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One Love
Registered Member
Date Joined Jan 2003
Total Posts : 13888
| Posted 2/7/2006 12:31 PM (GMT -6) |   | | If one didn't know any different, one would think that this person is describing a beautiful experience with God. But it COULDN'T be THAT...now could it?
Give me your impressions.
Postscript: An Emotion-Filled Hajj
The journey is over, but the memories of Hajj are brighter and stronger than any other life experience, says a young pilgrim.
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One Love
Registered Member
Date Joined Jan 2003
Total Posts : 13888
| Posted 2/7/2006 2:53 PM (GMT -6) | | Corey:
This a description of aesthetic beauty. "Each sense I have was affected, changing the way I perceived things that exist all around me. Everything was so beautiful, so exquisite." Cool! Each of us has something to learn from someone who loves beauty like this.
You mentioned God in your question. Maybe I'm missing it, but I'm not seeing much language about relating to the infinite here. This sort of beauty is what one experiences in relation to finite things; I don't see this as describing a religious aesthetic experience.
I'm not saying it "COULDN'T be that", just that I don't find it in the language.
You do realize that the Hajj is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. It's part and parcel of the faith. This whole thing is an act of worship. A devout Muslim would NOT necessarily separate their expereriences of prayer and communing with other Muslims before the Kaa’ba from experiencing God. Just like I don't think a devout Christian would necessarily separate their experiences of prayer and worship with one another from experiencing God. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some Christians feel the some of the SAME WAYS that this person felt when they have visited the "Holy Land" with their Christian brothers and sisters. (Some people that I know who've gone testified to their trips being a MAJOR experience with God.)
I HIGHLY doubt that our Muslim brother would separate his experience of worship from his experience of Allah's grace and goodness! Read the whole thing from the BEGINNING of his journey...
www.beliefnet.com/story/182/story_18211_1.html
God is all over this thing in between the lines. At least from that Muslim brother's perspective.
So...would we be willing to grant the TRUTH of his experience of Allah's "special mercy" upon him?
The newest mantra:
God graciously FINDS us meaningful when God doesn't need to do it and we, in ourselves, can't do it.
"Hmm. Why not? What the hell. Let's try it."
--God
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Corey
Five with a Four-wing
Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1893
| Posted 2/7/2006 4:19 PM (GMT -6) | | Yeah, I know the 5 pillars and stuff. I had a Muslim roommate in college and we talked a lot. I understand that this whole thing is an important part of his religious service of worship. Not intending to downplay that.
I didn't want to pretend to be a mind reader, so I just went off the language he chose to use. He did not overtly mention an experience with Allah, but mostly described sensate experiences. I'm sure the hajj played no small part of his heightened awareness and appreciation of beauty around him, but nonetheless, the things that struck him were on the immediate and aesthetic level.
As an aside, as I think about it, I don't recall any of my Muslim friends ever talking about Allah in terms of direct experience (like many Christians do, "God told me..." etc.) Maybe that would seem pretentious to them, putting them in a sense on par with the Prophet. I don't know how to answer your question about "the TRUTH of his experience of Allah's 'special mercy' upon him". How can I know exactly what this guy experienced? It's the old "other minds" problem. Post Edited (Corey) : 2/7/2006 5:40:38 PM (GMT-6) | | Back to Top | | |
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