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The Knowledge of Self
Source: sacred-texts.com
KNOWLEDGE of self is the key to the knowledge of God, according to the saying: “He who knows himself knows God,”[1] and, as it is Written in the Koran, “We will show them Our signs in the world and in themselves, that the truth may be manifest to them.” Now nothing is nearer to thee than thyself, and if thou knowest not thyself how canst thou know anything else? If thou sayest “I know myself,” meaning thy outward shape, body, face, limbs, and so forth, such knowledge can never be a key to the knowledge of God. Nor, if thy knowledge as to that which is within only extends so far, that when thou art hungry thou eatest, and when thou art angry thou attackest some one, wilt thou progress any further in this path, for the beasts are thy partners in this? But real self-knowledge consists in knowing the following things: What art thou in thyself,
[1. Traditional saying of Muhammad.]
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and from whence hast thou come? Whither art thou going, and for what purpose hast thou come to tarry here awhile, and in what does thy real happiness and misery consist? Some of thy attributes are those of animals, some of devils, and some of angels, and thou hast to find out which of these attributes are accidental and which essential. Till thou knowest this, thou canst not find out where thy real happiness lies. The occupation of animals is eating, sleeping, and fighting; therefore, if thou art an animal, busy thyself in these things. Devils are busy in stirring up mischief, and in guile and deceit; if thou belongest to them, do their work. Angels contemplate the beauty of God, and are entirely free from animal qualities; if thou art of angelic nature, then strive towards thine origin, that thou mayest know and contemplate the Most High, and be delivered from the thraldom of lust and anger. Thou shouldest also discover why thou hast been created with these two animal instincts: whether that they should subdue and lead thee captive, or whether that thou shouldest subdue them, and, in thy upward progress, make of one thy steed and of the other thy weapon.
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The first step to self-knowledge is to know that thou art composed of an outward shape, called the body, and an inward entity called the heart, or soul. By “heart” I do not mean the piece of flesh situated in the left of our bodies, but that which uses all the other faculties as its instruments and servants. In truth it does not belong to the visible world, but to the invisible, and has come into this world as a traveller visits a foreign country for the sake of merchandise, and will presently return to its native land. It is the knowledge of this entity and its attributes which is the key to the knowledge of God.
Some idea of the reality of the heart, or spirit, may be obtained by a man closing his eves and forgetting everything around except his individuality. He will thus also obtain a glimpse of the unending nature of that individuality. Too close inquiry, however, into the essence of spirit is forbidden by the Law. In the Koran it is written: “They will question thee concerning the spirit. Say: ‘The Spirit comes by the command of my Lord.'” Thus much is known of it that it is an indivisible essence belonging to the world of decrees, and
A Good Muslim equates to a good Human Being
By: Khalid Baig
Source: muslimvillage.com
Ihsan is a special Islamic term, defined by the famous hadith known as the Hadith of Jibreel.
Once Angel Jibreel (peace be upon him) visited the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the guise of a man and in the presence of the Companions. This happened toward the end of the Prophetic mission and its purpose was to summarize some fundamental teachings of Islam for the education of all of us.
“I’m not ready to die yet!!”
By: Oyon Ajmain
I came accross this car the other day which had crashed into another car while trying to turn into a road. How many times whilst driving do we do silly things? How many times do we think: “Oh that’s an empty road, let me just speed up a little bit”. The same way when we’re speeding on an empty road a car might come out from a corner by surprise, the exact same way death is waiting for us around the corner. Read the rest of this entry
The Point of Death: Angel of Death (Video)
Praise be to Allah. “Say: The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls. Then you shall be brought to your Lord.” [Qur’an 32:11]
More video’s…
The Souls Journey After Death In Islam
By: Huma Ahmed
Source: http://www.islamicinformation.net/
Imagine yourself at the moment of your death.
What thoughts cross your mind? Memories of family and friends? Panic? Regrets? Remembrance of Allah? What is death? What happens to us after we die? What is life in the Hereafter like, this new and strange world after death? Do we lose consciousness of this life? Where does our soul go? Do we feel and think the same?
ANGELS IN THE QUR’AN
THE ANGEL POSSESSED OF POWER: JIBRIL (also called Gabriel / Jibreel)
Truly it is the speech of a noble Messenger, (Surat at-Takwir, 19)
He is the Raiser of ranks, the Possessor of the Throne, He sends the Spirit by His command to whichever of His servants He wills so that he may warn mankind about the Day of Meeting: (Surah Ghafir, 15)
It is nothing but Revelation revealed, taught him by one immensely strong, possessing power and splendour. He stood there stationary – (Surat an-Najm, 4-6)
And veiled herself from them. Then We sent Our Spirit to her and it took on for her the form of a handsome, well-built man. She said, ‘I seek refuge from you with the All-Merciful if you guard against evil.’ He said, ‘I am only your Lord’s messenger so that He can give you a pure boy.’ She said, ‘How can I have a boy when no man has touched me and I am not an unchaste woman?’ He said, ‘It will be so! Your Lord says, “That is easy for Me. It is so that We can make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us.” It is a matter already decreed.’ (Surah Maryam, 17-21)
JIBRIL’S SPLENDID BEAUTY
It is nothing but Revelation revealed, taught him by one immensely strong, possessing power and splendour. He stood there stationary. (Surat an-Najm, 4-6)
PROPHET MUHAMMED’S (PBUH) SEEING JIBRIL
And certainly he saw him in another descent, at the farthest lote-tree; near which is the garden, the place to be resorted to. When that which covers covered the lote-tree; the eye did not turn aside, nor did it exceed the limit. Certainly he saw of the greatest signs of his Lord. (Surat an-Najm, 13-18)
JIBRIL’S APPEARANCE ON THE HORIZON
He saw him on the clear horizon. (Surat at-Takwir, 23)
JIBRIL’S DESCENT TO MARYAM IN THE FORM OF A HANDSOME MAN
And veiled herself from them. Then We sent Our Spirit to her and it took on for her the form of a handsome, well-built man. She said, ‘I seek refuge from you with the All-Merciful if you guard against evil.’ He said, ‘I am only your Lord’s messenger so that He can give you a pure boy.’ (Surah Maryam, 17-19)
TWO OBSERVING AND RECORDING ANGELS AT EVERYBODY’S SIDE
We created man and We know what his own self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. And the two recording angels are recording, sitting on the right and on the left. He does not utter a single word, without a watcher by him, pen in hand! (Surah Qaf, 16-18)
Standing over you are guardians, noble, recording, who know what you do. (Surat al-Infitar, 10-12)
Everyone has a succession of angels in front of him and behind him, guarding him by Allah’s command. Allah never changes a people’s state until they change what is in themselves. When Allah desires evil for a people, there is no averting it. They have no protector apart from Him. (Surat ar-Ra’d, 11)
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Donde hay caridad y sabiduría, no hay temor ni ignorancia.
Waar sprake is van liefdadigheid en wijsheid, is er noch angst noch onwetendheid.
Là où il ya la charité et la sagesse, il n’y a ni peur ni l’ignorance.
Wo ist die Liebe und Weisheit, da ist weder Furcht noch Unwissenheit.
Nǎ li yǒu císhàn hé zhìhuì, jì méiyǒu kǒngjù, yě bù wúzhī.
Där det finns kärlek och visdom, det finns varken rädsla eller okunnighet.
Tam, gde yest’ miloserdiye i mudrost’ , net ni strakha, ni nevezhestvo.
Hayır ve hikmet olduğu yerde, korku ne cehalet ne var.
Dove c’è carità e di sapienza, non c’è né paura, né l’ignoranza.
Di mana ada kasih dan kebijaksanaan, tidak ada rasa takut atau kebodohan.
PASS THE KNOWLEDGE (LIGHT & LIFE) 