Friday, June 29, 2007
When you will be brought to the grave
By Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti (R)
( a Sufi saint)
When you will be brought to the grave, you will be brought back to life. You will look around and see that you are in the company of friends with beautiful faces.
When you ask them who they are, they will tell you they are your good deeds, that they came there before you so that you would not be afraid.
For the only things you can bring to your grave are your deeds.
If your deeds are ugly, you will find your tomb filled with stinking, slimy ugly creatures. They are your ugly deeds. Then you will meet the two angels, Munkir and Nakir. Their faces are the color of the sky.
Their teeth digging into the earth like the shovel of the bulldozer, flashes of lightning coming from their eyes, their voices like thunder, they will ask you ‘~Who is your Lord?" If you have taken your nafs(ego) as your lord, you will say |I don’t know.| Or worse still, you will say that they are your lord, that they are your prophet, because you have been a liar and a hypocrite all your life, you have been used to praising tyrants out of fear or hoping for benefit.
The questioning angels’ screams will fill your grave. "You are wrong you accursed one. You haven’t done any good deeds in the world. You followed your nafs you squandered your life, you filled your heart with the animals while it was created to house Allah. Taste a sample of the hell which you will inhabit for eternity.|
Then they will squeeze your grave around you so that your bones will be crushed and you’:will be flattened. They will release snakes of fire upon you~which will devour your flesh. Angels of punishment will beat you with iron bars; you will scream in pain.
All the created beings, plants and animals will hear you scream. Only the men and the jinns will not hear, because they have been given the gift of consciousness, and also the curse of unconsciousness. And the angels will ask you to look at your right side.
You will see all the beauty, which is paradise. The angels will say, "Oh unfortunate one, if you had been wise and done what your Lord asked you to do, and avoided that which your hord asked you not to do, this could have been your station." Then they will ask you to look to your left side, where you will see the tortures and horrors of hell, and they will fill your grave with the fire of hell. There you will stay until the day of last judgment. One day of this punishment is equal to one year on this earth.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
THE WISE ADVICE
Someone came to Abu Darda, one of the most beloved of the companions of the Prophet (s.a.v.s.), asking for advice.
He said, "Ya Abu Darda, help me. I have a terrible sickness- the sickness of the love of this world. My heart is darkened; I don’t see a speck of light from my prayers and devotions. I have no joy." Abu Darda answered, "Indeed this sickness is the greatest of all sicknesses, and if not cured in time, may cause the death of your faith. I will give you three remedies. Take them all. Visit the sick. Go to funeral services. Walk in the graveyards. If you do all these things often, your sickness will leave you. Your love and attachment to this world will disappear; your heart will be light again, and your inner eye will open."
That person followed the saint’s advice, but his sickness did not leave him. He came to complain to Abu Darda. The saint told him, "If you visited the sick like some doctors and nurses do, believing that they can cure them, and doing it as a part of their profession and livelihood, and if you attend funeral services like some priests do, judging by the flowers and the crowd of relatives, thinking of the payment which he will receive for his services, and if you walk in the graveyards reading the tombstones glorifying the worldly deeds of the dead, you haven’t done any of the things I asked you to do.
When you visit the sick, see yourself in his place- suffering, unable to eat and drink, near death, as it will be like that for you too sooner or later. What is all this running around, what is all this fighting about. Talk to your nafs, your ego, and show it that helpless dying creature and tell it ‘take heed, soon this is going. to be your end, leave the love of the world.’ When you go to funeral services, imagine that you are lying in that wooden box, wrapped in a piece of cloth, nude as the day you were born. All your goods, all your money, all our fame, your home, your wife, your children, everything which you have loved is left behind. Tell your nafs (ego)that lovely wooden box is a vehicle in which it will soon ride, as everyone has and everyone will. All those goods which you have accumulated with such pain and effort, all the reputation, the result of so much pretense, will be scattered. Show our nafs (ego)that. Show it how all those who thought they loved the dead person are turning their faces away from him, although he left everything to them. He can’t bring with him a drink of water or a mouthful of food. No one knows what will happen to him; neither does he. Ask your nafs if it is ready.
"When you go to the graveyard, look under the earth upon which you are treading. Tender skins rotting, handsome heads falling from their bodies, beautiful eyes filled with earth; those tongues singing like nightingales either for the glory of the world or the glory of the Creator, have become food for insects. All their wrongdoings have turned into ugly monsters biting them. As you walk, think on which kings’ heads you are stepping, of those foreheads which were used to crowns, and ravishing lips which men would have given their lives for to touch with their lips.
Oh ego, when will you ever believe, when will you have enough of the illusions of the world. Don’t you see what will happen to you. You too, very soon- as "all future is very soon"- will be exactly like those. You will be left in a dark hole which could be a pit of hell, face to face with the ugly monsters of your doings. Take the world out of your heart. Be pure in your doings. Oh nafs, before we fall into that dark pit, before the snakes and the insects come to feed on us, let us prepare together."
That person followed Abu Darda’s remedies. His heart received light, his inner eye opened, and he thankfully remembered his teacher, the doctor of the heart who revived his dead heart.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
THE TEEN THUGS TURN REPENTANT
followers when a gang of youths came that way.
They
behaved outrageously all the way to the Tigris.
“Master,” Ma‘ruf’s companions entreated him,
“pray to Almighty God to drown them all, that the
world may be rid of their foul presence.”
“Lift up your hands,” Ma‘ruf bade them. Then he
prayed.
“O God, as Thou hast given them a happy life in this
world, even so grant them a happy life in the world to
come.”
“Master, we know not the secret of this prayer,” said
his companions in astonishment.
“He with whom I am speaking knows the secret,”
Ma‘ruf replied. “Wait a moment. Even now this secret
will be revealed.”
When the youths beheld Ma‘ruf(r), they broke their
lutes and poured away the wine they were drinking.
Trembling overcame them, and they fell before the
shaikh and repented.
“You see,” Ma‘ruf(r) remarked to his companions.
“Your desire has been fulfilled completely, without
drowning and without anyone suffering.”
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Allah chooses His Prophets
Nahjul Balagha
Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) ( Son-in- law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad(s) )
Allah chooses His Prophets
From his (Adam's) progeny Allah chose prophets and took their pledge for his revelation and for carrying His message as their trust. In course of time many people perverted Allah's trust with them and ignored His position and took compeers along with Him. Satan turned them away from knowing Him and kept them aloof from His worship.
Then Allah sent His Messengers and series of His prophets towards them to get them to fulfill the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties, to exhort them by preaching, to unveil before them the hidden virtues of wisdom and show them the signs of His Omnipotence namely the sky which is raised over them, the earth that is placed beneath them, means of living that sustain them, deaths that make them die, ailments that turn them old and incidents that successively betake them.
Allah never allowed His creation to remain without a Prophet deputized by Him, or a book sent down from Him or a binding argument or a standing plea.
These Messengers were such that they did not feel little because of smallness of their number or of largeness of the number of their falsifiers. Among them was either a predecessor who would name the one to follow or the follower who had been introduced by the predecessor.
What will become of me?”
Once Shebli( a Sufi saint) was in Baghdad.
He said, “We require a
thousand dirhams, to buy shoes for the poor and
despatch them on the pilgrimage.”
A Christian jumped up and said, “I will give them,
only on one condition, that you take me with you.”
“Young sir, you are not qualified for the pilgrimage,”
said
“There is no mule in your caravan,” the youth
replied. “Take me along as your mule.”
The dervishes set out, the Christian along with them
loins girded to the trail.
“How are you faring, young man?” asked Shebli.
‘I am so happy at the thought of accompanying you
that I cannot sleep,” he replied.
On the road the Christian took a brush and at every
halting place he swept the floor for the pilgrims and
plucked out the thorns.
When the time came for
putting on the white robes, he saw what the rest were
doing and followed their example. At last the party
arrived at the Kaaba.
“With your girdle I cannot let you enter the Holy
House,” Shebli told the Christian.
“O God,” the Christian cried, laying his head on the
threshold, “Shebli says he will not allow me into Thy
House.”
“Shebli,” came a voice out of heaven, “We have
brought him here from Baghdad. Kindling the fire of
love in his heart, We have dragged him to Our House
with the chains of loving kindness.
Shebli, get out of
the way! You, friend, come in!”
The Christian entered the Holy House and performed
the visitation.
The rest of the party then entered
and in due course emerged, but the youth still did not
come out.
“Young man, come out!” Shebli called.
“He will not let me out,” the youth replied.
“Every
time I make for the door of the House I find it shut.
What will become of me?”
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Description of the Creation of Adam (p)
Nahjul Balagha
Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) ( Son-in- law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad(s) )
Allah collected from hard, soft, sweet and sour earth, clay which He dripped in water till it got pure, and kneaded it with moisture till it became gluey. From it He carved an image with curves, joints, limbs and segments. He solidified it till it dried up for a fixed time and a known duration.
Then He blew into it out of His Spirit whereupon it took the pattern of a human being with mind that governs him, intelligence which he makes use of, limbs that serve him, organs that change his position, sagacity that differentiates between truth and untruth, tastes and smells, colors and species.
He is a mixture of clays of different colors, cohesive materials, divergent contradictories and differing properties like heat, cold, softness and hardness.
Then Allah asked the angels to fulfill His promise with them and to accomplish the pledge of His injunction to them by acknowledging Him through prostration to Him and submission to His honored position. So Allah said:
"Be prostrate towards Adam and they prostrated except Iblis (Satan)." (Qur'an, 2:34; 7:11; 17:61; 18:50; 20:116)
Self-importance withheld him and vice overcame him. So that he took pride in his own creation with fire and treated contemptuously the creation of clay.
So Allah allowed him time in order to let him fully deserve His wrath, and to complete (man's) test and to fulfill the promise (He had made to Satan). Thus, He said:
"Verily you have been allowed time till the known Day." (Qur'an, 15:38; 38:81)
Thereafter, Allah inhabited Adam (p.b.u.h.) in a house where He made his life pleasant and his stay safe, and He cautioned him of Iblis and his enmity. Then his enemy (Iblis) envied his abiding in Paradise and his contacts with the virtuous. So he changed his conviction into wavering and determination into weakness. He thus converted his happiness into fear and his prestige into shame. Then Allah offered to Adam (p.b.u.h.) the chance to repent, taught him words of His Mercy, promised him return to His Paradise and sent him down to the place of trial and procreation of progeny.
THE WAY OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (S) - PART 3- The Promise At Zamzam
The Promise At Zamzam
The well of Zamzam, which disappeared when the Arabs placed idols at the Ka'bah, remained buried under the sand. Thus, for many years the people of Quraysh had to fetch their water from far away. One day 'Abd al-Muttalib was very tired from doing this and fell asleep next to the Ka’bah. He had a dream in which he was told to dig up Zamzam. When he woke up he was puzzled because he did not know what Zamzam was, the well having disappeared many years before he was born. The next day he had the same dream, but this time he was told where to find the well.
'Abd al-Muttalib had one son at that time, and together they began to dig. The work was so difficult that ‘Abd al-Muttalib made an oath to Allah that if one day he were to have ten sons to help him and stand by him, in return he would sacrifice one of them in Allah's honor. After working for three days they finally found the well of Zamzam. Pilgrims have been drinking from it ever since. The years passed by and 'Abd al-Muttalib did have ten sons. They grew into fine, strong men and the time came for him to keep his promise to Allah. He told his sons about the promise and they agreed that he had to sacrifice one of them To see which one it would be, they decided to draw lots, which was the custom of Quraysh when deciding important matters. 'Abd al-Muttalib told each son to get an arrow and write his own name upon it and then to bring it to him. This they did, after which he took them to the Ka'bah where there was a man whose special task it was to cast arrows and pick one from among them. This man solemnly proceeded to do this. On the arrow he chose was written the name of 'Abd Allah, the youngest and favorite son of 'Abd al-Muttalib. Even so, the father took his son near the Ka'bah and prepared to sacrifice him.
Many of the Quraysh leaders were present and they became very angry because 'Abd Allah was very young and much loved by everyone. They tried to think of a way to save his life. Someone suggested that the advice of a wise old woman who 8
lived in Yathrib should be sought, and so 'Abd al-Muttalib took his son and went to see if she could decide what to do. Some of the Meccans went with them and when they got there the woman asked, 'What is the price of a man's life?' They told her, 'Ten camels', for at that time if one man killed another, his family would have to give ten camels to the dead man's family in order to keep the peace among them. So the woman told them to go back to the Ka’bah and draw lots between 'Abd Allah and ten camels. If the camels were chosen, they were to be killed and the meat given to the poor. If 'Abd Allah was picked then ten more camels were to be added and the lots drawn again and again until they finally fell on the camels.
‘Abd al-Muttalib returned to the Ka’bah with his son and the people of Mecca. There they started to draw lots between ‘Abd Allah and the camels, starting with ten camels. ‘Abd al-Muttalib prayed to Allah to spare his son and everyone waited in silence for the result. The choice fell on ‘Abd Allah, so his father added ten more camels. Again the choice fell on ‘Abd Allah, so they did the same thing again and again, adding ten camels each time. Finally they reached one hundred camels, and only then did the lot fall on the camels. ‘Abd Allah was saved and everyone was very happy. 'Abd al-Muttalib however, wanted to make sure that this was the true result so he repeated the draw three times and each time it fell on the camels. He then gave thanks to Allah that He had spared ‘Abd Allah's life. The camels were sacrificed and there was enough food for the entire city, even the animals and birds. 'Abd Allah grew up to be a handsome young man and his father eventually chose Aminah, the daughter of Wahb, as a wife for him. It was a good match for she was the finest of Quraysh women and 'Abd Allah the best of the men. He spent several months with his wife but then he had to leave her and travel with one of the caravans to trade with Syria. On his way back to Mecca from Syria 'Abd Allah became ill and had to stop off in Yathrib to recover. The caravan, however, continued on its way and arrived back in Mecca without him. On hearing of 'Abd Allah's illness, ‘Abd al-Muttalib sent another son, al-Hareth, to bring 'Abd Allah back to Mecca, but he was too late.
When he arrived in Yathrib ‘Abd Allah was dead. Aminah was heart-broken to lose her husband and the father of the child she would soon give birth to. Only Allah knew that this orphan child would one day be a great Prophet.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Creation of the Angels
Nahjul Balagha
Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) ( Son-in- law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad(s) )
Then He created the openings between high skies and filled them with all classes of His angels.
Some of them are in prostration and do not kneel up. Others in kneeling position and do not stand up.
Some of them are in array and do not leave their position.
Others are extolling Allah and do not get tired.
The sleep of the eye or the slip of wit, or languor of the body or the effect of forgetfulness does not effect them.
Among them are those who work as trusted bearers of His message, those who serve as speaking tongues for His prophets and those who carry to and fro His orders and injunctions.
Among them are the protectors of His creatures and guards of the doors of the gardens of Paradise. Among them are those also whose steps are fixed on earth but their necks are protruding into the skies, their limbs are getting out on all sides, their shoulders are in accord with the columns of the Divine Throne, their eyes are downcast before it, they have spread down their wings under it and they have rendered between themselves and all else curtains of honor and screens of power.
They do not think of their Creator through image, do not impute to Him attributes of the created, do not confine Him within abodes and do not point at Him through illustrations.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Superiority of Service to Mankind
Shah Naqshband's(R) benevolence in private and public marked his way. He said,
"One time I went to the school of Qutb ad-Din as-Sadr in Samar. I found there four people with very high fevers. I began to serve them, cleaning their clothes and feeding them, until I too became infected with the same fever. This didn't stop me from serving them. The fever in me increased and increased until I felt that I was going to die. I made an oath to myself, 'Let me die, but let these four people be served.' I continued to serve them. The next day I found myself completely cured, while they were still sick."
He said,
"To help and serve people, in the understanding of this Way, is better than Dhikr and meditation. Some people think that to do the supererogatory Sunnas is better than serving and helping those in need. It is our view, however, that to take care of people and to help them and to show them love is better than anything else."
In this regard, Shah Naqshband (q) used to say, "We love to serve, not to be served. When we serve, Allah is happy with us, and this brings more attraction to the Divine Presence and Allah opens that state more for us. However, to be served, brings pride and weakness to the heart and causes us to recede from the Divine Presence."
Shaikh cUbaidullah (q) said,
"I didn't take this tariqat from books, but I pursued this tariqat by service to people."
"Everyone enters through a different door; I entered this Spiritual Order through the door of service."
He was extremely strict in keeping the adab (right conduct) of both external and internal behavior, in his seclusion and among the people. Abu Sacad al-Awbahi said, "I accompanied him 35 years and was with him continuously. In all that time I never saw him remove the skin or the seeds of fruit from his mouth, so as not to open his mouth with food inside. When he was sleepy he would never yawn. I never saw him spit. I never saw him do something which would disgust people. I never even saw him sitting cross-legged. He sat only on his knees in perfect good conduct."
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Praise is due to Allah whose worth cannot be described by speakers
Nahjul Balagha
Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) ( Son-in- law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad(s) )
Praise is due to Allah whose worth cannot be described by speakers, whose bounties cannot be counted by calculators and whose claim (to obedience) cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understanding cannot reach; He for whose description no limit has been laid down, no eulogy exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed.
He brought forth creation through His Omnipotence, dispersed winds through His Compassion, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks.
The foremost in religion is the acknowledgment of Him, the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him, the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure, and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute.
Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognizes His like, and who recognizes His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognizes parts for Him; and who recognizes parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.
Whoever said in what is He, held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation.
He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
WAY OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD( S) - PART 2 OF PART 1- How It All Began
The people of Ur decided to give Abraham the worst punishment they could find: he was to be burnt to death. On the chosen day all the people gathered in the center of the city and even the King of Ur was there. Abraham was then placed inside a special building filled with wood. The wood was lit. Soon the fire became so strong that the people were pushed back by the flames. But Allah said: “O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham”. (Koran xxi.69)
The people waited until the fire had completely died down, and it was then that they saw Abraham still sitting there as though nothing had happened! At that moment they were utterly confused. They were not, however, moved by the miracle that had just happened before their very eyes.
Still Abraham tried to persuade his own dear father, who was named Azar, not to worship powerless, un-seeing, un-hearing statues. Abraham explained that special knowledge had come to him and implored his father, 'So follow me and I will lead you on the right path. 0 my father! Don't serve the Devil.' But Azar would not listen. He threatened his son with stoning if he continued to reject the gods of Ur. He ordered Abraham to leave the city with these words: 'Depart from me a long while.' Abraham said, 'Peace be upon you! I shall ask my Lord's forgiveness for you. Surely He was ever gracious to me.’ (Koran xix.43-7)
Imagine how terrible it must have been for him to leave his home, his family and all that he knew, and set out across the wilderness into the unknown. But at the same time, how could he have remained among people who did not believe in Allah and who worshipped statues? Abraham always had a sense that Allah cared for him and he felt Allah near him as he traveled. At last, after a long hard journey, he arrived at a place by the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Egypt. There he married a noble woman by the name of Sarah and settled in the land of Palestine. Many years passed but Abraham and his wife were not blessed with any children. In the hope that there would be a child, and in keeping with tradition, Sarah suggested that Abraham should marry Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid. Soon after this took place, Hagar had a little boy
3
named Ishmael. Some time later Allah promised Abraham another son, but this time the mother of the child would be his first wife, Sarah. This second son would be called Isaac. Allah also told Abraham that from his two sons-Ishmael and Isaac-two nations and three religions would be founded and because of this he must take Hagar and Ishmael away from Palestine to a new land. These events were an important part of Allah's plan, for the descendants of Ishmael would form a nation from which would come a great Prophet, who would guide the people in the way of Allah. This was to be Muhammad (pbuh), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). From the descendants of Sarah's child, Isaac, would come Moses and Jesus.
So it was that Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael left Palestine. They traveled for many days until finally they reached the arid valley of Bacca later to be called Mecca), which was on one of the great caravan routes. There was no water in the valley and although Hagar and Ishmael only had a small supply of water left, Abraham left them there knowing Allah would take care of them. Soon all the water was gone. The child began to grow weak from thirst. There were two hills nearby, one called Safa and the other Marwah. Hagar went up one hill and looked into the distance to see if she could find any water, but found none. So she went to the other hill and did the same. She did this seven times. Then sadly she returned to her son, and to her great surprise and joy she found a spring of water bubbling out of the earth near him. This spring, near which the mother and child settled, was later called Zamzam. The area around it became a place of rest for the caravans travelling across the desert and in time grew into the famous trading city of Mecca.
From time to time Abraham traveled from Palestine to visit his family and he saw Ishmael grow into a strong young man. It was during one of these visits that Allah commanded them to rebuild the Ka'bah-the very first place where people had worshipped Allah. They were told exactly where and how to build it. It was to be erected by the well of Zamzam and built in the shape of a cube. In its eastern corner was to be placed a black stone that had fallen to earth from heaven. An angel
brought the stone to them from the nearby hill of Abu Qubays. Abraham and Ishmael worked hard to rebuild the Ka'bah and as they did so they prayed to Allah to send a Prophet from among their descendants. And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): 'Our Lord! Receive this from us; Thou, only Thou, art the All-hearing, the All-knowing; Our Lord! And make us submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation submissive unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and turn toward us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful. Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Thy revelations, and shall instruct them in the Scripture and in wisdom and shall make them grow. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, Wise. (Koran ii.127-9) When the Ka'bah was completed, Allah commanded Abraham to call mankind to pilgrimage to His Holy House. Abraham wondered how anyone could hear his call. Allah said, 'You call and I will bring them.' This was how the pilgrimage to the Ka'bah in Mecca was established and when Muslims make the pilgrimage today they continue to answer the age-old call of Abraham.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
