FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE
There is a tree beside my house. I call it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing being that was initially a seed possessing the potential of becoming a full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the universe around it and then grows into a tree. The same is true with spirituality, the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an integral part of, the very nature of every human being. To realize this spirituality, man must derive spiritual food from the universe around him. A tree converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
MAGIC AND MIRACLE
IN THE TIME of Moses, the Pharaoh yielded so much power that it
struck terror into the hearts of everyone who came within its reach.
The Quran shows, however, that even such a power as the Pharaoh’s
was as nothing compared to the power of truth.
The Quran tells the story of how the Lord commanded Moses to go to
Pharaoh “for he has transgressed all bounds. Speak to him with gentle
words; he may yet take heed and fear Our punishment.” (20: 45-46) When
Moses expressed his fear of the Pharaoh’s “malevolence and tyranny,”
God told him to “have no fear. I shall be with you. I see all and hear all.”
(20: 47)
Moses did as God commanded, but when he conveyed God’s message
to Pharaoh, the latter denied it and asked Moses, “Have you come to
drive us from our land with your sorcery? Know that we will confront
you with a magic as powerful as yours.” (20: 57-58)
A day was then fixed for this confrontation, and all of the Pharaoh’s
magicians were assembled so that they should overwhelm Moses. At
the Pharaoh’s command, they threw their wands and ropes on the
ground, whereupon they turned into writhing serpents. Moses felt daunted at this, but God commanded him to cast his staff too. This
likewise turned into a serpent, but one larger than all the rest, which
devoured all the creatures which the magicians had contrived to
summon into existence.
When the magicians saw the effects of Moses’
power, they realized that it had nothing to do
with magic, but was a matter of divine truth.
What was evidently a miracle had given them
a glimpse of the very face of the Almighty, and
they expressed their belief in Him there and
then. The Pharaoh was, of course, humiliated;
and he felt so furious at this unforeseen
development that he ordered the magicians’
hands and feet to be amputated from opposite
sides, after which they were to be tied to the
trunks of palm trees and crucified. When the
magicians heard this sentence—the severest in the land—they did not,
as the Pharaoh might have hoped, renounce their new-found beliefs.
They said to the Pharaoh: “We cannot prefer you to the clear signs
which have come to us.” (20: 72)
When the magicians
saw the effects of
Moses’ power, they
realized that it had
nothing to do with
magic, but was a
matter of divine
truth.
Moses did as God commanded, but when he conveyed God’s message
to Pharaoh, the latter denied it and asked Moses, “Have you come to
drive us from our land with your sorcery? Know that we will confront
you with a magic as powerful as yours.” (20: 57-58)
A day was then fixed for this confrontation, and all of the Pharaoh’s
magicians were assembled so that they should overwhelm Moses. At
the Pharaoh’s command, they threw their wands and ropes on the
ground, whereupon they turned into writhing serpents. Moses felt daunted at this, but God commanded him to cast his staff too. This
likewise turned into a serpent, but one larger than all the rest, which
devoured all the creatures which the magicians had contrived to
summon into existence.
When the magicians saw the effects of Moses’
power, they realized that it had nothing to do
with magic, but was a matter of divine truth.
What was evidently a miracle had given them
a glimpse of the very face of the Almighty, and
they expressed their belief in Him there and
then. The Pharaoh was, of course, humiliated;
and he felt so furious at this unforeseen
development that he ordered the magicians’
hands and feet to be amputated from opposite
sides, after which they were to be tied to the
trunks of palm trees and crucified. When the
magicians heard this sentence—the severest in the land—they did not,
as the Pharaoh might have hoped, renounce their new-found beliefs.
They said to the Pharaoh: “We cannot prefer you to the clear signs
which have come to us.” (20: 72)
When the magicians
saw the effects of
Moses’ power, they
realized that it had
nothing to do with
magic, but was a
matter of divine
truth.
When the magicians saw the effects of Moses’
power, they realized that it had nothing to do
with magic, but was a matter of divine truth.
What was evidently a miracle had given them
a glimpse of the very face of the Almighty, and
they expressed their belief in Him there and
then. The Pharaoh was, of course, humiliated;
and he felt so furious at this unforeseen
development that he ordered the magicians’
hands and feet to be amputated from opposite
sides, after which they were to be tied to the
trunks of palm trees and crucified. When the
magicians heard this sentence—the severest in the land—they did not,
as the Pharaoh might have hoped, renounce their new-found beliefs.
They said to the Pharaoh: “We cannot prefer you to the clear signs
which have come to us.” (20: 72)
When the magicians
saw the effects of
Moses’ power, they
realized that it had
nothing to do with
magic, but was a
matter of divine
truth.
To the eternal credit of the magicians, they preferred truth to power; proofs to personality. Even when threatened with the direst of punishments, they saw the folly of putting mere mortals before Eternal God.