Dave Andrews

Now, there is no better place to begin that process of deconstruction and reconstruction of a Closed Set Islamic ideology than with an Open Set Islamic theology of the Bismillah.

The Bismillah stands for the Arabic phrase Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, commonly translated, “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate”. According to Ibn Qayyum, rahman describes the quality of limitless grace with which God embraces the whole of the world and all of those who dwell in it, while rahim describes the general embracing grace of God as it interacts with us in the particular circumstances of our lives, always proactive, always prevenient, always responsive.

In the light of the Bismillah, it is not surprising that Maulana Wahiduddin Khan says, ‘a truly Islamic movement arises out of feelings of benevolence for all humanity.’ He says ‘The Qur’an begins not with a diatribe (with implied criticism of wrong governance) but simply with praises to God (in the Bismillah). And it ends with the necessity to seek refuge in God.’ He says, ‘In the Qur’an and the Hadith, there is no mention of the system of state,’ and no ‘political interpretation of Islam, which offer(s) Muslims the status of God’s viceregents on earth, with the right to rule the entire world on His behalf.’

Dave Andrews p91-93 The Jihad Of Jesushttp://bit.ly/1CedNDX