Category Archives: Islam
Reflections of a Seeker
August 16, 2003 / Jamad-uth-Thani 1424
Volume 1, Issue 2 (Part 4)
Harmony can be defined as a pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts, which in the human paradigm leads to inner peace. The corollary would be that lack of congruency creates internal turmoil, and in severe cases leads to chronic depression. Human beings are consciously or unconsciously in constant search of this harmony. I have realized through my personal experiences that this harmony can be achieved by finding one’s place in the Court of the Creator, submitting to it, cherishing the relationships bestowed by the King and practicing unconditional love.
In the Muslim worldview, we believe in the reality of creation and design – that everything we see around us has One Creator – Allah Almighty and that He, the Most Exalted, has created a systematic world full of meaning and purpose. Out of His Infinite Mercy, instead of placing His Message of Guidance directly into our hearts, He created the institution of Prophethood, where He chose special people to administer this awesome task. It is essential and a matter of gratitude that we pay homage to this institution, primarily to its pinnacle and most perfect exemplar – Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him). He is the greatest Gift of Allah Almighty to us and it is imperative that not only are we grateful, but are also in constant show of this gratitude. Most people respond to this by emphasizing the importance of obeying His Sunnah (Practices), i.e. we must live our lives in accordance to the way He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) lived it. This is absolutely true. However, obedience out of love, as opposed to fear or compulsion, is the only true and lasting obedience. So loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) needs to precede trying to imitate Him. As a matter of fact, loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is what completes our faith, as corroborated by the following Hadeeth:
Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.†(Sahih Bukhari Shareef)
The philosophy of love is a complex one. To some people like myself, it is missing the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), wanting to see Him, yearning to be with Him and seeking His presence, desiring His approval and pleasure, attempting to make the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) happy and making every effort not to displease Him. This motivates me to try to follow everything He commands us to do. Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:
Whoever obeys the Noble Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah             (Holy Quran, 4:80)
Those who fear that the expression of such emotions borders on shirk (i.e. associating partners with Allah Almighty) need to consider the fact that it is Allah Almighty Himself who chose to include His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) name in the shahaada (the testimony that “There is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messengerâ€). In addition, the Hadeeth (saying of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah Almighty be upon Him) says that Allah Gives and His Prophet (prayers and peace be upon Him), distributes. In other words, Allah Almighty is the Absolute Authority and the Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is His delegated authority in creation. Therefore, to bypass Allah Almighty’s delegated authority and claim direct connection with Him is in the best-case naiveté and in the worst case impertinent and disrespectful to Allah Almighty, as one is not submitting to His System (Nizam). As the Persian saying expresses beautifully:
Bades Khuda Buzurg Tuhi Qissa Mukhtasar
After Allah, you are the greatest spiritual personality and that is the end of the matter
Unfortunately, today’s Muslim psyche has become plagued with what can be coined as “shirk-phobiaâ€, due to the lack of understanding of the definition of the word shirk. Some think that praising and loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) should have a limit, after which somehow it can seep into the realm of shirk. Nothing can be further from the truth. The more we love and praise Allah Almighty’s Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him), the closer we get to Allah. These acts increase our love for the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and are highly recommended, such as sending copious salawaat (prayers) upon him, writing and reciting poetry and prose that praise Him, talking about His birth, life, love, message and personality and remembering and celebrating the most awesome day that He was sent to this earth.
The Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) epitomized unconditional love, which can be defined as genuinely wanting the best for others, doing something practical about it and wanting nothing in return except Allah Almighty’s love and rida (contentment and pleasure). To those who make statements that He was “just†a Messenger, that He completed his “job†by conveying the message (may Allah protect us from such thoughts), need to consider that He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) as the Messenger embodies Allah’s Message as reported in the famous Hadeeth by Sayyidatuna Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that He is the walking Quran. In addition, He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is described as “Shaahid†(Witness) in the Quran [48:8] and therefore He is aware of all that we do on a daily basis and He continues to pray for His Ummah (community).
I once heard a speaker at a conference say “It is better to be at the tail of Truth than the head of falsehoodâ€. At the time, the statement resonated with my heart but its full meaning did not descend upon me until I had the great honor of affiliating myself with the Qadri Tareeqat (Sufi Path) of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him). Allah Almighty says about His awliya (Friends / Saints) that they have no fear of the future and no grief over the past. I believe this is so because they have surrendered themselves absolutely, not in negative resignation but a conscious willing submission to their Infinitely Merciful, Beneficent, Wise and Loving Lord with the understanding that He Almighty does everything for the good of His creation whether that is immediately obvious to us or not.
In my limited understanding, the Path of Tasawwuf (Sufism) is about self-effacement, taming and eventual annihilation of the ego, considering everyone else as better than oneself, removing all prejudices and biases, breaking stereotypes, becoming completely non-judgmental, recognizing that we don’t know where any human being stands with Allah Most Exalted, that we mustn’t judge by the external as we don’t know what is in someone’s heart. This Path is a path of no claims, just pure and total surrender, longing and love.
The Path is a tough one for anyone who wishes to tread it, but it is the only way for those who yearn for their Lord and seek His and His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) contentment and pleasure.
Syeda Shagufta Ahmad Qadri
Introduction to Sufism
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Volume 1, Issue 3 (Shawwal 1424)
“Today Sufism is a name without a reality. It was once a reality without a name,†said Abul Hasan Fushanji some 300 years after the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). These two sentences indicated two important points. The first point being that Sufis, who had dedicated themselves to the worship of God, had once been an actuality during the time of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and His Companions. The word Sufi did not exist then, but its realities lived within those holy people. The second sentence suggests a loss of this way of life with the acquisition of wealth as the Islamic empire expanded. With the spreading of worldliness, “men tended to become more and more bound up with the ties of this life, [and] those who dedicated themselves to the worship of God were distinguished from the rest by the title of Sufis†(Lings, 45).
The word Sufi literally means â€woolenâ€. The term was in reference to the clothes that came to be associated with those who had given up the material aspect of life in pursuit of a spiritual and deeper approach to God. In going along with the concept of duality in this particular approach, the word Sufi also had the meaning of “purityâ€. This sense of purity was the beginning and the end goal for the spiritual seeker. Together these two meanings summed up much of what the Sufis strove for: a negation of this world and the achievement of purity in their faith.
If one asked a Sufi “What is Sufism,†he or she would expect a response that was abstract and to some extent unintelligible because of its mysticism. But to a large extent, beyond these seeming abstractions, lies a simplicity. There are a few core concepts that when explained make Sufism a very accessible approach to faith. The first one of these core concepts deals with the heart itself, the most important organ that ties the believer to his or her Lord. The ultimate goal of Sufism lies here: only through purity of the heart and character will the believer reach his or her Lord. Therefore, the heart becomes the centerpiece. And if looked at through the scope of imagery, one could liken the heart and its centrality to the sun around which the other planets revolve. Just as the sun is crucial to our lives, for without it there would be no life on earth and no existence, so too, is the heart in such a vital position. Without the heart, man is dead – both spiritually and physically. One could then ask, “But everyone has a heart. So what makes a Sufi’s heart different from an ordinary man’s?â€Â The answer to this question lies not in the physical realm but in the spiritual. The “awakened†heart symbolizes consciousness of God.
Achieving consciousness of God, however is not as simple as it seems. First off, the heart may be enshrouded in darkness / ignorance such that the person may exist in a state of unconsciousness. It could also be that the person may know that his or her heart is enshrouded in darkness, and hence to release it from such chains, it needs a method of disentangling.
How does one release himself from such chains of ignorance? Here is where the role of the sheikh / pir, the spiritual leader steps in. Just as it is impossible to imagine Islam without the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) because of His fundamental role in being the teacher of Islam, it is impossible in Sufism to imagine the approach to God without a sheikh.  It is only through him that the Sufis can reach their true potential. It is the sheikh who unlocks certain secrets regarding the understanding of faith, but more importantly provides a link back to the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).  The silsilah, or the chain of shuyukh going to back to the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) himself, can be looked at as a series of links that connects the Sufi back to the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in a spiritual connection. Creating this chain is of great importance for it in essence is creating a link back to the Receptacle into which God poured faith and knowledge.
The sheikh is important for another reason. In the process of becoming closer to God, the novice may experience spiritual visions which he may interpret incorrectly. For example, as the Sufi learns to awaken his heart by negating his self, the greatest danger that lies ahead of him in this process is the danger that the individual might interpret those visions as a sign of his own divinity. Such grave mistakes are avoided by being in complete obedience to a Sufi master. The Sufi master can be likened to a manual which tells the reader how and when and why to perform certain actions to reach the desired conclusion. He is the warner that gives the alarm to the follower when he or she is exceeding their bounds. The novice, then, is required to place his hands, symbolically speaking, into the guiding hands of the Sufi master.
This obedience is not a blind obedience. In fact, one can call it a specialized and individualized type of obedience. Because in a given population the spiritual ailments that people suffer from differ from individual to individual, so, too, do the treatments. Therefore, the tariqah, the order, which the novice wishes to enter is also particular to him. If looked at in this light, the sheikh is actually seen as a type of doctor.
In all this, it is easy to get caught in the trap and believe that Sufis are antinomianists – meaning that they forsake the external law, the shari’ah, in favor of the inward law (Sufism). Yet Sufis would argue the exact opposite. The Sufi having mastered the external law, begins to focus on the nawafil – the voluntary acts. The nawafil represents to the Sufi not only a love for God, for they are moving beyond what they are required to do, but they are also simultaneously becoming active followers. A passive follower would just do the obligatory (fard) acts of faith and feel fulfilled, whereas the Sufi would strive to reach God through “extra credit†work. This concept of love through voluntary acts is summed up in the hadith qudsi, “Nothing is more pleasing to Me, as means for My slave to draw near unto Me, than worship which I have made binding upon him; and My slave ceases not to draw near unto Me with added devotions of his free will until I love him and when I love him I am the Hearing wherewith he hears, and the Sight wherewith he sees and the Hand whereby he grasps and the Foot whereon he walks.†This is in essence the doctrine of Sufism.
Prof. Dr. M. Jahangir Warsi
mj_warsi@hotmail.com
Dr. M. J. Warsi received his Ph.D. in Urdu language and linguistics from Aligarh Muslim University, India. He is the author of several books and research papers in his subject. Before coming to California, he was a professor of Urdu language and linguistics at the University of Michigan.
A Gift From Allah Almighty
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Volume 1, Issue 3 (Shawwal 1424)
A favor from Me
Don’t you recognize it?
What is there that is not a
Thank You?
Sura 55, Ar Rahman (Most Kind)
Allah is Wise, All Knowing. What He, Exalted be His Name, says in the Holy Qur’an is 100% true. As Muslims we know this for certain, without a doubt. There are times we may not understand the wisdom in an ayat (verse, sign) but that is due to our lack of knowledge and understanding, not the Wisdom of Allah or the truthfulness of His Word.
In Sura 42 Al-Shura (Consultation), ayat 30, we are told misfortune comes to us due to what we have earned. And our beloved guide, the one Allah chose to clarify the meaning of life for us, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings on his sweet soul, said:
For every sadness, every sorrow,
every ache and pain,
even the prick from a rose,
Allah erases a sin.
This means sadness, sorrow, pain or any discomfort we may suffer, are payments for our sins and we no longer owe a debt for them. Just as we cannot enumerate the blessings of Allah Almighty, we cannot know how many times in a day we think bad thoughts or do bad deeds. Every act of commission without the Command of Allah and every act of omission to the Command of Allah is an act for which we are accountable.
If we remember that our Lord and Master is absolutely free to do whatever He likes and in His Hand is all good, then Insha Allah we would also remember everything that comes to us comes from Him and is good for us.
Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, may his soul be blessed, in his book Futuh al Ghaib, summarizes lessons from the Holy Qur’an:
As for the trial of man – sometimes it comes as a punishment for any violation of law and any sin which has been committed; at others it comes with the object of removing the defects and refining the nature of man and at still others it comes to raise a man in spiritual rank.
Shaikh Farid ad Din Attar, in his hagiological book, Muslim Saints and Mystics, told the story of one of the Friends of Allah (Wali Allah) (may they be blessed) who enjoyed the loving and respectful treatment of his wife and daughter. One day, for no apparent reason, both females spoke loudly and rudely to him. The Friend retired to a private place and pleaded with Allah to forgive him for whatever he had done, or had not done, to cause the harshness they were displaying toward him. Immediately after that private conversation his wife and daughter returned to their normal loving and respectful behavior.
In the late 1990’s in California, a Muslim brother had been out of work for six months and was actively looking for a job that would support him and his family. Finally he was hired, though the pay was a great deal less than he had previously earned. The day before he was to start this position, he slipped and broke his leg. The employer had to find a replacement for him. His friends were more upset than he was. He insisted there is wisdom behind everything and patiently accepted the decree of Allah. While recuperating, he again began job hunting. Not only did he find a job in his field but the pay was much more than the job he lost.
Allah is Great and His Timing Perfect
We should graciously accept and recognize what comes to us is a gift from the Most Loving and Wise Creator. It may be a warning of our disobedience in time to correct the mistake, it may be an atonement for a sin we knowingly or unknowingly committed or an exaltation of our spiritual rank. In any event it is:
A gift from Me
Don’t you recognize it?
What is there that is not a
Thank You?
Khadija J.C. Locks
Sister Khadija is a resident of Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of “The Wealth of the Inheritorsâ€, published by Nuqoosh Press, Lahore, Pakistan. She is currently working on a book on the subject of Islamic stories for children. She is a regular contributor to the IECRC Newsletter.
