Table Of Content*
eartoftfie DCoran
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Lex Hixon
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Meditations and Illuminations
from the Scripture of Islam
T n the tradition of meditation on the Holy Koran, Lex Hixon’s
■ I
JLcontemplative illumination of selected passages from the Holy ;
Book of Islam is devotional and uplifting.
“The heart of Islam is the Holy Koran, and the heart of the Koran is
the radiant affirmation that there is no reality but God. Lex Hixon has
taken the precious words of Holy Koran and turned them over in his heart
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so they might speak to those of us who otherwise might not listen, might
not hear, the radiant wisdom glowing so brightly and so freely within.
And in the heart of the Koran, graciously transmitted to us by Lex, is
the heart of the Kosmos itself, calling to each of us to remember the praises
of every breath and every gesture and every movement we make. These I
are not rigidly literal translations, although they arefaithful in every way,
but rather mystical meditations from within the Koran itself, beautifully
wrought and piercingly true.”
— Ken Wilber, author of Grace & Grit; The Spectrum of Conscious
ness; Up From Eden; and The Atman Project
“Like a mystical reef-diver, Lex Hixon swims the marvelous tiers of the
Koran. Pm grateful to have him for a guide.”
— Coleman Barks, author of This Longing: Poetry, Teaching Stories,
& Selected Letters of Jellduddin Rumi
i] ISBN H81 -850|63l-90|-7
Cover an: Illuminated Shamsa. Iran,
c. 1550. Smithsonian Institution.
9 7 88 11 8855 II 063904 II Cover design: Madonna Gauding
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Lex Hixon
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First published 1998
Reprinted 2001, 2003
© Lex Hixon 1998
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Goodword Books Pvt. Ltd.
1, Nizamuddin West Market
New Delhi 110 013
Tel. 2435 5454, 2435 6666
Fax 2435 7333, 2435 7980
e-mail: [email protected]
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Printed in India
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JHeart oft£e JCoran
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PRAISE FOR HEART OF THE KORAN
“Thank you for what you have done for Tradition/9
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—Huston Smith, author of Religions of Man, Forgotten Truth:
The Perennial Wisdom of Religious Tradition, and Beyond the
Post-Modern Mind f
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“In Heart of the Koran, Lex Hixon tells of the four riv
ers in Paradise—water, milk, wine, and honey. Reading
the Koranic passages that he has so lovingly selected
and preparedfor the Western reader is like sippingfrom
those rivers.”
—Elizabeth Lesser, Cofounder, Omega Institute
‘Heart of the Koran is pure poetry, inspired by the Holy
Koran, as revealed by Allah to his Beloved Prophet....
Every chapter is a joyous experience, and your selec
tions and rendering of the various suras is unique and
brilliant.”
—Mohammad T. Medhi, Ph.D., Secretary-General of the
National Council of Islamic Affairs
Contents
Preface v
A Guide to Some Koranic Passages xv
Part One: Insight into Islam
Spiritual Adventures: Dream and Pilgrimage 3
The Koranic Vision: World View of Islam 21
Allah's Divine Song: Inside the Koran 47
Part Two: Meditations on the Holy Koran
The Direct Path (1:1-7) 57
Living Guidance (2:1-7) 58
The Original Source (2:21-25) 59
The Mystery of the Prophet Adam (2:28-39) 61
The Essence of Islam (2:255-257) 64
Lovers of Love (3:14-18) 66
The Prayer of the Prophet Muhammad
(3:26-27) 68
The Life of Jesus as Revealed to Mary
(3:45-55) 69
The Path of the Prophet Abraham (4:116-125) 72
The Commitment to Justice (4:131-135) 74
The Prophethood of Muhammad (4:163-166) 76
Ablution (5:7-8) 77
V
Torah, Gospel, and Koran (5:49-52) 78
Christians (5:85-88) 80
Miracles (6:1-9) 81
The Sorrow of the Prophet Muhammad
(6:33-34) 83
The Humility of the Prophet Muhammad
(6:48-50) 84
Divine Judgment (6:59-62) 85
The Enlightenment of the Prophet Abraham
(6:74-83) 86
The Throne of Manifestation (7:54-56) 89
The Enlightenment of the Prophet Moses
(7:142-146) 90
Friends of Allah (8:2-4) 92
Holy Warfare (9:38-39) 93
The Marvelous Ship (10:22-23) 94
The Rain of Life (10:24-25) 95
The Terrible Hood (10:71-73) 96
The Arrogant Ones (11:7-11) 97
The Mystical Dream of the Prophet Joseph
(12:1-6) 99
The Storm of Love (13:12-15) 101
Words of Truth (14:24-27) 102
The Green Tapestry (15:16-25) 103
The Call to Justice (16:89-91) 104
Giving (17:22-30) 105
Praise (17:43-44) 107
Daily Prayers (17:78-81) 108
The Descent of the Holy Koran (17:105-110) 109
Paradise and Hell (18:27-31) 111
vi
The Parable of Pride and Submission
(18:32-44) 113
Moses Meets a Wandering Sage (18:65-82) 115
Mary's Vision of Annunciation (19:16-36) 118
The Prophet Abraham Teaches His Kinsmen
(19:41-50) 121
The Call of the Prophet Moses (20:9-39) 123
The Infinite I Am (21:19-25) 126
Creation (21:30-33) 128
Pilgrimage (22:26-29) 129
The Book of Reality (22:67-70) 131
The Immense Journey (23:12-17) 132
The Careless Ones (23:62-77) 133
The End of Time (23:101-115) 135
Light (24:35) 137
Open Desert and Dark Sea (24:39-40) 138
Living Parables (24:41-45) 139
Servants of Love (25:63-76) 141
The Prophet Moses Confronts Pharaoh
(26:10-69) 143
Of Course Not! (27:60-66) 147
The Sublime Sanctuary (28:49-57) 149
Day of Union (29:2-9) 151
Spider Webs (29:41-44) 153
Demonstrations of Power and Love
(30:20-25) 154
One Vast Soul (31:26-28) 156
Lovers of Allah (32:15-17) 157
Pure Peace (33:41-44) 158
The Loving Embrace of Allah (34:34-37) 159
vii
