He who wants to observe the reality can do so even on a single verse... Whether that be a manifestation in worldly form or a literal verse encrypted in the Quran... For just as the part contains the whole, a single verse can be a gateway into endless realizations, both inward and outward... In this light, this tiny, yet very special selection and interpretation of verses by Ahmed Hulusi, released as a preliminary to Decoding the Quran, is like an invitation to man, to read and know himself... As only through a comprehensive knowledge of the self we have a real chance to know the One! So let us forego our predetermined conditionings and read as though we are reading for the very first time... Let us dive into this ocean of knowledge and melt away our constructs, fragmenting us from the Absolute One... Let us enter this portal, stripped from the falsity of our identities, and begin the enthralling journey from ourselves, to ourselves! ..". from the One we came, and to the One we shall return..." (Quran 2:156)

Engaging with the age old question of who is the God of Islam, Bruce B. Lawrence stakes out the historical nuance of Allah throughout the past 1500 years, from the earliest mention of his name to his appropriate by cyberspace.

"This thesis is a study of traditional narratives which are recited and received both by villagers and pilgrims in regard to the local pilgrimage (ziarah) tradition in Pamijahan, particularly at Shaykh Abdul Muhyi's sacred site. The narratives will be examined as part of the popular beliefs of Priangan Timur or the eastern part of West Java. Locating them in the wider context of Sundanese oral and written traditions, my investigation will illuminate the nature and function of such traditions in the particular case of Pamijahan. The research will elucidate the role of the kuncen, the custodians of sacred sites, as guides and spiritual brokers who maintain the narratives. It will also be important to investigate the villagers' as well as visitors' view of the kuncen in regard to local pilgrimage. The study will also enhance comparative studies concerned with networks of holy men or saints (wali) on the island of Java (Pemberton 1994; Fox 1991: 20). I want to argue that people respond to, and participate in, saint veneration on pragmatic grounds. However, these grounds are subject to interpretation and contestation in time and space. In redefining their narratives, various individuals, such as custodians, Sufis, and even to some extent government functionaries, are considered to be authoritative persons by virtue of their capacity to conduct and manipulate narratives. As this argument develops, it will be important to understand the modes of signification in the village."--Provided by publisher.

Why not just Allah? Why Muhammad's Allah? This unique book explains that Allah is not a god (deity) and that this god-concept we have all come to embrace, as a result of misleading information and conditioning, is not the Allah expounded by Muhammad (saw). Everyone, from the most learned to the most ignorant, has a concept of God. A God that we love, get angry with, judge and even accuse, at times, for doing wrong by us! We imagine this God, who sits on a star in the heavens or dwells somewhere in space, to be like a benevolent paternal figure or a majestic sultan! Those with broader views (!) are well aware, of course, that such a God cannot exist and claim they do not believe in a God, proudly declaring themselves as atheists. Whereas, neither the aforementioned believers who postulate a God with their hearsay knowledge and conditionings, nor the atheists who deny and reject the idea of a God, have any awareness of Allah as explained by Muhammad (saw)! So what is the reality of Allah revealed by Muhammad (saw)? Muhammad (saw), who articulated the Quran to us, taught us there is no God, that there is only Allah; that there is a System present within life, by which those who fail to comply, are led to suffer the consequences of their own actions. If we live with the awareness of the existence of an afterlife, our primary concern should be to know Allah and the life awaiting us after death, so that we may prepare accordingly. Taking this into consideration, let us now try to understand the One denoted by the name Allah disclosed by Muhammad (saw).

The Essence of Man is a re-evaluation, or perhaps a renovation, of what has for centuries been indisputably accepted as the fundamental teachings of Islam. By deconstructing the outer conventional meanings of the many religious or, more specifically, Islamic labels and concepts, the reader is taken to explore the underlying universal meanings of the symbols and metaphors of their faith, and hence the essence of their self. What is the purpose of religion? What is Sufism? What state of existence lies beyond death? Who or what is referenced by the name 'Allah'? What was the ultimate reality Muhammad (saw) wanted to share with mankind? Why does one have to engage in certain practices and comply with the sunnah? How can one escape 'duality' and advance to higher states of consciousness? And, most important of all, what is the essence of all of these 'essential teachings' man has been advised to follow? Through a compilation of various writings and talks, Ahmed Hulusi takes his readers back to the core and redefines what it means to be a Muslim.

Some find solace in repeating the past and some renew themselves at every instance.Renewal, constant renewal, is a blessing bestowed upon only a rare minority!To mercilessly question everything and to re-evaluate ones entire database with every new bit of information... To be in a state of contemplation at all times... This is the way of the one who has reached the consciousness of being a HUMAN.This book has been written for minds that wonder what their place is within this infinite existence. How happy for me if I could be of any service to those that research, question and contemplate!

"Prayer is the weapon of a believer." - Muhammad (saw) Prayer is the act of actualizing one's wants through the divine powers present within. There is of course a scientific explanation to this act. Essentially prayer is 'guided brain waves.' Just as the dimension of knowledge transforms into energy and the quantum field to form the universe, the wants and desires of consciousness emanate from the dimension of knowledge to reveal themselves as the wants and desires of man and become actualized through the densification of guided brain waves. Due to this, the stronger the concentration level, the faster the response will be to the prayer. "And he who turns away from My dhikr (the absolute reality of which I have reminded him), indeed, he will have a restricted life (limited by the conditions of his body and mind), and We will resurrect him as blind in the period of Doomsday." Quran 20:124 Since only a very small percentage of the brain is employed while a large part of brain capacity remains unused, dhikr allows the activation of this larger percentage. The bio-electrical energy produced in specific regions in the brain via dhikr spreads to other regions and activates the dormant cells thereby increasing brain activity. Whatever the dhikr is about, the frequency corresponding to that meaning is emanated to the cells and thus brain capacity relevant to that particular meaning is increased.