Loving Quietly

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

How do you love quietly?

A dear sister wrote me recently and asked that question. Since she has a spiritual inclination, I answered her this way:

To love quietly is to do the work that is meant for you in this life, and to serve all whom you come in contact with, even in small ways. That is quiet love – for others and for God, who is in all His creation. To love a particular person quietly, is to pray for him, to help him when you can, and to listen.

Her question also reminded me of this post about the old woman washing the steps of a Buddhist temple, which you can read here.

Please add your own thoughts and answers in the comments, and here is a quote for inspiration :)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. – ( 1st Corinthians 13:4-8)

Ya Haqq!

Five Year Anniversary of Master of the Jinn!

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Master of the Jinn is celebrating its Five Year Anniversary this month :) And in commemoration of that, for anyone that buys a copy of the book, in either the paperback edition or as an ebook (from Mobipocket, or the Amazon Kindle book reader),  I will send them a jpg of the original beautiful cover art of Master of the Jinn. It makes lovely wallpaper or a great screensaver for your computer :) Just go to this link, all the info is there:

http://masterofthejinn.com/order.html

Then email me and I will email you back the cover art.

Irvingk1945@gmail.com

Just put Cover Art in the subject line.

Ya Haqq!

PS:  Here is the latest review of Master of the Jinn on the Clouddragon blog.

The Sufi Master and the Madman!

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

It is related that the Sufi Master, Shaykh Junayd Abul Qasim Baghdadi, once went for a walk outside of Baghdad, his disciples following him. The Shaykh then asked them how Bahlul was. They answered, “He is a crazy person, what do you need from him?”

“Bring me to him because I have a need for him,” he said.

The students searched for Bahlul, whose reputation was that of a mad mystic, and found him in the desert. They took Shaykh Junayd to him. When Shaykh Junayd went near Bahlul, he saw Bahlul lying in a state of agitation, with a brick under his head for a pillow.

The Shaykh greeted him with the salutation of peace.

Bahlul answered with peace, and asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Junayd Baghdadi.”

Bahlul asked, “Are you Abul Qasim?”

“Yes!” replied the Shaykh.

“Are you the same Shaykh Baghdadi who gives people spiritual instructions?”

“Yes!”

Then Bahlul asked, “Do you even know how to eat?”

“Yes!” answered Junayd. “I say Bismillah (In the Name of Allah). I eat what is in front of me, I take small bites, put them in the right side of my mouth, and slowly chew. I don’t stare at others’ bites. I remember Allah while eating. For whatever morsel I eat, I say Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah). I wash my hands before and after eating.”

Bahul stood up and shook the dirt of his garment on the Shaykh, and said, “You want to be the spiritual teacher of the world but you don’t even know how to eat.” Saying this, he walked away.

The Shaykh’s students said, “O Shaykh! He is a crazy person. Let him be”

Junayd replied, “He is a madman who is spiritually intelligent in his words. Listen to the correct statements from him.”

Saying this he went after Bahlul, saying, “I have a need for Bahlul.”

When Bahlul reached a deserted building he sat down. Junayd came near him.

Bahlul asked, “Who are you?”

“Shaykh Baghdadi who doesn’t even know how to eat.”

“You don’t know how to eat, but do you know how to talk?”

“Yes.”

“How do you talk?”

“I talk in moderation and to the point. I don’t speak without purpose or too much. I speak so the listeners can understand. I call the world’s people towards Allah and the Prophet. I don’t talk so much that the people would get bored. I care about the deepness of inner and outer knowledge.”

Then he described whatever was connected with manners and etiquette.

Bahlul said, “Forget about eating, you don’t know how to talk either.”

He stood up, shook his garment on the Shaykh and walked away.

The students said, “O Shaykh! You saw, he is a crazy person. What do you expect from a lunatic!”

Shaykh said, “I have a need for him. You do not know.”

Again he went after Bahlul until he reached him.

Bahlul asked, “What do you want from me? You who don’t know the manners of eating and speaking; do you know how to sleep?”

“Yes, I know.”

“How do you sleep?” Bahlul asked.

“When I am finished with Solat-e-Isha’ and reciting supplications, I don my sleepwear.” Then he described the manners of sleeping which were transmitted to him by the learned people of religion.

Bahlul then said: “I understand that you do not know how to sleep either.”

He wanted to get up, but Junayd caught hold of his garment and said, “O Bahlul! I don’t know; so for the sake of Allah, teach me.”

Bahlul said “You claimed knowledge and said you knew so I was avoiding you. Now that you confessed your lack of knowledge, I will teach you.”

“Know that whatever you described is secondary,” said Bahlul.“The truth behind eating meals is that you eat lawful morsels. If you eat forbidden food even with one hundred kinds of good manners, it won’t benefit you, but will be the reason for blackening the heart.”

“May Allah grant you great reward.” remarked the Shaykh.

Bahlul continued, “The heart must be pure, and have good intentions before you begin to talk. And your conversation must be to please Allah. If it is for any worldly or useless work, then however you express yourself, it will become a calamity for you. That is why silence and quietude would be best.”

“Whatever you said about sleeping is also of secondary importance. The truth of it is that your heart should be free of enmity, jealousy, and hate. Your heart should not be greedy for this world or its wealth, and remember Allah when going to sleep.”

Sheikh Junayd then kissed Bahlul’s hand and prayed for him. The students who saw this incident and had thought that Bahlul was crazy and nothing more, realized the error of judging by appearances and their spiritual states increased.

- This tale is posted on many websites, but all of them without naming a source. It most likely came from Attar’s Memorial of the Saints.

Ya Haqq!

In Memory of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

October 10^th is the one year anniversary of the death of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh for over 50 years, the Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order, and for 17 years, my Master (may God bless his soul and raise him to the highest rank of His beloveds).

To commemorate the occasion, this of his poem is a fitting tribute to his life and station:

My heart holds Your home,

my head desiring You;

Night and day have all passed,

while I am pledged to You.

I have suffered at the hand

of the people of the time;

In the world I’ve only seen

fidelity from You.

I’ve been drunk with Your wine

Since pre-eternity;

I’m surrendered to Your will

till post-eternity.

I’ve no hope for heaven

or for the Resurrection;

I have never wanted

anyone but You.

Once I realized that in reality

the Path cannot be traveled

Except on Your feet,

I lost both my head and feet.

With every breath I take

I am conscious of You;

I gave up heart and soul

for contentment from You.

If, like Nurbakhsh, you have pledged

yourself wholeheartedly to God;

The creation then will be ready

to pledge itself to you.

- from the Divan of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh

Ya Haqq!

Two Favorites for Poetry Monday

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

For the occasional Poetry Monday, here are two old favorites.

Atlas

i am used to the heft of it
sitting against my rib,
used to the ridges of forest,
used to the way my thumb
slips into the sea as i pull
it tight; something is sweet
in the thick odor of flesh
burning and sweating and bearing young.
i have learned to carry it
the way a poor man learns
to carry everything.

- Lucille Clifton

I have always known
that at last I would
take this road, but yesterday
I did not know that it would be today.

- Narihira (9th century Japan), translated by Kenneth Rexroth

Ya Haqq!

First Ming Emperor of China’s poem praising the Prophet of Islam

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Here is a remarkable poem written by the first Ming Emperor of China, Zhu Yuanzhang (born 1328), celebrating the life and mission of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

Since Creation of Universe
Heaven has already appointed,
Faith Preaching Giant Saint,
From West He’s Born,
To receive Holy Scripture,
With thirty part Book,
To guide all creations,
King of all Kings,
Leader of Holy Ones,
With Support from Divine,
To Protect His Nation,
With five daily prayers,
Silently hope for peace,
With heart toward Allah,
Empower the poor ones,
Save them from calamity,
See through the Unseen,
Pulling souls and spirits,
Away from all wrongdoings,
Mercy to the World,
Walking ancient Crowned Path,
Evil vanquished to One,
Religion Pure and True,
Muhammad,
The Noble High One.

- forwarded from Brother Jeremy P. Cheng, via the PH Pro Indonesian Yahoo group.

Ya Haqq!

The Jinni in the Bottle

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Here is a link to the first time I ever heard the word Jinn. It is a wonderful scene in the 1940 movie Thief of Bagdad, starring Sabu as the thief, and Rex Ingram as the Jinni (which is usually anglicized as “genie.”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I742bNHifm8&feature=related

Forward to about the 2:58 mark, as Sabu opens the bottle he finds on the beach, and listen as the Jinni materializes as smoke and says, “Two thousand years ago, King Solomon, master of the all the Jinn, imprisoned me in that bottle.”

Then buy Master of the Jinn to read my own interpretation of the many Jinn legends :)

Ya Haqq!

PS:  There is actually a legend that in Biblical times, the King of Arabia begged King Solomon to help in controlling a wicked and powerful Jinni, an Ifrit,  that was wreaking havoc within his kingdom. King Solomon came and by the power of his seal ring, given to him by God to control the Jinn, imprisoned the wicked Jinni in a bottle, or oil lamp in some versions.

A Lesson of Sultan Bahu

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

My Master taught me a lesson:
“Any moment you are negligent
in remembrance of God
is a moment spent in denial of God.”

- Sultan Bahu, from Death Before Dying — The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu, by Jamal J. Elias

Ya Haqq!

Eid Mubarak!!!

Salaam And Greetings of Peace:

May Allah bless you all this Eid with generosity of hand, sincerity of speech, kindness in action, and love and joy in remembrance of Him, who is the Source of all Generosity, Sincerity, Kindness, Joy and Love.

Ameen!

“O Lord! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have guided us, but grant us mercy from Your own Presence; for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.” (Quran: 3:9)

Ya Haqq!

Hazrat Ali’s Sermon on Eid ul-Fitr

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Ramadan will be over in a few days, and so it is fitting to repost this from last year.

On the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, Hazrat Ali (A.S.) delivered a sermon in which he said:

“O people! Verily this day of yours is the day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are losers. It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing (before your Lord). Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you (your souls) shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord. When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in the presence of your Lord (on the day of Judgment). And when you return to your homes (after prayer), remind yourselves about your returning to your homes in Paradise. O Servants of Allah! Verily the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted (during Ramadan), is an Angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadan (saying): O SERVANTS OF ALLAH! REJOICE THE GLAD TIDING THAT ALL YOUR PREVIOUS SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN…”

- From the Nahjul-Balaghah.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a unique festival. It has no connection with any historical event nor is it related to the changes of seasons or cycles of agriculture. It is not a festival related in any way to worldly affairs. Its significance is purely spiritual. It is the day when Muslims thank God for having given them the will, the strength and the endurance to observe the fast and obey His commandments during the holy month of Ramadan.

Alhamdulillah! May Allah bless us all, and grant that we use this Eid as a lens to focus the sun of good works, which have shone so brightly during Ramadan, to light the way through this coming year until the next Ramadan. Amin.

Eid Mubarak!

Ya Haqq!