Behold how this drop of seawater
has taken so many forms and names;
it has existed as mist, cloud, rain, dew, and mud,
then plant, animal, and Perfect man;
and yet it was a drop of water
from which these things appeared.
Even so this universe of reason, soul, heavens, and bodies,
was but a drop of water in its beginning and ending.
...When a wave strikes it, the world vanishes;
and when the appointed time comes to heaven and stars,
their being is lost in not being
(The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud al Shabistari,)
SAADI OF SHIRAZ
How could I ever thank my Friend?
No thanks could ever begin to be worthy.
Every hair of my body is a gift from Him;
How could I thank Him for each hair?
Praise that lavish Lord forever
Who from nothing conjures all living beings!
Who could ever describe His goodness?
His infinite glory lays all praise waste.
Look, He has graced you a robe of splendor
>From childhood's first cries to old age!
He made you pure in His own image; stay pure.
It is horrible to die blackened by sin.
Never let dust settle on your mirror's shining;
Let it once grow dull and it will never polish.
When you work in the world to earn your living
Do not, for one moment, rely on your own strength.
Self-worshiper, don't you understand anything yet?
It is God alone that gives your arms their power.
If, by your striving, you achieve something good,
Don't claim the credit all for yourself;
It is fate that decides who wins and who loses
And all success streams only from the grace of God.
In this world you never stand by your own strength;
It is the Invisible that sustains you every moment.
[ Saadi, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert' ]
FARID AD-DIN ATTAR
So long as we do not die to ourselves,
and so long as we identify with someone or something,
we shall never be free.
The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar]
Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you.
If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself,
how will you be able to understand
the secret of your existence when you die?
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar]
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each a mystic silence Love demands.
What do all seek so earnestly? 'Tis Love.
What do they whisper to each other? Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts.
In Love no longer 'thou' and 'I' exist,
For Self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul,
Behold the Friend; Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds,
Will find the secret of them both, is Love.
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar - translation Margaret Smith -The Jawhar Al-Dhat ]
In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.
He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which
We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,
We spend our lives in folly and desolation.
When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,
Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,
But those without will remain locked in the coffin.
So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,
Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;
Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut -'Perfume of the Desert' ]
The whole world is a marketplace for Love,
For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love.
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars
The center of their orbit find in Love.
By Love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each, Love demands a mystic silence.
What do all seek so earnestly? "Tis Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer "Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret of them both is Love.
[ Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar, in Essential Sufism, James Fadiman and Robert Frager ]
Four Things to Know
Hatim al-Asamm said, "I have chosen four things to know
and discarded all other things of knowledge.
"The first is this: I know that my daily bread is apportioned
to me and will neither be increased or decreased, so I have stopped
trying to add to it.
"Secondly, I know I owe to God a debt which no one else can
pay for me, so I am busy about paying it.
"Thirdly, I know that there is someone pursuing me ---
Death --- whom I cannot escape from, so I have prepared myself
to meet him.
"Fourth, I know that God is observing me, so I am ashamed
to do what I should not."
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut -'Perfume of the Desert' ]
In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.
He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which
We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,
We spend our lives in folly and desolation.
When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,
Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,
But those without will remain locked in the coffin.
So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,
Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;
Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."
[Shaykh Farid ad-Din Attar, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert' ]
Essence of Abstinence
You who are kept in pawn to food,
you can be free if you suffer yourself to be weaned,
Truly in hunger there is abundant nourishment:
search after it diligently and cherish the hope of finding it.
Feed on the Light, be like the eye,
be in harmony with the angels,
O best of humankind.
Like the Angel,
make glorification of God your sustenance.
See how the hand is invisible while the pen is writing;
the horse careening, yet the rider is unseen;
the arrow flying, but the bow out of sight;
individual souls existing,
while is Soul of the souls is hidden.
Don't strive so much to complete your worldly affairs;
don't strive in any affair that's not sacred.
Otherwise at the end. you'll leave incomplete,
your spiritual affairs damaged and your bread unbaked.
The beautifying of your grave isn't done
by means of wood and stone and plaster;
no, but by digging your grave in spiritual purity
and burying your own selfhood in His (mission),
and by becoming His dust, buried in love of Him,
so that from His breath, yours may be replenished.
The smell of pride and greed and lust
will betray you when you speak
as much as the onions you have eaten.
Many prayers are rejected because of their smell;
the corrupt heart reveals itself in the tongue.
But if your meaning is pure,
God (may) accept even your clumsy expression.
Ahmad Sam'ani [Rawh al-arwah, p.312]
O Beloved of God,you are the Messenger of the Sole Creator!
You are the one chosen by the Holy Lord of Majesty (Who is) without equal.
(You are) the delight of the Lord God (and) the highest Full-Moon of created beings,
(and) you are the light of the eyes of (God's) Messengers (and) the Lamp of our eyes.
On the night of the Ascension, (the angel) Gabriel was at (your) stirrup,
(and) you are (the one who was) standing on top of the nine blue domes (of heaven).
O Messenger of God, you know (that) your community are deprived and destitute,
(and) you are the guide of those who are vulnerable and helpless.
(You are) the cypress tree of the rose garden of prophethood (and) the spring-season of spiritual knowledge
You are the rosebush of the garden of the Religious Law, and the nightingale of the lofty (heavens)!
Shamse e Tabreez (is one) who has the praise of the Messenger in (his) heart.
O Moostafa, you are the supreme master!
[attributed to MAWLANA JALAL AD-DIN RUME, but not in the earliest manuscripts]
--translated from Persian by Ibrahim Gamard
Rubayyat
Pursuing knowledge in childhood we rise
Until we become masterful and wise
But if we look through the disguise
We see the ties of worldly lies.
Omar Khayyum
I only follow the path of my heart
In desolate desert I make my start
I follow my heart, I do my part
The path of my heart is what you chart.
[Omar Khayyum]
What is Tasawwuf ?
What is Tasawwuf ? Good character and awareness of God.
ThatÂ’s all Tasawwuf is. And nothing more.
What is Tasawwuf ? Love and affection.
It is the cure for hatred and vengeance. And nothing more.
What is Tasawwuf ? The heart attaining tranquility–
which is the root of religion. And nothing more.
What is Tasawwuf ? Concentrating your mind,
which is the religion of Ahmad (pbuh). And nothing more.
What is Tasawwuf ? Contemplation that travels to the Divine throne.
It is a far-seeing gaze. And nothing more.
Tasawwuf is keeping oneÂ’s distance from imagination and supposition.
Tasawwuf is found in certainty. And nothing more.
Surrendering oneÂ’s soul to the care of the inviolability of religion;
this is Tasawwuf. And nothing more.
Tasawwuf is the path of faith and affirmation of unity;
this is the incorruptible religion. And nothing more.
Tasawwuf is the smooth and illuminated path.
It is the way to the most exalted paradise. And nothing more.
I have heard that the ecstasy of the wearers of wool
comes from finding the taste of religion. And nothing more.
Tasawwuf is nothing but shariÂ’at.
It is just this clear road. And nothing more.
[An Anonymous Persian Poem –
Translated by Prof. A. A. Godlas]
Arabic Mystical Poetry
Four Couplets attributed to Amir al-Mu'minin, Sayyiduna Hadrat 'Ali, May Allah, Dignify his Generous Countenance:
"In you is your remedy but conscious of it you're not,
And, your ailment is caused by you yet you see it not,
And, You assume yourself to be a little mass,
While in you encompassed is the whole universe,
And, You are the Book; the clear which,
With its letters disclosing; the mysteries,
And, you are the Being – the Being itself,
And, in you the Being which encompass cannot!"
The above couplet are in fact a commentary on the famous Prophetic Tradition which tells us that:
"man 'arafa nafsahu faqad 'arafa rabbahu"
'Whoso Knoweth Himself Surely Knoweth His Lord'
Imam Ghazali, Allah be pleased with him, records in his Ihya' al-'Ulum al-Din & other books the following four lines written by Amir al-Mu'minin, Sayyiduna Hadrat 'Ali's, May Allah, Dignify his Generous Countenance, grandson, 'Ali Ibn Husayn, commonly known as Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, Allah be well pleased with him, [41-49A.H.]:
"O Lord! Essence of Knowledge disclose if i were to,
It'll be said 'You are from those worship the idol who',
Lawful will assume my blood Men from the Muslims,
They'll regard more evil that considered they before good!"
Imam Ghazali, Allah be pleased with him, says that the knowledge due to which they think it lawful to shed his blood is the 'Ilm al-ladunni [Intuitive Knowledge].
Some of Amir Khusraw's poetry in Persian Script
I know not of this lofty place, the night in which I was,
Sacrificial disciples whirling in elation, the night in which I was,
With a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like form and tulip-like face,
Playing total havoc with the hearts of the lovers, the night in which I was,
God himself was the Master of the Ceremony, in His timeless court, O Khusraw!
(Sayyiduna) Muhammad was the beacon-candle, the night in which I was.
Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam
Sufi Pir
My heart yearns to show itÂ’s bleeding scars
And to teach everyone on earth the laws
Which might make blessed life's span
This is my yearning and this is my aim
This is my intention and this is my claim
With this I yearn to scan the globe
And deliver to humanity the message of Hope
(An extract from a poem by Hadrat Mawlana Shah Abd 'al Aleem Siddiqui (Rahmatullahi alaih)
- written in his college years)
Pasban e Shari'at :
This treatise is dedicated to:
Raees al Muhaqiqeen
Shaykh al-Islam w'al Muslimeen
Hadrat 'Allama Sayyad Muhammad Madani Miya Ashrafi al Jilani:
'Guardian of Shari'ah'
Spiritual Heir & Successor of
Muhaddith al A'zam al Hind, Allah be pleased with him
Shaykh-e-Ka'mil
Thy presence consummate a rhythm pulsates the heart,
A tune subtle drum through the ears of my heart,
Thy company composed sets calmness in turbulent life,
A harmony orchestrates the array of my life,
Thy glance direct a sagacious sanity is roused,
A conscience stimulates the nobility innate housed,
Thy face symbolic a facet of global expression found,
A simplicity of words cultivate the harvests profound,
Thy conduct devout a search for Godliness aspires,
A religious union sacred texts divinely inspires,
Thy smile assures contentment to all entwined,
An affinity of hearts liberates the spiritual kind,
Thy walk humble a gentle stroll through gardens life,
A passing sensitive of the thorns beyond the rose's strife,
Thy prayers complete a voice the soul captivates here,
A request sincere ascends the heavens sphere,
Thy knowledge comprehensive conferred to all around,
A bequeath virtuous a fortune knows no bound,
Thy heart clear untainted by the world's impure,
A mirror reflects the Godly light for souls cure,
Thy title acclaimed appropriately Shaykh ul-Islam,
A man with such magnitude conclusive pillar of Islam
[A tribute to Raees al-Muhaqiqeen Shaykh al-Islam w'al Muslimeen
by Sidi Abu Hafs]
Sufi Poem
"In the market, in the cloister--only God I saw.
In the valley and on the mountain--only God I saw.
Him I have seen beside me oft in tribulation;
In favour and in fortune--only God I saw.
In prayer and fasting, in praise and contemplation,
In the religion of the Prophet--only God I saw.
Neither soul nor body, accident nor substance,
Qualities nor causes--only God I saw.
I oped mine eyes and by the light of His face around me
In all the eye discovered--only God I saw.
Like a candle I was melting in His fire:
Amidst the flames outflashing--only God I saw.
Myself with mine own eyes I saw most clearly,
But when I looked with God's eyes--only God I saw.
I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo, I was the All-living--only God I saw."
HADRAT SULTAN BAHU
The Lord is an ocean of oneness
in which lovers swim as they please, free of care.
In their own turn, they appear in the world
to dive deep into that ocean, to gather pearls.
Among the pearls is a gem --
unique in value, unmatched in lustre --
that shines like the moon.
We are all in the employ of the Lord, O Bahu;
let us pay homage to him through our prayers.
[Hadrat Sultan Bahu, translated by J.R. Puri and K.S. Khak]
JAMI
Who is man?
The reflection of the Eternal Light.
What is the world?
A wave on the Everlasting Sea.
How could the reflection be cut off from the Light?
How could the wave be separate from the Sea?
Know that this reflection and this wave are that very Light and Sea.
(Jami, Diwan, tr by W.C. Chittick)
Rabi'a al-Adawiyya
O Lord,
If tomorrow on Judgment Day
You send me to Hell,
I will tell such a secret
That Hell will race from me
Until it is a thousand years away.
O Lord,
Whatever share of this world
You could give to me,
Give it to Your enemies;
Whatever share of the next world
You want to give to me,
Give it to Your friends.
You are enough for me.
O Lord,
If I worship You
From fear of Hell, burn me in Hell.
O Lord,
If I worship You
From hope of Paradise, bar me from its gates.
But if I worship You for Yourself alone
Then grace me forever the splendor of Your Face.
Rabi'a al-Adawiyya, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'
SOURCE: WAHIUDDINS WEB
