O Allah! Confer for ever Your best blessings and ever increasing and never ending favours and Your Purest and Gracious boons on him who is exalted in the realm of the realities of the nature of humans and jinns, and is fully aware of all subtleties of faith, and is the Mount Sinai recieving Divine Illuminations and the place on which descend the mysteries of the All-Beneficent and who is a bridegroom in the Kingdom of the Lord, the centrally placed jewel in the chain of prophets, the first and the foremost in the front line of the army of Messengers, the leader of the caravan of the saints and the truthful, the most graceful of all creation, the bearer of the highest flag of honour, the owner of the keys to the shining gallery, the beholder of the secrets of eternity, the beholder of the pristine glow of Primal Light, the interpreter of the Divine Language, fountain-spring of knowledge, tolerance and wisdom, the manifestation of the existence of the secrets of the whole and its parts, and the person who is the (cause of the) existence of (everything) above and below, the soul in the body of both the worlds (that keeps them alive), the fountain of life of this world and of the world to come, the one who knows the reality of the high rank of servitude of Allah and is created with the highest spiritual stations of morality, the foremost among the friends of Allah and His beloved, highly honoured; our master, our patron, our beloved, Muhammad, son of 'Abdullah, son of 'Abdul Muttalib, Allah's blessings on him, his family and companions, in the number which is in Your Knowledge (O Allah) and as many times as Your Words, whenever You are remembered and he is remembered by those who remember and whenever You are not remembered and he is not remembered by the negligent, and abundant, never ending, complete salutations on him.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Do Not Think...

Do not think you are veiled from Allah

by something that is not Allah.

There is nothing besides Allah.

You are veiled from Him by the

Illusion that there is something other than Allah.

- Ibn Ata‘ Allah

Monday, March 26, 2007

Have Mercy...

Have mercy, just one glance, take the veil off your face:On your cheeks, the gleam of the full moon left its trace.

Your chastity is pure as cracked wheat and chickpeas,Your forehead, your crescent brows teach the young moon grace

Which one of your beauties should the tongue talk about? God, keep them off the evil eye in a safe place.

I couldn't tell your height apart from a cypress, I was in doubt--the rings on your ears made me guess.

Yunus saw God manifest Himself on your face; You can't be separated, you reveal His Grace.

-Yunus Emre

Saturday, March 24, 2007

When My Beloved Appears

When my Beloved appears,

With what eye do I see Him?

With His eye, not with mine,

For none sees Him except Himself.

-Ibn Arabi

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

It Starts With Your Love



With your love let the lovers burn, O Rasulullah
May they drink the wine of love and be satisfied, O Rasulullah
For those who love you, intercede for them For those believing bodies you are Life,O Rasulullah
That one who loves you gives up his head for you The sun of both worlds is you, O Rasulullah
The Exalted One loved you, made you king of the world May my heart be sacrificed for you,
O Rasulullah
I am in love with the Thief of Hearts and infatuated with the rose bud Those who do not love you, may they burn,
O Rasulullah
In the heart of Dervish Yunus is knowledge of intercession The king of the worlds is you,
O Rasulullah


-Yunus Emre

Sunday, March 11, 2007

In the Dead of Night



In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.


He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which


We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,


We spend our lives in folly and desolation.


When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,


Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,


But those without will remain locked in the coffin.


So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,


Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;


Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."



-Fariduddin Attar

Divine Saying

“O My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and I have made it forbidden amongst you. So be not unjust to one another."

“O My servants, all of you go astray except the one whom I guide. Ask guidance of Me, and I shall guide you."

”O My servants, all of you go hungry except the one whom I feed. Ask Me for food, and I shall feed you."

”O My servants, all of you go naked except the one whom I clothe. Ask Me for clothing, and I shall clothe you."

”O My servants, you transgress by day and night, but I forgive all misdeeds. Ask forgiveness of Me, and I shall forgive you."

”O My servants, harming Me is beyond you, so you cannot harm Me; and benefiting Me is beyond you, so you cannot benefit Me."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were like the one among you with the most devout heart, that would add nothing to My kingdom."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were like the one among you with the most ungodly heart, that would take nothing away from My kingdom."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were to stand on the same level and address Me with your requests, and if I were to give each one what he had requested, that would not diminish what is with Me, any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it enters it."

”O My servants, it is solely your deeds that I take account of, and it is by virtue of them that I will repay you. So let him who finds good, praise God, and let him who finds other than that, hold none but himself to blame.”



-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin ibn Arabi
Mishkat al-Anwar

Thursday, March 8, 2007

The Sufi

"The sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the sufi is the one to whom everyone's focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself.
The sufi is the one who in the daylight doesn't need the sun and in the night doesn't need the moon. The essence of sufism is absolute nonexistence that has no need of existence because there is no existence besides Allah's existence."


Abul Hassan Ali ibn Jafar Al Kharqani,
the great Naqshbandi sheikh,
may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret

Sunday, March 4, 2007

The Blessed Prophets (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him) Physical Attributes


There is absolutely no way to conceal the fact that the Prophet is the worthiest of all mankind, the greatest of them in position and most perfect of them in good qualities and virtue. I am setting out to detail his qualities of perfection in the best way I can, which has filled me with longing to call attention to some of his attributes, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Know, may Allah illuminate my heart and yours and increase my love and your love for this noble Prophet! - that if you were to look into all those qualities of perfection which cannot be acquired and which are part of one's constitution, you will find that the Prophet has every one of them - all of the various good qualities without there being any dispute about it among the transmitters of the traditions.

The beauty of his form and the perfect proportion of his limbs are related in numerous sound and famous traditions from 'Ali, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, 'A'isha, Ibn Abi Hala, Abu Juhayfa, Jabir ibn Samura, Umm Ma'bad, Ibn 'Abbas, Mu'arrid ibn Mu'ayqib, Abu't-Tufayl, Al-'Ida' ibn Khalid, Khuraym ibn Fatik, Hakim ibn Hizam and others.

He had the most radiant colouring, deep black eyes which were wide set and had a sort of red tint to them, long eyelashes, a bright complexion, an aquiline nose, and a gap between his fronth teeth. His face was round with a wide brow and he had a thick beard which reached his chest. His chest and abdomen were of equal size. He was broad-chested with broad shoulders. He had large bones, large arms, thick palms and soles, long fingers, fair skin and fine hair from the chest to the navel. He was neither tall nor short, but between the two. In spite of that, no tall person who walked with the Prophet seemed taller than him. His hair was neither curly nor straight. When he laughed and his teeth showed, it was like a flash of lighting or they seemed as white as hailstones. When he spoke, it was like light issuing from between his teeth. He had a well-formed neck, neither broad nor fat. He had a compact body which was not fleshy.

Al-Bara' said, "I did not see anyone with a more beautiful lock of hair resting on a red robe than the Messenger of Allah."

Abu Hurayra said, "I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah. It was as if the sun was shining in his face. When he laughed, it reflected on the wall."

Jabir ibn Samura was asked, ''Was his face like a sword?" He replied, "No, it was like the sun and the moon. It was round." (In al-Bukhari and Muslim and elsewhere)

In her description, Umm Ma'bad said, "From afar, he was the most beautiful of people, and close up he was the most handsome." (Al-Bayhaqi)

Ibn Abi Hala said, "His face shone like the full moon."

At the end of his description, 'Ali said, "Anyone who saw him suddenly was filled with awe of him. Those who kept his company loved him."

All who described him said they had not see anyone like him either before or since.


-Ash-Shifa Of Qadi 'Iyad

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Views of some scholars about Sufism


Imam Abu Hanifa (85 H. - 150 H) "If it were not for two years, I would have perished." He said, "for two years I accompanied Sayyidina Ja'far as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a gnostic in the Way." [Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43]

Imam Malik (95 H. - 179 H.) "whoever studies Jurisprudence (tafaqaha) and didn't study Sufism [tasawwafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and didn't study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth." [the scholar'Ali al-Adawi , vol. 2, p 195.)

Imam Shafi'i (150 - 205 AH.) "I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: ... how to speak; .. how to treat people withleniency and a soft heart... and they... guided me in the ways of Sufism." [Kashf al-Khafa, 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164 - 241 AH.) "O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of Allah in their hearts. they are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power." [Tanwir al-Qulub p. 405]

Imam Nawawi (620 - 676 AH.) "The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are ... to keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) ... to be happy with what Allah gave you..."[in his Letters, (Maqasid at-tawhid), p. 201]

Ibn Khaldun (733 - 808 AH.) "The way of the Sufis is the way of the Salaf, the preceding Scholars between the Sahaba and Tabi'een of those who followed good guidance..." [Muqaddimat ibn al-Khaldun, p. 328]

Tajuddin as-Subki (727 - 771 AH.) "May Allah praise them [the Sufis] and greet them and may Allah cause us to be with them in Paradise. Too many things havebeen said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them. And the truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship. ... They are the People of Allah, whose supplications and player Allah accepts and by means of whom Allah supports human beings" [Mu'eed an-Na'am p. 190, the chapter entitled Tasawwufl

Jalaluddin as-Suyuti (849 - 911 AH.) "At-Tasawwuf in itself is the best and most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to put aside innovation." [Ta'yid al-Haqiqat al-'Aiiyya,p 57]

lbn Qayyim (691 - 751 AH.) "We can witness the greatness of the People of Sufism, in the eyes of the earliest generations of Muslims by what has been mentioned by Sufyan ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH), one of the greatest imams of the second century and one of the foremost legal scholars. He said, "If it had not been for Abu Hisham as-Sufi (d. 115) 1 would never have perceived the action of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence." [Manazil as-Sa'ireen.]

Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1115 - 1201 AH.) "My father Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and I do not deny or criticize the science of Sufism, but on the contrary we support it, because it purifies the external and the internal of the hidden sins, which are related to the heart and to the outward form. Even though the individual might externally be on the right way, internally he might be on the wrong way. Sufism is necessary to correct it." [ad-Dia'at mukathaffa did ash-Shaykh Ibn Abdul Wahhab,p.85 ]

Ibn 'Abidin (1198 - 1252 AH.) "the Seekers in this Sufi Way don't hear except from the Divine Presence and they don't love any but Him. If they remember Him they cry, and if they thank Him they are happy; ... May Allah bless them." [Risa'il Ibn'Abidin p. 172 & 173]

Muhammad 'Abduh (1265 - 1323 AH.) "Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence." (Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].

Abul Hasan 'Ali an-Nadawi (1331 AH b.) "These Sufis were initiating people on Oneness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from theirsins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah 'Azza wa Jail. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah 'Azza wa Jail. "...In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism. "...by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion."[Muslit-ns in India, p. 140-146]

Be Content with the Opposites of your Desires


Things are hidden in their opposites without a doubt. Finding in loss, giving in withholding, might in abasement, wealth in poverty, strength in weakness, expansion in constriction, elevation in descent, life in death, victory in defeat, power in incapacity, and so on. Whoever wants to find should be content with loss. Whoever wants a gift should be content with refusal. Whoever wants might should be content with abasement. Whoever wants strength should be content with weakness. Whoever wants expansion should be content with constriction. Whoever wants elevation should be content with descent. Whoever wants life should be content with death. Whoever wants victory should be content with defeat. Whoever wants power should be content with incapacity. In brief, whoever desires freedom should be content with slaveness as his Prophet, beloved, and master, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was content with it. Let him choose it as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, chose it. He should not be arrogant or proud and exceed his attributes, for the slave is the slave and the Lord is the Lord. They Shaykh Ibn 'Ata'Illah, may Allah be pleased with him, said in his Hikam, "He forbids you from claiming anything that is not yours from that which creatures possess. Then how can it be permitted for you to claim His attributes when He is the Lord of the worlds?" The people, may Allah be pleased with them, say, "This Path of ours is only useful for people who sweep the rubbish heaps with their spirits."


-The Darqawi Way; The Letters of Shaykh Mawlay al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi