Author of God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics. Secrets of Divine Love opens with one word: 'Love.' This word appears and appears again, until the reader understands only a fraction of the ways in which God pours His light upon them. Author of Divine Names: The 99 Healing Names of the One Love and founder of the Center for Feminine Spirituality and Sufism.
INTRODUCTION
Secrets of Divine Love reminds us that no matter who you are, God's love is like a healing balm that can heal your soul and rekindle the spark of faith within you. Although everyone's experience of God is unique, I felt led in writing this book to share my story with you as a testimony that God's love and mercy have the power to change every heart it touches. I know now that the beauty I witnessed in Turkey was not just a woman in love with God, but God's unconditional love pouring out over her.
READING WITH AN OPEN HEART
In addition to reciting the words of the Qur'an, when the Prophet Muhammad spoke, his words were referred to as Hadith. When there is a direct reference to a particular revelation of the Qur'an, you will find the phrase followed by two numbers separated by a colon, ie. in fact, most of the sayings of Muslim mystics are directly inspired by the Qur'an and the Prophet, or inspired by the Prophet's family and his closest companions.
ALLAH: THE ORIGIN OF LOVE
Other scholars say that the word “Allah” is derived from ilah, which means “god” in Arabic; and that when the. Despite the countless displays of God's infinite mercy, some people still proclaim that God is unjust. God's loving qualities do not change in response to our choices because God is not reactive.
WHO ARE YOU?
When we turn to revelation and are in a state of humility, we are protected from Shaytan's temptations. Since God declares in the Qur'an, "the remembrance of Allah is the greatest" (29:45), forgetting the divine is considered a major spiritual misstep. It is only when outward obedience is united with sincere inward submission that the eyes of the heart awaken to witness and receive God's love.
Even human existence is like a coin that is shaped with two sides: on the one hand, the Qur'an says that you are created in the best molds (95:4), shaped by the breath of God's spirit (38:72) and chosen to be His representative of mercy on Earth (2:30). We are like the moon: the more we turn from the darkness of the ignorant ego to the eternal light of God's love, the fuller our spirit becomes. This is one of the reasons why the Prophet says: “If Allah wishes to do good to someone.
We are like photographs; our faith is developed in the dark room of the trials we face. When we repent, we clean the film of the ego to reveal who we are and always have been. How can I teach you about the ways of the spirit when you are so full.
One of the best ways to do this is through the recitation of the phrase. Just as a seed sprouts when it is kissed by the light of the sun, when we are open to receiving the light of God’s love, we too transform. This is perfectly articulated in the following story of the Prophet Jesus from the teachings of the twelfth-century Persian poet Attar.
THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF THE QUR’AN
By its very nature, parts of the Qur'an will trigger you because this revelation is like a clean mirror. It was 610 AD when Muhammad received the first words of the Quran at the age of 40. Every word and vibration in the Qur'an is intentional, whether we understand it or not.
The Quran has no mistakes; it is man's interpretations that are flawed. Don't just read the Quran – put yourself in the shoes of each character. The verses of the Qur'an are not always direct and clear (muhkamat); Revelation also includes verses that are allegorical, symbolic, and metaphorical (mutashabihat) (3:7).
The words of the Qur'an are like the rays of the sun - whatever it shines on, it changes. The words of the Qur'an help to rewrite the spiritual code that is hidden beneath our physical forms. The Qur'an not only guides us, it frees us from the grip of ego.
In the darkest nights of our souls, the Qur'an is a faithful companion with embracing arms.
THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF ISLAM
The path of Islam teaches the seeker how to water the spiritual garden of the soul, which has already been tilled and sown by God's abundantly overflowing love. Islam begins as an external surrender of the body to the clearly stated prohibitions and commandments of God. While the status of Islam is clear and outwardly visible and can be seen, iman is hidden, inward and related to the invisible reality of the heart and soul.
Faith blossoms automatically when we remove the walls of ego, for faith is not something we find, but something that blossoms from within. Imam Ali says: "Iman is confession with the tongue, affirmation with the heart and action of the body." It is not a passive declaration of faith, but rather faith put into action. The station of ihsan - or, as it is sometimes called, "spiritual excellence" - is achieved when we transcend the duality of the external and the internal and enter into the unique presence of God.
Only when the sun of the ego sets can the true eternal light of the soul and the innate beauty within the human being be born. This refinement of the soul to be in pure harmony with God is the essence of the position of ihsan. After all, one of the essential missions of the Islamic path is to guide the seeker beyond mere knowledge of God, to the experience and knowledge of God.21 It is only when we marry the external to the internal that the door to an intimate relationship opens. relationships with God are opened.
It is only when we surrender our body, mind and soul to God that we will be able to manifest the true message of peace that is at the heart of the path of Islam.
TAWBA : REPENT AND RETURN TO UNITY
The act of seeking God's forgiveness is itself a protection against the consequences of our own actions. It is not by being perfect that we gain access to God's grace, but through tawba and seeking forgiveness. We are not meant to be worthy of God before we turn to faith, but rather it is by God's all-encompassing grace (Ar-Rahman) that we are made worthy.
The more we turn to God's light, the brighter the sky of our mind becomes and the dimmer the stars of the ego and Devil appear in comparison. When we turn from our sins, and actively and intentionally turn to God's light, everything changes. The Qur'an says, "Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves" (2:222), because repentance allows us to experience God's love by removing the veils of illusion and sin.
Repentance is not only about returning to God - it is also about returning to creation as a reflection of God's mercy, compassion and forgiving nature. However, whenever we are wronged, it is important to ask: Is choosing not to forgive this person worth not experiencing God's forgiveness? As long as we are looking at our sins, we are missing the opportunity to witness God's forgiveness.
We are not worthy of God's forgiveness because of our repentance, but because God's mercy embraces all things, including our sin.
SHAHADAH: THE ECSTASY OF ONENESS
When the Prophet's followers thought of the Qur'an, they would most likely think of the Prophet's face and his voice reciting the words of revelation. The Prophet Muhammad is essential to the Islamic statement of faith because he represents what belief in God's uniqueness looks like in practice. How important it is to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad can be nicely illustrated by the phenomenon in cycling known as drafting.
In essence, Muslims all ride in the concept of the prophet on the road to God. The Prophet actualized the true meaning of la ilaha illa Allah in that his will was fully dissolved in the will of God. In fact, when one of the Prophet's followers saw his living quarters, he began to cry.
Through the example of the Prophet, we learn how to put the teachings of the Qur'an into practice. The power of the Prophet Muhammad's presence is emulated in the Qur'an; the word used in the Quran to describe the light of the sun is the same word used to describe the enlightening nature of the Prophet. Just as the sun sets, but has not yet disappeared, the Prophet Muhammad may have died, but the light of the message he was meant to bring to this world is still reflected in the moon-like hearts of his most sincere followers.
In the Qur'an, Allah honors the Prophet Muhammad by saying, "Thou art indeed of an exalted nature" (68:4).