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Thursday, January 30, 2020
Sufism is the heart of Islam Essay Example for Free
Sufism is the heart of Islam Essay Sufism (tasawuf in Arabic) represents the mystical dimension of Islamic religious life. The phrase mystical itself can be problematic in the sense that it can sometimes be used to depict the occult or the quasimagical quackery of new age thinking or new religious movements. It may also at times be used to express the sense of the mysterious felt by those who assert some class of spirituality, yet Sufism has little, if anything to do with these. Through following a series of devotional practises, which lead to higher levels of ecstatic state, Sufis aspire to realise a condition in which they are in direct communion with God. Sufism itself has been defined in many ways, some view it as a continuous striving to cleanse ones self of all that is bad or evil in order to acquire virtue, others view it as the path followed by an individual who is seeking to free himself or herself from human vices and weaknesses in order to acquire angelic qualities and conduct pleasing to God. Sufism has been criticised heavily by Muslims as well as non-Muslims, while some have argued from the perspective that Sufism is the ultimate heart of Islam. If Sufism despite having differences from conventional Islam, is actually the heart of Islam, then if so, why cant the other sects of Islam such as the Shiite or the Wahabi also be seen as the heart of Islam? The phrase heart of Islam must be given a pinned definition in this context, as some will see it as being the most important thing of the Islamic religion while others will see it simply as Islams truth. Both interpretations of the phrase heart of Islam are vitally the same yet evidence can adjust whether they are the primary hearts of Islam or even secondary. Sufism originated as a reaction to certain features of orthodox Islam. They regarded the mere observance of religious law as a matter of outer conformity and they encouraged a desire for inner, personal experience of the divine through meditation and other means. They encouraged the rejection of wealth and class distinctions and based themselves on the simpler lives led by the prophet Muhammad s.a.w and the first caliphs i n contrast to the worldliness of the Umayyad and Abbaasid caliphates. Sufis are characterised by their particular attachment to zikr (remembrance of Allah) and asceticism (seclusion). The early Sufis focused on the central idea of the love of God, which was introduced by Rabia-al- Adawiyah in the eighth century. From the earliest history of Islam, Sufism gradually developed to take on an organisational form. Pious individuals formed groups or brotherhoods known as turuq (plural of tariqah, which means path) . Each tariqah would be headed by a Sheikh or a spiritual guide and consist of devotees who saw the Sheikh as a true teacher on the path to God. In the course of time, different turuq developed, each having its own teachings and instructions for purifying the heart . If Sufism really is the heart of Islam then there must be factual evidence to support this view, which I am now going to analyse and interpret. Firstly, although Sufism mostly concentrates on the inner world of man and deals with the meaning and effect of religious commandments on mans spirit and heart and is therefore abstract, it does not contradict any of the Islamic ways based on the Quran and the Sunna. In fact its source is the Quran and the Sunna, as well as the conclusions drawn from the Quran and the Sunna via deduction by the purified scholars of Islam. The Quran for Muslims is their most holy book, which lays down for them the law and commandments as well as containing a comprehensive religious philosophy. The Sunna for Muslims is the deeds, sayings and the manners of the prophet, which are to be emulated by Muslims all over. Both the Quran and theSunna are of great importance for Muslims and for their religion Islam. So if Sufism derives its sources from the Quran and the Sunna then it must also be the heart of the religion itself. Sufism dwells on the fundamental virtues of Islam, knowledge of God, sincerity, perfect goodness, and other similar fundamental virtues. The priorities of Sufism have never been different from those of the Shariah. The Shariah is the body of Islamic religious law. Both groups have always depended on the Quran and the Sunna, which are the two main sources of Islam. Both disciplines stress the importance of belief and of engaging in good deeds and good conduct, the only difference is that Sufis emphasize deepening the meaning of good deeds and multiplying them. Sufism must be the heart of Islam since it makes the superfluous endeavour to increase the good deeds that make Allah pleased. Another notable fact is the meaning of the word Islam surrender. True surrender is not only concerned with the will of a Muslim, as it must also involve their whole being. Islam states that a person must be the perfect servant of God in the sense of following his commands. Clearly Allah has given Muslims many faculties such as free will and intelligence, therefore the surrender of Muslims to Allah must be complete and total and not limited to certain faculties. It must occupy the entire individual because otherwise unknown thoughts and emotions as well as false ideas can combine with a misleading sense of external surrender of ones will to God to produce acts in the name of religion that can have disastrous consequences. Sufism is the heart of Islam because Sufis themselves surrender internally as well as externally to the will of God, as it not only is one of their core beliefs but also they make the extra effort to surrender to the will of God, instead of mainstream Muslims who limit themselves to following the legalistic side of the religion. Sufis are the ones who show the greatest attachment to the Shariah, whose inner significance they seek to reach. A different explanation as to why Sufism is the heart of Islam is because although the Quran emphasizes that all Muslims stand equally before God, it also insists that human beings are distinguished in rank according to their knowledge of the truth and virtue, as in the verses, are those who know equal with those who know not? (Quran39:9) and one of Sufisms main goals is ultimate knowledge, knowledge of God, which is why they must be the heart of their religion, as they create extra emphasis on the fundamental virtues of Islam. In Islam itself, Sufism has been over the centuries the hidden heart that has renewed the religion intellectually, spiritually, and ethically and has played the greatest role in its spread and in its relation with other religions. As this person noted in their book , Sufis themselves have visualized Islam as a circle whose hub is the haqiqah. Haqiqa refers to the inner Truth or inner Reality that Sufis believe is at the heart of Islamic revelation. The radii of the circle are the tariqah, and the circumference is the Shariah. Tariqah means the path that one follows through spiritual practise in order to reach the ultimate truth (the haqiqa). Each Muslim is like a point on the circumference, whose totality composes the Islamic community or ummah. To reach the haqiqah one must first stand on the circumference, that is, practise the Shariah, and then follow the tariqah, or path to God, whose end is the centre, God himself, or the haqiqah. This raises the truth that Sufism is the heart of Islam, as here it undoubtedly explains how. All the evidence noted above bestows the suggestion that Sufism is the heart of Islam yet the confirmation has not been revised from both sides and is therefore not balanced yet. To balance our answer to the main question Sufism is the heart of Islam then we must now take into consideration reasons for why Sufism might not be the heart of Islam. Firstly Sufism has come across many problems by fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. For instance, much Sufi poetry refers to intoxication, ( Intoxicated by the Wine of Love. From each a mystic silence Love demands) (Poem by famous Sufi poet Farid ud Din Attar) which Islam expressly forbids as haraam. Some Sufi orders use music, drugs and alcohol to produce ecstatic states. Wine is even a symbol of divine intoxication in the Sufi language of ecstasy. Not only are these haraam in Islam but they also divert the spiritual focus of Sufism. How may Sufism be the pure, uncontaminated heart of Islam when those things that are prohibited in Islam are not forbidden in Sufism? Consequently this leads to doubts being cast over the validity of Sufism as a part of Islam. Not only that but some groups have emerged that consider themselves above the shariah and discussed Sufism as a method of bypassing the rules of Islam in order to attain salvation directly, this has been dissaproved of heavily by muslim scholars. Many Muslims have even considered Sufism as a corruption of Islam drawing on the Sufi concept of fana, passing into Allah and feeling Allahs presence combined with the use of mystical experiences. Fana is interpreted, as being at one with Allah, which is crucially erroneous as Allah is the one and only and the major offence in Islam is to unite an additional with the most glorious Allah. A key theme in Islam is tawhid which is the concept of monotheism and firmly holds that God is the one and only. Further so why Sufism has no site in being the heart of Islam is that the Sufis say: When you unite with the Beloved (God), then there is neither command nor prohibition in matters of religion. Sufis here have customarily discarded the doctrine of the fear of God, the wrath of the Day of Judgment, the fury of the Hell-Fire and the promise of Jannah. They say Faith based on compulsion is slavery, and God has created man with intelligence, free will and love. Hence the mainspring of Sufism is love not fear and obedience to the religious laws. Yet the one and only Allah the Exalted describe his believers as: Verily those who fear their Lord with reverence, and those who believe in the signs of the Lord, and those who ascribe no partners to their Lord, and those who give what they give while their hearts are full of fear, because to their Lord they will return.(23.57-61) Thus it has been clearly stated here using verses from the Quran that Sufism has gone against the doctrines of Islam, as the love of Allah necessitates following the commands of the Messenger of Allah with hope for reward and fear of punishment in the Hereafter. Muslims deem that any particular act of devotion must be substantiated by the Quran and Sunna only. Allah the Exalted says: Say (to them), Produce your proof if you are truthful. [2: 111], and the Prophet (s.a.w) said, The created is not to be obeyed over the Creator. However the sheikhs in Sufism are given the standing of a deity, when attributes which belong to only Allah, are also assigned to their Sheikhs. How can Sufism be the heart of Islam when they are going against Allah in terms of whom to praise and to what extent. Never the less orthodox Muslims may condemn fundamentals of Sufism yet they never habitually outlaw Sufism as completely incorrect. In this sense if there are elements of Sufism criticised heavily by Muslims as well as non-Muslims alike, and there are other elements that are not usually criticised, then how may Sufism be the true heart of the religion of Islam when it is clearly not accepted fully and truly by all Muslims of all sects. To understand the true heart of Islam it is essential to understand the significance of the prophet Muhammad s.a.w from the traditional Muslim point of view. The Quran asserts clearly that the prophet was a man and not divine but also adds that he was given the most exalted and noble character and that he was chosen as a model for Muslims to emulate. For Muslims the prophet is a mortal man but also Gods most perfect creature, or what the Sufis call the universal man. As Sufis seek spiritual closeness with God then they are also putting themselves on the same level as Muhammad s.a.w. If Sufism is subsequently not the heart of Islam, in that case then what is? Could the five pillars: Shahada, Salah, Zakah, Sawm or Hajj be the hearts of Islam. Or the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, the ummah, the concept of jihad, the Quran, possibly Sunnis or shias or a sect of Islam? These are all elements of the religion Islam, yet what is that which stands out above the rest? If the holy Quran is the source of Islam, then it must also be the heart of Islam? This book of divine guidance and direction for mankind was revealed to the prophet Muhammad s.a.w through the angel Gabriel. The prophet Muhammad s.a.w on the other hand is considered to be the central human figure in the religion of Islam as well as being the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, and Jesus etc. what if the prophet Muhammad s.a.w a Sufi? More over I mean this central religious text of Islam cannot be unaccompanied in being the heart of Islam, meaning the prophet Muhammad s.a.w must in addition be obliged to be the heart of Islam, or if not entirely at leas t a component of it? This gives rise to the reality that every mainspring idea in Islam (such as the five pillars, ummah, jihad) is thought of in elevated significance but yet none single-handedly can fit the true hearts of Islam. All either must be combined totally in order to allow the heart of Islam to be formulated or there is something that is of even greater importance, which is veiled yet. If no one thing can be the true heart of Islam then there must be a variety of things which when thought of together make up the ultimate hearts of Islam, (one of which could be mysticism.) Conclusion After evaluating all the evidence drawn upon I have come to the conclusion that Sufism and the mystical experiences are not at the heart of Islam because their negative aspects outweigh their positive aspects, and rather the oneness of Allah (tawhid) is the true heart of Islam. As Syed Hossein Nasr has said in his book The Heart Of Islam, at the heart of Islam stands the reality of God, the one, the absolute, and the infinite. Greater then all we can conceive or imagine, yet closer to us then our jugular vein. Allah is the central reality of Islam in all of its facets, and attestation to this oneness, which is called tawhid, is the axis around which all that is Islamic revolves. The oneness of God is for Muslims not only the heart of their religion, but also that of every authentic religion. The uncontaminated pure and true heart of Islam is to testify to this oneness, using the formula there is no God but God and Muhammad s.a.w is the last messenger of Allah. This testament is not only the heart of Islam as well as the foundation from which all other beliefs and practises of Islam are sought, but it is also the first words a newborn will hear. Bibliography Books- The other side of Sufism by A. Tabari The heart of Islam by Syed Hossein Nasr The mystics of Islam by The basics Islam by Colin Turner Sufism By Sri Swami Sivananda The mystical doctrines and methods of Islam by William Stoddart Websites- Wikipedia Sufism Sufi Islam Muhammad s.a.w Quran
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Bats :: essays research papers
Bats Contents 1. Title Page Page... 1 2.     Contents                                   Page... 2 3.     Bat Facts Page... 3-4 4.     Congress Ave. Bridge Page... 5-6 5.     How To Get A Bat Out Of Your House Page... 6 6.     About Bat Houses                              Page... 7 7.     References                                   Page... 8+      My report is on bats. I will start my story off by telling you some facts about bats. Bat Facts 1. Did you know that the worlds smallest mammal is a Bumblebee bat that lives in Thailand. It weighs less than a penny! 2. Vampire bats adopt orphan pups (the name for a baby bat) and have been known to risk their lives to share food with the less fortunate. 3. The African Heart-Nosed bat can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from a distance of over six feet! 4. The giant Flying Fox bat from Indonesia has a wing span of six feet! 5. Disk-winged bats of Latin America have adhesive disks on both feet that enable them to live in unfurling banana leaves (or even walk up a window pane). 6. Nearly 1,000 kinds of bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species, and most are highly beneficial. 7. Worldwide, bats are the most important natural enemies of night- flying insects! 8. A single brown bat can catch over 600 mosquitoes in just one hour! 9. Tropical bats are key elements in rain forest ecosystems which rely on them to pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for countless trees and shrubs. 10. Bat droppings in caves support whole ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents, and producing gasohol and antibiotics. 11. More than 50% of American bat species are in severe decline or already listed as endangered. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide. 12. All mammals can contract rabies; however, even the less than half of one percent of bats that do, normally bite only in self- defense and pose little threat to people who do not handle them. 13. An anticoagulant from Vampire bat saliva may soon be used to treat human heart patients. 14. Contrary to popular misconception, bats are not blind, do not become entangled in human hair, and seldom transmit disease to other animals or humans.      Well, enough with the facts. I think that should get you ready for the rest of my essay.      Austin, Texas Congress Ave. Bridge      A Bit Of History.......      When Engineers reconstructed downtown Austin's Congress Bridge in 1980, they had no idea that the new crevices beneath the bridge would make an ideal bat roost. Although bats had lived in Austin for years, it was headline news when they suddenly began moving by the thousands under the bridge.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
The Case for Multicultural Education
The Case for Multicultural Education Venica Blythe Diversity and Achievement EDU507. 90 Prof. Joseph Paige The Case for Multicultural Education Who am I? I am a Female, I am Black, I am Jamaican, and I speak Patois (Jamaican dialect). All the things I just mentioned are just a fraction of who but these same things have been used on numerous occasions to form a stereotype against me. I am also a mother, wife, and an educator. None of the things that I have listed will by itself adequately tell you who I am, but as I stand before you today I want you to understand fully my purpose for being here.My name is Venica Blythe and I am here to promote multicultural education in all our schools curricula. Being an educator for well over a decade I have come to realization that there is a great need for Multicultural Education (ME) Banks (1994) recommended a multicultural curriculum that would teach minority ethnic groups how to free themselves from psychological captivity, stress social action , acquire humanistic dispositions toward all ethnic groups, realize power and ethnic identity without being chauvinistic and ethnocentric, and acquire the national identity and skills necessary to participate completely in the society.What is Multicultural Education? Multicultural Education (ME) can be defined as developing a curriculum that will incorporate all facets of the varied races and cultures that are found within any classroom. Such content will be taught through instruction designed for the cultures of the several different races in an educational system. Bennett (2011) estimates that â€Å"by the year 2020, children of color will exceed forty-five percent of the school-age population in the united Stated†(p. 16).It is because of such numbers why policy-makers and administrators can no longer pretend as if there is no need for educating both the students and the teachers. An ME will help to foster a reduction of fear and ignorance that exists in many races against people from diverse backgrounds. The Need for ME The case for a multicultural education is even greater as American schools continue to become more culturally diverse. The aim of a ME is to create equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of their race, ethnicity or culture.This can be achieved in such a way that it reflects diverse groups found in the society, schools and even in the classrooms (Banks, 1995, 1996; Gollnick & Chinn, 1998). Sleeter and Grant (2006), Bennett (1990), Banks (1994), assert that the inclusion of ME in the curriculum of schools creates an atmosphere where racial attitudes and academic achievement are improved. Decades ago, the concept of ME emerged out of the civil rights era in the U. S. But I am here to tell you today that presently, in the 21st century the U. S. s not alone in the struggles to build a case for a multicultural education. The European continent, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and even Japan are just a few of the countries that now have to consider the implementation of ME. The effects of immigration and even natural disasters have resulted in these countries attempting to cope with the diversity that now exists in their society. To better prepare our student for the 21st century ME is not only for the primary level, colleges and universities must also play a critical role.A survey done by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), on diversity requirements done in August 2000, involved responses from 543 colleges and universities. In this survey, 62% of the respondents reported either already having a diversity requirement or being the in process of creating one. 83% of those institutions with requirements offer â€Å"one or more courses addressing diversity in the U. S. †, and 65% offer â€Å"one or more courses addressing diversity outside the U. S. †.These numbers are evidence that the issue of ME is being promoted throughout higher education; our colle ge graduates MUST learn how to be effective and competitive in the 21st century by mastering the skills needed to work, live and build positive relationships with people from varying background. Conclusion Take Precious from the same titled 2009 movie, Precious (Daniels, Magness, & Siegel-Magness, 2009) was an overweight, African American, teenage mom struggling to finish high school because of her illiteracy.As I watched the movie I remember thinking that many aspects of it was too crude, but the sad reality is, there are many Precious at the school where I teach. These Precious’s are from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominica Republic, and Haiti – just to name a few of the different cultures we work with. As I work with these students I found my self often times forcing them to adapt to the American way, especially since as I was making an effort to do the same.Today, I say to you go back to your schools, go back to your jobs or even your communities and make an effort to k now that student, know that person that you have been avoiding or the student that you seemingly find difficult to deal with and seek to understand what their â€Å"Sparks†are – what is it that student loves to do. Multicultural education can help to develop the sparks in all our students; it will help them to learn how to embrace the differences that lies within them and others.According to Gabelko and Michaelis (1981) and Lynch (1987), the reduction-of-prejudice dimension of ME is geared toward helping students acquire more democratic values, behaviors, and attitudes. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP; 1996), ME should be considered in connection with the school’s curriculum, instructional practices, and staffing. In the end, education ought to equip students for the interdependency life of the 21st century (NASSP, 1996, p. 68). How do you plan to equip yourselves and your students for the 21st century? References: Ba nks, J. A. (1994).An Introduction to Multicultural Education. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Banks, J. A. (1995). Multicultural education: Historical, development, dimensions, and practice. In J. A. Banks and C. A. McGee-Banks (Eds. ), Handbook of research on multicultural education (pp. 3-24). New York: MacMillan. Bennett, C. (2011). Comprehensive Multicultural Education: Theory and Practice. (Seventh Edition) Boston: Pearson. Bennett, C. I. (1990). Comprehensive Multicultural Education: Theory and practice (2nd ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Daniels, L. , Magness, G. , & Siegel-Magness, Sarah (Producers), & Daniels, L. Director). (2009). Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate. Gabelko, N. H. , & Michaelis, J. U. (1981). Reducing adolescent prejudice: A handbook. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Gollnick, D. M. and Chinn, P. C. (1998). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (fifth edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Lynch, J. (1987). Prejudice reduction and the schools. New York, NY: Nichols. Sleeter, C. E. , & Grant, C. (2006). Making choices for multicultural education: Five approaches to race, class, and gender (5th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
The Role Of Women In Emily Bront�s Wuthering Heights
A Not So Gentlewoman (1970) Throughout history, social issues have come and gone, but some issues are constant. Issues such as love, sin, and peer pressure are timeless. Many women often feel pressure from society to act and appear a certain way in order to be accepted and â€Å"fit in†. Generally, women have two options when confronting peer pressure: succumb to the expectations of society or fight to be their unique individual. In Emily Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, Wuthering Heights, the dynamic character Catherine both fights and succumbs to the pressures of societal norm, and as a result, she experiences changes in her behavior, as well as experiences internal conflict. Although Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s story is fictional, the society in which Catherine lives in†¦show more content†¦The events in a child’s life mold who he or she will one day become; for Catherine this was the day she and Heathcliff snuck out to the Thurshcross Grange and she injured her ankle. Durin g her early years, Catherine was free spirited and was unable to understand or relate to her father’s serious attitude. In attempt to provoke her father Catherine, †¦ was never so happy as when we were all scolding her at once, and she defying us with her bold, saucy look, and her ready words; turning Joseph’s religious curses into ridicule, baiting me [Nelly Dean] , and doing just what her father hated most, showing how her pretended insolence, which he thought real, had more power over Heathcliff than his kindness†¦ ( Brontà « 43). Catherine loved to push the boundaries and see how far she could go without getting in trouble, and as a part of her â€Å"fun†, she began to develop a close relationship with Heathcliff. The relationship did not benefit Catherine’s status as a gentlewoman because of Heathcliff’s relations with gypsies. Heathcliff encouraged behavior that was anything but acceptable for a young lady during this time period, which ultimately leads Catherine down a long path of internal conflict. One night, while spying on the Linton’s home, Catherine is attacked by a dog and suffers an injury to her ankle. After being discovered, Catherine spends five weeks recovering at the LintonShow MoreRelatedWuthering Heights: Conflict Between Savage and Civilised1601 Words  | 7 Pagescivilization in Wuthering Heights As Charlotte Bronte mentioned on sister Emily’s Wuthering Heights: ††¦She did not know what she had done;†creative artists â€Å"work passively under dictates [they] neither delivered nor could question.†I can say that Emily Bronte knew what she was doing when approaching the issues of the Wuthering Heights. The antagonic play between nature and culture in Bronte’s vision were of great impact at the time and I could say that this is a reason why Wuthering Heights is a literary
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