7 Changes are forbidden in Islam. Now of course I realize that there is a whole other dimension or rather dimensions to these questions.

Dimension 1 refers to the question of INNOVATION. Now innovation within Islam is regarded as shirk. The idea being that it is impossible to innovate because the message that the prophet received thru Gabriel from ALLAH is (as Barkat Ali says) always full in all respects & is never subject to alteration in any form. In fact, the main criticism of both Torah (Kitab Allah) & Injil (New Testament) is that it is altered. In the case of the Christian testament we know historically that there was a council in the 4^thcentury C.E. at which the form of the “New Testament” was decided with many books that were considered part of the Christian way at that time discarded. One of them being the gospel of Thomas which Murshid used to refer to frequently. Other “gnostic” books were also discarded & in fact only a few have been found given also the burning of the library in Alexandria in & around the same time (seems a familiar story). Since these books are altered Allah speaking thru Gabriel to Muhammad peace be upon him it is impossible to know the truth of what the Message was. This is very similar to the situation we are mutually faced with because there is so much doubt as to what the teachings that Inayat Khan gave. Coupled with political & legal machinations coupled with the fact that as SAM says, “It is doubtful whether any mureeds of HIK were able to sustain fana fi-Sheikh and tassawu” [i.e. the assimilation in the teacher and an expression of outward attunement and effacement].

There is no doubt in my mind from my own experience that the [Gatha] papers we have 1-10 are very useful as they stand yet one constantly feels that behind the whole thing there is yet a further truth. This is what I believed I came on when I found HIK’s instructions that the Salat be given to murids. I have tried to imagine from my stay in Europe & meeting old disciples of HIK what they would have thought of doing SALAT as it is given?

In talks with Vilayat it has become clear that HIK was in fact preparing the way not giving the way as it was impossible for anybody living in Europe to get the message so it was tempered for the western mind & constitution. Given that SAMs report in 6 Interviews [6 Interviews with Hazrat Inayat Khan] is true that HIK had only 3 trusted disciples what was going on in truth?

What was being taught. When SAM left Lama the second time someone (I think Siddiq) asked me what I thought. I replied, “Well now we have the candy I wonder when he will give us the meat.”