The Coming Comforter. (A physical proof of a messenger to come)

The Coming Comforter.

Jesus once advised his disciples to be patient and constant "for unless I go, the comforter shall not come".  With these words he implied that someone greater than himself (the comforter) would come only once Jesus had departed.

[Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. http://bible.cc/john/16-7.htm]

That he said this cannot be doubted because it contradicts the very canon of the Church. For here he does not say "I must be sacrificed or die that you may be saved", but "I must go that he may come".

Whilst Christians may scramble to accommodate those words, by interpreting them as referring to either the Holy Ghost or to the Church, as is their want. But even they cannot deny the emphasis that these words place on departure as opposed to blood sacrifice, and upon somebody greater than himself as opposed to the culmination of all belief in one final moment of "passion".

Contradiction as a gateway to Truth.

Indeed to find the truth of any matter, and to scratch beneath the surface of all that seems true, the starting point in every discipline is supposed "contradiction".

For the greatest truths will always be found at the most contradictory of events.

Sometimes these are within the events themselves, at others with what is considered true (as in this case), and lastly when the event contradicts with human nature as we know it.

But it is not the contradiction that lays bare the truth, for of themselves many can and do ignore such things. Rather it is the contemplation of possible explanations that sheds bare falsehoods and un-shades hidden light.

And when several contradictions taken together verify a sole potential explanation, then the result is incontestable.

It is understandable that the Christian explanation for the above words rests upon a supernatural Spirit, or a humanistic psychological agency (conscience), or a millennia-old institution (the Church), or a community of believers.

The Greatest Contradiction.

But that is not the greatest contradiction in the life of Jesus, nor is it the sole contradiction in his life. For words can and always will be explained away, or more often than not just plainly ignored.

But not so, for acts and events.

Acts which are contradictory cannot be so easily explained away, and cannot be hidden. And these are of the first order of contradiction.

The act and event that I speak off started at the beginning of the dramatic three days of Jesus's life.

3 DAYS

After preaching in Galilee, and by general consensus being forced from there, instead of going further into the dessert, Jesus (as) makes his way to Jerusalem. This was a very bold act considering that he knew that his opposition would only grow at the centre of the Jewish faith. For, he preached a message that the Jewish people needed to hear, but that their priests were averse to. A universal message of hope for all.

And then he does something quite extraordinary and if you think about it a bit, completely contradictory.

On the outskirts of Jerusalem, at the start of the Passover feast, he asks his disciples to bring to him a colt, the son of a colt. He enters Jerusalem riding on it, whilst a multitude of Jewish people come to homage him. Three days later that very same crowd becomes a mob and bays for his death and choose a thief and robbers life over his. And that too on the most religious day of their calendar and in their holiest of cities.

Therein lie all of the greatest of contradictions of Jesus's (as) life.

And I for one do not presume to know all of their answers.

But that they happened cannot be doubted.

Listed they are:-

1- That he choose to Jerusalem.

2- That he choose to enter Jerusalem, at the start of the passover, in a manner as part fulfilment of the Prophesy of Zechariah that signalled the coming of the King of the Jews. And thence their undoubted return to power, authority and victory over the Romans.

3- That the Jewish multitude that welcomed him into Jerusalem and, then subdued (recognising one who had the right, a Prophet from God), allowed him to cleanse the temple, on the third day morphed into the mob that bayed for his death.

And then on that, their holiest of days in their holiest of cities, when Pontius Pilot allowed for them to choose to free any one prisoner as a show of his clemency. The Jews choose a thief over a Messenger of God.

THE CONTRADICTION.

Put simply the contradiction is "why did Jesus (as) start to enact a prophesy that he knew would excite both the fervent nationalistic and religious tendencies of his people, knowing full well that he did not intend to bring those aspirations to fruition?"

For the Prophesy of Zechariah, with absolutely no ambiguity, suggests the coming of a Prophet-King-Conqueror who would vanquish the Jewish enemies and bring about lasting Peace. The clarity of that Prophesy is so evident even to this day, so much so that the Jews still await it's fulfilment.

[[http://bible.cc/zechariah/9-9.htm, http://bible.cc/zechariah/9-10.htm] see also for my interpretation http://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html]

A possible explanation?

Given the Christian mantra we might explain the anomaly by supposing that that was God's plan.

But then the reality of such an argument would lead us to believe that Jesus (as) was sent to bait his own people. For whilst some of them may have become Christian and hence earned forgiveness from his supposed crucifixion, the majority bayed for his death and remained Jewish ever afterwards. Condemned by he who was of them.

Jesus (as) was after all from the Jewish Nation and loved his people, and that is why he sought to preach to them foremost, to bring them out of the depths of their hypocrisy. It was a hypocrisy that saw them label their God as being a God for them alone, to the exclusion of the rest of humanity. At each point of his message you can still feel his sincerity, in trying to stir them to remember that God's mercy and care is universal. From "Anyone who makes himself somebody, will become  nobody", to his denial in such a cryptic manner of his Lordship over David. So much so that he excluded all other Jews from that honour. 

[for an explanation of this see http://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/12/yahwah-said-to-my-adon-king-of-jews.html]  

The examples are numerous and even include the parable of the good Samaritan, a people with whom he was not really concerned about.

Another explanation.

And then if we discount the baiting of a whole people, what have we other than that he did so to remind the people of "he who would come".

But Jesus (as) was not the one they eagerly waited for, for he said "Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is His". And with those words demolished all of their hopes and expectations. And they being a volatile and proud people could not wait, and their humility in real terms only increased them in arrogance and pride. So they bayed for the life of one who sought only to open their eyes to God's universal mercy.

His was an act that could not be washed from the annals of history, nor be explained away. But that would stand as a testament to all those who believed in him, that he might instruct them in a "Messenger from God who would be greater than he", and who would fulfil that age old prophesy.

And he backed up this act with words that can be overlooked. But when you look at them in the light of that act, then that is convincing proof.

That another Messenger from God would come out of the wilderness, and that he would be no Jew but from another line descended from Abraham of old.

And he would speak words in God's name, and he would be a comforter for any that believed in Jesus (as).

For with him would come the confirmation that is so often disputed to this day, of Jesus's miraculous birth and his mission. And with the revelation of the Qur’an came more than a mere reflection of what is known from the bible of Jesus’s (as) life. Indeed the Qur’an answers questions on his life that Christianity has never even asked before. 

But for those who awaited the comforter he did not come as they expected. 

For they expected him around the corner of time and not half a centuary later.

But for any that have listened to the words of a true Prophet of God, will know that for them the "day of reckoning" is upon us already. Even whilst we have tarried an age. For all things are small in God's eyes.

Ad-Duha, the Morning Light (a Comfort from the Darkness of no revelation).

And maybe their wait was summed up in one of the first Surah's (Chapters), of the revealed Qur'an, that Muhammad (saw) loved most:

"In the of God, most gracious, abundantly merciful.

I  call (God calls) to witness the breaking dawn, and the night when it is stillest.

Indeed your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you."

A message to Muhammad (saw) after a period of silence in the revelation.

Mirrored by the centuries of silence that the believers in Jesus had to endure before the comforter came.

And indeed the night is stillest when you have almost given up hope.

And then God brings a fresh day, and a light to show you the way.

The Chapter then consoles Muhammad (saw) with what he had to endure on his path to his destined station.

And then ends by confirming him in what he had already been doing, and that for him was the first command from God upon him,

"but as for him in need, repulse him not.

And instead tell him of God's mercies (upon himself, and comfort him through that)."

Surah Ad-Duha. (the Morning Light, Chapter:93 http://quran.com/93]

The first vested mission of Muhammad (saw) to provide comfort to those in need.

A mission that was fulfilled in every act that he did.

May GOD reward him who taught us true belief and enlightened our lives with knowledge, Ameen.

Mohamed Shafi Bachelani

PS There are other textual references to a Prophet that would come after, but the greatest of them all is the act on enactment of that Prophesy.

I 

Rain of Mercy, Rain of Flood? A poem.

RAIN OF MERCY, REIGN OF PAIN

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For Muslims, faith is between hope and fear. Hope of God's Mercy and Fear of HIS Wrath.

It is this fear that keeps us from wronging ourselves.

And it is the hope that is its life's blood.

Enjoy...

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The earth is parched, unrolled,

Patiently waiting, patently sighing.

My praying eyes look skyward, and behold.

The heralds pull and lift heavy water.

The ink wells fill with pure water,

And I see the cock swings, and does not falter.

Glad am I to see that sight,

That the condensate clouds.

And the pen is readied to write.

Me, and my people's fate on the land.

I sincerely hope for God's mercy,

But fear the wrath of HIS mighty hand!

What do we deserve, Mercy rains?

Or when we wrong one another,

Then possibly Judgment pains?

Will the rain flood?

As it drops,

Will our rivers run with blood?

However, God is not unjust!

Who sends us pure water out of the sea,

A reminder to cleanse from our hearts, it's rust.

The rust of ingratitude,

Of forgetfullness, full of sin.

But to GOD belongs every and all tribute.

The ONE who gives us without measure,

Whose Glories are independent of us all,

And whose mercies outweigh HIS displeasure.

Shafeesthoughts 

An Explanation...

Once again the imagery I use is Qur'anic.. see Surah 51, S. Adh-Dhariyaat.. The Winnowing Winds.

The Earth is a parchment, unrolled.

This imagery relates to our ages past... where we were highly dependent on the rains.

We are no less dependent today, although we forget!

The heralds are the winds that GOD sends.

But are they heralds of blessings and mercy or wrath and anger?

Anger for our corruption in the land, man killing and oppressing man.

It is the fear of GOD that cleanses the rust from our hearts, just as easily as the rains cleanse the dirt from the air and path.

But God's mercies abound, and even HIS promise of judgement is a Mercy, that keeps the mindful good, and sane!

See S. Rahman!

Peace...

Your Friend and Brother Shafi

Sent from my iPhone

"What can we truly know?" part 1- theories of knowledge

Subject : What Can We Truly Know? A Critique of Kants

Posted Date: : 28 Aug 2007, 13:25 (1st posted on MySpace)

What can we truly know?

(part 1 of theories of knowledge)

"I think therefore I am!" Renee Descartes

Descartes said "I think therefore I am" and by it he meant that this was the most fundamental, indisputable knowledge that a man can have both of himself and the world that surrounds him.

For he argued that all other knowledge is comparative, only knowable through the use of sense-perception, tainted by that original sin conferred by birth… and by the fact of our limited existence.

If you think carefully about such simple acts as perception and recognition you would realise that uncertainty is the norm and not the exception. And yet in our daily lives our minds, quite reasonably, tend to dissipate and limit those very real uncertainties. For in a World plagues by uncertainty wouldn't we exhibit pathological behaviour.

I know of instances where my eyes have deceived me or my ears have heard what no-one else has heard. At times our senses make fools of us… and at other times our minds correct the lack of our senses. Have you seen the up close photo of a tall building… is the photo lying… or is it that we don't see it like that when we are there because we automatically correct for the deficiencies of our sight? Our senses impinge on our minds, they are filtered, coloured and perceived according to our circumstances, according to what we expect to see; according to our past lives experience. Sometimes this corrects deficiencies, and other times it causes us to miss what is there. Recall the Zebra's camouflage! Just because you don't expect it, it doesn't mean it's not there.

We are the slaves of our senses, but what we do know is that we can know…. And that he argued is sufficient proof for our existence… that we are or rather that "I am!" Because you O my reader….you are in a probability a figment of my imagination.. a wraith that walks the pages of MySpace paying no heed to argument or sense.

This is what Renee Descartes, I believe, said and thought. That, there can be no other fundamental knowledge other than the existence of our own selves.

BUT I beg to differ. And differ I will in the most marvellous of ways.

I agree with Emmanuel in that, that we think and can know. However can this thinking and knowing not point to some other fundamental fact of existence?

If we first disregard the inevitability of our complete dependence on our sense-perception, then we could ask: "When can we say that we know a thing and why do we say it?" And this could lead us to answer the more fundamental question of "Why in fact do we endeavour to think at all? And What indisputable fundamental knowledge can we know?"

When can we say that we know a thing and Why do we say it?

When you close the door of your bedroom at night, how do you know that the World still exists outside of your room?

Plato in the Republic (c. 370BC) illustrated an appropriate thought experiment, he asked us to imagine a race of men chained up in a cave. They were chained such that all that they could see were their own shadows projected onto the cave's wall. They talk to one another, but hearing the echoes bounce off the cave walls, they believe that they and their fellows are the shadows.

The World is real and our perceptions paint a true representation of the World we live in because by using both we are able to satisfy our needs and desires. Reality becomes concrete in our mind's eye because when we conduct continual experiments aimed at satisfying those needs and desires, whose very assumptions are underpinned by the fact that the World is real, our needs and desires are (at times) fulfilled. At other times they are not fulfilled because of the act of another, or of an unknown or unknowable variable, or just because we have not learnt as yet how to behave in a manner which will lead to the desired effect. But what we can know is that our circumstance / position / or only our knowledge of what does or does not work CHANGES.

We know food to be food by it's calming of the cramping pains of hunger, and water is known to be water by it's quenching of thirst. This keyboard that I type on is real for me because I can see first hand the fruits of my labour. This paper that you are reading is real for you because it can change your perceptions of reality… Of course it could also be real for you because you can cut and paste it and submit it as your own!

These continual experiments that we are constantly unaware of doing, paint for us a picture of a World that is constant and consistent in nature.

It is by my ability to act and by acting change my environment, that the environment becomes real for me. If I were not able to do this, and if my experiences were to unfold about me without my being able to interfere, the World would become less real and less substantial. Just like a movie being played on a screen, there would be no feedback, little to no learning and less reason for being.

For a Quantum Physicist an electron is more real in a sense, than for a Taxi-Driver. However, if the Taxi-Driver had a CR Television and knew a bit about it's working mechanism… the electron would become more real for him. Another striking example is the Moon Landing of 1969, for most people it is real, but for Astronauts and Astronomers it is more real because it interacts with their needs and desires- i.e. the possibility of further space travel and more Moon Landings. But for a sizeable minority (including said author) of people it did not happen. For them the Moon Landing holds less charm than opposing conspiracy theories.

So we say we know a thing when it impinges on us and when we can impinge on it… in the sense that it can be used to satisfy within us some need, even if the only need is one of knowledge… of knowing!

I CRY therefore I AM!

When a baby is born into the World, the first act that we look for and anticipate is its crying. It's being in need; whether it is for food, warmth or comfort; is what first causes us to recognize that it is alive. Likewise, it is our desire to fulfill our own needs that causes us to think, whether those needs are for certainty in an uncertain world or for the more fundamental needs of security. Therefore it is my needs and my act of seeking their fulfillment that defines me as being alive and that defines who I am.

So a more accurate concept of the fundamental fact of my existence would be "I am in need, therefore I am" rather than "I think therefore I am", because it is the act of being in need that makes me think.

This blog satisfies the need for me to seek self-actualisation (Maslow's theory of behaviour). For me to be what I can be, to express what I am thinking! 

HUWA…. HE is!

As a baby "I cry (I am in need) therefore I am". But before a baby can act and physically interact with the world in order to satisfy its needs, it's need is satisfied by another. This is the second fundamental fact of our existence.

As we grow and learn to interact with the World and those in it. We loose hold of the essence of this miracle; which is the fact that we can act to fulfill our needs. We feel that we are self-sufficient, capable and able. But in reality we are just as we were as a child, dependant on another. Irrespective of who that Other is...our Dependance is undeniable. 

This is the second fundamental fact of existence. That He IS (Huwa)! 

It is this fact that points to the existence of a Merciful God who in the instance of our childhood places love and compassion between ourselves and our Mother, Father and Carers. 

And it is HE who made this place of abode constant, a place of rest and gave us the ability to seek our fulfillment.
As God (Allah t'ala) says in the Qur'an "No Change will you find in the Laws of Allah (Sunatul Allah)". Refering to the fact that the laws He has laid down for Creation remain the same, immutable and unchangeable laws. Those same laws that hold in myspace, hold in yourspace. Those that hold in your living-room, hold in mine. And this is a miracle of the greatest of sorts.

It was Einstein who said among other things: "Isn't it a wonder that the we are both able to comprehend the World about us, and that furthermore that the World is comprehensible!" It's a miracle and a wonder beyond expression that we can both understand the World and that the World is, and can be understood!

The Two Fundamental FACTS of Existence

That I am in need, and that HE (Allah t'ala) fulfills my needs!

I am in NEED therefore I am. My NEEDS can be and are fulfilled therefore HE IS.. GOD is REAL, the EVERLIVING... owner of all that is EVERLASTING.

Praise be to God, who created me in need and fulfilled my needs. Who sent our Master Muhammad (saw) that we might believe. For verily we would not have been believers save because of Muhammad… so O Allah t'ala, you are the Doer of Good, the lover of those who do Good… reward Muhammad (saw) with the most magnificent of rewards, and send our salutations down upon him and your peace and blessings in abundance… upon him, his family, his companions and his nation (umma). Ameen.

The first part of this is an expansion of ideas I wrote during an essay entitled "Risk and Rationality!" for an MSc Paper in Decision Sciences at LSE (1998).

Insha –Allah I will write later about how Islam calls to life… a follow on topic to this!

Shafi