True Worship

The wife of an officer of a king said to her husband, “Arise, and go to the royal palace, that they may give you food, for your children are in want.”
“The kitchen is closed today,” he answered. “Last night the Sultan resolved to fast awhile.”
In the despair of hunger, the woman bowed her head and murmured, “What does the Sultan seek from his fasting when his breaking the fast means a festival of joy for our children?”

From the Bustan of Shaykh Saadi 

Sinners and Saints

My sin that led me to You is better than pretentious worship that led me away from You.
Praise belongs to You. How subtle you are with Guidance.
Bishr Hafi found you in the tavern whilst the man in prostration went astray.

- Khaadim

Dhikr in Times of Hardship

In times of great distress, Ibn `Abbas narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to say:

La ilaha ill-Allah ul-`Azimul-Halim, la ilaha ill-Allahu rabbu’l`arshi-l’`azim, la ilaha ill-Allahu rabbu`ssamawati wa rabbu’l-ardi wa rabbu’l`arshi-l-karim

“There is no god but Allah, the Awesome, the Forbearing, there is no god but Allah, the Lord of the mighty throne, there is no god but Allah the Lord of the heavens and the earth and the noble throne.”

Repeat this until the distress is removed.

Ya Latifan bi khalqihi ya `Aliman bi khalqihi ya Khabiran bi khalqihi ultuf bina ya Latifu ya `Alimu ya Khabiru

(repeat 3 times)

O One Who is gentle with His creation, O One who has complete knowledge of His creation, O One who has complete awareness of His creation! Treat us with gentleness O Gentle, O All-Knowing, O All-Aware!

Ya Latifan lam yazal ultuf bina fima nazal innaka Latifun lam yazal ultuf bina wa’l-muslimin

O Gentle Who remains for ever, be gentle to us in all that befalls us, You are constantly Gentle, treat us and the Muslims with gentleness!

(repeat 3 times)

http://abdulkarimyahya.com/hu-tazkiya-lessons-red-sulfur-and-the-greatest-elixir/dhikr-in-times-of-hardship/

My Prayer

So many You have chosen for Yourself.
Unveiled You have appeared to many of them.
And I, mislead by preacher, kin, and well wishers
falsely believed I have been blessed.

But You alone, O You Master of Disguise.
You know well that my blessings are but a Veil,
Behind which You hide, O Sublte One.
You hide behind noble desires,
You hide behind the wish for a healthy life,
a pious life, a secure life, a complete life.

O Lord of Mercy, O Lord of Compassion
Choose me for Your chosen ones.
Choose me for Yourself. Unveil, unveil.

-Khaadim

The Most Merciful

I am the dejected one
at the mercy of the Most Merciful.
I am a sinner weak

at the mercy of the Most Merciful.

I am the afflicted one

at the mercy of the Most Merciful.

I am the one lost,

at the mercy of the Most Merciful.

I am but a speck
at the mercy of the Most Merciful,
I am naught and 

He is the Most Merciful.

- Khaadim

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

Light of Hope

Keep hope alive; keep your heart burning Khaadim.
Till its last the candle gives light.

One day it will shine in your heart; you too
Shall reflect the beauty of Eternal Light.

He calls Himself the Merciful,
Then why doubt His Mercy?

- Khaadim

Think well of your Lord

Abu Hurayrah r.a. reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that God says: I am as My servant thinks of Me. If he thinks well of Me, I am good to him. If he thinks ill of Me, I am bad to him. (Bukhari)

According to Ibn Masud r.a., the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: I swear upon the one and only God who created all and everything that He only offers you what you hope for from Him. All good is in His power. (Tabarani)

And Abu Hurayrah r.a. reported the hadith: To think well of God is one of the best forms of worship. (Abu Dawud)

Jabir ibn Abdullah r.a. said, “When your life in this world ends, hope for God’s mercy at your last breath.”

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:On the day of judgement, God will condemn a sinner to Hellfire. When he is brought to the edge of the fire, he will look back and say, “O my Lord, I always thought well of You!” Then God will pull him back from the fire and say, ‘I am as My creature thinks of Me.” (Bayhaqi)

Taken from Imam Birgivi’s book “The Path of Muhammed”, peace and blessings be upon him.

His Mercy overcomes His Wrath (Ahmed Sam'ani Part 5)

O My servants who have been immoderate against yourselves, do not despair of God’s mercy – surely God will forgive all sins. 39:53

Ahmad Sam’ani’s commentary follows:

“It has been reported that someone recited this verse before the Messenger of God (peace and blessing be upon him and his noble family). When the reciter reached the words, surely God will forgive all sins, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,”Indeed He will, and He does not care.” Then he said three times, “God curse the alienators,” that is, those who make people despair of God’s mercy.”

Further Ahmad Sam’ani states that God has said I “will forgive all sins” and not I “have forgiven all sins” - lest the servant hold back from beseeching, weeping, fear, and hope.”The servant must stay between hope and fear”.

Then Ahmad Sam'ani further delves into God's forgiveness by elaborating the use of "O My Servants" in the above ayah of the Quran.

“O my servants! Which servants? Not “those who have obeyed”, not “those who have responded”, not “those who have performed the prayer”, not “those who have performed the hajj”, not “those who struggle”, not “those who give alms”. Then which ones? Those who have been immoderate, those who have passed beyond the limits!" ...  

"Those that have been immoderate. He did not tear the curtain. He did not say, "They commited adultery, they murdered." He mentioned the short of it - Those who have been immoderate. They were immoderate. Since He wants to, He forgives. He does not tear the curtain."

"He did not say to the Throne, "O My Throne.", Nor to the Pen, "O My Pen," nor to the Tablet, "O My Tablet", nor to the Garden, "O My Garden", nor to the Fire, "O My Fire." He said to the disobedient, "O My Servants," That is enough pride for you - O My Servants!"

I have continued to quote Ahmad Sam'ani's explanation of this verse in this post

The Secret Behind the Fall of Adam (Ahmed Sam'ani Part 1)

I intend to write about, mostly copy, from the book Sufism by William Chittick some very powerful lessons in a few installments. The intention is that perhaps someone will benefit from reading this material and make a small prayer for me.

William Chittick has introduced Ahmad Sam’ani, a Shafi scholar from Merv who was born in 1140. His works were first published in 1989. Unfortunately, there are many outstanding works of scholarship out there that have been neglected. William Chittick uses Sam’ani’s work “The Refreshment of the Spirits: Explaining the Names of the All-Opening King” to discuss core beliefs of the Muslim faith in his book: Sufism.

Chittick discusses the fall of Adam:

“When Adam was in paradise, he had not fully realized the meaning of all the names that God had taught him. He knew the names of beauty and mercy, but not the names of majesty and wrath. The fact that God is both, All Merciful and Wrathful demands that both paradise and hell exist.”

He then quotes Ahmad Sam’ani:

“If We were to let you stay in the Garden, Our attribute of Severity would not be satisfied. So, leave this place and go down to the furnace of affliction and the crucible of distance" 

“O Adam, come out of paradise and go into this world. Lose your crown, belt, and cap in the way of love! Put up with pain and affliction. Then tomorrow, We will bring you back to this precious homeland and this domicile of subsistence, with a hundred thousand robes of gentleness and every sort of honor, as the leader of the witnesses and in the presence of the one hundred and twenty and some thousand prophets, the possessors of purity and the sources of chosenness. Then the creatures will come to know that just as We can bring Adam’s form out of paradise through the attribute of severity, so also We can bring him back through the attribute of gentleness.” 

“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?”

“ …Suffer a bit of trouble, then in a few days, take the treasure!”