In the introduction to this paperback, the late Annemarie Schimmel of Harvard University notes that Islam is animated by complete surrender to God, unquestioning faith in Him and His wisdom, and trying to do right and act beautifully, because God is always watching our actions and thoughts. These three virtues have been taught for 1400 years. Sufism, the mystical current within Islam, emphasizes that all these grow out of love for God who has watched over us. The inner battle against selfishness, disobedience, and forgetfulness is the only "Holy War" that matters.
This collection of talks are by Muhammed Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (died 1986), a Sufi from Sri Lanka and later Philadelphia who wrote 25 books of discourses and songs. In the preface, he observes:
"Islam is equality, peacefulness, and unity. Islam is inner patience, contentment, trust in God, and praise of God. One who understands this and puts it into practice will be a true believer. He will be God's representative; he will know Allah and His commandments and practice the explanations given through His revelations; in his own life he will demonstrate Allah's qualities, His actions, and His conduct."
The book is divided into three sections: Peace, Holy War, and Unity. M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen makes it quite clear that praising Allah and then destroying others is not jihad:
"But for man to raise his sword against man, for man to kill man, is not holy war. There is no point in that. There can be no benefit from killing a man in the name of God. Allah has no thought of killing or going to war. Why would Allah have sent His prophets if He had such thoughts? It was not to destroy men that Muhammad came; he was sent down as the wisdom that could show man how to destroy his own evil."
This Sufi teacher salutes the spiritual practice of peace. One example, if one has a quarrel with somebody after the afternoon prayer, we must make peace and embrace each other by the time of evening prayer. Muhaiyadden talks about ripening others through love and compassion. His is a vision of Islam that is a sweet fragrance in the world.
