Truth’s Lover

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.” - Rumi

The sufi is one who is a lover of Truth, who by means of love and devotion moves towards the Truth, towards the perfection which all are truly seeking. As necessitated by love’s jealousy, the sufi is taken away from all except the Truth. (source)

Why am I talking about Sufism? Well, over the past six months, I have been experimenting with a new type of poetry, poetry regarding love, the love of truth & the higher existence within myself & this world. Can my poetry be applied to a human being? Sure, if you can visualize a being that you might say this to. My attempt was to write something that goes beyond humanity into the supernatural love that one can experience for Allah. Every poem I write, draws me closer. Every inch I am drawn closer, I love more.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi

Can love be fully understood without first understanding what barriers you have created within yourself? One challenge I face in my life is to discover what causes me to face barriers with love. Love for my Lord and for the love of another. Friendships, family, romantic – every love has barriers. My experiences in my past have caused me to struggle, but one day, I will be free from the chains that I have placed upon myself. One day, my life will be filled with the spirit of love.

Shivers on my back

Serenity
Your touch
running down my side
brings shivers to my back
and makes me cold
Taking your arms you make me warm
I hear you every moment of the day
and taste you whenever I eat
You do not leave me for one moment
When I sleep you watch over me
When I am awake you seek me out
Your guidence gives me strength
Your patience gives me serenity
and your love, I could ask for no more
I give of all myself
To you

Without you I am nothing

I am weak
without you I am nothing
Just take me to the water’s edge
and let me sink
into the deepest depths
I need you
Within all of my being
deep within my heart
I cry for life to stop
and your hand is there
to lift me up
and pull me out
Allow me to see what I need to see
Help me to be what I need to be
my heart
my mind
are no match without you
You are warmth when I am cold
You are light in the dark
You are the arms of a hug
and the love I need
Bring me peace
Serenity
and love

Finished the book

Well, I finished my book.  The last chapter was rather political and discussed some of the recent events surrounding Islam.  Events such as Afghanistan’s fight against the former Soviet Union at the end of the cold war.  The fact that we funded groups and people who now make up Al Qaeda and the Taliban.  They used our training, money and then used it against us decades later.  It was yet another example of why the US needs to stop playing games with other countries.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.  If you didn’t already read my posts regarding the chapter on Sufism & Shi’itism, then go looking for them later down the blog.

And, so, now that I have completed my first book during Ramadan, I must continue reading and begin again.  This last book was rather intellectual and filled with a lot of history, so I kind of feel like I have some of that backbone now.  However, what I feel I’m missing is the basis of the actions, beliefs and practices that were established following the history.  I want to explore what things are standard & what things are acceptable for me to use only how they are described or whether I can tweet them at all.  I want to know deep down, getting away from the historical context of who Muhammad was and learn exactly what Islam is.

So, I got a couple of easier books, one of them is really nice and easy to understand because it’s written for teenagers.

Well, I’m about to fall asleep, so I’m going to end this blog here. (If there are any grammatical errors, I’m sorry, I’m really am falling asleep as I type.  I’m exhausted)

Goodnight everyone. Peace.

Continuing my reading

You all know I have been reading a book about Islam, well this last chapter was about the city of Yathrip (Medina) and the beginning of Islam. The beginning of the chapter was mostly about some of the new aspects of society that were being introduced due to Muhammad & his divine revelations. Much of the last half was dedicated to the role of women in Islam, how vastly different it was from the surrounding culture as well as how following Muhammad’s death it was altered to something not what it was meant to be.

There are some who will say that it is not Islam that is anti-women, it is Muslim men. And, there is a growing trend in our modern world as Muslim feminists begin to speak up and out, being their own scholars of the Qur’an and searching for social reform that brings their society back to what Muhammad and Allah would have wanted.

Aslan discussed how just 10 years ago there was a speech given in Iran by the highest ranking female in the government that condemned the Taliban in Afghanistan for their oppressive treatment towards women as the Taliban forced their women into veiling & seclusion, all while she was wearing a headscarf and covered from head to toe with only her face showing. Yet, in the opposite direction, neighboring Turkey stripped a newly elected representative, Muslim woman of her citizenship for wearing a headscarf during her oath of office as that was a violation of law. Was it strange that the most free country was Iran in this moment, even though she was wearing the headscarf as described by law?

I think the biggest thing that was discussed was the whole idea that the women of Muhammad’s time were equal to men. They had rights to inheritance when they didn’t before. They could divorce their husband, they could own property and were no longer considered property. Yet, shortly after his death, some of his closest companions quickly went to change it back. Aslan even talked about how, even the hijab is only mentioned in terms of Muhammad’s wives, which seemed reasonable since their living quarters was the mosque of the time, the place where people came and went to seek Muhammad’s advice and it would have been proper to keep his wives from being subjected from wondering eyes when the men should be praying or seeking spiritual advice. So, when men say that women must wear the hijab or go further to cover, they are interrupting the Qur’an differently than what might be considered proper.

I find it striking that so many both within the Muslim community and outside of it do not understand how wonderful the faith is to women, if only we would follow what Muhammad has shown by his own example and by what the Qur’an states we would be able to fully understand just how remarkable it is compared to anything else before it.

My next chapter is about the meaning of Jihad. He’s already talked about the stereotype that Islam is “warrior” religion and how that has evolved into the “terrorist” religion, yet the fact that Jihad does not have anything to do with a holy war or war at all but rather a struggle against the sinful obstacles that keep a person from God. While it can mean a violent fight against oppression and tyranny, this is the lesser jihad, not the one most often referred to when talking about jihad. Should be interesting as well.