Fatimah, Mary and the Divine Feminine in Islam

[Guest guest]

At the very core of Islamic philosophy there is evidence of what can be called a

vision of the Motherhood of God.

 

In the first Sura of the Koran, the Fatiha that is recited by millions of

Muslims in their daily devotions, God is called Al Rahmin, the merciful and

compassionate one. " Ramin " is derived from the Arabic for " womb " or " matrix " ,

mercy is also a feminine attribute, and so Muslims are reminded that God can be

either woman or man. Every day God is compared to a mother and woman.

 

While the Muslim vision is often perceived to be authoritarian and punitive the

Koran, on close inspection, is filled with descriptions and vision of God's more

feminine attributes such as gentleness, providence, love, universal compassion

and tender-heartedness.

 

Muhammad was himself a living example of the Divine's infinite capacity for

forgiveness: many times he forgave enemies who had committed unspeakable

atrocities against him and his brethren.

 

The religious intolerance that characterises the behaviour of many Muslim

communities today is inconsistent with the heritage of tolerance that is

professed by the Islamic tradition. For example, the Koran clearly states in

several passages that any person who lives a life of holy reverence is welcomed

into paradise regardless of their religion. Muhammad openly praises both Judaism

(Abraham is deeply respected within the Koran) and Christianity (Muhammad

frequently praises Jesus and Mary in the Koran).

 

Even more surprising is the Koran's reverence for Mary, mother of Christ.

Muhammad (and also in later Islamic theological scriptures) regarded Mary as the

most marvellous of all women, a high adept and living example of the pure and

holy life. Later Koranic commentaries describe Mary as an intervening force

between God (Allah) and humanity. This intervening force is characterised by

Allah's mercy, forgiveness, sweetness and humility - the embodiment of Allah's

love for creation.

 

When Muhammad retook Mecca he began a programme of removing the pagan influences

from the Kaaba, the most holy of Muslim sites. He removed many frescoes and

images that he considered inauspicious but he specifically left on the walls a

fresco of the Virgin Mary and her child.

 

In one of the most powerful Hadiths (prophetic sayings of Muhammad) it is

reported that Muhammad said, " Paradise is at the feet of the Mother " . Does this

suggest that the feminine aspect of God is an important and essential pathway to

the attainment of supreme consciousness?

 

Muhammad's peak defining experience, called the Meraj, saw him elevated through

the seven heavens to the realm of God Almighty at the resplendant Sidrath where

he communed with God, received his divine visions and instructions and was

placed on the inexorable course of his life-mission to establish Islam. Muhammad

was escorted by the archangel Gabriel (a masculine force) but the vehicle upon

which Muhammad rode was the beautiful " Buraq " . The Buraq was a white horse with

wings and the face of a woman! Clearly suggesting that the great power by which

Muhammad was elevated to the level of supreme consciousness was ultimately

feminine in nature! Some scholars say that the Buraq is an Islamic symbol of the

Kundalini, a force that Eastern Yogis describe as the Goddess or Divine Mother.

 

Fatimah is another prominent female in the Islamic tradition. Muhammad revered

Fatimah as if she were a divine being, saying " Allah, The Most High; is pleased

when Fatimah is pleased. He is angered; whenever Fatimah is angered! "

 

Whenever Fatimah would go to the house of Muhammad, he would stand up out of

respect for her and honour her by giving her a special place to seat herself in

his house. He regarded her as a sort of primordial woman, a symbol of divine

womanhood giving her many holy names, such as: Siddiqah; The Honest, The

Righteous; Al-Batool, Pure Virgin; Al-Mubarakah, The Blessed One; Al-Tahirah,

The Virtuous, The Pure, Al-Zakiyah; The Chaste, The Unblemished; Al-Radhiatul

Mardhiah, She who is gratified and who shall be satisfied; Al-Muhaddathah, A

person other than a Prophet, that the angels speak to; Al-Zahra, The Splendid;

Al-Zahirah, The Luminous.

 

Shias revere the person of Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter and mother of the line

of inspired imams who embodied the divine truth for their generation. As such,

Fatimah is associated with Sophia, the divine wisdom, which gives birth to all

knowledge of God. She has thus become another symbolic equivalent of the Great

Mother.

 

Sunni Islam has also drawn inspiration from the female. The philosopher Muid

ad-Din ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) saw a young girl in Mecca surrounded by light

and realised that, for him, she was an incarnation of the divine Sophia. He

believed that women were the most potent icons of the sacred, because they

inspired a love in men which must ultimately be directed to God, the only true

object of love.

 

More generally speaking Muslims are reminded in the Koran that humans can

experience and speak about God only in symbols. Everything in the world is a

sign (aya) of God; so women can also be a revelation of the divine. Ibn al-Arabi

argued that humans have a duty to create theophanies for themselves, by means of

the creative imagination that pierces the imperfect exterior of mundane reality

and glimpses the divine within. The faculty of imagination is commonly

associated with the Divine Feminine.

 

While official Islam may not consistently describe the role of the Divine

Feminine, this principle has been described and explored at length in the more

esoteric Islamic tradition of Sufism. Sufism emphasises passionate, mystical

adoration of God. Many Sufis (and other mystics in other religions) seek a

spiritual union between themselves and the divine principle not unlike that

between a child (the Sufi) and his mother (God) or a bride (Sufi) and the

husband (God).

 

The Sufi poetry teaches the feminine qualities of joy, love, tenderness and self

sacrifice on a path of true knowledge derived from the spiritual heart. The

spiritual rebirth of the individual is not unlike the trial and tribulation of

physical childbirth, according to the Sufis. They take the principle of divine

love and use it to facilitate the process of alchemical transformation from

mundane human to spiritual being.

 

The fanaticism that we see in modern Islam is a new development in a religion

that, in its early history, was famous for its tolerance and respect for other

religions. In Islam's classical period in medieval Spain and Egypt perhaps only

Buddhism rivalled Islam's tolerance. The fundamentalism that characterises the

behaviour of many of today's Muslims is in fact anti-Koranic.

 

 

A Sufi Ode to the Divine Mother

 

On the face of the earth there is no one more beautiful than You

Wherever I go I wear your image in my heart

Whenever I fall in a despondent mood I remember your image

And my spirit rises a thousand fold

Your advent is the blossom time of the Universe

O Mother you have showered your choicest blessings upon me

Also remember me on the Day of Judgement

I don't know if I will go to heaven or hell

But wherever I go, please always abide in me.

 

http://www.sol.com.au/kor/22_02.htm

[Guest guest]

,

" Violet " <violet.tubb wrote:

>

> At the very core of Islamic philosophy there is evidence of what

can be called a vision of the Motherhood of God.

>

> In the first Sura of the Koran, the Fatiha that is recited by

millions of Muslims in their daily devotions, God is called Al

Rahmin, the merciful and compassionate one. " Ramin " is derived from

the Arabic for " womb " or " matrix " , mercy is also a feminine

attribute, and so Muslims are reminded that God can be either woman

or man. Every day God is compared to a mother and woman.

>

> While the Muslim vision is often perceived to be authoritarian and

punitive the Koran, on close inspection, is filled with descriptions

and vision of God's more feminine attributes such as gentleness,

providence, love, universal compassion and tender-heartedness.

>

> Muhammad was himself a living example of the Divine's infinite

capacity for forgiveness: many times he forgave enemies who had

committed unspeakable atrocities against him and his brethren.

>

> The religious intolerance that characterises the behaviour of many

Muslim communities today is inconsistent with the heritage of

tolerance that is professed by the Islamic tradition. For example,

the Koran clearly states in several passages that any person who

lives a life of holy reverence is welcomed into paradise regardless

of their religion. Muhammad openly praises both Judaism (Abraham is

deeply respected within the Koran) and Christianity (Muhammad

frequently praises Jesus and Mary in the Koran).

>

> Even more surprising is the Koran's reverence for Mary, mother of

Christ. Muhammad (and also in later Islamic theological scriptures)

regarded Mary as the most marvellous of all women, a high adept and

living example of the pure and holy life. Later Koranic commentaries

describe Mary as an intervening force between God (Allah) and

humanity. This intervening force is characterised by Allah's mercy,

forgiveness, sweetness and humility - the embodiment of Allah's love

for creation.

>

> When Muhammad retook Mecca he began a programme of removing the

pagan influences from the Kaaba, the most holy of Muslim sites. He

removed many frescoes and images that he considered inauspicious but

he specifically left on the walls a fresco of the Virgin Mary and

her child.

>

> In one of the most powerful Hadiths (prophetic sayings of

Muhammad) it is reported that Muhammad said, " Paradise is at the

feet of the Mother " . Does this suggest that the feminine aspect of

God is an important and essential pathway to the attainment of

supreme consciousness?

>

> Muhammad's peak defining experience, called the Meraj, saw him

elevated through the seven heavens to the realm of God Almighty at

the resplendant Sidrath where he communed with God, received his

divine visions and instructions and was placed on the inexorable

course of his life-mission to establish Islam. Muhammad was escorted

by the archangel Gabriel (a masculine force) but the vehicle upon

which Muhammad rode was the beautiful " Buraq " . The Buraq was a white

horse with wings and the face of a woman! Clearly suggesting that

the great power by which Muhammad was elevated to the level of

supreme consciousness was ultimately feminine in nature! Some

scholars say that the Buraq is an Islamic symbol of the Kundalini, a

force that Eastern Yogis describe as the Goddess or Divine Mother.

>

> Fatimah is another prominent female in the Islamic tradition.

Muhammad revered Fatimah as if she were a divine being, saying

" Allah, The Most High; is pleased when Fatimah is pleased. He is

angered; whenever Fatimah is angered! "

>

> Whenever Fatimah would go to the house of Muhammad, he would stand

up out of respect for her and honour her by giving her a special

place to seat herself in his house. He regarded her as a sort of

primordial woman, a symbol of divine womanhood giving her many holy

names, such as: Siddiqah; The Honest, The Righteous; Al-Batool, Pure

Virgin; Al-Mubarakah, The Blessed One; Al-Tahirah, The Virtuous, The

Pure, Al-Zakiyah; The Chaste, The Unblemished; Al-Radhiatul

Mardhiah, She who is gratified and who shall be satisfied; Al-

Muhaddathah, A person other than a Prophet, that the angels speak

to; Al-Zahra, The Splendid; Al-Zahirah, The Luminous.

>

> Shias revere the person of Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter and mother

of the line of inspired imams who embodied the divine truth for

their generation. As such, Fatimah is associated with Sophia, the

divine wisdom, which gives birth to all knowledge of God. She has

thus become another symbolic equivalent of the Great Mother.

>

> Sunni Islam has also drawn inspiration from the female. The

philosopher Muid ad-Din ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) saw a young girl in

Mecca surrounded by light and realised that, for him, she was an

incarnation of the divine Sophia. He believed that women were the

most potent icons of the sacred, because they inspired a love in men

which must ultimately be directed to God, the only true object of

love.

>

> More generally speaking Muslims are reminded in the Koran that

humans can experience and speak about God only in symbols.

Everything in the world is a sign (aya) of God; so women can also be

a revelation of the divine. Ibn al-Arabi argued that humans have a

duty to create theophanies for themselves, by means of the creative

imagination that pierces the imperfect exterior of mundane reality

and glimpses the divine within. The faculty of imagination is

commonly associated with the Divine Feminine.

>

> While official Islam may not consistently describe the role of the

Divine Feminine, this principle has been described and explored at

length in the more esoteric Islamic tradition of Sufism. Sufism

emphasises passionate, mystical adoration of God. Many Sufis (and

other mystics in other religions) seek a spiritual union between

themselves and the divine principle not unlike that between a child

(the Sufi) and his mother (God) or a bride (Sufi) and the husband

(God).

>

> The Sufi poetry teaches the feminine qualities of joy, love,

tenderness and self sacrifice on a path of true knowledge derived

from the spiritual heart. The spiritual rebirth of the individual is

not unlike the trial and tribulation of physical childbirth,

according to the Sufis. They take the principle of divine love and

use it to facilitate the process of alchemical transformation from

mundane human to spiritual being.

>

> The fanaticism that we see in modern Islam is a new development in

a religion that, in its early history, was famous for its tolerance

and respect for other religions. In Islam's classical period in

medieval Spain and Egypt perhaps only Buddhism rivalled Islam's

tolerance. The fundamentalism that characterises the behaviour of

many of today's Muslims is in fact anti-Koranic.

>

>

> A Sufi Ode to the Divine Mother

>

> On the face of the earth there is no one more beautiful than You

> Wherever I go I wear your image in my heart

> Whenever I fall in a despondent mood I remember your image

> And my spirit rises a thousand fold

> Your advent is the blossom time of the Universe

> O Mother you have showered your choicest blessings upon me

> Also remember me on the Day of Judgement

> I don't know if I will go to heaven or hell

> But wherever I go, please always abide in me.

>

> http://www.sol.com.au/kor/22_02.htm

 

 

Dear All,

 

At the Diwali Puja in Switzerland in 1990, Shri Mataji informed

Sahaja Yogis that the Mahalakshmi principle incarnated on this earth first as

Shri Sita, then Shri Radha, Shri Mary, Shri Fatima and now as Herself, and that

this present manifestation of the Mahalakshmi principle is a much deeper one,

requiring a lot of patience! Shri Mataji says that when we come to Sahaja Yoga

[union with the Divine], we are already blessed by the Mahalakshmi principle,

but that we also have to feel it! She says that to feel it, requires some work,

effort, and sacrifice, but this is the only way to be able to enjoy the

blessings of Sahaja Yoga!

 

So please enjoy!

 

regards to all,

 

violet

 

 

 

Excerpt, Diwali Puja Synopsis of Shri Mataji's Address

 

Whenever the Shri Mahalakshmi principle incarnated on the earth this principle

made sacrifices for the evolution of human beings. Shri Mahalakshmi incarnated

first as Shri Sita, then as Shri Radha, Shri Mary, Shri Fatima and now as our

Mother, Shri Mataji. The present manifestation of the Mahalakshmi principle is a

much deeper one which requires tremendous patience. " It won't work out if I

sacrifice anyone. "

 

For our evolution Shri Mataji is sacrificing Her sleep, food, family, comforts,

everything for the manifestation of our Mahalakshmi principle. We have to

understand that in order to enjoy the blessings of Sahaja Yoga we have to put in

some effort to give up our smallness, selfishness, laziness, comforts, and

attachments.

 

Shri Mary and Shri Fatima sacrificed their own children on the altar of truth,

while we are attached to our children. We have to introspect to ask, " Why we are

so much attached to our children? What are we teaching them? Are we teaching

them any sacrifices? Are we teaching them any sharing? Are we teaching them any

tolerance? Are we teaching them any forgiveness?... The child has now become

the biggest ordeal for Sahaja Yogis... Your children are grabbing you and you

are grabbing them... Are they jealous? Are they saints? Are they beautiful? How

do they talk to others? Are they confident? Tomorrow they are going to be the

leaders of Sahaja Yogis. "

 

" It's the duty of every Sahaja Yogi to see that their children grow, grow as

great people, greater than you. They have to look after the world. If you spend

time with children, see that you mold them, you nourish them; nourish them with

love and tell them that they have to give love to others, otherwise they will

become devils like Ravanna, who was spoiled by his mother. "

 

" First of all, understand they are not your children. They are My children and

under your trust. You are not to make your children small... I wanted to warn

you because we have to make our children like lights. A light burns for others,

not for itself... If you take a diamond and put it in the gutter, it will be

lost, just like that. Even if you have the best children, you can ruin them by

this kind of a stupid idea that 'that is my child, this is mine'. Expose your

children to good things! Tell them what's good. Tell them how to be good to

others. Tell them to look after them. Tell them how to press the feet of others,

how to comb their hair, how to give food to others... Don't make them small! "

 

If the children are found to be selfish, obstinate, jealous or dominating they

need to be corrected. Children are very clever but they will behave themselves,

the moment they realize they will lose our love.

 

The Mahalakshmi principle has to grow among men as well as women. We have to sit

down together and meditate. The children have to be taught the proper protocol

of Shri Mataji. " This is the greatest time of the spirituality, of the complete

manifestation of the powers of the Goddess. "

 

When we come to Sahaja Yoga we are already blessed by the Mahalakshmi principle.

We have to feel it. We have to put in some work, some effort, some sacrifice to

enjoy the blessings of Sahaja Yoga. The enjoyment is not complete if we are

still attached to our comforts and laziness.

 

Everything should be under our command. " This is the power of love. The power of

love gives you complete command over everything, over your body, your mind, your

ego, over everything... If you love someone, without any expectations, then the

power of love just floods you with things, with ideas, with everything. But just

try to understand it should be pure love, without taking. The source of

enjoyment is this power of love, and it won't fill the heart, which does not

have love! "

 

These lights, the flowers, the fruits, the whole nature loves! The lights and

the flowers are short-lived, but every moment they live, they give joy to us. If

we ask a flower what it wants, it will say, " I don't want any kingdom. I don't

want anything, but the road on which Adi Shakti is going to walk, please throw

me there. That's all I want! "

 

Sahaja Yogis who fall asleep sitting before Shri Mataji, do so because their

hearts are not open and filled with enjoyment. We should not close our eyes when

we are sitting in front of Shri Mataji. It indicates a lack of depth. We have to

introspect ourselves to see whether we have touched that which is eternal within

us. Every moment is precious! Sahaja Yoga is progressing very fast, and now we

have to develop the Mahalakshmi principle within us.

 

Giving joy to each other, gives the greatest pleasure to Shri Mataji. We have

the light which everybody doesn't have, so let's 'burn'! Even the shortest life

which is like a shooting star is more precious than the long life of a dead

person.

 

We have to understand the protocol. If we want our Sahasrara to be open, we must

never question or doubt Shri Mataji. We have to keep our Sahasrara open,

because, without opening our Sahasrara we cannot do anything! Surrender means

keeping our Sahasrara open. Surrender is the only way we can grow. But what can

we surrender to our Mother? She can create universes after universes. We have to

be One with Her, we have to be lost in Her, to enjoy Her, to know Her! That is

the day there will be a perfect Diwali in this world! We have to compete with

the other countries like Russia in how many Sahaja Yogis we get. All this will

create a beautiful personality of self-respect, which is only possible now that

we have self-knowledge.

 

[Note: " To get Sahaja Yogis " is not to build up numbers in an earthly kingdom

ruled by WCASY, but to get the mass of humanity to enter the Kingdom of God

Within! Shri Mataji has always been for quality, but She also wants the mass of

humanity to have their Second Birth of the Spirit, which is their birthright,

their Resurrrection, as promised by Christ!]

 

Now, we must respect the Mahalakshmi principle within us! The Mahalakshmi tatwa

has four sides. The first is the Lakshmi tatwa, which is expressed by love and

generosity. The second is the " Rajalakshmi " , which is expressed by royal,

dignified behavior. The third is the " Gruhalakshmi " , and the fourth is the

" Alakshmi " principle.

 

Sahaja Yogis are realized souls, so their behavior has to have royal grace. We

have to have the dignity of a king who gives, and doesn't take or beg for

anything. A king doesn't borrow money. Royal people always have their hair very

well-groomed, but for that they do not have to go to a hairdresser and follow

the fashions. Kings and queens don't follow fashions, thus playing into the

hands of modern entrepreneurs. Ordinary people do that! But a king has his own

way of dressing. Whatever he uses, will be of good quality. We have to be

traditional and not cheapish. Our clothes should not be like " sanyasis " [monks].

They should be neat, clean and colorful, but not varying with the movement of

fashions.

 

A king always speaks with dignity, and doesn't use cheap language or slang. A

king also doesn't talk too much, but whenever he talks, he talks sense! On the

other hand, a king is not glum. " Dignity is something that cannot be taught; it

has to be inside yourself. A person is not self-conscious, but is conscious of

his dignity. " We have to show the kingdom of God, through our behavior.

 

Royal people also never ask questions. A king knows all the answers and has to

give solutions, instead of posing problems! We should not go on, continuously

asking questions, and posing our problems to Shri Mataji. The problems will be

solved, as soon as we decide that we are going to solve our own problems, in the

royal spirit, as the children of Shri Mataji.

 

" ...All the Sahaja Yogis and all the Sahaja Yoginis are very different from all

others, and this is what we have to understand, how dignified we are for a

Rajalakshmi. "

 

We have to be very careful of the fourth principle of Alakshmi. This is to be

avoided in our behavior. " Alakshmi principle is where you may have everything,

but you are a beggar. " Alakshmi means the absence of the Lakshmi principle.

Then there is also " Kulakshmi " when people use money for wrong things, for

example, if money is used for drugs or any bad business, or someone grabs the

money of Sahaja Yoga or of Sahaja Yogis. To grab the money of Sahaja Yoga, is

the worst kind of Lakshmi because it brings people down.

 

We must have the strength of love to pull the world out of its problems! " That

is the strength that keeps Me laughing all the time, enjoying Myself! Even the

least of this joy I cannot give up! In the same way I bless you with all the

Lakshmi principle and Mahalakshmi principle, but above all, the principle of

love, the pure love without any expectations. " (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi -

Diwali Puja Synopsis - Switzerland - 21 October, 1990)