THE ZAWIYAH FOUNDATION VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT
The Zawiyah Vision
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The Zawiyah Foundation Vision & Mission Statement (PDF 37Kb)
Definition
A Zawiyah, by definition, means a corner or angle. An angle is a confluence of planes, a zone of concurrence and reunion between tides. It is a joint, a point of connection between realms.
Vision
Zawiyah therefore envisions being:
A point of connection between the East and the West, for God the Truth, is neither Easterly nor Westerly, as related in Ayat An-Noor:
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well-nigh Luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah guides whom He will to His Light: Allah sets forth Parables for men: and Allah knows all things" (Surah An-Noor, Verse 35).
A point of connection between the heaven and earth, as related in the Quran:
"And He raised the Firmament high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and do not fall short in the balance. It is He who has spread out the earth for His creatures" (Surah Ar-Rahman, Verse 7-10).
That nexus between the East and the West called Noorullah, the light of God.
The nexus between the Earth and heaven called Meezan, the balance.
The symbol of the light, which is milk. It stands for grace and charity.
Remember, that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was presented with a cup of milk before he ascended into heaven. Jesus (pbuh) spoke about the water: whoever drinks from it shall never feel thirsty. The sign of the cow of Prophet Musa (pbuh) and the she-camel sign of Prophet Saleh (pbuh) are both known for their nourishing and they stand for the same symbolism.
The symbol of Justice is the balance.
It stands for measure and method. In that, God has created everything with measure and proportion , as related in the Quran,
"Verily, We have created all things in proportion and measure" (Surah Al-Qamar, Verse 49).
"We set up the measure, for we are the best measurers" (Surah Al-Mursalat, Verse 23).
"He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has He begotten, not has He a partner in His dominion: it is He who created all things, and ordered them in the proportions" (Surah Al-Furqan, Verse 2).
Since everything is created with measure, every creature must remain within that measure. To exceed the measure is abuse and transgression. God sent the Balance in order to keep abuse and transgression in check. As long as everything remains within their measure, there is peace. If one oversteps its measure, it automatically steps into someone else's measure, which causes imbalance. God created the day and night in measure; the sun and the moon in measure. If any exceeds its measure, its cosmic disorder takes place.
"It is not permitted to the sun to catch up to the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day: each just swims along in its own orbit according to Law" (Surah Yasin, Verse 40).
Along with the book and the balance, God also revealed two other things: the clear signs given to the Prophets and iron.
Both the iron and the clear signs (miracles) have accessory roles. As for the clear signs, they are credentials, which establish the credibility of the Prophet and invite people to listen to his message. As for the iron, it protects and safeguards the book and the balance, from those who want to transgress the balance and from those who want to put out the light.
Peace and Love
The words "peace" , "salam" and "Islam" come from the same root word, "slm", which means both "give and receive" (Aslama - "he gave," tasallama, "he received"). This implies that there can be no peace if there is no give and take. When the Prophet (pbuh) wrote to Hercules, the emperor of Byzantine, he said "Aslim taslam" - "Give and you will receive," meaning that give your kingdom to God and God will give it back to you tenfold, if there would be peace between you and God. However, if you withhold the ball, the game is over. The ball must keep going back and forth. It takes two to play a game and obtain happiness. Through partnership and fair play, we can experience joy. If there is no give and take, then there is no play, and if there is no play, then there is no joy.
This principle of give and take is the real meaning of "Islam" - a Muslim is the one who gives and takes. If you give, you must also take; and if you take, you must also give. For giving without taking is a sign of arrogance, conceit and pride, and a proud person is detestable to his fellow human beings. None except the Almighty has so much to Give and does not need to take. On the other hand, the one who only takes and does not give is greedy and miserly and by virtue of this greed and miserliness, he is detestable to his fellow human beings.
However, giving and taking must not be without measure. Give with measure and take with measure - it should be neither random nor excessive. Give with measure and purpose and take with measure and purpose.
"Fa imsakumbi ma'rufin aw tasreehum bi ihsan" - "take back with charity or let them go in charity" (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 229).
"Fa amsikoohunna bim'a'rufin aw sarrihuhunna bi ma'rufin" - "hold in just measure or release with just measure" (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 231)
For some time, Prophet (pbuh) used to give more than he took and God instructed him to balance between giving and taking.
"Make not your hand tight like a miser's to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that you become blameworthy and destitute" (Surah Al-Israa, Verse 29).
This balance between giving and taking is the law on which the entire cosmic order thrives. For disorder only occurs because of an imbalance in giving and taking by either excess or recess. This is the principle of peace (Salam).
Love is the effect of peace (salam) for as aforementioned, peace means give and take, this give and take results in creating a bond of love. Therefore, peace is the cause and love the effect, peace is the tree and love is the fruit of peace. Hence, the ultimate quest is love, but there is no peace without giving and taking, there is no giving and taking (Islam) without measure and there is no measure without balance. The balance is the cup by which we drink the Living Milk in measure.
You may also read and download the entire version of the Zawiyah Foundation Vision & Mission Statement (PDF 37Kb).
Also in this Section
Mission
Motto
Projects
About Imam Fode
Download & Print
The Zawiyah Foundation Vision & Mission Statement (PDF 37Kb)
Definition
A Zawiyah, by definition, means a corner or angle. An angle is a confluence of planes, a zone of concurrence and reunion between tides. It is a joint, a point of connection between realms.
Vision
Zawiyah therefore envisions being:
A point of connection between the East and the West, for God the Truth, is neither Easterly nor Westerly, as related in Ayat An-Noor:
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well-nigh Luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah guides whom He will to His Light: Allah sets forth Parables for men: and Allah knows all things" (Surah An-Noor, Verse 35).
A point of connection between the heaven and earth, as related in the Quran:
"And He raised the Firmament high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and do not fall short in the balance. It is He who has spread out the earth for His creatures" (Surah Ar-Rahman, Verse 7-10).
That nexus between the East and the West called Noorullah, the light of God.
The nexus between the Earth and heaven called Meezan, the balance.
The symbol of the light, which is milk. It stands for grace and charity.
Remember, that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was presented with a cup of milk before he ascended into heaven. Jesus (pbuh) spoke about the water: whoever drinks from it shall never feel thirsty. The sign of the cow of Prophet Musa (pbuh) and the she-camel sign of Prophet Saleh (pbuh) are both known for their nourishing and they stand for the same symbolism.
The symbol of Justice is the balance.
It stands for measure and method. In that, God has created everything with measure and proportion , as related in the Quran,
"Verily, We have created all things in proportion and measure" (Surah Al-Qamar, Verse 49).
"We set up the measure, for we are the best measurers" (Surah Al-Mursalat, Verse 23).
"He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has He begotten, not has He a partner in His dominion: it is He who created all things, and ordered them in the proportions" (Surah Al-Furqan, Verse 2).
Since everything is created with measure, every creature must remain within that measure. To exceed the measure is abuse and transgression. God sent the Balance in order to keep abuse and transgression in check. As long as everything remains within their measure, there is peace. If one oversteps its measure, it automatically steps into someone else's measure, which causes imbalance. God created the day and night in measure; the sun and the moon in measure. If any exceeds its measure, its cosmic disorder takes place.
"It is not permitted to the sun to catch up to the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day: each just swims along in its own orbit according to Law" (Surah Yasin, Verse 40).
Along with the book and the balance, God also revealed two other things: the clear signs given to the Prophets and iron.
Both the iron and the clear signs (miracles) have accessory roles. As for the clear signs, they are credentials, which establish the credibility of the Prophet and invite people to listen to his message. As for the iron, it protects and safeguards the book and the balance, from those who want to transgress the balance and from those who want to put out the light.
Peace and Love
The words "peace" , "salam" and "Islam" come from the same root word, "slm", which means both "give and receive" (Aslama - "he gave," tasallama, "he received"). This implies that there can be no peace if there is no give and take. When the Prophet (pbuh) wrote to Hercules, the emperor of Byzantine, he said "Aslim taslam" - "Give and you will receive," meaning that give your kingdom to God and God will give it back to you tenfold, if there would be peace between you and God. However, if you withhold the ball, the game is over. The ball must keep going back and forth. It takes two to play a game and obtain happiness. Through partnership and fair play, we can experience joy. If there is no give and take, then there is no play, and if there is no play, then there is no joy.
This principle of give and take is the real meaning of "Islam" - a Muslim is the one who gives and takes. If you give, you must also take; and if you take, you must also give. For giving without taking is a sign of arrogance, conceit and pride, and a proud person is detestable to his fellow human beings. None except the Almighty has so much to Give and does not need to take. On the other hand, the one who only takes and does not give is greedy and miserly and by virtue of this greed and miserliness, he is detestable to his fellow human beings.
However, giving and taking must not be without measure. Give with measure and take with measure - it should be neither random nor excessive. Give with measure and purpose and take with measure and purpose.
"Fa imsakumbi ma'rufin aw tasreehum bi ihsan" - "take back with charity or let them go in charity" (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 229).
"Fa amsikoohunna bim'a'rufin aw sarrihuhunna bi ma'rufin" - "hold in just measure or release with just measure" (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 231)
For some time, Prophet (pbuh) used to give more than he took and God instructed him to balance between giving and taking.
"Make not your hand tight like a miser's to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that you become blameworthy and destitute" (Surah Al-Israa, Verse 29).
This balance between giving and taking is the law on which the entire cosmic order thrives. For disorder only occurs because of an imbalance in giving and taking by either excess or recess. This is the principle of peace (Salam).
Love is the effect of peace (salam) for as aforementioned, peace means give and take, this give and take results in creating a bond of love. Therefore, peace is the cause and love the effect, peace is the tree and love is the fruit of peace. Hence, the ultimate quest is love, but there is no peace without giving and taking, there is no giving and taking (Islam) without measure and there is no measure without balance. The balance is the cup by which we drink the Living Milk in measure.
You may also read and download the entire version of the Zawiyah Foundation Vision & Mission Statement (PDF 37Kb).
posted by UGANDANS COMMUNITYCANADA. NORTH AMERICA. at 11:30 AM
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