Glad tidings be to you O sinners...

1. Glad tidings be to you O sinners; your intercessor is the prince of righteous
2. Congratulations! the Lord Almighty is known as Al-Ghaffār, the Forgiver.

3. The earth under his feet is like the Exalted Throne; and the sole of his foot is above the Throne
4. By Allāh! what a graceful walk thou possess!

5. The moon was split; trees spoke and animals prostrate
6. Allāh’s Blessings upon him; he is the refuge, a sanctuary for the world.

7. He spread them towards the heaven and filled the earth with rain
8. O beloved! We too need the alms given from those blessed hands.

9. Your lips have been raised by the pure spring of ‘kun’
10. My beloved! It is not difficult for you to raise the dead.

11. Let those fair and radiant feet shine upon us, for the sake of Allāh
12. O beloved, Show us a ray of light; the grave is pitch-dark.

13. Every sinner looks upon you for deliverance
14. The burden of both worlds rests upon a single sinless life!

15. The storm rages, the sea is in tumult as it swells and the wind is not helpful;
16. Yet, we shall survive if the Master of Nuĥ has mercy

17. O, the Mercy for the universe, help! I am crushed [under the weight]
18. My Lord! A huge load of sins rests upon my head like none other

19. Those who behold the attributes of this flower are awestruck, perplexed;
20. His nightingale is speechless, and its state [of being spellbound] is itself an eloquent expression.

21. The melodies of Raza echo resoundingly in the gardens
22. And why not? Does he not sing the praises of the majestic flower?

Translation by siddi abu hassan

Poem by Mawlana Jami

tanam farsoodeh, jaan para zi hijran ya rasoolallah
dilam pazh murdah, aavaareh, zi isyaan ya rasoolallah
my body is weak, my soul is in pieces due to your separation O Messenger of Allah!
My heart is withered, a vagabond, due to my sins O Messenger of Allah!


zi jaam e hub e tau mastam, ba zanjeer e tau bastam
na migoyam ke man hastam sukhandaan ya rasoolallah
I am drunk with the wine of your love, I am imprisoned by your chains
I do not say that I am a poet O Messenger of Allah!

choo soo ye man guzar aayee man e miskeen e naadaree
fida e naqsh e naalaaynat kunam jaan ya rasoolallah
When you come towards me, (if you) don't have wretched me
I will sacrifice my soul for the footprints of your shoes O Messenger of Allah!

zi kardeh khaish e khayraanam, syaah shud rooz e isyaanam
pashemaanam pashemaanan pashemaan ya rasoolallah!
I am perplexed about my previous deeds; that I will be blackfaced on Judgement Day
I am distressed! I am distressed! Distressed O Messenger of Allah!

choon baazoo e shafaat ra kushaayee ba gunehgaaraan
makun mehroom jami ra dar aan ya rasool allah
When you spread out your hands of intercession for the sinners
Please do not disappoint Jami at that time O Messenger of Allah!

Translated by siddi aasif

The beginning of creation [ibtida' al-khalq]

The beginning of creation [ibtida' al-khalq]

You should know—may Allah enable you to achieve what is dear and pleasing to Him!-that Allah (Exalted is He) first created the spirit of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) from the light of His Beauty. As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has told us:

I created the spirit of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) from the light of My countenance.

As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said:

The first thing that Allah created was my spirit [ruh]. The first thing that Allah created was my light [nur]. The first thing that Allah created was the pen [qalam]. The first thing that Allah created was the intellect ['aql].

This means that they are all one thing, that being the Muhammadan Reality [al-Haqiqat al-Muhammadiyya], but it is called a "light [nur]" because it is pure and unclouded by the darknesses of Majesty. As Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has said:

There has now come to you from Allah
qad ja'a-kum mina 'llahi
a Light, and a clear Book.
Nurun wa Kitabun mubin. (5:15)

It is also called an "intellect ['aql]," because it comprehends universal truths [kulliyyat]. It is also called a "pen [qalam]," because it is an instrument for the transmission of knowledge, just as the pen is an instrument in the realm of letters [of the alphabet].

The Muhammadan spirit is thus the quintessence of all entities, the first of all beings and the origin of them all. As he has said (blessing and peace be upon him):

I am from Allah and the believers are from me.

Allah created all the spirits from him in the realm of Divinity [Lahut], and in the finest real formation. "Muhammad" is the name of all human beings in that realm, and he is the original home.

Then, when four thousand years had passed, Allah created the Heavenly Throne ['Arsh] from the light of the eye of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and from the Heavenly Throne He created the rest of existing entities. Then He reduced the spirits to the lowest level of existence, meaning the physical bodies. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

Then We reduced him [the human being]
thumma radadna-hu
to the lowest of the low.
asfala safilin. (95:5)

In other words, the first descent was from the realm of Divinity [Lahut] to the realm of Omnipotence [Jabarut]. Between the two Sanctuaries, Allah (Exalted is He) clothed them with the light of Omnipotence, which is the royal spirit [ruh sultani]. Then he sent them down, in this attire, to the realm of Sovereignty [Malakut], and He clothed them with the light of Sovereignty, which is the immaterial spirit [ruh ruhani]. Then He sent them down to the realm of Dominion [Mulk], and He clothed them with the light of Dominion, which is the physical spirit. Then from it Allah created the bodies. As He has said (Exalted is He):

Out of it [the earth] We created you,
min-ha khalaqna-kum
and into it We shall send you back again,
wa fi-ha nu'idu-kum
and We shall bring you forth from it a second time.
wa min-ha nukhriju-kum taratan ukhra. (20:55)

Then Allah (Exalted is He) commanded the spirits to enter the bodies, so they entered at Allah's command (Exalted is He). As He has said (Almighty and Glorious is He):

And I breathed into him of My Spirit.
wa nafakhtu fi-hi min Ruhi. (38:72)

When the spirits became attached to the physical bodies, they forgot the covenant they had contracted on the day when Allah asked them: "Am I not your Lord?" and they said: "Yes indeed!"3 Because of this, they did not return to the original home, but the All-Merciful Source of Help took pity on them. He sent down Heavenly Books to remind them of that original home. As He has said (Exalted is He):

We sent Moses with Our signs, [saying]:
wa la-qad arsalna Musa bi-ayati-na
"Bring your people forth from darkness into light,
an akhrij qawma-ka mina 'z-zulumati ila 'n-nuri
and remind them of the days of Allah."
wa dhakkir-hum bi-ayyami 'llah. (14:5)

In other words: "Remind them of the former days of communion with Him, in the company of the spirits."

All the Prophets came into this world and went away to the Hereafter because of this admonition, but few human beings took heed, longed for their original home and returned to it, until Prophethood was assigned to the supreme Muhammadan spirit, the seal of the Mission and the guide away from error. Allah sent him to those heedless people, to open their eyes from the sleep of heedlessness, so he summoned them to Allah (Exalted is He), to contact with Him and the meeting with His sempiternal Beauty. As Allah (Exalted is He) said to him:

Say: "This is my way: I call to Allah
qul hadhihi sabili ad'u ila 'llah:
with insightful knowledge, I and whoever follows me."
'ala basiratin ana wa mani 'ttaba'a-ni. (12:108)

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

My Companions are like the stars. Whomever of them you follow, you will be guided aright.

Insight comes from the eye of the spirit, which opens within the heart of the saints [awliya']. That is why it is not acquired by knowledge of the external world, but only by knowledge of the inner Presence. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

And We taught him knowledge from Our Presence.
wa 'allamna-hu min ladun-na 'ilma. (18:65)

It is therefore necessary for the human being to acquire that eye, and so become one of the masters of insight, by taking instruction from a saint, a spiritual guide whose teaching concerns the realm of Divinity [Lahut].

O brethren! Wake up, and hasten to forgiveness from your Lord through repentance! As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord,
wa sari'u ila maghfiratin min Rabbi-kum
and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth,
wa jannatin 'ardu-ha 's-samawatu wa 'l-ardu
which has been made ready for those who are truly devout.
u'iddat li'l-muttaqin. (3:133)

Embark upon the path, and return to your Lord with these spiritual caravans. The path will soon be cut off, and no travelling companion will be found. We have not come to settle in this vile, dilapidated world, nor for the sake of eating, drinking, and satisfying crude natural instincts. Your Prophet is waiting, sorrowful for your sake.
As he said (peace be upon him):

My sorrow is for the members of my Community who will come in later times.

The knowledge that is sent down to us is twofold: exoteric and esoteric, meaning the sacred law [shari'a] and direct understanding [ma'rifa]. Allah (Exalted is He) has commanded us to apply the sacred law to our outer being, and direct understanding to our inner being, so that the combination of the two will result in knowledge of Reality [Haqiqa], just as fruit is produced by the tree and the leaves. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

He has partitioned the two seas.
maraja 'l-bahraini
They meet, [but] between them there is a barrier
yaltaqiyan: baina-huma barzakhun
that they do not overpass.
la yabghiyan. (55:19,20)

Reality cannot be attained, and the goal cannot be reached, by exoteric knowledge alone. Perfect worship is accomplished by means of both forms of knowledge, not one without the other. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

I did not create the jinn and humankind
wa ma khalaqtu 'l-jinna wa 'l-insa
except to worship Me.
illa li-ya'budun. (51:56)

In other words: "to know and understand Me." If someone does not know and understand Him, how can he worship Him? Direct knowledge is attainable only by removing of the veil of the lower self [nafs] from the mirror of the heart, and cleaning and polishing that mirror. It will then reflect the beauty of the treasure hidden in the secret of the heart's core. Allah (Exalted is He) has said in the Sacred Tradition [Hadith Qudsi]:

I was a hidden treasure and I wished to be known, so I created Creation.

It is clear, therefore, that Allah (Exalted is He) created the human being to know and understand Him.

Direct knowledge is of two kinds: knowledge of the attributes [sifat] of Allah (Exalted is He), and knowledge of His Essence [Dhat]. Knowledge of the attributes is experienced by the physical body in both domains [this world and the Hereafter], while knowledge of the Essence is experienced by the holy spirit in the Hereafter. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

And We supported him [Jesus] with the holy spirit.
wa ayyadna-hu bi-Ruhi 'l-Qudus. (2:87)

They [who know the Essence] are likewise supported with the holy spirit.

These two experiences are attainable only by means of two forms of knowledge, the exoteric knowledge and the esoteric knowledge mentioned above. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said:

Knowledge ['ilm] is twofold: knowledge conveyed by the tongue, that being Allah's testimony to His servants, and knowledge conveyed by the heart, that being the knowledge that is useful for the attainment of the goal.

First of all, the human being needs knowledge of the sacred law, in order to provide the body with sufficient education in the realm of the attributes, that being the realm of the stages of development. He then needs esoteric knowledge, in order to provide the spirit with education in its own realm of understanding. That can only be achieved by abstaining from all practices that are incompatible with the sacred law and the spiritual path [tariqa]. Its achievement requires the endurance of personal and spiritual hardships, for the sake of pleasing Allah (Exalted is He), without hypocritical display [riya'] and the pursuit of fame [sum'a]. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord,
fa-man kana yarju liqa'a Rabbi-hi
let him do righteous work,
fa-l'-ya'mal 'amalan salihan
and let him give no one any share at all
wa la yushrik
in the worship due unto his Lord.
bi-'ibadati Rabbi-hi ahada. (18:110)

The realm of direct knowledge is the realm of Divinity [Lahut], and that is the original home, in which the holy spirit was created in the finest formation. What is meant by the holy spirit is the real human spirit, which was installed in the core of the heart, and which becomes manifest through repentance, instruction, and constantly declaring: "There is no god but Allah [la ilaha illa 'llah]." This declaration is first made with the tongue, then with the inner being, when the heart has become alive.

The Sufis have called the inner being "the child of the spiritual concepts [tifl al-ma'ani]," because it arises from the sacred conceptions. It is called a child for several reasons:

1. It is born from the heart, as the child is born from the mother, then reared by the father as it steadily grows to maturity.

2. Just as worldly knowledge is taught to ordinary children, spiritual knowledge is taught to this special child.

3. The ordinary child is unsoiled by the filth of external sins, and this special child is likewise pure and unstained by the filth of polytheism [shirk], heedlessness and physicality.

4. In the case of this special child, the purity of form is even greater, so it is seen in dreams in a shape like that of the angels.

5. Allah (Exalted is He) has described the attendants of the Garden of Paradise in terms of childhood [tifliyya], in His saying (Almighty and Glorious is He):

There wait on them immortal boys.
yatufu 'ala-him wildanun mukhalladun. (56:17)

And there go round, waiting on them,
wa yatufu 'alai-him
young boys of theirs,
ghilmanun la-hum
as if they were hidden pearls.
ka-anna-hum lu'lu'un maknun. (52:24)

6. The name "child" conveys a sense of its gentleness and its cleanliness.

7. The name "child" is used metaphorically, to indicate its connection with the body and its likeness to the human form, but only for the sake of comparison, not for the purpose of belittlement. It refers to this "child's" initial state.

This "child" is the real human being, because he has a connection with Allah (Exalted is He), so the body and physicality are not unlawful to him. As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

I have a time with Allah, when there is no space for any angel brought near [to the Lord], nor for any Prophet sent as a Messenger.

This [Prophet sent as a Messenger] refers to the human nature of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The angel brought near [to the Lord] refers to his spirituality, which was created from the light of Omnipotence [Jabarut], as was the angel, so it has no entry into the light of Divinity [Lahut]. The Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him) also said:

Allah has a Garden in which there are no houries, no palaces, no honey and no milk, but where one gazes only at Allah's countenance (Exalted is He).

As Allah (Magnificent is His Majesty) has said:

Faces on that day will be resplendent,
wujuhun yawma'idhin nadira:
looking toward their Lord.
ila Rabbi-ha nazira. (75:22,23)

As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

You will see your Lord as you see the moon on the night when it is full.

If the angel and the physical body entered into these realms, they would be burned to ashes. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said in the Sacred Tradition [Hadith Qudsi]:

If I disclosed the splendors of My Majesty, I would burn up everything as far as My eye can see.

As Gabriel (peace be upon him) said: "If I had drawn nearer by a fingertip, I would have been set on fire."

Source: http://www.al-baz.com/shaikhabdalqadir/Boo...troduction.html

Laka'l-Hamd

Laka'l-Hamd

Praise be to You O Possessor of Kindness,
Pardoner, Who veils what is past.

Even my praise is just one of Your blessings,
You whose pure goodness is vast.

Praise be to You by the number of raindrops,
And by the stones and the sand,

And by the number of fish in the ocean,
And all the plants on the land.

Praise be to You by the ants beyond number
And all the jinn and mankind,

By the expanse of the Throne and the heavens,
Where countless stars pearl-like shine.

And by the vastness of space and the Tablet
And the Footstool and moist clay,

And by the number of all of the beings
Right up until the Last Day.

Praise be to You O my Lord and my Master
In the amount that You're due,

For if my praises last all time's duration
Still they will be far too few.

Praise be to You O Bestower of bounty,
Giver of gifts without end.

You are the One who gives help to Your people
From You their openings descend.

Praise be to You with each breath that comes from me,
And with my body and heart.

Look with compassion upon a poor servant,
Who is perplexed on his part.

While it is true that my many wrong actions
Are an impossible weight,

Yet good opinion of You gives me hope of
Healing for my broken state.

Grant us repentance, O Ever-Forgiving,
For all the wrong we have done,

To an extent that will undo the damage
Caused by the years that have gone.

Give us an increase of spiritual blessings
And of unveilings and light.

And make us firm through unfailing right guidance,
Passed on with idhn and insight.

Help us regarding the words which come from us
And in the way that we act.

Ease the way for us to gain our provision
From where we do not expect.

Here we are standing in front of the doorway
Of Your great favour and grace

Waiting expectantly for our Beloved's
Welcome without interface.

Let us taste swiftly Your unfettered blessing
Answerer of every prayer

For You are generous, Possessor of goodness,
Whose blessings reach everywhere.

Your endless bounty continues regardless
Whether we are there or no.

Your generosity pours out upon us
Never held back in its flow.

Give us sincerity in being thankful,
Something which from us is due,

Which, far from causing us loss, gives us increase,
And yet more blessings ensue.

Break us out from our imprisoning bodies
That, when our spirits have soared

Into the world of the spirits, we gather
Gratitude's priceless reward.

Then let us witness the meaning of essence
In all the things we perceive,

So that our witnessing grows ever stronger
Both in our hardship and ease.

Then let us die to our selves and continue,
Going on by You alone,

Joining by this all the heirs of the Secret -
People by whom it is known.

For Your command to a thing when You want it
Is merely "Be" and it is.

So please arrange things for us with intention
And with no subterfuges.

Pour out Your blessing with all of the various
Forms of perfection and grace

Down upon Ahmad our guide and our leader
To the pure light of Your Face.

And on his family and noble Companions
And upon all those who ask

For expansion for the writer who took on
Writing these lines as his task.

Teach us O Lord through your Prophet, Muhammad,
Gentle, compassionate guide,

Knowledges that will bring benefit to us
On the Day when we all rise.

And reinforce us with light from Your Presence
In every moment we have,

And make us firm at the seal of our lives and
At our deaths and in the grave.

and again

By: Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib

Shabbir (ra)

Excerpted from the Mysteries of Selflessness
A Philosophical Poem by Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Translated, with Introduction and Notes by
Professor A.J.Arberry (First Edition 1953 --out of print)


Whoever makes compact with the One
has been delivered from the yoke
Of every idol.

Unto Love belongs
The true believer, and Love unto him.

Love makes all things possible to us.

Reason is ruthless; Love is even more,
Purer, and nimbler, and more unafraid.

Lost in the maze of cause and effect
Is Reason; Love strikes boldly in the field of Action.

Crafty Reason sets a snare;
Love overthrows the prey with strong right arm.

Reason is rich in fear and doubt; but Love
has firm resolve, faith indissouluble.

Reason constructs, to make a wilderness;
Love lays wide waste, to build all up anew.

Reason is cheap, and plentiful as air;
Love is most scarce to find, and of great price.

Reason stands firm upon phenomena,
But Love is naked of material robes.

Reason says, "Thrust thyself into the fore";
Love answers, "Try thy heart, and prove thyself."

Reason by acquisition is informed
Of other; Love is born of inward grace
And makes account with Self.

Reason declares,
"Be happy, and be prosperous"; Love replies,
"Become a servant, that thou mayest be free."

Freedom brings full contentment to Love's soul,
Freedom, the driver of Love's riding-beast.

Have you not heard what things in time of war
Love wrought with lustful Reason?

I would speak of the great leader of all men who loved
Truly the Lord, that upright cypress-tree
Of the Apostle's garden, Ali's son,
Whose father led the sacrificial feast
That he might prove a mighty offering;
And for the price of the best of men
The Last of the Apostles gave his back
To ride upon, a camel passing fair.

Crimsoned his blood the cheek of jealous Love
(Which theme adorns my verse in beauty bold)
Who is the sublime in our Community
As Say, the Lord is God exalts the Book
Moses and Pharoh, Shabber and Yazid-

From Life spring these conflicting potencies;
Truth lives in Shabbir's strength; Untruth is that
Fierce, final anguish of regretful death.

And when the Caliphate first snapped its thread
From the Koran, in Freedom's throat was poured
A fatal poison; like a rain-charged cloud

The effulgence of the best of peoples rose
Out of the West, to spill on Kerbela,

And in that soil, that desert was before,
Sowed, as he died, afield of tulip-blood.

There, till the Resurrection, tyranny
Was evermore cutoff; a garden fair
Immortalizes where his lifeblood surged.

For Truth alone his blood dripped to dust,
Wherefore he has become edifice
Of faith in God's pure Unity.

Indeed had his ambition been for earthly rule,
Not so provisioned would he have set forth

On his last journey, having enemies
Innumerable as the desert sands,
Equal his friends in number to God's Name.

The mystery that was epitomezed
In Abraham and Ishmael through his life
And death stood forth at last in full revealed.

Firm as a mountain-chain was his resolve,
Impetuous, unwavering to its goal.

The Sword is for the glory of the Faith
And is unsheathed but to defend the Law.

The Muslim, servant unto God alone,
Before no Pharaoh casteth down his head.

His blood interpreted these mysteries,
And waked our slumbering Community.

He drew the sword There is none other god
And shed the blood of them that saved the lie;
Inscribing in the wilderness save God

He wrote for all to read the exordium
Of our salvation. From Husain we learned
The riddle of the Book, and at his flame
Kindled our torches.

Vanished now from ken Damascus' might,
the splendour of Baghdad,
Granada's majesty, all lost to mind;

Yet still the strings he smote within our soul
Vibrate, still ever new our faith abides
In his Allahu Akbar.

Gentle breeze,
Thou messenger of them that are afar,
Bear these my tears to lave his holy dust.