Qalandaria

The Holy Qur'an and Qur'anic Interpretation (Tafsir)

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:31:00 +0000

Qur'an: Introduction

Muslims believe that the Qur'an consists of the word of God revealed in Arabic by God to the Prophet Muhammad over a twenty-two year period. He received the first revelation in the year 610 CE while engaging in a contemplative retreat in the Cave of Hira located on the Mountain of Light (Jabal al-nur)(also known as Mt. Hira), which is in the outskirts of Mecca.

The Qur'an is distinct from hadith, which are the sayings of Muhammad. It is agreed that Muhammad clearly distinguished between his own utterances (hadith) and God's words, the Qur'an.

Muslims and most Western scholars of Islam believe that the Arabic Qur'an that exists today contains substantially the same Arabic that was transmitted by Muhammad. This often surprises scholars of the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity who in many cases assume that the Qur'an has substantially evolved over time (which is what scholars of the Bible --but not many believing Christians or Orthodox Jews-- generally agree on concerning the Bible).

In other words, while scholars of the Bible in the West have largely succeeded in convincing the community of scholars that the Bible we have today was not the very same "Word of God" that was revealed through the prophets and which was spoken by Jesus, scholars of Islam have generally not come to similar conclusions about the Qur'an.

This is not to say that the text of the Qur'an is written just as it was written during the time of Muhammad. On the contrary, it is a historical fact, accepted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, that the writing of the text (but not the text itself) of the Qur'an has substantially evolved. One such major evolutionary difference is that originally the text was written without diacritical points--which distinguish some letters from others-- but early in the history of the writing of Qur'an, diacritical points were added.

The upshot of this is the vast majority of Muslims rest assured that they are reading the exact words of revelation received by Muhammad (even though the manner of writing those words has indeed changed over time).

Since Muslims believe that words themselves are those revealed by God, the act of reciting or reading the Qur'an is believed to be a means of receiving blessings (baraka) from God. Hence it is not uncommon that Muslims will learn how to read Arabic and the Qur'an without understanding it. Also, even those who cannot read the Arabic letters of the Qur'an believe that they can nevertheless benefit from hearing the evocative quality and blessedness of the original Arabic.

An excellent introduction to the Qur'an is the article titled The Quran, (link fixed 26 February 2006) by Professors Sachiko Murata and William C. Chittick of State University of New York, Stonybrook. This is an excerpt from their book Vision of Islam (Amazon.com) which is largely based on the Qur'an itself. This article will help readers to understand and get beyond certain problems inherent in any translation of the Qur'an.

Glossary of the Terms Used in the Qur'anic Sciences in both Arabic and English. This is an excellent teaching tool for students.

The History of the Compilation of the Qur'an

Three hadith in the Sahih(certified collection) of Bukhari that address the issue of the compilation of the Qur'an are listed on the page titled Bukhari on the Collection of the Qur'an The traditional Muslim understanding of the history of the Qur'an is found in the following article, excerpted from a speech by the 20th century Muslim revivalist, Syed Abul 'Aala Maudoodi, History of Qur'an Site (link fixed 26 February 2006) and The Preservation and Transmission of Qur'an (link fixed 22 December 2005). The major events in traditional accounts of the process that lead up to the production of the Qur'an as we know it are noted at the site A brief History of the Compilation of the Qur'an. For a detailed recounting of the traditional Muslim view of the early transmission of the Qur'an see Transmission of the Qur'anic Revelation, which is chapter two in Ahmad von Denffer's book 'Ulum al-Qur'an. See also chapter three in the same work, The Qur'an in Manuscript and Print, for a discussion of early Qur'an manuscripts. A recent online article that discusses early Qur'an manuscripts and includes numerous images of these is titled The Qur'an Manuscripts and was compiled by the Muslim scholars of Islamic-Awareness.Org, which is a website designed to educate Muslims about the issues often raised by Christian missionaries.

Critique of the Prevailing View of the Compilation of the Qur'an and the Rebuttal

A minority of Western scholars (often called orientalists) assert that Muslim accounts of the compilation of the Qur'an are pious fictions and that the Qur'an substantially evolved after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. This viewpoint is presented in a recent article (on-line and in print) written for a popular audience in Atlantic Monthly, What is the Koran? (Link fixed January 14, 2008) Nevertheless, concerning the completeness of the Qur'an and the final arrangement of the surahs (chapters), it must be stressed --as Professor A. Jones of Oxford asserts-- that "the varying views of orientalists [on the the completeness and order of the Qur'an] are a mixture of prejudice and speculation" and consequently have not been generally accepted as being true (Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period p. 240). For a rebuttal of the Atlantic Monthlyarticle's main contentions see a A Response to the article "What is the Koran?" written by a Jeffrey Lang, a Muslim professor of Mathematics at the University of Kansas. (Fixed 8 January, 2005) In addition, see the critique written by Azizah al-Hibri, professor of Law at the University of Richmond. (Link fixed 22 December 2005.) And note as well, the comments on the Atlantic Monthly article derived from a statement by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, (link fixed 24 November 2001) a highly esteemed scholar of Islam and religion in general.

A wide variety of criticisms of Muslim beliefs in the Qur'an are explained and refuted in a generally scholarly manner at the many pages of the site Issues Concerning the Qur'an. See especially the subpages Textual Integrity of the Qur'an and The Sources of the Qur'an.

Forgotten Witness: Evidence For The Early Codification Of The Qur'an by the scholar Estelle Whelan in the highly regarded Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1998, Volume 118, pp. 1-14. In this article, evidence is highlighted that refutes some of John Wansbrough's assertions that the Qur'an was codified centuries after the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad What follows are three critical scholarly reviews of a recent attempt by Christoph Luxenberg (pseudonym) to argue that at the basis of the Qur'an is a Christian Syriac text. Subsequently I have added a link to the book itself and a variety of other reviews:

The Etymological Fallacy and Quranic Studies: Muhammad, Paradise, and Late Antiquity by Professor Walid Saleh, University of Toronto.

Angelika Neuwirth's Review of Luxenberg's Die syro-aramaische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlusselung der Koransprache" a brief review taken from Professor Neuwirth's article "Qur'an and History - A Disputed Relationship. Some Reflections on Qur'anic History and History in the Qur'an", Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2003, Volume V, Issue I, pp. 1-18.

Detailed Review of Luxenberg by Francois de Blois, Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2003, Volume V, Issue 1, pp. 92-97.

Christoph Luxenberg is a website devote to reviews in various languages of Luxenberg's book. Among the reviews in English there and not listed above, see:

Missionary, dilettante or visionary? A review of Ch. Luxenberg, Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Qur'an by Richard Kroes.

The Review by Piet Horsten in islamochristiana 28 (2002), pp. 310f.

Review by Robert R. Phenix Jr. und Cornelia B. Horn St. Paul, Minnesota, in Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1, January 2003.

Review by Johannes J. G. Jansen Amsterdam, in Bibliotheca Orientalis, LX N°3-4, mei-augustus 2003, Spalten/columns 477-480.

Review by Martin F. J. Baasten Leiden, Niederlande / The Netherlands, in Aramaic Studies 2.2 (2004), pp. 268-272.

Review by Michael Marx summarized under the header "What is the Koran?" the results of a conference on Christoph Luxenberg's book, which took place in the Berlin Institute for Advanced Studies 21 to 25 January 2004.

Review by Simon Hopkins Jerusalem, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 28 (2003). pp.377-380.

Qur'an: Searchable Arabic Qur'an and Tafsirs, Searchable Translations, and Indices in English and Arabic

The Qur'anic Arabic Corpus is probably the best tool for English speakers interested in learning Qur'anic grammar, since it discusses the grammatical function of each Arabic word in the Qur'an.

al-Mu'jam al-mufahras an online index in Arabic of every word in the Qur'an, organized according to root (from the site www.qurancomplex.org ). It includes features such as the number of times a particular root configuration has been used in the Qur'an. In addition, if one clicks on a particular form of the root, all Qur'anic instances of it will appear in context. Up to this point, this online index is comparable to the famous al-Mu'jam al-mufahras of Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi. Nevertheless it supercedes it because if one clicks on the word in the verse that is its Qur'anic context, a window appears giving options such as the recitation of the verse, such as seeing what major Sunni Qur'an commentaries say about the verse in question, seeing translations of that verse in a variety of languages, and seeing any discussion of that verse in Qur'anic literature, such as in the genre of asbab al-nuzul (circumstances of revelation) or in the genre of gharib al-Qur'an (rare words in the Qur'an).

Search the Qur'an in Arabic at al-tafsir.com.

Search Numerous Tafsirs in Arabic at al-tafsir.com One can also go directly to the English Translation of the well-known brief commentary Tafsir al-Jalalayn. Translations--however inspired they may be--are only shadows of the original. They should always be read with a healthy dose of skepticism concerning the degree to which they reflect the original. The gulf between the original and the translation is an important reason why Muslims must recite the Qur'an only in Arabic for the required daily prayers. A translation of the Qur'an is not the Qur'an; it is simply one person's interpretation of the Qur'an. To a limited extent, however, translations can shed light on the meaning of the Qur'an.
By comparing a few Qur'an translations verse by verse, one can often get a fuller sense of the Arabic original. The following Translations of the Qur'an site uses side by side translations of Pickthall, Yusuf Ali, and Shakir. You can search these Qur'an translations as well.
Qur'an Translation Search Engine (No longer online.) Developed by Richard Goerwitz, then at Brown University, this search engine searched the Pickthall, Yusufali, Shakir, and Sher Ali translations of the Qur'an. This engine is more powerful than the previous engines, but in order to see all of the translations side by side, first search for a word, phrase, or particular verse in one of the translations (eg. Pickthall, which is the default). Then click on one of results in the "passage list" and beneath the full passage, among the various options click on "all." -->
The M. H. Shakir translation can be searched by this powerful search engine at the University of Michigan. It can perform three types of searches: a simple search for a word or phrase throughout the Qur'an; a search for two or three words or phrases in close proximity to one another; a Boolean search for the occurence of two or three words in any verse. One of the virtues of this engine is that the results are displayed in the context of the aya (s) in which the word or words are found.
The Message of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad is an excellent translation and commentary on the Qur'an. His commentary is drawn largely from traditional and 19th century commentaries. (Updated January 7, 2012. Allow a few seconds for it to load. Originally it was located on the web at www.geocities.com/masad02/ .) Another archived copy in one large html text file is at The Message of the Qur'an. See also a searchable pdf of The Message of the Qur'an.
Subject Index of the Qur'an (fixed 22 December 2005) This subject index is hyperlinked with the Qur'an, so that after choosing a particular subject, the reader can simply click on the various Qur'anic verse (ayah)numbers, which will then lead to the text of that verse in which the chosen subject is found.
Introductions to Each Qur'anic Sura, by Mawdudi

Online Qur'anic Recitations

The Qur'an: Arabic text and recitation (Link fixed 22 December 2005) The recitation is by Shaykh Khalil al-Husari (one of the finest Qur'an reciters) and is considered to be ideal for learning the proper pronunciation of the Qur'an. Real Audio is needed in order to hear this. If you do not have it, you can download it for free by clicking on this Real Audio link. (Changed to free audio links Sept. 24, 2003.)
The Qur'an: Arabic recitation by Shaykh al-Minshawi (one of the finest Qur'an reciters). (Changed to free audio link, Sept. 24, 2003.)
Surat al-Fatiha, the opening surah of the Qur'an, is recited here by Shaykh Khalil al-Husari. (Real Audio)
Rules for Reciting the Arabic Text of the Qur'an Qur'anic recitation (tajwid) is regarded as one the Qur'anic sciences. Some of these rules are indicated in the Arabic text of the Qur'an by means of Arabic abbreviations. The article here discusses such abbreviations as well as the other rules, providing clear examples to illustrate the rules.

Free Qur'ans

A Free Qur'an can be obtained from the Islamic Affairs Division of the Saudi Arabian embassy. In the box that says select the requested items, click on and hold down the arrowhead on the right and choose Qur'an -- With English translation: Yousef Ali. Free Qur'an either send Free Qur'an.org your address by email or simply call toll free 1-800-747-8726 (1-800-74QURAN).
A Free Qur'an is offered as a service at this website.
Obtain A Free Qu'ran (link fixed 17 August 2005) The Online Islamic Bookstore offers free Qur'ans to any interested non-Muslim who is willing to pay the $3.00 shipping cost. (No longer offered, Oct. 26, 2002.)

Tafsir

Muslims regard the most reliable Qur'anic commentary as being contained in the Qur'an itself. In other words, the ways in which certain ayat clarify other ayat are regarded as being the most significant form of commentary. A second form of Qur'anic commentary is how the Prophet interpreted the Qur'an. And his comments on the Qur'an (as well as everything he ever said or did) are recorded in the hadith collections. After these two forms of commentary, knowledgeable companions and later generations of pious and learned Muslims expressed their view of the meaning of various ayat. It was on this foundation that the science of Qur'anic commentary was built.

Foundations of the Science of Qur'an Interpretation (tafsir) (link fixed 22 December 2005) written by Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya Kandhalvi.

'Ulum al-Qur'an: An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an Written by the Muslim scholar, Ahmad Von Denffer, this on-line version of the first six chapters of his book expresses a Sunni perspective on the various fields of scholarship related to the Qur'an.

'Ulum al-Qur'an: An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an is another online version of Ahmad Von Denffer's work.

The Principles of Tafsir of the Qur'an is a well-formatted version of ch. 6 of Von Denffer's 'Ulum al-Qur'an. It contain's diacritical marks in transliterated Arabic terms, which are highlighted in bold.

Qur'anic Studies contains a variety of online scholarly articles dealing with Qur'anic grammar and rhetoric, literary style, and orthography.

Tafsir of Selected Surahs The Muslim woman scholar A'isha Bewley has translated and compiled from traditional sources useful commentaries on Surat al-Tawbah, selected ayahs from Surat al-Nur, and Surat al-Mulk.

In the Shade of the Qur'an (Fi Zilal al-Qur'an) (link fixed 22 December 2005) is the well-known 20th Century tafsir written by Syed Qutb, the Egyptian Muslim activist and major figure of the Muslim Brotherhood. This online section consists of the commentary from Surah 78 until the end of the Qur'an.

Al-Mizan (link fixed 17 August 2005) is the voluminous Qur'an commentary of the 'Alamah Taba'taba'i, the highly regarded 20th century Shi'ite scholar. Here is the translation of his commentary on the Fatihah (the opening surah of the Qur'an), part of the second surah (Baqarah), and part of the third surah, (Al 'Imran).

The Message of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad is an excellent translation and commentary on the Qur'an. His commentary is drawn largely from traditional and 19th century commentaries.

Altafsir.com is the most comprehensive Qur'anic resource on the web. A project of the Aal al-Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought, Altafsir.com has put online the Qur'an in Arabic recited by six of the most highly regarded Qur'anic reciters, numerous Qur'anic commentaries in Arabic, as well as translations of the Qur'an into 16 languages and many important texts in Arabic of the traditional Qur'anic sciences ('ulum). In the works are translations into English of some of the commentaries along with a new translation of the Qur'an.

Comprehensive Downloadable Arabic Library for Research in Primary Islamic Sources

This invaluable free service includes all the major hadith texts (and many of the minor ones) as well as works of hadith criticism, some important tafsirs, dictionaries, and works of fiqh. These can be downloaded --not read online-- from the Al-Muhaddith Islamic Library and Search Program (link fixed 22 December 2005). They are essential for university libraries as well as for scholars who wish to pursue original research in Islamic primary sources. In addition to the hadith collections, one can also download various Arabic tafsirs such as Tafsir Jalalayn,Suyuti's al-Durr al-manthur (which uses hadith to clarify and expand on the meaning of the Qur'an), and an abridged version of the Tafsir al-Qurtubi.
The library includes as well a number of important general dictionaries such as Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-'Arab and Fayruzabadi's al-Qamus al-muhit; Ibn al-Athir's dictionary of rare words used in hadith, al-Nihayah fi gharib al-hadith; Asfahani's dictionary of the Qur'an, Mufradat alfaz al-Qur'an; and even an Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionary.

WHAT IS THE HUMAN AURA?

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:48:00 +0000

WHAT IS THE HUMAN AURA?

The aura is the electromagnetic field that surrounds the human body (Human Energy Field-HEF) and every organism and object in the Universe.
The Human Energy Field as a collection of electro - magnetic energies of varying densities that permeate through and emit or exit from the physical body of a living person. These particles of energy are suspended around the healthy human body in an oval shaped field. This "auric egg" emits out from the body approximately 2-3 feet (1 metre on average) on all sides. It extends above the head and below the feet into the ground.

Every thing has an aura. Humans, animals, minerals, plants and the Earth all have their own aura. Webster Dictionary defines aura as “a distinctive atmosphere surrounding a given source” “an luminous radiation." You the “given source" and the luminous radiation being your aura.

Much has been written about the energy of living things but there is little scientific evidence. The energy field surrounding living things is difficult or impossible to measure using current scientific techniques. However, science and spirituality are on a convergent course.
Eventually, we will have instruments that can reflect an individual's state of balance. When we turn the corner from science, we must consider the universal characteristics of energy. Quantum physics states that energy and matter are interchangeable. In a similar fashion, each human is composed of the divine energy of the Soul in the form of body, thought, and spirit. Energy does not emanate or reflect from a person; the energy is the person, the core. This understanding is fundamental to maintaining your energy field and body in harmony. Since the body is a manifestation of human energy, dis-harmony in the energy field will cause dis-ease in the body. If the human energy field is out of balance, the body will be out of balance.

The human aura is an electromagnetic energy field that reflects the subtle life energies within the body. These energies make us what we are and in turn are affected by our surroundings and life style. The aura reflects our health, mental activity and emotional state. It also shows disease - often long before the onset of symptoms.

Close to the skin is the etheric aura. It is seen as a pale, narrow band that outlines the body, usually no more than half an inch wide. It looks like pale smoke clinging to the body. This is the visible part of the etheric body in its contracted state. During sleep the etheric body expands greatly and opens to absorb and store cosmic energy. The etheric is better named the vitality sheath or energy body. After sleep it contracts, forming a dense sheath around the body close to the skin.

The main aura is banded around the body - strata like. Imagine a person with thick, coloured hoops of light dropped over them and you get the idea. These colours emanate from the chakras. Basic energy is drawn up from the planet through the feet and fed into the chakras; much like a plant does with water. Each chakra is a transformer that generates energy of a different type and colour. The strength of each chakra depends on the person's nature and life style. Together these chakras generate the dominant hue of the aura.

The main aura is photo-sensitive; it reacts and expands in light. The aura's chakra system can be likened to a tree. Energy/nutrient is drawn up through the feet/roots and fed through the body/trunk to the chakras/leaves.

Many experts suggest people can be classed by the basic hue, or the dominant colour, of their aura. For example, Blue means a highly spiritual person, trustworthy, honest. Orange means an emotional type of person etc... I have found this to be misleading. The aura is a complex and changeable engine and cannot be judged so simply.

The aura is sensitive to colour. It reacts to the colours of clothing and to that of its surroundings. This accounts for our natural likes and dislikes when it comes to choosing the colours that surround us.

The effect of colour on the emotions is well known and they are widely used in hospitals and institutions to calm agitated people and put them at ease. Pink is the most frequently used colour for this. It is the emotional colour of love and happiness. Watch a mother's aura when she first looks into the eyes of her new baby, and falls head over heels in love. At that special, happy moment, you will see this most lovely of auras in all its glory.

There is a whole science devoted to the use of colours. This is called Colour Healing or Colour Therapy.
It is impossible to get a clear view of the aura through clothing. The auric colours of the clothes react with the person's aura, causing interference that blocks and changes it. For example: A Blue shirt will flood the natural aura with Yellow. Even neutral coloured clothing will block and dim the aura making it difficult to see.

Disease:

This shows up in the aura in many different ways, sometimes weeks before any physical symptoms. An ear infection, for example, will show up as a shadow over the side of the head before any symptoms appear. This shadow will gradually change into a murky, khaki Green. As the infection takes hold, it will become shot through with Red and Orange flecks. Khaki and murky Green with Red and Orange flecks, is commonly seen with any infection.

WHAT DOES AN AURA CONSIST OF?
The aura consist of seven levels/layers/auric bodies . Each one of the subtle bodies that exist around the physical body, has its own unique frequency. They are interrelated, and affect one another and the person's feelings, emotions, thinking, behaviour, and health as well. Therefore a state of imbalance in one of the bodies leads to a state of imbalance in the others.

HERE IS HOW A FEW AURA EXPERTS DESCRIBE THE AURA AND IT’S FUNCTION.
EDGAR CASEY: (from his book on Auras) Where do the colors come from, and what makes them shift and change? Well, color seems to be a characteristic of the vibration of matter, and our souls seem to reflect it in this three-dimensional world through atomic patterns. We are patterns, and we project colors, which are there for those who can see them. An aura is an effect not a cause. Every atom, every molecule, every group of atoms and molecules however, simple or complex, however large or small tells the story of itself, its pattern, it’s purpose, through the vibrations which emanate from it. Colors are the perceptions of these vibrations by the human eye. As the souls of individuals travel through the realms of being they shift and change their patterns as they use or abuse the opportunities presented to them. Thus at any time, in any world, a soul will give off through vibrations the story of itself and the condition in which it now exists.

ROSALYN BRUYERE: (web site) The human aura is a known, seeable, measurable energy field, and when you start to deal with it as a reality, you start to understand it. It's not outside your body, it interpenetrates your body. It's made up, probably, of ions, which are the outer bonds of molecules. Therefore, it can penetrate tissue, and therefore, for instance, magnetic fields around us affect our health, our moods, our way of being. And other people affect us through the aura and thus affect our health — in as much as our health is our inner aura.

JOE H SLATE, PH.D.: (from his book Aura Energy) The study of the human aura and its empowerment relevance is at the cutting edge of psychic science today. More than any other single human trait, the aura manifests the sum and substance of our existence as an endless life force in the universe. As a developmental phenomenon, it provides a visible continuum of our evolution from our earliest beginning. It is an extension of our higher self, and a manifestation of the cosmic nature of our being. It is the antennae of consciousness, a treasure-trove of knowledge, and a repository of limitless growth possibilities. It is a spectacular garment of resplendent beauty that neither fades with age nor unravels with ware. Its radiance surpasses the brightest works of nature. It has been described by some as the light of God shining out from within us.

DR BARBARA BRENNAN: Do you notice that you are immediately comfortable with some people that you meet and like them instantly, and there are others you are not comfortable with? Did you notice that you get tired when spending time with some people, and with others you get energized?

Do you get the strong urge to touch someone in pain, or even put your hands on someone's injury, and have trouble holding yourself back? All of these sensations are reactions to information coming to us from another person's aura. The aura, a field of energy that surrounds each of us, is a distilled reflection of everything we think, feel and are. Without making an effort to perceive someone's aura, we can still receive quite a bit of data from its "vibes." But when we make a conscious effort to read an aura, it can tell us volumes about someone: how his/her past has affected him/her, what he/she wants most out of life, how healthy he/she is, how happy he/she is and what his/her problems and strengths are.

Most of us think of an aura as being colored light around the body, something mysterious that only psychics can see. In fact, anyone can perceive an aura, and it's not just something we can see, but also feel, and sometimes even hear, smell or taste!

DR DOUGLAS BAKER: (from his book The Human Aura) The aura is an energy unit made up of very refined matter and it forms a sort of cloud or nimbus shaped something like a large globule or egg interpenetrating our bodies. It arises through pressure exerted in form in all of its myriad expressions on the many planes of substance, ranging from the positive or spiritual to the negative or material. We walk around with it, sleep with it, and are sustained by it. It has a north pole which is almost coincidental with the vertex of the skull and into which there pours the life force in great quantities. We call this the vortex of the auric egg. There is a south pole too, which begins in the aura about the site of the sacrum bone at the base of the spine and continues downwards to its termination through the soles of the feet. This exit for energy from the aura is called the torrent. In primitive man the auric egg is accentuated around the lower hemisphere and in the spiritually advanced it is emphasized in the upper hemisphere. It constantly pulsates in a sort of breathing motion and is, indeed, related to the breathing mechanisms. Each intake of air swells the aura with energy called prana. Energy may enter the aura not only through the vortex but directly from all parts of its periphery. There are several additional sites of entry at the neck just below the lobes of the ears, over the region of the spleen, and through the palms of the hands. The major port of entry for the prana is through the air we breathe. It should never be forgotten that this entry is under our control and can be enhanced through practicing rhythmic breathing which can be made to coincide with the natural pulsations of the aura – The aura becomes positive and outgoing when we breath out the negative and absorptive when we are breathing in.

TED ANDREWS: (from his book How to see & read the Aura) Although defined in many ways, the aura is the energy field that surrounds all matter. Anything that has an atomic structure will have an aura, an energy field that surrounds it. Every atom of every substance is comprised of electrons and photons that are in constant movement. These electrons and protons are electrical and magnetic energy vibrations. The atoms of animate matter life are more active and vibrant than those of inanimate matter. Thus the energy fields of trees, plants. Animals and people are most easily detected and experienced.

THE SEVEN LAYERS OF THE HUMAN AURA
In the Human being there are seven bodies as follows: the physical body plus six subtle bodies which surround the physical expression.
· 1. Physical Body
· 2. Etheric Double
· 3. Astral Body
· 4. Mental Body
· 5. Causal Body
· 6. Spiritual Body
· 7. Divine Body

Physical Body is the most dense of all the auric emanations. We see the Physical aura as the Etheric Body or Etheric Double, which is an exact duplicate of the Physical form and indicates the person's health aspect.

Etheric Double penetrates the Physical Body's organs, nerves, bones, glands, etc. and extends 3 to 6 inches past the physical form. This Etheric emanation registers the person's sensations. One of the interesting things about the Etheric Body is, if a person has lost a limb or an eye, it still exists in the Etheric form and still resonates with the Physical Body. The person may still "feel" the missing limb and is still able to sense the missing eye. You might even be able to "see" the missing limb or eye as you read the aura.

Astral Body extends about 3 to 5 feet from the physical form and expands or contracts according to the person's moods, feelings, and whether one is alone or in a crowd. (This body usually contracts when the person is in a crowded area.) This is the body which expresses "I saw red", for instance, "or I am green with envy."

Mental Body is the next layer of the aura. It is typically one of two colors: blue or yellow. Blue symbolizes the dreamer, the philosophical person, while yellow expresses the planner, the practical person. The Mental Body blends with the Astral Body and extends 3 to 4 feet past the

Astral Body. The fullness of that aura emanation has to do with the extent of development of the sense of self and how set one's opinions are.
The Mental Body expands and contracts as well, but not as much as the Emotional Body.

Causal Body shows the "cause and effect" of why one is in embodiment and what one still needs to learn within the pattern of one's humanness.In it are stored imprints of the past of this life and past lives. These imprints can be observed as colors, but usually when a person focuses
on the colors, one can see images and memories. One can also see the connection with other people and how deeply the connection is.

Spiritual Body contains the patterns for the person's highest potential as a soul. Its colors are pastel and refined, so that they are only discernible as light. When the Spiritual Body is observed during meditation, instead of color, one can typically see guides, guardians, angels,
or the Higher Self. The Spiritual Body merges with the other planes of existence, such as the heavens.

Divine Body is the last distinguishable layer of the aura. It is usually expressed as Light. When focused on, one begins to have a feeling of Oneness with all things.

In the book by Cyndi Dale “New Chakra Healing” (I highly recommend that you read this book which is available for purchase from amazon.com) She talks extensively about the human aura. Below is a chart from her book showing 9 layers of the human auric field. Here is a description of these two additional layers.

8th layer – which relates to the 8th Chakra concerns itself with past, present, and future time in all our experiences within time. This energy field connects in through the top of our head, then spreads around our body, attaching to the primary and secondary charkas, front and back. It keeps us plugged into the moment and provides the present time with a context. It appears as a lattice work of moon-colored strands backed by a void or black energy. This layer pertains to our White Zone Memory, and area or state in which we exsist just prior to entering a lifetime.

9th layer – relating to the 9th Chakra . It occupies a very small, almost nonexistent, space on the physical plane. She sees it as almost a pinprick located above the head. It need not occupy much space because it operates under the laws of limitlessness and abundance and can motivate energy to move beyond the speed of light. It is said to relate to who we are beyond this lifetime. Miraculous healings can be delivered through this auric layer.

THE COLORS OF THE HUMAN AURA Clothing worn while viewing an aura can distort what is seen. The best place to look at the human aura is in the shoulder. neck and head area. The aura is more intense there and may not be obstructed by clothing as much. Auric colors are similar in appearance to after images. After-images are generated by staring - for twenty seconds or so - at a brightly illuminated color, and then quickly closing your eyes, or looking away. It is commonly thought that after-images are generated by color depletion, of the rods and cones in the eyes, caused by staring at one color for too long. This generates the reverse, or negative color, of that color. An after-image stays in sight until this color depletion is corrected, and the eyes return to normal. Auars are not After Images as they are seen differently.

After-images are generated by staring for a long time at a colored object - for twenty of thirty seconds, or more. This is the difference. When auric sight is more advanced, the aura of a color can be seen clearly, almost the instant a colored object is glanced at with auric sight. No prolonged staring is required to produce an aura. A Brief look at the meaning of colors in the aura. Different shades of these colors have different meaning – below is a general description when seeing a clear bright color.

· Color Attributes
· Red - Sensuality, vitality, raw energy
· Orange - Emotion, creativity
· Yellow - Personality power, mental power, intellect
· Green - Spirituality, love, affinity with nature, natural healer
· Blue - Highly spiritual, religious, natural teacher, healer
· Violet - Very highly spiritual, psychic, clairvoyance, religious, teacher and healer
· Gold - Highly advanced spirituality and psychic abilities - an adept

The basic meanings of the individual colors are well known - as above. The human aura is so complex and changeable, it just cannot be classified in such a simple way. There are many hues of the same color that have different meaning. A clear bright red can mean physical vitality where if it is a dark muddy red it can mean anger.

For example: if a person, with a predominantly blue aura, is experiencing an emotional crisis, their aura will be flooded with large patches of orange. This is a temporary state only, and once the crisis is resolved, their aura will revert to its natural blue. There are so many things that can temporarily change the appearance of an aura - sometimes just for an hour or more. Devotional worship, for example, generates high minded feelings and deep spiritual love. An unstable, emotional, dominant and violent person, who's aura is, say, naturally red and orange,with streaks of black in it - can generate higher spiritual colors, during worship. These will temporarily flood their aura, giving them the appearance (to auric sight) of being a very spiritual person - but hiding their "true colors" and hence, their true nature. Muddy colors express uncertainty and unhealthy attitudes and feelings. Scattered auras express laziness and inability to focus. Here are a few other color variations.

· Aqua: the color for the healer.
· Beiges: change.
· Browns: stagnation, addictions to material things.
· Light blue: peace, openness and acceptance; sensitivity.
· Pink: innocence, happiness, enthusiasm; Love.
· White: connection to the Divine, compassion, and the ability to see the good in others.
· Black: repression of feelings and thoughts; protection; denial; illness.
· Silver: compassion and understanding.
· Green: balance. An excess of green in the aura can mean one is healing, changing, stubbornness or inflexibility.
· Emerald green: comprehension, mental power.
· Lemon green: envy.

LEARNING TO SEE AURAS

First of all, you must know that yes, you to can see auras. The human eye is quite capable with some exercise and training. The brain filter everything we see so we must reprogram ours minds to let the subtle energies be seen. You can train your eyes to take in and translate more of the light spectrum. To understand how this works, you must understand how the eyes work, particularly those portions of the eye known as the pupil, iris & retina. The pupil is a small opening that allows light to enter. It looks black for the same reason that a distant house window looks black. The interior is not as brightly lit as the outside. The pupil of your eye can be adjusted to let in more or less light. The iris muscle of the eye, adjusts to let more or less light in through the pupil. This light passes through the lens and stimulates the retina. Inside
the retina are sensitive nerve fibers called cones and rods. When the cones and rods are stimulated, chemicals are released which help you to detect and register light of various colors and intensity. There are exercises that can help you stimulate brighter color vision and increase
perception.

The pupil becomes smaller in bright light and larger in dim light. The iris opens and closes the pupil. The iris is a muscle which controls the amount of light entering the pupil. As light is allowed in by the movement of the iris, it passes through the lens and acts upon the retina.

The retina is the truly light –sensitive portion of the eye. It contains nerve cells called cones and rods which serve to detect specific colors and intensities of Light. When the cones and rods are stimulated, a chemical is released which helps translate that stimulation into specific colors and light intensities within the brain. Signals are then transmitted through the optic nerve to the brain, and you are able to register what you have seen. The more strongly the rods and cones are stimulated the more subtle light emanations you can detect. By strengthing the muscles of the eyes you can achieve more control over your vision that you may have ever though possible.

The Auras Of Colours
· Object - Auric Colour
· Red - Green
· Orange - Pale Green
· Yellow - Pale Blue
· Green - Orange
· Blue - Yellow
· Indigo - Gold
· Violet - Pale Gold
· Pink - Iridescent Green

Here is one helpful exercise to develop your ability to see auras.

Get a book and cover it with a bright primary color and place it a foot of so in front of a white wall. Do not place it in such a manner as that it produces a shadow. A soft light from behind, off to the left or right side of you and sit back away form the book about 5 to 8 feet.

The auras of the colors blue and red are the brightest and easiest to see.

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and relax. When you are calm, look at the book. Focus your eyes on nothing, a little to the side and past it. Gently hold and get used to that focus but don't strain your eyes or tense your eyes or forehead. Concentrate! you need a gentle,steady un-focus, similar to day-dreaming.

When you need to blink, do so, or it will cause your eyes to tense and water. Blink normally and quickly without changing focus, and do not become preoccupied with it. It may cause the aura to disappear for a second, but it will reappear quickly if you stay relaxed and hold your focus.

After a while you will see a pale narrow aura coming from the book. Hold the focus, don't look AT it, soon a bright Yellow or Green aura will start building up from the object. Don't change focus or look directly at it or the aura will disappear.
There is a reason for this strange un-focus. Your outer field of vision is many times more sensitive than the focused area is. Have you ever seen a movement, out of the corner of your eye, only to turn and see nothing there? What you may have seen is an aura building up from
something and your outer field of vision has detected it.

Once you have completed the first step, gather several books and cover them, each with a different colored paper. Study these one at a time and write down the auric color for it. Next try using two at a time, and watch how the auric colors affect each other.

Get a pot plant or some flowers and study it. The aura you will see emanates from the living plant and also from the colors of the petals. The Orange hue comes from the green of the stems and leaves. You will also see a more distinct etheric and a shimmering optical effect around them.This shimmering is the energy field or living aura of the plant.

For the next step use an animal, dog or cat etc, if you have one. Try and observe them when they are resting. Observe your own aura. This can be done both inside and outside in the sun. Hold your arm out and study it against the sky or clouds. Alternatively, lie down and look at your legs. Make sure the skin is bare when you do this, and remember, grass will give off an Orange hue.

When you feel proficient enough, try it with a human subject. Just remember not to try too hard. Do it exactly the same as in the original exercise with the book. Get your volunteer to remove some of their clothing and study the bare skin area against a neutral background.
On a human subject, again, the first thing you will see is the etheric aura, like pale smoke clinging to the skin. Next you will see the shimmering optical effect in the air extending from several inches to a couple of feet deep, depending on the strength of their aura. Keep trying and the aura's color will build up, and out from, the etheric. It will first appear as a narrow band of color next to the etheric. This will expand slowly, if you hold your focus, until it is several inches or more thick.

MORE EYE EXCERCISES TO STRENGHTEN YOUR EYES AND ABILITY - ALSO CHECKOUT THE RAINBOW ROOM

25 Quranic Duas

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 29 May 2011 06:16:00 +0000

1. Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the life to come and keep us safe from the torment of the Fire (2:201)

2. Our Lord! Bestow on us endurance and make our foothold sure and give us help against those who reject faith. (2:250)

3. Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error. (2:286)

4. Our Lord! Lay not upon us such a burden as You did lay upon those before us. (2:286)

5. Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear, grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us. You are our Protector. Help us against those who deny the truth. (2:286)

6. Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate from the truth after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your grace. Verily You are the Giver of bounties without measure. (3:8)

7. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings, and make firm our steps and succour us against those who deny the truth.(3:147)

8. Our Lord! Whomsoever You shall commit to the Fire, truly You have brought [him] to disgrace, and never will wrongdoers find any helpers (3:192)

9. Our Lord! Behold we have heard a voice calling us unto faith: "Believe in your Lord" as we have believed. (3:193)

10. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous. (3:193)

11. Our Lord! And grant us that which you have promised to us by Your messengers and save us from shame on the Day of Judgement. Verily You never fail to fulfill Your promise. (3:194)

12. Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves, and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost! (7:23)

13. Our Lord! Place us not among the people who have been guilty of evildoing. (7:47)

14. Our Lord! Lay open the truth between us and our people, for You are the best of all to lay open the truth. (7:89)

15. Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and make us die as those who have surrendered themselves unto You. (7:126)

16. Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the evildoing folk, and save as by Your mercy from people who deny the truth (10:85-86)

17. Our Lord! You truly know all that we may hide [in our hearts] as well as all that we bring into the open, for nothing whatever, be it on earth or in heaven, remains hidden from Allah (14:38)

18. Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Your presence and dispose of our affairs for us in the right way. (18:10)

19. Our Lord! Grant that our spouses and our offspring be a comfort to our eyes, and give us the grace to lead those who are conscious of You. (25:74)

20. Our Lord! You embrace all things within Your Grace and Knowledge, forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and ward off from them the punishment of Hell. (40:7)

21. Our Lord! Make them enter the Garden of Eden which You have promised to them, and to the righteous from among their fathers, their wives and their offspring, for verily You are alone the Almighty and the truly Wise. (40:8)

22. Our Lord! Relieve us of the torment, for we do really believe. (44:12)

23. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins as well as those of our brethren who proceeded us in faith and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness and Most Merciful (59:10)

24. Our Lord! In You we have placed our trust, and to You do we turn in repentance, for unto You is the end of all journeys. (60:4)

25. Our Lord! Perfect our light for us and forgive us our sins, for verily You have power over all things. (66:8)

What is Mysticism ? - DIVINE WISDOM

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:01:00 +0000

What is Mysticism ? - DIVINE WISDOM

Nothing in the world can bring us happiness and satisfaction except divine wisdom. All other things which seem to suffice our needs will show their importance for a moment, but after that moment has passed there will be the same longing. It is only in divine wisdom that our life's purpose is fulfilled. The basis of mysticism is to be found in that saying of the Bible, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things will be added unto you.' Thus the search of the mystic is for that kingdom, for God, and in that search what does he find? In the search for God he finds himself.

Mysticism teaches communication with the self and enables the self to communicate with life. Also, the way to learn mysticism is quite different from the way in which one learns other things. In learning these one communicates with things, but in learning mysticism one communicates first with oneself, and this enables man to communicate with the outer life. It is not only a legend of the past that saints and sages spoke with trees and plants, with animals and birds. A soul that can communicate with life, with the self, can communicate even today with animals and birds and trees and plants.

Often people picture a mystic as a dreamer, as someone who is intoxicated, a drunken man. But in reality, to the mystic everybody else is intoxicated, for the knowledge of mysticism is soberness. The mystic's consciousness makes him sober, for he begins to see things more clearly.

Mostly he cannot speak about it, because his language is not always understood. People have reason to consider a mystic to be like a drunken person. He does not take notice of things that everybody else takes notice of. He does not attach any importance to things that everybody else considers important. He does not give as much thought to himself as everybody else does. He does not look at everyone in the same way as other people do. He does not judge people in the same light as everybody else judges others. He does not think of God and man in the same way as every other person does. Naturally, it becomes difficult for the mystic to live in the world where his language is not understood, while he understands the language of all others. Before we have spoken to the mystic he has heard us speak. Before we have expressed our thought he has read it.

Before we have expressed our feeling he has felt it. That is why a mystic can be in communication with another person better than one could ever imagine, and thus the best definition that can be given of mysticism is that it is communication with life.

No doubt a mystic is born a mystic. It is a certain type of mind which is born mystical. But mysticism can also be acquired. A soul who is born a mystic will from his cradle show mystic tendencies. But mysticism which is acquired is a greater achievement, for then one has made a normal progress towards divine wisdom.

Now the question is, how does man communicate with his self? By self-analysis. No doubt there is a danger in self-analysis. When a person is always wondering how wrong he is, how bad he is, how wicked he is, or how stupid he is, he will never stop worrying and troubling about himself, and the further he continues in this way, the more he will find in himself the spirit of wickedness or stupidity. Perhaps throughout his whole life he will find that same spirit in himself. The mystic delves deeper in himself in order to discover what it is in him that gives him the sign of existence, what it is in him that lives and what it is that dies, what it is in his being that is limited and what it is that is beyond limitation. By meditating on this a mystic communicates with his self. And in order to communicate with others he removes the barrier which stands between one person and the other, between 'I' and 'you.'

As to the religion and the moral of the mystic, the mystic has one moral and that is love. And he has one aim in his religion and that is to make a God a reality. Therefore, his God becomes a greater God than the God of millions of people who only imagine that there is a God somewhere. To him God is a reality. How can one make God a reality? Since we are able to make what is unreal a reality, it is very easy to make reality real.

There was a Brahmin who was worshipping his idol, and a man came along and said to him, 'How foolish! You are a high-caste Brahmin, you have such great culture, and yet you worship a God of stone which you have made with your own hands!' The Brahmin said, 'If you have faith this god of stone will become a real god to you, and if you have no faith even the formless God who is in heaven is nothing.' The idea behind this is that we do not know the reality of God because we have made real all that is unreal before us. We are impressed by it. We live in longing for it.

We pursue it. We live in it. And so from morning till evening we are, so to speak, wrapped up in this world of illusion, in all that is unreal and that covers our eyes from reality.

In order to find goodness one must find wickedness to compare it with. When we have found both, then both become clear. Wickedness will show what goodness is. In order to find reality we must gather the knowledge of what is unreal, and this is not difficult. In our ordinary language we use the word false. False is not that which is not real. All that is subject to change and destruction may be something in appearance, but it is never that which it pretends to be. All this existence which is before us and which is subject to change and death is not reality. It cannot be reality; but we can only see this when we have acquired some knowledge of reality. If we do not look at it as unreal, we shall not have the desire to find what is real. We must find out what is unreal and acknowledge it as unreal; then alone can we go on to the next step which will be to find reality.

40 Hadith e Qudsi

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:08:00 +0000

Forty Hadith Qudsi

Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words.

Hadith Collection

Hadith Qudsi 1:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: ‘My mercy prevails over my wrath.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 2:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah Almighty has said:

‘The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: ‘He will not remake me as He made me at first’ (1) - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: ‘Allah has taken to Himself a son,’ while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.’"

(1) i.e., bring me back to life after death.

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 3:

On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhaniyy (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished, he faced the people and said to them: "Do you know what your Lord has said?" They said: "Allah and his Messenger know best." He said: "‘This morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy,’ that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2); and as for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by such-and-such a star,’ that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.’"

(2) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that rain was brought about by the movement of stars. This Hadith draws attention to the fact that whatever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things.

It is related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik and an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 4:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah said:

‘Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time, in My hand is the night and the day.’" (1)

(1) As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh against misfortunes that are part of Time is tantamount to inveighing against Him.

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).

Hadith Qudsi 5:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said:

‘I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me."

It was related by Muslim (also by Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 6:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:

"The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: ‘And what did you do about them?’ He will say: ‘I fought for You until I died a martyr.’ He will say: ‘You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: ‘He is courageous.’’ And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: ‘And what did you do about them?’ He will say: ‘I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake.’ He will say: ‘You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: ‘He is learned.’’ And you recited the Qur’an that it might be said [of you]: ‘He is a reciter.’ And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: ‘And what did you do about them?’ He will say: ‘I left no path [un-trodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake.’ He will say: ‘You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: ‘He is open-handed.’’ And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire."

It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 7:

On the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:

"Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) will say: ‘Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise.’"

It was related by an-Nasa'i with a good chain of authorities.

Hadith Qudsi 8:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"A prayer performed by someone who has not recited the Essence of the Qur’an (1) during it is deficient (and he repeated the word three times), incomplete."

Someone said to Abu Hurayrah: [Even though] we are behind the imam? (2)

He said: Recite it to yourself, for I have heard the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) say:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: ‘I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: ‘Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin’ (3), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: ‘My servant has praised Me.’ And when he says: ‘Ar-rahmani r-rahim’ (4), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: ‘My servant has extolled Me,’ and when he says: ‘Maliki yawmi d-din’ (5), Allah says: ‘My servant has glorified Me’ - and on one occasion He said: ‘My servant has submitted to My power.’ And when he says: ‘Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in’ (6), He says: ‘This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.’ And when he says: ‘Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin’ (7), He says: ‘This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.’"

(1) Surat al-Fatihah, the first surah (chapter) of the Qur'an.

(2) i.e. standing behind the imam (leader) listening to him reciting al-Fatihah.

(3) "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds."

(4) "The Merciful, the Compassionate."

(5) "Master of the Day of Judgement."

(6) "It is You we worship and it is You we ask for help."

(7) "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favors, not of those against whom You are angry, nor of those who are astray."

It was related by Muslim (also by Malik, at-Tirmidhi, Abu-Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 9:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:

‘The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers.’ If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded; and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers.’ Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion."

It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).

Hadith Qudsi 10:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:

‘Fasting is Mine and it is I Who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for My sake.’ Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk."

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 11:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

‘Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).

Hadith Qudsi 12:

On the authority of Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

"A man from among those who were before you was called to account. Nothing in the way of good was found for him except that he used to have dealings with people and, being well-to-do, he would order his servants to let off the man in straitened circumstances [from repaying his debt]." He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that Allah said: "‘We are worthier than you of that (of being so generous). Let him off.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 13:

On the authority of Adiyy ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

I was with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there came to him two men: one of them was complaining of penury (being very poor), while the other was complaining of brigandry (robbery). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "As for brigandry, it will be but a short time before a caravan will [be able to] go out of Mecca without a guard. As for penury, the Hour (Day of Judgement) will not arrive before one of you takes his charity around without finding anyone to accept it from him. Then (1) one of you will surely stand before Allah, there being no screen between Him and him, nor an interpreter to translate for him. Then He will say to him: ‘Did I not bring you wealth?’ And he will say: ‘Yes.’ Then He will say: ‘Did I not send to you a messenger?’ And he will say: ‘Yes.’ And he will look to his right and will see nothing but Hell-fire, then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-fire, so let each of you protect himself against Hell-fire, be it with even half a date - and if he finds it not, then with a kind word."

(1) i.e. at the time of the Hour.

It was related by al-Bukhari.

Hadith Qudsi 14:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, filling in that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven." He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing about them: ‘From where have you come?’ And they say: ‘We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (Subhana llah), exalting you (Allahu akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (La ilaha illa llah), praising You (Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favours] of You.’ He says: ‘And what do they ask of Me?’ They say: ‘They ask of You Your Paradise.’ He says: ‘And have they seen My Paradise?’ They say: ‘No, O Lord.’ He says: ‘And how would it be were they to have seen My Paradise!’ They say: ‘And they ask protection of You.’ He says: ‘From what do they ask protection of Me?’ They say: ‘From Your Hell-fire, O Lord.’ He says: ‘And have they seen My Hell-fire?’ They say: ‘No.’ He says: ‘And how would it be were they to have seen My Hell-fire!’ They say: ‘And they ask for Your forgiveness.’" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then He says: ‘I have forgiven them and I have bestowed upon them what they have asked for, and I have granted them sanctuary from that from which they asked protection.’" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "They say: ‘O Lord, among then is So-and-so, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them.’" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "And He says: ‘And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 15:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah the Almighty said:

‘I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."

(1) Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: ‘I am as My servant expects Me to be.’ The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty.

It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 16:

On the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), among the sayings he related from his Lord (glorified and exalted be He) is that He said:

"Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones." Then He explained it [by saying that] "he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed."

It was related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Hadith Qudsi 17:

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord (may He be glorified) is that He said:

"‘O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 18:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection:

‘O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not.’ He will say: ‘O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not.’ He will say: ‘O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds?’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink.’ He will say: ‘O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds?’ He will say: ‘My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.’"

It was related by Muslim.

Hadith Qudsi 19:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

‘Pride is My cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.’"

It was related by Abu Dawud (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad) with sound chains of authority. This Hadith also appears in Muslim in another version.

Hadith Qudsi 20:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays and on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: ‘Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by Malik and Abu Dawud).

Hadith Qudsi 21:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah the Almighty said:

‘There are three (1) whose adversary I shall be on the Day of Resurrection: a man who has given his word by Me and has broken it; a man who has sold a free man (2) and has consumed the price; and a man who has hired a workman, has exacted his due in full from him and has not given him his wage.’"

(1) i.e. types of men.

(2) i.e. a man who has made a slave of another and has sold him.

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad ibn Hanbal).

Hadith Qudsi 22:

On the authority of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Let not any one of you belittle himself." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself?" He said: "He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: ‘What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such?’ He will say: ‘It was] out of fear of people.’ Then He says: ‘Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.’"

It was related by Ibn Majah with a sound chain of authorities.

Hadith Qudsi 23:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection:

‘Where are those who love one another through My glory? Today I shall give them shade in My shade, it being a day when there is no shade but My shade.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik).

Hadith Qudsi 24:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"If Allah has loved a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel (on whom be peace) and says: ‘I love So-and-so, therefore love him.’" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: ‘Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him.’ And the inhabitants of heaven love him." He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: ‘I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him.’ So Gabriel abhors him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: ‘Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him.’" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth."

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, Malik, and at-Tirmidhi).

Hadith Qudsi 25:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

‘Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari.

Hadith Qudsi 26:

On the authority of Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

‘Truly of those devoted to Me the one I most favour is a believer who is of meager means and much given to prayer, who has been particular in the worship of his Lord and has obeyed Him inwardly (1), who was obscure among people and not pointed out, and whose sustenance was just sufficient to provide for him yet he bore this patiently.’" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rapped his hand and said: "Death will have come early to him, his mourners will have been few, his estate scant."

(1) i.e. he has not been ostentatious in his obedience.

It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Majah). Its chain of authorities is sound.

Hadith Qudsi 27:

On the authority of Masruq (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

We asked Abdullah (i.e. Ibn Masud) about this verse: "And do not regard those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead, rather are they alive with their Lord, being provided for (Qur’an Chapter 3 Verse 169)." He said: "We asked about that and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Their souls are in the insides of green birds having lanterns suspended from the Throne, roaming freely in Paradise where they please, then taking shelter in those lanterns. So their Lord cast a glance at them (1) and said: ‘Do you wish for anything?’ They said: ‘What shall we wish for when we roam freely in Paradise where we please?’ And thus did He do to them three times. When they say that they would not be spared from being asked [again], they said: ‘O Lord, we would like for You to put back our souls into our bodies so that we might fight for Your sake once again. And when He saw that they were not in need of anything they were let be.’"

(1) i.e. at those who had been killed in the cause of Allah.

It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 28:

On the authority of Jundub ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"There was amongst those before you a man who had a wound. He was in [such] anguish that he took a knife and made with it a cut in his hand, and the blood did not cease to flow till he died. Allah the Almighty said: ‘My servant has himself forestalled Me; I have forbidden him Paradise.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari.

Hadith Qudsi 29:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:

‘My faithful servant's reward from Me, if I have taken to Me his best friend from amongst the inhabitants of the world and he has then borne it patiently for My sake, shall be nothing less than Paradise.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari.

Hadith Qudsi 30:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

‘If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him; and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him.’"

Prophetic explanation of this Sacred Hadith: ‘He who likes to meet Allah, Allah likes to meet him; and he who dislikes to meet Allah, Allah dislikes to meet him:’

Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Prophet of Allah, is it because of the dislike of death, for all of us dislike death?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "It is not so, but rather it is that when the believer is given news of Allah's mercy, His approval and His Paradise, he likes to meet Allah and Allah likes to meet him; but when the unbeliever is given news of Allah's punishment and His displeasure, he dislikes to meet Allah and Allah dislikes to meet him."

It was related by al-Bukhari and Malik. The Prophetic version is related by Muslim.

Hadith Qudsi 31:

On the authority of Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) related:

"A man said: ‘By Allah, Allah will not forgive So-and-so.’ At this Allah the Almighty said: ‘Who is he who swears by Me that I will not forgive So-and-so? Verily I have forgiven So-and-so and have nullified your [own good] deeds (1) (or as he said [it]).’"

(1) A similar Hadith, which is given by Abu Dawud, indicates that the person referred to was a godly man whose previous good deeds were brought to naught through presuming to declare that Allah would not forgive someone's bad deeds.

It was related by Muslim.

Hadith Qudsi 32:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: ‘When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else].’ So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: ‘Produce what you have taken - and there he was!’ And He said to him: ‘What induced you to do what you did?’ He said: ‘Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: ‘Being frightened of You’),’ and because of that He forgave him."

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 33:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), from among the things he reports from his Lord (mighty and sublime be He), is that he said:

"A servant [of Allah's] committed a sin and said: ‘O Allah, forgive me my sin.’ And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: ‘My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them.’ Then he sinned again and said: ‘O Lord, forgive me my sin.’ And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: ‘My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them.’ Then he sinned again and said: ‘O Lord, forgive me my sin.’ And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: ‘My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari).

Hadith Qudsi 34:

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:

"Allah the Almighty said:

‘O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.’"

It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.

Hadith Qudsi 35:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: ‘Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?’"

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).

In a version by Muslim the Hadith ends with the words:

"And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines."

Hadith Qudsi 36:

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said:

"The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: ‘Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord?’ So they will come to Adam and will say: ‘You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His Hand, He made His angels bow down to you, and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with your Lord so that He may give us relief from this place where we are.’ And he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]’ - and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.’ So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]’ - and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge (Qur’an Chapter 11 Verses 45-46), and he will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham).’ So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah.’ So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]’ - and he will mention the talking of a life other than for a life (Qur’an Chapter 28 Verses 15-16), and he will feel ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: ‘Go to Jesus, Allah's servant and messenger, Allah's word and spirit.’ So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future.’ So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself. He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: ‘Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted.’ So I shall raise my head and praise Him with a form of praise that He will teach me. Then I shall intercede and He will set me a limit [as to the number of people], so I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return to Him, and when I shall see my Lord [I shall bow down] as before. Then I shall intercede and He will set me a limit [as to the number of people]. So I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return for a third time, then a fourth, and I shall say: ‘There remains in Hell-fire only those whom the Qur’an has confined and who must be there for eternity.’ There shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: ‘There is no god but Allah’ and who has in his heart goodness weighing a barley-corn; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: ‘There is no god but Allah’ and who has in his heart goodness weighing a grain of wheat; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: ‘There is no god but Allah’ and who has in his heart goodness weighing an atom.

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah).

Hadith Qudsi 37:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah said:

‘I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, nor has it occurred to the human heart.’"

Thus recite if you wish (1): "And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Qur’an Chapter 32 Verse 17)."

(1) The words "Thus recite if you wish" are those of Abu Hurayrah.

It was related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

Hadith Qudsi 38:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise, saying: ‘Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants.’" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So he came to it and looked at it and at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So he returned to Him and said: ‘By your glory, no one hears of it without entering it.’ So He ordered that it be encompassed by forms of hardship, and He said: ‘Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants.’" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "So he returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship (1). Then he returned to Him and said: ‘By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it.’ He said: ‘Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants;’ and he found that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: ‘By Your glory, no one who hears of it will enter it.’ So He ordered that it be encompassed by lusts. Then He said: ‘Return to it.’ And he returned to it and said: ‘By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it.’

(1) The Arabic word used here is "makarih", the literal meaning of which is "things that are disliked." In this context it refers to forms of religious discipline that man usually finds onerous.

It was related by Tirmidhi, who said that it was a good and sound Hadith (also by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i).

Hadith Qudsi 39:

On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Paradise and Hell-fire disputed together, and Hell-fire said: ‘In me are the mighty and the haughty.’ Paradise said: ‘In me are the weak and the poor.’ So Allah judged between them, [saying]: ‘You are Paradise, My mercy; through you I show mercy to those I wish. And you are Hell-fire, My punishment; through you I punish those I wish, and it is incumbent upon Me that each of you shall have its fill.’"

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi).

Hadith Qudsi 40:

On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Allah will say to the inhabitant of Paradise: ‘O inhabitants of Paradise!’ They will say: ‘O our Lord, we present ourselves and are at Your pleasure, and goodness rests in Your hands.’ Then He will say: ‘Are you contented?’ And they will say: ‘And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation?’ Then He will say: ‘Would you not like Me to give you something better than that?’ And they will say: ‘O Lord and what thing is better than that?’ And He will say: ‘I shall cause My favour to descend upon you and thereafter shall never be displeased with you.’"

It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim and at-Tirmidhi).

Brief History of Hazrat Ghouse 'Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati R . A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:36:00 +0000

One of the most accomplished Muslim Sufi masters of the nineteenth century Hazrat Ghouse 'Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (RA). He was born in

1804 at Panipat, in the present-day state of Haryana in a family of

Sayyeds who claimed direct descent from the Prophet Hazrat Syedina

Muhammad ( Sal-lal-lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam ). As his mother had fallen

sick soon after his birth, he was given to a wet nurse to be looked

after, the wife of Pandit Ram Sanaihi, a pious and God-fearing Hindu.

He was doted upon by his relatives. His grandfather would address him

as 'Khurshid 'Ali' (One who shines in the light of Ali, the son-in-law

of the Prophet); his father would address him as Abul Hasan ('Father

of Hasan', one of the titles of Imam 'Ali); his mother would call him

'Ghouse Ali' ('One who is under the protection of Imam 'Ali); while

the Pandit's wife would call him 'Ganga Bishan' ('One who is an

offering to the Ganga').

At the tender age of four Hazrat Ghouse 'Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati

(RA) began to learn the Holy Qur'an from his mother, while Pandit Ram

Sanaihi began teaching him the Hindu scriptures. In his youth he was

initiated into three different Sufi orders namely Soharwardi, Qadri

and Naqshbandi. He had a total of nineteen spiritual masters, of whom

eleven were Muslims and eight were Hindus.

Great Miracle about on the topic of Meraj-un-Nabi ( Sal-lal-lahu alaihi wa sallam )

Once a person met Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (RA) near a

masjid and argued how can Nabi-e-kareem ( Sal-lal-lahu alaihi wa

sallam ) go on arsh for mehraj in one day. Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah

Qalandar Panipati (RA) said Oh “ Be-adab” look hear and suddenly

Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah Qalandar (RA) penerated inside the walls of the

masjid and disappeared breaking the walls of the masjid and at the

same time he came came again back to the original positon where he was

standing before and the walls came back to the orginal positon. Seeing

the miracle the person began pardon from the great saint and became

his disciple.

Another Famous Miracle Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (RA) narrates :

Once he accompanied with his spiritual teacher peer-o-murshid and they

went to a jungle where two people were sleeping. Both the sleeping

persons had burning red charcoal on their hands. One person’s hand had

burnt severely and bones were visible. Another person’s hand didn’t

burn and burning Charcoal didn’t effect the person even when it was on

his body. On this stage his Peer-o-murshid asked him tell me now who

is kalim among these 2 persons. Hazrat answered I think the person

whom the charcoal has not effected his body, he might be the kalim.

Peer-o-murshid on hearing this answer said . No. This is not the right

answer. The Muqams of Ashiqeens this world cannot know. Here the

person for whom the charcoal has not effected is not in deep

concentration and his spiritual power is on the burning charcoal and

he is still not matured in the path sulook but where the person whom

the charcoal has effected and burnt his bones is so deep in the love

and mediation of allah that his concentration is not on burning

charcoal but deep in the rememberance of allah subhaanahu thaalah.

This great waqiya is narrted by hazrat ghouse ali shah qalandar panipati (RA)

Hazrat Ghouse 'Ali Qalandar Panipati (RA) had a large number of

disciples, both Muslim as well as Hindu. His sayings were noted down

by one of his closest disciples, Hazrat Gul Hassan, and collected in

the form of a book, Tazkirat-ul Ghouseiya. The book, which is in Urdu,

deals with a range of issues related to universal love and the true

meaning of monotheism.

Like the Sufis of old, Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (RA)

taught his disciples through short stories and sayings that could

readily appeal even to an unlettered audience. A story that well

illustrates Ghouse Ali's belief that all attempts by ordinary human

beings to understand God are necessarily limited, and hence no one can

claim a monopoly of the truth, runs as follows:

There were once five travellers who were journeying together in great

fellowship. One was a cook; one was a drunkard; one was a hafiz [one

who has memorized the Qur'an]; one was a Sufi and one was a Brahmin.

They passed through a jungle and heard the call of a black partridge.

One of them asked, 'What is it really saying?'

The cook said, 'Nothing but onion, garlic and ginger'.

The drunkard said, 'No, it is saying that every religious jurist is malicious'.

The hafiz recited the Qur'an, 'When We created the heavens'.

The Sufi said, 'It is saying "Great is His power"'.

The Brahmin said, 'Ram, Lakshamn and Jasrat'.

And so everyone interpreted the partridge's call after their thought

and temperament and nobody knew exactly what the partridge was saying.

Many of the stories narrated in the Tazkirat-ul Ghouseiya deal with

the oneness of all humankind and the essential unity of different

religious paths attempting to reach the one. Each religion is unique,

Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (RA) suggested, and behind

the historical manifestations of religious difference is a common

quest for the Truth.

The message of the unity of all human beings, transcending religious

differences, underlies many stories contained in the Tazkirat-ul

Auliya. In one story, Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah (RA) relates: Once there

were four travelers passing through a dense forest. When they stopped

to rest for the night, because of the dangers from highwaymen, robbers

and wild animals, they decided they should keep a watch for each part

of the night.

The first watch was given to the wood sculptor. While he was sitting

alone, his three companions sleeping, he took a piece of wood and

began to carve. During his watch in the first quarter of the night he

carved the figure of a beautiful woman. Then he woke one of his

companions, a dressmaker, to take over the watch while he slept.

Noticing what his friend had created and admiring his skill, the

dressmaker decided to spend the time of his watch making a beautiful

garment for her. After he had made the garment and dressed the statue,

it was time to wake up the third watch of the night, who happened to

be a jeweller.

This man decided to adorn the girl with beautiful jewellery from

earrings to necklace, from bracelets to a beautiful belt for her

waist. Now the last watch of the night was about to begin. The

jeweller managed to wake the fourth man who was fast asleep, a

good-for-nothing fellow with no skills or arts to speak of.

The man rubbed his eyes to shake off his sleep and looked around in

the pitch darkness broken only by the last embers of the fire which

they had lit. In the light of that fading fire he saw to his utter

amazement the figure of a beautiful woman, dressed and adorned. He

looked at his three friends, now fast asleep, and admired their

skills. He was perplexed because they had left nothing for him to add,

and even if they had, he was unable to offer anything.

So he felt very distressed at himself and thought how u

seless his life

had been and was ashamed before these strangers whom he had met on the

journey. The night was quickly receding as he rose with tears in his

eyes and did the necessary ablution to offer a special prayer. There

he sat in that still land before sunrise and raised his hands and

prayed thus:

'Oh Almighty and Merciful Lord, give from your boundless mercy a

little portion so that I may not be ashamed before these friends as

this day rises. You are the Giver of Life, who gives life to

everything in the universe. You are Eternal. Bestow upon this figure

the gift of life, which is in Your power alone to give'.

At the first moment of daybreak, there was a movement in the figure

and there she was, a breathing, beautiful woman. So when the

travellers awoke, their eyes were filled, not only with the light of

the rising sun, but also by the beauty of a living form before them

whose miracle confounded them. They could not believe that a form

carved out of dead wood could breathe and move.

Soon their bewilderment was replaced by mutual hostility as to who had

greater claim over her. Each one talked about his contribution to her

making, and the fool about his prayers. They had slept the previous

night as friends but when they awoke the following morning they became

bitter enemies.

However, they agreed on one thing, that they should go into the city

and present their case before the magistrate. This they did and the

magistrate was baffled by the intensity with which each one of them

stressed his part of the story. What mystified him most was the fact

that the girl did not utter a single word, as if she were deaf and

mute.

Finally, he brought the men before the king, hoping that in his

presence at least one of them would speak the truth. But each repeated

the same story, which was obviously so unbelievable that the king was

also greatly puzzled. One of the princes suggested that they should

invite a faqir ( saint of allah ) to advise on this inscrutable

problem.

On his arrival, the faqir looked at the assembly and the helplessness

of everyone there with the single exception of the mysterious girl who

stood amidst them as if she were all alone. Then the faqir led them

out of the city and brought them before an old and mighty tree known

in ancient times as the Tree of the Oracle.

As the faqir asked the tree on behalf of the king for the solution to

the mystery, an opening appeared in its trunk. They all watched as the

girl walked towards the tree, stepped into the opening and disappeared

inside it. So from formlessness emerged the form and to formlessness

it returned.

We are of God, and unto God we return, says the Holy Qur'an, Hazrat

Ghouse Ali Shah (RA) noted. Such is the case, he said, with all of us.

As soon as we step into this world, we are surrounded by claimants of

various kinds and powers -- parents claiming us because they brought

us up; teachers claiming us because they gave us education; relatives

claiming us because they are our kin; friends claiming us because they

gave us their love; and rulers and employers claiming us because they

gave us security and livelihood; and, if we happen to be Muslim, the

Imams claim that we owe them our obedience; and if we happen to be

Hindu, then the Pandits claims us because they have prayed for us in

the temple.

But a day shall come when these relationships and the claims that

build upon them will all be nullified, and none shall ever know from

where he came and where he went. On that day, each soul shall have

much to worry about itself. On that day shall a man flee from his own

brother, and from his mother and father, and from his wife and

children, says the Holy Qur'an, Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah (RA)

instructed.

Hazrat Ghouse Ali Shah (RA) was by no means an exceptional Sufi, and

numerous mystics, from within the Muslim, as well as Sikh and Hindu

traditions, have taught the same message, expressing it in different

ways.

These traditions need to be recovered and rearticulated today, to

provide new ways of understanding religion and coming to terms with

the fact of religious pluralism. In the struggle against religious

fascism and terror such traditions must have a major role to play.

Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri R.A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:50:00 +0000

Shrine of Hazrat Data Gunj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri R.A ... حضرت سید علی ہجویری داتا گنج بخش رحمت اللہ علیہ

Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri R.A

Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A, was born in 400 A.H. in Ghazni (Afghanistan). He belonged to a Syed family (descendant of the Holy Prophet). He completed his earlier education in Ghazni by memorizing the Holy Quran. Then he studied Arabic, Farsi, Hadith, Fiqh, Philosophy etc. At that time Ghazni was the center of education in Central Asia, and it was the realm of the famous Afghan ruler Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi.

After completing the wordly education, he searched for the spiritual education. He travelled to many places for this purpose, and finally became spiritual disciple of Hazrat Abul Fazal Mohammad bin Khatli, in Junaidiya Sufi Order, who lived in Syria.
In Syria, Hazrat Ali Hajveri started his spiritual education under the guidance of Hazrat Abul Fazal, he slept less, ate less, performed tough contemplations & meditation. Then he travelled to many countries & places like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Arabia, Azerbaijan etc. There he met many Sufi saints & dervishes.

Once he entangled in a spiritual mystery, and wasn’t able to solve it, so then he went to the tomb of Hazrat Bayazid Bistami, where he meditated for many days, even he finally solved that spiritual mystery. On another occasion he entangled, and also went to the tomb of Hazrat Bayazid Bistami, but this time he found no clue. So then he left for Khurasan (A Province in Iran), he stayed in a village, where he found a group of Sufi dervishes. Because Hazrat Ali Hajveri always wore simple & normal dress, so those Sufis said to eachother that this person (Ali Hajveri) doesn’t belong their group, (As they all were wearing specific dress of dervishes). Hazrat Ali Hajveri stayed with them, they ate delicious foods, and gave him a dry bread to eat. They also mocked on Hazrat Ali Hajveri, threw on him the crusts of fruits. Hazrat Ali Hazjveri addressed God: “O God! if these people wouldn’t be wearing the clothes of your friends (dervishes), then I wouldn’t tolerate their insulting behavior.”

During the journey of Syria, he visited the tomb of the great Companion of the Holy Prophet, Hazrat Bilal. There he slept for a while, and found himself in Makka, where he saw the Holy Prophet with an old man, he didn’t recognize him & thought who he could be? Then Hazrat Ali Hajveri fell on the feet of the Holy Prophet & kissed them. The Holy Prophet knew what Hazrat Ali Hajveri had in his mind, so he told Ali Hajveri: “This old man is Abu Hanifa, your Imam.”

Later his spiritual teacher Hazrat Abul Fazal ordered him to go to Lahore to preach the spiritual teachings of Islam. He said: “Hazrat Shah Hussain Zanjani is already there for this purpose, so then why should I go to there? Hazrat Abul Fazal said: “It’s none of your business, just go to Lahore.” So he left Syria & came to Ghazni. From Ghazni he went to Peshawar & then to Lahore, in 1041 A.D (431 A.H). When he reached to Lahore, he saw that people are taking a coffin towards the graveyard for burial. He asked who is he? People replied that it is the dead body of Hazrat Shah Hussain Zanjani. After hearing that, he understood why his teacher Hazrat Abul Fazal sent him to Lahore. After reaching to Lahore, he started to preach Islam & built a mosque there.

At that time Lahore was included in the Ghazni Kingdom, whose ruler was Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi. And the governer of Lahore was Ra’e Raju, who was a Hindu & had many great mystical abilities. People of Lahore were used to supply milk to Ra’e Raju in big quantity, as a capitation. Once an old woman was on her way to pass before Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A, holding a water-pot poured with milk. Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A asked her to give him some milk from that. The woman refused & said that she has to give it to Ra’e Raju. Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A said: “Give some milk to me, by the grace of God, your cow will produce much more milk than usual”. The woman gave him the pot, Hazrat Ali Hajveri drank some milk, and then threw the remaining into the river. The old woman when went to her home, she was surprised to see the breasts of her cow who were full of milk. She poured all of her pots from milk, but still the cow’s breasts were full. Soon this news spread all around the Lahore, and people started to visit Hazrat Ali Hajveri, and all people brought milk for him, and he also drank some milk from their pots & then threw the remaining into the river, and all of their cows started to produce more milk. So they stopped to supply milk to Ra’e Raju.

Later Ra’e Raju sent one of his disciples to Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A, as his disciples also had mystical abilities. That disciple didn’t come back, so Ra’e Raju sent another disciple, who also didn’t come back. In that way, he sent all of his disciples, but no one came back at all. Finally he himself went to Hazrat Ali Hajveri, in anger. Ra’e Raju challenged Hazrat Ali Hajveri to show him any miracle. Hazrat Ali Hajveri replied: “I’m not a juggler.” But Ra’e Raju tried to impress him with his miracles, and started flying in the air, Hazrat Ali Hajveri ordered his shoes to bring him down. So the shoes of Hazrat Ali Hajveri went to the flying Ra’e Raju & started to strike on his head & broght him down. Ra’e Raju was inspired & embraced Islam on his hands. After accepting Islam he changed his name as Shaikh Ahmed Hindi.

When Hazrat Ali Hajveri built a mosque in Lahore, that mosque’s front was towards south, and differed from all other mosques of Lahore. So there became a doubt that this mosque’s fron’t isn’t towards Ka’ba. The Scholars of Lahore objected over that mosque, but Hazrat Ali Hajveri didn’t reply them. When the mosque was built completely, he invited all scholars of Lahore & said to them: “You objected over this mosque’s Ka’ba direction, now look by yourself in which direction Ka’ba actually is!” When they looked at the front, they saw Ka’ba, as they are sitting before Ka’ba in Makka. All scholars felt ashamed after watching that, and apologized.

Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A also built a room adjacent to that mosque, and used that room as Khanqa (Spiritual School). Many unbelievers acceptedIslam on his hands, many people touched the higher stages of spirituality under his guidance. He married twice, but both of his wives died soon after marriage. He had a son, named “Hasan”.

He lived in Lahore for 21 years, and then went to Syria to meet his spiritual teacher Hazrat Abul Fazal. And after the death of Hazrat Abul Fazal in 453 A.H, he again came to Lahore.

Hazrat Data Gunj Baksh Ali Hajveri R.A wrote many books, some of his books are: Diwan-e-She’r; Minhajuddin; Al-Bayan Lahal- Al-Ayan; Israrul Kharq Wal-Mauniyat; Behrul Quloob; Kitab Fana Wa Baqa; Birri’ayat Be-Huqooq-Ullah; Kashful Israr; Sharah-e-Kalam; and Kashful Mahjub.

He died at the age of 65 in 465 A.H., in Lahore.

When Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti came to Lahore in 561 A.H (1165 AD), he stayed at the tomb of Hazrat Ali Hajveri for two weeks, where he medidated. And when he finished his meditation, he said a couplet in Farsi:

Ganj Bukhsh Faiz-e-Alam; Mazhar-e-Noor-e-Khuda
Naqisa-ra Pir-e-Kamil; Kamila-ra Rahnuma

Meaning:
Ganj Buskh (Bestower of Spiritual Treasures) is a grace to the orld; a manifester of God’s light.
A perfect spiritual teacher for the beginners; a guide for perfected.

Brief History of Hazrat Sheikh Sharf-Uddin Bu-Ali Shah Qalandar R.A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 18:36:00 +0000

Hazrat Sheikh Sharf-Uddin Bu-Ali Shah Qalandar R . A

Parentage
His real name was Sheikh Sharf Uddin and Bu-Ali Shah the title. His father, Sheikh Fakhar Uddin was a great scholar and saint of his time. The mother, Bibi Hafiza Jamal, was the daughter of Maulana Syed Nemat Ullah Hamdani. His father came from Ganja, Azerbaijan in the year 600 Hijri and settled down in Panipat. His lineage with several links reached Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa. One account says he was born in (1209-1324 CE) in Panipat, India. However an epitaph on his tomb in Persian gives his birthplace as Ganja in present-day Azerbaijan. It traces his descent from Imam e Aazam Nauman Ibn Thaabit Abu Hanifa.

Studies: He completed his studies at an early age and taught near the Qutub Minar in Delhi for 20 years. He was counted among renowned scholars, and ^Top^ ranking teachers regarded him with great respect.

Absorbed in Wonder: Once during the studies he was lost in absorption and wonder. He got up and threw all the books into the river and trudged into the forest and busied in prayers and meditation there.

During those days, the ruler of Delhi married a girl but was unable to perform whenever he would try to go close to her, though otherwise he was healthy. This was really frustrating and humiliating for him. At last, he summoned all the scholars of Delhi and told them about his strange problem. They were unable to figure it out, as the ruler was able to perform with other women of the harem. The ruler became furious, and warned all of the scholars of Delhi, that if they could not find the reason of his problem until tomorrow, he would kill them all. Bu-Ali Shah, who was only a religious scholar at the time, was also among them.

On the same day, a wandering dervish came to the school of Bu-Ali Shah, and asked his students about him. They told him that he went to the palace. That Dervish gave some written note to the students and asked them to give it to Bu-Ali Shah. When Bu-Ali Shah arrived at his school, his students told him about the dervish and gave him the written note.

It was written in that the ruler of Delhi has married his own daughter, that's why when he goes near her, God makes him impotent. In past, the ruler married a beautiful woman, and then for some reasons he left her. The woman was pregnant at that time. She took refuge in the house of an old man, who was a launderer. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and died shortly after giving birth to her. Because the old launderer was childless, he took the baby girl and raised her up as his own daughter. Since she was beautiful, the ruler had come to know about her beauty, and he married her. Through his condition, God saved him from committing a great sin. On next day, Bu-Ali Shah went to the ruler, and told him the whole story. Then the ruler inquired about that, and found it to be true.
After coming back to his school, Bu-Ali Shah threw away all of his books, and then went to look for that dervish who gave him the written note. On the third day he found him, the dervish was the great Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutub-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki, the spiritual Master of Baba Farid. Bu-Ali requested him to accept him as his disciple. Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki declined his request saying that he was not authorized to do so. He then said that all he could do is to take him to his spiritual teacher (murshid). After saying that, Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki took his hand and put it on the hand of Amirul Momineen Ali. Through Imam Ali, he received the required spiritual training, and after finishing Bu-Ali Shah became a dervish. From then on, he became famous with the title of "Bu-Ali", although his real name was Sharfuddin.

Prayer and Meditation
He undertook severe penance and meditation, stood in a state of absorption for several days in water till the fish ate away flesh form his calves. One day he was engaged in meditation, a voice he heard. It said, "Sharf Uddin, we granted you your prayer say, what do you want?" He said, "I need none save you. I will give away my life in love while standing at this place." The voice again descended, "Get out of water, you have to do much for us." He replied, "I will not emerge myself from the river of love. If you want it, then do it." Saying this he was lost again. He witnessed, in the state, that a saint appeared and lifted him out of the river and placed him on the bank.

Several chroniclers opine that the saint was Hazrat Ali himself. He taught him some divine secrets and disappeared. From that day he was regularly lost in spiritual wonderment. His heart was filled with heavenly light. From that day he was call Boo-Ali Shah.
Still some chroniclers say that he did not pledge obedience to a holy man but was admitted directly into the fold by Hazrat Ali. Some link him to the Mahboob-e-Ilahi whereas others bind him to Hazrat Qutub Uddin Bakhtiyar Ka'aki and Sheikh Shabu Uddin Suharawardy.

His stay in Panipat
He lived in Panipat till death and served the people form there. Hundreds drew spiritual or divine benefits from him. Besides, he undertook to regular teaching and propagation of Islam. Hundreds embraced Islam because of him. The Rajputs, who lived around, were the great beneficiaries. He left a deep impact on the royal dynasty of Delhi, and preached them of good conduct.

Revelation and Mysteries
One day a disciple of Shamsuddin Turk went to the city on an errand and saw Boo Ali Shah riding a lion and retold the episode to his teacher. Shamsuddin Turk said to his disciple, "Go to the residence of Boo Ali Shah and if you see him riding the lion, tell him: "The lion should live in the jungle." The disciple obeyed, found Hazrat Boo Ali Shah in the condition and conveyed his teacher's message. He rose from his place immediately and went to Ghote.

Death
It is mentioned in 'Sair-Ul-Akhtab' that he died on 17, Ramazul Mubarak 724 Hijri(1324 CE) at Budha Khera but lay to rest in Panipat instead.

Brief History of Hazrat Abdul Lateef Shah R.A known as Bari Imam Sarkar

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:09:00 +0000

Hazrat Syed Abdul Latif Shah Qadri Kazmi

Silsila: Qadria

Date of Urs: May 24

Address:
Noorpur Shahan Village, near Parliament Houses, Islamabad, Pakistan

Aqtab Syed Abdul Latif Shah Qadri Kazmi known as Hazrat Bari Imam, Shah -e- wilayat of Federal Capital of Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Islamabad).

Hazrat Bari Imam was married but don't have any childern, people claimed to be his family are from the brother of Hazrat Bari Imam. This area was jungle when Hazrat Bari Imam stay here, area was famous due to robbers, when Hazrat came here he change the lives of this area and now this area is known as Noor Pur Shahan. Its been more than 300 years when Hazrat Bari Imam Came here.

All sufis of indo pak when came to Rawalpindi, Islamabad do come here, Urs of Hazrat Bari Imam Qadri held every year by April or May (as decided by Govt of Pakistan) for 5 years. People from all over Pakistan came here to attend Urs.

This place is on the back of the President House and Prime Minister Office. If you see any development here, that will be done by the people not by the Govt, Officials just have plan to build a new complex over here but could not make it happen.

Bari Imam (1617 to 1705), whose real name is Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, was born in 1026 Hijra (1617 AD). His father, Syed Mehmood Shah, shifted his family from Jhelum District to Baghan village, presently called Aabpara. At that time, it was a barren land. Soon after the arrival of Bari Imam's family, his father started farming and also kept some animals. Shah Latif helped his father in grazing the animals, but left his father at 12 and came to Nurpur Shahan. From Nurpur Shahan, Bari Imam went to Ghaur Ghashti (now known as Attock) where he stayed for two years for learning fiqh, hadith, logic, mathematics, medicine and other disciplines, because at that time Ghaur Ghashti was great seat of learning.

The Saint Bari Imam used to live in a cave, where he was visited by wild animals and djinns. A rock in the cave which resembles a cave is said to be a real snake turned into stone by the Holy man. There is a fire burning in the cave for some 300 years now, and a tree in front of the cave is said to bee also 300 years old. According to legend Bari Imam lived a hermits life in this cave for twelve years.

He was the first spiritual guide of Gohar Shahi as well. As Gohar Shahi states in his book about Bari Imam that at the age of 34 Bari Imam appeared before me (Gohar Shahi) and said: "My son your time has come, your must go to the shrine of Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Sahib to receive the Sacred Inner Dimensions of Spiritual Knowledge."

To get spiritual knowledge and satiate his love for Islam, Bari Imam visited many places, including Kashmir, Badakhshan, Bukhara, Mashhad, Baghdad and Damascus. He not only received spiritual knowledge in these places but also held discussions with scholars belonging to different schools of thought on various subjects. Later, he went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj.

Bari Imam received spiritual knowledge from Hayat- al-Mir (Zinda Pir). His 'Pir' gave him the title of Bari Imam, which proves his link to Syed family. Bari Imam converted thousands of Hindus into Muslims through the teachings of Islam at Nurpur Shahan. It is stated that once Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir himself came there to pay respects to Bari Imam.

Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who was devoted to spreading his empire, originally built the silver-mirrored shrine of Hazrat Bari Imam [RA]. It has been renovated and is now is maintained by the government. Inside the mausoleum, where the great saint rests, only men are permitted, a steady stream of worshippers enter and exit, most bending to kiss and strew rose petals on the green cloth covering the grave of Hazrat Bari Sarkar [RA]. The shrine is a tourist spot in the tour guide's list. Every year as the Urs of the saint, who spread Islam in this part of the world, gains momentum, devotees in their thousands set out for the Margalla foothills and gather at Nurpur Shahan to pay their respect. Although many swarm the shrine all year round, only last year the number exceeded a head count of 1.2 million people.

Nighttime is the best time to visit the shrine, as the atmosphere is hyped by glittering lights, sounds of qawalis and dhammals of malangs. There was a time when the event attracted a number of dancing girls from Lahore. Although dancing is no more allowed, the women still come to pay their respect.

Reciting verses from the Quran, women view the grave through a glass window, which many touch and kiss while praying for the blessings of Almighty Allah.

The faithful read from one of the hundreds of the copies of the Quran, the moment when one leaves after recitation. Some simply sit in silence as mark of respect for the great saint, taking a moment to say a final prayer and to collect the inspiration and strength to make the journey back home.

Obedience - Shams-e Tabriz - 3 States of Matter

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:42:00 +0000

Obedience and the 3 States of Matter

3 Levels of Obedience:

The Divine asks us to

“...enter houses through their proper doors” (2:189).

For every door there is a key, and the key for unlocking the door to the heart is through obedience to the Divine will.

“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those charged

with authority over you.” (4:59)

We are asking, and always Mawlana Shaykh is teaching us, to be under the shade of these three trees of authority. They are like mighty oaks which protect us from the storms and floods of this life. In times of natural disasters, when floods and tsunamis are washing everything away, what remains are the trees. And you see many times on the news that people who are able to reach and hold on to the trunk of a tree are able to survive the flood. Mawlana is teaching us that if we hold to these three mighty trees we will quickly reach to our Lord’s satisfaction.

As Prophet Jesus [as] taught in the Lord’s prayer,

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

For the gnostic and the knower of these Heavenly realities, this supplication encompasses the entire spiritual path, which is to surrender our will back to God. This comes through obedience to the Divine, and obedience opens servant hood, because a servant must obey their Master. But what is standing in our way is our ego. Therefore, tariqat/Sufism teaches that the highest level to achieve is not a PhD or a lawyer or an engineer. The highest level is to become a servant. It is most difficult on the ego and it is most pleasing in Divine Presence. God is saying, “I gave you free will. Now give it back to me,” and that is the test of our life, to give back our free will out of love for the Creator.

This concept, “obedience to God's will”, is the religion that all Prophets brought to humanity. That is why all Prophets were saying, “Samina wa atana” (2:285), which means “we hear and we obey”.

Who do we obey?
“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those charged with authority over you.” (4:59)

These three levels of obedience teach us a great deal about the Sufi path because God’s first command is to obey Him, and Sufism comes and teaches us to step back and humble ourselves and realize that we can never truly obey God. That is why Sufism is a way of humbleness. It comes against pride and it comes against arrogance by pointing out to us that we are in need of support, and by teaching us that there is an etiquette in how we approach the Divine Presence.

We must “...enter houses through their proper doors” (2:189). Don’t think that you can obey God’s command so easily. That was a station for the Prophets, not for us. They were hearing and speaking with the Divine, and we are not hearing and speaking with the Divine. But the ego is so quick to say, “I don’t need to listen to anyone. I don’t need anyone else’s advice. I can connect directly to God.”

God knows that we are a weak creation, constantly sinning and making mistakes. If we had to obey Him directly all of us would be in grave danger because we are not obeying. Therefore, we must show some humbleness in our approach. We are not Prophets, and we do not take our orders directly from the Divine, therefore we must seek to obey those who do.

“O ye who believe! Do your duty to God,

seek the means of approach unto Him” (5:35).

Don't approach God directly saying “I am who I am!” Don’t overstep your authority and ask to connect directly to God. That is ok in the beginning, but not when you are seeking to advance. Satan also wanted a direct connection and he was very advanced! He didn’t accept Adam’s authority and so he refused to bow, and for that he was thrown out of Paradise even though for 70,000 years he was in complete worship of the Divine.

The Divine is teaching you that there is an etiquette involved in dealing with the King. You can’t just walk up and start speaking. There is a particular way to approach the thrown. You must keep your eyes down. You may have to drop to your knees, and if the King appoints someone to represent him and vests authority in that person, you can’t say, “No, I don’t accept.” If that is the protocol for Kings in this world, what about the owner of the throne in Paradise?
So Mawlana is saying, “lower yourself. Don’t place yourself on the level of Prophets. That is very dangerous.” Then God gives us another way by asking us to obey the Messenger (s), and He also says,

“He who obeys the Messenger obeys Me.” (4:80).

God is saying “look to the Messenger (s). I have sent him to you to teach you how to obey Me.” Prophet (s) is in complete submission to the Divine – he has no will of his own.

Therefore, he acts as a mirror reflecting the Divine Presence towards creation. However, Prophet (s) is not with us, so how can we imitate his perfection? By obeying those charged with authority over us. That means spiritual and temporal authority. You must obey the police, the Mayor, the Governor, the Prime Minister and anyone who has been placed in a position of authority because who gave them that authority? The Divine! If it was not written and destined for that person to have that job, how could it happen?

Tariqa comes to perfect our faith and learn to accept God’s will.

That opens the spiritual reality, because there is a spiritual government just like there is a government in this material world. So if you must obey material authority, it means you must also obey spiritual authority, and there are Saints with different ranks and stations in that spiritual government who are inheriting from the Prophets. If you find them and follow them you will be in safety because they are on authority and that authority is coming directly from Divine presence.

As Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said,
“O my son, you have to sit with the Sufis because they are like a fountain of knowledge. They recite the remembrance of God in their hearts. They are the ascetics, and they have the most spiritual power. I do not know any people better than them.”

Saints are inheriting from the perfection of Prophet (s). Through spiritual training and constant remembrance of God, they have purified their hearts of all imperfections in character and in worship. It means that their hearts have become like mirrors.

“Hold tight to the rope of God and do not separate.” (3:103)

Whereas Prophet (s) is a mirror reflecting the Divine Light towards the Saints, the Saints in-turn are receiving the light of Prophet (s) and reflecting it towards humanity in our time.That lineage is like a rope reaching seekers in the 21st century and guiding them on their journey towards the Divine.

Are You Chasing After The Material World

Who's Riding Hu

Unfortunately, people today are no longer following Saints - they are only following their egos , Instead of riding your ego it is riding you.

It is a strange phenomenon because in every aspect of our material lives we seek out experts. If we want to become a doctor, we go to medical school. If we want to become a lawyer we go to law school. In everything we do in life, we must learn from a teacher. You cannot open a practice without that stamp of approval on your wall that says you have been tested and verified as a real doctor by this school – it is not allowed. But you ask people today what school are you taking your spirituality from, they say “there is no need for that. I can read the Holy Books myself and come to my own conclusions.” For some reason, when it comes to spirituality many people reject the concept of learning from a master and follow their ego instead. But the Saints are teaching us that in dealing with life's difficulties and trials, it is important to constantly be guided and inspired by people more pious than ourselves.

“O ye who believe, fear God

and keep the company with those who are truthful.” (9:119)

3 States of Matter and the Shams al-Tabriz
“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those in authority.” (4:59)

These three levels of obedience are also symbolic of the 3 states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

The Divine is like the gaseous state: we can't see it, we can't taste it and we can't smell it. In our physical, solid form it is impossible for us to interact with gas, and that is why God is saying “obey Prophet (s)”.

Prophet (s) is symbolic of the liquid state which, like the gaseous state, is impossible to follow because it has no form. Obedience to Prophet (s) is like trying to hold liquid in our hand. Since we are solid we must find those with form to guide us. It means we must seek out a spiritual guide that we can learn from, one who is inheriting from the spirituality of the Prophet (s).

We are Solid Ignorance, We are in need of Solid Faith / Murshid

These are the Saints who are dressed with the perfection of Prophet (s) because they are reflecting his light. Therefore, when we look to them we see the reality of Prophet (s), just as the essence of liquid remains in its solid form. Through the Saints we begin to be dressed with the attributes of servant hood that Prophet (s) exemplified, and through servant hood we may enter the Divine Presence. To be a servant means to be nothing, to be gaseous.

When we are trying to enter as something and someone it means that we are still in a solid state, but you can’t have form in Divine Presence.

To be in the presence of God, Almighty and Exalted, you must lose your form like binary code.

Binary code is made-up of a series of 1’s and 0’s.

1 means you are “on” and symbolizes your form.

0 means you are off; you are in non-manifest-existence; you are in a gaseous state. You must annihilate and efface your physicality if you are to reach the presence of the 1, which is the oneness of the Divine. It means you must become like a gaseous state, like a 0, complete effacement in the Divine reality.

For matter to change states there must be a catalyst which creates a change within that existing state. For example, for a solid to become liquid requires tremendous heat.

In Sufism that catalyst is the spiritual

Mentor, the Shams al-Tabriz.

According to a verbal tradition, once while Rumi was reading next to a large stack of some books, Shams Tabriz, passing by, asked Rumi, "What are you doing?" Rumi scoffingly replied, "Something you cannot understand." On hearing this, Shams threw the stack of books into a nearby pool of water. Rumi hastily took the books out of the water, but to his surprise they were all dry. Rumi then asked Shams, "What is this?" To which Shams replied, "Mowlana, this is what you cannot understand."

Shams al-Tabriz was the name of Jalaludin Rumi's (q) teacher and his name refers to the highest point of energy. “Shams” means sun in Arabic, referring to the fact that the heart of Shams al-Tabriz was like the sun - lit with the light of guidance. Tab-Riz means Highest point of Heat.

When Mawlana Rumi met Shams he was very firm and very scholarly. It means he was in a solid state, and he needed Shams al-Tabriz to melt him into a liquid state because to understand the knowledge of Saints requires a transformation. We cannot understand with book knowledge only. Like the letter of the law without knowing the Spirit of the Law – it is like trying to fit a square-block through a round hole.

REALITIES of Saints

there is an important hadith of Prophet (S):

Allah’s Messenger (S) said, “When Allah (SWT) created the Earth it began to oscillate, so He created the Mountains, ordered them onto it, and it became steady. The angels marveled at the strength of the Mountains and asked their Lord whether there was anything in His creation stronger than the Mountains, to which he replied that Iron was stronger. They asked if anything in His creation was stronger than Iron, and He replied that Fire was. They asked if anything in His creation was stronger than Fire, and He replied that Water was. They asked if anything in His creation was stronger than Water, and He replied that Wind was.” {States of Matter Solid Liquid Gas}

As an aside, this Hadith specifies the stages of personal progress and spiritual achievement.

78:7 And the mountains as pegs

The Mountains refer to the Awliya, the Saints of God, who through great firmness of faith reach a station that corresponds with that which stabilizes the Earth, i.e. they balance the universe with their positive light and energy. The Mountain is unshakeable, solid and stable, and perfectly describes the rank of the Friends of God and of Prophet (S).

Through their further development and evolution, and the application of spiritual power, Awliya then become Iron – absolutely firm and unbreakable. Iron not from the Earth but Heavenly sent.

The next stage is Fire, wherein the Saint’s essence burns and is ignited with the flame of Divine Power from the Presence of God, a state that may melt even Iron. Afterwards, the Saint’s being and container becomes Water, a fluid mountain which responds automatically and instantaneously to the will of the Divine, and which may douse even Fire.

This corresponds to a state wherein one is completely melted and annihilated in Bahr ul-Qudra, the Ocean of Power wherein all creation swims.

Lastly, Awliya may reach the station of Wind, pure Prophetic Essence, subtle, ethereal, completely without mass – pure Divine Will.

55-29 In Every Moment in (new) Splendor doth He (shine)!

The Shams al-Tabriz exists in every time, symbolizing the Saints who can melt our ego through the power of their heart.

They can melt us into a liquid state because they have the ability to intensify energy. In Classical Islam there are many examples of how the Grandshaykhs would melt ice or heat water just from their body heat. For example, during his seclusions Grandshaykh Abdullah al-Fa’iz ad-Daghestani used to use his spiritual power to melt a bucket of snow so that he could make ablution. This shows us that Saints are able to create a tremendous amount of spiritual heat, and through that secret they are also melting their followers to take them towards liquid and gaseous states.

The Saints teach us how to become servants, and that process begins to melt the ego. In that process of melting we scream and struggle because our ego, our identity and who we think we are, begins to burn in that fire. It wants us to escape the fire. It doesn’t accept to be nothing and to be burned away, but spiritual Masters are teaching us to jump into the fire like the story of Prophet Abraham (as) who jumped into the fire of Nimrod.

We said, "O Fire! be thou cool, and a means of safety for Abraham!"

(The Prophets 21:69)

All of the Prophets have something to teach us. The story of Prophet Abraham (as) is teaching us that when you are lost in that love, throw yourself into the fire. Fear of that fire symbolizes fear of faith, but it is all an illusion. That fear is making us run away from faith and from spiritual practices. It makes you think that if you become spiritual you are going to be burned, but the reality is the opposite. When you move towards faith, what appeared to you as a fire is actually cool and peaceful once you are inside it. The Divine is showing you that instead of running away, you should move into the fire. That fire will burn our bad character, but once the bad character goes that fire becomes a fire of love and it is all-consuming.

Then when the Saints have melted us, we enter a liquid state and we become like water. Water symbolizes submission Having a flowing quality without harshness or abrupt breaks.

Whether you are poured into a bottle or into a cup, it no longer matters. How do we reach to that liquid state? Submit! Submit to everything by seeing every event in your life as coming directly from God, because every event and every test in our life is like a fire. Every time your boss yells at you, it represents that fire. The question is, do you fight fire with fire?

Or do you throw water on the fire? It means, do you show no ego by saying “thank you”? Answer back with love, not anger, and throw water on the fire. The more we can put down our ego and respond with love, means the faster Saints can melt us into that liquid state. That is why, in the meditation you may feel your entire body heating up.

Saints are releasing that energy and literally melting you into that liquid state. That liquid state occurs through love, as only love can melt the heart.

When you are in a liquid state, it means you are submitting your will to the Divine will. Once you are in that state you will be quickly ascending because you are no longer fighting the Divine will. But in your physical form, the ego is struggle against Heavenly orders, making it incredibly difficult to accomplish one command from the Divine. If you are told to pray, your ego makes you to skip it. If you are supposed to meditate, your ego tells you to watch television instead, and this becomes the biggest delay to our progress. But as we move into a liquid state under the training of our spiritual Mentor, the process begins to speed up because the ego is submitting.

Water flows in whatever direction the earth takes it. It doesn’t decide where it wants to go. The student in that liquid state must be the same, flowing in whatever direction the Divine is sending them. In that state of submission and obedience to the Divine will, Saints are able to quickly take us to the Divine Presence because to move from liquid to a gaseous state is faster.

The most difficult part is to melt the physicality because it burns the ego, but once we are in submission the Saints can increase their energy and boil us into that gaseous state very quickly. Only in that gaseous state can we understand and truly experience Divine Love. We must be careful, however, because without spiritual practices we will not be able to withstand the heat. Those practices and disciplines are not empty or without purpose. They provide protection for us in our ascension to the Divine Presence, and it is extremely important that we do them.

To enter into a gaseous state means that you have reached annihilation and completely effaced yourself in the light of your Mentor, in the light of the Prophet (s) and in the light of the Divine Presence. In that state of non-Manifestation the soul has the most power. It becomes free to travel and move anywhere at the speed of light, because gas is the most diffuse of all the states of matter. In the solid form, the physicality puts roots into the soul. The liquid and gaseous states, however, symbolize the increasing control of the soul over the physicality and its ability to move independently of the physical form. This is one of the secrets of the Shams al-Tabriz, which is currently manifesting through the Saints.

Taken from "the Sayings of a Saint".

Brief History of Hazrat Rabia al Basri R . A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:23:00 +0000

Hazrat Rabia Basri (R.A)

Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (Arabic: رابعة العدوية القيسية‎) or simply Rābiʻa al-Basrī (Arabic: رابعة البصري‎) (717–801 C.E.) was a female Muslim Sufi saint who is highly regarded and has been conferred the status of Half-Qalander.

Life sketch

She was born between 95 and 99 Hijri in Basra, Iraq. Much of her early life is narrated by Farid al-Din Attar, a later Sufi saint and poet, who used earlier sources. Rabia herself did not leave any written works.

Rabi'a's parents were so poor that there was no oil in house to light a lamp, nor a cloth even to wrap her with.

She was the fourth child in the family. Her mother requested her husband to borrow some oil from a neighbor. But he had resolved in his life never to ask for anything from anyone except the Creator; so he pretended to go to the neighbor's door and returned home empty-handed.

In the night Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon Him) appeared to him in a dream and told him, "Your newly born daughter is a favorite of the Lord, and shall lead many Muslims to the right path. You should approach the Amir of Basra and present him with a letter in which should be written this message; 'you offer Durood to the Holy Prophet one hundred times every night and four hundred times every Thursday night. However, since you have failed to observe the rule last Thursday, as a penalty you must pay the bearer four hundred dinars '.

Rabi'a's father got up and went to the Amir straight with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. The Amir was delighted on receiving the message and knowing that he was in the eyes of Prophet, he distributed 1000 dinars to the poor and paid with joy 400 to Rabi'a's father and requested him top come to him whenever he required anything as he will benefit very much by the visit of such a soul dear to the Lord."

After the death of her father a famine overtook Basra and she parted from her sisters. Once she was accompanying a caravan, which fell into he hands of robbers. The chief of the robbers took Rabi'a I his custody and as an article of loot, and sold her in the market as a slave. The new master of Rabi'a used to take hard service from her.

She used to pass the whole night on prayers, after she had finished her household jobs. She used to pass many her day observing fast.

Incidentally, once the master of the house got up in the middle of the night, and was attracted by the pathetic voice in which Rabia was praying to her Lord. She was entreating in these terms,

"Lord! You know well that my keen desire is to carry out Your commandments and to serve Thee with all my heart, O light of my eyes. If I were free I would pass the whole day and night in prayers. But what should I do when you have made me a slave of a human being?"

At once he felt that it was sacrilegious to keep such a saint in his service. He decided to save her himself. In the morning he called her and told his decision that thenceforward he would serve her and she should dwell there as the mistress of the house and if she insisted on leaving the house he was willing to free her from bondage.

She told him that she was willing to leave the house to carry on her worship in solitude. This the master granted and she left the house

Was the door ever closed?

Salih Qazwani always taught his disciples, "Who knocks at the door of someone constantly, one day the door must be opened to him" Rabi'a one day heard it and said,

"Salih, how long 'will you go on preaching thus, using the future tense, saying 'will be opened'? Was the door ever closed? It was ever open."

Separation... simply unbearable !

One day, people asked why she kept no knife in the house. Rabi'a replied,

"Cutting asunder is the wok of the knife. I fear it may not asunder the bond between that exist between me and my beloved Lord."

A fervent prayer

One day she was going on an errand. Whilst passing a street a vagabond pursued her. She ran to save herself from him, and in doing so her foot slipped and she fell down and broke her arm.

She thereupon prayed to the Lord,

"I am poor orphan and a slave. Now my hand too is broken. But I do not mind these things if Thou be pleased with me. But make it manifest to me that you are pleased with me."

The Divine voice in reply said, "Never mind all these sufferings. On the day of judgment you shall be accorded the status that shall be the envy of the angels even." Then she returned to her master's service.

Thanking the Lord

One day Sufyan Thauri went to Rabi'a. She passed the whole night in worship, standing before the Lord. When the morning broke she remarked,

"God be praised that He conferred His grace on us that we could pass the whole night in prayers. As a mark of gratitude, let us pass the whole day in fasting."

The joy of pain!

A man was crying, "Ah! How great a pain!" Rabi'a approached him and said, "Oh! What a lack of pain" He asked her why she said the contrary. She replied,

"Because pain is the privilege of great devotees, who cherish even with the joy even so much anguish that even talking and drawing breath become a matter of strain to them."

Why no bandage for His blessings?

One day Rabia saw a man passing on the way with his forehead tied with a bandage. She asked him why he put on the bandage. He replied that he was suffering from headache.

"What is your age?" she asked.

He replied that he was thirty.

She asked, "Till today, how have you passed your life?"

He replied, "In perfect health".

She said, "For thirty years the Lord kept you sound, and you did not fly any colors on your body to express your gratitude for His gift, so that people could ask you the reason for your joy and knowing of God's blessings on you would have praised Him, but when for your own fault you have suffered from a little headache you have tied a bandage and go about exhibiting His harshness to you in making you suffer from headache. What a base act is yours!"

Neither this nor that world, You are enough for me

O Lord,

If tomorrow on Judgment Day
You send me to Hell,
I will tell such a secret
That Hell will race from me
Until it is a thousand years away.

O Lord,
Whatever share of this world
You could give to me,
Give it to Your enemies;
Whatever share of the next world
You want to give to me,
Give it to Your friends.
You are enough for me.

O Lord,
If I worship You
From fear of Hell, burn me in Hell.

O Lord,
If I worship You
From hope of Paradise, bar me from its gates.

But if I worship You for Yourself alone
Then grace me forever the splendor of Your Face.

Rabia was in her early to mid eighties when she died, having followed the mystic Way to the end. She believed she was continually united with her Beloved. As she told her Sufi friends, "My Beloved is always with me" She died in Jerusalem in 185 AH. See Zirkali, al-A`lam, vol. 3, p 10, col 1, who quotes ibn Khalikan as his source.

Brief History of Hazrat Bilal e Habshi R . A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Bilal ibn Rabah(Arabic: بلال بن رباح‎) or Bilal al-Habashi was an Ethiopianborn in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.
The Islamic prophet Muhammad chose an African slave Bilal as his muezzin, effectively making him the first muezzin of the Islamic faith. He was among the slaves freed by Abu Bakr Muhammad and slavery) and was known for his beautiful voice with which he called people to their prayers. His name can also be known as, "Bilal ibn Riyah" or "ibn Rabah" and he is sometimes known as "Bilal al-Habashi" or "Bilal the one from Ethiopia".He died sometime between 638 to 642, when he was just over sixty years old. (see
Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) is a famous Sahaaba who accepted Islam in Makkah. When he accepted Islam, the non-believers placed great difficulties upon him which he bore with great forbearance in his youth. His father's name was Rabah and his mother's name Hamamah.

His birth place is Abyssinia and this is why he is known as Habshi (the old name for Abyssinia is Habsh). He was the slave of a woman in Makkah when he accepted Islam. the Kaafirs of Makkah persecuted him severely. When Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) came to know about the pain and anguish which he underwent at the hands of the Kuffaar, he bought him and set him free.

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was the muazzin of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). He remained constantly in the company of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). He was in charge of the needs of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam).

Muhaddith Hakeem (Rahmatullaahi Alayhi) and Hafiz Abu Nuaim (Rahmatullaahi Alayhi) also regarded him as one of the Ashaabus-suffa.

After he had accepted Islam, he participate with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)in the battle of Badr and in all other battles. He called the Adhaan and he was the Muazzin of Masjidun-Nabawi as long as Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) remained in this world. His greatness is mentioned in the books of Hadith.

VIRTUE

One day at the time of Fajr, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) asked Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu), 'O Bilaal, Show me one action that you have done after accepting Islam, whose virtue is above all other actions, because I have heard your footsteps in Jannat'. Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) explains that I have not done any action whose virtue is more than the others. But it is true, that during the day or night, whenever I made Wudhu, I made it my duty to read some Nafl Salaats, and from amongst the Salaats I read, I verily read Tahiyyatul Wudhu (Salaat after Wudhu)" when Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) heard this, he said that it was because of this action that he had attained such status.

Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) used to mentioned that Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) is our leader who bought our leader Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and freed him. In 'Hilyatul Awliyaa', Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) mentions that he is Sayyidul Muazzineed (leader of the Muazzins).

ENDURANCE OF DIFFICULTY ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF ISLAM

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was harassed and beaten the day long and during the night He was tied in chains and lashed. On the next day, he was again made to lie on the hot desert sands which cause even greater injuries to the body of Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu), who was loved by Allah Ta'aala.

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) used to be beaten by many people. When one would get tired, another would take his place. Sometimes it was Abu Jhal's turn and sometimes Umayyah bin Khalaf and others. Each of them would beat him until they got tired but no mercy was spared for the slave whom they so brutally injured and whose status in Jannat was to surpass that of many Arabs.

FREEDOM

One day while Bilaal was being tortured in this way by Umayyah bin Khalaf and his friends, Abu Bakr (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) passed that way. He asked Umayyah bin Khalaf, 'Do you not fear Allah? How long will you carry out this practice on this poor person?" Umayyah bin Khalaf retorted that, 'since you have instigated him (by teaching Islam to him, so you free him." Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) answered, "Yes, I will free him. I have a black slave who is even stronger than him and who is in your religion. Will you accept this slave in exchange for him?" Umayyah bin Khalaf accepted the offer. Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) exchanged the slaves and thus bought Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and freed him before Hijrat. Besides Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) he bought other slaves who were being beaten and harassed for accepting Islam and freed them also.

(The woman who owned Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) had made Umayyah bin Khalaf her agent in the matters of Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu). (Jamul Fawaaid vol. 2 pg. 32)

BROTHERHOOD

After Hijrat Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) formed 'Mooaakhaat' between the Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhu) which meant that two two brothers should be concerned about each other's difficulty and necessity. In this way all of them became Muslim brothers and they shared in the sorrow and grief of each other. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) made Hadhrat Bilaal and Hadhrat Ubaida bin Haarith (Radhiallaahu Anhum) brothers and a few Historians mention that Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) made Hadhrat Abu Rawahah Khashami (Radhiallaahu Anhu) the brother of Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu). (Isabah).

PARTICIPATION IN THE BATTLE OF BADR AND THE KILLING OF UMAYYA BIN KHALAF

A year after Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and his beloved Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum) made Hijrat from Makkah to Madinah, the battle of Badr took place. Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) also participated in this battle with the other Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum). The leaders of the Mushrikeen of Makkah (who were the enemies of Islam and the Muslims - who forced the Muslims out of Makkah, who also oppressed Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) were killed in this battle. Abu Jahl, Umayyah bin Khalaf who severely punished Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) were both killed in this battle.

THE BEGINNING OF ADHAAN AND THE APPOINTMENT OF HADHRAT BILAAL (Radhiallaahu Anhu) AS MUAZZIN

In the second year after Hijrat, the announcing of the time of Salaat began and Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was appointed Muazzin and always remained the Muazzin of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) both in his presence and also during travel.

Allah Ta'aala states that Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) is the leader of the Muazzins, and places this responsibility of being the Muazzin of His Beloved Rasul (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) to this person who should mention Ahad â€¦ Ahad (the one, the one Allah). He was made to lie on the hot desert sand with a rock placed on his chest and lashed but his love for Allah Ta'aala became greater. This responsibility was given to Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu).

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) stayed with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). In Madinah, he was the Muazzin and even while travelling, he went with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), and at the time of Salaat he used to give Adhaan. Very seldom Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) went somewhere and someone other than Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) called the Adhaan. Whenever Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) went to Musjid-e-Qubaa, then Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) would give the Adhaan and when hearing him, the people living around the area knew that Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was in the area.

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) used to give the Fajr Adhaan from the roof of the house of a lady from the tribe of Banu Najjaar. Her home was joined to the Masjid. From the time of Sehri he used to sit on the roof waiting for the time of Fajr. When it was time to commence the Adhaan then he should stretch his limbs, and make the following Du'a after which he gave the Adhaan.

'Oh Allah I praise you, and I desire that You become aid to the Quraysh to establish Your Deen'

The woman from whose roof he gave the Adhaan said that there was not a day that he did not mention this Du'a. (Abu Dawud).

PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPENDITURE OF NABI (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was the Muazzin of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and his treasurer. If anyone came to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) with any necessity then he used to ask Hadhrat Bilaal to carry out this task who would then make sure to get the necessary item and fulfil the need on behalf of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam).

Abdullah Al-Hawzaani (Rahmatullaahi Alayhi) says that I met Hadhrat Bilaal and I asked him concerning the expenditure of Nabi entioned that from the time Allah Ta'aala gave him Nubuwwat until his death, this expenditure was entrusted to me. (this expenditure was for the needy, and those people who came from outside or anyone who asked for assistance. I used to do as commanded and fulfil this need). If some Muslims came who did not have anything to wear, then Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) should order me to take a loan and purchase a cloth to clothe the needy. (Hilyatul Awliyaa). Whilst doing this once Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) accumulated a heap of dates. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) asked Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) what is this? Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) answered I have accumulated this for you and your visitors.

Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Don't you fear that the smoke of Jahannum (hell) will reach you (because of accumulating this).' Then he said, 'Oh Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu), spend it and do not fear it becoming less from the One of the Arsh - Allah' (Ibid).

ENDURANCE OF HUNGER

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was the special companion of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). It is for this reason he also endured difficulties. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said that undoubtedly, the fear he had for Allah was greater than anyone else. On one occasion thirty nights and days passed with him and Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) having had only that amount to eat which could be concealed under the armpits (side) of Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu).

COMPANIONSHIP WITH NABI (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)

Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was always present in the company of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam).

THE PUBLIC TREASURER

Hadhrat Jaabir (Radhiallaahu Anhu) mentions that at the time of Eid, he was present with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) started the Salaat without the Adhaan and Iqaamat and thereafter gave the Khutbah. Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) stood up and stood side by side with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) while Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) stood up resting on him and after praising Allah, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) delivered a lecture and reminded the people about the commands of Allah and encouraged the people to be obedient to Allah Ta'aala. Thereafter, he took Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) with him and went closer towards the women and ordered them to fear Allah and advised them and reminded them about the commands of Allah.

At one time Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) presented himself in the company of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). It was morning and Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was having meals. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) told Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) to join him. Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) mentioned to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that he was fasting. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) remarked, 'We are eating our sustenance and the sustenance of Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) is preserved in Janna." Then the told Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) that the bones of a fasting person make Tasbeeh and the Angels request his forgiveness when something is eaten near him." (Mishkat)

STAY IN SYRIA

When Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) passed away and Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) became Khalifah, then Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) came in the presence of Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and said, 'Oh Khalifah of Rasulullah, without doubt I have heard from Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that the best action of a Mu'min is Jihaad in the path of Allah and I have intened now to spend my life in Jihaad till I die." Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, 'Oh Bilaal! I swear by Allah and my right which is deserving to honoured (it is for this reason) that during my lifespan you spend it in Madinah and give Adhaan. Because I have become old and my time is near (death)." Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then remained in Madinah. (Asadul Ghabaa)

When Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) passed away and Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) became Khalifah, then Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) came to him and said the same thing again. Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) gave the same answer which Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) had given, but Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was unhappy and refused to stay any longer. He told the Khalifah of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that he used to give the Adhaan in the time of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and during the life of Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) because he was very dear to him. He said, 'I have heard from Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that there is no action greater than Jihaad (now I want to spend my life in Jihaad)". Although he was displeased, Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) granted permission to him. Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) became a Mujaahid forever and went to Syria. During the Khilaafat of Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) when he went to Syria, then Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) gave Adhaan in his presence. The narrator says that on this day, Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) thinking of the days of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) cried to such an extent which we never saw before.

MARRIAGE

While in Syria, Hadhrat Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) got married but it is not known whether he had any children or not. The author of Asadul Ghaba states that at the time of death, Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) had no children.

DEATH

HADHRAT Bilaal (Radhiallaahu Anhu) passed away in the 20th year after Hijrat in Damascus and there he is buried near 'Babus sagheer'. His blessed age was 63 years. When Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) proclaimed prophethood, he was 30 years old. He spent the remaining 33 years of his life in the assistance of this Deen, persecuted severely for admitting his Islam and despite this, he continued to announce boldly, 'Ahad, the One Allah!'. He participated in the battles and endured both hunger and pain. He was not only a Muazzin, but was granted the status of being the leader of the Muazzins.

May Allah Ta'aala be pleased with him forever, Aameen.

Excerpted from the translation of Hazrat Bilal Habshi(R.A)
by Mufti Muhammad Ashiq Ilaahi

Source: Jamiatul Ulama (Kwazulu-Natal) and Wikipedia

Iqbal Poetry : Tere Ishq ki inteha Chahta hoon - I Desire (With English Translation)

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:33:00 +0000

tere ishq kii intahaa chaahataa huu.N
merii saadagii dekh kyaa chaahataa huu.N

sitam ho ki ho vaadaa-e-behijaabii
ko_ii baat sabr-aazamaa chaahataa huu.N

ye jannat mubaarak rahe zaahido.n ko
ki mai.n aap kaa saamanaa chaahataa huu.N

ko_ii dam kaa mehamaa.N huu.N ai ahal-e-mahafil
chiraaG-e-sahar huu.N, bujhaa chaahataa huu.N

bharii bazm me.n raaz kii baat kah dii
ba.Daa be-adab huu.N, sazaa chaahataa huu.N

English Translation.

I want to have the extremes of your Love,
See, how silly am I, wishing for unachievable.

I don’t care if you maltreat me or promise to unveil your beauty,
I just want something unbearable to test my fortitude

Let the God fearing people be dwelling in the paradise,
For, instead I want to be face to face with you.
( I don’t want to go to paradise but want to observe the Divine Beauty)

O fellows, I am here for a few moments, as a gust,
Like morning star I will fade and vanish in a few moments.

I disclosed the secret in public,
I need to be punished for being so rude.

Iqbal Poetry : Mujrim vs Mehram

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Translation: "I wrote prayers for them. // They read it as deception. // One 'dot' converted me // from a friend to a foe."
Read that again and note the difference in meaning by simply removing one 'nukhta' = dot, from the middle letter. On both the 'ain/ghain & the 'ha/jeem. That is how you write clever poetry.

For more information on Muhammad Iqbal {read this bio}

Rumi’s Love…

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:09:00 +0000

“If the sky is not in love, then it will not be so clear…

If the sun is not in love, then it will not be giving any light…

If the river is not in love, then it will be in silence, it will not be moving…

If the mountains, the earth are not in love, then there will be nothing growing…”

– Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi

Rumi Quote – how to Combat Fear

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:07:00 +0000

“Don’t let your throat tighten with fear. Take sips of breath all day and night, before death closes your mouth.”

Rumi and Shams

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:58:00 +0000

My eyes are small, and yet they see enormous things.

I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside me?

Rumi is one of the great spiritual masters and poetical geniuses of mankind. He was born on September 30th, 1207 CE at Balkh in the north-eastern provinces of Persia, present day Iran. Rumi was introduced into the mystical path by a spiritual vagabond named Shams, known as the "Bird". Rumi's son, describes the first meeting of the two, and thejr subsequent friendship: "Shams appeared, suddenly, and found Rumi. He spoke to Rumi of the philosophical heights of spiritual love. He drew back the curtain of esoteric devotion, bringing light to Rumi's world. The shadow of Rumi was dissolved in his light. At first all his followers were guided by Rumi, and drew from him spiritual strength. Now, Rumi was guided by Shams. Together they attained a vision of the graces of God. In one of his lyric poems, Rumi exclaims: "it was the time before dawn. In the sky rose a shining moon, it rose and stared at me. it hunted me as the hawk hunts its prey , rising with it into the sky. Rising with me into the heavenly spheres, it drew my soul from its human frame. In that sphere of spiritus, I was blind to all but the moon which bore me upwards."

Shams was indeed an intriguing man. It is said that Shams had a gaze that captured the soul as if he had mastered the unknown. Shams and Rumi would spend days in deep state of meditation. Witnesses claimed the two bodies would be present, but the souls would depart into another world. One night a knock on the door broke the conversation between the two men. "They have come to take my life" Shams said to Rumi. Shams walked out of the house. He was found dead a few days later. Rumi’s love and his bereavement for the death of Shams who was probably murdered by Rumi's son, found their expression in a surge of music, dance and lyric poems, Divan Shams. Divan Shams is a masterpiece of wisdom and eloquence. It is often said that Rumi had attained the level of a "Perfect Master" and as such, he often dwelled in the spiritual realms that were rarely visited by others of this world. He attained heights that were attained by only a few before him or since. Rumi is also the author of six volume didactic epic work, the Masnavi. Masnavi is the best known work of Rumi, and he himself defined his work as a work of destruction, destruction of the worldly for the sake of embracing the Divine. He warns the reader in advance to be prepared to let go of everything.

Hazrat* Shams Tabrizi's statue outside
of his final resting place in Khoy, Iran

Mollana** Jelaluddin Rumi died on December 17, 1273. He remains alive in the hearts of many. His is the message every man and woman can understand. He speaks on our behalf. The words and feelings we often cannot express on our own is spoken for us through Rumi. Today, Rumi is the best selling poet in the West, thanks to the brilliant translations of Mr. Coleman Barks. Although non-Farsi speaking reader can enjoy the beauty of Rumi's poetry, It is in Farsi that the poetry gains heights reaching the heavens. Rumi's selections of words and placement of those words are beyond anything a mortal man could have thought of. Those who deeply read Rumi in Farsi, experience a feeling of out of body experience. With Rumi in your soul, you will never be lost.

"Why should I seek? I am the same as
He. His essence speaks through me
I have been looking for myself!"

* Hazrat is an honorific title used to honor a unique and special person. The literal translation of Hazrat means "Great Presence".
** Mollana, meaning My Lord or My Master, is the name Rumi is referred to in Iran and other Eastern parts of the world.

Shrine of Rumi, Konya, Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:49:00 +0000

Shrine of Jalaluddin Rumi, Konya

Situated at an altitude of 1016 meters in the south central region of the vast Anatolian steppe, the city of Konya is famous far beyond the borders of Turkey. The city's renown derives from the nearby ruins of Catal Huyuk and, more so, from the shrine of Rumi, the great Sufi poet (1207-1273). Fifty kilometers southeast of Konya, the Neolithic settlement of Catal Huyuk has been dated to 7500 BC, making it one of the oldest known human communities. Though only partially excavated and restored, the hilltop settlement covers 15 acres and reveals sophisticated town planning, religious art and ceremonial buildings. Remains of numerous other ancient settlements have been discovered on the Konya plain, giving evidence that humans have long favored this region.

The city of Konya has been known by different names through the ages. Nearly 4000 years ago the Hittites called it Kuwanna, to the Phrygians it was Kowania, to the Romans Iconium and to the Turks, Konya. During Roman times, the city was visited by St. Paul and because of its location on ancient trade routes, it continued to thrive during the Byzantine era. Konyas golden age was in the 12^th and 13^th centuries when it was the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. The Seljuk Turks had ruled a great state encompassing Iran, Iraq and Anatolia. With the decline of the Seljuk state in the early 12th century, different parts of the empire became independent, including the Sultanate of Rum. Between 1150 and 1300, the Sultans of Rum beautified Konya, erecting many lovely buildings and mosques. It was during this period that Rumi came to live in Konya. Mevlana Rumi is generally known in the west simply by the epithet Rumi (which means Anatolian) or in the east as Maulana Rumi. In Turkey he is universally referred to as Mevlana (the Turkish spelling of Maulana - which means 'Our Master').

Born in 1207 in the town of Balkh in Khurasan (near Mazar-I-Sharif in contemporary Afghanistan), Jalal al-Din Rumi was the son of a brilliant Islamic scholar. At the age of 12, fleeing the Mongol invasion, he and his family went first to Mecca and then settled in the town of Rum in 1228. Rumi was initiated into Sufism by Burhan al-Din, a former pupil of his father's, under whose tutelage he progressed through the various teachings of the Sufi tradition. After his father's death in 1231, Rumi studied in Aleppo and Damascus and, returning to Konya in 1240, became a Sufi teacher himself. Within a few years a group of disciples gathered around him, due to his great eloquence, theological knowledge and engaging personality.

In 1244 a strange event occurred that was to profoundly change Rumi's life and give rise to the extraordinary outpouring of poetry for which he is famous today. A wandering mystic known as Shams al-Din of Tabriz came to Konya and began to exert a powerful influence on Rumi. For Rumi, the holy man represented the perfect and complete man, the true image of the 'Divine Beloved', which he had long been seeking. Despite his own position as a teacher (a Sufi sheikh), Rumi became utterly devoted to Shams al-Din, ignored his own disciples and departed from scholarly studies. Jealous of his influence on their master, a group of Rumi's own students twice drove the dervish away and finally murdered him in 1247. Overwhelmed by the loss of Shams al-Din, Rumi withdrew from the world to mourn and meditate. During this time he began to manifest an ecstatic love of god that was expressed through sublimely beautiful poetry, listening to devotional music and trance dancing.

Over the next twenty-five years, Rumi's literary output was truly phenomenal. In addition to the Mathnawi, which consists of six books or nearly 25,000 rhyming couplets, he composed some 2500 mystical odes and 1600 quatrains. Virtually all of the Mathnawi was dictated to his disciple Husam al-Din in the fifteen years before Rumi's death. Mevlana (meaning 'Our Guide') would recite the verses whenever and wherever they came to him - meditating, dancing, singing, walking, eating, by day or night - and Husam al-Din would record them. Writing of Rumi and his poetry, Malise Ruthven (Islam in the World) says, "No doubt the Mathnawi's emotional intensity derives in part from the poet's own vulnerable personality: his longing for love is sublimated into a kind of cosmic yearning. The Love Object, though divine and therefore unknowable, yields a very human kind of love. In the Quran a remote and inaccessible deity addresses man through the mouth of his Prophet. In the Mathnawi it is the voice of the human soul, bewailing its earthly exile, which cries out, seeking reunification with its creator."

Rumi teachings expressed that love is the path to spiritual growth and insight. Broadly tolerant of all people and other faiths, he says,

Whoever you may be, come
Even though you may be
An infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come
Our brotherhood is not one of despair
Even though you have broken
Your vows of repentance a hundred times, come.

Rumi is also well known for the Sufi brotherhood he established with its distinctive whirling and circling dance, known as Sema and practiced by the Dervishes. The Sema ceremony, in seven parts, represents the mystical journey of an individual on their ascent through mind and love to union with the divine. Mirroring the revolving nature of existence and all living things, the Sufi dervish turns toward the truth, grows through love, abandons ego, and embraces perfection. Then he returns from this spiritual journey as one who has reached perfection in order to be of love and service to the entire creation. Dressed in long white gowns (the ego's burial shroud) and wearing high, cone-shaped hats (the ego's tombstone), the dervish dances for hours at a time. With arms held high, the right hand lifted upward to receive blessings and energy from heaven, the left hand turned downward to bestow these blessing on the earth, and the body spinning from right to left, the dervish revolves around the heart and embraces all of creation with love. The dervishes form a circle, each turning in harmony with the rhythm of the accompanying music as the circle itself moves around, slowly picking up speed and intensity until all collapse in a sort of spiritual exaltation.

Rumi passed away on the evening of December 17, 1273, a time traditionally known as his 'wedding night,' for he was now completely united with god. In the centuries following Rumi's death, many hundreds of dervish lodges were established throughout the Ottoman domains in Turkey, Syria and Egypt, and several Ottoman Sultans were Sufis of the Mevlevi order. During the later Ottoman period, the dervishes acquired considerable power in the sultan's court. With the secularization of Turkey following World War I, the Mevlevi Brotherhood (and many others) were seen as reactionary and dangerous to the new republic, and were therefore banned in 1925. While their properties were confiscated, members of the Mevlevi Brotherhood continued their religious practices in secret until their ecstatic dance were again allowed in 1953.

The former monastery of the whirling dervishes of Konya was converted into a museum in 1927. While the dervishes have been banned from using this facility, it functions as both museum and shrine. In its main room (Mevlana Turbesi) may be seen the tomb of Mevlana covered with a large velvet cloth embroidered in gold. Adjacent to Rumi's burial is that of his father, Baha al-Din Valed, whose sarcophagus stands upright, for legends tell that when Rumi was buried, his father's tomb "rose and bowed in reverence." The tombs of Rumi's son and other Sufi sheikhs are clustered about the shrine. The burials of Rumi, his father and several others are capped with huge turbans, these being symbolic of the spiritual authority of Sufi teachers. The Mevlana Turbesi dates from Seljuk times while the adjoining mosque and the rooms surrounding the shrine were added by Ottoman sultans. Formerly used as quarters for the dervishes, these rooms are now furnished as they would have been during the time of Rumi, with mannequins dressed in period costumes. Within one room there is a casket containing a hair from the beard of Muhammad.

Each year on December 17^th a religious celebration is held at the site of Rumi's tomb, to which tens of thousands of pilgrims come. In the shrine there is a silver plated step on which the followers of Mevlana rub their foreheads and place kisses. This area is usually cordoned off but is opened for these devotional actions during the December pilgrimage festivities. In addition to the shrine of Rumi, pilgrims to Konya will visit the shrine of Hazrat Shemsuddin of Tabriz (traditionally visited before the shrine of Rumi), the shrine of Sadreduddin Konevi (a disciple of Hazrat ibn Arabi and a contemporary of Mevlana), the shrine of Yusuf Atesh-Baz Veli, and the shrine of Tavus Baba (who may in fact have been a women and therefore Tavus Ana). Within the museum of Rumi there is a map that shows the location of these various holy sites.

Pappu Sain - Baba Shah Jamal Dhol Session

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:57:00 +0000

Pappu Sain - Baba Shah Jamal Dhol Session

An Introduction to Sufism

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:22:00 +0000

The word Sufi is derived from the Arabic word 'suf' which means ' wool ' and which refers to the coarse woolen robes that were worn by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and by his close companions. The goal of a Sufi is none other than God Himself. There are signs of God everywhere in the universe and in man himself.

The origin and essence of man

Man is the mystery of God. For a mysterious purpose, man was outwardly created of clay and God breathed life into him, and all of the angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before him. As the Qur'an, which we believe is the highest form of revelation, declares:

"And remember when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo I am creating a mortal out of potter's clay. So when I have made him and shaped him and have breathed into him of My Spirit, do ye fall down prostrating yourself unto him."

It is this Divine Spirit which is the essence of man. The body is merely the outward physical form which contains the Divine spark.

The body is made of the material elements fire, earth, air and water, and has five external senses -- sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch; and five internal faculties -- discursive thinking, imagination, doubting, memory and longing. All these powers, that is, both the external senses and the internal faculties, serve the heart. By the 'heart' we do not mean the physical organ which pumps the blood, and which is possessed by both man and animals. Rather by 'heart' we mean the Divine spark which distinguishes man from the animals. And unlike the physical heart which dies and decomposes with the rest of the physical body, the Divine spark or heart is indivisible and transcends death because its origin is in the spiritual world.

Man: the microcosm

The position of man in the universe is most important. Man is the microcosm, that is, a miniature universe. As such, he comprises in his outward or physical aspect all the elements found in the universe. In his inner aspect, he contains the potential qualities of all creation from the lowest to the highest, that is, animal, satanic and angelic. He shares the qualities of lust and selfishness with the pigs; the qualities of jealousy and anger with the dogs; his cunning and deceit with Satan; his power and his spiritual light with the angels. But, what is more important, through love and devotion to God he can rise even higher than the angels, for he is the mystery of God before whom the angels were commanded to fall in prostration. He was given command over the whole universe.

The Qur'an declares:

"It is God who created the heavens and the earth and sent down out of heaven water, wherewith He brought forth fruits to be your sustenance, and He subjected to you the ships to run upon the sea at His commandment, and He subjected to you the rivers, and He subjected to you the sun and moon constant upon their courses, and He subjected to you the night and the day and gave you all you asked Him."

But although the universe was created for the service of man, man was created for the service of God and for that purpose alone. To the extent that he deviates from that purpose, he becomes unworthy of Divine guidance and favour. Consequently, he is left to his own devices with all his enormous powers, which, under the influence of his animal and satanic qualities, are capable of dragging him to the lowest of the low.

Purpose of life

Sufism helps man to be increasingly aware of his purpose of life -- namely, unfailing service to his Lord and Creator. It is a path travelled under the guidance of a Sufi master, who is able to deliver man from the narrow confines of the material world into the limitless reality of a spiritual life, wherein he can experience the Divine spark which eternally shines within him.

It is most important to understand that material man acquires his knowledge generally through the five external senses and five inner faculties of which we spoke earlier. The spiritual man, on the other hand, has, in addition to these, a number of other means of acquiring knowledge, such as prophetic dreams and inspirations from beyond the material world. To the extent that a man adheres to the truth in his waking state, his dreams too disclose a similar degree of certainty. The Prophet (pbuh) expressed this in the saying: "The more truthful a man, the more prophetic his dreams."

Although knowledge through dreams comes in a state of sleep, insights through inspirations are gained in a state of wakefulness. The shaykh, or the Sufi teacher, interprets the dreams of a disciple, helps him to understand his inspirations, and resolves his doubts and uncertainties.

The spiritual mentor (shaykh)

The disciple's need to have a shaykh is inevitable. If a man does not have a shaykh, Satan becomes his shaykh and lures him back into the temptation of his ego and finally destroys him in confusion and error. A disciple keeps unwavering faith in the words of his shaykh and receives infinite love and care from him. The relationship is strictly based on the pattern of the Prophet's (pbuh) relations with his companions which enjoyed Divine support. To quote the Qur'an:

"Now there has come to you a messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is your suffering, anxious is he over you, gentle to the believers, compassionate."

The Qur'anic roots of Sufism

Sufism really has its roots in the Qur'an itself and in the religious experience of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The preliminary signs of revelation were given to the Prophet (pbuh) in the form of visions and the Prophet (pbuh) deliberately sought solitude until the book of his heart, which was pure and unspoiled by schoolmen, was opened and the Divine Pen engraved upon it the revelation, the Qur'an.

The Sufi's knowledge of God comes from the Qur'an directly. And in spite of the Sufi's proximity to God, the undisputed basis of their direct experience of God has always been the Qur'an. The Qur'an contains instructions suitable to man with varying levels of spirituality. It satisfies those who are content with merely exoteric practices, but also contains the deepest and most profound esoteric meaning for those who desire a closer, more mystical relationship with God.

The Qur'anic verses which are the favourites of the Sufis include:

"We [God] are closer to him [man] than his jugular vein."

"Say, surely we belong to God and to Him do we return."

"He is the First and the Last and the Manifest and the Hidden."

"God is the light of the heavens and the earth."

Such verses are limitless in their depth, scope and meaning, and man may draw from them as much mystical meaning as he has the capacity to understand.

God says in the Qur'an that God sent His Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) first and foremost as a Mercy unto all peoples. And men of different levels of spiritual understanding may avail themselves of this Mercy according to their various capacities.

The Prophet (pbuh) and his close associates never stopped at merely observing the minimum requirement in regard to prayer and devotional practices. All through his life, the Prophet (pbuh) kept long night vigils and practised voluntary fasts during most days. He never ate barley bread (the staple food of his day) on three consecutive days, and he never even touched a loaf of wheat bread -- which was a luxury. One of his favourite sayings was "Poverty is my pride," and this saying came to be quoted in every manual of Sufi doctrine, making the rule of poverty a basic characteristic of Sufi life.

Significance of remembrance

The Sufis live with an ever increasing awareness of God. One aspect of this awareness is the practice of zikr. Zikr means 'remembering God,' usually by pronouncing His name or by uttering a number of recognized formulae. The Qur'an repeatedly admonishes believers to celebrate the praises of God and to do this often. For remembering the name of God brings satisfaction and comfort to man's heart. The following verse of the Qur'an reveals the significance of zikr:

"Recite that which has been revealed to you of the scripture, and observe prayer. For prayer restrains one from lewdness and iniquity, but remembrance of God is the greatest virtue."

In one passage of the Qur'an, the importance of zikr is enhanced to such an extent that a response to it from God Himself is assured:

"Therefore remember Me, and I will remember you."

The Qur'an warns those who neglect zikr: "Whoso blinds himself to the remembrance of the All Merciful, to him we assign Satan for a comrade and debar them from the way, and yet they think they are guided." Again, "Be not as those who forgot God, and so He caused them to forget their own souls. Those, they are ungodly." The key to human happiness lies in the remembrance of God, as in the Qur'anic verse: "Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find peace."

Some orientalists who considered themselves experts on Islam invented the myth that the history of Sufism began with the appearance of certain introductory treatises on the Sufi tradition in the ninth and tenth centuries. In their assessment of the Sufi writings, they failed to give due consideration to the esoteric aspect of the Qur'an and the enormous literature on the sayings and deeds of the Prophet (pbuh), which has inspired the Sufis of all generations.

The history and methodology of Sufism

Sufism is an esoteric doctrine transmitted by word of mouth, and sometimes without even a spoken or written word, by an authorized teacher to a disciple, and from disciple to another disciple, in confidence. These secret instructions are acted upon by a disciple with perfect faith in the teacher. The disciple gives a report of his condition and experience in confidence to his teacher and receives another set of instructions most suitable to his state.

It is only the writings of the Sufi teachers, who speak from within the tradition, that allow an outsider a glimpse of the inner beauty of Sufism. One of the greatest scholars of all times was al-Ghazzali. He lived in the later eleventh and early twelfth centuries. He wrote his famous work The Revival of the Sciences of Religion in Arabic, with an abridged form, The Alchemy of Happiness, in Persian. These works were followed by the other writings and poetry by such Sufi teachers as Abdul-Karim al-Jili, Ibn Arabi, Suhrawardi, the famous Chishti saints, Hafiz, Sadi, Rumi and so many other Sufi poets.

At the same time there was an immense upsurge of open Sufi activity under the auspices of different Sufi orders in all parts of the Islamic world. Each Sufi order constituted a focal point of activity, from which Sufi teachings were carried to the mass of the population by the representatives of the head of the order. The Sufi organizations constituted the social cement of the society in which they lived. Because of the strength of this social cement, Islamic civilization was able not only to withstand the many political upheavals of this period, but it also acted as a civilizing influence on the powers that were responsible for these upheavals.

Suluk: the spiritual journey

This brings us to say something about the Sufi discipline. The first and foremost requirement is the purification of the soul. The process is generally a long and difficult one. It consists of the three stages.

1. The carnal soul:

In the first stage, one struggles against the carnal soul or nafs al-ammara as it is called by the Sufis. Nafs al-ammara is the tendency in man to disobey God, and to take pleasure in evil deed and thought. This inclines man towards gossip, backbiting, vain talk, pride, selfishness, lust, hatred and jealousy. The struggle to overcome nafs al-ammara involves the purifying of the body, tongue, mind and heart.

a) The body is purified by keeping it free from dirt, by preserving its members from harm and by not indulging in sexual license.

b) The tongue must be purified by restraining it from backbiting, malicious gossip and vain talk, or from using it to alter the truth.

c) The mind must be purified by abstaining from suspicion, plotting and thinking ill of others.

d) The heart must be purified by keeping it free from lust, jealousy, greed, selfishness, hatred and pride.

e) In this stage, a Sufi constantly examines the motives of his likes and dislikes.

2. The reproaching soul:

When he has subjugated the carnal soul, nafs al-ammara, the Sufi enters upon the second stage of purification in which he is able to respond readily to the call of the reproaching soul which is called nafs al-lawwama. It is the nafs al-lawwama which reproaches man for his evil deeds and impels him to acts of mercy and generosity.

3.The contented soul:

After this stage has become firmly established in him, the Sufi enters the third stage which is known as the station of the contented soul, nafs al-mutma'inna. In this stage, the Sufi develops to the fullest the tendency to obey God and to act in perfect harmony with His commandments. Here the soul is reconciled with all other stations of the path, such as poverty, patience, gratitude and trust in God. Here the soul finds perfect satisfaction in being governed by the heart, the Divine spark in man. Here the Sufi becomes truly free from fear and grief. As God said in the Qur'an, "Lo, indeed, the friends of God have no fear, nor are they grieved." Fear and grief are qualities of man, and friends of God are relieved of the burden of these qualities. Fearlessly, and with the strength of faith, they invite man to God, the source of man's creation and the goal of his life.

Here lies the difference between a true teacher and a false one -- the true teacher invites man to God, and the pretender invites man to himself.

In this stage, a Sufi is filled with love, mercy, kindness, and a burning zeal to help others. In order to reach this high station, a Sufi must constantly strive to control his ego, to curb his anger and impatience. He must eat less, sleep less, talk less, and deny himself the pleasure of other people's company. Sometimes he withdraws completely from the worldly activities and occupies himself entirely with the remembrance of God and meditation.

As he makes progress spiritually, he is able to extend the length of his periods of seclusion, culminating in retreats of forty days' duration. In this seclusion, the Sufi fasts during the day, breaking his fast after sunset with only a small piece of bread and some water. During the nights, he keeps constant vigil and chants a selected verse from the Qur'an 125,000 times. The verse usually chanted is: "There is no God but Thou, the Holy Lord. I am indeed one of the evil doers." Or, "Say, He, Allah is One. Allah is Sufficient unto Himself."

Meditation, ecstasy, states, stations and ascension

The various stages on the mystical path are known as maqamat, or the 'stations', which can be reached by any Sufi by means of prayer, fasting, meditation, and the hal or 'mystical state', which may be vouchsafed to the Sufi by the Grace of God but is not attainable by the mystic's own efforts. A Sufi may be blessed by an experience which reveals to his soul the reality of the whole universe, from the lowest layer of earth to the highest heaven. This experience is called mi'raj or the 'ascension.' In this, a Sufi is generally accompanied by the spirit of his shaykh, and comes in contact with the spirits of other shaykhs and prophets. Various stations are also revealed to him with different colours and lights.

Extinction (fana) and subsistence (baqa):

One of the important phases of mystical experience which is attained by the Grace of God by a traveller on the mystical path is the state of fana fi Allah, 'extinction of the self in God', which is the transition to the state of baqa billah or the 'eternal life in union with God.' By passing away from self, the individual does not cease to exist, but is permitted to enjoy the supreme mystical experience in union with God. He is fully absorbed into the Love of God which gives him an everlasting awareness of the all-pervading presence of God.

This doctrine is further explained in an authentic tradition of the Prophet (pbuh) which states that God said:

Nothing is more pleasing to Me as a means for My slave to draw near unto Me than the worship I have made binding upon him. And My slave does not cease to draw near unto Me with added devotions of his free will until I Love him. And when I Love him, I am the Hearing wherewith he hears, and the Sight wherewith he sees, and the Hand wherewith he smites, and the Foot whereon he walks.

Most Sufis who have gone through this experience have preferred to live eternally in the greatest depth of silence which transcends all forms and sounds. Yet a few others have produced works of unsurpassed glory, especially in the fields of literature and music, which have crowned the culture of the entire Islamic world. Their works have inspired Sufis and non-Sufis for generations. As the great Persian Sufi poet, Hafiz of Shiraz, who is fondly remembered as the 'tongue of the unseen', said centuries ago for all times: "He whose heart is alive with love, never dies."

The pseudo-Sufis

Over the centuries, as the Sufi orders grew, the Sufi masters were generally recognized as sages and men of wisdom and grace, enjoying the esteem of the general populace.

The growing social prestige of the Sufis attracted self-seekers who posed as Sufis and dervishes and embarked upon exploiting the goodwill of the people. These pretenders indulged in superstitious practices, neglected moral order and religious ordinances, and boasted of their ignorance and lack of learning. In order to cover their own lack of discipline and dedication to the goal, some of these charlatans even tried to cut Sufism from its very roots--namely, the Qur'an and the practice of the Prophet (pbuh).

The acts of these pseudo-Sufis never altered the true course of Sufism. The heart of Sufism remained pure, well guarded by the traditional practice of the initiation of a seeker into a Sufi order by a Sufi master. The master's authority had properly been passed upon him by a previous master through the investiture of the traditional mantle of authority, symbolized by the presentation of a patched cloth. This initiation is supported by the tree of lineage going back through all the previous masters to the Prophet (pbuh) from whom the authority to instruct in the esoteric doctrine originated. Even today, this is the general practice of all the recognized Sufi orders.

It is Sufi masters such as al-Junayd, al-Ghazzali, Ibn Arabi, Shaykh Abdul-Karim al-Jili, Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, and Jalaluddin Rumi, among many others, who devoted their lives to spreading the light and grace among all men, irrespective of man's geographical, social, religious and racial origin. They left for all men a rich tradition of love and peace for all times. Even today, their example is a source of light and guidance to the seekers of truth everywhere. Indeed, only through total surrender to the Will of God can man hope to attain freedom and peace.

source video

Imam Musa Al-Kadhim A . S - Words of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

"Every single thing your eye sees contains a lesson."

Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (A)

966th Urs of Abul Hassan Ali Ibn Usman popularly known as Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajvery

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Brief History of Hazrat Khawaja Moeen ud Din Chishti Ajmeri R.A

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti,

Rahmatu Allahi alaih (May the Mercy of Allah be upon him)

Love towards all
Malice towards none

(excerpted from "The Greatest Preacher of Islam & A Messenger of Peace and Love"from the committee of the Dargah Sharif, Ajmer, Rajistan, India)

Historical Sketch

It is a well known historical fact that in spreading the ethical and spiritual values of Islam, major and effective contributions have been made by the walis (saints) of Allah. It was their humanism, disposition and piety which won over the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people. They contacted the masses directly. They served and loved them. They lived with them and inspired them in the realisation of Eternal Truth. The proof of this is more than evident from the history of the growth of Islam in India. Although India was penetrated in the first century of Hijra, the noble task of inspiring the people to its tenets and values was accomplished by Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, r.a. popularly known as Khwaja Sahib and Khwaja Gharib Nawaz. He did it all through his own great moral power, glorious and appealing character, with love and dedication to mankind, without any worldly resources of wealth, power, force or support.

Khwaja Sahib was a scholar of great repute. He interpreted the true Islamic message of love for mankind and through that, love for the Almighty Creator. He preached the Qur'anic philosophy of unity of religion and worked out its potentialities for the whole of humanity. He was the greatest mystic of his time. He laid the foundation of the liberal Chishtia order of Sufis in India, and inspired millions of souls to be his followers, and thus served the masses of the Indian sub-continent.

Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (r.a.)

Birth: Early life and Education

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, r.a. was born in Seistan (East Persia) also known as Sajistan, around 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.) in a well respected family. His father, Khwaja Ghayasuddin, r.a. and mother, Syeda Bibi Ummalwara (alias Bibi Mahe-Noor), were the descendants of Hazrat Ali, r.a. through his sons Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain. Khwaja Sahib lost both his father and mother at an early age of sixteen years. He inherited an orchard and millstone which were his means of livelihood. One day when Khwaja Sahib was working in his orchard, a pious dervish and majzoob, Ebrahim Qandoozi, came and took his seat under the shade of a tree. When Khwaja Sahib saw him, he brought a bunch of grapes and presented it to his guest. The visitor ate the grapes and was delighted. He then took something out of his bag, chewed it, then offered it to his young host. Khwaja Sahib ate it without any hesitation, and at once the light of wisdom and knowledge dawned upon the young Khwaja. Immediately he disposed of all of his worldly belongings and distributed the money amongst the poor. Having thus broken all the ties with worldly affairs, he set off for Samarkand and Bokhara then the great centres of learning for religious education and knowledge.

Spiritual Guidance

When Khwaja Sahib had acquired the best knowledge and wisdom of the time, he travelled widely in search of a Pir (spiritual guide) who could provide him with the best spiritual guidance. He came to know of Hazrat Khwaja Usman Harooni , r.a, who was the greatest scholar and unrivalled spiritual guide of that period. In the very first meeting, Khwaja Sahib completely submitted himself to his Murshid and remained in the company of this great divine spiritual leader, for twenty years and served him devotedly, passing through the various stages of spiritual life. Thus the great Murshid trained and elevated Khwaja Sahib to the highest spiritual attainments.

Hajj and the Prophet's (s.a.w.s) Command

As the great Khwaja Sahib became accomplished and perfect in every respect, the divine tutor honoured him with the robe and took him to Hajj. Both then proceeded to Mecca and performed the Hajj, and then went to Medina and stayed there for some time, to receive blessings from the prophet of Islam (s.a.w.s.)

One night, while in a trance, he was ordered by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.): "O Muinuddin! you are a prop of our faith. Proceed to India and show the Path of Truth to the people there." In compliance with the above spiritual command, Khwaja Sahib left Medina for India. He continued his journey, passing through Isfahan, Bokhara, Herat, Lahore and Delhi meeting several prominent Sufis of the period. He arrived at the barren and desolate land of Rajputana which is now known as Rajasthan. On his way to India, he enrolled large numbers of people into his fold and blessed thousands of others with spiritual power.

Khwaja Sahib at Ajmer, India

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, r.a., arrived in Ajmer at the age of 52 years around 587 A.H. (1190 A.D.), on his divine mission, unique in the annals of Islam. His only armour for the success of his great mission was the greatest "invisible power" that pervades and sustains the whole universe. At that time, Ajmer was ruled by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the famous Rajput king. In his court, he had a large number of powerful magicians with Ajai Pal as their leader. Khwaja Sahib stayed on a hill close to Ana Sagar lake now known as the Chillah Khwaja Sahib. When the news spread that a very pious Dervish had come to Ajmer, people began to flock to him in increasing numbers. Whoever came to him, received the kindest treatment and blessings. People were so much inspired by his divine teachings and simplicity that they began to embrace Islam. Many became his disciples. Even Ajai pal submitted himself to the divine powers of Khwaja Sahib, gave up all his magic and became his disciple.

Meanwhile, Shahabuddin Ghori again attacked India, in 1192 A.D., and in the famous battle of Tarain, defeated Prithvi Raj. When Shahabuddin Ghori came to know of the presence of Khwaja Sahib at Ajmer, he personally came to see him at his place, and enjoyed the grace of his meeting.

Khwaja Sahib continued his noble magnificent mission, showing the Path of Truth to the people. He also sent his disciples and successors to the different part of the country who also served the people and preached the tenets of Islam. A few of his prominent successors are:

1. Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Khaki, r.a. (Delhi. ob. 1236)

2. Hazrat Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-e-shakar, r.a., (Pak Pattan ob. 1265)

3. Hazrat Shaikh Nizamuddin Awlia (Delhi, ob. 1325)

4. Hazrat Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi (Delhi, ob. 1356)

Khwaja Sahib Breathes His Last

After achieving the objectives of his mission and complying with the command given to him by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.), his noble soul left the mortal body on the 6th of Rajab 633 A.H. (March 16, 1236) at the age of 97. He was buried in the same cell which was the centre for his divine activities, throughout his stay at Ajmer. Today his tomb is popularly known as The Dargah Sharif (holy tomb). People of all walks of life and faith from all over the world, irrespective of their caste, creed and belief, visit this great shrine to offer the flowers of their esteem and devotion. The rich and the poor stand side by side to pay homage and respect to this divine soul.

Mission and Teaching of Khwaja Sahib

The life and mission of Khwaja Sahib have been of an exceptional character as compared with any other saints in India. His simple teaching penetrated even the stoniest of hearts, his affectionate look silenced his fiercest of enemies. His matchless piety and blessings knew no distinction and his "Spiritual Power", amazed and defied his bitterest adversaries who came in order to harm him, but were inspired instead to embrace Islam and become his devotees for the rest of their lives. He brought the message of Universal Love and Peace. He chose the way of non-compulsion in the true spirit of the Holy Qur'an, which says:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things." [Qur'an 2:256]

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, r.a. followed this dictum strictly throughout his mission. It is because of this that he became popularly known as Gharib Nawaz, which means 'the one who shows kindness to the poor'. This was later reinforced by succeeding Chishti Sufis, who became religious pioneers in national integration in the country. They fulfilled the objectives of bringing together the various castes, communities and races, elevating humanity from the swamp of materialistic concerns, which is leading mankind to destruction even today.

The teachings of Khwaja Sahib have been recorded in several books on mysticism. The essence of his teachings are:

The true friend of Allah is one who has these three qualities:

1. A friend of God must have affection like the sun. When the sun rises, it is beneficial to all. All persons derive heat and light from it irrespective of whether they are Muslim, Christian, Seik,
Hindu, etc.
2. A friend of God must be generous like an ocean or a river. We all get water from the river or sea to quench our thirst. No discrimination is made whether we are good or bad or whether we are a relation or a stranger.
3. A friend of God is one who has the quality of hospitality like the earth. We are raised and cradled in its lap, and it is always spread below our feet.

The noblest of characters is possessed by one who is:

1. Bountiful in poverty.
2. Content in hunger.
3. Cheerful in grief.
4. Friendly in hostility.

The surest way to ward off the eternal punishment of hell is:

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To redress the aggrieved.
3. To help the distressed.

Sacred Sayings of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, r.a.

1. Without performing Namaz (prayer), none can approach Allah (God), because Namaz is the climax (mi'raj) in the process of such an approach for the pious.

2. If all the rules of Namaz were not followed properly, it is struck back on the face of him who offers such a Namaz.

3. The heart of a lover (True lover of Allah) constantly burns with the fire of love, so much so that whatever intrudes upon its sanctity is burnt to ashes.

4. A sin committed does not harm an individual so much as looking down upon one's own fellow human beings.

5. Of all the worship that pleases Almighty Allah, the most is the granting of relief to the humble and the oppressed.

6. Performance of charity is the key of attaining the estate of a philanthropist.

7. The one who does not perform devotion of Allah is engaged in the career of earning a sinful living.

8. There are four cardinal virtues of the individual self: (i) refraining from begging in the state of penury; (ii) showing the attitude of being well-fed when feeling hungry; (iii) maintaining a cheerfulness in the time of sorrow; and (iv) befriending the enemy.

9. That man is a true devotee of Almighty Allah, who resigns with pleasure to the misfortune that comes from his beloved (Almighty Allah).

10. The path of Love of God is such a path that whosoever steps into it, loses himself.

11. For a follower of the path of Truth, it is worse than sin to disdain or look down upon anyone.

12. Those who are true Lovers of God give away both of the worlds for the sake of their Beloved and even then feel that they have done nothing worthy.

13. Perfection in faith is evident by three things: (i) Fear, (ii) Hope, and (iii) Love

The Beauty of the Heart

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:18:00 +0000

The Beauty of the Heart

is the lasting Beauty:

its lips give to drink

of the water of life.

Truly it is the water,

that which pours,

and the one who Drinks.

All three become One when

your talisman is shattered.

That oneness you can't know

by reasoning.

From: Mathnawi II, 716-718

- Rumi -

What is the Fellowship ?

noreply@blogger.com (~º°˚ ˚°º~) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:54:00 +0000

What is the Fellowship ?

STUDENT: What is this Fellowship?

BABA MUHAIYADDEEN: The word fellowship sounds like the Tamil words pelai, which means fault, and supi which means to suck. The baby mind sucks at the faults and desires in the heart of man as if they were milk. It likes all things which are evil.

The Fellowship is here to tell that baby mind:

• Correct yourself.
• Correct your faults.
• Bring peace to your heart.
• Destroy your arrogance and show love and compassion.
• Destroy the karma to which you are connected.
• Destroy your own hunger and erase the hunger of others.
• Cut away your selfishness and help all lives.
• Do not earn wages for your own good; dedicate your life to the good of others.
• Do not live by taking the property of others; show them the way to live in contentment and equality.
• Come to a state of peace.

God has given His kingdom to all His creations so that each one can live in contentment. All the animals in the jungle and the creatures in the ocean are connected; the birds of the air are connected; and even the sun, the moon, and the stars live connectedly in the sky. Man alone has lost his contentment because of his selfishness, his desires, his greed, his arrogance and pride, his trickery and treachery, and the differences he sees between the I and the you.

To man, who is never satisfied, the Fellowship says, "All other lives live happily, O man. Why can't you? God has given you a kingdom of freedom. Realize that in His kingdom everyone lives contentedly. O man, why do you destroy the contentment of others? Learn to live in contentment. Give up your jealousy, ignorance, and selfishness. Act with the qualities of God. Imbibe wisdom and live like a man. Show the compassion of God to all lives, so that they can exist as one life, in contentment and unity. Live in the state of God's peacefulness, the state of love, compassion, freedom, and equality. Resolve to live in this state. Then the place where you live can be changed into heaven, into the kingdom of God.

The Fellowship says, "O mankind, understand this. We are human beings, are we not? Man is the noblest of God's creations. But you have abandoned your human face, preferring to show instead the face of a dog, a donkey, or a snake. Sometimes you even turn your face into that of a demon or a ghost. You put on the masks of tigers, lions, elephants, bears, vultures, monkeys, and eagles. You put on the masks of four hundred trillion, ten thousand animals. Don't you know that each one of these is out to kill the other? Why are you fond of these masks? You wear them in your heart as well as on your face.

"O man, you were born beautiful. God gave you such a beautiful face. And of all hearts, God gave you the most beautiful. He endowed you with seven kinds of wisdom. Animals were given only three levels of wisdom—feeling, awareness, and intellect. But God gave you four more levels—judgment, subtle wisdom, divine analytic wisdom, and divine luminous wisdom. And God gave you a connection to Him. He placed His kingdom within you and placed you within His kingdom. Your life is within Him, and He lives within you as your life. Your secret is within God and God's secret is within you.

"O man, you should be representative, a king, and a friend to all lives. God gave you special abilities so that you could protect others, but having received such power, what have you done? You have abandoned your true state and your beauty and have taken on the faces of animals and demons, preferring these to your human face. You have forgotten the beauty of God and the beauty of man and have lost the qualities of God and the qualities of man. You have uprooted the truth of God and the truth of man. You have lost the abilities God gave you.

"O man, try to understand this. Try to change into a true human being and try to live in that way, serving all lives. Let your actions fit your words. Let your speech be put into action in the form of duty. Let your outer behavior match your inner qualities. With those qualities you can rule the kingdom of God and show others how to live in that kingdom in equality, peace, and tranquility. This is a life of freedom. Realize this, O man."

The Fellowship teaches so many things. It explains what a life of human freedom is. It shows the way to realize the faults of man and to avoid them It teaches and illustrates the qualities of God. That is the function of the Fellowship.

Muhaiyaddeen, Bawa. Questions of Life - Answers of Wisdom. Philadelphia: Fellowship Press, 1991. 33-35.

Qalandaria

The Holy Qur'an and Qur'anic Interpretation (Tafsir)

Qur'an: Introduction

The History of the Compilation of the Qur'an

Critique of the Prevailing View of the Compilation of the Qur'an and the Rebuttal

Qur'an: Searchable Arabic Qur'an and Tafsirs, Searchable Translations, and Indices in English and Arabic

Online Qur'anic Recitations

Free Qur'ans

Tafsir

Comprehensive Downloadable Arabic Library for Research in Primary Islamic Sources

WHAT IS THE HUMAN AURA?

25 Quranic Duas

What is Mysticism ? - DIVINE WISDOM

40 Hadith e Qudsi

Forty Hadith Qudsi

Brief History of Hazrat Ghouse 'Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati R . A

Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri R.A

Brief History of Hazrat Sheikh Sharf-Uddin Bu-Ali Shah Qalandar R.A

Brief History of Hazrat Abdul Lateef Shah R.A known as Bari Imam Sarkar

Obedience - Shams-e Tabriz - 3 States of Matter

3 Levels of Obedience: The Divine asks us to

“...enter houses through their proper doors” (2:189).

For every door there is a key, and the key for unlocking the door to the heart is through obedience to the Divine will.

“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those charged

with authority over you.” (4:59)

As Prophet Jesus [as] taught in the Lord’s prayer,

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

This concept, “obedience to God's will”, is the religion that all Prophets brought to humanity. That is why all Prophets were saying, “Samina wa atana” (2:285), which means “we hear and we obey”.

Who do we obey? “Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those charged with authority over you.” (4:59)

“O ye who believe! Do your duty to God,

seek the means of approach unto Him” (5:35).

“He who obeys the Messenger obeys Me.” (4:80).

God is saying “look to the Messenger (s). I have sent him to you to teach you how to obey Me.” Prophet (s) is in complete submission to the Divine – he has no will of his own.

Tariqa comes to perfect our faith and learn to accept God’s will.

As Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, “O my son, you have to sit with the Sufis because they are like a fountain of knowledge. They recite the remembrance of God in their hearts. They are the ascetics, and they have the most spiritual power. I do not know any people better than them.”

Saints are inheriting from the perfection of Prophet (s). Through spiritual training and constant remembrance of God, they have purified their hearts of all imperfections in character and in worship. It means that their hearts have become like mirrors.

“Hold tight to the rope of God and do not separate.” (3:103)

Are You Chasing After The Material World

Who's Riding Hu

Unfortunately, people today are no longer following Saints - they are only following their egos , Instead of riding your ego it is riding you.

“O ye who believe, fear God

and keep the company with those who are truthful.” (9:119)

3 States of Matter and the Shams al-Tabriz “Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those in authority.” (4:59)

These three levels of obedience are also symbolic of the 3 states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

The Divine is like the gaseous state: we can't see it, we can't taste it and we can't smell it. In our physical, solid form it is impossible for us to interact with gas, and that is why God is saying “obey Prophet (s)”.

We are Solid Ignorance, We are in need of Solid Faith / Murshid

When we are trying to enter as something and someone it means that we are still in a solid state, but you can’t have form in Divine Presence.

To be in the presence of God, Almighty and Exalted, you must lose your form like binary code.

Binary code is made-up of a series of 1’s and 0’s.

1 means you are “on” and symbolizes your form.

For matter to change states there must be a catalyst which creates a change within that existing state. For example, for a solid to become liquid requires tremendous heat.

In Sufism that catalyst is the spiritual

Mentor, the Shams al-Tabriz.

Shams al-Tabriz was the name of Jalaludin Rumi's (q) teacher and his name refers to the highest point of energy. “Shams” means sun in Arabic, referring to the fact that the heart of Shams al-Tabriz was like the sun - lit with the light of guidance. Tab-Riz means Highest point of Heat.

REALITIES of Saints

As an aside, this Hadith specifies the stages of personal progress and spiritual achievement.

78:7 And the mountains as pegs

This corresponds to a state wherein one is completely melted and annihilated in Bahr ul-Qudra, the Ocean of Power wherein all creation swims. Lastly, Awliya may reach the station of Wind, pure Prophetic Essence, subtle, ethereal, completely without mass – pure Divine Will.

55-29 In Every Moment in (new) Splendor doth He (shine)!

The Shams al-Tabriz exists in every time, symbolizing the Saints who can melt our ego through the power of their heart.

We said, "O Fire! be thou cool, and a means of safety for Abraham!"

(The Prophets 21:69)

Then when the Saints have melted us, we enter a liquid state and we become like water. Water symbolizes submission Having a flowing quality without harshness or abrupt breaks.

Saints are releasing that energy and literally melting you into that liquid state. That liquid state occurs through love, as only love can melt the heart.

Taken from "the Sayings of a Saint".

Brief History of Hazrat Rabia al Basri R . A

Brief History of Hazrat Bilal e Habshi R . A

Iqbal Poetry : Tere Ishq ki inteha Chahta hoon - I Desire (With English Translation)

Iqbal Poetry : Mujrim vs Mehram

Rumi’s Love…

Rumi Quote – how to Combat Fear

“Don’t let your throat tighten with fear. Take sips of breath all day and night, before death closes your mouth.”

Rumi and Shams

My eyes are small, and yet they see enormous things.

I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside me?

"Why should I seek? I am the same as He. His essence speaks through me I have been looking for myself!"

* Hazrat is an honorific title used to honor a unique and special person. The literal translation of Hazrat means "Great Presence". ** Mollana, meaning My Lord or My Master, is the name Rumi is referred to in Iran and other Eastern parts of the world.

Shrine of Rumi, Konya, Turkey

Pappu Sain - Baba Shah Jamal Dhol Session

An Introduction to Sufism

3 Levels of Obedience:

The Divine asks us to

Who do we obey?
“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those charged with authority over you.” (4:59)

As Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said,
“O my son, you have to sit with the Sufis because they are like a fountain of knowledge. They recite the remembrance of God in their hearts. They are the ascetics, and they have the most spiritual power. I do not know any people better than them.”

3 States of Matter and the Shams al-Tabriz
“Obey God, obey the Prophet (s) and obey those in authority.” (4:59)

This corresponds to a state wherein one is completely melted and annihilated in Bahr ul-Qudra, the Ocean of Power wherein all creation swims.

Lastly, Awliya may reach the station of Wind, pure Prophetic Essence, subtle, ethereal, completely without mass – pure Divine Will.

"Why should I seek? I am the same as
He. His essence speaks through me
I have been looking for myself!"

* Hazrat is an honorific title used to honor a unique and special person. The literal translation of Hazrat means "Great Presence".
** Mollana, meaning My Lord or My Master, is the name Rumi is referred to in Iran and other Eastern parts of the world.