Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction

"Master, there is uncertainty lingering in my mind. My heart
believes with passion and fire, yet the seeds of doubt are difficult to
expel from my mind."
"Other masters would have purged you for less, my wayward son.
Now why do you doubt?"
"It is all the fighting. The Crusades, the Reconquista and those
rumors of a fierce race from the East heading for the Holy City of
Jerusalem. My mind wonders why a God that loves his people would
allow all those wars."
"Watch your hubris, apprentice. No mere human can understand
the mind of God."
"Forgive me, master. I just wished I could do more to convince
people that love and peace are wiser than war and hatred."
"It is your inclination towards action. Disregard the unruliness of
youth and adopt a more meditative attitude. Develop your inner life."
"I try. Yet as you teach me, should I not try to teach even the
smallest of wisdoms to the common man?"
"I sense an innate need in you to change reality, if only by the
littlest of bits. Certainly you should know that only Allah is capable
of this."
"But Master, is it not that God and creation are two different
aspects of reality, but two sides of the same coin?"
"Wahdat al-wujud: depending on each other and reflecting each
other. You remember my lessons well."
"So if we see an aspect of Allah mirrored in reality, should we
not act upon it?"
"Are you saying that you have received Dhawq, a direct taste of
divine truth?"
"No, master, perish the thought. I am but a humble apprentice
that has still so much to learn. It's just that some signs are so clear, so
straightforward that they seem undeniable."
"Such as?"
"Well, first there is your return to your native land. Then the
conjunction of Ramadan and Lent, the peace proposal from the
Christians and their invitation to join their pre-fasting celebrations.
Shouldn't we go too, master?"
"A humble Sufi mystic and his--supposedly--humbler servant?
What can we do there?"
"I don't know, why not just be there? After all, didn't you teach
me that it was the prophet Mohammed who brought peace in his wartorn
Arabia?"
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