"Becoming The Prayer"

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 8 May 2025 Local Islamic clerics in the Alom Mirer Kandi area of Shirkhara union, Madaripur Sadar (Bangladesh), have cut down a nearly 200-year-old banyan tree, citing reasons such as "Bid'ah" (religious innovation). It was never an issue in the past 200 years as many Muslims would also visit the site of the banyan tree on the bank of the Kumar River. The tree was widely believed to possess “mystical powers,” leading people to light candles and make vows at its base, according to locals. Faith, like death, cannot and shouldn't be philosophised or intellectualised. Calling everything 'Bid’ah' or 'Shirk' is bigotry. By the way, 'Bid’ah' refers to innovation or heretical doctrine in religious matters. Specifically, it denotes anything introduced into religious practice that has no basis in the Quran or the Sunnah (Muhammad’s teachings and practices). Essentially, it's a new practice or belief in religion that is not supported by established Islamic teachings. While formal worship is important, sincere connection with the divine can be found through various paths. The divine is accessible through all forms of love and a heartfelt connection, not just through structured rituals. Here I use Jalaluddin Rumi's often used metaphor of "Becoming the prayer, “suggesting a deep, internalized spiritual experience. All forms of love, including love for nature, for humanity, and for the divine, can lead to a deeper connection with the spiritual realm. The Quranic or Semitic god, if at all it does exist, cannot be as rabidly jealous and vindictive as it's depicted in the Quran, Bible, Old Testament, among others. God as a ruthless entity is a puerile human projection that reeks of tribalism. Whether you worship a tree, an idol or a formless god, it's your faith in a higher power that matters. According to mystics, Sufis, evolved humans and spiritually sound people, god is transcendence personified. It's Neti, Neti. By the way, Neti-Neti is a Sanskrit phrase meaning "not this, not this" or "neither this, nor that." It's a philosophical concept from the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta that describes a process of negation in the pursuit of understanding the ultimate reality, Brahman. It suggests that Brahman, the absolute reality, cannot be defined or limited by any conventional descriptions or attributes. So, saying that Allah or the Semitic god will be angry and it'll punish you on Roz-e-Qayamat for worshipping some other god or object is trivializing the magnanimity and boundless compassion of god. The Eastern consciousness has understood the transcendental nature of the divine but the Semitic belief system has anthropomorphized god and endowed it with all sorts of lowly human attributes like jealousy, vindictiveness, anger and ego. 'You must worship me or else, I'll roast you in hellfire,' cannot be a loving god's words. Tribal followers put these quotidian utterances in god's mouth. In short, an omnipotent god that perpetually suffers from Shirk Syndrome (Inclusion Syndrome) and takes umbrage at the drop of a hat is a human, not a god. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/jalaluddin-rumi-prayer-bidaah/d/135462 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism