‘Arif walks to the bus at sunset. He sees a vast flock of starlings moving as one body in the sky. He recites softly in Persian: بر پرم همچون طيور الصافات I soar up like the birds which spread their wings. The bus is overcrowded. A woman hears the ringtone of her smartphone. She cannot reach it without jabbing her elbows into the limbs of those around her. They sigh and roll their eyes. The woman tries to make amends by scattering apologetic smiles, which freeze on her face the moment she answers the call. “You need to breathe, my love,” are the first words she speaks—at once icily calm yet utterly alert. “We’ve been through this before, and it turned…
A sufi on his deathbed
Sîdî al-‘Arbî was one of the friends of God. When he was on his deathbed he called for a certain man and his wife and he told them, pointing to a cap and a pair of black trousers: “This is a trust of God which will remain with you until your son ‘Abd al-‘Azîz will be born. You then give these clothes to him”. Some time later ‘Abd al-‘Azîz was born and when he reached puberty God inspired his mother to give him the clothes received as a trust. ‘Abd al-‘Azîz then put on his trousers as well as his cap. He then felt a great heat, so much so that tears appeared in his eyes. ‘Abd al-‘Azîz has said…
Magical Mystery Tour
Several years ago a Chishti shaykh and his son arrived from the East for a visit in England. The English disciples invested lots of energy in trying to get visa for the two of them for France and Spain and all in vain. The shaykh could get a visa, but the authorities refused to give a visa for the son as they were afraid that he would stay in Europe and try to find a job. They did not know that there was no economic motive for the journey. Anyhow neither of them obtained the necessary visa. The idea was to travel to the Spanish town of Granada in order to visit a Sufi community in that town. But how…
10 Sufi tales of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya
A Chishti pir has sent these lines written in Persian calligraphy: Gar nayaabi sohbat-e-ahl-e-safaa Bas toraa kaafist zekr-e-aasfaa If you are unable to be in the company of the pure, Then sufficient for you is the remembrance of the pure. Here are some tales as recounted by Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya: Sufi Tale 1 A pir who was acquainted with the pros and cons of the sufi way had a son who just had finished his studies in several worldly sciences. This son, with the name Muhammad, approached him and made him clear that he wished to follow the sufi path. Muhammad then received the advice to undergo a retreat of forty days. After having completed the retreat he informed his…
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.
A young Chishti dervish
A young dervish living in Ajmer, who belonged to the Chishtiyya order, every day sat in meditation near the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. He always stayed there until the lights were brought to the dargah. It was his habit to leave a little later in order to say the sunset prayers in the nearby Sufi khaneqah. One day he received the permission to travel from his pir. He travelled at first to Lahore, which in those days took several weeks to reach. After visiting the Sufi places in Lahore he went to buy some food at the local bazaar. There he saw something peculiar. He saw a painting of a Sufi who wore an unusual type of pointed hat….
Hazrat Amir Khusraw
I’ve been active during the month of Ramadan to write something every day about Hazrat Amir Khusraw. Each of the following numbers contains the material written during each day: 1. Hazrat Amir Khusraw asks a question. The first line is in Persian and the second is in Urdu: Teshna raa che mibaayad Melaap ko kyaa chaahiye What is required for the thirsty person? What is required for union? 2. This verse shows the loving union existing between Hazrat Amir Khusraw and his murshid Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya: Man to shodam to man shodi Man jaan shodam to tan shodi Taa na-guyad kasi pas az in Man digaram o to digari I have become you and you have become me. I have…
Ornaments of the Abdal
In regard to ascetic practices here are some observations of Ibn al-‘Arabi. These remarks are to be found in his ‘Ornaments of the Abdal’, which has been translated into French by Michel Valsan. Ibn al-‘Arabi sees silence, solitude, hunger and wakefulness as the four cornerstones of the way. Each of them has not only a physical aspect but also (and this is of interest!!!) a spiritual reality. The physical aspects: 1. Silence of the tongue (little speaking) 2. Solitude from other people (little meeting with the people) 3. Fasting (little food) 4. Little sleep The spiritual realities: 1. Silence of the heart 2. Solitude of the heart 3. Hunger of the heart 4. Vigilance of the heart. These last 4…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 31
This is a complete ghazal attributed to Khwâja Mu’înuddîn Chishtî: Az matla’-yi-dil zad ‘alam yak lam’a az rukhsâr-i-û Shud zarra zarra hastîyam dar parda-yi-anwâr-i-û A flash of light from His face appeared in my heart: My existence became a particle of the luminous veil of Huuu. Bâ ânke zarrât tan-am har yak hazârân dîda shud Yak zarra ham dîda na-shud az partaw-i-rukhsâr-i-û Although each particle of my body manifested itself in thousands of ways, Not one particle was illuminated, before this ray of light of the face of Huuu. Husn-ash chû âyad jilwa-gar tâqat na-yârad chashm-i-sar Az dîda-yi-dil kun nazar tâ bi-nigarî dîdâr-i-û My outward eyes were incapable to see when His beauty powerfully manifested itself, Then the eyes of…
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…