On Divine Benevolence

Open your heart in order to receive divine benevolence. A benevolent heart becomes the mirror in which Allah's favors are manifest. when the divine favors manifest and come through you, when you feel His presence, you will feel shame at your improper actions. This will cause both you and others to have conscience. Thus your benevolence will protect you and others from sin.When the archangel Gabriel asked our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "What is divine benevolence?" the Last of the Prophets answered, "To pray and glorify allah as if you are in His presence, as if you see Him." Reverence reflects in the heart of a believer who has reached the level of praying as if he sees Allah.Then our master the Prophet continued, "For if you are unable to see Him, He certainly sees you." The one who has reached that level of realization of divine benevolence will have conscience. He will feel that gaze of Allah upon him and will be ashamed to sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)said, "Conscience is total good." If a believer has conscience, he is aware of what he is doing and he cannot do wrong; when a heart is filled with conscience, the possessor of that heart encounters no harm either in this world or in the hereafter.The sign of a man with conscience is his lack of arrogance and self-importance. He never oppresses or tries to dominate others. May you also reach the level of benevolence and have conscience, and may you have the strength and foresight to try to attain it.


Ibn arabi

story about khwaja baha'udin naqshband

His son-in-law and first successor, Khwaja al ad-din Attar, used to tell the story of how in the early days of his membership of the halqa, he was speaking to a "person of the way" at Ramadan, about the heart.
"I said that I did not know the true nature of the heart. This person said that in his opinion the heart was like the moon three days old. I told this to our beloved Khwaja Baha ad-din. At the moment he was standing up. He placed his foot on mine. At that moment a great bliss came over me and I felt myself in contact with All Truth.
When I recovered from this state, he said: 'That is the heart; not what the dervish said. How can you expect to know the true heart, qalb, unless you have direct experience of it?'"



mawlana shaykh hisham kabbani, classical islam

more sayings of shaykh baha'udin naqshband

"When I was responsible for groups, my state was such that whenever I was aware of two or three in conversation, I lent an ear. If they were conversing about God, I was blissful; if they were talking of anything else, I became sad and heavy at heart."

"We are means for reaching the goal. It is necessary that seekers should cut themselves away from us and think only of the goal."

"The capacity of all hearts is the same, but the practical wisdom within the heart is very different from one heart to another."

"If I were to look at the faults of my friends, I would be left without a friend. For there is no faultless friend. Everyone loves good people. The art is to learn how to love bad people."

"The clarification of practical wisdom consists in showing people how to discover them in their own personal experience."

sayings of khwaja baha'uddin naqshband

"In my days of discipleship, according to the heritage of Khwaja Baba Samai, I listened to many traditions and I talked with many learned men. But on my path, that which helped me the most was abasement and humiliation. I entered by that gate and whatever I may have found, that is how I found it..."

"I learned utter devotion to the Search for Truth from a gambler. I watched a gambler lose everything he possessed and when a comrade begged him to give it up, he answered, "Ah my friend, if I had to give my head for this game, I could not do without it."
When I heard this, my heart was flooded with amazement and ever since I have pursued Truth with the same single-mindedness."

"Our way is that of group discussion. In solitude, there is renown and in renown there is peril. Welfare is to be found in a group. Those who follow this way find great benefit and blessing in group meetings."

"We do not accept everyone and if we do accept, we do so with difficulty."

"The conditions of acceptance as they should duly be imposed are hard to fulfill. Either a pupil with capacity appears and a Master fit to receive him is lacking, or a Master is there and pupils with capacity are lacking."

dream fable

I saw myself in a wide green garden, more beautiful than I could begin to understand. In this garden was a young girl. I said to her, "How wonderful this place is!""Would you like to see a place even more wonderful than this?" she asked."Oh yes," I answered. Then taking me by the hand, she led me on until we came to a magnificent palace, like nothing that was ever seen by human eyes. The young girl knocked on the door, and someone opened it. Immediately both of us were flooded with light.God alone knows the inner meaning of the maidens we saw living there. Each one carried in her hand a serving-tray filled with light. The young girl asked the maidens where they were going, and they answered her, "We are looking for someone who was drowned in the sea, and so became a martyr. She never slept at night, not one wink! We are going to rub funeral spices on her body.""Then rub some on my friend here," the young girl said."Once upon a time," said the maidens, "part of this spice and the fragrance of it clung to her body -- but then she shied away."Quickly the young girl let go of my hand, turned, and said to me:
"Your prayers are your light;Your devotion is your strength;Sleep is the enemy of both.Your life is the only opportunity that life can give you.If you ignore it, if you waste it,You will only turn to dust."
Then the young girl disappeared.



In love, nothing exists between breast and Breast.
Speech is born out of longing,
True description from the real taste.
The one who tastes, knows;
the one who explains, lies.
How can you describe the true form of Something
In whose presence you are blotted out?
And in whose being you still exist?
And who lives as a sign for your journey?

rabia al adawiya

rabia Al adawiya

Your hope in my heart is the rarest treasure
Your Name on my tongue is the sweetest word
My choicest hours
Are the hours I spend with You --

O God, I can't live in this world
Without remembering You--
How can I endure the next world
Without seeing Your face?

I am a stranger in Your country
And lonely among Your worshippers:
This is the substance of my complaint.

rabia