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.

Monday, May 28, 2007

The man who committed 99 murders


There was a man who had heartlessly murdered ninety-nine people. Then, he felt remorse.


He went to a learned man and told him about his past, explaining that he wished to repent, reform, and become a better person. "I wonder if Allah will pardon me?" he asked.


For all his learning, the scholar was a man who had not been able to digest what he had learned. "You will not be pardoned;' he said. "Then I may as well kill you, too," said the other. And kill him he did.


He then found another worthy individual and told him that he had killed a hundred people. "I wonder," he said, "whether Allah will pardon me if I repent?" Being a truly wise man, he replied, "Of course you will be pardoned; repent at once. I have just one piece of advice for you: avoid the company of wicked people and mix with good people, for bad company leads one into sin:"


The man expressed repentance and regret, weeping as he sincerely implored his Lord to pardon him. Then, turning his back on bad company, he set off to find a neighborhood where righteous people lived.


On the way, his appointed hour arrived, and he died. The angels of punishment and of mercy both came to take away his soul. The angels of punishment said that as a sinful person he rightfully belonged to them, but the angels of mercy also claimed him, saying, "He repented and had resolved to become a good man. He was on his way to a place where righteous people live, but his appointed hour had come." A great debate ensued, and Gabriel was sent as an arbitrator to settle this affair.


After hearing both sides he gave this verdict: "Measure the ground. If the spot where he died is closer to the good people, then he belongs to the angels of mercy, but if it is nearer to the wicked people, he will be given to the angels of punishment."


They measured the ground. Because the man had just set out, he was still closer to the wicked. But because he was sincere in his repentance, the Lord moved the spot where he lay and brought it to just outside the city of the good people.


That penitent servant was handed over to the angels of merry.


-The following was based on a hadith from Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 676


Saturday, May 19, 2007

Stay close by the Door

Stay close by the door, if you desire all Beauty
And leave aside sleep, if you wish to arrive
And make of the spirit your first place of account
To the Beloved, Whose Light shines as from gold
All of them worship out of fear of the fire –
And consider deliverance abundant good fortune -
Or, so they may dwell in the gardens, and reach
To the meadows of paradise, and there drink from its rivers
Of gardens or fire I have no opinion
I seek no exchange for my Dearest Love

-Rabia Al ‘Adawiyya

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

There is a candle in your heart...


There is a candle in your heart,

ready to be kindled.

There is a void in your soul,

ready to be filled.

You feel it, don't you?

You feel the separation

from the Beloved.

Invite Him to fill you up,

embrace the fire.

Remind those who tell you otherwise that

Love comes to you of its own accord,

and the yearning for it cannot be learned in any school.


-Rumi

Saturday, May 5, 2007

God Speaks to Moses

One day God spoke to Moses and said:
'Visit Satan, question him, use your head.'
So Moses descended to Hells burning halls;
Satan saw him coming, a smile did he install
On his fiery face. Moses proudly asked him
For advice, waiting for Satan's crafty whim;
Satan spoke through his coal-black teeth:
'Remember this rule which sense bequeaths
Never say "I" so that you become like me.'
So long as you live for yourself you'll be
A drum booming pride a cymbal of infidelity.
Vanity, resentment, envy and anger shall be cemented
Into your inner state; you shall be like a demented
Dog with lolling tongue, infected with indolence of sin.
You shall become your own tracked prisoner within.

-Farid ud-Din Attar
The Conference of the Birds