The Lords Prayer

When the Huwayiroon  *1  asked Nabi Isa (as), Jesus the son of Mary *2, for a prayer he gave them what is known as the Lords Prayer:

<<Our Lord who art in Heaven 

Hallowed be thy name 

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On Earth as it is Heaven. 

….>>

It is said that this prayer unites the Christian World. 

And then some 600 years later, Muhammed (saw) was given Al-Fathihah- a prayer that known as the opening, the bringer of success, the seven oft repeated, and The Mother of the Book (Umm ul Kitab). 

Al Fathihah starts with a verse so phenomenal that it is sufficient for you to stand in awe of the Most Merciful, whose Mercy is so powerful that it cannot be thwarted nor diminished. 

This Friday, and then for the rest of your life, when you stand in prayer contemplate the meaning of this prayer. 

Find the reading (meaning) within it that is the answer to the prayer of Nabi Isa. 

Search for and find the reading (meaning) with the connectives between each verse that reveals it power. 

And then let that be for you a daily source of immense happiness, a daily source of both guidance and instruction. 

That we are the successors, and inheritors of the Kingdom of God on Earth. 

And this religion of ours is God’s very own religion *3. 

But do not become like those that believe that they are blessed, and then oppress the people, for indeed God hates the oppressors. 

Nor like those who believe that they are blessed and stray, inventing things in the religion for which there is no basis. 

The true religion is simple. 

And do not complicate it, thinking that in doing so it brings you closer, for it only drives you, and others, further away. 

And right action stands out clear from error. *4

*May you be blessed with a lifetime of contemplation* 

Knowledge is through study and contemplation, not lectures, nor this ostensibly above. 

*1 the disciples, who when Isa (as) asked who will be the helpers for God, said “we will be the helpers of God”. 

*2 Nabi Isa (as) called himself alternatively the son of man, and the son of David.

In the first instance emphasising his human nature. 

 In the second instance ruling himself out from being the Lord of David, the one foretold to come from out of the Dessert. 

*3 endorsed and established by Him. From the time of Ibrahim (as), He had called us Muslims (last verse of Surah Hajj), and every Prophet and Messenger that He sent was Muslim. 

*4 follows from the greatest verse of the Quran. Ayah tul Kursi. 

The Cosmic Choice

When you think deeply about the true religion you see how clearly it mirrors the cosmos and the Sunnah of Allah (the ways and methods of God) that we can see evident within it. 

For Allah is al-Batin, the One who wishes to remain hidden, Az-Zahir, the clearly evident One. And so He appointed the Angels as Messengers of His will, sent heavenly books to challenge us to intelligence, and to wake us to reality, in the hands of Prophets (*1) to give us better examples of living. 

That He wishes to remain hidden, and for us to believe in Him not because of any authority sent down, but because of the vast intricacies and care that surrounds not just us, but absolutely everything. This extends not just to those things we can see, but even to those things that we have yet to find and discover. His care and sustenance is the one fact that no one can doubt. 

So that even when He sends a true Prophet and Messenger to the people, He raises amongst them his enemy. *2

So that the people have a ready choice. 

And so belief is never such an easy thing. 

That He wants for you to choose belief over disbelief and does not compel you to it. 

So it is with His speech, that for some it only misguides them because they have no faith, no honesty and no truth. 

And even with those that He wishes to do good to, because they do good to others, even for them He only makes clear the choice and opens up the opportunity. 

And He leaves the choice to you. 

Now look at His religion. 

How our Imams are not titles, but positions that we fulfil. 

That we have no priesthood with whom no authority lies, save only a religion perfectly open to all. 

Look at the Quran, revealed in simple Arabic that it might instruct. 

For here you do not need to look at the origin of each word in order to find the meaning. But solely to contemplate and deliberate upon the context. 

For unlike any other language Arabic has remained unchanged and evolved down through the centuries *3. 

So when an Imam shows you that he is well versed in the Arabic tongue as a means of impressing upon you his qualification, you should know that he follows not the Sunnah of the Most Gracious. 

For the Message needs no authority, it’s truth should be free to ring true to you without encumbrance from one who claims authority. 

And it is replete with meaning just waiting to find expression within each and everyone of you, who would deliberate and contemplate. 

*How beautiful God’s religion that remains free for you to choose.*

 

Knowledge is sought through study and deliberation, not this above, nor lectures and talks. 

*1 a Prophet that received a Book attains the stature of a Messenger. 

And we send our salutations and peace upon them all. 

*2 so a verse of the Quran informed our noble Messenger, Muhammed (saw) about this Sunnah of God. 

*3 here I am not taking about the different dialects of Arabic, but MSA - Modern Standard Arabic. 

Try reading Chaucer which is only a hundred or so old and then compare it to Tabari which is a thousand plus years old.