Love Is About Its Work

Peace, one and all…

Wherever we go,
whatever we do,
Love is about its work,
gently stealing hearts
and slowly dissolving
all that we thought
we were.

Whether we leap
into the sea,
or remain stubbornly
upon the shore,
slowly and subtly
our resistance is eroded
by the Tides of Love.

So, praise be to God!
The Heart of All Water
and the Ocean
within every drop.
Wherever we go
and whatever we do,
Love is about its work.

Abdur Rahman, 31st January 2012

A Seed Grows in Soft Ground

Peace, one and all…

Imam Musa al-Kazim (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Verily a seed grows in soft ground and does not grow on stone,
in the same way that wisdom thrives in the heart of the humble and does not thrive in the heart of the proud and haughty, because God has made humbleness the instrument of the intellect’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1719

A Man Will Be With Those He Loves

Peace, one and all…

 

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

‘A man will be with those he loves’
Recorded by Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi in his al-Arba`in, no. 21

Our Expressions are Diverse

Peace, one and all…

 

Our expressions are diverse yet your beauty is one.
All, after all, point to beauty.
Isma`il Anqarawi

Every Sorrowful Heart

Peace, one and all…

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Indeed, God loves every sorrowful heart and loves every grateful servant’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1329

Once More Around the Sun

Peace, one and all…

The command came,
and so once more
around the Sun
we danced,
scattering pearls,
as we too
were scattered.

Dawn came
and found us
resting in His embrace,
languid eyes
gazing up
into the rising
Sun of Morning

Beloved,
my heart lives
wherever You are;
in the sacred space
between each breath,
moves joy
unbounded.

Abdur Rahman, 31st January 2012

Tomorrow Too Will Pass

Peace, one and all…

My heart
imagine that all things
conform to your desire,
imagine you’ve become a millionaire
overnight,
with goods
piled from the Throne of Earth
to the Pleiades -
still – remember:
tomorrow too will pass,
as today has passed.
(Awhaduddin Kirmani, trans. P L Wilson)

No Matter How I Complain and Cry

Peace, one and all…

Ay, no matter how I complain and cry,
Love does with me as she pleases.
I wish to give her every day,
praise and honour.
Ay, Love, would that your eyes could see my commitment!

Speaking of this gives me courage,
since first there was at your high stage,
your attractive fragrance.

Ay Love, you have never lied,
in what you showed me in my youth.
That for which I yearn; what you are able to give.
Be medicine!

Ah yes, you Love, who are the guardian of all,
for love’s sake, give me what gladdens me most,
because you are the mother of all virtue,
lady and queen.
Hadewych, Lyrics 41

When a Word comes from the Heart

Peace, one and all…

It is reported that Imam Ali said:

‘When a word comes from the heart, it falls onto the heart; but when it comes from the tongue, it will go no farther than the ears’
The Scale of Wisdom, 877

When I Try Him

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (Quddus Allahi sirruhu) said:

‘Among what God, the Exalted, revealed to Prophet Moses: ‘I have not created anything as dear to Me as My believing servant, so when I try him I do so for his own good, and I make him prosper for his own good, and I shield him for his own good.  And I know best what improves My servant, so let him endure My trial and be thankful for My favours, and be content with My decree, and I will record him among the righteous’
The Scale of Wisdom, 911

Blind Me, Beautiful Sun

Peace, one and all…

Blind me, beautiful sun
Fill my eyes until I may see
nothing but light.
Burn me, beautiful sun
Make my flesh as nothing
Bow my head in the dust of myself.
By the great solar winds of your burning
Fling me into the arms of my Beloved.

Patricia Sweeney, (C) Sufi Journal

The Sanctuary of God

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (may God sanctify his soul) said:

‘The heart is the sanctuary of God, so do not lodge other than God in God’s sanctuary’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1323

Related post:

• So that the All-Merciful May Descend

Soother of the Anxious

Peace, one and all…

He is the aim, the sought after, the begged and hoped for.
His name is the cure for the love-struck.
He is the soother of the anxious and the treasure of hope.
From Him the love-struck obtains what he yearns for.
Isma`il Anqarawi

Elif Shafak: The Politics of Fiction

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share a talk by the novelist, Elif Shafak, on the nature and exercise of fiction, with thanks to sister Bahar.

The Jungle Brothers

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share some of the music of the Jungle Brothers, one of my all time favourite rap groups.  Enjoy, and may all you do this day be blessed.

Straight Out The Jungle

Beyond This World

Sunshine

Good Newz Comin’

Done By The Forces of Nature

J Beez Comin’ Through

Spittin’ Wicked Randomness

Both Turn to Bread in the Mouth

Peace, one and all…

God gives the things of this earth
a certain colour and variety and value,
causing childish folk to argue over it.
When a piece of dough is baked
in the shape of a camel or lion,
these children bite their fingers excitedly in their greed.
Both lion and camel turn to bread in the mouth,
but it’s futile to tell this to children
Masnavi 6.4717-4719

Should Toil Come to You, or Rest

Peace, one and all…

As the wine merchant cares for the needs of the drunk
God forgives sin, and wards off pestilence.

Bringer of wine, be fair and fill up the poor man’s cup
so his craving won’t spill over and fill the world with grief.

For those of us stung by loss and craving wine
either fine wine or reunion will remedy our pain.

And yet, from those sufferings, the word of peace may come,
if the pilgrim stays devoted to the covenant of faith.

 Seeker, should toil come to you, or rest,
trace those to no one else; both have come from God.

In sweatshops where there’s no room for thought or understanding
why do the ignorant make needless work?

Singer, strum the lute: ‘No one perished before his time’.
Whoever doesn’t hum along is sadly ignorant.

Wasted with desire for wine, Hafiz was scorched by love -
where is the breath of Jesus, to raise us back to life?
Hafiz Shirazi

 

Joseph Lumbard: Islam and Covenantial Pluralism

Peace, one and all…

A fascinating lecture on the notion of covenant in the Quran and Islamic thought, by Joseph Lumbard.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4