A Woman’s Heart

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man should have to seek Him first to find her” – Maya Angelou

“The word shams (sun) is feminine, and qamar (moon) is masculine. The sun burns itself out to give light and life to everything around, and the moon is muneer, meaning it reflects the light. Within itself it has no light; it radiates the brilliance of the sun. So when we shine as men, the implication is that we are reflecting the glorious light of our women. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’aala be pleased with them.”  – Shaykh Abdallah Adhami

Ya Haqq!

Welcome Jack :) My Grandson is Born!!

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Alhamdulillah! Praise God that last evening, March 19th, my first grandson was born, Jack Christopher Karchmar :)
Mother Christine and child are doing well, and for them, here again is a poem written for the birth announcement of baby Jack’s father, my son Matt, when he was born:

When a child is born, a Sun begins
In some dark and distant galaxy
And the ancient Weaver, warned thus,
Strikes Her loom
Pausing surely to gauge the thread for strength
And the needed courage to hold Life’s dream
Then spins rejoicing on the wheel
‘Ere the first heartbeat of creation.

– for Matthew, 1972 (and Jack, 2009)

May Allah bless the parents and the child with long life, good health, and love in a world or peace. May he be raised and grow up in righteousness, as a blessing to His parents and a joy to his family and friends. Ameen.

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “A servant will have his rank raised after death and will say, ‘O my Lord how has this come about for me?’ and He says, ‘through your sons after you seeking forgiveness for you.'” [ibn Majah]

Ya Haqq!

Psalm 19 – A Song of David

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Ya Haqq!

Note:  This is my favorite Psalm for its simple beauty and universal truths.

Hazrat Ali’s Sermon on Eid ul-Fitr

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Ramadan will soon be over, 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, that have shone so brightly during Ramadan, to light the way through this coming year until the next Ramadan. Amin.

Eid Mubarak!

Ya Haqq!

Sufi Wisdom and a Poem for Spring

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Alhamdulillah! The wild geese have come back again. I can see them in the pond now, preening their feathers and honking their song. Spring is in the air! And so, Sufi wisdom and a poem as the days lengthen and the heart rejoices :)

NATURE SPEAKS LOUDER THAN THE CALL FROM THE MINARET.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan

WILD GEESE

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

– Mary Oliver

 

– From the Sufi Family Yahoo Group

Ya Haqq!

What Man Does Not Know

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

God Almighty has created separate food for the physical and spiritual parts of the human being. The food of the body is material like the body itself; while the soul’s food is of a spiritual nature. It is love of God, remembrance of God, nearness, presence and union with the Divine Beloved. Thus, thirst for the material and spiritual food is in the very nature of man and nobody can change his nature.

Hence, the present frustration, lack of peace of mind, mental diseases, suicides, universal conflicts, confrontations and wars, in short all our individual and collective woes and worries are due to the fact that, while every thing possible is being done to feed and fatten the body (the horse), nothing is being done to feed the soul (the rider) who really matters. So, the result cannot be different from what is before us in the form of global strife, warfare and frustration, which even the best brains are unable to eradicate.

Therefore, it can be safely said that one of the greatest tragedies, the worst failures and the severest misfortunes of all times is that man does not try to know that he is the masterpiece of God’s creation. He does not know he is the Vicegerent of God on earth. He does not know that he is the microcosm combining within himself all the forces of Nature. He does not know how many suns, moons and stars rise and set in him. He does not know that oceans, mountains and deserts lie dormant in him. He does not know what forces of construction and destruction he combines. He does not know that beasts, monsters and demons lie within him. He does not know how many angels adore his audience and his countenance. He does not know what pearls of wisdom and excellence are stored in his nature. He does not know what powers of miracles and supernatural acts he possesses. He does not know what Divine Mysteries, Divine Beauty, Grace, Love, Light and Divine Wisdom he has been blessed with. He does not know what his worth is, his value, greatness, honor and esteem in the scale of creation, so that angels are commanded by the Lord to salute him. He does not know what heights of spiritual perfection in the nearness, presence and union with the Divine Lord he is capable of scaling, and what depth of Reality he is capable of fathoming. He does not know that he can fly far beyond the orbits of the sun, moon and stars and reach the regions of Divine proximity where he is delegated with Divine powers to rule over the universe. He does not know what charms, fascinations, raptures and ecstasies he enjoys in the company of the Divine Beloved so that all barriers of physicality are broken, all veils are lifted, all curtains are removed, and he stands face to face with Divine Beauty. Not only that, he becomes one with the One Beloved.

– Hazrat Maulana Wahid Bakhsh (d. 1995), one of the great modern Sufi saints of the Chisti Sufi Order. Edited from a longer excerpt and posted with permission from the excellent and spiritually enlightening Green Sufi blog.

Ya Haqq!

Love’s Caravan

Why all this talk of buying and selling?
What you need is already inside you.

Love’s caravan is ready to depart, O Rend,
The camels are laden with treasures untold

Come! Come! Bargains are found on this road.
All you possess in exchange for nothingness.

Sell all you have in the world’s marketplace
In exchange, receive only the love of the Friend.

Earthly jewels are but shining baubles
His jewels are the stars without end

Tarry no longer, the blessed sun rises!
This is the hour when travelers depart

Alhamdulillah! A thousand surprises
Await on the Path of the Heart.

– Irving Karchmar, © August 2007