Shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi not only wrote books; part of his work consisted of guiding his students. The teachings of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi have also come to us by means of his disciples. One of them was shaykh Ibn Sawdakin, who died 8 years later than his murshid in 1248 in Aleppo. He wrote a book wherein he recorded the detailed answers his shaykh gave him to his questions about the highest states and stations in Sufism. It is called Kitab wasa’il as-sa’il (the “Book of the Tool to Help the One Who Asks Questions”), which received a German translation by Manfred Profitlich in 1973. I’ve heard that an English translation may come out in the near future. The book contains a…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 7
Aateshi afrukht ‘eshq o jesm o jaan-e-man ba-sukht Goftam aahi bar kasham kaam o zabaan-e-man ba-sukht Love has set on fire my body and soul, they are burning! I’ve brought out a sigh: it has burnt up both my mouth and tongue. Aatesh-e-dozagh nadarad taabesh-e-suz-e-feraaq Aah az in aatesh ke paida o nehaan-e-man ba-sukht The fire of hell is not so intense as the heat of the fire of separation. This fire caused so much pain: it has burnt up both my body and soul. Naar-e-dozagh gar che suzad posthaaye ‘aasiyaan Aatesh-e-hejraanash maghz-e-ostokhwaan-e-man ba-sukht While the fire of hell may burn the skin of the sinners, The fire of separation from Him has burnt up the marrow of my bones….
Song of the Dervish
Have you ever heard a dervish sing? If not, use your imagination. Open your window and what do you hear? Imagine that you are hearing approaching footsteps, while someone is singing. It has to be a dervish, because his song is telling a Sufi tale, complaining of love’s separation. Do you like to listen to a song of a dervish in real life? Why don’t you visit the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi? It is the habit to go to the nearby shrine of his closest disciple first, i.e. Hazrat Amir Khusro. Music was prayer for Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, while Hazrat Amir Khusro created qawwali, devotional music, for his master. His poetry resounds in the songs of the…
GOD
Your name is in my mouth, Your image is in my eye, Your remembrance is in my heart: So where are You hidden? A scholar remarked in the presence of Shamsuddin of Tabriz: ‘I have established the existence of God with a categorical proof’. On the next morning our master Shams said: ‘Last night the angels descended and blessed that man, saying ‘Praise be to God, he has proven the existence of our God! May God give him a long life’!’ [Rumi:Fihi ma fihi]. Shabistari writes in his Gulshan-i-Raz: دلی کزمعرفت شهود است زهرچیزی که دید اول خدا دید A witnessing heart illuminated by gnosis, Sees God first in all things it looks upon. Several Sufis never talk or write…
How the mureed should behave towards his or her shaykh
Al-Qashani is the author of the Persian handbook of the Sufis the Misbaah al-hidaaya wa Miftaah al-Kifaaya – The Lamp of Right Guidance and the Key to What is Sufficient. This book has been partially translated into English by Wilbeforce Clark while the impression is given that it is the Arabic book of as-Suhrawardi, the ‘Awaarif al-Ma-aarif. I hope to translate the chapter HOW THE MUREED SHOULD BEHAVE TOWARDS HIS OR HER SHAYKH as given in the book of al-Qashani and perhaps later on I’ll see if as-Suhrawardi mentions more. Know this: It belongs to the most important rules of the mureed, that she or he takes care of behaving properly towards her or his shaykh, because of the fact…
The tale of the Water of Life
Once, not so long ago and not so far away, Yahya and both his brothers were wandering about looking for water. After a lot of walking they saw a tree standing alone, far away from any other. They were very thirsty and tired, so they sat down under the tree. Presently, when they felt better, the two elder brothers said to each other: ‘Let us go on further and leave Yahya here, as he will only be troublesome to us, for he cannot walk as fast as we can. And, if we do find water, why should we have to have one third each instead of half?’ So, when the younger brother slept, they both ran off and left him….
Testing the tested
In his khanegah, the Chishti dervish ‘Abdullah prayed to God that he would send him a murid. It grew dark when a knock came at the door. He opened it and a stranger entered. Dervish ‘Abdullah asked him to sit down. For some time, not a word passed between them. Dervish ‘Abdullah was the first who spoke: “Who are you, and what do you desire of me?” “My name is John Lemprière”, said the other. “I have made a long journey to come here. I wish to be your murid. I have brought you all I have.” He drew out a pouch and emptied it on the table. The coins were many. He offered them with his right hand. Dervish…
The sufi tale of the city of Azalâbâd
Within the shadow of the city wall, at the place where the cypress trees begin a long dark blue march down the mountainside to the ocean, sits the basket weaver. Daily, as his ancestors have done for generations before him, he squats in the dust, surrounded by strands of coloured straw, weaving not only baskets but tales of love, lust and longing; fabricating from the gossip of passers-by new mythologies and legends. He tells them of their own lives, yet they hear them as the stories of others. As they pass in and out of the city on various errands, some people mesmerized by his swiftly moving fingers stop for a moment, sitting next to him to listen, only later…
Gift to the Ganges
Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Ghawth ‘Ali Shah (1804-1880). What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Why are you called a gift to the Ganges? A: My mother was not well after giving me birth, so a wet nurse was found, who called me ‘Ganga Bishan’. Q: You are a sayyed, as you belong to the family of the Prophet. Is it not strange that you as a Muslim have attended a Hindu festival in Hardwar? Is it not true that God is present in Islam and everywhere? A: I have taken a sacred bath in the Ganges on behalf of and…
The new moon
A certain court poet once was in difficult financial circumstances: “One day – it was the eve of the day on which the new moon of Ramadan was due to appear and I had not a farthing to meet all the expenses incidental to that month and the feast which follows it – I went thus sad at heart to the Amir ‘Ala ud-Dawla…” He informs the Amir about his state, who advises him to return at the time of the evening prayer as the king will go up and look for the moon. “At sundown the king came forth from his pavilion, with a crossbow in his hand and ‘Ala ud-Dawla on his right hand. I ran forward to…