Moved!

Bismillahir-Rahman-nir-Rahim,

As'Salaam wa Alaikum wa Rahmtullahi wa Barakatahu

I moved this Blog to Word Press, because it's a lot more simpler and neater, Alhamdulillah. Join me there, Insh'Allah.

Allah emanat Olunuz,

May Allah bless you and your families! Ameen. For the sake of His Beloveds.

Hidden Sweetness

BismillahirRahmanirRahim


(Mevlana Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks)

There's hidden sweetness
in the stomach's emptiness.

We are lutes, no more, no less.
If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no music.

If the brain and the belly are burning clean with fasting,
every moment a new song comes out of the fire.

The fog clears, and new energy
makes you run up the steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.
Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.

When you're full of food and drink,
an ugly metal statue sits where your spirit should.

When you fast, good habits gather
like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Solomon(AS)'s ring. Don't give it
to some illusion and lose your power,
but even if you have, if you've lost all will and control,
they come back when you fast,
like soldiers appearing out of the ground,
pennants flying above them.

A table descends to your tents,
Jesus(AS)'s table.
Expect to see it, when you fast,
this table spread with other food, better than the broth of cabbages.

The Most Beautiful Man in the World

Sultan-ul-Awliya

- (Spring 2006)

Secret Knowledge

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

Abu Huraira (ra) said:

I have learned directly from Allah's messenger (saw) and I have memorized prophetic sayings and acquired knowledge that can fill five large bags. By now, I have opened and shared with you only two of them.


If I were to open the third bag, and should you hear what he said, you would surely stone me to death.


(narrated Qutaiba bin Sa'id)

Quest for the Seal

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

(Abu Tufail Amir bin Wailah narrated that Salman al-Farsi (ra) said) -

I come from the city of Jai (in Isfahan, Persia). One day, Almighty Allah inspired my heart to ponder the question, `Who created the heavens and the earth?'

Hence, prompted by such concerns and inner quest, I sought an old man I knew, who spoke very little and who, out of self-restraint, had kept a distance from the city people. When I reached him, I asked, `What is the best of religions?' He replied, `Why would you want to talk about this subject? Are you seeking a religion other than that of your fathers?' I cautiously answered: `No, I am not, but I would like to know who created the heavens and the earth, and what is the best religion to follow?' The old man said to me, `To my knowledge, only one monk follows the true religion today, and he lives in the city of Mosul, in Iraq.'

Hence, I traveled to Mosul, and I found the monk I was told to meet. Thereat, I stayed with him, and I worshipped what he worshipped. He was an old man, and he lived on little provisions. He fasted all his days, and he prayed all his nights. Approximately three years later, at his deathbed, I asked him, `You must advise me what to do now, and where to go?' The man replied, `I know of no one in the East who believes and worships what I worship. Go West. Find a monk I once knew and who lives at the edge of the Arabian Peninsula, and give him my regards of peace.'

After the monk died, I traveled to where he told me, and I found the man he described. I conveyed to him the greetings of his brother, and I told him of his death. Thereat, I remained in his company for another three years, and again, at his deathbed, I requested him to guide me where to go after he dies. He replied, `I am not acquainted with any one on this earth today who worships what I worship except for a very old monk who lives in the region of Amoriya, in Philistine, and I am not sure whether he is still alive.'

After the monk died, again I traveled to where I was told, and luckily, I found the man he described to me. Thereat, I stayed with him, and this time, the man was financially comfortable. Sometimes later, when he neared his death, I sought his advice, and he replied, `I am not acquainted with any living person who worships what I worship. However, if you happen to live in a time where a man from the descendants of the House of Abraham (upon whom be peace) will appear, -- and I am not sure whether you will live to meet him or not – I myself have had a strong desire to live to meet him. However, if you should meet him, then follow him, for that is the true way and that is the religion of Allah Almighty. Among his signs is that some of his people will label him a magician, and an insane person, and a prognosticator. He accepts and eats from what is given to him as a gift, and he does not eat from charity; and you will also see the seal of prophethood in-between his shoulder blades.'

Salman continued, `I resided in my place for a while, and one day, a caravan of merchants from Medina crossed out path. I inquired from them, `Who are you?' They replied, `We are merchants. We make a living from trading. However, there appeared a man from among the descendants of Abraham in Mecca, and he migrated to Medina, and the entire city is now under his control. As a result, his people from Mecca have declared war on him and on his followers, so we feared for our livelihood, and therefore, we decided to seek shelter and safety somewhere else.'

I asked, `What are they saying about him?' The merchants replied, `They say he is a magician, a prognosticator, or maybe he is an insane person.' Hearing that I said to myself, `These are his signs.' I further inquired, `Who is the leader of this caravan? Would you please guide me to him?' When I came before the leader of the caravan, I requested him, `Would you please take me to Medina?' He replied, `What would you pay me?' I said, `I have nothing to give you, but if you agree to carry me there, I will be indebted to you, and I will be your slave.' The man accepted the barter and he carried me to Medina. Thereat, he placed me to work for him at a date plantation he owned, and I worked there very hard. I seldom had any food, and I mostly lived on water, just like cattle, until the bones of my back protruded, and I could see my pectoral bones. I did not know Arabic then, and not many people in that city spoke my Persian tongue.

One day an old woman of Persian origin came by the date plantation to get some water. When I spoke to her in my mother tongue, she understood me, and as we chatted a little I asked her, `Do you know that man that appeared lately, and would you please point him out to me?' She replied, `He usually passes by here after the dawn prayers, or sometime in mid-morning.'

Salman continued: The next day, I kept some dates aside and I waited for him. As he passed, I followed him to the mosque, and as he sat amidst his companions, I went there, and I presented him with the dates. Allah's messenger (saw) looked at them and then said to me, `What is this? Is it a charity or a gift?' I understood what he meant, and I made a gesture pointing out that it is a charity. He immediately said, `Give it to these people sitting here.' As I did, I said to myself, `This is one of his signs.' The next morning I brought another measure of dates and placed them before him. Allah's messenger (saw) again inquired, `What is this?' I hastened to say, `A gift!' He (sws) then ate one, and he called his companions to share them with him. He then saw me stealthily attempting to look over his shoulders. He recognized my intention and allowed his cloak to slowly drop below his shoulders, and when I saw what I saw, I became bewildered, and I jumped out of my place, I kissed him all over, and I held tight to him. After I sat there for a moment, Allah's messenger (saw) asked me to relate my story. When I told him what happened, he said to me, `Go and buy back your freedom.'

Salman continued: `When I reached my master, I said to him, `I have come to buy back my freedom.' He replied, `Yes indeed! I will give you back your freedom for the price of planting one hundred seedlings of date palm trees, and when I verify that they all took roots, and that they are free from disease, you also must bring me the weight of a date pit in gold, and only then you may go free.'

Salman said: I went back to Allah's messenger (saw) and I related to him what the man said. He replied, `Give him what he asks of you, and also bring me a bucket of water from the well you will use to irrigate the plants.'

I immediately went to the man, and I made the deal with him following the conditions he stipulated. With his permission, I then filled a bucket of water from the central well in the plantation field, and I took it back to Allah's messenger (saw) who in turn prayed over it. Allah's messenger (saw) also asked the companions to collect and to give me the needed one hundred seedlings, and when they did, I went back, and I planted the seedlings.

Salman continued: I swear by Allah that not a single seedling failed us, and as soon as the man verified that, I went back to Allah's messenger (saw) and told him the same. Allah's messenger (saw)then called upon the companions to bring him a piece of gold of the weight we agreed upon with the man, and again, I immediately went back to the man and placed the piece of gold before him. When the man placed his specified measure on the other scale of the balance, my piece of gold seemed to weigh more, for nothing moved, and the man accepted the barter.

I brought back to Allah's messenger (saw) the date pit that determined the conclusion of the deal, and he looked at it and commented, `I swear by Allah, that even if you had agreed with him to give him the weight of such and such measure of date pits, the piece you gave him would weigh more.'

Salman continued: From that day on, I went to Allah's messenger (saw) and I stayed in his company until the end.

[Hilyat-e Evliya]

His Appearance

BismillahirRahmanirRahim


Scholars debate about when Mahdi (as) will appear and return justice
to the world. Grandsheykh Nazim al-Hakkani el-Kibrisi said,

We do not accept that Allah is disobeyed, and that the Ummat is
tormented, and that the flag of Shaytan continue to be raised for
one, two, or four more years, not even for one day more. Therefore,
every morning we say, "Tonight he will appear" and every night we
say, "tomorrow he will appear.


[Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition]

CNN's Snow Job

BismillahirRahmanirRahim,

As'Salaam wa Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu,

Came across this, confirming what we already know about the media bias for Israeli-centric news coverage from CNN, but it's interesting to see this exposed by the liberal media here in the US. May Allah ease the suffering of the innocent and the oppressed, and rid the world of tyranny in all its forms, Ameen. For the sake of our Sheykh.

"I was surprised yesterday afternoon when a Reuters article popped onto my computer screen reporting that 53 Lebanese civilians had been killed by Israeli forces, part of the suddenly chaotic two-front battle Israel's military is fighting in the Middle East. Surprised, because I had been monitoring the day's events on CNN and hadn't heard much about that kind of swelling Lebanese death toll.

Thanks to CNN, I'd learned that Israeli forces had bombed Beirut International Airport and a blockade was in place to cut off Lebanon's ports, that president Bush announced Israel had the right to defend herself, that Hezbollah had fired missiles into the seaside city of Haifa, and that an Israeli woman in Nahariya had been killed amidst the cross-border violence. But I hadn't learned many details about the more than four dozen civilians in Lebanon being killed, a fact that struck me as central to the unfolding story.

Baffled, I made a point of watching CNN's afternoon "Situation Room" with the network's high-profile anchor Wolf Blitzer, who gravely intoned about the "fear of all-out war" in the Middle East. ("Mideast: Brink of War?" read the on-screen graphic.) Indeed, "The Situation Room" chewed on Middle East story almost without interruption. I watched a CNN reporter from Israel file a dispatch, and then a reporter traveling with the president, a reporter from the United Nations, a reporter from Lebanon, an in-studio discussion with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq and then an interview with Republican Sen. Bill Frist. Yet during the first 40 minutes of "The Situation Room," which devoted itself almost exclusively to the escalating Mideast chaos, there was no reference to the fact the Israeli military had killed more than 50 Lebanese civilians. (It wasn't until halfway through the second hour of "The Situation Room" that Blitzer finally clued viewers in.)

Later, I went back and checked CNN's reporting, via TVeyes.com, and discovered that throughout the day CNN repeatedly reported on the lone Israeli civilian causality without making any mention of the more than 50 Lebanese civilian casualties. To be exact, CNN did that at 10:31 a.m., 11:02, 12:09 p.m., 12:19, 1:00, 1:30, 1:52, 2:00, 2:17, 2:30, 2:50, and 4:04.

Note that at 12:05 p.m. CNN did report that "at least 45 Lebanese civilians have been killed in this offensive," but that's because the news channel was airing a feed from CNN International, which seemed to understand one of its fundamental responsibilities in covering bloody, revenge-driven political conflicts was to report civilian deaths suffered on both sides. In fact, a check of CNN Europe's reporting yesterday afternoon showed CNN Europe routinely reported on the death of the Israeli woman and as well as death of nearly 50 Lebanese civilian. CNN's U.S.-based anchors and reporters though, seemed mostly unable or unwilling to do the same.

Has CNN gotten to the point where it won't report pertinent facts that are essential to putting a story in context? Facts that certainly would have helped viewers understand some of the international criticism Israel was coming under for what the European Union called a "disproportionate" military response to the conflict at hand.

At this point I don't think it's even controversial to suggest the Arab-Israeli conflict is told in the United States mostly through the eyes of Israelis, and that's especially true on cable news channels. American news organizations have more resources in Israel, better sources within the Israeli government and most American viewers likely consider the Israeli's more like 'us.' And if you don't think there's a difference on how the U.S. media cover the warring sides, then try to imagine what the press coverage would have looked like yesterday if 50 Israeli citizens had been killed by the missiles that hit Haifa.

I doubt Wolf Blitzer would have reported on that story for a solid hour and forgotten to give viewers the civilian death toll."

Source: "CNN's Lebanon Problem", The Huffington Post

Abdur-Rauf al Yamani and Sheykh Mevlana

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim,

Things are beginning to come to a head in the world
as you can probably see. We are truly at the end
of the Ahir-uz-Zaman.

Best thing to do now, is make sure we
are alright in our hearts, and our
connection to Allah is clear and
uncompromised by the weight of the nafs
and this world. Insh'Allah Rahman. Sheikh Mevlana
Nazim's Sheykh - Grand Sheykh
Abdullah Al Faiz Daghestani has spoken
about the events unfolding and about to
unfold during this time. Take a look here-

"The picture above is of Moulana Sheikh Nazim with Sheikh Abdur Rauf al-Yamani. Grandsheikh Abdullah Faiz Dagistani has spoken of Sheikh Abdur Rauf al-Yamani during his time.

The following is the prediction made by Grandsheik Moulana Abdullah Faiz Dagistani about Sheikh Abdur Rauf al-Yamani and it is in page 371 of History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain-The Naqshbandi Sufi Way.


China is under the authority of a Great Saint, who will be one of the Greatest Saints in the time of Mahdi (alai) and Easa (alai). His name is Abdur Rauf al-Yamani. Through his influence China will sign an agreement with the West not to use its nuclear weapons. China will split into many different small countries. There will be problems in the Far East, in the Korean Peninsula, and a great power will intervene to stop that conflict. A non-Arab Middle Eastern country will attack the Persian Gulf area, which will put the whole world into fear that the source of petroleum will
be cut off."

Read more at Source

: http://www.sheiknazim2.com/preciousmoments.html

So, Allah shares the knowledge we don't know, with His
beloved ones. Because they are living their lives according
to the knowledge that thay know, Allah is giving them the knowledge,
they don't know. If we do the same, Allah will do the same for us.

Insh'Allah it will become apparent to
those who are sincere and looking with sincere eyes.

May Allah guide us to sincerity and to His
beloved ones, and to make every day better than the last,
according to the Holy Prophet(ASWS)'s advice,
May Allah bless him and his family and
companions. There is surely safety with them.
Ameen, for the sake of our Sheykh.

The World Lost Its Compass;The Dirtiness of Nuclear War

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

The World Lost Its Compass;
The Dirtiness of Nuclear War

Sohbet by Sheykh Abdul Kerim el-Hakkani el-Kibrisi

Thursday, 27 RabiThani 1427
May 25, 2006
Osmanli Naks-i'bendi Hakkani Dergah, Siddiki Center, New York.

BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Medet Ya Seyyidi Ya Sultanul Awliya, Medet.
Alhamdulillah, shukr Allah, Astaghfirullah.

We are asking medet inshaAllah ar-Rahman from our Sheykh to send us something to speak that will benefit us, that will benefit me, you and everyone who listens. We are not good for anything. If they don't send then we cannot speak. What we speak is for ourselves and for those people who are running to find true ways and to live the way of Islam, the way of Truth. This sohbet is for anyone who is thirsty for that. If it's not then everyone should run to live as they like until the angel of death will come. After that no `as you like'. As He likes. After the angel of death comes we will all understand. Those who were before us all understand now. But it's too late for some of them. Those who were living and trying to correct themselves in this life should not worry and those who are trying now should not worry too. Allah is the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficent.

The whole mankind today, from east, west, north and south lost the direction, lost the compass. It doesn't know which side to go anymore and so much problems, miseries and pains and man is running for all kinds of things that the children of Adam has not been created for and staying under the curse and not collecting what is coming for them. The mercy of Allah is raining but they are running to the areas where the curse is raining. For that the whole mankind lost the direction, exception is some handful of people (such as) here and some others in the world. But the general (masses) lost the compass. They lost the direction. Nobody is controlling the wheel except Sheytan driving towards Jahannam.

Our Grandsheykh is saying, "This Sheytan is sitting on a big truck and that truck has a very powerful engine. So many people are behind that truck and Sheytan is driving the truck into the ocean or over a cliff, ready to fall down." Our Sheykh is saying, "We (the Awliya, him and so many like him, there are 124,000) are trying to hold the truck from behind not to go down the cliff, not to go down to the ocean but the physical power that the truck is carrying is pulling every one of us together. So we have to know where to let it go." And they are screaming to those who want safety saying, "Jump down from the truck! Otherwise, the end is deep, going down."

Jumping down from the truck means turning back to the laws of Islam. There is no other way. Leave the ego ways, leave the ways of other teachings, other kinds of governmental teachings (let's put it that way), or from studying in schools that are saying to you, "Enjoy yourself." There is nothing to enjoy in this world. We have not been created to run after to try to enjoy ourselves. Enjoyment is in the hereafter. And we must have discipline to be able to accept the laws of Islam, to put it on ourselves and to start benefiting. All those laws and everything are to teach us to reach to the highest stations anyway, to become Insan-i Kamil, the most perfect one. So it's teaching us slowly how to have better discipline, how to have better Adab, better manners.

Islam first put laws saying, "Forbidden things. Halal and Haram." Haram and Halal, that is, what is for us and what is not for us to have, to eat, to drink and to enjoy. All nations today, Muslim countries too, removed the laws of Allah. They put their own laws. Man's laws. Then later they are saying, "Oh, we are not interfering into religion. Leave as you like." But they are not even leaving that. They are interfering into religion all the time. It's okay in a country to go to open bars, clubs, discotheques and all kinds of wrong places. The government gives them license saying, "These are the borderlines. Live according to that and enjoy as much as you want inside that room. Go crazy if you want. Don't bring it out. Drink as much as you want. But if you are too drunk then don't drive your car. Let somebody bring you home." This is what the governments are saying to people, some governments, especially in the Middle East. And it's okay. It's not illegal. That's legal. You can have bars, you can have clubs and you can have all kinds of things that are speaking only for ego. It's okay.

When you go to those governments to get a license saying, "I accept your secular way also. Let me live according to my religion inside the secular way. I am asking you to give me license to open a dergah and to have ten people, fifteen people, fifty people or a hundred people in the dergah to say `Allah'. We don't like to go to bars, clubs and discotheques to go crazy drinking and getting all these wrong things. We would like to come together in this place to say `Allah' and to jump up and down." Now you are finding all governments saying, "No! We are not giving you permission to do that."

Hmm. So you give permission to a man to have the microphone in his hand… some are not even men that are appearing on television. They look like men but they are not. Some look like women but they are almost naked, appearing on television singing, dancing and making people to admire them, to run after them, on state-run televisions and permission is given to all those wrong things, but they are not giving permission to believers to remember their Lord in their own houses. How are you expecting your government to stand up for a long time? No police government ever lived more than a hundred years. In a hundred years time it came down. History is showing, from the time of Firaun and Namrud to everyone. Meaning, oppressor governments who were pushing people didn't live for long. All these ones are not going to live for long too now.

Ya hu, don't you see? You go to an university and the university has laws saying to you, "You have to come to school at this time, you have to enter to the class at this time, at this time you are going to study, at this time you are going to sleep, at this time you are going to eat, at this time you are going to do that and at this time you are going to do this." Everything has their laws. But when it comes to religion they don't want any laws, they don't want anybody to bother them and they say, "Live your religion by yourself."

(You say,) "Let's have ten people together."

They say, "No! By yourselves."

And Allah is saying, "Become Jamat." So that's how those governments are really favoring and letting religion live among the people.

Alhamdulillah, in America we still have the freedom to live the religion that way. That's why the Awliya Allah are supporting it. They are not supporting the government or the President. They are supporting this government because they are still leaving people to live their own religion the way that their Prophet left to them. They are not oppressing them. That's why the Awliya Allah are praying and so many people are taking the Awliya Allah's praising (let's say) to America or Great Britain and they are thinking that the Awliya Allah are concentrating on that individual whoever is the President for that time or whichever the party is in that time. They are thinking that the Awliya Allah are taking the sides of parties, Republicans or Democrats or whatever more there is. That also shows how close they are and how much they are understanding the teachings of the Awliya Allah. They are definitely supporting this country because we can still sit here and pray as we think our Holy Prophet (alayhi salatu wa salam) left to us and they are not coming to bother us. That's why they are blessed. But you cannot do that in any Muslim country today. Not in Turkey, not in Egypt, not in Morocco, not in Syria, not in Saudi Arabia, not in Iraq, not in Iran, not in Uzbekistan and not in any country.

They are claiming that they are Muslims and they are living according to Islam. According to what Islam? The Islam that you have invented according to what fits to your ego? Or the Islam that the Holy Prophet (alayhi salatu wa salam) came to teach us? That kind of Islam? Or the kind of Islam that you have invented according to your own ego? Yes, they are living the kind of Islam that fits to their ego. That's why they don't have the laws of Allah. They removed the laws of Allah and they put the laws of man and they are screaming that there are terrorists everywhere. Of course. It's not working. Your laws are not working. Put the laws of Allah back on and look how fast it's going to work.

We say to them, "You tried everything. For almost a hundred years you tried everything from Communism, to Fascism, to dictator regimes, to everything. Why not take Islam and try Islam again too a little bit to see what's going to happen." As soon as you say to them `Islam' they start shivering, saying, "These terrorists are coming." Terrorists? If it was up to the Muslims they would not even take a gun in their hand. It's only to protect themselves. Nothing else. And the Sufis never went fighting with any governments too. But when they were under the ruling of the Empire and under the ruling of the Khalifah, they were the first soldiers, always in the front lines. Yes, the Sufis, because they were fighting and defending for the sake of Allah. So they were running in the frontlines. But after the Khilafat came down nowhere will you find the Sufis uprising and fighting. No. Until they came and they approached them here and there in different countries, in Afghanistan and in Chechenistan, and some small groups of people are standing up, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. But the majority among them also turned into the wrong areas and they started adopting and taking some teachings of the Wahhabis and they started becoming tyrants.

And I am surprised to hear today from the Muslims that they are supporting and they are saying, "We must have nuclear bombs. The Muslim governments must have nuclear bombs." Let me ask you, what are you going to do with that nuclear bomb? Do you think having nuclear bombs will stop those oppressors on you? It's their weapon. They are going to find something else on you again. So if you have the nuclear bomb then what are you going to do? Are you going to use it on America? Or are you going to use it on Russia? Or China? Or Israel (as they are running non-stop and declaring)? As soon as America gives ultimatum to one country, right away they say, "We are going to hit Israel." What's going to happen when you hit Israel? When you are hitting Israel you are going to hit Lebanon, Jordan and all Muslims countries there too. And half of Israel is Muslims inside. Muslim people are living inside there too. Do you think the atomic bomb is going to separate saying, "This is Muslim and this is not Muslim"? How foolish the Muslims became! And what kind of a war is it then that it is a disgrace to mankind to have such a bad weapon. Even the Generals in America never liked to have that option because they are men with a vision understanding the warfare, and understanding, "This is something very dirty." They don't want that. You are burning everything, man, animals and everything in it. What kind of understanding of Islam do these people have?

Islam is saying to you that if you have a ship at the shore and there are a thousand people there where nine hundred and ninety-nine of them have been found guilty by the court of Islam and they are going to have death penalty, every one of them. They are escaping from that country and nine hundred and ninety-nine people who are in that ship are guilty and they have death penalties on them. There is only one person in that ship who is not guilty but he is just caught up with them there. You cannot sink that ship because there is one innocent sitting among those nine hundred and ninety-nine of them. As man you cannot sink that ship. If Allah wants He is going to do something. But you cannot sink that ship. Allah is not giving permission to Muslims then, saying, "Let that ship go. Think of some other ways to stop that ship." You cannot kill every one of them because there is one innocent, even though nine hundred and ninety-nine of them have death penalties on them.

This is the Islam that Holy Prophet (sws) brought to us and if anybody is trying to get something other than that then they are never going to reach anywhere again. They are leaving the way, they are running away, they are deviating from the ways of the Holy Prophet (alayhi salatu wa salam) and they are screaming saying, "We need help. We need help Ya Rabbbi!" Allah is saying to us, "You need help? Hold on tightly to that Prophet. Then help will reach to you. If you are not holding on tightly to My Prophet then no help is reaching to you."

Wa min Allahu taufiq.

InshaAllah ar-Rahman this much is enough for you and for me.

Fatiha.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Transcribed by Yeni Osmanli

The World is but Shadows

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

(from The Book of Golden Meadows, by Ali al-Mas'udi)

The historian Asmaiy relates the following anecdote:

One day theCaliph Harun al-Rashid gave a feast in a magnificently decorated hall. During the feast he sent for the poet Abu'l Atahiyah, and commandedhim to depict in verse the gorgeous scene. The poet began: "Live, O' Caliph, in the fulfilment of all your wishes, in the shelter of your lofty palace!"

"Very good!" exclaimed Rashid. "Let us hear the rest."

The poet continued: "Each morn and eve be all your servitors swift to execute your behests!"

"Excellent!" said the Caliph. "Go on!"

The poet replied: "But when the death-rattle chokes your breath you will learn, alas! that all your delights were a shadow."

Rashid burst into tears. Fazl, the son of Yahya (Haroun's Vizier), seeing this, said to the poet: "The Caliph sent for you to divert him, and you have plunged him into melancholy."

"Let him be," said Rashid; "He saw us in a state of blindness, and tried to open our eyes."

[Source: http://www.fordham.edu/source/masoudi.html]

Lover of the Divine

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

"Becoming sultan of the world was an empty struggle. I found greatness only in devoting myself to a lover of the Divine."

- Yavuz Sultan Selim [Source: Ilm as-Sadr, Hakikat Yayincilik]

Touch and Go

As'Salaam wa Alaikum wa Rahamtullahi wa Barakatahu,

BismillahirRahmanirRahim,

Haven't been here in a while, and I apologize to those who've been checking in regularly. Hope you were patient with me. I won't be able to update this site as often or as regularly as I'd like, due to studies and preoccupation with my chosen profession as it's beginning to get a bit time consuming. However, Insh'Allah Rahman, with the support of My Sheykh, I'll be dropping by to share some things from time to time, which I feel may be beneficial to me and to you.

Jazak'Allah Khair to all those who've read and stopped by. Take care of yourselves, and your families, and one another as you yourself would like to be treated, and taken care of -as per the advice of the Holy Prophet(ASWS). Prophet(ASWS) is saying, 'Deen an-naseehat- Religion is advice'. Insh'Allah we will take the advice of the most beloved one and one day become beloved ones ourselves. It is a long road, but we have our guides, the Sheykhs, to rely on for support, Insh'Allah Rahman. And we wait for Mahdi (AS) to come, revive the sunnah once again , Insh'Allah. We must work to be with those who are with Him, always.

'Be with the Saliheen until Death comes to take you' - from the words of our Holy Prophet(ASWS). Insh'Allah, with support, we will endeavor to do just that. Ameen.

May Allah guide you to His presence through His Beloveds and forgive you, and guide me and forgive me. For the sake of His beloved Prophet(ASWS) and Sultan-ul Awliya and Sheykh Abdul-Kerim Effendi. Ameen.

Was'Salaam wa Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu