Bringer of wine, pass around the cup and be lavish!
for love that seemed easy at first turned out to be full of struggle.

Ah, the blood flooding into our hearts
when the breeze spread the fragrance of her braid…

At the master’s command, soak your prayer-mat with purple wine.
Every traveller knows the road and the customs of the journey.

At camp, in the caravan of the fair one, how can I rest?
Each moment the bell cries, ’Load the camels!’

Horrid darkness – dread - the sucking vortex -
what can light-weights strolling the shore ever know of our state?

In the end, my work brought me nothing but a bad reputation -
and yet, how its power endures, known to the faithful.

Hafiz, if you want the beloved near, draw near yourself,
let go of the world when you come to her, surrendering all.

-

Hafiz Shirazi

As long as you have a contented heart, then you and one who owns everything are equal and the same.” -Imam al-Shafi

Be like a tall tree with high aims; if a stone is thrown at it, it simply lets its fruits drop..

Hassan Bin Thabit (Ra) poetry praising our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him)

wa ahsano minka lam tara qatto ayni
wa akmalo minka lam talidin nisa'oo
khuliqta mubarra'an min kulley aibin
ka annaka qad khuliqta kama tasha'oo

trans
English:
My eyes have never seen more beautiful/complete than You
The women have not given birth to a more perfect than You
You have been created free from any defects
As if You were created as You wished

Urdu:
Meri aankh ne tujhse zyada khubsurat shakhs nahi dekha
Tujhse zyada sahibe jamal kabhi kisi aurat ne nahi jana
Aap har 'aib se is tarah paak aur saaf hai
Jaise aap apni marzi aur pasand se paida hue hain

"Oh Allah make us realise our faults, but don't make us a lesson for others."

- Imam al Sharani

Ay chehra-e zeba-e tu rashk-e butan-e azari;
Har chand wasfat mikunam dar husn-az-aan zebatari.
Aafaq ra gar deedah am mehr-e butan warzeedah am;
Bisyar khuban deedah am lekin tu cheez-e degari.
Man tu shudam, tu man shudi, man tan shudam, tu jan shudi;
Taakas nagoyad baad azeen man deegaram tu deegari.
Khusrau ghareeb ast-o gada uftadah dar shehr-e shuma;
Baashad ki az behr-e khuda, su-e ghareeban bangari.

trans:
O you whose beautiful face is the envy of the idols of Azar
(Abraham's father and famous idol maker);
You remain superior to my praise.
All over the world have I traveled;
many a maiden’s love have I tasted;
Many a beauty-star have I seen; but you are something unique.
I have become you, and you me; I have become the body,
you the soul; So that none hereafter may say
that “I am someone and you someone else.”
Khusro a beggar, a stranger has come wandering to your town;
For the sake of god, have pity on this beggar
and do not turn him away from your door.

by Amir Khusro ! :)

When you love someone for the sake of Allah, you want the best for them. It might not be what they exactly want, but it. ’s what they exactly need because you want to be in paradise together.

اللهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلا مَا جَعَلتَهُ سَهْلا وَ أنتَ تَجْعَلُ الحزْنَ إذا شِئْتَ سَهْلا

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja’altahu sahla, wa anta taj-alul hazna idha shi’ta sahla

Meaning: Allah. There is nothing easy except what You make easy, and You make the difficult easy if it be Your Will.

I looked at all friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue. I thought about all dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety. I thought about all types of wealth, but did not find a better wealth than contentment in little. I thought of all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice. I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience.

- Omar bin Al-Khattab

Oh Holy Prophet, would that your dog was called Jami
You would call for your dog and I would come running.

- Mawlana Jami

Happy Eid e Mawlid Day! :)

‘Even though you’re not equipped,
keep searching:
equipment isn’t necessary on the way to the Lord.
Whoever you see engaged in search,
become her friend and cast your head in front of her,
for choosing to be a neighbour of seekers,
you become one yourself;
protected by conquerors,
you will yourself learn to conquer.
If an ant seeks the rank of Solomon,
don’t smile contemptuously upon its quest.
Everything you possess of skill, and wealth and handicraft,
wasn’t it first merely a thought and a quest?’
(Masnavi, 3.1445-1449, trans. Shaykh Kabir Helminski)

Many have been led astray by the Qur’an:
by clinging to that rope many have fallen into the well.
There is no fault in the rope, O perverse man,
for it was you who had no desire to reach the top.


Moulana Jalal din Rumi (Masnavi 3.4210-11)

Love is pouring tea of make believe
Love is stirring my cup of storm,
Pouring tea of make believe -
That love can change my everything,
That love will lure you back to me.

Love is stirring my cup of storm,
Serving tea of make believe -
That right and good shall always prevail,
Through tempest snow, through rain and hail.

Love is stirring my cup of storm,
Making tea of make believe -
That Love is watching over us
Since the day we breathe our first.

Love is stirring my cup of storm,
Pouring tea of make believe -
That Love made reign His kingdom be
If only mankind would still believe.

Another night that I am unable to sleep, sunshine. This time, Love is stirring my cup of storm, and perhaps by recording this little prose, Love shall calm the waters of my soul, and gently rest my soul to sleep. How can I say this, without appearing impolite or ungrateful - Please, Love.... I need my sleep!

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Would you that spangle of Existence spend
About THE SECRET-quick about it, Friend!
A Hair perhaps divides the False and True-
And upon what, prithee, may life depend?

A Hair perhaps divides the False and True;
Yes; and a single Alif were the clue-
Could you but find it-to the Treasure-house,
And peradventure to THE MASTER too;

Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
Running Quicksilver-like eludes your pains;
Taking all shapes from Mah to Mahi; and
They change and perish all-but HE remains;



~ Omar Khayyam

When the young traveler got off the boat, they saw that he looked wise, devout and humble that there was only one place at which he could possibly stay.

They deposited his luggage at the monastery. There the youth was made welcome by the pious community.

One day the head of the community said to the youth:
‘Would you please sweep the rubbish away from the mosque?’
That was the last they saw of him. All were puzzled, but decided that he had no aptitude for work.

But next day, one of the servants of the community happened to catch sight of the youth, and stopped him.
‘It was foolish of you to go off like that,’ he remarked. ‘Don’t you know that it is only by service that you climb the ladder?’

At this the youth wept.

‘Oh my friend,’ he cried, ‘what could I do? I looked around and the place was spotless. I therefore concluded that the head of the community was referring to me! I removed myself so that the place should remain pure and spotless.’

The "Soul - Bird"

Equating the human soul with a bird is found in myth and mystical literature all over the world. From Hallaj to Sanai and Rumi, Persian mystical poetry has used the symbol of Bird, beautifully. The human soul, like a bird can choose to remain caged in this perishable world or fly towards Liberation. Ibn Sinna (Avicenna) used this motif and Ghazali wrote the Risalat at-tayr, “Treatise on the Birds”. The nightingale of Sufi poetry, yearning for the rose, singing night and day of its unfulfilled longing and union, suffering without complain the sting of its thorns - is the soul longing for eternal beauty. It is this longing that inspires the soul bird to sing. Longing is the most creative state that the soul can reach.

Rumi often spoke of the soul as a white falcon, exiled amidst the black crows, or a nightingale in the company of ravens. Rumi’s pun on the word falcon or baz, which in Persian also means “to come back”, refers to the baz’s desire to come back to its Lord and Master.

However the symbol of the soul bird’s jouney to is final abode is ingenuously developed by Attar - the master story teller of Iran, in his epic poem, Mantiq u-tayr, “The Birds’ Conversation”, also known as “The Conference of the Birds”. Fariduddin “Attar” (= seller of essence and scents), a druggist by profession, is considered by many as the greatest of the Mathnavi writers of Persian mystical poetry after Rumi. He was born in Nishapur (north-eastern Iran) and died there most likely in 1221 C.E. The idea of traveling and ascension towards the spiritual home, so dear to the mystics of Islam, found its most poetic expression in Attar’s poetry. The Mantiq u-tayr was modeled on the, Risalat ut-Tayr, Treatise on the Birds composed half a century earlier by another Sufi master, Ahmad Ghazali (d. 1126 CE).

“The Conference of the Birds” revolves around the decision of the birds of the world to embark on a journey to seek out their king, the Simurgh - their debilitating doubts and fears, and the knowing counsel of their leader Hoopoe. Each bird falters in turn, whereupon their leader urges them on with parables and exemplary stories, including numerous references to some of the early Muslim mystics such as Rabi’a al-’Adawiyya, Abu Sa’id ibn Abi’l-Khair, Mansur al-Hallaj and Shibli. The different birds represent the different personality types among humans as well as the complex characteristics that make up the human individual.

In these 4500 couplets, Attar speaks to all of us - to our inner being. We are all born with wings, but few of us discover them in our lifetime. Wings to fly back to our home - the abode of the mystical Simurgh - the Lord of all Birds, who lives on the world encircling mountain of Kaf. This journey ultimately is the soul’s progression towards inner perfection.

The different stages along this spiritual journey, which may take a different sequence in different individuals, are symbolized by Attar as seven valleys. Perhaps the series of valleys are used to denote that this journey is not that of a single ascension. It occurs in stages, and once you crossed one valley, you find yourself at the bottom of another. Valleys can be both enchanting and entrapping and the wayfarer may be tempted to linger on or get trapped in one of them. These seven valleys may be interpreted as follows:

The valley of Longing and Searching: The longing and searching of all creatures, who unknown to themselves, long for their original home. It is the strange yearning that overcomes some of us when we listen to beautiful music or behold Natures’ beauty - its mountains and valleys, oceans and springs…… It is this longing that drives us from one desire to another. Not knowing what it is that will quench our thirst once and for all

the valley of Love: The all consuming Love which purifies and the lover is regenerated and altered by it to such an extent that his very being undergoes a change - his every fiber purified, raised to a higher state, resonating to a higher tune. True loving surrender, irrespective of religious tradition, reputation, name or fame, like the Love of Majnu for Laila.

The valley of intuitive Knowledge: Also known as the wisdom of the heart, marifa or gnosis, this is direct revelation of the truth as apposed to ‘ilm‘ or discursive knowledge.This revelation leads to detachment from all things perishable (valley of Detachment) and the realization of the unity of all existence (valley of Unity) - of both the phenomenal and the causative world. All opposites melt, everything is renounced and everything is unified. All forms merge into one singular Essence.

According to Jami, ‘ Unification consist in unifying the heart, that is, purifying it and denuding it of all attachment to all things other then “The Truth”, including not only desire and will but also knowledge and intelligence’. These valley or state leads to the valley of Bewilderment, this is the long dark night of the soul - a state of perpetual sadness, and consuming desire - the agony of being in Love but not knowing with whom.

Finally in the valley of Poverty and Annihilation ,

the thirsty birds who undertook the painful journey in the search of Simurgh realize that they themselves - si murgh (= thirty birds in Persian) are the Simurgh. The story thus ends with one of the most inventive puns in Persian mystical poetry. This is the ultimate sought after state of fana - the nullification of the mystic in the divine presence when the seeker finds his way into the ocean of his own soul, all longing ends. However, this is not the end. When the soul has finished its journey to God, the journey in God begins - the state that the Sufis call baqa i.e. the absorption and abiding life in God. Here the soul traverses ever new depths of the fathomless, divine being - which no tongue can describe. Referring to this state Ghazali says ‘When I saw the rays of that sun, I was swept out of existence. Water flowed back to water’. The water drop finally falls back into the ocean, and the mortal form of the moth is reduced to smoke and ash in his Beloved flame’s embrace. It is the the moksha of the soul-bird which has finally returned Home.

“For a man would not hesitate to spend everything he had - if he only knew the secret of his own heart. If a man could grasp the bliss of his secret he would shed a tear with every breath he breathed.”
(Shaykh lbn al–Habib – The Greater Song,’)

‎"Let not your tongue mention the shame of another, For you yourself are covered in shame and all men have tongues. If your eye falls upon the sins of your brother, Shield them and say: 'O my eye! All men have eyes!'"

(Imam Shaafi'i rahimullah)

I want union with Him and He wants separation;
thus I leave what I want so that His wish comes true.


- Al-Ghazzâlî1

When al-Hallâj was in prison, he was asked:

“What is love?”

He answered:

“You will see it today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”


And that day they cut off his hands and feet, and the next day they put him on the gallows, and the third day they gave his ashes to the wind….

What al-Hallâj experienced publicly on the gallows of Baghdad, each lover comes to experience silently within her own heart and psyche, for

“Nothing is possible in love without death.”

"You are not aware of the consequences that would result (if you were granted what you desire) because what you seek might be to your detriment. (O soul) be conscious that your Master is more aware about your well-being than you are."

-Ibn Al-Jawzi

If you have the capacity to practice five things, you will never have to worry about being amongst the sinners again!

A man came to Ibrahim Ibn Adham (Rahimahullah), who was one of the scholars whose words were profound cures for the heart, and said:

“I have repeatedly transgressed against myself by commiting sin; give me something that will inhibit me from continuing like this?

So Ibrahim said: “If you have the capacity to practice five things, you will never have to worry about being amongst the sinners again.” The man was athirst for this admonition so he said: “Ibrahim give me these five things!” So he said:

“Firstly: If you want to disobey Allah*, then don’t eat anything from the provisions He facilitated for mankind!” The man was amazed at this comment and asked: “How can you say this Ibrahim while all of the provisions are from Allah?!” So he said: “Well if you know this, then how do you have the audacity to eat from His provision while you are disobedient to Him?!!” So the man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the second one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Secondly: If you want to disobey Allah, then don’t live in His earth!” the man was amazed at this comment, more so than he was the first comment, so he said: “How can you say that Ibrahim when all of the earth belongs to Allah?!” So Ibrahim said: “If you know this, then how do you have the audacity to live in His earth while you are disobedient to Him?! The man said: “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the third one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Thirdly: If you want to disobey Allah, then choose a place to disobey Him, where He can’t see you!” The man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim, when Allah knows the secrets of the heart and what is hidden! He hears the crawling of an ant on a smooth boulder in the depths of the darkness of the night!” So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you have the audacity to disobey Him?!” He said “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have! Give me the fourth one!”

So Ibrahim said: “Fourthly: If the angel of death comes to take your soul, say to him: “wait on taking my soul until a later time!” So the man said: “How can you say this Ibrahim when Allah says:

“When their appointed time comes it will not be delayed nor will it be hastened before its time” (Surah Al A’raf 7:24)

So Ibrahim said: “Well if you know this, then how can you expect to be successful at the time of your death when you are disobeying Allah?!” The man said: “Yes, you’re right, give me the fifth one!” So Ibrahim said: “Fifthly: When the Zabaaniyah i.e. the angels who guard the Hell Fire, come to escort you to the Hell Fire, then don’t go with them!” The man couldn’t handle the fifth one and started crying while he was saying: “Enough Ibrahim! Enough! I seek Allah’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance!” He remained steadfast on obedience to Allah until his demise.

Maa’im be raah-e ‘eshq puyaan hame ‘omr
Vasl-e to be jedd o jahd juyaan hame ‘omr
Yek cheshm zadan khayaal-e to pish nazar
Behtar ke jamaal-e khubruyaan hame ‘omr

We have run on the path of love all our life,
We have searched with great force for union with You all our life.
To catch one glimpse of You is better for our sight
Than the beauty of earthly beauties all our life.

- Jami

“When you are walking in the street, do not keep turning to your right and left, but keep your eyes on the floor.” - Imām Abū Hanīfah (r)

To desire a thing is to desire the need for that thing.

“I seek refuge in Allah from knowledge that brings no wisdom, from a heart that lacks kindness, from desires that bring discontent, and from supplications that go unanswered.”

- A prayer of the Prophet (SAW)

Words of wisdom:

Be with Allah - B­­­­y Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi


To all people involved in the Syrian and Arab revolutions; to political leaders struggling for their peoples and to all Muslims under oppression: This is the right time to come back to Allah, the time to repent and return to Him and the time to beseech Him; as this is the key to our relief and the means for us to be given the authority of our ancestors and be true heirs to them. "Who else will answer the call of the distress, lift hardships and appoint you as inheritors of the earth?" Everyone should know that adversities are results of our sins and that repentance is the way to remove them. We need to also remember that all things are under the power of Allah. We have to take action as He commanded us yet with reliance on Him and after returning to Him and believing that He is the only one who could benefit or harm us, not this man or that.

This was clearly stated by the Greatest Prophet, our master PBUH when he said, "You should Know that if all people tried to extend to you a favour, they would not be able to extend but what Allah predestined for you; and similarly, if all people tried to cause you any harm, they would not be able unless Allah predetermined it against you. So be with Allah through reliance, with His Decree through contentment with it; with His command by executing it and with His creation by having mercy on them. Do not let means and actions stop your belief that Allah is the Creator of the causes and the effects; nor allow people's harm to you make you obsessed with them.

Allah suffices for you, if you stand at His door as a servant, as He clearly promised, "Is Allah not enough for His Servant?" Read the rest of the verse to find the answer to your current dilemma "and they intimidate you with others who are far less powerful than Him."

So, do not fear other than Allah as long as you are a true servant of Allah: If you are with Allah, Allah will be with you; if you run to Allah, you will be safe from everything else; if you seek support with His Signs you will superior In as much as calamities reveal man's true mettle and virtue; they demonstrate the essence of his belief, contentment, and reliance.

This is one of the most important purposes of adversities as Allah Almighty said, "We will try you to reveal who amongst you truly struggles and is patient; and to disclose your states – to others." Then Allah says, "the unbelievers who prevent people from the path to Allah, disobey the Messenger, after guidance was made clear to them, will not cause any harm to Allah; Allah will foil all their misdeeds."

Shaykh Abuu Said Abi'l Khayr:

Chun Khak Shudi khake tura khak shudam
Chun khake tura khak shudam pak shudam

because you became dust, i became the dust of your dust
because i became the dust of your dust, i became Pure

Putting Trust in Allah.. is the stage of Muttaqeen
our status is to put our trust in the dust ,
of those who became earth like in humbleness to their Lord
those who follow the path of Syedduna Muhammad (SAW)

Sheikh Bayazid Bistami was given the Title SULTAN al ARIFEEN
Some one asked, Sheikh Bayazid Bistami what is your desire
HE SAID: i desire not to desire for my will is without value

some one asked him at death bed: his last wish
HE SAID: i wish i could say Once with the purity of my heart

ASH HADU AN LA ILAHA ILALLAH WA ASH HADU ANA MUHAMMADAN ABDUHU WA RASULUHU

Awliya have been warning us about Quran
they say it is a MIRROR, when we look in to it,, we will see ourself
we should be care full, if we are ugly, then we see ugly, and we blame it on the Quran,,

Allahu Akbar...

that is why Awliya tell us to become pure and beautify ourselves before looking into the Quran... then the secrects shall open for us

May Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala Beautify our Souls, and open for us the Secrets of the Qur'an and keep us under the feet of his saints, for that is where the Rahma Descends.

Amen

Be Choosy

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “A man follows his friend’s religion. So each of you should consider whom he makes his friend.” [Mishkat Al-Masabih]

Rumi says:

sohbate Ashiq to ra Ashiq konad
Sohbate Fasiq tora Fasiq Konad
Sohbate marde Khoda Mardat Konad
Sohbate har na saza Sardat Konad

the company of a Lover will make you a Lover
the company of a Fasiq will make you a fisiq
the company of the Men of God, will make you a MAn
and the company of useless men will make you cold

that is why Awliya Allah Advise us to sit in the company
of those who have Knowledge and Hikmah

because knowledge without hikmah, is useless
and when we sit in company of those who have knowledge and hikmah, we shall gain something from them..

when we enter a Perfume shop, we will carry some sweet smell even though we might not put perfum on us..!

May Allah Subhana wa Ta'alla forgive us for our mistakes.

Amen

why not love before we die
cause the death of love is a lie
love is life, and life cant die
death is departure, of love and lie

Ah! what to say about love today
it is a day that we must delay
love is to love the loved and pray
oh my beloved, what do thy say?

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

Riyad us Saliheen – 665

Ibn ‘Umar said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, say, ‘Anyone who removes his hand from
obedience will meet Allah on the Day of Rising with no proof. Anyone
who dies without having given Bayat will die the death of the
...Jahiliyya....

I was born in every century
This century I am born again
Every century I left a sign
This century I sign again

I came and held the Truth
The Truth I hold again
I spoke to only soothe
I speak to soothe again

The Truth is not thy nature
The Truth is thy essence
My nature is that if Truth
The Truth is that I spend

My birth oh! this century
My birth has come again
I am born in every nature
Not just the nature of men

(c)

The intellectual is always showing off
the lover is always getting lost.
The intellectual runs away, afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love is to drown in the sea.
Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.
The lover is always alone,
even surrounded by people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.
The man who goes to the trouble
of giving advice to a lover
gets nothing. He's mocked by passion.
Love is like musk. It attracts attention.
Love is a tree, and lovers are its shade.

- {Maulana Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi = RahimahuLah}

The pious Maliki scholar Abdur Rahman al-Akhdari who died in the 10 century A.H mentions in his famous work known as al-Akhdari :

Prayer beholds an illuminating divine light which illuminates the hearts of those who perform prayer and none obtain it except those who humble themselves in fear before Allah (during prayer). If you therefore, come to perform prayer, empty your heart form all worldly matters and engage yourself in seeking awareness of your Lord for Whose Countenance you pray.

Keep in mind that Prayer in fact is a act of awe and humility before Allah, The Exalted by standing, bowing, prostrating. Likewise, unequalled respect and esteem for Him is shown by means of takbir, glorification (tasbih) and remembrance and adoration (thikr).

Thus, guard your prayer for it is the greatest form of worship. Do not allow Shaytan to play with your heart and distract you from your prayer thereby obliterating your heart and depriving you from tasting the divine light that prayer provides. Be forever mindful; humbling yourself in prayer because it protects from all shameful and blameworthy deeds. Seek help through Allah for He is the best to seek help from.

- Abdus Shakur Brooks

May Allah ta’ala grant us khushoo’. Ameen. Peace and blessings upon the best of creation, His beloved.

"We wait in the darkness of a dying world. We sense in our souls what we can see in the ecosystem, that something is over. What can we do? Spiritual teachings talk about the importance of witnessing, of watching without judgment or expectations. This is not a time for action or achievement, but a time for real awareness. There is a need to wake up to the reality of what we have done."


~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Don't Worry

The Seal of Prophets, Sayyidina Muhammad, peace be upon him, imparted this good advice to mankind: "If you awaken in the morning and find that you are lacking nothing in the way of material sustenance, and that you and your family are in good health, then don't burden yourself with worry".

The Holy Prophet advises us not to make problems for ourselves. If there are immediate and pressing problems, that is another story, but so many "problems" in people's minds are not problems at all except in their minds. They are only "projected problems" which may or may not ever materialize. This is the affliction of twentieth century man: anxiety, or suffering inflicted upon oneself over the possibility of future suffering. As a result of this neurotic anxiety people may suffer intensely over a long period of time, although none of what they fear ever materializes. This is the epitome of foolishness.

We are shouldering weekly, monthly and yearly burdens each day. Why carry such baggage when you may walk unburdened and find all that you need awaiting your arrival at each station of your journey? You only exist here and now. Tomorrow's "you" is only a fantasy, as you can't even know if you'll live that long. By inventing so many problems for yourself you are only making yourself ill. Is this advice of the Prophet not enough evidence of his adherence to a way that leads man to felicity?

Allah Almighty doesn't want His servants to suffer needless self-inflicted misery, and He says: "Oh My servants, don't load heavy burdens on yourselves by worrying about the future. Just bring yourselves in line with My will; accord with my purposes this moment, and then rest assured that I will help you keep your future moments similarly aligned with My will".

Perhaps you may understand my point from the following example. When a new railway track is laid, before a locomotive and train are ever sent over it, a two-wheeled cart is first drawn over it to check whether the tracks have been laid straight. In the same way, if you can align your will to that of your Lord even for one moment, without carrying a heavy burden, you may be sure that your way is right, and that, even should times get rough, and so many burdens be coupled to your locomotive, your track is straight and true and you will pass along it smoothly and safely. A solution to this moment's problem is the solution to next year's derailment.

When I am here in western countries I daily encounter people carrying the weight of anticipated problems, It is so difficult in the modern world to escape from having this perspective, and to concentrate on the moment in order to put it right. With tens of thousands of problems in front of you all at once how should a solution seem possible?

I often see people running into the mosque, saying the obligatory prayers quickly and running out. Sometimes I ask them: "What's the rush?" Then they nervously look at their watches and say: "We have tarried in the mosque too long already. We have so many things to do today!" I reply: "It is laudable to be industrious and to look after your affairs well, but who would look after your affairs were you to drop dead here and now?"

I am not encouraging people to spend their whole days in the mosque, but only trying to remind people who are not only running after their sustenance, but leaping, head over heels after ambitious all-encompassing undertakings that it is impossible to "master the world", and destructive to devote so much energy to their attempt, and with so much abandon. First of all, the world already has a Master, and addressing Him humbly and with presence of mind (not hurriedly) in your prayers is even more instrumental in attaining your sustenance than rushing through the city. Secondly, far from attending to your affairs more efficiently by running, you are only likely to have a heart attack and die young!

Don't live in a world of great big-time schemes, for such schemes will not save you from trouble, but entangle you in it even further. Simplify your problems so that the solutions may be simple, also don't regard your problems with a magnifying glass, so that they are out of perspective: that habit will destroy you physically and spiritually.


- Moulana Sheik Nazim
01.01.1987

"It has been narrated that Caliph, Ali ibn abi Talib {Radi'Allahu Anhu} in the Iraqi city of Kufa saw a Jew walking with his chain maille {armor}.

He said to the man "That armor is mine, I did not give it away nor sell it!


The Jewish man said: It is my chain maille and in my hands!" They went to the Islamic judge, Qadi Shourayh ibn al-Harith, where Ali, then leader of the Muslims {Amir al-Mu'minin} told the story to Shourayh. The Jewish man kept saying that it was his own.


The judge then told Ali: "Do you have any proof for your claim, Amir al-Mu'minin?" to which Ali brought his son, Imam Al-Hassan {Radi'Allahu Anhu} to the stand for his testimony.


But the judge rejected this and said the testimony of a son for his father is not accepted in Islam. Ali protested at first against this, but the Jewish man won the court case because the accuser could not bring forth any proof according to the Shariah.


Source: " Imam Jalal Ad-Din as-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa."

Note: Imam Ali accepted the ruling and the Jewish man was so impressed at the fairness of the judgement, that he said " I bear witness that there is no god except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad

يروى عن الصحابي الجليل أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : ( أَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ اللهِ حَتَّى يَقُولُوا : مَجْنُونٌ )
يروى عن الصحابي الجليل أبي


Narrated by Abu Saeed .
Al-Khudri (radhi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: Increase your dhikr of Allah until people call you mad.

Poetry of Imam Shafi'i {RahmatuLahi Alayhi}

العِلم والذنوب قال الشافعي رحمه الله:
كتب حَكيمٌ الى حَكِيم: يا أخي قد أوتِيتَ عِلماً, فلا تُدَنّس عِلمَكَ بِظُلمة الذنوب, فتبقِى في الظلمة يومَ يَسْعَى أهلُ العِلم بنورِ عِلمِهم.

Knowledge and Sins

“A wise man wrote to another wise man: ‘O my brother, you have indeed been given knowledge, so do not pollute your knowledge with the darkness of sins – such that you remain in darkness on the Day that the people of knowledge speed forth with the light of their knowledge.’”

School of Truth

O fool, do something, so you won't just stand there looking dumb.

If you are not traveling and on the road, how can you call yourself a guide?



In the School of Truth, one sits at the feet of the Master of Love.

So listen, son, so that one day you may be an old father, too!



All this eating and sleeping has made you ignorant and fat;

By denying yourself food and sleep, you may still have a chance.



Know this: If God should shine His lovelight on your heart,

I promise you'll shine brighter than a dozen suns.



And I say: wash the tarnished copper of your life from your hands;

To be Love's alchemist, you should be working with gold.



Don't sit there thinking; go out and immerse yourself in God's sea.

Having only one hair wet with water will not put knowledge in that head.



For those who see only God, their vision

Is pure, and not a doubt remains.



Even if our world is turned upside down and blown over by the wind,

If you are doubtless, you won't lose a thing.



O Hafiz, if it is union with the Beloved that you seek,

Be the dust at the Wise One's door, and speak!



From: 'Drunk On the Wind of the Beloved'

Translated by Thomas Rain Crowe

✦ Secret Devotion ✦

It is reported that Shurayh the Judge used to have a house in... which he would spend time alone on Fridays; no one knew what he did in it. [Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ` Vol.4 p105.]

It is reported that Abû Al-‘Âliyah said, “I learned writing and the Qur`ân without my family noticing, and not a drop of ink was ever seen on my garment.” [Abû Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyâ` Vol. 2 p217.]

It is reported that when Ibn Abî Laylâ prayed [at night], if someone entered [his house], he would lie down on his bed [as if he was sleeping]. [Ibid. Vol. 4 p351.]

It is reported that Ayyûb Al-Sakhtiyânî used to pray all night and hide it. In the morning, he would raise his voice as if he had just woken up. [Al-Dhahabî, op. cit. Vol. 6 p17.]

It is reported that Dâwûd b. Abî Hind fasted for forty years without his family knowing, he would take his lunch out with him and donate it in the street. [Ibid. Vol. 6 p378.]

Do not question He who is beyond reason, for you will not be content with the answer.

Saadi in his book "Rose Garden":

Last night a bird cried out till dawn, ravishing my mind,
my patience, my strength, my thoughts.
The sound of my voice must have reached the ear
of a sincere friend.
He said, "I can't believe that a bird's call could drive you so mad.
I said, "It is contrary to human nature
that a bird sings God's praises
while I remain silent."

“Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heartache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. there is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, only to discover what is already there.”



— Henry Miller, Sexus

Advice..

My Dear Son,



If you understand this tradition, there is no need for too much knowledge. There is also another story to meditate and reflect over.



Hatim Al-Asam was among the friends of Shaqiq Al-Balkhi (may Allah have mercy on them both). One day Shaqiq asked Hatim: "You have kept my company for thirty years; what have you gained in the course of these years?" Hatim replied: "I have gained eight benefits from the knowledge which is sufficient for me. I hope my salvation and safety are embodied in them." Shaqiq asked Hatim to mention them. Hatim Al-Asam said:



'The first benefit is that I observed the creation and saw that everyone had a loved one and one passionately desired whom he loved and longed for. Some of the beloved accompany the lover up to the brink of sickness and death and others to the gate of the graveyard. All of them return and leave him there alone. No one goes into the tomb with him. I looked into the matter and said to myself: 'The best beloved is that which would enter the tomb with the lover to console him'; I found it to be nothing else than good works, so I took this as my beloved, to illuminate my grave for me and to comfort me in it and not leave me alone.





The second benefit is that I saw that people were following their lusts and hastening towards the desires of the souls; and I meditated on the saying of the Exalted: "But as for whoever has feared the majesty of his Lord and has refrained his soul from lust, truly the Garden shall be his dwelling place." (Surah Al Naziyat 79: v40-41) I Convinced that the Qur'an was true and right, I began to deny my soul [its pleasures] and hurried to combat it and refuse it its passionate desires, until it enjoyed real satisfaction in obedience to Allah the Exalted.





The third benefit is that I saw that every human being trying his best to accumulate as much as he can from the wreckage of this world and then holding on strongly to it. I meditated on the Qur'anic verse: "What is with you must vanish; what is with Allah must endure." (Surah Al Nahl 16: v96) So I gave freely my worldly possessions for His sake by distributing them among the poor so that it would be my provision in the future with Him the Exalted.





The fourth benefit is that some people whom I observed think that their dignity and honour lie in the multitude of their family and large clans. They were fascinated by these things. Others claimed honour and dignity in abundance of wealth and children and they were proud of it. Some believed honour and power abide in appropriating the wealth of others, doing injustice to them and shedding their blood. Others considered dignity to consist of extravagance and spending wealth in a foolish manner. I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "The most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous of you." (Surah Al Hujurat 49: v13) I chose righteousness for myself, convinced that the Qur'an is right and true and those claims and opinions of the people are all false and temporal.





The fifth benefit is that I found the people slandering each other and speaking ill of one another out of envy of fortune, power and knowledge. I meditated upon the saying of Allah: "It is We who divide their livelihood among them in the life of this world." (Surah Al Zukhruf 43: v32) I realised that the process of dividing livelihood is entirely in the hands of Allah since the beginning of time. Therefore I never envied anyone and was satisfied with the distribution of Allah the Exalted.





The sixth benefit is that I saw people becoming enemies of each other for different reasons. I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "Verily Satan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy." (Surah Fatir 35: v6) I became aware that enmity with anyone but Satan was not permissible.





The seventh benefit is that I saw everyone working very hard, exhausting himself to obtain food and sustenance, tempted by doubts and forbidden things. They degrade themselves in humiliation. I pondered over the saying of the Exalted: "There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance dependent on Allah." (Surah Hud 11: v6) I knew that my livelihood is guaranteed by Allah the Exalted so I engaged myself in worship and cut off my covetousness of all else, other than He.





The eight benefit is that I saw that everyone relied on some created thing, some on the dinar and dirham, some on wealth and property, some on trade and craft and some on creatures like themselves. I meditated upon the saying of the Exalted: "And whosoever places his reliance on Allah, sufficient is [Allah] for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose. Verily for all things has Allah appointed a due proportions." (Surah Al Talaq 65: v3) I therefore placed full trust in Allah the Exalted. He is sufficient for me and He is the best Disposer of affairs.'





At this point Shagiq said: "May Allah bless you and grant you success. I looked into the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Zabur and the Qur'an and have found that the four books revolve around these eight benefits. Whoever works according to them is working according to these four books."



(Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali - Dear Beloved Son)

Dua

O Allåh! O You who are the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, In You I establish my protection: shelter me with the shielding, protective sufficiency and safeguarding, the reality and proof, the stronghold and security of In the Name of Allåh.

Admit me, O You who are the First and Last, to the hidden domain of the unknowable, secret and encompassing treasure of As Allåh wills! There is no power save in Allåh.

Unfurl over me, O You who choose Clemency [over censure], who Veil in Protection,66 the sheltering wing, the covering veil, the preservation and deliverance of Hold fast to the bond of Allåh.

Build around me, O You who are the All-Encompassing,the All-Powerful, the secure, encircling wall, the glorious canopy, the might and majesty of That is better, that is of the signs of Allåh.

Place me under Your protection, O You who are Observant [of all needs] and Responsive [to all requests]: preserve my soul and faith, my family and children, my home and estate, through the watchfulness, protectiveness and timely relief and
assistance of But [Satan] will not hurt them anything, save by the leave of Allåh.

Shield me, O You who Protect [from corruption] and Repel [all evil], by Your Names, Verses and Words, from the evil of Satan and of the powerful, such that if an oppressor or tyrant treats me unjustly, he will be taken by An enveloping chastisement of Allåh.

Deliver me, O You who Abase [those who would set themselves above You] and who Avenge [without pardon], from Your iniquitous slaves who wrong me and from their minions, such that if one of them intends me ill, Allåh will forsake him,
Setting a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and laying a cover on his seeing. Who then will guide him, after Allåh?

Protect me, O You who Seize and Vanquish, from their treacherous deception: repel them from me censured, driven away in blame and routed, through the damaging, corrupting and destruction in And there was no host to help him, apart from Allåh.

Let me taste, O You who are Ever Glorified and Praised,Ever Sanctified and Holy, the sweet delight and intimate converse of Come forward and fear not; for surely you are among those who are secure in the shelter of Allåh.

And let them taste, O You who inflict Harm and take away Life, the exemplary punishment, the evil consequences and annihilation in So the last remnant of the people who did evil was cut off. Praise belongs to Allåh.

Make me safe, O You who are Peace of Perfection, the Giver of Security, from the sudden sorties of the enemy forces, through the aim of the beginning of the verse For them are good tidings in the life of this world and in the hereafter. There is no changing the words of Allåh.

Crown me, O You who are the Sublimely Magnificent, the One who Raises in Honour, with the crown of the awesome grandeur, the majestic dominion, the sovereignty, might and magnificence of And do not let their saying grieve you. Indeed the honour and glory belong to Allåh.

Clothe me, O You who are Solicitous in Benevolent Majesty, the Incomparably Great, in the robe that renders the august majesty, complete perfection and attentive solicitude in And when they saw him, they so admired him that they cut their hands,
saying ‘May we be saved by Allåh!’.

Bring down upon me, O You who are the Eminent in Affection, the Constant in Love, love [extended] from You, so that through it the hearts of Your servants will be guided to me, yielding to me with love, affectionate and unwavering, from the filling with love, the softening of hearts and the coming into loving union in They love them as if it were love for Allåh, but those who believe are more ardent in love for Allåh.

Show upon me, O You who are the Manifest and Hidden, traces of the luminous mysteries of He loves them and they love Him: [they are] soft towards the believers, hard on the unbelievers, striving in the path of Allåh.

Turn my face, O Allåh, O You who are the Eternal Refuge, the Essential Light, with the sheer purity, beauty, intimacy and illumination of So if they dispute with you, say, ‘I have surrendered myself to Allåh’.

Amin.

Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad? Alice: I am afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
-Alice In Wonderland (Movie)

Ibn Umar: Rasoolullah (SAW) turned to me and said:

“Be in this life like a stranger or a traveler.”

Whenever Ibn Umar narrated this to his students he added:


“If you reach the evening, do not await (to be alive) by dawn, And if you reach dawn, do not await (to be alive) by evening. Take advantage of your Health before you fall sick. And take advantage of your life, before you die.”

-[Bukhari]

Dare to catch fire; Become a believer in spontaneous combustion; Stop caring whether 'they' notice, or applaud or turn their backs. Befriend the negative within you; Gently harmonising light and shadow onto the canvass of your every day; Let defiant, bold, uncommon kindess orchestrate your universe; Burn through the night.


- Dr. Maithr...i Goonetilleke

أنا محمّدي ما حييت فإن أمت

"There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world;

there is only the comparison of one state with another.

Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.

It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.....

the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope."

Non- Mahram

Imam Muslim narrates from Jarir ibn Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him) who says:

”Iasked Allah's Messenger about the sudden glance on a Non - Mahram. He commanded me that I should turn away my eyes.

Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim narrate in their Sahih from Uqba ibn Amir (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah said:

“Do not go near [non-Mahram] women.” A person inquired: “What about in-laws?” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) responded, “The in-laws are death.”

The least likely of your sincere falsehoods is your words: ‘I am a Sufi!’

Contention - Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad :)

"A tree lives for thousands of years by maintaining a very simple and inexpensive yet totally inspiring existence."

A small seed, which has neither force not arms, accepts conditions of darkness, pressure, cold and dampness. Instead of complaining or blaming others, it uses these conditions as sources of energy. In the same way, man can lead a free life and be at peace with himself.

~ George Ohsawa

I try and I try and I try. But I can't get no satisfaction.

Bumbled he, the humble bee,
Over roses very thorny,
With sweet cargo upon his knee,
...In a poem oh so corny.

-- A. Powette

‎'Ask in order to understand, and do not ask in order to find fault, for surely the ignorant man who wants to learn resembles a man of knowledge, and surely a man of knowledge who wants to be difficult resembles an ignorant man who wants to find fault.'

"What's really unbearable is the eternal mediocre shame of some people;
and the lack of bravery which marks them; their prudence; their pretension to live in a reasonable and well-planned way."

My soul is tempered now for good, and now is indestructible, resolute even through the worst storms, devastations or loss. My knowledge of life and the human heart is now so keen that I know the two months ahead will bring me more sorrow, largely because I will not pander to mundanities nor to anything alien to the dreams, thoughts, a...nd feelings of my true personality.


Isabelle Eberhardt

Trust in Allah, but tie your camel -Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W

" Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammed Ali Jinnah did all three"

- Stanely Wolpert

wisdom beyond widom:


think like an adult and feel like a child..

Luqman al Hakeem said to his son:

“O my son! I have never regretted because of keeping silent. If words are silver, silence is golden.”

“God is with the broken-hearted. When your heart breaks, it’s a good thing – the breaking of the heart is what opens it up to the light of Allah. The dunya is designed to break your heart, to crush it.” [Shaykh Hamza Yusuf]

Ruin is the road to transformation.


From the movie 'Eat Pray Love'

Only a true believer fears hypocrisy whereas the hypocrite himself feels safe from it.

- Hasan al-Basri

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"A person is on the religion of their close friends, so be careful of whose close company you keep." [Ahmad]

Ibn Ata'illah said:

"Only seek the company of those whose state uplifts you, or whose words guide you to Allah."

This is the core of one's company. Other company is sought to fulfill rights, spreading good, or seeking benefit, worldly or religious--without waste or harm.

“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”

"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.”

- Albert Einstein

‎'Tell me, friend, which place you want me to take you to - I want to go to the city of the Messenger, in search of the Station of Radiance and the Red Sulphur.'


- Ibn Arabi (The Book of the Journey by Night)

"And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: 'Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return'. They are those on whom the blessings, forgiveness and mercy of Allah descend upon, and it is they who are the guided ones." [2:155-157}

All the languages you know have their source in Allah. A yearning to be with those who speak your tongue/s is just a shadow, not a soul necessity. Those who don't 'understand you' are simply there to help you understand that you cannot define yourself by the things you love or find important. Accepting such relations feels like death simply because it is.

Ha-Ya-Ya = (a doubly imperfect verb) To live, be alive, be ashamed, spend (the night) awake, fertilize the earth, keep anyone alive; spare any one, let anyone alive, remove prudency, modesty and shamefulness, make immodest, To be in good condition, have the means of subsistence, to be apparent or distinct, have prolonged or preserved life, free from evil or harm, have dominion, be honored,receive benefit, to salute, to enliven/revive/give life to, to nourish, vivify/re-vivify/revive/resuscitate, endue/quicken with life, (said of land) to be tilled and made productive, to remain awake, to shrink from a thing, to forbear, to feel or have a sense of or be moved or affected with shame/shyness/bashfulness, be ashamed/shy of doing a thing, disdain or scorn a thing, abstain from a thing/refuse to do it.

Bayazid Bistami (ra): I shed my self as a snake sheds its skin.

Bayazid Bistami (ra) had seen Allah (swt) in a vision (Kashf) and said to Him

"O Allah (swt) what is the way to You?"

Allah (swt) responded

"Leave yourself and come to Me".

"Fall down seven times,stand up eight!"

(Japanese Saying)

"O fools awake! The rites ye sacred hold
Are but a cheat contrived by men of old
Who listed after wealth and gained their lust
And died in baseness and their law is dust"


- Al Ma'arri

"Moses said to his people, ‘Turn to God for help and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it to those of His servants whom He chooses, and the future belongs to the God-fearing." -


- The Quran (7:128)

Rumi..

‘Why do you sit there with your own thoughts?
If you are a man, go to the Beloved!

Do not say, ‘Perhaps He does not want me’.
What business has a thirsty man with such words?

Does the moth think about the flames?
For Love’s spirit, thinking is a disgrace.

When the warrior hears the sound of the drum
at once he is worth ten thousand men!

You have heard the drum, so draw your sword without delay!
Your spirit is the sheath of the all-conquering Dhu al-Fiqar!

You are Husayn at Karbala, think not of water!
The only ‘water’ you will see today is the sheath of the first water!
(Mevlana Rumi, Kulliyyat 3656-62, trans. W.C. Chittick)

در نوای زندگی سوز از حسین ۔۔۔ اہل حق حریت آموز از حسین ~ اقبال

Ghalib..

جز قیس اور کوئی نہ آیا بہ روۓ کار
صحرا مگر بہ تنگیِ چشمِ حسود تھا

آشفتگی نے نقشِ سویدا کیا درست
ظاہر ہوا کہ داغ کا سرمایہ دود تھا

تھا خواب میں خیال کو تجھ سے معاملہ
جب آنکھ کھل گئی نہ زیاں تھا نہ سود تھا

لیتا ہوں مکتبِ غمِ دل میں سبق ہنوز
لیکن یہی کہ رفت گیا اور بود تھا

ڈھانپا کفن نے داغِ عیوبِ برہنگی
میں ورنہ ہر لباس میں ننگِ وجود تھا

تیشے بغیر مر نہ سکا کوہکن اسد
سرگشتۂ خمارِ رسوم و قیود تھا

..yun kehye k shaair ka kaam mehz mushahida he nahin, mujahida bhi us per farz he-gardo pesh k muztarib qatron main zindagi k dajla ka mushahida us ki benai per he, use dosron ko dekhana us ki funi dastras par, us k bahao main dakhal andaz hona us k

" shouq ki salabat aur lahu ki hararat per"................



..........................aur ye teno kaam masalsal kaawish aur jedojehd chahte hain........

--Faiz. Dast e saba





kahan se ayee nigar e saba, kidher gayee

Abhi chiraghe sar e rah ko kuch khabar nahi

"What I have lived for"



Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair. I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found. With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved. Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer. This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered to me.



Bertrand Russel (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970)

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_russel

The heart's home, first to last, is thy city of union

The disciples of Isa ibn Mariyam (AS) came to him and asked;

“O spirit of Allah, is there anyone else like you alive in our time?” He replied: “Yes indeed, Whoever has the dhikr of Allah in his heart,and is silent in thought, and who learns from what is given, surely that one is like me.”


- translated and authenticated by Hazrat Muhammad al-Ghazali

.

i.

can you hear me talking?
can you hear me
screaming, in this
silence that’s pounding inside my
head, pulsing inside my
blood and weakening me,
slowly? can you hear me?
can you
hear

me?


ii.

being around you
only makes the loneliness worse
when you leave.


iii.

‘calm down’,
they tell me.
‘just calm down.’
how?
‘deep breaths.
just take a deep breath.’

except i don’t really
want to breathe
anymore.


iv.

make it go away.
please. just make it go
away.

Amidst the shadows
In the silence of night
The sum of our fears
Materialize…

No sun to warm the skin,
No smile to soothe the soul,
Just shadows of darkness,
The unconscious self wakened…

The façade of confidence,
Slowly fades into the night.
Loneliness the reality,
The mind lost in self doubt.

It weaves insidiously,
Relentless is its power.
In silence our souls hunger,
Fears shrouded in the night.

Tormented by a self portrait,
Exposing flaws and imperfections…
Alone cloaked in shadows,
Battling against self despair…

Vanity yearns for perfection,
The ego craves validation,
The heart aches for love,
And the soul seeks peace…

Our greatest fear,
Loneliness…
The greatest sadness,
We have all known it.

"He who truly knows is the one in whom sound actions, pure supplications, truthfulness and precaution speak out; not his tongue, his debates, his comparisons, assertions or claims"


Imam Jafar Sadiq - Lantern of the Path

Now when I read words, no matter how well conscructed or beautiful, they are still words, there's a discord between recognition of meaning and image that has them dried out and stale by the time my mind has developed a reality that corresponds with their message. I am worded out. I need to be revived by the natural world.

Be Lost

Be Lost in the Call
Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you've never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn't want a crown or robe from God's grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

-
"Love is a Stranger", Kabir Helminski
Threshold Books, 1993

Holistic wisdom of Rumi

Whoever is loved is beautiful, but the opposite is not true, that whoever is beautiful is loved. Real beauty is part of loved-ness, and that loved-ness is primary. If a being is loved, he or she has beauty, because a part cannot be separate from the whole. Many girls were more beautiful than Laila, but Majnun did not love them. "Let us bring some of these to meet you," they used to say to Majnun, and he would reply, "It's not the form of Laila that I love. Laila is not the form. You're looking at the cup, whereas I think only of the wine I drink from that cup. If you gave me a chalice studded with gemstones, but filled with vinegar or something other than wine, what use would that be? An old broken dipper-gourd with Laila-wine in it is better than a hundred precious goblets full of other liquid."


Passion is present when a man can distinguish between the wine and the container. Two men see a loaf of bread. One hasn't eaten anything for ten days. The other has eaten five times a day, every day. He sees the shape of the loaf. The other man with his urgent need sees inside into the taste, and into the nourishment the bread could give. Be that hungry, to see within all beings the Friend.


Creatures are cups. The sciences and the arts and all branches of knowledge are inscriptions around the outside of the cups. When a cup shatters, the writing can no longer be read. The wine's the thing! The wine that's held in the mold of these physical cups. Drink the wine and know what lasts and what to love. The man who truly asks must be sure of two things: One, that he's mistaken in what he's doing or thinking now. And two, that there is a wisdom he doesn't know yet. Asking is half of knowing.


Everyone turns toward someone. Look for one scarred by the King's polo stick.


A man or a woman is said to be absorbed when the water has total control of him, and he no control of the water. A swimmer moves around willfully. An absorbed being has no will but the water's going. Any word or act is not really personal, but the way the water has of speaking or doing. As when you hear a voice coming out of a wall, and you know that it's not the wall talking, but someone inside, or perhaps someone outside echoing off the wall. Saints are like that. They've achieved the condition of a wall, or a door.



-Translated by Coleman Barks with A.J. Arberry

"If you come across the gardens of Paradise, then graze therein."

They asked, and what are the gardens of Paradise?

He said

"the groups of dhikr."

Come!

Without You,
I've given up on everyone else.

...

Come!

If I was asleep back then,
I'm staying sleepless right now.
Come O My Soul,
I've become a resident of the Tavern,
Till the Day of Judgment.
I've estranged myself so much
From everyone else,
That I've become a stranger to myself.

Come!

O Seeker of the World's mysteries.
Look at me:
I've become the mysteries myself.

Come!

I've already gone insane for Your Love.
If I was a flourishing town back then,
I'm nothing but ruins right now.
For Your Love,
I've even given up
On my family and households.
Out of pain of Your Love,
I've even moved in with the pain itself.
When I saw my soul
Becoming One with Your Soul,
I even became a stranger
To my very own loved ones.
I used to talk days and nights
About how Love being
simply a Myth.
Now out of Your Love,
I've become a Myth myself.


Rumi.

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.

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