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Inshallah

God Willing
There is an Islamic scripture that states:
"And never say of anything,
'I shall do such and such thing tomorrow.
Except (with the saying:
"INSHALLAH" ('God willing').
God Willing - Peter Malakoff
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We hear this phrase in any message of Osama Bin Laden and from the lips of the person on the street in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. It speaks of the recognition of fate and the humility of human understanding and effort in the face of God's will.

In the Muslim world, it is thought that nothing happens except by the will of God. Nothing happens unless it is 'written' by the hand of God. For a person to escape his or her fate is considered to be impossible. To utter the word 'Inshallah' is similar to a prayer or remembrance of God and His supreme power over all creation. This does not mean that everyone in the Middle East does nothing to escape from harm or to attain to their desired good, only that such actions will not bear fruit without the will of God to make it so. Inshallah

Golden Mosque of Samarra (now destroyed)

Here are two stories that I have heard concerning fate and life, morality and understanding that come to us out of the Islamic world.

Recently (2006) the Shiite Golden Mosque in the Iraqi town of Samarra was blown up and totally destroyed. It reminded me of an ancient story that concerns the city of Samarra as well as an interesting consideration of the idea of fate

woven into the fabric of life and religion in that part of the world.

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The first story is:

An Appointment in Samarra”

as retold by Somerset Maugham(1933):

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.  He looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.  The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.  Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw Death standing in the crowd and he went to him and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?  That was not a threatening gesture, Death said, it was only a start of surprise on my part.  I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

The Second story is:

Khidr and Moses

Khidr

In the 18th book of the Koran there is a story of the angel Khidr, known as the Green One and the first Angel of God who is met by Moses in the desert. As they walk together, Moses expresses his wish to see and experience what Khidr does as he performs his work in the world. Khidr demurs the offer, telling Moses that he would not understand his work and would only interfere. But, Moses persists in his pleading and Khidr agrees on the condition that if Moses does complain then he will have to be left behind. Moses agrees.

 

As they go along, the first thing Moses sees Khidr do, is sink the fishing boats of many pious and humble fishermen. Next, he sees Khidr bring about the death of a very handsome young man. Finally, he sees Khidr restore the fallen wall of a city that is populated with unbelievers.

At last, Moses breaks into complaint, and full of moral indignation condemns the work of Khidr as sinful. Khidr tells Moses that he now must go, but before he does, he explains to him the hidden meaning of his actions.

Moses

The fishermen's boats were sunk as they were to be robbed of their boats that very evening by a band of thieves.
Since they were only sunk, they will be able to raise them again and all will not be lost.

 

The handsome young man was on his way to commit a murder and Khidr killed him to save the honor of his parents who were good and righteous people.

 

Finally, the fallen wall around the city of the unrighteous hid the treasure of two religious young men who were saved from ruin by the restored wall as their treasure remained safe.

 

What had appeared to be evil was in fact good.

It is hard, even impossible, to be morally right about things.

 

Inshallah - God Willing

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TIBETAN WHEEL OF LIFE:  

 

 I visited Ladakh in 2016. It is the Indian part of the Tibetan Plateau, containing many of the oldest Buddhist monasteries on the Tibetan Plateau. At the entrance of every monastery, on the right-hand wall, is painted an image called the ‘Wheel of Life,’ a comprehensive summary of Buddha’s teaching in picture form made for a predominantly illiterate culture. 

 

The Wheel of Life illustrates the co-dependently (one thing always depending on another) arising, inevitable, always and only temporary, ever alternating, ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ pleasurable and painful karmas of birth and death, youth and old age, disease and health, heaven and hell. 

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The Wheel of Life illustrates the karmas (actions and destinies) of men, gods, demi-gods, demons, and animals, portraying the path of every sentient being that is bound upon this wheel. The Wheel is held in the hands of the ‘demon’ ‘Kala’ or time, a demon crowned with five skulls, representing the five elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) of which all and everything exists.

 

After Buddha was enlightened underneath the Bodhi tree, he thought he would not teach because what he had to say was not understood or interesting to others. In the Pali Canon, it is recorded that Buddha said:

 

“This Dharma I have realized is profound, hard to see and difficult to understand, full of peace and sublime, unattainable by mere reasoning, subtle and capable of being experienced only by the wise . . . But this generation delights in worldliness (attachment), takes delight in worldliness, and rejoices in worldliness. It is hard for such people to see this truth, namely, inevitable conditionality (everything includes its opposite) and co-dependent origination (nothing has a self-nature; it is all caused by a combination of other things; there is no 'self), and it is hard to see the truth, namely; that the stilling of all desires, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, and cessation is Nirvana. If I were to teach the Dharma, others would not understand me, and that would be wearying and troublesome.

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Seeing his hesitation, the gods implored him to teach, if only for the sake of the few who might be prepared and to help others know the truth of Reality. It was only at their urging that Buddha acquiesced and began his teaching mission to ‘Turn the Wheel of the Dharma.’ 

 

His very first Teaching was 'The Four Noble Truths’ and the very first ‘Truth’: ’Life is Dukkha (suffering).’ Suffering was inevitable and inherent in this world, and without awakening to this Truth, no one would ever be interested in the Teaching of freedom from suffering. (This is why Buddha was hesitant to teach.) 

 

If one were not clear that every life was limited and all beings and things were bound to the wheel of cause and effect, a wheel held by time, that they were going to die and lose everything and everyone, then they would be primarily motivated to seek pleasure and/or fulfill their various desires. Buddha did not teach ‘Buddhism,’ for the sake of any kind of fulfillment of the 'self'; rather, he taught the transcendence of 'self.' Buddha taught that a person must first discover that the ‘Truth’ of life is inevitable suffering because only then, impressed with the suffering nature of all of existence, would they ever be moved to practice the Way. (See: The Cure of the Mustard Seed)

An Example from the Wheel of Life: 

The image above displays only the center of the Wheel of Life, which shows people rising up to the pure realms by doing good deeds, helping each other, giving to others, and practicing as monks. However, because the fruits of every action are limited, the fruits of their actions are eventually exhausted. Then, they fall from their exalted state. This is why it is called the 'Wheel of Life,’ it is always turning like a wheel where what was up turns into what is down, and what is down becomes up; on and on it goes. This is why there are Buddhas shown to the upper right and upper left of the image, indicating that the Buddha’s teaching is not merely a benign mortal teaching of how to succeed in life (on the wheel); instead, it is a Transcendental Teaching, and its Truth exists outside and beyond the Wheel of Life.

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Everything I have written is done in recognition of this Wheel. . .

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