And they are happy to have you as their Imam

From Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad's lecture

Narrated by Ammar bin Yassir:
I once heard Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, say: "O Ali, Allah exalted is He has adorned you with an adornment which he has never adorned any of His servants with an adornment more beloved to Him than it. Which is the adornment of the saints, the good ones in the sight of Allah, doing without the things of this world, and He has made you somebody not relying on anything in the world, and the world hasn't any dependence on you, and He bestowed upon you the gift of the love of the poor, and he made them to be happy that they are your followers, and they are happy to have you as their Imam"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCoHHjQeM4g

Prayer cap on your heard

Prayer cap on your head, but your intention is bad
You turn the prayer beads, but not your heart
You perform rituals, but God you have not found

-Bulleh Shah

Verses from Khabaram raseed by Amir Khusro

The deers of the forest have laid their heads on your Path

In the hope that one day you will come hunting ... 

Greatness will come ...

Ba-qadr ranj yaabi soruri raa
Ba-shab bidaar budan mehtari raa

You'll experience bliss to the extent of the pains you undertake.
Greatness will come if in the night you keep awake.

- Baba Farid

O Mercy of the worlds!

"O mercy of the worlds! You are the intercessor for the sinners. On account of your infinite generosity, mercy and magnanimity, intercede for us on the Day of Judgement. O, who has come to all the worlds as a source of mercy, help Zayn-ul-‘Ābidīn! Who is caught in trials and tribulations by the party of the oppressors and beseeches your help"
- Imam Zayn ul Abidin

From Shaykh Tahir ul Qadri's book Beseeching for Help

Karbala

Some reliable sources on Imam Al Husayn a.s. and the battle of Karbala

The Martyrdom of Husayn
http://www.ihsanica.com/inspiration/MartyrdomOfHusayn_V1.pdf

The History of Karbala
http://www.islamicinformationcentre.co.uk/karbala.htm

Imam Husayn and the tragedy of Karbala
http://www.islamiccentre.org/presentations/imamhussainandkarbala.pdf

Video Lecture by Shaykh Ninowy Al Husayni
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un4nkFtH1mk&feature=player_embedded

Husayn is my Prince

"Husayn is my Amir/Prince and he is the best of Amir/Prince, he is the happiness of the heart of Rasul'Allah pbuh, Ali and Fatimah are his parents, do you know anyone similar to him?"

Umar Bin Junada, 11 years old boy at Karbala chanting the above when attacking the enemies
- Narrated by Shaykh Ninowy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5ulphUp1xM&feature=share

Service

The chief of a people is the one who serves them

- Saying of the Prophet pbuh from a book, Kitaab Adab Al Muridin

Imam Ali's Dua at Battle of Siffin

Imam Al Haddad has recommended that this dua be recited during the last days. Imam Ali recited this dua on the day of Siffin. 

اء سيدنا علي بن ابي طالب كرم الله وجهه ؛ الذي دعا به يوم صفين :
((ياكهيعص ؛ نعوذبك من الذنوب التي توجب النقم , ونعوذبك من الذنوب التي تغير النعم , ونعوذبك من الذنوب التي تهتك العصم , ونعوذبك من الذنوب التي تمنع غيث السماء , ونعوذبك من الذنوب التي تذل الاعزاء , وتديل الاعداء )) هذا الدعاء كان يشير به ويأمر به في آخر الزمان الامام عبدالله بن علوي الحداد نفعنا الله به وبجميع عباد الله الصالحين .....
اللهم استر عوراتنا , وآمن روعاتنا , ولاتسلط علينا بذنوبنا من لا يرحمنا 

O Kaf Ha Ya Ain Saad, we seek refuge in You from sins which necessitate punishment, and we seek refuge in You from sins which tear away the protection and we seek refuge in You from sins which hold back the succour of the heavens and we seek refuge in You from sins which humiliate the honourable and empower

our enemies

 

Tyranny

Imam Jafar as Sadiq r.a. said to Sufyan ath-Thawri, "If you are upset by the tyranny of a Sultan or other oppression that you witness, say "There is no change and no power except with Allah," (la hawla wa la quwwata illa-billah) because it is the key to Relief and one of the Treasures of Paradise.

Why Muslims honor and seek blessings from sacred relics and places

Why Muslims honor and seek blessings from sacred relics and places Narrations from Our Master Muhammad the Messenger of Allah and As Shifa

Clothes
Imam Muslim narrates that, Abdullah, the freed slave of Asma bint Abi Bakr said, “One day, Asma, brought out for us a jubbah decorated with a pattern and hemlines, its collars and cuffs lined with brocade, and said: “This is the jubbah of the Prophet peace be upon him, which was in the keeping of Aisha, and when she passed away I took it. The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to wear it, and now we wash it to treat the sick.”
from Our Master Muhammad the Messenger of Allah

Pulpit
Ibn Saad narrated that Yazid bin Abdullah bin Qusayt said: “I saw some of the Companions of the Messenger, peace be upon him, when the Mosque had emptied of the people, taking hold of the pommel on the pulpit behind the grave with their right hands, and then facing Qibla and supplicating.”
from Our Master Muhammad the Messenger of Allah

Ibn Umar was seen to place his hand on the seat of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the mimbar/pulpit and then place it on his face.
As Shifa

Staff
Muhammad Ibn Sirin relates that Anas bin Malik had in his possession a short staff which had belonged to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and when he died, it was buried with him between his body and his shroud.
from Our Master Muhammad the Messenger of Allah

His, peace be upon him, resting place
Zayd bin Aslam related that his father told him that Umar went to the Mosque and found Muadh weeping at the grave of the Prophet peace be upon him. Umar asked him why he wept, and he replied, “I heard a hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in which he said, “The slightest ostentation in worship is idolatry, and whosoever shows enmity to the Friends of Allah has thereby declared war on Allah.”
from Our Master Muhammad the Messenger of Allah

One of the early Muslims said, “I saw Anas bin Malik come to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) grave. He stopped and raised his hands so that I thought he was beginning the prayer. He greeted the Prophet (peace be upon him) and left.”

 As Shifa

Piety

"Many pious men are as motionless as a serpent or a scorpion frozen with cold. Their piety is not due to rectitude and purity, but to lack of opportunity. When summer comes in and the surroundings change, one may behold what they do"

-Shaikh Sharfuddîn Manerî

Dedication to one's guide

Shaykh `Ali b. al-Mubarak asked his teacher the Ghawth `Abd al-`Aziz al-Dabbagh one day: “So-and-so has come to our area for a visit. May I go see him and benefit from him? They say he is a qutb.” Shaykh `Abd al-`Aziz said yes. Shaykh `Ali went, then, after some time, came back to visit with Shaykh `Abd al-`Aziz. “How was your visit?” the latter asked. “Not as I had expected, O my beloved teacher,” replied Shaykh `Ali. Shaykh `Abd al-`Aziz looked at him and said: “O Shaykh `Ali, all the Qutbs and Awliya are right here in my chest. I am your lot among the Shuyukh and you are my lot among the Murids.” After that Shaykh `Ali never asked such a question again.

The banishment and return of Adam and his progeny

Tomorrow, Adam will go into paradise with his children. A
cry will rise up from all the particles of paradise because of the
crowding. The angels of the World of Sovereignty will look
with wonder and say, “Is this that same man who moved out
of paradise a few days ago in poverty and indigence?”

“Adam, bringing you out of paradise was a curtain over this
business and a covering over the mysteries, for the loins of your
good fortune were the ocean of the one-hundred-twenty and
some thousand pearls of prophethood. Suffer a bit of trouble,
then in a few days, take the treasure!”

- Ahmad Samani

From Sufism A Beginner's Guide by William Chittick

Posted from this book before, but it is just this good that it deserves a re-post.

In honor of the most honorable of mankind

Any house in which you dwell
Does not need lamps
- Shibli


A thousand times do I wash my mouth with musk and rosewater
And still, to speak your name is absolute impudence
- Urfi


Love of the Prophet runs like blood in the veins of the community
- Iqbal

Translations by Annemarie Schimmel

Ecstatic verses translated by Annemarie Schimmel

Leave grammar and snytax to the people;
I study the Beloved!
- Qadi Qadan of Sindh (d. 1551)

The mullahs have made me read lessons,
They have not gone beyond the alif!
- Bulleh Shah

Oh waterwheel, why do you wail?
My greif I wail, my pain I wail.
I fell in love with God my Lord.
And that is why I weep and wail.
They found me on a mountain top;
They broke my arms, they broke my limbs,
They used my wood to build this wheel:
My grief I wail, my pain I wail.
- Sultan Bahu

Seeking Refuge

It is reported from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, "I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, at Safa, facing an individual in the form of an elephant whom he was cursing. I asked, 'Who are you cursing, Messenger of Allah?' He replied, 'This is the accursed shaytan.' I said, 'Enemy of Allah, by Allah, I will kill you and relieve the Community of you!' He said, 'This is not my repayment from you.' I asked, 'And what is your repayment from me, enemy of Allah?' He said, 'By Allah, no one will hate you at all unless I had a share of him with his father in his mother's womb.'

From the Tafsir of Imam Al Qurtubi, Seeking Refuge from Satan.
http://bewley.virtualave.net/ulum4.html

O where is he? The Prophet, the Hashemite

O where is he? The Prophet, the Hashemite, the Splendid Full Moon!
So cry out with your loudest voice and with your benedictions upon him, purify your hearts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mzNYck0vg0

An-Naziat

And say, "Hast thou the will to purify thyself";
Quran 79:18
Translated by A.J. Arberry 

Whoever they are, wherever they are ...

"The people who have the best claim to me are the pious, whoever they are, and wherever they are."

Said the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, to Muadh ibn Jabal r.a. when bidding him farewell.