Surat al-Hajj (22) verses 1-2 "Sukr: Intoxication"

 يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ 
"O people! guard against your Lord; surely the Quake/Convulsion of the Hour is an awe-inspiring matter ."


From the commentary of Ruzbehan Baqli
Allah (swt) sends out a warning call to those who have forgotten the Covenant established in past eternity (Azal) [ Am I not your Lord ?] and to those who have forgotten the face-to-face encounter in future eternity (Abad). He states:" What will your position be, O you heedless ones, when, in the wilderness of Resurrection Day, the Majesty of my Grandeur (Adhamat) appears from the veils of the Unseen?. Guard off [in this life] against the torments of separation from Me [in the next life], in order that you may reach the Majesty of Reunion with Me. For the Universes and all that is created will be convulsed upon the appearance of the Lights of My Nobility ( Kibrya') and the Sovereingty (Sultan) of My ravishing Beauty (Baha')."


For the truth of Taqwa (God reverencing-consciousness) is to exit with the help of Allah from all that is less than Allah. Some have stated that Taqwa is "when nothing immerses you other than your Master",  and that is Freedom; whoever is seeking after the reward is not a Mutttaqui (one whose quality is Taqwa).


 وَتَرَى ٱلنَّاسَ سُكَارَىٰ وَمَا هُم بِسُكَارَىٰ
"And you will see people as intoxicated/drunken while they are not intoxicated/drunken"


Allah (swt) describes those who witness the attacks of His Grandeur and Nobility in various states of Confusion and loss due to Mad Lost Love (Hayaman), drunkenness (Sukr) and excitement (Hayajan). They are driven to Mad Nostalgic Love (walah) at the sight of the Grandeur and the Majesty of Awesome Beauty (Hayba) and are lost in the valleys of the Lights of Nobility and Sovereignty.


Some He made drunk as those who drink intoxicants, others like those drunk with love- and how vast the difference between those two types and those who are drunk on heedlessness and again  those drunk in Union. The enemies are drunk with the drunkenness of those Overpowered ( Qahryiat), and the friends are drunk from the sight of the ravishing marvels of the Acts. The Murid (Seekers) are drunk with the brightness of the Lights and the Lovers are drunk with the Unveiling of the Secrets, while the ones who are longing (Mushtaqun) are drunk on the gleaming appearance of the Attributes.

Imam Jaafar stated:" They became drunk on what they witnessed of the spread of Grandeur of Immense Power and the billowing folds of Nobility until the Prophets had no refuge but to say:" Nafsi, Nafsi ( I, myself) "


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wGJTj8EJ0&feature=related

Surat al Saffat 41:44

وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاء وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُوْلَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ

"Had We made it a Qur'an in indistinct and inexpressive language, these (faultfinders) would have surely said, `Why has not (the subject matter of) its verses been made clear in exposition?' What! can indistinct and inexpressive language and an eloquently clear language (be one and the same thing). Say, `It is a wonderful guidance and healing to those who believe.' But (as to those) who do not believe there is deafness in their ears and this (Qur'an) is obscure to them (with regard to its truth). And they are (as if to say) being called to from a place afar.
Ayatullah Hajj Muhammad Hussein al Husseini al Teharani
The Qur'an can be studied in many ways, its grammatical structure, its scientific findings, its poetry...one can gather such knowledge as one can using one's senses and intellect and still be as far from the true Knowledge that is in the Qur'an as the heavens are from earth. In order to see the Face of Allah reflected in each of the verses of the Qur'an, one has to abandon all earthly intentions..... 
What is other than Allah is a veil; the complete knowledge of Allah is predicated upon the dissolution of veils, as has been versed by Qays bin Mallouh al 'Amiri who spoke thus of his longing for Layla Al Amiriayat:

تَمَنَّيْتُ مِنْ لَيْلَي‌ عَلَی‌ البُعْدِ نَظْرَةً         لِيُطْفَي‌ جَويً بَيْنَ الحَشا وَالاَضالِعِ

 فَقالَتْ نِسَاءُ الحَي‌ّ تَطْمَعُ أنْ         تَرَي‌ بِعَيْنَيْكَ لَيْلَي‌ مُتْ بِداءِ المَطامِعِ

 وَكَيْفَ تَرَي‌ لَيْلَي‌ بِعَيْنٍ تَرَي‌         بِها سِواها وَما طَهَّرْتَها بِالمَدامِعِ

 وَتَلْتَذُّ مِنْها بِالحَديثِ وَقَدْ جَرَي‌             حَديثُ سِـواها في‌ خُروقِ المَسـامِعِ

I have hoped for a look at Layla from a distance.
A look to put out the fires raging between my inners and my ribs.

The area women deride,

“If you desire to see Layla with your own eyes, 
you will succumb to this illness of desire.

For how can you see Layla with an eye that sees others,

an eye that you have not purified with flowing tears?

And how can you delight in her talk

when the talk of others has passed through the inlets of your ears?"

----------------------- 

It is not possible for the one who has found companionship in other than Allah, one who has harbored goals other than Allah, and intentions other than His praise- one who has desires from this lower life (al-Dunya)- it is not possible for such a person to meet Allah and be honored by His Sight.


Adapted from : Kitab Maarifat Allah-.Volume 1, Section 5
http://www.maarefislam.org/doreholomvamaarefislam/bookscontent/allahshenasi-arabic/allah1/allah1.5.htm

Surat al Anbya'a (51-57) : Ibrahim the Spirit

Old Image of the Station of Ibrahim near the Kaaba

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَآ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رُشْدَهُ مِن قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا بِهِ عَالِمِينَ } * { إِذْ قَالَ لأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلتَّمَاثِيلُ ٱلَّتِيۤ أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ } * { قَالُواْ وَجَدْنَآ آبَآءَنَا لَهَا عَابِدِينَ } * { قَالَ لَقَدْ كُنتُمْ أَنتُمْ وَآبَآؤُكُمْ فِي ضَلاَلٍ مُّبِينٍ } * { قَالُوۤاْ أَجِئْتَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ أَمْ أَنتَ مِنَ ٱللاَّعِبِينَ } * { قَالَ بَل رَّبُّكُمْ رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ ٱلَّذِي فطَرَهُنَّ وَأَنَاْ عَلَىٰ ذٰلِكُمْ مِّنَ ٱلشَّاهِدِينَ } * { وَتَٱللَّهِ لأَكِيدَنَّ أَصْنَامَكُمْ بَعْدَ أَن تُوَلُّواْ مُدْبِرِينَ }

And we bestowed upon Ibrahim His guidance before and of him We were fully knowledgeable. As he said to his father, what are those idols that you are continuously offering devotion to. He (the father) said, we found our fathers (already) worshiping them. He ( Ibrahim) said, you all and your fathers are gravely and obviously lost. He ( the father)said : Have you come to us with Truth or are you playing games. He said: far from it, your Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and earth who split them asunder and I am one of those who witness this. By Allah, I shall plot against you idols when your backs are turned.

Notes before reading: For Ibn Arabi, Ibrahim is the Spirit; his father the primordial Nafs; his people are the celestial expressive selves, [the prototypes existing in the universe of potentialities]...The interaction of Ibrahim and his people is the external manifestation of the dynamics of the soul, the heart and the intellect between being guided and going astray.

The adverb [before] is one of the key words in this verse, opening up for Ibn Arabi and the other Sufi commentators vistas on occurrences in the Azal (eternity before time) and the realities of the verse.

I included at the end of the text brief explanations of concepts that may help with a deepening understanding of the commentary. I say deepening because no other commentary has ever given me the clear vision that what I am offered is not a fixed doctrine but a vessel to travel with through the verse towards the Truth (al Haqq)

Ibn Arabi states in his commentary on the verses:

"And We have bestowed upon Ibrahim" :Ibrahim is the Spirit, the guidance special to him, which only befits those like him. This guidance is towards the Unicity of the Essence (Tawheed Dhati) and the station (Maqam) of the witnessing (Mushahada) and friendship ( Khilla....[ thus Ibrahim al Khalil]). We bestowed on the Spirit this guidance “before”: meaning before we bestowed it on the ranks of the heart and the intellect preceding them in honor and loftiness.

“And of Him we had full knowledge” for no one else but Us knew of his accomplishment and his virtue in the elevation of his position.

He said to his father “who is the primordial Nafs” and to the other celestial selves (the potentialities):” What are those statues?” meaning: what are those intellectual images which are nothing but etchings made on the intellect by products of thoughts and by the nature of existent things (that the intellect comes in contact with, or apprehends)?

“Those to which you are devoted” meaning that you are diligent in representing and in placing in constraining images (Suwar pl: of Surat) [ an act which limits and chains thoughts and vision leading to loss of depth and the ability to voyage to the Unseen solely through the intellect]*

The above was said by the Spirit (Ibrahim) after it left the Station of the Sacred Spirit and protruded through the luminous veils into the space of the Unicity of the Essence, as Ibrahim peace be upon him said :

“I am free from what you associate”- I have directed my Face without deviation ( Haneef) towards He who has burst apart the heavens and the earth (Surat al Anaam see 6: 78-79.)

It is from this station that he said to Jibril peace upon him: “from you No”! **
“We found our fathers” which are nothing but ( 3ilall pl. of 3illa) the secondary effects of the previous universes on the Selves (Nafs) and are all from the people of Jabaroot ***

“In a state of worship of the idols” in that they internalized them within their own essence and became unable to be distracted from them.

“Obviously gone astray” in a veil of light from the Haqq, unable to reach the source/eye/ center of the Essence. Instead, they stand in devotion at the limit of the Attributes unable to be guided to the truth of Oneness (AHhadiyat) and to drown themselves in the ocean of Hu-ness.

(Ibrahim’s people said) “Have you come to us with the Haqq ?” meaning: Is the Haqq speaking to us through you or is it your Nafs ? In which case, your words are nothing but a game that has no reality.

“It is rather your Sustainer’ who is coming to you and speaking to you-He who sustains you by bringing you onto existence, establishing you, bringing you to life, denuding you (from all other than Him), informing you and teaching you...the Sustainer of everything that Has brought you to life.

“And of that “I” – to you- am among the Witnesses”: the Speaker here is al Haqq, the Sustainer. This witnessing is that of the Sustainership and of Creation.

“I will plot against your idols”, I will wipe the images of things, the prototypes ( al A3Yan)**** of the existing things that you have devoted yourselves to bringing about, maintaining and taking care of, then persisted in finding proofs for their reality and truth. You ignored the Eye of the essence of Oneness and instead hurried towards the multiplicity of the Attributes.

References

* see Surah (constraint)

http://www.untiredwithloving.org/surat_constraint.html

** Hadith transmitted by Abu Hurayra detailing the experience of Ibrahim as he was being burned on the stakes, was increasingly drowned in witnessing the truth of Unicity, the archangel Jibril approaches him ans asks if he needs help, Ibrahim responds with the famous :" From you, No!" 
 أما إليك فلا Amma ilayka fala included in the collections of al Daylami and Ibn al Najjar

*** The Universe of the Jabaroot is the third level of the Universe descending from the Divine presence, it consists of the Throne and the Divine Emanations ( FuyuDd Ilahyiat)- (upcoming post)

**** Al A3Yan al Thabita : The fixed prototypes occupy a key position in the thought of Ibn Arabi. They are the restricted potentialities( archetypes) upon which the Divine Attributes take effect allowing for the possibility of the emergence of a creation that is able to perfect itself in order to return to the Divine (also an upcoming post) 

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May Allah swt sanctify the Sirr of Ibn Arabi for this marvel of Knowledge which he shared. It is now that I understand the significance of the Station of Ibrahim so close to the Kaaba; closer than the Station of Ibrahim is only the Hijr ( the place of burial of Hagar, the woman slave who also truly never relied on anyone but God).

I cannot pretend that I got everything Ibn Arabi wanted to say but I pray that I have here something that is of use for us the voyagers. May Allah swt bless us all from Knowledge from Him.

Niffari: Mystic crying...

Islamic Museum of Art
Al-Dawha, Qatar

 ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلأَذْقَانِ سُجَّداً *

.........Those who were given knowledge in pre-eternity, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration, And they say: 'Glory to our Lord Sustainer! Truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled!'They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their awed humility.

Niffari

All crying is attached to a meaning that provokes it; this meaning ends in turn in a destination that is the aim of the crying; within this aim resides Joy.

The one who cries does so as long as that Joy is in his knowledge but not in his realization. As soon as he reaches and realizes the Joy, he stops crying.

The book of Speech and of silence ( Kitab al Natq wal Samt)

Laylatul Qadr 97:1

Hira Cave

{ إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ }

"We descended it in Laylatul Qadr"
Ibn Arabi
Laylatul Qadr is the physical frame of Muhammad (saaws) in the temporary state (Hal) of the Heart in which he became veiled from the witnessing of the Essence. The descent cannot occur without this state. Qadr is the high rank and nobility of the Prophet (saaws)- the verse means that the high rank of the Prophet does not appear and is not known to himself until that night.
If the fast of Ramadan is started on a Wednesday then Laylatul Qadr is the 29th night.
Fakhr al Deen al Razi
The use of  the "We" pronoun is for the sake of investing the matter with Greatness.
On the meaning of Qadr:
Qadr with a silent ( sukoon) "d" is a verbal noun (masdar) meaning high rank and with a "d" that has a Fatha (da) is a noun meaning :" the decree", " the measuring out" as in Surat al Dukhan 44:4 " On that night every judicious matter is separated distinctly".
The night was called al Qadr (cooking pot) because the Earth becomes overfilled with Angels.
Various Ahadith point to its occurrence in the last 10 days of Ramadan 
al Hassan al Basri
It is the night of the 17th of Ramadan because the day that follows it is the day of the battle of Badr.
Sahl al Tustari
It is named the night of Qadar" measuring out" because during it Allah swt decreed Rahmat ( Divine Mercy) for all his slaves.
Rouzbehan Baqli 
 That night where His Beauty is revealed to the Divine Knowers and the people of Winessing from those who are favored with His proximity. It is He, who has decreed their planes of consciousness (Manazil, pl. of Manzil) in the stations of Knowledge or Unveiling. It is He also who has decreed the ordainment of the Unseen and brought into view the Lights of His Dominion and of His Innermost Realm ( al Jabarut) to those endowed with Hearts. That is why Angels and the Spirit descend on that night, for they give them glad tidings of approaching Union ( Wisal) and eternal revelations of Divine Beauty.

It was said that the descent of the Angels on that night is in order to infuse the heart of the Divine Knowers with Rooh ( Spirit) .

Qushayri

 It is a night during which the worshippers find the measure of their Selves and the Divine Knowers witness the measure of the One they worship....What a difference there is between the finding of a Qadr and the witnessing of a Qadr!

Khatm al Anbiya' : Seal of Prophecy

Imprint of the Seal of the Prophet (saaws)

 Ibn Arabi states:

Muhammad saaws was the foremost locus of the human Prophecy as per his statement:” I was already a Prophet when Adam was between [the stages] of water and mud”. He is the locus of the Seal of Prophecy as per the statement of Allah swt : “ Muhammad has never been the father of any of your men, rather the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of Prophets” (Surat al Ahzab 33:40). When Muhammad claimed to be the father of Zaid [ibn Haritha]*, Allah swt denied the claim that Muhammad was the father of any of our men in order to make void any such relationship and to set his rank apart. Do you not see that no biological male child of the Prophet survived because of his being, in the foreknowledge of Allah, the Seal of Prophecy?

The Prophet said that the Message of Tashree3 (Legislation organizing a religious Path) that he was sent with, along with the Prophecy have ceased; meaning that any subsequent rulings do not originate from Allah and are not our Shariah: “No messenger after me will come with a ruling different from mine, and no Prophet will come with his own ruling sent from Allah”. In that way, he declared the end of the legislative Prophecy. Had he meant something other than that, it would contradict his saying that Issa (as) will descend among us and will be a fair judge ruling between us according to our own Shar’ ( Religious Lesgislation). We do not doubt that Issa (as) is a Messenger and a Prophet [but will not come with another Shari’a that would make void that of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws)]. 

The foregoing means that all humanity until Judgment day including al-Khidr, Elias and Issa is the manifest community of Muhammad, while all humanity from Adam to the day of the Prophet’s Messengership is his interior community.

* http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4017&CATE=108

Source: al Futuhat al Makkia ( The Meccan Openings) p: 2598

Ibn Arabi: "Those whom Allah loves".

Know then, may Allah grant you success, that, Love is a Divine station for He has characterized HisSelf by it and named Himself in the Qur'an al-Wadood (The Loving), and in the Hadith, the Lover.

He is the One Who inspired to Musa in the Torah: "O you son of Adam, by your right with me, I am a Lover, be then a lover to Me."

Mahhabat (Divine Love) has been mentioned in both Qur'an and Sunnah in reference to Allah and the created beings. Allah swt has mentioned the types of people He loves, according to their characteristics; He has also mentioned the characteristics of the people He does not love.

He commanded the Noble Prophet to tell us: "If you love Allah follow me; Allah will love you… "3:31 and stated: "O you who believe! If any from among you turn back from his Faith, soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him 5:54"

In mentioning the types of people whom He loves, He then informed us that Allah loves:

Those who turn to Him in repentance 2: 222

Those who purify themselves and those who keep themselves clean and pure(Mutaharun and Mutatahirun) 2: 222 & 9: 108

Those who rely on Him ( al-mutawkilun) 3: 159

Those who are patient 2: 153 ( al-sabirun)

Those who are grateful & thankful 31: 4 (al-shakirun)

Those who give in charity 12: 88 ( al-mutasadiqun)

Those who do good 2: 195, 3:134, 3: 152, 5: 13, 5: 93 ( al-muhsinun)

Those who fight in His cause in [solid] ranks, as though the were a building firm and compact 6:14

The Almighty distanced Himself from some folks because of the presence of characteristics that He does not love; meaning that He, may He be praised, wants those characteristics to vanish, which can only happen if they are replaced with their opposites.

The Almighty informed us that He does NOT love:

Those who spread corruption, the evil-doers ( al-mufsidun) 5:64, 28: 77. He does not love corruption (fasad) 2: 205, the opposite of which is working righteousness/making peace/doing good (salah).

Those who exult over riches 28:76 (al-farihun)

Those who are conceited and act in a boastful manner 4:36 & 31: 18(al-mukhtalun)

Those who are unfair, the oppressors 3:57 & 42:40 (al-zalimun)

Those who exceed the bounds, the squanderer 6:141 (al-musrifun)

The disbelievers 3:32, 30:45 (al-kafirun)

Those who speak evil openly 4: 148

The aggressors 5: 87 (al-mu'tadun)

It is so, that, Allah swt has also made certain matters lovable to us:

Either by their absolute lovable value as He said stressing our indebtedness to Him: 49: 7 "But Allah has made faith (Iman) lovable to you"

Or by making them attractive in our eyes: 3: 14 "Alluring unto man is the enjoyment of worldly desires" and said in the case of the human pair: 30:21

"He put loving-kindness (mawadat) and mercy (rahmat) between you".

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Source : Al Futuhat al Makkia " The Meccan Openings"

Ibn Arabi : Abd al Wali, Word of Fahwaniat

From Kitab al “3Abadila“(Those who carry the name 3Abd (slave, servant) + a beautiful Name)

3Abdullah bin Haroon bin Abd al-Wali

Surat al Shura 42:9
أَمِ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ فَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْوَلِيُّ وَهُوَ يُحْيِي المَوْتَى وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Did they, perchance, [think that they could] choose protectors other than Him? But Allah alone is the Protector [of all that exists], since it is He alone who brings the dead to life, and He alone who has the power to will anything.

He said, “There are 5 types of Knowledge:

1. The Science of Ahwal (pl. of Hal, Transient state of Being), it is likened to Wine.
2. The Science of Awham (pl. of Wahm, Illusion, false perception), it is likened to Honey
3. The Science of Tawheed (Unicity) and by this I refer to that which was brought by the divinely appointed laws, it is likened to Milk
4. The Science of Forms and Rituals (Rusoom) is likened to water which in turn is divided into: a) water from Ghayth ( rain, help) associated with the Arwah (pl. of Ruh, Spirit, and what they contain), its knowledge is Changeless (enduring, fixed) b) Water from a 3Ayn (source, eye) associated with the universe of composition and what it contains of meanings, its knowledge is Changeable”.

He said, “Of the slaves of Allah, there are those through whom the rulings (constraining and molding) of worship course in their entirety without those rulings having been shaped in their hearts. If one, should ask: “Some acts of worship require Intention which is an act of the heart, how could one imagine worship occurring without it”? I would answer:” [In those people], even intention occurs without the person having a clear intent in their intent” [their worship comes from al-Wali to Allah without active involvement on their part]

He also said,” Whoever is realized through al-Haqq (Allah, Reality) is not characterized by the attributes of Sidq ( Truthfulness) or Ikhlas (Sincerity) nor does he experience a Hal (transient state of being) nor a Maqam (station)”.    

He also said,” Divine Opening (Fath) is not limited to the [time of] worship, but may  be given outside of the worship acts in an even more extensive manner than within worship; for Divine Opening is Generosity and Gifting while pious acts are to be rewarded in the next world”

He also said,” Do not ever enter to the Divine Presence (HhaDdra Ilahyat) while someone is drawing you from behind; for whosoever pretends, that he has received an Opening from Divine Providence, that he has received specialized approximation (Taqreeb), that his Knowledge of the Divine is from this type, that his drink is from this source, but is in truth indebted to another creature who is demanding its right from him, then, that person has lied and what he pretends to is false- for that, is the condition of Divine Opening. Knowledge may be bared to such a person but no Divine Proximity will be his”.

He also said, “There is nothing other than accord (Muwafaqa) and dissent (Mukhalafa).  Divine Proximity is reached through accord when the veils are lifted; through dissent, Divine Distance occurs and veils are sent, for He is the Near and the Far”.

He also said, “There are some slaves who are not negatively affected by rebellion and acts of transgression because Divine Providence has preceded in their case by Allah. O you transgressor of the limit of your Lord! Look at the kind of Openings that are occurring for you in the Eye of Proximity, have they changed or have they not? If they have, know then that Allah has warned you that you are in the Eye of Distance, were He to inspire you and lead you to successes in true Repentance, you would then be the “happy one”.

If your state has not changed despite your dissent and your transgression against sacredness then [try to understand]:

Is your continued success due to Divine Providence wherein transgressions do not affect you negatively “That Allah may forgive you of your sin that which is past and that which is yet to come” Surat al Fath (48): 2. [In your case], forgiveness has preceded transgression?

Alternatively, does this [this lack of change in your state] originate from the Eye of Ruse so that you weaken and then be deprived from your state only at the moment (waqt) when its loss would hurt you the most?

If it is a ruse, return to the Eye of Accord and obtain knowledge of the Word of Fahwaniat (the address of the Haqq in the Universe of Amthal [Models/Ideals: the Universe between the universe of the senses and the Universe of pure spirits]). With that Word, all suspicions and doubts are erased and there is no other Path to Him other than this one; if you do not find Him there, know then that this is a Ruse.*

He also said, “When Knowledge, from the side of al-Haqq, was spread on the carpet of Mercy, all creatures hurried towards it and took it from different paths. No matter how much they deviated from the path, which they took Mercy from, those who are responsible for this site redirect them to the “site of confluence of those paths”. If they respond to them, they will be fulfilled for those are more knowledgeable of the ‘Ayn al Jam’ than anyone else is. Their Ayn al Jam’(Eye of Togetherness) is the Absolute Oneness (Ahadiat) of the Path [? Travelling in Allah?]

*Definition obtained from al Futuhat al Makkiat

 Sheikh Syed Mutawali recites from Surat al Shura (42) verses 3-15
http://audio.islamweb.net/audio/listenbox.php?audioid=88656&type=ram

Surat al-Anaam 6:161-163

{ قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَبِّيۤ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ دِيناً قِيَماً مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ } * { قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ } * { لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذٰلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

Say: "Behold, my Sustainer has guided me onto a straight way through an ever-true faith-the way of Ibrahim who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him."


Ibn Arabi

{ قل إنني هداني ربّي إلى صراط مستقيم } إلى طريق التوحيد الذاتي { ديناً قيماً } ثابتاً أبداً لا تغيره الملل والنِحل ولا تنسخه الشرائع والكتب { ملّة إبراهيم } التي أعرض بها عن كل ما سواه بالترقي عن جميع المراتب مائلاً عن كل دين وطريق باطل فيه شرك ما، ولو بصفة من صفات الله تعالى.

Say, my Sustainer has guided me to the Path of the Unicity of the “Essence”, a Path that is steadfast, never changing, unaffected by the various (spiritual) Ways (Millah) and religions (Nihlah); a way that cannot be abrogated or concealed, neither by any religious regulations nor by any Scriptures. The way of Ibrahim by which he turned away from all other than Him, ascending beyond all ranks, avoiding every Path that may contain a hint of untruth, even if- this particular Path is- adhering to one of the attributes of Allah most high.

{ قل إن صلاتي } أي: حضوري بالقلب وشهودي بالروح { ونسكي } أي: تقرّبي أو كل
 ما أتقرّب به بالقلب { ومحياي } بالحق { ومماتي } بالنفس كلها { لله } لا نصيب لي ولا لأحد غيري فيها لأني قمت به له بالفناء فلا وجود لي ولا لغيري حتى يكون لي حظ ونصيب { ربّ العالمين } أي: له باعتبار الجمع في صورة تفاصيل الربوبية { لا شريك له } في ذلك جمعاً وتفصيلاً { وبذلك أُمرت } أي: أُمرت أن لا أرى غيره في عين الجمع ولا في صورة التفاصيل حتى أعمل له كما وصفني تعالى بقوله:

{ مَا زَاغَ ٱلْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَىٰ }

[النجم، الآية: 17] فهو الآخر والمأمور، والرائي والمرئي { وأنا أوّل المسلمين } المنقادين للفناء فيه بإسلام وجهي له باعتبار الرتبة في تفاصيل الذات وإلا فلا أول ولا آخر ولا مسلم ولا كافر.

Say My prayer : means my presence with my Heart and my witnessing with my soul;{نسكي} my approaching Him, and everything my heart uses to approach [through and with], my life by al-Haqq and the death of the totality of my Nafs, all are for Allah: meaning that neither I nor any other have any part of it. For I undertook evanescence (Fana’) only for His sake: There is no existence for me or for others within this Path . 
All this is for Him, the Sustainer of all the Universes ( Rabb- al- Alameen) : in the totality of all His Attributes and in their detailing. This, I was commanded meaning: I was commanded to see no other than Him in the high rank of "Togetherness of the Essence"* and not in the Shape or details of the creation (Sufiyya: the outer form (Surat) of creation)**. All this, in order that I may act in and towards Him as He has described me [The vision did not deviate nor did it exceed the limit : al-Najm, 53:17]. He is simultaneously the Other and the One who is commanded, the Seer and the One who sees. [And I am the first of those who submitted], those who are led to evanescence in Him as I surrender my face and my direction to Him (Wajh). For the Highest rank is within the details of the Essence where ultimately there is no first and no last, no one who surrendered and no one who covered the truth.
*Ayn al Jam3’ (Eye/Essence of Togetherness)

** Seeking Allah’s attributes and deeds in the universe is a lower rank of gnosis, worshiping the outer manifestations (Surat) even if created according to His own Surat is limiting ourselves. We must aim further along in time, space and spiritual knowledge towards the Essence.
------------
A very moving recitation of the verses from Shaykh Ragheb Mustapha Ghalwash, Syria 1969 (item 2)

http://www.archive.org/details/GhalwashSyria

Shaykh Ahmad al Rifai : Himma (Spiritual Aspiration)

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem.

"You are bound to die"

Brothers,

The secret of the Absolute Reality ( Haqiqa) is apparent, the banner of Divine Knowledge
(Ma'arifat) is raised and the door to the Divine Nexus(Wasl) is open. It is only that, you have become veiled from the vision (Ru'yat) of these noble values through your love of this world
(al-dunya) and your forgetfulness of death.

How amazing it is that, one who knows that he will die (one day) should forget death! How amazing it is that, one who knows that he will be leaving al-dunya should throw himself on it and spend his days loving it! How amazing it is that, one who knows that he will return to Allah should deviate from Him and turn towards anOther.!

By Allah ! this heedlessness of yours is a grave matter! There is no transformation or strength except through Allah the High, the Almighty !
( La Hawla wa la quwata illa bi-llahi al'alii al-azeem) .

Lies attract you, in the gardens of ignorance you meander and in matters of earnings you invent artful machinations, all the while you feel safe from (future) penalties as if you never read :
"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?" ( Surat al- Mu'minoon 23 :115)
and you never heard :
"I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. No provisions do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me." ( Surat al-Dharyat 51:56-57).

He has guaranteed your provision yet you busy (yourselves) with its devices; while He has NOT guaranteed anyone of you Al-Jannah (Paradise), yet you act as if you were given the glad tidings thereof.

You have lost precious moments with fun and forgetfulness and passed the days with heedlessness and disobedience. Your jokes are the jokes of those who are assured they will have no (future) regrets and your fun is the fun of those who have not heard of the Day of Resurrection. It is as if you never looked at the graves and never got an instructive example from their
dwellers.
Where are your fathers and your ancestors who passed before you?
Where are those who have accumulated more possessions than you have ? And those who carried more ignorance than you do ?
Do you disbelieve in Allah? Or is it arrogance that you display towards Allah ?

Brothers,

Whosoever knows that his Self will be annihilated and knows that Allah alone is Everlasting, turns his Self away from al-Dunya. Allah Almighty has stated: " But unto him who stood in fear of his Sustainer's Presence, and held back his inner Self from base desires, Paradise will truly be the abode!"
( Surat al-Nazi'aat 79: 40-41).
He spoke to His Prophet ...and said: "Yet, verily, You are bound to die, [O Muhammad,] and, verily, they, too, are bound to die" ( Surat al-Zummar 39: 30).

Gather then your spiritual aspiration (Himma) in order to reach the lofty ranks of those who have preceded you, so that you do not fall under His statement :"Yet they were succeeded by generations [of people] who lost all [thought of prayer and followed [but] their own lusts; and these will, in time, meet with utter disillusion " ( Surat Maryam 19:59).

Knock on the Noble door with the hand of poverty and necessity, and approach Him from the door of humbleness and subservience; for there is no escape from my and your move towards the dwelling of the Afterlife and there is no way out of my descent and yours in the revolving graves.

" Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it" ( Surat al-Zalzalat 99:7-8).

And the one who shall be saved will be the one who dealt with Allah with his God-consciousness (Taqwa) and feared Him while still in this life.

----------------------------------------


From "al-Burhan Al-Mu'ayyid" (The Supportive Evidence)

Death by the Qur'an

Abu Ishaq al Ta'alabi, never known as a Mystic, rather a Shafe'i Qur'an commentator, a traditionalist and the author of a well-known edifying History of the Prophets, wrote a small book about 19 people, almost all from the early Islamic centuries ( 2nd-3rd centuries of Hijra) which were already significantly under the influence of asceticism, who were so affected by Qur'anic recitation that they died on the spot. Their behavior and their utterances make them recognizable as Sufis or at least as forerunner of the Sufis.

The places of these occurrences are most often Basra, Kufa or Nishapur which were centers of the ascetic movement of early Islam, and in the case of the first two cities, renowned for their masterly Qur'an recitators.

Of the 19 stories, most relate death as resulting from terror due to listening to Qur'anic verses describing the Day of Judgment or the torments of Hell. The 14th story is different:

"It is related that a relative of the Ummayad Governor Muhallab ibn abi Sufyan ( d.702) was on his way home to Basra after a business trip accompanied by 2 servants, a male and a female. While traveling by boat on the Tigris River, he saw a man dressed in ascetic clothes on the shore of the river. He felt compassion for him and invited him to travel on his boat. During the trip, the host offered the Ascetic food which the latter accepted only after long insistence.The host wanted to give further pleasure to his guest and asked his female servant to sing accompanied by the 'Oud. (a string instrument)

Following that, the host asked the ascetic: "Can you do anything so beautiful"? The ascetic answered:" Yes, I can. I can do something far more beautiful" and started reciting with a "beautiful voice"


from Surat al-Nisa' 4: 77-78

"Have you not turned your vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (from fight) but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity? When (at length) the order for fighting was issued to them, behold! a section of them feared men as - or even more than - they should have feared Allah: They said: "Our Lord! Why have You ordered us to fight? Would You not Grant us respite to our (natural) term, near (enough)?"Say: "Short is the enjoyment of this world: the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: Never will you be dealt with unjustly in the very least! Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, though you should be in raised-up towers. And if a good thing visits them, they say, 'This is from God'; but if an evil thing visits them, they say, 'This is from you.' Say:'Everything is from God.' How is it with this people? They scarcely understand any tiding. "

At this, the host threw the goblet he held in his hand in the river and said: "I confess that, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Is there anything else like it?"

The young man recited from Surat al-Kahf, 18: 29
 "Say, "The truth is from your Lord": Let him who will believe, and let him who will, reject (it): for the wrong-doers We have prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and roof of a tent, will hem them in: if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted brass that will scald their faces, how dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a couch to recline on!"

Those words left a deep impression in the heart of the host, he threw the pot in the water and broke the Oud, then asked: "Young man, do you have anything that could also make one feel happy?"

The ascetic recited from Surat al-Zummar 39: 53:
"Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful".


The host let out a loud cry and fell unconscious, by the time they reached him, Death had overtaken him. "

----------------------------------------

Translated from : Navid Kermani " Gott ist schön, Das ästhetische Erleben des Korans"-and–
al-Ta'alabi, Abu Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad:" Kitab Mubarak yudhkar fihi qatla al Qur'an al-'Azim alladhina sami'u al-Qur'an wa matu bi sama'hi"

Ayat ( Signs)

Badi'ulzaman Sa'eed al- Nursi :

" Most of the verses/signs [of the Qur'an] possess an eye that is gazing at many other verses, and a face that is directed towards those verses; in this manner, each one verse extends spiritual lines of kinship and connections towards other verses, thus weaving the miraculous pattern"

From "al Kalimaat, The words"

Surat al-Zummar 39:6

خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ الْأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ

"He created you all out of ONE living entity and from it brought out its mate; and He descended for you EIGHT pairs of cattle; He creates you in the bellies of your mothers one creation following another within THREE darknesses. THAT for you all is your Sustainer. The Dominion is His, There is no deity other than He, so then how do you get diverted, led away, turned away?"

The Ayat ( Sign, verse) chose to visit to me a few days ago at the time of Fajr. I listened to it every morning being recited by a Qari' who was previously unknown to me; the recitation is OK but somehow I do not move away from the Ayat. Every morning as I am having my coffee for the pre-dawn meal, I listen again and again to the Ayat. Today finally it started unlocking its secrets...There are many varieties of attention and many types of listening to the Qur'an, I have accepted that those various kinds of listening will also be visited on me depending on my state when I listen, on the Ayat itself which will be ready to unlock some of its treasure at the right time and above all depending on where Allah swt chooses to take me today. Some days, after listening I do not feel that I have listened ; on other days I listen but I know that I am skimming the surface and not diving and finally on other days the waters open, my attention is fit and I am allowed to go in.. it is on those days that I feel that i have been given a key and am permitted to look into the details of the Ayat...it is then that I sit down, read it carefully, look at the meaning of each word, at the ordering of the words...it is just the beginning of a process that will by Allah's permission continue for years for this ONE Sign.

The first thing that caught my attention is "He created you all out of ONE living entity" : this time instead of focusing on Creation, I am led to see all those who exist presently in this world as coming out of one entity and thus related. We are not strangers to one another, our original bond cannot be broken no matter how much it is denied in our heedlessness; difference and distance are not our original relations conditions. I, you and the others going back in the chain of species are relatives through this act of creation :

Surat al-Furqan 25:54

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا

And He it is who out of this water has created man, and has endowed him with [the consciousness of] descent and marriage-tie: [I.e., has enabled him to attribute spiritual value to, and to derive strength from, his organic and social relationships.] for thy Sustainer is ever infinite in His power.

Another indication of our similarities is the exact way we are being created stage after stage in the darknesses of the womb.

The second thing are the numbers: Mathematical order of creation. This is not just an enumeration of things that happened: the numbers in themselves must be signs. I have never understood the Sufi interest in numbers but may be this Ayat is going to open that door for me. 1, 8,3. Inshallah.

Then the last verb (Tusrafoon) in the passive tense: "You get diverted away" from this straight knowledge, from this Truth (Haqq) and the verse that had been previously floating in my consciousness for days finds her place here :

Surat al-Ann'am 6:73.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ

"And Hu [is the one] who created the heavens and the earth by/with/by means of/according to the Truth"

This evident Truth the pivotal pole of Creation is what we are being diverted away from. InSarafa means has turned away from the Direction, the Face of The Truth ( Al-Haqq) Allah swt.

And now the rest of the verse is clear :" THAT for you all is your Sustainer. The Dominion is His, There is no deity other than He". Haqq.

Alhamdullillahi Rabbil 'Alameen - Gratitude to Allah the Sustainer of the Universes for this Sign, this reminder, this morning, the gift of the Ayat, and the inexhaustible gift of the Qur'an.

Surat al-Anaam 6:122

أَوَ مَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا

Can he who was dead and to whom We gave life, and a light whereby he can walk amongst men, be like him who is in the depths of darkness, from which he can never come out?

Imam Ismail Haqqi:

The Friends of the Absolute Truth (Haqiqa) have stated: “Death is through the frivolity (Hawa) of the Self [ Hawa: is also “He fell”], and life is through the love of the Truth (al-Haqq)”.

They also said, death is through denial while life is through knowledge of the Divine (Maarifat). There are those who are alive as humans but as the dead in their graves, whose hearts cannot escape the darkness of their potential existence; there are others who are alive through the life of Maarifat. But human life will pass as per His words : “Every Self will taste death” Surat al-Anbiya’:35, as opposed to the life of Maarifat “We grant him a worthy life” Surat al-Nahl:97 and according to the Prophetic utterance (saaws): “The faithful is alive in both abodes”.

" المؤمن حى فى الدارين ".

Know also that the One who is truly Alive ( HAYY), was never dead and will never die is Allah (swt) and all other than Him is dead; for this other was dead at one point and will die once again at some other point.

The Sheikh al Akbar (Qas) stated:” Whoever witnesses the created beings as possessing no acts, has won; and whoever witnesses them as possessing no quality of life has won; and whoever witnesses them as the locus of non-existence (‘Ayn al-‘Adam), he is the one who has reached”

Abdullah bin Zaid recounted: “I met a monk and asked him: “How long have you been in this position?” He said “24 years”. I asked “Who is your companion?” He said “The One, Incomparably Unique (al-Fard), the Self sufficient; the One who is impermeable to the effects (al-Samad)” so I asked “And of the creatures?” He said “The solitary animal”. I asked: “What is your nourishment?” He replied “The remembrance of Allah ( Dhikr’ullah), so I asked: “And of the earthly foods?” He replied “The fruits of these trees and the plants of the earth”. I asked: “Do you not miss anyone?”. He said: “Yes, I miss the Beloved of the Hearts of the Knowers ( al’-Arifeen), I asked: “And of those created?” He replied: “The one whose intense anxious yearning (shawq) is for Allah swt, how does he yearn for His creatures?. I asked” Why have you forsaken His creatures?” He said: “They are thieves of the Intellect, they (like bandits) obstruct/block the highway to Guidance”. I asked “How does one recognize [that one is on] the highway to Guidance?” He replied“If he manages to escape to His Lord from all other than Him and becomes busy with His remembrance away from all other than Him. Each Salek has a different step on his way to the King of Kings.”

Shaykh Abdul Wahed Ibn Zaid also recounted: “I wanted to reach al-Quds but got lost on the way. A woman came to my encounter, so I said to her “Stranger you are lost!” She replied “How can one be a stranger when one knows Him, and how can one be lost when one loves Him?” She then added “Hold on to my cane and come closer to me”; So I did approach about 6 steps, and suddenly found myself inside a Masjid in al-Quds, I rubbed my eyes and thought I was mistaken. However, she said ”O you! Your step is that of the ascetics and mine is that of the Knower (‘Aref). The ascetic walks but the ‘Aref flies”. Then she became absent from me, so that I could no longer see her.”

And so it became clear from this story that the ‘Aref has a Light with which he walks anywhere he wishes, while the Ignorant remains in the valleys of perplexity and cannot find a way except through gifts of Success from Allah swt and His Guidance. As the blind and the one who can see are not equal, so are the ignorant and the knower not equal; be the knowledge in the station of Sharia, or Tariqa or Maarifa or Haqiqa (absolute Truth). Allah swt differentiates between those who are people of Hal (station) and those who are people of words (Maqal). The greatness of the bestowed Light and its expanse are appropriate to the vastness of the heart and the heart’s knowledge of Allah; for the heart is in the hand of Allah, He turns and changes it as He wills. He beautifies directions of Goodness to the people of belief and He beautifies all types of badness to those who are veiled [from the Truth]. “But the slaves are not coerced, they can choose to leave the darkness”...the foregoing statement is again nothing but the appearance of the situation, for were you to look closely at the proofs of creation and guidance you would understand that the bottom line in Tawheed (Unicity) is that all and everything is in the Hand of Allah affected only by what comes from Allah. If you find goodness, so praise Him intensely, for His care has preceded you and your wish...But do start by imitating those who understand! it is the case that, at times, imitation has led to realization. 

Truthfully, Guidance is only from Allah the most great.

Searching for Bliss

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/11feb_map.htm

Before creation Allah was alone and He is alone after He has created. All creation is the manifestation of the Light of Allah (swt) translated in our own perceptual world into concepts of energy and movement which originated and diverged from the initial source to form hierarchies of various complexity and density along the path of creation. Despite the hierarchy, all creation remains connected with the source.
In the case of the creation of man, 3 concepts define his relationship with his Lord. We learn from the Qur’an that after creating Adam, Allah (swt) breathed from His spirit into him, that He taught him the Knowledge of all the Names and that He took from Adam and his progeny a covenant of Rububiat (Lordship)- a mutually binding relationship of submission on the part of man and of care and guidance on the part of Allah (swt). As long as Adam dwelt in the eternal Garden, he remained united with the source of his creation in a purely spiritual state of gatheredness referred to as Bliss; his Knowledge of the Names remained a potentiality to be actualized…..until such time as he and his progeny descended into the lower world (Dunyah) where the possibilities of actualization of the Knowledge have been set. In the Dunyah, a physical form was added to the spiritual creation of man, so that he became a dually-formed being –his spirit (the soul) being his essence and his physical form the vehicle of his experience of this life.
Our physical form including body and intellect (mind) develops through the interaction between our nature and our environment to shape our unique individual experience of this world; all the while our souls which we refer to as our inner being are all identical. Similarly, everything in creation, tangible or intangible, accessible to our various faculties, perceptive or intellectual, all is endowed with an outer and an inner shape, meaning, and outcome. In turn, this physical-spiritual matrix is subjected to continuous forces, which spring from the display of the Divine Names and which, along with our own choices, propel us on our path towards the Knowledge of the Divine. But we constantly yearn for our original state of gatheredness… Through the veils of dispersion which cover this original state, we innately are programmed to seek the Light which has created us, loved us and created love within us. Remembering and perceiving/ acquiring knowledge and reflecting upon our experiences are the processes which bring us back to our ancestral origin and which fulfill our task in this Dunyah.
Bliss results from our momentary contact with the Ultimate reality, the Truth, our Ancient Timeless Origin; it is momentary because we are subjected to constant change, and although we have the possibility of closeness to the Divine source in this world we can never attain IT completely. And again because of this innate disposition, we are driven to seek the traces of the Divine qualities which are displayed in full force in the Universe. Most often, we are attracted by what suggests those Attributes without understanding the meaning of the attraction and more often than not we get attached to the worldly manifestation, the outer form of an Attribute and fail to see that what we are seeking is the inner essence. Ideally, we will eventually be able to detach ourselves from our false goal, look deeper into the experience, understand our drive and see the One Hand that moves all…
Thus our search typically moves from the realm of exteriority to the interior, from the world of shape to that of meaning and from the repetitive experience of pleasures to the persistent single-minded search for the essence which we recognize when we reach a state of Bliss. But the outer is necessary as a door to the inner, form is the window on meaning.I
In our frantic search for our origins, no experience is more telling than that of romantic love….we become attracted by what mimics, is a shadow of, a simile of the Divine and we are thrust into a psycho-spiritual-physical and emotional state which includes powerful emotions, oceanic feelings of loss of boundaries, a sense of discovery of the innate benign meaning of the Universe, of the interconnectedness of all creation, increased creativity, energy and hope etc….This state resolves with time as we realize that the transient object of our love, because of certain qualities it possesses, had evoked our primordial Love but is not our true Love and so we move on looking further…The process is identical as we embark in search of beauty, power, wealth, intellectual achievement, creativity etc…
Despite our inborn potentiality, we are able to perceive the Divine qualities only in a circumscribed manner; this creates for us a semblance of contradiction in the state of the Universe which if we do not resolve by seeing the One behind the many, may leave us in a state of confusion and compartmentalization. Another characteristic of our perceptual ability is that we can only recognize things by comparing them with their opposites, absolute knowledge of something is not in our ability. In addition, the original dispersion of Light having created energy and movement, our situation is never static in this world: we move between attraction to what we love and repulsion from what we do not love, between the inner and the outer, form and meaning, always seeking an equilibrium whose source is our innermost identity, a state of inner contentment whose essential quality is that it is absolute, real and never changing as opposed to everything else that we experience in this world.

Surat aal-Imran 3:195

فَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُواْ وَأُخْرِجُواْ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِمْ وَأُوذُواْ فِي سَبِيلِي

"As for those who migrated and were evicted from their dwelling places and suffered hurt on My Path......."

From Baqli's Commentary
There is an allusion in this verse to the purification of the Souls from the passing thoughts [originating in the Nafs], and to the sanctification of the bodies from desires, in those who migrated from what is other than Allah to Allah (swt).

It is He who has encouraged the enemies to evict his truthful lovers from their dwelling places for the love of His All-Mightiness (Izzat), in order that they may not settle, through habit or through love, with companions or in homelands.

[those who have suffered hurt on My Path] Those who are seeking the face of Allah [al-Qawm], were they not to taste the bitterness caused by the hurt of those who deny [Allah], will not reach to the Truth of seeking refuge in Allah, and that of fleeing to Allah (Surat al Dhariat (51: 50)

{ فَفِرُّوۤاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ }

"So flee to Allah . I am from Him to you an evident Warner "

Thus it is, that through the hurtful acts of opponents, Allah (swt) unsettles and moves his Friends to the rank of Contraction (Qabd) and Tightness of the Chest, testing them as they control their anger in the face of the deniers in order that, later on, the Doors of Dialogue [with Him] become opened and they taste the Purity (Safa') of Expansion (Bast) and the Joy (Suroor) of being the recipient of Divine Gifts (Minnat)'.

Al-Junaid stated: "May Allah reward our companions[for their ill treatment of us], they returned us with their true [nature] to Allah" and that is the Law of Allah which applies to all those who are on the Path to Divine Knowledge and Unveilings.

It was said that migration is necessary from all companions except for those who keep the company of Spiritual Poverty (Fuqara') as this Poverty is the road to al-Haqq ( The Truth, Allah). Have you not seen the Mustapha (the Chosen one, the Prophet) (saws) as he came and sat with them and said:

المحيا محياكم والممات مماتكم
"My life is [with] your life and my death is [with] your death" (reference is made to the Hadith from Imam Muslim's collection, Chapter : "Striving and Walking"- "al-Jihad wal Sayr")

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My Comment: Examine carefully your most difficult circumstances, and evaluate your losses in this life, it may well be that Allah (swt) is drawing you near him by ridding you of excess bagage.

Surat al-Imran (3) : 190- Part 2

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلاَفِ ٱلَّيلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لآيَاتٍ لأُوْلِي ٱلأَلْبَابِ

"In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the succession/alternation of the night and the day are signs for those endowed with perceptive Hearts"

Several exegetes relate the following Hadith from the Lady Aisha (ra):

" When this verse was descended, the Prophet (saaws) got up in the night to pray....eventually Bilal approached him asking leave to call for the dawn prayers. He found the Prophet crying, so he asked :" Do you still cry and Allah has wiped away your wrongdoings, those in the past and those in the future". The Prophet answered:" Should I then not be a thankful slave! and Allah has (also) descended on me this verse ( In the creation of the heavens and earth....) Woe is him, who reads it without reflecting on it"

From the commentary of Imam al-Qurtubi

It has come down to us, documented in the authentic collections of Bukhari and Muslim and agreed upon by scholars, that upon awakening one should wipe his face and start his day with the 10 last verses of Surat aal- Imran (3):190-200.

From the commentary of Imam al-Razi

Allah (swt) had already mentioned this verse in Surat al-Baqara (2): 164
{ إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلاَفِ ٱللَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱلْفُلْكِ ٱلَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي ٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مِن مَّآءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ ٱلرِّيَاحِ وَٱلسَّحَابِ ٱلْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ }
"In the creation of the Heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day and the vessels that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which Allah sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are Signs for people who use their Intellect ( who think)."

Some differences between the two verses: 1) eight different proofs are enumerated in the verse in Surat al Baqara instead of the three in this verse 2) the verse in Surat al Baqara is directed to people who think instead of people with perceiving Hearts.

Imam Razi continues: The Traveller to Allah (al-Salik) requires in the beginning many proofs; but as his Heart receives the Light of Divine Knowledge, his preoccupation with this evidence becomes as a veil which prevents his Heart from "seeking to drown, immersing itself" (Istighraq) in the Divine Knowledge. In the beginning of his affair, the traveller on the Path asks for the multiplicity of proofs; with the "falling of the Light ( noor)" in his Heart, he asks for fewer, until the time when the darkness bred in his Heart from the preoccupation with other than Allah is wiped out, at which time the Lights of Divine Knowledge are revealed in His Heart and the allusion to this matter is in verses like :
"In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the succession of the night and the day are signs for those endowed with perceptive Hearts"
and in Verse 12 from Surat TA-HA (20)
{ إِنِّيۤ أَنَاْ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى }
" It is I your Lord; so take off your (two) shoes, you are in the Sacred Valley"
The two shoes are the introductions by which the Intellect arrives to Divine Knowledge ( Maarifa); once he arrives to it, he is commanded to take them off. Mussa is told: " If you want to place your foot in the Sacred Valley of Essential Unicity ( Wahdaniat), give up the preoccupation with proofs"
" Now that you know this rule concerning the Divine Knower who once he becomes a Knower must gradually decrease his attention to proofs in order to perfect his Istighraq so that he is able Know "What is being pointed to" you also see that in the verse from Surat aal-Imran (3) the terrestrial proofs are the ones that have been dispensed with and the heavenly ones are maintained because they are greater in leading to subjugation (Aqhar), to admiration tinged with Awe ( Abhar); they contain greater wonders, and the movement of the Heart from them to the Majesty and Nobility of Allah is more powerful....
The verse in Surat al Baqara ends with the reference to "people who think" while this verse ends with the reference to " people with perceptive Hearts"; for the Intellect is the outer, while the Perceptive Heart (Lubb) is inner. In the beginning of the matter, the Salik is an intellect and in the perfection of this matter he becomes a Lubb.