The Aphorisms of Ali: no. 6

Peace, one and all…

‘A person weeping out of fear of God is a delight to the eye’
(The Aphorisms of Ali, The Letter Ba’)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Under the Hand of this Love

Peace, one and all…

How strange I feel under the hand of this love.
I can’t see my way, under the hand of this love.

Once I was the crown of the universe.
Now I’m dirt to walk on, under the hand of this love.

Like a lonely nightingale I call.
Blood streams from my eyes, under the hand of this love.

My face, like an autumn leaf, will glow,
darken and die, under the hand of this love.

On the Final Day, with my collar torn
let me weep, under the hand of this love.

What can I do when I’m so far from Union?
My back is bent, under the hand of this love.

Yunus, you pray for Taptuk so much.
Don’t ask, ‘What shall I do?’ under the hand of this love.
(Yunus Emre, trans. Kabir Helminski & Rafik Algan)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

No Choice, Only Dust

Peace, one and all…

‘Drop all coverings and bring along your lovesick heart
then you may walk in Love’s company
be erased from your own being and surrender
shadowlessly walk in Love’s company
better to willingly choose to be dust in this Love
for eventually there’ll be no choice, only dust’
(Nur al-Din Abd al-Rahman Jami Diwan)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Welcoming Layla

Peace, one and all…

As promised, here are some photographs of the newest member of our household: Layla Aliyah Lydia. 

         

And here’s a bonus picture of my son Yusaf, that he took himself with my mobile phone!

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Differing Priorities

Peace, one and all…

Amidst her wider reflections on Ed Hussein’s book, The Islamist, Sunni Sister asks two really interesting questions.  She writes:

‘Do you think that it is more important for Muslim activists, writers, community leaders, scholars, et al to spend their time, resources, and so forth on:

(1) Exposing or debunking political, social, or religious movements within Islam that are erroneous for the Muslim public or general public or (2) Teaching the minhaj of Islam that they believe to be the most correct and the most beneficial for all of humanity to Muslims and / or the general public?’

Sister Aaminah offers some thought-provoking comments of her own, as do Sunni Sister’s commentators.  Although, insha Allah, this is something I’d like to write more about later on, in brief, no. 2 is definitely better.  This is for several reasons really.  Firstly, the Muslim community is often too quick to rush to judgement: ’erroneous’ is often merely a point of view.

Secondly, ‘exposing’ or ‘debunking’ is often code for mere abuse and insult.  One of the few truths I have found, is that insults do not change peoples’ ideas.  If anything, they simply reinforce them.  Thirdly, if you’ll excuse a strange metaphor, Islam is a broad church and is generally accepting of differences.

I believe that struggling to live Islam and become a fully human being is more important and more effective (generally speaking).  Indeed, this is the whole purpose behind this blog (as stated here).

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
 

Great Light

Peace, one and all…

Great Light

Let my heart join this strange and wondrous
dance of life.

Let it rise each morn
in joyous hope.

Let it fall into rest each evening,
in awe-filled peace.

O Soul, great light was yours
at the dawn of things

And great light shall again be yours
at the end.

Have no fear,
just remember Love.

(Abdur Rahman, May 23rd 2007)

A Traveller Without Knowledge…

Peace, one and all…

The Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) is reported to have said: 

‘A traveller without knowledge is a bird without wings; a scholar without practice is a tree without fruit, and a devotee without science is a house without a door’
(Courtesy of the Book Foundation)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Echoes

Peace, one and all…

Echoes

When I listen to the still, quiet voice
hidden in the folds of my innermost centre,
I hear echoes,
the softly deepening hymns of those long departed.

Their voices fall into the ear of my soul,
like drops of clear water
into a pool,
deep and still.

Each drop is a tear,
tears that wash away all sorrows,
cleansing me at last
for a life new and vital.

(Abdur Rahman, May 25th 2007)

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Peace, one and all…

This is just a quick note to announce the birth of our third child, a beautiful baby girl, on Tuesday 29th May 2007 at 10:21 am.  Both mother and child are well (although the father’s more than a little exhausted)!

We have yet to decide on a name.  Once we’ve decided, I’ll announce it here insha Allah (and I’ll post a few pictures too, insha Allah).

Update: We’ve decided to call her Layla Aliyah Lydia.  Photos to follow soon, insha Allah.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Sufi Poetry Carnival

Peace, one and all…

Sadiq Alam (of Mystic Saint) and Tiel Ansari (of Knocking from Inside) have published the first two installments of their fantastic new Sufi poetry carnival.  These two editions feature contributions from across the world, from the Masters and from contemporary poets. 

You can find the first part at Mystic Saint and the second part at Knocking from Inside.  You’ll even find a couple of contributions from yours truly.  So, perhaps an apology might be in order there!

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Flashes of Sunlight

Peace, one and all…

Flashes of Sunlight

Flashes of sunlight
gently tease their way through the trees.
Valleys deep and lush and secret
open themselves before me.

I steal these passing moments of life,
these brief fragments of time,
jealously guarding them
in the treasure-house of my heart.

What else can I do Beloved?
When life moves so quickly,
memory’s jealous grasp
is all that I have left.

(Abdur Rahman, May 24th 2007)

Riches & Knowledge

Peace, one and all…

Hadrat Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) said:

‘Riches diminish by expenditure, but knowledge increases by dissemination’
(Courtesy of the Book Foundation)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

If I Were A Lover

Peace, one and all…

If I Were A Lover

If I were a lover,
I would love You heart and soul,
but too much comes between us
for such to be true.

I love You,
but selfishly
and so that self of mine
comes between us.

Every time I try to empty,
to divest myself of all this weary pretence,
that self indulges in some vain pursuit
and so our meeting is delayed still further.

I have no way to draw closer
other than through the slow agony
of life’s purifying fervour,
till all thought of movement becomes still.

I have no words to speak
and so, Beloved,
another’s words must for now suffice:
‘pray release me for a spell from me’.

(Abdur Rahman, May 25th May 2007)

The Aphorisms of Ali: No. 5

Peace, one and all…

Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) said: 

‘Sell this world for the next and you will profit’
(The Aphorisms of Ali, The Letter Ba’)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Yet You Did Not Visit Me!

Peace, one and all…

The Messenger of God (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) said that Allah (the Glorified and Exalted) will say on Judgement Day:

‘O son of Adam! I fell ill yet you did not visit Me’.  To this the bewildered person will reply: ‘O my Lord!  You are the Master of the entire universe.  How could I call on You?’  Allah will tell him: ‘One of my servants fell ill but you did not visit him.  Had you called on him, you would have found Me beside him’.
(Quoted in Khurram Murad, Inter-Personal Relations: an Islamic Perspective, 38)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Two Kinds of People

Peace, one and all…

The Messenger of God (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) is reported to have said:

‘God exalted two kinds of people above others: those who spend in the cause of Truth, and the judicious who impart their wisdom to others’
(Courtesy of the Book Foundation)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Whirling Dervishes in Wales!

Peace, one and all…

Shaykh Ahmad Dede, the Shaykh of the Haqqani-Mevlevi tariqa (under the auspices of Maulana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani), will be coming to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th July 2007.  They will be performing a traditional Mevlevi sama’ ceremony, including whirling. 

For those unfamiliar with things Welsh, an Eisteddfod is a traditional festival of literature, music, song and dance.  You find out more about the sama’ ceremony (more here too) and whirling of the Mevlevi tariqa here.

Insha Allah, it will be a beautiful and inspiring event.  With God’s permission, I plan to attend with my family.  So, if you’re going along, we might well bump into each other.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

The One and Only

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share with you a beautiful poem/prayer sent in by SF.

The One and Only One

How can enough praise be ever offered to the ONE

Whose Praise is undefinable
Whose Love is unsurpassable
Whose Mercy is immeasurable
Whose Hope is unquantifiable
Whose Forgiveness is incalculable
Whose Power is undiminishable
Whose Might is unchallengeable
Whose Knowledge is unimaginable
Whose Glory is unthinkable
Whose Majesty is indecipherable
Whose Guidance is invisible
Whose Light is inconceivable
Whose Wisdom is unfathomable
Whose Exaltedness is inexplicable
Whose Justice is inestimable
Whose Decree is unalterable
Whose Trust is incomprehensible
Whose Beauty is ungraspable
Whose Truth is incomparable

He is the One, the Only One
La ilaha illAllah.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman