My Caravan of Dream



This selection comes from the book Discourses on the Sufi Path and it  inspired
me  be even more enthused about my fasting  – Enjoy

A Bedouin was walking with his dog in the desert, carrying a leather skin of
water on his shoulder, and crying pitifully as he went along. When asked why he
was crying, he replied,

"Because my dog is dying of thirst!"

"Why don't you give him some of your water, then?" the person said.

"Because I might need it for myself."

So it is with many who aspire to the Path of Love. They enjoy reading Rumi and
Hafez and other Sufi books, and hearing Sufi music, and listening to Sufi
Shaykhs give talks, and they like calling themselves Sufis or darvishes, but
when it comes time to put it into practice, their nafs, their self-absorbed ego,
has second thoughts.

The Sufi prayer (namaz) is only two rak'ats. In order to perform these two
rak'ats, Sufis do their ablutions with the water of love, then face the qibla of
"And wherever you turn, there is God's countenance.", and repeat Allahu akbar
four times.

With the first Allahu akbar , they put the world and all of its inhabitants
behind them.

·         With the second Allahu akbar , they forget the hereafter.

·         With the third Allahu akbar , they cast the very thought of anything
other than God out of their heart.

·         With the fourth Allahu akbar , they forget even themselves.

Only then do they begin the prayer, performing the two rak'ats sincerely over
the corpse of their nafs (egos).The ablution alone for this namaz (prayer) takes
most Sufis many years. If they manage to complete the ablution, they spend more
years on the first Allahu akbar , and there are very few who get to the second
and forget the two worlds.

There was a time in my youth,
When Islam was only a custom.
They said "say there is no diety except God,..
And pray, you'll go to Heaven."

Ah, how simple, no struggle in this,
Just a word, and simple act.
Thereafter I'm absorbed in this world again,
With my 'assured' place in Paradise intact.

But this was not to be my fate
For ALLAH chose to guide my heart.
I learnt of a man who struggled so hard
When his mission was from the start.

The story of someone who had morals,
Spoke gently, kindness he knew.
Never fearing to say what's right,
His conviction in ISLAM was true.

The touch of his hand was as soft as silk
To comfort a crying child.
To mend his clothes, or do the chores,
Never complaining, he always smiled.

His smell was always of musk,
And cleanliness he kept at his best.
Stark contrast with the heroes of today,
Who stink of beer and sweat.

He held the hands of his companions.
Unashamed to play with many children.
So modest, so humble, a perfect example,
That strangers could not recognise him.

His eyes slept little for nights were precious,
His prayers he treasured much greater.
To pray in the depths of night,
Seeking forgiveness, and nearness to his Creator.

He broke his tooth for me at Uhud,
And bled for me at Ta'if.
He cried for me, tears of concern,
Just so I could have this belief.

His enemies admired his teachings,
Uniting every religion, every clan.
Till ISLAM came to every corner of the world,
O, but indeed he was only a man.

To own a house, or build his wealth
Was not his main priority.
To establish ISLAM was more essential,
To bring us under a Higher Authority.

Don't you want him to plea for your case,
When before ALLAH-The Judge-you stand?
Don't you wish to be around his fountain,
A burning desire to drink from his hand?

So I love him more than all creation,
My Leader, my Humble Prophet.
Muhammad (SAWS) was a mercy to all mankind,
And to me, he is MY BELOVED !



RGDS
MUHAMMAD ABDULLAH

By means of the Divine Lights the heart becomes polished so that it shines like
a polished mirror. When it becomes a mirror one can see in it the reflection of
all existing things and the reflection of the Kingdom of God as they really are.
When one sees the Glory and Majesty of God in His Realm then all the lights
become one light and the chest becomes full with this shining light. He is like
a man who observes his reflection in a mirror and sees in it at the same time
the reflection of all that is before and behind him. Now when a ray of sun hits
the mirror the whole house becomes flooded with light from the meeting of these
two lights: the light of the sun-ray and the light of the mirror. Similarly the
heart: when it is polished and shining it beholds the Realm of Divine Glory and
the Divine Glory becomes revealed to it.
AL-HAKÎM AT-TIRMIDHI

O Light of light, Thou art veiled to Thy creatures and they do not attain to Thy
light. O Light of light, Thy light illuminates the people of heaven and
enlightens the people of earth. O Light of all light. Thy light is praised by
all light.
Nabi (sws)