The Sun of Mercy
Love of Allah, Short Articles, Tasawwuf August 5th, 2008
When the sun (which is only a creation) in the sky can convert impurities to fragrant flowers and is creating bread in the oven, then what will be the condition of Allah’s sun of grace? When the rays of Allah’s mercy shine on the evil thoughts in the heart, those thoughts are changed to the light of piety. Allah does not require capability or a certificate for giving. Maulana Rumi (
) have said;
When Allah can grant filthy impurities such garments and Noor, then what will He be able to give his pure servants. Jalalud-din Rumi () is at a loss of vocabulary to express what bounties Allah grants those salikeen and murideen and those who tread His path.
When the sun of Allah’s grace rises on people’s hearts, their evil character changes to virtuous character. The love which was being sacrificed for decaying corpses is now being sacrificed for Allah in prostration. That love is expressed now by placing the head on the ground in prostration by saying, “Subhana Rabbiyal A’la”. Honor belongs to the one who places his head at the feet of the Creator of the head. He will have no difficulties.
Source: A Life of Piety by Hazrat Maulana Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Sahab (db)
Urdu Version: Hayat-e-Taqwa
Tags: evil thoughts, Grace of Allah, Jalaludeen Rumi, mercy, piety
Ayaaz and the Priceless Pearl
Friends of Allah, Love of Allah May 31st, 2008
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (rahmatullahi alaihi) mentions in his Mathnawi, a story of Sultan Mahmood: One day the Sultan decided to test his ministers and ordered them to crush the most prized pearl of his treasury. One by one, each of 65 ministers declined, stating that the pearl was far too valuable to be destroyed.
The King then summoned his closest and trusted courtier, Ayaaz, and ordered him to crush the pearl. Without any delay or hesitation, Ayaaz crushed the pearl into fragments. When the ministers expressed disbelief and shock at such audacity, the King asked Ayaaz to inform them as to the reason for him having broken the pearl.
In response, Ayaaz asked these ministers: “Which is more important, the Royal Decree or the pearl? “
The question we pose to ourselves is:
“Which is more important, the command of my Allah or the haram desire of my heart?”
The haram desires of the heart are akin to pearls, which appear to be quite beautiful but we should not fulfill these haram desires at the cost of breaking the decrees of Allah.
Ayaaz attained closeness to the king through his loyalty and faithfulness and his obedience and submission. Similarly, we will gain the extreme nearness and intimate closeness to the King of Kings through loyalty and faithfulness. This in turn is dependent upon sincere obedience and complete submission to His decrees.
Tags: Jalaludeen Rumi, Mahmood o Ayaz, Mathnawi, sultan mahmood
The Everlasting Lamp Is Lit By The Temporary Lamp
Friends of Allah, Love of Allah, Preparation for Death April 13th, 2008
Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi (
) says that the light of the ‘lamp of life’ is very weak and dim. Along with this, the “winds of death” are constantly blowing and could extinguish the ‘lamp of life’ at any time.
In the violent storm of death,
The lamp of life burns away.
Therefore, make an effort to attain the lamp of the love of Allah in your heart so that when the lamp of this temporary life is extinguished, the everlasting, emergency lights of Allah Ta’ala ignite from within. The example of this is like the electricity that went off a minute ago and the generator caused the lights to turn on.
The winds are strong and the lamp is weak,
Quickly we must find another lamp.
The lamp is weak and the winds are blowing furiously. O people of the world! Quickly make an effort in lighting another lamp. Jalaludeen is not a fool! Through the blessing of Shaikh Shamsudeen Tabrezi (), I have lit the lamp of Allah’s Nisbah1 by adopting the Sunnah and by abstaining from sins. Maulana Rumi () says that when death approaches and the eyes close, the divine lamp of Allah’s love is immediately set alight in the hearts of the Auliya2 just as the generator turned on, and the lights immediately came back. When the eyes close from this temporary life then all the buildings, bungalows, luxurious cars, business dealings and beautiful women will come to an end. We will all have to leave this world one day.
While in Hardoi, India, I had composed a couplet regarding the instability of this temporary world. Hazrat Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi and I were traveling on a riksha at that time. I told him, “Hazrat, I have composed a couplet…” When Mufti Sahebheard the couplet he said, “Do present this couplet of yours to your Shaikh, Maulana Shah Abrarul Haq Saheb ( ).” This couplet, which the Grand Mufti of India approved of, is as follows:
This garden will one day become a desert, tell this to the nightingale,
So that it may think before sacrificing its life.
To serve the Auliya and to adopt their company does not mean that you continue to have your eyes fixed on their wealthy mureeds. Therefore, I urge you to attain the love of Allah from the Auliya. I take an oath by Allah Ta’ala that the people of the world will rush to serve you. Do not become like the grape worm, which went to eat the grapes but was deceived by the green leaves of the grape. Thinking a leaf to be the grape, it spent its whole life on the leaf and died on that very leaf and was deprived of the actual enjoyment of the grape. Similarly, many mureeds come to attain the love of Allah Ta’ala but become lost in the glamour and glitter of the world. In this way they leave the world deprived of Allah’s love. May Allah Ta’ala save us all. Ameen.
1 The strong connection with Allah Ta’ala which is attained through adopting the company of a friend of Allah Ta’ala and abstaining from all sins and punctuality in zikr.
2 Those pious, Allah-fearing individuals who have attained a special connection with Allah Ta’ala.
Source: What is the Reality of Tasawwuf
Tags: Auliya, death, Jalaludeen Rumi, Nisbah, Shah Abrarul Haq, Shamsudeen Tabrezi, Sunnah
