Imam Ali: Allah, the First and Last
Rumi's Garden, an online Islamic Store: www.RumisGarden.co.uk
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Photo: Kaaba, Ottoman-era Makkah, early 1900s
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He (Allah) is the First before every first and the Last after every last. His Firstness necessitates that there is no (other) first before Him and His Perpetuity necessitates that there is no other to last after Him. I do testify, both openly as well as secretly, with heart as well as with tongue, that there is no god but Allah.
(Imam Ali)
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Recommended Reading:
'Living and Dying with Grace: Counsels of Hadrat Ali'
By Thomas Cleary (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
Living and Dying with Grace is a book of aphoristic Sufi teachings on how to make one'e way in the world - especially on how to bring spiritual insights to the affairs of daily life. Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, contains a vast body of knowledge concerning the inner development of the complete human being. This book contains four hundred of Hadrat 'Ali's teachings, showing how people can use the everyday realities of their lives to cultivate wisdom and well-being, both temporal and eternal, offering a path to living and dying with grace.
''Ali, a great warrior and statesman of emergent Islam, was well known and well respected for his knowledge of the esoteric. His compassion, loyalty, and devotion marked his tenure as both a political and religious leader. The sayings here collected reveal penetrating and timeless insights into the world of life and death. For example, 'Ali's reflection that "the ignorant among you are promoted, while the knowledgeable are put off," could be a description of contemporary American politics. Cleary's able translation retains the liveliness of the original. Recommended for large public libraries or for libraries interested in Islamic spirituality.'
(Reed Business)
'Living and Dying with Grace: Counsels of Hadrat Ali'
By Thomas Cleary (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
Living and Dying with Grace is a book of aphoristic Sufi teachings on how to make one'e way in the world - especially on how to bring spiritual insights to the affairs of daily life. Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, contains a vast body of knowledge concerning the inner development of the complete human being. This book contains four hundred of Hadrat 'Ali's teachings, showing how people can use the everyday realities of their lives to cultivate wisdom and well-being, both temporal and eternal, offering a path to living and dying with grace.
''Ali, a great warrior and statesman of emergent Islam, was well known and well respected for his knowledge of the esoteric. His compassion, loyalty, and devotion marked his tenure as both a political and religious leader. The sayings here collected reveal penetrating and timeless insights into the world of life and death. For example, 'Ali's reflection that "the ignorant among you are promoted, while the knowledgeable are put off," could be a description of contemporary American politics. Cleary's able translation retains the liveliness of the original. Recommended for large public libraries or for libraries interested in Islamic spirituality.'
(Reed Business)
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