I have been tricked by flying too close - Rumi

I have been tricked by flying too close 
to what I thought I loved.

Now the candleflame is out, the wine spilled,
and the lovers have withdrawn
somewhere beyond my squinting.

The amount I thought I'd won, I've lost.
My prayers becomes bitter and all about blindness.

How wonderful it was to be for a while
with those who surrender.

Others only turn their faces on way,
then another, like pigeon in flight.

I have known pigeons who fly in a nowhere,
and birds that eat grainlessness,

and tailor who sew beautiful clothes
by tearing them to pieces.

(Mathnawi, V. 346-353) Like This,
Rumi, Coleman Barks, Maypop Books 

Seerah of Sayyida Khadijah - Sheikh Ninowy

 




 

Journey of the Soul - Sheikh Ninowy

 

In The Arc Of Your Mallet

Don't go anywhere without me.
Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,
or on the ground, in this world or that world,
without my being in its happening.
Vision, see nothing I don't see.
Language, say nothing.
The way the night knows itself with the moon,
be that with me. Be the rose
nearest to the thorn that I am.

I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,
in the arc of your mallet when you work,
when you visit friends, when you go
up on the roof by yourself at night.

There's nothing worse than to walk out along the street
without you. I don't know where I'm going.
You're the road, and the knower of roads,
more than maps, more than love.

Who is at my door?

Who is at my door?

He said, "Who is at my door?"
I said, "Your humble servant."
He said, "What business do you have?"
I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."

He said, "How long will you journey on?"
I said, "Until you stop me."
He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"
I said, "Until I am pure.

"This is my oath of love.
For the sake of love
I gave up wealth and position."

He said, "You have pleaded your case
but you have no witness."
I said, "My tears are my witness;
the pallor of my face is my proof.'
He said, "Your witness has no credibility;
your eyes are too wet to see."
I said, "By the splendor of your justice
my eyes are clear and faultless."

He said, "What do you seek?"
I said, "To have you as my constant friend."
He said, "What do you want from me?"
I said, "Your abundant grace."

He said, "Who was your companion on the 'ourney?
I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."
He said, "What called you here?"
I said, "The fragrance of your wine."

He said, "What brings you the most fulfillment?"
I said, "The company of the Emperor."
He said, "What do you find there?"
I said, "A hundred miracles."
He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"
I said, "They all fear the thief."
He said, "Who is the thief?"
I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.

He said, "Where is there safety?"
I said, "In service and renunciation."
He said, "What is there to renounce?"
I said, "The hope of salvation."

He said, "Where is there calamity?"
I said, "In the presence of your love."
He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"
I said, "By keeping true to myself

Now it is time for silence.
If I told you about His true essence
You would fly from your self and be gone,
and neither door nor roof could hold you back!

Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved, Jonathan Star
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997

 

What the Seeker Needs - 11

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS - 11

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

 

AFTERWORD

May the Eternal Truth wake you from the slumber of heedlessness. May He make you aware of the origin, to which we will all return and in which we will all remain for the rest of eternity.
May the Divine Seer of all and everything open your inner eye, so that you can see and remember what you have done and said all through your life in this temporal realm of experiments. Then you will know and always remember that you must account for it all and that you will be judged on the day of final judgment.
Do not leave your accounting to the Day of Reckoning. This is the place and the time to do it. See yourself., close your accounts. The only way to salvation is to go into the Beyond clean and clear of debts. Give heed to the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said, "Make your accounting before it is made for you, weigh your sins before they are weighed for you." Examine your life; weigh your transgressions against your good deeds. Do it while you still have time in this world of numbered breaths, while you can, before you are left alone in that dark hole in the ground.
While you are alive, your worldly self is like a collector of benefits from Allah's bounties, which come to you from myriads of hands. What you receive is not really yours; you are like a cashier who distributes what he has received, and you are responsible for the accounting of it.
If you do not do this today, be sure that tomorrow on the burning Day of Reckoning you will scream and ask for help. No one will come to your aid. You will. hear the divine voice coming from the center of all divine orders, the voice of the Absolute Punisher who punishes the guilty, reducing them to nothing. it will be saying:
Read your book. Your own soul is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day. (Bani Isra'il, 14)
Hasn't the Lord sent you messengers; hasn't He shown you the right way; hasn't He ordered you to remember Him and praise Him day and night? Hasn't He given you time within the day and within the night to follow His orders?
If you wait until the last minute, you will receive no good from your regret. If you insist on waiting and delay the accounting of yourself, know that all doors and windows will be closed to you and you will be left outside. If this is the case, know that there is no other door, no other place in which to seek refuge. There is no place to go - for you or for anyone or anything in the creation - except Allah's door of mercy. Go and kneel at its sill. Shed tears of repentance and beg for entrance. Try and see what is behind the curtains.
There are three dangers which may keep you from examining yourself making the accounting of your acts, and being thankful to your generous Lord. The first of these dangers is unconsciousness, heedlessness. The second is the flood of tastes and desires that gush from your ego, your lower self. The third is bad habits, in fact all habits, which make one like a machine. The one who can protect himself against these three dangers, with Allah's help, will find salvation in both worlds.
Blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his progeny and his companions - in all tongues, in all places, and at all levels.

---

Whoever theorizes his religion
offends against the Way of God, and peace. Heretic!
Deviate toward the Law! Don't complicate.
All that is forbidden. All this learned talk
is ignorance. Station and state discard it.
It's not discussion: Religion's what my Lord said
or what he said - the master guide, the envoy
(and peace be his) - for he said not a word!

---

Footnotes

[1]Al-Shaykh al-Akbar. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi had a shaykh who used to write down on a piece of paper everything he did or said during the day. At night he would make an accounting of that day's words and actions. If he had done wrong, he would repent and ask forgiveness; and if he had done right, he would offer thanks to Allah. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi noted not only what he did and said, as his shaykh had done, but also his thoughts and feelings.

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi's Tomb

What the Seeker Needs - 10

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS - 10

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

This world is a place of preparation where one is given many lessons and poses many tests. Choose less over more in it. Be satisfied with what you have, even if it is less than what others have. In fact, prefer to have less.
This world is not bad - on the contrary, it is the field of the hereafter. What you plant here, you will reap there. This world is the way to eternal bliss and so is good - worthy to be cherished and to be praised.
What is bad is what you do with the world when you become blind to truth and totally consumed by your desires, lust, and ambition for it. Our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in whom wisdom was as clear a crystal, was asked, "What is worldliness?" He answered, "Everything that makes you heedless and causes you to forget your Lord." Therefore the goods of this world are not harmful in themselves, but only when you let them render you forgetful, disobedient, and unaware of the Lord who has generously offered them to you. It is your sense of the world, your relationship to it, your preference of it over the One who gave it to you, that makes you insensitive and causes you to break your connection with divine truth.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever prefers the world over the Hereafter is made to suffer three things: an unbearable load that is never lightened; a poverty that never becomes richer, and an ambition, a hunger, that is never satisfied."
Therefore the one who lives for this world alone is bound to bear its pains and difficulties - trying to resolve its problems by himself, being totally dependent on it like a beggar, trying to obtain the needs of his flesh and his ego from it. That flesh, that ego whose appetite never knows satiation, whose ambitions are endless, is always wanting, always hungry, always dissatisfied. These are the rewards of the world to those who make the world their lord, forgetting the Lord of all the Universes.
This does not mean that you should abandon the world, not do your duties in it or participate in its affairs - retiring to a corner, making no effort, doing no work. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah likes to see the believer working at his profession." "Indeed Allah likes the one who has a craft." "The one who earns his sustenance lawfully through his efforts is beloved of Allah." These sayings mean that Allah's beneficence encompasses all who work hard in a craft or business in this world. It is for this reason that all the prophets worked for their sustenance.
It is related that one day Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) met a group of people who were sitting around lazily doing nothing. He asked them who they were. "We are of those who put their affairs in the hands of Allah, and we trust in Him," they replied.
"Indeed you do not!" he angrily responded. "You are nothing but freeloaders, parasites upon other people's efforts! For someone who truly trusts in Allah first plants the seed in the belly of this earth, then hopes and expects and puts his affairs in the hand of the Sustainer!"
Some true theologians come close to claiming work - in the professions, crafts, and businesses that are lawful according to divine law - as a condition of faith. They have claimed that certainty of faith is defined by the carrying out of religious obligations, and that work is one of these. They based this on the verse:
But when the prayer is ended, disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much that you may be successful. (Jum'ah, 10)
Thus to leave the worldly and the world does not mean not to do your duties in it.
Perhaps what is meant by being worldly is giving yourself up solely to gathering the world's benefits. The worldly person identifies with what he has gathered and is proud of it. Full of ambition, he devotes himself to amassing the goods of this world without any consideration of whether they are lawful or unlawful, his rightful portion or the portion of others. Worse still is not to see any wrong in all this, to think that it is the right way, the only way.
When the love of the world fills your heart totally, it leaves no space for the remembrance of Allah. Forgetting the hereafter, you prefer this temporal world. All that you need from the world is something lawful to satisfy your hunger, something with which to cover yourself, and a roof over your head. Let these be the only things you ask from this world, nothing more. Don't be envious of the apparent temporal abundance the world-bound seem to enjoy, nor wish for the riches they have gathered without any consideration of right or wrong, of lawful or unlawful. How long does one stay in this world?
Someone who chooses this temporal world over the true good of the eternal Hereafter will never reach his goal, either here or there. For the ambition of one who is ambitious for this world will never be satisfied. Don't you see that the Maker of Destiny decides your lot in this world, and that you receive neither more nor less than what you are destined to receive? Whether you care or not, what Allah has set forth does not change. Whether we want more or not, we can only attain that which is reflected in the mirror of our destiny. Allah says:
We portion out among them their livelihood in the life of this world. (Zukhruf, 32)
But people who take this world as their god have endless wants, and those wants of theirs that are not appointed to them, they will never receive. Thus they will be dissatisfied and unhappy all of their lives and in the Hereafter they will have to face the wrath of Allah.
The desires of this world are like sea water. The more you drink of them, the more you thirst. The Messenger of Allah likened this world to a garbage heap in order to tell you to keep your distance from it. Be satisfied with the portion of it that Allah has included in your fate. Whether you like it or not, that will be your lot. Allah advised and warned the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), "O son of Adam, if you are satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will set your heart at rest and you are worthy of praise. But if you are not satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will grant the world power over you. You will race in it as a wild beast races in the desert. And by My power and majesty, you will not receive from it anything but what I have apportioned to you, and you will be worthy of blame!"
This means that man will attain peace of heart and the level of Allah's praise and grace if he accepts and is content with his lot in accordance with Allah's divine apportionment. On the other hand, if you do not accept the lot that is your fate, Allah will render the world, which you so desire, your enemy. The world will become like a desert to a hungry animal. You will run and run and tire yourself without being able to find anything in it. Allah vows for the world-bound that no matter how they run after the world, they will receive nothing more than their lot The only things they will receive beyond that are fatigue, dissatisfaction, and disgrace.
Let us suppose that Allah has bestowed upon you all the goods of this world, all the material properties of which you may conceive - how much can you use besides the food and drink your stomach can take, the clothing that will cover your body, and a place to live? The humble of this world have no less, yet they are much better off. For they are at peace, without worry, in this world; and certainly in the hereafter they have less to account for.
Do not exchange your spiritual peace and the possibility of eternal bliss for the temporal, decaying goods of this world. No matter how grand and secure they look, they will die when you die. Death may come in your next step upon this earth, and all your dreams of this world will evaporate.
As the world-bound are sons of this world, there are also people bound for the hereafter, sons of the hereafter. As the Messenger of Allah advised, "be sons of the hereafter, bound for eternity, not temporal sons of the earth who will return to the earth." Read these words of your Lord and abide by them:
Whoever desires this world's life and its finery, We repay them their deeds therein and they are not made to suffer loss in it. These are they for whom there is nothing but fire in the hereafter. And what they work therein is fruitless, and their deeds are vain. (Hud, 15-16)
Whoso desires the harvest of the hereafter we give him increase in his harvest, and whoso desires the harvest of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the hereafter.   (Shura, 20)

Beauty of the heart

The beauty of the heart

is the lasting beauty:

its lips give to drink

of the water of life.
Truly it is the water,

that which pours,

and the one who drinks.

All three become one when 

your talisman is shattered.

That oneness you can't know

by reasoning.

Because I cannot sleep

Because I cannot sleep
I make music at night.
I am troubled by the one
whose face e has the color of spring flowers.
I have neither sleep nor patience,
neither a god reputation nor disgrace.
A thousand robes of wisdom are gone.
All my good manners have moved a thousand miles away.
The heart and the mind are left angry with each other.
The starts and the moon are envious of each other.
Because of this alienation the physical universe
is getting tighter and tighter.
The moon says, "How long will I remain
suspended without a sun?"
Without Love's jewel inside of me,
let the bazaar of my existence by destroyed stone by stone.
O Love, You who have been called by a thousand names,
You who know how to pour the wine
into the chalice of the body,
You who give culture to a thousand cultures,
You who are faceless but have a thousand faces,
O Love, You who shape the faces
of Turks, Europeans, and Zanzibaris,
give me a glass from Your bottle,
or a handful of bheng from Your Branch.
Remove the cork once more.
The we'll see a thousand chiefs prostrate themselves,
and a circle of ecstatic troubadours will play.
Then the addict will be breed of craving.
and will be resurrected,
and stand in awe till Judgement Day.

What the Seeker Needs - 9

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS - 9

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

Be chaste; chastity is to be cautious, to try to abstain from all that is unclean and sinful. It is protecting yourself from all that is doubtful and suspicious in and around you. When the Messenger of Allah said: "Leave that which is doubtful and reach for that which is sure," he was speaking of the necessity of abandoning things that render you doubtful and hesitant, that create uncertainty, suspense, and fear in your heart - and of turning towards things that render you secure and peaceful.
It falls upon you to examine each act, each word, each act of worship, each relation with others such as friendship or marriage. You must find whether each thing is good or bad, clean or unclean, right or wrong-in other words, lawful or unlawful. In some cases it is clear; then you must choose the right over the wrong. In some cases it is doubtful; then you must leave it as if it were wrong and seek that which is sure.
Follow the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Even if you feel in need of that which is doubtful, even if you are unable to get anything else, do not take it; leave it for the sake of Allah. This is chastity. Be sure that Allah will reward the chaste with abundant goods much better than the doubtful thing that was abandoned. But do not expect your reward immediately.
Chastity is the foundation of religion and the path to truth. If you are chaste, all your deeds will be pure and sincere; all you do will end well; you will be in harmony with the divine order. You will be the recipient of divine generosity; all will turn to you. You will be under divine protection. If you are chaste and pious, avoiding the wrong and the doubtful, there is no doubt that you will receive all these blessings. But if you turn your back to chastity and piety, the Absolute Judge will place you in a shameful state - helpless, terrified. He will leave you by yourself in the hands of your ego. Then you will be a toy for the devil, who will find no resistance, no opposition to his tempting you, to his taking you away from truth.
Spend all your effort to stay on the path of piety, and may Allah help you.

What the Seeker Needs - 8

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS - 8

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

Fear Allah both in your actions and deep in - your heart and thoughts. Fear of Allah is the fear of Allah's punishment. Whoever truly fears the warnings of torment of the Absolute Judge cannot but act in accordance with the pleasure of the Creator and seek the right over the wrong. The Owner of the Final Word Himself said:
...and Allah cautions you against His retribution.... (Al-Imran, 27)
... and know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so beware of Him.... (Baqarah, 235)
The fear of Allah is a protection, the thing that guards you from harm. Allah's protection is the strongest of all armor, of all fortifications; no harm can penetrate it. That is what divine fear secures for you. The Prophet of Allah, whom He sent as His mercy upon the universe, himself took refuge in his lord. Praying to Him, he said, "I take refuge in Your pleasure, in Your beauty, in Your gentleness, from Your wrath and Your strength. I take refuge in Your divine mercy and compassion, from your punishment. I take refuge in You from You."
Seek, learn about, and imitate K beneficent acts of your Creator that manifest all around you. Protect yourself against divine wrath with acts and deeds in accordance with Allah's pleasure. Whatever act, whatever thing, whatever path is under the shadow of doubt and fear, do not come close to it. Leave it. Know that knowing your Creator and obeying Him is the only path that will lead you to peace and felicity. Revolt and selfishness are a dead end. Only by gaining the divine consent can you save yourself from your Lord's wrath. Only be entering the straight path can you get out of the abyss of that dead end; only by actions proper to paradise can you keep away from the fire. Allah says:
Fear Allah... and fear the Fire. (Al 'Imran, 130-31)
With the fear of Allah, rise away from fire and towards felicity.

* * * * * *

While you persist in sinning and stubbornly refuse to see your errors, why are you so proud that Allah treats you with patience, kindness, and generosity in spite of your sins? Is it that you are fooled by what the devil whispers in your ear, saying, "If it weren't for your sins and your revolt, how would Allah manifest His infinite mercy, compassion, and generosity?" Don't you see how irrational that evil teaching is? Would it be less merciful and beneficent for the Owner of Infinite Wisdom to prevent His servant from opposing His will and pleasure?
Then the devil may whisper in your ear again: "You have no hope of attaining the level of benevolence of those who are born with good character and obedience. They have come to this world and shown their obedience to the will of Allah, gathered their Lord's mercy and beneficence in this world, and left it. The real mercy, generosity, and kindness of Allah will be manifest in the Hereafter on the Day of Judgment, Men He judges His disobedient servants who need of His mercy."
Only someone who has lost his senses could believe in and be deceived by such thoughts. Protect yourself against such temptations and tell your devil: "What you say about Allah's infinite patience and generosity towards His servants is true. Indeed, if there were no revolt, disobedience, and sin, we would not see the manifestation of His divine attributes. So many examples are related to us in the holy books and statements. But you, evil one, are using the truth for your own purposes - so that Allah's mercy be manifest, you encourage me to sin! You are trying to make me revolt because Allah is patient and kind.
"You ask me to test Allah's mercy and beneficence. How do you know, O accursed one, that I am of those who will be forgiven? Indeed Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes injustice whom He wills. How do I know to which party I belong? All I know is that I am full of sin. And just as I was left in this world without the ability to repent and ask His forgiveness, He may well refuse me His mercy before I enter hell and punish me with the fire. Although one dies as one lives, and sin is the messenger of disbelief, if I am fortunate and give my last breath as a believer, then He will purify me in hellfire and take me out and give me peace in His mercy.
"If I knew for sure that there were no day of reckoning with my sins, that there were no punishment, and if I were certain that I would receive divine absolution, I might have considered your twisted reasoning. Even then, it would be no better than admitting foolishness, for it is certainly an unforgivable behavior for a servant to test the patience of his Lord.
"On the other hand, even if I were certain that I would receive divine punishment, the proper thing for me would be shame and thankfulness for His delaying His punishment and spending of all effort of which I am capable in trying to obey the commands of my Lord.
"I have not heard of any good word that all sins will be forgiven. On the contrary, one is left free to choose between the right and the wrong, and the Ultimate Judge is free to forgive or to punish. In your case, though, O evil-commanding ego, there is no choice. You are constant in your wish for the wrong and the forbidden!"

What the Seeker Needs - 7

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS - 7

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

Try to undo the knots of your persistence in sinning. Knot over knot ties you up. How are you going to save yourself? You will need the help of the one who tied those knots, your own self. Talk to it, reason with it. Tell it: "O temporal flesh, you resent listening to reason, but listen. Are you sure, as you inhale, that this is not your last breath? Allah knows best, but the next breath may be your last in this world to which you are so attached. Death will seize you by the throat; yet you persist in piling wrong upon wrong, sin upon sin. The Ultimate Judge warns the ones who persist in sinning with such punishment that mountains of rock cannot bear it. How then can you, flimsy as a straw, imagine that you could bear such horrible torments? Do not turn your back on me One who created you. Face Him and repent. Do it now, without delay, for you do not know when death will break you in two."
And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes to one of them he says, "Now I repent ...... (Nisa', 17)
Say to the self: "Indeed, after the aura of death has rendered you prostrate and life is fading away, if you can remember at all and repent, that repentance will not be accepted by Allah. The Prophet whom He sent as a mercy upon the universe said that though Allah accepts your repentance until the time when your breath is being choked out of you, at the moment of your death throes it is too late. Death comes without: warning - to some while eating, to some while drinking, to others while sleeping with their wives, to others in deep sleep from which they do not awake. Whoever, before that, has not turned from falsehood to truth, has not repented but persists in sinning, will fall into the abyss of death."
Talk this way to your self. Try to discipline and educate the desires of your flesh. As. they are persistent in sinning, be persistent in convincing them to stop sinning. If you keep warning your lower self, with the help of Allah the knots binding your heart will be untied. That is the only way to be saved

Rihla 2010

Deen Intensive Foundation is pleased to announce the Rihla 2010 Summer Program from July 10 - July 31st. This summer, the Rihla will be hosted in Southern Spain at the beautiful Andalusian-style facility Alqueria de Rosales. We welcome all prospective students to apply to this unique, enriching program.

Dates: July 10 -July 31st, 2010 (Does not include travel time)

Location: Alqueria de Rosales, Southern Spain

Curriculum: The 2010 Rihla Program will emphasize the three dimensions of the religion, as laid out in the Hadith of Jibril. Other courses from the Essentials Curriculum will also be provided to give students a well-rounded experience.

Courses will include foundational Muslim creed ('aqidah), the legal aspects (fiqh) of purity, prayer, and fasting, a foundation in spiritual excellence, and other special topics including the foundational methodologies of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) and more.

The courses will impart a complete enrichment experience including coordinated study breaks, review sessions, well-designed course materials, private devotional time, and coordinated recreational activities. Students can, insha'Allah, reap the benefits of combining professional courses, enlightening teachers, and a focused, spiritual environment.

Teachers:

• Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah
• Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad
• Imam Zaid Shakir
• Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
• Ustadh Yahya Rhodus
• Imam Tahir Anwar
• Ustadh Walead Mosaad

Cost:

Total cost for students is $2600 USD (this includes full room, board and all course materials). Travel costs are not included.

Application process:

Please complete the application at your earliest convenience. Please keep in mind that we follow a rolling admission process so it is in your best interest to apply early. Application deadline is May 1st.

Our FAQ will answer most of your questions. For further assistance, please email us at rihla@deenintensive.com or call 1-800-790-2373.This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it