The Great Awakening was like the seed of my understanding and vision today. It grew into the branches that became all the other books I wrote until now and its leaves were scattered throughout the world with the internet.
Indeed, throughout all these years I saw, time and time again, that just like my approach in the first years, the majority of people have a completely literal approach to religion. They put no effort into deciphering what the Quran is actually about.
They don’t realize that words are merely like clothes, just as they point to something, they also cover it!
Most of the commands in the Quran are metaphoric and denote much more than their literal meaning.
“Don’t look at what is illegitimate” for example means don’t desire the illegitimate, where ‘illegitimate’ means that which does not belong to you.
“Condemn the action not the doer” for example is one of the most important and fundamental principles of Islam, yet so many are unaware of it.
The Sufi way derives its roots from Hadhrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hadhrat Ali (ra), yet most people do not know the value of this sacred jewel.
Everyone has found a scholar or a sheikh for themselves, most of which have passed on, and they’ve conditioned themselves to their teachings, instead of realizing that they themselves are the direct addressees of Allah and the Quran.
Above all, we’ve come to a state where people are killing for the sake of their god! Announcing themselves to be the vicegerents of Allah, solely to satisfy their need for power, they are almost forcing people to pray and fast and cover their hair!
On the other hand, we see an Iranian type of “republic” approach or the old German “democratic” type regime where in the name of defending human rights people are controlled and manipulated into complying and obeying!
My God!
Will we ever see the days in which people will respect each other and not violate each other’s rights???
Or are we not worthy of this?
Or is it simply that, “Every nation is governed in the way they deserve!”? …
23.5.99