LISTEN to the Master of the Jinn Audiobook Sample :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

PLEASE HELP!!! I have started working on recording the Audiobook of Master of the Jinn. Please go to the link and listen to part of the Prologue, which is the first trial run, and let me know what you think. Does it sound clear? is the pacing ok? etc. I had to put it on the website since WordPress does not accept MP3 files. If your browser does not supoort it, email me at Irvingk1945 at gmail dot com and I will email it to you.

http://masterofthejinn.com/author.html

Thank You for Helping :)

Ya Haqq!

Rumi’s Easter Poem – Happy Easter 2013 :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Easter is Sunday, March 31st this year, and I pray we all know at least once in our lives the rebirth of faith and love which is manifest each spring in the story of Jesus (pbuh).  And so, once again, here is Rumi’s beautiful homage:

________________

Everyone has eaten and fallen asleep. The house is empty. We walk out to the garden to let the apple meet the peach, to carry messages between rose and jasmine.

Spring is Christ,
Raising martyred plants from their shrouds.
Their mouths open in gratitude, wanting to be kissed.
The glow of the rose and the tulip means a lamp is inside.
A leaf trembles. I tremble in the wind-beauty like silk from Turkestan.
The censer fans into flame.

This wind is the Holy Spirit.
The trees are Mary.
Watch how husband and wife play subtle games with their hands.
Cloudy pearls from Aden are thrown across the lovers,
as is the marriage custom.

The scent of Joseph’s shirt comes to Jacob.
A red carnelian of Yemeni laughter is heard
by Muhammad in Mecca.

We talk about this and that. There’s no rest except on these branching moments.

- Jalaluddin Rumi, from The Essential Rumi, by Coleman Barks

Ya Haqq!

Calling Out to God

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

All night, a man called out “God! God!”
Until his lips were bleeding.
Then the Adversary of mankind said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
… How come you’ve been calling all night
And never once heard God say, “Here, I AM”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!”

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met an angel, who asked,
“Why are you regretting calling out to God?”

The man said, “ I called and called
But God never replied, “Here I AM.”

The Angel explained, “God has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “God”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I AM.”

- Rumi

Ya Haqq!

The Mayonnaise Jar Lesson

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. 

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf ballsHe then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for cup of coffee with a friend.”

Ya Haqq!

The Poetry of Life

Love is the poetry of life
Gratitude its prose

Kindness the sentences
In patience composed

Prayer is the syntax
As Heaven knows

Be silent then, or
Speak truly

As the moon does
As the river flows

As each breath
Of our life goes

And each day
Of loving kindness

Is better than
The one before

And life itself
Becomes a poem

Until our last breath
And the farther shore

- Irving Karchmar, Copyright 2013

“That your drop may become a sea…”

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

XII

Every form you see has its archetype in the placeless world;
If the form perished, no matter, since its original is everlasting.
Every fair shape you have seen, every deep saying you have heard,
Be not cast down that it perished ; for that is not so.
Whereas the spring-head is undying, its branch gives water continually .
Since neither can cease, why are you lamenting?
Conceive the Soul as a fountain, and these created things as rivers:
While the fountain flows, the rivers run from it.
Put grief out of your head and keep quaffing this river water;
Do not think of the water failing; for this water is without end.
From the moment you came into the world of being,
A ladder was placed before you that you might escape.
First you were mineral, later you turned to plant,
Then you became animal: how should this be a secret to you?
Afterwards you were made man, with knowledge, reason, faith;

Behold the body, which is a portion of the dust-pit, how perfect it has grown!
When you have travelled on from man, you will doubtless become an angel;
After that you are done with this earth: your station is in heaven.
Pass again even from angelhood: enter that ocean,
That your drop may become a sea which is a hundred seas of ‘Oman.
Leave this ‘ Son,’ say ever’ One’ with all your soul;
If your body has aged, what matter, when the soul is young?

- from Selected Poems from the Divani Shams i Tabriz by Jalaluddin Rumi, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson.

Ya Haqq!

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.”

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is not democracy.”   - Abraham Lincoln

Ya Haqq!

Note:   Born February 12, 1809, this year marks Abraham Lincoln’s 204th birthday.

Listen, O Dearly Beloved

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Listen, O dearly beloved!
I am the reality of the world, the center of the circumference,
I am the parts and the whole.
I am the will established between Heaven and Earth,
I have created perception in you only in order to be the
object of my perception.
If then you perceive me, you perceive yourself.
But you cannot perceive me through yourself,
It is through my eyes that you see me and see yourself,
Through your eyes you cannot see me.

Dearly beloved!
I have called you so often and you have not heard me
I have shown myself to you so often and you have not
seen me.
I have made myself fragrance so often, and you have
not smelled me.
I am the savor of food, and you have not tasted me.
Why can you not reach me through the object you touch
Or breathe me through sweet perfumes?
Why do you not see me? Why do you not hear me?
Why? Why? Why?

- Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi

Note:  The above is not really a poem as originally written in Arabic, but part of a chapter from ibn Arabi’s Kitab al-Tajalliyat (The Book of Theophanies).  However, since it was translated in the form of a poem by Henry Corbin in Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi,  it has become justly famous.

Ya Haqq!

Prayer of Unveiling

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Allah unveils, unveiling with light.
As You are the remover of coverings, remove my veil.
Allah expands things, extending His benefits.
As You are the Expander, expand my contentment.
Allah heals imperceptively, restoring to health.
As You are the Healer, heal my debility.
Allah give prolifically, providing sustenance abundantly.
As You give profusely, let my satisfaction overflow.
Allah is acknowledged as the Sovereign,
With open hands, to accept oaths.
As You are the One Who accepts oaths of loyalty,
Let every atom of my being be loyal to You.

- A prayer of Sheikh Mustapha Haydar Gueye (1926-1989) founder of Tariqa Mustafawiyya in Senegal, West Africa – from his book, The Remover of Coverings.
Ya Haqq!

Milad Un-Nabi – The Birthday of the Prophet (saw) 2013

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“You have indeed in the Messenger of God a beautiful pattern of conduct for anyone whose hope is God and the Final Day.” (Al-Ahzab 33:21).

Alhamdulillah! This is Rabi a-Awwal, by the Lunar calendar the month of the blessed birthday (Milad Un-Nabi) of the Prophet Muhammad (the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

According to Sunni scholars, the Prophet’s birthday is observed on 12th Rabi al-Awwal, which falls this year on Thursday, January 24, 2013, and 17th Rabi al-Awwal (January 29th this year) according to Shia scholars.

Since the best historical estimate is that the Prophet (saw) was born in March or April of 570 CE, he would be  1443 years old this year.

It is celebrated as a time to read the Qur’an, fast, pray, and remember the life, teachings, and example of the Prophet (saw) with good deeds.

When praising the Prophet (saw), we are warned, however, not to exaggerate in his praise. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not overpraise me as Christians overpraised Jesus, son of Mary. Say [when referring to me], ‘Servant of Allah and His messenger.’”

Servant of Allah and His messenger!

Surely that is a title that needs no embellishment. And so, may Allah bless you all, gentle readers, and guide you to the best of his noble qualities on the straight path of love, compassion, mercy, generosity, and kindness.  Amin!

The Names of the Prophet (saw)

In the same way that Muhammad(un) rasul Allah (Muhammad is the Messenger of God) follows La Ilaha ill Allah, the names of the Prophet (saw) flow from those of God and are a ladder that leads to Him. The Prophet (saw) has even been honored by God by having some of the Divine Names such as Ta Ha and Nur also bestowed upon him. The chanting of the litanies of the names of the Prophet (saw) is an important practice in Sufism and on a more external level in the everyday activity of many pious Muslims.

Not only is the Prophet (saw) called Muhammad, the most praised one, but he is also Ahmad, the most praiseworthy of those who praise God. He is Wahid, the unique one; Mahi, the annihilator of darkness and ignorance; and Aqib, the last of the prophets. He is Tahir, the pure and clean one; Tayyib, he who possesses beauty and fragrance; and Sayyid, prince and master of the universe. He is, of course, Rasul, messenger, but also Rasul al-Rahmah, the messenger of mercy; and Khatim al rusul, the seal of prophets. He is Abd Allahl, the perfect servant of God, but also Habib Allah, the beloved of God; and Safi Allah, the one chosen by God. He is both Nasir, the victorious helper of men, and Mansur, the one who is made triumphant in this world.

The Prophet (saw) is Muhyi, the vivifier of the dead hearts of men, and Munji, he who delivers man from sin. He is Nur, light, as well as Siraj, the torch that illuminates the path in man’s life; Misbah, the lamp that contains the light of faith, and Huda, the guide to God and paradise. He is Dhu quwwah, the possessor of strength; Dhu hurmah, possessor of sacred reverence; and Dhu makanah, the possessor of integrity. He is both Amin, trustworthy, and Sadiq, truthful. He is Miftah, or key to paradise, and Miftah al-rahmah, the key to God’s mercy. The love of the Prophet (saw) is in fact both a sign of the love of God and the gate to that Mercy from which the very substance of the universe was created.

- From Islamic Spirituality, edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Ya Haqq!

Note:  For a list of Major Events in the Life of the Prophet (pbuh), click HERE.

Ya Haqq!