ALCHEMY OF LOVE

Our love!

2012-02-01T19:04:00.001+05:00

Our love was not a failed one!
It was just a bit out-of-place.
Time and space couldn't adjust to it!

Our love was a miracle of Allah!
Nothing, from devil or any one, could ever retard it,
except our ''fears''!

In this world of dark chicaneries,
nothing to get fear from, but paper-made flowers.
Originality dares my dreams!

I don't have past, but do have memories
of some familiar lost faces, who have stripped me of my past!
I eschew their cold glances now! Still crave for their seldom notices!

My letter found its way back to me, like a reproach!
"PURE PAIN", as I wrote to be her address,
was found back.. only at my place!!

~Afterwind

Poetry: "Delusion during painful separation"

2012-01-19T01:41:00.003+05:00

"Delusion during painful separation"

In this painful night of separation,

Solitude whispered into my ear..

“Feel it!”

This pain has left me of nowhere,

Tears dropping down continuously..

Like the martyr’s trickling blood!

In Your hope, I keep sitting here.

As if you have said, “sit here, wait for me!”

My delusion keeps me satisfied!

~ Afterwind

Learning arabic (or other languages) from online bilingual resources

2011-10-08T19:52:00.005+05:00

The people with background of other languages and having very basic knowhow of Arabic grammer, may consider the following resources to learn modern Arabic language. Only the thing they need may be a little self-help and committment.

Online translated artciles

Few sites provide content in two languages or more. I like news sites, because they keep informatory content, and the best thing is that they let readers bored. I suggest examples below, without my any responsibility or bearing on the content available on these sites.

Common Ground News Service
CGNews articles are available in following languages.
Links: English, Bahasa, Français, اردو , עברית, عربي (Urdu)
Meedan
An Arabic-English forum using Machine Translation with expert corrections.
Link: Meedan
Syrian Arab news agency (SANA)
Has content in several languages
Links: English, عربي (Arabic), español , Français, Türkçe (Turkish), русский (Russian), 中文 (Chinese)

The problem with most news services sites is that the dissimilar articles appear in different language sections. But I didn't find such problem in CG News or Meedan websites.

Online bilingual lessons

Some sites provide online language tutorial in text with audio support. For example:

BBC Arabic Learning English Section
The text articles or audio tutorial program has style like that of BBCE (i.e. a bilingual program produced by BBC for Egyptian Radio). In this style, the speaker or article utters arabic and english sententes and expressions in such a combination that it sounds interesting and comprehendible. Another good thing is that, it is informative about current news or trends. Though the lessons are for teaching English to Arabic speakers, but same can also be beneficial for English speakers if are used vice versa.
Link: تعليم الإنجليزية

If you have any say or suggestion on this topic, you may share through posting your comment in comment section under this post.

Scenic Places of World Rousing Meditation

2011-10-02T22:33:00.002+05:00

(Article is in progress)

This post contemplates bringing into light the scenic serene places of world, which may rouse meditativeness in visiting travellers.

Deserts:

Badain Jaran Desert

Badain Jaran Desert (صحراء بادان جاران)
Detail (Wikipedia)
Satellite View (Wikimapia)
Search images (Google Images)

Inspirational Music

2011-09-20T21:36:00.006+05:00

Since 2007, I have been coming across the beautiful inpirational music around the world. The music belongs to various backgrounds, regions and languages or melodies.

"Prayer in the Passing", by Anoushka Shankar

"Ancient Love", by Anoushka Shankar

"Naked", by Anoushka Shankar

"Rebirth", by Anoushka Shankar

"Epitafio / Epitaph", by Luis Delgado

"Voices", by Dario Gand, Vanessa Quinones

"Cet Amour" (الحب اوله سكون و اخره قتل), by Ensemble Ibn Arabi

"Amoureux a Accepté" (رضي المتيّم في الهوى بجنونه), by Ensemble Ibn Arabi

''Ya Muhammed'', by Abdurrahman Önül

~ + ~

Parents as source of inspiration and motivation

2011-09-03T02:46:00.002+05:00

Elders, especially parents maybe good motivating and inspirational sources for their children in any part of age.They may help them to adopt regularity and healthy lifestyle.

Alchemy of Love: Love for human is a Step towards Real love for God

2011-09-03T02:37:00.001+05:00

What is the purpose of the worldly love or love for human (حب الدنیا / ishq-e-mijazi/ عشق مجازی)? and what should be its benefits?

Worldly love is a first step towards enlightenment and truth. It is like a weak bud, a naive baby, who undergoes various experiences and emotions during the worldly love. It passes through various stages: from amazement to attachment, strageness to recognition, separartion to unity, pain to happiness, tears, blushes, warmth of life and trust.. and the experience is added more when the love is lost and a new session of agony starts. This is the important part, leading to the zenith.. Sacrifices, compromises, annihilation and prayers are taught by the separation.

The most important thing of worldly love is that it gives a real-time experience and education on the love. The etiquettes of love (Arabic: شعائر الحب / طقوس الحب , Persian/Urdu/Hindustani: Aadaab-e-Muhabbat / آداب محبت) are learnt during it. For example, kindness, compession and other behavioural qualities. The Alchemy of Love polishes the heart and soul, purifies the innerself (باطن) and makes it able to experience Divine love/Real love/ Love for God.

Consequently, when this education through experience is complete, the man who may be able to experience the Divine love, which is motivated through enlightened feelings and higher principles.

Relevant Post: Why: Some Mystics fell in Wordly Love (ishq-e-majazi)?

Who is Angry? God or His man?

2011-09-03T01:24:00.002+05:00

At most times, man gets angry at God, and he is unknowingly losing hope from Him. What the ignorance!

Related Post: Pain, defeat, loss and belief

Pain, defeat, loss and belief

2011-08-22T23:41:00.002+05:00

The misery..
and pain
when get together,

causing the life to worsen..
smouldering the shimmering confidence..
& rusting the sheen of passion..

The loss is ultimate
the defeat is end!

In such a situations, there is the test of the believer's patience..
and also the trust he keeps on Thou, My Lord! O Sustainer of heavens!!

Breaking of Glasses!

2011-07-21T19:38:00.001+05:00

I gave him a set of six glasses made of "glass". They were kept breaking one by one everyday, due to his negligence, until only one was left.

I took back that one glass from him. And bought him another set of six glasses made of "plastic"!

Sufi Love Song in Arabic: "Do not stand far from me"

2011-07-20T21:30:00.007+05:00

"Ne Te Tiens Pas Éloigné de Moi" (Do not stand far from me) is a love song sung by Ensemble Ibn Arabi. This song is based on Sufi love poetry of Ibn Al-Farid (Umar ibn `Alī ibn al-Fārid - May Allah mercy on his soul.)

The poet later became famous as the "king of lovers". The poetry reminds us of the Sufi's pain and suffering in love due to separation from his Beloved (i.e. Allah).

I am putting here the lyrics in romanized form (i.e. though poor due to my mediocre knowledge. Pardon for that) also.

عـذّب بما شئتَ غيرَ البُعدِ عنكَ تجدْ *** أوفـى مـحِبّ بـما يُـرضيكَ مُبْتَهجِ

Azzib bima she'ta ghairal bu'di anka tajid *** Aufa muhibbi bima yurdeeka mubtahiji

وخُـذْ بـقيّةَ مـا أبـقَيتَ مـن رمَقٍ *** لا خيرَ في الحبّ إن أبقى على المُهجِ

wa khuz baqiyyata ma abqaita min ramaqi *** la khaira fi'l hubbi in abqa ala'l muhaj'i

مَن لي بإتلافِ روحي في هوى رشأ *** حلو الشمائل, بالأرواح ممتزجِ

mal li b'itlafi roohi fi hawa rasha'in***hulwi'shama'ili bil'arwaahi mum'taziji

مَن مات فيه غراماً عاش مرتقياً *** ما بين أهل الهوى, في أرفع الدّرجِ

mam maata fihi gharama aasha murtaqiya***ma bayna ahli'lhawa, fi arfa'id daraji

تبارك الله ما أحلى شمائله ***** فكم أماتت وأحيت فيه من مهج

tabaraka'llahu ma ahla shamailahu***fakam amatat wa aahyat fihi min muhaji

تراه إن غاب عني كل جارحةٍ ***** فيه كل معنى لطيفٍ رائقٍ بهج

tarahou in ghaba ani kullu jaarihati***fi kulli maana'lateefir raa'iqi bahiji

في نغمة العود والناي الرخيم إذا ***** تآلفا بين ألحانٍ من الهزج

fi naghmati'l audi wan naayar rakheem izaa**ta'aalafa bayna a'lhaani minal hazaji

(ابن الفارض)

(1181-1235)

- Read the above poetry in whole poem (ما بين معترك الأحداق والمهج) in Arabic.
- Read "Diwan ibn al-Farid", poetry-collection book by Ibn Al-Farid in Arabic language, avaiable at 'The Internet Archive' website
- Read about Ibn Al-Farid's life on 'wikipedia'
- Read some poems of Ibn Al-Farid on 'poetry chaikhana'

“Laylatul-bara’ah” —The night of freedom from Fire

2011-07-18T01:00:00.005+05:00

Tonight is “Laylatul-bara’ah”, the 15th Night of Islamic month Sha'ban.

Links:
Following are the links to the enlightening articles on web about this sacred night.

1. Night of Bara'ah , at Darul Ihsan institute site
2. Sha'ban: Merits, Do's, and Dont's , by Mufti Taqi Usmai, at Albalagh institute site (Jump to The Night of Bara'ah, in the article)
3. The Night of bara’ah , at Ashrafia institute site

Limit of Human Belief

2011-07-17T22:32:00.006+05:00

Once a man was after a long time meeting his beloved. The rendezvous was an outdoor place.

Soon it started signs of rain, and a little pitter-patter. The man didn't want such early end of meeting, and he prayed with a strong belief in his heart about the rain stopping. As test of belief, he decided to stay their until the rain would stop.

But undesirably the rain got heavy.. and he hurried towards a nearby shed in disquieted manner.

At last he reached there under safe place. After a moment, the rain stopped!

~ Afterwind's fable

Art of Keeping Valuables Safe

2011-07-03T08:30:00.001+05:00

Never entrust your life valuables into ignorant hands of unskilled subordinates -- No matter, how trustwothy they be, will ultimately ruin it.

I learnt this lesson on having got my wallet ruined, which I had got as a gift from a very beloved friend and a couple of days back I gave to to my trustworthy subordinate to take it to some skilled leatherworking person for repairing its zipper. But it was ruined by a rough cobbler.

It reminded me about an urdu proverb of pakistan too, saying 'Wise enemy is better than a stupid friend"!

Marriage is a prosperity-generating institution

2011-07-01T13:39:00.002+05:00

The "sexual revolution" has badly affected the Western society, leaving behind moral degradation and economic impoverishment for the common person there. Marriage is “a wealth-generating institution”, suggests an article in 'The Economist' magazine published on May 24th 2007, and those who successfully marry end up, on average, four times richer than those who never marry.

This reminded me of the saying (Hadith) of the last Prophet Muhammad (Be peace and prayers upon him), wherein he suggested a follower to marry, on his asking for advice on how he could dispel his poverty.

So, I encourage all unmarried people to go for marriage!

Column: "Islam & the Muslim", by Qazi Hussain Ahmad

2011-07-01T13:05:00.003+05:00

If Islam is the enlightened and true religion, then why the modern Muslim societies are so much corrupt, distressed and degenerated. It is not so. The degeneration is not result of Islam, but it is a result of the Muslim societies' deviation from the teachings of their religion Islam.

The identity crisis has flustered the Muslim of today. What is the scope of the Muslim unity and nationalism among all the nations of the world?

These issues have been well addressed in Qazi Hussain's 1st July 2011 column published in Urdu Newspaper Jung, who is a former leader of Pakistani Islamist Political Party.

The Spiritual Music of Pakistan

2011-06-03T08:51:00.000+05:00

The 'Coke Studio' arranges a forum to reintroduce the local music of Pakistan, which is mostly beaing the Sufi music. Here is the link of Coke Studio.

"I saw God in Pakistan!" —A Traveller's Anecdote.

2011-05-26T12:44:00.010+05:00

Faisal Masjid in Islamabad
Photo Credit: Flickr/bukhaari

Once by chance a Western happened to travel through Pakistan. On returning, someone inquired him, “What did you see in Pakistan”?

“I saw God!”, he replied.

On further inquiry, he told,

“I saw every kind of evil, misery and downturn in that poor country. From corrupt leaders to poor governance, bullying superpowers to most-hated insurgents, bombs to blood, floods to earthquakes, load-shedding to corruption, bullying superpowers to unwelcome insurgents, rundown economy to decrepit infrastructure, soaring suicidal rates to deaths caused due to hunger, jobless graduates trampling haplessly across the scorching roads, I saw everything I could ever imagine to be existing in the hell...

But I much wondered how come this country has managed to survive. Had any of our Western nations to see such problems, could it exist? –No! it would have been collapsed.

Which is the great power behind scene there to still uphold the existence of Pakistan?”

He paused for a short moment. Then replied,

“The God!”

~ + ~

Journey Towards Awakening

2011-05-17T13:57:00.007+05:00

Photo Description: Mountains of Xinjiang

Photo credited to flickr / by shanghaisoundbites

According to Wikipedia, a pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with the divine, or to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed," or any site that is seen to have special spiritual powers. Such sites may be commemorated with shrines or temples that devotees are encouraged to visit for their own spiritual benefit: to be healed or have questions answered or to achieve some other spiritual benefit.

I am not talking about the kind of (most respectfully) religious pilgrimages stated above, or which the people typically perform for fulfillment of religious obligation. I am nothing talking religious.

~ + ~

What I actually mean in my post here is just a ‘journey’, or simple journey, to be made intentionally in search of some moral or wisdoms—for experiencing, somewhere during it, the Spiritual awakening. Pure from any greed for benefit or reaching the destination, the journey will lead ultimately into the holistic experience of life, unraveling the hidden spiritual potentials lying within human. The wisdom lies within journey itself, apart from the idea of destination. The experience completes the thought.

~ + ~

Here It is apt to quote a beautiful poem “Ithaca” by Constantine Cavafy (1863–1933) and translated by Rae Dalven.

“When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon—do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy

you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.”

"I lived in the garden of Allah"—A writing in favour of fatalism

2011-05-16T00:59:00.007+05:00

Photo is credited to Flickr/jackwickes

I came across a beautiful British writing suggesting the importance of fatalism as believed by Arabs and its importance to help man stand against worries. I am quoting it as follows.

    "So I did as Lawrence suggested: I went to live with the Arabs. I am glad I did so. They taught me how to conquer worry. Like all faithful Moslems, they are fatalists. They believe that every word which Mohammad wrote in the Koran is the divine revelation of Allah. so when the Koran says: "God created you and all your actions," they accept it literally. That is why they take life so calmly and never hurry or get into unnecessary tempers when things go wrong. They know that what is ordained is ordained; and no one but God can alter anything. However, that doesn't mean that in the face of disaster, they sit down and do nothing. To illustrate, let me tell you of a fierce, burning windstorm of the sirocco which I experienced when I was living in the Sahara. It howled and screamed for three days and nights. It was so strong, so fierce, that it blew sand from the Sahara hundreds of miles across the Mediterranean and sprinkled it over the Rhone Valley in France. The wind was so hot i felt as if the hair was being scorched off my head. My throat was arched. My eyes burned. My teeth were full of grit. I felt as if i were standing in front of a furnace in a glass factory. I was driven as near crazy as a man can be and retain his sanity. But the Arabs didn't complain. they shrugged their shoulders and said, "Mektoub"..."It is written."

    But immediately after the storm was over, they sprang into action: they slaughtered all the lambs because they knew they would die anyway; and by slaughtering them at once, they hoed to save the mother sheep. after the lambs were slaughtered, the flocks were driven southward to water. This was all done calmly, without worry to complaining or mourning over their losses. the tribal chief said: "It is not too bad. We might have lost everything. But raise god, we have forty percent of our sheep left to make a new start."

    I remember another occasion, when we were motoring across the desert and a tire blew out. the chauffeur had forgotten to mend the spare tire. So there we were with only three tires. I fussed and fumed and got excited and asked the Arabs what we were going to do. they reminded me that getting excited wouldn't help, that it only made one hotter. The blown-out tire, they said, was the will of Allah and nothing could be done about it. So we started on, crawling along on the rim of a wheel. Presently the car sputtered and stopped. We were out of gas! the chief merely remarked: "Mektoub!" And, there again, instead of shouting at the driver because he had not taken on enough gas, everyone remained calm and we walked to our destination, singing as we went.

    The seven years I spent with the Arabs convinced me that the neurotics, the insane, the drunks of America and Europe are the product of the hurried and harassed lives we live in our so-called civilization.

    As long as I lived in the Sahara, I had no worries, I found there, in the Garden of Allah, the serene contentment and physical well-being that so many out of us are seeking with tenseness and despair.

    many people scoff at fatalism. maybe they are right. Who knows? But all of us must be able to see how our fates are often determined for us. For example, if I had not spoken to Lawrence of Arabia at three minutes past noon on a hot August day in 1919, all the years that have elapsed and molded time and again by events far beyond my control. the Arabs call it mektoub, kismet—the will of Allah. call it anything you wish. it does strange things to you. I only know that today—seventeen years after leaving the Sahara—I still maintain that happy resignation to the inevitable which I learned from the Arabs. that philosophy has done more to settle my nerves than a thousand sedatives could have achieved."

- from the writing "I lived in the Garden of Allah"

by R.V.C.Bodley (Descendant of Sir Thomas Bodley founder of the Boldeian Library Oxford, and author of Wind in the Sahara).

Text Credit: "How to stop worrying and start living", book
by Dale Carnegie

Photo is credited to Flickr/JD image

Mystic Quotes

2011-04-29T01:06:00.003+05:00

Richness:
When you are satisfied with the little Allah has portioned for you, it is then you would be the most rich. (-Unknown)

Destiny:
"It is said some lives are linked across time. There are certain people connected by an ancient calling that echoes through the ages.........destiny." (-'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time', Hollywood movie in 2010 )

Facing The Untoward!

2011-03-29T21:14:00.009+05:00

Photo Credit: Flickr/Ahmad PK

A question may always remain in some minds: "Is it possible that one may challenge one's destiny?"

Two Extreme Versions of Philosophy

First of all let's consider the meaning of destiny? And its effect over life of human - Is man free? There are two literalistic and philosophical views found among the philosophers.

According to the stricter first view, since everything in this universe has been prefixed or predestined by Allah; the man is not responsible for his own acts, from right or wrong whatsoever.

The second view is soft and flexible, says: Man is free to choose from right or wrong, hence responsible for his acts and will be answerable to the Almighty Allah.

~ + ~

Real Concern

In stead of getting lost into the fruitless debate regarding mystery of fate or destiny, man's real concern should be the choosing of the right behaviour in the time of hardship.

No doubt, things or calamities, according to ISLAM religion, have already been inscribed (Maktub) in the Book of decrees (Al Lawh Al Mahfooz), but the general Muslim public has not been encouraged to think deep into the otherworldly topic of fate or destiny. As it could be mislead them.

The real concern is how a Muslim (or a man) should behave in event of untowardness. Should he given in? Or he ought to fight for good, and right?

The real path is that, in the event of strain or hardship, one must not lose hope (La Taqnatu Min Rehmatillah), and do relentless efforts ("Al-Jihad Al-Akbar" or The greater Jihad) for the cause of justice, truth and right.

~ + ~

Self-Respect of Humanity

As a poet said in his beautiful poetry verses in Urdu,

Halaat k Qadmo Main Qalandar Nahi Girta

Tootay Jo Sitara To Zameen Per Nahi Girta

Girtay Hain Samandar Main Barray Shoq Se Darya

Lekin Kisi Darya Main Samandar Nahin Girta

An ardent person (i.e.Sufi) never falls onto the feet of the circumstances.

As if a star falls, even it does't come to the ground.

Many tributaries do, happily, fall into bigger sea,

but a sea never falls into any tributary.

Seeing the Things as they truly are

2011-02-14T01:44:00.006+05:00

It is a tragedy that mankind habituates to perceive things according to its own personalized meanings often polluted with self-made imaginations, instead of recognizing the real states of such things. It is our mistake that we see things wrongly trough our customized lens. Such misconception led to grave misunderstandings in personal lives as well as in history.

Due to biased thinking or non-thinking; we are unable to see things and phenomena as they truly are. Our proudly selves obstruct to see the things in the way they really are.

Quran-002.171 ”The parable of those who reject Faith is as if one were to shout Like a goat-herd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom.“

If you do not give up the crowdsyou won't find your way to Oneness.If you do not drop your selfyou won't find your true worth.If you do not offer all you have to the Beloved,you will live this life free of thatpain which makes it worth living.

- Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir

One moment, You are all I know, Friend.Next moment, eat, drink, and be merry!Another moment, I put every beast to shame.O' Friend, how will this scatteredness that is mefind its way to You?

- Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir

2. Knowing the self

The Blessed Muhammad spoke truth when he transmitted, Maan 'arafa nafsahu fa-qad 'arafa Rabbah, "One who knows one's self, knows the God."

We do good or wrong things, but still we never know why we were doing them, and why should. We never try to get clear idea of the reasons underlying our activities.

Detached You are, even from your being,and this being is nothing but You.Unmanifest, yet the manifest is naughtbut Your shadow.
Moons, galaxies and worlds drunk from this cup.And the cupbearer is nowhere to be seen!
- Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir

Our individual life journey on one level is about knowing our "self". But how do we know ourselves?

We should meditate and try to know our selves and understand the things with true underlying reasons. We should develop the neutral thinking and mindfulness, and see the things as they truly are. As Rumi invites us: "Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth."

The importance of understanding can be seen in Quran, as under;

029.043 And such are the Parables We set forth for mankind, but only those understand them who have knowledge.
002.269 He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and whoever is granted wisdom, he indeed is given a great good and none but men of understanding mind.

Reading on Willpower

2011-01-28T23:57:00.092+05:00

About will power, self-control, choice, decision  making.  How people  regulate their emotions, resist temptation, break  bad habits, and  perform up to their potential -- and why they often  fail to do so. 

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. - Vince Lombardi

Introduction to Will Power

Every day, we are tested. Whether it’s a cookie tempting us from our diets or a warm bed coaxing us to sleep late, we are forced to decide between what we want to do and what we ought to do.

The ability to resist our impulses is commonly described as self-control or willpower.

Willpower may refer to:

Willpower, the strength to act, or forbear from acting, in the pursuit of a goal.
Self discipline, Training and control of oneself and one's conduct, usually for personal improvement.
Self control, the ability of a person to exert his/her will over the inhibitions of their body or self.

Self control or self-control is the ability to control one's emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later, and is the capacity of efficient management to the future. In psychology it is sometimes called self-regulation. Exerting self-control through the executive functions in decision making is thought to deplete a resource in the ego.

To think good thoughts requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline – training – is about.

To discipline means to instruct a person to follow a particular code of conduct or order. In the field of child development, discipline refers to methods of modeling character and of teaching self-control and acceptable behavior, for example, teaching a child to wash her/his hands before meals.

Willpower provides an intensely powerful yet temporary boost. Willpower is the spearhead of self-discipline. Willpower is a concentration of force. You gather up all your energy and make a massive thrust forward.

Self-control (or self-regulation) centers on the idea that self-control relies on a limited energy source. A single act of self-control consumes this energy source, and later acts of self-control are impaired as a result. Attempts at self-control deplete glucose that is needed for later attempts at self-control.

“Learning self-control produces a wide range of positive outcomes,’’ said Roy Baumeister, a psychology professor at Florida State University who wrote about the issue in Current Directions in Psychological Science. “Kids do better in school, people do better at work. Look at just about any major category of problem that people are suffering from and odds are pretty good that self-control is implicated in some way.’’

Consuming sugary drinks or snacks isn’t practical advice for a dieter struggling with willpower. However, the research does help explain why dieters who eat several small meals a day appear to do better at sticking to a diet than dieters who skip meals. “You need the energy from food to have the willpower to exert self-control in order to succeed on your diet,” said Dr. Baumeister.

Some research suggests that people struggling with self-control should start small. A vow to stop swearing, to make the bed every day or to give up just one food may be a way to strengthen your self-control, giving you more willpower reserves for bigger challenges later.

“Learning to bring your behavior under control even with arbitrary rules does build character in that it makes you better able to achieve the things you want to achieve later on,” said Dr. Baumeister. “Self-control is a limited resource. People make all these different New Year’s resolutions, but they are all pulling off from the same pool of your willpower. It’s better to make one resolution and stick to it than make five.”

“Will is character in action”
-William McDougal

Will Power & Faith

Willpower seems to be equivalent to the term "faith" used in religion. The person having strong faith or belief has probably more willpower to practice the religious lifestyle and sacrifices.

People need to develop their willpower before they can put their convictions into practice. It takes willpower for a person to do something arduous, even if he thinks it is for his own benefit.

Paulo Coelho’s exaggerated willpower –struggle with God

I am not agreed with the bold examples which Paulo Coelho wrote in the following patches in his novel “The fifth mountain”.

That NIGHT, a man entered Jacob’s tent and wrestled with him until the break of day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he said, “Let me go.”

Jacob answered, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
Then the man said to him: “As a prince, hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. What is thy name?” And he said, Jacob.
And the man answered: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel.” -The fifth mountain, by Paulo Coelho

....

Long ago, the patriarch Jacob had encamped, and during the night, someone had entered his tent and wrestled with him until daybreak. Jacob accepted the combat, even knowing that his adversary was the Lord. At morning, he had still not been defeated; and the combat ceased only when God agreed to bless him.

The story had been transmitted from generation to generation so that no one would ever forget: sometimes it was necessary to struggle with God. Every human being at some time had tragedy enter his life; it might be the destruction of a city, the death of a son, am unproved accusation, a sickness that left one lame forever. At that moment, God challenged on to confront Him and to answer His question: “Why dost thou cling fast to an existence so short and so filled with suffering? What is the meaning of the struggle?”

The man who did not know how to answer this question would resign himself, while another, one who sought a meaning to existence, feeling that God had been unjust, would challenge his own destiny. It was at this moment that fire of a different type descended from the heavens –not the fire that kills but the kind that tears down ancient walls and imparts to each human being his true possibilities. Coward never allow their hearts to blaze with this fire; all they desire is for the changed situation to quickly return to what it was before, so they can go on living their lives and thinking in their customary way. The brave, however, set afire that which was old and, even at the cost of great internal suffering, abandon everything, including God, and continue onward.

“The brave are always stubborn.”

From heaven, God smiles contentedly, for it was this that He desired, that each person take into his hands the responsibility for his own life. For, in the final analysis, He had given His children the greatest of all gifts: the capacity to choose and determine their acts.
Only those men and women with the sacred flame in their hearts had the courage to confront Him. And they alone knew the path back to His love, for they understood that tragedy was not punishment but challenge. -The fifth mountain, by Paulo Coelho

...

He had fled from doubt. From defeat. From moments of indecision. But the Lord was generous and had led him to the abyss of the unavoidable, to show him that man must choose –and not accept –his fate.

Many, many years before, on a night like this, Jacob had not allowed God to leave without blessing him. It was then that the Lord had asked: “What is thy name?”

The essential point was this: to have a name. When Jacob had answered, God had baptized him Israel. Each one has a name from birth but must learn to baptize his life with the word he has chosen to give meaning to that life. -The fifth mountain, by Paulo Coelho

……

Elijah rose and prayed, “I fought Thee, Lord, and I am not ashamed. And because of it I discovered that I am on my path because such is my wish, not because it was imposed on me by my father and mother, by the customs of my country, or even by Thee.

“It is to Thee, O Lord, that I would return at this moment. I wish to praise Thee with the strength of my will and not with the cowardice of one who has not known how to choose another path. But for Thee to confide to me Thy important mission, I must continue this battle against Thee, until Thou bless me.” -The fifth mountain, by Paulo Coelho

Balancing the exaggeration:

Paulo's bold views and ideas seems to me unbalanced, but the underlying product/idea is “STRUGGLE FOR THE CAUSE OF GOD, EVEN IF AGAINST HIMSELF”. Something amused me in this idea to the extent of purely struggle. I would like to reshape the Paulo’s idea as “STRUGGLE FOR THE CAUSE OF GOD, EVEN IF HE MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO DO SO.” or “STRUGGLE FOR THE CAUSE OF GOD, EVEN AGAINST YOUR BAD LUCK.” In other words, don’t surrender before the disappointment and failure. God tests people by sending difficulties in their ways even though the good ways. But don’t leave struggle for the success of good cause and truth.

Say: O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults altogether; surely He is the Forgiving the Merciful. -Quran 39:53

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal's concept of Khudi

Destroy whatever does not suit you,

Create a new world out of yourself.

A free man feels unhappy,

To live in a world of others.

Iqbal, In book Javaid nama, Translated by A. J. Arberry, 225.

A powerful mind is a wonderful thing, but there is something else that must be in control of the mind. It is the will power, or the super ego, or as Iqbal devised a term for it: khudi, or the Self - that illuminated nucleus of one's existence which is the source of all emotion, thought and intuition. A powerful mind that wanders in every direction is like an epileptic hand that is unable to grasp even a pen and move it from the table. The Self, or the enlightened ego, must control the mind.

As used by Iqbal what comes closest to khudi is assertive will power imbued with moral values. Iqbal believes that growth of the human personality takes place as a result of the use of will power. Human beings have the power to choose between right and wrong and forge a path towards whatever goals they have set for themselves. This is apparent from these oft-quoted lines:

"Khudi Ko Kar Buland Itna k Har Taqdeer Se Pahlay

Khuda Banday Se Khud Puchay Bataa Teri Raza Kia Hai"

Endow your will with such power

That at every turn of fate it so be

That God Himself asks of His slave

'What is it that pleases thee?'
- Iqbal

Will Power -an inspiration of Religion Islam

According to Islam religion, disappointment is Kufr (or apostasy). Developing willpower is the important teaching of the religion Islam. Muslims are required to develop a strong personal character and regulate their lives according to the guided principles of holy book Quran and instructions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The Islamic belief on One God cultivates the willpower and discourages the illusions, ramifications and meaningless ritualism. As a poet beautifuly writes in Urdu:

wo aik sajda jisay tu giraaN samajhta hai
hazaar sajdoN sey deta hai aadmi ko nijaat
-Iqbal

Translation: The single prostration (before on God), which (oh Lazy Muslim!) you thinks burdensome (upon you), it redeems the man (human) from a thousand prostrations (before idols, fears, worries, strong evil, illusions, ramifications etc.)

The person is considered as a strong believer, who has willpower to challenge the evil and manages to regulate his life according to the commandments of Islamic Shariah. He keeps his emotions in check, shuns wrong temptations, refrains from overindulgence, exhibits courage in times of hardship, and upholds justice in the face of oppression. All he does on the basis of his strong belief and willpower.

Personal Character Regulation:

Self regulation is maintained in a Muslim's personal lifestyle by adopting right thoughts and actions, while refraining from the evil ideas and deeds, for example, refraining from adultery, telling lies, treachery, backbiting etc.

Lifestyle Regulation:

Similarly, the Muslim's daily life is regulated through regular, organized, social practices, for example, regular ritual exercises of prayers (Salaat) five times an each day, financial regulations of Zakaat whereby a share from one's annual income is reserved and given off to the poor and needy people etc. Similarly alcohol is forbidden.

Social Regulation:

This righteous character is required not only to keep on their self lifestyle, but also to spread it to the whole humanity and society around them. This is 'Amr bil ma'ruf, wa nahi anil munkir' (i.e. giving order for righteousness, and forbidding from evil), or in other words, bringing order, justice, harmony and enlightenment. The organized social struggle (Jihad/holy war) of the Muslim's majority or legitimate state against evil and tyranny is a highly respected culmination of this idea. Mischief making, disharmony, sedition and manslaughter is not allowed.

Higher Will:

The idea of higher will is very important. The Muslim believer is required to give preference to God's Will upon his personal will. For example, he should not get any benefit, which would in fact harming some innocent. Or, he should refrain from alcohol which is forbidden by Islam. In other word, one should do justice, even if it is going against his personal benefit or interest.

Besides the individual liberties, protection and welfare are guaranteed, the general interest of society is preferred upon the individual interest. i.e. Al-masleha tul a'ama taqaddamu ala masleha til khasa (Principle: General interest prevails upon individual interest.)

Islam has discouraged asceticism, and promoted the social lifestyle. Suicide is condemned, while the human living is promoted as a right of God and a duty owing to him. Protection of life (hifz-un-nafs) and protection of generation/hierarchy (Hifz-un-nasl) are two of the 5 basic requirements, sustaining which the Islamic legal system stands for.

Ultimate waywardness (poem)

2011-01-25T17:44:00.002+05:00

Sometimes I ran after winds and dust storms-
got stumbled on many unknown routes and wastelands
So that they started calling me madman!

I worshiped stars, prayed from skies, kept idols within my heart,
So much that I lost my wits and my faith..
so that they could execute me

I quarreled with rationalists as their ideas didn't match with mine;
disconnected with spiritualists as their deeds couldn't catch up my heeds
So that they at last made me out of them

I got broken my vows, became dishonest
broken my heart, became loser
- So that I could stop

For You.. O Lord, no one could ever know.. I was for You!

fight for promise and love

2010-12-20T02:06:00.009+05:00

old memories are still afloat beyond vision in the vastness of these eyes
those memories..
the orange twilight turning into azure..
fresh air blowing on rooftop of a solitary household in great wasteland.

and mild silhouette of Himalayan foothills jutting out in backdrop.
skies where eagles used to get courage, like that of warrior of light.
and those retinas focused keenly at place far beyond where the skies meet the world,
those eyes filled with hopes,

and breath brimming with warmth of life,
and many promises ..
those difficult promises made with easy hopes.

and pains of witnessing 'goodbyes'!

That was for first time, when the warrior promised to fight
against himself, against felony, against disappointment and every other darkness.

After that.. the life became difficult.

oh, Afterwind!
he should keep on fighting..
for the sake of Allah.

what could be the more in this world than the joy of loving and being loved! hmm..

Review of novel ‘THE VALKYRIES’, authored by Paulo Coelho

2010-11-29T19:15:00.003+05:00

--Reviewed by M.Tariq Rasheed Qamar, Pakistan

Some as his other books, Paulo’s this book also carries the spiritual adventure of courage, journey, struggle, hope and God’s love. The author talks of Christianity, spirituality, magic and he describes his marooning with his wife Chris in the desert for talking to his guardian angel and he meets a boy ‘Gene’, and a bunch of wayward women of some magic tradition, the Walkyries. He speaks of guardian angel protecting and guiding one by using the third person. He talks about Valkyries’ rituals exhibiting the human emotions and hatred, and his getting rid of his bad past memories.

Plus Points (Passages that inspired me)

Few passages from this novel are really inspiring and leading the reader’s attentions to the thoughts or elevation, spirituality and hope. Such elevated thoughts are similar to some thoughts from Islamic Sufism. I quote some of the lines from book below.

“Have courage.” Valhalla’s voice rang out clearly and strongly. “Open your heart, and listen to what your dreams tell you. Follow those dreams, because only a person who is not ashamed can manifest the glory of God.” P.138

“Well, meet your obligations. But obligations never prevented anyone from following their dreams. Remember that you are a manifestation of the absolute, and do only those things in your lives that are worth the effort. Only those who do that will understand the great transformations that are yet to be seen.” P.139

“that’s why people talk with their angels. Because only the angels know the best path. It does no good to seek advice about it from others.” P.142

He angel said that all the world needed was an example. People who were capable of following their dreams and of fighting for their ideas. P.158

A magus whose world is governed by laws I don’t even know –a person who feels he is alive only when he is facing challenges.” P.205

Negative Points:

Though this book seems inspired by Catholic Christianity teachings, but some ideas also come under sight are not only nothing to do with popular Christian teachings (according to my knowledge), but also are absurd and out of place (at least, nothing to do with Islamic Spirituality). For example, the story is told there about a Christian saint Maria so-called Egipciaca who surrendered her body to a boatman, in order to get to Jerusalem. Another example is that of the novel’s character Valhalla, who is described, twice a week going to casinos, becoming the lover of wealthy men, and thus being able to put together some money. Similarly another character, the Valkyries, are said to be the warriors of light and were meant for spreading the word of Christianity, are also described traveling to different desert towns and making love with men they coming across on way. Through these nasty ideas, the author seems legitimizing the prostitution for the cause of religion and the promiscuous sexual relations. The author’s such slip of pen, I believe, to be a mistake and inappropriate. So on this basis; I will give some negative points to this book too.

The wises' company

2010-10-22T11:56:00.000+05:00

گردِ مستاں گرد، گر مے کم رسد بوئے رسد
بوئے اُو گر کم رسد، رؤیتِ اِیشاں بس است

Get closer to the drunkards (with the wine of Divine love),
for if you do not get wine, at-least you will experience its fragrance.
Even, if you do not receive its fragrance,
getting just a sight of them will be enough.

(by ?)

Poetry of Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir

2010-09-15T21:59:00.008+05:00

If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved,
love everyone.
Whether in their presence or absence,
see only their good.
If you want to be closer and refreshing as
the breath of the morning breeze,
like the sun have nothing but warmth and light
for everyone.

~ + ~

Beloved, show me the way of this prison.
Make me needless of both worlds.
Pray, erase from mind all
that is not You.
Have mercy Beloved,
though I am nothing but forgetfulness,
You are the essence of forgiveness.
Make me needless of all but You.

~ + ~

Drink from this heart now,
for all this loving it contains.
When you look for it again,
it will be dancing in the wind.

Source: Jafar Alam's blog (Link)

~ + ~

To your mind feed understanding,
to your heart, tolerance and compassion.
The simpler your life, the more meaningful.
The less you desire of the world,
the more room you will have in it
to fill with the Beloved.

Source: faith786 blog (Link)

~ + ~

Suppose you can recite a thousand holy

verses from memory.

What are you going to do

with your ego, the true

mark of the heretic?

– Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir – “Nobody, Son of Nobody”

~ + ~

To your mind feed understanding,

to your heart, tolerance and compassion.

The simpler your life, the more meaningful.

– Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir – “Nobody, Son of Nobody”

~ + ~

Those with no sense of honor and dignity are best avoided.

Those who change colors constantly

are best forgotten.

– Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir – “Nobody, Son of Nobody”

Source: (link)

Sayings of Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir

2010-09-15T21:47:00.004+05:00

A few sayings of Abu Saeed (Abu Sa'id ibn Ab'il Khair ) (967 - 1049 ce) quoted from his biography Asrar al-Tawhid :

The veil between man and God is not the world, is not the throne of God, it is the illusion of "I", pass beyond yourself and you are there.
Anywhere the illusion of “I” exists is hell, anywhere “I” is absent is heaven.
If you are not going to sacrifice your self do not spend your time with Sufi nonsense.
Sufism is fixing the gaze at One and living towards One.
The meaning of Sufism is to put down what is in your head and to spare what is in your hand and not to shake when calamities befall you.
Holding a grudge is heresy and attributing things to any cause but God is idolatry and joyfulness is duty.

Source: Wikipedia (Link)

“What’s in your head — throw it away! What’s in your hand — give it up! Whatever happens — don’t turn away from it.”

(?) Source: nytimes (Link)

Rickshaw poetry about Self-satisfaction

2010-07-04T14:39:00.001+05:00

Once in the city of Multan, when in pitter patter..

Poetry on back of auto-rickshaw

Translation:
People of beauty (beautiful people) do not stay faithful, People of love (lovers) do no pray.
[But,] we are the People of humble nature (Qalander)*, we do not curse anyone

...
...
Move Sufi!

* (Qalander by nature: self-satisfied with self-respect, serene in every condition and with reliance over Allah)

Strong enough to change the fate?

2010-06-28T17:54:00.000+05:00

Image by MikeAncient via Flickr

In past I was imaginative,
and very energetic and believed myself to be invincible,
and I thought to be able to defeat bad fate one day.
But I mostly proved to be weaker,
and it was also reality
that I was not sure about my success.

Now I am much strong and wisely experienced
and I never try to quarrel with fate,
as I think it as instrument of God.
I feel myself very weak now.. and this is the reality also!
But the good thing is that, my believe on God is very strong now
even more than what I used to do in past!
And I experienced through this life.. that God is The Wise, The All-Powerful and Near to everywhere!
and He can change any thing..
even my fate!
I know the reality somewhat,
that I am nothing
even much weaker than a broken wing of a wasp in front of universe and fate
but my cause is sincere and pure
and I believe
One day I shall win!
because I feel sometimes that God is helping me in good things!

God's Love for Human

2010-06-14T13:51:00.004+05:00

Photo by Afterwind

It seems, God is in passionate and intense love for His human. Always waiting for the return of His slave, same as a camel-owner's eyes are waiting and set on the direction of the setting sun in the desert or wasteland, where from he might expect the coming into appearance of his lost camel. Same as a lover, whose beloved might have dumped him/her or done some false which might be beyond every acceptable limit. The passionate lover, who is ready to forget every wrong of beloved.. The lover, whose wallet is saving since many years the tissue-paper, which touched the beloved's lips. And he may forgive any wrong for the sake of the innocent fragrance coming from that tissue of first time true love!

.
.

You walked into my way..

2010-04-26T22:47:00.001+05:00

When You crossed my way,
My heart was beaten by the overpowering delight of the eyes,
in which Your dazzling beauty was flowing out..
I got mad for years
But never recognized You!

When You put up a new face and sat beside me..
and entered into my soul through an outlandish sweet smell!
I remained in ecstasy for years
But had never recognized You!

When my life had broken,
You appeared at many places during my journey,
sometimes hiding beside an old woman offering water to this fallen body,
sometimes supporting the youth lifting this weak soul!
and finally..
by a strange feminine fairy’s face to lure away out from the death valley

Oh my Mighty Sweetheart in heavens! how do I compliment Your Great Kindness,

look at me..
I will be silent.. .

This night of separation…

I remained in Your company for years
But had never recognized You!

What a pity!

in the chase of Your unknown face.. without ever recognizing it!
this container,
being filled up with
the wines of every detail
every taste and every colour,
has jagged and finally withered away..

what a sharp-edged poison, the grief of love is..

now when I lost my own face and my own self..
lost my own name..
lost my own faith..
and became empty,

‘none, son of no one..’

this container, now ready to be filled up by Your own hands..
i am ready!
let him recognize You.. at last!

Allah’s shaitan..

2010-04-25T01:21:00.001+05:00

Oh Allah, make me Satan..
an enemy of You and Your cause and Your Love..

Oh Allah, make me Satan..
So that I would taste the joy of defeat from the hand of Beloved
So that I would lose every time, and You always win!

Oh Allah, make me Satan..
Dust over my head..
blood over my feet..
and bad luck my jewelry

I am tired of this showy repute
make me pure
even a pure loser!

I am bored of my greed for paradise
let me burn in hellfire for You forever
let my every bone eliminate in the pain of love
let my heart get a fire of Your Divine Truth!

Oh Allah, make me Satan..
who would always conspire for his own death..
and finally the victory of Truth and Love!

Oh please, make me Satan!
Your Satan!

Enchanted Sight of Beloved

2010-04-25T00:08:00.002+05:00

Oh Beloved, Your manifestation is strewn every where..
It is perhaps due to the reflection your dazzling face, that couples get charmed with each other's face
Same as some fool gets enchanted after looking at a pair of beautiful eyes, and becomes heartbroken with the heart-grieving wine of love!
Same as a sick spouse on death bed immediately relives after seeing his strange beloved.. and feels as if fresh airs of life and energy are emanating from her rosy cheeks, kind black eyes, and cascade flying unkempt hair..
Oh Mighty Lord…
Are You inside everything? or everything inside You?
What's this fable.. !!?

Love and pain

2010-03-24T18:49:00.003+05:00

This pain burning my each fragment.. .

Love is sublimation, changing the material heart into the longing
Pain is condensation, changing the longing into the tears
Everything evil in the soul, perishes
and she comes purified out of the flames of this test!

Only the strong heart is capable of carrying this heavy burden
Only the strong soul has power to keep strong hope

O Mighty Lord, O Sustainer of heavens and earths!
support the stumbling hearts and fearing souls, and render the righteous-love victor!
before You, I surrender myself!

I sold myself in bazar,

2010-03-23T10:49:00.002+05:00

I sold myself in bazar, to buy your 1 photo.. .

~ afterwind

Why religion is not poison?

2010-03-19T10:01:00.007+05:00

Spirituality (the belief of nature/deen al-fitra) is an inherent quality of human. Sometimes in the form of motherhood warmth, sometimes hope, sometimes even a single smile. Spirituality is a human inclination towards certain emotions. It is the sense imparts holiness to things, and renders them important or even the purpose of life of the doer. It appears in the form of love, alchemy and dedication, and uses a spell of inspiration and creative thoughts. Thus becomes the source of energy and a cause of struggle. This is how many leaders were produced for humanity.

Need for a precise formula – 'the combination of success'
Such productivity could be achieved by combining together some right emotions, same as a pharmacist of old Egypt is making a successful medicine by mixing together herbs, metals and powders in some fixed measurement. The divine religion Islam has taught two things, viz. Reliance (tawakkal) and Activity. The combination of two can be the formula, we need.

Reliance
Reliance is a psychological state of mind, a state of resolute confidence. In religious terms, it is the reliance upon God. In other words, it is something as the surrendering before the Devine’s Will, or recognition of His supremacy over everything. By surrendering before the Devine truth, man could get freedom from slavery and surrenders before everyone. As poet says, “that single act of prostration (before Almighty) you feel burdensome (to perform), delivers the human from a thousand prostrations (before others).” (Iqbal)

Now this recognition seems have two aspects; first, over one’s own self and second, over circumstances and everything.

Recognition of Devine supremacy over one’s own self is by accepting the mistakes made by oneself, and always being ready to adopt the right action.

Recognition of Devine supremacy over circumstances is by standing face to face in front of even worse circumstances and everything, with hope and optimism. It is like entrusting affairs to the Divine Will. As Sufi poet Mian Bakhsh has described it much aptly,

“Farmer’s ability is to water (the farm), so (he should) water (it) with brimming skins. Master’s (God) engagement is with rendering fruits and flowers (to the farm); whether would render or not”

Continuous activity for change
Activity is also an attribute of God, as Quran says, “Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every Day He is (engaged) in some affair!” (Quran 55:29).

The true religion teaches the human to always keep activity on continuously. A sacred tradition relates to the prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) saying, “Who passed his couple of days in monotony, for sure, he is in loss” / man satawa yomaahu fahua maghmun ( Sunan Walemi ).

Result of Combination: Resolute Struggle (Juh’d)

The combination of success, achieved by combining the reliance and continuous activity, is the resolute struggle (or as they say in Persian, Juh’d-i-musalsal). This resolute struggle can be employed, not only for uprooting the evils (like inequality, impoverishment, etc.) from the world at large level, but also to achieve specific individual goals for spiritual, social and economic well-being at individual and family level.

Firm Belief or Reliance + Continuous Activity = Resolute Struggle

We can say, the resolute struggle (Juh’d) is the essence of the true religion Islam. As the revivalist poet Iqbal says:

May God set you in propinquity to some tempest,
for the currents of your sea are devoid of agitation!
The book (Quran) cannot be your salvation,
for, you are only its reciter; not a man-of-Quran (never tried to understand or follow it).

Doubt: A dove story

2010-03-14T14:27:00.000+05:00

While sitting on my housetop with a red Turkish hat on, I saw a fat dove coming down and finally resting on the floor. Fearlessly, though having knowledge of my presence, she started moving here and there for picking potpourri of grains. A sudden selfish thought passed across my mind, why shouldn’t I lay down a snare in order to have her. But I let this idea go, as the feeling of compassion ensnared my own thoughts then, and I started considering to developing a friendship-bond with her, and not interfering her chores. After a period of sauntering around, she stopped at a spot in open, and sat in a pleasurable sun of early noontide. An unbelievable slight sense of shining green was reflecting from her partly brown, partly gray neck. Her facial features, especially the dark black eyes, had got an aura exuding the enormous innocence. During all that time, I had developed a taste of admiration towards her and was planning for the future activities, like cereals-strewing. After noticing the fact of my looking at her, she got shy and walked ahead slowly and took cover of the column, standing between us. I backed slightly on chair in order to catch the view again, got many chances to take her photo shots. The shy model also seemed contributing in the activity, taking joy. She stayed there for a long time and showed even not a single blip over my casual movements and cores. Her trust over me was evident; she was approaching contently at a closer distance.

Much amusement was at its height, when I started believing. But soon she thought something, which made her to withdraw. And then she fluttered away into the sky.

What was the thought, which made her fly? Was it “misunderstanding”? Or “doubt”? Anyhow, it was a result of her shortsightedness.

The dove had lost a good, which could make her existence worthwhile!

Last Hope

2010-02-22T12:46:00.003+05:00

1. O Lord!

all my effort proved to be limited,
now the only hope is Your Effulgent Face !

- Afterwind

~ + ~

2. your desire and My Will

"you have your desire and

I have my Will.
My Will shall reign.
but if you surrender yourself into My Will,
I shall bestow upon you your desire.
but if you oppose to My Will,
then I shall tire you of your desires,
and ultimately,
My Will shall reign…”

(Proverb)

~ + ~

Quote - Good luck

2010-02-20T11:21:00.003+05:00

“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going - is the man who is there when the good luck comes - and is ready to receive it.”

- Robert Collier

Hallaj believed in the Unity of God!

2010-02-14T16:57:00.008+05:00

There’s nothing left of me.

Mansur Ibn Hallaj is said to be prosecuted for heresy, but after perusing the material which is ascribed to him, I am bound to build up a personal opnion about him as a person who was not heretic in fact and it was the ruling class of that time who was mistaken in taking him to be a heretic. He seems to be an avid advocate of the belief in Tawhid or Unity of God (that there is One God and none is equal to Him). Unity of God is usually much carefully described in the strict terms of Sharî‘a, being a foremost important tenet. Sufis from different regions and ages tried to explain this Wisdom in the terms of the esoteric science of Haqîqa. Sufi interpretations, were misunderstood by commons. Hallaj's interpretations were also misunderstood and perhaps misused by his political rivals. He went so further in describing the Almighty quality of God, that he, in his philosophy, had reduced the creation perhaps to the rank of non-existence, as compared to the Almighty God. If we take a deeper appreciation of his literary work with a supportive background understanding of Sufi terms and definitions, at last we would find that there is nothing to be heresy, but a wellspring of Sufi bliss and deeper sailings into the science of Tawhid or God's Unity.

Some of online material relating to Hallaj's idea about Tawhid is given as follows.

~ + ~

Doctrine of al-Hallaj on the Divine Attributes

as narrated by al-Qushayri. Read about its source here

from the Chapter on the Exposition of the Beliefs of This Fold [the Sufis] on Questions of Doctrine (Faslun fî bayân i‘tiqâd hâdhihi al-tâ’ifa fî masâ’il al-usûl) from al-Qushayri’s Risala ila al-Sufiyya (Translated with Notes by DR. G.F. Haddad)

A summary,

[16] Shaykh Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami – Allah have mercy on him! – told us: I heard Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ghalib say: I heard Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Sa‘id al-Isfanjani say: al-Husayn ibn Mansur said: “You must categorically consider all to be contingent, for pre-existence belongs to Him [alone].

[17] “All that appears through body is necessarily an accident (‘arad).

[18] “That whose assemblage comes about through cause-and-effect (al-adât) is held together through its powers (quwâhâ).

[19] “All that comes together at one time, goes into dispersion at another time.

[20] “All that something else causes to subsist is characterized by dependency.

[21] “All that imagination can possibly apprehend can be pictured.

[22] “All that is contained is subject to ‘where.’

[23] “And all that has a genus is the object of a modality.

[24] “No ‘above’ shades Him – Exalted is He! – nor does any ‘below’ carry Him.

[25] “No limit/direction faces Him (walâ yuqâbiluhu hadd) nor does any ‘at’ (‘ind) beset Him.

[26] “He is not confined by any ‘behind’ nor limited by any ‘before’.

[27] “No ‘before’ caused Him to appear nor did any ‘after’ cause Him to vanish.

[28] “No ‘all’ gathered Him.

[29] “No ‘He is’ brought Him into existence (lam yûjidhu kân).

[30] “No ‘He is not’ can cause Him to be missed (walam yufqidhu lays).

[31] “His description: He has none (wasfuhu lâ sifata lahu).

[32] “His act has no cause (‘illa).

[33] “His being has no duration (amad).

[34] “He is transcendent beyond the states of His creatures: there is not for Him the least deliberation (mizâj) in His creation, nor working (‘ilâj) in His acts.

[35] “He is clearly separate from them by His pre-existence (bâyanahum biqidamih) just as they are clearly separate from Him by their contingent nature (kamâ bâyanûh bihudûthihim).

[36] “If you ask ‘When?’ – His being is before Time.

[37] “Should you say, ‘hû’ – the letters hâ’ and wâw are but His creation.

[38] “And if you say, ‘Where?’ – His existence precedes Place.

[39] “So letters are His Signs (fal-hurûfu âyâtuhu);

[40] “His existence is the affirmation of Him (wujûduhu ithbâtuh);

[41] “Gnosis of Him is the upholding of His Oneness (ma‘rifatuhu tawhîduh);

[42] “and His Tawhîd is to distinguish Him clearly from His creatures.

[43] “Whatever you imagine in your imaginings, He is different from that (mâ tusawwiru fil-awhâmi fahuwa bikhilâfih).

[44] “How can that which He Himself began analyze Him? (kayfa yahullu bihi mâ minhu bada’ahu).

[45] “Or how can that be part of Him which He Himself gave rise to? (aw ya‘ûdu ilayhi mâ huwa ansha’ahu).

[46] “The pupils of the eyes cannot see Him.

[47] “Nor can conjectures apprehend Him.

[49] “His nearness is His generosity (qurbuhu karâmatuhu).

[50] “His distance is His contempt (wabu‘duhu ihânatuhu).

[51] His elevation is without ascent (‘uluwwuhu min ghayri tawaqqul).

[52] His coming is without displacement (wamajî’uhu min ghayri tanaqqul).

[53] The Near (al-qarîb), the Far (al-ba‘îd).

~ + ~

On Allah (God),
On Allah (God), as quoted in Doctrine of Sufis (1977) by Abû Bakr al- Kalâbâdî, as translated by A. J. Arberry
Taken from Khamush poetry site.

Hallaj says about God:

"Before" does not outstrip Him,
"after" does not interrupt Him
"of" does not vie with Him for precedence
"from" does not accord with Him
"to" does not join with Him
"in" does not inhabit Him
"when" does not stop Him
"if" does not consult with Him
"over" does not overshadow
Him "under" does not support Him
"opposite" does not face Him
"with" does not press Him
"behind" does not limit Him
"previous" does not display Him
"after" does not cause Him to pass away
"all" does not unite Him
"is" does not bring Him into being
"is not" does not deprive Him from Being.
Concealment does not veil Him
His pre-existence preceded time,
His being preceded non-being,
His eternity preceded limit.
If thou sayest 'when',
His existing has outstripped time;
If thou sayest 'before', before is after Him;
If thou sayest 'he', 'h' and 'e' are His creation;
If thou sayest 'how', His essence is veiled from description;
If thou sayest 'where', His being preceded space;
If thou sayest 'ipseity' (ma huwa),
His ipseity (huwiwah) is apart from things.
Other than He cannot
be qualified by two (opposite) qualities at
one time; yet With Him they do not create opposition.
He is hidden in His manifestation,
manifest in His concealing.
He is outward and inward,
near and far; and in this respect He is
removed beyond the resemblance of creation.
He acts without contact,
instructs without meeting,
guides without pointing.
Desires do not conflict with Him,
thoughts do not mingle with Him:
His essence is without qualification (takyeef),
His action without effort (takleef).

~ + ~

Ignorant Love

2010-02-05T17:26:00.002+05:00

You never have loved me.
Have loved yourself in fact.
for comfort and leisure,

Flashing golds, sparkling lights.
not the warmth of the protecting arm,
not the simplicity of lover's heart!

Had you loved me,
then why should have forced the things
to outdo the exhausted values.

Why had not changed yourself for the truth,
to become simply mine.
Perhaps one day will realize!

©Afterwind Poetry

How to avoid from sin! ... Part 1

2010-01-02T17:19:00.020+05:00

photo source: see below

'Run from sexual sin!..'

The man is powerful and sin is weak when he is at a far distance from it intitially. And it is the best time, place and opportunity of protection it. The holy text and inspirational teaching suggest to keep onself away from sin, both physically and mentally.

1.
Christian scholar Saint Paul teaches:

"Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."
- (1st Corinthians 6:18-20)

"Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper."

- Song of Solomon (proverbs 23:31-32)

O my son, give me your heart.
May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
A prostitute is a dangerous trap;
a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
She hides and waits like a robber,
eager to make more men unfaithful

- Song of Solomon (proverbs 23:26-28)

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3.
On Pakistani roads, one may find rear-side of auto-rikshaws, buses and trucks bearing a beautiful collection of religious verses, moral quotes, or inspirational poetry, which often offers a beautifully painted montage-like view to eyes. I saw one, which I have with a more-or-less effort tried to render in my own words as in the following;

'O son, always run away from the sin,
and this is the only way to avoid it.
Run away from it, as you run off a cobra, hissing, spreading its hood
for if you get closer,
It will snatch on you
to sting.. .

and then will be a very less chance of saving!'

¬+¬

Prophet Joseph (or Yousuf) was purchased as a slave, and the wife of his master invited her to sin, but he ran away in order to save his clean. After reading Quranic verse, we come to know that the phrphet Joseph 'sought refuge in God' and 'rushed off'! So, two things are worth-noting: asking God's help and personal endeavor (running off the evil). Verily, no one can truly be saved except with the help of Allah.

Quran tells Joseph's story:

"And she, in whose house he was, asked of him an evil act. She bolted the doors and said: Come! He said: I seek refuge in Allah! Lo! he is my lord, who hath treated me honourably. Lo! wrong-doers never prosper.(012.023 ) She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves. (012.024) And they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind, and they met her lord and master at the door. She said: What shall be his reward, who wisheth evil to thy folk, save prison or a painful doom? (012.025)"

¬+¬

notes:

*photo source: http://www.balticmill.com/whatsOn/past/ExhibitionDetail.php?exhibID=20

*peacock rickshaw photo source:

*Song of Solomon proverbs translation version: New Living Translation

Education and confidence

2009-12-16T19:21:00.005+05:00

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."

- Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Dealing with human sufferings

2009-12-03T12:23:00.038+05:00

by Tariq Rasheed

Since the very beginning of his stay on the earth, the life of the human has always been fraught with many sufferings, torments, difficulties and pains. Which psychological, behavioral or other approaches were available to him in order to deal with it, and what consoled his existence to make his life peaceful and calm.

i. Escape from illusion;

ii. balance rules;

iii. meditation of totality;

iv. face, fight and theory of tempest

Escape

Life is a suffering (or in Indian language, dukha) and the best solution is the complete escape from it. The suffering causes anguish. And what exactly is anguish? Anguish is birth, suffering, pain, sorrow, sickness, disease, old age, decay, death, grief, despair, poverty, evil, lamentations, woe, tribulations, misfortune, war, insanity, hunger, unfulfilled wants, unfulfilled basic needs, association with the unwanted, disassociation from the wanted, and is what is unstable and uncontrollable.

PATH OF ESCAPE is a solution to get rid of anguish. How to escape? Does this mean escape from your own existence? no.. it means the escape from the dream, from the illusion, from the impermanent, which cause the suffering. This is a typical conclusion reached by many masters and teachers. The philosophy, religion or thought, arising from India, gave the solution of escape, which was further propagated by Buddha in the form of Buddhi dharmaha. Buddha also taught the path of escape for those seeking the permanent end here and now of all anguish.

That what has been created is impermanent; and that whatever is impermanent is inherently ILL. It is a dream. And chasing of dreams makes sufferings. No permanent bliss or happiness is to be found in what is impermanent, only pain and peril.

"Buddha said that all is illusory. Eating, dressing, every thing is illusory. Become more aware. see the illusoriness and dreaminess of the world, all is maya [illusion]. become more aware, and dont try to find how to get out of it, because how the one can get out of a dream. one simple becomes aware and one is out .. Have you seen any body getting out of dream? Dream is unreal! how you can get out of it! The miracle is how you enter in it. Because it is not there and you entered. And now you are creating more trouble for yourself asking how to get out of it. The same way you entered get out of it! How you entered into a dream by believing that that is real. That the way how one listen to it by believing that this is real. So simple, drop the dream and see that this is not real, and you are out of the dream. There is no step to get out of a dream, no step to get out, no methods. Buddha would have said, that look that whole life is dream and you are out of it."

- adopted from Guru Osho's work

RIGHT MINDFULNESS

The Buddha says that the Dhamma, the ultimate truth of things, is directly visible, timeless, calling out to be approached and seen. He says further that it is always available to us, and that the place where it is to be realized is within oneself.[1]

Mindfulness (Pali: sati; Sanskrit: smṛti स्मृति) calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself.[2] Right mindfulness is knowing which unintentionally follows actions, allowing events to happen naturally first, then aware of them. This leads to realising the nature of things as they truly are. Mental suffering occurs only when one is unmindful. Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of the Buddha where it is affirmed that "correct" or "right" mindfulness (Pali:sammā-sati; Sanskrit samyak-smṛti) is the critical factor in the path to liberation and subsequent enlightenment. This is the path for the purification of being, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, & for the realization of Unbinding.

It is to contemplate the world as illusion, impermanent, ill and a dream. To grow dispassion, total detachment, calm, tranquility, seeing that everything is not Self. Putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. To remain focused on feelings in & of themselves. And the mind in & of itself. And mental qualities in & of themselves.

Notes:

http://phramick.wordpress.com/the-final-con/samma-sati-right-mindfulness/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness/

Why we should not do sin?

2009-11-05T13:55:00.012+05:00

Many people might be thinking why we should not do sin, what can possibly be the main reason behind this!

1. What is Sin!
Islam sees sin ("khati'a") as anything that goes against the will of Allah (God). Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that "the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy" and that even the prophets do not absolve themselves of the blame [Qur'an 12:53 ].

One of Allah's greatest gifts is the gift of moral guidance through revelation. If we follow it, it brings the greatest benefits in this life and the next. It is in trying to do this that our intentions are purified and it is by our intentions that we are judged.

“Righteousness is good morality and sin is that which causes discomfort (or pinches) within your soul and which you dislike people to become informed of.” [Sahih Muslim]

( Read in detail about Sin in Islam: What is sin in Islam? )

continued.. .

Sources:
1.
Sin (wikipedia)
What is sin in Islam?
The general concept of sin in Islam

Human Nature: can be changed?

2009-10-16T09:27:00.026+06:00

Difficult Nature

There is a famous Sufi fable (Story 5, Golestan of Saadi) of Shaikh Saadi. In this story,

Instead of punishing with capital punishment, the caliph released a young innocent-looking dacoit on a kind minister's request and put him on probation under supervision of that minister. That boy exhibited good results under the cultured environment, but soon he returned to his old nature, and started sitting in the bad company. He fled after killing the kind minister, and returned to the same abode of robbers where he used to reside previously.

Shaikh Saadi has discussed the fact that it is useless to make efforts on changing someone's nature, because he will easily return to his old traits.

Restraint

"Haya" (or shame) plays an important role in survival. It is a contant of faith, as an Islamic tradition pronounce 'the shame is a part from faith' (Al-hayau minal Eiman). It creates a reluctance in the beginner, and responsibility in the penitent.

Punjabi language has an idiom: "the reveal is fallen" (Jhaka Lath Jana). If first time is done, then second time will be easy, and without reluctance. It is very easy for a previously habitual to revert to his old activities. He must have a strong faith and will power!

Education for change and the role of family

Ataul Haq Qasimi is a famous linguist of Urdu language. He also has put some light on this subject in his Urdu column. The psychiatrist are of the opinion that the evolutions in the man's basic personally is completed until 7 years old. After this, the changes of little nature can normally be expected, but it is least possible for any basic change to occur. So, sometimes the childhood sense of deprivations and bad company spread into the whole personality like a cancer. And if this disease is of inherited nature (family habit) then there is no way of survival. The venal herds placed within our all strata could not receive the education from their family, which could teach them to differentiate between the livelihood well-earned by fair means (Rizq-i-Halah) and the black money (Rizq-i-Haram/forbidden by Allah).

Ishq (Love/Eros): The Revolutionary Power of Crisis can Bring Change

It is very difficult to change a man's nature. But with a crisis. The power of crisis can put a human into the personal revolution. For example, you may meet a rogue person today. And then he disappears from the scene for months. And then you happen to come across the same person in future, and you would get surprised to find him totally changed. A kind, and well-mannered person. This means, some changed happened on him. Some crisis might have come in his life. Maybe the love.. or some other.

The best of crises is that of love and the pain of it. It may bring a change in human nature.

Love is the ark appointed for the righteous,
Which annuls the danger and provides a way of escape.
Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.
Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition.
~ Rumi

Iqbal and the Theory of Tempest

The great Indian poet and dreamer of Pakistan, Hazrat Allama Iqbal, also taught the same passion in his Urdu and Persian poems, and how to acquire this revolution:

Khuda tujhe kissi toofan say aashna kar day
Keh tere behr ki mojon main izterab naheen.
Tujhe kitab say mumkin nahin faragh keh too
Kitab khawan hay magar sahib-e-kitab nahin.
~ Iqbal

May God set you in propinquity to some tempest,
for the currents of your sea are devoid of agitation.
The book (Quran) cannot be your salvation,
for, you are only its (mere) recitalist; not a man-of-book (or, never followed or acted on it).

Ta kuja tawaf-e-charagh-e-mehfale
Zeaatish-e-khud soz agar dari dilay
~ Iqbal

How long this circling round the assembly’s fire? Then burn yourself in your own fire,
Have you a heart?

Aye Amine as amanat bekhabar
Gham makhur under zameerey khud niger
~ Iqbal

you the trustee is oblivious of the great treasure that has been bestowed upon you, Don’t despair, look inward, to see what lies within you.

Invitation to Change: The Sufi Principle of Acceptance, love and generosity:

Acceptance (of every human) is an Islamic idea. Untouchability or hatred is not allowed. The Sufi teachers (Shaikh) are the one who adopted this teaching of Islam, and opened their doors for everyone despite from any religion or caste or colour. They never got disappointed from the human nature. They believed that one day the stone will bear vegetation. They worked hard on the hearts of the people and turned them into gold with the power of love. They never outcasted or degraded any person on the basis of any fault or defect , which was not his own chosen, or out of his knowledge.

It was famous saying that no one go back empty-handed from the generous threshold of a Shaikh. A thief once broke into a Sufi Shaikh 's home. The Shaikh caught him red handed. The generous Shaikh did not wanted him go empty-hand, but his home had nothing as valuables. Only a thing he could give was 'the status of the Qutb' (the highest-ranking saint, the focal point of all spiritual energy). He made a thief the Qutb of time.

They never refuse anyone. They invite the people to Allah. They love everyone and impart to anyone, who asks for the freshness of wisdom, spiritual peace and cordial satisfaction.

Come, come, whoever you are.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
~ Rumi

Half a bit of true love

2009-10-03T16:22:00.024+06:00

Once while passing upon a garden, a pious friend of God saw a young man who was watering the plants. The youth requested him to bestow on him a bit from the love (Ishq/Eros) for Allah. He replied that it was too big to carry. Then the young man asked for half of a bit. He accepted his request and prayed for him. And Allah accepted his prayer. Then the God's friend left the place and carried on his walk.

Time passed, and once again he passed upon the same garden, but that young man was absent. He prayed from Allah to meet that man. The boy came, with eyes gazing at the sky. He remained silent, neither he replied the his Salam (farewell words), nor talked any word with him, but remained silent. A sound seemed coming from the heavens and declaring the actual reason for his silence.

The same reason, as the beautiful words sing:

How can he listen to others,
he who knows Me for a while!
whose heart is carrying My love
- even half a bit of it.

he will never feel any pain,
if you cut him into two,
.. absorbed in My love!

...

Previous relevant posts:
- A commentary on the Rumi's wine of love
- Both Right
- Same
- Lost but faithful
- Broken Heart.. a disease?
- Once in a blue moon (he became a loser for the love)

Meditation on Divine love

2009-09-14T13:12:00.015+06:00

----------------------------------
"Out beyond the ideas of
wrongdoing andright doing, there is a
field. I will meet you
there"

-----------------------------------
Rumi~

"O my Lord, Sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee"

- Isha Upanishad

mediation on Divine Love:

I used to do the following meditation, and I remember, these became the most memorable and joyous moments of my life. In the last few hours of night, before breaking up of the early morning. It is the time when the blessings and mercies of Allah can be felt showering on the world at a close distance.. and very fresh feeling can be caught on by the normal senses (even though if the mind was tired and sleepless whole night). The place feels to be filled with freshness and cool light (or Nur) peaceful to heart, which can be seen with the open eyes of heart. The freshness of such night-time multiplies in the sacred month of Ramadan.

Such silent hours are replete with resplendent moments of timeless ecstasy and full of the pleasures of the Divine intimacy. These proactive moments can be made great by offering prayer (Salat Tahajjud) to Allah. As prayer is a devotional meditation, in which the man is in meeting with Allah and he can whisper share his secrets and intimacies with the Allah. Reading the holy scripture Quran, or Sufi writings is also enlightening. Sufi or slow instrumental - like whirling dervish's flute, or sitar music may also be used to elicit the spiritual feelings, contemplation on the true love of Allah, and meditation on the Divine manifestation.

Rise early at dawn, when our storytelling begins.
In the dead of the night, when all other doors are locked,
the door for the Lovers to enter opens.
Be wide awake in the dark when Lovers
begin fluttering around the Beloved's window,
like homing pigeons arriving with flaming bodies.

~Abu-Said Ibn Abil-Kheir

The story of failure and a big man

2009-09-13T19:35:00.017+06:00

"With God's help I shall not fail"

The litany of failures, punctuated his life throughout 30 years, is a living and eloquent example of successful use of defeat in achieving victory. His record is as follows:

Lost job, 1832
Got defeated for legislature, 1832
Failed in business, 1833
Elected to legislature, 1834
Beloved one (his allegedly first love) died, 1835
Experienced nervous breakdown, 1836
Defeated for Speaker, 1838
Tried for nomination in a political party Congress and lost, 1843
Elected to Congress, 1846
Lost renomination, 1848
Applied for post of land officer and got rejected, 1849
Contested for senate and lost, 1854
Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
Again contested for senate and lost, 1858

and 2 years later

Got elected President of U.S., 1860

Abraham Lincoln was a man of principles and was a man of commitment withto his purpose. He struggled for himself , for his family and he struggled for the reintegration of the states of his country, he struggled on and on, until the last breath of his life..., when he was 56 in Washington, D.C. and got shot by an assassin.

he said:
------------------------
"God selects His own instruments, and sometimes they are queer ones; for instance, He chose me to steer the ship through a great crisis."

- - Abraham Lincoln - Man of God, By John W. Hill, P. 221

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

"I shall not do more than I can, and I shall do all I can to save the government, which is my sworn duty as well as my personal inclination. I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing."
--From the July 28, 1862 Letter to Cuthbert Bullitt ?

"If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."

--The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House by Francis B. Carpenter (Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1995), pp. 258-259.

Relevant Posts:
- General quotes about hard work and struggle
- Teach him...... (Abraham Lincoln's advices to the teacher of his son)

Passion of The Hallaj

2009-09-11T18:56:00.002+06:00

As his Guide, al-Junayd came to know everything about al-Hallaj's heart, which was very sensitive and exactly like that of a child. He knew his soul and what Allah, Most High, had created in his spirit. He saw that this new student was an especially ecstatic and passionate (`ashiq) lover with a very pure Eye, who was completely in love with everything about his Beloved from Whom he feared to be separated for a moment.

In al-Hallaj's case the Secret of the Love seized and intoxicated his entire being. His longing and yearning for Allah was such that only in his total destruction by Him could he find the Union which was the sole purpose and goal of his life. This was the Beauty (al-jamal) and the Majesty (al-jalal) of his bondsmanship to Allah, and like a great river flowing from its source to the ocean, nothing could hinder or stop its course.

Al-Hallaj, while he was still a youth said,
"And already love had engraved Him in my heart with its red-hot iron of desire-what a branding!"

The Love of Allah meant for al-Hallaj that: "You remain standing in front of your Beloved when your qualities are destroyed, and when your existence has disappeared in His Existence." Remembering the hadith of the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him: Nothing loves Allah by any action which is more pleasing to Him than loving Him, al-Hallaj said, "Suffering is He Himself, whereas happiness comes from Him."

Al-Hallaj, who accustomed himself to suffering, did not mean by the necessity of suffering that this was the returning of the human being, through Allah's Majesty (jalal) to be as he was before he was, which was how al-Junayd had spoken about the Love. Al-Hallaj saw the meaning of suffering through the Love as the way by which the human being could come through the deep Secret Love (al-`ishq) to taste the essence of the Essence of Allah, and the meaning of the Secret of the Creation. Passionate overflowing love (`ishq) meant for al-Hallaj the ever-moving, creating and recreating Love by which all is destroyed in order to be brought back again to further tasting of the Essence, and a higher state of ecstasy and annihilation.

Al-Hallaj's spirit would not allow him to stay for long in any place,
and he felt called again to travel to distant places. He said, "Now I am
going to the lands of many gods to call men to Allah." So he took a boat to
India and from there he travelled to China.

When someone asked him about the Unity of Allah (at-tawhid), he answered him: "Allah, Most High, is the very One Who Himself affirms His Unity by the tongue of whomsoever of His creatures He wishes. If He affirms HisUnity in my tongue it is He Who does so, and it is His Affair. Otherwise, my brother, I myself have nothing to do with affirming Allah's Unity." Here al-Hallaj was not speaking from any humanity, but with the tongue of the Unity. In his presence he was in fact always affirming Allah's Unity, but in his heart he knew that no matter to how many different places he travelled to bring the people to Allah, still his witnessing would not be completed. So it was that, moved by this burning desire which he saw could not be fulfilled except in the total destruction of his very existence, he broke his discipline of silence, and tore aside the Veil to reveal the hidden Secret. Thus his need and longing to eliminate the I am between himself and his Beloved God took on a more open form.

There is a story told by one of al-Hallaj's young followers, Ibrahim ibn Fatik: One day I went to see my Master al-Hallaj at a house belonging to him; and I arrived at a moment when he was in a state of absence. I saw him standing on his head saying, "You Who make me near to You by Your Presence, and Who set me at a distance by Your Absence, as far as is Eternity from time, You manifest Yourself to me so that I think of You as the All, and You withdraw Yourself from me until I deny Your Existence. But Your Absence does not continue, and Your Presence does not suffice. War with You does not succeed, and peace with You is not secure."

He said in a poem:

"The long-awaited revealing of a well-kept secret
is becoming clear to you.
A dawn is breaking on your darkness.
Your own heart is the veil covering the Secret.
If you had kept yourself
He would not have been revealed to you.
But when you destroy your own heart
He enters it and discloses His holy revelation.
So, guarded by this revelation,
an ever-nourishing dialogue will follow
Its verse and prose delicious to Us both."

Increasingly the delicious meanings of his ecstatic states took possession of him until he reached a point where the two states of belief and unbelief had disappeared in the Majesty (jalal) of Allah's Decree for him, so that finally he came to be called an unbeliever by those who could not understand. For how could there be any meeting-place between he who loves through the ecstasy of annihilation and he who loves by the outside Law?

In a chapter of his Kitab at-Tawasin, al-Hallaj drew a parallel between the hadith of the Prophet, (peace be upon him) who said: "Die before you die," and a moth which is attracted to the flame of a candle. It circles the flame and little by little approaches it until in the end it is burned by it. He compared himself to the moth which does not want either the light or the candle or its heat, but only to throw itself into the flame. This was exactly the same, he said, as his own case with the Love of his Beloved God-to throw himself into the Fire of the Love, and to be consumed by It. For at the moment of being consumed he would reach the completed Perfection of the Order of Allah for him, and the Reality of his true existence in Him.

He, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote in his Diwan:

"There is no longer between me and the Truth (al-haqq),
Explanation, nor proof, nor signs to convince me.
Here shines out the vision of God, like a flame
Resplendent in its dazzling sovereignty.
Only he knows God to whom He makes Himself known.
The ephemeral, which passes away with time,
Cannot know what is Eternal
So that the Creator can no longer be removed
>From what He has created.
Do you not see this temporal being turned away from Him
For the remainder of time?
The proof is His, from Him, towards Him
And in Him the Witness itself,
Of the Reality in a revelation,
Which distinguishes the good from the evil.
His is the proof, from Him, in Him and for Him.
In truth we have found It,
Even as a science in Its outer manifestation.
Such is my existence, my evidence and my conviction.
Such is the Oneness of my proclaiming His Unity, my belief!
Thus do those express themselves who are One in Him,
And who know Him, in secret and in public.
This is the summit of existence of those
Who are intoxicated by Allah, the sons of the People of God,
The companions of my soul!"
~+~

Picked and edited work from the
work: http://www.sufimaster.org/husayn.htm

Teach him...... (Abraham Lincoln's advices to the teacher of his son)

2009-08-10T09:16:00.008+06:00

in a latter he wrote to his son's teacher;

"He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel, there is a hero; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader."

"Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. It will take time, I know; But teach him, if you can that a dollar earned is of far more valuable than five found.... Teach him to learn to loose and also to enjoy winning, steer him away from envy, if you can. Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to kick...Teach him, if you can the wonder of books...but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill-side."

"In school teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat...Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong...Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon. Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through."

"Teach him, if you can how to laugh when he is sad...Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness...Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob...and to stand and fight if he thinks he's right."

"Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient....let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in mankind."

"This is a big order; but see what you can do...he is such a fine little fellow, my son.........."

Abraham Lincoln

Relevant post:
- The story of failure and a big man

Afterwind's story: Happiness laughed in my ear

2009-08-06T17:06:00.011+06:00

Sorrow looted this heart,

and Your Love threw it to the winds.

This is how the secret which saints and seers were denied

was whispered to me.

- Abu Said Abil Kheir

~ + ~

Love came and emptied me of self,

every vein and every pore,

made into a container to be filled by the Beloved.

Of me, only a name is left,

the rest is You my Friend, my Beloved.

- Abu Said Abil Kheir

Some recommendations to dispel the poverty

2009-08-03T11:40:00.014+06:00

How does the religion fights against the poverty? Islam always press on the importance of the hard work by declaring 'God helps those who help themselves'. Besides, personal endeavor and inspiration of hard work, it also adds some spiritual solutions in the fight against the poverty. Lets see how!

photo by Will Croff

Al-Waq'ia
Al-Waqʿia (The Inevitable) is the 56th chapter of the Quran. It's recital provides a safeguard against poverty. [Recite]

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) said,

"Whoever recites surah al Waqiah at night would never encounter poverty"
[Ibn as-Sunni 620, Bayhaqi]

The Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) also said:

"Surah al Waqiah is the Surah of Wealth, so recite it and teach it to your children" [Ibn Asakir]

Other verses of Quran:

Ayat Al-Kursi or verse of the Chair is verse number 255 of the chapter 2. Reciting it every time returning home keeps away poverty. [Recite]

I read from somewhere that, when leaving home, if one recites Ayat al-Kursi, then Allah will send 70,000 Angels to as forgiveness from God for him until he returns home, and upon his return Poverty will be removed from him.

It is also said, whoever recites the first 4 verses of Al-Baqarah , then Al-Kursi and then the last 3 verses of Al-Baqarah, will not be inflicted with any kind of difficulty in his wealth or himself, Satan will not come near him and he will not forget the Qur'an.

Sadaqah

Sadaqah is an Islamic term that means "voluntary charity". Normally, it meanss the alms or support given to the poor and needy. Sadaqah may also include the general acts of charity, that even it includes growing trees near roadsides with an intention to provide the shadow to travellers in summers.

Sadaqah is a business with God. The people who give charities or Sadaqah, God showers His blessings on them, and return every Sadaqah with multiplications. Ali, the door of the city of knowledge said:

When you get wary of the worldly destitution and no way of income appear, then do business with Allah by giving alms.

Marriage

Marriage is a joining of two fortunes. Since Allah has already fixed the livelihood of every human being in their fate. So, the wife brings the luck of her part in the new home.

A few reasons for poverty

I searched online these some 41 reasons which cause poverty to come. I already have seen some of these reasons on a pamphlet (I wonder if such things could be listed under the name 'public mysticism') pasted in some public barbershop or elsewhere in Islamabad. Maybe they have any reference or source of authentication, but as my endeavors are concerned, I could not find any authentic reference or note belonging to the presumption that these 41 reasons have any relation to the poverty. Anyhow, to the extent of their own nature as being the fair or unfair, permissible or impermissible, these acts or omissions have been addresses by the religion. For example, the act of pissing while standing (it cause clothes be dirty) or the act of nail biting (it is not beautiful behavior) are disliked by Islamic belief system. On the other hand, pamphlet declared these acts to be causing poverty.

These 41 reasons as being 'causes of poverty' touches the heart. It follows as under:

1. By not reading Namaaz and Quran.
2. By reading Quran without ablution.
3. By calling parents by their names or disrespecting them.
4. To be annoyed with receiving visitors.
5. By being unkind to relatives.
6. To hit and scold your children without reason.
7. To eat without saying 'Bismillah' (in the name of God).
8. To eat without washing the hands.
9. To eat while head uncovered or with the left hand.
10. To eat near a deceased or in the dark.
11. To leave food uncovered.
12. To delay food that has been already served.
13. To leave dishes unwashed after eating.
14. To wash your hands in eating utensils.
15. To take a false oath.
16. To talk of worldly things in the Musjid (place of worship) or during Wudhu (ablution).
17. To sleep until the sun rises.
18. To sleep between Maghrib and Esha (It is the time when the sun has set but night hasn't come yet).
19. To sleep naked.
20. To urinate in the bathroom.
21. To go to the toilet with head uncovered.
22. To talk in the toilet.
23. To pass urine or stool on a pathway or under a tree.
24. To laugh in a cemetery.
25. To use broken utensils.
26. To use a broken comb.
27. For ladies to remain with the head uncovered.
28. To stand and comb or tie the hair.
29. To sweep at night.
30. To sweep the house and keep the dirt in the house.
31. To keep long nails, of bite one's nails.
32. To sew torn clothes on the body.
33. To have a haircut while one haven't took bath after sex with spouse.
34. To keep the pubic hairs more than forty days.
35. To put off a flame by blowing it.
36. To sit on the stoop of the house.
37. To leave shoes upside down and not straighten it.
38. To leave spider cob-webs in the house.
39. To burn the peel of garlic or onions.
40. Not to help a person in trouble at night.
41. It has been mentioned by some pious persons that to be intimate with the wife on Saturday after sunset till Sunday morning and on Tuesday after sunset till Wednesday morning is not regarded as a good time. They said that if the wife becomes pregnant in this time they there is a risk of sickness and bad habits in the child.

If anyone know any other reason of poverty or add any reference in '41 reasons', then one is welcomed in the "comments". Thank you

~Afterwind~

Poem: It is a party of night, prepare the tavern

2009-07-29T15:46:00.013+06:00

محفل ِ شب ہے سجادو میخانہ
پلا پلا کے مجھے بنا دو میخانہ

آج شب بھر شمع نہ بجھنے دو
لہو پلاؤ اسے، جلادو پروانہ

شراب تھوڑی سی بہادو روزن سے
تیری دہلیز پہ کب سے کھڑا ہے دیوانہ

تیری گلی سے گزر کے زاہد بدمست ہوا
کیسا پردہ تیرا، کیسا شرمانا

میرے نشے کی آخر کوئی انتہا تو ہو
توڑ دو ساغر سارے جلادو میخانہ

ساقی ساغر ہے تیرا میرا رشتہ
معطرنظریں میریں، پاک تیرا میخانہ

رمز ِ توحید آج آشکارہ ہوجائے
شہر ِ جنوں میں بہادو میخانہ

شاعر: (آفٹرونڈ) طارق رشید

Translation:

It is a party of night, prepare the tavern
give me, give me drink so much, make me tavern myself

don't let the candle blow out tonight
feed her the drink of blood, though at expense of caterpillar's life

pour some drink from the window
since how long at Your threshold, see, is standing a madman

even the pious forget his wits while crossing Your street
what a face-veiling is your this!!? what kind of blushing is this?

there should also be some ending of my narcosis
shatter all the chalices, burn the tavern off

oh, the Host, chalice is relation between You and me..
my eyes are fragrant with respect, Your tavern is sacred and clean

let the secret of Oneness (monotheism) be exposed today,
spill the wines of love in the city of passion!

(a poem of Afterwind)

Sincerity has value, repenting brings sainthood

2009-07-26T12:26:00.013+06:00

photo by rebelot

یہ منظوم دعا میں نے ماضی میں لکھی تھی، شائع کررہا ہوں۔ امید ہے آپ کی روحانی ضرورتوں کو پورا کرے گی۔ (آفٹر ونڈ) طارق رشید

اخلاص کی قیمت ہے تیرے دربار میں مولا
توبہ سے ولایت ہے تیرے سنسار میں مولا

اِن بھیگی نگاہوں سے دو قطرے گراکر
لایا ہوں حضور تیرے دربار میں مولا

تو دیتا رہا اتنا کہ شُکر بھی کم تھا
ہر لحظہ تیرے حضور شرمسار میں مولا

سرکار (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) کی سنت میں رنگ تیرا ہے
آجائے تیرا رنگ میرے کردار میں مولا

دنیا سے اُٹھانا مجھے در ِ حالتِ سجدہ
اور مے بھی پلانا تیرے دیدار کی مولا

......

Translation: Sincerity has worth in Your court, O Lord

Sincerity has worth in Your court, O Lord
Repentance may convert sinners into saints, in Your this world, O Lord

Two droplets after shedding from these wet eyes,
I have have brought them to present in the court of Your Majesty!

You kept giving off to me so much , that even my frustrated thankfulness became answer-less!
Every moment, I feel shy in front of You, O Lard

The tradition or practice of Muhammad (upon him peace) reflects Your light,
Would that that light also reflect into my character! O Lard

When will the time of leaving come, lift my soul in my state of prostration during the practice of prayer,
And also quench my thirst with the wine of manifestation (theophany/divine disclosure) of Your beauty!

(a poem of Afterwind)

Fear from the shadow of darkness is false! There is No End!

2009-07-24T12:11:00.021+06:00

Why our moods get off, when there comes any account of graveyard? Why a deep melancholy and sensation of blank stillness covers our thoughts during attending a funeral? Why everything seems stopped and our heart starts lamenting over the short-life of happiness? we are craving for the light, cheers, beauty, motion, cackles and shinning light: in short the Alchemy! ? Is there any end?

photo uploaded by Thiago Leon

Our soul loves the light, and hate the dead stillness, sorrow, and the fear of getting lost into the dark and unknown nothingness! Now let's try to resolve this code!

The logic we follow is the big answer! We have developed a wrong logic. Our mathematics starts from "Zero" or nothingness. The principals of math developed on the basis of the "experiences" and the "imaginations". In other words, the harsh realities mixed with our soft modifiable imaginations, and we made a philosophy - The philosophy of mathematics. This philosophy says that every thing starts from zero or nothingness! It is unable to see the existence beyond the zero! If you go deep beyond zero, there will come -1, and then -2, and then -3, and so on -, if "-" or "negativity" denotes the the 'nothingness', then this nothingness will keep on growing as far in negative direction, you go beyond zero. Science so far is rejecting the nothingness.

As to the findings of the science so far, matter can not be deleted. Any how, it can be transformed into energy. It has been unable to find the proof of "nothingness", since the death of the matter or energy has never observed so far! And this is a spot where the spirituality starts answering.

According to Islamic ideology, whatever we have and see now is existence. Existence never started from zero. Rather, it started from "the perfection" - The God!

Allah (The Only One God) was always there. Even it is not better to say Him to be first or last of the sequence, because he is not part of any sequence which could start from zero or finish somewhere. He is from ever, and forever! If there were any 'nothingness or zero' available, then it would lie somewhere in between His 'from ever' and forever. But not before or after Him. Because He is the First and the Last, and whether 'existence'(everything) or 'nothingness(nothing) could never transcend His Highness. So, we are able to make a following formula.

Allah ------ 0 ------ 1,2,3,4,5....

Allah --- Nothingness ---> Creation (Existence) ---> Forever (Will of God)!!

God gave order and then nothingness came into being, then He ordered the existence (like universe) to come into being. So, we are able to say that both nothingness and existence are Will or Order of God.

A great mystic saint of Islam Hazrat Manzur Ibn-e-Hallaj (R.A) ventured to explain about the Tawheed, (or Monotheism) of God as follow:

Al-Hallaj says about Allah:

"Before" does not outstrip Him,
"after" does not interrupt Him
"of" does not vie with Him for precedence
"from" does not accord with Him
"to" does not join with Him
"in" does not inhabit Him
"when" does not stop Him
"if" does not consult with Him
"over" does not overshadow Him
"under" does not support Him
"opposite" does not face Him
"with" does not press Him
"behind" does not limit Him
"previous" does not display Him
"after" does not cause Him to pass away
"all" does not unite Him
"is" does not bring Him into being
"is not" does not deprive Him from Being.
Concealment does not veil Him
His pre-existence preceded time,
His being preceded non-being,
His eternity preceded limit.
If thou sayest 'when',
His existing has outstripped time;
If thou sayest 'before', before is after Him;
If thou sayest 'he', 'h' and 'e' are His creation;
If thou sayest 'how', His essence is veiled from description;
If thou sayest 'where', His being preceded space;
If thou sayest 'ipseity' (ma huwa),
His ipseity (huwiwah) is apart from things.
Other than He cannot
be qualified by two (opposite) qualities at
one time; yet With Him they do not create opposition.
He is hidden in His manifestation,
manifest in His concealing.
He is outward and inward,
near and far; and in this respect He is
removed beyond the resemblance of creation.
He acts without contact,
instructs without meeting,
guides without pointing.
Desires do not conflict with Him,
thoughts do not mingle with Him:
His essence is without qualification (takyeef),
His action without effort (takleef).

-Poetry of Sufi 'Al-Hallaj' taken from book, 'The Doctrine of the Sufis' by Arberry, Arthur John

~afterwind~

Realistic prayer

2009-07-21T21:12:00.013+06:00

"Might the fishes devour him, this dog of a Siddhartha, this madman, this corrupted and rotting body, this sluggish & misused soul! Might the fishes and crocodiles devour him, might the demons tear hm to little pieces"

- Herman Hesse in his book 'Siddhata'

photo by nickwheeleroz

2000 years ago, when a lot of offerings went futile, the people had got disappointed from gods and goddesses of ancient local religion, despair was reigning all over India. The spiritual thirst had been such widespread, that the people attached their hope with the ascetics and yogis, who used to go deep inside the deep forests of the terrains beside Ganges to perform practices and yoga, in order to search a dhamma (dharma) for the people, which could resolve their distress. Siddhartha Buddha went into the forests and underwent different practices and experiences. When he came back, he had with him something which what they say the healing madicine of that time: a dharma, or you say an approach, an ideology! He tought a more psychological and practical approach to the humanity, that said: instead of hiding yourself behind the superstitions, come out and face. Accept the reality of life. And when you have accepted the every minute and big difficulty as the reality of life and indispensable part of it, then by practice of pious virtues and compassion towards all, you can break come out from the repetitious tormenting cycles and eventually meet the eternal peace.

Zen Master Kyong Ho, in Thousand Peaks writes: Don't hope for life without problems. An easy life results in a judgmental and lazy end. So an ancient once said, "Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life". moreover he says: Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in disturbances".

Bible also have a say: Hope is produced by endurance through suffering (Rom. 5:2-5) and is at the same time the inspiration behind endurance and perseverance to the end (1 Thess 1:3, Hebrews 6:11; 10:22-23)

The Islamic Sufi culture spread many pearls of wisdom over times. One day i stumbled upon Javed Chaudhry's column in some urdu newspaper. The Pakistani columnist pointed out a stereotype that most of the people ask in their prayers that all the difficulties of their lives should be lifted. But the human beings who had a strong belief in Allah and they became successful, used a different and reasonable approach. Instead their prayers use be in this style: "oh, Allah! give me the enough strength to face the incumbent difficulties. and make me capable to resolve them!". These people became the conqueror of the world, and it were them who spread the word of peace and justice everywhere. This is not just matter of style, this had been keeping many important things in it.

Two styles of asking prayer were described in that column of the Pakistani journalist. I don't say that the first style is defective or false, in which the man asks the God to eliminate all difficulties. But important thing is that the second style shouldn't be ignored. As this style has a special blend of 'hope', inspiration, passion and 'commitment with the struggle'. I wonder, if the prayers asked in such manner perhaps have got much power to in the heavens, for the beauty of humanity, true sentiments and sincerity have been mixed with the request. Lets see what God says in the final testament Quran,

Nay, seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,- (Quran, 002.045)

The story of Maryam

2009-07-20T15:13:00.013+06:00

Maryam is currently running a very meaningful Sufi blog (visit Maryam's blog). While visiting Teresa's blog, I came across Maryam's visiting column counting her recollections about how she had aspired for seeking truth, and how her journey at last stopped at the threshold of Sufism, and a new way opened since then. May Allah give her the strength to remain successful on this path. I was much inspired by her account, and publishing it here for the readers.

photo by Sir Cam

~+~

Maryam:

I come from a family background that has devoted their lives to the order of Carmelites. Four great-aunts (I only met one ) lived their lives in monasteries. One will be beatified. My father was going to become a Catholic priest; but he had a change of heart, and became Protestant.

I was baptized by him.

Later, he abandoned the church and worked as a teacher. I think all of this is important for the religious impact it had on me. Since I was a child I felt that I could be very extroverted. But, at the same time, a clear sensitivity in what is known as the Higher Realm. I was very talkative, comical and yet, I had mystical feelings following a near death experience. But I was growing up, making friends with a very marked desire to learn, with an introspective nature, as well.

I did not feel religious, but I felt I could not completely express what I did not even know what to express. At home we did not speak about religion, and I developed a sense of adventure by traveling to other countries. For ten years, I lived in a beautiful, but difficult island in the Caribbean. No electricity, and only one hour and half of water. And yet I felt I was home. I learned to be strong while struggling, and that the poorest places had the richest concepts of spirituality. My staying there had a purpose. But, I did not realize it completely at that time.

I traveled to Greece, and Greece took me to Egypt. There, I would stay at the Coptic Christian monasteries and in Alexandria. I had this beautiful image of Jesus in a postcard and a rosary always with me.

When I left Egypt, I felt my soul was half dead, physically hurting me. I realized that I had an urge to go back there again. And I did, and ended up spending a year and half there.

There were people who, perhaps without realizing it, gave me their hand to help me follow the path. I spent a few months in the desert area. I always followed my heart, and never knew exactly what I was going to find, if I was ever going to find anything. But I was happy. Then, came a critical week. Something was going to change. I was afraid and I prayed, but would feel the saddest afterwards. There was a silence.

Not a sweet silence, filled with answers. But, silence that hurts. But, I continued to walk. Far to these devotional places where I would rather go before my trip, looking like a cemetery, a place full of sorrow, of guilt and sadness. To me, to feel God was to feel Love. To feel alive. To feel calmness, joy or ecstasy in the heart. And, even not to feel it, was to feel it.

There are many kinds of silence…

I used to visit the monks, I cried, and left feeling empty. But, I had a key. This love was the key, and Islam was the door. It set me free, completely.

And now,, I was in Christian land and yet I embraced Islam. It was another step.

Then… a book by Ibn ‘Arabi which I bought in Cairo became a great discovery. I had previously been writing poems, stories and my thoughts in many notebooks. But I felt so connected with this book by Ibn ‘Arabi,

Are Sufis romantically in love with God? Are Sufis in a platonic love with God? Is it this flame inside, this prison called body, this ecstasy what the Sufis speak about? I was amazed at what I was discovering. I had already been feeling it, and doing some of the practices, by intuition, of Sufis, in their call and Love for God…

I realized afterwards, through reading, how much I was connected to their way. Without realizing it, I had found the great affinity with what my heart had always felt, and never knew how to express. I continued with the prayers. The glowing prayers. But I did not read a collection of books about Sufism, because I preferred to continue the way I was. I did not feel the desire to read a lot about Sufi poetry. I preferred to wait and write and see if still I was similar, somehow, to the Sufis.

Before this discovery, I had spent a very difficult time, realizing the truths about some bad habits in all religions, which are full of forms. Meaning, you cannot do this, and don’t do that, etc. Also, deception about some of its followers. I listened to the metaphysical reasons for some forms in Islam. In prayer. In silence. But, I realized that, again, man wants to be powerful, even if it is in religion or spiritual fields. Even in Sufism and some of their schools, . I am thankful for having lived in a Christian background. I am also thankful for Islam, because they brought me to Sufism. I love the true Islam. It is, I think, a wonderful and precise way to connect with Sufism because it sets one’s soul free, first.

Without the feeling of guilt, humans can experience paradise in their own heart, and in someone else’s. I don’t have many books about Sufism and don’t know everything about it. I do it slowly and taste the time. I do not want to be the knower. But, learning Sufism has lifted veils for my eyes to truly see, allowed my heart to truly feel, my mind to truly realize, and my spirit to truly see everything.

Weeping was something I used to do, before I read about Sufism. Being drunk on love, to the point of babbling..

I had read Omar Khayyam, but never knew it would happen to me. One day, a scholar in Sufism, told me that I was already a Sufi. I told him that I did not want to be one yet, I do not want this yearning to end. So, he became, in silence, a guide to me. He still is, even from a physical distance. I am grateful to him, although he does not know that he is my guide. Sufism is the greatest and most simple connection with the Almighty God, Allah, the Master of the Worlds. It is not a selfish love of God, it is a child’s love, with a mature soul, which sees life in amazement. Without mediators. We can do it, we can be responsible. One can find Sufis in all religions. Even someone waiting for the bus. Perhaps, they do not know they are. I do not belong to any school, or Sufi group. I learn from them all…

Ya Haqq

~::MARYAM::~
http://maryam-blog.blogspot.com/

Prayer, patience and hope

2009-07-19T01:46:00.006+06:00

Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek and you shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asks receives;
and he that seeks finds:
And to him that knocks,
it shall be opened.

photo by msultan7

I read somewhere a famous quote that 'when i look over my past, i see it abound with miracles'. and better it should be extended as: ' and my hope doubles up, when i sense the would-be miracles, which may happen to help in any moment'. These many miracles are brought by God.

Since this world is not same in intellect, cleverness and resources. Clever people win using their intellect. Hard workers win using their sincerity and devotion with their duty. But still the success can not be consummated until and unless there is a Will of Allah. Allah feed even losers and fools (who are sincere in their commitments), and may give them through miracles more like or than intellectuals and cleverly fellows. This universal system is always working behind the
veil of time and have been keeping up an equilibrium in the universe.. You may call it Justice.

Prayer is the brain of worship. It is a very intimate and frank link between the creatures and God. So, in any time of need, one ought to turn to God and plead for help. He gives to them, who ask from Him! According to Islamic studies, no prayer goes futile. If some prayer did not bear fruit in this material world, it may still be accepted that would be transformed into blessing after the worldly life.

Hope should be said the half of belief and solid base of prayer.. It reflect the sincerity of belief. Christian mysticism gives a strong message of hope. 'Losing hope' has been declared as blasphemy, and suicide as a great sin in Islamic studies.

Now let's see, what God says in the final testament Quran:

Quran, 071.013
"'What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for kindness and long-suffering in Allah,-

Quran, 041.049
Man does not weary of asking for good (things), but if ill touches him, he gives up all hope (and) is lost in despair.

Quran, 003.126
Allah made it but a message of hope for you, and an assurance to your hearts: (in any case) there is no help except from Allah. The Exalted, the Wise:

Quran, 004.099
For these, there is hope that Allah will forgive: For Allah doth blot out (sins) and forgive again and again.

Quran, 066.008
O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow,- the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things."

Copyright & the knowledge..

2009-07-13T21:57:00.008+06:00

"Things can be copyrighted, thoughts cannot be copyrighted, and certainly meditations cannot be copyrighted. They are not things of the marketplace. Nobody can monopolize anything. But perhaps the West cannot understand the difference between an objective commodity and an inner experience. For ten thousand years the East has been meditating and nobody has put trademarks upon meditations." - OSHO

Shiite scholars of Islamic law do not accept the copy rights because in their view knowledge is for free like air, sunlight, and water .. and it can not be owned in the sense of individual property right!

~afterwind~

Truth of Action

2009-07-09T12:58:00.009+06:00

Do less.. but do perfectly! The imprint, or impression which you are leaving over the time, and this planet is the action you are doing! Your contribution will persist after you in this world in the form of your action. Same like an old man who is planting a fruit tree, although he understand the reality the he will not able to see its fruit in his life.. but he has a hope that his grandparents will enjoy its fruit and climb over its shoots.. passersby will take rest under its shade during hot summer, or rainy winters.. and birds will take shelter in its leaves.. the pray of gratitude will directly or indirectly appear for him from every heart of whoever will get benefit.. The old man is not doing that virtue for money or any consideration from any one in this world, he is doing it.. because virtue in its very essence is itself a return, it is giving to his heart and his action has become a source of pleasure for him! Allah is a great Admirer of virtue, He never keeps any thing, and always returns every good deed with the best consideration! He is The King of the kings, and nothing ever decreases in His treasure!

So, whenever you have chosen a job, finish it with due diligence. Just burn yourself completely, get absorbed in it completely and forget every negative thought and eliminate the wall made by the negative emotions which is causing disruption in the way of action. You will find a peace to your existence. When you have fulfilled your duty with wholeheartedly, it is followed by a deep pleasure, a mental satisfaction. And the respect will follow you as well.

~+~

The two worst strategic mistakes to make are acting prematurely and letting an opportunity slip; to avoid this, the warrior treats each situation as if it were unique and never resorts to formulae, recipes or other people's opinions. - Paulo Coelho

“When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself” - Shunryu Suzuki

"Whatsoever you do, do it with deep alertness; then even small things become sacred." – Osho

Whatever you are doing, do it as if it is a question of life & death. Put your total energy into it, and it will give you tremendous bliss - Osho

~+~

But the Messenger and those who believe with him strive hard with their property and their persons; and these it is who shall have the good things and these it is who shall be successful. - Quran 009.088

And (there are) others who have acknowledged their faults. They mixed a righteous action with another that was bad. It may be that Allah will relent toward them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. - Quran 009.102

Perfect Determination

2009-07-08T16:06:00.008+06:00

Perfect Determination:

The most important thing, which is also the first step of any path, is the perfect determination. How can you start a journey, if your heart is not ready to start it? How can you get up from bed, if your heart want some more sleep? If you want to change any thing in this world, then the first thing is to change yourself first!. If you want to lead your group, your nation, try to change yourself and transform yourself into a leader first! or you want to lose weight, even then you will need a true determination! Make up your mind, first!

This is the determination and it should be perfect in its wholeness. Many people make determinations, but they are not always winner in achieving what they determined for! Because they were not true in their determination.. there determination was not perfect in its essence. The strength of determination vary in levels among people. Determination is a reflection of our personality, and the clarity of our thoughts. Never mess up ideas into mere confusions. First clear your thoughts, and find your goal which can satisfy your being and this universe.. then be determined over your heel. You should be whole in your determination.. it will become an inspiration for you and will push you to the struggle!

~+~

When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream. - Paulo Coelho

The world lies in the hands of those who have the courage to dream and who take the risk of living out their dreams - each according to his or her own. - Paulo Coelho

~+~

There is a purpose behind you. The whole intends to do something through you. - Osho

If you can get into any act with your whole heart, you are total. Totality brings wholeness, and totality brings wholeness, and totality brings health, and totality brings sanity. - Osho

~+~

And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination.

- Quran, 020.115

Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least:

- Quran, 033.023

Master of the Jinn, a novel

2009-07-08T12:17:00.005+06:00

Master of the Jinn, a novel by Irving Karchmar

Here is a tale set on the Path of the Heart, a mystical adventure wherein a modern-day Sufi master sends seven companions on a quest for the original Ring of Power, and the greatest treasure of the ancient world - King Solomon's ring. It is the very same seal ring of a hundred legends, given to King Solomon by God to command the Jinn, those terrifying demons of living fire.
By sea and across deserts, they are led by a strange faqir guide of many names. Through the mightiest of storms and into a lost city, the travelers come at last to the gateway of the Subtle Realm, the land of the Jinn.
But the quest has a strange effect on everyone chosen to go: visions enter their dreams, remembrances and tears fill their hearts, and mysteries abound; unearthly storms and unending night, the Gates of Heaven open
at last, and invincible demons of smokeless fire.
It is a tale woven of ancient legends found in the Old Testament, the Talmud, and the Koran, and although it is set in the present, the search for the truth of the ring leads them into a circle of ageless destiny, where the companions discover not only the fate of the Jinn, but also the Path of Love and the infinite Mercy of God

also reviews by:
* Salma Mohiuddin, Editor, Inspire Magazine
* Ali Eteraz review in Alt.Muslim online magazine
* Mary Granick - SUFISM: An Inquiry Magazine (Vol. XII, No. 2), 2005
* Skylar Burris, Editor, Ancient Paths Christian Literary Magazine
* Dave Bennett, Dharma-Talks.com
* Catchild - BookFetish.org

"A Masterpiece of Modern Islamic Mysticism"
- Amazon.com review

"Awe Inspiring Mystical Adventure"
- Amazon.com review

Buy this Ebook at Mobipocket at:
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=55260
or get one for a friend that has a Kindle at:
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Jinn-Sufi-Novel/dp/B000RH0CD6/ref=kinw_dp_ke?ie=UTF8&qid=1218217938&sr=1-1

win or lose!

2009-07-05T21:35:00.007+06:00

oh, the purpose!

if i will be the successful
i will be the happiest person

and if lose,
will cry a lot

in both situations, the thing is same
'that i loved you very much'

the wish was true!

© Copyright Afterwind
first photo: by wszullberg, second photo: by weimieweim

Advice

2009-07-02T11:54:00.000+06:00

"Jesus said: 'Whoever perennially lies, loses his beauty; and whoever quarrels with people, loses his human decency; and whoever is persistently despondent, becomes drawn and emaciated, and whoever behaves irritably, submits his soul to torture and misery.'"
('Jesus in the Eyes of the Sufis', by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh)

Qawwali - Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula

2009-06-27T02:37:00.012+06:00

Arziyaan Sari Mein, Chehre Pe Likh Ke Laaya Hoon

all requests i, have brought written on forehead
Tumse Kya Mangu Mein, Tum Khud Hi Samjah Lo...

what should i ask from You, You know Yourself
Ya Maula..., Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula

O Lord..., Lord Lord Lord My Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula) - 2

Lord Lord Lord my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2

Lord Lord Lord Lord

Dararein Dararein Mathey Pe Maula
cracks are all over (my) forehead, Lord!

Maramat Mukdar Ki Kar Do Maula, Mere Maula..

Mend my fate, Lord! my Lord..
(Tere Dar Pe Jhuka Hoon Meeta Hoon Bana Hoon) - 2
over Your door I have prostrated, i've finished, i've come into being

(Marammat Mukdar Ki Kar Doo Maula..) - 2
Do mending of (my) fate, Lord

(Jo Bhi Tere Dar Aaya, Juhkne Jo Sar Aaya
whoever came over Your door, which head came to prostrate

Mastiyan Piye Sabko, Jhoomta Nazar Aaya) - 2

Joys come on everyone(?), he seemed dancing (in elation)

Pyaas Le Ke Aaya Tha, Dariya Woh Bhar Laya
who went to you[r home] with thirst, he came out with river

Noor Ki Barish Mein Beeghta Sa Tar Aaya

(he) came wet like being draggled in the rain of holy light

Noor Ki Barish Mein.. Ooo
In the rain of light.. Ooo

Noor Ki Barish Mein, Beeghta Sa Tar Aaya

(he) came wet like being draggled in the rain of holy light

(Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord Lord

Dararein Dararein Mathey Pe Maula
Cracks are all over (my) forehead, Lord!

Maramat Mukdar Ki Kar Do Maula, Mere Maula..

Mend my fate, Lord my Lord
(Jo Bhi Tere Dar Aaya, Juhkne Jo Sar Aaya
whoever came over Your door, which head came to prostrate

Mastiyan Piye Sabko, Jhoomta Nazar Aaya) - 2

joys come on all(?), he seemed dancing (in elation)

(O Ek Khusbu Aati Thi) - 2
O a scent used to come
Mein Bhatakta Jata Tha, Reshmi Si Maya Thi
I used to jept straying, illusion was silk like
Aur Mein Takta Jata Tha
and I used to keep starring
(Jab Teri Gali Aaya, Sach Tabhi Nazar Aaya) - 2
when came in Your street, it was then that the truth became visible
Mujhe Mein Woh Khusboo Thi, Jisse Tune Milwaya
that fragrance was inside me, which You made (me) meet with
Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula
Lord Lord Lord my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord Lord

Dararein Dararein Mathey Pe Maula
cracks are all over (my) forehead, Lord!

Murammat Muqaddar Ki Kar Do Maula, Mere Maula..

Mend my fortune, Lord my Lord

Aaa Aaaa...
Tut Ke Bikharna Mujhko Zarur Aata Hai
i do know how to get dispersed after being broken up
Hoo, Tut Ke Bikharna Mujhko Zarur Aata Hai
Hoo, i do know how to get dispersed after being broken up
Varna Ibbadat Wala Sha'uor Aata Hai
otherwise i also have understanding of how to do worship
(Sajde Mein Rehne Do, Abb Kahin Na Jaunga) - 2
let (me) stay in prostration, now (i) will not go anywhere
Abb Jo Tumne Tukhraya To Sawar Na Paunga
now if you refuse me, then i will not be able to be repaired
Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula
Lord Lord Lord my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord Lord

Dararein Dararein Mathey Pe Maula
cracks are all over (my) forehead, Lord!

Maramat Mukdar Ki Kar Do Maula, Mere Maula..

Mend my fate, Lord my Lord

Sar Utha Ke Mene To Kitni Khwahishe Ki Thi
how many wishes i made proudly
Kitne Khwaab Dekhe The Kitni Khosishe Ki Thi
how many dreams i wove, how many struggles i made
Jab Tu Rubaru Aaya...
when You came in front of me
Jab Tu Rubaru Aaya Nazarein Na Mila Paya
when You came in front of me, i was not able to meet glance
Sar Jhuka Ke Ek Pal Mein... Ooo
by bowing head in a moment... Ooo
Sar Jhuka Ke Ek Pal Mein Mene Kya Nahi Paya
by bowing head in a moment, i got everything
(Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula) - 2, mere Maula
Lord Lord Lord My Lord, my Lord
(Maula Maula Maula Maula) - 2, mere Maula
Lord Lord Lord Lord , my Lord

(Mora Piya Ghar Aaya, Mora Piya Ghar Aaya) - 6
my Beloved came to (my) home, my Beloved came to (my) home,
(Maula Maula Maula Mere Maula) - 2
Lord Lord Lord my Lord
Mere Maula Maula Maula Maula
Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord
Mere Maula Maula Maula Maula, Mere Maula..
my Lord Lord Lord Lord, my Lord..

Action, Work & Perfect Struggle - Quotes

2009-06-26T15:07:00.005+06:00

“When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself”

“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.”

"If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall."

"Practice does not mean that whatever you do, even lying down, is zazen. When the restrictions you have do not limit you, this is what we mean by practice…."

"When you sit, you will sit. When you eat, you will eat…. If you say,”It doesn’t matter,” it means that you are making some excuse to do something in your own way with your small mind. It means that you are to some particular thing or way. That is not what we mean when we say, “Just to sit is enough,” or “Whatever you do is zazen.” Of course, everything you do is zazen, but if so, there is no need to say it. p. 41

Pt. 3 : Right Understanding, "Naturalness"

-Shunryu Suzuki

Here are some quotes (i think they belong to Osho, the spiritual psychiatrist) :

You are perfect as you are, with all your imperfections you are perfect. If you are imperfect, you are perfectly imperfect - but perfection is there.”

You are utterly unique, incomparably unique. You need not be like somebody else, you need not be an imitator, you have to be authentically yourself.

“Everything can become a meditation if you live it totally and intensely. And then your life becomes whole.”

The man of meditation does not become powerful:
he becomes silent, he becomes peaceful.
Power is created out of conflict:
all power is out of friction.

If you can get into any act with your whole heart, you are total. Totality brings wholeness, and totality brings wholeness, and totality brings health, and totality brings sanity.

Whatever you are doing, do it as if it is a question of life & death. Put your total energy into it, and it will give you tremendous bliss.

-Osho

Action vs. Avtivity

"Remember two words: one is "action", another is "activity". Action is not activity; activity is not action. Their nature are diametrically opposite. Action is when the situation demands it, you act, you respond. Activity is when the situation doesn't matter, it is not a response; you are so restless within that the situation is just an excuse.

Action comes out of a silent mind - it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Activity comes out of a restless mind. Action is moment to moment, spontaneous; activity is loaded with the past."

"Activity is your escape from yourself. In action you are. Find the distinction within yourself; what is activity and what is action; that is the first step. The second step is to become involved in action so that the energy moves into action and whenever there is activity to be more watchful about it, more alert. If you are aware, activity ceases, energy is preserved, and the same energy becomes action.

Action is always new and fresh like the dew drops in the morning. And a person who is a person of action is also always fresh and young. The body may become old, but his freshness continues. The body may die, but his youth continues. The body may disappear, but he remains - because God loves freshness. God is always for the new and the fresh."

- quoted from Tantra: The Supreme Understanding byOsho

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Paulo Coelho

and lastly, an Islamic tradition relates:

"Allah, His angels and all those who live in the heavens and the earth, even the ants in their holes and the fish supplicate for those who instruct people in virtuous knowledge" (Tirmidhi)(?).

Protect me oh Lord!

2009-06-20T01:02:00.006+06:00

sometimes fire used to erupt in the bushes & trees of 'margala' hills in backdrop of Islamabad city.. and it looked like a radiant arc of light in the night!!! i am missing that sight now

few weeks earlier than the winter, fresh gales of wind used to bump again the face and body, and burrowing deep into the nostrils, when did i use to stand at the facading balcony of hostel wall.. i miss that freshness now

in the nights of holy month, before the call of morning prayer... when i used to turn the radio on, a sound used to recite the mystic quotes of mystic teacher Sheikh Abu Said, called between every two songs.. and that instrumental music of sitar or flute... and if i used to look out by opening the glass window.. i could feel the milky glow of moon, peaceful clouds in the blueish black sky.. s cool feeling of joy used to enter down the chest to heart and stomach.. a mystic freshness of spirituality - a feeling of closeness to Allah.. ah... could be easily sensed by the heart, which used to indulge in unknown cool pleasure, bliss, joy.. . Allah!! miss that nights of holy month of fasting, Ramadhan in the cloister like small room of hostel...

i miss that all..

and the whistling kites flying in the windy sky of summer afternoons.... what a mixed climate it had been!

and the sun downing in the western smoky fogs of illusion.. slowly slowly..

and the big nightly moon with its outlook features like a smiling face, seemingly laughing along with the happy people.. what a fresh nights had it used to be!

or.. when the electric supply used to be cut by city authority at night, relying the elbow on the railing wall, standing on the second floor, sometimes looking down on the plants on the ground, sometimes looking on the moon, I used to talk with the friend.. about the wonderful dream-time 1975's (which i had never seen myself,), movies, rape case trial in city court, morals etc

i miss that all..

those feelings, thrills, passions, sensations, times.. .

maybe i have lost that all.. but still the central idea, which brought forth all that wonderful experience to this humble being, is still following this heart to protect from bad omens and shabby sorrows : that idea is the love of Allah! inshallah

Thanks oh My Lord.. Allah!!

meeting!

2009-06-13T23:17:00.001+06:00

reference:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/rumi/faerylore/rumi-5.jpg

Afterwind Anniversary

2009-06-12T21:09:00.005+06:00

Praise to Allah, 2 years have been completed today, since afterwind appeared for the first time on web, with a shattered softened heart, and drifting tears.. No doubt, the spiritual love of Allah is the true medicine and peace for the broken hearts of this world!

Uncertainties, doubts, desires, expectations, disappointments, infatuation, the feeling of loss, sorrow, melancholy are the part of test from Allah. The music that brings tears, sobs, and peace, and the support of mystic friends is really a true gift of heaven! May Allah show us the right path and mercy on the sincere souls.

Prayers,

Pour

2009-06-03T04:00:00.003+06:00

Pour more...
Your true wine of love
That the each drop of which could give an immortal life
That the each blow of whose smell is blended in the misty steam of eternity
That which stays behind the brightest cloud

Oh... who can stay after the deluge has set down
Oh... who can rises up through the chest as a sharp painful joy!
Accompanying the empty tears
Oh... The feeling of strange exuberance
Take me to the One who is the Doctor of broken hearts : Savior of the wrecked sob dwellers

sincerity (ikhlas)

2009-05-15T21:22:00.013+06:00

sirr= secret

sirr Allah= the secret of Allah

Unitarianism (tawhid)= doctrine of Oneness of God

A question from Abu Sa'id ibn Abi 'l-Khayr:

   Answering the question, "What is sincerity (ikhlas)?" he said:

   The Prophet has said tha ikhlas is a divine sirr in man's heart and soul, which sirr is the object of His pure contemplation and is replenished by God's pure contemplation thereof. Whosoever declares God to be One, his belief in the divine Unity depends on that sirr.

   Being asked to define it, he continued as follows:

   That sirr is a substance of God's grace (latifa) --- for He is gracious (latif) unto His servants (Koran, 42, 18) --- and it is produced by the bounty and mercy of God, not by the acquisition and action of man. At first, He produces a need and longing and sorrow in man's heart; then He contemplates that need and sorrow, and in His bounty and mercy deposits in that heart a spiritual substance (latifa) which is hidden from the knowledge of angel and prophet. That substance is called sirr Allah, and that is ikhlas .... That pure sirr is the Beloved of Unitarians. It is immortal and does not become naught, since it subsists in God's contemplation of it. It belongs to the Creator: the creatures have no part therein, and in the body it is a loan. Whoever posseses it is "living" (hayy), and whoever lacks it is "animal" (hayawan). There is a great difference between the "living" and the "animal".

Source:
Studies in Islamic Mysticism, by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson Page 51

Thank God..

2009-05-14T11:39:00.005+06:00

Hope

when the heart was dim

everything seemed dull to these eyes

when the hope has come back

the life raised quite fresh

standing in the flowing current of life

~+~

Life Back

Flowers, flowers, every where

blessing, sunshine and love

why the heart is happy so much..

a dying hope resurrected

some one rose from dead

a putting off star became a sun

the spirals of mysterious fate

and its crests and troughs

and pains and fleeting happiness,

all estopped at a moment

no queasiness, nothing now,

but peace, timelessness and relief

who took my heart and met me to the light of hope!

this is You, O my Lord! Allah!

the heart like a sponge..

2009-05-14T00:00:00.006+06:00

at the moment you were leaving,

the heart

seemed dry,

and no tears!

at the moment you have left,

the heart is

like a sponge,

shrinks,

giving off a lot of water!

made me clean by my own tears

2009-05-13T23:50:00.002+06:00

this night has pain of separation,

and sufi music sound,

and a little sweet pain in my heart,

.. tears in eyes,,,

i was a sinner, you made me clean by my own tears

i can't cry, my heart is dead

2009-05-13T11:50:00.011+06:00

my plane is taking off..

but

i can't cry

my heart is dead

because my heart is dead now

you think, i don't love you

it is not true

still i love you

but i have forgotten how to miss you

pains, sorrows, disgrace, hunger and poverty

i have become a bird between fear and hope

separations and unions

many deluges of uncertainties and enforced austerities of life

have taken away my tears, awareness, smile and naive freshness

forgive me..

i can't cry

my heart is dead

but I still love you!

Picture source: by ericakulet [external link]

that will make you forget our love one day

2009-05-12T22:50:00.020+06:00

"fear"

i told you

i already told you

you haven't reached the meaning of love

whatever you have toward me is nothing but ego and greed

in fact you never truly loved me

the tears you shed were the tears of a babe for a toy only

you don't know to sacrify, you just need to be gratified

with pleasures, words,,, lies and world!

i told you

i already told you

tonight

the last night before separation

when the withering heart needs compassion

when i need you

to soak my tears

to lower my soabs

in the very time when you are supposed to be with me

you are indulged in the pleasures, in the partying, in the lights

you say, let me enjoy, still i am yours!

now i also want to say

i don't want to come in between you and your happiness

but what should also i do!

from me, they are stealing you

busy, busy, busy

even on the last night

you don't want to listen to my heart cry

this time, even you don't want to be mine!

and still you say, "i love you"

i told you

i already told you

The light of enjoyment, taste of delicious food and happy puns of rich friends will make you forget our love one day

i told you

i already told you

if you keep on doing this,

how can you become mine?

~+~

"Sure"

No matter wherever you move away

I know, on your cheeks tears will have a sway!

The pain of separation makes you crazy

it will change a stone heart into daisy

no matter, to wherever you face,

but if your hand is in my hand,

i shall take you into my cottage!

image sources:

fisrt, lights in last night's rain storm by Zombie37 [external link]

second, Rain Tapping On My Window by Thomas Steibl Photography [external link]

third, Rain on the Train (Not in Spain) by jessamyn.n [external link]

fourth, Rain wave - Muddy water by Yatzi [external link]

Folly..

2009-05-07T10:05:00.003+06:00

Once upon a time, there was a heavily fertile forest full of big trees, flowers, and a beautiful touch of sunshine. In the most center of forest was a small hut whereby a simple man lived with his animal friends - a sheep, a wolf, a chicken. He had passed with them many springs and autumns of his life. The fox gave him security, hen gave him eggs, sheep milk and they were living together a happy life. Day passed and passed, and one day a he found a half dead man's body lying on the ground, he was a hunter who had come from some city but lost way in the forest and became a prey to hunger and thirst. He took him to his house and took well care of him until he got well. During all that time, the hunter used to tell him the stories of the cities, the glitters of wealth and the luxuries of the rich. The heart of the forest dweller started getting bored of his difficult forest life, and he now had started dreaming of the colorful cities. He had become greedy! One day he gave him an idea, 'why not you kill the sheep and its skin can keep your body warm in the winters?' The forest man liked this idea and one day he asked his sheep, 'oh friend, lets go to the river bank, I want to feed you the best grass there'. The sheep accepted his offer and went with him to that place, the man killed the sheep and cut out its skin and made a warm coat of it. The hunter kept on giving him advices to make life more comfortable by killing his friends - 'you can enjoy chicken roast, you can make good shoes from the fox'. He acted on all the advices, and made his life much comfortable on the expense of his friends' life. Hence now there no sheep or hen, and there was also no more milk or eggs... So both men started starving. Hence the forest weed was too simple and rough to satisfy their heightened hunger and lust. So, one day the hunter advised him, why not you start farming.. The man started farming, and one day the hunter asked for the equal share in all luxuries as a price of his advices. The forest man's dream had shattered now, and he understood the ferocity of the man's lust. He refused to give him the share and asked him to leave his house... but the hunter refused and a quarrel started between them, hence the hunter was a strong and cunning person and also was having knowledge of using knife and other weapons... and there was also no fox to protect him. He won!! And made the forest man slave!

Thanks to Wang Ziyue, Lanzhou

At-tawakkal - The Reliance upon God!

2009-05-04T11:46:00.013+06:00

التوکل

A fat boy seeker of light used to go to a a Dahi Bhalla shop at roadside in central part of Alipur city of Southern Punjab, because he was fond of the taste of that shop. What was the shop, it was nothing more than an itinerary wooden cart, painted in green with four bicycle wheels, and decorated with glass on the three sides to protect from dust the open wide bowls of peeled potato, chilly paste, and yogurt, cut onion and tomatoes, and other condiments used to prepare Dahi Bhallas. The vender was a man with beard mixed in white, black and brown, with a bit tanned skin, little fat, clad in simple Pakistani dress, by face and dialect belonging to the community (perhaps the Sheikh or mewati of Haryana) who migrated from India and lips brown and red perhaps because of traditional Indian Pan leaf eating.. And the most important were the black eyes with sprinkling silence and kindness - a Sufi! like many others Sufis who live among the commoners silently, but the seekers can feel the manifestations of Sufism in them!! The boy on one day broken the silence and asked 'Sir, please give me an advice'. The vender said: "Tawakkal Al Allah!" (Rely on God).

Time passed and passed until the boy grew up and became a man. A changed man! His life became full of tests.. He found himself alone in every field and place. The melancholy of loss, exaggerated sense of decreasing life, money, time and the feeling that everything in universe is going more and more disorderly, and the mind least converged on moment, object or thought, in short he became an example of melancholy. He had got no big belief in ever fertility, mercy and blessings of God. He had slept, the lesson had been forgotten! Really was he alone?

One day he met an accident in a lonely street of a distant city in north... Yeah, he was alone in that city, but not in that street. An old lady hurried, "Son, would you take milk?"

image courtesy: Dahi Bhalla, www.itslife.in

delays..

2009-05-02T09:39:00.002+06:00

Salam my dear friends,

i was not able to be in connection to you through this blog unlike the previous conduct of delays because of my laziness. Actually I met a roadside accident in Islamabad. I am fine now and totally safe and sound. I shall keep on posting, but some delays may be expected within 1 or 2 next months. So, forgive my this shortcoming. May Allah guide you all to the way of Love and His mercy. Waiting for your lovely prayers for help and support me. Salam

Afterwind,

Multan, Pakistan

Abu Said Abil-Kheir Tomb

2009-04-22T00:48:00.008+06:00

ابو سعید فضل الله بن ابی الخیر میهنی

Turkmenistan, city of Mayhaneh

Turkmenistan, city of Mayhaneh

Turkmenistan, city of Mayhaneh

References:

pic 1: http://www2.irib.ir/occasions/Aboul-kheir/Aboulkheir.fa.htm

pic 2: http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=176726

pic3: http://picasaweb.google.com/nooraghayee/TravelToCitiesAroundOfDesert
#5292216889940692978

pic4: http://picasaweb.google.com/nooraghayee/TravelToCitiesAroundOfDesert
#5292216863883399666

Empty hands..

2009-04-19T15:49:00.006+06:00

~Prayer~

I begged for love

to come and fill up my heart

with its freshness

Heaven accepted my prayers

and my cravings and sobs voices

were coveyed to the love

who was busy in merry-making and comforts and pleasures

at the thousands of miles away into the celestial worlds

beyond red, green and grey mountains.. ah, the love...

~Arrival~

ah, the love

when it listened to my cravings

stopped every of its functions

fumbled hurriedly to take its shawl patched with pink stars, wrapped around its shoulders

and that star eyed embodiment, 'the love'

rushed towards me

keeping many stars of affection, kindness and love in its hands!!

~disappointment~

when it came to this our world,

it found a man of my 'name'.. "the human"

but it could never found the real me

standing at my address,

its face is down, and eyes are glum

~departure~

it came to receive a heart..

but here is nothing, except pains, greed, wars, tears, greeds, fitna..

what else could we offer as a gift

to appease its heart,

which had been already lost somewhere in this world and

at last it was worried for the feelings of loss of emotions

so, it's returning to its unknown world empty-handed!

pictures from flickr as uploaded by lancelonie, Ann and Educated Savage

The Inception..

2009-04-12T16:37:00.006+05:00

What is love, how does it start, how many kinds of it is, which one is real, is it a realiable way to spirituality, can it take us to God????

Sometimes it suddenly happens, like a light flashes in a short time, and have left everything burnt into ashes inside the pitiful heart. It can be invoked by the dazzling beauty of the strange beloved, when you have seen the face at the first glance. A fire of pain and unknown, ungraspable desire is kindled in the heart, which is appeased by the tears of spirtuality...

Sometimes it gradually seeps and grows and we realize later on it's strong undeniable existence, which is hard to underestimate. It has something to do between two persons' habits and living. But a new question arises here, 'does it only develop between some particular natures, or between any two from whole of the humanity?'

Is there also any other kind and cause of inception of love? if any there really is, then please also inform me.