Showing posts with label Qur' an. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qur' an. Show all posts

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Surat TA HA 20:114

Tycho crater on the moon
وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا

"The incapacity to perceive Him is true perception" said the Noble Companion Abu Bakr Al Siddiq while in the abode of Perplexity مقام الحيرة
"العجز عن درك الادراك إدراك"
"Say My Lord increase me in Knowledge"!
Were you to know Him, he would not be Hu
Were He not to know you, you would not be you
By His knowledge He gave you being
With your limitations you worship Him.

Hu is Hu to Himself not to you
You are you to yourself and to Hu 
You are attached to Him, He is not attached to you.

The absolute circle is linked to the point
The absolute point is not linked to the circle
The point of the circle is linked to the circle 
similarly,
The absolute Essence is not linked to you.
The Divinity of the Essence is linked to the Divine
As the point is linked to the circle. 

"Ibn Arabi Al Futuhat al Makkiah"

Source: Sharh al Fusus li Ibn Arabi, Sheikh Mahmoud Mahmoud alGhurab

Monday, June 11, 2012

Yunus Emre on the Qur'an

Yunus Emre:        

Whoever does not know the Qur'an
is as if he were never born.

(Y 508)




cited in AnneMarie Schimmel
"Mystical Dimensions of Islam"

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Surat al Baqara 2: 55-56, Ibn Arabi/ one kind of Death



And mention when you said: "O Moses! We will never believe thee until we see God publicly". So the thunderbolt took you while you look on. But We raised you again after you had been as dead, so that you might have cause to be grateful.

Ibn Arabi: You told Musa: "You would not succeed in guiding us to Real faith, until we reach the abode of Witnessing and Seeing". So, you were taken by the thunderbolt and lightening of Death, that is the annihilation of the self (Fana’) in the Manifestation of the Divine Essence, while you were observing / witnessing It. We then raised you back with Real life in the state of Subsistence (Baqa’) that follows Annihilation (Fana’), in order that you may be thankful for the gift of the realization of Unicity (Tawheed) and that of arriving after having walked the path In Allah.
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The Real is God (al-Haqq), only what comes close to Him has Reality, hence Real faith and Real life.

Tawheed (a verb noun (masdar)) is best translated as realizing Unicity and not Unicity alone.
** English Qur'an translations of Laleh Bakhtiar and Muhammad Asad

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Surat Maryam 19: 49-50- A Truthful Tongue

Origin of the Salat Ibrahimiat

Literal translations of the verses
verse 49
So when he separated/isolated himself from them, and what they call from other than God, We granted for him Issac , and Jacob and each/all, We made a prophet.

The exegete Ibn 'Ajiba and others understand the ordering of words in this verse to mean that Ibrahim's isolation, (seclusion ('Izla)) was rewarded by the great gift of the Prophecy to two of his children and point to the great benefits of seclusion in attracting divine favors ( for Zacchariyah as well as for and Maryam)

verse 50
And We granted for them from Our mercy, and We made for them (a) TRUTHFUL high, mighty/dignified TONGUE/language/speech.

The statement " a truthful tongue" (lisana sidqin) occurs in ONE other place in the Qur'an : in the dua'a of Ibrahim in Surat al Shuaara ( 26) 26:84 "Grant me a TRUTHFUL TONGUE among the latest (generations).....

The addition of the word "Truth to Tongue" in this way is interpreted by exegetes like Imam Razi, Haqqi, Ibn 'Ajiba, Ibn 'Arabi etc.... to mean that Ibrahim and his descendants will be praised in all subsequent
generations and are deserving of this praise and reference is made to the Salat Ibrahimiat which we perform before each Tasleem in Salat.....
So that millions of Muslims performing the daily prayers and praising Ibrahim are following the Will of Allah ( swt) and fulfilling the promise made to Ibrahim......

This is an interesting detail for me, as I was not sure of the origin of this Salat; it will make it feel so much more meaningful to send blessings on the Prophet Muhamad ( saaws) and his family and on Prophet Ibrahim and his family....knowing this du'a and this promise .

May Allah swt bless both Prophets and their families until the ends of times. Ameen.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Surat al Tawba 9:6 The Speech of Allah

"Should one of those who associate others with Allah ask for refuge with you, then do give him refuge until he hears the Speech of Allah, then help him reach a safe place for they are people who have no Knowledge"
Notes before reading:
The Sufis consider all those who have not reached the degree of true knowledge of Haqq (Truth) to be"those who associate others with Allah". The titles: Fuqara’, Qawm. People of special knowledge refer to the Sufis. 
Ibn Arabi
 Give him refuge until he “hears” the Speech of Allah.
 The people of the Qur’an are the people of Allah and they are His close entourage; they are His representatives in the function of giving praise to Him. Their praise does not spring from their own self or from an existential choice nor does it arise from within them; what we hear of their words of praise is nothing but His words wherein He praises Himself, a Divine, pure and sacred praise free from the traces of the creation.
Ibn Ajiba
 O you Knower ! Should one of the Muslims, who have not entered into the countries of realities ( Haqa'iq, pl. of Haqiqat), ask to remain by your side and to listen to some of the sciences of the people of Allah and their secrets, then give him refuge.... it may be that this is the means decreed for him to enter among the people of Allah. The Fuqara’ should not push the non-initiated away, they should treat them gently and make them listen to what is suitable for their state; for the general Muslims have no knowledge of what has been given to those of special knowledge...
In addition, our own Shaykh said : "The people of special knowledge should not enter the country of the people of general knowledge without being accompanied by one of the latter otherwise the community would reject them ...Similarly the people of general knowledge should not enter the country of the people of special knowledge without the company of those who know or they will be rejected”

Monday, November 29, 2010

Surat al-Hashr 59:19

Tree of forgetfulness
{ وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَٱلَّذِينَ نَسُواْ ٱللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَاسِقُونَ }
"Be not as those who forgot Allah, and so He caused them to forget their Selves; those -- they are the ungodly."


Sheikh al-'Arifeen Sahl al-Tustari (QAS) ( d.283 H) stated:
" The slave is for Allah ( li-llah) and Allah is for His slave.
Nothing is closer to Allah than the heart of the faithful; if an-"other" comes into it, he ( refers to the "other" or to the heart itself) becomes a veil.
Whosoever looks at Allah with his heart becomes distant from all else; and whosoever seeks His agreement and pleasure pleases Him with his toleration/forbearance ( Hilm); whosoever submits (aSLaMa) his heart to Allah finds that his limbs become free from evil ( (SaLiMat) and that they also stand true...."Their hearts have witnessed as much as they have guarded of their limbs"**.
Attend to your hearts....we are created, and our Creator is with us. Do not become slack in your striving, for Allah is your Witness wherever you are; so lay your needs with Him and die at his door and say: " We are ignorant and the One who know us ( 'Alemuna) is with us; we are weak and the One who strengthens us (Muqawwina) is with us; we are powerless and our All-able ( Qadir) is with us"....it is thus that whoever attends to his heart finds that the air, the water running on the surface of the earth, the earth itself and the heaven are all alike to him."
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** This can be understood in 2 ways: 1) We can deduce from someone's actions how close he is to Allah in his heart 2) The preservation of the limbs from unacceptable actions increases the closeness of the hearts to Allah.
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Source : Translated from the biography in Arabic of "Sheikh al-Areefin al-Imam al-Tustari" - by Dr.Mahmood Jeerat Allah-
Photo credit by Theilr

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Niffari : A secret sharing ( Munajat)

The Divine Attributes Al-Aleem (The All-Knowing) and Al-Qadeer (The All-Powerful) occur together in 3 verses of the Qur'an only:
Surat al Nahl 16:70
It is Allah who creates you and takes your souls at death; and of you there are some who are sent back to a feeble age, so that they know nothing after having known (much): for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.
Surat Fatir 35:44
 Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the End of those before them,- though they were superior to them in strength? Nor is Allah to be frustrated by anything whatever in the heavens or on earth: for He is All-Knowing. All-Powerful.
Surat al Shura 42:50
Or He bestows both males and females, and He leaves barren whom He will: for He is All-Knowing, All Powerful.


Niffari : A secret sharing
My God,
The references of every thing return to its meaning and its meaning has perceived the powerlessness of that thing. For the truth of every thing is ignorance for that thing: the thing is unable to know its own truth; and the meaning of every thing is mightier than its knowledge, which thus cannot perceive its meaning.


My God,
You are at the origin of every thing, You return it to what You will so that it becomes as You wish it to be; You execute on it what You wish and it becomes as You wish it. Its owner cannot protect it for he does not own it beyond You its Owner; nor does anyone own it beyond You so that You would be prevented access to it.


My God,
When each thing is powerless to know its own self, and powerless to perceive what harms it and what benefits it, how much more powerless is it to have knowledge of You and even more powerless to perceive any thing without You.


Source: The Book of The Speech and the Silence ( Kitab al NuTtq wal Ssamt)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Al Shaytan & al Dhikr, Surat al Aaraf 7:200-201



Rouzbehan Baqli (3Ara’es al Bayan)
Al Shaytan is the dog of the ancient Qahr (The Subjugation that arose in Azal (sempiternity)). Whenever it barks behind the courtyard of your heart, on the side of your Nafs, escape from Our Subjugation to Our Lutf (Subtility, gentleness) and from Us to Us. The Prophet said :”I take refuge from You in You”, and the courtyard became flooded with the light of the Divine Manifestations, the Shaytan running away on all sides.... The envious Shayateen (pl. of Shaytan) observe the Friends of Allah from far so that, whenever the Friends slack at Witnessing the Remembrance and the Remembered and become heedless, the Shayateen can throw at them the fires of dark whisperings from the vials of the flesh. If the Friends would become established in the Station of Witnessing the visions of the Malakut (Realm of Souls), then the Shayateen would not be able to come near them for “they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness”. [Surat al Saffat 37:10].
Al Junaid saw Iblis in his dream and asked him: “Are you all able to pass by the gatherings of the people of Dhikr ?”. Iblis answered: “As is the case when one of you passes by our company, is touched by it and falls in love with us, so it is the case that when one of us passes by the company of Dhikr, he becomes prostrate”.
Qushayri ( Tafseer Lata’ef al Isharaat)
“Each strict man has a failing and each knowledgeable one commits a mistake; each worshiper has a period of difficulty and each one who is walking purposefully will have a period of nonchalance. For every walker there is a stop and for every divine knower there is a period of veiling. *The Prophet (saaws) stated:” A hundred times a day, clouding will cover my heart and I have to ask forgiveness form Allah swt” ...recounting that he also is subject to what others are subject to. He also said:” Bad temper will affect even the best of my community....
Ibn Arabi
Those who normally guard themselves from associating anyone with Allah, whenever they are touched by Shaytan and start attributing acts to other than Allah, they remember the station of Unicity and the Witnessing all Acts as coming from Allah and regain Sight of the Acts of Allah; with that all else, Shaytan and all others disappear from their Sight

وفي مسند الإمام أحمد وصحيح مسلم وسنن أبي داود وغيرهم عن الأغر المزني رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال { إنه ليغان على قلبي وإني لأستغفر الله في كل يوم مائة مرة } هذا لفظ أبي داود ولفظ الإمام أحمد ومسلم { إنه ليغان على قلبي حتى أستغفر الله في اليوم مائة مرة } قال : وسمعته يقول { : توبوا إلى ربكم فوالله إني لأتوب إلى ربي - تبارك وتعالى - مائة مرة في اليوم }

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Jood ( Divine Generosity) Surat Ibrahim 14: 34

"And He gave you, from pre-eternity on, from all you asked Him for... and were you to count the bounties of Allah you could not number them. Verily, man is in ever deepening darkness, and thus unfairness; a perverse concealer of the Truth". 


Ibn Arabi

قلت لما أن قال قومي بأنـي

قلت ما قلت والكؤس تـدار
من مدير الكؤس قلت حبيبـي

وهو شربي الذي عليه المدار
ثم قالوا فما يقـول حـبـيب

في إله له القلـوب تـعـار
ولسان الكريم يعطـيك مـالا

ثم يأتيك سـائلاً فـتـحـار
كرماً منه وامتناناً وفـضـلاً

ولك الحكم بعد ذا والخـيار
إن تشأ قلت أنت مالـك هـذا

أو تشأ ضده فـلـيس يغـا
كل هذا أباحه لـك فـضـلاً

حكم الخبر فيه والاضطرار
   
Since my people said that I said what I said as the goblets were passed around,
I said, “Who is passing the goblets?”
I said, “My beloved! He also is my drink being passed around”.

They said, “What does a lover say of a Divinity to whom hearts are loaned ?
The speech of the most Generous confounds you;
 he gives you money then comes, a beggar, asking from you”

All of it is from Him: Generosity, Bounty and Grace.
The decision is after that for you, and the choice:
You may wish to say, "You are the Owner of all this",
or you may wish otherwise, He will not dispute.

All of it He has permitted you out of His Grace:
To decide what to make known about Him freely or to be compelled.
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Source: Al Futuhat al Makkiah p. 2402 
" Knowledge of the Abode of the Keys to the Storehouses of Divine Generosity" 

Friday, September 3, 2010

Surat al Nisaa' 4:2 " The Possessions of the Orphans"





Black Hole
Hence, render unto the orphans their possessions, and do not substitute bad things [of your own] for the good things [that belong to them], and do not consume their possessions together with your own: this, verily, is a great crime.

Ibn Arabi 
 “And render unto the orphans” those orphans among your spiritual powers who are cut off from the care and sustenance of the Sacred Spirit who is their father
“their possessions” the knowledge and the accomplishment they need, and sustain them with them
“And do not substitute the bad for the good” what belongs to the realms of the senses, the illusions or the dark whisperings of the Nafs instead of what they should be receiving from you.
“And do not consume their possessions together with your own” that is do not mix them so that Truth and untruth become imprecise and shady and do not use them to pursue your selfish sensual needs and desires
“ verily it is a great crime” this would lead to your veiling and your deprivation [from Divine closeness] .

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Ibn Arabi: "Of the name 3Abdullah"

Entrance to the Tomb of Sidi Muhyiddine
From Kitab al “3Abadila“(Those who carry the name 3Abd (slave, servant) + a beautiful Name)

Since the name 3Abd Allah is a comprehensive name for those elevated in ranks, we have made it a translator, as a translator combines many tongues. We then added this name to the Station (Maqam) of a slave who has been awarded one of the Stations of the Divine Names, a Perfected Pupil (Insan Kamel) a Prophet or a Friend of Allah (Wali)*.

*Surat Maryam 19:30 : “ He said: I am 3Abdullah, He gave me the Scripture and made me a Prophet” [Issa (as)].

3Abdullah ibn 3Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn 3Abdullah said:
“Of the Divine Presence, what emerged first is The Name. Of the Letters, the first that emerged is the Ba. Of the Objectified Beings (Mawjudat), the first that emerged is the Intrinsic Essence (Jawhar) and the first to be dyed with the hue (Sibghah*) of the Intrinsic Essence is the Light (Noor). The first Accident (‘AraDd) that emerged was Movement.
The first of His Qualities (Na3at) He allowed the witnessing thereof is Majesty (Jalal). The first that He uttered is “I” (Ana). The first attribute He accepted from the created is Timidity/Modesty (Haya’). The first momentary state of being (Hal) that comes to the created is dissolution, the first knowledge he is capable of receiving is the knowledge of Allah; in that knowledge, he is able to see his own self (Nafs)”.

* Surat al-Baqara 2:138: “A hue from Allah! And who could give a better hue than Allah, if we but truly worship Him?"

He also said, “3alam (Universe) is taken from 3alamat (Sign). For each truth points to a Divine Truth. The existence of the truth is founded on the Truth. Each truth and its Truth must remain coupled. When Allah (swt) remembers the Universe, look to which of the Names He has added to the Universe, it is thus that you can discern which of the Universes Allah addressed”.

He also said, “When al-Haqq (swt) refers to Himself in the singular [I] and refers to you in the plural, that is because of His Unicity and your multiplicity relative to your lack of needless-ness (Ghina) and to the existence of your poverty.
And When al-Haqq (swt) refers to Himself in the plural (Us,We), that is because of the truth of the Divine Names. When He addresses you in the singular it is because He is addressing one meaning (Ma3na) in you and not your totality. Know then whom in you He has addressed and open your hearing to His Divine Address”.
  
He also said, “The multiplicity of paths is due to the multiplicity of truths; only the straight ones He has decreed and those are all the ones which end towards Him”.

He also said: “Petitioning for [His] help is an affirmation of the Kawn (Creation,[ resulting from the command Kun]). The 3aref (Divine Knower) petitions from the standpoint that he is commanded to petition; he knows who the petitioner is and knows Who Knows whom the petitioner is”.

In addition, he said, “The reward of the common people (al 3amat) is according to the deeds and is granted out of the source of Ownership (3ayn al Mulk), while the reward of the Divine Knowers comes from the source of Bestowal/gifting (3ayn al Minnat)”.

And he said, “If a matter/a command (Amr) is established between 2 Divine Names, it will have two differing faces, as each Divine Name has a face that is different from that of another. The matter/command will seek the Name that has accepted it and has shown it Its Face, that is a Station of Truth (Haqq), a Seat of truthfulness (Sidq) * and a majestic rank due to what preceded it and what followed it of the Names...It is preserved from the occurrences of veiling”

*Surat al Qamar 55:54 : “in a seat of truth, in the presence of a Sovereign who determines all things”.
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NB: * The quoted Qur'anic verses are not part of Ibn Arabi's text.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Niffari: Mawqif al-Bahr ( Pause at the Sea) & Surat Hud 11:41




{ وَقَالَ ٱرْكَبُواْ فِيهَا بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ مَجْريٰهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ }

" And he said : "Embark therein. In the name of Allah is its run and its anchoring. Indeed my Sustainer is incessantly and comprehensively forgiving and merciful". " Surat Hud : 11:41"

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The Stop-over or Pause is a step between two stations of the Path according to Ibn 'Arabi.

This Mawqif is considered to be addressed to those in the beginning of Suluk (walk on the Path). It concerns primarily the central issue of maintaining a correct Intention on the Path and what the Salik encounters of the fruits of his attempts. The Sea is understood to be what the Salek must cross and within which he must travel during his walk on the Path.



موقف البحر

أوقفني في البحر فرأيت المراكب تغرق والألواح تسلم، ثم غرقت الألواح، وقال لي لا يسلم من ركب.

وقال لي خاطر من ألقى نفسه ولم يركب.

وقال لي هلك من ركب وما خاطر.

وقال لي في المخاطرة جزء من النجاة، وجاء الموج ورفع ما تحته وساح على الساحل.

وقال لي ظاهر البحر ضوء لا يبلغ، وقعرة ظلمه لا تمكن، وبينهما حيتان لا تستأمن.

وقال لي لا تركب البحر فأحجبك بالآلة، ولا تلق نفسك فيه فأحجبك به.

وقال لي في البحر حدود أيها يقلك.

وقال لي إذا وهبت نفسك للبحر فغرقت فيه كنت كدابة من دوابه.

وقال لي غششتك إن دللتك على سواي.

وقال لي إن هلكت في سواي كنت لما هلكت فيه.

وقال لي الدنيا لمن صرفته عنها وصرفتها عنه، والآخرة لمن أقبلت بها إليه وأقبلت به علي.

Stop-over at the Sea

He stopped me at the Sea:
I saw the vessels sink and the planks remain afloat; eventually, the planks did also sink.
He said to me:
"He who rides (a vessel) is not safe. He who throws himself [in the sea] and does not ride a vessel is taking a risk. He who rides and does not take a risk will reach perdition"
He said to me:
"A part of Salvation lies in the taking of risk. The waves come, lift what lies underneath them and spread it and themselves openly on the shore".
He said to me:
" The surface of the Sea is Luminosity the source of which cannot be reached; the bottom of the Sea is Darkness, indomitable. Between Luminosity and Darkness live the beasts of the sea which cannot be trusted/with whom there is no safety"
He said to me:
" Do not ride (a vessel) in the sea, I would then veil you from Me through its instrument/mean, and do not throw yourself in the sea, I would then veil you from Me through the sea itself."
He said to me:
" If you give yourself to the sea and drown in it then you are nothing but another one of the beasts of the sea."
He said to me:
" I would be cheating you if I were ever to direct you/show you evidence for other than Me."
He said to me:
" If you reach perdition in the pursuit of other than Me, you will be delivered to what you reached perdition for"
He said to me:
" This world ( al-Dunyah) belongs to the one whom I distracted from it; the afterworld (al-Akhira) belongs to the one I approached through it and brought him to Myself"
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Further reading: 
1. Sharh Mawaqef al Niffari ( Explanation of the Pauses of Niffari) by al 'Aref billah al-Tilmasani (d. 690 H)
2. Tajrid al-Tawhid Lil Niffari (Divestment in the Tawhid of Niffari) Dr. Jamal Ahmad Marzuqi