Beautifully articulated and necessary too: I have found the Akbarian a most compelling perspective on life and living well. This, and the Homer-to-Hemmingway khatm for a good education, will orient the abdal in our midst to take compassionate stewardship of a world to which they are otherwise entirely indifferent.
I really love the quote but at the same time I find the mystics' formulations confusing. In your comment, you relativize the aspect of the illusory, determinism and powerlessness. You reintroduce the aspect of the effectiveness of our actions. Your explanation leads back to the cosmology of the Quran, in which everything is a test and our iman is linked to actions that have an individual and universal effect, for which we are also held accountable. You interpret the mystical view to mean that one can neither act nor work but in accordance with the will of Allah. But I don't think that's what the mystics mean. They actually consider our actions to be an illusion and the cosmology of the Quran to be the outer meaning of the Quran, but the truth is - according to them - that everything we do isn’t us and not relevant to the course of history. So what sense do our actions make from their point of view and why should they be in accordance with any norm and why should these illusions bring about a change in history?
Magnificent piece, Sayyid Firas! Modernity has exacerbated the challenge to look inward to the heart as the authentic starting place for any serious attempt of self refinement. But, alas, the tendency to look outwards dominates so many muslims…
Pathetic to see that some aren’t interested in pushing themselves and struggling to try to always be as authentic to Islamic sources as possible and instead let their quitter ideology mediate their relationship with and interpretation of sacred knowledge. This deen and its history/tradition should challenge and reform a person, not the other way around.
Beautifully articulated and necessary too: I have found the Akbarian a most compelling perspective on life and living well. This, and the Homer-to-Hemmingway khatm for a good education, will orient the abdal in our midst to take compassionate stewardship of a world to which they are otherwise entirely indifferent.
I really love the quote but at the same time I find the mystics' formulations confusing. In your comment, you relativize the aspect of the illusory, determinism and powerlessness. You reintroduce the aspect of the effectiveness of our actions. Your explanation leads back to the cosmology of the Quran, in which everything is a test and our iman is linked to actions that have an individual and universal effect, for which we are also held accountable. You interpret the mystical view to mean that one can neither act nor work but in accordance with the will of Allah. But I don't think that's what the mystics mean. They actually consider our actions to be an illusion and the cosmology of the Quran to be the outer meaning of the Quran, but the truth is - according to them - that everything we do isn’t us and not relevant to the course of history. So what sense do our actions make from their point of view and why should they be in accordance with any norm and why should these illusions bring about a change in history?
Magnificent piece, Sayyid Firas! Modernity has exacerbated the challenge to look inward to the heart as the authentic starting place for any serious attempt of self refinement. But, alas, the tendency to look outwards dominates so many muslims…
"We act, but our action is not about imposing our will—it’s about aligning with the Divine Will."
May we all internalise this nuanced but profound concept.
Allah yubarikk akhi, very interesting.
Pathetic to see that some aren’t interested in pushing themselves and struggling to try to always be as authentic to Islamic sources as possible and instead let their quitter ideology mediate their relationship with and interpretation of sacred knowledge. This deen and its history/tradition should challenge and reform a person, not the other way around.