The First And The Last Judge

Saturday, June 9, 2007

The First And The Last Judge

The Satpanthi (True Path) tradition of Islam from the Indian sub-continent prides itself on its "ginanic tradition" - devotional hymns which were inspired by the mystical dimension of Islam. Here is one such ginan offered by a murid of the Imam, expressing a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim 's interpretation of the essence of al-Fatiha. (Please refer to Hazrat Ali on al-Fatiha):

HAK TU(N) PAAK TU BAADSHAAH
BY PIR SHAMS

hak tu(n) paak tu(n) baadshaah maher baan bee Ya Ali tu(n)hi tu...1
You are the Just, You are the Pure,
Oh Ali the Gracious Heavenly King, You are indeed all.

rab tu(n) rahemaan tu(n) ya ali aval akhar kazi tu(n)hi tu........2
You are the Lord, You are the Merciful,
Oh Ali, You are the First and the Last Judge, You are indeed all.

te upaayaa te nipaayaa sirjann haar ya ali tu(n)hi tu.............3
You are the one who originated and You are the one who created,
Oh Ali you the Creator, You are indeed all.

jal thal mull mandal haar naa ya ali hukam teraa bi tu(n)hi tu....4
In the water and on the land, You have laid the roots (foundations, of creation),
Oh Ali everything therein and on is at Your command, You are indeed all.

teri dostee me boliyaa peer shamsh me bandaa teraa bi tu(n)hi tu..5
In Your friendship says Pir Shamsh: "I am also Your created being",
You are indeed all.

~ translated by Karim Maherali, Calgary, Canada

Dear Jalaledin,

Al-fatiha begins with mention of Allah and his most compassionate
attributes of the beneficient and merciful. The ginan gives the same
sense when it uses the words haq - the truth, pak - the pure without any prejudice and badshah maherban - the gracious king.

Then it expresses praise to the Lord of the worlds which finds resonance
in the words rab - the Lord, raheman - the merciful, the mention of the originator and creator of the universes and of everything being at
his command.

The words haq - the just, the awal- first and the akhar - last, qazi - judge gives the sense of the Lord of the Day of Judgement and the underlying justice in creation.

The final verse mentioning friendship and submission to Ali gives the sense of being in favour and following the right path.

Hence the entire ginan does convey al-fatiha.

Karim

Karim Maherali completed the Institute of Ismaili Studies' Waezeen and Teacher Educator Programme in 1987. Prior to that, Karim received his B.Sc. with Honors in Actuarial Sciences from City University, London. Karim received his M.A. in Education in Developing Countries (Planning, Management and Curriculum) from the University of London in 1985.

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Al-Fatiha ~ The Opening

In the name of the Beloved One,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Sustainer of all the Worlds,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful,
The Sovereign of the Day of Resurrection.
Thee alone we worship and to Thee alone we pray.
Guide us to the Straight Path
of self-cultivation to the Gardens of Paradise,
the path of those upon whom
Thou hast bestowed blessings, favors and Grace,
not of those who are consciously or unconsciously immersed in Sacred Chaos,
Nor of those of who have lost their way.
~ Dr. Jalaledin Ebrahim translation
In the Name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate, Most Merciful.

All
praise is God's, The Sustainer of all worlds,

The Infinitely
Compassionate and Most Merciful,

Sovereign of the Day of Reckoning.

You alone do we worship,

And You alone do we ask for help.

Guide us on the straight path -

the path of those who have
received Your favor,

not the path of those who have earned Your wrath,

nor of those who have gone astray.

~ Sheikha Camille Helminski translation

DEDICATION

This Sacred Space is dedicated to celebrating
Al-Fatiha
or
Al-Hamd
The Opening Seven Verses of the Holy Qur'an
the one fundamental
"lived experience"
shared by every single Muslim,
with the intention of fostering a profound and abiding level of commitment to Love and Unity within the Ummah,
in commemoration on July 11, 2007 of the Golden Jubilee of the Imamat of His Highness, Prince
Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan,
The Imam of the Time.
Inshallah, it will also serve as a deep wellspring of inspiration, creativity and knowledge in the direction towards developing
An Integral Psychology of Islam.

THE CONTEXT

"A central element in a truly religious outlook, it seems to me, is a recognition that we all have a great deal to learn from one another. The Holy Quran speaks of how mankind has been created by a single Creator "from a single soul…" – a profound affirmation of the unity of humanity. This Islamic ideal, of course, is shared by other great religions. Despite the long history of religious conflict, there is also a long counter-history of religious tolerance. Instead of shouting at one another, our faiths ask us to listen - and learn from one another. As we do, one of our first lessons might well center on those powerful but often neglected chapters in history when Islamic and European cultures interacted cooperatively and creatively to realize some of civilization's peak achievements. The spirit of pluralism is not a pallid religious compromise. It is a sacred religious imperative. In this light, our differences can become sources of enrichment, so that we see "the other" as an opportunity and a blessing - whether "the other" lives across the street - or across the world."
~ His Highness the Aga Khan,
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris,
June 15, 2007

REMARKS BY HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN

This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together. Tradition honours the vocation of the learned scholars who are gathered here for this colloquium. The Qur’an itself acknowledges that people upon whom wisdom has been bestowed are the recipients of abundant good; they are the exalted ones. Hence Islam's consistent encouragement to Muslim men and women to seek knowledge wherever it is to be found. We are all familiar that al-Kindi, even in the 9th century, saw no shame in acknowledging and assimilating the truth, whatever its source. He argued that truth never abases, but only ennobles its seeker...
Does not the Qur’an challenge the artist, as much as the mystic, to go beyond the physical - the outward - so as to seek to unveil that which lies at the centre but gives life to the periphery? Is not a great work of art, like the ecstasy of the mystic, a gesture of the spirit, a stirring of the soul that comes from the attempt to experience a glimpse of, and an intimacy with, that which is ineffable and beyond being?
Remarks made on October 19, 2003 at
"Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions"
at an International Colloqium sponsored by the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, England.

Al-Fatiha - The Opening to an Integral Psychology of Islam

Islamic Garden

Saturday, June 9, 2007

The First And The Last Judge

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