Analysis Of The Prophet By Khalil Gibran

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Amongst Khalil Gibran's works of literature, one of the most reputable ones is The Prophet. In this book, Khalil Gibran establishes his prowess as a capable writer on spirituality by shedding analytical light on various everyday matters. In this book, the protagonist, al-Mustafa, is a man who, due to circumstances, had to live in the foreign city of Orphalese for twelve years waiting for a ship that will take him back home. During al-Mustafa's years in the city of Orphalese, he establishes a unique bond with the people of the city. The people come to recognize al-Mustafa as a man of astounding wisdom and hence would often seek the counsel of al-Mustafa. Khalil Gibran begins the story with an opening scene in which at long last a ship arrives to take al-Mustafa back home. As al-Mustafa is about to leave, the people of the city come out for a farewell gathering. In this farewell, the people request al-Mustafa to shed some wisdom on some of their questions as a parting gift. Khalil Gibran uses this sequence of developments to provide the structure for his book, in which he divides the chapters based on the wisdoms al-Mustafa imparts to the people of the city based on the issues they request him to enlighten them of. The Prophet is divided into twenty six prose poetry essays; each chapter or essay containing pearls of wisdom from al-Mustafa on various every day matters. In this essay, I will analyze al-Mustafa's wise words on "Crime and Punishment" and "Reason and Passion" while exploring parallels of them within the science of Islamic spirituality or Tasawwuf.
Similar to the other themes in this book, the Prophet in Khalil Gibran's story imparts his wisdoms on Crime and Punishment in response to a judge who inquires about it. The Pr...

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...an from the dangers of the intellect, amongst which one is stoicism. Here, the robotic usage of the intellect, unchecked by the faculties of the heart, which contains emotional dispositions, is what is being referred to. One of the greatest God-endowed blessings is the ability to love. It is through love that one enjoys the various blessings of God. Were it not for love, there would be no motivation and hence no enjoyment in experience. If we were to beings of just the intellect, we would be no different from robots who lack the ability to enjoy. Although the struggle between the heart and the intellect or reason and passion might more than often seem to be strenuous, there is much beauty in this struggle. By allowing the angelic and animalistic faculties to become harmonious and balance each other out, God allows us to excel beyond both the animals and the angels.

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