out or isolated from the picture, no correct understanding of Christmas is possible! Have I helped now? This is about what’s Xaqq and what’s Baatdhill!!! We cannot whish FALSEHOOD, even for others, and we cannot sacrifice the THRUTH, even for a well-meant disingenuous gesture to please other so they can feel good about their bon vivant falsehoods!!! We can neither ever say “merry Christmas†nor “happy new yearâ€!!! P.S. Our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that: “Every nation has its own separate festivals; the festivals of this Umma are the two Eids†(or similar in meaning). He (peace and blessings be upon him) also told us that: “Whoever imitates other nations (i.e. cultures alien to Islam), is one of them†(or similar in meaning).

I don't know about you but I've engaged in hoopla and consumerism at times, especially when I have cash in my pocket. Exactly my point, Thepoint Ones you divorce consumerism from “deitification of Jesus†then there’s no Christmas! Have I helped? Salaams

Personally speaking, I am hostile to the deification of Jesus and not to the hoopla and consumerism surrounding Christmas. If individuals Muslims wish to be hostile to those false beliefs fine but they shouldn't be agressive or violent about it. Dear ThePoint, How can you so hopelessly miss the point here? If we take the "deification of Jesus" and separate from the "hoopla and consumerism" then there's no Christmas! For Christmas to exist, both are part of one and the same equation: If you can miraculously divorce the variables from each other and keep the same outcome intact, then please demonstrate. Otherwise, no one here is advocating aggression and violence.

Brother, He/she understood it perfectly, even though it's not very clear here, the above abstract was part of an ongoing dialogue (actually some of my answers to his/her incoherent questions) on the relationship between conscious and perception, loyalty and identity, and each of the latter's specific historical context.

Brothers and sisters: Assalaamu Calaykum, Below is an abstract I've taken from a letter I sent to a friend little while ago, I sensed that he/she didn't take it too well; so what do you poeple make of it? It was I believe, prof Marwick who said “a society without history is as helpless as an individual without memory†and I couldn’t agree with him more. It is our historical recollection that shapes our identity and at the same time gives us a sense of direction and belonging. With that as a tool, we become conscious about the nature of our sociological, historical, psychological and religious realities of the past, so we can learn from it to correct the mistakes and to reorient our relative perspectives, on the highest standards we can judge ourselves. That is different from culture which to me, is nothing more than an animalistic state of living, because it relates only to the habitual adjustments of societies to their respective environment for natural survival, and that, which later on becomes a tradition wherefrom generations have inherited from each other, be it by means folktales, profession, poetry or lifestyle. Therefore culture offers no direction and society with no direction is no civilisation, and civilisation with no footprints has no consciousness. Islam is the direction, the civilisation and the filter of culture. But we need to examine our past in the way we (our ancestors and all other Islamic societies) deviated from the Islamic way of life and become conscious of it, so we may learns from it. Prof Arnold Toynbee concluded after an extensive study in histories of civilisations (especially/including the Islamic civilisations), that “civilisation is a movement not a condition, a voyage not a harbourâ€, I don’t know how in debt he understood his statement, but it is true. How many nations flourished and then perished again? There is an organic cycle that is subject to Allah’s decree; it is also equally valid for individuals who are but travellers in this world. First of all, I praise Allah for I’m not influenced by the same dogmatic myths, which led to the moral bankruptcy of most generations in the past century, still continuously forming an imaginative source of degenerate decay beyond repair. The humiliation and degradation of values is made worst by the narrow-mindedness and collective amnesia of historical events. Have you yet wondered yourself, how it is possible for whole nations in the Greater Horn to have no historical identity going beyond the colonial era, which still plays a part in the ways their affaires are managed? Where do these countries and regions in pursuit of sovereignty and territorial markings come from? Since when, except from the arrival of the European infidels, did the “Ardul Xabash†and “Bilaadul Zinj†regions (starting from the Sudanic belt and expanding towards south as far as the Mozambique forests) ever known the divisions we have now taken for granted? Does anyone realise how many thousands martyred in the way of Allah, with no regard for ethnic, linguistic, social, economic, tribal, and the present day satanic invention of nationalistic divisions? How our great Imam Axmed Gurey defeated the Abyssinian orthodox church and almost wiped their power away until the Portuguese catholic crusade came to their rescue, and later how “we†in alliance with the sultanate of Cummaan defeated the crusaders in their last stronghold. It was not until “they†(first crusaders, then imperialists, then colonisers and now we have the jokes of democracy, human rights and war on terror) came back with different face each time in the nineteenth/twentieth century, but the same objectives, that we deluded ourselves to what we now see is happening. Allah Exalted is He said “Nor will they cease fighting you until they succeed in turning you away from your Religion if they can†(2,217) The current “clamities of linguistic and cultural chauvinism†as Nadwi called it, is not different from the generally experienced malaise in the Islamic world. Prof Axmed Zidan’s analysis on the disappearance of the necessary psychological barrier between the believing and unbelieving nations is a very interesting one. It was their failure (especially those who were/are in a position of rule) to regard their “leniency towards the enemies of Allahâ€, the enemies of Islam, and their enemies, as a serious Islamic violation with an unforeseen consequences in this life and the hereafter. The Somali tribal leaders behaved in the most shameful and foolish manner when they competed for the subjugation of their people, lives, wealth, dignity and not to mention religion. For instance, it began with the present-day Somaliland (though not such thing existed prior to British arrival) and their treaties with the British in 1884, 1885 and 1886. Swiftly followed by what is now Djibouti (again not such thing existed) in 1885 with the French, the folk in Puntland (need I say it) decided to introduce the Italian specie of the infidels with their treaty in 1889. The folk in ****** (again not such thing existed) felt suffocated and cried help in 1896 with their treaty with the British. I ask myself the following questions and I can't help but getting the same beautifully simple answer! Where from here? Where's our future? Where's our conscious? Where's our collective identity? Where's our collective direction? Where's our historical perception? Please share with us whatever conclusion you draw from these above questions. Shams-ud-Din

Dear brothers, It seems the circle is almost complete! Ibn Al-Qayyim writes in his “miftaax Daar al-Sacaadahâ€, the chapter dealing with animals: “Turn your attention now to the lives of bees, and the lessons and signs they involve!†(some chapters are also available in English from Darussalam titled "Men & Universe: Reflections of Ibn Al-Qayyim") He observes a few facts about bees/honey and I’ll try to mention only a few in brief detail. He explains first that their actions is all duet o Allah’s inspirations, guidence and teaching as the Qur’aan states: “And your Lord inspired the bee, saying: choose thou habitations in the hills and in the trees and in that which they thatch; Then eat of all fruits, an follow the ways of the Lord, made smooth for thee. There comes forth from their bellies a drink diverse of hue, wherein is healing for mankind. Lo! Herein is indeed a portent for people to reflect.†(16:68-69) He further observes how, in complete compliance of their Lord; they build their habitations only in those three places that Allah ordered them to make their habitation, as indicated in the above Qur’aanic verses. Also, the place they most frequently make their habitations corresponds with the place first mentioned in the Qur’aan which is the hills and mountains, less frequently in the trees which the second place in the order, and the least frequent place is also the last mentioned place, which is in poeple0s dwellings. The last thing which time allows me to mention, is the healing power of honey. In fact, Ibn Al-Qayyim says: “Nothing is described by Allah in His Book as being a healer, except the Qur’aan and honey; they are the healers, one a healer of hearts, healing them from misguidance and aberration, their doubts and caprices; and the other is a healer of bodies from many of their diseases, complications and ailments.†One note though: Just as the Qur’aan has conditions for healing, so does the honey!

Brother Mohammad, Yeah! You’re correct! I didn’t know you were a true geel-jire who still recalls the miyyi during his nomadic lifetime! That bird is known to us as shimbir-mala , and you should count yourself as a lucky man for having the chance to see one of these beautiful creatures, having heard their beautifully distinctive songs and finally, because of it, you could find one of the most beneficial and best tasting foods on earth! Not many people (including me) have had that chance. And yes, it too loves honey and also benefits it from, but it calls others to benefit even more so, it calls with action and beautiful sounds which combine to orientation, direction and movement to relative guidance towards the honey. Therefore my brother, if a an unconscious bird can guide an intelligent beings like us to the sweetness of honey, using only two wings accompanied by style and a combination of harmonically orchestrated sounds with relative ease, why can’t we -far superior to the bird in intelligence and conscious- guide the same intelligent beings to the way of Allah, to the sweetness of faith and the reward of paradise using only the Qur’aan and Sunnah (for our benefit)? I guess I’m missing something here, I need to think more and try to learn whatever lessons I could learn.

1. Physical attributes do not apply to non-physical beings 2.culuu is a physical attribute and Allah is a non-physical being 3. Therefore, culuu can not be an attribute of Allah banana&rice, Very well, have it your way and let’s move on. First thing that strikes me when I look at you three-step “rational†arguments which supposedly have originated from reason is: This in not very well thought-out reasoning! Therefore, I kindly request you to ponder over it, just for few minutes and ask yourself some of the questions I’ve written below which originate from my reason upon reading the above quote from your post. I'll be looking forward to read your thoughts on my thoughts! What is a physical attribute? And what is non-physical attribute? Does physicality necessitate visibility in order to have attributes? Can you see angels who are created from light? Does light have a physical attribute? Or do the angels have a physical attribute? Would your reason, using rationalism, as self-confessed “rationalistâ€, have come to the conclusion that Angels are created from light and have attributes (ghilaad, shidaad, etc.) without revelation (Qur’aan and Sunnah)? Can you know all physical attributes or only that of matter (protons, neutrons and electrons) wherefrom everything in our world consists of? Since only 4% of the universe is made of “our†matter whiles the other 96% of the universe consists of a less known matter or as cosmologists and physicists prefer to call the “cold dark matter/energy†(see latest WMAP data), can you/your reason deny or confirm any physical or non-physical attribute associated with that less known matter? If you/your reason cannot know the simple physical attributes of Allah’s creation, without having information/knowledge/evidence first, how dare you denying Allah’s attributes of which He ascribed to Himself, for Himself, without referring back to the information/knowledge/evidences He provided for us? What comes first, your “reason†or Allah’s revelation when citing evidences concerning the ghaib which is unseen, unknown, imperceptible, unimaginable, incomprehensible, etc.? Are we allowed to imprison Allah’s attributes in our primitive mind, by letting our limited reasoning define His attributes? Allah informs us that: “Laysa kamithlihii shay unâ€; neither heart nor mind and reason can comprehend, transcended is He from our imaginations which is confined to what we know (of His creation) in this world. So we rely on Allah’s revelation first; as Allah says: “This is of the news of the unseen which We reveal unto you (O Muhammad), neither you nor your people knew them before this. So be patient. The good end is for the pious.†(11:49). Then we use our reason or caql to confirm it in our hearts what Allah reveals (for our hearts). That’s why we affirm whatever attribute Allah reveals about Himself, in a way which Allah alone knows, and which is fitting for His Majestic Might and Transcendence beyond human comprehension; knowing full well that there’s nothing unto like Him, and that whatever we imagine is absolute falsehood; thus: We don’t contradict what is revealed, we don’t deny what Allah affirmed for Himself, we don’t affirm what Allah denied for Himself; in short: We hear and we believe. Culuu is not a physical attribute, but is concerned with Allah’s Transcendence in both, His Attributes and Essence (for exact defenition, please read Salafi da’wa’s first post in this thread again).

banana&rice, Unfortunately you're missing the point! You must understand that, in order for me to put forward any kind of critique directed at your arguments, I have to go to their roots of origination and their fundamental principles on which they've been constucted. I can confidently state to you that you haven't invented these views, and therefore matters to state which school of thought you lean towards (ie mu'tazila, shia, etc.) as my response needs to be limited to a fitting scope addressing the invalidity of your underlining assumptions. Therefore what you are is primarily what you believe....if you still can't see my point, then perhabs I should try again. You know what I am and where I'm coming from (if not ask and I'm more than willing to state it clearly for you)....so, there's nothing to be ashamed of by anouncing what you are and where you're coming from.

Xiinfaniin & Mutakalim, Firstly: I’m not questioning Abuu Alaa’s faith (who am I?) neither can be any doubt about the fact that he was a great literary genius and a master of Arabic eloquence, so having made that clear; we can move on. Secondly: My intention was/is not to take on Mutakalim for the simple reason that he is right about the absurdity of Alle-ubaahne! However, since Mutakalim started referring back to Abuu Alaa in an attempt to highlight for us “the absurdity and the irony of life†as demonstrated in Abuu Alaa’s verses, I simply sought to point out that “the old blind man†himself, was in fact a source of absurdity and irony during his lifetime. This, I tried to say, outweighs Alle-ubaahne’s wildest absurdity! Therefore, Mutakalim, my uncle (being son of brother of yours); May I not point that out to you, without the risk of causing you ills or testing your patience? And lastly: At least you could’ve asked me to demonstrate my reasoning behind these statements instead of interpreting them as naked provocation on the ladder of shameless personal attacks imaginable. Xiinfaniin , I accept your wise point.

Muatakallam writes: Now you see, in his Diwan of Shi'r, Anthology of Poems, Abu Alaa Al-Ma'rri speaks of the absurdity and the irony of life. If I may have a say....can suggest to you that: There's no need for us to refer to an old blind man, of which time has reduced into bones and dust to demonstrate the absurdity of one nomad on SOL, and thereby risk citing a prose of (possibly) even more absurd man in style, height, might, time and space!!! Meaning: However heavy the burden of injustice on the conscious of man may be from the fact that Madir is allowed to accuse Hatim, or in similar scenarios......How will that compare to the weight of the burden of injustice on the conscious of mankind from the accusation of a wretched old blind man (Abuu Calaa of Mucarra) against the Lord of the Heavens, Most Gracious, Most Merciful? :mad: And yet, how poetically talented was he.... P.S. When a wild is wounded, men of style and eloquence nature stop targeting it

banana&rice, Whoever you are, everyone here (including you) know that salafi da’wa is stating the correct position of Islamic monotheism as believed and followed by Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaacah, with proofs from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, with the understanding of the Saxaabah and the Salafus-Saalix!!! Now, when your desire is to put forward the Shiica/Imamaat position and their different believes/creeds, then I suggest to you in order to do justice for yourself, not to mistake our tea with your tea, thinking they come from the same jalmad & tarmuus , thus attempting to add some of your tea into our tea. Therefore, my advice is: 1) State that you’re a Shiica and 2) from there proceed to have your say!

Brother Muhammad, Your love for honey doesn't explain the apparent sharpness of your mind, because I love honey too and I still lack your skilful touch :confused: BTW are your familiar with a bird specie we used to call "shimbir-malab" back in the "miyyi"?????

Sheekh Muxammad Cabdullaahi (As-Sumaalee) I think the above link does more justice to his life, Illahay ha'u naxariistee.

Sister WoL , jazak-Allahu khayran for the information you’ve provided for us, and we’ll insha-Allah pay close attention to it in due time. This subject is more complicated than it sounds for many reasons, the first one of which is the most important, is also the most controversial and most difficult of any aspect of Islamic art to come into terms with. It goes directly in the heart of the subject; namely, what is Islamic art? Actually, it is not very difficult for me or anyone of us here to define Islamic art, but it is (whether implicit or explicit) to non-muslims to come up with a coherent form of Islamic art. Their problem lies in “what is Islamic †rather than “what is art †and the problem is not coincidence! Every exhibition you visit in the western world depicting Islamic culture and art, you’ll find yourself to be journeying through an alien mindset (the collective host culture, but for practical reasons let’s assume that of the compiler’s) which creatively and constantly disowns Islam as religion, and de facto prime mover/deterrent, from its art and culture. It is something you’ll be confronted with, but only when you pay attention to the purposive ad hominem intention in the grand design of the collection on one hand, and the skilful presentation thereof which reduces the art objects to limited (yet at times sensational/emotional) dimensions without a meaningful message. We Muslims accept that one cannot refer all arts in the Muslim world as Islamic in origin (originality in the sense as inspired by Islamic belief/quality), just as we cannot say everything in the Muslim world is Islamic. By creating doubts in the viability of that definition, as opponents maintain that, otherwise many art works will be left out and unclassified, and thus greedily make use of freedoms which go against Islamic spirit and denies Islam its contents, only to reduce to an adjective word and hence divorce the religious message beyond and from formational objects. Judging by the funding bodies, I’m not particularly jumping up and down in excitement thereof, but only hope for the best. Brother Muhammad writes: I'm sure brother Shams-udin and others will thank you aswell! Our brother is telepathically gifted? :confused: Shams-ud-Din

posted by Viking I understand this to be the divine aspect of human beings which can not be comprehended by the corporeal being. Viking, I'm not after the essence of the serene heavenly incorporeal spirit (Ruux), that beyond my domain of perception. I have no business looking into that, however, what concerns me is the Nafs which is divorced from its material essence and influences us in every aspect of our lives. One is referred by scholars as being to the body, what the odour is to the rose or the fire is to the burning coal, while the other is supposed to be the "kullu fitnah cinda geel" behind our mischief! And since we have wage jihaadul-akbar against our Nafs as you said, we have to understand the nature of the workings of our enemy. To use the psycho-analyst term of "ego" may be useful here in order to avoid misunderstandings. Brother Mohammad, that was more usefull link, jazaak-Allaah.

Brother Mohammad, The defence force at our disposal is enormous, and I just picked three random battles, so you may pick another random three your turn!

posted by Hodman: This makes it difficult to struggle against him in that matter. But the one who is alert knows that he is in the middle of a battle. He knows that his enemy does not rest. And if it seems that he is resting, it is actually just part of his strategy… Dear brothers Hodman and Mohammad, This very important matter since we all too often are forgetful of the devil and his viscous tricks to hamper our paths, not only towards hereafter, but anything of benefit to us in both worlds, we need a defence mechanisms and the best defence is to attack. Rather than being always one step too late or on the backfoot, always being on the receiving end and all your actions becoming mindless reactionary reflexes in stead of thought-out non-circumstantial active actions, we need to adopt superior strategies (that is superior to the devil). Here is simple one-two-three step formula: When Iblis (the commander of the satanic army) dispatches his forces from his command-centre which is a secret base located on one of the oceans, we need to attack with all our marine-forces before they reach land. One of the fierless marine divisions include the renown Four-rakca-duxxa regiment. The strategic books describe as follows: 1) Repported by Naciim bin Hammaar Al-Ghadtfaanii that he heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) saying: Allah said: O son of Adam! Don't feel short of performing four Rakcaat (prayers) at the afternoon. (If you do so) I will safeguard you (against the Satan) for the rest of the day. (see in the sunan of both Axmed and Abuu Daa'uud) If that somehow goes wrong and the enemy reaches land, then we need to engage them by land with our land-armies which are very effective in defeating the satanic armies. One such crucial unit is the All-in-the-name-of-Allah division, but if you fail in this, you are in danger of loosing the battle. You don't call the shots anymore, and as a consequence, we get the problem Hodman described in this post. Moreover, this is what the strategic books show us: 2) Repported by Ibn Cabbaas (rc): Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Ibliis said: O Lord! For every one of Your creatures You have arranged sustenance and means of livelihood, but what is mine? Allah said: Anything on which Allah's name is not mentioned (can be yours). (see Abuu Naciim's Al-Hilya) When the more experienced commander of the satanic army overpowers you, then the final strategic act you can always rely on is to retreat and call on the aerial bombardments to gain the upper hand again. This is Istighfaarah-aerial-power as shown below: 3) Abii Saciid Al-Khudriyyii (rc) repported: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: The devil said to his Lord: By Your Glory and Majesty! As long as the progeny of Adam exist on earth, I shall continuously misguide them. At this Allah remarked: By My Glory and Majesty! As long as they seek My forgiveness, I will go on to pardon them. (see sunan Axmed) Shams-ud-Din

The fact that Allah is All-Merciful and we humans are ever increasingly ungrateful. I've been kind enough to look up some Axaadiith relating to the above quote, though i know there are more, here are the two which immediately came to my mind: Narrated by Adii Waaqid Al-Laythii (rc) who said: We used to visit the Prophet (sall-Allaahu calayhi wasallam) to hear anything revealed to him. One day he said to us: Allah (Cazza Wajalla) said: Verily, we have bestowed (the believers) with fortune in order to offer prayers and pay Zakaat (as per rules). But if son of Adam had one valley of money he would wish for the second. If he had two valleys, he would wish for the third. So, nothing except soil/sand can fill up the belly of the son of Adam. But Allah will forgive the one who repents to Him. (see sunan Axmad) Abii Hurayrah (rc) narrated that the Prophet sall-Allaahu calayhi wasallam) said: Allah (Cazza Wajalla) said: My mercy has preceeded (excelled) my wrath. (see Saxiix Muslim) More may follow....

Brother Mohammad, Jazaak-Allaah for the link, however, I think the two subjects are closely interrelated, but the same. The stages of the heart/mind (Qalb) as commented on by brother Nur in his “Four Stages of the Mind†is generally more important than the stages of the Nafs. The reason for it is, if the Qalb is liable to “Ghaflahâ€, then the Qalb must be the bus-driver who deviates from the normative routs due to poor or no visibility from whatever cause (light, signboards, dirty glass, bad eyes, etc.). Therefore if the judgemental station of progress is derived from the rout to and eventually destination, then no passenger -even if the passenger is the primary traveller who’s the reason behind the travel- is as detrimental as the driver with regards to the rout and its necessary means to arrive at the destined place. Therefore the Nafs is more a passenger with the Qalb included as its indispensable tool to able to operate on the driving seat. We define the Qalb sometimes spiritually as the “Heart†but at times it may be useful to define it as the “Mind†like brother Nur does to denote its role in both, spiritual and other more material/practical application of religion, intellect, wisdom, experience, and the use of whatever advantageous opportunity to progress spiritually. Thus the two are not technically identical, but also technically inseparable either! Maybe brother Nur could shed some light on this issue for us. We ask Allah for Qalban "Shaakiraa" and seek his refuge from Qalban "Ghaflan"