An afflicted man presented himself before Alexander, the King of the Universe and asked for a dirhem. Alexander responded in a loud voice to this request: “You ask me, a king like me, so little?” “Well then”, answered the man. “Give me a town and a treasure! That will be enough to satisfy me.” “The emperor of China has received such a gift” – said the king. “Who are you to claim such things?”
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 19
In manam yaa rabb ke andar nur-e-haqq faani shodam Matla’-ye-anwaar-e-faiz-e-zaat-sobhaani shodam O Lord! My self has been annihilated in the light of truth. It has become the place of rising of the lights of the glorious divine essence. Zarra zarra az wojud-am taaleb-e-didaar gasht Taa ke man mast az tajallihaa-ye-rabbaani shodam Each particle of my existence has been searching for the vision of You Until I have become drunk by the manifestation of the divine. Zang-e-ghairat raa ze meraat-e-del-am be-zedud ‘eshq Taa ba-kolli waaqef-asraar-e-penhaani shodam The rust of duality has been removed by love from the mirror of my heart, So that it has become completely aware of the hidden secrets. Man shonaan birun shodam az zolmat-e-hasti-ye-khish Taa ze nur-e-hasti-ye-u…
Thou art the blessing
Yesterday, together with my youngest son, I made a trip to Leyden in order to visit a shop called WARP 9, which specialises in science fiction articles. After having bought a video I persuaded him to come with me to a second hand bookshop as possibly some books in the field of Star Trek could be found therein. We passed the Oriental Antiquarium wherein formerly the famous publisher Brill was settled. (Of course if it was up to me we would also have visited this place, but there are rather poorly equipped in the field of science fiction). In the second hand bookshop my son found nothing that interested him, but I found a real treasure. I found the critical…
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…
The Quest of Sidi Ibrahim
Sidi Ibrahim is the Sufi name of Titus Burckhardt [1908-1984]. ‘Sidi’ or ‘Sayyidi’ means literally ‘my master’ and, in fact, Sidi Ibrahim guided the students of Sidi ‘Isa, aka F. Schuon, in Basel. Sidi is actually used as an honorific title given to someone who has been initiated into the Sufi path. Sidi Ibrahim has described his quest to find a spiritual guide and teacher in some detail. Do you know shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdallah [1784-1817]? You can see a painting of this ancestor of Sidi Ibrahim dressed in Muslim clothes and can read more about his life at wikipedia.org. This ancestor made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1815. He was the first European to describe the hajj in some…
The works of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi [part 12]
Eleven articles have appeared about the works of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi. Here is a key: Part 1: Ruh al-Quds Part 2: The Divine Names Part 3: The Divine names Part 4: Ahadith Part 5: Shaykh Dhu’n-Nun Part 6: Spiritual chivalry Part 7: The Path of Blame Part 8: Shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi as a murshid Part 9: Women Part 10: Ascetic practices of the abdal Part 11: The Perfect Human Being Part 12: The key to all 11 articles
The Compass of the Dervish
A governor of Isfahan, after a rich meal, went to take his rest on the cool balcony of his palace. He gave himself up to meditation, for he felt in low spirits. As he reclined on his couch, he was disturbed by a Chishti dervish at his gate who recited in a loud voice the following poem: When you long for union, so your heart is a garden in flower, Dedicate yourself to the searching of the One Who is your Lover. Take this as your compass, guiding you in the right direction: To show you Reality, only the Divine Light has the power. The governor rose in an irritable mood and looked down upon the dervish, who now serenely…
The Helper of the Religion
Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Mulla Nasreddin. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Many countries claim you to be their citizen. In different countries like Iran and Turkey the local people say that your grave can be found. Are you a world citizen avant la lettre? A: Moi? After quitting Bokhara I have repaired first to Istanbul. Then I have disturbed the peace successively in Baghdad, Medina, Beirut and Basra, I caused pandemonium in Damascus, then dropped in at Cairo, where I held the office of chief judge of the city. I will not tell you whom I judged and how I…
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?’…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 24
Maraa ay saaqi-ye-wahdat be-daadi jor’ahaa zaan mai Ke har dam az hayaahuyash bar ayad az del-am hai hai The Saqi provides me with cups filled with the wine of unity, So that with every breath my heart keeps on shouting ‘He is!’ ‘He is!’ Magu ai khom che mi-jushi chu mai-ye-dardi to mi-rezi Magu ai nai che mi-naali chu ham khud mi-dami dar wai Don’t tell, O vessel (of the heart), why you are agitated, when you receive the wine of pain! Don’t tell, O flute, why you are complaining, when each breath returns to Him! Che baad-ast in na-midaanam jaam-e-del ba-yak jor’a Chonaan az zang saafi shod ke didam yaar raa dar wai I don’t know what kind of…