We all know the expression dark night of the soul. There is an experience at the level of the heart. With heart I mean the spiritual faculty and not the physical heart. The dark night of the heart implies an experience of contraction (qabd). We have already discussed the subject in some detail by means of the teachings of a Suhrawardi shaykh. Shaykh ‘Umar as-Suhrawardi has dedicated chapter 61 of his ‘Awârif al-Ma’ârif to the description of inward states of the Sufi path. To them (the states) belong contraction (qabd) and expansion (bast), two noble spiritual states. God spoke (Qur’an 2:245): And Allah gives contraction and expansion. As you can read contraction is a gift. A gift of God is…
The bloodletter’s emulation of the merchant
It is said that in one of the distant cities of Khwarazm there was a merchant of much wealth and property whose name was ‘Abd al-Malik. He was always trying to find ways to make more money, so he frequented the gatherings of the learned men as well as those of the poor. One day he thought: “I have been engaged in many kinds of business in different parts of the world, but now I am going to follow the Qur’anic precept”: HE WHO DOES A GOOD DEED SHALL BE REWARDED TENFOLD. Having decided upon this, he proceeded to carry out his decision. Whatever wealth he possessed he distributed for charity. Whatever riches he had he gave as alms to…
Sufi Travel
Fernando Pessoa has something interesting to say about travel: A glimpse of open country above a stone wall on the outskirts of town Is more liberating for me than an entire journey would be for someone else. I’ve listened today to an author who writes travel books. He was making a long journey by train. He was sitting on some sacks of grain, while being absorbed in his thoughts. His train then passed a city known because of its sacred places for the Sufis. Suddenly it was as if he saw a kind of ‘window’, which offered a view of the world of imagination. Some Sufis have travelled in the beginning of their lives and then became residents, while other…
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…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 16
Man che guyam ke maraa naateqa madhush aamad Bar delam zaabeta-ye-‘aql faraamush aamad How can I speak when my tongue has become intoxicated? My mind has become silent and powerless over my heart. Sail raa na’ra az aan ast ke az bahr jodaa-st Daan ke baa bahr dar aamikhta khamush aamad The river is boisterous because it is separated from the ocean: Know that after union with the ocean it is becalmed forever. Noktahaa dush delam goft o shanid az lab-e-yaar Ke na hargez ba-zabaan raft o na dar gush aamad My heart uttered secrets coming from the Friend’s lips last night, Which have never been spoken by any tongue or heard by any ear. Shaahed-e-ghaib koshaada ast neqaab az…
Early sufis in the Chishti order
Many people think that Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti is the founder of the Chishti order. This is not correct, so in the following article I intend to tell something about his spiritual ancestors and briefly something about their teachings. The Chishti order of the Sufis derives its name from Chisht (pronounce: Chesht, hence Cheshti). Chisht is a small town near Herat in Afghanistan. When travelling and arriving in Herat I intended also to visit Chisht, but it was said that the road was not safe, because of dacoits, so I abandoned the idea. The first one to call himself Chishti was Abu Ishaq Shami. As the name Shami implies he came from Syria or even from Damascus (ash-Sham). He met a…
The Sufi states of Contraction and Expansion
Shaykh ‘Umar as-Suhrawardi has dedicated chapter 61 of his ‘Awârif al-Ma’ârif to the description of inward states of the Sufi path. Two of these states are now presented. To them (the states) belong contraction (qabd) and expansion (bast), two noble spiritual states. God spoke (Qur’an 2:245): And Allah gives contraction and expansion. The shaykhs have talked about both of these states and have given indications about their characteristics. Their reality has however not been unveiled to me, because they only gave indications. An indication can only be satisfactory to an initiate. I however, wish to deal with both of them in some detail. This is something a seeker may be on the outlook for. A seeker may like to receive…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 8
This is a translation of ghazal 69 to be found on p. 63 of the “Diwaan-e-Amir Khosraw“: Many a night I was with a moon; Where are all those nights gone? Now it is night again, but it is dark, Because of the smoke of my cries: ‘O Lord!’ Those were happy nights, the ones I’ve spent with her: Sometimes drunk and sometimes merry-headed. My world becomes dark, When I remember those nights. I used to tell the tale again and again Of her eyebrows and eyelashes, Like children reciting at school The chapter of the Qur’an starting with Nun and the Pen. What would happen If one night she would ask How a stranger below her wall Would pass…
The Mystery of Khwaja Khidr
سر طلب كردن موسى خضر را علیهما السلام با كمال نبوت و قربت The mystery of the prophet Moses seeking Khwaja Khidr [peace be upon them], notwithstanding his perfection as a prophet and as one near unto God [Mawlana Rumi: Masnawi, book 3] What is this mystery of Khwaja Khidr? What is the meaning of the quest for Khidr? Why do all kinds of people wish to meet Khidr? The answer to the final question is different depending on the level of preparedness [isti’dad] of these seekers. The level of Moses is that of a wali, a nabi and a rasul. What could be the use of a meeting with Khwaja Khidr be for someone who is a friend of…
The Path of Blame
Shaykh as-Sulami (d. 1021) followed the path of blame. His ties to the Malamatiyya were through his grandfather Ibn Nujayd and his many Malamatiyya mentors. In his Treatise of the People of Blame (Risala al-malamatiyya, which has received a complete translation into French) he places the people of blame at the top of the spiritual hierarchy: The shaykh shows in ascending order: • The exoterists or scholars of the Islamic law • The Sufis or the people of deep inward knowledge • The people of blame. Malama (blame) has LMW as root. This root appears several times in the Qur’an and ahadith. Lawwama (an adjective of intensity) means: One who is constantly blaming others or accusing oneself. It has an…