07 Friday Sep 2012
Posted in Light, Love, Our Spiritual Heritage, Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
I first heard this beautiful zikr about 8 or 9 years ago. It is very beautiful. Enjoy, and may all that you do this day be blessed.
Ask olsun,
Abdur Rahman
07 Wednesday Mar 2012
Peace, one and all…
‘Pay heed to a tradition of the Most High:
‘No prayer is done without the heart’s attention’
Masnavi 1.382, trans. A. Williams
03 Saturday Mar 2012
04 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
I wanted to share a beautiful Sufi chant from the Boutchichi tariqa. Enjoy, and may all you do this day be blessed.
31 Saturday Dec 2011
Posted in al-Quran al-Karim, Exploring Oneness, Returning Home, Zikr/Salawat
23 Friday Dec 2011
Peace, one and all…
‘The body is a tent for the spirit,
an ark for Noah’
Masnavi 2.455
17 Saturday Dec 2011
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
14 Wednesday Dec 2011
Peace, one and all…
God made the earth and celestial sphere
in six days of deliberate work,
even though He could bring forth a hundred earths and heavens
with the words: ‘Be, and it is’
Little by little until forty years of age
He raises the human being to completion,
although in a single moment He was able
to send fifty flying out of nothing.
Jesus by means of one prayer could make the dead spring to life:
Is the Creator of Jesus unable
to suddenly bring full-grown human beings
fold by fold into existence?
This deliberation is for the purpose of teaching you
that you must seek God slowly, without any break.
A little which moves continually
doesn’t become tainted or foul.
From this deliberation are born felicity and joy:
Deliberation is the egg,
Good luck is the fledgling that hatches.
(Masnavi 3.3500 – 3508)
27 Thursday Oct 2011
Posted in Friendship and Relationship, Huuu..., Love, Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
Sometimes, all I want to do is put aside all the stresses of the day melt into warm human fellowship, in remembrance of the Beloved. This video really does it for me. There is a real warmth and joy here…
24 Monday Oct 2011
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)
06 Thursday Oct 2011
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:
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
19 Tuesday Jul 2011
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
12 Thursday May 2011
Posted in Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
Prayers and songs in praise of the Prophet (sall Allahu alaihi wa alihi wa salem) are an important and integral part of Islamic spirituality. As such, I wanted to share some wonderful and exciting songs from the Muslim world sharing their love of Muhammad al-Mustafa (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam). Enjoy and may all who pass by be blessed.
Allahumma salli ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ali sayyidina Muhammad.
To start us off, here is a beautiful Turkish ilahi, sung by the wonderful Sami Ozer. Listening to this makes me want to leap for joy.
Allahumme Salli
Our next offering is the beautiful Sare Nabian da Nabi, by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Love just pours forth from this qawwal, like a river in flood.
Sare Nabian da Nabi
Our third song is a wonderful qawwal from India, in praise of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa salam). It makes me want to whirl and spin.
Salli Ala, Salli Ala
Song four comes from Ethiopia, and is a beautiful rendition of a tradition salawat.
Salawat
With song five, we head back to India, with the wonderful Yad-e Nabika Gulshan Mehka. The lyrics are also available.
And to conclude, here is a beautifully tranquil Urdu Naat, Shah-e-Madina (King of Madina)
Shah-e-Madina
‘Then may blessings be upon the Chosen One from Mudar,
the Best of Mankind, among those who weep or smile.
And may his family and companions be preserved
by our Lord, along with [all] their followers’.
(source)
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
12 Sunday Sep 2010
Posted in God's Beautiful Names, Huuu..., Music, Our Spiritual Heritage, Qawwali, Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
As is perhaps widely known, in the Islamic tradition God is said to possess 99 Names (or Attributes). It has long been a practice to recite these names as a kind of litany. Here is one such beautiful rendition, from Egypt.
And here is one of the most beautiful qawwals you will ever be blessed to hear (may God have mercy on you).
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Allah Hoo
And here is another beautiful song in praise of God.
Shaam: Il Habib Araftu
Follow these links for more on the Divine Names:
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
28 Monday Jun 2010
Posted in Islamic Music, Qawwali, Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
Here are two beautiful qawwals in praise of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam), both sung by the wonderful Sabri Brothers. Enjoy and may all that you do this day be blessed…
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
07 Monday Jun 2010
Peace, one and all…
Here is a rendition of the Naat-i Serif, a beautiful prayer in praise of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam). It is used at the beginning of the Mevlevi sema (loosely, ‘whirling’) ceremony.
Having listened to the Naat, here are some profound words of Mevlana (God sanctify his noble soul).
‘What is it to honour the Lord?
To know yourself as nothing more than dust.
And what is it to know God’s unity?
It is to burn our self before His Oneness.
If you want incandescence like the day,
then scorch the sombre darkness of your selfhood.
Like alchemy dissolve yourself as copper
into the Being of Him Who nurtures being.
Both hands are holding tight to ‘I’ and ‘We’,
this misery is from, duality’.
(Masnavi 1.3021-3025)
13 Thursday May 2010
Peace, one and all…
This one of my favourite qawwals, sung by Kurban Farid Shahi and group. Spiritual music has a unique ability to pierce our hearts. This particular qawwal strongly reminds me that God’s door is my true connection, my true home. May all who pass by this day be blessed. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
29 Thursday Apr 2010
Posted in Huuu..., Music, Our Spiritual Heritage, Qawwali, Zikr/Salawat
Peace, one and all…
This is one of my favourite Urdu language naats (approximately, religious songs). I hope you enjoy these renditions as much as I do.
Sher Ali and Mehr Ali (Part 1)
Part 2
Acapella
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
