#sufis the people of the path

[youremyheaven]

Fated Love in Astrology

So, every person has a divine partner that they are meant to be with. Your union with your other half (I hesitate to use the world “twin flame” only because of how misconstrued it is in mainstream astrology/spirituality discourse) depends entirely on both of your individual spiritual awakening and commitment to the spiritual path.

In astrology, the 7th house represents marriage, or, as I like to call it “union”. The 7th house, is the 7th house from the 1st house. It is the descendant to your ascendant. It is the shadow to your ego. Whenever we cross paths with an individual whose luminaries fall to our 7th house, it creates a very magnetic & intense attraction. It’s almost inexplicable what you feel for each other.

With that said, this sort of connection is not logical or rational. It defies all norms. The key to recognizing your divine partner is the intense attraction you feel towards them right away. There is no hesitation or second guessing, you’re simply awestruck by them. Nowadays, we all have a very tedious approach to relationships (due to our collective trauma and bad experiences), everybody walks around with a checklist to find someone who will fit their criteria but that is not how Divine Love works. You just know instantly that there is something different about this connection. That is not to say, the nature of the relationship will be easy. Fated connections are never easy and not everyone is meant to find their Divine Partner. 

When such a person comes into your life, it usually triggers your ego death; they become responsible for you losing the shell of identity you held close to you. All your fears, your shame, your vulnerability comes to the forefront and you have to confront everything you’ve ever repressed. It leads to a dissolution of self. 

In Sufism, there is the concept of “fanaa” which can be translated to “annihilation”. In order to merge oneself with God, it is first necessary to annihilate everything that you consider to be you. It’s important to "to die before one dies". Love & Worship are very closely intertwined. This is exactly what “twin flame” connection feels like. You rid yourself of your ego, you dissolve your sense of “self”. Sounds intense? That’s because it is. It irks me when people talk about twin flames in a casual way because a) not everyone has a twin flame b) this is not a fun experience in any way, shape or form c)This is the least casual of experiences

(I am using the word twin flame here only because it is a term that more people are familiar with, I wanted to speak of the spiritual background of that experience whilst using a term that’s already familiar)

In Jungian psychology, there is the concept of anima/animus, which refer to the unconscious masculine aspect of a woman and the unconscious feminine aspect of a man respectively. One aspect of being a “whole” human being is to integrate these unconscious parts into yourself. This is similar to what a twin experiences, your other half seems to be in the shadow, hidden from your view, crossing paths with them, brings that realization to you and now in order to unite with them, you must first dissolve yourself and merge with that unconscious image of them. 

There is a reason why twins “mirror” each other; they are a reflection of you and vice versa. This is why every interaction with them strikes a nerve in you and you feel their absence like a phantom limb. 

If you’re on a twin flame journey or would like to know more about it, I suggest immersing yourself in Sufi philosophy. To a lay person, the Sufi concept of Love may seem dramatic and over the top but for those in the know, it will seem deeply familiar, because ultimately your longing and yearning for your “twin” is your innate longing to seek union with God/the Divine. We were all made in pairs and to know the other is to know God and to know God is to know Love.

These connections are presented to you in order for you to ascend. Why were you chosen for ascension over millions of others? That’s the divine plan, not up to us to question. It is entirely possible to meet such a person at a time in your life when you’re completely spiritually unevolved (this is very common) and they usually trigger your dark night of the soul. This leads to positive disintegration although nothing about this experience feels positive in any way, shape or form.

Actually uniting with your twin and sharing a life with them is a long shot. Its often an unrequited love. It requires A LOT of work by both people. There is a lifetime of purging, integration and inner work before union could ever be a possibility. Most people who use the term “twin flame” are using a fancy spiritual label to describe their excessive interest in someone. You don’t have a twin flame, you’re just manic. 

In Arabic literature, there are 7 stages to love, it is as follows:

1. Dilkashi or attraction

2. Uns or attachment

3. Mohabbat or love

4. Akidat or reverence 

5. Ibadat or worship

6. Junoon or madness

7. Maut or death

If you believe you’re experiencing a twin flame connection, you have probably gone through these stages, maybe not in this order but you’ve probably experienced all of these. 

You experience an inexplicable attraction that draws you to them, regardless of how far you stray from them, your heart clings to them & forms a deep attachment, even though you don't seem to understand it, you're consumed by love for them, without even knowing why, this love morphs itself into reverence and soon enough it's eclipsed even that & embedded itself as worship. Your feelings for them are so strong, intense and powerful even in separation, even in their absence that you feel yourself going mad. This madness is key because it brings you to the death of "self". You lose all sense of who you were before you met them. You're ripped of your ego. You die and die and die again, hoping to taste the love that will give life to you.

There are astrological indicators obviously but just because these aspects/placements are present, does not mean they are your twin flame. The biggest indicator is the deep sense of knowing you have in your soul, you don’t even have to know the word “twin flame”, you’re experiencing a magnetic, excruciating and tortuous kind of attraction. 

Some indicators:

1. Venus in 12h 

2. Venus in Scorpio

3. Primary Scorpio or Taurus placements (the Taurus-Scorpio axis creates the most intense chemistry between two people)

4. Moon conjunct Mars 

5. Opposite signs occupying many placements (Virgo-Pisces, Cancer-Capricorn, Gemini-Sagittarius)  

5. 7h synastry 

6. Bharani nakshatra 

Uniting with your twin can trigger your kundalini awakening. It is not for the faint of heart. Union is a very intense experience. Much has been said about twin flames and tantric sex. Imo? What we call Tantric sex is essentially the heightened feeling and intensity of sexual experience that a Tantric practice brings about. (its possible to feel this way with a non-twin if you have a disciplined Tantric practice). 

Sex is the source and root of everything. It is the cause of creation and nothing less than divine. Eros is the first god that could be conceived by man, he is the creator of all beings and ruler of the universe. He is son of Chaos, the original primeval emptiness of the universe.

Longing, desire and Eros, all go hand in hand. When your soul has longed for someone for so long, the sheer passion and enormity of desire will make it a very one of a kind experience. Short answer being that sex with your twin will be out of this world and life changing.

In Sufism, there is a concept called baqaa which is subsistence through God. Someone who has experienced fanaa, or annihilation of the ego and self, finds God, unites with him and sees him in everything. This is what love of a “twin flame” nature does. It is all consuming and potent, you cannot walk away from it, even brushing with it briefly, transforms you. It purifies you and strips you of your pride, shame, fears and everything that you thought was “you” but the reward for this is understanding through first hand knowledge, a love so all encompassing, expansive, deep and profound that it forever alters the way you look at the world. You begin to love everything and everyone because you’ve tasted true love and its generosity. 

Karmic Partnerships

These are extremely common and almost everyone has one. They need not strictly be romantic. Many non-romantic associations can be karmic. These people to put it very plainly, come into your life, to teach you lessons. They need not explicitly be “bad relationships” but the energy is definitely not light hearted and its absolutely not meant to last a lifetime. You are meant to learn your lessons and move on from them and break the karmic cycle. However there are people who do not do this and stay stuck in the same patterns and perpetuate the same cycles.

Some indicators of Karmic Partnerships in astrology:

1. 12h synastry

2. 8h synastry 

3. Saturn aspects 

4. Capricorn/Libra placements

Soulmates

These are the most wholesome, fulfilling bonds between two people. Soulmates need not always be romantic. The bond is kind of instant and inexplicable. You just get each other. It feels fulfilling, empowering and light. It fills you up. There is no angst and there’s no chaos. 

Some indicators:

1. Moon signs that are compatible with each other

2. Moon aspects that are positive

3. Venus-Ascendant aspects

4. 5h synastry

5. Strong Venus or Jupiter aspects

6. Element compatibility (fire & air vs water & earth)

🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧚🏼‍♂️🧚🏼‍♂️🧚🏼‍♂️🦋🦢🦢🦢🦋🧚🏼‍♂️🧚🏼‍♂️🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️🦋🦋🦢🦢🦢🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️🧜🏼‍♀️

I’m sorry if I sound a little too esoteric on this post 😭😭😭idk how else to talk about this stuff and I tried my best to make it sound as simple as I could 😭I hope this was interesting and if you guys have any questions feel free to ask me💛💛

Further reading:

1. Plato’s Symposium

2. Sufi philosophy and poetry 

3. Carl Jung’s works

[magnoliamyrrh]

what is your religion?

complicated question actually. im muslim im orthodox christian i believe in several "pagan" worldviews of several indigenous and pre abrahamic peoples. i practice parts of islam, orthodoxy, and balkan pre abrahamic traditions. i have a fascination with tengrism and the shamanism of eurasia and indigenous american peoples and i find it to be very beautiful, as i love learning about the many religions and practices of africa. i have a particular interest in how early humans, all of our ancestors, viewed the world. i think the hindus are right about a lot of things and i have been for a long time drawn particularly to the goddess kali, who i also see reflected in the goddess hecate who was adopted by the greeks, most likely originating in the balkans. i love the writings and traditions of the sufis, particularly and especially those who blended mystical islam with hinduism. i believe in animism

i refuse to believe there's a distinction between monotheism and polytheism. all gods as far as im concerned are aspects of god. god being one, and the only thing which exists - the connection between everything, the primordial force, the universe experiencing itself. i dont rly care by this point that a lot of people of abrahamic faith will condem me or that a lot of pagans will condem me because i refuse to believe there is a grand distinction between these things. maybe in traditional terms im neither muslim nor christian nor pagan. but i try to see the truth in every religion and culture. i think there is truth in all of them, simply different paths to walk to the same goal

[chicagognosis]

All the great mystical traditions speak about the dangers of the initiatic path, how it is easy to have esoteric knowledge while lacking discretion, foresight, and wisdom. Many followers of spiritual and religious groups fail to truly enact the principles of their scriptures, thereby resulting in tremendous suffering, conflict, and ignorance.

These people are known as pharisees, fanatical adherents to the dead letter of religion who lack a comprehensive, experiential understanding of what their traditions teach. Such individuals in every spiritual teaching embody the terrible reality of the Fool, the Bohemians of the Tarot who believe they possess the totality of true knowledge when they only know a fraction of it.

This arcanum depicts the tragedy, failure, and downfall of the initiate who, while close to the end goal of Self-realization, does not know how to maintain chastity, thereby transforming him or her into a lunatic or follower of egotistical, mechanical nature. Discover the warnings of this arcanum through the works of the prophets, the Qur'an, the Sufis, Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the kabbalistic Zohar, and the mysteries of the Hebrew letter ש Shin.

[elwinka]

'One must learn to love."

[Nietzsche: The Gay Science, On the Genius of the Heart, Book III, sec. 334]

'Since I have known the fire and water of love, I am like glowing water in the fire of my heart. Like the lute, I have prepared my heart until the sound of the wound of my love was composed.'

[al-Din Rumi, also known as Maulana/Mevlana]

'Yunus Emre and his poems have been alive in people's hearts and on their trains for more than seven hundred years. Even in villages in Anatolia, I have met people reciting Yunus Emre's songs as they have been passed on from ear to ear, from generation to generation. In Australia, I have heard Yunus Emre songs sung by a Pakistani who does not know Turkish, and I have learnt that Yunus Emre verses are sung in Albania and the Balkan countries. Is there anyone in Turkey who does not love Yunus Emre? When his name is mentioned, faces light up and you feel a breeze of love. Love for Yunus Emre is one of the most precious bonds that hold us together. Our nation owes him a lot. The great Azerbaijani poet Vahapzade asks: 'Why does he have tombs in a thousand places when he died in one particular place?' and answers the question: 'Because every day a grave is prepared for him in hearts, In grasses, flowers, roses a grave is prepared! Be it fairy tale, be it truth - one man, but so many people: The voice is of being he from the instrument of the Turks.' Yunus Emre is the voice of being; he lives in the awareness of the 'unity of being'. That is why he is in the grasses, the flowers, the roses and the hearts. The essence of being, the high value that man has in being and the need to lead man to the awareness of this value is the basis of his world view. In other words, he is a Muslim mystic. He is the dervish Yunus. The cause of being is love, and it is through love that one is led to him who bestows being. Love is the reason for and the goal of coming into the world. The path that leads there goes through the heart of man, the highest of creatures: 'I did not come with a claim: my work is for the sake of love. Hearts are a friend's house - I came to build hearts.' God, whose being does not resemble the being of the beings he has created, whose innermost being is impossible to grasp, because at most the paths to understanding his workmen are open to us - this God has appointed man as governor on earth. He has given man the high rank of being the holiest of his creatures, for he created him as the quintessence of the universe. Man is a microcosm: whoever understands man also understands the universe. To walk on the paths of knowledge is also the way to recognise God. Knowledge is what man owes to God. Knowledge must help man to recognise himself. But recognising oneself is the basis of all knowledge: 'Science is: knowing knowledge. Science: knowing yourself. If you don't know yourself, what use is all this reading?' In this world we have a certain share: it is taken, it is carried away. No one stays here forever. But what we have to take and give is love. Love is the basis of existence: Let us love and be loved - for no one remains in this world!

[Namik Kemal Zeybek]

Who was Yunus Emre? Little is known about him, except that he lived in central Anatolia, where he received his spiritual education from a Sufi master, Tapduk Emre, and died around 1321. Several places in Turkey are fighting over the honour of owning his grave. From some of Yunus' verses it can be seen that he met the great master of mystic poetry, Mevlana Rumi, who died in Konya in 1273 - this would suggest that Yunus was born around 1240 or a little later. His longing poems are best understood by travelling or walking through Anatolia and experiencing how all of nature forms a backdrop for these verses: You roar again, mad heart, And bubble like the waters bright? Are you flowing again, tears of blood, that you are blocking my path? I became dust on your path; you pointed all the way from over there - Are you the mountain with a stone breast that stands sternly against me? […] For he knew that all of nature, with its silent language, expressed its longing for God, the Eternal Beloved, and that every stone, every plant sang the praises of the Creator. His most beautiful poems were born out of this feeling. He was able to understand the squeaking of the waterwheel as an expression of the infinite longing of the wood, which, harvested from the native forest, now sighs for the original homeland - just as Mevlana Rumi had interpreted the song of the flute before him, whose laments express the homesickness for the eternal reeds, the undivided unity with God.

[Annemarie Schimmel]

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207–1273), commonly known as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. His influence extends well beyond his time, especially through his poetry, which is celebrated worldwide for its depth, spiritual insight, and universal appeal. Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh, present-day Afghanistan, which was then part of the greater Persian Empire. His family fled Balkh due to the Mongol invasions and eventually settled in Konya, in present-day Turkey, which was part of the Seljuk Empire. This period was marked by significant turmoil, including the Mongol expansion, which brought devastation to much of the Islamic world, and the fragmentation of the Seljuk Empire. Konya, where Rumi spent most of his life, was a cultural and intellectual hub. The Seljuks had established it as a center for scholars, artists, and mystics, making it a fertile ground for Rumi’s spiritual and intellectual growth. His father, Baha' al-Din Walad, was a well-known theologian and mystic, and Rumi followed in his footsteps, eventually becoming a respected scholar and Sufi leader.

In 1244, Rumi encountered a wandering dervish named Shams al-Din Tabrizi (Shams of Tabriz). This meeting was a turning point in Rumi's life. Shams was an enigmatic and charismatic figure, deeply spiritual, but unconventional. Their relationship was intense and transformative for Rumi. Shams challenged Rumi’s conventional scholarly approach and introduced him to a more profound, mystical experience of divine love. Their bond was so deep that it became the subject of much speculation and controversy. Some viewed Shams as a spiritual guide who unlocked Rumi’s mystical potential, while others were suspicious of the intense nature of their relationship. This connection drastically changed Rumi's life and his approach to spirituality and writing. Shams disappeared mysteriously after a few years, which deeply affected Rumi. Some accounts suggest that he was murdered by Rumi’s followers, who were jealous of his influence over Rumi. This loss plunged Rumi into a period of deep grief, but it also inspired a vast outpouring of poetry and mystical writing, including his famous collection of lyric poetry, the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (The Works of Shams of Tabriz), in which Rumi expresses his profound spiritual insights and emotions.

[See also 'Rumi and the wandering dervish' a poetical interpretation of Rumi's feeling after Shams' disappearance.]

After Shams’ disappearance, Rumi continued to live in Konya, where he became a prominent spiritual leader. His most famous work, the Masnavi (also known as the Mathnawi), is a six-book epic poem that explores various aspects of Sufi thought, including the nature of God, love, and the spiritual journey. It has been called the "Qur'an in Persian" for its depth and influence.

Rumi’s teachings and poetry emphasize the universality of divine love, the importance of the spiritual journey, and the transformative power of love and devotion. After his death in 1273, his followers founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Whirling Dervishes, which became known for its practice of Sema, a ritual dance symbolizing the spiritual ascent towards the divine.

Rumi's legacy transcends religious and cultural boundaries, making him one of the most beloved and influential poets in history. His message of love, tolerance, and spiritual unity continues to resonate with people across the world.

[tawakkull]

SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 17: WARA’ (ABSTINENCE)

Wara’ is defined as holding oneself back from unbecoming, unnecessary things; as strictly refraining from what is unlawful and forbidden; or abstaining from all doubtful things lest one should commit a forbidden act. The Islamic principle: Abandon what you doubt and prefer what you have no doubt about, and the Prophetic saying: What is lawful is evident and what is forbidden is also evident, explain the basis of wara’.

Some Sufis define wara’ as the conviction of the truth of Islamic tenets, being straightforward in one’s beliefs and acts, being steadfast in observing Islamic commandments, and being very careful in one’s relations with God Almighty. Others define it as not being heedless of God even for the period of the twinkling of an eye, and others as permanently closing them-selves to all that is not Him, as not lowering oneself before anyone except Him (for the fulfillment of one’s needs or other reasons), and as advancing until reaching God without getting stuck with one’s ego, carnal self and desires, and the world.

Always refrain from begging from people,

Beg only from your Lord Who is the All-Munificent.

Renounce the pomp and luxuries of the world

Which will certainly go as they have come.

We can also interpret wara’ as basing one’s life on engaging in what is necessary and useful, as acting in consciousness of the real nature of useless, fleeting, and transient things. This is stated in the Tradition: It is the beauty of a man’s being a good Muslim that he abandons what is of no use to him.

The writer of the Pandname, Farid al-Din al-Attar, explains this principle in a very beautiful way:

Wara’ gives rise to fear of God,

One without wara’ is subject to humiliation.

Whoever uprightly follows the way of wara’,

Whatever he does is for the sake of God.

One who desires love and friendship of God,

Without wara’, he is false in his claim of love.

Wara’ relates to both the inner and outer aspects of a believer’s life and conduct. A traveler on the path of wara’ must have reached the peaks of taqwa; his or her life must reflect a strict observance of the Shari'a’s commands and prohibitions; his or her actions must be for the sake of God; his or her heart and feelings must be purged of whatever is other than God; and he or she always must feel the company of the “Hidden Treasure.”

In other words, the traveler abandons those thoughts and conceptions that do not lead to Him, keeps aloof from those scenes that do not remind one of Him, does not listen to speeches that are not about Him, and is not occupied with that which does not please Him. Such degree of wara’ leads one directly and quickly to God Almighty, Who declared to Prophet Moses: Those who desire to get near to Me have not been able to find a way better than wara’ and zuhd (asceticism).

The abstinence known by humanity during the Age of Happiness was perfectly observed by the blessed generations following the Companions, and became an objective to reach for almost every believer. It was during this period that Bishr al-Khafi’s sister asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal:

O Imam, I usually spin (wool) on the roof of my house at night. At that time, some officials pass by with torches in their hands, and I happen to benefit, even unwillingly, from the light of their torches. Does this mean that I mix into my earnings something gained through a religiously unlawful way? The great Imam wept bitterly at this question and replied: Something doubtful even to such a minute degree must not find a way into the house of Bishr al-Khafi.

It was also during this period that people shed tears for the rest of their lives because they had cast a single glance at something forbidden, and people who vomited a piece of unlawful food that they had swallowed in ignorance wept for days. As related by ‘Abd Allah ibn Mubarak, a great traditionist and ascetic, a man traveled from Merv (Afghanistan) to Makka in order to return to its owner an item that he had put in his pocket by mistake. There were many who gave life-long service to those to whom they thought they owed something, such as Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad. Biographies of saints, such as Hilyat al-Awliya’ (The Necklace of Saints) by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, and al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (The Greatest Compendium) by Imam al-Sharani, are full of the accounts of such heroes of abstinence.

[queerprayers]

hello, i hope you are having a lovely day! thanks for having this blog! 💖 my exposure to faith has mostly been through mainstream doubt-unfriendly environments so it felt eye-opening to follow your blog and a few others that are quite welcoming to it!

do you possibly have any recommendations for nurturing faith when one has so many doubts, including the existence of God or belief in the events of the Bible? or possibly even reading recs?

i was raised agnostic in a Muslim-majority country and i have a diverse friend group with Muslims, Christians, Pagans and agnostic friends so whenever i wish to believe i find myself both doubting and also not knowing how anyone chooses any religion or denomination to follow, but i like to think everyone's faith/religion is valid and connects them to God. anyway that was a bit long, thanks for the blog and answering asks again! :)

Welcome, beloved! I'm so glad you're here and it brings me so much joy to know that people can be honest about their doubt here—it's an integral part of so many people's experience and to repress it or pretend it doesn't exist is misleading and painful.

I'm currently reading A History of God by Karen Armstrong (which I'll probably quote from a couple times) and thinking a lot about how conceptions of God have changed over time, and therefore how doubt has changed—we can only doubt when we have something to doubt! For some people, this book would probably increase their doubt (just a fact, not a bad thing), but for me, learning about how culturally-specific and constructed and interconnected religion deepens my faith in a God watching over it all.

One way that I see people talk about doubt (and I've definitely done it myself) is address it as if it were a stumbling block on the road to faith. That it's something we get over. That there's a linear path to certainty. Even when people praise doubt and call it holy, sometimes they imply that that's only because it strengthens the faith that always comes afterward. Doubting Thomas was the first person to name Jesus as God—we know this, this is all true and is very meaningful to so many. But I've learned to accept other ways that doubt exists, because not everyone has this experience. Doubt is a companion sometimes, not a temporary roadblock. Sometimes it's an inherent part of faith, and sometimes it doesn't lead to religious faith at all. In case you need to hear this: don't create some imaginary end of the road where you'll be certain! Maybe you will, but don't expect that of yourself. Your doubt is your questions and your desires, your creative thinking and your love for your friends, it's you caring about finding something meaningful. It's proof that this matters to you, and even if someday doubt is no longer a major part of your religious experience, don't lose it all. Doubt does not need to be cured—it needs to be listened to.

I'm thinking a lot about the existence of God while reading Armstrong's book—how she presents a constructed God, used as a tool for good and evil, and how beautiful and terrible ideas of God can be. While talking about medieval Islam, she tells us this:

. . . [T]he Arabic word for existence (wujud) derives from the root wajada: "he found." Literally, therefore, wujud means "that which is findable" . . . An Arabic-speaking philosopher who attempted to prove that God existed did not have to produce God as another object among many. He simply had to prove that he could be found. . . . [T]he word wajd was a technical term for [Sufi mystics'] ecstatic apprehension of God which gave them complete certainty (yaqin) that it was a reality, not just a fantasy. . . . Sufis thus found the essential truths of Islam for themselves by reliving its central experience."

What if God is more than existence? What if God is more than we could ever believe in—and so instead of believing in Them, we seek to find Them, see Them a little bit more clearly every day? There's such a Christian emphasis on believing the right thing, and I do think it matters what we believe. But there's more than that—there's how we believe, and what we do about it.

C.S. Lewis believed that the fact that we desire something this world can't satisfy is itself proof that we were made for and by something more. I can't talk you into believing in God, and I don't want to. But the desire for more is a space where God can reside, if you let Them. The desire to believe is a kind of belief. Wanting to believe in God is wanting God, and I'm not claiming proof of anything, but I am saying if you connect with that desire, God is already a part of your life, whether because They're there, or because you can't find Them. The lack of God is still a relation to God. Doubt in a god existing is still a relation to God. God exists in relation to you, in you. If we can only doubt when we have something to doubt, if we can only disbelieve when there's something to disbelieve in, that means we have something.

The Bible is more specific than God's existence, and for some this makes it harder to relate to. It is a more clear presence for many people, though—it's something we can hold, memorize, study. Every person of faith relates to their scriptures differently, and I can't tell you exactly how to do so, or which way is "right." But I will say it is not a thing to believe in—"it" is a living, breathing library of transcribed, collected, translated, loved (and hated) books. We could talk about taking the Bible literally vs. metaphorically, or whether it's "historically accurate," or whether God wrote it or told others to write it or had nothing to do with it. Ultimately where I am, the foundation I come back to, no matter how my beliefs change, is that I believe God wanted us to have it. I believe it matters. Once someone asked me whether a psalm was "theologically accurate" and while that's an interesting conversation, my first instinct when reading a poem written thousands of years ago by someone I've never met is not to theologically analyze it but to say, "Yes! I've felt that way too! I hear you! And God hears both of us!" I don't think you believe or disbelieve in myth or poetry or oral history or prophecy or personal letters—I think you listen to them. Before asking yourself whether these things happened, or if we can prove certain figures existed, or anything else super useful but very overwhelming, especially without a history degree, first ask yourself what they would mean if they mattered. What would change about how you move in the world if these books were close to your heart? If you listened across centuries to find people also believing and doubting and searching and finding?

While recommending the Bible (as well as the other books closest to his heart) in Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke tells his student, "A whole world will envelop you, the happiness, the abundance, the inconceivable vastness of a world. Live for a while in these books, learn from them what you feel is worth learning, but most of all love them. This love will be returned to you thousands upon thousands of times, whatever your life may become—it will, I am sure, go through the whole fabric of your becoming, as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys." Don't believe in a book—live in it, love it, let it weave you together.

Reading A History of God, I'm being reminded how much dialogue there has always been between religions, especially Judaism/Christianity/Islam, and how so much of the Bible is built on traditions outside of it. The writers of the Bible were also living in diverse communities, interacting with and reacting to other faiths, sometimes with hostility but also with synthesis—so much of all three of these religions is built on the local pagan traditions of where they evolved, and all three incorporated Greek philosophy in various ways. None of the major religions of the world are solitary faiths that sprang up out of nowhere—we have always lived with each other, and we've been alternately mad about it and inspired by it.

Having relationships with many kinds of people is beautiful and fulfilling, but it also inevitably brings up questions! I've found myself saying, "I love this person, I think they're intelligent and well-meaning, and they genuinely believe in something I do not. What does this mean for me? Am I doing something wrong?" Embracing others' faiths is, to me, a really important part of loving them, but it's also often a challenge to work through. It has ultimately been beneficial to my faith for me to work through this, but sometimes it just feels hard, and that's okay.

Although I never really questioned the existence of a god, there have been moments in my life where I had no particular conviction that Christianity was true or especially holy. I've been captivated by Jewish and Muslim traditions/beliefs/scriptures, and admired countless philosophies and practices. Christianity has hurt me and so many others—does that mean it's inherently wrong? But in every season of my life, I've said a Christian prayer every night. Everyone experiences religion differently, but for me? I am not a Christian because I think it's better than all other religions, or because I reasoned my way into it, but because it's where I'm from, where I live, where God meets me.

Your statement that everyone's faith is valid and connects them to God—it's a beautiful belief and it opens us to explore and love what we might not be able to otherwise. Reading A History of God—I do believe it's all God. If God cannot hold contradiction, why would I honor Them? How could I believe They encompass the (paradoxical, contradiction-filled) world if They can't exist fully in paradox and contradiction? This Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Trinity for me, and I love its mystery and its acknowledgement that God is always past our understanding, that God has more than one face, that God comes to us in more than one way, can never be pinned down. I and Christians throughout history encounter God as Trinity, but the day that I limit God is the day I have thrown away everything I've worked to build in myself.

The good news for you is if you believe all religions connect to God in some way, then you also believe that you will always be connected to God—no matter how your beliefs change, no matter where you call home, no matter what your practice looks like. We can't let ourselves believe one thing for others and another thing for ourselves—I did this all the time, believing I could never be forgiven but never dreaming of saying that about someone else. Give yourself the same grace and openness and hope you give your friends. You know they are valid, you know you love them—what can that help you learn about yourself? your own validity, your own ability to be loved?

I'll let you in on a secret (in case you didn't already know): the majority of people do not sit and look without bias at the major world religions and decide which one is "true" and convert to it. I'm sure people have done that, and maybe that's what you want to do (I won't stop you). I don't even know to what extent we can "choose" a religion—I think often one (or many) finds us—but for me and so many others, religion is a culture and a practice as much as, if not more than, a belief. And often it's wholly or mostly inherited—I don't know if I would be Christian if my parents and grandparents and ancestors weren't. I don't know exactly what you've inherited, but we all inherit beliefs (even if the belief is not believing in something), and yours are also built on tradition and ideas throughout the centuries.

This all means that doubt is part of any inherited culture and practice. It means that doubt and participating in a religion have always gone together. If religion is action and community and music, you don't have to believe anything in particular to live in it. My Jewish friends have shown me this most clearly—I know of many Jewish people who don't especially believe in the existence of a god, but eat kosher and observe holidays and say prayers. If you ask them why, they say it's because they're Jewish, because it makes them a more fulfilled person, because they're connecting with their ancestors. If religion is connection to God, as you've said (and I agree), then you don't have to have belief to connect with God.

I am absolutely not saying that we should never question the traditions passed down to us, or that conversion is not a valid choice, or that if you weren't raised religious you can't have religion. I just wish to point out that many people do not first believe in a system and then join a faith practice, but the other way around. They practice their way into faith. So often we cannot know what a belief means unless we first do it. Unless it first has meaning to us. From A History of God:

[Anselm of Canterbury, the 11th century theologian] insisted that God could only be known in faith. This is not as paradoxical as it might appear. In his famous prayer, Anselm reflected on the words of Isaiah: "Unless you have faith, you will not understand":

"I yearn to understand some measure of thy truth which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order to have faith but I have faith in order to understand (credo ut intellegam). For I believe even this: I shall understand unless I have faith."

The oft-quoted credo ut intellegam is not an intellectual abdication. Anselm was not claiming to embrace the creed blindly in the hope of its making sense some day. His assertion should really be translated: "I commit myself in order that I may understand." At this time, the word credo still did not have the intellectual bias of the word "belief" today but meant an attitude of trust and loyalty.

If you haven't already, ask to go to a religious service/event with a friend, read/listen/experience the faiths of others. When you encounter things you're not sure if you believe, ask yourself what it would mean for you if you encountered it as truth. If God exists, if God is [insert attribute here], if God commanded [insert commandment here], if this or that book is something God wants us to have—how would that change your life? My belief in a loving God transforms my world. My prayer practice orders my days and centers my emotions. I am living (or attempting to live) my beliefs, not just thinking them. What can you trust, what can you be loyal to, what can you live, even if you don't believe it right now? "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

You can live as if something were true, even if you have no proof, even if you're not sure about it. I live as if there is a loving God—I have no scientific proof of this, I have not always been sure of it. But I live as if there is one, and there is more love in the universe because of it. I have only experienced a loving God when I was living in relation to one. You can go to a church without reading its whole catechism, without knowing all the words, without being sure. My pastor once told me he likes the Nicene Creed more than the Apostles' because it says "We believe" instead of "I believe." A creed not as a personal certainty, but as a communal agreement. I don't always know what I believe, but this is what we believe. I can leave it behind, but I cannot pretend it does not exist. It is my inheritance.

My advice for nurturing faith? Be willing to be wrong. Any god I've heard described is outside of our powers of description. It's dangerously presumptuous to think we can be right about God. Once I let go of the pressure to be right, once I accepted that I could be wrong about everything—that's the only way I got to faith. And the worst thing I can think of is coming to a belief through fear (of hell, of being wrong, of uncertainty, of spiritual homelessness). Fear is sometimes present, but come to it because you want it, because it fills your days with life and love. I'm obviously not a scientist or a philosopher—I've never really searched for capital-T Truth, and maybe it sounds like giving up to say all this, to think that I can never be right. But I have only truly come to Christianity when I've accepted that, as Rachel Held Evans said, it's the story I'm willing to be wrong about.

While it's definitely from a Christian perspective (I'm not sure how relatable that will be to you), the book that's calling to me right now for you is Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor. It's incredibly honest and interested in the experience of exploring envy in a religious context. It completely changed how I approach finding meaning in others' beliefs, and gave me so much peace in my own. And if you do ever begin to follow a religion/denomination, you might need a reminder that you are not abandoning everything else. You may be choosing a home, but you are not locking yourself inside it. We don't look for a home to denounce everyone else's—we look for a place we can live. Taylor says:

I asked God for religious certainty, and God gave me relationships instead. I asked for solid ground, and God gave me human beings instead—strange, funny, compelling, complicated human beings—who keep puncturing my stereotypes, challenging my ideas, and upsetting my ideas about God, so that they are always under construction. I may yet find the answer to all my questions in a church, a book, a theology, or a practice of prayer, but I hope not. I hope God is going to keep coming to me in authentically human beings who shake my foundations, freeing me to go deeper into the mystery of why we are all here.

What are you willing to be wrong about? What do you want to hold close even when you doubt it? What do you want to do, even if you don't believe in it? What brings you closer to the life you know exists for you, the one that fulfills that desire for God? There might not be one religion that is all this for you. Whether or not you ever create/join a concrete belief system, whether or not you're ever sure about any of it, God is with you. Many people live fulfilling lives outside of institutionalized religion; not all who wander are lost; your existence in a diverse community will serve you so well on this journey, which doesn't have an end and always includes doubt, and from which we can always find a new path, and is all encompassed by a many-faced Universe of Love.

And, as I find myself doing so often, here's some more Rilke to his student, which we can receive whether or not we're young or a Sir:

You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

<3 Johanna

P.S.—As well as the things I've quoted from, I would also recommend Not All Who Wander Are (Spiritually) Lost: A Story of Church by Traci Rhoades and all of Rachel Held Evans' books.

P.P.S.—People quote this last Rilke passage a lot, but I'm not sure how many have read the full context? He's mostly giving advice regarding sex anxiety in that letter, which I think is great. It's relevant to most journeys in life, but in case you were wondering what journey it's originally about, there you go.

[radical-revolution]

A SUFI TALE

"A saint who was visiting river Ganges to take a bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples, smiled and asked...

"Why do the people shout in anger at each other?"

The disciples thought for a while, one of them said, "Because we lose our calm, we shout."

"But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can just as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner", asked the saint.

The disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples. Finally the saint explained...

"When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small..."

The saint continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other."

He looked at his disciples and said...

"So when you argue, do not let your hearts get distant. Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.”

Art: Chuck Marshall, Story teller

[vintage-tigre]

There's a story that's worth knowing for anyone interested in the progress of humanity. It manifests in different ways, one of which is a joke:

"A drunk man is searching for his lost keys under a streetlight, and a policeman asks what he's doing. He says he lost his keys, and they both look under the light. The policeman asks if he's sure he lost them there, and the drunk admits he lost them in the park.

The policeman asks why he's looking there, and the drunk says, 'Because this is where the light is."

This anecdote, often attributed to Nasreddin, has been used by Sufis to illustrate people seeking enlightenment from exotic sources.

It has also been employed in the social sciences since at least the 1960s, referred to as "the principle of the drunkard's search.

The "streetlight effect" refers to the common human tendency to search for answers or solutions in places that are well-illuminated and easily accessible, rather than where they are most likely to be found.

This metaphorical concept underscores how people often choose the path of least resistance in their quest for knowledge or understanding, even if it leads them away from the actual source of their inquiry.

"Fear is always in relation to something; it does not exist by itself. There is fear of what happened yesterday in relation to the possibility of its repetition tomorrow; there is always a fixed point from which relationship takes place" - So, are we courageous enough to fully embrace the present and dissolve all conflicts and fears?

Catastrophe

[dandelionh3art]

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, often simply known as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic. His poetry and teachings have captivated people across centuries, cultures, and religions, making him one of the most widely read poets in the world today. Rumi’s faith, rooted in Islam and deeply infused with Sufi mysticism, revolves around the themes of divine love, unity, and personal transformation.

Rumi’s Background and Faith

Born in 1207 in what is now Afghanistan, Rumi grew up in a religious family and was well-versed in Islamic scholarship. His father, Baha’uddin, was a theologian and spiritual teacher, and Rumi was exposed early on to the teachings of the Quran, Islamic jurisprudence, and philosophy. However, Rumi's spirituality took a transformative turn upon meeting Shams of Tabriz, a wandering dervish who became his spiritual guide and close friend. This relationship ignited within Rumi a profound understanding of love, a central theme in his poetry and philosophy, and deepened his journey within the Sufi tradition.

Sufism: The Mystical Path of Islam

Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, focuses on seeking a direct, personal experience of God through love, devotion, and contemplation. Unlike orthodox Islamic practices that emphasize outward forms, Sufis seek inner purification and closeness to God. They believe in transcending ego, material desires, and attachment to the self in order to reach divine love and unity with God.

For Rumi, the goal was not merely to follow religious doctrines but to experience the divine presence within. This belief is a key element in his teachings, which are often conveyed through metaphors of love and longing. Rumi’s works, such as the Masnavi, a six-book spiritual epic, and his Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, are considered some of the greatest works of Sufi literature. They delve into topics of spirituality, morality, and the pursuit of unity with the divine.

The Centrality of Love in Rumi’s Teachings

One of Rumi’s most famous ideas is that love is the bridge between the human and the divine. He believed that true love is a form of divine worship, and through love, one can dissolve their sense of self and become one with God. This love is not limited to romantic love; it is a universal, unconditional love for all of creation, which is seen as a manifestation of God.

Rumi often used the metaphor of a lover and the beloved to describe the relationship between a seeker and God. For instance, the famous line "I am yours, don’t give myself back to me," reflects his yearning for union with the divine. This spiritual love is a theme that runs throughout his poetry, which uses everyday symbols—such as the sun, the ocean, and the nightingale—to convey the soul’s journey toward the divine.

Rumi’s Legacy and Influence

Rumi’s teachings and poetry continue to resonate deeply in our world. His vision of a boundless, inclusive spirituality appeals to people of all faiths and backgrounds. For Rumi, all paths lead to the same truth, which is love, and his works have become a testament to this idea. His poems have been translated into numerous languages, and his influence can be seen in literature, music, and spiritual teachings across the globe.

Ultimately, Rumi’s faith and teachings offer a message of love, unity, and transcendence. He reminds us that no matter where we come from or what we believe, the essence of spirituality is finding divine love and unity within ourselves and in connection with others. This message remains as relevant today as it was in the 13th century.

[beevean]

Is it just me or does the way NFCV treat Nosaac being Muslim, not really different than how irl Islamophobic Christians see Muslims as just devil-worshipping satanists? I don't think it really matters that his use of dark magic is framed as cool with God somehow actually, when it's also effectively just "yes, the islamic god Baphomet is out to get you for being Christian" as a trope anyways. Maybe I'm mis-remembering/misreading something, but it's really been bothering me.

It's very suspicious, yes. And I can tell you it was unintentional, because they chose the literally worst character to make Black and Muslim but they didn't care because they only wanted to "fix the stupid character".

Isaac reveres a vampire who wants to exterminate mankind. Isaac agrees with the notion that humans are inherently cruel and poisonous and the world would be better without them. Isaac has expressed a lack of concern for his own life: he assumed that he would eventually be killed by Dracula, and wanted to lay down his life for his sake. Isaac has studied dark magic that allows him to extract souls from Hell and put them into dead bodies to turn them into man-eating monsters. Isaac says, quite literally, that he wants a "pure" world. Isaac uses Mohammed's words (allegedly - Muslim people have told me that the quote about the doors of Hell rattling in the wind is fake) to justify his mission of turning every human possible into an abomination.

How did anybody not put two and two together and realize that he looks like the parody of a jihadist? my man wants to purify the world from "evil" people in the name of Mohammed and is ready to die for his cause, give me a fucking break!

Isaac, of all characters, should have not been made Black or Muslim! His whole deal is that he worships the equivalent of Satan! He's servile to the point of self-nullification! Bruh! Hector and Isaac are both heathens and do not follow any God, because by creating cursed life they go against any kind of religion known to man! It's not just the Christian God who would have issues with this! (and making him a Black man serving a white master and declaring he wants to die for him, well it's kind of ehhhhh. I don't like raceswapping, but if you really wanted to do that, Hector was literally right there. Maybe that would have convinced Ellis to give him some dignity :V)

In theory, in a vacuum, an hypocritical Muslim anti-villain who believes himself to be a good devoted Muslim while in reality he's sinning left and right could work just as well as your classic hypocritical Christian priest. But we're not to the point where we could do that, not after 20 years of intense Islamophobia that equated Islam with terrorism, not without an immense amount of care. And Isaac did not get this kind of care. He's Muslim only in S3, at his worst point: in S2 he flagellates because of his past as a slave, which then became "I do it because I'm a Sufi", and by S4, the season where he wakes up Enlightened™, his scenes are all about how he enjoys having agency and how he wants to live. I think he only says "God is good" once. Also he doesn't really regret his past sins, he just decides to do things for his own sake.

It doesn't help that Isaac is framed not as an hypocrite, but as the cool, tragic villain. He's smart, he's wise, he's justified in being a misanthrope, he's justified in killing people who don't want his demon army to pass through. We are meant to ohh and ahh at his Enlightment™ while quietly ignoring how he, unlike Hector, chose time and time and time again the path of death and cruelty being fully aware of what it would entail.

[santmat]

This Invisible Spiritual Path We Follow - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

"The Father's kingdom is already spread out over the earth, and people do not see it." (Gospel of Thomas) This saying is a lament really, about souls in a condition of spiritual poverty unable to recognize the spiritual reality already here and available. This is the Invisible Spiritual Path We Follow, having a spiritual practice, a form of meditation that pertains to seeing the Unseen Realms with another kind of sight. The heavenly regions are not visible to those limited only to the outer material world of the five senses. In order to have mystic-vision, we're going to need another kind of Eye to be able to gaze into those subtle realms beyond. "The Lord will make the pupil of your eye his home, and your eye will expand to contain the entire universe." (Sant Namdev)  "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love." (Meister Eckhart, Rhineland Mystic) The third eye is the gateway which leads to realms above the purely physical world. It is situated behind and between the two eyes.

It is the birthright and evolutionary destiny of each and every soul to participate in the subtle divine worlds within, to become a child of both the outer creation, the cosmos, the universe we see all around us, AND to be a traveler of inner space, the kingdom of the heavens -- the Divine Ocean of Love -- accessed within through a very special kind of meditation of inner seeing and inner hearing. The Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi once wrote in his Bezels of Wisdom: "The Supreme Being brought the Cosmos into being as constituting an Unseen Realm AND a Sensory Realm, so that we might perceive the Inner through our Unseen [facilities] and the Outer through our sensory aspect." We are, in other words, meant to be children of both worlds.

"This new life of the Spirit begins from the day of Initiation into the Mysteries of the Spirit... The life of the spirit begins not with the theoretical exposition of the spiritual science but by a practical demonstration on the spiritual plane of the spirit-current made manifest. Here the invisible and inaudible life-stream is made both visible and audible to the Spirit within, converting the atheist into a theist in the true sense of the term. It is imparting the life-impulse and making It throb in every pore of the body. This coming back of the soul to the realization of her true nature and rising into Universal or Cosmic awareness beyond the walls of finitude is the true resurrection or coming to a new birth and a new life. To die in the body while living, is to live in the Spirit." (The Celestial Music, An Introduction to Kirpal Singh, by L. Gurney Parrott)

That last sentence, "To die in the body while living, is to live in the Spirit" is referring to the meditation practice that is followed by those initiated into Inner Light and Sound Meditation on this Path of the Masters.

"We should sit very lovingly in our meditation. We should focus at the Eye Center and do our Simran -- repeat the Simran in the mind. When we do this, the impurity of the mind, which has been cast on the mind by us for eons, for so many millions of lives... that gets washed off." (Baba Ram Singh)

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In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami,

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[eruverse]

Headcanon: jobs!!

This post talks about human jobs the nationpeoples have. Anyway, I think the nations aren’t always diplomats or politicians, even tho they could indeed take on some tasks along those lines. In general tho the nationpeoples are linked to the state/work for the state so it’s quite rare to find them working corporate jobs or opening businesses. IF they do, then ultimately these corporations have the state as their clients. Basically everything they do typically goes to the state fast.

Russia:

He has a military job (lieutenant general) with medical training. He’s been in the military for the longest time and would love some change + a bit of distance from the state, but the state doesn’t really allow him to (there are indeed some nations with a fate like that). At the same time, he’s not much suited for other things so he keeps returning to the same path? Yeah. He does have hobbies tho, for example he loves studying math and physics and would often sneak into good universities to learn under esteemed lecturers. They love him because he’s such a curious and attentive student but at the same time he’s not much cut out to do the works needed to obtain a degree, so he doesn’t get those. However he’s better than many academics in the field simply because he’s much older than them and has been studying for a hella long time (he’s also naturally gifted in these).

This is stereotypical of him, but yes he’s good at hacking. Often trolls people with his capabilities, which is at times harmless but sometimes he does some unhinged shit which causes legit headaches. Sometimes he uses his abilities to hack into America’s house and wreck shit with his computerized home appliances. Nothing harmful of course, and America also takes it all in fun strides and would call Russia back like “Hey you got lucky this time!! Awesome what you did!!” (They’re both kids ok).

Mongolia:

I mentioned his job before on another post some time ago, but basically he’s a nomad and he works with nomads, not sorry to be predictable lol. He travels all over the country to make sure the nomads live well, so basically some kind of an overseer and mediator. He also works in the conservation side of national parks. His jobs demand him to be out on his feet almost all the time and he’s too happy for it to want other jobs, lol. He only spends maybe a few months a year in the city.

During communist era he used to be in the military and became a general/lt. general (highest rank was marshal, right after army general). As a rule, the nationpeoples who were under Soviet Union + satellite states were all in the military. Even without that tho Mongolia has been in the military for the longest time since Empire era (in general medieval nomads doubled as armies), and these days he’s still called a lot to advise. He still trains a lot and a bulk of that is military level trainings.

Kazakhstan:

He’s a tech engineer for energy field hired by the state. Also does plenty programming but he does best with what he can work with his own hands, and any programming he does is ultimately linked to his main job. He often tinkers with techs at home as sources of inspiration.

(Yes, he’s Rich)

During communist era he was a lieutenant + military engineer. Was, and still is, an excellent sniper.

Uzbekistan:

Is a scholar in Central Asian history/related studies. He has deep interest in everything Central Asian and often does research under state sponsorship. As he’s also a student under sufi masters, his interests also include religion and/or theology.

His side job is gardening. He’s also a resident cook for people around him as he’s really great at it.

Turkey:

He works as a state advisor but his side job is designing bespoke attire for men and women alike. He works with the best quality garments made in his country and his customers are all high-end ones. His hobbies include sewing, knitting and dressing people up — which in fact he’s practiced since Seljuk era, where slave girls became stunning consorts in his hands. He loves beautiful people, but he’s very much on board with spoiling them so they could rise up to his standards.

[chicagognosis]

​This arcanum is Fragility: to be breakable. Fragility results from a lack of introspection, a lack of awareness of what one is, one's weaknesses, because all of us have certain tendencies that make us weak. As strong and noble as we may assume we are, there are elements in the mind that will, at any instant―if we are not careful―will push us to deviate.

Another problem with this card is that people tend to be very fascinated with novelties, spiritual doctrines. There is a tendency even among missionaries and Gnostic people to want to mix this type of knowledge with other things, which do not relate. It is one thing to look for Gnosis within Sufism or Buddhism or Judaism or Kabbalah, and look at those scriptures to understand that this teaching is not just from one man, Samael Aun Weor, although he gave a very explicit doctrine which is our focus here. We can find that his writings explain and elucidate what the Sufis wrote, what the Kabbalists wrote, what the Muslims wrote, etc., but it does not mean that those doctrines as they are today represent or reflect what they once were.

All religions degenerate with time. People adulterate the teachings. They mix new wine in old wineskins. They do not create a new mind for themselves to assimilate solar ideas. This is the problem with many people in this movement too, is that they like to mix Gnosis with things that are incompatible, mixing Gnosis with lust, with desire, with animality, with things that truly are of the black lodge. It is very common.

So, we warn that it is important to study, to know the doctrine, to really practice it, so that we do not become fulminated towers, failures, wrecked ones.

[rose1water]

In our tradition we are taught about the Prophet ﷺ being pulled by God's love to the highest realm of heaven and beyond, into direct encounter with the All Beloved.

Had the Heavenly Ascension (Mi'raj) been simply that, the experience of the Prophet ﷺ would have been not unlike that experienced by other mystics.

What makes this different is that at the zenith of the Prophet's ﷺ spiritual journey, he chose to return to this realm so that we too could experience our own ascension. This is the cry of ‘Ya Ummati’ (O my people!) that reverberates through the whole cosmos. The Prophet ﷺ returned, eager to show us the path of Love, so we could experience the divine love he experienced.

The Sufi poet Abdul Quddus Gangohi once said, ‘By He in whose Hands is my soul, had it been me, I would not have returned!’

This is Muhammad ﷺ.

— Omid Safi

[tawakkull]

SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 16: TAQWA (PIETI)

Taqwa is derived from wiqaya, which means self-defense and avoidance. Sufis define it as protecting oneself from God’s punishment by performing His commands and observing His prohibitions. Besides its literal and technical meanings, in religious books we find the meanings of piety and fear used interchangeably.

Ok In fact, taqwa is a comprehensive term denoting a believer’s strict observance of the commandments of the Shari'a and the Divine laws of nature and life. Such a person seeks refuge in God against His punishment, refrains from acts leading to Hellfire, and performs acts leading to Paradise. Again, the believer purifies all outer and inner senses so that none of them can associate partners with God, and avoids imitating the worldviews and life-styles of unbelievers. In its comprehensive meaning, taqwa is the only and greatest standard of one’s nobility and worth:

The noblest, most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most advanced of you in taqwa (49:13).

The concept even the actual word of taqwa is unique to the Qur'an and the religious system of Islam. Its comprehensive meaning encompasses the spiritual and material; its roots are established in this world, while its branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits are located in the Hereafter. One cannot understand the Qur'an without considering the meaning or content of the fascinating and wonderful concept of taqwa, and one cannot be muttaqi (pious) if one does not adhere consciously and continually to the practices and concepts outlined in the Qur'an.

In its very beginning, the Qur'an opens its door to the pious:

This is th e Book about and in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the pious (2:2),

and calls on people to live in accordance with it so that they may be pious:

O men! Worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that you may be pious (and protect yourselves from His punishment) (2:21).

The most lovable act in God’s sight is piety (taqwa), His most purified servants are the pious, and His matchless message to them is the Qur'an. In this world, the pious have the Qur'an; in the Hereafter, they enjoy God’s vision and pleasure. The pleasure felt in the conscience and spirit is another gift of piety, and in order to recall the importance of piety, the Almighty decrees:

Fear God and be devoted to Him as He should be feared and devoted to (3:101).

Piety, which is the conscious performance of good and avoidance of evil, prevents individuals from joining the lowest of the low and causes them to advance on the path of the highest of the high. For this reason, one who attains piety has found the source of all good and blessing. The following is another testimony to this fact:

To whomever God has given religion and piety,

He has realized his aims in this world and the next.

Whoever is a soldier of God and pious,

He is prosperous and truly guided, not a wretched one.

Whoever has nothing to do with piety,

His existence is but a shame and disgrace.

One lifeless with respect to truth is not truly alive;

Only one who has found a way to God is alive.

Piety is an invaluable treasure, the matchless jewel in a priceless treasure of precious stones, a mysterious key to all doors of good, and a mount on the way to Paradise. Its value is so high that, among other life-giving expressions the Qur'an mentions it 150 times, each mention resembling a ray of light penetrating our minds and spirits.

In its limited sense, taqwa means sensitivity to the commandments of the Shari'a and refraining from acts that deprive one of Divine reward and result in God’s punishment. The verse:

Those who refrain from major sins and shameful deeds (42:37)

expresses one aspect of this basic religious virtue; the verse:

Those who believe and do good deeds (10:9)

points to the other. Strict observance of obligatory religious duties and refraining from major sins are the two necessary and complementary foundations of taqwa. As for minor sins, which the Qur'an calls lamam (small offenses), there are many Prophetic declarations, such as: A servant cannot be truly pious unless he refrains from certain permissible things lest he should commit risky things, that warn people to be careful.

Perfect sincerity or purity of intention can be attained by avoiding all signs of associating partners with God, while perfect piety can be achieved by refraining from all doubtful and risky deeds. According to the Prophetic saying: The lawful is evident and the forbidden is also evident. Between these two are things which most of the people do not know whether they are lawful or forbidden, a truly righteous, spiritual life depends on being sensitive to matters about which there is some doubt.

The Tradition just mentioned points out that the Legislator of the Shari'a has clearly explained in broad terms what is allowed and what is forbidden. However, as many things are not clearly allowed or forbidden, only those who avoid doubtful things can live a truly religious life. Using a simile in the continuation of the Tradition, the prince of two worlds, upon him be peace and blessings, said:

It is possible for one who does doubtful things to commit forbidden acts, just as it is possible for the flock of a shepherd pasturing near a field belonging to another or the public to enter that field. Know that each king has a private area under his protection; the private area of God is forbidden things. Also know that there is a part of flesh in the body. If it is healthy, the body will become healthy; if it is ailing, the body will be ailing. That part is the heart.

In light of this basic foundation for a healthy spiritual life, perfect piety can be obtained by avoiding doubtful things and minor sins. In order to do this, however, one must know what is lawful and what is forbidden, and have a certain knowledge of God. We can find the combination of piety and knowledge in these two verses:

The noblest, most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most advanced of you in taqwa (49:13),

and:

Only the learned among His servants fear and revere God (35:28).

Piety brings honor and nobility, and knowledge leads one to fear and revere God. Individuals who combine piety and knowledge in their hearts are mentioned in the Qur'an as those who succeed in the test of piety:

They are those whose hearts God has tested for piety (49:3).

In the context of worship and obedience, piety means purity of heart, spiritual profundity, and sincerity. In the context of refraining from what is unlawful, piety means being determined not to commit sins and to avoid doubtful things. For this reason, each of the following may be considered an aspect of piety:

A servant must

Seek only God’s approval and pleasure, and not set his or her heart upon whatever is other than Him.

Observe all commandments of the Shari'a.

Do whatever is necessary to achieve the objective, and be convinced that only God will create the result. Thus one cannot be a fatalist (i.e., one cannot neglect to perform whatever is necessary to obtain a certain result, and must take all necessary measures against possible misfortune or defeat) or a pure rationalist and positivist (Mu'tazili) who attributes all human acts and accomplishments to oneself by denying God any part in them.

Be alert to whatever may divert him or her from God.

Be alert to the carnal pleasures that may lead to the realm of the forbidden.

Ascribe all material and spiritual accomplishments to God.

Not consider himself or herself as higher and better than anyone else.

Not pursue anything other than God and His pleasure.

Follow the guide of all, upon him be peace and blessings, without condition and reservation.

Renew himself or herself, and continuously control his or her spiritual life by studying and reflecting on God’s acts and works as well as on His laws of nature and life.

Remember death, and live with the conscious knowledge that it may happen at any time.

In conclusion, taqwa is the heavenly water of life, and a muttaqi (pious one) is the fortunate one who has found it. Only a few individuals have achieved the blessing of this attainment. A poet says:

God Almighty says: The great among you are those who are pious.

The last abode of the pious will be Paradise and their drink kawthar.

O God! Include us among Your pious servants who were sincere in all their religious acts.

[dwellordream]

“…Francesco’s account reveals that he had some understanding of Islam, but what he says is also at times incorrect and insulting. Towards the end of this work, he includes a section called The Contrasts, where he sets out to explain what made Muslims different from European Christians. This really is only one person’s views, one that is shaped by his own religious faith and that he was an outsider living in the Middle East. Here is what he writes:

When they pray they turn to the South towards the Tomb of Mohammed while we turn to the East and the Jews to the West.

In reality, Muslims pray toward Mecca, while Jewish people would have prayed in the direction of Jerusalem.

The men do housework and carry water and weave, and the women do the trading.

The women carry burdens on their shoulders and the men on their heads.

The men eat seated, the women standing.

Fathers are bound to feed their daughters but not their sons; and more the bastard than the legitimate.

These four points, and others further on, reveal much about what Francesco really thinks is different and wrong with Arabic people – to him they are too feminine, and women are given roles and rights that should only be reserved for men.

The barbers when at work sit and the clients stand.

They drink all day except when they eat.

They continually wash their hands, and their hands are always dirty.

This seems to be a reference to the Islamic practice of washing one’s face, hands, arms, and feet before prayers.

The women wear only one dress, the men wear three or four.

We take off our headgear in sign of respect, they take off their shoes.

The women wear trousers, and the men go without them.

In Lent we eat during the day and they fast during the day and eat like beasts all night.

This refers to Ramadan, a month-long celebration for Muslims where they fast during the day and will have feasts after sunset.

We address a letter when it is written, they begin with the address.

We urinate standing, they squatting as females.

We like dogs, they cats.

Having pets was common in the medieval world, and while the reputation of dogs and cats vary in different parts of the world, in neither culture it was universally so.

We drink wine, they water.

We are guided by the sun, they by the moon.

This is probably a reference to how the European calendar was solar-based, but the Islamic one is lunar-based.

We eat from on high, they from the ground.

We sleep undressed, they, men and women, dressed.

We value horses, they mares.

We girdle ourselves over the clothes, they under.

They write from right to left, we the reverse.

They wear linen, we wear wool.

Francesco does not take into account the differences in climate between Europe and the Middle East.

They sell chickens by measure, and fruits and vegetables they sell by weight on the balance.

They carry to market birds in a sack and figs in a cage.

We despise imbeciles and they revere them as saints.

Perhaps Francesco is referring to Sufi practitioners, who follow a more mystical path of Islam. Moreover, he seems to be oblivious to how his own Franciscan order was derided by many of his fellow Christians.

Slaves with us are servants, with them lords.

Later on Francesco has to make a detailed explanation of who the Mamluks were, and offers a less-than-accurate history of their rise to power in Egypt and Syria. Many enemies of the Mamluks often disparaged their origins as slaves.

Men give dowry to the wives, and we do the opposite.

Francesco also offers more details on this, finding this way more “just, reasonable and proper’ then the Italian practice where the parents of the bride had to offer a dowry to obtain a marriage. He explains why: “First, it would be a means whereby many poor girls could marry, who through poverty cannot marry, and so remain single in danger of sin and cause sin to others.”

We repudiate the wife, they the husband.

His sister also wanted to know about how wives can repudiate their husbands, by which he means they divorce their husbands, and Francesco responds by explaining this can happen in cases of abuse, neglect or abandonment. Divorce was actually fairly common in medieval Egypt, and both men and women could initiate it.

Men go barefooted, the women wear light shoes.

The men are beautiful; the women are most ugly and small.

The men wear clothes cut low, the women cut close to the neck.

The men wear a veil on the head, the women a cap.

The men never spit, the women do.

The men like cats, the women dogs.

Francesco sums it up by concluding “if they could they would walk backwards just to be different from us.”

Francesco’s list is very surprising – one would expect that this Franciscan friar would write about religious differences – instead, it is often just about daily life and trivial topics. However, there is often an underlying view that traditional gender roles were not being followed by medieval Muslims. More than a dozen of his contrasts involve women doing or wearing something that goes against what he thinks should be the proper way as found in Francesco’s homeland.

Not everything that Francesco finds to be different is to him a bad thing, and his view of Muslims isn’t always negative (at times he is far more critical of other Christian sects that lived in the region). But it is telling that he views the differences as somehow being in opposition to his own culture, as if it was somehow planned to be that way. One wonders how perplexed Francesco would have been if his travels took him to more distant lands and cultures.

This list is perhaps even more revealing in how much it shows the differences between medieval people and us. Francesco Suriano would see our modern-day lifestyles and habits as being very much ‘the other’, critiquing the way we dressed, ate, and slept. Who knows how upset he might become to learn that some people had pet fish!”

- Peter Konieczny, “The Differences between Christians and Muslims in the Middle Ages”