Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
I'll Come back
T.S. Elliott is credited with saying ‘This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.’ I didn't understand that quote or why he named the poem ‘The Hollow Men’ until recently.
The reality, I have discovered, is that the truest pain, the truest hurt rips everything out of you. There is nothing poetic about that. There is nothing beautiful about the void, the desert that absolute suffering creates inside of you. There are times when the pain I feel is so immense that I want to rip my bones from my own body. I want to scream and sob for eternity, but nothing - absolutely nothing comes out. That is what he meant by despair. That is what he meant by the hollow men. And I am terrified of becoming one because my jaw feels broken, and my pain has blinded me. So I am desperately trying to find my voice, the voice that was taken from me, because I refuse to go gently, to go quietly into that good night.
I believe that there are hands out there searching for mine, no matter how broken mine might be. So I keep holding on, to hope, love, belief. Doesn't matter which one really, because I can’t see any of them. I still believe they are still out there. I believe those things will always save me. I believe that they, and I will continue to refuse to go quietly into the night, to rage against the dying light.
Remember every word I have said. That I will come back in time.
I will always come back.
Friday, December 5, 2014
It's like a journey to the top of the mountain
We all begin from diffrent sides
No two people can walk on exact same path
The tip of the mountain is same
But my path and vision of the top
Is diffrent from what you see
From where you stand
No one is wrong
Only the Ego to accept the other is too big
It blinds the imagination and thus rises the "I"
- Unknown
We all begin from diffrent sides
No two people can walk on exact same path
The tip of the mountain is same
But my path and vision of the top
Is diffrent from what you see
From where you stand
No one is wrong
Only the Ego to accept the other is too big
It blinds the imagination and thus rises the "I"
- Unknown
Since few years, I've been wondering what my life is asking of me. I've completely revolutionized the idea of my internal and external living. my thoughts has changed, even my focus is shifted from inwards to outward realities. Often i heard, If you're on the divine path, either you will travel inwardly or outwardly and now as i choose to be on outwardly path, quite different problems has overwhelm me. Much of it, was about those realities that i used to think only relates to human's psychological and spiritual aspects but as i grow into this pattern of life, i found out that nothing moves in separate of each other's realities and dependence.
Now you must be thinking, why am i sharing all this and as a matter of fact, its just a palaver in the domain of others life. well, i may again start writing but you'll certainly see a quite changed perspective relative to the older ones. So i thought to point this thing out, just for a flow of words.
Ciao.
Now you must be thinking, why am i sharing all this and as a matter of fact, its just a palaver in the domain of others life. well, i may again start writing but you'll certainly see a quite changed perspective relative to the older ones. So i thought to point this thing out, just for a flow of words.
Ciao.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
My ability to prioritize has greatly diminished recently – because I am temporarily in a perceptual world where I see all things horizontally or, rather, unarranged. I want to understand the value of “things” myself and then categorize them. Meanwhile, I have to surrender my ability to rank and order. And therefore, there may be no logical order in what I write in the next few posts.
Why haven’t I been writing lately? Because the audience of Pakistani blogs (particularly this blog, anyway) are usually very young readers with impressionable minds. Most of what I experience is not suitable for sharing, especially when it is in a stage of development. I myself have a young, impressionable mind and – ah, the age-old problem of the writer! – I am often very possessive of what I write. A question would very often disturb me. I don’t have to know all the times why I feel a certain thing and why I write it. It just is.
In the past few months, I have experienced previously unknown things. And I preferred not to write about them because even I did not understand them. It would not be fair to subject my readers with just a glimpse of the vast new world of experience that I have entered. After all, what means a universe’ worth to a person is just an arrangement of delightfully literate words to others. This is not to doubt the readers’ capability to understand, but my own inability to capture what I felt. I would be presenting only shallow pictures of what is a deep experience for me – and be adding nothing to the tasteful reader’s thoughts. I could write well, but could not pull the reader into… well… my world? What a cliché!
So, i will write now.
Why haven’t I been writing lately? Because the audience of Pakistani blogs (particularly this blog, anyway) are usually very young readers with impressionable minds. Most of what I experience is not suitable for sharing, especially when it is in a stage of development. I myself have a young, impressionable mind and – ah, the age-old problem of the writer! – I am often very possessive of what I write. A question would very often disturb me. I don’t have to know all the times why I feel a certain thing and why I write it. It just is.
In the past few months, I have experienced previously unknown things. And I preferred not to write about them because even I did not understand them. It would not be fair to subject my readers with just a glimpse of the vast new world of experience that I have entered. After all, what means a universe’ worth to a person is just an arrangement of delightfully literate words to others. This is not to doubt the readers’ capability to understand, but my own inability to capture what I felt. I would be presenting only shallow pictures of what is a deep experience for me – and be adding nothing to the tasteful reader’s thoughts. I could write well, but could not pull the reader into… well… my world? What a cliché!
So, i will write now.
Agreements
The First Agreement: Be impeccable with your word.
The Second Agreement: Don’t take anything personally.
The Third Agreement: Don’t make assumptions.
The Fourth Agreement: Always do your best.
The Second Agreement: Don’t take anything personally.
The Third Agreement: Don’t make assumptions.
The Fourth Agreement: Always do your best.
I want to write something heart-wrenching beautiful. I want to write something that would crawl under the readers' skin and reduce their souls to shreds. I want to write with the longing that we dare not talk about, the suffering that we carefully tuck away between layers and layers of darkness and secrets. I want my words to dance on their wildest imagination; crack their hearts open so that new light can shine through.
But I am just useless.
But I am just useless.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
- Steve Jobs
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Ya Allah! I'm unbearable. I did not pay my dues for being a human. You trusted me too much. O Allah! It were better that You had had my neck, than that I lived this long and loved You less. I love You with my soul, yet my body is thick with impurity, my mind clouded, my heart broken and cluttered. I am a hypocrite. I am a liar. I loved and feared too much, but travelled not with my feet in Your path.
O Allah, You loved me too much!
O Allah, You loved me too much!
*Sigh!*
What could have caused your grip to weaken
that allowed creation to be?
How could a lover fall to his death
from the arms of infinite
strength?
How active you are in the mind sustaining such a great wall
that the sun can cast a frightening shadow
the world believes.
No one has ever really known sadness. No real God
would ever allow pain.
How then can a heart feel it is broken and in need
if we are held in the arms of infinite
compassion and
strength?
That mirror you (God) stand before --
we need to gaze into it also.
That name you called Beloved
as I fell from your lips --
I suffer
because I did not quite
hear it;
so tell me again dear One
so clear:
I am
you.
that allowed creation to be?
How could a lover fall to his death
from the arms of infinite
strength?
How active you are in the mind sustaining such a great wall
that the sun can cast a frightening shadow
the world believes.
No one has ever really known sadness. No real God
would ever allow pain.
How then can a heart feel it is broken and in need
if we are held in the arms of infinite
compassion and
strength?
That mirror you (God) stand before --
we need to gaze into it also.
That name you called Beloved
as I fell from your lips --
I suffer
because I did not quite
hear it;
so tell me again dear One
so clear:
I am
you.
~
by: 'Hafiz'
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
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.’”
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.’”
"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
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
Clean it up!
What? Your act!
Your online and your offline act!
Please!
So you wonder why I am so vocal about cleanliness all of a sudden. Well I did my cleaning so I thought I could preach now. You can’t preach until practiced and I am done with my stuff.
What are you up to?
Piling it up?
Thinking some rainy day will give you a chance to clean it up? Ha!
Brilliant you are to think rain but chance?
You won’t get any. We wont ever get a clean slate but you can get clean inside and outside, online and offline, on street off street, it is all up to you.
What? Your act!
Your online and your offline act!
Please!
So you wonder why I am so vocal about cleanliness all of a sudden. Well I did my cleaning so I thought I could preach now. You can’t preach until practiced and I am done with my stuff.
What are you up to?
Piling it up?
Thinking some rainy day will give you a chance to clean it up? Ha!
Brilliant you are to think rain but chance?
You won’t get any. We wont ever get a clean slate but you can get clean inside and outside, online and offline, on street off street, it is all up to you.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Alive
I'm going to live in a world where the oceans are flying inside my mind,
where waterfalls are flowing down my back, where I'm bleeding forth
river after river of magic. There, I'm going to sleep inside the wings
of my lover, drink from the land of glittery shadows, and dream with my
eyes wide open. I am never going to look back on the footprints I leave
on the puddles, rather form new ones eons ahead in time. I will not take
breaths that will promise me death, rather I will take breaths that
have already and will continue to promise me life in whatever setting
possible. I will not cover my heart with my hand. Instead, I will open
my palm to capture the raindrops from the oceanic skies. And when I
think, when I spread my veins to grasp even the most complex of beings, I
will hold on to the branch wholeheartedly, only letting go when my
heart compels me to. I will not listen to everyone around me, but I will
take into account the thoughts of everyone within me. In the end of it
all, I will not just love, I will not just hate, I will not just be
happy, sad, frustrated, angry. In the end of it all, when I have finally
felt it all and, consequently, felt nothing at all, I will not just be
living. In the end of it all, I will be alive. I will be alive.
Mind
A collection of thoughts mimics every choice. A fleeting moment, a
simple chance. There is only one line that streams across the mind. I
never wanted this. I never wanted this. I never. Wanted. This. But it
happened. And it is happening. And it will happen. The thoughts only
reverberate through the most emotional of beings. Or so it is known.
Never is one able to achieve his or her purpose--at least not fully.
And so it is known. Life is only a fleeting reminder of the choices
made in the past, every ill-begotten day of the present, every deep
anticipation of the future. All a simple lie, caught inside the folds
of the world's only truth-sayers. The mind believes this not, only
varying its patterns so as to think away from these perceptions.
However, what shall occur has happened, and what will happen is
replaying scene by scene, stroke by stroke, deep inside these
simple...minds.
It’s
like a dead end you’ve come to. A wall, with the fingerprints of the
dead, with the screams still etched on each brick. And you touch the
fissures, wishing you could feel it, wishing you could rub against the
hot, hot surface. Wishing you could be caressed by each anguished
cry…and you feel it, you feel it inside your mouth. When you want it so
deep, so inside yourself, so absolutely into your soul, you feel like
nothing will let you go. And you reach toward it, reach to touch it and
to wrench every desire out of it, until nothing else is dripping but
her filthy blood, a white spread on a vermilion tablecloth. And you
touch, and you suck it in, and you taste it within the farthest reaches
of your mind, and you think, you cannot think, you cannot form a
coherent thought so as to wonder what is happening to you. This taste,
this strength, this hate, this deep, deep hatred that is taking over
everything in your body. You’ve yearned for it, you’ve wanted it, and
now, now when you have it, you feel like running from it, but you do not
for your feet just walk towards it, and your soul is carved into it and
you stay. You stay and you bleed and you feel what it can, and only it
can, give to you. And you revel in it. You absolutely bask in it, in
what it makes you feel, in the different types of hatred it shows you,
in all the ways it breaks you over and over again. And you cannot stop
anything with it anymore, you cannot stop it, you do not want to stop
it, and it will not stop; it will only take over, delve into you so
deep, so utterly within you, that it merges, and you merge with it, and
it becomes one inside of you and you become nothing inside of it..
Monday, September 24, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Bringer of wine, pass around the cup and be lavish!
for love that seemed easy at first turned out to be full of struggle.
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…
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.
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!’
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?
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.
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.
let go of the world when you come to her, surrendering all.
-
Hafiz Shirazi
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
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
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
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
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 ! :)
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 ! :)
Friday, February 3, 2012
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
- Omar bin Al-Khattab
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
‘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)
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)
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
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.
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
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.’
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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.”
“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.”
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
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.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
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
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
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
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."
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
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
Friday, October 7, 2011
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
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
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
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....
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....
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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)
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.
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.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
"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
~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
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
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
Thursday, June 9, 2011
"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
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
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