Hallaj believed in the Oneness (Tawhid) of God!

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 Oneness of God (that there is One God and none is equal to Him). The Oneness 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 Oneness.

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

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

Dealing with human sufferings

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

1.

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.

2.

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

3.

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:

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

Power of Love (Ishq)

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

Related Posts:
- why some mystics fell in wordly love (ishq-e-majazi)?
- don't blame even animals for their faults! love them!
- love of buffalo, made hima buffalo!

Half a bit of true love

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

----------------------------------
"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

Afterwind's story: Happiness laughed in my ear

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