My Notes

The Day of Friday and its Night

2012-01-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " أَكْثِرُوا الصَّلاةَ عَلَيَّ فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الزَّهْرَاءِ وَالْيَوْمِ الأَزْهَرِ ، فَإِنَّ صَلاتَكُمْ تُعْرَضُ عَلَيَّ "

Al-Tabarni: al-Mu'jam al-Awsat

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَكْثِرُوا الصَّلَاةَ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ ؛ فَإِنَّهَا مَعْرُوضَةٌ عَلَيَّ

Ibn Abi Shayba: al-Musannaf

رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْجُمُعَةِ وَلَيْلَةُ الْجُمُعَةِ ، فَأَكْثِرُوا الصَّلاةَ عَلَيَّ

Imam al-Shafi'i: al-Musnad & Kitab al-Umm

عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَيَّ صَلَاةً صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ بِهَا عَشْرَ صَلَوَاتٍ ، وَمَحَا عَنْهُ عَشْرَ سَيِّئَاتٍ ، وَأَثْبَتَ لَهُ عَشْرَ حَسَنَاتٍ ، وَاسْتَبَقَ مَلَكَاهُ الْمُوَكَّلَانِ بِهِ أَيُّهُمَا يُبَلِّغُ رُوحِي مِنْهُ السَّلَامَ " ، قَالَ : وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " أَكْثِرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ ، فَإِنَّهُ يَوْمٌ تُضَاعَفُ فِيهِ الْأَعْمَالُ ، وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لِيَ الدَّرَجَةَ الْوَسِيلَةَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ " ، قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، وَمَا الدَّرَجَةُ الْوَسِيلَةُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ ؟ قَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " هِيَ أَعْلَى دَرَجَةٍ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ لَا يَنَالُهَا إِلَّا نَبِيٌّ ،

وَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَنَا هُوَ " ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Imam Zaid bin Ali bin al-Husayn: al-Musnad

قال رسول اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " أَكْثِرُوا عَلَيَّ الصَّلاةَ فِي يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ ، وَلَيْلَةِ الْجُمُعَةِ ، فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ كُنْتُ لَهُ شَهِيدًا ، وَشَافِعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ "

Al-Bayhaqi: Shu'ab al-Iman

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَكْثِرُوا عَلَيَّ مِنَ الصَّلاةِ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمِ جُمُعَةٍ ، فَإِنَّ صَلاةَ أُمَّتِي تُعْرَضُ عَلَيَّ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمِ جُمُعَةٍ ، فَمَنْ كَانَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ عَلَيَّ صَلاةً كَانَ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مِنِّي مَنْزِلَةً

Al-Bayhaqi: Al-Sunan al-Kubra

Power of Certainty

2012-01-14T00:10:00.000-08:00

عَن عَبْد الله بْن مَسْعُود ، أَنَّهُ قرأ فِي أذن مبتلى فأفاق ، فقال لَهُ رسول الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ما قرأت فِي أذنه ؟ قَالَ : قرأتُ أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا (سورة المؤمنون) حتى فرغ من السورة ، فقال رسول الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : والذي نفسي بيده لو أن رجلاً موقنا قرأ بِهَا عَلَى جبلٍ لزال

Al-Shawkani:

وقد قال أحمد : إنه موضوع . وإنه حديث الكذابين ، وتعقبه صاحب اللآلئ : بأنه أخرجه أبو يعلى بإسناد رجاله رجال الصحيح سوى ابن لهيعة ، وحنش الصنعاني ، وحديثهما حسن وأخرجه أبو نعيم في الحلية

Al-Suyuti:
وأخرجه الخطيب وأخرجه ابن أبي حاتِم فِي التفسير وأخرجه ابن مردويه وأخرجه الحكيم الترمذي
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Someone asked the Prophet Isa alayhi assalam:

"How are you able to walk upon water?" He said: "With certainty." Someone said: "But we also have certainty!" He said to them: "Are stones, clay, and gold all equal in your eyes?" They replied: "No!" The Prophet 'Isa peace be upon him said: "They are in mine." (As reported by imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

The Prophet Isa also said:
"If the son of Adam had an atom's weight of faith, he would walk upon water." (As reported by imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

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عَنْ وُهَيْبٍ الْمَكِّيِّ , قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " لَوْ عَرَفْتُمُ اللَّهَ حَقَّ مَعْرِفَتِهِ لَعَلِمْتُمُ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي لَيْسَ مَعَهُ جَهْلٌ ، وَلَوْ عَرَفْتُمُ اللَّهَ حَقَّ مَعْرِفَتِهِ لَزَالَتِ الْجِبَالُ بِدُعَائِكُمْ , وَمَا أُتِيَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ شَيْئًا إِلا مَا لَمْ يُؤْتَ مِنْهُ أَكْثَرُ مِمَّا أُتِيَ , قَالَ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ : وَلا أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ : وَلا أَنَا "

(Mursal. Al-Bayhaqi: Kitab al-Zuhd al-Kabir, Abu Nu'aym: al-Hilya).

Hearts of Wolves

2011-12-29T02:46:00.000-08:00

"There will come a time upon the people when the Qur'an shall become ruins and disappear from their chests; they shall find no sweetness or delight in it. If they fall short in what they've been commanded with, they say 'Allah is All-Forgiving and He is the Most Merciful' and if they do what they've been prohibited from doing, they say 'We shall be forgiven for we have not associated anything in worship with Allah.' Their entire affair is covetousness with no truth or sincerity. They wear sheep's clothing over the hearts of wolves and the best of them in his Deen ends up being the deceitful and hypocritical one.'"

- Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd.

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سنن الدارمي » وَمِنْ كِتَابِ فَضَائِلِ الْقُرْآنِ » بَاب فِي تَعَاهُدِ الْقُرْآنِ

عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ ، قَالَ : سَيَبْلَى الْقُرْآنُ فِي صُدُورِ أَقْوَامٍ كَمَا يَبْلَى الثَّوْبُ ، فَيَتَهَافَتُ ، يَقْرَءُونَهُ لَا يَجِدُونَ لَهُ شَهْوَةً وَلَا لَذَّةً ، يَلْبَسُونَ جُلُودَ الضَّأْنِ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الذِّئَابِ ، أَعْمَالُهُمْ طَمَعٌ لَا يُخَالِطُهُ خَوْفٌ ، إِنْ قَصَّرُوا ، قَالُوا : سَنَبْلُغُ ، وَإِنْ أَسَاءُوا ، قَالُوا : سَيُغْفَرُ لَنَا ، إِنَّا لَا نُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا

The Secret of Honey

2011-12-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

“Eating it cures the spiritual diseases if it is eaten with that intention, and gives one gnosis and lights, by the traces of revelation in it, as God says, “Your Lord gave revelation to the bees” (16:68)…. until “Therein is a remedy for men” (16:69). Indeed the sweetness of the divine address became infiltrated into bees and has remained in their progeny who inherit it from generation to generation. They eat bitter things that become sweet in their stomach, as one observes. Thus therein is a remedy for men both physically and spiritually because its fundament is the divine address which is the Qur’an, the word of God. And the Qur’an is a remedy for what is in man’s breast, and right guidance and mercy for the believers.”

- Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris

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Al-Tabari said in his tafsir of 16:69

حدثنا نصر بن عبد الرحمن، قال: ثنا الـمـحاربـيّ، عن لـيث، عن مـجاهد: { فِـيهِ شِفـاءٌ للنَّاسِ } قال: فـي القرآن شفـاء.

So it could be said that imam Mujahid was attributing the healing that is in honey to the Qur'an that is within it.

Names in the World of the Unseen

2011-12-25T03:09:00.000-08:00

وقال سيدي ابن السنوسي رضي الله عنه مرة للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: أين سيدنا أبو بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه؟
فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: هو مع شيخك الشفاء، أي أبن إدريس

- السيرة النبوية المحمدية المسماة بالأقمار النورانية

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قال بقية عن عيسى بن أبي رزين حدثني الخزاعي عن عمر بن عبد العزيز أنه رأى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله في روضة خضراء فقال له: إنك ستولى أمر أمتي فزع عن الدم فزع عن الدم، فإن إسمك في الناس عمر بن عبد العزيز، واسمك عند الله جابر

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Abu Madyan, writes Shaykh al-Akbar... was known in the higher world under the name of Abu-l-Naja.

- Addas, Claud, "Abu Madyan and Ibn 'Arabi."

Dhann

2011-11-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

Could mean Ilm yaqin

( وظن داود انما فتناه )

الظن مستعار للعلم الاستدلالى لما بينهما من المشابهة. يعنى ان الظن الغالب لما كان يقارب العلم استعير له فالظن يقين لكنه ليس بيقين عيان فلا يقال فيه الا العلم

- تفسير روح البيان

Salawat of Imam Shafi'i

2011-11-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

فصلى الله على نبينا محمد كلما ذكره الذاكرون وغفل عن ذكره الغافلون وصلى عليه في الأولين والآخرين أفضل وأكثر وأزكى ما صلى على أحد من خلقه وزكانا وإياكم بالصلاة عليه أفضل ما زكى أحداً من أمته بصلاته عليه
السلام عليه ورحمة الله وبركاته وجزاه الله عنا أفضل ما جزى مرسلاً عمن أرسل إليه

- Al-Risala of imam al-Shafi'i radi Allahu anhu.

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اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ بِعَدَدِ مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَيْهِ وَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ بِعَدَدٍ مَنْ لَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَيْهِ وَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا أَمَرْتَ بِالصَّلاَةِ عَلَيْهِ وَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا تُحِبُّ أَنْ يُصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ وَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا تَنْبَغِي الصَّلاَةُ عَلَيْهِ.

- Abul Abbas Ibn Mindil in his commentary on the Dalail said that Imam Shafi'i was seen in a dream, and when he was asked what was done to him after death, he said: I was forgiven.

He was asked: Because of what?

He said: Because of five words (phrases) with which I used to send blessings upon the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Syriac-Hebrew Dua

2011-09-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

اهيا شراهيا ادوناي اصباؤت
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{ قَالاَ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَآ أَوْ أَن يَطْغَىٰ } * { قَالَ لاَ تَخَافَآ إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ } * { فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولاۤ إِنَّا رَسُولاَ رَبِّكَ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِيۤ إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلاَ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَٱلسَّلاَمُ عَلَىٰ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ } * { إِنَّا قَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْنَآ أَنَّ ٱلْعَذَابَ عَلَىٰ مَن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ }

وقال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أبي، حدثنا علي بن محمد الطنافسي، حدثنا أبو معاوية عن الأعمش عن عمرو بن مرة، عن أبي عبيدة عن عبد الله قال: لما بعث الله عز وجل موسى إلى فرعون، قال: رب أي شيء أقول؟ قال: قل: هيا شراهيا. قال الأعمش: فسر ذلك: أنا الحي قبل كل شيء، والحي بعد كل شيء، إسناده جيد، وشيء غريب،

- Tafseer Ibn Kathir

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Jews also call God Adonai (אֲדֹנָי), the Hebrew for "my lords", from adon "lord, owner." The singular form is Adoni, "my lord." The plural form is usually explained as pluralis excellentiae. The pronunciation of the tetragrammaton came to be avoided by the Hellenistic period. Jews use Adonai instead in prayers.

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- أصبأوت وهي صباؤوت: كلمة عبريّة تعني "القوات" أو "الجنود"

Dua of Musa

2011-08-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

(On level of Ishara)

اللهم اشرح لي صدري، ووسعه لمعرفتك، ويسر لي أمري في السير إلى حضرة قدسك، واحلل عقدة الكون من قلبي ولساني، حتى لا أعقد إلا على محبتك، ولا أتكلم إلا بذكرك وشكرك، كما قال الشاعر:
فإن تكلمتُ لم أنطق بغيركم وإن صَمَتُّ فأنتم عَقْدُ إضماري
واجعل لي وزيرًا من أهلي، وهو شيخي، اشدد به أزري، وأشركه في أمري، حتى يتوجه بكلية همته إلى سري، كي ننزهك تنزيهًا كثيرًا، بحيث لا نرى معك غيرك، ونذكرك كثيرًا، بحيث لا نفتر عن ذكرك بالقلب أو الروح أو السر، إنك كنت بنا بصيرًا.

The Dunya and the Righteous

2011-08-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

الإشارة: يقال للفقير: وما تلك بيمينك أيها الفقير؟ فيقول: هي دنياي أعتمد عليها في معاشي وقيام أموري، وأُنفق منها على عيالي، ولي فيها حوائج أخرى؛ من الزينة والتصدق وفعل الخير، فيقال له: ألقها من يدك أيها الفقير، واخرج عنها، أو أخرجها من قلبك إن تيسر ذلك مع الغيبة عنها، فألقاها وخرج عنها، فيلقيها، فإذا هي حية كانت تلدغه وتسعى في هلاكه وهو لا يشعر. فلما تمكن من اليقين، وحصل على غاية التمكين، قيل له: خذها ولا تخف منها، حيث رفضت الأسباب، وعرفت مسبب الأسباب، فاستوى عندك وجودها وعدمها، ومنعها وإعطاؤها، سنعيدها سيرتها الأولى، تأخذ منها مأربك، وتخدمك ولا تخدمها. يقول الله تعالى: " يا دنياي، اخدمي من خدمني، وأتعبي من خدمك ".

وأما قوله تعالى: في حديث آخر مرفوعًا: " تمرري على أوليائي ولا تحلو لهم فتفتنهم عني " ، فالمراد بالمرارة: ما يصيبهم من الأهوال والأمراض وتعب الأسفار، وإيذاء الفجار وغير ذلك.

وقد يلحقهم الفقر الظاهر شرفًا لهم، لقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " الفقر فخري وبه أفتخر " ، أو كما قال عليه السلام إن صح. وقال شيخنا البوزيدي رضي الله عنه: الحديث الأول: في الصالحين المتوجهين من أهل الظاهر، والثاني - يعني تمرري... الخ - في الأولياء العارفين من أهل الباطن. هـ.

- Tafseer Ibn Ajiba (20: 19-21)

The Reality of Belief

2011-08-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ مِسْمَارٍ ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ , قَالَ لِحَارِثِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ : " كَيْفَ أَنْتَ ؟ أَوْ مَا أَنْتَ يَا حَارِثُ ؟ قَالَ : مُؤْمِنٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، قَالَ : مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا ؟ ، قَالَ : مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا ، قَالَ : فَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ حَقٍّ حَقِيقَةً ، فَمَا حَقِيقَةُ ذَلِكَ ؟ قَالَ : عَزَفَتْ نَفْسِي عَنِ الدُّنْيَا ، فَأَسْهَرْتُ لَيْلِي ، وَأَظْمَأْتُ نَهَارِي ، وَكَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى عَرْشِ رَبِّي عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ، وَكَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَتَزَاوَرُونَ فِيهَا ، وَكَأَنِّي أَسْمَعُ عُوَاءَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مُؤْمِنٌ نَوَّرَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ " ، قَالَ ابْنُ الْوَرَّاقِ : قَالَ ابْنُ صَاعِدٍ : وَلا أَعْلَمُ صَالِحَ بْنَ مِسْمَارٍ أَسْنَدَ إِلا حَدِيثًا وَاحِدًا .

- Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Zuhd wal-Raqa'iq
- Abd al-Razzaq, Tafseer al-Qur'an
- Al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman

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Tafseer (20: 70)

{ فَأُلْقِيَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سُجَّداً قَالُوۤاْ آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَىٰ }

وقال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا علي بن الحسين، حدثنا محمد بن علي بن حمزة، حدثنا علي بن الحسين بن واقد عن أبيه عن يزيد النحوي عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال: كانت السحرة سبعين رجلاً، أصبحوا سحرة، وأمسوا شهداء. قال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أبي، حدثنا المسيب بن واضح بمكة، حدثنا ابن المبارك قال: قال الأوزاعي: لما خر السحرة سجداً، رفعت لهم الجنة حتى نظروا إليها، قال: وذكر عن سعيد بن سلام، حدثنا إسماعيل بن عبد الله بن سليمان عن سالم الأفطس عن سعيد بن جبير قوله: { فَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سُجَّداً } قال: رأوا منازلهم تبنى لهم وهم في سجودهم، وكذا قال عكرمة والقاسم بن أبي بزة.

- Ibn Katheer

Musa's Message to Pharoah

2011-08-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

وقوله: { ٱذْهَبْ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَىٰ } قال وهب بن منبه: قال الله لموسى: انطلق برسالتي، فإنك بسمعي وعيني، وإن معك أيدي ونصري، وإني قد ألبستك جنة من سلطاني، لتستكمل بها القوة في أمري، فأنت جند عظيم من جندي، بعثتك إلى خلق ضعيف من خلقي، بطر نعمتي، وأمن مكري، وغرته الدنيا عني حتى جحد حقي، وأنكر ربوبيتي، وزعم أنه لا يعرفني، فإني أقسم بعزتي لولا القدر الذي وضعت بيني وبين خلقي، لبطشت به بطشة جبار يغضب لغضبه السموات والأرض والجبال والبحار، فإن أمرت السماء حصبته، وإن أمرت الأرض ابتلعته، وإن أمرت الجبال دمرته، وإن أمرت البحار غرقته، ولكنه هان علي، وسقط من عيني، ووسعه حلمي، واستغنيت بما عندي وحقي، إني أنا الغني لاغني غيري، فبلغه رسالتي، وادعه إلى عبادتي، وتوحيدي وإخلاصي، وذكره أيامي، وحذره نقمتي وبأسي، وأخبره أنه لا يقوم شيء لغضبي، وقل له فيما بين ذلك قولاً ليناً؛ لعله يتذكر أو يخشى، وأخبره أني إلى العفو والمغفرة أسرع مني إلى الغضب والعقوبة، ولا يروعنك ما ألبسته من لباس الدنيا، فإن ناصيته بيدي، ليس ينطق ولا يطرف ولا يتنفس إلا بإذني، وقل له: أجب ربك؛ فإنه واسع المغفرة، وقد أمهلك أربعمائة سنة، في كلها أنت مبارزه بالمحاربة، تسبه وتتمثل به، وتصد عباده عن سبيله، وهو يمطر عليك السماء، وينبت لك الأرض، لم تسقم ولم تهرم ولم تفتقر ولم تغلب، ولو شاء الله أن يعجل لك العقوبة لفعل، ولكنه ذو أناة وحلم عظيم، وجاهده بنفسك وأخيك، وأنتما تحتسبان بجهاده، فإني لو شئت أن آتيه بجنود لا قبل له بها لفعلت، ولكن ليعلم هذا العبد الضعيف الذي قد أعجبته نفسه وجموعه أن الفئة القليلة، ولا قليل مني، تغلب الفئة الكثيرة بإذني، ولا تعجبنكما زينته، ولا ما متع به، ولا تمدا إلى ذلك أعينكما؛ فإنها زهرة الحياة الدنيا، وزينة المترفين، ولو شئت أن أزينكما من الدنيا بزينة ليعلم فرعون حين ينظر إليها أن مقدرته تعجز عن مثل ما أوتيتما، فعلت، ولكني أرغب بكما عن ذلك، وأزويه عنكما، وكذلك أفعل بأوليائي، وقديماً ما جرت عادتي في ذلك، فإني لأذودهم عن نعيمها وزخارفها؛ كما يذود الراعي الشفيق إبله عن مبارك الغرة، وما ذاك لهوانهم علي، ولكن لسيتكملوا نصيبهم في دار كرامتي سالماً موفراً لم تكلمه الدنيا، واعلم أنه لا يتزين لي العباد بزينة هي أبلغ فيما عندي من الزهد في الدنيا، فإنها زينة المتقين، عليهم منها لباس يعرفون به من السكينة والخشوع، وسيماهم في وجوههم من أثر السجود، أولئك أوليائي حقاً حقاً، فإذا لقيتهم، فاخفض لهم جناحك، وذلل قلبك ولسانك، وأعلم أنه من أهان لي ولياً، أو أخافه، فقد بارزني بالمحاربة، وبادأني، وعرض لي نفسه، ودعاني إليها، وأنا أسرع شيء إلى نصرة أوليائي، أفيظن الذي يحاربني أن يقوم لي؟ أم يظن الذي يعاديني أن يعجزني؟ أم يظن الذي يبارزني أن يسبقني أو يفوتني؟ وكيف وأنا الثائر لهم في الدنيا والآخرة لا أكل نصرتهم إلى غيري؟ رواه ابن أبي حاتم

- Tafsir Ibn Kathir (20:24)

Tafseer of Aya of Nabi Yunus

2011-06-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

(alayhi assalam)

وقال رضي الله تعالى عنه : قال الله تعالى (وذا النون إذ ذهب مغاضباً فظن أن لن نقدر عليه فنادى في الظلمات أن لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك إني كنت من الظالمين)

فقوله (فظن أن لن نقدر عليه) أي نضيق عليه ، كقوله تعالى (وأما إذا ما ابتلاه فقدر عليه رزقه) أي ضيق عليه رزقه ، وقوله تعالى (يبسط الرزق لمن شاء من عباده ويقدر) لأنه لا يظن أحد أن الله لا يقدر عليه ، فما ظنك بالنبي

ثم لما ظن هذا الظن ضيقنا عليه في ظلمات ثلاث لأنه أوقف الرحمة عليه ولم يطلقها عليه وعلى قومه ، فضيقنا عليه ووسعنا على قومه ، قال تعالى (إلا قوم يونس لما آمنوا كشفنا عنهم عذاب الخزي في الحياة الدنيا ومتعناهم إلى حين) فهم ممتعون باقون في الحياة

ولكن هذا التضييق من الحق تعالى لنبيه يونس عليه الصلاة والسلام هو عين التوسيع لأنه تأديب ، وأي توسيع أعظم من تأديب المولى لعبده وبه الفوز والفلاح والنجاة

- Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris, radi Allahu anhu wa ardah.

قال (سيدي الشيخ عبد العزيز الدباغ) رضي الله عنه

معنى مغاضبا أي غاضبا عليهم حيث تركوا ما فيه رشدهم وصلاحهم من الإيمان به والاستسلام لأمره حتى نزل بهم أمر الله تعالى وعذابه بحسب ما يظهر للناظر، فإن العذاب كان فوق مساكنهم، فلما رأى ذلك يونس عليه السلام فغضب

....

إنه لما رأى العذاب نازلا بقومه وظن أنه إن بقي معهم أصابه ما أصابهم فر منهم ظانا أنه لا يصيبه ما أصابهم لأجل فراره، فأراه الله تعالى نوعا آخر من القدرة لم يكن في ظنه عليه السلام.... ففراره عليه السلام لظنه النجاة من العذاب النازل بقومه لا إعجازا للقدرة وخروجا عن إحاطة سيده به

- Ibriz

Notes on some Ansaab

2011-06-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Notes on the nasab of Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari

(Based on info from the nasab of shaykh Husni al-Sharif)

He is the imam, shaykh Salih,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Salih,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Rifa’i,

bin as-sayyid Salheen,

bin as-sayyid Ahmad,

bin as-sayyid Omar,

bin as-sayyid Omran,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Murjan,

bin as-sayyid Hammouda,

bin as-sayyid Abd al-Karim,

bin as-sayyid Husayn,

bin as-sayyid Nasir,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad who was known as “Shaklab,”

bin as-sayyid Hamri,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Ahmad,

bin as-sayyid Abdullah who was known as "al-Mubarak,”

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Ali al-Alawi,

bin al-amir (Prince) Hamad,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad abu Ja’afer,

bin as-sayyid Yousef,

bin as-sayyid Ibrahim al-Maghrebi,

bin as-sayyid Abdul Mohsin, ****

bin as-sayyid Husayn al-Fasi,

bin as-sayyid Muhammad Abu Nama,

bin as-sayyid (Abu al-Qasim) Musa al-Jouni,

bin as-sayyid Yahya,

bin as-sayyid ‘Isa,

bin as-sayyid Ali at-Taqi, ***

bin as-sayyid Muhammad who was given the title of “al-Mahdi”, **

bin as-sayyid al-Hassan al-Khalis who was known as “Al-‘Askary,”*

bin as-sayyid Ali al-Hadi, [Surra man ra'aa]

bin as-sayyid Muhammad al-Jawad, [Baghdad]

bin as-sayyid Ali ar-Rida, [Khurasan]

bin as-sayyid Musa al-Kadhim, [Baghdad]

bin as-sayyid Ja’far as-Sadiq, [al-Baqi']

bin as-sayyid Muhammad al-Baqir,

bin as-sayyid al-imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin,

bin mawlana al-imam al-Husayn,

bin al-imam Ali the husband of the pure lady sayyida Fatima al-Zahraa,

the daughter of our Prophet sayyidna Muhammad, the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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* It is possible (according to the nasab of the mashaykh of al-Tariqa al-Khalwatiyya al-Jami'a al-Rahmaniyya) that Muhammad al-Akbar was not the son of al-Hasan al-Askari but the son Ali al-Hadi. And therefore al-Hasan al-Askari would not be in the sanad.

** In the sanad above, it says (Abu Ja'far) Muhammad al-Akbar.

*** In the sanad above, he is located in al-Basra, which means that it wasn't his father Muhammad who fled to the Maghreb, as is assumed in the narrative in which Muhammad is the son of Hasan al-Askari.

**** The brother of sayyid Uthman, amir of al-Saqiya al-Hamraa' in Morocco (r. 345-399 H.), whose son was sayyid Ali from Matarta ( مطرطه ). His son was sayyid Umar (al-Saqiya al-Hamraa'), and his son was sayyid Abdallah (Suess) *****. His son was Ja'far al-Muhanna (emir of al-Madina al-Munawwara). His son was Izz al-Din al-Qasim (who participated in all the battles of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi) and was buried in al-Madina al-Munawwara. His son was sayyid Abdallah (Tunis). His son was al-'arif billah Muhammad al-Saqawati (al-Khalil, Palestine).

http://www.daraleman.org/tarika/Silsilah.htm

***** Abdallah bin Umar was the brother of Muhammad, ancestor of the Mirghani family, whose grandson Muhammad al-Mirkhud al-Bukhari bin Ismail is the one who migrated from the Maghreb to Bukhara for a while, and then to Khurasan.

A third brother of Abdallah bin Umar and Muhammad bin Umar is:

Ismail Abul Sibaa', the grandfather of Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi. (See below)

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The Nasab of Shaykh Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani

(Beginning with his grandfather)

الشريف محمد أبى بكر بن السيد عبدالله المحجوب الميرغنى بن السيد إبراهيم بن السيدحسن بن السيد محمد أمين بن السيد على الميرغنى "الملقب بأمير غنى" (النازل من خراسان إلى مكة المكرمة وأقام بها بأرض الحجاز) بن السيد حسن ميرخود بن عبدالله بن على حيدر ميرخود بن حسن بن أحمد بن على بن ابراهيم بن يحيى بن حسن بن أبى بكر بن على بن محمد الميرخود البخارى (الذى إنتقل من بلاد المغرب إلى بلاد بخارى وأقام بها مدة ثم إنتقل منها إلى خراسان) بن إسماعيل بن محمد ("شقيق السيد إسماعيل أبى السباع جد سيدى أحمد البدوى") بن عمر بن على بن عثمان بن السيد الحسين الفاسى المغربى المتصل نسبه بالامام أبوالحسن على الهادى بن الامام محمد القانع الجواد بن الامام أبوالحسن على الرضا بن الامام موسى الكاظم بن الامام أبى عبدالله جعفرالصادق بن الامام أبوجعفر محمد الباقر بن الامام أبى محمد على زين العابدين السجاد بن الامام ابى عبدالله الحسين السبط الشهيد بن الامام على الكرار كرم الله وجهه وبن السيدة فاطمة الزهراء البتول بنت سيدنا ومولانا محمد رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وعلى اله وذريته وصحبه وسلم )

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The correct nasab of Shaykh Badr (aka Badr al-Din or Badr al-'Iraqi) who settled in Wadi al-Nusoor in Palestine, and from whom many Palestinian families are descended.

بدر ****

محمد

يوسف

بدران

(جمال الدين) يعقوب

(غياث الدين)مطر *****

(زكي الدين) سالم ******

محمد

(أبا عبدالله) محمد

زيد

(أبا عبد الله) ناصر

(أبا القاسم) حمزة (العريضي)

عبد الله

(أبا جعفر) محمد

(أبا الحسن) علي *******

(أبا محمد) عبيد الله (إبن الحسنية)

أحمد (الشعراني)

(أبا الحسن) علي (العريضي) ********

جعفر الصادق

محمد الباقر

علي زين العابدين

الحسين بن علي

فاطمة الزهراء

رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

**** السيد بدر أول من وفد من العراق إلى بيت المقدس وسكن في وادي النسور ظاهر بيت المقدس. توفي سنة ٦٥٠ هجري ودفن بزاويته. "خلاصة أهل العصر المجتمع فيه فضائلهم بجميع أدوات الحصر. ذي الكرامات الباهرة والسجايا الطاهرة وله قدم في الولاية عالية والمسامع بآثاره البهية حالية."

***** روي عن الشيخ أبو الوفا أنه كان يقول لابن أخيه مطر بن سالم: إنك وارث حالي وقالي.

****** أخ محمد تاج الدين أبي الوفا. ويقال أن أبا الوفا كان حصورا. فسائر الوفائية المنسوبين إليه إنما هم من ولد أخيه نسبوا إلى أخي جدهم تبركا وشهرة ومثل ذلك كثير.

******* جد بني الحسنية بالمراغة. أما إبنه أبا جعفر محمد: تفرد بذكره أبو إسماعيل الطباطبي النسابة وقال: عقبه بيزد لهم رياسة وحشمة وجاه.

******** علي ابن جعفر يكنى أبا الحسن ويلقب بالعريضي لسكناه بالعريض وهي قرية على أربعة أميال من المدينة. وهو أصغر ولد أبيه، وأمه أم ولد. روى عن أخيه موسى الكاظم وعن ابن عم أبيه الحسين ابن زيد الشهيد وكان إماما محدثا جليلا مات سنة ٢١٠. روى عنه إبناه محمد وأحمد وحفيده عبد الله بن الحسين. وأعقب من جعفر والحسين وعيسى ومحمد وأحمد الأخير الملقب بالشعراني الذي روى عن أبيه، له ثلاثة معقبون علي والحسين وعبيد الله.

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بناء على التصحيح الذي جاء في:

مرتضى الزبيدي: رفع نقاب الخفا عمن انتمى لوفا وأبي الوفا

Maa3oon

2011-05-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

وسئل الشيخ أحمد بن إدريس رضي الله عنه

(...عن قوله تعالى : (فويل للمصلين الذين هم عن

فأجاب

هم الذين يصلون وقلوبهم مشتغلة بغير الله سبحانه وتعالى ، انظر إلى المصلي إذا توجه إلى غير الكعبة ، هل تصح صلاته ؟ كذلك إذا توجه بقلبه إلى غير الله تعالى بل توجهه بقلبه إلى الله تعالى أحق من أن يتوجه بقالبه إلى الكعبة ، فوصفهم سبحانه وتعالى بأنهم : (عن صلاتهم ساهون الذي هم يراؤن) يعني يصلون بقوالبهم لا بقلوبهم ، ألا يراؤون ، والرياء هو الشرك نسأل الله السلام والعافية (ويمنعون الماعون) وهو الإناء يعني أن الله سبحانه وتعالى خلق آدم ، وخلق قلبه إناء له سبحانه وتعالى ، فمنعه وشغله بغيره ، وكذلك جميع الذات لم يخلقها الله تعالى إلا ماعوناً ، أي إناء لذكره وعبادته ، بدليل قوله سبحانه وتعالى : (وما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون) وقوله تعالى لموسى : (واصطنعتك لنفسي) فإذا منعتها مما خلقت له ، وشغلتها بغير ما خلقت له ، فأنت ممن يمنع الماعون

وما فسر المفسرون في الماعون داخل تحت هذا المعنى ، فإن يعقوب عليه الصلاة والسلام لما اشتد حبه ليوسف ، والقلب لا يسع إلا الواحد ، فرقه عنه تأديباً له ، ثم خفى عليه وهو في الجب بالقرب منه لما أراد أن يفرقه عنه ، وحين أراد اتصاله به ، وجد ريحه من مصر إلى كنعان ، فسبحان القادر لا إله إلا هو ، وكذلك إبراهيم عليه الصلاة والسلام لما عظم في قلبه حب إسماعيل ، وذلك لكونه بشر به ، وقد بلغه الكبر وامرأته عاقر ، فبلغ به الحب إلى الغاية ، فبلاه الرب جل وعلا بذلك البلاء العظيم ، وهو ذبحه له ، فسلم غاية التسليم ، ثم فداه الله سبحانه بذبح عظيم ، وهذا كذلك لكون القلب لا يسع إلا الواحد ، مع كونه قد عظم حب إسماعيل فابتلاه بذلك ؛ ليخلي قلبه له جل وعلا

:والذبيح إسماعيل بلا شك ، لا كما قيل : هو إسحاق ، لثلاثة أدلة

الأول : أن الله سبحانه وتعالى ذكر قصة الذبيح إلى آخرها ، ثم قال : (وبشرناه بإسحاق) وذلك الترتيب في كتاب الله تعالى تقتضي الحكمة فيه ذلك

الثاني : أن إسحاق لم ينقل أحد ولم يسمع أنه سكن مكة ، بخلاف إسماعيل فالنص القرآني (وعهدنا إلى إبراهيم وإسماعيل أن طهرا بيتي للطائفين والعاكفين والركع السجود وإذ يرفع إبراهيم القواعد من البيت وإسماعيل) والذبح وقع بمنى

الثالث : أن الله سبحانه وتعالى بشر إبراهيم بإسحاق ، ومن وراء إسحاق يعقوب في حالة واحدة ، ولو كان إسحاق لما صح الابتلاء ، وهو يعلم أن في صلبه يعقوب ، كما بشره الله به

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I say: If the usual meaning of "maa3oon" is taken, then the meaning returns to the act of giving in charity or lending things to others. So it begins with the hypocrites not giving and ends with them not giving, and describes their prayer in between. And perhaps that is because the prayer is the main pillar and heart of the religion, and the main symbol of the relationship with the Creator. So if the relationship with Allah (the heart of the deen) is empty, then the relationship with the created beings become empty, because they are corrected if the relationship with the Creator is corrected first. The relationship with the created beings is like the body, and the relationship with the Creator is the heart of that body. If the relationship with the Creator is correct, the relationship with the created beings, and the outward acts of the person and their interactions with others, will be correct.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is showing the corruptness of their outward acts, and then showing that its heart, the prayer, is empty in the first place, and that is why the prayer is mentioned in the heart of the sura, between examples of outward relationship to others. wAllahu a'lam.

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Interesting points by al-Biqa'i:

On transition from first two verses to the prayer:

ولما كان هذا حاله مع الخلائق، أتبعه حاله مع الخالق إعلاماً بأن كلاًّ منهما دالّ على خراب القلب وموجب لمقت الرب، وأعظم الإهانة والكرب

On transition from prayer to maa3oon:

ولما كان من كان بهذه الصفة ربما فعل قليل الخير دون جليله رياء، بين أنهم غلب عليهم الشح حتى أنهم مع كثرة الرياء منهم لم يقدروا على أن يراؤوا بهذا الشيء التافه، فانسلخوا من جميع خلال المكارم، فقال إبلاغاً في ذمهم إشعاراً بأن أحب الخلق إلى الله أنفعهم لعياله: { ويمنعون } أي على تجدد الأوقات، وحذف المفعول الأول تعمماً حتى يشمل كل أحد وإن جل وعظمت منزلته ولطف محله من قلوبهم تعريفاً بأنهم بلغوا من الرذالة دركة ليس وراءها للحسد موضع { الماعون } أي حقوق الأموال والشيء اليسير من المنافع مثل إعارة التافه من متاع البيت التي جرت عادة الناس أن يتعاوروه بينهم، ويمنعون أهل الحاجة ما أوجب الله لهم في أموالهم من الحقوق، والحاصل أنه ينبغي حمل ذلك على منع ما يجب بذله مثل فضل الكلأ والماء والزكاة ونحوه ليكون موجباً للويل، وعلى الزكاة حمله علي وابن عمر رضي الله عنهما والحسن وقتادة، قال العلماء: هو مأخوذ من المعن، وهو في اللغة الشيء اليسير، ولذلك فسره بعضهم بالماء وبعضهم بما يعار من المتاع نحو القدر والفأس.

والدلو، وبعضهم بالزكاة لأنه لا يؤخذ من المال على وجه الزكاة إلا شيء يسير جداً بالنسبة إليه، وقيل: هو كل عطية أو منفعة وقال قطرب: هو فاعول من المعن، والمعن: المعروف، وقال أبو عبيدة: الماعون في الجاهلية العطاء والمنفعة وفي الإسلام الزكاة، وقال الهروي: قال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما: هو العارية - ذكر هذا الأستاذ عبد الحق الإشبيلي في كتابه الواعي، وقال ابن جرير: وأصل الماعون من كل شيء منفعته. فدل ذلك على أنهم بلغوا نهاية التكذيب باستهانتهم بأعظم دعائم الدين واستعظامهم لأدنى أمور الدنيا، وهذا الآخر كما ترى هو الأول لأن الذي جر إليه هو التكذيب

On the secret of the number of the words in the Sura:

عدة كلماتها خمس وعشرون كلمة فإذا اعتبرتها من أول سني النبوة وازت السنة الثانية عشرة من الهجرة، وذلك أواخر خلافة الصديق رضي الله عنه، وفيها لم يبق على يده أحد من المصلين الذين ارتدوا عن الإسلام بعد وفاة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أو منعوا الزكاة، فتبين أنهم ما كانوا يصلون في حياته صلى الله عليه وسلم ويزكون إلا رياء الناس فعل الأدنياء الأنجاس حتى حل بهم الويل بأيدي جنود الصديق الذين جاؤوهم بالرجل والخيل فمزقوهم عن آخرهم، ولم تمض تلك السنة إلا وقد فرغ منهم بالفراغ من بني حنيفة باليمامة وأطراف بلاد اليمن من أهل النجير ببلاد كندة والأسود العنسي من صنعاء، وما مضت سنة ست عشرة الموازية لعدد الكلمات بالبسملة - وذلك في أوائل خلافة الفاروق - حتى زالوا من جميع جزيرة العرب وهم مشركو العرب ومتنصروهم ومتمجسوهم الذين كانوا بنواحي العراق والشام والبحرين فأسلم أكثرهم، وذهب الباقون إلى بلاد الروم، فحل الويل بالمرائين من أهل الصلاة فإنهم الذين أتى إليهم نبيهم صلى الله عليه وسلم بالصلاة فأعرضوا عنها والناس لهم تبع

Al-Mutakabbir

2011-05-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Allah's name al-Mutakabbir:

“The Real called himself al-Mutakabbir because He increases in greatness in the heart of His slave bit by bit, every time a veil is removed from him, not because the Real Himself increases in greatness, for He cannot increase or decrease, but the increase and decrease are for the slave, depending on his nearness or distance from the presence of Allah. It it similar to the slave's witnessing of his shadow with a lamp: the closer he gets to it, the larger that his shadow and the light of the lamp increase in his sight, and the further away he walks from it, the smaller it becomes."

- Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani

as-Sidq wal Istiqama

2011-04-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

Sidq is the best intercessor with God - Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris

Istiqama is the best du'a. In istaqamta, istaqamat lakal umoor. - Shaykh Ahmad al-Maani'

First Takbir of Salaat

2011-02-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

إذا رأيت الرجل يتهاون في التكبيرة الأولى فاغسل يدك منه

ابراهيم بن يزيد التيمي

وكان سيدي أبو الحسن الشاذلي رحمه الله يقول: إذا رأيتم المريد يتهاون في قراءة تكبيرة الإحرام فاعلموا أنه لا يجيء منه شيء في الطريق

The East and West

2011-01-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

In the month of Shawwal of the year 633 Hijri, the Shaykh of the Awliya, the sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi, who was in Mecca, had a dream. In that dream, someone said to him three times:

"Rise oh Ahmad and seek the rising-place of the Sun. And when you reach the rising-place of the Sun, then seek the setting-place of the Sun and travel to Tanta, for in it is your residence (muqam / maqam), oh fata (young chivalrous man)."

So he woke up and consulted his family, and travelled to Iraq, where he was received by its great masters, among them Sultan al-Awliya the sayyid Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and shaykh Ahmad ar-Rifa'i.

It is reported that they said to him: "Oh Ahmad, the keys of Iraq, India, Yemen, the Rum (Lands of the Romans), the East and the West, are in our hands. So choose whichever key you want."

So he said to them: "I do not need your keys, I only take the key (miftah) from the Opener (Fattaah)."

His elder brother Hasan says: "When my brother Ahmad finished visiting the graves of the Awliya of Iraq like shaykh 'Udayy bin Musafir and al-Hallaj and their likes, we set off toward Tanta."

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This means that the "rising-place of the Sun" did not necessarily mean the far East, as usually assumed, but was an expression that referred to the land of Iraq.

And the "setting-place of the Sun" did not necessarily mean the very end of the "Maghreb", at Morocco's Atlantic coast, but was an expression that referred to the the western parts of Egypt. We must remember that many ancient Arab historians considered Alexandria to be the beginning of the "Maghreb", the West, and that the Cyrenaica of modern day Libya was in pre-Islamic times part of Egyptian territories.

So it's possible that Alexandria or territories near it were termed the "West" or the "setting-place of the Sun." And so shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi was commanded to go there, and then travel down a short distance to Tanta.

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This might shed new light on what is meant by the "setting-place of the Sun" and the "rising-place of the Sun" in Surat al-Kahf in the Qur'an. Because the Sura says that when Dhul-Qarnayn reached the "setting-place of the Sun" he looked at the Sun as it was setting, and it seemed to him, from where he was standing, as if it was setting into a muddy body of water. Had he reached the coast of the Atlantic, the water he was looking at where the Sun set in the Horizon would not have looked muddy.

In explaining this muddy body of water, some scholars said: "Perhaps Dhul-Qarnayn reached a place where a river connects to the sea at the time of a flood, like the Nile for example, for its water will be muddy." Perhaps it wasn't a place like this, but was this very place, in the meeting-place of the Nile and the Sea near Alexandria. Or it could be some kind of oasis in the desert between Egypt and Libya.

wAllahu a'lam.

Dua for Less Sleep

2010-11-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

عن الإمام الشافعي رضي الله عنه

من أراد أن يطفأ غضبه ويكون حليما فليقرأ كل يوم (ألم نشرح لك صدرك) بعد صلاة العصر ثلاثا أو سبعا

وإذا أراد أن يشبع باليسير من الطعام ويكون صابرا على الجوع قرأها عند أكل الطعام

وإذا أراد أن يكون خفيف النوم فليقرأها عند الإضطجاع ثلاثا أو سبعا، ويقول بعد ذلك ثلاثا: اللهم ارزقني سهرا في طاعتك وأشبعني من النوم باليسير، اللهم لا تؤمني مكرك ولا تنسني ذكرك، ولا تجعلني من الغافلين. أقوم إن شاء الله تعالى ساعة كذا من الليل

- التذكير المصطفى

Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris on Teachers of this Age

2010-11-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

Shaykh Abu Bakr al-'Attas ibn Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Habashi wrote in,

at-Tadhkir al-Mustafa:

وقد بلغنا عن سيدي الإمام العارف بالله أحمد بن إدريس المغربي أنه دخل إلى بعض مدارس زمانه، ولما خرج منها قيل له: كيف رأيت رجال التدريس؟
فقال: رأيت كراريس بأيدي أباليس

وليت شعري ماذا يقول لو رأى أساتذة مدارس هذا الزمن الخسيس الذين يلعب بهم لعب الصبيان بالكرة شيخهم إبليس، فإنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

Silsilat al-Aqtab

2010-11-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

أبو العباس المرسي
أبو الحسن الشاذلي
عبد السلام بن بشيش
عبد الرحمن المدني الحسني العطار الزيات - نسبة لحارة الزياتين
تقي الدين الفقير الصوفي ٠ بأرض العراق
فخر الدين
نور الدين أبو الحسن علي
محمد تاج الدين
محمد شمس الدين - بأرض الترك
زين الدين القزويني
أبو إسحق إبراهيم البصري
أبو القاسم أحمد المرواني
أبو محمد سعيد الصافي
سعد
أبو محمد فتح السعود
سعيد القزواني
جابر
أول أقطاب هذه الأمة سيدنا الحسن
سيدنا الإمام علي بن أبي طالب كرم الله وجهه
سيد الكونين وإمام المرسلين رسول رب العالمين سيدنا محمد بن عبد الله
(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

The Reality of Belief

2010-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

- Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Zuhd wal-Raqa'iq

- Abd al-Razzaq, Tafseer al-Qur'an

- Al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman

Al-Shafi'i's Creed

2010-04-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

عقيدة الإمام الشافعي رضي الله تعالى عنه

آمنت بالله وبما جاء من عند الله على وفق مراد الله

آمنت برسول الله وبما جاء من عند رسول الله على وفق مراد رسول الله

اللهم إني أؤمن بما تعلم أنه الحق عندك وأبرأ إليك مما تعلم أنه الباطل عندك

فخذ مني مجملا ولا تطالبني بالتفصيل

I believe in Allah and in what came from Allah, according to what was meant by Allah

I believe in the Messenger of Allah and in what came from the Messenger of Allah, according to what was meant by the Messenger of Allah

Oh Allah, I believe in what You know to be the Truth with You, and I declare to You my disassociation from what You know to be false with You

So take it from me as a whole,

And do not demand from me the details.

And the dog's barking...

2010-04-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

ترى لله قوما بعد قوم * بهذا الباب آت بعد آت
لواهم نور مظهرنا إلينا * فلا تسأل هناك عن العماة
ونبح الكلب لم يسقط بدورا * تسامت في البروج العاليات
ستأخذ حاسديك سيوف صدع * ألا ارقب هز تلك المرهفات
فلو يسمو حويسدك الثريا * يرد إلى الثرى في السافلات
تؤج عليه نار القهر حتى * يذوب بصادعات اللاهبات
ومن والاك لم يبرح عزيزا * ولو هو عاش نزر دريهمات
على نهج النبي قوي حال * يؤيد بالمعالي الباقيات
طريقتنا التحقق دون شك * بحال محمد حامي الحماة
شريعته لنا حصن حصين * وعترته السفينة للنجاة
هم الأبواب للرحمن قامت * دعائمهم بكل المنجيات

قصيدة: (قرأنا في صحاف الحادثات * سطور الباقيات الصالحات) . للإمام الرواس الرفاعي

You see group after group,
Coming to this door for the sake of Allah
The light of our appearance brought them to us
So do not ask there about the blind ones
And the barking of the dogs will not bring down the moons,
Full, up high in their constellations
Those who envy you will be cut down by striking swords
Await and see the shaking of those weak ones
For if he who envies you rises to the skies
He will be brought back down to the ground, so low
The fire of Qahr will flare upon him till,
He melts by the power of its flames
And he who takes you as his mawla remains most powerful
Even if he lived on a few pennies
Upon the way of the Prophet, with a powerful state
Being supported by that which is high, everlasting.

- Imam ar-Rawwass

Saying of Imam Ali

2010-04-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

ظنّ العاقل كهانة

من أقوال أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله تعالى عنه وكَرَّمَ وجهه

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On the 'Aql, the intellect: http://riyada.hadithuna.com/the-intellectual-tradition/

Lines of Poetry

2009-12-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

وفي الزرازيز جبنٌ وهي طائرة
وفي الصقور شموخٌ وهي تحتضر

لا تأسفن على غدر الزمان
لطالما رقصت على جثث الأسود كلاب
لا تحسبنها برقصها علت على أسيادها
تبقى الأسود أسود والكلاب كلاب

ظنوا بأن قتل الحسين يزيدهم * لكنما قتل الحسين يزيدا

Raqim?

2009-11-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Raqeem

The Qur’an says “the People of the Cave and the raqeem” (18:9), and there has been great controversy among the Quranic commentators on what the word raqeem means. Most said it refers to a book or inscription on which their story was written down after their death and placed in the cave, but it is all guessing. However, it seems that the area where the Cave exists is called Raqeem, and if this name was really there since before the revelation of the Qur’an, then the mystery is solved! Raqeem is the name of the area of the cave! This possibility is mentioned in the famous commentary of shaykh as-Sawi who said that it is said that it is either the valley, mountain, or town in which the cave is found.

http://riyada.hadithuna.com/cave-of-the-sleepers/

"The name of Petra itself is Greek for 'rock'. Judging from their own inscriptions, the Nabateans themselves called their capital Reqem, meaning 'of varied colours' - apparently in reference to the varied colours and shades of the sandstone cliffs which formed the narrow confines of the city."

- Salibi, Kamal. The Modern History of Jordan.

Perhaps they were inhabitants of Petra and escaped from it? Maybe the Raqeem is Reqem. Petra.

Three things...

2009-08-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

قال العجلوني في كشف الخفا 1/407 :
(( .. تنبيه قال في المواهب (1) وههنا لطيفة روي أنه عليه الصلاة والسلام لما قال حبب إلي من دنياكم النساء والطيب وجعلت قرة عيني في الصلاة قال أبو بكر وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنياالنظر إلى وجهك وجمع المال للإنفاق عليك والتوسل بقرابتك اليك والنهي عن المنكر والقيام بأمر الله وقال عثمان وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إشباع الجائع وإرواء الظمآن وكسوة العاري وقال علي رضي الله عنه وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا الصوم في الصيف وإقراء الضيف والضرب بين يديك بالسيف قال الطبري (2) خرجه الجندي (3) والعهدة عليه انتهى .
ونقل الشبراملسي في حاشيته على المواهب عن الذريعة لابن العماد أنه قال فيها وعن الشيخ أبي محمد النيسابوري أن أبا بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه لما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك قال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث القعود بين يديك والصلاة عليك وانفاق مالي لديك فقال عمر رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وإقامة حدود الله فقال عثمان رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إطعام الطعام وإفشاء السلام والصلاة بالليل والنيام نيام فقال علي رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الضرب بالسيف والصوم بالصيف وقرى الضيف فنزل جبريل عليه السلام وقال أنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث النزول على النبيين وتبليغ الرسالة للمرسلين والحمد لله رب العالمين أي الثناء عليه ثم عرج ثم رجع فقال يقول الله تعالى وهو حبب اليه من عباده ثلاث لسان ذاكر وقلب شاكر وجسم على بلائه صابر وفي بعضها مخالفة لما في المواهب انتهى .
وفي المجالس للخفاجي بعض مخالفة وزيادة وعبارته قيل انه صلى الله عليه وسلم لما ذكر هذا الحديث قال أبو بكر وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث النظر اليك وانفاق مالي عليك والجهاد بين يديك وقال عمر وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وإقامة حدود الله وقال عثمان وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إطعام الطعام وإفشاء السلام والصلاة بالليل والناس نيام وقال علي بن أبي طالب وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إكرام الضيف والصوم في الصيف والضرب بالسيف فنزل جبريل عليه السلام وقال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إغاثة المضطرين وإرشاد المضلين والمؤانسة بكلام رب العالمين ونزل ميكائل فقال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث شاب تائب وقلب خاشع وعين باكية انتهت .
وفي كلام بعضهم أن أبا حنيفة لما وقف على ذلك قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث ترك الترفع والتعالي وقلب من حبين خالي والتهجد بالعلم في طول الليالي وان مالكا لما وقف عليه أيضا قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث مجاورة تربة سيد المرسلين وإحياء علوم الدين والاقتداء بالخلفاء الراشدين وأن الشافعي رضي الله عنه لما وقف عليه أيضا قال وأنا حبب غلي من دنياكم ثلاث ترك التكلف وعشرة الخلق بالتلطف والاقتداء بطريق أهل التصوف وأن أحمد لما وقف عليه قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث عطاء من غير منة ونفس مطمئنة والاتباع للسنة )) أهـ
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(1) المواهب اللدنية بالمنح المحمدية 2/180
(2) هو المحب الطبري وأورد ذلك في الرياض النضرة في مناقب العشرة 1/265
(2) كذا في المطبوع والصواب الخجندي (بفتحتين)

Ayn al-Qudaat

2009-07-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

لأن العشق يا عزيزي دين المريد، وجمال المعشوق مذهبه... فمن عشق الله اصبح دينه لقاء جمال الله

عشق الله هو رأس مال الطالب السالك ولقد قال شيخنا: لا شيخ ابلغ من العشق

وحينما سألت الشيخ: ما الدليل على الله؟ قال دليله هو الله. ان في هذه الكلمة بيانا بليغا: يعني أن الشمس لا ترى بالقنديل بل اننا نعرف الشمس بالشمس. وهذا هو معنى عرفت ربي بربي.

أما أنا فأقول: العشق دليل السالك الى معرفة الله، وكل من اتخذ شيخا غير العشق فلا يعد سالكا اذ لا يتوصل العاشق إلى المعشوق الا بالعشق، وإنه ليرى المعشوق على قدر عشقه وكلما كان العشق اكمل زاد في نظر العاشق جمال المعشوق

- عين القضاة الهمذاني، التمهيدات
--------------------------

I mentioned the madhhab and community of the lovers of God. They follow the madhhab and community of God; not that of Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa, and others. The lovers of God follow the madhhab of ishq and the madhhab of God.

They asked Husayn Mansur [Hallaj]: "Which madhhab are you on?"
He said: "I am on God's madhhab." (ana 'ala madhhab rabbi).

- Tamhidat

The Lookout Point of the Heart

2009-06-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Al-Tabari relates with his isnad to Ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu anh),

The Messenger of God said, "The Qur'an was sent down on seven ahruf. Each harf has a back (zahr), and a belly (batn). Each harf has a border (hadd) and each border has a lookout point (muttala').

Sahl al-Tustari "understands the muttala' as a vantage point of the heart, an overview from which one can understand what God meant by certain verses of the Qur'an while still in his life.

Every verse of the Qur'an has four kinds of meanings: an exoteric sense (zahir), an inner sense (batin), a limit (hadd), and a lookout point (muttala'). The exoteric sense is the recitation, the inner sense is understanding (fahm), the limit is what [the verse] permits and prohibits, and the lookout point is the elevated places of the heart [beholding] what was intended by it as understood from God Almighty.

(p. 8-9)

Najm al-Din al-Nisaburi says:

The Muttala' is "the point of ascent (mas'ad), a place to which one arrives where one understands [a thing] as it is (yafhamu kamaa huwa).

(p. 11)

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam

Seeking al-Khadir's Knowledge

2009-06-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

Then they found one from among Our servants whom We had granted mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves. (18:65)

Imam al-Tabari relates with his isnad to Ibn Abbas:

حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا يعقوب، عن هارون بن عنترة، عن أبـيه، عن ابن عبـاس، قال: سأل موسى ربه وقال: ربّ أيّ عبـادك أحبّ إلـيك؟ قال: الذي يذكرنـي ولا ينسانـي قال: فأيّ عبـادك أقضى؟ قال: الذي يقضي بـالـحقّ ولا يتبع الهوى قال: أي ربّ أيّ عبـادك أعلـم؟ قال: الذي يبتغي علـم الناس إلـى علـم نفسه، عسى أن يصيب كلـمة تهديه إلـى هُدَى، أو تردّه عن رَدَى قال: ربّ فهل فـي الأرض أحدٌ؟ قال: نعم قال: ربّ، فمن هو؟ قال: الـخضر قال: وأين أطلبه؟ قال: علـى الساحل عند الصخرة التـي ينفلت عندها الـحوت

http://www.altafsir.net/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=64&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=1

Musa asked his Lord: "Lord, which of your servants is most beloved to you?" He said, "The one who remembers Me and does not forget Me." Musa said: And which of your servants is most judicious?" He said, "The one who judges by the truth and does not follow his own inclination (hawaa)."

Musa said: "O Lord, which of your servants is the most knowledgeable?" He said: "The one to whose knowledge the knowledge of the people aspire, that perhaps they might receive a word that would lead them to guidance or save them from ruin."

Musa said: "Lord, is there such a one on earth?" He said: "Yes." Musa said, "Lord, who is he?" He said: "Al-Khadir." Musa said: "Where shall I look for him?" He said, "Upon the shore by the rock where the fish will slip away."

Translated by
Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 81

Polishing the Heart

2009-06-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Rashid al-Din al-Maybudi says:

Polishing the heart consists of three things:

- replacing the danger of security with fear

[What! do they then feel secure from Allah's plan? But none feels secure from Allah's plan except the people who shall perish. (7:99) ]

- replacing the misfortune of despair with the blessing of hope

- replacing the tribulation of distraction in the heart with thanksgiving of the heart

The substance of this polishing consists of:

- Pursuing knowledge

- Eating Halal

- Persistence in litany (wird)

The fruit of this polishing is:

- an innermost heart (sirr) which has become adorned with knowledge from the Lord

- a soul set ablaze by the sun of eternity

- God-given knowledge (ilm ladunni) found without intermediary.

Taken, with editing, from:

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 90-91

If you find a seeker

2009-06-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

It is said that the prophet Dawood alayhi assalam was inspired: "If you see someone seeking Me, be a servant to him."

On the Qur'anic words

"He made Zakariyya her guardian" (3:37) Ruzbihan says: "only a wali can serve a wali".

From

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 101

The Healing Hand of the Broken Hearted

2009-06-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

When sayyida Maryam alayha assalam gave birth, a voice told her to shake the trunk of the palmtree behind her, and it was a dry tree without fruit.

It said: "Shake the trunk of the palmtree towards you and fresh dates will fall down to you." (19:25)

al-Maybudi says in his tafsir, that it was as if God was showing her that:

"We Wanted the blessings of your hand to reach the tree so that it would bear fruit. Then the people of the world would understand that whoever is sad and grieved for Us, their hand is a remedy for pains."

Quote taken from:

Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an in Classical Islam, p. 105

The weakness in drunkenness

2009-06-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

"Commenting on verses of al-Hallaj that would seem to describe union with the divine, Ruzbihan writes that this is a fancy (wahm) born of human weakness as it contemplates God, and he notes that 'the intoxicated speak in this way frequently, even though they know that the essence of divinity is unattainable by the created' ".

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 109

Ilayka wa Illa

2009-05-24T05:28:00.001-07:00

إليك وإلاّ لا تشدّ الركائب ** وعنك وإلاّ فالمحدّث كاذب
وفيك وإلاّ فالغرام مضيّع ** ومنك وإلاّ فالمؤمّل خائب

- Imam al-Qastalani, in al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya

White Hairs

2009-05-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari says in a poem:

بالله يا ابن الأكرمين تكرّما * العمر ولّى والزمان قد انقضى
والشيب لاح بعارضي سبحان من * قَلَبَ السّواد فليت قلبي أبيضا

Yusuf Ad-Dajawi's Treatise Against the Division of Tawhid

2009-05-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

نقد تقسيم التوحيد إلى ألوهية وربوبية

لفضيلة العلامة حجة الإسلام يوسف الدجوي الأزهري

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قال العلامة أبو المحاسن جمال الدين يوسف بن أحمد الدِّجوي المالكي الأزهري المتوفى سنة 1365هـ:

جاءتنا رسائل كثيرة يسأل مرسلوها عن توحيد الألوهية وتوحيد الربوبية ما معناهما؟

وما الذي يترتب عليهما؟

ومن ذا الذي فرق بينهما؟

وما هو البرهان على صحة ذلك أو بطلانه؟

فنقول وبالله التوفيق:

إن صاحب هذا الرأي هو ابن تيمية الذي شاد بذكره، قال:

"إن الرسل لم يبعثوا إلا لتوحيد الألوهية وهو إفراد الله بالعبادة، وأما توحيد الربوبية وهو اعتقاد أن الله رب العالمين المتصرف في أمورهم فلم يخالف فيه أحد من المشركين والمسلمين بدليل قوله تعالى:

{ولئن سألتهم من خلق السموات والأرض ليقولن الله}

ثم قالوا: إن الذين يتوسلون بالأنبياء والأولياء ويتشفعون بهم وينادونهم عند الشدائد هم عابدون لهم قد كفروا باعتقادهم الربوبية في تلك الأوثان والملائكة والمسيح سواء بسواء، فإنهم لم يكفروا باعتقادهم الربوبية في تلك الأوثان وما معها بل بتركهم توحيد الألوهية بعبادتها، وهذا ينطبق على زوار القبور المتوسلين بالأولياء المنادين لهم المستغيثين بهم الطالبين منهم ما لا يقدر عليه إلا الله تعالى..بل قال محمد بن عبد الوهاب:

"إن كفرهم أشنع من كفر عباد الأوثان"!

وإن شئت ذكرت لك عبارته المحزنة الجريئة، فهذا ملخص مذهبهم مع الإيضاح، وفيه عدة دعاوى، فلنعرض لها على سبيل الاختصار، ولنجعل الكلام في مقامين فنتحاكم إلى العقل ثم نتحاكم إلى النقل، فنقول:

قولهم: إن التوحيد ينقسم إلى توحيد الربوبية وتوحيد الألوهية. تقسيم غير معروف لأحد قبل ابن تيمية، وغير معقول أيضا كما ستعرفه، وما كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول لأحد دخل في الإسلام: إن هناك توحيدين وإنك لا تكون مسلما حتى توحد توحيد الألوهية، ولا أشار إلى ذلك بكلمة واحدة، ولا سُمِع ذلك عن أحد من السلف الذين يتبجحون باتباعهم في كل شيء، ولا معنى لهذا التقسيم، فإن الإله الحق هو الرب الحق، والإله الباطل هو الرب الباطل، ولا يستحق العبادة والتأليه إلا من كان ربا، ولا معنى لأن نعبد من لا نعتقد فيه أنه رب ينفع ويضر، فهذا مرتب على ذلك كما قال تعالى:

{رب السموات والأرض وما بينهما فاعبده واصطبر لعبادته هل تعلم له سمياً}.

فرتب العبادة على الربوبية، فإننا إذا لم نعتقد أنه رب ينفع ويضر فلا معنى لأن نعبده - كما قلنا - ويقول تعالى:

{ألا يسجدوا لله الذي يخرج الخبء في السموات والأرض}

يشير إلى أنه لا ينبغي السجود إلا لمن ثبت اقتداره التام، ولا معنى لأن نسجد لغيره، هذا هو المعقول، ويدل عليه القرآن والسنة.

أما القرآن فقد قال:

{ولا يأمركم أن تتخذوا الملائكة والنبيين أربابا}.

فصرح بتعدد الأرباب عندهم، وعلى الرغم من تصريح القرآن بأنهم جعلوا الملائكة أربابا يقول ابن تيمية ومحمد بن عبد الوهاب: إنهم موحدون توحيد الربوبية وليس عندهم إلا رب واحد وإنما أشركوا في توحيد الألوهية! ويقول يوسف عليه السلام لصاحبي السجن وهو يدعوهما إلى التوحيد:

{أأرباب متفرقون خير أم الله الواحد القهار}

ويقول الله تعالى أيضا:

{وهم يكفرون بالرحمن قل هو ربي}.

وأما هم فلم يجعلوه ربا..

ومثل ذلك قوله تعالى:

{لكنا هو الله ربي}

خطابا لمن أنكر ربوبيته تعالى، وانظر إلى قولهم يوم القيامة:

{تالله إن كنا لفي ضلال مبين إذ نسويكم برب العالمين}

أي في جعلكم أربابا - كما هو ظاهر - وانظر إلى قوله تعالى:

{وإذا قيل لهم اسجدوا للرحمن قالوا وما الرحمن أنسجد لما تأمرنا..}

فهل ترى صاحب هذا الكلام موحدا أو معترفا؟!

ثم انظر إلى قوله تعالى:

{وهم يجادلون في الله}

إلى غير ذلك وهو كثير لا نطيل بذكره، فإذا ليس عند هؤلاء الكفار توحيد الربوبية - كما قال ابن تيمية -، وما كان يوسف عليه السلام يدعوهم إلا إلى توحيد الربوبية، لأنه ليس هناك شيء يسمى توحيد الربوبية وشيء آخر يسمى توحيد الألوهية عند يوسف عليه السلام، فهل هم أعرف بالتوحيد منه ويجعلونه مخطئا في التعبير بالأرباب دون الآلهة؟! ويقول الله في أخذ الميثاق:

{ألست بربكم قالوا بلى}

فلو كان الإقرار بالربوبية غير كاف وكان متحققا عند المشركين ولكنه لا ينفعهم - كما يقول ابن تيمية - ما صح أن يؤخذ عليهم الميثاق بهذا، ولا صح أن يقولوا يوم القيامة:

{إنا كنا عن هذا غافلين}

وكان الواجب أن يغير الله عبارة الميثاق إلى ما يوجب اعترافهم بتوحيد الألوهية حيث إن توحيد الربوبية غير كاف - كما يقول هؤلاء -، إلى آخر ما يمكننا أن نتوسع فيه، وهو لا يخفى عليك، وعلى كل حال فقد اكتفى منهم بتوحيد الربوبية، ولو لم يكونا متلازمين لطلب إقرارهم بتوحيد الألوهية أيضاً.

ومن ذلك قوله تعالى:

{وهو الذي في السماء إله وفي الأرض إله}

فإنه إله في الأرض ولو لم يكن فيها من يعبده كما في آخر الزمان، فإن قالوا: إنه معبود فيها أي مستحق للعبادة، قلنا: إذن لا فرق بين الإله والرب، فإن المستحق للعبادة هو الرب لا غير، [و] ما كانت محاورة فرعون لموسى عليه الصلاة والسلام إلا في الربوبية وقد قال:

{أنا ربكم الأعلى}

ثم قال:

{لئن اتخذت إلها غيري لأجعلنك من المسجونين}

ولا داعي للتطويل في هذا.

وأما السنة فسؤال الملكين للميت عن ربه لا عن إلهه، لأنهم لا يفرقون بين الرب والإله، فإنهم ليسوا بتيميين ولا متخبطين، وكان الواجب على مذهب هؤلاء أن يقولوا للميت: من إلهك لا من ربك! أو يسألوه عن هذا وذاك.

وأما قوله:

{ولئن سألتهم من خلق السموات والأرض ليقولن الله}

فهم يقولون بألسنتهم ما ليس في قلوبهم إجابة لحكم الوقت مضطرين لذلك بالحجج القاطعات والآيات البينات، ولعلهم نطقوا بما لا يكاد يستقر في قلوبهم أو يصل إلى نفوسهم، بدليل أنهم يقرنون ذلك القول بما يدل على كذبهم، وأنهم ينسبون الضر والنفع إلى غيره، وبدليل أنهم يجهلون الله تمام الجهل ويقدمون غيره عليه حتى في صغائر الأمور، وإن شئت فانظر إلى قولهم لهود عليه الصلاة والسلام:

{إن نقول إلا اعتراك بعض آلهتنا بسوء}

فكيف يقول ابن تيمية: إنهم معتقدون أن الأصنام لا تضر ولا تنفع إلى آخر ما يقول؟!

ثم انظر بعد ذلك في زرعهم وأنعامهم:

{هذا لله بزعمهم وهذا لشركائنا، فما كان لشركائهم فلا يصل إلى الله وما كان لله فهو يصل إلى شركائهم}

فقدموا شركاءهم على الله تعالى في أصغر الأمور وأحقرها.

وقال تعالى في بيان اعتقادهم في الأصنام:

{وما نرى معكم من شفعائكم الذين زعمتم أنهم فيكم شركاء}

فذكر أنهم يعتقدون أنهم شركاء فيهم، ومن ذلك قول أبي سفيان يوم أحد: "أعلُ هبل"، فأجابه صلى الله عليه وسلم بقوله: (الله أعلى وأجل). فانظر إلى هذا ثم قل لي ماذا ترى في ذلك من التوحيد الذي ينسبه إليهم ابن تيمية ويقول: إنهم فيه مثل المسلمين سواء بسواء وإنما افترقوا بتوحيد الألوهية؟!

وأدَلُّ من ذلك كله قوله تعالى:

{ولا تسبوا الذين يدعون من دون الله فيسبوا الله عدوا بغير علم}

إلى غير ذلك مما يطول شرحه، فهل ترى لهم توحيدا بعد ذلك يصح أن يقال فيه إنه عقيدة؟!

أما التيميون فيقولون بعد هذا كله: إنهم موحدون توحيد الربوبية، وإن الرسل لم يقاتلوهم إلا على توحيد الألوهية الذي لم يكفروا إلا بتركه!! ولا أدري ما معنى هذا الحصر، مع أنهم كذبوا الأنبياء وردوا ما أنزل عليهم واستحلوا المحرمات وأنكروا البعث واليوم الآخر وزعموا أن لله صاحبة وولدا وأن الملائكة بنات الله؛

{ألا إنهم من إفكهم ليقولون: ولد الله. وإنهم لكاذبون}

وذلك كله لم يقاتلهم عليه الرسل - في رأي هؤلاء - وإنما قاتلوهم على عدم توحيد الألوهية - كما يزعمون - وهم بعد ذلك مثل المسلمين سواء بسواء!! أو المسلمون أكفر منهم في رأي ابن عبد الوهاب!!

وما علينا من ذلك كله، ولكن نقول لهم بعد هذا: على فرض أن هناك فرقا بين توحيد الألوهية وتوحيد الربوبية - كما يزعمون - فالتوسل لا ينافي توحيد الألوهية فإنه ليس من العبادة في شيء لا لغة ولا شرعا ولا عرفا، ولم يقل أحد إن النداء أو التوسل بالصالحين عبادة، ولا أخبرنا الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم بذلك، ولو كان عبادة أو شبه عبادة لم يجز بالحي ولا بالميت.

فإن تشبث متشبث بأن الله أقرب إلينا من حبل الوريد فلا يحتاج إلى واسطة، قلنا له: حفظت شيئا وغابت عنك أشياء، فإن رأيك هذا يلزمه ترك الأسباب والوسائط في كل شيء، مع أن العالم مبني على الحكمة التي وضعت الأسباب والمسببات في كل شيء، ويلزمه عدم الشفاعة يوم القيامة - وهي معلومة من الدين بالضرورة - فإنها - على هذا الرأي - لا حاجة إليها، إذ لا يحتاج سبحانه وتعالى إلى واسطة فإنه أقرب من الواسطة.

ويلزم خطأ عمر بن الخطاب في قوله: (إنّا نتوسل إليك بعم نبيك العباس.. إلخ). وعلى الجملة يلزم سد باب الأسباب والمسببات والوسائل والوسائط، وهذا خلاف السنة الإلهية التي قام عليها بناء هذه العوالم كلها من أولها إلى آخرها. ولزمهم على هذا التقدير أن يكونوا داخلين فيما حكموا به على المسلمين، فإنه لا يمكنهم أن يَدَعوا الأسباب أو يتركوا الوسائط بل هم أشد الناس تعلقا بها واعتمادا عليها.

ولا يفوتنا أن نقول: إن التفرقة بين الحي والميت في هذا المقام لا معنى لها فإن المتوسل لم يطلب شيئا من الميت أصلا، وإنما طلب من الله متوسلا إليه بكرامة هذا الميت عنده أو محبته له أو نحو ذلك، فهل في هذا كله تأليه للميت أو عبادة له؟! أم هو حق لا مرية فيه؟ ولكنهم قوم يجازفون ولا يحققون، كيف وجواز التوسل بل حسنه معلوم عند جميع المسلمين.

وانظر كتب المذاهب الأربعة، حتى مذهب الحنابلة في آداب زيارته صلى الله عليه وسلم تجدهم قد استحبوا التوسل به إلى الله تعالى، حتى جاء ابن تيمية فخرق الإجماع وصادم المركوز في الفطر مخالفا في ذلك العقل والنقل اه.

انتهى جواب العلامة حجة الإسلام يوسف الدجوي المالكي الأزهري رحمه الله تعالى.

Lines by shaykh Abd Rahman Shaghouri

2009-05-06T01:54:00.000-07:00

سكرنا في الغرام بغير خمر= و لكن حسن من نهواه أسكر
فلا فجر و لا قمر منير= و لا شمس إذا المحبوب أسفر
به همنا و زمزمنا غراما= لأن جماله قد آن يظهر
فقطعنا القلوب بسيف وجد= و صحنا مذ بدا الله أكبر

In love we were intoxicated, without wine
but the beauty of our beloved intoxicated
No dawn, no bright moon, and no sun,
if the beloved reveals himself
Because of him we became enraptured, excited
because his beauty was due to appear!
So we cut our hearts with the sword of ecstasy
and when he appeared we shouted: Allahu akbar!

Life of the Brave

2009-05-05T05:19:00.000-07:00

فموت الفتى في الله عين حياته * وإن حياة الذلّ أشبه بالقبر

- Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari, Vol 7 of Diwan

"the original state in ibadaat is prohibition"

2009-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

From the study by Dr. Raquel Margalit Ukeles entitled:

Innovation or Deviation: Exploring the Boundaries of Islamic Devotional Law.

Jurists who use bid'ah only as a normative term of indictment developed simultaneously the principle that the boundaries of ibaadaat are limited exclusively to acts that have explicit indications in the canonical sources. While this principle can be found in numerous ahaadith...the presence of important exceptions to this view by Umar ibn al-Khattab and al-Hasan al-Basri suggests that the lines were not as clear as the Hadith collectors maintained. Instead, this study suggests that the legal principle, "the basis of ibaadaat is prohibition," was developed and constructed by Maliki and Hanbali jurists over time. Indeed, the current scholarly assumption that this principle represents the consensus of jurists is a testament to the overwhelming influence of Ibn Taymiyyah and Shatibi upon modern scholars.

pg 313

the ahmadiyya muhammadiyya way

2009-03-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

{ ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ ٱلإِنجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ٱبتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلاَّ ٱبْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَانِ ٱللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا فَآتَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ }

57:27

قوله تعالى { وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ٱبتَدَعُوهَا } وصف الله ههنا اهل السنة واهل البدعة اهل السنة اهل الرافة والرحمة واهل البدعة اهل الرهبانية المبتدعة من انفسهم وصف الله قلوب المتمسكين بسنة الانبياء بالمودة والشفقة فى دينه ومتابعة رسوله ذلك المودة من مودة الله اياهم وذلك بالرحمة من رحمة الله عليهم حيث اختارهم فى الازل لانهم خلفاء الانبياء وقادة الامة ووصف الله المتكلفين الذين ابتدعوا رهبانية من انفسهم مثل ترك اكل اللحم والجلوس فى الزوايا للاربعين عن الاتيان الى الجمعة والجماعات لاجل قبول العامة بانهم ليسوا على الطريق المستقيم بل هم متابعون شياطينهم الذين غرتهم فى دينهم بان زينوا فى قلوبهم المحالات والمزخرفات وما كتب الله عليهم الا ابتغاء رضوان الله ورضوان الله هو الشرعية والطريقة الاحمدية المحمدية صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم وصف لهولاء بان ما ابتدعوها من الرهبانية والمجاهدة والرياضة اذا كانت بغير متابعة السنة صارت متروكة قال الله تعالى { فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا } حيث خرجوا من طريق السنة وهكذا حال جهلة زماننا الذين طلبوا الرياسة بالزهد والتعلم والتذكر على رؤوس المنابر وقولهم الزور والبهتان وطعنهم فى الاولياء فلما فضحهم الله عند الخلق بما فى صدورهم من حب الجاه والمال تركوا رهبانيتهم ورجعوا الى ما هم فيه والرعاية عند العارفين محافظة الحل من المحال ومراقبة الانوار بعيون الاسرار

- tafseer Ruzbihan Baqli (d. 404 AH)

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

in tafseer ibn ajiba it says:

قال الورتجبي: وصف الله تعالى هنا أهل السنة وأهل البدعة، أهل السنة: أهل الرحمة والرأفة، وأهل البدعة: أهل الرهبانية المبتدعة من أنفسهم. وصف الله قلوب المتمسكين بسنّة الأنبياء بالمودة والشفقة في دينه ومتابعة رسله، فتلك المودة من مودة الله إياهم، وتلك الرحمة من رحمة الله عليهم، حيث اختارهم في الأزل؛ لأنهم خلفاء الأنبياء، وقادة الأمة، ووصف المتكلفين الذي ابتدعوا رهبانية من أنفسهم، مثل ترك أكل اللحم، والجلوس في الزوايا للأربعين، عن الإتيان إلى الجمعة والجماعات، لأجل قبول العامة، فإنهم ليسوا على الطريق المستقيم، بل هم يتبعون شياطينهم، الذي غوتهم في دينهم، بل زيّنوا في قلوبهم المحالات والمزخافات، وما كتبنا عليهم إلا ابتغاء رضوان الله، ورضوان الله هو في الشريعة والطريقة الأحمدية صلى الله عليه وسلم. هـ. وقوله: " الأربعين " كان العبّاد ينذرون خُلوة أربعين يوماً، فيتخلّفون عن الجمعة والجماعة، والأمر كما قيل: إذا ثبت عدالة المرء فليترك وما فعل، فهو أسلم. والله تعالى أعلم.

Pointing Finger During Tashahhud

2009-02-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani says in his Risala on Maliki Fiqh:

"While you are saying the tashahhud you put your hands on your thighs, clenching all the fingers of the right hand except your forefinger which you extend with its side uppermost."

Meaning: the side of the finger is facing upwards, while the bottom of the finger is neither facing the sky or the earth.

"There is some difference of opinion as regards the movement of this finger. There are those who say that by holding it straight you are indicating that Allah is one God while those who move it say that doing so repels shaytan. I think they mean by this that you will be reminded in your prayer by moving your finger of what will prevent you, if Allah wills, from becoming forgetful and distracted. Your left hand is laid flat on your left thigh and you neither move it nor point with it."

(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/aBewley/Page28.html)

Al-Qadi Abu Bakr ibn Al-Arabi said:

وعجباً ممن يقول إنها مقمعة للشيطان

إذا حُركت , واعلموا أنّكم إذا حركتم للشيطان أصبعاً حرّك لكم عشراً , إنما يقمعُ الشيطان بالإخلاص

والخشوع والذّكر والاستعاذة , فأماّ بتحريكه فلا , إنما عليه أن يشير بالسّبابة

Translation:

"And I wonder at he who says it repels the shaytan if it is moved! And know that if you move for shaytan one finger, he will move for you ten. Shaytan is only repelled by sincerity, khushoo' (submissiveness/ reverence/ awe), dhikr, and seeking refuge in Allah from him. But from moving it, no! One should only point with the forefinger."

And he said:

" إياكم وتحريك أصابعكم في التشهد , ولا تلتفتوا لرواية العتبية , فإنها بليّة "

" Beware of moving your fingers in the tashahhud! And don't pay attention to the narration in the Utbiyya, for it is a catastrophe/scourge."

[the narration found in the Utbiyya book that he refers to is a report that someone saw Imam Malik moving his finger in the fajr prayer.]

And most hadiths say that the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, used to clench the fingers of his right hand and make a ring, except the forefinger with which he would point.

There is only one narration that he, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, moved his finger, and it has been questioned.

The shafi'i al-Bayhaqi said:

يحتمل أن يكون المراد بالتحريك الإشارة بها لا تكرير تحريكها، فيكون موافقـًا لرواية ابن الزبير، وذكر بإسناده الصحيح عن ابن الزبير رضي الله عنهما أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يشير بأصبعه إذا دعا لا يحركها» رواه أبو داود بإسناد صحيح

"It is possible that he meant by moving it, pointing with it, not a repetition of movement, and that would make it agree with the narration of Ibn al-Zubayr."

Then he narrated with an authentic isnad back to Ibn al-Zubayr (r.a.) that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam would point his finger in du'a without moving it. It was also narrated by Abu Dawud with an authentic isnad.

Here is a demonstration of the Shafii school's understanding of the tashahhud based on these hadiths:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4aO5RD6XGw

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

And I say: If you point with the finger (toward the Kaaba), it is bound to shake a little, and it might appear to some as if you were moving it. However there is no strong evidence for it to be moved, except to raise it when saying the "illa Allah" (except Allah) part of the tashahhud, as mentioned by an-Nawawi and al-Maqdisi.

Now, the Malikis used to be the only people to move the finger, based on the report in the Utbiyya which al-Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi attacked, and they moved it from side to side.

Then al-Albani came with a novel interpretation of the weak hadiths of moving the finger, and for the first time in history, he began moving his finger up and down.

The problem is that most of the Salafis who are imitating his ijtihad are doing it differently than he did. He only moved its tip very slightly up and down, while most people today who imitate him raise it up and down.

Here is a video by Al-Albani's student, explaining how al-Albani did it, which is much less distracting to the people praying next to them than how most Salafis do it today. So if you're going to follow al-Albani's weak and innovated opinion, at least do it the way he does it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3mXnXM5Dqc

But I remind you of a general principle of Islam, described by Rasool Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, which gives evidence against the moving of the finger, and gives support to the stronger hadiths which don't mention the movement:

AbulMalih reported on the authority of a man: I was riding on a mount behind the Prophet (peace be upon him). It stumbled. Thereupon I said: "May the devil perish!" He said: "Do not say: May the devil perish! for if you say that , he will swell so much so that he will be like a house and say, 'By my power'; But say: 'In the name of Allah' for when you say that, he will diminish so much that he will be like a fly".

- Sunan Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Adab, Number 4946

And Allah knows best.

Salaat Nariyya

2009-02-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

The Salaat an-Nariyya of sayyidi Ahmad at-Tazi, shaykh of Sayyidi Ahmad ibn Idris, radi Allahu anhum.

http://www.deenislam.co.uk/dua/naariyah.html

http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Dorood/Durood_Naariya.htm:

Ibada vs Riyada

2009-02-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

تفسير القرآن الكريم/ ابن كثير
٢:١٨٧

وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها، قالت: نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الوصال رحمة لهم، فقالوا: إنك تواصل، قال: " إني لست كهيئتكم، إني يطعمني ربي ويسقيني " فقد ثبت النهي عنه من غير وجه، وثبت أنه من خصائص النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنه كان يقوى على ذلك ويعان، والأظهر أن ذلك الطعام والشراب في حقه إنما كان معنوياً لا حسياً، وإلا فلا يكون مواصلاً مع الحسي، ولكن كما قال الشاعر:
لها أحاديثُ من ذِكراكَ تَشْغَلُها عن الشرابِ وتُلْهِيها عن الزادِ
وأما من أحب أن يمسك بعد غروب الشمس إلى وقت السحر، فله ذلك، كما في حديث أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " لا تواصلوا، فأيكم أراد يواصل، فليواصل إلى السحر " قالوا: فإنك تواصل يارسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " إني لست كهيئتكم، إني أبيت لي مطعم يطعمني وساق يسقيني " أخرجاه في الصحيحين أيضاً

وقد روى ابن جرير عن عبد الله بن الزبير وغيره من السلف: أنهم كانوا يواصلون الأيام المتعددة، وحمله منهم على أنهم كانوا يفعلون ذلك رياضة لأنفسهم، لا أنهم كانوا يفعلونه عبادة، والله أعلم.

Issues of Disagreement

2009-02-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

The Maliki madhhab "has determined...that there is no obligation to enjoin the good and forbid the evil in matters over which there is disagreement."

This "is among the most important rules for realizing coexistence between different school and variant factions. It also guards them against factional and sectarian strife."

- Shaykh Muhammad at-Taaweel.

- فيما قرره الفقه المالكي في باب الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر أن المختلف فيه لا يجب فيه الأمر بالمعروف ولا النهي عن المنكر، وهي قاعدة من أهم القواعد التي تحقق التعايش بين المذاهب والطوائف المختلفة وتحفظها من الصراع المذهبي والطائفي

الشيخ محمد التاويل: خصائص المذهب المالكي

Sufi Ijtihad in Forms of Worship

2008-12-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

Ibn Taymiyyah, in his treatise called As-Sufiyya wal-Fuqaraa, says that the early Sufi ascetics, who mainly came from Basra,

"Formulated their own opinions (were mujtahidoon) on these acts of worship, just as their neighbors among the Kufans formulated their own opinions on matters of judicial decision..."

And elsewhere he repeats:

One knows then, that Sufism's place of origin was Basra, and that there were those who trod the path of worship and asceticism that they used independent reasoning (ijtihad) in it, just as there were in Kufa those who trod the path of jurisprudence and religious knowledge, using independent judgment in it.

And so they used ijtihad in reaching their forms of worship, in which they might be wrong or right.

Although the majority of believers- the pious, the friends (awliya) of God, may not have received what the Companions received with regards to the perfection of religious knowledge (ilm) and faith, they fear God as best as they can and obey Him according to their diligent effort. Thus, it is inevitable that they will err, whether in their sciences and doctrines (aqwaal), or in their actions and states, but they are rewarded for their obedience, and He pardons them for their errors.

Thus just as a mujtahid in fiqh is rewarded for his effort even if his conclusion is wrong, so a mujtahid in worship will be rewarded if he erred. So, even though their path is inferior to that of the Companions of the Prophet,

He who considers any person who does his best in forming his own opinion on a pious deed- while being mistaken in some matters- to be blameworthy, disgraceful, and disgusting, he is mistaken, astray, and innovating.

Therefore those who attack certain practices of Sufis that they think is a form of worship as blameworthy, is: mistaken, astray, and innovating!

What is (the) correct (opinion about them) is that they [the Sufis] exercise their independent judgment in obedience to God just as others who are obedient to God have also done. Among them is the foremost (al-saabiq) who draws near [to God] on the basis of this diligent effort, and among them is the moderate who belongs to the "People of the Right Hand". Among both classes is one who may strive diligently but err, and some who sin, repent and others do not. And among those claiming affiliation with them, are those who are unjust to themselves, rebelling against their Lord.

Sects of innovators and zindiqs have claimed affiliation with them, but in the opinion of the genuine Sufis, they do not belong. [Take] Al-Hallaj, for example. Most of the shaikhs of the path refused to have anything to do with him and expelled him from the path, as did al-Junaid ibn Muhammad, the master of the group, and others as shaykh Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami mentions in the Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, and al-Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Khatib in the Tareekh Baghdad.

* Taken from the translation of this treatise by Th. E. Homerin in
Arabica, T. 32, Fasc. 2 (Jul., 1985), pp. 219-244
--------------------

However, it is important to note that Ibn Taymiyyah is wrong in saying that Sufism originated in Basra. What was then known as the Sufis was a group of ascetics in Basra, who were part of what today is known as "Sufism" but do not represent it.

In the words of researcher Sara Sviri,

One of the surprising deductions from the study of the various Sufi and non-Sufi sources is that from the third/ninth to fourth/tenth centuries not all Muslim mystics were known as Sufis. Addressing Muslim mystics with the comprehensive name sûfî and identifying Islamic mysticism with tasawwuf seems to be the direct result of the compilatory literature of the late fourth/tenth century and later.

In her study of early movements of sufism and mysticism in Islam, she comes to the conclusion that Sufism was a term reserved to a certain school from Baghdad, while mystics from the vast area of Khurasan were not considered to be Sufis.

See the following source for more:
http://www.goldensufi.org/4.1bSSMalamati.html

In other words, the Sufism that developed in Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), is not what we call Sufism today. It is a certain school within what we today know as Sufism, and which is almost extinct today. This old school, with its emphasis on severe asceticsm and spiritual exercises (riyada), is gone, while the school of their critic, al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, who the Baghdadis of that time specifically said was not counted among the Sufis, is what we now know as Sufism today.

As said by shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani, all the sufi tariqas of our times are now Shadhili, meaning that they are based on the Shadhili school of tasawwuf that shuns the practices of the ancient ascetics and prefers a different method based on constant recollection and praise of Allah, not on these ancient practices and exercises.

Thus the infamous early Shadhili Sufi al-Busiri says in his poetry,

والفضل ليس يناله متوسل * بتورع حرج ولا بتزهد
إن قال ذاك الدواء فقل له * كحل الصحيح خلاف كحل الأرمد

"And virtue is not attained by means of awkward asceticism and caution.
If they say that's the necessary cure then say to them:
The Kohl of the healthy is different from the Kohl of those with inflamed eyes "

For a detailed comparison between the ancient school of tasawwuf that developed in Iraq and the Shadhili school that survives today, and that reverts to the path of the Prophet- salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam -and his Companions, see what was said by shaykh Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh in the following link:
http://riyada.hadithuna.com/the-ahmadiyya-muhammadiyya-and-the-shadhiliyya/

Conclusions:

1- The early "sufis" of Iraq and their practices are different from the path of the Sufis of today, who follow the path of the Prophet and his Companions. Thus when Ibn Taymiyyah says that Sufism originated in Basra, he is referring to a certain school within Sufism that has ceased to exist today.

2- We must remember that if the Sufis today do, like the ancient Basran sufis, use their ijtihad in certain forms of worship that have not been forbidden by the Shari'a (like physical movement in hadras), that this ijtihad might be right and might be wrong. If it is correct, then they will receive double the reward, and if they are wrong, then they will be rewarded for their efforts and forgiven for their sins, inshaAllah. And as Ibn Taymiyyah cautioned, to think that they are astray and to call them such is a wrong and unacceptable innovation.

3- For more about how Sufi practices are an elaboration and development of the sciences of Islam, and not an innovation, see the following link as well:
http://nuruddinzangi.blogspot.com/2008/11/elaboration-not-innovation.html

In the words of the author,

"There is a world of difference between elaborations and innovations, which people with muddled minds find difficult to distinguish."

And praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

We Have No Right Over Animals

2008-11-24T13:21:00.001-08:00

One of the reasons why we say Bismillah before killing an animal, or in the case of hunting before releasing the arrow/ shooting the bullet, is that because we have no right to take an animal life.

However Allah has given us permission to kill and eat animals for survival, and for other useful purposes. That is why we must invoke the name of Allah, in order to make this killing lawful, meaning: We only kill this animal because Allah has given us permission to kill it for a specific purpose.

And this means that we must not allow indiscriminate killing of animals, or any hunting or killing that is done for pleasure. Because taking the souls of these animals is not something we have a right to, without a divine sanction.

This is what I understood from a short remark by a venerable shaykh, and Allah knows best.

Elaboration not Innovation

2008-11-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

"There is a world of difference between elaborations and innovations, which people with muddled minds find difficult to distinguish."

--------

If we consider the development of Tasawwuf as a science, that is the science of the soul, we find that it provides a close comparison with the development of other sciences based on the principle of the Divine Book and the life of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). To take the science of Hadith as an example, we find that during the first century, which was the time of the Companions and the followers, things remained very much in the original form of personal teaching from those who sat in the company of the Great Ones, with little sign of elaboration and formalisation. During the second century we begin to find a more or less comprehensive collection and criticism, which culminate in the third century in critical recensions based on now thoroughly elaborated and determined principles. In the case of Fiqh we find a similar process; after the first century of the direct and practical teaching of the companions and followers, the second century produces elaborate compendia of legal decisions and the formulation of principles of jurisprudence which again by the third century had been built up into a relatively independent science. Tasawwuf, too, was constructed into a spiritual science on the firm foundations of the spiritual heritage of the Prophet of God; here again, the elaboration begins in the second century in the recorded sayings and treatises and books of the early Sufis, and in the third century Tasawwuf appears as a fully developed and formulated spiritual science. It is just as gratuitous to talk critically of later innovation in the matter of Tasawwuf as it is in the matter of Fiqh, Hadith and Tafsir. There is a world of difference between elaborations and innovations, which people with muddled minds find difficult to distinguish.

http://www.moezmasoud.com/en/articles/articles82.html

Ibnّ Taymiyyah's Intellectual Abilities

2008-11-11T02:32:00.000-08:00

Ibn Taymiyya's Vast Knowledge:

Ibn Abd al-Hadi called him "the sea of sciences."

Scholars noted how when Ibn Taymiyyah talked about a subject, you would get the feeling that this was his area of expertise and that he didn't know any other subject. And that was the case for every subject. That's how much knowledge he had.

Then even said that it was as if he could quote entire books from his memory.

However, despite all that knowledge, and despite some great thinking in many areas, it seems that he just couldn't grasp what other, greater, scholars were talking about sometimes.

Especially in the field of theology, Ibn Taymiyyah just couldn't get what Ibn Arabi was talking about. Also in the question of the status of Nubuwwa and Wilaya. He COMPLETELY misunderstood Ibn Arabi and declared him a kafir for that, even though it's not that hard to grasp his idea if you give it a minute or two of thinking.

There are also some weaknesses in some of his fiqhi thinking. For example, Jockisch, in "Ijtihad in Ibn Taymiyya's Fatawa", shows him falling into building a circular argument on a simple matter.

And finally, the way he came to the conclusion that travel for the sake of visiting the Prophet's tomb, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is forbidden is completely ridiculous. It makes no logical sense whatsoever.

Maybe that is why when the great scholar Ibn Daqiq al-Id was asked about him, he said:

"A man with a multitude of subjects of knowledge at his fingertips."

He commented on his great knowledge, but nothing about his intellect or scholarly opinions. It seems like a very reserved answer. But who is to blame him, for he has seen the likes of Sultan al-Ulama Izz al-Din bin Abd al-Salaam.

The scholar Wali al-Din al-Iraqi said about Ibn Taymiyyah, "His knowledge is bigger than his intellect." I think that's true.

قال فيه المحدث الحافظ الفقيه ولي الدين العراقي ابن شيخ الحفاظ زين الدين العراقي في كتابه الأجوبة المرضية على الأسئلة المكية : " علمه أكبر من عقله " ،

وقال أيضاً : إنه خرق الإجماع في مسائل كثيرة قيل تبلغ ستين مسألة بعضها في الأصول وبعضها في الفروع خالف فيها بعد انعقاد الإجماع عليها

Wahdat al-Wujud

2008-09-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

People have misunderstood this doctrine because they misunderstood the term "wujood" to mean "all that exists", and so they thought that what is meant is that all that exists is part of the one God. But that is a completely wrong understanding, because that is not what is meant by "wujud" by those who use this expression. (Btw, Ibn Arabi never used this expression, but some of his students did).

Basically Wujud means Allah. Therefore "the oneness of Being" means "the oneness of Allah." Basically it's another way of saying that Allah is one, except that it emphasizes that only Allah is Real, while our existence isn't because it needs Allah to sustain it at all times.

Ibn Arabi says,

“Existence belongs to Him, and non-existence belongs to you.”

(Quote from http://www.holosforum.org/v3n1/lumbard.html)

In the words of Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi:

The Oneness of Being that we maintain is none other than
the Oneness of the Truth (al-Haqq), so understand what we say,

The Oneness of Allah, the sole Unity, which the pre-eminent
luminaries have witnessed,

And there is no difference with us, O ignoramus, whether we say
"Being (wujud)" or "The Truth (al-Haqq)",

Don't imagine that the Being (wujud) that we mention is
creation according to us.

So as you see, the entire misunderstanding about Ibn Arabi comes from a different way of looking at the world. Those who see it as "wujud" think Ibn Arabi must be a kafir for saying that the creation is part of Allah, and those who see it as "mawjud" understand that "wahdat al-wujud" upholds the transcendence of Allah Most High.

Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi explains the difference between "wujud" and "mawjud", and how he sees the creation, by saying:

Truly, Being is unseen by eyes,
In respect to what the beholder sees;

Eyes perceive nothing of it besides "what is besides",
Namely, contingent things, a collection of shadows;

A shadow but shows that there is something standing,
That controls it, beyond any doubt;

So beware of thinking that what you perceive
Is that Being: be one of those who know;

For all of what you perceive is but what "is there (al-mawjud)",
Not this True Being, He of Glorious Signs;

Of a certainty, Being is completely debarred from you,
In its majesty, elevation, and exaltedness;

For all you see is contingent and perishable,
and you too, are bound to perish.

(http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/nabulsi.htm)

Adab or Statement of Fact?

2008-08-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

In Chapter 23 of Ibn al-Jawzi's Kitab al-Adhkiyaa' he says:

We have related from Al-Abbas bin al-Muttalib that he was asked "Who is older (akbar) you or the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam?" So he said, "The Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam is (akbar) and I was born before him."

There are two possible meanings that can be taken from this hadith:

- The first is the one that Ibn al-Jawzi took from it, as indicated by its placement in this chapter of this book. According to this understanding, Al-Abbas(r.a.), out of his great intelligence and his adab towards Rasool Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, didn't want to say that he was akbar from Rasool Allah, because the word "akbar" has more than one meaning: Besides the meaning of "older", it can also mean "bigger" and "greater". So he avoided saying that word out of respect, saying that Rasool Allah is akbar (in its meanings other than being older), but that he was born before (and therefore older).

- The other possible meaning is that Al-Abbas was referring to the creation of sayyidna Muhammad before any other creation, and that his light, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was Allah's first creation, but his birth in his human body came after the birth of sayyidna al-Abbas. So sayyidna al-Abbas was saying that sayyidna Muhammad is older than he is, but was born later.

and Allah knows best,
and salla Allahu ala sayyidna Muhammad and upon his family and companions, who gave sayyidna Muhammad his due respect.

The Two Paths

2008-08-04T01:59:00.000-07:00

On the distinction between the "Way of Gratitude" (aka The Shadhili School) and the "Way of Spiritual Excercises", Al-Busiri says the following:

والفضل ليس يناله متوسل * بتورع حرج ولا بتزهد
إن قال ذاك الدواء فقل له * كحل الصحيح خلاف كحل الأرمد

Read more here:

Simple Healing

2008-05-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

"What you can treat with food, do not treat with medicine.
What you can treat with a single medicine, do not treat with a compound medicine."

- Muhammad ibn Zakariyya Al-Razi

The Sign of His Presence (pbuh)

2008-02-19T03:27:00.000-08:00

Najm al-Din Kubra's spiritual upbringing of his companions was based on Love and fanaa' in the dhikr of the Prophet (pbuh) and he used to say:

"The sign of the Mustafa's presence is that you begin saying the tasliya without choice."

علامة حضور المصطفى أن تجري الصلاة عليه على لسانك بغير اختيار

How we will be judged

2008-02-18T03:27:00.000-08:00

Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.
- Sayyidna Isa (pbuh)

Taosim and the Qutbs

2008-01-15T00:26:00.000-08:00

The Taoist traditions refer to seven spiritual rulers "localized" in the constellation of the Bear. The "Classic of the Pivot of Jade" gives a spiritual doctrine told in its very title, which refers to the North Star, "the pivot of Heaven revolving on itself and carrying all the heavenly bodies along with it in its round dance." [1]

In a dream, Ruzbihan Baqli saw that he sat with two Sufi masters and ate bread and "oil so subtle that it was like a pure spiritual substance."

Subsequently, one of the two shaykhs asks Ruzbehan if he knows what this substance was. As he does not know, the shaykh informs him that it was 'oil from the constellation of the Bear which we gathered for you.' After emerging from his dream Ruzbehan continues to meditate upon it, but it took him some time, he confesses, to understand that there had been in it an allusion to the seven poles (aqtaab, more generally the seven abdaal) in the heavenly pleroma, and that God had dispensed to him the pure substance of their mystical station, that is to say, had admitted him to the rank of the seven masters of initiation and intercessors who are invisibly apportioned to our world.

...here Ruzbehan [is] being admitted to the number of the seven Abdaal surrounding the Pole. [2]

1- Corbin, Henry, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism, p. 56.

2- Ibid, pg 52.

Naseeha

2007-11-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Hassaan bin Atiyya said, Allah said:

"My servant is not delivered from Me (i.e. from My punishment) except by doing that which I enjoined upon him; and he does not stop drawing nearer to Me with supererogatory acts until I love him, and he does not draw nearer to Me with anything better than naseeha. So if he does that I become his heart with which he understands, his tongue with which he speaks, and his sight with which he sees- I answer him if he supplicates Me, I give him if he asks Me, and I forgive him if he asks My forgiveness."

The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said,

"Allah Most High said: Of all the ways that I am worshiped, the one I love the most is sincere naseeha."

Both hadiths narrated by Abdullah ibn Mubarak.

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

Naseeha is advice, or good counsel. It is to give people recommendations and help, out of sincere interest in helping them. It is to remind them of what is right and what is wrong, and to not be ashamed to do that.

Allah's Messenger Muhammad, pbuh, said, "The Deen is naseeha, The Deen is naseeha, The Deen is naseeha".

There's Something About Fez

2007-11-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

The place of Fez in the Islamic World is well known- it is the center of the Divine Sciences, "the cradle of knowledges and fount of gnoses", intellectual capital of Morocco, whose very soil produced great awliya, according to one Medieval historian. But here is a description of Fez from a famous Jewish scholar around the 10th century, when Fez was mostly inhabited by Jews,

"...the great ancient city of Fez, the seat of the Law, the threshing-floor of wisdom, the winepress of the testimony, which drives away sleep to study the Law of the Lord, which breathes divine learning even in its sleep..."

May Allah grant us a visit to drink from its fountains, from the great scholars of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, may Allah preserve it until the end of times.

The Radical Loser

2007-09-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,451379,00.html

"The Muslim stops eating before he is full"

2007-09-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

لأن أترك من عشائي لقمة أحب إلي من إحياء ليلة

"La2an atruk min 3asha2y luqma a7abbu ilayya min I7yaa2i layla"

"To keep from eating one morsel from my dinner is more beloved to me than to stay up a whole night in worship."

- Sahl Ibn Abdallah al-Tustari

Taken from: Abul Najib al-Suhrawardi's "Aadaab al-Mureedeen"

On the Malaamatiyya

2007-06-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

Faqr is not the same as Tasawwuf, its end is its beginning, and likewise asceticism is not the same as faqr; and for [the Sufis] faqr is not just poverty and destitution, but the praiseworthy faqr is trust in Allah Most High and contentment with His apportionment.

And the Sufi is not the Malamati, for the Malamati is he who does not show good and does not hide evil*, and the Sufi is he who is not occupied with creation and does not pay attention to their acceptance or rejection [of him].

- Abul Najib al-Suhrawardi, Aadaab al-Mureedeen.

* i.e. The malamati is afraid of being accepted by people and therefore becoming egotistical so he does not show any of his good acts to people, and does not hide his evil from them. The Sufi on the other hand does not put people's view of him into consideration or base his actions around them.

See also Hakim al-Tirmidhi's criticism of the Malamati method here.

جلال الدين رومي - التعصب

2007-05-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

هذا العالم أيها الفتى مثل الشجرة
ونحن عليها مثل الثمرات نصف الناضجة
فغير الناضجة منها يشتد تعلقها بالغصن
لأنها غير طيبة ولا تليق بالقصور
وأما حين تنضج وتصير طلبة الشفاه الحلوة
فأن استمساكها بالأغصان يهن على الأثر
فشدة الاستمساك والتعصب سذاجة
ما دمت جنينا فشأنك احتسام الدم

---------
لأن الجنين في بطن أمه يطعم الدم وهو في هذه المرحلة
يشبه فيها الثمرة غير الناضجة المستمسكة بالغصن
وهي التي صور بها الشاعر حال المتعصب
هذا التعصب الذي يدفع صاحبه إلى قسوة تتغذي
وتعيش على الدماء

Words that Pierce the Heart

2007-02-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

There is something about words coming from a man who acts according to what he is saying. They come from the heart and so pierce other hearts. It is like they are accompanied by something... whether it is something different in the tone of their voice, or some kind of light that accompanies the words, or whatever it is.. There is definitly something there that makes them "work". This is true wether or not the listeners know if the speaker does in fact act according to his words or not.

"If you want to advise someone, or command him or forbid him, start with yourself first and then with your family, for Umar (r.a.), if he wanted to command or forbid something, would not do it until he began with his own family. Then be soft with whomever you exhort and do not repel him with censure, for a scholar once entered the presence of Harun al-Rashid and said to him: "I came to give you an exhortation so bear with me because I want to be harsh on you", so he said: "Do not, for God sent someone who is better than you to he who is worse than I, and said: "Speak gently to him, that haply he may be mindful or fear." (Qur'an 20:44), and so al-Rashid was more knowledegable than him. And if you were gentle in your speech you would be following the example of the Qur'an and the Sunna, and it is not your responsibility if your command or prohibition do not work, for exhortation is like the wind, in that it brings together the two opposites, for it both extinguishes and flares up. God, exhalted be He, said: "Whenever a Sura is sent down to thee, some of them say, 'Which of you has this increased in faith?' As for the believers, them it has increased in faith, and they are joyful. But as for those in whose heart is sickness, them it has increased in impurity added to their impurity, and they have died while they were unbelievers" (Qur'an 9:124-125).

- Ahmad ibn Idris, Al-Iqd al-Nafees, Dar Jawaami' al-Kalim, pg 61-62.

There was once a slave who went to his owner's friend and said to him, "ask your friend to set me free." So the man began saving money for a period of one year until he was able to purchase a slave and set him free. After this he went to his friend and said to him, "why don't you set your slave free?", and he did. So the slave asked him why he did not say that earlier and he replied, "If I had said that before having done it myself, my words would not have made any influence on him".

- Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh (paraphrased)

One day, a child's parents brought him to [Abdul Qadir Jilani]. The Child was addicted to candy, and try as they might, they had not been able to cure him of this habit. They had even sought the help of doctors, but to no avail.

Now the Sage happened to have a sweet tooth himself. He told the parents: "Go now, and bring him back a week later."
When the week had passed, the parents brought the child back. The Sage simply told him, "My son, don't eat sweets from now on." The parents were mystified as to why such a simple command had not been issued the week before, but they said nothing.

After some time had passed, the parents came back to thank the Sage. They were both surprised and elated. The child had stopped eating sweets of his own accord. "O Sage, how did you accomplish this?" they asked. "And why didn't you give him the same order when we first brought him to you?"

The Sheikh smiled. "Before I could ask your child to renounce sweets," he said, "I had to do so myself. It was because I dropped my own habit that he was able to abandon his."

- Bayman, Henry. The Black Pearl. Pg 140.

Knowledge of God

2007-02-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

"Know men through al-Haqq, but do not know al-Haqq through men. " - Ahmad ibn Idris

al-Madani and Ibn Idris

2007-01-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Muhammad Zafir al-Madani wrote:

"My honored guide and father, Shaikh Muhammad Hasan Zafir al-Madani, left Medina about AH 1222 (AD 1807) and went as far as Morocco in search of a way by which he might attain to God, and he took guidance from many Shaikhs ... Then God brought him together with his Master, the Standard- Bearer of the Shadhili tariqah in his day, Sidi Mawlay Al- Arabi ibn Alimad ad-Darqawi. His meeting with him was on Safar 23rd, A.H. 1224, in the Darqawi Zawiyah at Bu-Barih in Bani Zarwal, two days' journey from Fez. He took the path from him, and his heart was opened under his guidance, and if it be asked who was my father's Shaikh, it was Mawlay Al-Arabi ad-Darqawi.

"For about nine years he was his companion. ...Then Mawlay Al-'Arabi said to him one day, in great earnestness: 'Go to thy home, Madani. Thou hast no longer any need of me'; and on another occasion he indicated that he had reached the end of all perfection, and said to him: 'Thou hast attained unto that which is attained to by the perfect among men,' and he told him to go to his native town, the House of the Perfumed Shrine, and when he bade farewell to him, he wept and said: 'I have made thee the instrument of my credit with God and a link between me and His Prophet'.

"He went to Medina, and stayed there with his family for three years, and every year he joined the Pilgrims on Mt Arafat and then returned to Medina where he visited continually the Shrine of the Prophet, spending his time turned towards God, steeped in contemplation, in utter detachment. ...And he said: 'During that time I met with the perfect Shaikh, the Gnostic, Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris. I found him on a most exalted footing as regards following the Wont of the Prophet, and I so marveled at his state that I took initiation from him for the blessing of it.'

"During his stay in Medina he was asked for spiritual guidance by some who were seeking a Master but he made no response to them out of pious courtesy to his Shaikh until he heard a voice from the Pure Shrine which said to him: 'Be a remembrancer, for verity remembrancing profiteth the believers'. He said: 'I quivered and shook at the sweetness of that utterance, and I understood it to be an authorization from the Apostle of the All-Bountiful King'. So he obeyed God's command and transmitted initiation to various persons in the city of the Prophet ...and returned to his Master Mawlay Al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi ...and remained in his presence for some months. Then Mawlay Al-'Arabi died, and my father set out once more for Medina ... and when he reached Tripoli the eyes of some of its people were opened to the excellence of his virtues and the fullness of his spiritual realization, so they took initiation from him. Then the number of his disciples increased and the brotherhood became famous and men associated it with him, and on this account it was named Al-Tariqat al-Madaniyyah and it is a branch of the Shadhili Tariqah. "

-----------

- Martin Lings, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi: His Spiritual Heritage and Legacy. Chapter: Seen from Within. Taken from http://www.tasawuf.ws/en/biography/

God's Living Word

2006-11-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

I havent read The Qur'an's Self-Image by Daniel A. Madigan, but I someone gave a brief presentation on it and some quotes, which I want to record for myself and add some notes to.

When the Qur'an refers to itself as a kitaab, the word here does not mean "book" as the word means today. Instead, a more accurate meaning of the word based on the time it was revealed and upon a semantic study of the word is: "writing process." Thus, it is very close, if not synonymous with the word kalaam, or "God's speech", which is a more dynamic and responsive term.

So what process of writing? "This is the most common and most fundamental kind of writing spoken of by the Qur'an and its primary sense: God's authoritative prescription for his creation" (pg 75).

"To have been given the kitaab is to have been given some access to that divine realm where everything is 'written', that is, known and determined/" (pg. 77). [Compare to the law7 al ma7foodh, the Preserved Tablet]

"Writing in this sense of kitaab is indeed this kind of living logos, not mere lines on a page. The kitaab of God remains immediate, intelligent, and active." (pg 124)

[Compare with: "John's use of logos, translated into English as 'word' in the prologue to his Gospel ("And the Word as been made flesh"), uses logos as a force which was both 'with God in the beginning' and actively involved in the creation...Where John innovates is to see the logos becoming flesh in Jesus."
- Charles Freeman. The Closing of the Westerm Mind, pg 74.]

"[Kitaab] is the symbol of a process of continuing divine engagement with human beings- an engagement that is rich and varied, yet so direct and specific in its address that it could never be comprehended in a fixed canon nor confined between two covers." (Pg 165)

"Taken all together, what the Qur'an says of the kitaab points not to a circumscribed corpus of liturgy, dogma, and law that can be duplicated and parceled out for each group, but to an open-ended process of divine engagement with humanity in its concrete history." (pg 178)

"Since the source of the kitaab is the writing activity of God, kitaab retains an active sense. It is not the kind of writing scorned by Socrates which looked intelligent but when questioned could do nothing more than repeat the same words again. It is writing as process, rather than a writing that is the finished product of that process." (Pg 182)

"For some believers, the implicit claim to totality and completeness contained in the word 'book' becomes the basis for a fundamentalism that cuts itself adrift from the evolving wisdom of the tradition." (pg 191)

Compare the above with the following:

The descent of the Qur'an into the heart of the servant... is precisely what happened to [Ibn Arabi] on several occasions. In a Seville cemetery to which he was accustomed to withdraw he 'received' a number of Qur'anic verses. Clearly this is a reference to the descent of the Qur'an 'in a shower of stars' (nujuman), which it is possible for saints to experience in the same way that the prophet Muhammd had before them. According to Ibn Arabi, Muhammad received revelation in three different modes. Firstly he received the Book in its aspect of furqan during the Night of Destiny (laylat al-Qadr); secondly he received it as qur'an througout the month of Ramadan; and finally he received it progressively over a period of twenty-four years in a shower of stars. It is this 'starry' descent of the Qur'an- a direct perception of the original Revelation, not to be confused with its methodical memorisation- which was experienced by the saints. So, for example, it is said that Abu Yazid Bistami 'did not die before he had "retained" the entire Qur'an'- a statement which is not to be interpreted literally, because knowing the Qur'an by heart is something much too commonplace to deserve being mentioned in the case of such an important person. In a section of the Kitab al-isfar devoted to the 'Journey of the Qur'an', Ibn Arabi declares that he had experienced this 'starry' descent in his early stages. He further adds that in fact 'the Qur'an never stops travelling towards the heart of those who preserve it.'

- Addas, Claude. Quest for the Red Sulphur pg 91-21. As quoted by Peter Lamborn Wilson in Shower of Stars, pg 53.

The Importance of Words

2006-11-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

One Professor I know remarked that the pan-Arabism defeated itself when it named itself "The Arab Dream". And so it remained nothing but a dream.

Useful stuff if you want to start a revolution or something...

Winds, Stars, Angels

2006-11-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

وَٱلْمُرْسَلاَتِ عُرْفاً }* { فَٱلْعَاصِفَاتِ عَصْفاً }* { وٱلنَّاشِرَاتِ نَشْراً }* { فَٱلْفَارِقَاتِ فَرْقاً }* { فَٱلْمُلْقِيَاتِ ذِكْراً }* { عُذْراً أَوْ نُذْراً}

(Quran 77:1-6)

Commentators have long debated about what is being described here in these Divine oaths. Are they angels or are they winds? Or is one part about angels and the other about winds?

While most commentators seem to pick one of the two, I used to prefer the idea that two seperate things are being explained. This is because there is a wa followed by one fa, and then another wa followed by two fa's. So each wa oath is about one entity, and the words precedeed by fa are descriptions of that entity.

But then again, this analysis based on the division of the wa's and fa's is weak, and thematically the idea that angels are described makes a lot of sense.

Well, in Discovering the Qur'an, Neal Robinson suggests (pg 102) that it might be both at the same time, because Psalm 104:4 describes the winds as God's messengers:

"you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers".

Robinson also mentions the fact that Judges 5.20 speaks of stars as God's warriors:

"The stars fought from heaven,
from their courses they fought against Sisera."

This reminds me of Qur'an 72:8-9, in which Jinns say that if they try to overhear the Divine commands, they get attacked by comets. I'm certain these verses should be understood as referring to spiritual states in people. The tafsir of al-Qashani says,

في الوجود نفوساً أرضية قوية لا في غلظ النفوس السبعية والبهيمية وكثافتها وقلة إدراكها ولا على هيئات النفوس الإنسانية واستعداداتها ليلزم تعلقها بالأجرام الكثيفة الغالب عليها الأرضية ولا في صفاء النفوس المجرّدة ولطافتها لتتصل بالعالم العلوي وتتجرّد أو تتعلق ببعض الأجرام السماوية متعلقة بأجرام عنصرية لطيفة غلبت عليها الهوائية أو النارية أو الدخانية على اختلاف أحوالها. سماها بعض الحكماء: الصور المعلقة، ولها علوم وإدراكات من جنس علومنا وإدراكاتنا. ولما كانت قريبة بالطبع إلى الملكوت السماوية أمكنها أن تتلقى من عالمها بعض الغيب فلا تستبعد أن ترتقي إلى أفق السماء فتسترق السمع من كلام الملائكة أي: النفوس المجرّدة، ولما كانت أرضية ضعيفة بالنسبة إلى القوى السماوية تأثرت بتأثير تلك القوى فرجمت بتأثيرها عن بلوغ شأوها وإدراك مداها من العلوم، ولا تنكر أن تشتعل أجرامها الدخانية بأشعة الكواكب فتحترق وتهلك أو تنزجر من الارتقاء إلى الأفق السماوي فتتسفل، فإنها أمور ليست بخارجة عن الإمكان، وقد أخبر عنها أهل الكشف والعيان الصادقون من الأنبياء والأولياء خصوصاً أكملهم نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم.

وإن شئت التطبيق، فاعلم: أن القلب إذا استعدّ لتلقي الوحي وكلام الغيب استمع إليه القوى النفسانية من المتخيلة والوهم والفكر والعاقلة النظرية والعملية وجميع المدركات الباطنة التي هي جنّ الوجود الإنساني، ولما لم يكن الكلام الإلهي الوارد على القلب بواسطة روح القدس من جنس الكلام المصنوع المتلقف بالفكر والتخيل أو المستنتج من القياسات العقلية والمقدّمات الوهمية والتخيلية، قالوا: { إنّا سمعنا قرآناً عجباً * يهدي إلى الرشد} أي: الصواب وذلك هو تأثرها بنور الروح وانتعاشها بمعاني الوحي وتنوّرها بنوره وتأثيرها في سائر القوى من الغضبية والشهوية وجميع القوى البدنية {فآمنا به} تنوّرنا بنوره واهتدينا إلى جناب القدس {ولن نُشْرك بربّنا أحداً} أي: لن تمثله بمثال من جنس مدركاتنا فنشبه به غيره، بل نشايع السرّ في التوجه إلى جناب الوحدة، ولن ننزوي إلى عالم الكثرة لنعبد الشهوات بهوى النفس وتحصيل مطالبها من عالم الرجس فنعبد غيره.

...

{وأنّا لمسنا} أي: طلبنا سماء العقل لنستفيد من مدركاته ما نتوصل به إلى لذاتنا ونسترق من مدركاته ما يعين في تحصيل مآربنا كما كان قبل التأدّب بالشرائع {فوجدناها ملئت حرساً شديداً} معاني حاجزة عن بلوغنا مقاصدنا وحكماً مانعة لنا عن مشتهياتنا قوية {وشُهباً} وأنواراً قدسية وإشراقات نورية تمنعنا من إدراك المعاني التي صفت عن شوب الوهم والوصول إلى طور العقل المنوّر بنور القدس، فإن العقل قبل الهداية كان مشوباً بالوهم، قريباً من أفق الخيال والفكر، مقصوراً على تحصيل المعاش مناسباً للنفس وقواها

However the normal literal interpretation is also possible. The tafsir of Ibn Ajiba says:

وذكر أبو جعفر العقيلي، بإسناد له إلى لهب بن مالك، قال: حضرت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فذكرت عنده الكهانة، فقلت: بأبي أنت وأمي؛ نحن أول مَن عرف حراسة السماء، ورصد الشياطين، ومنعهم من استراق السمع عند قذف النجوم، وذلك أنا جئنا إلى كاهن لنا، يُقال له "خطل" ، وكان شيخاً كبيراً، قد أتت عليه مائتا سنة وثمانون سنة، فقلنا: يا خطل؛ هل عندك علم بهذا النجوم التي يُرمى بها، فإنّا قد فزعنا منها، وخفنا سوءَ عاقبتها، فقال: ائتوني بسَحَر أُخبركم الخبر، ألِخَيْر أم ضرر، أم لأمن أو حذر، فأتيناه غداً عند السحَر، فإذا هو قائم على قدميه، شَاخص إلى السماء بعينيه، فناديناه: يا خطل، فأومأ إلينا: أن أمسكوا، فأنقضّ نجم عظيم من السماء، وصرخ الكاهن رافعاً صوته: أصابه إصابة، خامره عقابه، عاجله عذابه، أحرقه شهابه، ثم قال: يا معشر قحطان، أخبركم بالحق والبيان، أُقسم بالكعبة والأركان، لمُنع السمع عُتَاةٌ الجان، لِمولود عظيم الشأن، يُبعث بالتنزيل والقرآن، وبالهدى وفاصل الفرقان، يَمنع من عبادة الأوثان

فقلنا: ما ترى لقومك؟ فقال: أرى لقومي ما أرى لنفسي، أن يتبعوا خير نبي الإنس، برهانه مثل شعاع الشمس، يُبعث من مكة دارَ الحُمْس، يحكم بالتنزيل غير اللبس، فقلنا: وممَّن هو؟ فقال: والحياة والعيش، إنه لمن قريش، ما في حلمه طيش، ولا في خَلقه هيش، يكون في جيش، وأيّ جيش!! فقلنا: بَيِّن لنا مِن أي قريش هو؟ فقال: والبيت ذي الدعائم، والديار والحمائم، إنه لمن نجل هاشم، من معشرٍ أكارم، يُبعث بالملاحم، وقتلِ كل ظالم، هذا البيان، أخبرني به رئيس الجان، ثم قال: الله أكبر، جاء الحق وظهر، وانقطع عن الجن الخبر

Ibn Idris on Kalam

2006-08-09T01:48:00.001-07:00

The people of this persuasion [the philosophers] believe in God according to what they understand, while the people of God are people who believe in God inasmuch as He makes Himself known to them. And what a great difference between the two persuasions, because he who believes inasmuch as God makes Himself known to him places his intellect behind his belief, so that he believes whether his intellect accepts it or not. And he who has this kind of belief, God informs him of what he did not know before by means of revelation, not through the intellect. He who only believes in what he understands, he goes no further than "The letters." This is the reason why they have contrived the science of kalaam for which there is no guidance from the Book of God and the Sunna and no companion who has ever followed it.

Thus, they have written works enumerating the attributes (of God). God is greatly exalted above this. Indeed, this is a matter from which God Most High Himself refrained, as in His statement, "Glory be to thy Lord, the Lord of Glory, above what they describe (37:180)". Indeed, they describe God in a way such as God had not described Himself. This is of the utmost danger and ruination. They think they are good craftsmen and think that what they are doing is a science and consider that the practicioners of this "science" are those described by the Tradition, "The ulama are the heirs of the prophets". But they are in greater danger than those who sin and know and confess their sin. One of the pious people saw the Messenger of God, may God bless and grant him peace, and asked him about Ibn Sina and al Fakhr al-Razi. The Prophet said to him, "As for Ibn Sina, he wanted to approach us through a door other than ours, but we rejected him; as for al-Fakhr al-Razi, he was reproached for it." Although al-Fakhr al-Razi later left this path and repented of it, saying,

The result of using the intellect is a hobbling rope;
The result of the endeavors of the ulama is error;
The fruit of all the learning of our life is "He said" and "He replied".

- Ahmad ibn Idris, al-iqd al-nafis, 172-3.

from Enigmatic Saint, pg 74-75.

Like the pupil of thine eye

2006-08-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Great shame it is to deem of high degree Thyself, or over others recon thee: Strive to be like the pupil of thine eye— To see all else, but not thyself to see.

- Shaykh al-Islam Abdullah Ansari of Herat

Source: Edward Browne. (1964) A Literary History of Persia. Vol. 2. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 270.

External & Internal Purification

2006-07-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

After a disciple has attained the reality of faith and the soundness of repentance, he should be perpetually occupied with ablutions. Really and truly there should be no time when he is not occupied with ablutions, even though it be dark and cold, and the water itself is cold. After his ablutions let him perform two inclinations as a prayer of salutation. He should never seek to escape from any prayer. Let him perform the five prayers along with the congregation. When one prayer is over let him prepare for the next since "anyone who is waiting to pray is really already engaged in prayer." [1]

When anyone wants to attain ... purity he should attend first to his clothes. Merely reading and learning about these visible things does not cause them to be realized: It is necessary to bestir oneself as much as possible and show oneself assiduous in renewing ablutions. ... At the end of the night, toward dawn, let him take a bath. Let him consider this a good work. Almighty God will adorn him with a special kind of purity and will remove all external and internal pollution. [2]

It is related that Khwaja Bayazid said: "Whenever any thought of the world enters my heart, I cleanse myself, and whenever any thought about the world to come enters my heart, I take a bath." The reason is that the world is polluted and any thought about it is polluting. Hence cleansing or purification becomes necessary. In the life to come there is carnal desire, and one must obtain relief from that ceremonial pollution. While it is necessary to be cleansed from what pollutes, a bath is needed once ceremonial pollution has occurred.

The sheikhs have insisted on the necessity of both external and internal purification and have laid great stress on it. The starting point for those desiring to follow the Way is that their hearts become mirrorlike, so clean and shining that one can see reflected in them an image of the world of creatures and of the divine order. Thus they progress from the ranks of commoners to the rank of the elect. [3]

[The traveller on the way] should purify himself, as if he were performing the ablutions from major ritual impurity (al-janaaba), for man, so long as he remains pre-occupied with the world and those matters which distract from God Most High, will be ruled over by impurities (al-junub). But if he desires to stand before God Most High, he must of neccessity cleanse himself of ritual impurity with water as does the one about to pray. He should recite before beginning the ritual ablution,

O God, Cleanse me of every impurity, every error (hadath), every malady ('illa), every sickness (marad), every sin (dhanb), every act of disobedience (ma'siya), every negligence (ghafla), every transgression (zulma), every veil (hijaab), every estrangement (qati'a); indeed everything of which Thou cleansed Thy Prophet, Muhammad, May God bless and grant peace to his family, outwardly and inwardly, O Lord of the Worlds.

[4]

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

1. Maneri, Sharafuddin. The Hundred Letters. Pg 111
2. Pg 115-116
3. Pg 118

4. Enigmatic Saint: Ahmad ibn Idris and the Idrisi Tradition. Pg 204-205.

Those Who Could, But Do Not

2006-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

One day while browsing among the bookshops opposite the great mosque and university, I discovered a copy of the seven-volume work, Futuhat al-Mekkiyah, the greatest and most elaborate of the writings of Sheikh al-akbar. While paging through, my eyes fell on a list of titles promising a description of all the spiritual stages leading to the highest union. I bought the work and, carrying my heavy load, found my way back through the narrow streets of the ancient city. On the way I chanced to meet my friend Mohammed ben Makhluf, a dervish with the profile of a hawk and a searching glance. He immediately guessed what I was carrying.

"What are you going to do with that?" he asked me. "It is much too advanced for you. What you need is a primer [of the spiritual life]."

"In that case, the book shall remain on my shelf until I am wise enough to study it."

"When you are wise, you will no longer need the book."

"Whom was it written for then?"

"For men who can see through walls but do not do so, nor even wish to."

- Titus Burckhardt, Preface to The Bezels of Wisdom

Chao Hsiang-tzu went hunting in the Central Mountains with a party of a hundred thousand. He set fire to the forests by lighting the tall grass, and fanned the flames for a hundred miles. A man came out from within a stone cliff, rising and falling with the smoke and ashes; the crowd thought he was a demon. When the fire passed, he came out walking casually, as though the fire he had passed through did not exist. Chao Hsian-tzu marvelled and detained the man. He scrutinised him at leisure; in his shape, his colour, and the seven holes in his head, he was human; in his breathing, in his voice, he was human. He asked the man by what Way he lived in stone and went through fire.
"What are these things you call stone and fire?" said the man.
"The thing you have just come out from was stone. The thing you have just been walking through is fire."
"I didn't know."

Marquis Wen of Wei heard of it, and questioned Tzu-hsia, the disciple of Confucius.
"What sort of man was that?"
"According to what I have heard the Master say, the man who is in harmony is absolutely the same as other things, and no thing succeeds in wounding or obstructing him. To pass through metal and stone and tread through water and fire are all possible."
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"I am not yet capable of cutting open my heart and throwing away the knowledge in it. However, I can tell you all you want to know about it."
"Why doesn't your Master do it?"
"My Master is one who, though able to do it, is able not to do it."
Marquis Wen was delighted with the answer.

- The book of Lieh-tzu, pg 46-47.

Gods and Earths?

2006-06-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Your father is an image of the Lord of Creation, your mother an image of the Earth. For him who fails to honour them, every work of piety is in vain. This is the first duty.

- Hindu saying.

(taken from The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis, pg 104)

I'm wondering whether or not the Nation of Gods and Earths (aka 5%ers) got some ideas from Hinduism. According to them, the black man is called God, and the black woman is called an Earth.

According to Five Percent beliefs, only a man can achieve the level of perfection symbolized by a 7, whereas a woman can only reach a 6. Gods refer to Women members as Earths, or Queens.

Peace to all the Queens
Submitting to the sevens

-- Poor Righteous Teachers, "Can I Start This" (Holy Intellect).

Just as Earth revolves around the sun, woman is subordinate to man. A Queen or "Earth," must cover 3/4 of her body, just as 3/4 of the earth is covered by water, and so 5% women wear head coverings and long loose-fitting garments. A female Five Percenter is known as a "muslim," unlike the male God, because she witnesses to the fact that her man is Allah...

- Islam in the Mix: Lessons of the Five Percent

Note: the 5%ers have almost nothing to do with Islam.

The Islamic "sect"/group to which Brand Nubian belong, known by outsiders as the Five Percent Nation of Islam, by insiders as the Nation of Gods and Earths, hold beliefs so far removed from mainstream Islamic teachings as to be virtually unrecognizable as Islamic to a majority of Muslims. For example, the chant "allahu akbar" ("God is Greatest") in the context of this Brand Nubian song means something very different than in mainstream Islamic beliefs. God/Allah, for Five Percenters, is not the Divinity as conventionally defined by the monotheistic faiths. God is the black man. For orthodox Muslims, this is shirk, un-Islamic polytheism.

- Islam in the Mix: Lessons of the Five Percent

Socrates on Virtuous Men

2006-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

In Plato's Meno, Socrates and Meno are attempting to define 'virtue'.
In his first attempt to define virtue, Meno lists a number of virtues that each of men, women, or other people should have, such as benefiting others, ruling over people, etc.

Socrates says: You are mentioning virtues.. But what I want is virtue itself. If all these things you mentioned are virtues, then there is one thing they must have in common that makes them virtuous. If we find this one thing that is in common, that makes all these things virtuous, we find virtue.

They come to the conclusion that actions must be accompanied by wisdom or knowledge in order to be virtuous. If all virtuous actions are accompanied by wisdom or knowledge, then virtue must be either partly or wholly knowledge.

Now knowledge and wisdom are not inborn qualities. The fact that men have them would then mean they must be taught.

Yet virtue itself cannot be taught. There are no students or teachers of virtue. Many virtuous people have sons who are not virtuous, despite any attempts to teach them virtue. It simply cannot be taught.

So if the knowledge that leads to virtue is not inborn, and is not taught, does that mean virtue does not exist? But virtue does exist, and it exists in many people who were neither born virtuous (as it is not inborn) nor taught the knowledge that makes actions virtuous.

Since knowledge must be taught, and we here see that these people can be virtuous without being taught it, then virtue cannot be knowledge. So the only other possibility is that virtue is right opinion. Right opinion is like knowledge, but is not taught. You can have right opinion about something, and that opinion need not be based on experience or knowledge, it is just opinion that happens to be right.

Therefore the actions of virtuous people are guided by right opinion, which is similar to knowledge but need not be taught. So what is the reason certain people have right opinions about things (without being taught them), and are thus virtuous? They must be inspired these opinions by God (or the gods). God inspires some people with the right opinions to direct their actions, making their actions virtuous. They do not necessarily have an understanding of what it is that makes their opinions right.

Virtuous people are then divinely guided, in that their opinions about things are divinely inspired. This is what makes them virtuous.

It is possible then to call such people divine. NOT because they themselves are divine, but because their opinions are divinely inspired. They are virtuous because God (or the gods) inspire(s) their opinions about things, and these opinions guide their actions. They are illumined and inspired by God, even possessed of God. Thus it is possible to call them divine (even though they themselves are not divine).

So argues Socrates, in Plato's Meno.

To Walk on Water

2006-06-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

"The disciples failed to find their prophet, so they went out to seek him and found him walking upon water. One of them said to him, "Prophet of God, shall we walk toward you?" "Yes," he replied. As the disciple put one foot forward and then the next, he sank. Jesus said, "Stretch forth your hand, you man of little faith. If the son of Adam had a grain or atom's weight of faith, he would walk upon the water."

- Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab az-Zuhd

(from The Muslim Jesus, pg 70-71)

Maqaaleed as-Samaawaati wal-Ard

2006-06-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

"His are the Keys of the Treasures of the Heavens and the Earth. And those who reject the Signs of Allah,- it is they who will be in loss. " (39:63)

"His are the Keys of the Treasures of the Heavens and the Earth: He enlarges and restricts the sustenance to whom He will: for He knows full well all things." (42:12)

It is reported that Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, requested further information about Allah's injunction of the Keys of the Treasures of the Heavens and the Earth (mentioned several times in the Qur'an). The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said to him: "You have inquired of me something which nobody has ever asked me before. They Keys of the Treasures of the Heavens and the Earth are as follows":

[see below]

The Prophet (s.a.w.s) continued: "O Uthman! Whoever recites it one hundred times every day will be rewarded ten graces. First, all his sins will be forgiven. Second, his suffering from hellfire will be written off. Third, two angels are appointed to guard him day and night from sufferings and diseases. Fourth, he is granted a treasure of blessings. Fifth, he will reap as much blessing as someone who would have set free one hundred slaves from the offspring of prophet Ishmael (a.s.). Sixth, he would be rewarded of blessings as if he had read the entire Qur'an, the Psalms, the Torah, and the Injeel. Seventh, a house will be constructed for him in the Heaven. Eight, he will be married to a pious Heavenly maiden. Ninth, he will be honored with a crown of honor. Tenth, his recommendation (for forgiveness) of seventy of his relatives will be accepted.

"O Uthman! If you were strong enough you would not miss this remembrance on any day. You will be one of the successful ones and you will surpass everybody before you and after you." [1]

One of the great contemporary Sufis, Hazrat Abu Anees Barkat Ali of Dar-ul-Ehsan, Pakistan, has achieved a unique position among the men of piety by reciting this sacred formula. He has erected a large signpost at the entranceway of his spiritual sanctuary, upon which the words of this invaluable formula are inscribed. His own life bears ample testament to the efficacy of these words, as he has personally adopted more than ten thousand Hindus of the lowest caste and provided them with a complete training and education in life. Moreover, he maintains a clinic that provides medical care and that has restored the sight of more than three thousand persons so far, without charge of any kind. He has written more than three hundred books on Islam and Sufism, all of which have been distributed free of charge (the jacket of one reads: "These books are written for ourselves and you to read, but not for sale. They have already been sold to Him for Whom they were meant"). A countless stream of devotees arrive at the well-known Dar-ul-Ehsan sanctuary and receive, by His grace, spiritual instructions from among the fourteen Sufi orders of which Barkat Ali is a teaching master, or shaykh. Maa shaa' Allaah! The qualities and attributes of Sufi Barkat Ali could be enumerated further, but anyone who views his life with an open mind must conclude that he h as exceeded the usual range of human accomplishments. He is now in his seventy-sixth year. [2]

[This formula is also very important for healing- conveying protection against any illness for the day it is recited.]

The Formula

Begin always with:

Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah, Muhammadun Rasoolu-Llaah
A'oodhu bi-Llaahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem.

[The formula for the Keys of the Treasures of the Heavens and the Earth may be recited 21 times after each daily prayer and requires not more than three or four minutes to do so.]

Laa ilaaha illa-Llaah wa-Llaahu Akbar
wa Subhaana-Llah wal Hamduli-Llaah w-Astaghfiru-Llaah
Alladhi laa illaaha illaa Hu
al-Awwalu wal-Aakhiru waz-Zaahiru wal-Baatinu
yuhyi wa yumeetu wa huwa Hayyun laa yamootu
Bi-yadihil-khayr
wa huwa 'alaa kulli shay'in Qadeer

---------
1. The Hadith master Imam as-Suyuti said that this hadith is fabricated, but its results may speak otherwise. Many Sufis consider it as one of the most powerful and effective prayers in Islam. Allahu A'lam. (My footnote)

2. Source: The Book of Sufi Healing, pg 155-157

Note: Hadrat Barkat Ali has since passed away (in 1997).

Meditate on the Qur'an

2006-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

“How much of the Koran do you recite daily?” Ibn Ataa' was asked. “Formerly,” he replied, “I used to complete the whole Koran twice every twenty-four hours. Now I have been reciting the Koran for fourteen years, and today I have just reached the Sura of the Spoils (The 8th Sura)”

- Attar, Remembrance of the Saints, pg 319-320

Silsila

2006-06-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

When asked to detail all the links in his initiatic chain (silsila), Khwaja Baha' al-Din Naqshband (founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, d. 1389) replied,

"Nobody ever went anywhere by means of a chain."

- Jami: Baharistan, 26.
from The Wisdom of Sufism, Pg 83.

Another Disciple of Shams

2006-05-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

"[Alaa' ad-Dawla as-Simnaani] also corresponded with Salah ad-din Hasan al-Bulghari, born in Nakhjiwan in 603/1206-7, who was captured in a raid at the age of seven and taken to Bulghar. After approximately thirty years he returned to Iran and settled in Kirman, and over time came to be known as a mystical shaykh who had received his khirqa from Shams ad-din at-Tabrizi (d. 645/1247). He apparently maintained contacts with the Ilkhanid court and journeyed to Tabriz in Jumada I 698/February 1299, immediately preceding a raid on Kirman by a group of bandits. He died in Tabriz later that year [44]. Simnani appears to have considered Bulghari a teacher and referred to him in their correspondences as "my father" (pidaram); Bulghari in turn called Simnani his son (farzand). [45]

44. Khwafi, Fasih Ahmad b. Jalal ad-din Muhammad. Mujmal-i fasihi. 4 vols. Edited by Muhammad Farrukh. Mashhad: Kitabfurushi-yi bastan, 1960. 2:282, 287, 343, 379-80.

55. Ibn al-Karbala'i-yi Tabrizi, Husayn. Rawdaat al-janaan wa jannaat al-janaan. Edited by Ja'far Sultan al-Qurra'i. Majmu'a-yi matun-i farsi, no. 20. Edited by E. Yarshater. Tehran: Bungah-i tarjuma wa nashr-i kitab, 1965. 1:151, 146.

[Source: Elias, Jamal J. The Throne Carrier of God: The Life and Thought of Ala' ad-dawla as-Simnani. Pg 45]

It's amazing how great the students of Shams are. We know about the greatness of Rumi, but al-Bulghari was also a teacher of the great Alauddawla as-Simnani!

Shams seems to have come only for perfecting those who are already great Sufi masters, not the normal travellers on the path:

"I haven't come to do with the common people in this world - I haven't come for them. I've put my finger on the pulse of those who guide the world to the Real." (Me & Rumi)

Iblis

2006-05-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Why do so many Sufis keep saying that Iblis was once an angel, Azazil.. and not just any angel, the most honored of all angels, who loved God more than any other angel, and worshipped Him more than any other... And this is not only limited to the Sufis who defend Iblis, like Hallaj.. even those who think of Iblis completely negatively still repeat this story.

And when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the jinn, and he rebelled against his Lord's command... (Qur'an 18:50) **

So some say that he was at first an angel and then became one of the jinn but that is impossible for Iblis said that he was created from fire, which means that he was always jinn.

He said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." (Qur'an 7:12)

As for angels, they are made of light:

"Allah created the angels from light, created the jinn from the pure flame of fire, and Adam from that which was described to you." (Sahih Muslim).

---------

** The verse says that the command was made to the angels, but Iblis is mentioned as having rejected God's command. This is a feature in Arabic grammar called "Taghleeb", where a minority is not mentioned because it is included with the majority, even if they are different. So because Angels were the majority and Iblis (and maybe other jinn) were the minority, they need not be included directly in the verse when it refers to them. It is for the sake of brevity.

Another thing: Angels cannot disobey God's commands whereas Jinns can, and therefore Iblis must have been a jinn.

Waking Vision of the Prophet

2006-05-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

The Meccan scholar, Abu 'l-Baqa' al-'Ajimi said: "This tariqa (tariqa Muhammadiyya) is founded on an inner submergence accompanied by a visible manifestation when you see the Prophet, may God bless and grant him peace, himself. This is the outcome when you try to follow him in your words and deeds, when you busy your tongue with saying the tasliya ["May God bless and grant him peace"] and repeating it at every moment in public and private until the glorification of the Prophet, namely the tasliya, overwhelms your heart and permeates your deepest self, so that you quiver when you hear him mentioned and the vision of him takes hold of your heart and you see his form before your inner eye. Then God will bestow upon you His clemency, outwardly and inwardly. Thereafter, you will see a vision of the Prophet in many of your dreams while asleep as a first step; secondly you will see him unexpectedly while dozing off. Finally, you will see him awake."

- Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanusi[1]

Among the graces with which God honoured [Shaykh Ahmad Tijani] was the waking vision of the Prophet, continuously and ever, so that it was never absent from him for the twinkling of an eye. And (another grace was) his questioning of the Prophet on everything and asking his counsel in small things and great, and undergoing training at his hands. [2]

He [the devotee] confines himself to this dhikr [i.e the tasliya] and is patient until [the Prophet] appears to him. I never met anyone at this rank except an old blacksmith in Ishbiliyya who was known as "God, bless Muhammad" (Allaahumma, salli 'alaa Muhammad). He was not known by any other name...He doesn't talk to anyone except out of necessity. If anyone comes asking him to make something for him from iron, he asks as pay only that the customer bless Muhammad. No man, boy, or woman came to him without blessing Muhammad until he left....Whatever is revealed to the one who does this dhikr is true and immune from error, for nothing comes to him except through the Messenger..

- Ibn Arabi[3]

By God, my brothers, I did not believe that a learned man could deny the vision of the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in the waking state, until the day I met some learned men in the Qarawiyyin Mosque and had a conversation with them on this matter. They said to me: "How ever is it possible to see the Prophet when one is awake, since he has been dead for over 1,200 years? It is only possible to see him in a dream, since he himself said: 'He who sees me, that is to say in a dream, sees me in reality, for the Devil cannot imitate me,'" I answered: "Of necessity, he can be seen in waking state only by one whose mind- or let us say, whose thoughts- have transported him from this corporeal world into the world of Spirits; there will he see the Prophet without the slightest doubt; there he will see all his friends." They were silent and said not a word when I added: "Indeed he can be seen in the world of Spirits," But after a while they said to me, "Explain how this is so." I answered: "Tell me yourselves where the world of Spirits is in relation to the world of bodies." They did not know what to reply. And then I said: "There where the world of bodies is, there also is the world of Spirits; there where the world of corruption is, there also is the world of purity; there where is the world of the kingdom (mulk), there also is the world of kingship (malakut); in the very place where the lower worlds are, there are to be found the higher worlds and the totality of worlds. It has been said that there exist ten thousand worlds, each one like this world, (as recounted in the Hilyatul Awliya (Adornment of the Saints)) and all these are contained in man, without his being conscious of it. Only he whom God sanctifies by absorbing his qualities into His own, his attributes into His own, is conscious of this. Now, God sanctifies many of his servants and does not cease from sanctifying them until their end."
- Shaykh ad-Darqawi[4]

Whoever sees the Lord of being [i.e the Prophet] in a dream can do so in two ways. In the first way the dream is in no need of interpretation because the person sees the Prophet in the same state he appeared in the world and as the Prophet’s Companions beheld him. Should this vision occur to someone who is illuminated …then what he sees is the pure and noble dhat of the Prophet. [Dhat is here used to mean a human being as he can be perceived by the senses, man as a unit compounded of body, soul and spirit.] If the person is not illuminated, he can experience this as well but that is a rare situation. Usually what is seen is the image of his dhat (surat dhatihi), not his dhat itself ('ayn dhatihi), since the dhat of the Prophet can take on various forms and then be seen in numerous places, whether in a dream or in a waking state. This is because the dhat of the Prophet possesses light which emanates from it and fills the entire world. There is no place where the noble light of the Prophet does not exist. The dhat of the Prophet appears in this light the way the form of the face appears in a mirror. Thus, the light of the Prophet is similar to a mirror which fills the entire world, and what is represented in it is the dhat. That is why one person can see the Prophet in the east and another person see him in the west, one sees him in the south and another in the north. And innumerable people see him in other places— all at the same time. Each person really sees the Prophet before him because the light of the Prophet, in which his dhat is represented, is with each person. If an illuminated person (al-maftuh 'alayhi) beholds the image (sura) of the Prophet before him, he then follows it with his spiritual deeper sight (baseera) and penetrates through the light of the image to the dhat of the Prophet himself.

-Shaykh Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh [5]

Shaykh Ahmad al-Zawaawi (d.1517) once said to me: "We recite the tasliya on behalf of the Prophet so often that he then sits with us while we are in a waking state (hattaa yaseera yujaalisunaa yaqzatan) and we keep company with him like the sahaaba did (nashabuhu). Then we question him about matters of our religion and about hadiths which are held to be weak in the opinion of our religious scholars. Subsequently we base our behaviour on his words."

- Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani [6]

In terms of meeting with and learning from the Prophet after his death, each of the three shaykhs [Ahmad ibn Idris, Abd al-Wahhab al-Tazi, and Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh] had this occur to them, both while asleep and while awake. Even more, in the later part of their lives, each of the shaykhs relied only on him and had recourse to none except him, [salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam]. [7]

وقد نازل هذه الأسرار وجرى على طريقتها وسلكها ولاحت له شوارق هذه الأنوار وأخذ بأزمة الخلافة المحمدية وملكها جماعة من أساطين العلماء وجهابذة من سلاطين صلحاء الحكماء منهم الشيخ نور الدين الشوني والشيخ أحمد الزواوي والشيخ علي الخواص والشيخ محمد المنزلاوي وغيرهم فكانوا يشتغلون بالصلاة على النبي (ص) حتى صاروا يأخذون عنه ويسترشدون منه ويستضيئون بأنوار مشكاته في متابعته وسكونه وحركاته وتشرفوا برؤيته يقظة وصار يربيهم بلا واسطة (ص) قال أبو البقاء المكي بعد نقل ما مر وممن أدركته بحمد الله من أهل هذا المشهد شيخنا الإمام الأوحد سيدنا أحمد الدجاني فإنه أخبرني أنه قرأ القرآن على النبي (ص) مناماً ويقظة وكان مزيد متابعته للسنة في جميع حركاته فيما نعلم يدل على صدق لهجته وخوارق بواهر كراماته تشهد بوضوح محجته وقد شرفني برواية القرآن عنه بهذا السند بعد أن قرأت عليه من أوله وسمعت منه من سورة الرحمن وأجازني بسائره وبغيره إجازة عامة رضي الله عنه.

[8]

See also: The Fath of Abd al-Aziz ad-Dabbagh (a translation from the Ibriz)
-------------------
1. The Enigmatic Saint, Ahmad Ibn Idris and the Idrisi Tradition – R.S. O'Fahey via Red Sulphur
2. And Muhammad is His Messenger, pg 226.
3. al-Futuhaat al-Makkiyya, 4:184. Taken from Valeria J. Hoffman, "Annihilation in the Messenger of God: The Development of a Sufi Practice".
4. Letters of a Sufi Master: The Shaykh ad-Darqawi, pg 40-41.
5. al-Ibrız min kalam sayyidı al-ghawth Abd al-Azız. Taken from Ibriziana (pdf document), pg 10-11.
6. Lawaqih al-anwar al-qudsiyya fi bayan al-'uhud al-muhammadiyya, Cairo 1321, 116. Taken from The Exoteric Ahmad ibn Idris, pg 17.
7. Voll, John. "Two biographies of Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi (1760-1837)". International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1973), 642.
8.محمد بن علي السنوسي.السلسبيل المعين في الطرائق الأربعين.
وأبو البقاء المكي هو: العلامة المحدث العارف بالله أبي البقاء حسن بن علي العجيمي الحنفي المكي المتوفي سنة 1113هـ

The End of Reason

2006-04-24T06:59:00.002-07:00

Description of Shawni's "The End of Reason".
http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/collection/descriptions/teor.html

Download it here

Shawni's Letter to His Critics:

After businessmen stole a portion of my work The End of Reason and published it against my wishes, I was castigated for putting words into the devil’s mouth and accused of acting as the devil’s advocate and partisan. My critics denounced me and abused my name and accused me of terrible faults. For a time I bore this patiently, and remembered that “However often others have called harsh words down upon me, I give thanks to God that they do not know the worst of it.” An ignorant few continued their campaign of vilification and at last I drained the cup of patience and rose to defend the work against which a few fanatics had tipped their swords. Against the advice of those older and more wise, I disseminated the following statement:

“I have offered you wine and you have become drunk. I have given you the sword of faith, and you have cut yourself upon it. I have offered you water for your baptism, and you are in danger of drowning. Yet you accuse me.

"The Philistines tore out Samson’s eyes because they were blind themselves. Did this cure their blindness? Pharaoh could not free himself, though the Hebrews were his slaves. How could enslaving them set Pharaoh free? While Joseph waited in the well, his brothers were bondsman to their crime. From whom could they purchase freedom?

"The meaning of these words is this. If I have made the devil seem eloquent, that does not make me the devil or his apostle or his friend. If you have believed his lies, that does not make me a liar. If you have been driven from the field of faithfulness then you have never fought under God’s banner. Yet some accuse me of wrongdoing nevertheless. If the devil’s racket has shaken you, why denounce me? What do you know of my faith when your own is so frail that a few pretty words make you an infidel? O accusers, accuse yourselves! I am neither saint nor devil. I am a man like you.

"I have written that book as a mirror. If you are offended, see what has offended you. Do not denounce me for your ugliness, your faithlessness, your harlotry.

"I have given you a gift that you may peer into your own heart. See what you enshrine there. If you fault me, be ashamed and repent for your own sake. Your curses rebound upon you and your slander does you no credit.

"If the music I have played pleases you, then pray for this impoverished one. Yet if in your hand you hold a dirham for my cup, expend it instead in the way of charity for another. Our Friend has paid me already and my coffers burst with the coin of His mercy. Such praise that you bestow upon me feeds only my pride; such payment to me that you make I will waste; such faith in me that you keep I will betray. When the Kaaba is in sight, leave the donkey behind. I am neither saint nor devil. I am a man like you.”

http://daudshawni.blogspot.com/2005/12/shawnis-letter.html

Dhikr formulas

2006-04-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

"And repeat frequently that dhikr with which God has favoured us among His friends and which is taken from the divine presence[1], that is, "la ilaaha illa Allah Muhammad rasool Allah, fee kulli lam7a wa nafas 3adada ma wasi3ahu 3ilm Allah". And dictate this dhikr to the brethren, for its results are great; but how many times it should be repeated depends on one's ability."

translation:

" 'There is no god but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God' in every glance and every breath, to the number that only God's knowledge can comprehend. "

- Ahmad Ibn Idris in his letter to Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani.
The Letters of Ahmad ibn Idris pg 71.

[1] In Kunuz al-jawahir Ibn Idris explains that he learned this formula from al-Khidr in the presence of the Prophet (pbuh)

Philosophy and Religion

2006-04-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion. -- Francis Bacon

"Subhani.."

2006-04-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

"The one who said, 'Glory be to me! How magnificent is my status!' went astray. Does this mean that the Real was speaking? How could the real wonder at His own kingdom? How could wonder be permissible? The speaker was himself. But, he will not be taken to account for it, because he had become selfless. When he came to himself, he asked forgiveness."

- Shams Tabrizi [1]

"You must have an invocation that does not keep you back from the invoked. That is the invocation of the heart. The invocation of the tongue is not enough. Abu Yazid wanted to bring the invocation he had in his heart to his tongue. Since he was drunk*, he said, Glory be to me! If someone is drunk, he cannot follow Muhammad, who is on the other side of drunkenness. One cannot follow the sober in drunkenness. Glory be to me is predestination. They all sank down in predestination."

- Shams Tabrizi [2]

"They report that Abu Yazid didn't eat Persian melon. He said, 'I have not come to know how the Prophet ate Persian melon.' I mean, following has a form and a meaning. He preserved the form of the following. So why did he ruin the reality of following and the meaning of following? For Muhammad said, 'Glory be to You! We have not worshipped You as You should be worshipped!' Abu Yazid said, 'Glory be to me! How magnificent is my status!' If anyone supposes that his state was stronger than that of Muhammad, he is very stupid and ignorant."

- Shams Tabrizi [3]

----------
* I.e spiritual intoxication.
1.Me & Rumi. Pg 82-83
2. Ibid, pg 84.
3. Ibid, pg 82

"Ana Ahmad"

2006-04-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Many sufis sadly quote this supposed hadith:

“I am Ahmad without the mim [that is, ahad meaning Unity]; I am Arab (arabiyy) without the `ain [that is rabb meaning Lord]. Who hath seen me hath seen the Truth.”

the first problem is that many dont realize its supposed to be a hadith QUDSI. Meaning that God said it, not the Prophet (i.e the Prophet said that God said...") Therefore God is saying "I am Ahad, I am Rabbi, he who has seen Me has seen the truth." However even when God is saying it, its still implying that only the 'm' seperates the Prophet from God. But at least its not the Prophet who is saying "I am Ahad, I am Rabbi.. etc" That makes it a little less heretical. Most people think that it's supposed to be a hadith sharif (meaning the Prophet said it). But it's not. It's supposed to be a hadith Qudsi. Look it up.

The second problem is that when you take the "ain" letter out of the arabic "arabiyy", you are left with "rabbi", which means "my Lord", not "Lord". It doesnt make sense for God to call Himself "my Lord". As for "he who has seen Me has seen the truth", it also makes no sense because God cannot be seen in this world.

Of course none of this discussion matters anyway because this is a fabricated hadith that was never mentioned in any book or any writing or by any person before the 12th century.*

---------------
*Schimmel, Annemarie. And Muhammad is His Messenger. Pg 117:
"...it is not attested in the early collections of traditions and appears only in the twelfth century".

Sakina

2006-03-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

It is He who sent down the Sakina into the hearts of the believers, that they might add faith to their faith...and that He may admit the believers, men and women alike, into gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell forever, and acquit them of their evil deeds; that is in God's sight a mighty triumph. [48:4-5]

Sakina means tranquility, and so it is translated by Yusuf Ali and Shakir, and is translated as "peace of reassurance" by Pikhtall. It also means Divine Peace. Thus Allah sent down tranquility and (divine) peace into the hearts of the believers.

But Caroline Williams says that the Arabic Sakina is probably cognate (i.e. related by origin) to the Hebrew term sechina, which means "holiness of God." [1] It also means the Divine Glory. [2]

Mu'mineen, usually translated as "believers", is a stage higher than that of muslimeen and so it does not apply to all who submit to God, but to those who have iman in their hearts and do good deeds, because iman is also something that increases by one's deeds and worship. Thus, iman does not simply mean "faith" as it is usually translated. One's iman is divided into many branches including his actions and thoughts and his righteousness, and it is something that increases and decreases. It leaves one while someone is committing zina or something else that is forbidden and returns to him after he's done.

Thus another deeper meaning of the verse might be, "It is He who sent down the holiness of God into the hearts of the mu'mineen, that they might add iman to their iman...", and God knows best. See this hadith.

According to Najm al-din Kubra, the Sakina is "a group of Angels who descend into the heart". [3]

------
1. Williams, Caroline. 1983. "The Cult of 'Alid Saints in the Fatimid Monuments of Cairo. Part I: The Mosque of al-Aqmar". In Muqarnas I: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Oleg Grabar (ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press, 37-52. [footnote # 20]
2. The Sufi Paradigm of Peace-Making
3. Henry Corbin, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism, p. 79.

Teachers, Disciples

2006-03-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Put every great teacher together in a room, and they'd agree about everything; put their disciples in there and they'd argue about everything. -- Bruce Lee

Perfection comes from Balance

2006-02-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

"They insist on saying that so-and-so is all gentleness. He is sheer gentleness. They fancy that perfection is in that. It isn't. He who is all gentleness is defective. It would never be allowable for this attribute to belong to God- that all of Him should be gentleness. You would be negating the attribute of severity. Rather, there must be both getleness and severity, but each in its own place. The ignorant man has both severity and gentleness, but not in their place, because of caprice and ignorance."

- Shams Tabrizi, (pg 279)

"After all, the Prophet said, "Assume the character traits of God!" In God's character there are both severity and gentleness. There's no flavor if everything is gentleness. Hard toward the unbelievers, merciful among themselves [Qur'an 48:20]

- pg 275

"God's gentleness is equal to His severity. However, His Essence is all gentleness, so gentleness predominates." - pg 119

Harshness with friends

2006-02-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

Shams Tabrizi insists on the importance of showing severity to the student, in order to drive away hypocrisy and to show them the truth of their state. Everyone wants to be praised. As long as you praise them, they like you, and when you criticize them they hate you. You should find a teacher who will criticize you, so that you know the truth and correct yourself. By acting cruelly to someone, you help him become more perfect. By praising them you only lead them further into error. However, this severity is only the outer appearace. Shams Tabrizi says that your essence has to be Gentleness, like God whose essence is Gentleness. In fact it is this Gentleness that causes the outward severity. Severity is gentleness because it is for your sake. It perfects you and pushes you forward. It also tests you and tests your sincerity on the path. If you do not accept severity then you're only a pretender, you're not sincere in your quest, and you're not willing to go through any trouble for it. After all, a child will love you if you are gentle with him. Be cruel to him and he will run away from you. But a real man will stay with the shaikh even if he treated him severely, because he knows that he is bringing him benefit and sees that he is instilling the secret in him. Shams compares it to the siraat al-mustaqeem: a sharp sword surrounded by hell. Once you cross it, you're in Heaven for ever.

"I've said it a thousand times: Whenever I love someone, I act cruelly toward him. For a tiny slip, I gave him a hundred thousand retributions. As for the others, I don't call them to account for a mountain of sins... Don't you see that all the tribulations of the prophets and the saints were because they were His elect? " - pg 289

"Whenever I love someone, I bring forth cruelty. If he accepts that, I belong to him like a morsel. I mean, if you act with kindliness toward a five-year old child, he believes in you and loves you. It's cruelty that does the work." - pg 281

"I had a group of students. Out of kindness and good advice, I spoke cruelly to them. They used to say, 'When we were children with him, he never called us by these bad names. Maybe he's become melancholic.' I used to smash all that kindness." - pg 7

these are just quick quotes. He focuses on this a lot, and it's a theme continually repeated in his maqalaat (sayings). You'd have to read the whole thing to get a better idea of the whole philosophy and truth of it. I'm just quoting the outer "result", the action.

of course there must be gentleness too. It's just that people only want gentleness and flee from severity. There must be each in its proper place. Shams compares it to grapes that are not yet ripe. They must be alternated between the clouds and direct sunlight. The sun is needed so the grapes dont whither, and the clouds so that the grapes dont burn. Before they become sweet, the grapes would be ruined by cold weather. But after they are perfected and ripe and sweet, it doesnt matter even if they're covered in snow. (pg 118)

How to think of those who fight against Muslims

2006-02-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

He said, "If they were thorns, it would have been necessary to set them on fire."

I said, "That would be following Noah, not following Muhammad. Noah said '[My Lord,] leave not on the earth even one of the unbelievers!' (Q 71:26). Muhammad said, 'O God, guide my people, for they do not know.' "

- Shams Tabrizi. Me & Rumi , Pg 255

The Prophet said that on the day he was attacked by the people of Taif and they threw stones at him until his shoes were full of blood. Note how the Prophet considered those who were non-believers and who attacked him violently as "his people", for he was sent for all mankind.

Omar Khayyam: Fact and Fiction

2006-02-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

It is widely recognised that the 'translation' that FitzGerald made had about it a good deal of FitzGerald himself. The first verse is entirely his own invention, and as to the rest:

"It must be admitted that FitzGerald took great liberties with the original in his version of Omar Khayyam."

So wrote W Aldis Wright, who edited a version of the Rubaiyat for Macmillan in 1962.
http://home.clara.net/rod.beavon/khayyam.htm
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"None but the fool the wine of Earth doth quaff,
none but the wise the wine of Life do draw...

The means that do the ends of life defeat,
are: drink, fornication and other unlawful acts
committed by the flesh, gambling and untruth.

No threats of Hell, no hope of Heaven, can lift
the cloud that doth enshroud a defiled earthly temple.
Such flowers as these forever die,
uselessness has no place in creation's fertile fields.

Oft has the Way on earth been blazed, that all the
Path might see and rightly follow.

Sages the Pateran* have placed at every crossroad.
And though so many have pushed those darkened doors aside,
none have returned of that Way here to tell!
Which to discover, all for themselves must tread.

Yet some may question the Wisdom of the Law,
that free salvation grants to all on earth who fall.

Yet falling they must rise again; oh slayer of our foes,
renunciation is thy name!

With thee we fight the hordes of pain, and passion slay,
and thus destroy the cause of all our ills.

Each his own salvation wins! Each all earthly sin must here renounce!
Thus have the wise all taught.

Let us call Him the All-Merciful, for He the Path doth light,
so man from mortal darkness may be led into the Light.

Hear ye then this simple, yet most ancient of the truths,
how man can gain the knowledge of life beyond the tomb.

"Control thyself, and with thy senses send thy soul unto its elements,
there to wring out the secret of its birth and end."

- Omar Khayyam [1]

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* Pateran: a leaf that travelers place at the cross roads to show the way to their followers.
1. Hazeldine, Norton F.W., The Sufism of the Rubaiyat, Pg 37-40

When poverty is complete...

2006-02-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Shams Tabrizi:

"Now concerning the meaning of idha iktamala l-faqr, huwAllah[1], people have spoken a thousand inanities. It means that when poverty is complete, God is seen plainly. You find and you see- not that you become God. When poverty is complete, you find God. Otherwise, it's unbelief.

Someone said, "Maybe it doesn't mean that."

Shams said, "Then, what is the difference between you and the Christian? After all, Jesus was subtler than Hallaj, Abu Yazid, or the others.[2] So why do you blame the Christian for saying that Jesus is God? You say the same thing. No, the meaning is When poverty is complete, you find God."

In other words: When someone's soul dies, and when his satan dies, when he is purified of blameworthy character traits, he arrives at God. God forbid! Rather, he arrives at the path of God. Otherwise, he has strayed from the path of God and the soul is still alive, the satan is still alive. If he does not distinguish between the light of God's path and the light of God, he is in darkness and blindness. "Surely God has seven hundred veils of light," or "seven hundred thousand veils of light. Were one of the veils removed, this world and everything in it would be incinerated." Little by little, you pass beyond these veils until you arrive at the light of the Essence, at a light that grows up from the Essence."

- Shams Tabrizi. Me & Rumi Pg 129-130 [3]

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1. This is understood by most ppl as "When poverty is complete, he is God", meaning when someone becomes a complete faqir empty of all attributes, he arrives at God. Shams Tabrizi is correcting the belief, saying it should be understood as (and therefore translated as), "When poverty is complete, 'It is God!' ", meaning when someone becomes a complete faqir, he finds God so that he says, "huwAllah!. And if anyone thinks otherwise then he has been tricked by his ego and his satan, who are not really destroyed.

2. i.e. the sayings of Jesus according to the Christians, where he might attribute a share of divinity to himself. He doesn't mean the actual Jesus as Muslims know he was.

3. Not an exact copy from the book, I changed a few things to make it clearer.

Reading Vs Realization

2006-02-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

"The treatise of Muhammad the Messenger of God would not profit me. I must have my own treatise. If I were to read a thousand treatises, I'd become darker.

They don't know the secrets of God's saints and they study their treatises. Everyone stirs up his own imagination, then makes accusations against the speaker of the words. They never accuse themselves. They don't say, 'There's no mistake in those words- it's in our ignorance and imaginings!' "

- Shams Tabrizi. Me & Rumi, Pg 119

This is of course talking about treatises on esoteric matters. The reader can never understand what the author is really saying because the author has seen and realized things that the reader has not, and is (usually) at a far higher station than the reader. So the reader is only imagining what he thinks the author is talking about, according to his own limited understanding. Everyone must do the works necessary to progress on the path and write his own treatise. Commenting on this, Chittick clarifies,

"Shams is saying, 'What good are such treatises? If Muhammad himself had a treatise, it would be useless.' The issue is of course verification and realization, which are utterly different from rote learning." (Ibid, pg 326)

"Know that studying is also a great veil. Man goes into it, as if he has gone into a well or a moat. Then at the end he regrets it, because he comes to know that he was kept busy with licking the pot so that he would be held back from the subsistent, endless food. After all, words and sounds are the pot."

- Ibid, pg 45

BUT, when it comes to more outward matters in regards to the path (and these are the things that are most important since the inward matters are left for us to experience on our own), some instructions are more useful than others:

"I would not trade the least report from Muhammad (pbuh) for a hundred thousand treatises by Qushayri, Qurayshi, and the others. They have no flavor, no taste."

- Ibid, pg 71

The road to perfection is not straight

2006-02-10T05:55:00.000-08:00

"In my view, no one can become a Muslim just once. He becomes a Muslim, then he becomes an unbeliever, then again he becomes a Muslim, and each time something comes out of him. So it goes until he becomes perfect."

- Shams Tabrizi. Me & Rumi. Pg 237

Sufism is a light in the heart and mind

2006-02-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

“Abu Bakr does not precede you for praying much or fasting much, but because of a secret that has taken root in his heart.”
- The Prophet (pbuh) [1]

“Tasawwuf is not the profusion of prayer and fasting, but wholeness of the breast and selflessness.” - Junayd [2]

"O ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty to Allah and put faith in His messenger. He will give you twofold of His mercy and will make for you a light with which you will walk, and will forgive you. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (Qur'an 57:28)

[must get hadiths quoted in Ibn Jawzi's kitab al-adhkiya in which the Prophet says that one's Islam could be measured by his intelligence, or something to that effect.]

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1. Related by Ahmad with a sound chain in Kitab fada'il al-Sahaba, ed. Wasi Allah ibn Muhammad Abbas (Makkah: Muassasat al-risala, 1983) 1:141 (#118).
2. al-Qushayri, Risalat kitab al-sama in al-Rasail al-qushayriyya (Sidon and Beirut: al-maktaba al-asriyya, 1970) p. 60.

Wealth and the Heart

2006-02-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

"Someone remarked to Ahmad Ghazali, 'You spend the whole day blaming this world and encouraging people to cut off their attachments, but you have several tethers of horses, mules, and donkeys. How do you explain that?' He replied, 'I have driven the tethers' pegs into the ground, not into my heart' "

- Tabsirat al-Mubtadi. A Sufi text written in Konya in 1260. Me & Rumi note 2.212, pg 331.

"Money—there should be a lot in your pocket, but none in your heart."

- Shaykh Muzaffar Ozak al-Jerrahi, quoted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak in The World is Beautiful

There is "subtlety" outside of predestination

2006-02-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

"These great ones, they all fell into predestination - these gnostics. But the Path is something other than that. There is subtlety outside of predestination. God calls you "freely-choosing." Why do you call yourself predestined? He calls you "powerful" and He calls you "freely-choosing" because commandments and prohibitions, promises and threats, and sending messengers all demand free choice. There are a few verses on predestination, but not many."

- Shams Tabrizi, Me & Rumi pg 86. See also second quote in this post for continuation of this talk and its importance for the path.