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Archived Excerpts
January 6, 2002
Remember Allah, oh friend! And turn to the
Desire!
Aim for the real Truth
— for creation is non-existent.
There is no
other-than-Him in realization! His power is exalted in timelessness.
He appeared by
separation, but people are asleep.
Do not leave the Path!
Strive in the journey to the Station.
Preserve the firm
contract, and you will drink from the cup of wine.
Our wine is an ancient
wine — it existed before Adam.
My friend, He
intoxicated us in a time before this.
He cast us down from a
lofty mountain, from existence to non-existence.
Then we went back to
the Friend above the Throne and the Pen.
We were level on the
horizon and we were clothed in the universe.
We were hidden by
creation so that people would not see us.
My yearning brought
flashes of lightning — my drinking yearned to be constant.
My branch was pleased
to blossom. The flowers diffused their fragrance on the hills.
The time of dawn came.
The full moon obtained completion.
My road came to the
Paths like the sun on a mountain.
How many a lover we
have taken prisoner! How many a gallant one we have helped:
How many a friend we
have elevated to the witnessing of nobility!
How many a wine we
have pressed! How many an Imam we have given something to drink!
How many a faction we
have guided to the Assembly of peace.
Our sea is a deep sea,
not measured by the good swimmer.
Do not object with
precise speech, and do not contend with illusion.
We bring a delicate
knowledge which speech can only indicate.
To those with
verification — revelation has brought them inspiration.
After the dawn prayer,
according to the overflowing of generosity.
It contains whoever is
at the Ancient House, the Station, and the Haram.
May my Lord show mercy
to those with firmness, who cling to His favor.
Al-‘Alawi has obtained
favor and honor by divine success.
From
Diwan by
Shaykh Alawi
January 13, 2002
Islam
spread through the efforts of the Sufis. These were men of inner
knowledge who knew how to cure the self. Today we often find, even
in great institutions of knowledge, that something is lacking.
Usually there is a lot of outer knowledge – knowledge of the
Qur`an, the sunnah, the Shari`ah and the Sirah
(the life of the Prophet), but somehow these knowledges are not
directly applied. The knowledge (`ilm) and the action (`amal)
have not become one. And as we all know, little knowledge applied is
far better than a lot of knowledge not applied. The reason why we
are not able to apply our knowledge is because our nafs (the
self) has been allowed to get in the way. We have not been watching
our nafs nor have we been aware of its interference between
our knowledge and our action. Actually, as a result of the confused
state of our self, we will intend one thing but actions will result
in something else. This is, of course, contrary to tawhid,
the path of unification which is Islam. So something is wrong; not with
Islam but with how we apply our knowledge. I, the self, has
destroyed the intended project: some of me wanted one thing, another
part of me wanted another, therefore, I have not been clear. That
which is in us, the confusion, must become manifest. There is a
tradition that the Prophet said: "Tell me where a person
lives and what he eats and I can tell you who he is." You
cannot be a man of simplicity, clarity, purity, and live in
confusion. Such a thing is impossible. If you want Allah, you will
get Allah. Allah says in the words of a hadith qudsi:
If
you take one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards you.
From
The Witnesser and
the Witnessed
from "Living Islam – East & West"
by
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
January 20, 2002
You and me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator
In a moment in a day
You did something that surprised me
This inspired me
This revived me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator
In a moment in a day
You gave something, which reminded me
This gathered me
This sufficed me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator
In a moment in a day
Your immeasurable mercy covered me
It purified me
It elevated me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator
In a moment in a day
You never forgot me
You constricted and expanded me
This humbled me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator
In a moment in a day
You did not divide your presence from me
You compound me
This contents me
When I was unmindful, oh my
Creator?
In a moment in a day
You still loved me, in every moment in every day
In my every doubt, you gave me certainty
With all my imperfections, you accept me.
Oh my Creator !
You complete me.
From
Poems by
Tahmina Bawani
January 27, 2002
The Heart, Man and His Spirit
If the heart fulfils its role of reflecting
the truth through pure awareness its state is that of pure witnessing,
shahada. It is a light revealing relevant knowledge. That is why the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said "I have eyes in the back of
my head." The shahid within us is an accurate witness; it sees our
intentions and our actions and captures them all for us instantly, like a
snapshot. For example, when we are faced with a dilemma of whether or not
to undertake a certain action, we exercise our intellect and reasoning to
its limitation and then we need to let the inner heart reflect or indicate
what course of action needs to be taken. We must, however, be able to
discriminate between the shahid and our fears, doubts desires and
so on. If we achieve this, we will be rewarded with constant shahada.
Then, quite naturally, we nurture and revitalize our inner faculties, as
these will enable us to interact properly in this world whilst the heart
is open to the unseen.
There are three types of ayat that refer to
the shahid in the Qur`an. Some invoke God as the ultimate
Witnesser, al-Shahid, acknowledging Him as the source of all
witnessing. Others tell us that the Prophet also witnesses ‘along with
those who follow the prophetic path’. The majority of ayat, however,
refer to the entire creation in the act of witnessing. We are told that
our limbs will bear witness, that is, record all that has happened to them
in this life, as will our skins. Every cell will testify in a similar way.
Everything we do or say leaves its trace in us and around us.
From
"Cosmology of the
Self"
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
February 3, 2002
Foreword
There is a great spiritual hunger today.
Many people have found that their real spiritual needs and deep inner
questions have not been met by conventional religious writings or
institutions. Many have looked in vain to psychology to fill the functions
religion used to provide. The Journey of the Self provides a
genuine spiritual psychology that speaks directly to this spiritual
hunger. It is a psychology that is rooted in an understanding of the
human soul, and the relation of the soul to the rest of the psyche. It is
a psychology of self-knowledge, grounded in a practical understanding of
the elements of the inner spiritual journey, and grounded also in the
knowledge of Reality that is behind the world as we usually know it.
This is a very special book. It introduces
an old and complex psychology taken from a variety of Islamic and Sufi
sources. Much of this material has never been translated before,
relatively unknown even in the Middle East. The Journey of the Self
is of real use for both practicing Sufis and others interested in
spiritual psychology.
Among men and women of faith, there has
been serious doubt concerning the role of Western psychology for anyone
with religious or mystical convictions. Traditional study of Western
academic psychology often leads to a loss of faith, among both Western and
Eastern students. This is the result of an unconscious acceptance of the
unspoken tenets of Western psychology, which include positivism,
materialism and a strong negative bias concerning religious and spiritual
experience.
The antidote to this is the development of
an alternative model of human nature, the development of a spiritual
psychology. Any genuine spiritual psychology must proceed from a set of
basic assumptions that are fundamentally different from those of
traditional Western psychology. Some of these assumptions include the
following:
-
Human experience includes both the sacred
and the secular. Any spiritual (or full) psychology must deal with both.
This also means that any spiritual psychology must deal with the
relation of the individual with the Divine, with the experience of
Reality that is so frequently described in the
world's mystical traditions.
-
The soul or deep self is an inner mystery
within each of us, and also is part of the very essence of what it is to
be human. Thus, the mystical quest can be understood as an essential
aspect of real human development. One of the central tasks of any
spiritual psychology is to study the soul and its relation with the rest
of the psyche.
-
There are various possible states of human
consciousness. Waking consciousness is only one type, and other states,
such as mystical states, have their own special validity. Therefore, to
base a psychology on only the limited experience of 'average' people
during waking is to limit
drastically the range of psychology.
-
The literature of mysticism frequently
describes a kind of radical self-transformation. The concept of major,
qualitative change during adulthood has not been examined in Western
psychology, except for negative instances, such as psychosis. From the
point of view of spiritual psychology, this self-transformation is an
integral part of healthy adult development, fundamental in the
integration of the soul with the personality.
The Journey of the Self provides a marvelous example of spiritual
psychology, and reveals an understanding of the human psyche which is
rooted in faith and spiritual practice. It also provides a complex model
of human nature into which we can fit various concepts and theories from
academic Western psychology. This book provides the best introduction I
know of to this kind of model.
I have been particularly impressed by the
relationship explicated between the development of the human soul and the
development of the cosmos. This dramatically demonstrates that ancient
spiritual wisdom can be shown to be completely compatible with the most
modern scientific theories and cosmology. In addition, a wonderful
combination of spirituality and practicality have been woven throughout
this volume.
It takes a rare author to write a book like
this. Shaykh Fadhlalla is a man who is completely at home in the East and
the West. He is a scholar and an effective and practical Sufi teacher, an
international businessman and also an international philanthropist.
I had the pleasure of serving as Shaykh
Fadhlalla's host several years ago, when he presented a talk to a
gathering here in Redwood City, California. The talk was devoted to the
model of spiritual psychology that is detailed in this book. The audience
included many psychologists and therapists who were fascinated by the
talk. I was deeply impressed with Shaykh Fadhlalla's humor and
sensitivity, and by his familiarity with the West and all the problems of
seriously pursuing a spiritual discipline in the midst of Western culture.
Our people here immediately responded to him and to his talk.
We are reminded in this book again and
again how much we can learn from the wisdom of the Islamic teachings and
the Sufi tradition. After all, over many centuries, Sufi shaykhs have
served not only as spiritual guides but also as therapists and family
counselors for their dervishes. There is much more 'clinical' wisdom and
experience to be found in the Sufi and Islamic traditions than in the
brief history of Western psychotherapy.
We are invited to self-understanding in
this book, to psychology and spiritual self-knowledge. Not only are we
invited, we are given examples and concrete help in making our way toward
that goal.
Robert Frager, Ph. D
Founder, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology
From
The
Journey of the Self
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
February 10, 2002
“Great pleasure and
joy are for the ones who mine the gold and gemstones of meanings
from their lives and recognize the hand of the creator behind it
all.”
A Saying of Shaykh
Sayed Ikram Hussain
Life is not a series of disconnected events brought
about by chance. It is rather a moment-to-moment manifestation of
the first and original divine intention.
This divine intention is expressed in a tradition,
where Allah says:
“I was a treasure hidden wanting to be known. I
manifested this creation so that I would be known”
In the post, and, pre-creational state, God, Allah,
was/is alone, self-sustaining, all encompassing, knowing Himself by
Himself. He brought forth the creation as a mercy to Himself, by
Himself through the unfolding of the creational cornucopia of forms.
Each and every thing that flows through time contains
signs with meanings designed to guide, inspire and nourish that
original divine intention.
Mankind was designed and programmed to contain the
knowledge of the creator. It is the ultimate purpose of man’s
creation.
When we align ourselves consciously with that
intention, the events of our lives become the stepping-stones of
meaning that is the living guidance for our lives.
The following stories are examples of Allah’s perfect
guidance as it is manifested in the lives of His Awliya.
Stories of Awliya – Introduction
by Hajj Mustafa Ali
February 17, 2002
"Only by the
dhikr of Allah is the heart made tranquil."
Dhikr is remembrance, recalling what is already present. That
which is ever-present is not perpetually and spontaneously
recognized and known by man, because he has been deflected by
forgetfulness (ghafla). Remembrance is not meaningful unless
there is its opposites, forgetfulness. It is part of the play of
duality. The deeper one is in ghafla, the greater is the
chance that one will return to dhikr. The night becomes
darkest before the break of dawn. These are the immutable laws of
reality and have nothing to do with man.
The physical laws of creation enable us to
maintain the platform of the body, which is an intricately balance and
magnificent form. These laws are discernable. But it is the subtler laws
that are to be discovered and contemplated for they actually govern, and
are the essence or the attributes from which the actions come. The subtler
the law, the more powerful it is because it is closer to the ultimate
subtle point from which everything arose. It is closer to that ultimate
ocean of stillness which is like the moment of creation, or the
non-creational state of absoluteness from which this apparent motion,
which is 'in time', has taken place.
Man has been given a guidebook to discover the
subtle laws governing the creation. This book, the Qur`an, is written in
Arabic, which is a language whose words are interlinked through their
roots. If one looks at the Arabic roots of the Qur`anic terms, one will
come to see the many aspects of the word. One realizes that the full
meanings of the words are lost when a translation is made. The translating
function takes an aspect of a total garden-like consciousness or culture
out of its context, and at best the Arabic translates into a poetic
rendering, with an incomplete orchestration of meanings available to be
absorbed and used.
Qalaba
– The Turning of the Heart
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
February 24, 2002
The First Pilgrimage
It was through the agency of the Angel Gabriel that Abraham was
shown the ritual practices of the pilgrimage. Having been
commanded by Allah to sacrifice his son, on three occasions Satan
tried to tempt Abraham away from fulfilling his purpose. When they
entered Mina, Satan appeared to Abraham at the place which later
became known as the pillar of stoning, ‘the Pillar of Aqabah’ (Jamrah
al-‘Aqabah). Gabriel ordered him to stone Satan which Abraham
did with seven pebble stones. Satan disappeared then appeared
again at another spot close by, which is called ‘the Middle
Pillar’ (Jamrah al-Wusta). Again Gabriel ordered the
casting of stones, and again Abraham did so. Satan disappeared,
but then reappeared for a third time, at the place called ‘the
Lower Pillar’ (Jamrah al-Sughra). Abraham hurled seven more
stones at him and Satan disappeared, and did not appear again.
Having been proven steadfastly willing to carry out Allah’s
command, Abraham was then relieved of the need to sacrifice his
son’s life by the appearance of a ram, which he was then commanded
to sacrifice instead of Ishmael.
Then, when the angelic presence, Gabriel, had finished teaching
him the ritual practices of the Pilgrimage, Abraham was commanded
to inform other people:
And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on
foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path.
(22:27)
Upon the completion of the Pilgrimage, Abraham prayed for the
security of the Ka‘bah:
And when Abraham said: My Lord, make it a secure town and provide
its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the
last day. He said: And whoever disbelieves I will grant him
enjoyment for a short while, then I will drive him to the
chastisement of the Fire, an evil destination. (2:126)
When Abraham died Ishmael inherited the legacy of prophecy and
spiritual leadership from him and carried on with the ritual
practices of his father:
And mention Ishmael in the Book; surely he was truthful in his
promise, and he was an apostle, a prophet. And he enjoined on his
family prayer and almsgiving, and was one in whom His Lord was
well pleased. (19:54-5)
The Pilgrimage of
Islam
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
March 3,
2002
The
Divine Spark of the Spirit (Ruh)
There
is within us a Divine spark that has no limitations. This is the ruh.
Its origins lie in the realm of non-time and non-space. We yearn for
infinite space, for endless stretches of land, seas, and vast oceans
whose horizons are invisible; we long for peace and tranquility. It
is that same zone within us that contains pre-existence,
post-existence, as well as pre-cognition and post-cognition. Death
demonstrates the point at which we will return material borrowed
from the earth. We will continue to carry an aspect of ourselves
into the timeless, spaceless zone after death, which will be the
reverse of the way in which it manifests here. At death and beyond
the body will not contain the ruh but rather the ruh
will be imprinted with the image of the body. As we progress along
the path of enlightenment, we know this as a fact rather than merely
believe in it as a theory.
While
the importance of rationality in this world of duality and opposites
is undeniable, the ruh transcends the limits of reasoning.
Since such knowledge is based on tawhid, it is not subject to
dialectical reasoning. God says in the Qur`an: ‘They ask you
about the spirit - say: "It is from the command of my
Lord"’ (Qur`an: 17:85), meaning it is from the unseen.
Its nature is unknown.
Cosmology of
the Self
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
March 10, 2002
Allah,
Who is beyond time, knows what is going to be in time, because time
is contained in beyond-time. Time is an outer manifestation of
non-time. He is the First and the Last. You and I experience time,
and yet there is something in us that tells that we do not belong to
this chain of events. The ignorant kafirun, that is to say
those who reject the truth, want to live long. This is the extent of
their understanding of `ibadah – the worship and
glorification of God. God says:
Whatever
is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth declares the
glory of God. (64:1)
We
glorify that Entity. The whole of creation glorifies God, even the kafir.
But we as Muslims do it in the correct way; we unify our will with
destiny, with God's will. And therefore, the believer (mu'min)
finds nothing other than the blessedness of God's perfection even
when everything around him is crumbling, because he remembers God's
will and God's way. The Qur`an, the Book of Discrimination, says:
God
is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves.
(3:117)
If
we are in misery, if we are attacked, if we lose Afghanistan [Note:
obviously, this speech was delivered during the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan], it
is our fault. The blame for whatever occurs falls upon us. God has
given us, His representatives, the choice to be grateful or
disbelieving. Gratitude (shukr) is a condition of the heart.
In other words, gratitude should not only be on the tongue but in
the heart as well. What is the use of knowing the Qur`an by heart
and not applying it to our lives as a manual of existence from
minute to minute? You must be careful:
Therefore
read what is easy of the Qur`an. (73:20)
Every
one of us can take what he can of it, joyfully, and move on. The
Qur`an says:
Allah
does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its
ability. (2:286)
This
means that God imposes a duty upon everyone to the maximum of his or
her ability. God, by forcing us to make efforts, is teaching our
hearts to be always turning, always grateful. He says:
That
you grieve not for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what
He has given you. (3:153)
Living Real Islam
from "Living Islam East & West"
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
March 17, 2002
The
entire discipline of the path is the din, or ‘life
transaction.’ It is the path of God, the way of nature, and we all
want it. It is the totality of knowing that inwardly we are beyond
time and space, but outwardly we are constantly striving to struggle
for the good and condemn what is bad. This is what is meant by the
phrase fi sabil Allah, in the way of God. It is active,
giving the best that one has, being willing to change, and
constantly improving, so it becomes a way of life. It is quietening
the mind and grooming the self. It is for this reason activities
such as gambling are forbidden because they are counter-productive
to inner joy and outer courtesy, which leads to greater and greater
insights and greater and greater guidance until one reaches the
Source of Guidance. This is living in the moment.
True
Sufism is this science, but it is not about worshipping Sufism or
Islam. We need the Muhammadi path, the way of all the true prophets,
but ultimately it is about our access to that constant awareness and
remembrance of the one and only Source from which comes the ultimate
yardstick, and that is Allah. The path is the car driving to the
city, and the city is the city of light. We need to give the right
signals and we need to check that the mechanical parts of the car
are working. That is the humanness. We need the electrics to be
working, as well as our inner charge. That is the ruhanniyya.
But if we get stuck on healing or self knowledge, or comparing
teachers, it is like stopping at the service station forever,
tinkering with the car, instead of driving.
We
are all going to die! We only need self knowledge and healing in
order to arrive. We need a teacher to point out the falsehoods that
we ourselves have built, but only God can give us truth, truth that
is already within us. The truth is that one knows God by God, and
one knows people of God by God. The closer one is to Truth, Haqq,
the more one knows the people of Haqq. Imam ‘Ali said to
the prophet, ‘I know you by God, and I recognize you as the
prophet.’ So the higher you move, the more you come to realize
this truth. The Prophet Ibrahim knew that Allah would give him what
he needed when he needed it. But are we ready? Are we true servants?
Are we the coal that is light upon light because of its proximity to
Light?
God
has created the essence and the means, so we have to ask if we are
willing to take it, to be greedy for light, and get to the city.
Knowledge of God comes from God and by God, and God is Rabb
al-‘Alamin, that which has to do with existence. What we have
dealt with here is existence. God is pre-existence, and gives the
power and light to existence and post-existence, and that is what we
need to discover.
Cosmology of the Self – Conclusion
by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
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