20th Anniversary of Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel

2024 is the 20th Anniversary of the English publication of my book, Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel. Please be so kind as to consider buying a copy as a Paperback, Ebook, or Audiobook, I promise you have never read anything like it!

Ya Haqq!

FREE Ebooks for the Holidays!

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

I have entered my six ebooks on Smashwords in their Holiday Promotion until January 1st. And I have made them all FREE as my gift to you :)  Happy Reading!

Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel

El Maestro de los Jinn – SPANISH translation

آقائے جنات – Master of the Jinn – URDU translation

Love Songs to God: 30 Poems of Love and Longing

Puerto Diablo: A Tale of Good and Evil

Lessons in Love: Essays and Spiritual Exercises for Modern Life

Use the code SW100 at checkout for 100% off. Offer good through January 1st, 2024.

Ya Haqq!

The Saintly Wife and the Way of the Sufis

“My saintly wife, Maryam bint Muḥammad b. `Abdūn said, ‘I have seen in my sleep someone whom I have never seen in the flesh, but who appears to me in my moments of [spiritual] ecstasy. He asked me whether I was aspiring to the Way, to which I replied, I was, but that I did not know by what means to arrive at it. He then told me that I would come to it through five things, trust (tawakkul), certainty (yaqīn), patience (ṣabr), resolution and veracity.’ Thus she offered her vision to me (for my consideration) and I told her that that was indeed the method of the Folk (i.e. the Sufis).”

– Ibn Arabi, cited in Sufis of Andalusia, trans. R. Austin, pp. 22-23.

This world is like a mountain

“This world is like a mountain.

Your echo depends on you.

If you scream good things,

the world will give it back.

If you scream bad things,

the world will give it back.

Even if someone says badly about you,

speak well about him.

Change your heart to change the world.”

– Rumi

The State of Paradise

Khwāja Aḥmad Yesevī once advised: “If you wish to always find yourself in a state of paradise, be easy with everyone and never keep anger in your heart. If you wish to progress on this path, do not censure others. You must be a salve for a wound, not a barb that rips it open. If you wish no harm to come to you from others, do not speak cruelly, do not think badly of others, and do not engage in dishonesty. A true dervish does not despair when people hurt him. A true dervish does not retaliate, even when he has the right to do so.”

– The Kitāb al-fawā’id

Photo: Dervish Feriku, Albania, 1940s

It Was Women

IT WAS WOMEN –
“It was not witches who burned.
It was women.
Women who were seen as
Too beautiful
Too outspoken
Had too much water in the well (yes, seriously)
Who had a birthmark
Women who were too skilled with herbal medicine
Too loud
Too quiet
Too much red in her hair
Women who had a strong nature connection
Women who danced
Women who sung
or anything else, really.
ANY WOMAN WAS AT RISK BURNING IN THE SIXTEEN HUNDREDS
Sisters testified and turned on each other when their babies were held under ice.
Children were tortured to confess their experiences with “witches” by being fake executed in ovens.
Women were held under water and if they float, they were guilty and executed.
If they sunk and drowned they were innocent.
Women were thrown off cliffs.
Women were put in deep holes in the ground.
The start of this madness was years of famine, war between religions and lots of fear. The churches said that witches, demons and the devil did exist and women were nothing but trouble. As we see even today, there is often a scapegoat created, and the chaos escalated in Sweden when the Bible became law and everything that did not line up with what the church said became lethal. The Bible fanaticism killed thousands of women.
Everything connected to a women became feared, especially her sexuality. It became labeled as dark and dangerous and was the core of the witch trials through out the world.
Why do I write this?
Because I think the usage of words are important, especially when we are doing the work to pull these murky, repressed and forgotten about stories to the surface. Because knowing our history is important when we are building the new world. When we are doing the healing work of our lineages and as women. To give the women who were slaughtered a voice, to give them redress and a chance of peace.
It was not witches who burned.
It was women.”~
~Fia Forsström

Prayer

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“If the only prayer you ever said was ‘thank you’, that would be enough.”
– Meister Eckhart

Ya Haqq!

Counting the Years

“I counted my years and discovered that I have less time to live from here on out than what I have lived until now. I feel like that kid who won a pack of sweets: the first ones ate them with pleasure, but when he realized there were few left he began to taste them intensely. I no longer have time for endless meetings where statute, rules, procedures and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be achieved. I no longer have time to support dumb people who, despite their chronic age, haven’t grown up. My time is too short: I want the essence, my soul is in a hurry. I don’t have much sweets in the package anymore. I want to live next to human, very humane people, who know how to laugh at their mistakes and who are not inflated by their triumphs and who take on their own responsibilities. This is how you defend human dignity and move towards truth and honesty. It’s the essential that makes life worth living. I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch hearts, people who have been taught to grow up with gentle touches of their soul. Yes, I’m in a hurry, I’m rushing to live with the intensity that only maturity can give. I don’t mean to waste any of the leftover sweets. I’m sure these will be delicious, a lot more than the ones I’ve eaten so far. My goal is to reach a satisfied and peaceful end with my loved ones and my conscience. We have two lives and the second one starts when you realize you only have one. “

– Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What Love Demands – Eid Al-Adha 2021

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Eid Al-Adha Mubarak!

May Allah bless you all this Eid Al-Adha, dear Brothers and Sisters, 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.”  (Qur’an: 3:9)

This is the time of Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, which celebrates the faith of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice even his son Isaac as God had commanded. Now what are we willing to sacrifice in order that our prayers may be accepted?

That is the question I ask myself every year. Jesus (pbuh) kissed the leper, the whore, and the thief, out of love and forgiveness and healing. Because of the great expansiveness of his heart, miracles were possible to him. What have we done, what can we still do, to be worthy of the love and forgiveness and healing we ask of God? The answer that comes to my heart is always the same:

Do what love demands.

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. -1 Corinthians 13:4-8

According to a hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) once said, “A true believer is one with whom others feel secure. One who returns love for hatred.”

Alhamdulillah! Indeed, Love is the greatest miracle of God. There have been Spiritual Masters of the past who would not let an aspirant be initiated until they had gone to everyone whom they had wronged in their life, and begged forgiveness, making amends in any way that was required. And until they had gone to everyone that had wronged them in their lives, and granted them forgiveness without asking, and with a whole heart. Only then could such a one be initiated on the mystic path.

And so we come to the great task of our lives, brought into focus on this day of Eid al-Adha: To sacrifice our fear and hatred, our envy and greed and all the other works of the fearful and self-absorbed nafs, in the certain knowledge that anyone who forgives a debt will be repaid tenfold by God, and anyone who forgives a wrong will be forgiven by God a hundredfold, and anyone who returns love for hatred will make of this life a paradise. That is what love demands.

Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.
– Rumi

Ya Haqq!

30 Daily Ramadan Prayers 2021/1442

RAMADAN MUBARAK!

Ramadan in the year 2021/1442 begins on April 13th, so here once again are the 30 Daily Ramadan Prayers (duas), which are posted each year.  InshAllah, they will enlighten the mind and ennoble the heart, and make the fast easier in this blessed month.

And because of the Coronavirus, please stay home:

“If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place.”

– a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh), (Sahih Bukhari Book 71: Medicine, #624)

Ramadan Dua: DAY 1

ALLAH, on this day make my fasts the fasts of those who fast (sincerely), and my standing up in prayer of those who stand up in prayer (obediently), awaken me in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive me my sins , O God of the worlds, and forgive me, O one who forgives the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 2

ALLAH, on this day, take me closer towards Your pleasure, keep me away from Your anger and punishment, grant me the opportunity to recite Your verses (of the Qur’an), by Your mercy, O the most Merciful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 3

ALLAH, on this day, grant me wisdom and awareness, keep me away from foolishness and pretension, grant me a share in every blessing You send down, by You generosity, O the most Generous.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 4

ALLAH, on this day, strengthen me in carrying out Your commands, let me taste the sweetness of Your remembrance, grant me, through Your graciousness, that I give thanks to You. Protect me, with Your protection and cover, O the most discerning of those who see.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 5

ALLAH, on this day, place me among those who seek forgiveness. Place me among Your righteous and obedient servants, and place me among Your close friends, by Your kindness, O the most Merciful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 6

ALLAH, on this day, do not let me abase myself by incurring Your disobedience, and do not strike me with the whip of Your punishment, keep me away from the causes of Your anger, by and Your power, O the ultimate wish of those who desire.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 7

ALLAH, on this day, help me with its fasts and prayers, and keep me away from mistakes and sins of the day, grant me that I remember You continuously through the day, by Your assistance, O the Guide of those who stray.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 8

ALLAH, on this day, let me have mercy on the orphans, and feed [the hungry], and spread peace, and keep company with the noble-minded, O the shelter of the hopeful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 9

ALLAH, on this day, grant me a share from Your mercy which is wide, guide me towards Your shining proofs, lead me to Your all encompassing pleasure, by Your love, O the hope of the desirous.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 10

ALLAH, on this day, make me, among those who rely on You, from those who You consider successful, and place me among those who are near to you, by Your favor, O goal of the seekers.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 11

ALLAH, on this day, make me love goodness, and dislike corruption and disobedience, bar me from anger and the fire, by Your help, O the helper of those who seek help

Ramadan Dua: DAY 12

ALLAH, on this day, beautify me with covering and chastity, cover me with the clothes of contentment and chastity, let me adhere to justice and fairness, and keep me safe from all that I fear, by Your protection, O the protector of the frightened.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 13

ALLAH, on this day, purify me from un-cleanliness and dirt, make me patient over events that are decreed, grant me the ability to be pious, and keep company with the good, by Your help, O the beloved of the destitute.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 14

ALLAH, on this day, do not condemn me for slips, make me decrease mistakes and errors, do not make me a target for afflictions and troubles, by Your honor, O the honor of the Muslims.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 15

O Allah, on this day, grant me the obedience of the humble, expand my chest through the repentance of the humble, by Your security, O the shelter of the fearful.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 16

ALLAH, on this day, grant me compatibility with the good, keep me away from patching up with the evil, lead me in it, by Your mercy, to the permanent abode, by Your Godship, O the God of the worlds.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 17

ALLAH, on this day, guide me towards righteous actions, fulfill my needs and hopes, O One who does not need explanations nor questions, O One who knows what is in the chests of the (people of the) world. Bless Muhammad and his family, the Pure.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 18

ALLAH, on this day, make me love goodness, and dislike corruption and disobedience, bar me from anger and the fire [of Hell], by Your help, O the helper of those who seek help.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 19

ALLAH, on this day, multiply for me its blessings, and ease my path towards its bounties, do not deprive me of the acceptance of its good deeds, O the Guide towards the clear truth.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 20

ALLAH, on this day, open for me the doors of the heavens, and lock the doors of Hell from me, help me to recite the Qur’an, O the One who sends down tranquility into the hearts of believers.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 21

ALLAH, on this day, show me the way to win Your pleasure, do not let Shaytan have a means over me, make Paradise an abode and a resting place for me, O the One who fulfills the requests of the needy.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 22

ALLAH, on this day, open for me the doors of Your Grace, send down on me its blessings, help me towards the causes of Your mercy, and give me a place in the comforts of Paradise, O the one who answers the call of the distressed.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 23

ALLAH, on this day, wash away my sins, purify me from all flaws, examine my heart with (for) the piety of the hearts, O One who overlooks the shortcomings of the sinners.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 24

ALLAH, on this day, I ask You for what pleases You, and I seek refuge in You from what displeases You, I ask You to grant me the opportunity to obey You and not disobey You, O One who is generous with those who ask

Ramadan Dua: DAY 25

ALLAH, on this day, make me among those who love Your friends, and hate Your enemies, following the way of Your last Prophet, O the Guardian of the hearts of the Prophets.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 26

ALLAH, on this day, make my efforts worthy of appreciation, and my sins forgiven, my deeds accepted, my flaws concealed, O the best of those who hear.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 27

ALLAH, on this day, bestow on me the blessings of Laylatul Qadr, change my affairs from (being) difficult to (being) easy, accept my apologies, and decrease for me [my] sins and burdens, O the Compassionate with His righteous servants.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 28

ALLAH, on this day, grant me a share in its nawafil (recommended prayers), honor me by attending to my problems, make closer the means to approach You, from all the means, O One who is not preoccupied by the requests of the beseechers.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 29

O ALLAH, on this day, cover me with Your mercy, grant me in it success and protection, purify my heart from the darkness of false accusations, O the Merciful to His believing servants.

Ramadan Dua: DAY 30

O ALLAH, on this day, make my fasts worthy of appreciation and acceptance, according to what pleases You, and pleases the Messenger, the branches being strengthened by the roots, for the sake of our leader, Muhammad, and his purified family. Praise be to ALLAH, the Lord of the worlds.

Ya Haqq!