Gratitude

The spiritual purpose of Ramzan is to teach us Gratitude, what if everything we take for granted: food and water is taken away from us; whom would we be?

A beast or a human? 

Who would we become while hungry and thirsty or lonely and lost? 

What is our essence beyond the trappings of the hunger and ego?

Gratitude has always been a bitter fruit for me, I lost my mother to cancer and my father to alcoholism and promiscuity, human beings with their greedy exploitive ways never did much to encourage me to be grateful. The more I saw of the world even in my 31 years here ----the more I hate it.  Its filled with vultures and predators who want to eat your heart, suck your brain or steal your soul. I started my journey toward Sufism from a place of total renunciation of the world and its people. 

But Fasting makes you discover your essence. It frees you from the beast inside you so perhaps you may recognize the real you hidden behind the layers of desires and materialism. 

So we may discover that even amidst ruins, we have something to be grateful for. 

If you say one prayer daily ..say THANKYOU

 I have always loved to remember a Sufi master Junnaid Baghdadi, he was a strict sufi murshid from the tradition of Hasan Basri and was also  the master of al-Hillaj Mansoor.  After each prayer he would say to the sky, “Your compassion is great. How beautifully you take care of us, and we don’t deserve it. I don’t even have words to show my gratefulness, but I hope you will understand the unexpressed gratitude of my heart.”

They were on a pilgrimage, and it happened that for three days they passed through villages where orthodox Muslims would not allow them even to stay in the villages; there was no question of giving them food or water.

For three days without food, without water, without sleep — tired, utterly frustrated… The disciples could not believe that this man Junnaid, their master, still goes on saying the same things. Before, it was okay — but still he goes on saying, “You are great, you are compassionate, and I don’t have words to express my gratitude.”

On the third evening when he had finished his prayer, his disciples said, “Now it is time for an explanation. For three days we have been hungry, we have not had water, we are thirsty; we have not slept, we have been insulted continually, no place has been given to us, no shelter. At least today you should not say, `You are great, you are compassionate.’ For what you are showing your gratitude?”

Junnaid laughed. He said, “My trust in existence is unconditional. It is not that I am grateful because existence provides this and that and that. I am — that’s enough. Existence accepts me — that’s enough. And I don’t deserve to be, I have not earned it. Moreover, these three days have been of tremendous beauty because I had an opportunity to watch whether anger would arise in me, and it didn’t arise; whether I would start to feel that God had forsaken me, and the idea did not arise.

There has been no difference in my attitude towards existence. My gratitude has not changed, and it has filled me with more gratitude than ever. It was a fire test, and I have come out of it unburned. What more do you want?  

I will trust existence in my life and I will trust existence in my death. "

Can we live like this?

This Ramzan, let gratitude wash in your soul and wipe away the bitterness of desire, 

Totally trusting Allah and being grateful to Him for whatever He sends our way. 

To be a Sufi is to be happy in God's will! 

Spiritual Poverty of a Sufi

Spiritual Poverty
This is both the feeling of being imperfect and needy, and the desire for perfection. The Prophet, Muhammad has said in this regard, “My honor is from spiritual poverty. I have been honored over and above all prophets by being graced with spiritual poverty.” And God revealed to the Prophet, “Say, God increase my true knowledge of You.” As this saying indicates, even though Muhammad was given the honor of Prophethood, it was still necessary that he feel his poverty and desire to be nearer to the essence of God.

The Five Symbols of Spiritual Poverty
After the seeker has performed the five ghusls, he or she prepares five objects which are taken into the master’s presence and given to the master so that the seeker on the path of the travelers toward Unity may be accepted and guided. These five objects are: a few yards of white cloth, a whole nutmeg, a ring, a coin, and some rock candy. Each of these objects is symbolic of a certain commitment made by the one who seeks to travel towards God. These commitments are represented by objects so that they will remain fixed in the traveler’s mind and never be forgotten.
1. White Cloth (chilwar)
The white cloth taken into the master’s presence represents the traveler’s shroud and indicates that the traveler, like a dead body in the hands of a ghassal (one who washes the dead), has become surrendered fully to God. In doing so, he or she considers the master’s orders as God’s orders and obeys them without ever questioning ‘how’ or ‘why’.
2. Whole Nutmeg (juz)
Juz represents the head of the traveler. In presenting juz to the master, the traveler consents to never reveal the Divine secrets that are confided in him or her. That is, even if threatened with decapitation, one should not reveal such secrets. In other words, the traveler’s head is symbolically presented to the master here as a hostage for God’s secrets.
3. Ring (angushtar)
The ring given to the master upon entering the world of spiritual poverty represents the band worn by slaves in olden times and signifies the traveler’s devotion to God. In presenting this ring to the master, the traveler vows to become devoted solely to God and to give up the desire for anything else.
4. Coin (sikka)
The coin symbolizes the wealth and riches of the world. The traveler, in presenting this coin to the master, promises to empty the heart of any desire for the wealth of the world. Here, it should be noted, the object is to have no attachment to wealth. If the sufi is rich one day, then poor the next, he or she remains unaffected by either condition. In the state of richness, the sufi should be generous; in the state of poverty, joyful and patient.
5. Rock Candy (nabat)
Nabat represents the candy given as an offering at the second birth of the seeker. Whereas the seeker’s first birth is from his or her mother, the second birth comes upon entering the domain of spiritual poverty. With this re-birth, the seeker steps into the realm of Spirituality, Truth, and Unification, being born from the mother of nature and multiplicity into the world of love (‘ishq), loving-kindness (muhabbat), and Unity (tawhid).
In presenting this rock candy, the traveler also comes to realize that the Path should be traveled with peace of mind and gladness, not with depression and displeasure.


Recline on the throne of the heart,
and with purity in manner be a sufi.
– Sa’di

SUFI MEDITATION OR ZIKAR;NO GOD BUT GOD

"Verily! Only in the Zikr of Allah will your heart find peace."
Quran (Surah 13: Verse 28)

Zikr, pronounced Dhi-kar, means remembrance. It is often associated with Allah to mean "Remembrance of Allah".

Essentially, the practice of dhikr is a form of prayer in which the sudi will express his or her remembrance of God either within or overtly; this may come in the form of recitation, lyrical chanting, or simply always remembering God in one’s heart.
A Sufi dhikr (zikr) is an opportunity to focus on the highest ideal of Allah (God) that one can conceptualise in the form of chanting or repeating His Names and Attributes in a rhythmic way. This has the effect of opening the heart to enable us to then feel, sense or experience God.

The Sufi says God is love, lover and beloved. In other words God is the object, God is the subject, and God is the love experienced between the two.

Dhikr is the means by which Stations yield their fruit, until the seeker reaches the Divine Presence. On the journey to the Divine Presence the seed of remembrance is planted in the heart and nourished with the water of praise and the food of glorification, until the tree of dhikr becomes deeply rooted and bears its fruit. It is the power of all journeying and the foundation of all success. It is the reviver from the sleep of heedlessness, the bridge to the One remembered

 Among the orders of Muslims that practice dhikr, there are some who advocate silent, individual prayer, while others join together in an outward, group expression of their love for God


This practice of Dhikr is called Zikar-e-Qalbi (remembrance of Allah by Heartbeats). The basic idea in this practice is to visualize the Arabic name of God, Allah, as having been written on the disciple's heart.


There are some Sufi orders, such as the Naqshbandi, that perform dhikr in groups at a Haḍra (or presence). Haḍra is a communal gathering for dhikr and its associated liturgical rituals, prayers, and song recitals, whether private or public; in earlier orders, the "presence" referred to was that of God, but since the 18th century it has been considered the spiritual presence of Muhammad


Other verses include sura 33 (Al-Ahzab), ayah 41, "O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do this often;",^[6] and sura 13 (Ar-Ra'd), ayah 28, "They are the ones whose hearts rejoice in remembering God. Absolutely, by remembering God, the hearts rejoice."^[7] There are also a number of hadiths that give emphasis to remembrance of God.^[8] Muhammad said that "the best [dhikr] is that of la elaha ella’llah, and the best supplicatory prayer is that of al-hamdo le’llah," which translate to "there is no god but God" and "praise to God" respectively




Detailed Description of Dhikr of the Heart
The way to do zikr Ism-e-zaat (remember the name of Allah in the heart) is to place one’s tongue against the pallet, and then to empty the mind of all thoughts and worries. One then puts one’s attention on the heart, which is located a couple of finger widths below the left nipple. And then, with the tongue of the heart, not vocally, and with no movement of the lips, one recites, ‘Allah, Allah…..’, keeping in mind the meaning of this, namely, ‘I am remembering Allah who is perfect in every manner and is free of any faults; and it is Him in whom we have Faith.’ One should always be engaged in this type of zikr so that the heart can be continually busy in this.
All the while the eyes must remain closed. Imagine that by the light of this Name of the Essence of Allah, the rust, darkness, evil thoughts and selfish insinuations are being removed and that, in gratitude for this, your heart in its own place is saying “Allah! Allah! Allah!” And that due to this cascade of light, your entire heart is becoming happy, blessed, illuminated, and in grace, because you are remembering your true object of desire and on your way to meet Him.

In this manner, every day without fail, on two occasions take time to spend twenty or thirty minutes in silent remembrance, using the beads to reckon to ten thousand. For a like amount of time meditate silently and await blessing.

For maximum benefit, it is necessary to learn this type of zikr from a Shaykh.

SUFI DHIKR;

Continuous, selfless remembrance of God; DHIKR

Contained in Absolute, Infinite Unity are forces which emanate and become manifested as created beings. Each being, according to its nature, receives grace from these forces. In the realm of words, the manifestations of these forces, or truths, are expressed by Divine Names. Examples are: the Living (al-Hayy), meaning the life of creation is directly connected with Him; and the Transcendent (al-’Ali), meaning the force of the universe is with Him.

The Divine Names, in the continuous, selfless remembrance of God (dhikr), are prescribed by the master of the spiritual path, in order to cure disciples of the disease of the self and its desires and fears. But this remembrance is of no value unless all of one’s senses come to be fully centered on the meaning-reality of the respective Names. It is only by full acknowledgment and love of the reality of these Divine Names that attention to the self falls away. Then, the self becomes purified and adorned by the Divine Attributes.

There is a beautiful passage in the Quran I have meditated on that i would like to refer to. This passage as well as a few others form the basis for the sufi practice of Zikr.

The Most Excellent Names belong to God, use them to call on Him, and keep away from those who abuse them- they will be requited for what they do. [The Heights 7:180]

In Sufism there are 99 beautiful names of God we meditate on these names and experience the essence of what they mean on an interior level and are asked to contemplate the nature of God, praise God, and become living examples of His 99 qualities and actions. According to the Sufi Bawa Muhaiyadden an awakened heart is one which has 99 windows that open to the grace of God – (excuse my horrible paraphrasing.)

The greatest name for God is Allah. According to an esoteric Sufi tradition, the word Allâh is composed of the article al, and lâh, one of the interpretations of which is “nothing.” Thus the actual word Allâh means “the Nothing.” For the Sufi the fact that His greatest name means “the Nothing” has great significance, because Truth, or God, is experienced as the Nothingness. To say for the greatest thing is to feel one is loved is quite one sided. To feel one is Protected, one is Guided, One is Forgiven, to feel one is nothing, one is sustained these are extremely important.

For so long did the Beloved

face my open heart

that except for His Attributes and Nature

Nothing remained of that heart

~ Maghribi

This is not limited to Sufism only. I remember in my studies reading about the 108 names of Shiva in Hinduism, some of which are the Kind hearted Lord, Redeemer from Afflictions, One Who Bestows Peace etc. I have seen this also in the many prayer books I remember going through in Church, asking for protection, Faith, Mercy, etc

For so long did the Beloved

face my open heart

That except for His Attributes and Nature,

nothing remained of that heart.

– Maghrebi

Only in such a fashion can the repetition of the Divine Names be called the selfless remembrance of God (dhikr).

The disciple is like a machine whose energy comes from devotion. This machine, by means of the selfless remembrance of God, transmutes all of the self’s desires and fears into Divine Attributes. Gradually, the disciple’s self passes away and the Divine Nature becomes manifest; then the disciple truly becomes the recipient of the sufi cloak, and the heart and soul become illuminated by the grace of the Divine Attributes. At this point the disciple is worthy of entering the spiritual feast of the sufis, which takes place in the “Tavern of Ruin” (kharabat>. This is the spiritual state of ‘passing away of the self in God’ (fana). Here, the sufi directly perceives the secrets of the Truth. As is said in the Koran,

“Only the purified experience It (the Truth).”

Initiation into the Sufi Path;the bath of purification.

Initiation into the Sufi Path; the Five GHUSLS (baths)

Do not enter the ‘Tavern of Ruin’
without observing its manners,
for the dwellers at its door
are the confidants of the King.

—Hafiz
The Five Ghusls*
In mysticism ..bathing means ridding yourself of something..a bath is a purifier.These five baths are to purify the initiate.

Before being initiated into the world of spiritual poverty (faqr), those who seek to travel towards God must first perform niyat ** and then five ghusls * in the manner described below:
1. Ghusl of Repentance (tuba)
With this ghusl, the seeker repents from his or her former misdoings and strayings. He or she also apologizes, when becoming joined to the worship of God, for the previous sin of self-worship.
2. Ghusl of Submission (taslim)
In the ghusl of submission, the seeker makes a vow (niyat) to submit to God. This means that in every moment of his life, the seeker is content with whatever situation he finds himself and considers it to be God’s Will.
3. Ghusl of Initiation into Spiritual Poverty (faqr)
To enter into the world of spiritual poverty, one must be pure both outwardly and inwardly. Thus, one performs a ghusl outwardly and cleanses the outer being so that the inner being will also incline towards purity:

Purify thyself: then proceed to the ‘Tavern of Ruin’
that it not be polluted by you.

—Hafiz
4. Ghusl of Pilgrimage (ziyarat)
It is a tradition when visiting people deserving of respect in the world to cleanse one’s body and put on clean clothes. Similarly, when making a pilgrimage to the Perfected One, or ‘Master of the Path’ (pir-i †ariat), one should be cleansed and purified in the same manner.
First become purified, and then
Look upon that Pure One.
—Hafiz

For this reason, the seeker performs a ghusl cleansing the outer being and puts on clean clothes before approaching the master to acquire the orders of the Path.

5. Ghusl of Fulfillment (qadha-yi Hajat)
Since the ‘supplication’ (niyaz) of the seeker in traveling along the Path is to reach the rank of the Perfected One, a ghusl for the fulfillment of this aim is performed before coming into the master’s presence.