From tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com Mon Oct 7 22:11:34 1996
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 14:18:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: tariqas-digest-approval@europe.std.com
Reply-To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com
To: tariqas-digest@world.std.com
Subject: tariqas-digest V1 #165
tariqas-digest Saturday, 28 September 1996 Volume 01 : Number 165
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: James McCaig <jmccaig@worldweb.net>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 10:45:06 -0400
Subject: Re: What is a natural Sufi?
<center><fontfamily><param>Renfrew</param><bigger>FREEDOM
</bigger></fontfamily></center><fontfamily><param>Renfrew</param><bigger>
<center>The force of freedom, with scope unencumbered
creates attraction with energies unnumbered
Without pressure of time, nor with schedule burdened
nature spiels out her dream, the outcome is certain
Wisps of thought and fancy condense and amass
into pulsars of hope and will, unable to pass
the black hole of love, beckoning insistently ..
"Bind yourself to me .... become truly free"
</center></bigger></fontfamily>
Maharaj James McCaig | Sufi Center of Washington
Brotherhood/Sisterhood Representative | Keepers of Sufi Center Bookstore
United States | http://guess.worldweb.net/sufi
jmccaig@worldweb.net
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 23:04:24 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: Dear Amy
Salam.By the way does everyone know that "hu" means " He" meaning The Person
(God) and not necessarily a word which is gender-based as a study of
Quranic grammar clearly indicates.Whether one's Murshid is the right one or
not, authentic or false ,yet one should always understand that beyond all
these appearances there is The Guide which is one of the names of God.There
was once a Sufi who was so immersed in the concept of "The Ever-Present
Guide" that everything was for that Sufi a manifestation of the attribute
"The Guide" Life is one big lesson that Allah has rolled out for us.
At 00:04 9/28/96 EDT, you wrote:
>On Fri, 27 Sep 1996 17:18:07 +0100 Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller)
>writes:
>>I asked my dog Amy what she thinks about these topics today
>>from sufi to soup to this thing and that.
>>She said huuuuuu
>>I asked her if she loved me.
>>She said huuuuu
>>I asked her if she knew i felt depressed
>>She said huuuu
>>I asked her if God loves all of us
>>She said huuu
>>I asked her if she was a sufi sheikh
>>She said huuu
>>I feel better and
>>We both said huuuuuu.
>>Kaffea Lalla
>
>Thank you, Kaffea! :)(: huuuuuu!
>
>anyone care to 'answer' this poem? :)
>c'mon, you guys! Instead of arguing about poetry... how 'bout creating
>some more? :)
>
>and peace...
>carol
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 23:32:17 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: What is a natural Sufi?
Salams to one and all .It is strange that even when one is speaking the
truth , one's motive actually comes from the nafs-e-ammarah , the egoistic
self.It is strange that some people even when they are ostensibly
worshipping God, it is the ego that impels them to do it, because they feel
great that they are worshipping , such self-satisfaction that deludes and
deludes until it feeds their obsession that they are truly righteous.This is
where people everywhere whether Muslims or non-Muslims must be aware: the
nafs , the ego is very devious and stikes even during worship.It is ooh so
subtle.Muslims must be careful that the devil does not strike them through
their ego because idol-worship and errant concepts of God may not affect the
Muslim but egoism will.As for the polytheist, years of worship would harden
his ego.No I am not doing anything wrong.His ego would continually continue
to deceive him even though logically he has serious doubts about his form of
worship.
And for both types ,ultimately it is not the Deity that they worship or
serve but that convulated idea of the Deity that they have concocted somehow
or rather.It is rather strange that the Muslim with the unadulterated Quran
and the authenticated Hadis /Sunnah can also fall for the trap.
One day Moses saw a man making an altar for God in the desert.Moses watched
him putting food on the altar.Then other things as well.Moses scolded
him.God does not need such things.He is Self-Sufficient beyond all Needs.The
poor man ran away in shame and despair.Moses received a message from
God."Moses how can you separate my servant from Me "
God judges people according to their intention and the manner in which they
use their knowledge for God is most Just.
"Whosoever believes and does Good , be it Jew , Christian or Sabean , he
need not fear , he need not grieve.." (Extract of meaning of a Quranic Verse)
Hear God is thinking about the sincere believer in Him regardless of his
denomination.But if you know that Islam is the truth and you continue in
your own wrong beliefs then no kind of mysticism can save you.This is where
the Quranic words apply "And if any desire other than the religion of Islam
(complete submission to the Will of God) it will not be accepted of him."
One last word:
Muslims are enjoined to accept all the Prophets of God to which ever country
the Prophets belonged.Some of them are mentioned in the Quran and some
not.There were according to Prophet Muhammad , 124,000 Prophets of God
beginning from Adam and ending with Muhammad.Whether Buddha, Lao Tse,
Confucius, Krishna were Prophets of God whose messages were adulterated over
time only God knows although there is much in their message that is
intriguing for a Muslim.In Beliefs Muslim avoid controversy and follow that
which is without doubt.
No new Prophet will arise arise after Muhammad.Orthodox or Sunni Muslims
normally accept the second coming of Jesus and shortly before him the
Mahdi.The Mahdi will arise to end Armageddon.Prophet Muhammad predicted that
the Mahdi will descend from his grandson Hasan a.s.Here the Sunnis differ
from the Shiahs who believe that he is descended from Hussain the other
grandson and that the Mahdi is hidden for hundreds of years already .Jesus
will appear again to demolish all belief in his Divinity.
Allah bless all their Prophets of God and their Leader Prophet Muhammad
s.a.w.Ameen.
At 10:45 9/28/96 -0400, you wrote:
>FREEDOM
>
>
>
>The force of freedom, with scope unencumbered
>creates attraction with energies unnumbered
>
>Without pressure of time, nor with schedule burdened
>nature spiels out her dream, the outcome is certain
>
>Wisps of thought and fancy condense and amass
>into pulsars of hope and will, unable to pass
>
>the black hole of love, beckoning insistently ..
>"Bind yourself to me .... become truly free"
>
>
>
>
>Maharaj James McCaig | Sufi Center of Washington
>Brotherhood/Sisterhood Representative | Keepers of Sufi Center Bookstore
>United States | http://guess.worldweb.net/sufi
>
> jmccaig@worldweb.net
------------------------------
From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 08:36:58 +0100
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
This Poem of Rumi's is truly a masterpiece:
What is to be done O Moslems? for I do not recognize myself
I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem.
I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of nature's mint, nor of the circling heavens.
I am not of earth, nor of water, nor of air, nor of fire;
I am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of
entity.
I am not of India, nor China, nor of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin;
I am not of the kingdom of Iraqain, nor of the country of Khorasan.
I am not of this world, nor of the next, nor of Paradise, nor of Hell;
I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden and Rizwan.
My place is the Placeless, my trace is the Traceless;
'Tis neither body nor soul, for I belong to the soul of the Beloved
- ----------
This is my interpretation from a poets view of what Rumi says above:
When he says he is neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem, it is
not because he is any one thing but is all of them, therefore he is in a
sense none of these things.
First Rumi like many of us is the mold on the skin of the grape sucking
nourishment. Then his identity is from the ego self. Then he becomes the
crushed grape and fermented into the free flowing wine of God where there is
not distinction of time or place. The temple of God rather than being a
building becomes the throbbing life blood of God where there is no east or
west, this barrier or that barrier, is single thing or that which is all
truth. Rumi's identity becomes one with the Love-wine and he is homeless in
the world but at home everywhere with God and God's people. He no longer
distinguishes one from another, one being better and one worse, one being
superior and one being inferior, one having more answers and another no
answers. Rumi is flowing in the mercy and compassion of the One who sees
purely, and Rumi is in the field of there is no reality but God and no one
creed can hold all of this. Rumi is beyond black and white, goats or
sheeps...He recognizes that there is One Shepherd tending the flock and the
grapes are no more just hanging in heaven to be picked. he has found heaven
on earth and nothing else is real anymore.
In that reality the ego is in the background and the heart in the foreground.
In MHO Kaffea lalla
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 23:52:21 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: Sufism and bay'at
Salam.Will you be interested in meeting Sh.Hisham ? We are arranging his
stay and programme in Singapore on or around the 12 OCT 96.Here is a poem
for you from my heart,maybe it is right down from my elusive Ego.
"The dog, the cat they know your secret
Have you seen the sadness in their eyes
They have that secret beat
They know your living lie
The dog, the cat, they gave you the knowing look
It's planned by the The Guide above
You have done some wrong,
See how He guides, this is True Love
The dog, the cat, Nature's Muslims
They dont have to say "Hu"
Their every atom rings true and true
But what have you done to you?
When all of life is known for being khayal
Iman Joshi will have crossed
Into the Barzakh into the light
Not there , but here in Life's Mosque !"
At 22:03 9/28/96 +0800, you wrote:
>At 03:33 28/09/96 -0400, you wrote:
>
> and I await as always, the murshid who is for me, the man or woman
>who is meant to be my guide.
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: saghi@juno.com (Parichehr S Kooshesh)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 12:23:35 EDT
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
Salaam Alaikum,
I am new here, my name is Parichehr Kooshesh, but you can call me Pari..
I would like to also write a comment on the last poem by rumi that was
said..
Rumi did do poems like that, and I felt that it was a lovely peice..but
he also did one that goes like this:
Man bandayeh ghor'aanam, agar jaan daaram
Man khaakeh dareh Mohammadeh mokhtaaram
Gar nagh'l konad joz een, kas az goftaaram
Beezaaram az oo, vaz eensokhan beezaaram
- ----
(Rumi wrote in Persian, Turkish, and arabic)
- ---- the meaning of that poem is:
As long as I have life I am enslaved to the teachings of the Koran
I am the dust at the door of Mohammad the Free.
If anyone conveys this message in any other way,
I will be disgusted with him and any words he will say.
- ---------------------------------
okay, thank you...
YA HU
------------------------------
From: woodsong@juno.com (Carol Woodsong)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 12:37:20 EDT
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
Hello, dear Friends! :)
James McCaig said, among other things:
> Belief, to a Sufi, is a weak position. What does it mean, really? I
take it to mean
> that somebody that you know and respect has told you something and you
have >taken it as gospel. My respect is for Conviction, not Belief and
conviction is born of >experience, not the dictate of followers of
followers.
ahhh!! I think this might be exactly it! :) The Sufi is one who KNOWS
God! But, the argument then aries... does one have to be 'a sufi' to
KNOW God? ... if one is not initiated into a Sufi Order, but KNOWS God,
perhaps she could be known as a "natural sufi"? We hear tell of that
/which was/ before time... so the labels, the words, don't necessarily
mean all that much, right? It's what IS, that matters...
Did the Buddha KNOW God? If so, was he a Sufi?
How about Jesus? Was he Sufi?
What's in a name? Trust, complete trust, in those who have come before,
those who have 'been There'? Before we 'get there' we must 'trust' that
there is 'somewhere' to get to. :)(: So... don't we all start out as
'believers'? And then practitioners? I wish to emulate the one i love!
I wish to offer myself to God, as i have seen others give of
themselves... and THEN maybe, perhaps (God Willing!), i can begin to see,
to KNOW for myself? But... is that the important part? I don't know
yet. :) But, i do know that there are those i've seen, walking the path
waaaaaaay up ahead of me... and i wish to walk with them... i wish to
KNOW God, to LOVE God so much that there is no more /me/.... there is
only God!
Forgive me please if i've said things that are disrespectful or rude... I
have no intention of causing any pain.
much love to all,
carol
------------------------------
From: woodsong@juno.com (Carol Woodsong)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 12:37:20 EDT
Subject: poetry! ahhhhh! :)
What Beauty! :)
Hope this will not put an end to it. <grin>
i can't be a rock.
i don't think i could sit still that long.
i can't be a tree.
although, sometimes i pretend.
i can't be a bird.
they keep such early hours.
i can't be a fish.
but, i do so love to swim!
i can't be a raccoon
such devious deception!
i can't be bear, wolf, or buffalo either!
i can't be these things i love...
but in all they are, is all i Be...
so, i think for now
i'll be happy
simply being me! :)
lovelovelove,
carol
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 00:39:29 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
Salam.Sufis when intoxicated are truly strange.Witness Mansur Hallah who
when intoxicated and forget his own self and said "ANA'L HAQQ " "I AM THE
ABSOLUTE"
and yet when he remembers himself he is the picture of orthodoxy,doing all
the obligatory and non-obligatory forms of worship.And the same with Rumi
who was deeply religious and followed the Laws of God like a true servant.In
their love they serve Him and they want to bring all of humanity to the Love
of God.It is most telling that upon his death thousands of Jews and
Christians became Muslims."SAY:IF YOU LOVE GOD , FOLLOW MY WAY , GOD WILL
MANIFEST HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND FORGIVE YOUR SINS" So if you love the greatest
Sufi ever,follow his ways.If you love God , follow His Laws.But please dont
prance around boasting that one is a Muslim , follow His Laws out of Love
and Humility.Smugness and pride cannot exist with humility and
Sufism.Intentionally hurting a person is worse than breaking the Ka'bah.It
is worse than adultery.I remember his words to 'Umar: "Gently Umar ,gently"
"Whoever has an atom of pride in his eyes, will never enter Paradise"
At 08:36 9/28/96 +0100, you wrote:
>
>This Poem of Rumi's is truly a masterpiece:
>
>What is to be done O Moslems? for I do not recognize myself
>I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem.
>I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;
>I am not of nature's mint, nor of the circling heavens.
>I am not of earth, nor of water, nor of air, nor of fire;
>I am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of
>entity.
>I am not of India, nor China, nor of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin;
>I am not of the kingdom of Iraqain, nor of the country of Khorasan.
>I am not of this world, nor of the next, nor of Paradise, nor of Hell;
>I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden and Rizwan.
>My place is the Placeless, my trace is the Traceless;
>'Tis neither body nor soul, for I belong to the soul of the Beloved
>----------
>This is my interpretation from a poets view of what Rumi says above:
>When he says he is neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem, it is
>not because he is any one thing but is all of them, therefore he is in a
>sense none of these things.
>
>First Rumi like many of us is the mold on the skin of the grape sucking
>nourishment. Then his identity is from the ego self. Then he becomes the
>crushed grape and fermented into the free flowing wine of God where there is
>not distinction of time or place. The temple of God rather than being a
>building becomes the throbbing life blood of God where there is no east or
>west, this barrier or that barrier, is single thing or that which is all
>truth. Rumi's identity becomes one with the Love-wine and he is homeless in
>the world but at home everywhere with God and God's people. He no longer
>distinguishes one from another, one being better and one worse, one being
>superior and one being inferior, one having more answers and another no
>answers. Rumi is flowing in the mercy and compassion of the One who sees
>purely, and Rumi is in the field of there is no reality but God and no one
>creed can hold all of this. Rumi is beyond black and white, goats or
>sheeps...He recognizes that there is One Shepherd tending the flock and the
>grapes are no more just hanging in heaven to be picked. he has found heaven
>on earth and nothing else is real anymore.
>In that reality the ego is in the background and the heart in the foreground.
>In MHO Kaffea lalla
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: Zainuddin Ismail <sham@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 01:05:38 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re: poetry! ahhhhh! :)
So beautiful.At 12:37 9/28/96 EDT, you wrote:
>What Beauty! :)
>Hope this will not put an end to it. <grin>
>
>i can't be a rock.
>i don't think i could sit still that long.
>
>i can't be a tree.
>although, sometimes i pretend.
>
>i can't be a bird.
>they keep such early hours.
>
>i can't be a fish.
>but, i do so love to swim!
>
>i can't be a raccoon
>such devious deception!
>
>i can't be bear, wolf, or buffalo either!
>
>i can't be these things i love...
>but in all they are, is all i Be...
>
>so, i think for now
>i'll be happy
>
>simply being me! :)
>
>lovelovelove,
>carol
>
>
>
------------------------------
From: woodsong@juno.com (Carol Woodsong)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 13:24:22 EDT
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
Hello Zainuddin! :)
>Salam.Sufis when intoxicated are truly strange.
Intoxicated with Love/God/Allah? Isn't that our 'natural' state? Most
sufis i know are truly strange most all the time! :) I mean that in the
sense that they are 'different' than the 'norm'.... they look at things
with a different perspective.
>Witness Mansur Hallah
>who when intoxicated and forget his own self and said "ANA'L HAQQ " "I
AM
>THE ABSOLUTE"
yes... forgot his self... what a Beautiful place to BE! :)
Ali Haydar is also God. He told me so. And i believe him. :) He also
told me that there is no other... it is not for me to say, "Ali Haydar
is God"... it is that "I AM God". There is only One of us. :) ... but
this i do not have direct experience of .... yet! :)
>and yet when he remembers himself he is the picture of orthodoxy,doing
>all the obligatory and non-obligatory forms of worship.And the same with
>Rumi who was deeply religious and followed the Laws of God like a true
>servant.In their love they serve Him and they want to bring all of
humanity to
>the Love of God.
"I and my Father are One." The words of Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus
washed the feet of His disciples. To be God, i think, is to realize that
ALL is God.
>It is most telling that upon his death thousands of Jews and
>Christians became Muslims."SAY:IF YOU LOVE GOD , FOLLOW MY WAY , GOD
>WILL MANIFEST HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND FORGIVE YOUR SINS" So if you love the
>greatest Sufi ever,follow his ways.If you love God , follow His Laws.But
please
>dont prance around boasting that one is a Muslim , follow His Laws out
of
>Love and Humility.Smugness and pride cannot exist with humility and
>Sufism.Intentionally hurting a person is worse than breaking the
>Ka'bah.It is worse than adultery.I remember his words to 'Umar: "Gently
Umar
>,gently"
>"Whoever has an atom of pride in his eyes, will never enter Paradise"
thank you for these beautiful words.. :)
and peace,
carol
------------------------------
From: Asim Jalis <jalis@math.wisc.edu>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 96 12:33:35 CDT
Subject: Natural Sufi
The word "sufi" as it is pronounced on this list is without the strong
Arabic "saad", rather more with a "seen", and so it becomes a completely
different-and-new word, without any history. And so we can make it mean
anything we want.
If this doesn't work for you, then how about this: "natural sufi" is a new
word, just because it has "sufi" in it doesn't mean it has to refer to the
same thing. Maybe people who find "natural sufi" offensive can pronounce
this as "not-a-real sufi". This way everyone can be happy :-)
Asim
------------------------------
From: Michael Moore <mmoore@antares.Tymnet.COM>
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 10:52:06 -0700
Subject: Re: sufi words naturally
James McCaig wrote:
- -snip-
>
> If I profess to be a Sufi, who has the right to challenge me and my
> conception of Sufism? Some Sheikh? From some otherr Sufi group? No way.
> Sufism=Tolerance, IMHO, and Spritual Liberty. Don't tread on me, as the man
> said.
>
- -snip-
Can we tolerate Sufis from other groups saying we are not sufis?
Can we tolerate being treaded upon?
Can we tolerate being called 'would-be Muslims'?
Can we tolerate being called soupis?
Somebody said a while back on this list that 'There seems to be none so
intolerant as the tolerant.'
I am thinking that maybe there can be no such thing as tolerance because
tolerance must always deny intolerance; which makes tolerance only into
a more insidious form of intolerance. At least with intolerance, it is
out in the open. I confess that I haven't really thought this through
so thanks for being tolerant while I think out loud.
- -Michael-
------------------------------
From: Well333@turbonet.com (Jacquie Weller)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 11:13:00 +0100
Subject: poetry! ahhhhh! :)
What Beauty! :)
Hope this will not put an end to it. <grin>
i can't be a rock.
i don't think i could sit still that long.
>>>To me you are a rock, supporting me your friend
i can't be a tree.
although, sometimes i pretend.
>>>>Your roots go deep sister into my heart
i can't be a bird.
they keep such early hours.
>>>>Yes I see you flying through the moon beams
i can't be a fish.
but, i do so love to swim!
.....bubble....bubble...come up for air!
i can't be a raccoon
such devious deception!
>>>you mean no more raiding the icebox at night?
i can't be bear, wolf, or buffalo either!
>>>>you bear with me...I hear your wolf song...white buffalo lady be thee
i can't be these things i love...
but in all they are, is all i Be...
so, i think for now
i'll be happy
simply being me! :)
>>>>so glad you are just who you are. <grin>
lovelovelove,
carol
....and love KL your twin/friend...
------------------------------
From: gmtn@mail.comet.net (Green Mountain School)
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 14:21:08 -0500
Subject: from the field (longish)
as-salaau 'alaykum,
In the late 1960's I was travelling in Northern India in the United
Provinces and Uttar Pradesh. I was at the time following the teaching of
Hazrat Inayat Khan and Pir Vilayat Khan at whose behest I found myself in
Bodh Gaya doing Buddhist Meditations. I was staying in a Japanese Hotel
called the Diamond Sangha.
I was also, of course that being the nature of the heterodoxy I was then
involved with, sitting in my room doing various Wadhifa given to me by the
Pir. The source of these Wadhifa was a green bound book that Murshid Sam
Lewis has presented me with from the Mentorgarden library.
This book which sat on my bedstand had piqued the intrest of the man who
cleaned my roomand who was also the hotel gardener. He, it turned out was
a Muslim, and since the front of the book was emblazoned with the Name Of
Allah in Arabic he was naturally interested in this westener who was in one
of the greatest Buddhist holyplaces sitting in meditation for all hours but
yet reading the Names of Allah .
This proved to be a point of connection and we began speaking with one another.
He was a Naqshabandi sufi and, aside from some Sufis I had met at the
shrine of Nizamudin Awliya, the first Sufi, as I learned to understand what
Sufis were and are {see earlier posts} and the first I had ever really
conversed with.
At the time I was having some doubts about the efficacy of the practices
that the Pir had set me. I felt confused (but that could have been India as
well) by the switches from the Wadhifa practice and the Buddhist meditation
and some Angelic visualisations that I had been given.
The gardener and general oddsbody around the hotel, al-Husayn, turned out
to be a very deep soul and I spent many nights in deep absorbed
conversation and communication with him. He told me about Islam and Sufism
and I did my best to expalin, along with some books like Gayan that I was
carrying with me, the Sufi Message according to HIK and VIK.
One night we were speaking about the Prophets and Messengers, blessings and
peace be upon them all, and he began to speak about the pre-eternal
exiatence of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings of Allah and peace be upon
him.
In the light of questions which have arisen following me earlier posting,
"Sufi Words Naturally" I was reminded of what al-Husayn said at the time
and, since I have recorded many of the conversations I have had with
Masters over the years (and I believe that al-Husayn was a Master and very
typically quite hidden). I will share some of what he said with other
readers in the hope it may help to shed some light on the unicity of the
Prophet, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him and the beginnings of
Islam in the time before time was.
al-Husayn spoke first of what he called the column of light {'amuud an-nur}
which was the form of the light took when it had issued forth from the face
of Allah when in pre-eternity before Adam was between the clay and the
water He had willed to create Muhammad, blessings and peace of Allah be
upon them both. This light which is the collective cohesive luminosity of
the universe was composed of millions upon millions of tiny seeds that were
souls destined to be from the nation of the Prophet, and, he added, we do
not discriminate between any of the Prophets and ask the blessings of Allah
and peace upon each and every one of them and their number is 124,000 and
Allah knows best. These tiny seeds whirled in that column of light in
incessant hymning and praise of that which had brought them forth and which
they witnessed directly. This hymning and praise is the prefiguration of
all of the Prophets. In timeless time there was within the column a fusion
of the light and the amalgam of that fusion resulted in what is called the
clay of divine might {tinu-l-'izzah} from which Adam was formed. From this
clay shaped in to the form of man and into which was blown the breath of
the Spirit {ar-ruh} was drawn the seekers of Allah {muridun} and from the
residue of the un-coalesced light of Muhammad, the light of divine might
{nuru-l-'izzah} was drawn those who are sought by Allah {muradun}. From
that was left the fire of divine might {naru-l-'izzah} and from that were
made the energy beings {al-jinn} and there yet remained the spirit of the
divine might {ruhu-l-'izza} and from that came the angelic beings
{al-mala'ikah}.
These were brought together to witness in their seed state to the Truth
{al-Haqq} of the Creator and the creation and of the four, three were sent
into the world to bear witness through and by their own free choice as to
the Eternal Truth. They are the Jinn, the Muridun and the Muradun. The
angels alone, composed of the residue of the pure spirit of light, remained
with Allah and continued in their praise and adoration then, now and
always, and in perfect and absolute obedience carried out all that they
were, are and will be ordered.
He said, "This then is where we come from and this then is the true nature
of our task upon earth which is nothing less that the remembrance of our
pre-eternal state and the restoration upon earth of our pre-eternal
adoration of and worship of Allah. If you understand this my friend you
will have understood the kernel of the meaning and purpose of life, why we
are here, who we are and what precisely is our task.
"I tell you this so that you will know from the beginning where we stand
lest you be one of the unfortunate ones who say on the Day of Resurrection.
"We were heedless." {7:172}
"Having clarified where we stand and from whence we come, now let me say this.
"As regards your teacher and his father and what they seem to have wrought
between them, for this is of them and not of the Way of the Chishtiyyah,
which I know. You should know that if it serves to bring people to the
Reality of which we have spoken then this is a good thing. If however in
any way it deflects them from that Reality it is a thing cursed to
inevitable failure and cursed are those who follow it. Why cursed?
"They are not cursed by an external curse but they are cursed by their own
manner of choice. They know, as all souls do, the Truth. The only question
is how to come to the remembrance of what you knew before you were who you
are or seem to be.
"It is only in order that people might have the Way to remember the Truth
of their being that the Message has been transmitted from the Reality via
the obedient being of the spirit of divine light, Jibra'il, peace be upon
him. From the beginning of time to the very present the Message has been
sent forth into the world to the Muradun who are those raised up by Allah
in order to call the people to Allah and deliver them from the darkness of
heedlessness and forgetfulness of their true nature.
This call takes two forms. In one form it is the initiation into knowledge
of the Divine Essence and its Attributes and this is called the Prophecy of
Instruction {nubuwwatu-l-ta'rif}.
"The second form is the Prophecy of the Law {nubuwwat at-tashri} which
includes the first and in addition is given a mission of regeneration,
renewal, and revivification which is brought about by the restoration of
the Divine Command whereby people are given the means of living in accord
with a system or a form or a law, or a pathway {shari'ah} designed by the
Creator to facilitate their remembrance of their task and thus be able to
return to worship in its pure and original form.
"Thus of the 124,000 prophets {anbiya} there are those who roused and
awakened, cautioned and warned, counselled and advised but were not charged
with issuing the Command and were not sent to a particular people for a
particular purpose. Such we call a Nabi. Then there were those who were
under the Command {amr} and whose task was to rouse and awaken, caution and
warn, advise and counsel certain people or tribes or towns of cities or
nations and these we call Nabi-mursal or Messenger Prophets and of them we
know the specific names of twenty five. Then there are those charged with
issuing the Command and in addition to rousing and awakening, cautioning
and warning, advising and counselling they lay down the Law {shari'ah} by
which whole generations and ultimately the world itself is given to know
the perfect means and way to live in order that they might facilitate the
remembrance of their original task and thus be able to return to worship in
its pure and original form. These are called the Nabi-rasul or Prophets
bearing a Message and of these we know of five specifically by name, though
again we make no distinction between them. Of the five there is one charged
with sealing and thus completing all that came before and he is called
Khatimi-i-nabbiyin or the Seal of the Prophets and he is Muhammad,
blessings of Allah and peace be upon, and still we make no distinction
between them knowing that all of them are formed of the same light brought
forth in pre-eternity. After the Seal there is no prophet for the Message
and the Means is perfected and completed and is for all the people of all
the worlds for he was and is and will be the Mercy to the Worlds.
This message is found in the Qur'an when Allah says, "This day I have
pefected your religion for you and completed My favor to you and chosen
Islam (voluntary self-surrender) for you."(5:3)
"After him there come his beloved followers who are the chosen friends of
Allah {awliya' allah} and each of these pure and uncorrupted {salih} ones
follows completely and obediently in the Way and each true wali is the
equivalent and the like of a nabi of old and each in their way attests and
carries out the Prophecy of Instruction {nubuwwatu-l-ta'rif} and the proof
of their truth is that each attests to the Prophecy of the Law
{nubuwwatu-t-tashri} which is finally sealed and com-plete though ever
unfinished and constantly being revealed.
"Thus my friend it is by this you may know if your teacher and his father
are true teachers or false. If they are true they are of the blessed but if
they are false they are cursed and they have cursed themselves and all who
follow them by following their own desires imagining them to be the order
of Allah.
"As for the Chishtiyyah their ranks are filled with the friends of Allah
and they were Muslims one and all and of that there can be and is no doubt.
I myself am an aspirant to sufism from the Naqshbandi school. We disagree
on some issues with the Chishtiyyah insofar as they incline more to the
teachings of the great wali of Andalus, Ibn Arabi whose theory of Wahdat
al-Wujud or the Oneness of Being and Unity of Existence we see more in
terms of what was transmitted by Simnani and Sirhindi as Wahdat ash-Shuhud
or the Oneness of Witnessing. That indeed is the teaching followed in the
Mujaddidi branch of the Naqshbandiyyah to which I am linked. However, we
are all Muslims and since there is, we are told by Allah, "No compulsion in
religion." {2:256} we each see what see from our different perspectives but
when the call to prayer is sounded we stand shoulder to shoulder and when
the holy month of fasting commences we happily and joyously break our fast
together and when we meet in Makkah at the time of the pilgrimage we greet
each other with love and though we are poor ourselves it is always a
pleasure and our duty to be able to give to those who have less and if we
hear that somewhere there is oppression we struggle side-by-side with them
against that evil.
al-Husayn's explanationin BodhGaya was a great opening for meand began to
open my perspective to how the timeless {conditionally speaking of course}
existence of the Prophet, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him. I am
sorry if this is a bit long but it sometimes takes a little space to unfold
understanding. Hope it may prove useful to some other soul{s}.
wa salaam
A. N. Durkee
Green Mountain
------------------------------
End of tariqas-digest V1 #165
*****************************