Quote-Unquote: Dr. Pasha on Islam,
Muslims and the World
www.IslamicSolutions.Com
Humans have a predictable trajectory in life. Some a bit different than some others in some minor details no doubt. But the basic process — and the basic beginning and end — is all the same.
We are all born weak and vulnerable, just as the Qur’an says.
And then we grow to great strength and resourcefulness and accomplishments, many of us, again just as the Qur’an states.
And then the curve inflects, and we return to a new state of feebleness and dependence as life fades and as strength drains from our limbs and muscles and bones.
We increasingly become a slave of time and tide, doing things only as we are able to do them, if do them at all.
As always — we should not forget this, as always — suddenly the mind and body seem to have their own calculus by which they operate. And the Law of Diminishing Returns comes increasingly into play.
That means it now takes more time and more effort and more resources to do what at one time seemed effortless and instantaneous.
The arrogance of personal self-sufficiency and omnipotence falls by the wayside as we turn to everything and everyone in sight for help and support and assistance.
The flame inside flickers for many for a while and then eventually dies.
Life returning to the life-giver!
There are minor variations to this theme in some of the details. But the fundamentals of the story have not changed over time.
Nor are they ever likely to.
The Qur’an sums up the entire human saga — a saga for which there are no exceptions — in the following words:
Innaa Lillahi Wa Innaa Ilaihi Raaji’oon!
“God is the origin — of all. Just as God also is the end — of all.”
We — see how personalized this is — all come from God. And indeed we all shall return to him.
No truer words were ever spoken.
And no human being, in their right mind, can possibly miss being a live and active witness to this unfolding of the invariant saga of human life on earth, episode after episode after episode.
This other news, the one about the Narrow Cylindrical Dark Hole, 10 feet deep, and the 10 feet of dirt on top, can be Good or Bad, depending on who you were...
There is not a doubt that we are all on our return journey to God – each and every one of us.
The Qur’an makes that categorically clear.
Wa Inaa Ilaihi Raaji’oon!
Paraphrase:
“We are all marching back to God!”
The first step in this ...
“Human beings have a marvellous way of dealing with reality: If something causes you pain, stress or anxiety, change its name. That should make it go away.
Ever notice how no one dies anymore? They merely “pass away,” or even “pass ...
"Human beings are like little children on a playground. They are too busy with their toys and too excited about playing.
It does not occur to them that at any moment their mother will call them and they will have to ...
One of the most important leaders of this work, a founding member of the Coworkers Community, an indefatigable worker for Allah, and just a plain wonderful Muslim, and a personal friend for who knows how long, had, by the Grace and ...
Every man's -- and I suppose every woman's -- "permanent" address, as they call it, in this most obviously and stubbornly impermanent world, is as follows:
Name: whatever that is
Door Number: whatever that is
Street: whatever that is
Town, city or village: whatever ...
The battle of wits between the advocates of Faith and Skepticism never advanced much beyond the argument that Hazrat Ali, Radiyallahu Anhu, put forward 1400 years ago.
Hazrat Ali wrote a little couplet in which he said this – he was a great ...
"God Almighty made Islam easy.
Easy to know, easy to learn, easy to understand and easy to practice.
He says so in the Qur'an -- over and over.
But Muslims make Islam difficult.
And they go to extraordinary lengths to do so.
And then Muslims ...
"Islam places in the hands of all of us a most personal and intimate miracle: How to defy death every time it strikes.
Here is how.
“Everything shall perish,” the Qur’an declares, “except him!”
Reference is to God.
Islam defines human mortality in a ...
"When our body is sick, it is only our life in this world that may be at risk. For, death will surely put an end to all bodily pain and suffering.
And then there is the hope of eternal bliss for ...
"Want to know what Islam is really all about? Here is a glimpse:
In the beginning, as the Good Book says, there was God. And God created man.
And God, says the Qur’an, breathed in Man his spirit. And then, the Qur’an ...
“Pleasure for many people is the path they pursue through life. Pain is often the price they pay for many of the pleasures they seek in this world. Islam modulates pleasure, and optimizes it, while minimizing pain and distancing it. ...
What seems to matter most to some of our super-pious Muslims is not what life is like in this world – the way it is for us and for all other creation of God, right here and now – but what ...
“Every right thinking person should be shocked and horrified at the terrible reality of female servitude in Afghanistan. But so also should every right thinking person be shocked and horrified at the equally terrible state of male bondage, abuse and exploitation ...
“Most people fear Death. And it is not entirely unnatural. But some people fear Truth more than they fear Death. In most cases, they are criminals, crooks and scoundrels of varying shades and stripes.” (Dr. Pasha)
In this season of Hajj, Eidul Adha, Hanuka, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Divali and every other human hankering and striving that has behind it either a tinge of divine mandate or an element of human good, our message is peace.
