Firaq

Last as first the question rings

Of the Wills long travailings;

Why the All-movers,

Why the All-provers

Ever urges on and measures out the Droning time of things.

- Hardy



Ab tak khul na saka ye raaz,

kyun hay aalam soz-o-gudaz,

Kyun qudrat ne,

Kyun fitrat ne

Har ik se chhed diya hay naghma-e-saz.

- Firaq



Her pure and eloquent blood

Spoke in her cheeks and so

Distinctly wrought

That one might say

Her body thought.

-John Donne



Hari bhari rago.n mein wo chahakta bolta lahoo,

Wo sochta hua badan xud ik jaha.n liye hue.

- Firaq



And blossom by blossom the spring arrives

- Swinburne



Bahar ghuncha ba ghuncha chaman mein aati hay.

- Firaq



And beauty born of murmuring sound

Shall pass into her face.

- Wordsworth



Mauj-e-darya ka tarannum bas gaya ruxsar mein.

- Firaq



Source: Rooh-e-kaynaat, ed. Dr Rizwan Ahmad, Pub. Ramnarainlal ArunKumar, Allahabad, 1996)

Recently, while councelling, a friend and I, discussed the often destructive power of personal stories. We saw how debilitating it can be to see the events in our lives as reward and punishment. If I get this job it means I've finally healed my mistakes of past. If the tests reveal a maglignant or terminal dis-ease then it must mean I haven't been doing enough spiritual work.


You get the picture.


Trouble is, these stories seem to hold such a powerful grip on us. They feel hardwired in our brains and bodies. They trap us inside a vision of our lives that's painful and contracting. So - how do you shift out of such a story into the peace and possiblity of the present moment? That's where the lets Etch-A-Sketch comes in.


Once you're aware that a story is in play, think of that gray screen from childhood. Remember how you could create the most elaborate image on the screen and then just shake-shake-shake it away? Well, you can do the very same thing with an unhelpful story. It only seems hardwired, but isn't really.


The next time one shows up, make sure not to align with it, or fight it. Instead, take a big sighing breath and literally shake-shake-shake. Just as a gazelle in the wild shakes all the trauma out of its system after being chased by a lion, we, too, can cleanse and reset our body-mind.


Once the grip of the story releases, we're left in a state of gratitude, freeness, expansion and flow. From there, all good things happen!!

Zehaal-e-miskeen makun taghaful, Duraye naina banaye batiyan.

Do not overlook my misery, by blandishing your eyes and weaving tales,

Ke taab-e-hijran nadaram ay jaan, Na leho kahe lagaye chatiyan.

My patience has over-brimmed, O sweetheart! why do you not take me to your bosom.

Shaban-e-hijran daraz chun zulf, Wa roz-e-waslat cho umer kotah.

Long like curls in the night of separation short like life on the day of our union.

Sakhi piya ko jo main na dekhun, To kaise kaTun andheri ratiyan.

My dear, how will I pass the dark dungeon night without your face before.

Yakayak az dil do chashm-e-jadu, Basad farebam baburd taskin.

Suddenly, using a thousand tricks the enchanting eyes robbed me of my tranquil mind.

Kisay pari hai jo ja sunave, Piyare pi ko hamari batiyan,

Who would care to go and report this matter to my darling.

Cho shama sozan cho zaraa hairan, Hamesha giryan be ishq an meh.

Tossed and bewildered, like a flickering candle, I roam about in the fire of love.

Na nind naina na ang chaina, Na aap aaven na bhejen patiyan,

Sleepless eyes, restless body, neither comes she, nor any message.

Bahaq-e-roz-e-visaal-e-dilbar, Ke daad mara gharib Khusro.

In honour of the day I meet my beloved who has lured me so long, O Khusro!

Sapet man ke varaye rakhun, Jo jaye pauN piya ke khatiyan.

I shall keep my heart suppressed if ever I get a chance to get to her trick.



~ Amir Khusro

Khabaram raseed imshab ki nigaar khuahi aamad;

Sar-e man fidaa-e raah-e ki sawaar khuahi aamad.

Ham-e aahwan-e sehra sar-e khud nihada bar kaf;

Ba-umeed aanki rozi bashikaar khuahi aamad.

Kashishi ki ishq daarad naguzaradat badinsaa;

Ba-janazah gar nayai ba-mazaar khuahi aamad.

Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam;

Pas azan ki man na-maanam bacha kar khuahi aaamad.



English Translation.



Tonight there came a news that you, oh beloved, would come – Be my head sacrificed to the road along which you will come riding! All the gazelles of the desert have put their heads on their hands In the hope that one day you will come to hunt them…. The attraction of love won’t leave you unmoved; Should you not come to my funeral, you’ll definitely come to my grave. My soul has come on my lips (e.g. I am on the point of expiring); Come so that I may remain alive - After I am no longer – for what purpose will you come?

‎'the Kalima was inscribed in such a way that all the wows connecting the clauses formed the oars of a boat - the boat of salvation which carries the faithful safely to the shore of the Beyond.'

"Meaning is not in things but in between; in the iridescence, the interplay: in the interconnections; at the intersections, at the crossroads. Meaning is transitional as it is transitory, in the puns or bridges, the correspondence."

—Mallarmé

How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or only one?
For a week, or for several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say,

"for ever"?

- Pablo Neruda

Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

-- Dylan Thomas

Releasing self

into Greater Self

I become subtle

and

Ascent in love

and

go with the flow,

calling all hearts to Joy.

Opening heart into Great Heart

I cry out,

and

change and evolve,

calling all hearts

to

The One.

Deepening peace into Great Peace

I surrender

and

free

and free my boundless self,

calling all Hearts to The Source ( Allah )


...

"O people, spread peace, feed people, and pray at night when others are asleep"



- The Beloved Messenger, Sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam.

Guard your tongue from praise as you have guarded it from blame.


- Shaykh Maruf al-Karkhi

All of life is play-acting if we don't connect with our Source. We may think we are being sincere or 'real', but actually we are just being the limit of what we know how to be because this is all we can be if He doesn't show us otherwise. You can't use a veil to break a veil! That is why poverty is the only approach. Every moment is a small hypocrisy if we don't surrender it to Him in complete poverty, knowing our innate inability to be anything other than an imposter. We are only as sincere as our edges. We start off firmy boxed, self-assured, maintaining boundaries of persona and belonging, we think we know what we are, we think we know sincerity.



If he loves you, he starts to murder your attachment to anything other than Him, this includes conceptions of self, your edges shift, your sincerity expands but it is still not true. This is why grief is sweet, because when you rage against your edges and long to break into anything that is other than you, you realise the only way out is in total surrender. Don't be angry with Him for your State if you are still trying to manage your own outcomes. Be as real as you can, according to your edges, but never assume that this is anything more than a conception of honesty related to your level of clarity.


A person can only understand a word in accordance with their grasp of a language. A person can only express a word in accordance with their state. The reason why silence is our fitra/natural pre-disposition is because a word not expressed with poverty is kufr/covering. With our words, we build our persona's, we build our small realities. Intent can expand boundaries, aspiration keeps them firmly in place.

Yesterday I thought that I was real,/honest/sincere today I know that I am only as real/honest/sincere as my boundaries.


May Allah grant us the poverty to expand our boundaries.

"During prayer,
I am accustomed to turn to God
and recall the meaning of the words of the Tradition,
“The delight felt in the ritual prayer.”*
The window of my soul opens,
and from the purity of the unseen world,
the Book of God comes to me straight.
The Book, the rain of Divine Grace, and the Light
are falling into my house through a window
from my Real and Original Source.
The house without a window is hell;
to make a window is the essence of true religion.
Don't thrust your ax upon every thicket;
come, use your ax to cut open a window!"


Rumi

Hizb ul Bahr - Litany of the Sea in English



In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Blessings of God and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his family. O God, O Exalted One, O Gentle One,

O AII-Knowing One, Thou art my Lord, and Thy knowledge is sufficient for me. What an excellent Lord is my Lord! What a wonderful sufficiency is my sufficiency! Thou plea to Thee is for protection, in movements and moments of rest, in words, desires, and passing thoughts, from doubts, suppositions and fancies-veilings, they, over hearts, occluding sight of the unseen. The faithful were tried; They were severely shaken. Then the hypocrites would say, with those of disease-ridden hearts, "God and His Messenger promised us only delusion. (Q. 33:11-12)

Even so, make us firm, aid US, and subject to us this sea, as Thou did subject the sea to Moses, and the fire to Ibrahim, and the mountains and iron to David, and the wind, the Satans, and the jinn to Solomon.



Put in subjection to us every sea of thine in earth and heaven, in this domain and the celestial, the sea of this world and the sea of the next. Render subservient to us every thing, "0 Thou, whose hand holds sovereignty over every thing" (Q. 23:88).



Kaf ha' ya' 'ayn sad Kaf ha' ya' 'ayn sad Kaf ha' ya' 'ayn sad

Help us, for Thou art the best of helpers. Open to us the hand of mercy, for Thou art the best of openers. Pardon us, for Thou art the best of pardoners.

Be compassionate toward us, for Thou art the best of those who show compassion.

Sustain us, for Thou art the best of sustainers. Guide us and rescue us from the unjust people.

Send us a gentle breeze, as Thou dost know how to do, and let it blow on us from the storehouses of Thy mercy. Let it bear us along as it by miraculous intervention, with security and well-being, in religion, worldly affairs, and the hereafter.

Thou art powerful over all things. God, facilitate for us our affairs, with ease of mind and body, with security and well-being in religious and worldly matters. Be a companion for us on our journey, and a substitute for our households.

Blot out the countenances of our enemies, and transform them where they stand, disabling them from leaving or coming to US. If We willed, We would blot out their eyes. Yet, they would race forward to the path. But how would they see? If We willed, We should transform them where they stand. Thus, they would be unable to leave or return (Q 36:66-67).

Ya' sin! By the Wise Qur' an! Surely thou art one of those sent on a straight path! A revelation sent down by the Mighty, the Merciful, that thou mightest warn a people whose fathers had not been warned. Yet, they do not take heed.

The declaration has been confirmed against the greater part of them. Yet they do not believe. We have circled their necks with chains up to the chin, but they hold their heads high. Before them have We placed a barrier, and behind them a barrier, and We have obscured their vision; so they see not (Q 36:1-8).

May their faces be deformed! May their faces be deformed! May their faces be deformed!

Let their faces be submissive before the Living, the Self-Subsistent, For he who is laden with wrong has already met frustration. Ta' sin, ha' mim, 'ayn sin qaf. (Q 27:1)

He has released the two seas that meet; Yet between them is a barrier [barzakh] that they do not overpass. ...(Q 55:19-20)



Ha' mim, ha' mim, ha' mim, ha' mim, ha' mim, ha' mim, ha' mim! (Q 40:1)


The affair has been decreed. The triumph has come. Over us they shall not triumph. Ha' mim!


[It is] the sending down of the Scripture from God, The Mighty, the AII-Knowing, Forgiver of sin,

Receiver of penitence, Severe in punishing, Forbearing. No god is there except Him. To Him is the returning. (Q 40:1-3)

In the name of God (bismillah) is our door. May [God] bless our walls. Ya' sin (Q 36:1) is our ceiling.

Kaf ha' ya' 'ayn sad (Q 19:1) is our sufficiency. Ha' mim 'ayn sin qaf (Q 42:1) is our shelter.

So God is sufficient for thee against them, for He hears all, knows all. [Repeat this thrice]

The veil of the throne has been dropped over us, and the eye of God is gazing at us. God is behind them, round about. Indeed, it is a glorious recital [Qur'an], inscribed on a guarded tablet [lawh mahfuz] (Q. 85:20-21). [Repeat this thrice]

My Protector is God, Who revealed the Book (from time to time), and He will choose and befriend the righteous. (Q. 7:196) [Repeat this thrice]

M y sufficiency is God. No god is there except Him. In Him have I put my trust, For He is Lord of the majestic throne (Q. 9:129). [Repeat this thrice]




In the name of God, with whose Name nothing in the earth or sky can do harm, for He is the All-Hearer, All-Knower. [Repeat this thrice] There is no force and no power except with God, the High, the Mighty.

-------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6suVsXmQ8&feature=player_embedded#!

O Allah!

O Light!

O TRUTH!

O Clarifier!

Infuse our hearts with Thy LIGHT

Grant us knowledge from Thy Knowledge

Guard us by Thy Guarding

Cause us to Listen to THEE

Give us understanding from THEE

Provide for us a livlihood out of Thy bounty wherewith

Thou wilt relieve us from Poverty and raise us from abasement.



O Allah!

Dispose fittingly for us this world and the next, and enable us to attain to the vision of Thy FACE in the Garden of Firdaus(Paradise).



Over All things THOU ARE Powerful. Q-(2;20)



O how excellent is the MASTER, and how wonderful the HELPER. Q-(8:40)



Amin



And



Most Important : Eid Mubarak to All.



- Atif Hussain

O Allah, how may i call unto YOU, when i am but a sinner,

Yet how may i not call unto THEE, when YOU are Most Gracious?

"the most difficult of veils is the vision of the self"

Once the great Imam Al-Ghazali posed 6 questions to his students as follows;-





Q1 – “What is very close to us in this world?”





The students gave all kind of answers such as our parents, spouse, close friends, our children and etc.



Al-Ghazali replied:-“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is ‘death’ because Allah SWT has promised us that those who lives will definitely die” (refer Sura Ali Imran 185)



"..Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception...-----[Quran 3 : 185]





Q2 – What is the furthest from us in this world?”





The students gave all kind of answers such as the country of China, the moon, the sun and etc.



Al-Ghazali replied:“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is ‘our past’ because in whatever the circumstances , whoever we are and whatever vehicle we use we cannot go back into the past. So we have to always take care of today and the coming days with righteous deeds that is taught by Islam”





Q3 – “What is the biggest in this world?”





The students gave all kind of answers such as the mountain, the earth, the sun and etc.



Al-Ghazali replied:-“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is ‘temptation (Nafs)’. So we must always be cautious with our temptation so as not to allow it to drive us to hell (Jahannam)” Refer Sura Al A’raf 179)





"Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hellfire: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).-------------[Quran 7 :179]





Q4 - “What is the heaviest in this world?”



The students gave all kind of answers such as iron, steel, the elephant and etc...



Al-Ghazali replied:-“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is [b]‘being trustworthy [/B](Amanah)’ Al Ghazali explain “ The plants, trees, animals and the mountain could not accept the task of being the caliph of this world but human, with arrogance and conceit accepted the task and so much so many human beings are being thrown into hell (Jahannam) by Allah SWt because they have breached the trust others place on them. Refer Sura Al Ahzab 72)





We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it;- He was indeed unjust and foolish;----------[Quran 33: 72]





Q5 - “What is the lightest in this world?”




The students gave all kind of answers such as cotton, dust, the wind and etc...



Al-Ghazali replied:-“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is ‘neglecting the salat (daily prayer’. Al Ghazali explain this is especially true as people are known to simply neglect the salat because they are having a business meeting , having to work etc





Q6 - “What is the sharpest in this world?”





The students gave all kind of answers such as the sword, knife and etc...



Al-Ghazali replied:-“ Yes, those answers are quite correct but the perfect answer is ‘human tongue’. Al Ghazali explains that with their tongues human arrogantly will offend and hurt the feeling of others.





The life of the heart is knowledge; so preserve it, The death of the heart is ignorance; so avoid it. Your best provision is true devotion; so provide it. This advice of mine is enough for you; so heed it. ------[ Imam al-Ghazâlî ]

Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (May Allah have mercy upon him) said,

"Anyone who believes himself safe from criticism and reproach is out of his mind."

-In pursuit of virtue p.125

Ibn Ata'llah said,

“People praise you for what they suppose is in you, but you must blame your soul for what you know is in you.”

Hikam number 142

Salman Al-Farsi (May Allah be pleased with him) said,

"If a slave abstains from the world, his heart becomes illuminated with wisdom and his limbs reciprocate in worship."


Minhaj Al-abideen by Imam Ghazali.

In an Hadith Qudsi, Allah Subhau wa ta'ala said,

"I am with those whose hearts are broken for my sake."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

"A person who teaches others while neglecting his own soul is like an oil lamp, which illimates others while burning itself out."


- At-Tabarani

Ibn Ata'llah said,

"No one is a companion of yours except the one who knowing your defects, is your companion and that is only the generous Lord.”

-Hikam number 135.

" The true lover finds the light only if, like a candle, he be with own fuel, consuming himself. "

A Sufi was in seclusion, praying and saying supplications, suddenly he was immersed in an intense ecstatic feeling, and there shined a brilliant light, where a beautiful, deep, mesmerizing voice spoke to him: “O my servant! I have come to love you, and bring you close to my presence. I will permit to you that what I have forbidden for others….”



At this point, according to The Revelations, knowing that Allaah wouldn't favor one servant over the other, his heart illuminated that which his senses has darkened, and the sufi answered, “May Allaah damn you, enemy of Allaah!”



Instantly, the voice changed into an ugly, deafening roar and screamed, “You win this time, but we will meet again”

ملتفت فى الطريق لا يصل



“He who glances off shall not find”.



Dr. Ali Jomaa says, “If you are walking a road full of lights, colors, and attractive shopping displays, and then you stop at this shop and wander inside the other, a life maybe spent in this wandering, while age is uncertain. Al Imam A’ Shafey said: I’ve walked with the Sufis and learned from them that time is like a sword, if you don’t cut it, it cuts you.

He who glances off shall not find; an essential of good manners with Allaah, signifying the necessity that, whatever is done has to be out of pure devotion and direction to Allaah.



It is limiting to get stalled by observing the glamour of spiritual lights or secrets, the apparent realm or the hidden, the inspirations or any other, which are fruits of The Path - not the destination, not the goal. The True Destination, Allaah, has to always be in focus” ~


- Dr. Jomaa's