Islam & Sufism

Proof of Imperfectness

2009-12-14T15:40:00.001+05:30

"If anyone claims of perfectness (in the religion), that's the greatest evidence of his imperfectness"
-- Syed Noori shah (RA)

Practice what you have learned

2009-10-28T14:01:00.000+05:30

Practice what you have learned, for theory without practice is like a spirit without a body. One who is content with learning alone is not learned, for the truly learned seeks more than mere words. Divine guidance entails self-mortification, without which contemplation is unattainable.

- Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Useless Learning and Vanity

2009-09-25T14:30:00.000+05:30

O, how often have knowledge and wit
become as deadly to the wayfarer as any demon or bandit!
Most of those destined for Paradise are simple-minded,
so that they escape from the mischief of philosophy.
Strip yourself of useless learning and vanity,
so that every moment Divine mercy may descend upon you.
Cleverness is the opposite of humbleness and supplication:
give up cleverness and take simplicity as your companion.
Know that cleverness is a trap for victory and ambition:
why should the pure devotee wish to be clever?
The clever are content with an ingenious device;
the simple have left all artifice
to be at rest with the Artificer,
because at breakfast time a mother will have gathered
the little child's hands and feet in repose upon her breast.

- Moulana Rumi (RA)
Mathnawi VI:2369-2375
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski

Become one with the beloved

2009-09-18T17:52:00.002+05:30

Dear heart, where do you find
the courage to seek the Beloved
when you know He has annihilated
so many like you before?
I do not care, said my heart,
my only wish is to become
one with the Beloved.
- Moulana Rumi RA

Self Interest hides virture

2009-09-11T18:59:00.002+05:30

Anger and lust make a man squint;
they cloud the spirit so it strays from truth.
When self-interest appears, virtue hides:
a hundred veils rise between the heart and the eye.

- Moulana Rumi (RA)

Our Sustenance is from Allah

2009-08-18T14:09:00.000+05:30

Do not seek sustenance from people. Allah is the real Provider. If He wills a certain person to be the means of your livelihood, do not consider that person to be in control of your destiny. Have faith and be certain in the knowledge that your daily bread does not depend upon any mortal, but upon Allah who created all.

--Al-Hujwiri(RA)

Life Blossoms...

2009-06-23T17:34:00.000+05:30

Sometimes in order to help He makes us cry.
Happy the eye that sheds tears for His sake.
Fortunate the heart that burns for His sake.
Laughter always follows tears.
Blessed are those who understand.
Life blossoms wherever water flows.
Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown.

-Moulana Rumi (RA)

Pain is not evil

2009-06-23T17:20:00.002+05:30

Human beings are created from the dust of the earth; but do they resemble dust? Grapes come from vines; but do grapes look like vines? Does theft have the same shape as gallows? Does piety resemble eternal life? Nothing resembles its consequences. So the root of pain and torment is not evil.

-Moulana Rumi (RA)

Gazzali on Sufism

2009-06-23T17:17:00.000+05:30

There are many people who are shocked by Sufism, and they mock it, calling it nonsense. These people are blinded by ignorance. By following the mystical way I came to understand the true nature of God’s revelations to Muhammad.

- Imam Muhammad Al- Ghazzali (RA)

Three qualities of Allah's Friend

2009-06-23T17:09:00.000+05:30

The sign of the friend of Allah is that he has three qualities: a generosity like that of the ocean, a compassion like that of the sun, and a humility like that of the earth.

- Bayazid Bistami (RA)

Note: Some books attribute this quote to Shaikh Khwaja Moinudeen Chishti (RA) of Ajmer

Don't listen to your ego

2009-06-23T17:05:00.002+05:30

Listen to your heart and not your ego. Your ego prompts you to boast of vain assertions to obtain the glory of this world. Turn away from vanity and seek Him in the recesses of your heart and soul.

- Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani (RA)

Heed to Him

2009-06-18T14:44:00.000+05:30

In separation from Allah you have become arrogant; pay heed before His scourge strikes you down. Do not exult because of your good fortune. Over and again Allah admonishes you with the examples of the transgressors before you. If you really want to enjoy the limitless bounty of Allah, surrender yourselves before His will and endure all afflictions with fortitude.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (RA)

Seek only from Allah

2009-06-18T14:43:00.000+05:30

Seek what you wish from Allah, not from men.
Be satisfied in joy; there is honor therein.
On friends and relatives be not a burden.
Rich is he who hopes from Allah, not from men.

-Imam Al-Ghazzali (RA)

A Prayer

2009-06-18T14:33:00.001+05:30

O Beloved of hearts, I beseech only You.
Have pity this day on those who turn to You.
My Hope, my Rest, my Delight,
this heart can love none other but You.

-Rabi'a Al-Basariyya (RA)

Gluttony

2009-06-18T14:30:00.000+05:30

We cannot do away with our daily nourishment, but let us not wallow in gluttony. Abu Yazid was once asked why he regarded fasting so supreme. He replied, "Had the Pharaoh (Fir'aun) known hunger he would not have declared himself God."

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Be in God's presence

2009-06-18T14:23:00.000+05:30

Life without repentance is spiritual agony; to be absent from God is immediate death. Life and death both are sweet with God’s presence: without God even the Water of Life is fire.
- Moulana Rumi (RA)

Heaven & Hell

2008-07-22T19:05:00.000+05:30

Wherever the delusion of your selfhood appears — there's hell. Wherever "you" aren't – that's heaven.

-Abu Sa'id in Ibn Munawwar, "Asrar at-tawhid"

How shall I describe my state?

2008-07-22T14:03:00.000+05:30

Bereft of life, bereft of knowledge,
bereft of power and will,
how shall I describe my state?
For I do not exist, only He exists.
I am deaf; the bearer is He.
I am blind; the seer is He.
I am mute; the orator is He.
I do not exist; only He exists.

-Shah Kamal, "Islamic Sufism"

Submit before the will of Allah

2008-01-15T23:08:00.000+05:30

"If you are destined for good fortune you will be blessed; if afflictions have been ordained, no matter where you hide they will seek you out. Submit therefore before the will of Allah; be grateful in well-being and endure adversity with fortitude that His light may radiate within your being."

-Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R.A)

Proximity and distance are the same

2008-01-15T23:06:00.000+05:30

"O God, it would be impossible for me to distance myself from you; it would be impossible for you to distance yourself from me. In the certainty of our relationship, proximity and distance are the same."

-Mansoor Ibn Hallaj

Let your heart be true

2008-01-15T23:01:00.000+05:30

Many prayers are declined because of the rank odor of a corrupt heart rising through the beautiful words. Let the words be wrong, but the meaning right. That flawed utterance is dearer to God.

-Rumi

2007-11-01T18:24:00.000+05:30

State of Awe

2007-06-28T20:01:00.001+05:30

The effect of awe is the disappearance of self; the self which is in a state of awe, disappears. Levels of awe may be measured by the degree to which the self has disappeared; some people are at a higer level of awe than others.

The effect of intimacy, by contrast, is alertness; those who are intimate, are alert. A person who is fully intimate, could be thrown into a fire, and the intimacy would not be disturbed.

-Qushayri, "Risalah"

Losing the sense of self

2007-06-28T18:54:00.000+05:30

Imagine yourself entering the presence of a mighty emperor. You are overwhelmed with awe at his power, and with a sense of your own insignificance. Your entire attention is absorbed by the emperor’s greatness, so you are utterly unaware of his physical presence and of the other people around him. When you leave his presence, people ask you about the other people, about his physical appearance, and about your own experience of being in his presence. But you are unable to answer.

This is a parable for losing the sense of self.

-Qushayri, "Risalah"

8 Random Facts About Me - Meme

2007-06-25T15:48:00.000+05:30

I apologize to my regular readers for posting something other than Sufism in this blog. One of my respected colleagues has has tagged me for the ‘8 Random Facts’ meme.

I'm jotting down that comes to my mind immediately.

1. I've lived in Chennai all along (except for my brief travel to customer locations on business). Studied in the same school from KG to higher secondary and working in the same organization for 10 years now.
2. I got initiated in Sufism in 1993 when I was 18.
3. I was named Shahul Hameed even before I was born (something that's very rare in India)! My parents had decided that if it was a boy it would be Shahul Hameed and if it was a girl it would be Fathima. Shahul Hameed is the name of the famous sufi saint of Nagore (near Nagapattinam). Incidentally, today is this sufi saint's anniversary at Nagore. You can find some content on the saint at http://webhome.idirect.com/~kalyanam/durga.html.
4. I'm called as "Internet Shahul" in my friends circle!
5. My favorite author is Muhyadeen Ibn Arabi, the great sufi shaikh. But, I'm yet to complete even one full reading of his famous Fusus Al Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom). I've got a couple of books by William Chittick where he has translated and commented on the Shaikh's Futuhatul Makkiyya (The meccan revelations). I'm currently reading William Chittick's "Imaginal Worlds and the problem of religious diversity"
6. I love Urdu sufi poetry but can enjoy only about 60% of it as my knowledge of Urdu is limited. My favorite Urdu sufi poems are by my great-grand shaikh GowseeShah (may Allah be please with him). One of his famous lines is, "People of other religion call me a perfect Muslim while Muslims say I have become a disbeliever".
7. Seven is my favorite number as I was born that day!
8. I used to be a poet when I was in school. I've won a couple of all Tamilnadu poetry contests in Tamil.

Now is the most difficult part of this meme. I need to tag 8 other people. I think I can excuse myself from this!

Patience...

2007-05-15T16:12:00.000+05:30

If you persevere in adversity and depend on Allah, then know that He will remove your afflictions and bestow vast blessings upon you. For in His Book Allah promises, "Those who depend upon Allah, Allah bestows His bounty upon them and provides for them from means unknown." Therefore follow the road of patience and rejoice in His infinite bounty.

-Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani

The best of all...

2007-04-16T17:40:00.001+05:30

The highest person is he who is of most use to humankind.

-'Ali bin Abi Talib, "Masters of the Path"

Seek from God

2007-04-16T17:38:00.001+05:30

Seek what you wish from God, not from men.
Be satisfied in joy; there is honor therein.
On friends and relatives be not a burden.
Rich is he who hopes from God, not from men.

-Al-Ghazzali, "Ihya Ulum Id-Din"

What's Renunciation?

2007-04-04T18:13:00.001+05:30

Renunciation of the world does not constitute wearing coarse clothes and eating stale bread. Real renunciation lies in curbing desires.

-Hadith reported by Sufyan Thawri

Remorse for a sin...

2007-04-04T17:39:00.000+05:30

True repentance entails constant regret of your sins. Without remorse, good deeds, be they abounding, could be eclipsed by pride that follows piety. Remorse for a sin is superior to good works. Never forget your transgressions to save yourself from conceit.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Strip away your pedigree

2007-02-27T13:52:00.001+05:30

Unless you strip away your pedigree
of family, of kith and kin,
how will you ever reach the Friend?
When, when did anyone attain
the Friend, my friend, through bonds
of family, through kith and kin?

-Maghribi: Diwan-I Maghribi,

Know Him...

2007-02-26T18:37:00.000+05:30

In order to worship God, you must know God. In order to know God, you must recognize his unity. In order to recognize his unity, you must deny any possibility of describing how God is present, where he is present, and when he is present.

-Junayd: Tawhid

Invoke Him with deeds

2007-02-15T15:35:00.001+05:30

God made the illusion look real and the real an illusion. He concealed the sea and made the foam visible, the wind invisible, and the dust manifest. You see the dust whirling, but how can the dust rise by itself? You see the foam, but not the ocean. Invoke Him with deeds, not words, for deeds are real and will save you in the afterlife.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Those loved by Allah...

2007-02-15T15:23:00.000+05:30

Those loved by Allah are held in contempt by the vulgar, and those who deem themselves virtuous may not be so in the eyes of Allah....Public ridicule is the very sustenance of the chosen of Allah. They rejoice in it, just as others rejoice in popularity, for they know that it is a sign that they are close to Him. As Allah said, "My chosen are hidden under My cloak. Besides Me, only the elect know who they are."

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Detach yourself from material possessions

2007-02-15T15:21:00.000+05:30

The master continued, "If you put oil, pepper, garlic and onion in a cauldron, and merely add water, you have not made a stew. The basis for a stew is meat; the other ingredients are optional. Similarly, spiritual progress depends on detaching yourself from material possessions; other virtuous practices are optional."

-Nizam al-Din, "Fawa'id al-Fu'ad"

Three kinds of Knowledge

2007-02-05T18:57:00.001+05:30

Knowledge is of three kinds: from God, with God, of God. Knowledge of God is disclosed to all prophets and saints; it is a divine guidance and cannot be acquired. Knowledge from God is the sacred law made obligatory upon us. Knowledge with God is the knowledge of the paths and stations and the development of saints.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

In God's eyes

2007-02-05T18:36:00.001+05:30

I surrender myself to no other god but God.
If He desires my bloodshed,
then so be it! I have no fear.
I may be disgraced in your world;
before God honor will be mine.
A laughing stock in the eyes of the world,
in God's eyes cherished and acclaimed.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Outward purity

2007-02-05T18:33:00.001+05:30

People sometimes justify their obsession with cleanliness on religous grounds; but true religion is not concerned with outward purity.

-Razi: Kitab al-Muluki

Birth of Conceit

2007-02-05T18:24:00.001+05:30

Since you are in love with yourself, you are inclined to overestimate your own strengths, and underestimate your own weaknesses; equally you are inclined to underestimate the strengths of others, and overestimate their weaknesses. If you allow this attitude to grow freely, without any restraint, it becomes conceit.

-Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"

Knowledge of Allah

2006-12-28T18:07:00.000+05:30

"There is no knowledge except that taken from Allah, for He alone is the Knower... the prophets, in spite of their great number and the long periods of time which separate them, had no disagreement in knowledge of Allah, since they took it from God."

- Shaikh Muhyaddeen Ibn Arabi (R.A)

Knowledge's two wings

2006-12-26T19:28:00.000+05:30

Knowledge has two wings. Conjecture is one wing. Conjecture alone is lacking and cuts short the flight. The one-winged bird continues to struggle, hoping to reach the nest somehow with one wing. And then wisdom shows his shining face. Delivered from conjecture, the bird now spreads both wings (and soars once again).

- Mowlana Rumi (R.A)

Practice what you have learnt

2006-12-26T19:12:00.000+05:30

Once Ibrahim bin Adham saw a stone with the inscription, "Turn me over and read!" When he did an inscription appeared: "You do not practice what you know. Why do you seek what you do not know?"

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

How to escape from Humans basic nature?

2006-12-26T17:49:00.001+05:30

Since man is made of clay, he can never be completely pure. Since clay is basically foul, how can humans escape their basic nature? Purity does not lie in rituals, nor can human nature be changed by effort. Those who love God and remain conscious only of their Beloved attain purity.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al Mahjub"

Be with saints...

2006-11-22T18:00:00.000+05:30

If you want to be with God, be with saints. If you do not consort with saints, you will be lost; you will be separated from the whole.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Opposites help

2006-11-08T19:17:00.001+05:30

God created suffering and heartache, so that joy might be known as their opposite. Hidden things become manifest through their opposites. But God has no opposite; so he remains hidden. Light is known as the opposite of darkness. But God's light has no opposite. Thus we cannot know him through our eyes.

-Rumi, "Masnawi"

The Veil

2006-11-06T19:21:00.001+05:30

No denser veil than pretension exists between God and the devotee. There is no closer way to God than spiritual impoverishment before Him.

-Tustari in ‘Attar: “Tadhkirat”

Veils between man and Allah

2006-11-01T19:26:00.001+05:30

The thickest veils between man and Allah are the wisdom of the wise, the worship of the religious, and the piety of the pious."

Bayazid Bistami

Do not strut proudly...

2006-10-28T14:08:00.001+05:30

Do not strut proudly on account of your good deeds. Do not let pride waylay you. When you deem yourself holier than others, know that you have fallen into grave error because in your pride you believed yourself equal to God.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fut'hul Ghaib"

Reality of all people

2006-10-12T16:23:00.000+05:30

Some only ride on paths, while others rise across trackless deserts. Those who ride on paths, are like those who can see the way to God. Those who ride across trackless deserts, are like those who have lost the way to God. Yet God reveals himself within the souls of both; He is the inner reality of all people.

-Ibn Arabi, “Fusus al-hikam”

Delusion of your selfhood

2006-09-07T16:49:00.001+05:30

Wherever the delusion of your selfhood appears there's hell. Wherever "you" aren't that's heaven.

-Abu Sa'id in Ibn Munawwar, "Asrar at-tawhid"

Have Complete trust in Allah

2006-09-07T16:14:00.000+05:30

Real faith is having complete trust in Allah. "It is the belief in the wisdom which comes from the Unseen." Such certainty can only be attained through the knowledge that emerges with divine help.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Love Him

2006-08-24T18:16:00.000+05:30

Those who do not love the Beloved shall not be able to see Him, for one cannot know and see the sun with a lamp.

-Al-Ghazzali, "Masters of the Path"

Turn to Him...

2006-08-24T17:56:00.000+05:30

Those who believe everything to be created by God see Him in everything. They find comfort in regarding the Creator and not His creation. All problems stem from the illusion that created things hold the ultimate power. Turn to Him, therefore, if you seek deliverance.

-Al-Nuri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Saints were created from light

2006-08-24T17:38:00.000+05:30

Your power comes from the power of God,
not from the veins or the beating heart.
The power of the saints comes from God,
not from feasts and trays of provisions.
They were created from the light
that transcends the angel and the Spirit alike.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Love is the flame...

2006-07-27T17:16:00.000+05:30

Love is the flame which, when it blazes,
consumes everything other than the Beloved.
The lover wields the sword of Nothingness
in order to dispatch all but God:
consider what remains after Nothing.
There remains but God: all the rest is gone.
Praise to you, O mighty Love, destroyer of all other "gods."

-Mathnawi (Rumi)

Proximity and distance to God

2006-07-17T13:37:00.000+05:30

O God, it would be impossible for me to distance myself from you; it would be impossible for you to distance yourself from me. In the certainty of our relationship, proximity and distance are the same.

-Hallaj, Tawasin

To be absent from God

2006-06-23T14:47:00.000+05:30

Life without repentance is spiritual agony;
to be absent from God is immediate death.
Life and death both are sweet with Gods presence:
without God even the Water of Life is fire.

-Rumi

Seek and you will find

2006-06-19T14:06:00.000+05:30

Do not look at your own form, be it beautiful or ugly; look at the true object of your love, and the goal of your search. Do not look at your own state, which is feeble and vile; look at the true object of your hopes and aspirations. In whatever state you are, seek God. Seek God as if your lips were dry and you were seeking water. Dry lips are a sign that you will eventually reach a spring. Dry lips are a message from the water: 'If you keep searching, you will find me.' To seek is a blessed activity; it destroys the obstacles on the path to God. If you seek, you will find.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Seek Freedom by Following the Righteous

2006-06-15T13:38:00.000+05:30

Do not be ruled by lust; seek freedom by following the righteous. Mere claims of piety will not earn you inner freedom. Remain patient in adversity to attain peace, for adversity is the threshold to freedom. Those who cannot persevere are held back from the doors of Mercy.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani

Listed to your heart

2006-05-31T17:47:00.000+05:30

Overcome ego

2006-05-31T17:43:00.000+05:30

Once the ego is overcome peace follows. "Only God and no living creature has the power to control destinies." With that conviction entrust all your cares to the Lord and follow the path of the Truth, conforming to the divine edicts, until you attain union with Him and become as pure as Adam before whom all creatures prostrated.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani's prayer

2006-05-31T17:36:00.000+05:30

Forgive us, our Lord. Overlook our transgressions and remit from us our evil deeds. Condemn us not for our corruption; save us from public scorn. O Merciful, You Yourself is decreed, “I alone and no other accept repentance of My servants and remit from them their evil deeds.” So absolve us of our sins, O Benevolent Lord.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, “Fayuz E Yazdani”

Don't hide from the water that cleans you

2006-05-30T13:58:00.000+05:30

Water said to the defiled, "Hurry come to me."

The defiled replied, "But I feel ashamed before the water."

Water said, "But without me how will you wash your shame? How will your filth be removed?"

Shame hinders the faith of the tainted who hide from the water.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Note: The Shaikh is like a water.

Fear and hope are two pillars of Faith

2006-05-30T13:56:00.000+05:30

Fear and hope are two pillars of faith. By practicing either one of them a person will not fall into error, because both fear and hope lead to union. Those who fear devote themselves to God through fear of separation from Him, and those who hope worship in hope of realizing the ultimate union.

-Al-Razi, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Dread of the Devil

2006-05-30T13:13:00.000+05:30

When you resolve to become pious, the devil in your nature cries out at you, "Tread not those paths, O confused one; distress and poverty will overcome you. You will be despised, let down by friends, you will regret it." Dread of the devil has bound their souls; the cries of the devil are the drover of the damned; the call of the Lord is a guardian of the saints.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

A disciple is like a new moon

2006-05-25T10:35:00.000+05:30

A disciple is like a new moon,
in reality no different than the full moon:
its apparent imperfection is a sign of gradual increase.
Night by night the new moon gives a lesson in gradualness:
with deliberation it says, "O hasty one,
only step by step can one ascend to the roof."
A skillful cook lets the pot boil slowly;
the stew boiled in a mad hurry is of no use.
-Mawlana Rumi RA

Rumi on prayers (du'a)

2006-05-16T16:13:00.000+05:30

Many prayers are declined because of the rank odor of a corrupt heart rising through the beautiful words. Let the words be wrong, but the meaning right. That flawed utterance is dearer to God.

-Rumi, "The Life and Thought of Rumi"

Don't lose hope

2006-04-17T14:18:00.000+05:30

Do not lose hope in Allah, for He is the Creator. He will create another way for you. Do not flee from your trials; patience in adversity is the foundation of all virtue, of compassion and sainthood. Patience is the foundation, and without a sound foundation you cannot build a monument.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Truest and highest stage of worship

2006-03-27T19:02:00.000+05:30

The truest and highest stage of worship is to see Allah face to face, and to receive His guidance from His own mouth. Those who attain this highest stage, choose for themselves whatever Allah chooses for them. Their entire characters are transformed by Allah. They are Allah's friends; so they no longer discriminate between people, but regard all people as friends. Wherever they go, they go from Allah; wherever they arrive, they arrive at Allah. Whatever they do, they do for Allah; whatever service they perform, they perform it in Allah. The self has been truly annihilated.

-Junayd, "Tawhid"
(Bloggers note: Literally understanding this is difficult. Please take the help of a true Shaikh who can guide you on this path and understand statements of this calibre)

Allah is transcendent

2006-03-27T18:54:00.000+05:30

How transcendent and immaculate is Allah! He has neither place, nor time, nor beginning, nor temporal continuity, nor posterior eternity, nor temporal priority, nor terminal end, and yet all the while, He is neither occupied wit, nor seeks succor from, that which He has brought into being. Nonetheless, He is just in all affairs wherein His commandments are issued to people.

-Shibli in Sarraj Tusi: "Kitab al-luma"

This house is destined to fall

2006-03-27T18:53:00.000+05:30

Demolish this house that a hundred more may be built. Do not be afraid that treasure lies beneath this house. A thousand houses more shall you build with just one treasure in hand. This house is destined to fall to ruin. That treasure is bound to be unearthed, but then that treasure will not be yours.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Despair is followed by hope

2006-03-27T18:48:00.000+05:30

Hardship may dishearten at first,
but every hardship passes away.
All despair is followed by hope;
all darkness is followed by sunshine.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Union with God

2006-03-26T13:51:00.000+05:30

Union with God is separation from all else, and separation from all else is union with Him
- Abdul Husayn al Nuri

Good Qualities make a Sufi

2006-03-26T13:50:00.000+05:30

Sufism consists not of forms and sciences but of Akhlaq (good qualities)
- Abul Husayn Al Nuri

Chivalry

2006-03-26T13:49:00.000+05:30

Chivalry occurs without any awareness of the act being chivalrous. One who performs such an act never says, "I did this"
- Junayd RA

What's Chivalry?

2006-03-26T13:48:00.001+05:30

Chivalry means being fair to others, while not expecting fairness in return
- Abu Has Haddad

Don't take offence

2006-03-26T13:48:00.000+05:30

We'll keep the faith, endure blame and rejoice,
For on this path it's infidelity to take offence
- Hafiz

Service to people

2006-03-26T13:47:00.000+05:30

Service to people is the whole of worship:
The worship of God is not done
by rosary beads, robes of piety or prayer carpets
- Imam Sa'adi RA

Do it for His pleasure

2006-03-26T13:46:00.000+05:30

For God's pleasure should you do your service;
what care have you whether you bear peoples' praise or censure
- Jalal Al-din Rumi RA

Abul Hasan's love for the mankind

2006-03-26T13:45:00.001+05:30

If only I could die for all mankind so that they would not have to endure death! If only I could atone for all mankind's sins, so that on the Day of Judgement they would not be called to reckoning. If only I could endure the torments of the life hereafter instead of people, that they be saved from the Inferno.
- Abul Hasan Kharaqani (RA)

Sufis are the wisest of all people

2006-03-26T13:45:00.000+05:30

Sufis are the wisest of all people. Most people look to God's bounty, while Sufis look to Him alone, seeking His intimacy. Others are content with His gifts; the Sufis are content only with Him. This is not a task which they accomplished of their own freewill; rather they saw something, their eyes were drawn to it, and everything fell away from them, all their powers reverting to Him. All people pursued and contented themselves with the Qualities, in place of the devine One Qualified;the Sufis sought the Essence and beheld naught but It.
- Abul Husayn Nuri (RA)

He is the ONE

2006-03-26T13:44:00.001+05:30

Most people say "one", yet remain attached to a hundred thousand. When Sufis say "one", however, they flee from their very identities.
- Khwaja Abdullah Ansari

All praise is to God

2006-03-26T13:44:00.000+05:30

Every sort of praise marches on
behind the Light of God.
The praise of forms and persons
is all just gilt and fiction.
- Jalal al-Din Rumi

Rabia's Prayer

2006-02-24T18:56:00.000+05:30

Lord, the night is gone. The dawn has lighted the sky. How I long to know if You accepted or rejected my prayers. Comfort me, Lord, for only you can comfort this state of mine. You gave me life and nurtured me; Yours is all the praise. If You would ever drive me away from Your door, I would never abandon it for the sake of Your love, which I carry in my heart.

-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"

Cause and consequence of God's Existence

2006-02-24T18:36:00.000+05:30

God has no ultimate cause. The ultimate cause of a being is the ultimate reason why that being exists. Yet God does not exist for the sake of any other being; he exists for the sake of his own perfection, which is both the cause and the consequence of his existence.

-Ibn Sina, “al-Risalat al-Arshiya”

The color of the water is the color of the receptacle

2006-02-19T13:00:00.000+05:30

If the believer understood the meaning of the saying 'the color of the water is the color of the receptacle', he would admit the validity of all beliefs and he would recognise God in every form and every object of faith.
Fusûs al-Hikam

Ibn Arabi speaks

2006-02-19T12:58:00.000+05:30

It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature.
Futûhât al-Makkiyya

Shaikh Ibn Arabi's prayer

2006-02-19T12:39:00.000+05:30

How can I know You when You are the Inwardly Hidden who is not known?

How can I not know You when You are the Outwardly Manifest, making Yourself known to me in every thing?

Shaikh Ibn Arabi

Allah is beautiful

2006-02-19T12:30:00.000+05:30

It is reported that the Messenger of God said: "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty".
It is Allah who made the world and brought it into existence. The entire universe is therefore supremely beautiful. There is nothing ugly in it. On the contrary, in it Allah has brought together all perfection and all beauty.
Futuhat al-Makkiyya

A disciples stages

2006-02-15T14:31:00.000+05:30

To flee from created being is one of the signs of a novice's sincerity.
To reach Alalh is a sign of the sincerity of his flight from created being.
To return to created being is a sign of sincerity of his having reached Allah.

Abu Madyan

Rumi's Supplication

2006-01-25T19:49:00.000+05:30

O All-Knowing, you opened my heart to the way of supplication. Yearning for Your love is glorious and grand; lust for other love is disgraceful and corrupt. Your divine court is the infinite plane. I leave behind the throne of honor, for the real throne of honor is Your way.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Liberate yourself

2006-01-25T19:21:00.000+05:30

Liberate yourself from the fetters of the ego and surrender yourself before God. Let the Lord be your shepherd, allow Him to attend to all your cares, and do not allow temptations to entice you. Aspirations of this world are the cause of all concern. Aspire to God and obtain freedom.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadier Jillani, "Futhul Ghaib"

Hallaj speaks....

2006-01-25T19:20:00.000+05:30

God is in the water of the lake; he is also in the cracked bed of the lake, when the lake has dried up.
God is in the abundant harvest; he is also in the famine that occurs when the harvest fails.
God is in the lightning; he is also in the darkness, when the lightning has faded. ...Brothers and sisters, you pile up stones to make shrines, imagining that God will make himself present there. Then you are surprised when these shrines do not ease your cares and worries.

-Hallaj, "Tawasin"

The grand Shaikh speaks - Wait Patiently

2006-01-20T20:04:00.000+05:30

Have faith in Allah, the Omnipotent,
the Eternal, the First and the Last,
who grants life and determines death.
He bestows bounty,
and only He can restore crushed hopes.
Have faith, do not lose hope, wait patiently.
He indeed will create a way
to deliver you from your hardships.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Ibn Arabi on this world

2006-01-05T14:19:00.000+05:30

Indeed the whole world is imagination.
Only He is the real in Reality.
Whoever understands this
knows the secrets of the spiritual path.

-Ibn 'Arabi, "Masters of the Path"

Seek what you wish from Allah

2006-01-05T12:26:00.000+05:30

Seek what you wish from Allah, not from men.
Be satisfied in joy; there is honor therein.
On friends and relatives be not a burden.
Rich is he who hopes from Allah, not from men.

-Al-Ghazzali, "Ihya Ulum Id-Din"

Presevere and have patience

2005-12-29T14:44:00.000+05:30

Persevere, have faith in His benevolence.Through afflictions God only tests your faith;He is completely aware of your condition.Have patience and wait for the divine decree.Do not become like the foolish laborerwho is removed from the king's palacefor demanding his wages ahead of time.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Overcome your egos

2005-12-29T14:34:00.000+05:30

Observe how the life of this world deceives those around you. It lures them into the traps of vanity, wealth, and fame, and exalts them above others. This splendor blinds them, and they are lost forever in illusion. But then in one instant, life deals the blow of death, and all is gone, and with the Beguiler it stands laughing at their sad end. So overcome your egos that you may be saved from the snares that devoured kings and paupers alike.
-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

In the hour or grief...

2005-12-29T14:03:00.000+05:30

In the hour of grief you turn to Him;
when grief departs you transgress.
In adversity you moan entreating Him;
when ease returns you turn away.
Those who know Allah remain steady,
but those who doubt exult at times
and become despondent at others.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

God is enough

2005-12-29T12:33:00.000+05:30

When you have nothing left but God, you become aware that God is enough.
–Guideposts