The ceremony of the initiation can be different in each Sufi order. It may start with a short speech of the shaykh to his mureed-to-be wherein some of the qualities that he or she should emulate, are mentioned. Thereafter the newcomer has to say two cycles of prayer. Then he or she has to sit in front of the shaykh with his/her right hand in the hand of the shaykh and then recites some verses of the Qur’an like: – sura Fatiha (Qur’an 1:1-7) – sura Jonas (Qur’an 10:1-109) – The fist 10 verses of sura The Victory (Qur’an 48:1-10) – The 56th verse of sura The Confederates (Qur’an 33:56) – The final 3 verses of sura The Rangers (Qur’an…
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…
Your name will resound throughout the world
In former days there was a man named Hamid. In his youth he lived in Delhi as the servant of Tughril, that same Tughril who late in life had himself crowned as king in Lukhnauti. In short, this Farid became the servant of that Tughril, and he remained in his service till one day, as he was waiting on Tughril, a form appeared to him. ‘O Hamid,’ it asked, ‘why are you waiting on this man?’ Having spoken, it disappeared. Hamid was puzzled about who this could be. Then a second time, as he was waiting on Tughril, again that form appeared and asked: ‘O master Hamid, why are you waiting on this man?’ Hamid remained perplexed. Then he saw…
The Parrot of India
Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Amir Khusraw (1253-1325). What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us how you started as a poet? A: One day my teacher Khwaja Asaduddin was asked to write a letter for Khwaja Asil. My humble self and my respected teacher, together with the inkpot and the pen-case, reached the house of Khwaja Asil. My teacher then said to him: ‘This small boy, my pupil, soars high to the very stars in his poetic skills. Let him recite a verse or two’. I then recited some verses in a tremulous and modulated accent, so that my…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 21
Delaa chu mahram-e-aan delbar-e-yagaana to’i Qaza chu tir-e-balaa mi-zanad neshaana to’i O heart, fate has made you the target of the arrows of affliction, Because you’ve become a confidant of that unique Beloved: You! Degar foruzad kaanun-e-‘eshq aatesh-e-shawq Sharaara ke be-rizad az aan zabaana to’i A fire full of longing blazes forth from the fire-place of love. Spark are flying out because of that flame of You. Tan-am chu daa’era o noqta dar miyaana del-am Del-am chu daa’era o noqta dar miyaana to’i My body is like a circle and my heart is the core in its centre. My heart is like a circle and the core in its centre is You. Be-goftam az che bahaana to dar hejaabi goft…
Sufis about Death
Prepare yourself for death, oh my brother, For it will descend. Do not draw out your hopes In case your heart treats you harshly. Persevere in reflection Which will make you aware And move you to do good works, For life will depart. Shaykh Ibn al-Habib is the one who has given the above counsel on death. Death can be seen as the physical death, but when the Sufis say that when they are forgetful of God, then they also see this as death. The remembrance of the divine Beloved thus implies life. Imam al-Ghazzali has said that there are three aspects to the remembrance of death: • The remembrance of a heedless person, who is involved with the world….
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 18
Ze pish-e-khish bar afgan neqab-e-da’waa raa Be-bin ba-keswat-e-surat jamaal-e-ma’naa raa Remove from your self the veil of pretension And you’ll see the beauty of the spiritual meaning in outward forms. Be-zan ba-sang-e-malaamat zojaaja-ye-naamus Ba-ku-ye-‘eshq be-riz aabru-ye-taqwaa raa Smash the glass of worldly fame with the stone of the path of blame; Shatter the respect attached to piety by following the path of love. Chu hasht bagh-e-janaan khusha-e-ze kherman-e-maast Ba-nim jaw na-kharam kesht-e-zaar-e-doniyaa raa Because I can pick a bunch of grapes in the garden of the eighth heaven, Not even for half a grain of barley I’ll buy the harvest of this abject world. Ba-haqq-e-u ke ba-kunayn chashm na-koshaayam Ke taa nokhost na-binam jamaal-e-mawlaa raa By God, I’ll not cast…
The works of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi [part 7]
Laila Khalifa in her Ibn Arabi – L’initiation à la futuwwa; published by Albouraq, dealing with the teachings of the shaykh concerning futuwwa, also gives a deep commentary on the shaykh’s concept of the path of blame. He does not treat it as a historical movement, but exposes the doctrine and the station of the malamiyya: “They have reached the highest station among the friends of God, that of proximity (qurba), after which prophecy comes. They are the masters of the people on the path of God. The Prophet, the master of the world, is one of them.” The malamiyya are in this world to help others without being recognized. Their goal is to remain unknown and they are not…
The inner knowledge dealing with thoughts (impulses), their classification and their differences
Our shaykh Abu’n Najib as-Suhrawardi [he is the uncle of the author] has informed us: [now the isnad connecting him with the prophet is given, but it is omitted by me] “The messenger of God said: ‘The devil has the habit of whispering [in the hearts of people and the angels do the same. The whisper of the devils points to evil purposes and declares the truth to be a lie, the whisper of the angel points to good purposes and declares the truth to be true. Whosoever experiences the last type should know that it comes from God and who experiences the first type should take his refuge in God for the devil’. Then he recited: ‘The devil threatens…
Chishti poetry
You’ll find here several poems by Chishti Sufis. The transcription of the Persian text will be followed by its English translation: Gar az khodiye khwish berun aa’i to Dar pardaye tawhid darun aa’i to Var az ravesh-e chun o cheraa bargozari Az khod shode bi cheraa o chun aa’i to If outside your own self you would go, Into the veil of unity you would go. And if you would go beyond the why and when, Leaving yourself, into the without why and when you would go. Mas’ud-e-Bakk Jaan bar in yek bayt daade-ast aan bozorg Aari in kawhar ze kaani digar-ast Koshtegaan-e khanjar-e taslim raa Har zamaan az ghayb jaani-ye digar-ast. On this verse that great being gave up…