i…

 

I trust that I will Trust.

I trust that Trust will save me.

I trust that Trust will save us.

He will save us. I know.

There are no thoughts any longer… no more process, no more reaction;

Just knowing. Stop thinking and you will know. Stop listening to all else, and you shall hear the beautiful silence.

That silence, tells us, all we need to know. It tells us, Trust.

~ When your heart’s on fire, and your head is deep in the water, hearing and seeing nothing, lost in the call of the One, Most Powerful, Most Merciful.. keep to yourself and understand the beauty occuring within and without. Keep the flames burning by turning them to light, for otherwise, they will only die into ashes.

…

…

Its only but the akhlaaq of the Mu’min that can serve as the foundational evidence to the testament of faith,

and yet at quite the same moment,

transcend his beauty and light,

glazing his deen.

Path.

Dhikr & Shukr  

Dhikr: 

Whoever is remembering of God, is obedient to Him.

The root sin of all is heedlessness, and the root act of obedience and piety is rememberance.

Mu’taqi ~ “Woe be unto those who pray in ghaflah” 

The essence of dhikr is Salaah ~Jummah, we come together in masses, to remember. ~

Salaah is the key to your deen ~ Wudhu of love is made in your own blood.

Being lost, guidance and misguidance are all rooted in ghafla and dhikr. “So make your heart the Qiblah of your tongue!!” So when your heart makes the isharah and your Aql is in agreement with it, and your Imaan is pleased with it, do not speak, for God is knowing over your soul. He knows everything which is in the heart. Be just like somebody whose spirit is being pulled out of him, or somebody who is standing on the plains of the Yawmil Qiyamah. Do not occupy your soul with anything but that which your Lord has made incumbent upon you.

“Wash your heart with the water of sorrow.” Love with sorrow, be content in sorrow, burn with sorrow. (Sorrow is not grief or sadness, but the feeling of nothingness, agony of seperation from God, the spiritual poverty before God.)

Make your rememberance of God as His rememberance of you. ~ For it is ONE rememberance in the end, for everything is perishing on the face of the earth, except the face of God (that which is faced to God).

For He has remembered you, yet He is independent of you, and His rememberance of you is greater, nearer and more desired.

For He created you to worship Him, remember Him ~ for that is our very, very life, light breath, water.

Khudah yaarit hast, baraiy hamesha, your Only One. Everyone else will leave you.

Within the tombs of the Awliyah, there have been placed broken mirrors, to remind us, in front of God and His friends, you are broken. It’s through sincerity that you realize all of your acts of worship are small. And if you gaze upon your deeds, it shall increase your hypocrisy, arrogance. Make you ‘ghalise’- Arabic for oily/thick, you will give too much weight to your acts of worhsip- counting them.

And that! That is to fall farther, and farther from God.  

Dhikr is Khaalis ~ harmony and sincerity of your Qalb. Dhikr is Saadiq ~ that dhikr is true, you negate all apart from God. “I don’t count my praise of You, You are praised as You praise yourself.” 

Rasulullah (s) never placed any weight on his dhikr and worship. “Whoever desires to remember God, he’ll never be successful in counting it.”  Before Allah azawajaal nothing was ~ we are forever indebted to who.. God. Our seeking forgiveness and hamd is never enough, must know this.  

Shukr:

Ch. 6

~ In every breath thanks giving is necessary, a thousand or more in every moment. For the lowest form of Shukr is to detach everything you’ve been given from other than God.

Sin of being ungrateful ~ Kufr (deeply associated).. Kafir, ungrateful ignorant one*.

First step of being grateful is to accept God’s message,  – root of all war = desire.

Those who are thankful for blessings ~ their lives become blessed ~ “And if you are grateful, We shall increase you.”

To be ungrateful for something in your life, will make it a roadblock for you.

You are in need of His mercy, in order to simply be..

Shukr has a higher station than Sabr. Sabr is needed in face of balaa, you should be thankful for it anyway, no matter how you perceive it- easy or hard. You should trust His hikma. Bc whatever it maybe, He will change it in the Akhiraat into a khayr!

Hazrat Nuh as, known for his Shukr. Hazrat Ibrahim as, known for his Sabr.

Sayyidunah Husayn rwr, prayed Salaatul Shukr at the end of the day of Karbalah, as he lay in blood, as his family lay murdered around him.

“The 1 whom I bless and he is grateful is more precious than the asaabireen in the time of balaa”- Val. Of Hadith questioned. However, main concept understood. Although these two people may be seen as equal in human standpoint.

To express Shukr with the very core of your Qalb ~ for it proves spiritual poverty before God, indeed you have nothing until you have Him ~ and can you ever attain Him? Keep trying.

Shukr for every breath, for every nafas is a new chance, a new opportunity. Which opportunity are you not taking advantage of? How many have we lost..

Success in Shukr is constant blessings, you saying Shukr for a blessing is a blessing within itself. J Oh the Merciful!

Try to drown in His blessings, and Shukr delves farther into the ocean of blessings.

~ Blessings burn into flames and ashes through the breath of the ungrateful.

There is no repitition in the self-disclosure of God, through Shukr we see the beauty of God. Different pictures of the same path ~ must open both eyes in order to see the full beauty of God. Do not let Iblis blind you so you walk around seeing only with 1 eye, that of the nafs.  

~ A true Saint is never bothered by the world, the world is perfect how it is, for it is what is willed to be! God will always be God, and this world is His world! The Exalted!

Within you, you must accept the Mahdi within you, place the Spirit above the soul..

The harshest afflictions and trials may hit the world, and the Mu’min will only see beauty!! SubhanAllah..

The harder you bang gold, the more it shines. Through trials your true colors prevail. Ease, hardship, it is all one trial.  

 

The Book – Lantern of the Path.

The I raab-al Qulub ~ Path of the Hearts..

The -raising- of the Qalb is in the rememberance..

The -opening- of the Qalb is in contentment..

The -lowering- of the Qalb is in occupation of other than Him..

The -stopping- of the Qalb is in the heedlessness of Him..

When the servant remembers his Lord,every veil between he & Him is raised, put away.

When the heart of the Mu-min is made firm in contentment, how is it that it wont continue to be raised in ease and consistency.

How will he find Him after being occupied with other than Him? Like a ruined empty house which possesses no life and no intimacy any longer. When he is ignorant of the rememberance of his Lord, he will find his heart, totally, and utterly stopped. ~ To journey from intimacy to loneliness.

The -raising- comes through 3 factors..

1. Existence (coming about) of Success (achievement of light within the being)

2. Absence of opposition (to illiminate all tempation to fall into desires, to persevere with Sabr in the face of fitna)

3. Constancy of passion (consistent enlightenment is only achieved through the constant guard against darkness)

The -opening- comes through 3 factors..

1. Tawaqqul: if you completely and totally immerse yourself in true tawaqqul of your Rabb, He will always provide a way for you.

2. Sincerity (Ikhlaas) & Truthfulness (with Him, oneself, and others): righteousness, uprightness consistently.

3. Yaqin: certainty in Allah azawajaal and all He has written & proclaimed.

The -lowering- comes through 3 traits..

1. Arrogance: to possess arrogance is to be in complete ignorance of Allah azawajaal s blessings upon you.

2. Hypocrisy: when your intentions and goals are other than Him, thus, you will receive only other than Him.

3. Greed: There are 2 seekers who will never be satisfied, the seeker of knowledge, and the seeker of dunya.

~Therefore, contentment is needed here in opposing all 3 of these traits. Contentment with your Lord is all you ultimately need, because then, no matter what happens, you will be pleased with His will.

- Sayyiduna Husain (rwr) at the end of the day of Karbalah, laying in a pool of his own blood, beside his martyred family said, – I am pleased with only Your Pleasure.- ! SubhanAllah..the Yaqin!!

The -stopping- is shown through..

1. The destruction/annhilation of the sweetness of worship.

2. The committing of sin is no longer bitter tasting to you.

3. One begins to confuse the halal with the haraam.

Ya Mu min, when one turns towards Allah azawajaal, His Light helps you see the world clearly, for everything it was created for, for all it is worth. The world is physical, weighted, (weighing you down), you throw it in water, and it sinks. However, Light penetrates through the water. Ignorance is only the result of heedlessness. To see with the Light, is to see all and everything in true color, true depth!

Maulana said, -Hell is a room without windows..- If you are stuck in a room without windows, make one! One must, must make windows for oneself, even if none are in sight. It is painful, but needed. Thus, it is that pain that one endures and eventually glimpses a sight of the enlightened opening, or it can also be that pain that pushes one to turn away completely, into what.. Into concealement, darkness, ultimately kufr- (root word meaning concealement).

Therefore, join rememberance upon yourself and between one another. Let your days and nights drown in rememberance, for that is all we were here to do. How do we see and remember more clearly? How do we see the world how the Quran sees the world? To remember, to seek, to learn, to reflect. !

 

Oh yeah, Ill tell you something..

Oh yeah, I´ll tell you something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand

Oh, please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man
and please, say to me

You’ll let me hold your hand
Now let me hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand

And when I touch you i feel happy, inside
It’s such a feeling
That my love
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
I can’t hide

Yeah you, got that something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand

And when I touch you I feel happy, inside
It’s such a feeling
That my love
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
I can’t hide

Yeah you, got that something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your haaaaaaaand

digital-destruction

D igital Social Media:

 A cardinal principle of the tariqa is zuhd or nonattachment to other than Allah. One should always leave what does not concern one in this life or the next. Our sheikh used to repeat two verses of poetry by Imam al-Humaydi:

The meeting of people will never give you anything but gibberish of useless gossip.

So diminish your meeting of people, save to take knowledge or improve your condition.

Masters say, “Increase in the physical, and you will decrease in the spiritual,” and this pertains to everything but what genuinely benefits one. This is why the salik or traveller shuns the din of hucksters, prefers clothing devoid of writing and trademarks, and avoids mind pollution with things that are mere ghafla or heedlessness of the Divine. As Sheikh Yunus used to note of love of this world (dunya), “When it dominates, it takes captive.”

This applies with special force to things such as advertising, entertainment, and especially the Internet. Someone serious about the tariqa unplugs from the computer except for work, research, buying and selling, instruction, or correspondence that benefits himself or other Muslims. One should print out the articles one reads. The computer is a tool, not a life, and even for compelling reasons, the salik should spend no more than five hours a day on it total, less than two of which should be online, and no hours at all after nightfall. Exceptions may be made for work, but one should ask Allah for a job that permits one to observe these limits. In a word, suluk or spiritual progress means finding in the Absolute what suffices from the limitary.

Abul Hasan al-Shadhili related from his sheikh Ibn Mashish:

The best of spiritual works are four things after four other things: love of Allah, satisfaction with what Allah has destined, nonattachment to the world, and trust in Allah, [after] performing what Allah has made obligatory, avoiding what Allah has forbidden, patience in leaving what does not concern one, and scrupulousness in shunning mere amusement (Durrat al-asrar (c00), 88).

Social media, chat networks, motion pictures, computer games, and so forth reduce life to the size of a small screen. They directly reverse the effect of the remembrance of Allah, which is to expand the soul’s horizons to the Divine. The less one has to do with them, the stronger one’s dhikr will be. As ‘Arif al-Yamani said, “Allah’s turning away from a servant includes occupying him with what does not benefit him.”

Yet media remain a two-edged sword. Communication may conduce to some good end, such as organizing others around a worthy common purpose – or it may simply be an opportunity for show and tell about one’s nafs. The former is permitted in the spiritual path, though its benefit to the soul is often slender; while the latter should be shunned because it merely inflates the ego. As Sufis say, “Whatever is for Allah is connected, whatever is for other than Allah is dissevered.” The following are for everyone who aspires to be connected:

 (1) As an absolute rule, shun the offensive or unlawful: it pours acid on the roots of one’s suluk. (2) Realize that wasting time on anything without a real this-worldly or next-worldly benefit is makruh or offensive, not merely permissible. (3) Use digital social media only for some real benefit that is unattainable without them. (4) Engage in them and other internet activities no more than two hours a day. (5) Have as little to do as possible with pictures, meaning recorded images of animate life, by one’s own choice. Only use them when others want one to if there is no alternative. As a legal dispensation, when a shari’a-countenanced interest such as keeping up family ties from a remote country, or live instruction, cannot be comparably met by some picture-free alternative, one may consider live, instantaneously transmitted, unrecorded images, like those of a webcam, to be legally closer to a mirror (which is halal) than to a recorded picture (which is haram). (6) Live online discussions by any means should follow these same guidelines, and be used when needed, not for useless gossip, which is makruh. (7) Online videos conveying lectures, necessary teaching demonstrations of complex manual skills or similar otherwise-difficult techniques to master, or information that requires showing, not just telling, should only be used to the extent that is needed and genuinely facilitates one’s work, study, or life. (8) Do not let others record oneself lecturing and so forth on such media except when one’s message is of considerable importance, and to use audio or printed media would distract the audience from it.

Being a parent makes it obligatory to protect one’s family as well, necessitating some further guidelines. At this writing, some 90 percent of eight- to sixteen-year-olds in Western countries view pornography online. Not to mention gaming addiction, cyber-dating, and endless music downloads. This is not “part of growing up.” Part of growing up means a black eye on the school playground, not a brain-crippling, lifelong addiction. (9) In general, families should treat the computer like a household appliance, not a source of entertainment, and should use it only when they need it. Aimless surfing, chatting, and video-watching are among the many addictive online activities that waste one’s life. Unfortunately, unlike television, which can be removed from the house, the computer is more like the telephone, an indispensable communication tool, and in many circles a person without an email address is a person who barely exists. (10) Disconnect as much as possible. Some parents believe that if children do not become computer-literate at an early age, they fall behind. The truth is the opposite: children who learn from books, people, and the physical and spiritual worlds do far better later in life. And because everything the average user knows about computers can be learned in a day or two, most children do not need a computer until school assignments necessitate it, usually in high school. (11) Be there. Pictures, music, videos, and gaming are the major sources of haram activity on the Internet. The best preventative measure is to keep the computer in a central location with the screen in full view and a parent nearby. Replace headphones with speakers and do not buy children external storage devices like MP3 players, iPods, Game Boys, and the like. (12) Make it boring. An older computer with a slower connection is good enough for email, but not good enough for streamable and downloadable content. (13) Use parental control software and filters to eliminate objectionable material. (14) Have a computer hour. If one’s children are old enough to be emailing and doing research for school projects, fix one hour of the day when children use the computer. (15) Buy an encyclopedia set and read books. Keep an Encyclopedia Britannica in the house for adults and a Compton’s Britannica for children. Have a good collection of books, or borrow from a public library, and read together aloud as a family for entertainment for a few minutes after supper. People in general are spellbound by a live presentation of new stories and topics.

These are minimal rules to keep the toxic waste of the makruh and haram in digital social media from sickening one’s heart and life. As for the main idea, it is to remember Allah, and free oneself from what detracts from His remembrance.

~ Taken from one of Sh. Nuh Keller’s articles.

Saalik

Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come even though you have broken your vow a thousand times. Come, come yet again, come. Maulana Jelalu’ddin Rumi.

Muhabbah

Allah created certain attractive forces amongst His creation. When this attraction exists between two inanimate objects it is called magnetism, an example of which is gravity. When it exists between two living beings it is called affection, as illustrated by a well-known Arabic proverb:

A being is attracted toward its own.

As this affection intensifies and grows it becomes muhabbah (love). The root of the word muhabbah is hubba, which translates to seed. A seed takes root when planted in the ground and is nourished by sunshine and rain; then fragrant flowers and fruits come forth. In the same way, when the seed of muhabbah is planted in the human heart, it starts to flourish and slowly encompasses the entire being.

Psychologists agree that the word muhabbah applies to the heart’s inclination toward a desired object. Imam al-Ghazali i defined muhabbah as “a human being’s natural inclination towards such an object that gives joy.” Shaykh Mehmood Kashani i said that muhabbah is the inclination of the inner self for the appreciation of beauty. Along the same lines, Shaykh Syed Muhammad Zoki Shah i wrote in his book “Sar-e-Dilbaraan” that muhabbah is a magnetism that pulls one towards another.

This attraction turns to infatuation as desire increases in the heart and the heart becomes restless and uneasy. This restlessness grows until thoughts of the beloved consume the lover’s entire being. Separation from the object of one’s muhabbah becomes unbearable and the heart remains dissatisfied, constantly craving more. The lover’s thoughts become one with the beloved; the beloved’s happiness becomes the lover’s happiness; and the beloved’s wants become the lover’s wants. These are all results of muhabbah.

When explaining the words of the Prophet “Wal Hubba Assasi,” Shaykh Janab Qazi Muhammad Sulaiman Salman Mansurpuri i wrote in his book “Rahmah lil-Alameen,” that muhabbah is strength of heart; muhabbah is nourishment for the soul; muhabbah is coolness of the eyes. Muhabbah is everlasting life – the life of the heart, the success of life, and the extension of that success. Hence muhabbah is everything.

Muhabbah forms the foundation of a community as hearts are drawn to one another. Intentions of the heart and mind strengthen muhabbah and attraction grows so that the lover becomes absorbed in the beloved. A constant burning and want is ignited within the lover and the heart becomes content with handling any anxiety for the sake of his beloved.

As one begins to see the effects of muhabbah, hardship and struggle become easy to handle. The heart becomes preoccupied with thoughts of getting closer to the beloved and thoughts other than those of the beloved melt away. The famous philosopher Ibn Sina explained that muhabbah is entrenched in every aspect of creation – be it elements, minerals, plants or animals.

Many analysts hold the opinion that muhabbah cannot be completely explained because the explanation of muhabbah is muhabbah itself. Muhabbah is an emotion that can only be recognized by intense desire and enthusiasm, and not by the mind. However, the mashaikh[1] have tried to render an explanation for the benefit of salikeen[2].

1) Shaykh Abu Bakr Shibli i was asked, “What is muhabbah?” He replied:

Love is a fire that ignites when it is truly realized within the senses, and captivates the entire being within itself.

2) Hadrat Bayazid Bustami i has said:

Muhabbah is to know that one’s abundant qualities are actually minute, whereas the beloved’s insignificant qualities are actually abundant. For example, Allah loves His creation, He showers them with countless blessings and mercies daily, yet Allah Himself stated in His Book that these blessings are few.

Say: Short is the enjoyment of this world (4:77)

On the other hand, the believers perform an insufficient amount of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) but Allah refers to this as abundant.

Men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise (33:35)

A poet expressed his passion thus:

However minute the reward it is still abundant
Whatever thanks I can give it is still minute.

3) Hadrat Junaid Baghdadi i said:

Muhabbah grows to the extent that the beloved’s characteristics transfer into the lover and the two become indistinguishable.

When a light bulb is lit, one can only the main light source can be seen from afar, and not the surrounding glass. In the same way, the lover loses and forgets himself in the beloved. In the translation of a hadith we are told that the Messenger of Allah said, “If there would be a Prophet after me, it would be Umar ()?.” It is evident from Islamic teachings and history that Hadrat Abu Bakr was in fact much closer to the Prophet. However, our scholars have written that Hadrat Abu Bakr lost himself in the Prophet to such a degree that the two became indistinguishable, and so if a Companion (Sahabi) were to attain the status of a prophet after the Messenger of Allah, it would have been Hadrat Umar.

Majnun’s love for Layla[3] reached a peak and in this state someone said to him, “Layla is coming!” Majnun jumped up and said, “I myself am Layla!” This is the lover completely losing himself in his beloved.

Love and lover are erased and only the beloved remains.

4) Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani i said:

Muhabbah is a veil between lover and beloved, and the lover becomes successful in his muhabbah when he loses himself in the beloved (fana). When a lover starts on this road of muhabbah he must sacrifice both body and soul in order to achieve his goal. He must sacrifice both character and attributes for his beloved.

5) Hadrat Husain bin Mansur Hallaj i stated:

The reality of muhabbah is to abandon one’s qualities to become one with the beloved.

 

6) Imam Siri Shakti i said that true muhabbah does not exist between two people until they say, “I am yours and you are mine.” Allah? will become ours if we surrender our wills to Him, leaving everything, including our futures and hopes, to Him.

7) Hadrat Abu Abdullah Qarshi i said:

The reality of muhabbah is to surrender all of oneself to the beloved, leaving nothing for oneself.

Hadrat Abu ‘Ali Rudbari i said:

Muhabbah is to acquire submission and to leave one’s wants.

9) Hadrat Rohim i explained muhabbah as drawing closer to the beloved in every state and situation, whether the beloved is attentive to the lover or not.

10) Shaykh Abu Bakr Kasani i said:

Muhabbah is to leave everything for the sake of achieving the goal, which is the beloved.

11) Imam Khwaja Yahya Ma’az i said:

The reality of muhabbah is that it does not decrease with the non-responsiveness of the beloved. Likewise, it does not increase any more with the close attention of the beloved.

12) Shaykh Shibli i was imprisoned because people considered him insane. Once some people came to visit him and he asked “Who are you?” They replied, “Your friends.” At this he started throwing stones at them and so they ran. Shaykh Shibli i said to them;

If you were really my friends and well wishers you would not run from my punishment.

A true friend wants only good fortune and to run from good fortune is stupidity.

13) A pious elder is known to have said:

Only he whose cup of love is filled can see the Beloved.

Imam Wisal Shirazi i is quoted as saying, “My friend, do whatever you will with me, but I will not leave you.”

14) Hadrat Shibli i further commented that muhabbah means to love everything that the beloved likes, even if the lover himself dislikes it, and to dislike whatever the beloved dislikes, even if the lover himself likes it.

The lover loves only for the sake of the beloved and hates for the same. The lover should negate everything, even himself, and acknowledge only the beloved. Muhabbah is restlessness that does not end until the lover is connected with the beloved; it is a fire that does not cool until the lover realizes his objective.

15) According to this Faqir[4], muhabbah is an extreme anxiety that does not diminish even after the object of love is attained. Muhabbah is a fire that does not cool even after witnessing the beloved. A lover cried out “Fire!” and all the townspeople gathered around, but saw no fire. They asked where the fire was and this lover replied:

(It is) the Fire of Allah kindled (to a blaze), that which does mount to the heart (104: 6-7)

I drank and drank from the wine of love
Neither is the wine finished nor my thirst quenched.

———————————————————————————

[1] Mashaikh is the plural form of shaykh, a spiritual guide on the path of self purification (tasawwuf).

[2] A salik is a seeker on the path of tasawwuf.

[3] Layla and Majnun is a classical love story originally from Arab folklore. The myth has been influential to Middle Eastern poets, especially sufi writers in whose literature the name Layla suggests a reference to their concept of the Beloved.

[4] Faqir literally means “a needy and dependant person.” Here the word is used by the author, Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad (db), to depict his own need and helplessness in front of the Creator.

Ishq

The literal definition of the word ishq is the attachment of the heart to something. It is derived from the word ashkah, a plant that dries and yellows after staying green for a certain amount of time. Ishq Pichan is the Hindi name of a parasitic plant that kills everything it encircles, rendering its prey dull and yellow. In Urdu, this same type of plant is called akash bail. In exactly the same way, ishq pales and weakens the body when it enters the heart.

Some believe the word ishq is not derived from any other word but is a root word itself. It has not been used anywhere in the Holy Quran, a possible reason being that the word ishq was slightly unpalatable to the original and pure Arabic. In the book Qamoos, ishq has been defined as a part of madness. Shaykh Muhiuddin ibn Arabi Quds i said that the word ishq has been represented by the word muhabbah (love) in the Holy Quran. Allah said:

But those of faith are overflowing in their love for Allah. (2:165)

When this love becomes engraved in the heart, the lover sees nothing but the beloved. This muhabbah flows like blood through the lover, who now sees the beloved in everything around him.

By Allah, the sun does not rise nor set,
But that You are in my heart and in my thoughts.
I do not sit in the gathering of friends,
But that You are my conversation among the people.
I do not remember You in grief or joy,
But that Your love is woven into my breath.
I do not intend drinking water in thirst,
But Your image I envision in the glass.
If I had the strength to come
I would, dragging my face or walking on my hands.

This condition of the heart is called ishq. People have said ishq is intense love, but Shaykh Ibn Mansur i said the following in his book “Laisan ul-Arab”:

Ishq is the superlative form of muhabbah, extreme preoccupation with the beloved. This preoccupation can be both clean and unclean.

Shaykh Ahmed bin Yahya i was asked which of the two conditions of ishq and muhabbah is more praiseworthy, and he replied:

Muhabbah, because ishq can become excessive.

Hadrat Zoqi Shah Saheb i said that man is the greatest of Allah’s creation. Therefore, ishq has also been connected to man’s nature since it is the greatest form of muhabbah. There is no person who has not felt the emotion of ishq. The lover gains superior strength from the blessings of ishq, and he becomes lost in it.

One leap of ishq widened my horizons,
I used to think that the heavens and earth were limitless.

Ishq is the Sincerity of the Khalil,
Ishq is the patience of Husain
Ishq in the war of life is Badr and Hunain
- Allama Iqbal

Ishq has such power that it makes mere soil a part of history – for example, the mosque in Cordoba and Taj Mahal. Allama Iqbal has written in his famous poem “Masjid-e-Qurtuba”:

Actions of the believer are enhanced through ishq,
Ishq is true life and can never die.

Ishq is the breath of Jibril
Ishq is the heart of Mustafa
Ishq is the Messenger of Allah
Ishq is the Word of Allah
-Allama Iqbal

Intention and belief are strengthened by ishq to such an extent that the lover no longer fears anything, nor does any grief worry him.

The believer is from ishq; ishq is from the believer.
Ishq makes the impossible possible.

Shaykh Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi i wrote the following as his explanation of ishq in his book “Lam’aat”:

“A lover, a believer, believes that everything, all goodness, the believer’s entire being, is only for the remembrance of Allah, and he remains lost in the worship and remembrance of Allah. This remembrance leads to restlessness within the lover, restlessness in getting close to the beloved, which gets stronger with each passing day. This increases to a point that it pains the lover to even take the beloved’s name, and the lover feels as if his spirit will escape if he were to take the beloved’s name.

I tremble in the remembrance of my beloved.
Trembling which I feel in my bones.

Shaykh Abul Qasim Junaid Baghdadi i said:

Ishq is a beautiful desire and gift that Allah has made wajib on living creatures so that they can attain higher pleasures. This pleasure cannot be attained without love, an emotion that is present within the inner self. The possessors of this love are well aware of its tremendous worth. Every person is engulfed in the love of something through which he finds his path and reaches his destination. This is why such people enjoy a higher status than ordinary beings in this world. Hence, these lovers abandon whatever is tangible for the sake of something only heard of in stories (Tadhkirul Suluk).

Imam al-Ghazali i said that the lover should leap into the ocean of ishq., and he who is led ashore by the ocean’s currents will be successful. If he drowns in his quest to get across, however, Allah guarantees him the reward of his ishq. Imam al-Ghazali i further states, “O friend, ishq turns the heart to blood, turns the eye into a river, tears clothes to rags, turns life to soil, and money into waste.” Ishq is madness for Allah.

He who obeys Allah and His Messenger has already attained the highest achievement. (33: 71)

Shaykh Zun Nun Misri i was asked, “What is a true lover (ashiq-sadiq)?” The shaykh replied:

“If you encounter someone with a heavy heart and troubled appearance, oft-crying and seeking death, and despite this, he is courteous and maintains his limits, know that he is a true lover. He is doing all this despite his troubles.”

Many have said that ishq is a fire. However, Shaykh Makhdun Sharfuddin Ahmed i replied that if ishq were a fire, then a lover’s face would not be drowned in tears. Some said that ishq is water, to which Shaykh Sharfuddin i replied that hearts would not be burning if this were so. Still others said that ishq is a poison. If this is true, how is it that thousands of lovers are shouting and crying in desire and not dead?

It has also been said that ishq is hardship, but then, why is it that people are willing to give their lives to buy hardship? On the other hand, if ishq is luxury, then why do hearts burn because of it? In summation, everyone has tried to explain ishq in his or her own way, but no explanation has been able to come close.

To the author, ishq is a strong emotion that overwhelms the lover, and so, he yearns to unite with the beloved, losing himself in the process. If this is only the beginning of this journey, then what is its end? If anyone wants to search for ishq, let him search first for what aches the heart.

Wherever in the world we could find heartache,
We collected it and called it ishq.
- Iraqi

Sh. Zulfiqar Ahmad~ Ishq’Rasul. http://www.tasawwuf.org/writings/love_prophet/defining_muhabbah.htm

Khalq

North America’s Monarch butterflies use a 24-hour “clock” in their antennae to help navigate the 4,000km to overwinter in Mexico, say scientists.

Every autumn about 100 million Monarch butterflies migrate to the south.

The insects navigate according to the position of the Sun, adjusting their calculations as it appears to move across the sky.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8273069.stm

A paper in the journal Science shows the location of the clock is the antennae rather than the brain.

Scientists say the finding is a surprise as it has always been thought that the butterflies used a 24-hour clock in their brains in conjunction with their “Sun compass” when they migrated.

But some observations from 50 years ago indicated that when the butterflies’ antennae were removed the insects no longer flew in the right direction.

A research team from University of Massachusetts Medical School, US, was also interested in studying the role of the antennae in butterfly social reactions as Monarchs are extremely gregarious when they migrate.

Flight Simulator

They removed the antennae from a group of butterflies and compared the way they flew with a control population in a flight simulator.

The intact butterflies all flew southwest, as normal, but the insects without antennae, although they flew strongly, headed off in random directions.

Co-author, Dr Steven Reppert, told BBC News: “This then perked up our interest more and set up a whole series of experiments, which essentially led us to discovering that the antennae, really we think, are the major site of the circadian clock that compensates for the movement of the Sun.”

Monarch butterflies navigate using a molecular “sun compass” and “clock”

The researchers tested the molecular cycles of the circadian clock in the brains of the insects without antennae and discovered that they were still functioning normally.

Dr Reppert said: “So this suggested that: Wow! Maybe there’s a clock in the antennae that’s more important for the time compensated component of the insects’ Sun compass orientation… It was a total surprise.”

What they did next was to show that the molecular control of the clock in the antennae is identical to the way it is in the brain. They also showed that the antennal clock can sense light independently from the brain and can function independently.

Dr Reppert said: “What’s so cool about what we did is it suggests that these clocks have a function that is directly related to the brain itself, that it is really regulating a central brain process.”

In order to prove that the antennae contain both a light sensor and a clock, the scientists painted the antennae of one group of insects with black enamel paint and compared their behaviour with that of a group whose antennae were coated with transparent paint.

Skewed orientation

The group with the black painted antennae all flew together in the wrong direction, while those with the transparent paint were unaffected.

According to Dr Reppert: “This strongly suggested that the timing of the clocks was still apparent but since the antennae were painted black the internal clocks couldn’t adjust their 24-hour oscillation to the prevailing light-dark cycle.

“So that’s why their orientation was skewed. This brought everything together and really pointed towards the antennae as the major source of this time compensation mechanism.”

“I think the take home message is that this really emphasises the importance of this appendage, the antenna of the butterfly.

“I think it’s becoming more and more clear that the antennae have a number of functions that are independent from being odour detectors. They can function as ears, sensing sound and changes in barometric pressure, and now we can add to the list this function as a timepiece.”

The paper also suggests that other insects such as foraging honeybees and ants may use their antennae in a similar way.

You suffice..

A Most Exquisite Poem by Imam Al-Haddad, rahimahullah..

Translation :

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

For my du’a and my agonising supplication
is a witness to my poverty.

For this secret (reason) I make supplication
in times of ease and times of difficulty

I am a slave whose pride
is in his poverty and obligation.

O my Lord and my King
You know my state.

And what has settled in my heart
of agonies and preoccupations.

Save me with a gentleness
from You, O Lord of Lords.

Oh save me, Most Generous
before I run out of patience (with myself)

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

O One who is swift in sending aid
I ask for aid that will arrive to me swiftly

It will defeat all difficulty
and it will bring all that I hope for

O Near One Who answers
and All-Knowing and All-Hearing

I have attained realisation through my incapacity,
my submission and my brokenness

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

I am still standing by the door, so please my Lord
have mercy on my standing.

And in the valley of generosity, I am in i’tikaf (solitary retreat)
So, Allah, make my retreat here permanent.

And I’m abiding by good opinion (of You)
For it is my friend and ally.

And it is the one that sits by me and keeps me company
All day and night.

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

There is a need in my soul, O Allah
so please fulfil it, O Best of Fulfillers

And comfort my secret and my heart
from its burning and its shrapnel

In pleasure and in happiness
and as long as You are pleased with me

For joy and expansion is my state
and my motto and my cover.

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

(source : http://fazilmunir.com/Qad.html)

ps : thank you again, dearest you.

Ei’id!

Mother & Father

O God,            bless Muhammad and his Household,                     as Thou hast ennobled us through him,           and bless Muhammad and his Household,                     as Thou hast made incumbent upon us                      rights toward the creatures because of him!113
5	O God,           fill me with awe of my parents,                     the awe one has toward a tyrannical sovereign,           and let me be devoted to them,                      with the devotion of a compassionate mother!           Make my obedience and devotion to them                      more gladdening to my eyes                               than sleep to the drowsy                      and more refreshing to my breast                               than drink to the thirsty,                     so that I may prefer their inclination                               to my inclination,                      set their satisfaction                               before my satisfaction,                     make much of their devotion to me                                though it be little,                      and make little of my devotion to them                               though it be great.
6	O God,            lower before them my voice,            make agreeable to them my words,            make mild before them my temper,            make tender toward them my heart,            and turn me into their kind companion,                      their loving friend!
7	O God,           thank them for my upbringing,            reward them for honouring me,            and guard them as they guarded me in my infancy!
8	O God,            and whatever harm has touched them from me,           detested thing has reached them from me,                      or right of theirs which has been neglected by me,            allow it to alleviate their sins,                      raise them in their degrees,                      and add to their good deeds!            O He who changes evil deeds into manifold good deeds!114
9	O God,            whatever word through which they have transgressed against me,            act through which they have been immoderate with me,            right of mine which they have left neglected,                      or obligation toward me in which they have fallen short,            I grant it to them                      and bestow it upon them,            and I beseech Thee                      to remove from them its ill consequence,            for I do not accuse them concerning myself,                      find them slow in their devotion toward me,                      or dislike the way they have attended to my affairs, my Lord!
10	They have rights against me which are more incumbent,                      precedence in beneficence toward me that is greater,                      and kindness toward me that is mightier            than that I should settle accounts with justice                      or repay them with equivalents.           Where then, my God, would be their long occupation                      with bringing me up?            Where the hardship of their toil                      in taking care of me?           Where the stinting of themselves                      to provide me with plenty?
11	What an idea!            I can never discharge their right against me,                      fulfil my obligations toward them,                      or accomplish the duty of serving them.            So bless Muhammad and his Household                      and help me, O Best of those whose help we seek!                      Give me success, O Most Guiding of those whom we beseech!            Place me not among the people of disrespect to fathers and mothers                      on the day when every soul will be repaid                                for what it has earned,                                they shall not be wronged.115
12	O God,           bless Muhammad, his Household, and his progeny           and single out my parents for the best                     which Thou hast singled out                     for the fathers and mothers of Thy faithful servants,           O Most Merciful of the merciful!
13	O God,           let me not forget to remember them after my ritual prayers,                     at every time throughout my night,                     and in each of the hours of my day!
14	O God,           bless Muhammad and his Household,           forgive me through my supplication for my parents,           forgive them through their devotion toward me                     with unfailing forgiveness,           be well pleased with them through my intercession for them                     with resolute good pleasure,           and make them reach through Thy generosity                     the abodes of safety!
15	O God,            if Thy forgiveness reaches them first,                      make them my intercessors,            and if Thy forgiveness reaches me first,                      make me their intercessors,           so that we may gather together through Thy gentleness                      in the house of Thy generosity                      and the place of Thy forgiveness and mercy!            Verily Thou art Possessor of abounding bounty                      and ancient kindness,            and Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful!116

Sahifah Al Kamilah. Psalms of Islam.