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.”
Generosity
Hatim at-Tayy was known for his extreme largesse, which was so great that whenever a man of his circle found himself in dire straits, he would refer to Hatim at-Tayy as the proverbial solver of all problems. Once a man who lived rather at a great distance of Hatim’s dwelling place was sorely pressed from want of funds. For days he fretted and worried about this, while his situation steadily worsened, until one day his wife said to him: ‘Whatever we try to do to pull ourselves out of this trouble, it just gets worse. How long is this to go on? Why don’t you go now and speak to Hatim at-Tayy and ask him to help you for once?’…
Chivalry in plain clothes
A certain king was very fond of jewellery. Once he needed a ring repaired, so he summoned an official to take it to the most reputed goldsmith in town. When the official explained the work to be done to the goldsmith in the bazaar, urging that it was a rush job, the goldsmith saw the value of the gem and when the official was looking the other way, he skilfully replaced it in the setting with another, then completed the work to perfection and handed the ring back to the courier. The king was himself an expert, so that he spotted the substitution immediately and, having no doubt about the functionary’s trustworthiness, sent guards to apprehend the goldsmith and bring…
Khwaja Saiyid Mohammed Gesu Daraz
Khwaja Saiyid Mohammed Gesu Daraz is one of the great Chishti Sufis. He is known and respected throughout the sub-continent of India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh. He is a disciple and a spiritual caliph of Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh of Delhi. He was born on the 4th of Rajab in the year 721 A.H. (which is the 30th of July 1321 C.E. according to my computer). His nickname is Abu’l Fatah. He is addressed as Sadruddin, Wali ul akbar us-Sadiq and Gesu Daraz. There are several reasons for calling him Gesu Daraz. He had very long hair and for this reason he came to be called Gesu Daraz, which means ‘one with long locks of hair’. Another reason assigned is this,…
Paul’s awakening
It is unusual when a father writes the biography of his son. It happened in the case of the Dutch mystic Frederik van Eeden who wrote the biography of his son Paul after his son’s death. Paul clearly was not someone with special qualities, he was unremarkable, he was quite a normal person and he even had small character mistakes. When he became ill, then he changed. The change took place slowly, but continuously. An inner purification took place, clearly visible to all. At the final moment, the moment of his death, he did not fall ‘asleep’, but there was an ‘awakening’. After his expiry Fredrik van Eeden tells something about one of his gardeners. You should know that Frederik…
‘Urs Celebrations in Ajmer, India
My wife, and I have travelled to Ajmer to be present at the ‘urs (death anniversary) of our shaykh who expired in 1996. The ‘urs celebration took place on two days, the 26th and 27th of February. The dates are different each year as they are based on the Islamic calendar. Most of the activities took place at the chillah, a hill with the cave wherein Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti performed his retreats. After the qul, the closing ceremony, there was a function which started at about 22.00 P.M. at the dargah of Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti. About 40 people then walked two times round the shrine of Gharib Nawaz (The Patron of the Poor) as he is also known. Then we…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 22
Chashm be-koshaai ke didaar-e-khodaa-ye-jelwa namud Dida shaw yaksar o bar band dar-e-goft o shonud Open your eyes so that you may behold the divine splendour! Unify your vision and close the door to your speech and hearing. ‘Aks-e-rokhsaara-ye-saaqi be-namud az rokh-e-jaam Hush o aaraam ze mastaan-e-mai-ye-‘eshq rabud The reflection of the face of the cupbearer appeared at the surface of the cup. It has robbed the love-intoxicated ones of their sanity and peace of mind. Saaqi-ye-‘eshq maraa ruz-e-azal baada chashand Taa abad har nafas-am masti-ye-digar be-fozud Love’s cupbearer has made me taste some wine during the day of pre-eternity, So that with every breath of mine my intoxication will increase at post-eternity. Yaa rabb in masti-ye-man zaan mai-ye-bazm-e-azal ast Yaa…
The works of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi [part 5]
Now let us turn to another book written by shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi. What can be more interesting than to see a Sufi of the level of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi describe the life and teachings of another formidable Sufi shaykh? This has happened because shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi has written Al-Kawkab al-durri fi manaqib Dhu’n-Nun al-Misri dealing with the inspiring life of shaykh Dhu’n-Nun, the Egyptian. Shaykh Dhu’n-Nun was born in the North of Egypt and died at Gizeh in the year 860. Shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi reports that when the Egyptian Sufi died “green birds of an unknown species flew above the body of Dhu’n-Nun during his burial”. This has been explained that the angels honoured shaykh Dhu’n-Nun. Shaykh Dhu’n-Nun was the…
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…
Hazrat Mian Mir
The following information on the life and teachings of Hazrat Mian Mir has mostly been derived from chapter 111 of a forthcoming publication of Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib: Hazrat Mian Mir is a great Pir of the subcontinent of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He is considered as an outstanding wali (friend of God) and an eminent mystic. He traced his relationship from the second caliph of Islam, Hazrat ‘Umar Farooq. His grandfather was named as Qazi Qalandar. His father, named, Qazi Sa’in Data belonged to the Qadiriyya order of the Sufis. His mother, named Bibi Fatima, was the daughter of Qazi Qadan. She was a very accomplished woman of her time. He had four brothers, namely Qazi Bolan, Qazi Mohammed…