"The Question" One dervish to another, "What was your vision of God's presence"? I haven't seen anything. But for the sake of conversation, I'll tell you a story.
God's presence is there in front of me - a fire on the left, a lovely stream on the right. One group walks toward the fire, into the fire, another toward the sweet flowing water. No one knows which are blessed and which not. Whoever walks into the fire appears suddenly in the stream. And then a head goes under on the water surface, that head pokes out of the fire. Most people guard against going into the fire, and so end up in it. Those who love the water of pleasure and make it their devotion are cheated with this reversal. The trickery goes further. The voice of the fire tells the truth saying, "I am not fire. I am fountainhead. Come into me and don't mind the sparks." If you are a friend of God, fire is your water. You should wish to have a hundred thousand sets of mothwings, so you could burn them away, one set a night. The moth sees light and goes into fire. You should see fire and go toward light. Fire is what of God that is world-consuming. Water, world-protecting. Somehow each gives the appearance of the other. To these eyes you have now, what looks like water burns. What looks like fire is a great relief to be inside. You've seen a magician make a bowl of rice seem a dish of tiny, live worms. Before an assembly with one breath he made the floor swarm with scorpions that weren't there. How much more amazing God's tricks. Generation after generation lies down, defeated, they think, but they're like a woman underneath a man, circling him. One molecule-mote-second thinking of God's reversal of comfort and pain is better than any attending ritual. That splinter of intelligence is substance. The fire and water themselves: accidental, done with mirrors." -- Poetic version by Coleman Barks "The Essential Rumi" HarperSanFrancisco, 1995 Evi ----- Original Message ----- From: esteranc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 1:27 PM Subject: Re: [RantauNet] Kasihku,Rinduku...ADULTERY? Dear Mrs Rahima Let me refresh your mind As far as I may concern about you You are a married woman And the only strive (jihad) that a married woman can do only goes to her husband Islam firmly warns penalties for alleging adultery or even approximity of that kind. Allah dislikes even you are approaching adultery. And Allah releases commandments for wife's adultery as follows: 1. Right of the husband to lock her home until death comes. 2. Filing adultery to the "Hakim" as four witnesses complied as death penalty to be sentenced. Adultery in terms not only doing but also thingking for if the one you are writing in the poetry reflects your thought on adultery with someone else, then your husband has the right to punish you. And Allah's punishment is absolutely most grief. Please set your mind at ease. Find a nice place for contemplation. Find what a virus that has sneaked into you head and pray for His mercy (istighfar) because at present you already have an affair in your thought. And that's a sin. Remember, human thought shall be asked responsible in Yaom el Hisab. Esteranc Labeh JKT RantauNet http://www.rantaunet.com Isikan data keanggotaan anda di http://www.rantaunet.com/register.php3 =============================================== Mendaftar atau berhenti menerima RantauNet Mailing List di http://www.rantaunet.com/subscribe.php3 ATAU Kirimkan email Ke/To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Isi email/Messages, ketik pada baris/kolom pertama: -mendaftar--> subscribe rantau-net [email_anda] -berhenti----> unsubscribe rantau-net [email_anda] Keterangan: [email_anda] = isikan alamat email anda tanpa tanda kurung ===============================================
