tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1245623878572946841.post272307560100850219..comments2024-02-10T20:58:45.222-05:00Comments on the armchair arabist: 13th Century Advice for StudentsMatthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16893235200782447999noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1245623878572946841.post-39330569195270435382013-03-21T16:54:49.960-04:002013-03-21T16:54:49.960-04:00Thanks for your feedback. I actually noticed that ...Thanks for your feedback. I actually noticed that the excerpt was taken from Makdisi's book, but after I posted my comment :)<br />And thanks for the story of Abu al-Abbas al-Sabti. I did in fact heard it before, but it is always good to have reminders ;) <br />ba'arak Allah fik<br />Ismailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01657139942223870876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1245623878572946841.post-15336826184124965812013-03-21T13:22:07.889-04:002013-03-21T13:22:07.889-04:00Thank you Brother Ismail, and you're correct a...Thank you Brother Ismail, and you're correct about that passage. It threw me for a loop as well. I can't check for a mistranslation because the text is not mine, it's from George Makdisi's book, which I cite at the end of the article.<br /><br />I'm sure it wasn't his intention to contravene the doctrine of an Ominiscient God, and perhaps what he was trying to say, and what was perhaps lost in translation, is that if you decide to Sin do so in private. But as he says at the end of the paragraph he says your inner self should be better than your private self.<br /><br />But God Knows Best!<br /><br />On a related note, there's a relevant story about the Moroccan Sufi Abu al-Abbas al-Sabti. When he began to study with his Sheikh, the Sheikh gave Al-Sabti and each of the other students of his a dove and told them to leave him and go to kill the dove somewhere where God could not see them. They were to return the next day and explain what they had done.<br /><br />The following morning, all of the students showed up empty-handed and with guilty looks on their faces, except al-Sabti who still had his pigeon in hand. His Sheikh asked him why he didn't kill the pigeon and he said that he couldn't find a place where God could not see him because God is the all-Seeing, all-Knowing.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16893235200782447999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1245623878572946841.post-53962213022456846842013-03-21T13:07:55.365-04:002013-03-21T13:07:55.365-04:00Excerpt:[When you want to disobey God, seek out a ...Excerpt:[When you want to disobey God, seek out a place to do so where He cannot see you. But know that people serve as the eyes of God on His servant, showing them the good that is in him though he may hide it, and the evil, though he may conceal it; so that his innermost self is exposed to God, and God exposes it to His servants. Take care, therefore, to make your innermost self better than your outward self, and your private life more radiant than your life in public.]<br /><br />Hello dear friend (if i may call you that way),<br />I was just puzzled with the first sentence in the paragraph above. It flies in the face of what we (and I) as Muslims believe about the Omniscience and Omnipresence of Allah (swT) with respect not only to our deeds, but also to our very thoughts and intentions. So, given the the text you provided is written by an early Islamic scholar, it seems so contradictory with our belief in Allah (swt) characteristics as Exalted He described Himself with in Qur'an. It rings rather wrong that an Islamic scholar of such caliber would give such an advice. Perhaps, it is an instance of mistranslation, and correct me if I am wrong. <br />Other than that, thanks for the post. I enjoyed read :)Ismailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01657139942223870876noreply@blogger.com