One day three thieves entered the effendi’s house. The effendi had seen them and had hidden himself in a trunk. The thieves searched everywhere for something of some value. At last, discouraged, they opened the trunk. “What are you doing here in the trunk?” exclaimed one of the astonished thieves. “Excuse me,” said the Effendi politely. “Knowing that you couldn’t find anything valuable in my house, I was so ashamed that I hid myself”.
The Far and Near side to Madness
The work of the philosopher Wouter Kusters consists of making an attempt to understand the ins and outs of madness. Psychiatrists easily prescribe medication, but remain unaware of what this different state of consciousness really implies. Kusters intends to develop a kind of common ‘language’ regarding the alpha and omega of madness [Wouter Kusters: Filosofie van de waanzin; 2014:23]. J.W. Perry in his The Far Side of Madness [1974:8] writes: “What do we make of the fact that, when out of their senses, some people have experiences perhaps of beauty, perhaps of terror, but always with implications of awesome depth, and that when they re-emerge out of their craze and into their so-called normal ego, they may shut the trapdoor after them…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 28
This a complete ghazal attributed to Khwâja Mu’înuddîn Chishtî: Ba-khudâ ghayr-i-khudâ dar du jahân nîst kase Sad dalîl-ast wale wâqif az ân nîst kase By God, no one exists in the two worlds but God! Countless proofs are there that He exists, but no one really knows Him. Nukta-i-sirr-i-mahabbat chu nihân az man u tu-st Lâ jaram dar sudad-i-sharh u bayân nîst kase Since the subtleties of love’s secret are hidden from you and me, No one can of course offer a clear explanation thereof. Masnad-i-‘izzat u khalwat-gah-i-wahdat khâlîst Az azal tâ ba abad dar khûr ân nîst kase The seat of honour and the solitary place of unity remain empty: From pre-eternity till post-eternity, no one is worthy to…
Sufi concept: Tuesday – Prophet Aaron
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 3: Tuesday If your day is Tuesday, then Aaron is your companion, so adhere to right guidance and John, the Baptist, will be your intimate, so cleave to purity and contentment. On Tuesday it is either Aaron or John who addresses you with a secret by which he comes to know what is beneficial or harmful about the…
I am the Sun
I’m the sun is a quatrain written by imam al-Ghazzali: If the heart doesn’t travel on the road of union with You, what to do? If the soul doesn’t seek the union with You eagerly, what to do? The moment the sun shines upon a mirror – If the mirror doesn’t say, ‘I’m the sun,’ what to do? دل گر رهء وصل تو نپوید چه کند جان وصل ترا بجان نجوید چه کند آن لحظه که بر آینه تابد خورشید آیینه اناالشمس نگوید چه کند The quatrain is in Persian, except for some words in Arabic in the final line, which are: اناالشمس. This ana’l-shams [I am the sun] has been modelled on the famous ecstatic utterance ana’l-haqq or ‘I…
The Queen of the Desert
Just suppose you are able to make an interview with Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904), one of the changed ones or abdal. What would you ask her? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you give us some biographical details? A: My Russian mother was called Nathalie de Moerder-Eberhardt. Trophimovsky, my father, was a remarkable man. My father and mother did not marry one another. My father was a former priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was an anarchist and raised me as a boy. He taught me Latin, Greek, Russian, German, Turkish and Arabic. My father helped me to read parts of the Qur’an in the original. Its teachings gave me a…
The greengrocer’s son and other Sufi tales
Here are a few stories about shaykh ‘Omar Ibn al-Farid. The greengrocer’s son The Egyptian shaykh ‘Omar Ibn al-Farid made a study of ahadith, the traditions of Islam, as well as of adab (belles lettres). By means of ascetic practices he tried to experience spiritual enlightenment, but he was not successful. One day he passed by a law school where he saw an old man, a greengrocer (‘attaar), doing ablutions in a wrong way. Somewhat proud of his knowledge, his piety and his ascetic temperament shaykh ‘Omar Ibn al-Farid criticized the behaviour of this greengrocer. The greengrocer then looked at him and addressed him to his surprise by name: “O, ‘Omar! You will not be enlightened in Egypt. You will…
Chishti stages of love – Part 1
The pen faces difficulties or even fails when trying to describe love. As you know steps can be seen leading up to the ocean, but what happens then? The well-known Chishti Sufi Khwaja Nasiruddin Cheragh (the “lamp”) of Delhi, who was the successor of Nizamuddin Awliya has described the indescribable. He not only described ten stages and fifty phases of love, but he also experienced them. I’m grateful to the work of Mir Valiuddin in this respect. I’ve at places added some relevant anecdotes. Scholars say that the description of the Chishti stages of love has not been written by the aforesaid Sufi. It does not really matter, as the only thing of importance is the experience of love. The…
The inner dimensions of the fast
Shah Wali Allah writes in his masterpiece ‘The Conclusive Argument from God’: “When a person tries to subjugate the lower soul and eliminate its bad qualities, his act will take on a sanctified form in the world of images. Among the purest of gnostics is the one who concentrates on this form, for he is furnished with knowledge from the unseen world and achieves union with the divine essence because of transcendence and sanctification. This is the meaning of his saying, may the blessings and peace of God be upon him: “Fasting is done for My sake and I reward it”.”
Fasting in Ramadan
The month of fasting, Ramadan, is often greeted by the Sufis as a good friend, and as a welcome and honoured guest. They love to see this guest come, but also to see him go. The implication of the first is clear, but perhaps not of the second. The end of the month of fasting is followed by a feast. In ordinary terms it means that you can eat and drink. In Sufi terms the feast implies the meeting with the Beloved. The Beloved is then the cupbearer Who pours out the wine of gnosis and love. Jami writes (ghazal # 1-178 p. 201): Helal-e ‘id jostan kaar-e ‘aam ast Helal-e ‘id-e khaasaan daur-e jaam ast The search of the…