E-baad-e News: 7/4/10

which include misguided militancy in the name of religion, adherents must move beyond the platitudes of interfaith dialogue and reach deep, to draw from the ancient waters of prayer, meditation, and introspection. The noise of secularity - and even the noise of religion - has crowded our minds and left us incapable of thoughtful action. But noise is a hallmark of the modern world. In contrast, at the true heart of every religion lies silence, penetrated by illumination: Buddha, the Enlightened One, under the Lote tree; Moses, the prophet, in the Sinai; Jesus, the Messiah, in the desert; and the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira. The source and power of religion is in its ineffable presence, as well as in the profound state of spiritual quietude that accompanies it, though it is often absent in modern religious adherents. Religious disquietude, and the problems it foments, has led people to seek other sources of silence for enlightenment, or noise for entertainment, that are less troublesome and less self-righteous than religion. Meanwhile, the cycle of oppression spirals on.

-from the introduction to The Prayer of the Oppressed of Imam Muhammad b. Nasir al-Dar'i. Translation & Introduction by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, pg.17

"Another subtle distinction,

also ignored or forgotten, is the intended goal: While the Qur'an commands us to work toward social justice, we are not responsible for the outcome of our efforts; in opposing injustice, we are accountable only for the struggle itself. For it is this struggle, and the knowledge that it is a trial from God, that allows our soul to be protected from dissolution, and from the spiritual entropy that reduces men to cynics who resent the world, surrender to its wrongs, or, worse, become participants in them. This knowledge also prevents those engaged in a genuine struggle from using means that betrays the ends, however tempting or efficacious those means may be. Too many activists or victims of oppression succumb to bitter resentment when this truth is not rooted in their hearts.

-from the introduction to The Prayer of the Oppressed of Imam Muhammad b. Nasir al-Dar'i. Translation & Introduction by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, pg. 9

"As human beings,

it is only through others that we can truly see ourselves, hear ourselves, and speak to ourselves; but in his self-obsession, a tyrant is utterly incapable of such reflection. The example of Pharaoh, the archetypal tyrant in both the Bible and the Qur'an, best illustrates this point, with the Qur'an's reference to the his statement, "I am your lord, most high" (79:24). This statement captures a certain truth about the nature of the oppressor: he is an idolater, one who has chosen to worship his self rather than his Creator. His actions evince this, should his tongue fail to express it; and because he sees himself as a god in place of God, he is not to be crossed or confronted without the exacting of a terrible price.

-from the introduction to The Prayer of the Oppressed of Imam Muhammad b. Nasir al-Dar'i. Translation & Introduction by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, pg. 5