This is the first rubâ’i, quatrain, of the Divân of Hâfez and in Persian it sounds thus Joz naqsh-e-to dar nazar nayâmad mâra. Joz kuy-e-to rahgozar nayâmad mâra. Khvâb âr che khosh âmad hameh ra dar ‘uhdat Haqqâ ke be chesham dar nayâmad mâra. Nothing comes in our eyes except Your face. Except Your lane we have no other path to trace. If it is so that as a duty sleep comes joyfully to everyone, But, in truth, our eyes it does not grace. ~ Here are some of his other quatrains. The transcription of the Persian text has been followed by its English translation. Bar gir sharaab tarab angiz o biyaa Penhaan ze raqib-e sefle be-sitez o biyaa Ma-shnav…
Meeting the Dervish
I only long to meet a true friend of God.And wish to reach the presence of this friend.From grief, my heart won’t openWithout seeing the face of the friend. Many people wanted to meet dervish ‘Abdullah, because he was said to be one of the friends of God. Few people, however, took the trouble to actually go and meet him. Why? The dervish lived near the top of a steep mountain in a Sufi khanegah. Climbing this mountain was difficult. Salik was determined to meet dervish ‘Abdullah. After seven hours he reached the khanegah and knocked on its door. When the door was opened, Salik saw a small, nondescript man appear who asked him: “Yes?”“I have come to see dervish…
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…
Stages of the development of the soul
…The one who knows his nafs (soul or self), knows his Lord… In order not to complicate things, I’ll mention only the nafs, which can be translated as soul or self, and not deal with the other faculties like ruh (spirit), qalb (heart), etc. Some Sufis say that the distinction between nafs and ruh is one of degree, implying that the ruh (spirit) is of a higher degree than the nafs (soul or self). It is a wrong habit in fact to translate nafs as “ego”, as in the stages of development of the nafs this refers to the beginning of this development only. There is a saying attributed to the Prophet (but not found in the “Sahih Sitta”, the…
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…
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…
The Secret
Sîdî Mubârak ibn ‘Alî was a Sufi shaykh. A certain seeker by the name of Sîdî al-‘Arbî met him in a mosque in Fez. He asked the Sufi: “Teach me how the secret reaches those who are its depositaries?“ Sîdî Mubârak gave him this answer: “I want you to sneeze now!” Sîdî al-‘Arbî then responded: “I do not need to sneeze at this moment” Sîdî Mubârak retorted: “It is the same for me. I am not able to teach you what you’ve asked for at this moment”.
Sufi commentaries on the Qur’an
The Sufis have commented on the Qur’an in different ways. Let’s explore some of these esoteric commentaries. 1. CORRESPONDENCE Shaykh al-Qashani is according to me one of the most interesting Sufi commentators on the Qur’an. It so happened that I’ve seen his commentary in a second-hand bookshop and I almost bought it, although I cannot read Arabic. This commentary is wrongly being attributed to shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi. Shaykh al-Qashani however belonged to the school of shaykh Ibn al-‘Arabi. Shaykh al-Qashani makes use of the method of tatbiq. His method of interpretation of the Qur’an consists of making correspondences. These correspondences connect the macrocosm with the microcosm. The shaykh explains the Qur’anic verses in terms of spiritual psychology and stages of…
It’s Time
مسکین معین در یک غزل بنمود اسرار ازل بشنو کلام لم یزل از کسوت گفتار او Mo’in, the dervish, has presented in a single poem the secrets of eternity. Listen to these words of eternity, clothed in the sound of his words. [Dîwân-i-Mo’în] The Sufis mention various concepts of time like, ân, dahr, zamân, waqt, qidam, abad, azal, hîn, mudda and imtidâd. G. Böwering in his Ideas of Time in Persian Sufism writes: “The philosophers had explained time; the mystics set out to conquer it.” [p. 217 of Classical Persian Sufism: from its Origins to Rumi]. Let’s start with the creative moment, ân [آن]. This moment is different from any before it. This moment is different: it’s now! If you…
The Governor of Iraq
There was once a governor of Iraq, who went out with his companions and then felt that he would like to be by himself for a time. He sent everyone away and sat thinking. Before long an old man of the ‘Ilj tribe came along and the governor asked him where he came from. “From that nearby village’, said the ancient. “And what of your rulers?” “God remove them from all good and also those who appointed them!” “Do you know who I am?” “No”. “I am the governor!” The old man said: “And do you know who I am?’ “No”, said the governor. “I am the well-known lunatic of the ‘Ilj, and do not know what I am saying…