Here is a ghazal from the Diwaan-e-Mo’in (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna): Maa be-fekrash az behesht o hur o ghelman faareghim Az na’im-e-har do ‘aalam be-har jaanaan faareghim Because of my contemplation on Him I’m free of paradise and heavenly pleasures. Because of my Beloved I’m free of the desires of both worlds. Qut az khaan-e-kobaita ‘enda rabbi khorda aim Aan ghezaa’ nawshida aim az aab o az naan faareghim I’ve eaten the sweetest food from the table of the Lord; After having digested that food I’m free of water and bread. Tefl-e-jaan raa daaya-e-lotf azal miparwarad Laajaram az mahd o shahd o shir o pestaan faareghim My infant soul has been nourished by a loving fostermother in pre-eternity….
The one good hour
There was once a hard-hearted moneylender who always charged his debtors usurious interest. To collect a debt from a poor farmer, he went one day to the farmer’s village and told him roughly: “The time has come to pay me. Give me the money I lent you, plus all the interest”. The sum was so large, when the unfair interest was added, that the farmer could not possibly pay it. “Reduce the interest,” he said. “It is unjust and far too much. Reduce it to a normal charge and then I can repay you”. To this argument the moneylender turned a deaf ear. Compassion and pity were things that had no place in his avaricious life. “I see you will…
What kind of Pir do you want?
Nawab Khadim Hasan was once approached for initiation. He asked the visitor if he would like a murshid who was a leaf, a stone or a log? The visitor was quite surprised and could not give a reply. So to save him the consternation Nawab Khadim Hasan gave him an explanation: If a leaf floats down a river and a stone is dropped on it, it sinks a little, then tilts and the stone falls off, and thus soon the leave alone is floating down the river. If you drop a stone in a river, it sinks. In fact if you tie anything to it, they both sink. But if a log floats down a river, you can grab it…
The wake-up call by a forerunner
A young man in Tirmiz desired to expand his horizon. Together with some friends he decided to go on a journey in pursuit of knowledge. When he and his friends were about to leave, his mother appealed him to stay as he was the only one who could give her the care she needed. His friends left and leave this story, but the story of the young man now really takes a start. You can imagine that he felt miserable. He decided to help his mother, but at the same time, he was very sorry to see his friends leave. That’s why he felt it necessary to increase his melancholic state by regularly visiting the cemetery of Tirmiz. One Sunday…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 23
Delaa ba-chashm-e-haqiqat jamaal-e-dust be-bin Ze mazhar-e-hama ashyaa’ zohur-e-ust be-bin O my heart, look at the beauty of the Friend with eyes seeing reality! Observe His presence manifested in everything! Delaa to hosn-e-khodaa dida ghalat na koni Ke dar jamaal-e-botaan jelwagar hama ust be-bin O my heart, you’ve not erred when seeing the beauty of God: Observe the splendour of ‘all is He’ in the beauty of each beloved! Maraa ze didan-e-saaqist masti ay hoshyaar Na mastiyam ze sharaab-e-khom o sabust be-bin O sober one, seeing the Saqi has caused my intoxication. Observe this pitcher! I am not drunk because of wine from this jar. Ba-gush zaaher o baaten hadis-e-‘eshq sheno Ba chasm surat o ma’ni jamaal-e-dust be-bin Listen to the…
How He Won the Office of Grandvizier
A king wanted to appoint a grandvizier. Three candidates competed for the king’s nomination to this high office, but the king was unable to decide which one of them was the most intelligent, and the most suitable for the post. At last, he decided to subject them to a competition, the winner of which would be chosen as grandvizier. The king summoned the three candidates and told them that he had prepared five balls, three of which were white and two were black. He said he would place one ball on the turban of each of the three men. Each of them would be able to see the balls on the heads of the other two, but would have to…
A pair of trousers
Mawlana Shamsuddin Mohammad Yahya was an intimate friend of Mawlana Sadruddin Nawli. Both of them used to hear quite a lot about the spiritual greatness of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya. They had never met him. One day, when they came to Ghiyaspur to wash their clothes, they decided to go to Nizamuddin Awliya to see what kind of dervish he was and to find how much learning and knowledge he possessed. But they felt annoyed by the type of devotion that so many people offered to Nizamuddin Awliya. They considered it to be contrary to Islam. That is why they would only say ‘Peace be with you’ according to the Islamic precepts and then sit down. As soon as Nizamuddin Awliya…
Sufi concept: Sunday – Prophet Idris
Shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi tells us, that for every day there is a prophet from among the prophets, from whom descends a secret upon the heart of the verifying witness, a secret in which you takes delight during your day and by which you know something of that which requires to be known. This only happens to those who possess a heart. Day 1: Sunday If your day is Sunday, then Idrîs (Enoch) is your companion, so bother not with anyone! On the first day, i.e. Sunday, it is Idris who addresses you with a secret revealing to you the causes of things before the existence of their effects. SUNDAY: Arabic: al-ahad Divine attribute: Hearing Prophet: Idrîs Planet (Arabic): ash-shams Planet:…
Jami
Jami has written some beautiful quatrains, wherein he deals with important issues of the Sufi path like unity, which are at times expressed in terms of love, lover and the Beloved.
The Perfect Man
In the teachings of Ibn al-‘Arabi there is a central position to the perfect man (al-insan al-kamil). That is why Qutb ad-din bin Ibrahim Abd al-Karim al-Jili (d. 1403 according to Titus Burckhardt and ca. 1428 according to Richard Gramlich) has written a complete book dedicated to this subject. In this book of al-Jili the 60th chapter is the central one. In his own words: “This chapter is the real subject of all the chapters in this book, yes the whole book, from its beginning to its end, is an explanation of this chapter. Therefore understand the meaning of these words!” I hope to give some attention to this important chapter. Titus Burckhardt has given a partial translation to the…