Thursday, July 8, 2010


I give you my thoughts at the entrance to this travern of intoxication.
Taste them as a first sip of spiritua wine.
by
Hafiz

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Imam Shafi'i ( may God's mercy on him) said,

" the world is but a moment; so make it (a moment) of obedience"

Al- Busti says in his famous poem:

Increase in worldly things is to a man but diminishment.
And his profits in other than sheer goodness
are nothing but loss.

Imam Ismail al Maqqari says in a poem counseling his son:

Till when will you dwell in illusion and distraction?
How long will you sleep and not awake?
Will you spend all that you have in the love of that
Which God set lower than the wing of gnat?
If Qarun's fortune from it you should obtain,
it would still be but a morsel on your mouth
and a cloth on your body.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

the happiness of the drop is to die in the river.
by
Imam Ghazali

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Religion is love and love is religion.

by
Imam al- Baqir.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Zikr
.
..
Remembrance of Lord!
.
..
that in which hearts find true satisfaction.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Hu's He THEN?
He Who (Hu) loves you
And has scent you to a copious garden
A garden within
Where roses
Flower kings and
Prostrating flowers
Sway with love
To and from the Rose maker.
Their labour of love
A fragrance so pure...
That even ants
Move upon the dust
Of compassionate footprints...
Within this universal garden of love
So Hu's He THEN?...
I cannot describe,
I cannot describe...
Huuuuuuu.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

take night as your camel; with it you shall attain your hope.
Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes” (Chinese proverb)
When your legs are tired, walk with your heart

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The scars you can't see are the hardest to heal

- (Astrid Alauda)
Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?

-(Maurice Freehill)
However many holy words you read,
however many you speak,
what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?
-
buddha

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

If I were to be told to pack up today and leave this world, I will not have many regrets. I'd just make a silent wish that someone else carry on and finish my work, blow a kiss in the general direction of the ever-spinning Earth, and leave, laughing at my usual flustered hurry.

Coming, God!


Hold that train! Oh no, I left my watch behind! Haha. Can I go back, and come back at a later moment? Your one moment and my lifetime, God?!



(there's nothin other then this comes in mind)

Monday, April 19, 2010

the true love to hurt the enemy (shaitan, satan) is to be occupied with the love of friend; on the other hand, if you engage in war with the enemy, he will have obtained what he wanted from you, and at the same time you will have lost the opportunity to love a friend.

( Mulay Ali al-Jamal)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Honor..

Practicing honor is one's ability to withhold oneself from behaving in any way that harms another, that takes from another.

only i can truly withhold myself from the desire to take what rightfully belongs to another, for even my body is chained, my heart can keep an evil intact. And if i put to death, i would have died in a state of holding that desire.

this is what i felt that what honor to mean as yet..

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

This road-not-taken is pretty damn strange.

There are no milestones, and no indications.

The best hope is that it leads to a destination no one’s ever been to before.
Wherever.
I have this moment to forget the past, and be not anxious about the future.
From this world to another
I go this second!
Think.
Think!
With great pain comes great realization.
Nothing around me had changed.

Except my state of mind.
Power is when you have something that someone else wants from you, but cannot take unless you give.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

lie puts a human in another world intentionally or knowingly..!!
ugliness is the form of beauty, for those who see.
i have decided that time has come in my life where i start living out my knowledge. After all, wise men such as Hazart Ali(r.a) say that knowledge without practice consumes a person. what is the point of knowledge, truly, if we dont use it or pass it on - through demonstration???

May Allah bless us and guide us to truth and reality :)

Ameen

Friday, April 9, 2010

Honestly,

I'm dead.

I feel greatly torn between two worlds.

The Old and The New.

I am split in to two and two.

Oh dear life!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

O my love, do not forget your beloved,
come back from your life in the wilderness
The birds have flown home, why do you not do the same?
Love overwhelms me again and again,
I am yours and you are... mine
O Farid,
I will sacrifice myself, just to see him one more time
The spinning wheel of love, the unspun balls of grief
The more I spin them, they more they seem to double
My spinning wheel is priceless, as I spin, so my love grows stronger,
And at every turn of the wheel,
I remember you
What good is my life, without you, my dear love
The heart strings of my memory resound in every pore, every vein of my being
This is the time to return, my love and leave your independence
My eyes are longing for you and asking every traveller where you might be
My useless eyes are exhausted, looking out for you, my love
O independent one, come back now, my eyes are weak from looking for you
Come O crow,
I will feed you fancies if you come and sit on my roof
Give me news of my beloved and
I will honour you
Come and sit on my roof my beloved may come
O Farid,
I strain night and day to see the path you have taken,
Eid has come, but my beloved has not, may
God look after him
Adornments do not seem right, nothing is pleasing to my sight
The happy ones sleep peacefully while
I spend my nights in grief
I will celebrate Eid when my love comes back, without him
Eid is empty
Pierced by the arrow of loss, people call me mad
For God’s sake,
Come back,
or else this life is over.
Everyone taunts me, ‘where is your love?’
‘ He has left you and taken to the road’
What can I answer?
I weep alone
At every turn of the spinning wheel,
I remember you
Come back to the courtyard, to this one who longs for you
My spinning wheel is colourful, it is the vehicle of your remembrance
You are far from my eyes, but close to my heart and
I yearn for you
The strands of sorrow seem to have no end,
and
as I spin, they double Who will put an end to my sorrow?
I long for you.
I am bound to Ranjha, but my father is pressing me (to marry a Khera)
The Kheras are spreading lies,
I take on myself these accusations against Ranjha
People say he is just a buffalo herdsman, but for me,
he is my Mecca People say that love is easy,
but love spares nothing and no-one
Bulleh Shah bears witness to the truth, that
Shah Inayat is the perfect teacher...
...
..
.
.
.

by Farid.

I pray today that I don't lose heart in staying alive.

Amen!
there are matters that do not even need our actions. they appear to us, and then they dissolve. We do nothing more than observe them. let them come, and let them go. do not think that you are the lord of every bit of your life.

there are other people in this space where we co-exist. let them be. That is your freedom. Do not choose the version of freedom that enslaved minds envision: a situation where they face nothing. That is the vision of freedom of one who is essentially a captive of their own entity.

Monday, April 5, 2010

day draw near another one, do what you can for saving yourself ..!!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

If the shaykh says to you
"O my son take this cup and empty the ocean."
What is your job?
To take the cup and empty the ocean.

That means don't let your ego to give you wrong information.

If your shaykh says to you that your trust, that
diamond of Sayyidina Jibreel, is in far east and you are in far west. Don't say "I cannot" you duty is to go. Find a way.

don't fight; don't argue' don't criticize. Keep patient and peaceful, tranquility, contentment.

Jazak Allah

Tuesday, March 30, 2010


An unspeakable restlessness has gripped me.

And within it, the slightest shimmers of comfort.

I feel as though I am walking alone in a wilderness... in an utter aloneness... bewildered, but not quite. Sad, but not deeply. Moved - and yes that I am!
Sometimes I doubt if I am really grounded in reality. The world does something else, and I see something else. What I see then eventually comes true. The distance between my seeing and its realization, though, sometimes seems to stretch.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Listen to your heart
EXACTLY
at the moment when it speaks! :)
Do exactly as it says!
You missed again, man!
How unlearned!

You did not pay heed again, right? None of your signs shall come from the outside. You *must* live your principles NOW and in entirety.

DO. NOT. BE. FOOLED. BY. THE. RELAXATION. THAT. IS. GRANTED. TO. YOU.

You will end up amongst blind fools, banging their heads against walls within which they shall find themselves confined! Do not be fooled at all. This time calls upon your highest ethic, your sacrifice of self-interest, your avoidance of that which is convenient and tempting. Do not be fooled at all. All lies are to come to an end. Very soon, you shall see.

there are matters that do not even need our actions.
they appear to us, and then they dissolve.
we do nothing more than observe them.

Let them come, and let them go.

Do not think that you are the lord of every bit of your life.
There are other people in this space where we co-exist.

Let them be.
That is your freedom.

Do not choose the version of freedom that enslaved minds envision: a situation where they face nothing.
there is no mastery of the future.
there is no way that the past can be erased such that it is not a living part of one's self.
One comes only as far as the Present.



remember, real magic is hidden, hidden in the quiet moments...!!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Iqbal says
"Tukhum-e-Iqbal az Rumi ast"
(that is, Iqbal is an offshoot of Rumi's [ideology]).
but Rumi himself says,
Why are you so afraid of silence?
Silence is the root of everything.
If you spiral into its void,...
A hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear.

Monday, March 22, 2010

the best first thing a human mind can do is to observe, to follow closely by wonder - and then question. In questions are theiranswers, and they reveal over Space when Time so intends.

a mind which wonders is a mind that wanders, in a beatific idleness. the beauty of a blue, blue night cannot be caught, much less the secret feelings it arises in the hearts and minds of the amused young.

"Where has this world come from?"
"Am I part of this, or is this in some way separate from me?"
"How many stars are there in this constellation?"
"What if I die, do I go up there?"

And then the occasional childlike: "Do fairies really descend in the night, and put that toffee under my head? Why not ice-cream? Fairies can do everything!"

Saturday, March 20, 2010

I am so madly uncertain, and afraid. But continue to love I do in the most uncertain of times. Fearing the process is foolish of me, eh, because didn't I just say I *have* seen the Architect's Design?

The point of love is: to aid us into the vast Unknown! The point of that is The Point.
I was put in the midst of this chaotic construction, and as ever, my task is to remember the origin. Look at this word again!
Re-member:
Re: Again
Member: Part
Remember: Join the parts again.
Become Whole again.
Return to the Original One!

Nebulous..

I am like a palace under construction that is opening its eyes, becoming gradually conscious... and is astounded and awed at once to observe at what's going on: The massive work at hand, the design, the beauty, the gestalt of the whole process of construction overwhelms my awakening consciousness. Here I see a beautiful window, and I am captured by the beauty of what I am looking like and at. There I see a loose pile of bricks, and am horrified at what seems to be a disorderly incompletion.

My being swerves between a love and fear of myself - and by extension, for the Architect. I have moments of absolute certainty about my beauty, and instances of utter doubts of the project.

The benevolence of the Universe that was so clearly visible to me had suddenly hidden, leaving my heart with an inexplicable feeling of contraction. I was wondering what happened? What wrong have I done - for, thanks to my culture, I indulge in the self blame-game more often than I'd like?

Then occurred to me a new analogy, a word: Nebulous.

Thursday, March 18, 2010


Book 9, Number 9.4.18:


Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say,


"I pray the prayer of a traveler as long as I am undecided whether to remain somewhere or not, even if I am detained for twelve nights."
Do not keep the company of anyone whose state does not awaken yours, or words direct you to Allah. You might be doing badly, and be shown your goodness by keeping the company of someone even worse. - Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah’s

“The Hikam,” taught in Sunnipath’s.

Islamic Spirituality:

In other words, one may mistakenly believe that he is righteous while sitting among those who are worse than him. Hence, one should spend time with those who are more pious and refrain from the company of the heedless.
A thief entered the house of a Sufi and found nothing there to steal. As he was leaving, the dervish, sensing his disappoitment, threw him the blanket on which he had been lying.

Sa'di
I asked a child who was carrying a lighted candle,
"Where does this light come from?"
The child blew out
the candle and asked me,
"Tell me where it has gone and
I will tell you where it came from"
--
Sufi Wisdom

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

O wondrous ecstatic eyes,
O wondrous long locks,
O wondrous wine worshipper,
O wondrous mischievous sweetheart.
As he draws the sword,
I bow my head in prostration so as to be killed,
O wondrous is ...his beneficence,
O wondrous my submission.
O wondrous amorous teasing,
O wondrous beguiling,
O wondrous tilted cap,
O wondrous tormentor.
Do not reveal the Truth;
in this world blasphemy prevails,
Khusrau;
O wondrous source of mystery,
O wondrous knower of secrets
-
Ameer khusrau

Saturday, March 13, 2010

I am amazed at he who knows death is certain, yet he laughs
I am amazed at he who knows that the Fire is true, yet he rejoices
I am amazed at he who witnesses how life changes the condition of the people, yet he feels safe
I am amazed at the one who knows that Qadr is true, yet he tires himself, vigorously seeking the bounties of life
-
Anonymous

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Knowledge for Knowledge

From Jaabir (radiyAllâhu 'anhu) who said that Allâh's Rasul Nabi E Kareem Hazrat Mohammed (salAllâhu 'aliahi wa'sallam) said:

"Do not acquire knowledge in order to compete with the scholars, nor to argue with the ignorant, nor to gain mastery over the gatherings. Since whoever does that, then: The Fire! The Fire!" (27)

Consider, May Allâh have mercy on you, the admonition and the less
on contained in what Ibn Abee Haatim ar-Raazee narrates, he said: I entered into Damascus upon the students of hadîth and I passed by the circle of Qaasim al-Joo'ee.

I found a group sitting around him and he was speaking. Their appearance amazed me and I heard him saying:
'Seize the benefit of five things from the people of your time:

when you are present you are not known;
when you are absent you are not missed;
when you are seen your advice is not sought;
when you say something your saying is not accepted;
and when you have some knowledge you are not given anything for it.

I also advise you with five things:

when you are treated unjustly then do not behave unjustly;
when you are praised then do not become happy;
when you are criticised do not be upset;
when you are not believed then do not become angry;
and if they act deceitfully towards you do not act deceitfully towards them.'

Ibn Abee Haatim said: So I took that as my benefit from Damascus.

So consider, May Allâh protect us and you from the evils of the soul, how sincere desire for knowledge and benefit led him to listen to one who certainly possessed less knowledge than himself in order to benefit his understanding and to acquire some knowledge.


- Atif Hussain

Saturday, March 6, 2010

listen...

listen.
listen closely.

what did I tell you?

You must see the flaw:

you are asserting the principles that you are not living.
the key is to live your principles!

For your own sake!

listen!

the doors of the Source are closed to those who do not integrate.
In fact, the door is created out of dis-integration!
layers of your SELF are the thresholds!
Do not split, do not scatter yourself over space and time.
Fear not, desire not!

Do not be amongst the fools.
Do not be misled.

listen!

Hold on to the rope of Allah.
Hu alone is the One Who shall not disappoint you.
Do not forget Hu as your purpose of being.

Monday, March 1, 2010

the light at the end of the tunnel is fading.
the faster I run, the farther it becomes.
Soon everything is swallowed by an eerie darkness.
I hear laughing -
an evil cackle echoes all around me.
A familiar voice.
Is that me?
Words...
I can't clearly make them out.
"Forever...lost..."
then
silence...
A distant rumble...
Closer...
Crashing waves.
Water surrounds me.
Rising,
I try to stay afloat.
I'm flailing like a fish on land.
It's no use.
I'm drowning.
I can no longer hear,speak, think.
I've reached the end.

*
when I wrote this, the lines:
fading.
darkness.
voice.
Words...
silence.
Crashing
Rising,
flailing
drowing.
end.

were all off to the right... tried to make them make sense if read alone, but I don't think it worked out too well.. Oh well, whatever...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010





Lord, everything is you, both good and bad, and the marvel is , no evil comes from you..!!
those who love you ( Lord ) ,
weep in their laughter ;
those who know you ,
laugh in their weeping ..
if you are really a man of the path, abstain awhile from looking at yourself ..!
let others be heedless, you be prudent , and hold your tongue along this path ( Journey )

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I learned several things at once:

Decisions are not to be based on our relationships with others, but on our relationship with Being.

Anger is no good, on Self or the Other.

The best basis of action is to do the appropriate thing.

If I hurt the Universe, or plan to, it will hurt me.

I planned to abandon my Universe, my Universe showed it will leave me stranded.

I am loved, but being ungrateful.

I need to be truthful; and at the same time, stop imagining.

If I am consistently led to imagining ill, then the key question is where is the discontent coming from?

Perhaps
I should remove myself from my circumstances.
There is violence in the air, and I absorb illness from my surroundings.

Yesterday, a couple of people expressed to me an almost similar discontent; that quite buzzing feeling.

So I will go, but not at the cost of breaking hearts.

If I break expectations, it must be for Allah's sake, not my private agenda.

In taking action for Allah is blessing; in serving self's interest is hell.

This is all for the good, and the better.

I must align my perceptions quickly, for the Universe is under a great shift - the NOW moment is out to abolish the past and the future.

The Matrix indeed is being reloaded.

The Universe is really a mirror of my being. What I do to it, it does to me!

This is very insightful spiritual lesson that I was meant to have.

Having learned these, my strange mental condition - "constriction" as its technically called in spirituality - nearly abolished. I feel an expansion of the heart, a calmness.

Someone said,

"Sometimes we try to move a giant tree, when Allah only expects us to plant a seed."

So I sit, I wait for the seed to show what it will grow into.

If it dies, so it is by the will of Allah.

I am not at odds with my Universe anymore.

May my heart be in peace!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Do not become.
BE!
Do not try.
DO!
Finally, finally, finally,
I overcame a great reluctance - and did something I ought to have done a long time ago.
Wow. I am feeling absolutely calm, and free.
And I am getting my single-minded focus back again.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Allah is the Protecting
Friend of those who believe.
He brings them out of the darknesses into the light.
(Quran Surah al-Baqara 2:257)

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Dullard Sage

Lost in myself
I reappeared
I know not where
a drop that rose
from the sea and fell
and dissolved again;
a shadow that stretched
itself out at dawn,
when the sun
reached noon
I disappeared.
I have no news
of my coming or passing away--
the whole thing happened quicker than a breath;
ask no questions of the moth.
In the candle flame of his face
I have forgotten all the answers.
In the way of love
there must be knowledge and ignorance
so
I have become both a dullard and a sage;
one must be an eye and yet not see so
I am blind and yet
I still perceive,
Dust be on my head if
I can say where
I in bewilderment have wandered:
Attar watched his heart
transcend both worlds and under its shadow
now is gone mad with love.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Farid ud-Din Attar

...!!

cold dark nites, stars twinklin in the dark sheet..
the dim falme of the candle, its existance in this cold wind..
where has all my restlesnes gone..
or i stand on the border of peace..

what is the romance in this cold dark nite..
the spel on the stars , the majestic delight..
a festival of celebrated dreams and old memories..
i see it through the misty window panes..

who has come..
my soul is alive
my veins rejoicing the moment..
songs and balads that come to my domain again..
radiance, warmth, love, ecstasy in this cold dark nite..

this foggy air , the nebulous reprsie.
the tunes of the songs we sang together on the boats..
the tunes, the melody we gave to the seas..
am i an unfathommable ocean of hope and faith?

my soul mellows down..
my veins feel..
let this moment b lived forever..
for i m immortal, i ignite..
in this falme so radiant and divine..
pure ,sacred..
i m a temple or a shrine..
lost in the domain of my ecstasy..

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

"...And Allah is not unaware of what you do."
(Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2, Ayah 74)

love by Maulana Jalal uddin Rumi

This is love: to fly toward a secret sky,
to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First, to let go of life.
In the end, to take a step without feet;
to regard this world as invisible,
and to disregard what appears to be the self.
Heart, I said,
what a gift it has been to enter this circle of lovers,
to see beyond seeing itself,
to reach and feel within the breast.
My self revolted against me, and I thought I was either going to die, or end my own life. Either way, someone I deeply care about would not be around much longer.

That was not a happy thought.

I wanted to run away.
To go elsewhere. To start another life.

And yet the calm internal voice said, "If you persist, you will arrive." It's just one of things that you know. You just know.

I knew I was under great metamorphosis. I also knew it was all for the great better. I knew it would "end." I knew my ego was putting up a great resistance, killing me from inside. And I also knew that if somehow I could not manage this state, I could end up dead or dangerous. So I briefly reverted to medicine to calm my mind - and then even gave that up. Let the pain do what it's meant to do: LEAVE ME!

"Surrender!" said my wise friend. I knew I must, but my ego roared in anger. After all, it had served me for a long time, but I have grown now. I walked that thin line between surrendering to what is, and surrendering to another's ego - and could not remember how to FORGET to see the difference between the two.How to see One? How to see that all things come from and return to One?

I decided to surrender, not knowing how to, but knowing that responsibility of self is the only true choice of the free.

To be specific, I chose to control what I could, and let go of the rest.I also realized that there are many things I have to take control of in my life, and I decided to do that, step by step.

But it was all such a toil, and I realized that I cannot go ahead with myself if I keep denying myself as the basic unit of my existence. What does that mean?

That means that I am not to give up shaping my life - and enjoy the beauty of this very work. But that I cannot deny my essence. Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil I had eaten the fruit. But my soul no longer accepts the enslavement.

When Friend said to me, "You are a free spirit!" it was as though a lid lifted off, and my soul steamed up and up!

I surrendered first to my hardship, and then to my essence. My hardship came to me for my essence is free.

When I started writing this, I thought I was going to write something short, lyrical, and mysterious. But now I am going to write the story - plain and simple as it is.

So. Well. This is I am. Right now. Comfortable with ambiguity. Certain of my unsureness. Yet in command.

I have surrendered to my condition, and in return, I am given what I was promised: my true self. I cannot explain my joy at this simple freedom: the freedom to choose my response, and to act it out.

But it is not a theoretical or worse - a delusional freedom. The results are immediate. In my work recently, I could see that I was not attracting energy. This is very unusual for me, for I have always had a verve for life and my project that others have found infectious. I know it, so I am neither shy nor humble - it is as it is. Yet I sensed that I was no longer projecting this love for life, but a darkness.

The simple act of me accepting myself has given me the freedom to love my life and work again- and that has once again attracted energy. Above all, after a long time, I have learned to say, "No."No.

No one else defines me. I know who I am. It does not matter if I do not know where I am going. Do you know where you are going? No. That's not the point at all. The point was to know

WHO. I. AM.

The surrender that I was not making was my acceptance of who I am. It was the ego's insistence to stay involved in the little and the old. It sometimes seems fair, and it could very well be a part of our story. This is not a matter to be negotiated with the Writer of our story, for if we trust Allah, there is a better story for us than one we write for ourselves - because this latter one fails.

How liberating to be who you are, independent of others' definitions and demarcations of you!

And it is in this state that one enjoys true freedom and responsibility.

.....
Sooner or Later, we all have to wake up ...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

O Allah..

O Allah!

Bestow complete blessings and perfect peace on Sayyidina Muhammad and for his sake may all our difficulties be removed, all calamities and agonies prevented; all needs fulfilled; all our cherished desires obtained; and a felicitous end to earthly life attained (with Imaan); and (give us) rain-showering clouds through the generous countenance of the Prophet, and (bestow blessings and peace as well) on his family and companions in every moment and every breath, as many times as is in Your Knowledge (that is unlimited blessings).


Amin..


EId Malid Nabi (S.A.W.W) Mubarak to all of you ..

Jazak Allah

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Don’t place too much emphasis on what you see with these eyes
Qul lan yuseebana illa ma katab Allahu lana huwa mawlana
wal Allahi fal ya tawakkal almuminoona.

Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us;
He is our protector."
And upon Allah let the believers rely.
-
Quran (9:51)
“By the soul and the proportion and order given to it,
and
its inspiration as to its wrong and its right;
Truly he succeeds who purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it.”
Quran (91:7-10)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Our hearts are drunk with a beauty, our eyes could never see!!

Thursday, February 11, 2010





























"Our Lord!
Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower."
(Aal-e-Imran, Chapter #3, Verse #8)

ربِّ زِدْنِي عِلْماً

Rabbi Zidni 'ilma

'My Lord! Increase me in knowledge' (20:114)

Oh my dear God! I just had a realization - for a certain billionth time!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
When you enter the Room of Now, do close the Door of Past behind you. If not, you will be consumed, and the Corridors of Future will be annihilated with you.

Open your eyes!
See the great dance this illusion is in!
See Creation at its being!
See how every moment shapes itself, and nothing is the same forever!
Sense who you are be-ing!

Be fascinated!

Yet know that a human heart's flight is even beyond, beyond this illusion! You have no moment to lose in the illusion, for you are to transcend it!

Do not fear loss, there is no such thing.

Do not be afraid: the distractions are just to tease you to realize the significance of the Path; they are part of the entrapment of this maze.

You transcend,
you transcend.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Light and Darkness

When the first man was complete he was asked to look over his right shoulder. There were three lights. He asked the first light its name and where it resided.

"I am Intelligence"
it said "
and I live in your head"

He asked the second light the same question" I am Conscious and I reside in your eyes"

He looked at the third light and had to shield his eyes from the glow: "Who are you and where do you live?" he asked

The Light answered "I am Compassion and I live in your heart"

On the other side of Prophet Adam (AS) stood three darknesses

He forced himself to ask the first darkness its name. "I am Arrogance and I live in your head"

"This is Impossible" cried Adam(AS) "for that is where Intelligence lives " "Only until I enter; than there is no room for intelligence" said the darkness"

And who are you?" Adam (AS) asked the second darkness

"My name is Insatiable Ambition and I reside in your eyes"

"That is where Conscious lives" said Adam(AS)

"Not when I am there" uttered Ambition."And You ... who are You? the third darkness was questioned

"I am known as Envy and I occupy space in your heart"

"Compassion is in my heart" said Adam(AS)"

When I enter your heart," whispered Envy with a smile " Compassion departs"

The Greatest Gift God has given is the gift of worship; to worship Him. But He has allowed us free will to decide whether we want to do it or not.

For anyone whose soul is brushed in the slightest with the poetry of Rumi, love and poetry become inseparable after that beautiful accident. Or to say it another way, love becomes poetry.


One of my favorite words these days seems to be "lyrical."


The idea of lyrics is closely tied with fluidity.


Lyrics flow.


The state of fluidity is to have no blocks.


There are no blocks once there is no resistance.


No resistance is surrender.


Surrender is to allow life to be lyrical. To allow life to reveal its poetry.


But I was speaking of love - and poetry. In a state of surrender to the energy of Love, we feel its force, its ebb and flow, its rising and falling, much as we experience poetry. Love has its own rhythm.


And it is this rhythm which may explain the connection between poetry & love, and Rumi's words and a divine sense of love that is at once individual. Rhythm is the ebb and flow of energy. A rhythm that flows out of surrender has an energy that is out-flowing and abundant. It is an energy that gives. It is an energy that is the force of life. It is the kind of energy that you can see throbbing alive in a leaf, or the warmth of the one you love.


I feel at once in a state of surrender, and of love. And the beauty is, that this is love that is not demanding me to split between The Divine and the Human - it is the One and the Same. Indeed, is it not the beauty of Rumi's poetry? The universality?



Yet was it of Rumi that I meant to write?


No, I meant to write of just poetry, love, and I.


A few days ago,a poem occured to me. It was inspired by human love, yet when I began to write, I addressed it at once to God and human. Is there a difference? No longer, for me. It cannot be, because if one speaks of love, and holds the concept in integrity, then there cannot be God and another who is somehow apart from God.



Let this not confuse minds. It means that once we surrender to God's Will, love flows out of it that bathes our Universe in its glory. After that, whoever we love is by the Will of God, and that makes our love no separate from God (Who we know through Hu's Will).


Have I made this complicated? I am interpreting the lyrics, which is not a fine practice. Love is poetry, and great poetry is a bit of mystery. Yet these are times of mysteries unraveling, thus we know all is One. If it were a mystery, we'd still see more of everything.


I am not making sense. My head is still full of poetry, intertwined with the oft-unmagical quality of this existence. But I love this unmagicness, for it allows me to transform it through love, and a bit of poetry.

Courtesy : Prophecy and Rumi Sushi

Monday, February 1, 2010

...

I appeal to the goodness in you to let goodness prevail. You must acknowledge the progress you have made on your path - do not allow it to be destroyed by fear or greed. Do not speak words of anger or of sarcasm. Fear Allah. Be fair. Do not, also, be soft and appeasing. Speak the truth in whatever tone you have been granted with. Truth is a strength unto itself, it requires no shouting. It only requires the conviction and the honesty of the one speaking it.


Do not let Ego change its ever subtle shape and trap you in its ploy. Beware of the dangers on your Path. Awareness overcomes unconsciousness.

Trust yourself, communicate with yourself, stay rooted, and let nothing and no one sway you. You are your path. Find that fine middle way between staying firm, and being responsive to change. Between firmness and kindness.

Speak the truth, for nothing else liberated the human soul but speaking and appreciating the truth.

Speak the truth.
I wish to be liberated from non-listeners.
"Sawaal ban to sahee, mein teray jawaab mein hoon!"
.
.
..
"Well, go on, become a question! I am awaiting to be the answer!"
Never sell your soul to the Devil!

12 Signs of your Awakening Divinity


Body aches and pains, especially in the neck, shoulder and back
Feeling of deep inner sadness for no apparent reason
Crying for no apparent reason
Sudden change in job or career
Withdrawal from family relationships
Unusual sleep patterns
Intense dreams
Physical disorientation
Increased "self talk"
Feelings of loneliness, even when in the company of others
Loss of passion
A deep longing to go Home

.

.

.

.

Oh - and I just thought of what I wanted to think of - a better metaphor:

Talking Like a Map.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Âyam be sar-e-kûye to pûyân pûyân
Rukhsâr be âb-e-dîde shûyân shûyân
Bîchâre rah-e wasl-e to jûyân jûyân
Jân mîdeham o nâm-e to gûyân gûyân



I came to the end of Your street, running, running.
Tears came down my cheek, washing, washing.
Union with You, I am helplessly seeking, seeking.
My soul I surrender while Your name I am reciting, reciting.



-Nizamuddin Awliya-

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

What is the root of all conflict?
Love? Money? Desire...?
No!
The root of all conflict is "me."
The root of all conflict and evil is EGO.
It is arrogance, and "takabbur."
This is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness.
This is seed of all evil.
"Me!"

Monday, January 18, 2010

"You may attempt to do 100 things in this world, only Love will give you release from the bondage of yourself." - Jami (Sufi)


If I have made "accept your self" another" this moment in Love" my realization in this month of December- and if my belief in the power of Love as the greatest healing force in the world had been reinforced through experience - then this quote I found during a random Twitter search is an affirmation of all that I am feeling at this moment.


Love, that is found in our heart and nowhere else; Love, that is given and not taken or demanded or hoped for; Love, which is the most benevolent form of attention - it is this that sets us free from the only entity that truly possesses us: our lower self.
The point is to remind us that we are free.
And we are truly free when we are free of the entity that truly enslaves us:
a sleeping mind

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Imam al-Qastalani narrates in his Mawahib Ladunniyyah that when Nabi Muhammad( s.a.w.) died, his daughter, Sayyidah Fatimah (r.a.) took sand from His Qabr and put it over her face and wept, saying:

“Maza ala man shamma Turbata Ahmadin an laa yashumma madaz ZamaaniG hawaliya’’
(The person who has smelt the dust of the Grave...
of Nabi Muhammad (s.a.w.)
does not need to smell any perfume ever again)

Ay dust hejaab-e to kasi nist to'i
Andar rah-e to khaar o khasi nist to'i
Goftam keh be ma'shuq rasam yaa narasam
Az to bar ma'shuq kasi nist to'i.
O, friend! Nobody veils you, but yourself.
In your path there is no thorn or weed, but yourself.
You said: Shall I reach the Beloved or not?
Between you and the Beloved there is nobody, but yourself.

-A.Kermani-

Wednesday, January 13, 2010


Nothing left to hide, not anymore,
so empty tonight is my heart's core;
My sweetest dream a nightmare has become,
I see no hope for the days to come.
Screaming is my inner voice,
So help me Allah, You're now my only choice.
My life seems a waste to me,
I'm crying now on bended knees.
I find no reason for this pain,
then why this agony must remain,
Am I now to call this fate?
So help me Allah, I am losing faith.
The world I see is soaked in red,
obsessed with anger and hatred.
Yet to all You promised Love,
I want to feel what You were speaking of.
The visions I see are of despair,
So help me Allah, I know You care.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Scholars on Sufism (Tasawwuf)

The following quotations of the scholars of Shariah regarding the precedence of the knowledge and science of Tasawwuf (Purification of the Self).

Imam Abu Hanifa (85 H. - 150 H)

"If it were not for two years, I would have perished." He said, "for two years I accompanied Sayyidina Ja'far as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a gnostic in the Way.

"[Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43]

Imam Malik (95 H. - 179 H.)

"whoever studies Jurisprudence [tafaqaha] and didn't study Sufism [tasawwaf] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and didn't study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will reach the Truth."

['Ali al-Adawi , vol. 2, p 195.]

Imam Shafi'i (150 - 205 AH.)

"I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: ...how to speak; how to treat people with leniency and a soft heart... and they... guided me in the ways of Sufism."

[Kashf al-Khafa, 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164 - 241 AH.)

"O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of Allah in their hearts. they are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power."

[Tanwir al-Qulub p. 405]

Imam Ghazzali (450 - 505 AH.)

"I knew verily that Sufis are the seekers in Allah's Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run receiving knowledge of the Divine Presence."

[al-Munqidh, p. 131].

Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi (544 - 606 AH)

"The way of Sufis for seeking Knowledge, is to disconnect themselves from this worldly life, and they keep themselves constantly busy with Dhikrullah, in all their actions and behaviors."

['Itiqadaat Furaq al-Muslimeen, p. 72, 73]

Imam Nawawi (620 - 676 AH.)

"The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are ... to keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) ... to be happy with what Allah gave you..."

[in his Letters, (Maqasid at-tawhid), p. 20]

Ibn Taymiyya (661 - 728 AH)

"Tasawwuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anything which distracts him from the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same to him. And Tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse: "(And all who obey Allah and the Apostle) are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship."

(an-Nisa', 69,70)

"...some people criticised Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they are striving in Allah's obedience [mujtahidin fi ta'at-illahi], as others of Allah's People strove in Allah's obedience. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving [as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl al-Yameen mentioned in Qur'an in Sura Waqi'ah], but slower in their progress.... And this is the origin of Tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been spread and [tasha'abat wa tanawa'at] has its main line and its branches.

[Majmu'a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya al-Kubra, Vol. 11, Book of Tasawwuf, p. 497].

"The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, by the acceptance of all Muslim scholars. And the Qur'an has pointed to it in different places, and the Hadith of the Prophet (s) has mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are only people who are innovators and their followers."

[al-Mukhtasar al-Fatawa, page 603].

Ibn Taymiyya says,

"what is considered as a miracle for a saint is that sometimes the saint might hear something that others do not hear and they might see something that others do not see, while not in a sleeping state, but in a wakened state of vision. And he can know something that others cannot know, through revelation or inspiration."

[Majmu'a Fatawi Ibn Taymiyya, Vol. 11, p. 314].

Ibn Khaldun (733 - 808 AH.)

"The way of the Sufis is the way of the Salaf, the preceding Scholars between the Sahaba and Tabi'een of those who followed good guidance..."

[Muqaddimat ibn al-Khaldun, p. 328]

Tajuddin as-Subki (727 - 771 AH.)

"May Allah praise them [the Sufis] and greet them and may Allah cause us to be with them in Paradise. Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them. And the truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship. ...They are the People of Allah, whose supplications and prayer Allah accepts and by means of whom Allah supports human beings"

[Mu'eed an-Na'am p. 190, the chapter entitled Tasawwuf]

Jalaluddin as-Suyuti (849 - 911 AH.)

"At-Tasawwuf in itself is the best and most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to put aside innovation."

[Ta'yid al-Haqiqat al-'Aliyya,p 57]

Ibn Qayyim (691 - 751 AH.)

"We can witness the greatness of the People of Sufism, in the eyes of the earliest generations of Muslims by what has been mentioned by Sufyan ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH), one of the greatest imams of the second century and one of the foremost legal scholars. He said, "If it had not been for Abu Hisham as-Sufi (d. 115) I would never have perceived the action of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence."

[Manazil as-Sa'ireen.]

Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1115 - 1201 AH.)

"My father Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and I do not deny or criticize the science of Sufism, but on the contrary we support it, because it purifies the external and the internal of the hidden sins, which are related to the heart and to the outward form. Even though the individual might externally be on the right way, internally he might be on the wrong way. Sufism is necessary to correct it."

[ad-Dia'at mukathaffa did ash-shaykh ibn Abdul Wahhab, p. 85]

Ibn 'Abidin (1198 - 1252 AH.)

"The Seekers in this Sufi Way don't hear except from the Divine Presence and they don't love any but Him. If they remember Him they cry, and if they thank Him they are happy; ... May Allah bless them."

[Risa'il Ibn 'Abidin p. 172 & 173]

Muhammad 'Abduh (1265 - 1323 AH.)

"Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence."

[Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].

Maulana Abul Hasan 'Ali an-Nadawi (1331 AH b.)

"These Sufis were initiating people on Oneness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from their sins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah 'Azza wa Jall. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah 'Azza wa Jall."...In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism. "...by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion."

[Muslims in India, p. 140-146]

Maulana Abul 'Ala Maudoodi (1321 - 1399 AH.)

"Sufism is a reality whose signs are the love of Allah and the love of the Prophet (saw), where one absents oneself for their sake, and one is annihilated from anything other than them, and it is to know how to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (s). ..Tasawwuf searched for the sincerity in the heart and the purity in the intention and the trustworthiness in obedience in an individual's actions." "The Divine Law and Sufism: "Sufism and Shariah: what is the similitude of the two? They are like the body and the soul. The body is the external knowledge, the Divine Law, and the spirit is the internal knowledge."

[Mabadi' al-Islam, p. 17]

Tuesday, December 29, 2009


Come and rest in my lap my child,
No fear, no sadness here resides…
This is and end much waited,
No more tears for these eyes…
Let me sing u a sweet lullaby,
Let me caress your hair to sleep,
No one shall pull, no one shall scratch,
No more grieves, no shattered dreams..
Lend me your hand,
ill never let it go,
And I collect these prayers unanswered,
Wishes split from their sacred rosary,
Tonight giving birth to your poetry,
Hidden in me , the love in the letters,
The wait, the agony, the first light never shattered,
The wilted flowers, the sighs , the sleepless nights,
The sad symphony, the ethereal reprise….
You the corpse and I the grave,
A relation for ever that never is slayed,
Come and rest in my lap my child,
No fear, no sadness here resides…

Thursday, December 24, 2009

I'm not a loner.
I just like to be alone when I am sad,
and I am sad all the time.
the tearful eye, the noisy spirit are not enough,
the accusation of hidden love is not enough,
lets go today in the bazaar in chains,
let's go with hands waving, intoxicated, dancing,
let's go with dust on our heads, blood on our sleeves,
let's go the city our love live in,
everyone is watching,
the city's rule, the general populace
the unhappy morning, the day with no purpose,
the arrow of accusation, the stone of abuse
who else beside us in their intimate friend?
who now in our beloved's city is till pure?
who now is worthy of the executioner's hand?
Pick up the burden of the heart,
let's us go, heartboken ones
we are the ones who have to be mudered again, my friends
.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

"A woman's heart should be so lost in God,
that a man must seek Him in order to find her"
-anon.

....


I love...
Waking up to your name
Hearing your voice
Feeling your body against mine
Sensing your quiet demeanor
Seeing your beautiful eyes
Searching your soul
Talking with you until I fall asleep
Understanding your problems
Being with you
Standing by you
Hugging you
The butterflies I get when I see you...
you

lost...

Sometimes in the night,
I feel so strange,
Nothing seems right
I feel afraid,
So I turn on all the lights
I feel alone,
And I stare with trepidation,
At the phone,
Wondering if it's going to talk to me,
All on it's own
And I get lost,
Inside myself
In the middle of the night,
I'm someone else,
That I don't know
Nightfall lifts me up so high,
Even when I'm crawling,
I feel like I can fly
But I'm afraid to,
Spread my wings and try,
Because...
I just might die...
Sometimes in the night,
I hear voices praising me,
With all their might
I feel disconnected,
So I turn off all the lights
I feel passive,
I feel aggressive,
I wonder if all of this,
Is just a lesson,
That I'm not learning...
And I get lost,
Inside myself
In the middle of the night,
I'm someone else,
That I don't know
Nightfall lifts me up so high,
Even when I'm crawling,
I feel like I can fly
But I'm afraid to,
Spread my wings and try,
Because...
I just might die...
I might die,
And I don't care!
I can smell my fear,
Upon the night's air!
I hear whispering incantations,
That just a second ago...
Were not there!
I get lost...So lost...
Inside myself
In the middle of the night,
I'm someone else,
That I don't know
Into the night I go...
Nightfall lifts me up so high,
Even when I'm crawling,
I feel like I can fly
But I'm afraid to,
Spread my wings and try,
Because... I just might die...
- December 19, 2009

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil;
by learning the potential becomes actual."
— Imam Al Ghazali
Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.
- Confucius

Could one not imagine oneself in a state which compares to being awake, just as wakefulness compares to being asleep? Being awake would be like the dreams of that state, which in turn would show that the illusion (of the certainty) of rational knowledge is nothing but vain imagination.

— Imam Al Ghazali

No matter how busy you may think you are,
you must find time for reading,
or
surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
- Confucius

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Join me in the Pure Atmosphere

I slip in and out of the Sea at night with this
Amazed soul I have.
I am like a magnificent, magic ocean turtle
Who sets aside his vast wings of
Blue effulgence
When I crawl upon your shores
To leave my divine seed of verse.
Let me remain cryptic tonight
All the way till dawn
As I orbit God
In this holy, ecstatic mood.
Grab hold of the corners
Of my luminous, tender shell
And I will whirl for you,
For I am covered with eminent crystals
That I have gathered from the infinite depths
Of love.
Follow my tracks in the sand that lead
Beyond thought and space,
For I can see deep down
That you are really a golden bird
That needs to
Dance
With your spirit enraptured and ascending
On the currents of Light
–On the currents of His
Breath.
Join me with your hands, wings, hoofs or fins
In my sublime applause.
Join me in the pure atmosphere of gratitude
For life.
I slip in and out of the Moon each night
With a gracious ease
With this brilliant heart I have.
The Beautiful Friend, the Exquisite One,
Sometimes steps from His Invisible Body
And walks upon our shore
So that we might see and know
His radiant Tender Shell-His eminent crowns
That are the three worlds.
O grab hold of the hem of His skirt
As He spins this Universe on an emerald
Dance floor!
Cling to the Transcendent Elements in His glance
As the Beloved forever whirls
His Love.
Hafiz
Slips in and out of God at night
Tied to his own amazed
Soul.

From: “The Subject Tonight is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky

Yunus Emre,

Burning, burning, I drift and tread.
Love spattered my body with blood.
I'm not in my senses nor mad,
Come, see what love has done to me.

Now and then like the winds I blow,
Now and then like the roads I go,
Now and then like the floods I flow,
Come, see what love has done to me.

Hold my hand, lift me from this place
Or take me into your embrace.
You made me weep, make me rejoice,
Come, see what love has done to me.

Searching, I roam from land to land,
In all tongues I ask for the Friend.
Who knows my plight where love is banned?
Come, see what love has done to me.

Lovelorn, I tread; madly I scream.
My loved one is my only dream;
I wake and plunge into deep gloom.
Come, see what love has done to me.

I'm Yunus, mystic of sorrow,
Suffering wounds from top to toe;
In the Friend's hands I writhe in woe.
Come, see what love has done to me

Sunday, December 6, 2009

When it seems
That I will fall
And everything
Feels so wrong
When I’m just
Too weak within
Lord your love
Makes me strong..
Hide me as a secret that will never shine on lips like my words.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Gift..

I envy the sand that met his feet
I’m jealous of honey he tasted sweet
Of birds that hovered above his head
Of spiders who spun their sacred web
To save him from his enemies
I envy clouds formed from the seas
That gave him cover from the heat
Of a sun whose light could not compete
With his, whose face did shine so bright
That all was clear in blinding night
I envy sightless trees that gazed
Upon his form completely dazed
Not knowing if the sun had risen
But felt themselves in unison
With those who prayed, and fasted too
Simply because he told them to
With truth and kindness, charity
From God who gave such clarity
His mercy comes in one He sent
To mold our hearts more heaven bent
I envy all there at his side
Who watched the turning of the tide
As truth prevailed and falsehood fled
And hope restored life to the dead
Men and Women through him found grace
To seek together God’s noble face
I envy the cup that gave him drink
His thoughts that helped us all to think
To be one thought that passed his mind
Inspiring him to act so kind
For me this world is not one jot
If I could simply be a thought
From him to God throughout the ages
As revelation came in stages
I pity all who think it odd
To hear him say there is one God
Or he was sent by God to men
To hone their spirits’ acumen
It’s pride that blinds us from the sight
That helps good men to see his light
He taught us all to be God’s slaves
And he will be the one who saves
Humanity from sinful pride
Muhammad has God on his side
So on this day be blessed and sing
For he was born to grace our Spring
With lilies, flowers, life’s rebirth
In a dome of green like his on earth
( In honour of the Prophet [pbuh] )- Hamza Yusuf

taste of Rumi...

Last night
I lost my grip on reality
and welcomed insanity.
Love saw me and said,
I showed up.
Wipe your tears
and be silent.
I said, O Love
I am frightened,
but it’s not you.
Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
be silent.
I will whisper secrets in your ear
just nod yes
and be silent.
A soul moon
appeared in the path of my heart.
How precious is this journey.
I said, O Love
what kind of moon is this?
Love said to me,
this is not for you to question.
be silent.
I said, O Love
what kind of face is this,
angelic, or human?
Love said to me,this is beyond anything that you know.
Be silent.
I said, please reveal this to me
I am dying in anticipation.
Love said to me,
that is where I want you:
Always on the edge,
be silent.
You dwell in this hall of
images and illusions,
leave this house now
and be silent.
I said, O Love,
tell me this:
Does the Lord know you are
treating me this way?
Love said to me,
yes He does,
You, just be silent.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Love’s fire, for a lifetime, burned my heart and soul
until the Beloved taught me the way of the lover.
Love’s jealousy gave me no chance to cry out;
it sewed my lips to keep me from speaking.
Like a moth, out of passion I circled Him so much
that He burned like the candle, kindling me for every assembly.
He stored me for years in the heart of time
so that in this age I could amplify the whisperings of Love.
I am a slave of The Master of the DIVINE Holy Fire;
from myself He bought me.
Then sold me for the price of the tavern’s wine.
Ru-Hu with the breath of the Beloved,
drunkenly said,
“Love’s fire, for a lifetime, burned my heart and soul.”
Copyright ©2009 RU-HU( Nizhat Ansari)

Monday, November 2, 2009

MODERATION IN HOPES AND WISHES

Deficiency in the hope for Divine Forgiveness when error and sin are committedis a sign of reliance on one's virtuous deeds.

In every single act the reliance of the arifeen is only on Allah Ta'ala. They do not rely on their spiritual states, knowledge and righteous deeds.

When these Saints of Allah render virtuous deeds, their hopes do not rise. They do not feel that they have acquired elevation in their ranks on account of their pious deeds. They perpetually dwell in the hope of Allah's mercy. Their gaze is never on their righteous deeds.

On the other hand, the non- arif reposes confidence on his good acts. When he practises virtue, his hopes rise and he feels pleased with himself, thinking that he has now become deserving of Maghfirat (Forgiveness) and Jannat. When he sins, his hopes sag. Since his reliance is on his own deeds, he labours under the impression that his sins constitute an obstacle in the path of Divine Rahmat. In consequence, such a person often abandons righteous deeds and takes to the road of sin. This is plain stupidity and ignorance.


Although A'maal-e-Saalihah are commanded and A'maal-e-Baatilah (sins) are forbidden, they do not constitute the basis of Maghfirat. The basis is solely Allah's Mercy. Thus, the sinner should not despair. He should advance along the spiritual path and turn the gaze of his heart away from his deeds, relying solely on the Mercy of Allah.

The aforementioned explanation should not be misconstrued. It should not be understood to mean abstention from regret and repentance after commission of sin. Regret and repentance are essential. The Mu'min will most assuredly repent. However, he will not despair of Allah's mercy.


If Allah Ta'ala returns you to your nafs, then your misfortune is limitless. If He reveals His grace and kindness to you, then there is no limit to your fortune.

The natural propensity of the nafs is evil and vice. Whatever virtue emanates from it, is purely the fadhl of Allah Ta'ala. If Allah Ta'ala allows you to remain enslaved to your nafs, and withholds His grace and kindness from you then there will be no end to your evil because the nafs is the abode of all evils and mischief.


On the other hand, if Allah Ta'ala directs His grace and kindness to you, then your virtues will be limitless on account of His grace being limitless.


Thus, when goodness emanates from the bandah, he should contemplate on the grace of Allah and refrain from attributing the virtue to his nafs. But if he perpetrates transgression, he should know that it is from his nafs.


Whoever has the notion of his good speech being the product of his virtuous deeds, will be silenced by his sinful acts on account of shame and embarrassment. Whoever speaks, bearing in mind the kindness of Allah Ta'ala, his sins will not silence him.

If the propagator of Naseehat to people or the one who expounds spiritual realities and subtleties labours under the impression that the knowledge which he is expounding is the consequence of his uprighteousness and good deeds, then he will be silenced if he commits a sin. Since his gaze is riveted on his uprighteousness, shame will overwhelm him. He will feel his discourses to be hypocritical, hence abandon his duty of propagating the truth.


But, this is not the state of the arif who believes that whatever knowledge and virtue he possesses are the fadhl of Allah Ta'ala. Since this is his constant perception, he never attributes anything of his excellences to his nafs. Should he commit a sin, he will not abandon the duty of proclaiming Allah's Law. He will continue to proclaim the Law with the same confidence and eloquence with which he rendered his duty before the sin.

When you wish the Door of Hope to open for you, then contemplate on Your True Master's kindness and bounties. When you wish the Door of Fear to open, then contemplate on the sins and transgression you had committed.


The state of his nafs and the evils perpetrated by him are kept in view by the Saalik. As a result, his heart suffers grief and despondency. Sometimes he is overwhelmed by despair and he loses hope in the mercy of Allah, which is, in fact, kufr. At times when the despair becomes excessive, the Saalik will abandon even Namaaz, Roza, etc. It is, therefore, essential that the aspect of Divine Mercy be kept in view.

When despair sets in, the Saalik should employ his intelligence. He should bring into contemplation all the bounties and favours which Allah Ta'ala has conferred on him. He should then convince himself that if it was Allah's desire to destroy him, He would not have blessed him with so many zaahiri and baatini favours. He should meditate for a considerable time on this aspect. Allah Ta'ala will hopefully open the door of hope for the Saalik and the state of despair will be dispelled.

Sometimes the opposite condition settles over the Saalik. Perceiving his good deeds, he develops vanity and self-esteem. On such occasions the Saalik should call to memory his acts of disobedience and transgression. This contemplation will engender fear in him.

Neither should the Saalik permit despair to overwhelm him nor excessive hope which will render him audacious. He should adopt moderation.

True rajaa (hope) is that which accompanies righteous deeds otherwise it is false hope.

The rajaa which is genuine is the hope which the Saalik entertains when practising righteousness. Along with his practice of virtue he hopes for the mercy of Allah Ta'ala. The man who has hope of reaping the fruits of his farm, will expend full effort in ploughing and caring for his fields. Similarly, the Saalik who has hope of acquiring Allah's mercy, will diligently involve himself in practising virtuous deeds. His hope will then be justified and be true.

If he acts in conflict with the Shariah and refrains from A'maal-e-Saalihah, his hope for Divine mercy and Jannat will be vain and false. It is false to describe such vain hope as rajaa. Such a person is like one who does not plough his land, but expects to reap a crop.

If you do not have a high opinion of your True Master by virtue of His Attributes of Excellence, then at least establish a good opinion of Him by virtue of the beautiful treatment He accords you. Has He not showered His Kindness on you? Has He not conferred His Bounties on you?

A true Mu'min is he who holds a high opinion of His Rabb. He understands that whatever treatment his Creator metes out is for his own benefit and welfare regardless of it being pleasing or displeasing. Since all attributes of Allah Ta'ala are only of excellence and nothing else, whatever is decreed by Him will be for the benefit of the Mu'min.

Although His attributes of excellence and perfection demand that the Mu'min holds the highest esteem for Allah Ta'ala (i.e. with regard to His attributes of perfection), nevertheless, if you lack this ability, then at least ponder on the treatment which you have received from Allah Ta'ala to this day. Do you not acknowledge His boundless favours upon you? He created you in perfect form. He bestowed a variety of innumerable bounties to you. You are, in fact, drowned in the abundance of favours. This wonderful relationship which Allah Ta'ala has with you should be sufficient to induce in you a good opinion of Him.

The high esteem on account of Allah's attributes of excellence is the rank of Allah's selected servants. Those who lack this rank should contemplate on the bounties of Allah Ta'ala for the cultivation of a beautiful comprehension of Allah Ta'ala.

He who thinks it amazing and difficult that Allah Ta'ala will release him (the Saalik) from the grip of nafsaani desires and from the prison of ghaflat, casts the blemish of inability (Ijz) against the infinite power of Allah. But, Allah has power over all things.Sometimes people lost in worldly affairs and forgetful of Allah Ta'ala, on seeing a pious man, yearn to be like him. They momentarily yearn to be free from worldly encumbrances so that they too could take to the path of piety. But, the nafs immediately raises its head and neutralises their eagerness for piety. The nafs leads them to believe that on account of their numerous mundane involvements, it is not possible for them to adopt piety. Their initial idea appears extremely far-fetched and impossible of realisation.

Similarly, some Thaakireen despite their Thikr and Mujahadah do not discern any improvement in their moral and spiritual condition. They then labour under the notion of the impossibility of their reformation.

There are also such Thaakireen in whose hearts Thikr has taken effect, but has not become entrenched. They, therefore, sometimes experience ghaflat and sometimes kayfiyat (the spiritual effect of Thikr). This fluctuating state remains for even years. They, therefore, begin to believe that it is impossible to eliminate their ghaflat and improve their condition.

For such people the Shaikh (rahmatullah alayh) says that those who feel that it is difficult for Allah Ta'ala to extricate them from the grip of their nafs, are in reality attributing weakness to Allah Ta'ala. They are implying by their attitude that the infinite Qudrat (Power) of Allah Ta'ala is defective – Na-uthubillah!

It is within Allah's power to deliver you from the grip of your nafs and bless you with His remembrance. There is, therefore, no need for despair. Many Auliya were involved in sin and transgression in their initial stage, but later Allah Ta'ala elevated them to the rank of Auliya and Masha-ikh. He bestowed elevated ranks to them.

There is nothing but Khauf (fear) or intense Shauq (eagerness) which can prevent and expel the lustful desires of the nafs. Khauf is cultivated by meditation on the Fiery Attributes (Sifaat-e-Jalaal) of Allah or on the terror of the Day of Qiyaamah. Shauq is acquired by contemplating on the Beautiful Attributes (Sifaat-e-Jamaal) of Allah Ta'ala or on Jannat and its pleasures.

It was explained earlier that when a nafsaani desire becomes grounded in the heart, it is most difficult to remedy it. The Shaikh (rahmatullah alayh) informs of its remedy. There are two treatments for such a severe disease: Khauf and Shauq.

Khauf (Fear) is either of the terrifying episodes of Qiyaamat or of the Fiery Attributes of Allah Ta'ala. The former is for the masses. The second kind of Khauf for His Sifaat-e-Jalaal such as Him being Qahhaar (Wrathful), Jabbaar (Powerful in Punishment), Muntaqim (Vengeful), etc., is for the elite (i.e. the select ones striving to attain His Proximity).

By meditating on these issues for some time, Khauf will be cultivated. Gradually it will permeate the heart and eliminate the domination of emotional desires.

Shauq (Eagerness, Yearning) is achieved by contemplating the pleasures of Jannat. This kind of Shauq is for laymen who strive to gain piety. The second kind of Shauq is achieved by meditating on Allah's attributes of Beauty such as Him being Rahmaan (Most Merciful), Ghafoor (Most Forgiving), etc. This kind of Shauq is for the elite.

It should, however, be understood that Khauf and Shauq of an inferior degree will not eradicate lust from the heart. To eliminate the entrenched disease of shahwat (lust), a strong state of either Khauf or Shauq is essential. In view of the essentiality of a high degree of these states, the Shaikh (rahmatullah alayh) qualifies Khauf with the adjective, ‘preventive' and Shauq with ‘intense'.

Do not despair of the acceptance of an act in which you do not experience the pleasure of concentration. In most cases acts, the worldly fruits of which you do not experience, are accepted. (Worldly fruits: sweetness, pleasure and concentration in ibaadat).

Hudhoor-e-Kaamil (Perfect Concentration) is to perform ibaadat with such concentration of mind and heart as if you are seeing Allah Ta'ala. Not a vestige of shaitaani and nafsaani thoughts remains to distract the heart from Allah Ta'ala. The pleasure of such Hudhoor permeates the entire being of the bandah. If by the fadhl(blessing) of Allah Ta'ala the bandah(person) has gained such a high degree of concentration, it indicates that his ibaadat is accepted by Allah Ta'ala.

If the bandah(Person) fails to attain this high degree of concentration, he should not despair nor interpret it as rejection of his ibaadat. While Hudhoori is the sign of acceptance, it is not conditional for acceptance of ibaadat. Thus, the absence of a sign does not indicate rejection of the act. It frequently happens that despite acceptance by Allah Ta'ala, the effects of the ibaadat are withheld here on earth. The reward is reserved for the Hereafter.