Here are some observations of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi in regard to ascetic practices. These remarks are to be found in his Ornaments of the Abdal (Hilyat al–abdal), which has been translated into French by Michel Valsân, aka shaykh Mustafa ‘Abd-al-‘Aziz. Two of the closest murids of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi had asked him to write something for them from which they could benefit concerning the path of the hereafter. Stephen Hirtenstein has presented us with an English translation, which he called The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation: The Adornment of the Spiritually Transformed. Shaykh Ibn al- ‘Arabi wrote this short work in the space of an hour in January 1203 in Ta’if, while on a visit to the tomb of the…
The sufi and his cat
René Guénon, aka shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahid Yahya, died in 1951. There has been an European Sufi shaykh, Mustafa ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, who has been the first in modern times to introduce the teachings of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi in depth to the west. His French name is Michel Valsan. Shaykh Mustafa ‘Abd al-‘Aziz has written a letter about the death of shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahid Yahya: Paris 18th June 1951. I think you have already received the sad information about the death of René Guénon by means of newspapers and radio. It took place on the night of the 7th to the 8th of January. I have received your letter on the 8th of January at the same time as news of his…
The Order of Hearts
Nizamuddin Awrangabadi came to Delhi hoping to find a spiritual guide. Hearing a great deal about shaykh Kalimullah he wanted to meet him. When he went to the shaykh, sama’ (audition of Sufi music) took place and the doors of the khanaqah were closed. It was their custom not to allow strangers to participate in the sama’. Nizamuddin knocked on the door and was permitted to enter. Everyone was greatly surprised, but shaykh Kalimullah said: ‘Know you all that this persoon is not a stranger!”. The reason was that the spiritual guide of shaykh Kalimullah had informed him that a persoon possessing such and such features and named Nizamuddin would come to him. Hazrat Nizamuddin Awrangabadi, who later on became…
The rude dervish
A poorly dressed dervish came to Baba Farid who gave him something and permitted him to depart. The dervish remained standing and asked the shaykh to give him the comb, which he had taken out from its cover and placed on the prayer-carpet. As the comb was not worth anything and had been long used by the shaykh, he did not reply to the request. The dervish began to shout loudly: “If the shaykh gives me this comb, he will receive plenty of blessings.” “Be off”, Baba Farid replied, “and do not disturb me any more. I throw you and your blessings into the river.”
Divine Attraction
Jazba-ye-nur-e-jamaalash mikashad suye khudam Gu’yaa u sham’ o man parwaana am ay ‘aasheqaan The attraction of the light of His Beauty draws me towards itself, As if He is the candle and I am the moth, O lovers! ‘Jazba’ in this ghazal from the Diwaan-e-Mo’in means ‘attraction’. It is the attraction by the divine, because of which someone can be lifted to the top of the mountain, without any effort of his/her own. The noun ‘majzub’ is derived from the verb yazaba, meaning ‘to be attracted to’ and a majzub is therefore attracted to God. In order to be able to guide others someone who has experienced this divine attraction needs to travel once again to the top of the…
The Dark Night of the Heart
We all know the expression dark night of the soul. There is an experience at the level of the heart. With heart I mean the spiritual faculty and not the physical heart. The dark night of the heart implies an experience of contraction (qabd). We have already discussed the subject in some detail by means of the teachings of a Suhrawardi shaykh. Shaykh ‘Umar as-Suhrawardi has dedicated chapter 61 of his ‘Awârif al-Ma’ârif to the description of inward states of the Sufi path. To them (the states) belong contraction (qabd) and expansion (bast), two noble spiritual states. God spoke (Qur’an 2:245): And Allah gives contraction and expansion. As you can read contraction is a gift. A gift of God is…
The poor man and KHIZR
Once upon a time there was a king whose reign was beset by trouble and who longed and prayed for a vision of Khizr. Now Khizr was a wise and saintly man who had drunk of the Water of Life, which meant that he would live on and on to the Day of Judgment. When the people of the land were in trouble they would call upon Khizr and he would often appear to them, all dressed in green, to comfort and guide them. The king thought that if only he could see Khizr there might be an end to his difficulties. He therefore proclaimed that if any one of his subjects could show him Khizr he would reward him…
The Mantle of Illumination
The Chishti pir we’ve met in Ajmer at times presented a khirqa to his murids. The khirqa could take the shape of a mantle, a cap, a handkerchief, etc. This often took place when he was alone with his disciple in order not to evoke the jealousy of other disciples who were not ready to receive a khirqa. The bestowing may take place in a formal (e.g. by means of a certain rite, going together with an official document) or in an informal way (e.g. by means of giving a cap as a last minute farewell-present at an airport). When this very Chishti pir was in Holland in August 1983 he delived a speech we have recorded. Part of it…
The Sufi Path of Light
The Sufis are lovers of light. That is why some flashes of light will be shown in the parts below. Flash 1 In 1183 a young man, a ragged dervish, entered Aleppo. There his learning and his magical powers drew the attention of all. The prince grew to love him and became his disciple. The other learned men, jealous of his ascendancy, complained of him to the king, the great Saladin. The king feared that his son would be led into heresy, and he knew that heresy bred sedition. Twice he ordered his son to kill the dervish. Heartbroken the prince at last complied. The dervish’s disciples fled, and their names were forgotten. In Aleppo people remembered him, remembered the…
The Letter R
Shaykh Fariduddin ‘Attar explains that the letter A [Alif] manifests itself in the other letters: Alif was the first one in origin,It then brought forward a number of connections:When it became crooked it was counted as the dāl.When it put another bend upon itself,It then became rā, O ignorant one!When the alif is bent like a reed,Its both ends then became crooked as the bā.When the alif became a horseshoe,It then became a nūn. Let’s continue with the letter rā. The teaching of shaykh al-Buni will be followed by what James Cowan, shortly before his death wrote about the letter r in the Western alphabet. Shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi connects this letter with the House of Joseph. Sh. al-Buni writes this about the…