Treasure of Sugar

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Baba Fariduddin Mas’ud Ganj-e Shakar. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us something about your youth? A: My grandfather Qazi Shuayb left Kabul and came to Qasur near Lahore. The qazi of Qasur informed the sultan of his arrival and recommended that suitable provision should be made for his maintenance. The sultan was greatly pleased to learn of my grandfather’s accomplishments and showed his willingness to help him in any possible way. To his offer my grandfather replied: “I don’t desire any worldly object, but for the simple reason that whatever is lost…

The leader of the Group

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Junayd (d. 910 C.E.) of Baghdad. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us something about your youth? A: I was born and brought up in Baghdad, but my ancestors came from the Persian town of Nihawand. My father was a Qawariri, i.e. a glass merchant. My father died, while I was still a boy. My maternal uncle took me in his home and brought me up. Q: Is it true that you began your studies with Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic traditions on the advice of your uncle, shaykh Sari as-Saqati. A: Yes! I…

The Carder of Secrets

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh al-Hallaj (ca. 858-922). What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Why are you called al-Hallaj? A: My father, Mansur, was a wool carder (hallaj), a profession also practised intermittently by me. My son, whose name is Hamd, has told this about me: ‘He spoke in public and everyone, great or small approved of him. He spoke to his listeners of their innermost consciences, of what was in their hearts, which he unveiled for them. They called him the carder of secrets (halaj al-asrar), and the name Hallaj stayed with him’. People, however have referred to me by…

The Queen of the Desert

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904), one of the changed ones or abdal. What would you ask her? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you give us some biographical details? A: My Russian mother was called Nathalie de Moerder-Eberhardt. Trophimovsky, my father, was a remarkable man. My father and mother did not marry one another. My father was a former priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was an anarchist and raised me as a boy. He taught me Latin, Greek, Russian, German, Turkish and Arabic. My father helped me to read parts of the Qur’an in the original. Its teachings gave me a…

The Perfume Seller

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Fariduddin ‘Attâr. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: What has been your profession? A: I have written my poems in my “dâru-khâne” wherein I combined the selling of drugs and perfumes with the practice of medicine. Q: It is said that one day a dervish called at your dâru-khâne, your dispensary and asked for alms, but you were too busy with your patients to care for him and gave no reply. Hence you took no notice of him on his second polite demand, the dervish remarked: “You are so busy amassing wealth here. How will you…

The Egyptian Elder

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhâb ash-Sha’râni. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us something about yourself? A: My birth took place in Egypt in 1493 C.E. in a village in the province of Qalyubiyya. One of my ancestors, Musâ Abu ‘Emrân, was the son of the sultan of Tlemcen, and was a disciple of the famous Sufi shaykh Abu Madyan. This shaykh ordered him to settle with his family in 1307 C.E. I went to Cairo to study Islamic sciences, but soon afterwards I have been initiated into Sufism by several shaykhs among which I like…

The lover of the ABC

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Fazlallah Astarabadi (1340-1394). What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us something about yourself? A: My father was a judge. He died while I was still a child. I inherited my father’s office. In my youth, while I was incapable of actually doing the job of a judge, I was put on a horse every day and taken to the courthouse to act as a figurehead. My father’s formerly assistants took care of the work. Because of sitting in the judge’s seat I became unusually serious even as a child, but it was also true…

Gift to the Ganges

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Ghawth ‘Ali Shah (1804-1880). What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Why are you called a gift to the Ganges? A: My mother was not well after giving me birth, so a wet nurse was found, who called me ‘Ganga Bishan’. Q: You are a sayyed, as you belong to the family of the Prophet. Is it not strange that you as a Muslim have attended a Hindu festival in Hardwar? Is it not true that God is present in Islam and everywhere? A: I have taken a sacred bath in the Ganges on behalf of and…

A Friend of the Friends of God

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Annemarie Schimmel (d. 2003). What would you ask her? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: How did your love for Islam and Sufism start? A: Since I was seven years old I wanted to study Islam. It started with a story called ‘Padmanaba and Hassan’, which I read in a book of fairytales, which I had inherited from my grandfather – the book is from the year 1870. In this tale, which is similar to a tale of ‘The Arabian Nights’, a young man from Damascus finds a spiritual guide in India, who initiates him and takes him to a magic world….

The Tongue of Sufism

Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Abu Sa’id al-Kharraaz. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Several of the Sufis have had a profession. What has been your profession? A: I have been a cobbler. Q: You have also been a shaykh. Can you tell us the names of your disciples? A: I have been a cobbler but I’ve learnt a lot from Beshr al-Hafi, who never put on shoes. I have met Dho’n-nun, who originated from Egypt and I have associated with Sari as-Saqati from Baghdad. Q: Where are you from? A: God. Q: What do you want? A: God. Q: How…