Dear all (esp. Tuju Sukma; Nakahiro; Rani-Rani; Mumtazmahal; Rhandi; Al-Ghazali Jr), apparently, I am at no place to answer all the questions that you have posted to me. Too many questions were asked unexpectedly while my thoughts were divided. As Al-Ghazali iterates, "to all questioners, let them ask God to forgive wherever my pen has transgressed and my foot has slipped, because delving into the flood of the divine mysteries is dangerous, and seeking to penetrate the divine lights from behind is arduous, not easy."
Or as Coolidge (Islamica) puts it, "I can only hope that this preliminary attempt is timely and acceptable in the eyes of Allah. If Imams al-Nawawi and al-Bukhari thought it appropriate to begin with the hadith of sincerity, then who am I to begin from a different angle? This is a struggle we all must face in the core of our souls, and it cannot be avoided. It is immensely hard, but it must be done. Whether one is a graduate student, a professor, a murid (disciple), a talib al-'ilm (student of knowledge), a shaykh, a transnational Muslim intellectual, or whatever, we must face this challenge. If we ignore it and assume we are fine, then we are lost. Of that I am certain, and God knows best."
