namjap

.

.

Harpreet Jee, sorry for such a long delay. Here is a something you might be interested to look into. You'll agree with me that the contents of this website will finally come back to the Sikh principles of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Panj Pyare formation. A poem comes to mind: " Je Tu Prem Di Galli Vich Aunna, Tali Uttey Sees Rakh Leh " THE WORLD OF RAM TZU http://www.advaita.org/

.

.

.

.

.

Many a time one gets stuck explaining spiritual essence in a logical way. This is because one feels that the mind needs to be satisfied with reasons. What we must doing is pacify the mind or mental faculties as they mislead us. We are not mind eventhough mind is an essential 'tool' or faculty for our existence in this realm of duality. A simple mode of understanding why we are separate from the mind is the underlying fact that sometimes the mind refuses to obey us. Attaining spiritual realization is not a sudden process. When we were born in this physical body, the creator sent us here with a package. This package consists of all the necessary things we would need to use and express in this world. They are all the expressable attributes of soul like joy, happiness, tranquility, inner peace and radiance, etc. Just like the movie stargate, when you go to the other side, you have to find the templets or tablets to decifer or decode the symbols in order to successfully arrive back to your place of origin. So we are looking for the manual that can help us find this soul attributes. We look everywhere except the right place - within. The nature of peace, joy and happiness is such that it can only be found within one's self. And SGGS is the manual that decifers or decodes the way back. Not everyone however can understand the decoded message. Back to the point of attaining spiritual awareness, most of us are already on the way home. We are often called the 'seeker' and try to find references from many sources with which we can relate to. Knowledges comes in little nudges from many sources and is making us a better person. Shamus-e Tabriz mentioned that man is Ashraful Makhlukar (spelling not correct) meaning Man is in the image and likeness of God. More later. Harpreet Singh Jee, I think I have taken a "pangga" by offering to narrate the details of the paradox. Please be patient as it isn't necessarily an eazy task explaining.

.

There is a paradox which I wish to put to your attention. I exist because God exists. God exists because I exist. The first one explains God as the creator and the I-ness is part of God. The second phrase explains this: the universe exists because I am alive to witness it. Can anyone expand on this?

In my opinion, Naam appears differently in different realms of consciousness. For example, physically it appears as the written and spoken shabad. In the emotional state naam appears as light. In the mental states as knowledge and in the spritual realm as sound. The word Bani is also Naam and also the sound current. I can expand on this with gurbani quotes at a later stage if you're interested.

You are free to point out inaccuracies, so that I can correct them via edit. As you can see I have no bad intentions over here. I started the thread with Goodwill in mind. So please don't get me wrong and use bad language. My whole idea is to get a clearer picture about Islam and this will also benefit many others. Tell me more places to alter so that there are no misunderstandings. I can even erase the whole thread, if more than two object to posting this thread. But that will require Admin help.

THE PROPHETS OF ALLÃH (mentioned in the Holy Qur'án) 1) Adam 2)Idrís (Idrees) 3) Núh (Noah) 4) Húd 5) Sálih 6) Ibráhím (Abraham) 7) Ismá'íl (Ishmael) 8) Isháq (Isaac) 9) Lút (Lot) 10) Ya'qúb (Jacob) 11) Yúsuf (Joseph) 12) Shu'aib 13)Ayúb (Job) 14) Músa (Moses) 15) Hárún (Aaron) 16) Dhu l-kifl (Ezzekiel) 17) Dawúd (David) 18) Sulaimán 19) Ilyás (Elijah) 20) al-Yasa' (Elisha) 21) Yúnus (Jonas) 22) Zakaríya (Zakariyah) 23) Yahyá (John the Baptist) 24) 'Ãsa (Jesus) 25) Muhammad After Muhammad, the formation of various sunni and shia sects and dates are described in a tree-like formation on this website: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/index.html For Shia sects, this website: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/index.html For Isma'iliyyah sub-shia sects, this website: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/ismal.html For Sufi sects, this website: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/sufi/index.html

Glossary of Islamic Words Caliph: Leader of a Muslim community. The title of those who succeeded Mohammed and continued to lead into the 20th century. Dhimmis: Submissive non-Muslims (Jews and Christians) living under Sharia regime, forced to follow humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). See www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch Fatwa: Binding regulations and decisions made by Muslim imams or clerics. Hadith: Compiled two hundred years after Mohammed's death, it includes the sayings and works of Mohammed. It is part of four main sources of Islamic faith and law: The other three are the Quran, the Ijima (consensus), and Qiyas (analogy). Haji: Annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina - the fifth pillar of Islam. Hijab: A woman's shawl covering the head, and the belief that women should be modestly dressed in public. Imam: A Muslim religious leader, the spiritual head of a mosque. Islam: Submission or surrender to the will of Allah. Jihad: An "exertion" - usually refers to holy war or crusade in the name of Islam against unbelievers or rivals. Moderate Islamic leaders have modernized the meaning to include any good efforts to help others and further the reputation and spread of Islam. Mahdi: The coming messianic leader -- "the rightly guided one" -- expected (especially by Shi'ites) to restore the purity and order of Islam. Mullah: Islamic clerics among the Shi'ites. Qur'an: The sacred book of revelations given to Mohammed by the supposed angel Gabriel in 612 AD. Ramadan: The holy month of Islam commemorating the time Mohammed began to receive the series of angelic revelations. During this month, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Shari'a: Koranic law - "the way," "the path to God" or "the path to a water hole" -- the sacred law which guides a Muslim's life, choices and community. It calls for the death of any Muslim who converts to Christianity. Sheikh: A respectful title for leaders, clerics and elders in the in a Muslim community. Shia: The Islamic division or sect first led by Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law and cousin, which separated from the Sunnis. Shi'ite: Follower or member of the Shia. Sunni: Follower of the Sunna, the largest division (83% of Muslims worldwide) within Islam. Wahhabi: A strict, fundamental code of beliefs and law named after Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahhab, an eighteenth-century cleric. In the 20th century, it was used by Abdel Aziz ibn Saud to unify the Saudi Arabian tribes. Umma: "People" - the global community of Muslims

Chart Presentation on Major Differences between Sunni and Shia with regards to Holy Cities, Al Mahdi, Holidays, Current Leaders http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/compari...lamic_sects.htm

One branch of Sufism that has become better-known in the West in recent years is the Mevlevi. Within this tradition, which was founded upon the example of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi, women have always been deeply respected, honored, and invited to participate in all aspects of the spiritual path. Rumi's family itself had a long tradition of recognizing the spiritual beauty and wisdom of women. It was his grandmother, the princess of Khorasan, who first lit the spark of inquiry in Rumi's father, Bahaeddin Weled. Under her care, he grew to be the "sultan of the learned" and a great spiritual light in his time. Rumi's mother, Mu'mine Hatun, a devout and saintly lady, was very dear to him. She died shortly after Rumi's own marriage to Gevher Hatun, the daughter of one of Bahaeddin's closest disciples. Gevher Hatun had grown up beside Rumi, listening to his father's discourses. This beautiful woman, who was known to have the heart of an angel, was the mother of Sultan Weled, to whom Rumi's own teacher, Shams-i-tabriz, conveyed many mysteries. In his Conversations (Maqalat), Shams himself stressed the equal capacity of women to be intimate with the Ineffable and to "die before death." The Conversations (Maqalat) of Shams of Tabriz http://www.sufism.org/books/maqalat.html

What is Sufism? Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam based on the esoteric, or "inner-meaning" of its scripture, namely the Qur'an. Sufism's central doctrine is based on a verse of the Qur'an; in which God says, "I created man and breathed My spirit into him." This "Divine spark" placed into every individual, says the Sufi, must be nurtured and cherished. Furthermore, each individual "spark" or "spirit" separated from the Universal Spirit, desires to return and reunite with the Universal spirit. This is confirmed by another verse in the Qur'an, which says "from God we came, and to God shall we return." This "returning" is vital and central to the Sufi doctrine. Now, the Sufi embarks on a spiritual journey known as the Sufi Path; a path of devotion and love; which leads to none other than God Himself. The formative years of Sufism were between 620 to 1100 AD. It was during this time the Sufi masters, known in Arabic as "Shaikhs," started to form the first Sufi fraternities. These early fraternities, and indeed some individual Sufis, met with great hostility and resistance from certain sections of the Muslim community; on points of interpretation of Islamic Theology and Law. Some early Sufis were even persecuted on account of their mystical utterances and beliefs. The most famous Sufi-martyr was AL HALLAJ of Basra in Iraq.

Shia Islam, like Sunni Islam, has at times been divided into many branches; however, only three of these currently have a significant number of followers. The best known and the one with most adherents is the Twelvers (اثنا عشرية iṯnāʿaÅ¡ariyya) which have a large percentage in Iran 90% and Iraq; the others are Ismaili, Sevener, and Zaidiyyah. Alawites and Druzes consider themselves Shias, although this is sometimes disputed by mainstream Shias[1]. The Sufi orders among the Shias are the Alevi, Bektashi, Kubrawiya, Noorbakhshi, Oveyssi, Qizilbashi, Hamadani and Fatimid orders and denominations. Twenty percent of Turkey's population is Alevi while Lebanon and Syria have a large presence of Druze and Alawites.

How many Shia are there in the world? Many people mistakenly think that Muslims are divided into two halves: Sunnis and Shi'it. In reality Shia are between 7.5% to 11%. All the rest (93.5%) are Sunnis (ignoring the fact the Shi'ism is a totally different religion than Islam). The word Shia includes all kinds of Shi'it Sects such as (Twelvers Imami Rafidi Shia, Isma'ili Shia, Alawi (Nusairi) Shia, Druze Shia, Zaidi Shia). The first statistic was all taken from the British Encyclopedia for the year 1997. However, we feel that it has some incorrect numbers for some countries such as Iran. Their number is compared to the total number of Muslims which is 1,482,596,925 Country Name Total Population Percentage of Shia Afghanistan 22,664,136 15% 3,399,620 Imami Azerbaijan 7,676,953 75% 5,757,715 Imami Bahrain 590,042 61.3% 361,696 Imami India 952,107,694 3% 28,563,231 Isma'ili, Imami Iran 66,094,264 93.4% 61,732,043 Imami Iraq 21,422,292 62.5% 13,388,933 Imami Kuwait 1,950,047 30% 585,014 Imami Lebanon 3,776,317 41% 1,548,290 Imami, Druze Oman 2,186,548 2% 43,731 Imami Pakistan 129,275,660 20% 25,855,132 Imami Qatar 547,761 5% 27,388 Imami Saudi Arabia 19,409,058 3.3% 640,499 Imami Syria 15,608,648 15.3% 2,388,123 Nusairi, Druze Turkey 62,484,478 20% 12,496,896 Nusairi United Arab Emirates 3,057,337 16% 489,174 Imami Yemen 13,483,178 46.9% 6,323,610 Zaidi Total 11.0% 163,601,094

Practical Differences On a practical daily level, Shias have a different call to prayer, they perform wudu and salat differently including placing the forehead onto a piece of hardened clay from Karbala, not directly onto the prayer mat when prostrating. They also tend to combine prayers, sometimes worshipping three times per day instead of five. The Shias also have some different ahadith and prefer those narrated by Ali and Fatima to those related by other companions of the Prophet (pbuh).

.

[/font:06c78cbca4] :shock: :!: Introduction The Shia shahadah (declaration of faith) states: "There is no god but Alláh, Muhammad is the Messenger of Alláh, Alí is the Friend of Alláh. The Successor of the Messenger of Alláh And his first Caliph." If you are already familiar with standard Sunni beliefs, you will immediately notice the addition to the shahadah regarding Imam Ali (ra), cousin of the Prophet (pbuh), husband of his daughter Fatima, father of Hassan and Hussein and the second person ever to embrace Islam. The term Shia or Shi'ite derives from a shortening of Shiat Ali or partisans of Ali. Full version: http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm

.

.