Islam Today's Hukam

[namjiwankaur]

_/|\_ Sat Nam

I am hoping to engage in some discussion on what today's Hukam states about Muslims. The Guru Granth Sahib calls people of all and no religions to be honest with themselves when it comes to their relationship with God.

There was a time when it hurt my feelings a little, but, in the end, the Guru(s) were right. The Jyoti/Light is as real in Sikhi as in Islam and, just as Muhammad, peace be upon him, would ask people to reform their hearts, the Guru Granth Sahib does the same thing.

Here's today's Hukam (in English only because it didn't work to paste the Gurmukhi, etc., into the post). Naben ji and others here who are Muslim, let me know what you learn about yourself, Islam, Muslims or Sikhi when you read this:

Dhanaasaree, First Mehl: The body is the paper, and the mind is the inscription written upon it. The ignorant fool does not read what is written on his forehead. In the Court of the Lord, three inscriptions are recorded. Behold, the counterfeit coin is worthless there. ||1|| O Nanak, if there is silver in it, then everyone proclaims, ""It is genuine, it is genuine.""||1||Pause|| The Qazi tells lies and eats filth; the Brahmin kills and then takes cleansing baths. The Yogi is blind, and does not know the Way. The three of them devise their own destruction. ||2|| He alone is a Yogi, who understands the Way. By Guru's Grace, he knows the One Lord. He alone is a Qazi, who turns away from the world, and who, by Guru's Grace, remains dead while yet alive. He alone is a Brahmin, who contemplates God. He saves himself, and saves all his generations as well. ||3|| One who cleanses his own mind is wise. One who cleanses himself of impurity is a Muslim. One who reads and understands is acceptable. Upon his forehead is the Insignia of the Court of the Lord. ||4||5||7||


Nam Jiwan :sippingcoffeemunda:

 

[spnadmin]

Naam Jiwan,

A quick and flawed understanding of the hukamnama from me. It is easy to see how you or anyone might be hurt. However, Guruji is not slurring all Hindus (at the time this meant Brahmins) or Muslims or Yogis in this passage. He is referring to specific instances in his own experience where particular Hindus, Muslims and Yogis acted like hypocrites. They were cruel, ruthless, and self-righteous. They believed that observing rituals of their respective paths made them virtuous, yet they lied to themselves. You can see how the hypocrisy is overt in the passage. Then Guruji goes on to say that the morality proclaimed by Brahmins, Muslims, or Yogis is only true and without hypocrisy when "One who cleanses his own mind is wise. One who cleanses himself of impurity is a Muslim. One who reads and understands is acceptable" because he/she filled his mind and heart with contemplation of the Sat (God/Hari).

This particular shabad has a context from history, during a time when the Gurus were speaking out against the oppression of women and the lower casts. They were speaking for equality and just treatment. Because of that often they were viewed as subversives.

 

[namjiwankaur]

Sat Nam _/|\_

I see how much I've grown since I started exploring Sikhi. It helped me go within and deepen my relationship with the Divine by making the intent right. Intention is important in Islam also, but I'm not sure how many Muslims realize that.

The Prophet, pbuh, said, "Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Often when a religion is revealed, it is very rich with inner meaning, but as time goes on, it becomes a shell of what it used to be. As the hadith above illustrates, we are rewarded for our intentions. One way to understand God's Mercy is in how great the rewards are for good deeds. A few hadith which are similar speak to this. For example:


It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The Great and the Glorious Lord said (to angels): Whenever My bondsman intends to corn it an evil, do not record it against him, but if he actually commits it, then write it as one evil. And when he intends to do good but does not do it, then take it down is one act of goodness, but if he does it, then write down ten good deeds (in his record).

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: Allah, the Great and Glorious, said: Whenever my bondsman intends to do good, but does not do it, I write one good act for him, but if he puts it into practice I wrote from ten to seven hundred good deeds in favour of him. When he intends to commit an evil, but does not actually do it, do not record it. But if he does it, I write only one evil.

Abu Huraira reported that Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), said: When it occurs to my bondsman that he should do a good deed but he actually does not do it, record one good to him, but if he puts it into practice, I make an entry of ten good acts in his favour. When it occurs to him to do evil, but he does not commit it, I forgive that. But if he commits it, I record one evil against his name. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed. The angels said: That bondsman of Yours intends to commit evil. though His Lord is more Vigilant than he. Upon this He (the Lord) said: Watch him; if he commits (evil), write it against his name but if he refrains from doing it, write one good deed or him, for he desisted from doing it for My sake. The Messenger of Allah said: He who amongst you is good of faith, all his good acts are multiplied from ten to seven hundred times (and are recorded in his name) and all the evils that he commits are recorded as such (i, e. without increase) till he meets Allah.

I once thought of Waheguru as a concept of God different from Allah. Quran speaks of God being a punishing God and Sri Guru Granth Sahib doesn't. But when one really looks into various hadith and Quran verses, one finds the same Unconditional Love of God is present.

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. [Hadîth Qudsi]

There are many examples of God forgiving all a persons sins for one good deed. Such as the prostitute who gave drink to a dog who was sick with thirst. I think this is also a call to the ummah (Muslim community to be unconditionally forgiving).

Allah says in Quran it always better to forgive.

So I have learned to see God from a new perspective thanks to Sikhi. It helps me a lot because all the "rules" of Islam can blind one to what it is all really about. Love and surrender to the Supreme Being known by many Names.

Nam Jiwan