June 2014

Editors:

Shahid Aziz

Mustaq Ali

Contents: Page

The Call of the Messiah 1

Environmental Protection

By Prof. Henry Francis

(Abdil Ghaffar) Espiritu 4

So What was Rumi talking about?

By Mohamed Ghilan 7

م می

ح الر

ن

م

ح اہلل الر

م س

ب

The Call of the Messiah

by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi

The Scriptural Sign

There is yet another point of resemblance.

With regard to the last Khilafat of the Mosaic

dispensation, it was written in the Torah that

the system would come to a close and terminate

with the appearance of the Messiah who had

been promised to the Jews that his advent

would take place at the head of the fourteenth

century towards the close of the system, and

that the sign of his appearance was that the

kingdom and rule of the Jews would, at the time,

cease to exit. Turn over Genesis, (49:10) and

read: "The sceptre shall

not depart from Judah,

nor a lawgiver from be-

tween his feet, until Shi-

loh come; and unto him

shall the gathering of

the people be.”

The significance of

this verse obviously was

that the kingdom of the

Jews who would disobey and displease God,

would continue anyhow up to the Messiah’s

appearance, and the sceptre of their kingdom

would not break until the coming of their Mes-

siah, Jesus the Christ, and that when he had

come, the sceptre would break into pieces, and

their kingdom or rule would be left nowhere in

the world. In the same way, the Messiah of the

Islamic system has been said in Bukhari to be a

sign of the end of Christianity and the begin-

ning of its decline and decay. The statement

signifies that the progress of the Christian faith

would not be hindered or impedited, nor its

onward march slackened or shortened until the

Messiah of Islam had made his appearance on

the stage. He it is who will break the Cross into

pieces, and kill the swine. The time when he

will make his appearance, will be the time of

decline of the Religion of the Cross; and even

though he may not annihilate the dajjal, i.e.

demolish and destroy delusive and sceptical

ideas with the weapon of his argument, still it

will be such a time that all those ideas will, of

themselves, vanish away and disappear, and the

Religion of the Cross, at the time of his advent,

will reach the point of its decline and fall, so

that his coming will be the sign of disintegra-

tion and decay of that religion; that is to say,

such a wind begin to blow, with his appear-

ance, which will draw and pull the minds and

brains against the Religion of the Cross. And

thousands of arguments will crop up for the

falsification and refutation of that faith, and

there will be, excepting in-

tellectual and heavenly

signs, no other fight for re-

ligion, and the age itself will

desire and demand that

change. Even if the Prom-

ised Messiah had not come,

even then the new wind of

the time would have caused

the perverting progress of

dajjal to melt away an disap-

June

2014

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2

June 2014

decay. It is a truth that notwithstanding the fact

that they are spending billions of rupees against

Islam. Islam is taking forward strides day after

day, so that the enlightened people of Europe

are becoming disgusted with the Religion of the

Cross, and for this reason the Christian minister

had to turn their attention to the educationally

and financially disadvantaged of this country.

And what is written in the hadith that the Prom-

ised Messiah will break the Cross, does not

mean that he will do so in the physical sense,

but the significance is that he will adduce such

strong arguments which will lay bare and ex-

posed the errors of the doctrine of Cross so that

sane people will come to believe in the falseness

of this religion. The hadith points clearly to the

fact that the time of the Promised Messiah will

be such a time when the falsehood of the Relig-

ion of Cross will itself come to light and be dis-

closed day after day, and the minds of people, of

themselves, will incline to the thought that the

Religion of Trinity is devoid of truth. To assert

and say that there will be fighting with the

Christians at that time, is to murder truth. Islam

and the Holy Quran has not permitted anywhere

or at any time that the people who propagate

their faith only with the help of the words of

their mouths and money, and wage no war for

the sake of religion, should be fought against

and killed. Such ideas are uncompromisingly

against the Quranic teaching. May the Most High

God be merciful unto the condi-

tion of our ulema. They are in

manifest error. The significance

on the other hand, is that during

the Messiah’s time, Islam will

make progress merely by means

of its spiritual power, and remove

all poisonous matter with its

remedial and healing power; and

that with the advent of the Prom-

ised Messiah such angels will

come from heaven who will in-

spire truth into human minds,

and change their thoughts; and

it is, therefore, written that the

Promised Messiah will descend

resting his hands on the shoul-

ders of two angels, its signifi-

cance being that with his ap-

pear in nothingness. But this honour will be

conferred on him, although it will all be the

work of God Himself. Nations will not be de-

stroyed, but the new change coming over the

minds will deal a blow to and destroy falsehood.

This is, in fact, the significance of the terms یکسر

.الصلیب و یضع الحرب It is merely wrong and incorrect to

say that Jihad will take place. The meaning of

the hadith is that with the Promised Messiah

will descend a heavenly weapon; that is to say,

the two factors, namely, the heavenly sign and

the new wind, will make away with and destroy

he cult of dajjal; and the Truth of Divine unity

and faith will make progress and flourish; and ill

-will an animosity will vanish away yielding

place to the days of peacefulness and tranquility

and then will the end of the world; and it is for

this reason that we have given to this book the

title The Age of Reconciliation.

True Significance of hadith

In short, the statement (what goes here?) in

the hadith points to the fact that Christianity,

until the advent of the Promised Messiah, will

make much progress, and spread in all direc-

tions, and achieve great power and dignity, so

that it will be considered as one of the great

religions. But when the Promised Messiah will

make his appearance, that day will be the day of

decline and decay of the Christian faith, and the

host High God will blow

such a wind, and create

such wisdom and under-

standing in the minds that

fair-hearted persons will

come to realize that it is a

mistake to raise mortal

man to the dignity of God-

hood, and a folly to seek

real salvation through some

one's hanging on the gal-

lows. And the truth of this

statement has been estab-

lished and proved in this

age. Prominent clergymen

have issued posters to the

effect that in this age the

Christian faith has, all at

once, fallen into decline and

June 2014

3

High God protected his Word in four ways: firstly,

He protected and preserved its words and their

arrangement by means of those persons who have

learnt the whole Quran by heart, and created in

every age millions of such people who preserve the

sacred text so perfectly in their memories that if

you should ask them one word, they would repro-

duce and recite it with all its context. In this way,

the holy Quran has been in every age guarded

against literal corruption. Secondly, by means of

such great Imams and divines who, in every cen-

tury having been endowed with a correct and true

understanding of the Holy Quran, have expounded

and explained the compendious and concise por-

tions of the Book with the help of the Holy

Prophet's traditions, and saved, in this way, the

Holy Quran and its sacred teaching from interpre-

tive contamination and explicatory errors. Thirdly,

by means of those persons spoken to by God, who,

reconciling the Quranic teaching with intellect and

reason have protected the sacred word of God

from the sneer and vilification of short-sighted and

indiscreet philosophers. Fourthly, by means of per-

sons favoured with spiritual gifts, which have

saved and protected the Holy Word of God, in

every age, from the attacks of the deniers of mira-

cles and Divine knowledge.

Footnotes:

* The only difference in the two prophecies is that in

the first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised

Messiah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish

kingdom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his

coming was said to be the decay and deterioration of the

Religion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to

do with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing

to do with religion.

** The only difference in the two prophecies is that in

the first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised

Messiah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish

kingdom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his

coming was said to be the decay and deterioration of the

Religion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to

do with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing

to do with religion.

The only difference in the two prophecies is that in the

first prophecy, the sign of the advent of the Promised Mes-

siah was said to be the decline and fall of the Jewish king-

dom, whereas in the second prophecy the sign of his com-

ing was said to be the decay and deterioration of the Relig-

pearance will commence the influence and sway

of the angels, and people will gradually wake up

from their sleep of indifference and apathy. Since

all these things will begin with the advent of the

Promised Messiah, the whole work of the breaking

of the cross will be attributed to him; and what-

ever good and excellent knowledge will he ex-

pounded by any person against heresy and unbe-

lief, all that knowledge will be on account of the

Promised Messiah, and will be attributed to him;

for, he it is with whom the angels have descended,

and he it is who, taking into consideration the

spiritual lights, has descended from heaven, and

he it is who has come to sweep down, like a falcon,

upon the Trinity of Damascus, but not with vio-

lence and inclemency, but with peacefulness and

amity. The Most High God is the most merciful of

all, and showers His mercy on his slaves in a much

greater measure than will, do even their own par-

ents. It can

never be

p o s s i b l e

that in re-

gard to His

weak and

indifferent

people, He

will ever

adopt this

a t t i t u d e

that even

t h o u g h

f i n d i n g

them grop-

ing in the

darkness of

i n d i f f e r -

ence for

1300 years,

guide them not aright by clear arguments, and sat-

isfy them not by heavenly signs, but, on the other

hand depute some one to kill and destroy the indif-

ferent people. This thing is repugnant to His attrib-

utes which have been taught in the holy Quran. In

the Book of God a promise has been held out that

in the time of mischief and danger, the Host High

God will guard against and protect Islam. He says:

لنا نحن انا کرا نز surely we haveلحافظون لہ وانا الذ

revealed the Quran, and surely we are its guardian

(15:9).

So in accordance with his promise, the Most

4

June 2014

ion of the Cross. The second prophecy had nothing to do

with the kingdom just as the first prophecy had nothing

to do with religion.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC-

TION

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE QUR’AN AND

THE SUNNAH

By: Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu

One of the ninety-nine Names of Allah is “Al-

Quddus”. This particular attribute of Almighty

Allah has the following meanings: The Holy One,

the Pure One, and the Immaculate One. This Di-

vine Name of Allah as “Al-Quddus” is manifested

in ecology by the environment’s capacity to pu-

rify itself naturally. For instance, the bodies of

animals that die upon the earth and the putrefy-

ing remains of vegetation are subjected to

chemical transformation; and in time, they are

naturally deposited into the depths of the earth

thereby preserving the purity of the earth’s sur-

face. Likewise, rains regularly drench the earth,

the sun lights upon the earth, and the wind con-

tinually sweeps all impurities on the earth’s sur-

face. In like manner, a true Muslim must en-

deavor to take lessons and benefit from Allah’s

Divine Name of “Al-Quddus” by seeing to it that

his life and his environment are both pure and

clean. Muslims can only maintain the pristine

purity of the environment if they make it their

spiritual duty to actively protect the environ-

ment from all types of manmade ecological de-

struction.

Islam teaches that humans are stewards of

Allah’s creation. Declares the Holy Qur’an: “He

brought you forth from the earth and made you

dwell in it” (Hud:61). On the basis of the Islamic

concept of khilafah (stewardship), humans are

tasked by Almighty Allah to be protectors of

their environment. The Holy Qur’an further ex-

horts Muslims to protect the ecology and every-

thing that comprise it by these profound words:

“The seven heavens and the earth, and those in

them declare His glory. And there is not a single

thing but glorifies Him with His praise” (Bani

Isra’il:44). Since the whole universe is the out-

ward expression of Allah’s greatness, no Muslim

should cause destruction to the environment

nor engage in activities that destroy ecological

balance and sustainability. Islam invites all hu-

man beings in general and Muslims in particular

to be always on guard and mindful of ecology’s

welfare, by seeking to protect it from all harms,

destruction, and impurities. Allah has gener-

ously allowed humans to benefit from the crea-

tures and fruits of the earth for as long as they

are lawful and clean (halalan wa tayyiban). As

humans benefit from Allah’s creatures, they

have a spiritual duty to take care of their envi-

ronment and an ethical obligation not to offset

nature’s equilibrium and to ensure that future

inhabitants of the earth will continue to have

access to these bounties of Allah. In many pas-

sages of the Holy Qur’an, Allah warns us that

wastage of natural resources is a grave sin, and

destroying the balance of the earth through

wanton and indiscriminate use by greedy ex-

ploiters deserves punishment in the Hereafter

(See; Araf:31 and Bani Isra’il:26-27).

Almighty Allah, the Eternal Lawgiver of the

cosmos has provided us with sound environ-

mental principles as well as spiritual laws gov-

erning ecological spirituality so that we, His ser-

vants will be able to live our lives upon this

earth as His trustees and vicegerents in caring

for and protecting His creation. According to the

Holy Qur’an, the earth, and in truth, the whole

universe were created by Allah in the most

beautiful and perfect manner, since Almighty

Allah made the cosmos and everything in it, hu-

mans included, in perfect and beautiful balance

(See, Tin:4). Humans were tasked by Allah the

June 2014

5

duty of protecting the environment’s wellbeing

since it is the human beings who are the best of

creatures and are gifted by Allah with rational

discernment and freewill to carry-out His com-

mand in protecting the earth and the whole of

nature. However, there are many times when

humans show their ungratefulness and denial of

the covenant made with their Lord that they

started to behave despicably, as if they are “the

lowest of the low” by beginning to pollute their

environment and by greedily exploiting natural

resources simply to satisfy their lust, selfishness

and caprice (Tin:5). In the words of the Holy

Qur’an: “Corruption has appeared in the land

and the sea on account of that which men’s

hands have wrought, that He [Allah] may make

them taste a part of that which they have done,

so that they may return [back to

Him]” (Rum:41). No wonder, that in our present

milieu, many calamities emanating from the en-

vironment befall humankind. These environ-

mental catastrophes are reminders for us to re-

pent from our irresponsible ways and unsus-

tainable manner of treating our ecology, and to

return back to Allah’s instructions and guidance

in the manner of caring for our environment and

natural resources.

Time and again, the Holy Qur’an reminded

all the peoples of the world, Muslims and non-

Muslims alike, to take seriously this divine man-

date of khalifat-ul-ardh (stewardship of the

earth) by seeing to it that no wastage and ex-

ploitation of the earth’s resources are being

done by fellow humans. All of us should be

mindful that the satisfaction of our basic neces-

sities must not be done in a wasteful or prodigal

manner at the expense of the future generations

following us (See Surah Araf:31). We, Muslims

who are the direct inheritors of the commands

of Allah as found in the Holy Qur’an, should all

the more follow His directives in caring for and

protecting our environment. We must fully ad-

here to the Qur’anic commands against wasting

our natural resources and against exploiting and

polluting our ecology. By following the examples

of environmental protection undertaken by the

Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings

of Allah be upon him, and His Blessed Compan-

ions, we will be able to preserve our ecological

resources for the years to come.

Prophet Muhammad was a great exemplar

to all Muslims in respect to environmental man-

agement and ecological protection. The Holy

Prophet participated in the city planning of Me-

dina as an urban area with environmental sus-

tainability in mind. He forbade the cutting down

of trees, killing of wild animals and hunting

birds not just in Medina, but also in the city of

Mecca and the oasis surrounding Taif. The

Prophet declared that the distance of 1,000

square meter circumferential radius around

Mecca must be designated as conservation ar-

eas. Within these areas, he strongly prohibited

the cutting down of trees, hunting and killing of

insects and birds, and even breaking palm

branches (Sunan Ibn Majah, pp.113). He like-

wise forbade Muslims from wasting water while

performing their ablution, even if they are living

near streams or riverbanks. These prohibitions

show that indeed, the Holy Prophet is very con-

cerned with environmental protection and that

he wanted all Muslims to do likewise (Sunan

Abu Dawud, pp 43)

The Prophet saw that Medina was a verdant

oasis where date palms grew in abundance and

many cattle fed upon its fertile grasslands. In

Medina, he commanded that for every palm tree

that is cut, another must be planted in its stead.

The people of Taif sent a delegation to establish

alliance with Medina; and as one of the framers

of the terms of agreement, the Holy Prophet

added provisions declaring that the valleys of

Taif must be environmentally conserved, so that

destroying farms and hunting wild animals in

the region were forbidden and that all tribal eld-

ers of Taif must strictly implement this provi-

sion. Also, upon his peaceful conquest of the city,

the Prophet enjoined the Muslims of Mecca to

plant trees and date palms along the grassland

6

June 2014

periph-

e r i e s

a n d

n e a r

wells so

that un-

derground aquifers will not dry-up and grasses

will not be scorched by the desert heat. Again,

the Prophet prohibited the cutting of old giant

trees which were used by wayfarers and beasts

of burden for resting and shelter (Sunan Abu, 83

- 87)

The Prophet gave clear orders regarding

environmental sanitation. He was very con-

cerned about the health of cattle, camels and

horses as well as the cleanliness of their grazing

sites. He also gave orders that mosques should

be cleansed and perfumed regularly with aro-

matic herbs and wood resins, that the

frontyards and backyards of a Muslim’s house

should be thoroughly cleaned, and that no one

should urinate nor defecate near bodies of wa-

ters nor human waste be thrown near sources of

running water (Tirmidhi, pp.64-66 and Bukhari,

Kitab-ul-Wudhu, pp.103). Similarly, this state-

ment from the Holy Prophet illustrates well the

principle of sustainable land use: “If someone

revives an infertile piece of land by planting

trees and by farming on it, such person will be

rewarded by God for this righteous deed. If any

living creature benefits from this land or from

its produce, it will be recorded as charity for the

one who cultivates it” (Bayhaqi, pp.20-22). On a

personal level, the Prophet himself was a practi-

cal model to others in terms of environmental

sanitation. He, alongside his beloved wife Ai-

shah Siddiqah, would make their surroundings

clean by sweeping the floor of their own house,

courtyard, and backyard even as far as the adjacent

lot next to the Prophet’s mosque (Sunan Tirmidhi,

pp.11– 13)

The Sahabah-ul-Kiram (Holy Companions of the

Prophet), who themselves were ideal examples of

holiness, followed the Prophet’s guidance with re-

spect to ecological protection. For instance, the first

Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq warned the

armies who were defending the borders of Islam:

“Do not burn farmlands, nor uproot and cut down

fruit-bearing trees. Do not slaughter cattle or sheep

that are not yours”. It is narrated that one fine day,

Hazrat Abu Bakr was planting trees by the road-

side, a Bedouin passerby thought that for the Caliph

to plant trees with his own hands is beyond the

dignity of his office, he therefore frankly told Hazrat

Abu Bakr his opinion. Upon hearing it, Hazrat Abu

Bakr replied: “The Prophet said that if a person

plants a tree, the fruits eaten by any humans or any

of God’s creatures, or even those eaten by travellers

will be recorded as charity for the one who planted

it. This is why I am planting trees by the road-

side.” (The Virtues of Sayyidina Abubakr as-Siddiq,

pp.78).

For my final point, allow me once again to

quote from the Holy Qur’an: “Oh children of Adam,

attend to your adornment at every time of prayer,

and eat and drink and be not prodigal; surely He

loves not the prodigals” (Araf:31). We, Muslims

must endeavor to comply with this directive of eco-

logical sustainability given by Almighty Allah to us

and strive to teach this to our fellow believers. In

order to be true disciples of our Prophet Muham-

mad and to be truly obedient worshippers of Al-

mighty Allah, we Muslims must therefore strive to

live in accordance with nature, cease from wasting

resources from our environment, endeavor to pro-

tect our environment from man-made degradation,

and pro-actively promote ecological sustainability

measures. Furthermore, we should always be

aware of our responsibility to manifest God’s divine

character of “Al-Quddus” (The Most Pure) in our

lives, by our constancy in guarding our surround-

ing, making it pure and clean always. Above all, we

must constantly remember that Allah has entrusted

us to be His stewards in taking care of the earth and

all of His creatures. By the grace of Allah, we will be

faithful trustees of the environment which Allah

June 2014

7

has entrusted upon us to care for, cherish and

protect. In this way, we will, Insha’Allah, be able

to bequeath a cleaner, more habitable and more

livable world for the incoming future genera-

tions to come. Ameen.(Prof. Henry Francis B.

Espiritu is an Assistant Professor VII in Philoso-

phy at the University of the Philippines-Cebu

Campus. He is a candidate in PhD-Philosophy at

the Ateneo de Manila University. He is a convert

to Islam, and a fervent student of the mystical

writings of the Punjabi mujaddid (renewer of

the faith) saint, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Sahib. His Islamic name is Abdil Ghaffar. Reac-

tions, queries, and comments can be sent to him

t hroug h em ai l : es pir i t uhen ryfran -

cis@yahoo.com.)

What was Rumi talking about?

Sufi poetry has been largely misunder-

stood by modern pop culture.

Mohamed Ghilan

(Mohamed Ghilan is a neuroscience PhD

candidate at the University of Victoria, Canada,

and a student of Islamic jurisprudence.)

Sorry to ruin this, but when you read poetry

by Jalal al-Din Rumi or any other Sufi figure's

poems, the wine is not literal, and Layla is not

actually a woman. It is quite a depressing reali-

sation to witness great Sufis such as Rumi be-

come reduced to drunkards raving about their

current love partners or unable to get over los-

ing their past ones. This is precisely what mod-

ern pop culture's misappropriation of Sufi po-

etry about love has done.

The reason we love poetry so much is be-

cause it is a venue where we let our imagina-

tions soar. The best poets are ones that most

people can identify with in some way. Poems

that speak to universal meanings can be flexible

in their applications to different contexts, thus

becoming a place of solace for the readers. How-

ever, this activity becomes disingenuous when

the poet and the context in which he or she

wrote are manipulated to suit one's own projec-

tions. For example, Rumi's poetry can be sum-

marised in one line that was recorded in pre-

Islamic poetry: "Verily, everything other than

God is a falsehood." But it seems that today,

Rumi quotes are cited in the context of, "Verily,

everything other than my girlfriend or boy-

friend, including God, is a falsehood."

The misuse of Sufi poetry is symptomatic of

modern culture's combination of materialism

with self-spirituality. The theme that runs

through the New Age movement is about experi-

encing the "Self" because it is the way to experi-

ence the "God" or "Goddess" within. As noted by

Peter Pels in his 1998 article "Religion, Consum-

erism and the Modernity of the New Age", the

New Age emphasis on self-spirituality is rooted

in late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century

occultism.

It is a de-traditionalised form of faith that

internalises religiosity, turning an individual's

reliance to be on "inner voices", and in turn re-

jecting any outside authority. The Self reigns

supreme in place of anything external to it. It is

therefore ironic that religious Sufi symbolism,

which was used to express annihilation of the

Self in the presence of the Divine, is now being

used to express the elation of the Self in the

presence of another's.

[A]s many Sufi poets and saints have

warned, their poetry begins at the metaphoric

level to indicate literal meanings other than

what first comes to mind, all of which revolve

around the Divine.

By worshiping the Self, the New Age move-

ment gave rise to a form of neo-paganism, which

survives through appropriation and consump-

tion of religious symbolism. Given the individual

nature of the consumption process, ultimate

meanings intended from religious symbols are

exchanged for relative experiences of Self-

worship, which ironically render the symbols

ultimately meaningless.

Moreover, given the tandem development of the New Age movement in popular culture alongside popular religion, it can be expected that popular misuse of religious symbolism will have an impact upon the religious. As religious

symbols are presented outside of contexts they were created to serve within, they begin to lose their significance for the religious in an insidi-ous way that de-sacralises the Sacred and grants

8

June 2014

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sanctity to the secular.

The misappropriation of Sufi poetry can be seen as resulting of unfamiliarity with how Sufis made their indications. For example, the intoxi-cation of wine refers to the loss of one's sense of

rational self in the sea of Divine Love. The tavern is the experience of being overwhelmed from being surrounded by Divine Presence. Layla is an Arabic female name that linguistically refers to the darkest night of the month, and in Sufi poetry refers to the hidden realm that lies be-

hind outward appearances of this world.

A Sufi line of poetry that talks about becom-ing intoxicated from a single sip of wine served in the tavern before Layla appearing naked, is not talking about getting drunk and losing one's mind out of love for a woman before proceeding to fulfill lustful desires after her.

The abundant use of metaphors and various

rhetorical devices in Sufi poetry has polarised Muslim theologians ever since they began. Some of their statements taken literally are in direct contradiction with basic foundational beliefs and practices in Islam. This polarisation was exacerbated with Sufi symbolism that would

invariably lead to misinterpretations if one were not familiar with it.

Wine, tavern, and Layla are among the re-curring symbols that in popular culture are un-derstood at the literal level first before they are taken as metaphors. However, as many Sufi po-ets and saints have warned, their poetry begins at the metaphoric level to indicate literal mean-ings other than what first comes to mind, all of which revolve around the Divine. It is interest-ing to note that out of fear of misappropriating their symbols, various Sufi figures have warned against reading their works without the guide of a teacher.

It is not uncommon to find within the Sufi tradition phrases like "We are a people of meta-phors, not of literalism," and "Metaphors for us are what literalism is for others." For this reason Al-Ghazali (c. 1056-1111 AD) said that no one has attempted to explain the essence of what

Sufis talk about except that they fall into explicit error. He also said, "Know that the wonders of the heart are outside of sensory experience."

Hence, if one seeks to gain a closer under-standing about what Rumand other Sufi poets

were talking about, they must suspend their own material and worldly projections and put such poetry in its proper metaphysical context.

In a culture of materialism and illusory ap-pearances, Rumi and other Sufi poets' works are meant to serve as indications that there is some-thing more than what we experience with our

senses. Their poetry was not about escapism through intoxication or loss of self-awareness for the sake of another material being. Rather, their message was to serve as reminders about the Formless Being by which all forms come into existence.

When Rumi speaks about the love of lovers,

he refers not only to the love they share be-tween each other, but about the love they both share towards the Being that transcends their beings. In this, the lovers become united as they share a common desire to transcend beyond each other's sense of Self and Self-worship.

Unless this is appreciated, the depths of Rumi's words will not be realised, as they should, and we risk the complete loss of their significance.

(The views expressed in this article are the

author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al

Jazeera's editorial policy. Source: Al Jazeera)

The Antarctic losing 160 billions tons of ice every year, twice as much as at the last time when it was surveyed.