Isaac of Ninevah

I really like the first paragraph, God love in unconditional and never ending. I like to think that he'll never stop loving us no matter how much we sin or drift away, as long as we come back to him we'll always have a spot in his heart. And that kind of love is hard to find, not even all parents can love their children that way.
I liked the second paragraph as well. Especially when he says "who gives us more than we ourselves could ask for or even imagine." Maybe if we can see the big picture, everything God gives us in life, all of the blessings and difficulties, are meant to be to make us better people. The difficulties are actually blessings, we just have to trust God enough and let things happen and take whatever experience we can from it. He makes a good point, most people only pray when they want something, but no one ever prays to thank him except on Thanksgiving. The truth is everyday should be treated like Thanksgiving, thank God for every day and everything in life, give thanks for even having a life and having the people in that life. But it's very hard to trust God with our whole heart and not ask for things in our prayers, we're human and all we do is think about things we want, but I think we should try and remember to thank God at least once every day. And if we could stop asking for things, I think that goes along with that hes saying in the third paragraph about humility, "When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God." We should stop wanting and starting thanking and being more humble, and that way we can be closer to God.

Abu Abdallah Al-Harith Al- Muhasibi

"..when solitude is combined with secret intercourse with the Beloved, the joy of that intercourse overwhelms the mind, so that it is no longer concerned with this world and what is in it." For some reason this quote really stands out to me. It makes me think that once you find God then you'll be happy and everything in life will have a different meaning because you'll see it differently because you'll be so consumed and surrounded by God that you can't help but be happy. By using the world "secret" it made me think of Sunday school when the teachers would tell me that you shouldn't do good to show off or expect anything from it, you should do good in secret so only yourself and God will know the good you've done. You shouldn't donate money towards an organization so you can have your name and picture published, instead you should make it annonymous so you're only doing it for the good it will do.
Another quote that really stuck out was when he says,"When love is established in the heart of a servant of god, there is no place there for remembrance of men or demons or of Paradise of Hell, or for anythings except the remembrance of the Beloved and his grace." It goes back to being so overwhelmed by joy once you find God that nothing in this world matters and you forget about everything. I think he also means that if you have faith in God then bad things mean nothing because you know you'll be taken care of in the end. Just keep focusing on all the good.

Hugh of St. Victor

"..it is as if we were sailing over the waves, until we find the calm that is inside us." I don't think we'll find God outside of ourselves and no one can really explain him to us, we must really look inside ourselves and also know ourselves in order to know and understand God. Since God is in each of us, if we want to get to know God then why not start with ourselves. It's pretty simple when you think about it that way. "But when a man, through the senses of his flesh, goes out to visible things, desiring what is transitory and perishable, he descends from the dignity of his natural condition to what is unworthy of his desire." We won't find God or be happy by buying things or aiming to have the most luxurious life. "Happy is he who escapes unharmed from that storm-tossed sea, and reaches the safety of the port!" And safety is with God within ourselves.

Symeon The New Theologian

I don't like the last part that says "Our mind is pure and simple. When it is emptied of thought, it enters the pure and simple light of God, and finds nothing but the light." It sounds like something people at church would tell people to make them become zombies. It makes me think that you need to empty your mind from your own thoughts to have someone else thoughts pushed into your head and not think for yourself. If God didn't want us to think for ourselves then he never would have given us the ability to do so.

I really like the first paragraph that describes the man walking knee deep into the water and being able to see about him. But when he dives in, he can see nothing but the waster surrounding in. It's like seeing everything in a whole new way and if the water is God, than in ways he's seeing everything in a better way and through the eyes of God.

al-Bistami

He was asked, 'What is the way to God?" He answered, "Leave the way and you have arrived at God." I think what he means is if you stop seeing God as a thing or destination and let go, then you'll realize that God comes from within ourselves and he is everywhere. Once you give up everything and let God in, then he will be everywhere.
"This thing we tell of can never be found by seeking, yet only seekers find it." That didn't make sense at first, but I think what he's trying to say is that you can't go out and find God like a treasure map. You just have to be ready and open and waiting and seek Him into your hearts, and then you'll find him, well more like He'll come to you.

al-Misri

"The saint becomes more humble every house, for every house he draws nearer to God. The saints see without knowledge, without sight, without information received, without observation, without description, without veiling, and without veil." They are not them themselves, they are God and God is them. Saints know so they don't need to know because God is with them. They are to do God's work and it seems to me that they're suppose to be some kind of consious to people. If they've forgetten about God, remind them. If they're afraid, reassure them.. It sounds like if people are in need or unsure then the Saints should go out and help them be reassured. I like the end, "You are my saints, my beloved: you are mine and I am yours." It reminds us that God is equal and it's possible to be more like him, forgiving, loving, and trusting. And it reminds me that he loves us like equals and doesn't want to rule us. It's intimidating to think of him as the most powerful everything. God must truely be unbelievably amazing to not want to rule us, people with power always want more power or to control everything. But God just lets us be and live. What an amazing everything. I don't want to call him a person or Him or anything like that because he's not, he's everything.

Muhammad

Islam means "surrender to God." When we surrender ourselves fully, there is nothing but God: not even a "there"; not even an "is"; not even a "God."
I think that is my favorite part of the entire reading. I think what he's trying to say is that there is not beginning and no end, and there isn't even a thought of what is God or that there is a God, God is just there and everywhere. No thought needed, it's plain and simple. Like being enlightened, you don't have to think about it to know it, you just simply know it.

The second part of the reading just sounds like it's coming from a preacher. "All that is in the heavens and in the earth magnifies God. He is the all-strong, the all-wise. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth. He gives life and He brings on death and He is omnipotent over all things.." It's weird studying Islam and hearing it the same way the Christians teach. But at the same time where it says things like "Whoever knows himself knows God" and "True religion is surrender" are phrases that remind me of Buddhism back to the clearing your mind thing. I think it all comes down to knowing God. We all were born with him and know he's in us and in everything. So by knowing ourselves or clearing our minds, we can remind ourselves of what we already know deep down.