"When Our signs are recited unto him, he says, 'Fables of those of old!' Nay! But that which they used used to earn has covered their hearts with rust."
Quran, 83:13-14
OK, now I know that my long-time friends, if they ever read this blog, would suggest that I chose it simply to make a Neil Young Rust Never Sleeps reference, which is clearly not my intent (even though I just did). The passage relates to sinners who sin repeatedly with the unstated, but implied, question of why do they sin. The answer is that their hearts are covered with rust. In the footnotes (and all the cool kids read the footnotes) Nasr, in the Study Quran, quotes a famous line from the Sufi poet Rumi, "Everyone sees the Unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more - more Unseen forms become manifest to him." First the disclaimer: this is one of my favorite passages from Rumi, and that is really saying something. Essentially, the more pure your heart the more of the Unseen you see. Now, what is the Unseen? I don't think it's God, because who can see God? But it might be appropriate to compare it to the deeper, purer nature of the divine, or maybe the Platonic the Good. In a famous hadith, also quoted by Nasr, naturally, the Prophet said, "For everything there is a polish, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God. There is nothing more potent in saving a person from the Punishment of God than the remembrance of God." This, of course, brings to mind the Simpsons episode featuring the famous prayer from the Flanders' boys after they were terrified by a moth: "Thanks for sending Lisa to protect us from the bug you sent." More seriously, and importantly, the crucial question is raised in regards to how we become better persons by drawing closer to God. The answer is the remembrance of God. I've been thinking a lot about this subject, and it brings us to taqwa, or God consciousness, which I'm still doing some background research on for a fuller answer, so I'll revisit this in a couple days (it's hard to think clearly during Ramadan, but that's also another post). On one level, and thinking back to yesterday's post, I would propose that it's a constant reflection on your thoughts and actions and how they impact the world around you, but more soon.
Quran, 83:13-14
OK, now I know that my long-time friends, if they ever read this blog, would suggest that I chose it simply to make a Neil Young Rust Never Sleeps reference, which is clearly not my intent (even though I just did). The passage relates to sinners who sin repeatedly with the unstated, but implied, question of why do they sin. The answer is that their hearts are covered with rust. In the footnotes (and all the cool kids read the footnotes) Nasr, in the Study Quran, quotes a famous line from the Sufi poet Rumi, "Everyone sees the Unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more - more Unseen forms become manifest to him." First the disclaimer: this is one of my favorite passages from Rumi, and that is really saying something. Essentially, the more pure your heart the more of the Unseen you see. Now, what is the Unseen? I don't think it's God, because who can see God? But it might be appropriate to compare it to the deeper, purer nature of the divine, or maybe the Platonic the Good. In a famous hadith, also quoted by Nasr, naturally, the Prophet said, "For everything there is a polish, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God. There is nothing more potent in saving a person from the Punishment of God than the remembrance of God." This, of course, brings to mind the Simpsons episode featuring the famous prayer from the Flanders' boys after they were terrified by a moth: "Thanks for sending Lisa to protect us from the bug you sent." More seriously, and importantly, the crucial question is raised in regards to how we become better persons by drawing closer to God. The answer is the remembrance of God. I've been thinking a lot about this subject, and it brings us to taqwa, or God consciousness, which I'm still doing some background research on for a fuller answer, so I'll revisit this in a couple days (it's hard to think clearly during Ramadan, but that's also another post). On one level, and thinking back to yesterday's post, I would propose that it's a constant reflection on your thoughts and actions and how they impact the world around you, but more soon.
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