Six Pillars: Recap

If you followed the discussion over the past month or so, I hope you recognized the similarities between what Muslims believe and what your faith tradition believes, and I hope I cleared up some misconceptions, especially about God, the One God, the Only God, the Creator, Sustainer, Provider of all that was, all that is, and all that will be.

If all that was too long and dense for you, here’s a brief recap: Continue reading “Six Pillars: Recap”

Winterizing the Veggie Patch

I woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago, and decided it was time to tackle something I’ve been dreading for quite awhile… After a long summer, during which I more or less let the garden go completely, it was time to do something… Continue reading “Winterizing the Veggie Patch”

Six Pillars: 6

God. He exists. He is the Creator of all that exists, and He is One in His Lordship of all. He is One in His Right to be worshipped, alone, without any partners. He is absolutely beyond comparison with any living thing and Is Unique in His Names and His Attributes.

From His boundless Mercy, He sent us prophets to teach us about Him and how to worship Him, and He sent His Books down to His Messengers, so that His words could exist and spread. He sent angels to teach His Words, to guard and keep watch over us, to make sure the all the various physical operations work as He Designed.

From His Most Perfect Justice, He has guaranteed the Day of Judgement, the day on which all humans and other sentient parts of the creation will be judged on our performance in this life: on our belief and our actions, the state of our hearts and our minds in this life. From our limited, human perspective, this Day of Judgment is a mystery; for God, it has already happened, so to speak. He is the Creator of all, the Sustainer of all, and He not only knows what you did last summer, He knows what you did next summer, and what state your heart was in when you did it: it’s all part of the sixth pillar of belief, the belief in the Decree of God, the good and the bad of it. Continue reading “Six Pillars: 6”

Paul Graham – ‘Does Yellow Run Forever?’

Paul Graham’s Does Yellow Run Forever? is a year or two old now, so you may already know all about it, but I’m a bit behind I guess. I became aware of Graham’s work following the review of his 2015 show at Pier 24 and its associated, excellent catalog, so it’s understandable that I missed it and equally understandable that it was on its way to me within minute of stumbling across Lewis Bush’s review at Disphotic.

Continue reading “Paul Graham – ‘Does Yellow Run Forever?’”

Six Pillars: 5

There is One Creator. Everything else is His creation. He is God, One in His Lordship and One in His Right to be Worshiped. He sent us prophets, to teach us about Him and how to worship Him, and He sent down His books, to help us stay reminded. He sends angels to protect us and to make sure the physical operations He put in place continue to run as designed. One of these angels is waiting, right now, standing at attention, all ready and set to blow the trumpet that will start the 5th pillar of Iman, the Day of Judgement. Continue reading “Six Pillars: 5”