Muslim Theology and Islamic Mysticism - Part 2 of 2 (Understanding Islam Series: Session 5)

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This lecture is part 6 of a complete series of 8 lectures entitled "Understanding Islam":
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXoLwyelxOg
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmJgoGBQ0k8
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv_wKR9hoK4
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ_lXtzrEp0
5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbvG4KffgSI
6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylx7bDbEA3U
7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-oWwGUM6I
8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAON3F3B0wc

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After thoroughly addressing the first dimension of Islam in his first four lectures of this series, Abdal Hakim uniquely explores the final two dimensions in Islam of iman and ihsan. This talk, which consists of two parts, is another highly intellectual discourse about a vast religious science. The speaker begins by providing a historical background in an effort to identify the processes that brought this science about. This lecture effectively paints a colorful picture of the nature of the spiritual life in Islam and examines its foundation. What does the Qur'an say about these two types of higher knowledges, imam and ihsan? How does the Muslim come to know God if He cannot be seen? And what about the early Islamic controversies of free will vs. predestination and the existence or "problem" of evil? How does Islam answer the age-old philosophical questions of why the world exists and what the purpose of life is? (Recorded at the Dar al Islam Teachers' Institute seminar). Other topics discussed: Emanuel Kant, the 99 names of God, the film "Barakah", the volition of God to create the universe, heedlessness, thikr (meditation or contemplation), and the absence of symbols for God in Islam.