Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's visit to Musallah Tauhid

This evening had the opportunity to see and listen to Shaykh Hisham Kabbani who came to an inter-faith gathering at the newly established Musallah Tauhid. We had beautiful participation from three Abrahamic faiths: Jews, Christians and Muslims who all participated in the remembrance (zikr) and praise of the Prophet (Salawat). Shaykh Hisham blessed Musallah Tauhid's journey and prayed that may it become an example for others to witness unity.

Here are some quick snap shot from the program. From the top: Green Turban with Rose of a Naqshbandi Darvish, Shaykh Hisham speaking, greeting people from Jewish Community, Shaykh in contemplation, Musicians, organizers and guests and the last picture is taken while Shaykh listening to blogger Frieda of Inspire, Move and Touch.

Among other things Shaykh Hisham spoke about need for all faiths to come together and lesson from history of Islam how even during the time of second caliph, 1400 years ago such spirit was very much present and alive and there were established and flourishing place of worship where Jewish, Christians and Muslims shared common ground. Musallah Tauhid's vision and establishment emulate exactly that where a church shares space along with its Christian faithfuls, people of Jewish and Muslim faiths as well.

Shaykh Hisham reminded that every human being is a Divine representative (Khalifatullah) on earth and that is a reason enough to do everything with happiness and celebration. As anyone who become a representative of a president or consultant to a respected person or ambassador of a king - takes pride in his or her job, Shaykh Hisham asked, what could be more joyous and a reason to feel honored than to be an ambassador of God here on this earthly plane.

Shaykh also spoke about problem with extremists in the name of religion as he is never afraid of talking about problem within Muslim community and current terrorism. On many occasions he is the most vocal to criticize problem within Muslim community and certain doctrines which produced untrue criticism from many, who unlike him prefer to hide problems under the carpet and play the blame game upon others. The problem of terrorism and extremism is within, not outside.

The longer Muslims will delude themselves with excuses of outside, the longer it will take to come out of current state of chaos and all the challenges posed upon them. Indeed God doesn't change what is persisting on people, until these people change what they are doing, reminds the Quran as mention Shaykh Hisham in one of his interview.

Just before leaving for the program today I was watching a youtube video of Shaykh Hisham which mentioned how Shaykh Hisham in 1999 warned US state department of terrorist threat from extremists. [>] You may watch the video here.

January 7, 1999, almost 3 years before the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani warned the US. State Department of threats to National Security due to impending attacks from extremists and was labeled as an alarmist and ignored!

[>] Here is his speech to US State Department
. part1, part2, part3, part4, part5, part6, part7

Shaykh Hisham is very active in his love for inter-faith work and last March 18, 2007, again in LA California Shaykh Hisham Kabbani spoke to an audience of over 5oo attendents at the Senshin Buddhist Temple. Here is the talk, Lost and Found: part1, part2

.: You may watch more talks by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani from SufiLive website, the official media library of Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America.

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Prayer of the Day

O Allah, in Your Holy Name:
You are Universally Merciful,
You are Singularly Compassionate.

We are imperfect
and You are Infinitely Perfect.
Cover our imperfection
with Your Eminence of Perfection.

Indeed it is Your Holy Promise that
You shall answer the call of the supplicant when they call upon You.

In reality Your answering is more Compassionate and Just
even than the answering of a mother for her child,
as You are the Mother-Father of the Universe.

We are Your imperfect children,
guide us to Perfection
O Beloved Mother-Father, Ya Muhaymin!

.. amen ..

And when My bondsman ask concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when one calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. The Quran 2:186

And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you ...
The Quran 40:60

. Ya Muhaymin is an attribute of God, among God's 99 Qualities revealed in Quran. It means The Protector.

. Journeying Towards Perfection

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Merits of building Mosques

Mosque is a place of worship, spontaneous and ceaseless praise, and a place where people gather to remember the Divine. Its significance not only limited to remembrance, but in the fact that the remembrace is done in a gathering. It also enable welfare of the community, gives an opportunity to care for others and to love one another. Mosque becomes a powerful and practical implementation of "love thy neighbors" commandment. In the time of the Prophet, mosque was the central place of social welfare, activism and care giving to those who were in need.

There is a very significant hadith or saying of Prophet Muhammad recorded in the book of Muslim, when the mosque at Medina Masjid-e-Nabwee was completed, the holy Prophet said: "I am the last Prophet and this Mosque of mine is the last Mosque." (Muslim)

The significance of this saying is great. It doesnt mean that all the mosques built after the Prophet's mosque is not accepted, but it means that all mosques built with the right intention is actually part or extension of the Prophet's mosque. As long as any mosque is built with Divine consciousness and solely for the worship of One God, for the welfare of God's servants and worshipers turn their faces to the Divine Presence in their prayers, they are all linked back to the last mosque built by the Holy Prophet. It infact is a testimony of the honor and merit of any mosque built afterwards. Every mosque thus connects with a golden thread of baraka to the honored mosque that Prophet himself build with his own blessed hands.

The Holy Prophet on the importance of mosques:
1. O ye people, praise God. Anyone who builds a Mosque for the sake of God, the Exalted, God will in return builds an abode for him or her in the Station of Bliss (Paradise). (Bukhari, Muslim)
2. To God, the most adored places are the mosques and the most undesirable places are market places.
3. Mosques are the houses of God and those believers who enter therein are the guests of God.
4. Those who visit the mosques in darkness (dark hour of nights) convey to them the good news that God shall bestow upon them from Himself perfect light on the day of judgment.
5. For him (or her) who makes his ablutions at home and then walks to one of the houses of God, one single step of his towards the Mosque wipes out a sin and next step raises his status.
6. Whenever anyone of you enters a mosque let him pray that "O God open up for me the doors of Thy Mercy"; and whenever anyone from among you leaves a mosque, let him pray: " O God, I seek from Thee Thy blessings".

Universality of mosques:
The Holy Prophet also said: "The whole Earth has been made a mosque and pure for me" (Bukhari).

A mosque facilitates and promotes worship of One God and therefore fosters a personal bond of love and devotion between man and his God. A mosque is essentially a first step towards fostering unity and brotherhood amongst people and consequently, a powerful force in our endeavors to unite mankind.

The original arabic word, Masjid meaning any place where you do 'sajda' (prostration) before God Almighty. In Sajda or prostration the forehead touching the ground as practiced in Salat or prayer. Prostration to the Most High can be found in all faith traditions in the world, from Judaism, Christianity or even in Hindu or Buddhism. (see: prostration and submission to God, symbology and meaning)

Perpetual blessings:
Prophet Muhammad said: When a person leave his earthly body, all his or her actions terminate but three:
1. Knowledge through which people benefit,
2. Sadaqa Jaariyya (recurring charity), and
3. Pious child who makes dua or supplication for the parents.

And building of Mosque falls into the Sadaqa Jaariyya or recurring / continuous charity because as long as people come for Divine Remembrance and worship, the merits and blessings are sent to the ones who were behind building the mosque.

# Related: Attention | Masjid Manhattan in NY needs you help
. Masjid Tauhid, LA also in need of charity

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Masjid Tauhid | vision of an inter-tariqa mosque

Inspired by sufi master Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan's teachings and initiated in Sufi Order International (Chistiyya tariqa) - Waliya Inayat Perkins' life work is rich with inter-faith involvement and contribution towards creating more harmony between hearts. Among her many involvement as a passionate activist, she is the founder of Three Cousins, a dialog group for Jewish, Muslim, and Christian women, member of Culver City Area Interfaith Alliance and Co-Vice Chair of The Southern California Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

It was not so long ago that Waliya Inayat received a vision of an inter-tarîqa mosque which would welcome sufis: lovers of God, from all tariqas, or sufi paths. Waliya Inayat described how this came to be: "We never know what inspiration will be placed in our hearts. Two years ago, I was invited to speak at an interfaith Sukkoth celebration. This congregation has celebrated Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, for five years, in the sanctuary of the Village Lutheran Church. An inspiration came to Waliya when she arrived for the service that “the only thing missing here was a mosque."

This seed-thought grew in Waliya’s heart over the next two years as she came to know the minister and rabbi, both women, who led these congregations. The seed-thought grew and last December Waliya offered a proposal to establish a Muslim congregation in cooperation with the other two Abrahamic faiths at this location and the church Board agreed. After putting out the word to local sufis from the area, one Naqshbandi sister shared that Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani, head of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America, had told her one month prior of an inspiration to see the three Abrahamic communities in one location. Sheikh Hisham’s mureeds have been instrumental in the unfolding of Musallah Tauhid, which Waliya’s own Pir, Zia Inayat Khan, named.

Inter-tarîqa weekly dhikr at Musallah Tauhid | Musallah Tauhid is a Muslim community of mureeds (members) from different tariqas (sufi path) who have gathered to found a masjid (mosque). With start there are members of six different tariqas involved.

Currently it holds prayers, dhikr and potluck dinner every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome to join.

Location: 343 S. Church Lane, Los Angeles, CA 90049 (Between Sunset and Montana parallel to Sepulveda/405 freeway) | The Musallah is located in the fellowship hall of Village Lutheran Church, which also shares the space with the Ahavat Torah Jewish congregation.

When Sufis Come Together | "There is something very very special when Sufis come together... to be together in a broader context; this knowing that all these different paths, all these threads of love that together weave a bigger tapestry than any one individual tariqa, any one individual path can create. it is like there is a reason, there is a very profound esoteric reason why there are all these paths, all these different spiritual vibrations ... sufism contains many different ways to love God. it is important to remember that we are part of this bigger company of friends." - Shaykh Llewellyn Vaughan Lee, in his talk in 2006 Sufi Conference, The Song of Love. (audio part1, part2).

Waliya Inayat (the right most) in one of the inter-faith presentation at Shebi Arus at UCLA’s Royce Hall on December 17, 2007. from left to right: Rabbi Steven Jacobs [Founder, Progressive Faith Foundation], Reverend Dr. Gwynne Guibord [Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns, The Episcopal Diocese Consultant for Interfaith Relations], Swami Shiva Atmatattwananda [Vedanta Society of Southern California] and Waliya Inayat Perkins [L.A. Committee for the Parliament of the World's Religions]

More about Waliya Inayat | Waliya Inayat Perkins took hands with Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan in January 1973. Her inner initiation came through a dream of Hazrat Inayat Khan (Pir Vilayat's father) a year earlier. Murshida Qahira Qalbi was her first teacher in the Sufi Order International (SOI). Qahira is the daughter of Fatah and Bhakti Engle; Fatah was the personal secretary to Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan and founded many of the SOI centers in the West.

Murshida Qahira, her husband [Tansen-Muni Fraley], and her mother [Murshida Bhakti Engle], trained Waliya as a Cheraga, or minister of light of the Universal Worship [UW] Service. Pir Vilayat ordained Waliya as a Cheraga at a camp in Big Bear, California in the early-70s. The UW service is based upon the unity of religious ideas as taught by Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan and is the foundation of Waliya's life-work. Waliya is an authorized Representative of the Sufi Order International.Waliya can be reached at: waliyainayat@yahoo.com

. it is really an honor to know sister Waliya Inayat and with her invitation to be present during the earlier days of Masjid Tauhid's establishment. if you are around, i would surely recommend to come on Saturday Inter-tariqa weekly dhikr gathering. also there is another upcoming invitation: Interfaith Sufi celebration with Shaykh Hisham Kabbani on March 30, Sunday. click here for details.

please spread the glad tidings if you can!

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Wisdom from Hopi Elders | on sacred togetherness .. we are the ones we've been waiting for ..

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.

And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living? What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!

Banish the word "struggle" from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

- The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation -
November 2004

the world has never been without teachers and messengers who's prime responsibility is to deliver the most needed message of the age. "And for every nation there is a messenger ... " affirms Quran (10.47). each age has its teachers. Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad were some of the great ones, but there are always qutubs, special beings who take care of the world. there is something very special about native people because the wisdom of the land are generally spring from there. in every native community such teachers exist who speak from the depth of their spirit, or in another way to put it, they speak from the Universal Soul.

each age has its message. there are moments when a particular teacher of the age will speak the message of the age exactly reflecting the need of the time. and when one read this profound message of Hopi Elder from Oraibi region of Arizona, one with enough intuition can tell this is the message of our age.

look at every words how deep wisdom outpoured as revelation here.

in an age of sickening selfish individualism fused with blind material pursuit, an age of massive self centered delusion that substituted consumerism for true happiness, hoarding more for soulful joy of sharing - it is a message to remind that the time of lone wolf better be over. people must gather themselves.

what struck me in the message of the Hopi elder is the call to build community which our beloved Shaykh in Jerusalem, Sidi al-Jamal, may God be satisfied with him, also has been talking and encouraging even students / disciples in United States to build own spiritual community. Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East is one of such community.

we are to take nothing personally. nothing belongs to us anyway. all that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

the evolution of human consciousness is progressing at the fastest pace than any other time in human history - thus each member of humanity must awaken to this realization that: "We are the ones we've been waiting for." On the same note, the sufis remind all: "The perfect man, the complete man lies within each of us". Indeed "we are the ones we've been waiting for!"

. art collage | Sacred Teacher | by MysticSaint

+ Debu-Amanat ( The Sacred Trust) on global crisis

. lyric from a sufi shaykh, put to music

Related post // Native Indian Mysticism and Sufi Spirit

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Zen Sufi Koans of Mystical Truth

1.
Proclaims the sufi paradox:
"If you seek Him,
you will never find Him.
But if you do not seek Him,
He will not reveal Himself to you."

the hidden key
to unlock this riddle,
is surrender ...

2.
God speaks:
"Man is My Secret, and
I AM his Secret."

Hu al-Alim -
He alone is The All-Knowing ...

3.
God is man.
Man is no other than God.
But man is not God.

la ilaha illa'Llah ...

4.
Don't say: "everything is God",
say: "God is everything".

wheresoever you turn ...

- MysticSaint
Los Angeles, CA

| Previous | . zen sufi koan
. time, space and zen

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Divine Masculine & Feminine | the intimate love affair | one day workshop

When you are with everyone but Me, you are with no one.
When you are with no one but Me, you are with everyone.

Instead of being so bound up with everyone, be everyone.
When you become that many,
you are nothing. ...... Empty.
- Rumi

Sufi healer Rahima Eva invites all to come, to open and to travel in the exquisite realms of heart for an all day workshop dedicated to explore the intimate love affair of the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine.

Aware of how precious you are?
Satisfied in your current relationship with yourself & others?
Looking for more gentleness, intimacy & ease?

This all day workshop is created to uncover a deeper relationship of Harmony, Awareness & Peace within our own beings. We will discover how valuing ourselves enriches & fulfills us. As we allow ourselves to be nourished by the connection to Divine Love, Beauty & Truth, we can heal the places of inner separation.

Using Sufi techniques of unveiling, opening & expanding, Rahima invites to travel through the layers of the heart & beyond all limitations & expectations.

To reserve a space & for questions:
Rahima Eva / evastipl@yahoo.com / 760.815.0082

Time and Space | Saturday March 29th 2008
10:00am - 5:00pm | 2146 Mountain Vista Dr. Encinitas CA 92024 (google map)

.: for this and more upcoming events check Sufi Center San Diego site

# related posts:
. Metamorphosis: Secret of male and female
. Secret of Male and Female, in the light of message of the Quran
. Secret of Female Soul Pin It Now!

Strokes of Insight from a Neuroanatomist | observing awareness getting dissolved and feeling of Nirvana | who are we really?

".. And just like a balloon with the last bit of air just, just right out of the balloon I felt my energy lift and I felt my spirit surrender. And in that moment I knew that I was no longer the choreographer of my life .."

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding - she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story of recovery and awareness - of how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

this talk of her is perfectly scientific yet so spiritually powerful! why and how may be you can discover for yourself!

[>] Watch the video here
(Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 18:44.)

Excerpts from the talk: "When I awoke later that afternoon I was shocked to discover that I was still alive. When I felt my spirit surrender, I said goodbye to my life, and my mind is now suspended between two very opposite planes of reality.

Because I could not identify the position of my body in space, I felt enormous and expensive, like a genie just liberated from her bottle. And my spirit soared free like a great whale gliding through the sea of silent euphoria. Harmonic. I remember thinking there's no way I would ever be able to squeeze the enormousness of myself back inside this tiny little body.

But I realized "But I'm still alive! I'm still alive and I have found Nirvana. And if I have found Nirvana and I'm still alive, then everyone who is alive can find Nirvana." I picture a world filled with beautiful, peaceful, compassionate, loving people who knew that they could come to this space at any time. And that they could purposely choose to step to the right of their left hemispheres and find this peace. And then I realized what a tremendous gift this experience could be, what a stroke of insight this could be to how we live our lives. And it motivated me to recover.

So who are we? We are the life force power of the universe, with manual dexterity and two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world. Right here right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right hemisphere where we are - I am - the life force power of the universe, and the life force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my form. At one with all that is. Or I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere. where I become a single individual, a solid, separate from the flow, separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, intellectual, neuroanatomist. These are the "we" inside of me.

Which would you choose? Which do you choose? And when? I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deep inner peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world and the more peaceful our planet will be.

:. full script of the talk
:. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor' official site
:. More TED talks on How Mind Works Pin It Now!

Interfaith Sufi celebration at Musallah Tauhid, Los Angeles with Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Those that remember Me in their heart, I remember them in My heart; and those that remember Me in a gathering, I remember them in a gathering better than theirs. - Hadith Qudsi

Musallah Tauhid invites all to join for an inaugural public event:
One Light, Different Windows
An interfaith gathering for Dhikr (Remembrance of the One)
with Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America

+ special performances by Yuval Ron & Jamie Papish,
the Haqqani Naqshbandi Ensemble
and a Scene from the Great Leap! production of “Leaps of Faith”
with Ameena Mirza, Daniela Licht, and Shyamala Moorty.

Time: Sunday, 30 March | at 3:30 p.m.
Its a free event, but donations to help cover costs appreciated.

Location: 343 S. Church Lane, Los Angeles, CA 90049 (google map)
Contact Waliya Inayat at 310-575-1972 / waliyainayat@yahoo.com

About Musallah Tauhid : Musallah means a place where prayer is performed; Tauhid means Unity. The musallah is located in the fellowship hall of Village Lutheran Church, which also shares the space with the Ahavat Torah Jewish congregation.

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be easier with your plans | Bahauddin Valad

I was wondering what sort of learning I should take up next, and my consideration became tedious and exhausting. I turned to the verse: Say The enjoyment of this world is shortlived (Quran 4:77), which tells me I should keep up whatever comes next without puzzling how it arrived or what the possible consequences might be.

Accept the pleasures given, and don't try to keep them with you. That's addiction.

The intellect's interest and pleasures are running water flowing from the east and from the west. Taste and let them go.

When grief arrives, don't try to think of ways to prevent it happening again. It will. Sorrow masses overhead like cloudcover, rains down pain, breaks up, and moves on.

And don't divide your sustainance into strict daily allotments. Be easier with planning with your life, less rational.

When you were sucking your mother's breast, did you count the hole in her nipples? Milk came as needed.

- Maarif, Bahauddin Valad (1152-1231)

The Drowned Book | ecstatic and earthly reflections of Bahauddin, the father of Rumi | translation: Coleman Barks and John Moyne

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Fana and Baqa (Baka) | spiritual death and resurrection

Sufi master Inayat Khan, may God connect us to his state of realization, in his writing explains beautifully the sufi idea of Fana and Baqa using the metaphor of Jesus Christ and the symbology of the cross:

Belief in God is the first step. By the belief in God is attained the losing oneself in God. If one is able to do it, one has attained a power which is beyond human comprehension.

The process of attaining this is called Fana by the Sufis. Fana is not necessarily a destruction in God (metaphysically thats another way to explain why Quran says, Jesus didn't die on the cross but it appeared so to the unenlightened mind from outside). Fana results in what may be called a resurrection in God, which is symbolized by the picture of Christ.

The Christ on the cross is narrative of Fana; it means, 'I am not.' And the idea of resurrection explains the next stage, which is Baqa, and which means, 'Thou Art', and this means rising towards All-might. The divine spirit is to be recognized in that rising towards All-might. Fana is attained ... by denying one's little self, the false self which covers one's real self, in which the essence of divine Being is to be found.

What is this journey taken by the soul from the source to manifestation, and from manifestation back to the same source which is the goal? Is it a journey, or is it not a journey? It is not a journey in truth. It is a change of experience which makes it a journey, a story; and yet a whole journey produced in moving pictures is in one film which does not journey for miles and miles, as it appears to do on the screen.

Do many journey or one? Many while still in illusion; and one when the spirit has disillusioned itself. Who journeys, is it man or God? Both and yet one: the two ends of one line. What is the nature and character of this manifestation? It is an interesting dream. What is this illusion caused by?

By cover upon cover; the soul is covered by a thousand veils. Do these covers gave happiness to the soul? Not happiness, but intoxication. The farther the soul is removed from its source, the greater the intoxication. Does this intoxication help the purpose of the soul's journey towards its accomplishment? It does in a way, but the purpose of the soul is accomplished by its longing. And what does it long for?

Sobriety. And how is that sobriety attained? By throwing away the veils which have covered the soul, and thus divided it from its real source and goal. What uncovers the soul from these veils of illusion? The change which is called death. This change can be forced upon the soul against its desire, and is then called death. This is a most disagreeable experience like snatching away the bottle of wine from a drunken man, which is most painful to him for a time. Or the change can be brought about at will, and the soul throws away the cover that surrounds it and attains the same experience of sobriety while on earth, even if it be but a glimpse of it. This is the same experience which the soul arrives at after millions and millions of years, drunk with illusion; and yet not exactly the same.

The experience of the former is Fana, annihilation, but the realization of the latter is Baqa, the resurrection. The soul, drawn by the magnetic power of the divine Spirit, falls into it, with a joy inexpressible in words, as a loving heart lays itself down in the arms of its beloved. The increase of this joy is so great that nothing the soul has ever experienced has made it so unconscious of the self; but this unconsciousness of the self becomes in reality the true self-consciousness. It is then that the soul realizes fully that 'I exist'.

+ remembering the holy good friday. may profound Divine peace and blessings be upon Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. if you know, may you read the opening chapter of Quran, sura Fatiha and send the blessings upon both the spirit of Christ and Mary.

:: related post
.: what is fana, what is baqa? | a sufi story
.: the real meaning of crucifixion
.: origin and history of good friday

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Become Becoming | Poem of Spring, Poem of New Life Born out of Remembrance

As spring arrives, it reminds of the renewal cycle of rebirth which manifest again and again. the whole creation, every molecule is in a continuous state of renewing itself again and again. the Divine comes into manifestation with every moment. no two moments are the same yet they belong to Oneness, each is part of Whole. what a miracle to witness this arrival and being part of this becoming! May this spring bring new life energy, new inspiration to your life and your loved ones.

on night of the Spring Equinox, the following poem was shared by author and visionary artist Colette. thanks Colette for sharing!

Become Becoming | Li-Young Lee

Wait for evening.
Then you’ll be alone.

Wait for the playground to empty.
Then call out those companions from childhood:
The one who closed his eyes
and pretended to be invisible.
The one to whom you told every secret.
The one who made a world of any hiding place.

And don’t forget the one who listened in silence
while you wondered out lout:

Is the universe an empty mirror? A flowering tree?
Is the universe the sleep of a woman?

Wait for the sky’s last blue
(the color of your homesickness).
Then you’ll know the answer.

Wait for the air’s first gold
(that color of Amen).
Then you’ll spy the wind’ barefoot steps.

Then you’ll recall that story beginning
with a child who strays in the woods.

The search for him goes on in the growing
shadow of the clock.

And the face behind the clock’s face
is not his father’s face.

And the hands behind the clock’s hands
are not his mother’s hands.

All of Time began when you first answered
to the names your mother and father gave you.

Soon, those names will travel with the leaves.
Then, you can trade places with the wind.

Then you’ll remember your life
as a book of candles,
each page read by the light of its own burning.

credit. Behind My Eyes Pin It Now!

Milad-e-Nabi | Milad-un Nabi | Maulid | Mawlid

Eid-e-Miladun-Nabi Mubarak!
Greetings on the occasion of Holy Prophet's birthday.

On this blessed day as we remember the Last Divine Messenger - Muhammad and bring his blessed holy spirit into our inner heart and spirit with love and benediction, its worth reading Ibn Mashish's tribute to the Prophet. Here is a selection of his exalted prayer (wadhifatus salatul Mashishiyyah) :

I take refuge in Allah from illusional dualities.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

O Allah, blessings and peace in all matters, revealed and concealed on him from whom are split open the secrets hidden in his sublime essence and stream forth the lights of the full moons enfolded in the heavens of his sublime attributes.

Magnified is the Prophet whose blossoming beauty beflowers the gardens of Mulk and Malakut, and the pools of the Jabarut overflow with the dazzling light of his secret bursting forth and there is no thing that is not linked to him and by his effulgent secret all things encompassed.

Send a blessing worthy of You, from You to him, that is an unceasingly and constantly renewed creation abundantly pouring out upon him and unimpaired peace which is this blessing in its flowing and its grace as befits him and on his holy successors in spirit.

O Allah, truly he is Your Secret encompassing all secrets
and Your Light encompassing all lights,
and Your Guide who guides to You by You
and the Leader of Caravan who rides Your worlds to You.

O Allah, connect me to his spiritual lineage, and ascertain me by his soaring degree and cause me to know him with real knowledge so that by it I witness his eternal pre-existence and I become his mirror by his love and his consent and so by his realizations I am saved from the welling up of the spring of ignorance and I drink without stint from the overflowing spring of Muhammadan reality.

Carry me on the swift noble mounts of Your Most Tender Mercy on the carriers of Your Deep Love and Your Affection and bring me on his Way of the Upright which is the Straight Path to his presence that is the link to Your Most Holy Presence clearly manifested by the shining of his human virtues, carried surrounded by the warriors of Your Victory, accompanied by the worlds of Your Divine family.

Oh Allah, make my absorption in him laudable
and praiseworthy before You.
Oh Allah, make his Spirit the Secret of my truth in taste and in state.

Oh Allah, blessings and peace from us on him the most gracious of blessings and the most perfect peace for truly we can not grasp his exalted degree nor do we comprehend that which befits him of respect and magnification.

Benedictions of Allah the Most High and His Peace and His Greetings and His Mercy and His Grace on our master Muhammad, Your bondsman and Your prophet and Your messenger, the unlettered prophet and on his holy family and companions.

---

.: Opening of Heart to the Prophet
The way to reach God is first through fanafish Shaikh, absorption in the spiritual master, then fana firRasul, absorption in the Prophet, and, finally, fanafil'Lah, absorption in God.

Love of the Shaykh vanishes in love of the Messenger. Love of the Messenger vanishes in love of God.

May we love Prophet Muhammad, Habib'Allah- the beloved one of God - with love worthy of him. May the love of the Prophet illuminate our inner heart and becomes our support on the day of intercession. amen.

# Noted posts around blogsphere
:. Knowledge Seeker posts beautiful recitation of Burda Night
:. Darvish: Birthday of the Prophet, New Year, Spring
:. Abdur Rahman: In Honour of Muhammad
:. Yursil: Mawlid in 1429 / 2008
:. Under cover pearl: Blessed Birth
:. Milad-un-Nabi lead by Shah Sufi Hazrat Dubaghi
:. For the Love of Muhammad
:. Andalus posts selections from the Lamiyat al-’Ajam

Allahuma salli ala Muhammadin wa Aal-e Muhammad.
O God! Shower Thy blessings on Muhammad and the spiritual successors of Muhammad.

. Celebrating the birth of the holy Prophet
. Last Prophet Pin It Now!

Prayer before Prophet's Tomb | by al-Shadhili

Great saint Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili (b. 1196/1197 - d. 1258), may God sanctify his station was the Qutb of his time and the founder shaykh of the Tariqa ash Shadhiliya.

When al-Shadhili, approached Medina, may God ennoble and exalt it increasingly, he stood before the door of the sacred precinct (the tomb of the Prophet) from early morning until noon, bareheaded, and barefooted requesting permission of the Apostle of God to enter.

Asked why he did so, he replied, "That he might give me permission, for God says, 'O you who believe, enter not the Prophet's houses until permission be grated to you.' (Q 33.53).

Then, he heard the voice of one calling from within the Noble Garden, like that of the one dwelling there, saying, "Blessings and peace in abundance, O 'Ali! Enter!"

So he stood before the Noble Garden and said, "Peace be upon thee, O Prophet, with the mercy and benediction of God! The blessing of God be upon thee, O Apostle of God!"

The most excellent, the purest, the most sublime, and loftiest prayer that he offered on behalf of His prophets and chosen ones is this:

"I bear witness that thou, O Apostle of God, hast conveyed that with which thou wast sent, and hast admonished thy people, and served thy Lord until the certainty (yaqin) came to thee, and that thou wast as God described thee in Scripture: "An Apostle from among yourselves has come to you, for whom your adversity is hard to bear, who watches over you, and who is compassionate and merciful towards the believers." (Q 9:128)

May the prayers of God, His angels, His prophets, His apostles, and all His creatures and the inhabitants of His heavens and His earth be upon thee, O our master, O Apostle of God. (...)

I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle, the seal of the prophets, and the leader (imam) of the apostles.

I testify that every command, prohibition and information regarding the past and future that he brought is true, containing no uncertainty or doubt. I acknowledge to Thee my crime and and disobedience in thought, reflection, will and negligence.

Whatever Thou hast preferred for me, whether something for which Thou dost punish, if Thou wilt, or something for which Thou dost pardon, if Thou wilt, or anything that is comprised in unbelief, hypocrisy, heresy and error, or transgression or misconduct toward Thee, Thine Apostle, Thy prophets, or the angels, men and jinn who are near Thee, or whatever things of Thy dominion that Thou hast especially allotted, in all of which I have wronged myself, bestow upon me what Thou didst bestow upon those near to Thee, for Thou art God, the King, the Generous Bestower, the Compassionate Forgiver."

- selection from The Mystical Teachings of al-Shadhili by Ibn Al-Sabbagh

remembering beloved Prophet Muhammad, on his blessed birthday, 12th Rabiul Awwal of Hijri calendar / 19th or 20th March (depending on location and moon) this year. May profound Divine peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Light, and may through his love - the light of our heart and soul be unveiled.

Alnnabiyyu awla bialmu'mineena min anfusihim ...
The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves (...)
- The Quran | Al-Ahzab, 33.06

# Reference:
. Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili
. Qutubanniyya | the concept of Qutb in sufi path
Qutb or Qutub ("axis, pole," or ghauth, "help.") is the highest inner spiritual authority of the age.
. Mawlid links from past year
. Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah

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Prophet's birthday celebration across the world

Muslims across the globe celebrate the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in diverse fashion with benediction, blessings and prayer for the Prophet in all language including that of common Arabic.

Annemarie Schimmel, reported that custom of celebrating Mohammed’s birthday (Maulid, Mawlud, Milad-un-Nabi, Mevlud) on a large scale first appeared in Egypt during the time of Fathimiyah (969 - 1171 M). That celebration was attended by Islamic scholars who heard lectures about the history of the Prophet. In northern Iraq, the preparation for Maulid began early in the month of Muharram. Huts were set up for guests who came from out of town.

In Turkey, mosques are decorated with lamps. In Egypt, the leader of Mamluk holds a big ceremony to celebrate Maulid in the courtyard of Cairo's castle (Read: Annemarie, And Muhammad Is God's Courier). In many other Muslim countries, the day is celebrated by lighting torches and parading around the city. Nearly all Muslims abide by this tradition, except few more puritan islamic school of thoughts. (credit)

Below are glimpses of Holy Prophet's birthday celebration around the world (videos are recorded in different years):

# Maulid in Malaysia
# Mawlid Song, LA, California, USA
# Hongkong, China
# Singapore
# Eid Milad Un Nabi Canada
# Muhamad's Birthday Celebration-UK House of Commons
part 1, part 2
# Milad il Nabi: Cairo, Egypt
# Mawlid in Kenya
# Mawlid in Cyprus
# Selawat Germany Hadrah
# Bosnia
# Mawlid, Daghestan
# Mavlid, Chechen
# Mawlud, Grand Mosque Paris, France, also
# Morocco
# Mawlid in a Villa in Makkah Al Mukkaramah
# Mawlid in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
# Makkah, Saudi Arabia
# Somalia, Mawlid
# Holland
# Mawlid, Lefke, Cyprus
# Ecstasy of Loving Muhammad, Indonesia
# Mawlid, Montreal, Canada / Toronto also
# Harar, Ethiopia
# Turkey, also
# Albania
# Shahdili Cape Town (South Africa) Mawlid / also
# Sudan
# Bangali Mildu-Nabi, Texas, USA
# Milad Shareef By Al Haaj Mohammed Rafi, India
# Praising Prophet | San Fransisco, CA

. Mawlid Ceremonies in the Ottoman Empire
. Mawlid
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paradoxes | however you answer it, you are correct

mysticism points to the very fact that often many (perhaps all) of the life's most profound mysteries are paradoxical in their nature. talk about pre-destination and role of will, why there is suffering, the fact that the very idea of happiness require the presence of unhappiness, light needs darkness to be realized - everywhere you will see the paradox ingrained.

wherever you turn you can discover this paradox. even in the Divine Love and undefinable phenomena that we call love. Rumi says:
Nothing I say can explain to you Divine Love,
Yet all of creation can not seem to stop thinking about it.

while going thru the book, Walking with God by James Keeley, i came across a place where the author talks about his experience:

Albert Einstein said: the most important question one must answer is whether or not the universe is friendly... I was once sharing this quote from Albert Einstein with a class. One of the students said - the most interesting part of the question of whether or not the universe is friendly is that, however you answer it, you are correct. His statement took me back a bit a first until I realized what he was saying was incredibly profound. How we answer this question makes it so in only one place, OUR EXPERIENCE. Because that is the only place we will ever live, how we shape it affects everything else in our lives.

i loved this observation. indeed human beings created in the image of Divine have the qualities of the Divine. as Divine Will is the ultimate and potent Will, the human counterpart also carries an image of That. thus the experience we consciously embody as thoughts and will we create within us, the reality that we decide to incorporate in our experience within, becomes manifested outside. to facilitate understanding, it can be compared to a scaled down version of Divine Will. thus in whatever way we decide to see things, it appears likewise because deep within our subconscious we have willed it to be like that. our mental projection create the reality in our perception. the secret movie also talks about the same idea.

Man is the product of his thoughts, what he believes, he becomes. - Mahatma Gandhi

what Gandhi points about in the above quote is now open secret, yet many sufferings of the world are because of ignorance and hence negligence of this law of the universe. 'what we think is what we become' also holds the metaphysical secret of prayer, faith and beliefs. its implications goes beyond religious experiences. infact what we decide to make part of our thoughts, our ideas eventually become. that was the beginning of all great scientific discoveries.

as if with conscious thought we shower rain upon barren ground from where rise thousands blades of grass of realities. each thought interconnected with many creates not only one outcome but from there branches out many, as chain reaction.

and perhaps the ultimate paradox in mysticism is the following:
We start feeling that we are real and the Divine is an idea.
At the end, we discover it is really the other way around!

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Art of Presence and being Present | Eckhart Tolle

who are you?
i simply am
where are you?
here
what time it is?
now

to be aware of the present moment, to be mindful of now - is an ancient wisdom of humanity. every new born child is born with such awareness as a default state - for a child everything is one and present in the moment. the child lives in the ever present now and as we grow up somewhere along the line we start to lose that ability of living awareness of now. duality comes in, getting attached to past or jumping to future becomes a predominant state.

many faith, spiritual path gives back human being the same practice of bringing ourselves again into that state of awareness of present moment. from buddhist practice of mindfulness to islamic practice of invoking God's Merciful Name, Bismi'Llah before all action - each one of them are intended for the same goal. for the sufi path, Divine is even called The Presence. thus when we are truly aware of the present moment, we are aware of nothing but the Divine.

in our present time Eckhart Tolle is one of the most prominent spiritual teacher who has focused his teachings more profoundly and successfully than any other on this theme. awakened by his own personal spiritual realization and experience he talks and writes about the art of presence and being present.

thanks to internet technology that we can access many of his wisdom right at where we are. linked below are selection of few of his talks which might be inspirational and useful for your own being and living.

. on being yourself
. being present in relationship
. the deepest truth of human existence
. not reacting to content
. enlightenment (egoless state)
. untying the knot (not not)
. the enormous power of yes
. quite ordinary

. more video of Eckhart Tolle via YouTube
. more video of Eckhart Tolle via GoogleVideo

About Eckhart Tolle | Spiritual Teacher and author was born in Germany and educated at the Universities of London and Cambridge. At the age of twenty-nine a profound inner transformation radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey. Later, he began to work in London with individuals and small groups as a counselor and spiritual teacher. He is not identified with any religion, but uses teachings from Zen Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism and the Bible.

Eckhart Tolle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Power of Now (translated into 33 languages) and the highly acclaimed follow-up A New Earth, which are widely regarded as two of the most influential spiritual books of our time.

. Eckhart Tolle | official site

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religious fanaticism | veil that keeps people from seeing God

Ghazali repeatedly makes the point:
One of the main veils that keeps people from seeing God is religious fanaticism. He says, it doesn't matter too much which school of Islamic laws you follow. There are different theological positions that is valid to adopt.

Try and be orthodox, in fact its necessary to be orthodox, but whatever you do, don't turn it to some kind of zealot; so that religion just becomes a way of feeling that you are better than everybody else. Thereby veils you to God.

- comment by T. J. Winter (also known as Abu Hakim Murad) - Lecturer, Islamic Studies | Cambridge University | from the film Al-Ghazali: The Alchemist of Happiness by Ovidio Salazar.

a beautiful film i just watched and do recommend you to watch as well. from the imagery, portrayal of a great enlightened personality in world history to the message in the movie, its purely brilliant. a film where the search of truth and certitude takes a professor and scholar of religion to the path of mystical path and inner truth of tasawwuf (sufi way) - thats the life of Imam Ghazali.

# watch a ten minute clip via daily motion
# trailer via youtube

who was Al-Ghazali | Born in 1058 in Tus, Khorasan, in present-day Iran, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was one of the most original thinkers the world has known. Besides being a major influence in the Muslim world, the West has also felt his effect. He influenced major figures of medieval philosophy, such as Thomas Aquinas and Moses Maimonides, who shaped the philosophy of the Latin West. As the author of some 250 books on topics ranging from theology and ethics to metaphysics and philosophy, al-Ghazali came to be known as 'Proof of Islam.' For almost a thousand years he has served as an inspiration for spiritual seekers everywhere as he was someone, like the Buddha, willing to give up everything: wealth, position, family, and comfort in order to search for Truth.

. Ghazali.org
. Imam Al-Ghazali

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Diversity of Oneness | The Miracle that simply Is

"In reality you are just coming upon another manifestation of the same Being.

Do you understand this yet?

You see, no two moments are ever the same - that is the miracle of life. Oneness is not a miracle, it is the diversity of the One that is the miracle.

What a wonder it is to know that as God never manifests Himself in the same way twice, so each moment is an act of total creation.

(...) time is the eternal attribute of God."

- The Last Barrier: Reshad Field

"God says: son of Adam complains about time,
but I AM Time (Eternal)."
– Prophet Muhammad, recored in sacred tradition (hadith Qudsi)

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Immaculate is Allah | meditative quranic verses

.. subhana'Llahi
wa ta'ala
amma yushrikoon.

.. Immaculate is Allah
and exalted
above any limited comparison ascribed.

- 28:68 | Quran, the Final Testament Pin It Now!

What supersedes the Sabbath | Talmud wisdom

The saving of life supersedes the Sabbath.

- Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 132a Pin It Now!

this turning

One
Big
Circle
turning back on Itself
again and again.

how happy is the man
who can accept
this turning
and find peace in it!


James Parkinson | Solid Rock Ministries

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Tears in Tibet | stop Chinese imperial repression of Tibet, its cultural and religious identity

"Repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and politicisation of religious issues" - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, speaking from his exiled home Dharamshala in India, on China's heavy handling of recent protest in Lhasa, Tibet.

Riots escalate in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa as lay Tibetans join in the protests which began on March 10th, anniversary of the Tibetan uprising of 1959. Unconfirmed reports that soldiers are firing on Tibetans in the streets. 300 monks from Drepung monastery and 100 nuns from Chutsang nunnery marched toward the center of Lhasa, stopped by armed police. Arrest of around 500 students from Tibet University, according to CNN. Chinese authorities sealed off three monasteries in Tibet, shops and vehicles were burned, and deaths were reported as a wave of rare street protests continued in the remote Buddhist region.

Violence erupted Friday in a busy market area of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, as Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces. Witnesses say angry Tibetan crowds burned shops, cars, military vehicles and at least one tourist bus. anti China protests erupt in Tibet. Many police officers were badly injured in the clashes, Chinese state media said, while also reporting that a mosque and other buildings had been set on fire.

About the timing of the Tibetan Protest | The Tibetan monks who marched defiantly through Lhasa chose the 49th anniversary of the uprising against China for their protest.

They had good reason not to wait for the 50th. This summer’s Olympic Games have turned the world’s spotlight on China as never before, a fact not missed even on the remote Himalayan plateau. The past year has seen a sharp increase in protests across Tibet, by monks, nuns and ordinary Tibetans, risking imprisonment and torture to call for human rights, freedom of religion, autonomy and the return of the Dalai Lama, their leader-in-exile. (credit)

Call for Boycott of Olympic in China | Hollywood actor and Tibet activist Richard Gere Saturday called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games if China "does not act in the proper way" in handling protests in the Himalayan region.

Gere, an outspoken supporter of the Tibetan cause and a follower of the Dalai Lama, said there "absolutely" should be a worldwide boycott of the Games if Beijing mishandled protests that official Chinese media say have left seven dead. (credit)

Prayer | may we join in to send our prayers and light to brother and sisters of Tibet and may their aspirations for their land, culture, religion and language be sanctified. may all repression, persecution come to and end. may the holy land of Tibet remain blessed, so be blessed its people. amen.

Tibet in Global Voice Blogsphere | Diary from Lhasa / The Peking Duck /Agam's Gecko / Truth Hugger / Mazaqah

. Violence in Tibet as Monks Clash With the Police
. Tension rising in Tibet
. Monks under siege in monasteries
. Tibet, Dalai Lama and relations with China
. Ruthless campaign of cultural destruction

. Tibetans protest in picture
. Protests in Tibet
. Ten dead in Tibetan riot

. Free Tibet
. Tibet Online
. Tibet will be free
. Live \ Tibet uprising
. Understanding the Tibet Issue
. Campaign for Tibet Pin It Now!

Stay Exactly As You Are | Kabir

O mind! Where is the further shore you're crossing to?
Before you there is no traveler, no path;
there is neither stopping nor arriving.
There is no water there, no boat;
there is no boatman, no rower.
There is neither earth nor sky;
there is neither this shore nor the further shore.

There is no body, no mind.
You won't find anything of your own in that emptiness.
Be steadfast; sit within the earthen container of your body.
Right there is where you should be.
Right now, for once, look within your mind;
observe and think. Don't go anywhere else.
Kabir says: Quit all distraction!
Stay still, exactly as you are.

- Kabir -

mana tu pâra utâra kahâm jaiho
âge panthi pantha na koi kachu mukâm na paiho
nâhim tamha nira nâva nâhim khevaTa nâ guna khevanahârâ
dharani gagana kachu nâhim nâ kachu bâra na pârâ
nahim tana nahim mana nahim apanapo
sunna mem sudha na paiho
balihâna hoya baiTho ghaTa mem vâhi Thaure hoi ho
bârhi bâra bicâri dekha mana anta kahâ mata jaiho
kahe kabir saba châRa kalapanâ
jyom ke tyom Thaharai ho.

photo: labyrinth meditation at a school in singapore. organized by christian friends. in labyrinth walk meditation the center represents our return to Source and the maze our life and its complexities. it was an interesting experience. thanks Priya for taking me there!

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Gazing upon Parents with love | a meditation, an act of worship

Meditation through gazing full of love and compassion is a beautiful sufi meditation technique. Eye is the window of the soul and it is eye which often express the inner-heart. Thus creating loving-kindness, compassion (metta in Buddhist term, mahabba in sufistic term) in the heart-space, complementing with glance to direct that love - is the basic principle of gazing meditation.

The countenance of a loved person, face of an innocent child, eyes of a saint, any object that can help invoke and direct loving-kindness from heart-space may be the object of gaze.

The love of parents for children are the most pure, unconditional love and hence the closest reflection of Divine Love. The status of parents are so great that the Prophet mentions that "One who pleases his parents has verily pleased God." Casting / gazing upon parents with loving-kindness is a particular action which the last messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad taught and encouraged.

The Messenger of God said: “Every righteous child who casts a look of mercy and affection upon his (or her) parents shall be granted, for every look of his, rewards equivalent to that of an accepted Hajj (sacred pilgrimage).”

Those around the Prophet questioned: “O’ Prophet of God! Even if he were to look at them a hundred times a day?”

The Messenger of God replied: “Indeed! God is the Greatest and Most Kind.”

- Ref. Muslim and Biharul Anwar

And your Lord has commanded that you shall serve none but God, and that you shall show goodness to your parents ... pray saying: "my Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy, as they cherished me in childhood." - The Quran, Bani Isra'il 17.23

Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents; to Me is thy final goal.
- The Quran 31.14

The look of a child towards his parents out of love for them is an act of worship. - Prophet Muhammad

. The status of parents in Islam
. Forty Ahadith on Parents
. The Etiquette with parents in Islam
. Sami Yusuf: Mother

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Dreaming Prophet Muhammad | from autobiography of Shaykh Muzaffer Ashki al-Jerrahi

| Shaykh Muzaffer Ashki al-Jerrahi (1916 - 1985) |
rev. Guide of Halveti-Jerrahi sufi order

The dreaming of the Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of God holds very special status in Islamic tradition, both exoteric and esoteric. The Prophet himself has recorded (ref. Tirmidhi) to have said the following about seeing him in dream: "He who sees my hilye (description) after me, it is as if he had actually seen me, and he who sees it out of love and desire for me, God will forbid the fire of Hell to touch him. He will be safe from the trials of the grave, and he will not be sent forth naked on the day of resurrection."

In 1981, Shaykh Muzaffer wrote brief autobiography in his book Unveiling of Love: Sufism and the Remembrance of God, where he mentioned about his profound dream of the Messenger of God, Muhammad, other Biblical Prophets and many of the chosen spiritual companions of Prophet Muhammad who attained highest degree of spiritual enlightenment. Shaykh Muzaffer writes:

"During my early youth, while studying Koran interpretation at the Aya Sofya Mosque in Istanbul, I dreamed one night of the Prophet, on him be peace. He was riding his camel, led by Imam Ali, may God be pleased with him, who was holding in his other hand his famous sword, the two-edged Zulfikar.

Addressing me, the Prophet asked if I had faith and if I was a Muslim. When I said yes, he asked me if I would give my head for Islam. Again I said yes. Then the Prophet told Imam Ali to cut my head off in the name of Islam. Imam Ali asked me to stretch my neck out, then struck me with all his might, severing my head from my body. I awoke in terror.

When I saw my Koran teacher next morning, I told him my dream...

My teacher then interpreted my dream and said that I was going to join the Sufi path of Ali and that I would become the Sheikh of a particular order.

I am the nineteenth Sheikh and eighth khalifa since the creation of our branch of the order (Halveti-Jerrahi Sufi Order). With the strength received from the will of God, the wish of His Messenger, the good pleasure of my saint, the spirituality of all the Sheikhs before me, and the blessing and faith of my master and benefactor, I look forward to being involved in the spiritual guidance of lovers till the day I die. I have only two children born of my blood, but God knows the number of my spiritual children. I have had the honor of seeing the Prophet, on him be peace, seventeen times in the world of dreams.

I have seen Moses, Jesus, John, and Khidr once. I have seen both the venerable Abu Bakr and Umar twice, and in one of these dreams I kissed their hands. I have seen both our lady Fatima and Imam Ali twice, and Imam Hasan and Imam Hussein once. I have seen my saint Nureddin Jerrahi twice, receiving his compliments.

[>] read the full text here

[>] Jerrahi: A Sufi Ceremony| a film by Pierre-Marie Goulet, 1978, France. watch the rare and wonderful sufi remembrance ceremony video (duration 24:21 min) led by Shaykh Muzaffer Effendi. [click here to watch]

. to download to your computer right click here and select save as... (may require real player or apple quick time player to play in case you don't have it installed)

. Unveiling of Love and other books by Shaykh Muzaffer
. Online reading from Halveti-Jerrahi sufi order
. The way of love
. Ozak Hixon

He, who does not believe in the true dream, does not believe in God nor in the Day of Reckoning. ~ words of Prophet Muhammad

. Description the Holy Prophet
. Interpretation of Dream in Islamic Wisdom Tradition
. How did Prophet Muhammad (p) look like?
. Secret of true dreams
. Dream | remembrance of unconscious Pin It Now!