So, Terry Jones has suspended his decision to burn a pile of Korans on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. (if you missed his madness- see here.)

His stated motivation for calling off the burning was because he had received assurances from and Imam that a planned opening of a Mosque close to the site of the atrocity was being reconsidered. Thankfully, this does not seem to be the case- after all, what better place would there be for a Mosque in this age of religious division and warfare?

In response to all this, Andrew Jones (alias Tall Skinny Kiwi) called for people to blog verses from the Koran as a way of encouraging understanding and tolerance between the faiths. A much better thing to do to commemorate the terrible loss of life that happened on September the 11th, 2001.

As a friend of mine said, there is some scary stuff in the Koran- as there is in the Bible.

But there is also much that is beautiful.

So here are my verses-

Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (for the right); they rehearse the Signs of Allah all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous. Of the good that they do, nothing will be rejected of them; for Allah knoweth well those that do right (3:113-115 AYA).

And unto thee (Muslims) have We revealed the Scripture (the Qur’an) with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires away from the truth which hath come unto thee.

Nearest among them in love to the Believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians”: Because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant (5:85 AYA/82 MP).

What is going on here?

It is difficult for people outside a faith tradition to make pronunciations on Scripture, so all I will say is that these verses would suggest that followers of the Prophet are not placed in enmity of their Jewish and Christian brothers by the book- rather they are placed in a position of respect. Honesty, piety and humility are regarded as signs of the presence of God.

Ancient Persian poets…

For those of you who have never read any of the Sufi poets, can I suggest that these too might be a way of engaging with the rich traditions of searching for the Divine that forms the bedrock of Islam.

This is ancient poetry that flowed around a culture as a source of spirituality and wisdom.

There are a few hints of this beautiful tradition below-

Rumi.

Say who I am

I am dust particles in sunlight
I am the round sun.

To the bits of dust I say, stay.
To the sun, keep moving.

I am morning mist,
And the breathing of evening.

I amwind in the top of a grove
and surf on the cliff.

Mast, rudder, helmsman and keel.
I am also the coral reef they founder on.

I am a tree with a trained parot in its branches.
Silence, thought and voice.

The musical air coming through a flute
A spark off a stone, a flickering
in metal. Both candle
and the moth crazy around it.

Rose and the nightingale
lost in the fragrance.

I am all orders of being, the circling galaxy,
the evolutionary intelligence, the lift
and the falling away. What is
and what isn’t.

Sanai.

Streaming (excerpt)

When the path ignites the soul,

there is no remaining in place

The foot touches the ground,

but not for long

The way where love tells its secret

Stays always in motion

And there is no you there, and no reason

The rider urges his horse to gallop

and so doing, throws himself

under the flying hooves

In love-unity there’s no old or new

Everything is nothing

God alone is

Attar.

The Newborn

Muhammed spoke to his friends
about a newborn baby, “This child
may cry out in its helplessness,
but it doesn’t want to go back
to the darkness of the womb

And so it is with your soul
when it finally leaves the nest
and flies out into the sky
over the wide plain of a new life.
Your soul would not trade that freedom
for the warmth of where it was.

Let loving lead your soul.
Make it a place to retire to,
A kind of monastery cave, a retreat
for the deepest core of your being

Then build a road
from there to God

Let every action be in harmony with your soul
and its soul-place, but don’t parade
those doings down the street
on the end of a stick!

Keep quiet and secret with soul-work.
Don’t worry so much about your body.
God sewed that robe. Leave it as it is.

Be more deeply courageous.
Change your soul.”