(From an earlier discussion)
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995
From: Juan R Cole
Subject: KIA: K3
Unworthy comments on K3 of the Aqdas by Juan Cole, History, U-Michigan:
"Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness."J. Cole: It seems to me that part of what is being called for here is a mysticism of the Law, an ecstasy of the Law. It is an impulse the Jewish Kabbalists and Hasidim would recognize, as would law-oriented Sufis like al-Ghazzali. If one understood the Law as Dharma, as cosmic duty, it would also have resonances with the Gita and Buddhism. A mysticism of the Law is, however, very alien to Protestant Christianity, and those of us from that background must, I think, make a special effort to grasp how beautiful it can be. Does anyone want to post some representative examples from other religious traditions? Does anyone want to argue with my gloss on al-`inayah as "grace?" Does anyone else find exciting my gloss of awamiri, "My commandments," as "mera dharma," "My Dharma"? Udo Schaefer has rightly complained that even basic theological concepts such as grace, sin, and salvation have not been written about by Baha'is.
Ya mala`a 'l-ardi i`lamu anna awamiri suruju `inayati bayna `ibadi wa mafatihu rahmati li bariyyati. Kadhalika nuzzila 'l-amru min sama'i mashi'ati rabbika maliki 'l-adyani. Law yajidu ahadun halawata 'l-bayani 'lladhi zahara min fami mashi'ati 'r-Rahmani li yunfiq ma `indahu wa law yakunu khaza'ina 'l-ardi kullaha li yuthbita amran min awamirihi 'l-mushriqati min ufuqi 'l-`inayati wa 'l-altafi.cheers Juan Cole, History, Univ. of Michigan