We wish to inform all our readers that we will be consolidating our Spirit and Life Blog into our Ismaili Mail Blog as we are trying to bring all related contents into one place. We would like to make it easier for our readers to access all of the published content at one location.

The change will occur in few days. Afterward, you will not be receiving any notification e-mails through Feedburner or any other subscription services.

Regards

Extract from the speech by His Highness the Aga Khan

at the Centenary Celebration meeting of the

Association of American Universities,

Washington, D.C., April 22, 2001

Extract from Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the opening of Alltex EPZ Limited at Athi River, Kenya, December 19, 2003

Some more relevant and informational links below

Timbuktu Hopes Ancient Texts Spark a Revival

The geography that has doomed Timbuktu to obscurity in the popular imagination for half a millennium was once the reason for its greatness. It was founded as a trading post by nomads in the 11th century and later became part of the vast Mali Empire, then ultimately came under the control of the Songhai Empire.

For centuries it flourished because it sat between the great superhighways of the era — the Sahara, with its caravan routes carrying salt, cloth, spices and other riches from the north, and the Niger River, which carried gold and slaves from the rest of West Africa.

Traders brought books and manuscripts from across the Mediterranean and Middle East, and books were bought and sold in Timbuktu — in Arabic and local languages like Songhai and Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg people.

Timbuktu was home to the University of Sankore, which at its height had 25,000 scholars. An army of scribes, gifted in calligraphy, earned their living copying the manuscripts brought by travelers. Prominent families added those copies to their own libraries. As a result, Timbuktu became a repository of an extensive and eclectic collection of manuscripts.

“Astronomy, botany, pharmacology, geometry, geography, chemistry, biology,” said Ali Imam Ben Essayouti, the descendant of a family of imams that keeps a vast library in one of the city’s mosques. “There is Islamic law, family law, women’s rights, human rights, laws regarding livestock, children’s rights. All subjects under the sun, they are represented here.”

• Video: From America To Timbuktu
• Video: A short visit to Timbuktu, Mali
• Video: High school boy travels to Timbuktu, the city in Mali, West Africa
• Video: Traveling in Mali – Niger River. This footage was taken on a 3 day trip from Mopti to Timbuktu on a cargo pinasse
• Video of Aga Khan in Mali

WEBSITE / INFORMATION /Articles/ VIDEOS / MEDIA / Other Resources

• PBU: http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_gt.htm
• Libraries of Timbuktu: http://www.sum.uio.no/timbuktu/index.html
• BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1911321.stm
• Resources/Info: http://www.timbuktufoundation.org/
• Article: http://africanhistory.about.com/od/mali/p/Timbuktu.htm
• Photos: http://www.danheller.com/timbuktu.html

Most historians agree that in the early days of Islam (i.e. in early 7th century Mecca) the original Muslim community had no specific or special place of prayer and the arrangements for communal worship were informal. It is only after the hijra (migration) to Medina, that a specific space emerged and evolved, where Muslims could collectively perform ritual prayers together as well as manage the affairs of the state. Subsequently, wherever the Muslim community became permanently established in large numbers, the mosque became a focal point for their religious and social life.

In these new Muslim lands, there were attempts initially to reproduce, in both design and function, the first masjid of Medina. However, as the Muslim empire spread across geography, it came in contact with different cultures and traditions. In addition, internal factors, such as the increasing availability of wealth and patronage, influx of new converts, the diversity in notions of piety, and the corresponding needs of the communities of users, collectively contributed to a rapid change and evolution in mosque design and usage.

http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106346

The work of revitalizing the mosques is gradually being extended to their surrounding neighbourhoods to include all residential accommodation situated in the shadow of the minarets. How wonderfully symbolic it is that the outcome of efforts to restore the mosques should be to improve the quality of life of the people whose lives follow the same rhythm as theirs!

The restoration of the Great Mosque of Mopti is the fruit of close collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Heritage Department (DNPC), the regional and local authorities, the Mosque Committee and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and of the dedication of numerous professionals and craftspeople from architects and conservation experts to stone masons, brick-makers, plasterers, metal workers, potters and electricians.

This project has made it possible to combine modern heritage conservation techniques with the processes and materials traditionally employed in the construction of earth buildings. The participation in the project of the few stone masons who still practise banco pourri has meant that more than 30 young people have been trained in this traditional technique, thus ensuring that is handed down to the next generation.

This is especially relevant in Mali where there is a danger that traditional artisans will gradually disappear, taking with them the skills and knowledge accumulated by previous generations of builders. Hence, restoring this important monument has provided the opportunity to perpetuate a tradition and also to ensure the future conservation of built heritage with appropriate techniques, competently applied.

– His Highness the Aga Khan, speech delivered at the ceremony of inauguration of the Great Mosque of Mopti

Farhad Daftary – The Ismailis – Their History and Doctrines

I believe in the religion
Of Love
Whatever direction its caravans may take,
For love is my religion and my faith.

Photo by /Flickr/bachmont

Extract from the speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Centenary Celebration meeting of the Association of American Universities, Washington, D.C., April 22, 2001.

The art of binding and the protection of scripts are as old as writing itself. The contribution made by Muslim craftsmen has been a significant element in the history of this craft and the contribution of Persian craftsmen is particularly important.

It was Persian artists who introduced a range of innovative ideas, both technical as well as artistic, and these were to have a profound impact on subsequent bindings and decorative styles.  In the earlier period of book production within the Islamic world, book covers were generally decorated in a restrained manner. However, around the sixteenth century, Persia took a lead in artistic styles thereby initiating a glorious period for Persian book crafts.  New methods of book production and completely revolutionary techniques were introduced and these were to have a lasting impact on Islamic book production for centuries to come.

The main areas of innovation centered on painted book covers, in effect treating many of these bindings as a vehicle for painting similar to that undertaken by miniaturists: elaborate gilding, stamped covers, lacquer painted covers are some examples.

Persian craftsmen introduced a range of extraordinary innovations that had a lasting effect not only in the Muslim world but also on European binders.

Log on to the website of The Institute of Ismaili Studies to view decorative Persian book covers at www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105133

“Parts of the Ummah are concerned about the relationship between Muslims and the contemporary knowledge society, which is now principally rooted in the West. It is my deepest conviction, my deepest conviction, that we must make that knowledge society our own, in keeping with the Alid tradition towards the intellect, but always doing so within the ethics of our faith. Thus, I have sought from my Jamat your Nazrana of time and knowledge.” -  Aga Khan IV, Paris, France, July 11th 2007

“That quest for a better life, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, must lead inevitably to the Knowledge Society which is developing in our time. The great and central question facing the Ummah of today is how it will relate to the Knowledge Society of tomorrow.  For century after century, the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks and many other Islamic societies achieved powerful leadership roles in the world—not only politically and economically but also intellectually.  Some ill-informed historians and biased commentators have tried to argue that these successes were essentially produced by military power, but this view is profoundly incorrect. The fundamental reason for the pre-eminence of Islamic civilizations lay neither in accidents of history nor in acts of war, but rather in their ability to discover new knowledge, to make it their own, and to build constructively upon it. They became the Knowledge Societies of their time” -  Aga Khan IV, Speech, 2nd December 2006, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Source:
3 of 66 quotes taken from:
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com

Mathnawi VI: 4119-4121; 4123-4125
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
“Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance”
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

*Pir, the spiritual guide.

I feel ashamed to walk upon the grass,
As it chants Ya Ali, Ya Ali, Ya Ali
I am burnt to exhaustion, like molten brass
Ego gone, there is no longer any “me”

Let me kiss the rocks for being his murid
The trees, the dirt, and every sinner
Nothing is not to Him in greatest need
I am nothing, not even the tiniest seed

O Mawlana you have taken me away,
Singing your name, I sway and I sway

Sayf al-Din al-Haqq

“O thou man! Verily thou art ever toiling on towards thy Lord- painfully toiling,- but thou shalt meet Him (famulaqeehi).”

- Holy Quran 84:6

“And whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord (yarjoo liqaa rabbihi), let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.”

- Holy Quran 18:110

“Allah it is Who raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runneth unto an appointed term; He ordereth the course; He detaileth the Signs (al-ayati), that haply ye may be certain of the meeting (biliqa-i) with your Lord (rabbikum).”

- Holy Quran 13:2

The Vision (nazara) of the Lord on the Day of Judgment
“That day will faces be bright, looking toward their Lord (ila rabbiha naziratun);”

- Holy Quran 75:22-24

“The Day We shall summon all human beings through their Imam (bi-imamihi)… But those who were blind in this world, will be blind in the hereafter, and most astray from the Path.”

- Holy Quran 17:71-72

Blessed Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
“He who has seen me has seen the Truth (mun ra’ani faqad ra al-haqq).”

“To gaze upon Ali is worship (al-nazar ila Ali ibada).”

Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the Face of God (wajhu Allahi).

- Holy Quran 2:272

Blessed be He in Whose Hand (bi-yadihi) is the Kingdom (al-mulk); and He over all things hath Power.

- Holy Quran 67:1

But I cast love upon thee from Me: and (this) in order that thou mayest be reared under My Eye (‘aynee).

- Holy Quran 20:39

Lest any soul should say: Alas, my grief that I was unmindful of the Side of God (janbi Allahi), and I was indeed among the scoffers!

- Holy Quran 39:56

And know that Allah cometh in between a man and His Heart (qalbihi), and that it is He to Whom ye shall (all) be gathered.

- Holy Quran 8:24

The Blessed Words of the Holy Imams:

” I am the encompassing heart of Allah (qalbu’llah). I am the speaking tongue of Allah (lihsanu’llah). I am the side of Allah (janbu’llah). I am the hand of Allah (yadu’llah).”

- Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib,

(Shaykh Saduq, Kitab al-Tawhid, pp. 164)

“Allah created us and formed us, and gave us the most perfect form. He made us His Eye over His Servants, and His Speaking Tongue, through which He speaks to His Servants. We are His Open Hand, extended with Mercy and Kindness to His Servants. We are His Face, through which He is reached, and the Gate which indicates upon Him. We are His Reservoir in the heavens and Earth. Through us, the trees grow and the fruits are ripened. Through us the rivers flow, and through us the succor of the skies comes down. We plant the grasses of the Earth. Through our ibadat, Allah is worshipped. If it were not for us, Allah would not be worshipped.”

- Imam Jafar as-Sadiq,

(al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 1, pp. 144)

Why do so many dance to the wrong tune,
when deep down they know the song will end soon?
And what then, as they stand around confused,
standing in the silence that once kept them amused.
The lights shall go out and they will be left in the dark.
A wise man told us not to ignore our divine spark.
The darkness will engulf them, as they wonder why,
did we waste time on clothes to look good the day we die?
But those who remembered the promise to their Lord,
will still meet death but only through Love’s sword.
The beloved “Zulfiqar” has pierced their soul,
and the scar that it left, became their “bol.”
They are the ones who understood the power of ‘Ali.
They are the little rivers flowing towards the sea.
To be embraced by you to the point of no return,
that is the destiny my prayers seek to earn.

Once given, the eternal word can never leave me.
How can anything from ‘Ali’s hand ever deceive me?
It shall guide me, leading my soul,
closer and closer, to my final goal.
Faithful to the word forever I shall be,
until the day I find the door for my key.

Khayal ‘Aly

The prophesied return of the ancient prophet Elijah is perhaps the most intriguing and mystifying aspect of Passover. No one really knows exactly when or where the expectation that Elijah would return on Passover began, but it has nonetheless been a long-standing tradition to set an extra place at the table in anticipation of his return. Jews the world over believe that Elijah will come on the eve of Passover as a forerunner to the Messiah and that he will answer all questions and resolve all debates over the Torah.

At the recent Community Passover Seder event held at the Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Calgary, I heard one version of Elijah’s story that has a unverisal message:

A pious and wealthy Jew asked his rabbi, “For about forty years I have opened the door for Elijah every Seder night waiting for him to come, but he never does. What is the reason?” The rabbi answered, “In your neighborhood there lives a very poor family with many children. Call on the man and propose to him that you and your family celebrate the next Passover in his house, and for this purpose provide him and his whole family with everything necessary for the eight Passover days. Then on the Seder night Elijah will certainly come.” The man did as the rabbi told him, but after Passover he came to the rabbi and claimed that again he had waited in vain to see Elijah. The rabbi answered, “I know very well that Elijah came on the Seder night to the house of your poor neighbor. But of course you could not see him.” And the rabbi held a mirror before the face of the man and said, “Look, this was Elijah’s face that night.”

When I heard the story it reminded me of the Sufi saying: Past the suffering walked he who asks, “Why, oh God, do you not do something for these people?” To which God replied, “I did do something, I made you.”

So, are you Elijah or should we expect someone else?

http://almoonir.blogspot.com/2008/04/so-are-you-elijah.html

Sayf al-Din al-Haqq

“In response, let me say first that I was born into a Muslim family, linked by heredity to Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him and his family). It was exactly fifty years ago that I became the 49th Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.

The ethics of Islam bridge the realms of faith on the one hand and practical life on the other – what we call Din and Dunya. Accordingly, my spiritual responsibilities for interpreting the faith are accompanied by a strong engagement in issues relating to the quality of life and well being. This latter commitment extends not only to the Ismaili community but also to those with whom they share their lives – locally, nationally and internationally.”

Extract from the Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Graduation Ceremony of the Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) Programme at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), 15 June 2007

Mathnawi III: 4300-4304
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
“Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance”
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyį Monastra)