A Paradox
Faiz
Peace be upon all the souls gathered here, and those who have passed before
us.
It is difficult to know exactly what to say and do in times like these, and I
am a nervous speaker at best, so I thought I would simply share a certain paradox that I myself am trying to understand these days.
It starts off with one of those things that all religions have in common -
namely, that our origin is always One. But the paradox it seems, is that this
singular primordial origin gives birth not to unity or oneness, but to diversity.
In the Quran, it is said:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and
then made you into nations and tribes, that you may learn of each other (not
that you may despise (each other). For surely the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the
most righteous of you.. (Yousef Ali, Ch 49, vs13)
So the question becomes, what do we learn from each other, and what, in turn,
do we have to share with each other?
Does the lesson exist within the spiritual arguments of the different religions, which, for all the fact that they seem differently worded, often
carry the same message?
Or in the different schools of thought that each religion has sprouted over
the centuries so that divisions are created not just between the religions,
but within each of the religions themselves.
Or does it ultimately lie in that indefinable substance that comes forth not
during times of ease but during times of need, times of distress, when we are
put in a position of acting not just from what we have learned, but also from
what is most instinctive within ourselves? When the choice boils down to its
barest minimum, between hate and love, between compassion and rejection, empathy and discrimination, between all the polar opposites that sometimes
coexist within us.
To be able to learn and to teach at the same time sometimes creates a paradox
that becomes difficult to reconcile. To greet each situation, and each moment
of our lives becomes even more difficult.
It forces one to accommodate the belief that within our individual selves and
our daily lives perpetually exist both teacher and student, and that the qualities which make us different from each other, are in fact the very
qualities that may bring about our development.
If indeed one seeks to both learn and to share, without elevating one above
the other, then perhaps the two wings of the paradox are brought together and
oneness is created.
For those who are interested in developing this particular aspect, another
verse seems to point the way:
"And tell my servants that they should speak in a most kindly manner (unto
those who do not share their beliefs). For truly, Satan is always ready to
stir up discord between men; for truly, Satan is mans foe. Hence, We have not sent you with power to determine Faith. "
"To every people have We appointed ceremonial rites (of prayer) which they
observe; therefore, let them not argue over this matter, but bid them to turn to their Lord. But if they still dispute with you in this
matter, (then say,) `God best knows (the value of) what we do."
The prophet of Islam, Muhammed, also said in his last sermon that "All men
are equal, whatever nation or tribe that they belong to, and whatever station
of life they may hold, all are equal. Even as this month is sacred, this day
holy, so has God made the lives, properties and honor of every man sacred. To
take any man's life or property, or attack his honor is as unjust and wrong
as to violate the sacredness of this day, this month, and this territory. What I command you today is not meant only for today, but for all time. You
are expected to remember it and act upon it until you leave this world and go
to the next and meet your Maker. "
To meet one's Maker brings it back full circle.
From one source we became many, but the many always return to the One - whether we call this source simply God, or Yahweh, which, from what I
understand means "the one who cannot be named" or Allah - which literally means "The One".
And this leads me to the final paradox that many of us Muslims are living,
namely that we have become defined not by the quiet millions, but by a handful of individuals who make the most noise. This is rather like living a
life in which all teenagers can be known by the few who shot up the school in
Columbine.
In closing, I would like to say that one of the most famous sayings of the
prophet is that "He who truly knows his heart, knows his Lord. "Perhaps it is in our hearts that we can truly find the glimmerings of
oneness. The echo of the One. And, having experienced it there, we can start
to learn to recognize it in all the books, in all the colors and in all the
faces. And then, perhaps, we can give birth to something greater than ourselves.
Thank you for listening.
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