|
”The greatest sin is what kills hearts. They do not die except through the absence of
the knowledge of God. This is what is named ignorance. For the heart is the house
that God has chosen for Himself in this human configuration. But such a person has
usurped the house, coming between it and the owner. He is the one who most wrongs
himself because he has deprived himself of the good that would have come to him
from the owner of the house had he left the house to Him. This is the deprivation of
ignorance.
Ibn al-Arabi; al-Futuhat al-Makkiya, vol 3, p. 179
”A (true) man is one who sits and rises among others, sleeps and eats,
and interacts with others in the bazaar, buying and selling, who mixes with people,
yet for one moment is not forgetful of God in his heart.
Abu Said b. Abil-Khayr; Muhammad Ibn Munawwar, Asrar-i tawhid, vol. 1, p. 199
”If you study and examine knowledge, your knowledge must rectify your heart and
purify your soul, as if you know your life span will not last more than a week. It is
necessary that you not busy that time with the knowledge of jurisprudence, character
traits, the principles (of religion and jurisprudence), theology and the like because you
know that these sciences will not benefit you [in your struggle to rectify your self - nafs].
Rather, you should occupy yourself with observing the heart and recognizing the qualities of the soul and the accidents
resulting from its attachment to the world. You should purify your soul of blameworthy character traits and occupy yourself with the love of God [Allah] and servitude to Him, and with being characterized by beautiful characteristics. Not a day or night
passes, but the death of the servant may come.
Ghazali, Majmuah, p. 266. = Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Majmua Rasail al-Imam al-Ghazali, n. e. (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1416/1996)
”Know * that The Way
must necessarily entail
a break from one's habits
(h.arq al-ʿawā'id ),
the acquisition of valuable traits (iktisāb al-fawā'id
),
and struggle against individualist tendencies (ijtihād an-nufūs
),
so that you might enter into the Holy Presence.(inshah Allah!)
*(May God have me, and you, understand what the pathway of His friends is,
and may He have me, and you, take the path of the pure!)
Ibn ʿAjība in AJB, The Autobiography of a Moroccan Sufi: Ahmad Ibn ʿAjība
A famous saint and scholar from the pious "Salāf" named Ibrahim Ibn Adham (rahimahuLLāh) was once asked by his students about the verse were Allah mentions:
{ "Call on Me, I will answer your prayer" } (40:60)
And they asked:
'We supplicate (pray) but we are not answered.'
His reply was:
You know Allah, yet you do not obey Him.
You recite the Quran, yet you do not act according to it.
You know shaitān, yet you have agreed with him.
You proclaim that you love the messenger of Allah, yet you abandon his sunnah.
You proclaim your long for paradise, yet you do not act to gain it.
You proclaim your fear the fire, yet you do not prevent yourselves from sins.
You say: 'indeed death is true', yet you have not prepared for it.
You busy yourselves with finding the faults with others, yet you do not look at your own faults.
You eat that which Allah has provided for you, yet you do not thank him.
You bury your dead, yet you do not take a lesson from it.
May Allah make it easy for us to reflect, and act upon these noble and pious words and guide us towards the clear and pure following of the Messenger's authentic sunnah in the light of the understanding that we find within the pious predecessors as-salāf as-sālihīn, and not to follow our own desires and understandings, amen...
”Have love for your friend unto a limit for it is possible he may turn into your enemy some day;
and hate your enemy unto a limit for it is possible he may turn into your friend some day.
Saying of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (ra) in NB-551 no.263 ( )
”There are two kinds of workers in the world.
One is a person who works in this world for this world (ad-dunyā) and his work of this world (ad-dunyāhu) keeps him unmindful (occupies him from) of the next life (ʿan ākhiratihi). He is afraid of destitution (poverty) for those he would leave behind but he feels himself safe about it (yamanuhu ʿalā nafsihi (1). So he spends (wastes) his life after the good of others (fa-yufnii ʿumurahu fī manfaʿati ghairihi (2).
”The other is one who works in this world for what is to come hereafter, and he secures his share (what is for him from) of this world without effort. Thus he gets both the benefits together and becomes the owner of both the houses (of the life of this world and of the next). In this way he is prestigious (respected - wajīhan) before Allah. If he asks Allah anything, He does not deny him.
Saying of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (ra) in NB-551 no.264 ( )
Comment:
(1) He thinks life is safe for him, he feels secure not knowing which kind of loss he is about to incur.
(2) He works for or helps others in this dunya, but does not guide himself in respect of the akhirah.
”Greed takes a person to the watering place but gets him back without letting him drink. It undertakes resposibility but does not fulfill it. Often the drinker gets choked before quenching his thirst. The greater the worth of a thing yearned for, the greater is the grief for its loss. Desires blind the eyes of understanding. The destined share would reach him who does not approach it.
Saying of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (ra) in NB-553 no.270 ( )
”There are many people who are given time (by Allah) through good treatment towards them, and many get into deception because their sinful activities are veiled (by Allah) and many get enamoured by good talk about themselves. And Allah does not try anyone as seriously as He tries him whom He allows time (to remain sinful).
Saying of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (ra)
America needs to understand Islam
”America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the 'white' attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.
From The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Quote & Explanation
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to say:
"Truly, Allah does not look at your outward forms and wealth,
but rather at your hearts and your works"
(Sahih Muslim, 4.1389: hadith 2564).
”And this is the brightest hope that Islam can offer a modern world darkened by materialism and nihilism: Islam as it truly is; the hope of eternal salvation through a religion of brotherhood and social and economic justice outwardly, and the direct experience of divine love and illumination inwardly.
Nuh Ha Mim Keller; quoted from: < masud.co.uk >
see also : < Tasawwuf - Sufism in Islam >
”Sufism and Islam cannot be separated in the same way that higher consciousness or awakening cannot be separated from Islam. Islam is not an historical phenomenon that began 1,400 years ago. It is the timeless art of awakening by means of submission. Sufism is the heart of Islam. It is as ancient as the rise of human consciousness.
...
”We define Sufism as the art or the way that leads man to being in full
harmony and balance. It is the way which enables him to attain inner
perception, understanding and therefore contentment in every situation
in which he happens to be.
The Elements of Sufism by Shaikh Fadhlalla Haeri,
published by Element Books
NB: Nahjul Balagha,
vs.3.2