I give only one example. Mine is a family of only ten persons.

Three of them remember the Quran completely; two more are in their way to memorize. There are millions of such families among the muslims. The devilish tactics to torpedo the genuineness of the Quran have many times been tried in the past; the history has alreai; given, its judgement; it shall keep on giu ing the same judgement. Let the enemies of the word of Allah try and try again.

ALLAH'S COLOUR - ITS CONNOTATION'& ATTAINMENT

ALLAH'S COLOURITS CONNOTATION AND AT&MNMENT

* ALLAH'S COLOUR - ITS CONNOTATION AND ATTAINMENT Conterfts

The diachotomy of Soul and Body Islam's Spiritual system Four Stages, Faith, Obedience, Piety and Benefaction Benefaction Mechanism of Spiritual Training Qualities of Wdi Ullith-Supernatural P-owers? Abnormal Practices? Telepathy or Kashf Acceptance of Prayers The reel criterion References

Allah the Almighty says,in the Quran :

1We take colour from Allah, and'who is better than Ayah at colouring ? We are His worshippers".' The Diachotomy of Soukand Body : The spiritualsystem of Islam transcends the dualism of spirit and matter; it rather provides the nucleus of the integrated and unified concept of life. We do find a long history of body-soul conflict. Most of the people are siding towards a sensate outlook in life culminating in stock matel;ialisnl and hedonism. They were, deprived 'of the moral,, ethical and spiritual outlook in all spheres of life individual as we4 as collective. The obvious r e s u l ~ that the world was was smitten with injustice nnd tyranny. On the other lli,nd, the people who wanted'to tread the path excellencz deviced such ascetic practic& of moral and spi,ritubl~ 'and spiritual percises whikh killed tlieir natural and physical desires. They would migrate to solita~yplaces like forests and mountains in seurch of some hide-outs where they would be least disturbed by the hustle and bustle of the mundane life. They would busy themselves on spiritual pnrctices, prolonged hunger and thirst and nose-gazing meditations that they would virtually becsme "noble outcastsn in this world leaving out the &$eadership o the world in the hands of pleasure seeking opportunists. and f , criminals. This sort of extremism both in n~aterialismand 'spir"ltualism made a complete mess of the human civilization.

realized only when they are fi~cedwith a challenge. Remove the challenge and the development stops. H e needs a world,to serve as a challenge.
Four Stages ,: Faith, Obedience. Piety and Bcnefaction :

~ e k c a tug of war b e t ~ v ~ e n baser self and higher self. e his O n e pulls him downwards t o cilrdinal desires and away from God Alrnigt#y while the other pulls him upward through sincere love of ~ o d Man has to accept this challenge within this world and . within this very life. But this should not be taken to mean that the relation between a muslim and this world is that of hostility. No, far from that. It is a complex relationship. 4 true Muslim lives gladly in this world, does all he citn to leiwe this world a better place than he found it but he does not love this world. Again it does not mean that he does not villue the world, does not enjoy the pleasures it has in store for him, does not relish the joys it has to offer him. H e is deeply sensible of the blessinks of the world, perhaps it won't be an over-statement to say that no one but only a true Muslim fully appreciates the blessings of this world. As it i s he who believes that nothing that 'is created by Ailah is insignificant or'fdse. He gratefully accepts the joys, the gifts that this world offers him but is ever ready to throw off any thing and' every thing the moment he rei~lizes that this thing or that hinders his journey towards AUah. His highest aspiration is to live for Allah, to live by Allah and ultimately to live in perfect communion with Allah. However this aspiration is not fulfilled all at once. H e has to take a long and an arduous journey towards Allah. T h e journey hegins a t Faith, and through obedience and piety, culminates at benqfr~ction.

matter obedience and piety are not left behind. A more appropriate image would be that of a tree with faith as the root, obedience as the trunk, piety as the foliage, and benefaction as the fruit. Now obviously the fruit is 'dynamically related through the foliage and, the trunk to the root and nothing can exist independent of any othe, thing, so the most important thing in life, the seed of all spirituality, the root of the tree of sanctity ( p is faith. What ever a rnuslim does, whatever he think:, all stems from his faith in the oneness of Allah and the finality of Hazrat Muhammad's (P.B.U.H.) prophethood. The mome5t he uttefs the formula of faith 9J-d ' L R 9 ( )"Nooneisworthyof worship except Alli~hand Muhanin~ad is the prophet of Allah." H e moves on to a higher piiine and enfranchizes himself as free citizen of the Kingdom of Allah, the highest. H e throws away the yoke of subjection to any worldly puwer. H e makes a commitment, a life-long commitment to love beauty, justice, goodness and the most vital attributes of Allah \he Almighty. He denies validity to any tradition but to the word of God and the precept of the prophet. The profession of this faith unleashes in him the so-far hidden and unsuspected forces. H e is no more a weak person looking for support in the external world. He is his own master, free, confident, resourceful, drinking deep at the springs which flow from the D'ivine .Light, within his sacred self.

; >

I have talked of this spiritual atta~nment a journey. This is as only figurative. This is rr journey because one finds oneSelf t o have trayelled both in time and space but it is not a journey in the sense t h a ~nothing enroute is left out. The end contains the beginning. Benefaction having been reached, faith or for that
1 56

From faith stems obedience. A Muslim believes in the wholeness and integrity of life. He can never entertain the foolish and stupid idea of a split between thought and action. H e knows thi~t man does only what his innate self believes, though at times a the doer may not he aware of it: Hence the primacy of Faith and the importance of action. A muslim would act but in accordance with the dictates of his faith. When he believes that AUah alone is the Creator, he can not escape concluding that AUah alone reserves the right to determine the function of man in life. This only is reasonable. Only the Creator knows to what end he has created and the creature has absolutely no right to question. So to

submit is to be rei12onable and to question is to be unreasonable, illogical. ,And through submission, complete and perfect submission, will h e win his freedom and in the bargain content, happiness; calmness, composure and satisfaction because what he has been asked to submit to is no un-natural code clamped down on himinit i t the very law of his nature, the law of his own being. ~ n more over, this law is not laid down only in words, it is d exemplified in thk life of the Holy Prophet, the Perfect Man ( *-$'l)the ideril which is there, secured for all times to come in the text of the Hadith, to inspire. Through obedience a musljm attains piety. Piety, in Arabic, is Taqwa which literally means fear. So a pious man is one who has faith in h a h and his prophet; has learXt to submit to the dicfates of Allah, to the Law of Islam, the Shariah and, more over, is so keen on submission that h e fears trangressing, even though inadvertently, the limits set by the Law of AUah. H e does not look for shdr;cuts and loop holes but would rathhr persevere and follow the path of steadfastness. H e is one of those who s t i d in fear of their upbringer.

to establish the kingdom of His Lord. Every breath h e takes and .every moment that he spends is spent in love and remembrance of Allah. H e loves Allah and Allah loves him. Now let us see how Islam proposes to get us through these four stages Faith, Obedience, Piety and Benefaction.

Mechanism of Spiritual Training :

T h e mechanism of spiritual training laid down by Islam rests on five fundamentals :
1. T h e first and the most important is five time prayers daily (Salah). This is the best source of reviving Allah's remembrance. It brings man into direct communion with Him. This is actually a pact of love and ohedience ~ e n d e r e d a servant again and again by and does not let him forget his Lord, Allah the Almighty even while he is busy to his utmost in his mundane life. It is offered in the form of congregation. Thus Prayers (Salah) is the fundame'ntal source of individual as well as collective and social training in the path of spirituid elevation.'

"It is for him who fears his LordM.7

The second source of spiritual training is ~ a k a or monetary t

sacrifice. We see that-Zakat is always mentioned aiongwith the prayers in the Ouran. Prayers is bi~sicallya collective action and it creates healthy i~tmosphme social inter- relations among those .of who live in one community. This lays down a system wherein people can see one another closely and look after each other. T h e meaning of Zakat 6 sublimity and purification. O n e purifies himself and his property by sacrificing a n d spending a particular amount out of his savings on the needy and the poor every year. The third process-is Fasting (Saum) through which one purifies his body and civiliies his natural urges. T h e rich and easy going people are also made t o have a taste of hard life and to experience pangs of hunger and thirst. For full o n e month, every year the Muslims are made to learn piety and self restraint.

Benefaction :
Piety leads one to the benefaction. At the stage o f piety, obedience is done out of fear or out of a sense of duty; but at the highest stage i.e. that of benetxtion, obedience is whole-hearted aod perfect. Now, one has been admitted into the inner circle. H e is a friend of Allah, Walliullah. H e has not only learnt to submit, he has identified his will with the Will of Allah.

Allah is pleased with them dnd they a r e pleased with Allah"."

He likes what is liked hy Alldl and abhors what is disapproved by his Lord. Now he becomes the true Vicegerent who out of sheer love for Allah and sincereQ to Him stiives hard

Immediately after the completion of this course one is ready to go for t h e fourth process which comes two months later. T h e fourth process is pilgrimage (Hajj) which is an overhauling of one's personality at least once in his life if he can affdid to travel to the house of Allah the Almighty (Ka'aba Musharrafah) in Makkah Mukarramah. Hajj aims at fostering universal brotherhood of the faithful and culminating in a movement which some how or the other delivers a call towards the p a t h of ~ l l ' i l h each and every corner of the world. in T h e last process in this mechanism is Jihad i.e. exerting oneself to the utmost to make the message and word of Allah the Almighty supreme. This is the whole-hearted and whole-time dedication to the cause of Allah and to sacrifice all that one possesses i.e. life, property, time and talents in discharge of'this mission. These a r e the five fundalental processes which if properly adhered to and accomplished according to the practical teachings of t h e prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), get person through the four milestones of spiritualism i.e. Faith, Obedience, Piety and Benefaction.

they may o r may h t live in public; they mostly live in jungles or mountbins o r caves. ~ b n o r m a ' Practices ? These a r e only misunderstandings. I' would like to explain that according to the Quran the saints o r Auliya Altah are only those who believe sincerely in Alli~hthe Almighty and love Him most and follow the Prophet. f i e magic mongerers, the people who d o supernatural things, may be even among the nap believers. S o they cannot be Waliullah. I will narrate a story from the traditions. W e find three persons among the companions of
1

'

Qualities of Wali Ullah - Supernatural Powers ?

Now there is an important question. What is meant by a Waliullah ? It is necessary that a Waliullah (saint) should possess some supernatural powers ? (Karamat). What are the main qualities of a Waliullah in the light of the Quranic teachings ? Actuallyt these a r e a few misunderstandings about this term, Waliullah. This is a Quranic term, "Awliya Allah", .and "Wali" being the singular of "Auliya". Some people think that the Auliya Allah a r c thpse who have got supernatural powers. They can d o whatever they like. They citn know what is hidden in the hearts of people; they pray to Allah the Almighty and their prayer is immediately accepted; they have got abnormal kind of worships;

the prophet, who came to his house in his absence. They asked what the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), used to d o during his day and night. How much does he pray ? What-are his activities ? They were told everything. They thought that the prophet (P.B.U.H.) is a prophet and it is not necessary for him to d o abnormal activities and to do much of labour in worshiping Allah, the Almighty. They thought that what the prophet does is a little less. They should do more. So one of them resolved that he would remain celibitt; Iw would never mar& throughout his life. T h e second o n e resolved that he will never sleep a t night. H e will keep :%wake night and pray, in front of Allah, the whole night. T h e at t h d Lwe resolved that he will keep on observing fasts, whole of 111, life. 'l'he prophet (P.B.U.H.) heard all what happened i.e. what they learned from the house of prophet a n d what they uttered there. T h e prophet (P.B.U.H.) called them a n d said: "I am more pious than anybody amongst you. But 1 insist on spending a normal life. I have married. 1 do not spend a life of a celibat. I keep awake at night for sometime, but for some time I go for sleep. I observe many fasts, but for many days I d o not fast. T h e man who does not follow me is not one of the Muslims". You have to foUow the most normal and natural life led by the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.). Thus abnormal worship has got nothing to do with being Waliullah. If somebody tries to go

for t h e abnormal worships, he gets out of Islam. H e is not a Waliullah.

Devil came to the battlefield and saw the angels coming down for supporting the Muslims and he said :

Telepathy or Kashf ?
T h e same thing may be borne in mind about the telepathy or abnormal kind of knowledge (Kashf) by which Waliullah is normally supposed to know what is hidden in the heart of others, this too has got nothing to do with the basic qualities of Waliullah. This might be an additional quality of a Waliullah, but it is not the pre-requisite or the real quality of a Waliullah. And this quality is sometimes found in the non Muslims. A non muslim cannot be ii Waliullah. H e is enemy of Allah. H e is not the friend of Allah. We see that during the days of prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) there was a person, his name was Ibn Sayyad. H e had the talent to tell other person what wiis hidden in his heart. H e came to the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and asked him to hide something in his heart. T h e prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) concealed in his mind Surf "Dukhan" and asked Ibn Sayyad to tell what wits in his mind. Ibn Sayyad tried and h e was successful in uttering the half of the word "Dukhan". H e uttered "al-Dakh". H e could not pronounce the whole word "Dukhan". The prophet laughed at him. H e said: "Get away ! You can not cross your limit." Meaning thereby that this way of life is not a successful life. This is not worth being achieved. T h e job of kahins o r sooth-sayers is not encouraged in Islam. This has got nothing to do with Islam o r spiritualism of Islam. r Then, there is another beautiful story which we can find even in the Quran. While describing the battle of Badr, M a h says : "Oh my Goodness. What I am seeing, you cannot see".1 Now the most important thing here is, that the Devil was seeing what the companions of the prophet could not see. Does it mean that the devil is superior to the companions of the prophet? Does it mean that the devil is WaliuUah ? No he is a devil. So knowing something, which ordinarily other people cannot know, or seeing something (Kashf) which ordinarily cannot be seen by the normal people, has got nothing to do with Wilaya. Even a martyre or companion of the prophet, or a sahabi cannot s e e angels but the devil could see. These supernatural powers, a r e not the necessary quirlities of a saint o r spiritual person o r a Waliullah.

Acceptance of Prayers ?
There is another qunlity, which is normally, ascribed t o a saint o r Waliullah. It is said that his prayer is immediately accepted. Thus 21 person whose prayer is acccpted is normally taken for a saint or W~liullah. This is a great misunderstanding. It . i, true that the priryer of a saint or Waliullah should be accepted : Inore than that of a normill person, because he is a friend of Allah the Almighty. But this is not a necessary condition, because prayer of anybody, mustim o r even non-muslim, good o r a bad person can be accepted. We find in a tradition (Hadith) of the prophet (P.B.U.H.) that the prayer of an oppressed person, is readily accepted by Allah the Almighty even if he is a non muslim. So the immediate acceptance of prayer is no criterion for being a spiritual person or Waliullah. W e also find in the Quran that a prayer of the devil was accepted. T h e devil prayed to Allah, the Almighty that he may be given respite, till the day of judgement so that he could misguide human beings and thus avenge himself. This prayer was readily accepted by Allah, the

"He supported hi!n with the army which you could not see".' T h e companions of the prophet, could not see this army of Angels sent by Allah, the Almighty. But the Quran says that the

REFERENCES Almighty. This shows that immediate acceptance of some prayer is ndt t h e criterion for being z W~:?lul?:k.
The Real Criterion :
1. The Quran. The Cow : 138

2. The Quran, The Cow : 30.

3. The Quran. T h e Heights : 172.
4. Baihaqi, Shiabal - h d . p. 189.

What is the criteria for the love and friendship of Allah the Almighty ? Allah the Almighty says :

5. Ihe Quran. The Rome : 30.

6. l h e Quran. lbrahim : 24.

7. The Quran. 'me Clear Evidence :8.

"0' propnet tell them, if you really love Allah, ihe Almighty,

8. The Quran. T h e Repentance : 100.

9. The Quren. The Repentance : 40.

then follow my footsteps. Alliih will also 16ve you."ll Then, t h e only way left for us is to follow the footsteps of the Prophet. Who is the lover of Allah then. O n e who follows His message. Allah the Almighty sends a message. And there is one person who refuses t o accept this message. H e cannot b e a friendf of Allah the Almighty. ' h e friend o Allah, the Almighty is one who accepts the message of Allah the Almighty; accepts the messenger of Allah the Almighty, and follows him faithfully. That is the criterion for love of Allah and His friendship (Wilayah). The o n e who follows, hluhammad (P.B.U.H.), is the real friend of Allah t h e Almighty. T h e supernatural powers, telepathy, (Kashfo-Kararnaat), the immediate acceptance of prayer, the abnormal life i.e. going to jungles, caves, mountains, or doing abnormal worships, keeping oneself hungry for many days etc. are the things which have got no relationship with Waliullah, and such person cannot he termed as Waliullah. I will better term him a juggler c a magician. H e is not Waliullah. r

10. The Quran, The Spoils of War : 48.

11.

I h e Quran, Family of lmran : 31.