Assalamu alaykum brothers and sisters. Divine peace be upon you. I came here because I wanted to ask someone to help me to get my official right so I opened Quran 4:85 and I liked the QXP translation on openburhan.net which had a word of caution about this translation. So, I was curious. So, do not be blind modernists like those who are ignorant of Arabic and the Uswah ( a Quranic concept) and I also urge my traditionalist brothers not to become blind traditionalists but become Scriptural traditionalists like Shawkani and Asad ( although he inclined to Mutazilah due to western upbringing) for example. Asad is the one who was inclined towards a rational interpretation of Elephantry in the recited Logos of Quran. So, QXP is not the first translation to do so.
Psychology and Philosophy
Mind body dualism and balanced sirat mustaqim
It is Christian monasticism and the idea of a non-sensual heaven which are criticized by Quran which actually led to rise of mind body dualism in modern Christendom, while Muslim seminaries to this date teach ancient greek logic in seminaries. So, unless the churches and synagogues do not deal with Quranic criticism of their sacred texts, the mind body dualism will keep away humanity from the balanced sirat mustaqim.
Quran 55:4 and did Neanderthals speak?
Divine peace be upon truth seekers. Today I found an agnostic listening to the Recited Logos of Quran for the first time and he chose Chapter 55 and its very 4th verse talks about learning and teaching of language, but as the word recitation tells us, oral expressions also fall in the category of bayan or self-expression. The title of this article is exactly the question that came up in my mind after I read verse 4. Thanks for writing. I was happy to read about Neanderthal funerals because our Scripture also talks about corvid mourning.
Sacred ink of the Recited Logos and the sacred tears of five prayers
To an American sister marrying a Pakistani guy: I met the American converts in interfaith fb discussion groups. I think Pakistani men never cheat unless they are too secular. So, it is a good choice for a life partner. I have also offered Sufi counseling to couples in past so if you feel the need to understand traditional psychology, I will help. Islam is a life long journey in the ocean of sacred ink and sacred tears. Quran the Ishmaelite Logos is sacred ink and five daily prayers are the sacred tears. You can start from weekly Friday prayers or bi annual Eid prayers. In America, they have Sunday although Jesus prayed on Saturday. Then God changed it to Friday with easier rules. We take a bath before Friday prayers because the feeling of purity makes us feel holy.
Great I like small steps. Cheating is a problem but my approach has been to address it with the individual rather than addressing the issue in general.
What is Sufi counseling?
Psychology is a modern invention by a secular but Abrahamic scholar Freud, but before psychology, Sufi saints used to give advice to couples in our cultures.
Anthropology of HRM (Human resource management) and traditional cultures
Works at Digital Communications and Networks
My father did MBA from US so I am familiar with the concept of human resource management which is a very underdeveloped area in traditional cultures. A local university has initiated a course on anthropology of HRM so that led me to arrive here. My orthodox cousin is an anthropologist but we are still unable to apply western concepts to indigenous contexts. Thanks for this contribution.
Dr. Saif abbasi
International Islamic University Islamabad
Faculty Member, Sociology Department
Peace. I am happy that you started a course on anthropology of HRM. Can we introduce in theory and practice the concept of organizational justice in indigenous cultures? Because even the highly qualified bosses have a tunnel vision and ignore ethics of management in indigenous cultures.
Islam has a more social and universal approach compared to celibate Catholicism, monastic Buddhism and tribal forms of Protestantism
To a sister who admires Muslim families and societies: This is because previous religions were oriented towards personal development(tazkiya) or at most tribal supremacy(asabiyyah) while Islam also includes social engineering through focus on congregation(jamat).
Peter Bell This is a fine thing wherever it is consistently true in practice. Of course, tazkiya and jamat go together and reinforce each other — overemphasis on either one produces a society (and individuals) in imbalance and disorder. But your description here is accurate in that it is quite possible for a religious group to focus on the individual development and fall short of the logical progression of the tazkiya into jamat. Fully functioning jamat will not happen unless the individuals are spiritually strong and healthy.
We need a non-atelephobic post-industrial ethical revolution
We have always explored the ethical aspects of work and secular involvement in general and this empowers me with the right intellectual tool to get our viewpoint across. Thanks and God bless you.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/give-and-take/201401/the-no-1-feature-meaningless-job
Egoistic or curious questioning: Is God masculine or feminine?
To a modern critic of supposed masculinity of Abrahamic God: Interestingly, the Ishmaelite theology talks about the hebrew word rachum/compassion which has etymolgical roots in the word for a mother’s womb. So, Islam while criticizng the concepts of fatherhood and sonship, emphasizes the feminine dimensions of divinity. I have a personal and fallible conjecture that the divine attributes of beauty(jamal) express feminine tenderness ( absent in modern feminism) and the divine attributes of awe-inspriation(jalal) express masculine charisma ( absent is modern males especially the clean shaven males resembling lions with manes)
An American secularist asks me about Reza Aslan
When he ate human flesh with Aghoris, I thought that he was antitheistic, but when I learnt more I learnt that he emotionally converted to Christianity and then after becoming a Bible scholar he intellectually converted to Islam. Bible scholar Bart Ehrman has quoted him which shows that Reza is a popular figure. I value non-conformist piety more than Templeton prize winners, but still I pray that he starts loving faith and commandments on a psychological level rather than only at Platonic level. His Persian background also resonates with me because the philosopher-poet of Pakistan, Iqbal did most of his poetry in Persian.
I am also happy that he has discussed the tendency of Simon and Donatists within Christianity and Maccabees within Judaism which is directly antithetical to secular versions of Christianity and Judaism.
Lost virginity, peer pressure and explicit music
Jerry Sexton I was virgin until my 20s, and never cursed. My friends pressured me to curse on high school graduation night, they had never heard me say objectionable words. My point is that I don’t think music plays a role nearly as much as peer pressure.
Ishmael Abraham I was forced to eat Indian sweets last week while being the co-bridegroom of my cousin on his marriage, and when I became angry, they said that the fun lies in the pressure. But my introvert personality has helped me to avoid conformism through reduced social circle.
A spiritual Ishmaelite 