The Vision of Ibn Arabi

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“God was shown to me in my inner being during a vision, and He said to me: “Make My servants know what you have perceived of My generosity…  Why do My servants despair of My mercy when My mercy embraces everything?”

– Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi

 

What Love Demands – Eid al-Adha Mubarak :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Eid 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.” (Quran: 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 beloved 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 (as) 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. 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!

The Angels and the Intellect, the Ego and Satan

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“The angels and the Intellect are one nature, but for the sake of God’s wisdom they assumed two forms: The angel acquired wings and feathers like a bird, while the intellect put aside wings and acquired splendor. Hence each of them aids the other, each beauteous one supports its fellow. Both angel and Intellect are finders of God; both aided Adam and prostrated themselves to him. The ego and Satan were also one from the beginning and were enviers and enemies of Adam. He who saw Adam as a body fled, but he who saw him as a faithful light bowed. Hence those two were clear seers, but the eyes of these two saw nothing but water and clay”

–  Rumi, Mathnavi

Ya Haqq!

“So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?”

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“There is a subtle mystery in each of the movements and sounds of this world. The initiate will capture what is being said when the wind blows, the trees sway, water flows, flies buzz, doors creak, birds sing, or in the sound of strings or flutes, the sighs of the sick, the groans of the afflicted…”    –  Ali Al-Khawas

O Lord, why do You not hear my prayer?

O Son of Adam, I hear all the cries of  all My servants unto Me! 

I asked for Your blessing, and received it not!

Has not the sun warmed you? Has not the wind cooled you?

Has not the rain brought bounty to the earth for you to partake? 

So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?  (Qur’an 55:38)

Ya Haqq!

 

“There was the Ocean and nothing else…”

Demolish the form, break the mold,
The form of imagination, the mold of the dream of existence.
Hear from the Ocean the true song of creation:
There was the Ocean and nothing else;
And there is only the Ocean… and nothing else.

– Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh

Ya Haqq!

Audiobook of Master of the Jinn for 4th of July Weekend Driving :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

If you are one of the 43 million people in the USA who plan to travel to see friends or family this 4th of July weekend, and want to listen to an exciting spiritual adventure while driving, consider Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel :)

Click HERE to order the Audiobook!

 

Laylat al-Qadr, The Night of Power – 2016

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power:
And what will explain to thee what the night of power is?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
Therein come down the angels and the Spirit (Jibril, or Gabriel) by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace!…This until the rise of morn.   – Qur’an, 97:1-5

Laylat al-Qadr, (also known as Shab-e-Qadr), the Night of Destiny, Night of Power, Night of Value, the Night of Decree or Night of Measures, is the anniversary of the night the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

The Night of Power will be, inshAllah, on June 25th this year for those countries that started fasting on June 6th.

Muslims believe that revelation of the Qur’an occurred in two phases, with the first phase being the revelation in its entirety on Laylat Al-Qadr by Allah to the Archangel Gabriel in the lowest heaven, and then the subsequent verse-by-verse revelation to Prophet (pbuh) by Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic). The revelation started in 610 CE at the Hira cave on Mount Nur in Mecca.

Because of the revealed importance of this night, Muslims strive harder in the last ten days of Ramadan since the Laylat al-Qadr could be one of the odd-numbered days in the last ten (the first, third, fifth, seventh or ninth)

The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever prays on Laylat al-Qadr out of faith and sincerity, shall have all their past sins forgiven.”   –  Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with them).

if you stay awake
for an entire night
watch out for a treasure
trying to arrive

you can keep warm
by the secret sun of the night
keeping your eyes open
for the softness of dawn

try it for tonight
challenge your sleepy eyes
do not lay your head down
wait for heavenly alms

night is the bringer of gifts
Moses went on a ten-year journey
during a single night
invited by a tree
to watch the fire and light

Mohammed too made his passage
during that holy night
when he heard the glorious voice
when he ascended to the sky

day is to make a living
night is only for love
commoners sleep fast
lovers whisper to God all night

all night long
a voice calls upon you
to wake up
in the precious hours

if you miss your chance now
when your body is left behind
your soul will lament
death is a life of no return

– Jalaluddin Rumi – translation by Nader Khalili from Rumi, Fountain of Fire.

Ya Haqq!