Speaking Tree| TOI | April 2, 2011

Adopt contentment. If you cannot increase national growth, decrease your needs; otherwise it will lead to problems. Tackling national issues is not just the task of the administration, it is every citizen's duty. We should develop the spirit of looking on it as our duty and do it with willingness.

A: Material attainments should be done for fulfilling needs and not for providing luxury. Man must know the difference between need, comfort and luxury. Sufis prescribe complete abstinence. I do not subscribe to complete abstinence. According to my understanding, materialism should be adopted so long as it fulfils the need.

Attaining luxurious living should not be the goal of striving for materialism. Here I would also like to clarify that comfort and luxury are not haraam (prohibited by religion) but they kills time, energy and money. Therefore, one who makes comfort and luxury his goal will do so at the cost of his intellectual development.

Source: The Seeker’s Guide

Complex-free soul is one which is free of all forms of negative thinking - prejudice, hatred, enmity etc. He who is able to free his mind of such thoughts is complex free. To make one free is not a mysterious formula, it depends on the act of introspection and contemplation. The following verse in the Quran, “An nafsul mutmayinna.” (89:27)

This verse says how man becomes complex-free. If God gives favour to man, he thinks he is superior. On the other hand, when God withhold something which man has wanted he thinks he has been let down [89:15-16]. Both thinking are wrong. Man should be able to acquit him of both these thinking, only then will he be complex free.

Source: Tazkiyah: Purification of the Soul

This is distraction that thinking sets out on a different pattern. Quran clearly says that children are a problem whereas you claim that it is a blessing. Nowhere does the Quran say that children are a blessing! People have developed self-styled notions and say that it is religion. Distraction is anything, which takes your attention away from your goal (God-orientedness and realization of God).

Source: The Seeker’s Guide

A: Religion is not a matter of rituals. It is a higher form of intellectual activities. Religion develops and engages your mind towards development. Why would you want to limit this?

By referring to it as 'intellectual development,' I merely use a new word for 'tazkia.' God created man with unlimited capacity, but this capacity, which is a gift of nature, is in the form of potential. Man needs to turn this potential into actuality by thinking, reflecting and contemplating. When faced with situations, the natural process within man gets activated and leads to intellectual development.

Spirituality is not something mysterious. According to my experience, spirituality is a mind based discipline rather than a heart based discipline. According to this definition, it is contemplation rather than meditation that leads to acquiring true spiritual knowledge.

Self-respect is not a quality; it is a beautiful name of arrogance. The most important quality of man is modesty.

Source: The Seeker’s Guide

My formula is, 'Save yourself.' This is the only formula and there is no other formula. This has been given in the Hadith,

Alaika nafsat (Baihaqi)

Save yourself.

A: This is a matter of law of nature. Studies in psychology reveal that if something happens that makes man lose his sanity, his mind will stop working and he would fall prey to negative thinking. Till the time man has sanity, sincerity and seriousness, his mind works fine.

A: Objective thinking arouses universal approach. The more objectively a person thinks the more universal he becomes. Normally people think subjectively and are not able to think keeping the entire humanity in mind. They restrict themselves to their family, society and community. Each person therefore must introspect and get to know whether he has a self-centered or a universal approach. A man can get to know this himself and can also work on it himself.

Source: The Seeker’s Guide

Speaking Tree | TOI | May 8, 2011

The main reason for negativity is our complex. People suffer from all kinds of complexes, such as prejudice and envy. Free yourself of these feelings and you will be able to come up with a positive response in all kinds of situations. A negative reaction is an emotional reaction, while a positive response is a rational response. A negative response pulls you down, while a positive response produces healthy results.

Speaking Tree | TOI | October 31, 2010

Adopt a simple life style. A simple life leads to spiritual development. A simple life style means saving yourself from unnecessary distractions. These distractions come In the way of spirituality.

A prophet is a person chosen by God as His representative. When God appoints someone as His Messenger, He sends His angel to him to inform him of his new status. In that way, the individual can have no doubts about his appointment as God's apostle. Later, God reveals His message to him through His angels, so that he may communicate the divine teachings to all his fellow men.

God has given man a mind so that he may be endowed with understanding. But this mind can only grasp things that are apparent. It cannot go below the surface, and there are many things to be apprehended, for which a superficial knowledge is insufficient. The deeper realities of this world are beyond the scope of the human mind, and so far as God and the next world are concerned, they must remain forever invisible-beyond the reach of human perception.

What the prophet does is to enlighten people so that they may overcome this human inadequacy. He tells of the reality of things here and how, and also gives tidings of the next world. He thereby enables the individual to formulate a plan for his entire existence in the full light of knowledge and awareness so that he may carve out a successful life for himself.

Since the settlement of human beings on earth, the prophets have been coming one after another. In every age they have been the conveyors of God's messages to human beings. However, whatever records of these ancient prophets have survived have been rendered historically unreliable by interpolations. The same is true of the books they brought to mankind. The sole exception was the case of the Prophet Muhammad, who had been chosen by God as His Final Messenger. The Prophet was born in an age when the history of the world was already being extensively chronicled. This in itself made circumstances conducive to authentic records being kept of God's messages and the Prophet's exemplary life. The relevant facts were passed on from one generation to the next by both oral and written tradition, and with the advent of the printing press came the modern guarantee that no changes would ever be made in the divine scriptures. This renders unassailable the position of the Prophet Muhammad as God's Final Messenger and His sole representative on earth till Doomsday.

This is a right observation. When man grows emotional, he develops contradictory behavior. What Muslims are doing is not in conformance with Islam because they only know their emotions and nothing else. The so-called Muslim leaders have found a way to gain cheap popularity by inciting Muslims to react. Let me cite an event from history. Ibn Taimiyyah wrote a book on the topic of disrespect of Prophet Muhammad in reaction to an instance where a Christian had said something disrespectful about the Prophet. He mobilized a crowd of people through speeches and took them to the court of the Turkish Sultan. The Sultan was angry and had Ibn Taimiyaah flogged saying that people were not even aware and it were his fiery speeches that incited them and made them negative. He sent Ibn Taimiyyah back!

Same events are being repeated today. The controversial video was not even known before the so-called Muslim leaders raised such hue and cry. Blameworthy therefore is not the common man but the clerics and leaders who misguide them through emotionally provocative speeches.

A: Meditation is not prescribed in Islam. Some claim that the Prophet Muhammad used

to practise meditation inside Cave Hira. Even if I accept this for the sake of argument, the fact is that he left everything after attaining prophethood. And, the model period is that which began post-prophethood.

Contrary to the common belief, Islam does not teach violence. It is a religion of peace in the fullest sense of the word.

The first verse of the Qur'an breathes the spirit of peace. It reads:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

This verse is repeated in the Qur'an no less than 113 times. It shows the great importance Islam attaches to such values as Mercy and Compassion. Moreover the Qur'an states that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was sent to the world as a mercy to mankind. (21:107)

A perusal of the Qur'an shows that most verses of the Qur'an (and also the Hadith) are based on peace and kindness, either directly or indirectly. The ideal society, according to the Qur'an is Dar as-Salam, that is, the house of peace (10:25).

The Qur'an presents the universe as a model that is characterized by harmony and peace (36:40). When God created heaven and earth, He so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without clashing with any other part. The Qur'an tells us that "the sun is not allowed to overtake the moon, nor does the night outpace the day. Each in its own orbit runs." (36:40)

For billions of years, therefore, the entire universe has been fulfilling its function in total harmony with His divine plan.

These are only but a few references to show what great importance Islam attaches to peace. In fact, Islam cannot afford not to be in a state of peace because all that Islam aims at-spiritual progress, intellectual development, character building, social reform, educational activities, and above all Missionary work -can be achieved only in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.

Not only Islam, but also all other religions may be defined in this way. The best interpretation of Islam has been given by the Sufis. To describe it, they use the Persian phrase, Sulh-e-Kul, meaning 'Peace with all', which truly expresses its spirit.

Human life in Islam is held in such high esteem that if even a single human being is killed, that is considered equivalent to the assassination of the whole of mankind. And the protection of a single human life is equivalent to the protection of the whole of mankind. (5:27-32)

There is a common belief about Islam that it teaches its adherents to be close-minded. In actual fact, Islam teaches the spirit of enquiry and asks its adherents to remove their ignorance by seeking answers to questions.

According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam once remarked: "The remedy for ignorance is asking questions." If the ignorant man does not inquire, his ignorance will stay with him. But if he has a questioning mind, some knowledgeable person will answer him, and he will no longer remain ignorant.

There is a saying in Arabic to the same effect: To know that you do not know is half knowledge itself. If an ignorant person is not aware of his ignorance, he will continue to remain in the same state. But when he becomes aware of his ignorance, he sets about seeking for knowledge. He will try to turn his ignorance into knowledge. In this way his awareness of his ignorance will become the stepping-stone leading towards full knowledge.

In ancient times the phenomena of nature were considered to be manifestations of God. The sight of the manifestations of nature, therefore, aroused in man the spirit of worship. It was only when these natural phenomena were divested of their divinity that the spirit of inquiry could be aroused in man. As a result, many of the mysteries of nature now lie unraveled.

An inquisitive mind is a sine qua non for the acquisition of knowledge. Only those who are possessed of this quality will achieve great success in intellectual and academic fields. Those devoid of this spirit will remain static, and will fail to climb to the top of the ladder of success.

It is this spirit, which is the foundation of all scientific progress.

Knowledge is of two distinct kinds: that which we have been blessed with in the Qur'an and the Hadith, and that which we acquire as a result of our own research and endeavour. The first kind acquaints us with our Lord, and makes plain the issues to be faced in the everlasting world, which awaits us after death. More important, it shows us how, in the course of our present life, we may prepare ourselves to meet those issues. The second kind of knowledge provides solutions to the social and economic problems, which we encounter in everyday life.

It is imperative that Muslims should seek both forms of knowledge, but they should never lose sight of the fact that they vary considerably in importance. Their primary aim in life should be knowledge of the Qur'an and the Hadith, while the acquisition of knowledge of the other sciences should come about as a matter of worldly necessity. Without a knowledge of religion, what must be done in this world to earn an everlasting reward, will constantly elude one's understanding, and it goes without saying that one can never then consider oneself a Muslim in the true sense of the word.

The secular sciences guide us only in worldly matters, giving us instruction in the agricultural, industrial and civic practicalities of life. But it is the Qur'an and Hadith, which set our feet on the path to eternal development. Clearly, it is just as important for Muslims as it is for anyone else to study various branches of knowledge, but they must distinguish between ultimate objectives and adventitious necessity. Muslims must not only study the Qur'an and the Hadith, but must be keenly aware that the real reasons for studying them are very different from those which prompt them to seek worldly knowledge: they must constantly bear in mind also that religious knowledge take moral priority over all other forms of knowledge.

The emphasis of Islam on learning and teaching was not confined to the Quran or the teachings of the Prophet. The Quran, in fact, has given a new outlook, a new perspective or paradigm as coined by Thomas Kahn (The Structure of Scientific Revolution, 1955). According to this Quranic paradigm, man's most important activity being intellectual contemplation or reflection, he was not supposed to blindly follow any idea or notion just because it was attributed to his ancestors or some other authority. He had to ponder on it critically and realistically. That is why we find that the Quran is replete with hundreds of inspirational and motivational verses that invite man to reflect on the wonderful creatures of God.

For example: In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people with intelligence, those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying) Our Lord! You have not created all this in vain (without purpose), Glory be to You. (3:190-91, 7:176, 10:24, 13:3, 16:11).

This, we can say, was the intellectual seed, which is called in academic circles the spirit of enquiry. It is this spirit of inquiry, which has played the greatest role in bringing about the age of science. It is the zeal to discover which has led man to knowledge.

According to Toynbee and other world historians, this spirit of enquiry was the first and foremost prerequisite for the inauguration of the scientific era and the elimination of a superstitious outlook on nature and life. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is the Quran that has laid down the foundation of modern science. On the other hand, the Prophet himself has dealt with day-to-day problems of life in accordance with this realistic approach taught by the Quran. Consequently the same realistic approach became an integral part of the frame of mind of his companions. They all became curious, inquisitive and realistic in all matters of life.

For example, once the Prophet passed by an oasis where he found the farmers, who were date planters at work. When he asked what they were doing, he was told that they were pollinating the clusters of dates in order to produce a better yield. The Prophet expressed his disapproval of this process. Knowing this, the farmers immediately stopped it. But later on the Prophet was told that due to lack of proper pollination the yield had been very low as compared to the previous years. On hearing this, the Prophet replied. "You know your worldly matters better." (Sahih Bukhari) In other words, experiment and observation should be the final criteria in such worldly matters.

If non-Muslims have a genuine excuse, they can rely on translations but, if they have no excuse, then they must try to learn Arabic, at least to the extent that they are able to understand the basic meaning of the Quran.

To the best of my knowledge, there was a need for a new translation and I have done that new English translation of the Quran. By comparing my translation with other translations, you can understand the difference. There is greater clarity in this translation.