The Ascetic

A dervish once entered the presence of a king.
The king addressed him, “Oh, ascetic.”
“You are the ascetic,” the dervish answered.
“How can I be an ascetic,” the king demanded,
“since the whole world belongs to me?”
“Ah, you see things the opposite of what they
are,” replied the dervish. “This world and the
next and all that there is to possess, these all
belong to me. I have seized the whole world. It is
you who have become satisfied with a mouthful and a rag.”

Fi hi ma fi hi (It is what it is)
Maulana Rumi

As Siddiq

It is written in the Conversations of Shams Tabriz that the hadith: "Visit me now and then" was intended for certain companions and their continuous presence, which made the Prophet (peace be upon him) weary. He did not intend this saying for everyone, especially not Abu Bakr r.a.

Shams Tabriz says that in one battle a warrior dashed onto the field, and the Muslims wouldn't fight him.
People asked, "Where are the volunteers, those who renounce their lives, those who seek death? (2:94). The companions answered, "the warrior who jumped into the field is Abu Bakr's son, the light of his eye. The Muslim warriors are ashamed to fight against him; this is the reason." Thus, Abu Bakr ra went onto the field. When his son saw his father's face, he immediately retreated. Abu Bakr r.a. retreated and returned to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

"The Prophet (peace be upon him) put his hands onto Abu Bakr's hands and said, "O Siddiq! Keep your nafs for us!" That is, "According to you, your nafs has no value, but for us it has great worth. Protect it for us. Don't go into battle, don't go into the fighting; don't separate from our companionship."

"How could the Prophet (peace be upon him) say to Abu Bakr, "Visit me from time to time?" For other believers, combat was an obligation; for Abu Bakr r.a. it would have been separation. The good deeds of the devout are sins for those who have attained closeness to God."

Conversation of Shams Tabriz

Childhood of Shams al Tabriz

"During my childhood days years I experienced a strange state. Nobody could understand this state of mine. Even my father didn't know what was happening. He used to say, "You aren't crazy but I don't understand the way your life is - you haven't had the training of spiritual exercises, or fasting, or anything like that."

I said to my father, "Listen, the situation you and I are in - it's as if someone had placed a duck's egg underneath a hen. When the egg is hatched, the little duck heads for the water. Of course the mother hen panics with a flutter of wings around him, but she is made for the farmyard; it's impossible for her to enter the water. This is how we are, father. I see a sea where I can swim; it is my home. And my state is like the state of the seabirds. If you are of me or if I am of you, come in to the sea! Otherwise, go and mingle with the birds of the farmyard. Let these words be a touchstone for you"

If this is how you act with friends,
how will you behave towards an enemy? "

Sultan Walad mentions:
"Shamsuddin told my father (Rumi): When I was a child, I saw God and angels and contemplated the mysteries of this and the world beyond. I thought that everyone could see these things, but later I realized that they could not. Shaikh Abu Bakr forbid me to speak about it."

"On whom We have bestowed grace from Ourselves and unto whom We had imparted knowledge issuing from Ourselves" (Surat al Kahf, 18:65)
Verse regarding Al Khidr

From the Conversations of Shams of Tabriz

Shams appears to have been full of Jalal whereas Mawlana Rumi has expressed Jamal. And God knows best.

The Awakening

ll night, a man called “Allah”
Until his lips were bleeding.
Then the Devil said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
How comes you’ve been calling all night
And never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!”

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,
“Why are you regretting praising Allah?”

The man said, “ I called and called
But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”
Abraham explained, “Allah has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

~ Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

Taken from http://sidramushtaq.wordpress.com/

Ibn Ata'illah on Affliction

He has afflicted you from every direction in order to pull you back to the Directionless.

Maulana Rumi

Ibn Ata'illah said:
You will perhaps find a benefit in distress which you have not been able to find in fasting nor in prayer; therefore when it descends upon you, defend yourself no longer and do not be concerned with searching for some remedy, lest you drive away the good which comes toward you freely, and give up your will entirely to your Lord; then you will see marvels. [p. 33]

You who are "poor" (fuqara), if you wish that your wind may prevail over all winds and all adversaries, then be constant in contemplating your Lord while He is trying you, for He will change your ignorance into knowledge, your weakness into strength, your helplessness into power, your poverty into wealth, your lowliness into glory, your loneliness into intimacy, your remoteness into nearness - or, in word, God, be He exalted, will cover over your qualities with His qualities, for He is generous and bestows immeasurable graces. [p. 40]


Excerpts taken from a scholars blog, unfortunately, I can't remember his name and blog. He had translated Ibn Ata'illah's pieces above. 

Cashing in on Rumi

A much needed article, by someone not so well known, appreared in the Poetry Foudnation journal a while ago. The author discusses the many English translations of Rumi; it is a must read for anyone who has ever heard of Rumi.

Rumi like Ali is loved and maligned by many. Imam Ali was hated so much so that for decades (perhaps a century?) he was cursed during Friday prayers in all corners of the Umayyad empire. Yet, at the same time many considered Imam Ali the incarnation/manifestation of God.

These 'extremists' of love and hate were perhaps never open to common sense. No amount of convincing reasons, logic, and even slings and arrows thrown at their heads could stand up to their stubborn foreheads. The famous example of Imam Ali comes to mind. He threatened death by fire to a group of heretics for making him the object of their worship; they accepted that fate, but renounce they did not their misguided faith!

Before I go off on a tangent let me return to the case of Maulana Rumi. Maulana Rumi is held in some circles as the paragon of irrelgiousity, and they seek to cut and tear him off from the very umbilical cord that makes him Rumi.

"I am the slave of the Quran and dust under the feet of Muhammad. Anyone who claims otherwise is no friend of mine" said Maulana Rumi.

And then we have the circle of the self-righteous pretenders who believe Maulana to be the worst kind of Sufi! They denounce his music, poetry, whirling, and wahadat ul wujood; proclaiming him to be a kafir (infidel).

So how does one understand Maulana Rumi, his mind, his message, and above all his experiences? Wouldn't it be wise to seek him in his original works, to learn of Maulana from his descendants and disciples? Yes, the very disciples who inhaled air that Rumi exhaled and thus absorbed his knowledge and love.

However, let me make clear that there is nothing really wrong with the translations of Rumi. Coleman Barks etc have certainly helped in popularizing Rumi in North America, but as Kabir Helminski has stated in the article "Americans still have an adolescent relationship with Rumi. It will take some time before we move beyond the cliches". The translators are not really translating Rumi, they're actually mixing ingredients, over-cooking, and then presenting a dish that Rumi would not recognize!

And for those who have been love-struck by Rumi, move beyond your childish drunkeness, and experience the intoxication of the spirit by taming your ego's desires. If you are ready to plunge into the Sea then learn of Rumi in the works of Annemarie Schimmel, William Chittick, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Kabir Helminski, and others who have drunk wine, albeit in different quantities, from the same Cup Bearer.

And as a last note, I would like to direct your attention towards the comments section of the article I posted above. Read Mr. Shiva's comment, a New Age thinker/spiritualist, and a translator of Maulana Rumi. His lack of knowledge of Sufi terms, symbols, and even of Rumi himself is apparent in his comment:

"A religious person views Rumi as being highly religious, however that doesn’t it make it so. Nor does it change the fact that one of Rumi’s most common themes is “finding god outside of a mosque.?"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this state of affairs! Here is a famous translator of Rumi ignoring the the most important aspect of Rumi!

Please visit: http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/about_translations.html - it is maintained by Dervishes of Maulana Rumi's Sufi Order. Here you will find the most accurate and authentic translations and meanings - that is once you are over the lovey dovey teenage feelings.

Purification, Rejuvenation and Vitality through diet

"The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfulls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one third with water, one third with air."

- Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, his family, and his companions

"When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body."

-Saadi

Today, nutrition experts - some certified, some self proclaimed - are repeating mantras not very different from the one: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" (Michael Pollan).

And surprisingly, they have begun to make sense now; unlike the un-healthy, un-real (some are known to have undergone plastic surgery) "experts" who for too long have marketed all sorts of diets to achieve one basic goal: loose fat, build muscle, and look good at the expense of ones mind, spirit, and, in my opinion, body.

But, something has changed and changed for the good. Ori Hofmekler is an example of those who have realized the harm and destruction dead food, and I repeat dead food, brings to our minds, body, and spirit. More on dead food.

The core message that Ori, Michael and others like them want to spread is not much different from what the Prophets of the ancient delivered. The message is excellently summed up in following verses from the Quran:

"O Mankind: Eat of what is lawful and good on earth" 2:168

"Eat of the good things we have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein" 20:81

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has with excellent perfection displayed to us the practical implications of the above Quranic injunctions - as is evident from his life and the saying stated at the very beginning of this post "It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfulls, to keep him going."

Speaking of which, the essence of this saying is echoed in Pavel Tsatsouline's endorsement of the Warrior Diet (created by Ori) "I refuse to graze all day, I have better things to do". And for those of you who don't know him - well just google him. He is a former Spetsnaz (special forces) and a fitness instructor. If eating little is good for him, then it ought to be good for you. After all how much energy do you need to move that mouse around?

The more I study the likes of Ori and Michael, the more I view documentaries like Food Inc. (http://www.foodincmovie.com/), the more I realize that the Prophets of the past Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all) would have been at the forefront of the struggle to live healthily and simply if they had lived in our tumultous times.

The most challenging impediment in following the Prophetic dietary habits is our state of mind. We fear hunger, we fear muscle loss, we hesistate to change, we enjoy fast food, etc. But, all these fears are baseless. The Prophetic dietary habits are good for functional strength and shape, great for martial artists, individuals who need to think hard and fast, and those who spend their time in spiritual pursuits.

However, I must warn you, it is very bad for Arnold types who concentrate on making their bodies un-functional pieces of overgrown, ugly muscle.

Recently, I have begun to incorporate some elements from Ori's Warrior Diet and I have seen the beneficial effects of it on my level of alertness, mood, and overall energy, which I normally saw only during Ramadan.

It is unfortunate that I had to look elsewhere for guidance when it was given to me in the Sunnah. As Maulana Rumi has said:

"The minute I heard by first love story

I started looking for you,

not knowing

how blind I was

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere

They're in each other all along."

More to follow ...

From sober ascetic to intoxicated lover ...

Some selections from Maulana Rumi

"I was the country’s sober ascetic, I used to teach from the pulpit –

but destiny made me one of Thy hand clapping Lovers"

- From the Divan translated by William Chittick.

"If you have lost heart in the Path of Love
Flee to me without delay
I am a fortress; invincible"

Translated by William Chittick

"Come, come again, whoever you are, come!
Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!
Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times,
Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are."

Not sure about this translation. Me thinks there is disagreement over whether these are Maulana's words. Check http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/ ... They discuss which translations are the best.


“Ways of worship are not to be ranked as better or worse than on another
Its all Praise its all right
Its not me who is glorified in acts of worship
It’s the worshippers! …

Forget phraseology
I want burning, burning…”

Do not know whose translation this is.

God has not forsaken you

"Thy Lord has neither forsaken thee nor hates thee."

Quran 93:3

"A certain man one night was crying 'Allah!' till his lips were becoming sweet with the mention of his name.

'Why now, chatterbox,' said the Devil, 'where is the answer "Here am I" to all this "Allah" of yours?  Not one answer is coming from the Throne: how long will your grimly go on crying "Allah"?'

The man became broken-hearted, and laid down his head to sleep. He saw in a dream mystic Khazir all in a green garden. 

'Look now,' Khazir called, 'why have you desisted from the mention of God? How is it you repent of having called upon Him?'

'No answering "Here am I" is coming to me,' the man replied, 'and I therefore fear that I may be refused from His door.'

Khazir answered, 'Your cry of "Allah" (God says) is itself My "Here am I"; your pleading and agony and fervour is My messenger. All your twistings and turnings to come to Me were My drawing you that set free your feet. Your fear and love are the lasso to catch My grace. Under each "Allah" of yours whispers many a "Here am I"."

Masnavi of Mawlana Rumi

http://www.khamush.com/tales_from_masnavi.htm#65Theprayerthatwasandwered

http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/n.a-III-0180.html