ALL religions are singing one song. The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight looks a little different on this wall, than it does on that wall, and a lot different on the other one, but it is still one light.” – Rumi “I go into Jewish Synagogue, Christian Church, Hindu Temple, Muslim Mosque and I see one Sacred Alter. – Rumi.
Rumi says, “This whole world is but a house, no more. Whether we go from this room to that room, or from this corner to that corner, still are we not in the same house? But the saints who possess God’s jewel have left this house, they have gone beyond.” Rumi sees humanity as one body and different parts of it as different limbs of one body. In the world of today, individualism is pervasive and central to all nations. The societies have turned egocentric, giving rise to barriers like race, culture, ethnicity and language. Rumi says, “We all are one of the same origin, a united whole. As we all come from one God, we ultimately reflect one Transcendent Reality.”
He says, “God’s message to humanity can be compared with a waterfall, which gushes forth from atop of a mountain and once it comes down, it is divided into several different rivers and streams. All these rivers and streams are from the same source, which is water, but each has its own form, one goes through the mountain, one goes through the valleys, and one simply flows in plains. We can differentiate them in the realm of meaning, but in the realm of reality in form, like those streams and rivers they may appear different, but ultimately are from the same source.”
Qur’an says, “For each, we have appointed a law and a path and if God had wished he would have made you one people, but he has made you as you are so that he may put to test to what He has given you, to vie with one another in good works. And to God you will be brought back and He will tell you about those things about which you differed.”(Surah al-Maidah 5; 48) ‘We can reach God either through spiritual practices or after death. God tells us do-good works, because if you do good works, you will come closer and closer to God. Only people with a clean heart and good deeds can get closer to God.’
Qur’an says, “Only he will be happy who comes to God free of evil.”- (Surah An–Nisa, 4:100). Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Verily Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at the quality of your hearts and actions.” – Hadith. Rumi tells us, “God-humanity relationship is that of Lover and Beloved and we can achieve union with the Beloved. That there is a path to God and that path is radical love, extreme love that will come and burn inside of you everything other than God.”
Abul Hassan Kharqani says, “If you get up in the morning and till you go to bed at night if you managed not to break a heart and not harm any human, it is as if you spent the entire day in the company of Prophets.” Omid Safi writes, “Love is not merely an emotion, but the very unleashing of God on Earth. It shapes our individual soaring to God, as much it means to live in harmony with one another in a beloved community sharing finite resources in such a way that guarantees the dignity and the needs of everyone. This harmony we call its ocial justice.”
“The path of radical love is both individual and communal. We must be the lamps on our own paths, but like the birds in ‘Attar’s tale of ‘Flight of the Birds’ ‘Manteq al-Tayr,’ we soar together. It is in others and through others, that we see the beauty that is often veiled within ourselves. It is through this love that kindness can be actualized, justice can be mobilized, meanness can be neutralized, love can be organized and the Beloved Community can be realized.”
In Islam, the realm of spirituality, ‘Ihsan‘ love literally means to bring into reality, what is good and beautiful. It is a commitment to realize and actualize love here and now. To be spiritually awake means making goodness and beauty real. In a popular Prophetic tradition, Ihsan stands for the path to God that is higher than ‘whole hearted surrender to God.’ Qur’an links together this dimension of love, mercy and beauty ‘Ihsan’ with that of social justice.
“This is God’s command, love grace, justice and generosity.”(Surah An-Nahl16:90). Ibn‘Arabi writes, “Help and serve as much as you can the people who hide their misery, who are content with their poverty, the travellers on the path to truth. Do not attribute yourself virtue, goodness and graciousness, because of your service to the creation. Consider that you owe other people thanks for having humbly accepted your help. If people whose pain you alleviated,cause you pain in return and if their habits are dark and cast shadows upon you, show patience and forbearance.”—To be continued
—The writer is author of six books including “Islamic Spirituality and Mysticism, the Path and destination’ & ‘The Philosophy of Rumi and its relevance in the Present Times.
