William Chittick: What is Mysticism & Sufism?

Peace, one and all…

A fascinating interview with Professor William Chittick

A Virtual Mehfil-i Sema

Peace, one and all…

‘When I die and you wish to visit me,
do not come to my grave without a drum,
for at God’s banquet mourners have no place’
Mevlana, Divan-i Shams 683

Today is Seb-i Arus, the festival marking the return of Hazret-i Pir Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi to the Divine Beloved.  To mark this auspicious occasion, I wanted to offer a virtual Mehfil-i Sema, or sema gathering, in honour of Mevlana.  The spiritual music offered here includes many of my personal favourites.

The Mevlevi Rose Prayer

May this moment be blessed.  May goodness be opened and may evil be dispelled.  May our humble plea be accepted in the Court of Honour; May the Most Glorious God purify and fill our hearts with the Light of His Greatest Name.  May the hearts of the lovers be opened.  By the breath of our master Mevlana, by the secret of Shams and Weled, by the holy light of Muhammad, by the generosity of Imam Ali, and the intercession of Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, mercy to all the worlds.  May we say Hu, Huuu….

Quranic Recitation: Surah al-Fatihah & Surah al-Baqara 1-5

Turkish Section
Ney Solo

Mevlevi Nat-i Serif
(Poem in Honour of the Prophet, alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam)

Ayini Selam

Daglar ile Taslar ile

Ya Mevlana

Dinle Sozumu

Qawwali Section
Hamd
(Qawwal in praise of God)
Sabri Brothers, Allah Hoo

Naat
(Qawwal in praise of Muhammad, alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Sare Nabian Da Nabi

Manqabat Imam Ali
(Qawwal in honour of Imam Ali)

Mevlana Qawwal, sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Imam al-Shushtari: My Sweetest Moments

 Mevlana, Andak Andak

Little by little, the group of the lovedrunk arrive
Little by little, the worshipers of wine arrive
They are on their way; Comforting and gentle
Like flowers from the flowerfield they arrive
Little by little, from this world of Being and non-Being
The non-existent leave and the existent arrive
They come with hands and clothes full of gold
For the poor and hungry they arrive
The gaunt, exhausted from the trials of Love
Strong and healthy they arrive
Like the rays of the Sun , the lives of the Pure
From those heights to the lowly valley they arrive
Green and fresh the garden for the pure
With new fruits from the love drunk they arrive
Their essence is grace and grace they unfold and expand
From the garden towards the garden they arrive

Did I Not Tell You?

Peace, one and all…

‘Did I not tell you, ‘Do not leave, for I am your friend’?
For in this mirage of nothingness I am the Fountainhead of Life!
Even if in anger you leave Me for a hundred thousand years,
in the end you will return, for I am your true Goal!

Did I not tell you, ‘Be not content with worldly form’?
For I am the fashioner of the tabernacle of your contentment!
Did I not tell you, ‘I am the Sea and you are but a single fish’?
Do not be tempted ashore, for I am your Crystal Sea!

Did I not tell you, ‘Do not fly like a bird to the snare’?
Come to Me, for I am the very Power of your flight!
Did I not tell you, ‘They will rob you and leave you numb with cold’?
But I am the Fire and the Warmth and Heat of your desire!

Did I not tell you, ‘They will taint your character,
until you forget that I am your Source of Purity’?
Did I not tell you, ‘Do not question how I direct your affairs’?
For I am the Creator without directions.

If you heart is a lamp, let it lead you to your true path.
And if you are godly, know that I am your Lord!’
Mevlana, Divan-i Shams, Ghazal 1725

Be a Circling Star

Peace, one and all…

If you don’t see the hidden River,
see how the waterwheel of stars continually turns.
If the heavens receive no rest from being moved by Love,
heart, don’t ask for rest – be a circling star.

Do you think God lets you cling to any branch?
Wherever you make an attachment, it will be broken.
Before God everything is like a ball,
subjected to and prostrating before the bat.

How should you, O my heart,
being only one of a hundred billion particles,
not be in restless movement at Love’s command?
Masnavi 6.913-915; 926-927.

How is it Strange?

Peace, one and all…

‘You are the one by whom the heavens enter into joy.
How is it strange if a human being falls in love with you?
I will be your servant as long as I live;
You may summon me or not, as you wish’
Mevlana, Quatrain 945

Remember Your Purpose

Peace, one and all…

‘Remember God has said in the Quran, ‘Do you think that I have created you in mere idle play?’ (23:115).  This means that your creation is not by chance nor is it in vain; it is for the purpose of return’
(Hz. Shams-i Tabriz)

Put Aside Created Things

Peace, one and all…

‘It is related that someone said, ‘Give me counsel’.  Ibrahim ibn Adham said, ‘Remember the Lord and put aside created things”

Taken from Attar’s Tadhkirat al-Awliya (Memorials of the Saints)

Spiritual Courage

Peace, one and all…

Here are some beautiful reflections on spiritual courage, by Shaykh Kabir…

All our work prepares us for moments in our lives when we can choose to act, to give, to love. Consider these words from the Mathnawi (4.2917-19):

In battle, the cowardly
have chosen the means of retreat
out of fear for their lives,
while the courageous, also from fear for their lives,
have charged towards the ranks of the enemy.
Heroes are borne onward by their fear and pain;
from fear, too, the human being of weak spirit dies within.

And these words from Signs of the Unseen (Fihi ma fihi):

‘The fame of a certain lion had spread throughout the world. A certain man so wondered at this lion that he set out from afar for the jungle where the lion was in order to see it. When he reached the jungle, having endured hardship for a year and having traversed many leagues, he saw the lion at a distance and stopped, unable to go any farther. “You have come so far for love of this lion,” he was told, “and this lion has the peculiar characteristic of not harming anyone who approaches him bravely and pets him lovingly. The lion only grows angry at those who are afraid of him. He attacks those whom he suspects of harboring an evil opinion of him. Now that you have traveled for a year and come so close to the lion, why have you stopped? Step forward!” But the man did not have the courage to take even one step forward. “All those steps I took,” he said, “were easy. But now this one step I cannot take.”

What Ali meant by faith was that one step toward the lion in the lion’s presence. That one step is very rare — it pertains to only the elect and the chosen few. Indeed, this is what a step is; anything else is a mere footprint. Such faith comes only to the prophets, who have washed their hands of their lives.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Hope Emerges from Despair

Peace, one and all…

A story told of Ibrahim ibn Adham, a famous early Sufi.  In it, he reports a dream of his.

‘One night I dreamt that I saw the angel Gabriel (alaihi al-salam).  He came to earth from heaven with a piece of paper in his hand.  I asked him, ‘What do you want?’  ‘I am writing down the names of he friends of the Real,’ he said.  ‘Will you write my name down too?’ I asked.  ‘You are not one of them’.  ‘But I love the friends of the Real’. Gabriel thought for a moment.  Then he said, ‘I have been commanded, “Record Ibrahim’s name first”‘.  On this path, hope emerges from despair.’

Taken from the Tadhkirat al-Awliya (Memorials of the Saints) by Farid al-Din Attar.

‘Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful”‘ (39:53)

The Story of the Grammatist and the Boatman

Peace, one and all…

The Story of What Happened between the Grammatist and the Boatman

‘A grammatist once got into a boat.
That self-regarding man looked at the boatman

And said, ‘Do you know grammar?’ ‘No,’ he said.
‘And half your life has gone!’ he chided him.

The boatman’s heart was broken by the pain,
but for the moment made his answer silence.

The wind then blew the boat into a whirpool.
The boatman hollered to the grammatist,

‘Do you know how to swim at all, please tell me?’
He said, ‘I don’t, you shrewd and handsome man!’

‘Then all your life has gone, dear grammatist,’
he said.  ‘Our boat is sinking in these whirlpools’.

Absorption’s needed here, not grammar, see!
If you’re absorbed, jump in.  There’s no danger.

The ocean wave will raise the dead aloft.
How can the living man escape the sea?

And if you’ve died to human qualities,
the sea of secrets sets you at its summit.

And you who’ve called the people asinine,
now you’re the one who’s like an ass on ice.

World’s greatest scholar of your time you may be,
but note this world is passing – watch the time!

Now we stitched up the grammatist in order
to tell you of the grammar of absorption.

The heart of all the learned sciences,
my learned friend, you’ll learn in self-effacement.

That pitcher is our learned sciences,
that caliph is the Tigris of God’s knowledge.

Full jars we’re carrying to the river Tigris,
and we’re an ass, though we don’t know it yet.

At least the Bedouin man could be excused -
from distant parts, he didn’t know the Tigris.

If he, like us, had known about the Tigris
would he have lugged his jar from place to place?

No, surely, if he’d known about the Tigris,
he would have smashed his jar upon a rock’.

Masnavi 1.2847-2864, trans. A. Williams

Pablo Beneito: Sufi Contemplation of Letters & Numbers

Peace, one and all…

Here are two fascinating videos by Pablo Beneito, a scholar of Sufism, on Sufi contemplation of letters and numbers.

Part 1

Part 2

Claim Nothing, Let the Divine Do…

Peace, one and all…

Each month, the Threshold Society gives a key theme for reflection.  During August (or Ramadan), that theme was: claim nothing, let the Divine do.  Shaykh Kabir offers some thought-provoking reflections on that theme.  May they be beneficial to all who pass by!

Claim Nothing, Let the Divine Do

This theme is an advanced teaching. It presumes that we have to some extent developed a healthy capacity for will. By will we mean the capacity to choose consciously; and will power is the capacity to follow through on what we have consciously chosen. Only then can we glimpse the meaning of “Claim nothing, let the Divine do.”

Someone who rarely makes a conscious decision, but follows this or that impulse, has little will. Such a person is only following the impulses, desires, and tendencies arising in the lower self. You may even justify or glorify those impulses with a spiritual rationale, but the reality is that you are under the command of your ego. That’s why every real spiritual teaching begins with a long apprenticeship going against certain impulses of the self, applying a discipline to the soul, being faithful to a spiritual practice that at first seems to involve some sacrifice. In the end, however, that spiritual practice is what frees us from an inner tyranny we may not have even recognized.

The Dog of Ego

‘O heart, stay with the pain that is a remedy.
No groaning; endure longing without complaint.
Stamp your foot upon your own desires.
Train the dog of ego. Let this be your sacrifice’
Rumi, Quatrain 311

A healthy will is a will that more often than not chooses what is good for the soul and is independent of the whims and desires of the lower self. It is at this stage that this theme becomes applicable. To “claim nothing” is to be scrupulous about not asserting your will, not identifying with your ego, not attributing the power of your own will to your lower self. As the Qur’an says: “There is no power nor strength except with the One” [a translation of the central Islamic phrase - La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah]

If the spiritual path is about remembering Allah in every moment and living your life accordingly, then there are boundless opportunities to “claim nothing.” In fact, as we observe our awakening into remembrance we may see that we are not actually doing it, and yet it does not happen without our strengthening our intention to be in remembrance and being consistent in practices of remembrance. As a result of a faithful practice we may find that we have more and more moments of remembrance, and our spontaneous, natural response could be real gratitude and humility. “Claim nothing, let the Divine do.”

This is very different from following the path of least resistance that is the ego’s way, a way of yielding to any impulse that arises. Following the path of least resistance can actually be the path of dissipation and gradual loss of will. While following the Straight Path is to be aware of choice and naturally choosing what is in alignment with our highest purpose and intention.

To Be Erased

‘Unless the seeker is absolutely erased,
In truth, he will not come into union.
Union is not penetrable. It is your destruction.
Otherwise any worthless person would become the Truth’
Rumi, Quatrain 800

Our sense and understanding of our highest purpose is informed by the exemplars of the Path—the prophets, masters, and saints whose lives and words inspire us.

This Path of Love is a direct path, merciful toward our human nature, yet calling us to a discipline that spiritualizes the body, the emotions, and even our thoughts. Claim nothing, let the Divine do becomes even more important as we begin to sense the inflow of a spiritual energy that lifts us up and radiates into the world. The danger at this stage is that we (no matter how subtly) appropriate that power to ourselves. While being in the flow of grace is more likely to be given to someone who has overcome the dissipating impulses of the nafs, that flow is not an act of our own will. While the stages of the spiritual path require an inner mastery over ourselves, there is no way to attain that mastery except through humbleness, gratitude, and love.

Yourself without Yourself

‘If you go on the Way, they will open the Way to you.
And if you become nothing, you’ll be led to real being.
And if you will be humble, the universe will not contain you,
And you will be shown yourself, without yourself’
Rumi, Quatrain 742

• The Threshold Society: Collected Articles

Imam Ali on Remembrance of God

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share some beautiful sayings of Imam Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) on the theme of remembrance.

‘Remembrance is sitting in the company of the Beloved One’

‘Remembrance is a source of great pleasure for the lovers’

‘Remembrance is the key to intimacy’

‘Remembrance expands the breasts’

‘Whoever loves something is engaged in remembrance of it’

These beautiful sayings enhance and deepen our engangement with other both the words of the Quran, the words of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) and the words of the Awliya:

• Remembrance
• Ya Wadud!
• After La Ilaha

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Eating Poetry

Peace, one and all…

My poems resemble the bread of Egypt – one
night
passes over it, and you can’t eat it anymore.

So gobble them down now, while they’re still
fresh,
before the dust of the world settles on them.

Where a poem belongs is here, in the warmth of
the chest:
out in the world it dies of cold.

You’ve seen a fish – put him on dry land,
he quivers for a few minutes, and then is still.

And even if you eat my poems while they’re still
fresh,
you still have to bring forward many images
yourself.

Actually, friend, what you’re eating is your own
imagination.
These are not just a bunch of old proverbs.

(Mevlana, Ghazal, trans Robert Bly)

Syed Hosein Nasr: God & Man

Peace, one and all…

Here are an interesting set of lectures by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, entitled ‘God & Man’.  May they be of benefit.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Remembrance

Peace, one and all…

With the approach of Ramadan, I wanted to share some texts on remembrance, as an aid to contemplation.  They are drawn from the Quran, the Hadith and sacred poetry.  During this Ramadan, I hope to share and explore texts from Hz. Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani’s Secret of Secrets, insha Allah.

Quran

‘So remember Me, I shall remember you.  And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me’ (2:152)

‘Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!’ (13:28)

Hadith

The Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) relates:

‘God, ever mighty and majestic is He, says: “I am present in My servant’s thought of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me.  If he remembers Me in his self, I remember him in My Self, and if he mentions M in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly than that.  If he approaches Me by a hand’s breadth, I draw near to him by an arm’s length; and if he draws near to Me by an arm’s length, I draw near to him by a fathom.  If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running’

The Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) said:

‘He who remembers His Lord and he who does not are like the living and the dead’ (Bukhari)

And elsewhere, he (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) said:

‘The house in which Allah is remembered and the one in which Allah is not remembered are like the living and the dead’ (Muslim)

The Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) said:

‘Whenever people assemble together to remember Allah, just seeking His pleasure, a caller calls from heaven, ‘Stand up!  You have been forgiven.  Your sins have been changed into pious acts’. (Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

Sayings of the Awliya

Awn ibn Abdullah said:

‘Remembrance (dhikr) gatherings are a cure for hearts’

Selections from the writings of Hz. Mevlana:

‎’A lover never seeks without being sought by his
beloved.
When the lightning bolt of love has pierced this heart,
be assured that there is love in that heart.
When the love of God grows in your heart, beyond any
doubt God loves you’
(Masnavi 3.4393-4396)

‘Never be without the remembrance of God, for His remembrance provides the bird of the spirit with strength, feathers and wings’ (Fihi ma Fihi 175)

‘Separation from God is like a well;
Remembrance of Him is the rope’
(Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz 19325)

May our hearts all find rest in remembrance of God, the Source and Sustainer of All Being.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Shaykh Fadlallah Haeri: Commentary on the Verse of Light

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share a wonderful series of lectures I recently discovered on You Tube, by Shaykh Fadlallah Haeri.  They are a commentary on the beautiful Verse of Light:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. (24:35)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Sufi Music: Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Peace, one and all…

Here are some beautiful examples of traditional Sufi music, courtesy of Omar Faruk Tekbilek.  Enjoy and may all who pass be blessed with goodness.