Looking Out of the Window

Peace, one and all…

The path towards God is rather like looking out of the window of a train, as it passes through open fields.  I must look beyond my own reflection upon the glass, so that I might see into the beauty beyond myself.  And, I have only a limited time in which to achieve this aim.  One day this train ride of me will end and I will step out onto another platform altogether!

O Beloved, let me look beyond this mirage of me, into Your loving eyes.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

The Moon in its Fullness

Peace, one and all…

The Moon in its Fullness

The stars rend my heart
with their lofty majesty,
but You are the moon
in its fullness.

The beauty of life
sets my heart aflame,
but You are the sun
at its rising.

The swaying of lovers
stirs my very soul,
but You have set
my heart dancing.

Wherever I turn
there You are,
beneath the last layer of me,
smiling in starlight.

(Abdur Rahman, 30th November 2007)

The Firm Handhold, The True Connection

Peace, one and all…

I was drawn over the threshold of myself by the hand of another.  I was drawn over the threshold of myself by the loving words and gentle guidance of Mevlana.  Shouldn’t I be grateful therefore?  Shouldn’t love be my most fitting response, the best part of me?  What other reaction could I have?  What else do I have to offer, to one who needs nothing?

Love is my offering, my connection, my blessing and my hope.  This is why my heart leaps when I hear their names mentioned, when the Friends of God glance my way.  This is why I feel no shame and no fear in the hand of this love.  The Beloved has glanced my way, and my heart has melted.  Beyond this mist of me, that tangled bundle of desires and impulses, the Beloved has glanced my way – and my heart is aflame at the thought of it.

The world has been transformed, utterly made anew.  Distant street lamps have become as the very stars of heaven, walking now upon the green earth, and trees swaying in the breeze have become as dervishes lost in sema.  Flowers have opened themselves, speaking words of hope and blessing, and the night itself has become a veil of intimacy, a garment of love.

I am a mere moment, a passing thought in the mind of God, but I have come to know love – beyond all my imperfections.  I have entered the sacred temple of my heart and in doing so, I have begun to see the sanctity of all hearts, of all things.

This is why I will always love Mevlana.  This is why I will always love all of God’s friends, whether they are known to me or not.  This is why I will always love God’s chosen and beloved, Muhammad al-Mustapha (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam).  Now I see, where before my eyes were closed.

Love is the firm handhold.  Love is the true connection, and I am humbled into utter silence at the thought of it.

And my last prayer is in praise of God, Sustainer of All Being.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

There is No Shame

Peace, one and all…

There is No Shame

Speak,
for there is no shame
in casting off
the veils that cover our hearts.

Stand,
for there is no shame
in standing in your own truth,
naked and unafraid.

Walk,
for there is no shame
in walking towards the light,
in your own way.

Beloved, let my speaking,
my standing,
my walking
bring me into the rose-garden of Your face.

(Abdur Rahman, 28th November 2007)

Peace & Blessings

Peace, one and all…

God’s peace and blessings be upon the prophets and the messengers, the anbiya and the mursalin.

God’s peace and blessings be upon His friends, the awliya, present or absent, hidden or visible.

God’s peace and blessings be upon those who struggle for the truth, for their own truth, those who walk forth bravely into life.

God’s peace and blessings be upon all those in need, upon all those who suffer, and upon all those whose tears fall seemingly unheard.

God’s peace and blessings be upon all those who work in the world, who labour for their loved ones, who struggle to live and do what is right.

May God’s peace and blessings be upon us all, upon each and every one of us.  May that peace enfold us now, and may it follow us always, in this life and in the next.

Praise be to God, the Most Merciful of those who show Mercy.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Building Bridges, Building Relationships

Peace, one and all…

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak to a Cardiff-based Christian outreach group (Solace).  As you will see, if you visit the website, Solace is designed to be a church outside of the church (in bars, in this case).  On this occasion, however, we met at a member’s house, where we had a meal and then a conversation.  It was a very small, relaxed affair – really just people talking about life and God over food.  I talked a little about my own journey and my own understandings of Islam, and then the group just asked questions.  We talked about how we all understand God, life and religion, and we talked about the ethical imperative that this has laid upon us all. 

I have to say that this was one of the friendliest, most relaxed inter-faith dialogue events that I’ve ever had the good fortune to attend.  There were none of the common trick questions and none of the frustrating attempts to achieve/demonstrate apparent superiority of belief – just the simple asking and answering of questions, just the sharing of a meal in a spirit of friendly, honest enquiry.

And praise be to God, who maketh it so…

I realised something as I made my way home last night.  True dialogue is only built at the small, personal, individual level.  Although it is essential that leading religious figures meet, I think that connection at a local, personal level is far more important in the long run.  It is the building of relationships that is the most crucial element in dialogue.  When relationships are strong, difficult questions can be tackled honestly and openly.  When relationships are strong, tough challenges can be faced together.  Indeed, it is this togetherness, this unity of purpose, that is so absolutely vital.

Here, as with intra-religious debates, unity is not about uniformity (of either belief or approach); unity is unity of purpose, of intent, of aspiration.  This is why the Quran asks humankind in general (and not just Muslims) to compete with one another in goodness.  Although dialogue (that is, true da’wa) is important, it is essential that we all realise that those we invite may never ‘join’.  But, and this is the heart of the matter, does this mean that ‘outsiders’ have nothing to contribute and no role to play?

No.  Emphatically, no.  Difference (apparent or otherwise) does not absolve us of our common obligations to one another, to our entire world.  God will not ask us about the ultimate faith choices of others.  God will ask us about what we did with those differences: were we able to overcome them and work towards the common good, or did we allow them to divide us from each other?

Ya Allah!  Let me always be on the side of those who strive to bring together, those who strive for unity of human purpose.  Let me be amongst those who strive for the common good, for the betterment of all.

And my last prayer is in praise of God, Sustainer of All Being.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Interesting Blogs

Peace, one and all…

Just a quick note to recommend a couple of new blogs I’ve encountered:

• Deciphering Spirituality
• Aashiyaana

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Carving Flesh

Peace, one and all…

There are so many ways to divide humanity, to carve us all into ever smaller pieces.  But, carving is an action fit only for the dining table and carving the body of humanity means doing injury to ourselves:

‘Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? No! You would abhor it…But fear Allah: For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful’ (Quran 49:12)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Origins

Peace, one and all…

Origins

There is nothing wrong
with celebrating your origins,
for an origin gives you a place in the world,
a heritage.

But, an origin is merely a starting point
and a heritage is merely
a place to walk from,
a legacy within a legacy.

The truth is that you can cast your heart
into whatsoever shape you desire
and you can be whomsoever
you wish to be.

In the end,
when origins become destinations,
remember:
your own humanity shall judge you.

(Abdur Rahman, 25th November 2007)

Because of You…

Peace, one and all…

In the past, I have been asked why I am a Muslim.  Here are some recent thoughts on that topic.

I am a Muslim because Islam inspires me, because Islam fascinates me, because Islam challenges me.  I am a Muslim because Islam vexes me, because Islam enthralls me, because Islam excites me.  I am a Muslim because Islam moves me, because Islam sends me, because Islam shows me the way home.

I am a Muslim for all these reasons, and more.  But, most of all, beyond words and meanings, beyond life and death, I am a Muslim because of You.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Dig Within

Peace, one and all…

‘Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig’ 
(Marcus Aurelius)

Let My Heart Become an Ear

Peace, one and all…

Let My Heart Become an Ear

Beloved, let my heart become an ear
that I might live in the heart of this ‘hearing’

And let that ear become an eye,
that it might behold the light of Your Face

And let that eye become a mouth,
that it might speak in words of love evermore

And let that mouth,
that eye,
that ear,
become the very heart of me
that I might forever fall into You

(Abdur Rahman, 22nd November 2007)

Mist and Stream

Peace, one and all…

Mist & Stream

Mist dances through the trees,
lingering like a lover’s caress,
like the last breath of night.

Meandering, the stream flows onward,
like a weary traveller
seeking the way home.

Come, mist and stream.
Let us be lovers together,
let us be companions on life’s road.

(Abdur Rahman 22nd November 2007)

Make of Your Heart Itself

Peace, one and all…

Look not on anyone with scorn, not one there lives devoid of worth;
To look disdainfully was never pleasing to the dervish heart.

Make of your heart itself a dervish, to the Friend yourself be a friend;
With heart by Love possessed the dervish never can know emptiness.

A dervish will be known to a dervish, steadfast on the Path to Truth;
Like to the pheonix is the dervish, not to kite or bird of prey.

Dervish-hood is of the heart, has passed beyond the dual worlds;
Proclaims the message of the Lord in openness and Love to all.

O Yunus, he who knows the Truth can never speak a word untrue;
Who travels with Duality the rightful Road has yet to view.

(Yunus Emre, trans. Suha Faiz)

Change Comes But Slowly

Peace, one and all…

When I try and look back into my own distant past, I sometimes feel as though I’ve undergone radical change.  Comparing the me who left London in search of the meanings of things to the me that writes these words now occasionally feels like comparing two different individuals.  But, if I look back down the path I have walked, I realise that it’s all just been a process of putting one foot in front of the other, that change has been a gradual affair. 

‘As above, so below’, as the saying goes and so, there’s every reason to expect that this will be the case in the future.  That is, I’m sure that any advances I may make in the future will come but slowly (with God’s permission).  This fills me with humility, as I am awed by the loving wisdom of Allah.  It also fills me with a sense of calmness and order; this is how it has always been, and for good reason.  I do not make the mistake of thinking the universe revolves around me; during the course of my life, I have been repeatedly shown that it does not.  And praise be to God, who maketh it so!

Perhaps, then, I’m really saying ‘don’t worry, be happy’!  Although typing this means that I’ll be mentally listening to the Bobby McFerrin song all evening, it is a precious truth.  Life moves on, with or without me, and so my task is one of perspective: I can live in the eternal present, the now, by changing the way I relate to life.  If life is so short, then why not enjoy it?  Why not spend each precious moment focusing on its deeper meanings?  In other words, why not spend life in love, with love and through love?

O Allah!  Breath of Life!  Joy of my soul!  Beyond all my selfish weaknesses, how I yearn for You!

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

And Not Yet a Destination…

Peace, one and all…

Growth is not without pain and growth is not without sorrow.  Indeed, it could not be any other way.  A miner after gems must risk the dangers of the subterranean world if he is to reach his goal, after all.

Truth is not always easy, and it is rarely reached without effort.  This is why writing about the work internal is so very challenging, and so very difficult.  Firstly, truthful writing is honest writing.  That is, it strives to lay bare the soul of its author, to expose that soul to the eyes of the world.  Secondly, complete and unguarded honesty is a hard thing to master, and in any case, complete openness is not always adviseable.

I am strongly conscious of this in my own writing.  For me, writing implies a decision, in that we are forced to define our thoughts, to decide how much or how little we are going to reveal.  That is, we choose how vulnerable we wish to be.  On a personal note, this is certainly what I strive to do.  However, I am aware that there is much that I do not say, there is much that I leave hidden from view, and there are many things which my ego would find damaging to recall.  Such is the path towards honesty, it seems!

But, it is important to note that it is a path, and not yet a destination!  I am still becoming, I have yet to arrive (and God’s aid is to be sought in all things).  And yet, I am bound by the duty to challenge my own preconceptions, and misunderstandings, to go beyond my comfort zone.  Al hamdu lillah, I no longer feel the need to be right all the time (as I did when I was younger).  Although I strive towards the lofty ideals of honesty, I am a human being and often fall flat on my face.  For someone such as myself, who hopes to grow into humanity’s true estate, this means two things: honesty, with myself before others, and mercy – or a sense of forgiveness, or an understanding of my own limited nature (or just plain old laughter at my own ridiculousness)! 

The most important thing I have learned is to never devalue the words of others.  Just as I struggle towards wholeness, so do others.  Just as my own words are partial descriptions, so too are others.  Just as I struggle to really say what I mean at times, so do others.  What is truly sacred, though, lies beyond words – beyond all ability to express.  So, may God never find me judging another’s description.  Why should I criticise another for being swept away by the beauty of the moon, when my heart is given to the dawn?

The aim, beyond all aims, of this blog is merely to communicate with others, to speak into their worlds and have them speak into mine.

And beyond all multiplicities lies the One, Unity in Infinity, Love Overwhelming!

And praise be to God that it should be so!

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

O Red Falcon!

Peace, one and all…

O Red Falcon!

In the garden of my heart
a red falcon stands
amidst a bow of sweet myrtle,
waiting to take flight once more.

O Falcon of my heart.
O bright hawk of morning,
how I long to see you
take flight once more.

Let the wings of your bright soul
grace the early morning air,
for when I see you
my heart leaps in flight once more.

(Abdur Rahman, 21st November 2007)

Love Saw Me Weak

Peace, one and all…

‘Love saw me weak and it came, taking over my home.
Like a fussy child, it will not sleep or let me sleep.
It asks for watermelons in winter, where can I find them?
But all rational thoughts were forgotten, Bahu, when love
clapped its hands’
(Sultan Bahu, trans. Jamal Elias)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Do Good to the Bad

Peace, one and all…

‘Farid, do good to the bad, and renounce anger from
yourself; by keeping your body free from disease, you
can gain everything’
(Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Hearts Melt Away

Peace, one and all…

Hearts Melt Away

Lying in my beloved’s warm embrace,
Your hands behind her hands,
Your caress behind her caress.

Love’s urgent flow warms us,
and as we lie together
You take our hands as one.

Beloved,
when Truth speaks
eyes open!

Beloved,
when love sighs
hearts melt away!

(Abdur Rahman, 16th November 2007)

I Swear By My Faith

Peace, one and all…

‘Everyone asks for firmness in faith, but few for firmness in love.
They ask for faith and are ashamed of love, such arrogant hearts!
Faith has no idea of the place where love transports you.
I swear by my faith, Bahu, keep my love firm!
(Sultan Bahu, trans. Jamal Elias)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Your Image

Peace, one and all…

Your Image

‘Once Your image settled into our hearts,
we found ourselves sitting in Paradise .

All our worries of Apocalypse and Armageddon
each turned into the face of a houri
and the charm of a Chinese beauty.

All that men and women fear to look at,
all that stalks them, now became close companions.

The skies became a rose garden and earth a buried treasure;
yet, what sort of “thing” are You
that all existence became this way because of You?

Since we saw Him we have been prospering day after day;
the thistle that happened to find Him
became a flower bed of certainty.

The unripe grapes turned ripe by the Sun and became sugary;
likewise, dark rock turned into a gem.

Many an earth was transfigured by His charisma;
the sinister turned felicitous out of His hand of fortune.

The darkness of the heart, became an opening of the heart;
the waylayer of faith is now a mentor and a leader.

The dark well of suffering which was a prison to Joseph,
became a strong rope for him to climb out.

Every particle is, like the army of Allah,
under Divine command,
to the faithful servant a guarantee and to the denier an ambush.

Keep silent, these words are like the Nile :
One, a Copt, will drown in this blood;

another, a blessed Israelite, will be buoyed along.
Keep silent. These words are ripened figs,

but not every bird of the air
will come to discover them’

(Furuzanfar, 644; translated by Rezwani and Helminski)

Courtesy of The Threshold Society

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Time & Communication: Thoughts on a Train

Peace, one and all…

I wrote this post yesterday evening, on my way home…

It’s almost 6pm (on Tuesday 13th November 2007) and as is usually the case at this time of day, I find myself on the train, wending my weary way home once more (my apologies for the rather tired alliteration)!  As is also often the case, I find myself reflecting upon life, and its living (or, more precisely, I’m woolgathering and daydreaming).

The first thought crossing my mind tonight is the speed of the changing seasons.  I find myself returning in thought to the summer months, when my homeward journeyings were all made in daylight.  Indeed, it’s only a matter of weeks since the Asr prayer began at around this time, and now it’s almost Isha!

How swiftly life passes by!  How swiftly the seasons change, blending into one another as though they were merely part of a single day.  I am reminded by the story in the Quran where a newly resurrected person is asked by God how long they had been absent: ‘for a day, or part of a day’, was the man’s response.  I can certainly relate to this feeling.

Moreover, elsewhere in the Quran, God speaks of a ‘day’ in God’s sight as being equal to 1,000 years (and in another place, 50,000 years) of our reckoning.  That is, time has a certain relative quality to it.  This is confirmed by physics (not a subject I write about very often, I must admit): the Twin Paradox being the prime example.  My awareness of the personal ‘speed’ with which time passesd shifts and changes as my own consciousness fluctuates.  Thus, when I am present the small can seem vast, as I feel each passing monment, each passing breath.  When I am absent (in the sense of being carried away by automatic behaviours) time passes with astonishing (and frankly worrying) rapidity.  Looking back into my own past, my own life has moved so quickly that it is sometimes hard to come to terms with it.  Indeed, its pace has only increased; as a child, time moved so slowly that weeks felt like months and months felt like years.  I remember the seemingly endless days of the 6 week summer holiday; how they seemed to stretch into forever!  Now, years feel like months and the time between months (or between pay day that is) passes in the blink of an eye!  In some strange way, then, time is dependent upon our own perception of it.

This idea is further suggested by Surah al-`Asr in the Quran:

‘In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.  By Time, indeed humanity is in a state of loss.  Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of truth and in the mutual teaching of patience’ (Surah al-`Asr, 103:1-3)

There is an important idea implicit within this short, though powerful, quranic chapter: our actions affect our perception of and relation to, time.  Belief in God (as a sense of relationship with Ultimate Reality, al-Haqq) and good deeds stop time from becoming a source of loss, of destruction.  That is, when viewed through these lenses time is not meaningless (this idea should also be compared with pre-Islamic Arab ideas of Time – Dahr – as an impersonal and faceless enemy).  Thus, faith and works transform time into a never-ending source of blessing, nourishment and spiritual refreshment, as we move towards embodying the meaning behind the biblical phrase: ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  I have certainly experienced this in my own life.

As I travel home, I am also struck by all the other people around me.  I am struck by the fact of their very existence.  How strange and wonderful it is that others exist, that others are!  I am reminded of two, inter-connected, ideas: the sacredness of others (and, more fundamentally, of the archetypal other).  It’s as though each person is an entire universe in their own right, a whole world of unique meanings and experiences.  This is why, on a deeper level, talking to others is so significant (see our worthy sister Aaminah’s useful post on Nasiha and another on Positivity; Umm Zaid’s important post on ‘Speak Good or Remain Silent‘; Izzy Mo’s earlier posts on the same topic 1 and 2, as well as some of my own thoughts on Learning to Talk).  When we open our mouths to speak to another it’s as though two universes were brought momentarily together in dialogue.  And, if the the macrocosmic universe is a sign of God, then so too is the mircocosmic universe.  Or, as the Quran puts it:

‘Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth’ (41:53)

And again, in these verses:

‘On the earth are signs for those of assured Faith, as also in your own selves: Will ye not then see?’ (51:20-21)

This is perhaps why, symbolically, communication is so difficult (and yet necessary).  In a sense, it helps explain why linguistic differences exist: though two people may use the same word, do they ever use it in exactly the same way? 

How then are we to communicate with each other?  I am not a radical sceptic by any means and I do believe that communication is possible (otherwise, if taken to its logical conclusion, such an idea would imply that societies could not exist).  To communicate is thus to commune with other people (and thus with the archetypal other and ultimately, God).  This is why talking is so sacred and why we should honour that sacredness through beautiful and appropriate speech.

And praise be to God, who maketh it so…

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

The Last Prophet

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to draw your attention to a new website, that was recommended to me by a friend.  It’s called The Last Prophet, and as you may have guessed, it focuses on the life and person of Muhammad al-Mustafa.  Although I’ve not yet had the opportunity to read through it in depth, it is certainly beautifully presented.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Sema Event in Cardiff

Peace, one and all…

Great news!  A Sema event will be held in Cardiff on Wednesday 21st November, from 7pm onwards.  For all those interested in Sufism, the event promises to be compelling.

Insha Allah, I will be going myself.  For more information, please check out the flyer below.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Though You May Learn By Rote

Peace, one and all…

Though you may learn wisdom by rote,
it leaves when you’re unworthy to receive it.
But if you don’t read and it sees your ardor of love,
Knowledge will be a docile bird, obedient to your hand.
[II, 318-21]

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

And That Too is a Deed

Peace, one and all…

‘I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply molding one’s inner life. And that too is a deed’
(Etty Hillesum)

Courtesy of the Book Foundation

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

God is the Protecting Friend

Peace, one and all…

‘God is the Protecting Friend of those who believe. He brings them out of the darknesses into the light…’ (2:257)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman