Say Allah, He is One

One of my most memorable lessons from my grandmother was the teaching of this surah. She made me memorize it and the minute I arrived at her house. she would recite and I would follow, then she made me laugh by making her tongue into a taco! This surah was so important to her and she was absolutely adamant about me committing it to memory, she told me to recite it over and over every day, as many times as I could. She also said that in times of trouble or deep despair, that I was to recite this Surah and rest in the knowledge that He is Allah, He is One. As a 10 year old, the only thing I really wanted to do was to please my grandmother, so I did as she instructed and throughout my life through joy and sorrow, this Surah has been with me. Always.

Much later in life, as I began to study formally about Islam, I came across many interesting tafsirs about this Surah that my grandmother had taught me. But the one tafsir that was so profound, that as I was reading it, I felt the strings of the deepest part of me were being plucked was Ibn al-Arabi's metaphysical exposition.

The common translated names for this Surah are the surah of purity, fidelity or sincerity. It is also known as the surah Al-Tauhid and plays a significant role in the metaphysics of Ibn al-/Arabi. Perhaps because it refers to the absolute Oneness of God. One blogger had this to say about Ibn al-'Arabi's tenderings of this Surah and I quote:

"This very short surah might be considered the basis of Islamic metaphysics. Certainly for Ibn ‘Arabi, it is tremendously important, and he had a vision in which it was given to him as a special gift. Indeed, we can see it as containing the seed of his whole, vast exposition on the metaphysics of being..."

You will find the blog at https://ibnarabi360.wordpress.com/tag/ikhlas/

The gist of it is this, my grandmother taught me much more than just a Surah, she taught me faith, and the importance of having a sense of humor. Life is hard enough as it is, and these two lessons have stayed with me all these years. May Allah bless my grandmother, Hadiana Nasiboe Roespinoedji, who rests in the eternal abode of the One.

Allah is Sufficient for me

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

Thoughts in Solitude 

Allah calls Himself Al-Wakeel— The Trustee, The Disposer of Affairs, The Guardian— on 14 occasions in the Quran. Al-Wakeel is the only One who takes charge of the affairs of those under His care, managing all matters as He pleases. He is the One to be relied on, for all power belongs to Him!

 The Disposer of Affairs, The One to be Relied Upon

Wakeel comes from the root waaw-kaaf-laam, which points to three main meanings. The first meaning is to appoint or entrust for the care or management of something. The second main meaning is to be a guardian of one’s interests, and the third is to rely upon.

This root appears 70 times in the Quran in four derived forms. Examples of these forms include tawakkaltu (“I put my trust”) and al-mutawakkileen (“the ones who put trust”).

Linguistically the wakeel of someone else is the person who efficiently represents him or does what he is incapable of doing on his behalf. Al-Wakeel is the ultimate Trustee, guardian and administrator of all things and we can trust in the fact that Al-Wakeel will provide the perfect resolution for every matter!

Al-Wakeel Himself says: . . . But it increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah , and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs [Quran, 3:173] . . . To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs [Quran, 4:171] and The Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of [your] affairs[Quran, 73:9] 

Al-Wakeel and Other Names

In the ayaat in which the name Al-Wakeel is mentioned, Allah gives a reference to His power and authority. The name Al-Wakeel is related in meaning to Al-Haseeb (The Reckoner, The Sufficer) and to Al-Qadeer (The All-Powerful); we entrust our affairs to Allah because only He has control over all things and only He is sufficient for us as provider and reckoner.

How Can You Live By This Name?

1.       Have trust and work hard.Reliance on Allah (tawakkul) means you entrust your affairs to Him, take every worldly precaution, and submit to Al-Wakeel for the result. An example is the hijrah for which the prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wasallam and Abu Bakr radiyyallahu ‘anhu planned according to their means. However, they were overtaken by the Quraysh. This is when the prophet calmed Abu Bakr with a beautiful statement oftawakkul, saying What do you think is the destiny of two people who have Allah for their Companion?

2.       Pray istakharah. 

One of the most beautiful examples of trusting in Al-Wakeel’s choice is the istakharah prayer. Ask Allah that if the matter is good for you to make it easy for you and if not, to take it away and then be content with the decree of Al-Wakeel.  Make it a habit to practice this sunnah in your daily life, for big and small matters, as the prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam taught the companions to make istakharah in all things, just as he used to teach them surahs from the Quran!

3.       Don’t be anxious about the future. 

Many people are depressed or worried about their or their children’s future. Don’t fear the power of the enemy, never go for unlawful earnings, and know that you can trust Al-Wakeel because He will manage your affairs in the way best for you! Be inspired by what Ibraheem ‘alayhi sallam said when he was thrown in the fire: Allah suffices me, for He is the best disposer of affairs (hasbunallaahu wa ni’mal wakeel)!* Take the example of those who entrusted their souls to Al-Wakeel, like Haajar, when she was left in the desert with Ismaeel ‘alayhi sallam who said with true belief: Did your Lord order you to do so, then He shall not forsake us.

4.       Be someone others can trust and rely on. Be someone others can turn to when they need help, and when you have to act on someone’s behalf fear Al-Wakeel and fulfill your duty as good as you can. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. [Muslim]

5. Train yourself to trust Al-Wakeel.
The first time Musa ‘alayhi sallam saw the stick becoming a snake, he ran away in fear. The second time he did not run but felt fright within himself upon being confronted by the magicians, and the third time, the most difficult of these situations, when the army of the Pharaoh was behind them and the sea in front of them, he had no fear; he said what can be translated as, Not at all. Surely my Lord is with me; He will soon guide me. [Quran, 26: 62]  [paraphrased from the series In Thy Name we live by Dr. A. Khaled]

6.      Do dhikr with this name.
Every morning and evening say: حَسْبِ اللهُ لا إله إلا هو، عليه توكلت و هو ربَ العرش العظيم
Allah is sufficient for me. There is no God but He.  I have placed my trust in Him, He is Lord of the Majestic Throne. Whoever says this seven times in the morning after fajr, and seven times after Asr, Allah will take care of whatever worries him of the matter of this world and the hereafter.[Abu Dawood, Muslim]

The Prophet said: Whoever says. (when he leaves his house) – Bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘alaa Allaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah – In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah and there is no power and no strength except with Allah- , it will be said to him: You are taken care of and you are protected and guided, and the devils will move away from him, and one devil says: What can you do with a man who has been guided, taken care of and protected? [Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi]

Wallahu ta’alaa ‘alem.

O Allah, Al-Wakeel, we know that You take care of all matters.  Make us of the mutawakkileen, those who gracefully rely on You and guide us to work in this world to the best of our ability. Make us of those others can trust in, protect us against our enemies and ourselves, guard over us and make us entrust our souls to you in times of ease and hardship, ameen! 

SOURCE:  The Understand Quran Academy Team

Every name in the cosmos is His name, not the name of other than He. For it is the name of the Manifest in the locus of manifestation.

Ibn Al-`Arabi~

(II.122.14)

A Spiritual Master

A voice from the past that may shed light unto problems this day and age regarding Spiritual Masters.

Shaykh ad-Darqawi (may God be pleased with him) writes:

One of the effects of Divine Beauty, Grace and Generosity is that one finds the Master who can grant spiritual education; without Divine Grace no one would find or recognize him, since, according to the saying of the Saint Abu'l-`Abbas al-Mursi; "It is more difficult to know a Saint than it is to know God." ....in the Hikam of Ibn `Ata-Illah, it is said: "Exalted be He Who makes His Saints known only in order to make Himself known and Who leads toward them those whom He wishes to lead toward Himself." There is no doubt that the Lord of the inhabitants of Heaven and Earth, our Master, God's Messenger (may God bless him and give him peace) was openly manifested, like a sun on a standard, and in spite of that was not seen by all, but only by some. God veiled him from others, just as He veiled the Prophets (on them be peace) from certain men, and just as He veils the Saints from the men of their time, so much so that they slander the Saints and do not believe them. God's Books testify to this:

"Thou shalt see them looking toward thee and they see not.."
[Qur'an: VII, 198]

and

"They said: what kind of a messenger is this, who eats food and walks in markets..."
[Qur'an: XXV, 7]

and so on, in all other analogous passages. Two thirds or more of the divine Book tells how the Prophets (on them be peace) were slandered by the men of their time. Among those who did not see God's Messenger (may God bless him and give him peace) was Abu Jahl; he saw in the Messenger only the orphan who had been adopted by Abu Talib. The same applies to the spiritual Master who is simultaneously ecstatic (majdhub) and methodical (salik), who is at the same time both drunk and sober; only a few find him. Now if one finds the Master (he sometimes acts in an unexpected way); sometimes he sees that the disciple's Spirit will be freed by fasting and so makes him fast; at another time, on the contrary, he will make him eat to repletion for the same purpose; now he sees that the disciple will benefit spiritually from an increase of outer activity; at another time, from less activity; at one time, from sleeping; at another time, from staying awake; sometimes he wishes the disciple to avoid people, sometimes, on the contrary he advises him to frequent people; for it may be that the inner light of the disciple has suddenly become too strong for him, so that the Master fears he may lose his reason, like many disciples in the past and in our day who have become mad; this is why the Master may bring the disciple out of his retreat and make him mix with people; in order that his spiritual tension may diminish and he be preserved from madness.  In the same way, if the inner light has become too weak, the Master sends him back into solitude in order that it may acquire force, and so forth, the issue is in God's hands. Spiritual mastery could very nearly have ceased to be manifested for the lack of those whose heart is quickened by an ardent desire to follow it, but the divine Wisdom never runs dry.

We see that the spiritual way (tariqah) is necessarily maintained by Divine Force and Power, since it comes down through our Masters from God's Messenger (may God bless him and give him peace). As the Saint al-Mursi used to say: No Master makes himself known to his disciples unless he has been led to do so by inspirations (waridat) and unless he has received the authorization of God and of His Messenger." The blessing (barakah) of this authorization and the secret it implies is what sustains our cause and safeguards the state of those who adhere to it; but God is wiser.


Neither sober nor drunk, sometimes I feel the joy of my soul's eyes looking out through mine. 

~ Mahmoud Shabistari~

My Noah Project

Last month, in my moment of deep, dark despair, I began a rather 'ridiculously ambitious' project. Inspired by Rumi who once said that when all the world is against you, begin a 'ridiculously ambitious' project. Like Noah. Well, this is my Noah project. A thousand cranes to carry my wish to the Heavens. Ever we hope.

You never really know how much you've accomplished until you put it all together. Here are 349 paper cranes so far.

Completion

In a particular sea, I have heard,
pearl shells rise from the depths in April,
opening their mouths to the sky.
Mist also rises, then falls as rain.
A few drops fall into each open mouth.
The shells close and fall again,
their hearts full with a pearl-to-be.
Much later, the diver descends and brings
up a gem of great price.
Eons ago, the divine breath dived into us,
and now it dives again and again,
a thousand pearls wrapped in a blanket.

~Mahmoud Shabistari~

The completion of each stage of the pearl's development was necessary at a particular moment to prepare the way for something else. As Shabistari says a thousand potential pearls lie wrapped within us. To grasp another, we may need to let go of the the one already in our hand.

A traditional translation of this quality is "the Last." It shows us that it is really time to let go. The One Being is there at the moment of ripeness, when the fruit is eaten. Imagine the whole universe as fruit. When it is eaten, Allah is still there, so you can't lose by letting go.

I was at a particular stage in my life, where I longed for completion. After a few "right-back-where-I-started" moments, this Name appeared to me. Enabling me to see clearly and ever so painfully what I was unwilling to let go of after all these years. Breathing this pathway illuminated what I needed to do...in the light of the One.

Subhana'Llah. In all things, God be praised.


Sources:
~ The Sufi Book of Life by Neil Douglas-Klotz
~ Mahmoud Shabistari's Gulshan-i raz

All things love God by their very nature

The words of God are in and around us, since we and the cosmos are the articulations of the Breath of the All Merciful...we love God in everything that we love. Love of God is a fact of existence. So by our very nature we love God...realizing that it is Him that we love in all that we love is life's quest. At least in this seeker's heart...

and God knows best, indeed He knows all.

Those who love God are those whom God loves.

~a Sufi saying~

There are those among us who see God but are ignorant of Him. But just as no one is poor toward anyone else, so also—by God—none but God is loved in the existent things. It is He who is manifest within every beloved to the eye of every lover—and there is nothing which is not a lover. So the cosmos is all lover and beloved, all of it goes back to Him…

Though no one loves any but his own Creator, he is veiled from Him by the love for Zaynab, Su’ad, Hind, Layla, this world, money, position, and everything loved in the world. Poets exhaust their words writing about all these existent things without knowing, but the gnostics never hear a verse, a riddle, a panegyric, or a love poem that is not about Him, hidden beyond the veils of forms.

~Ibn al-`Arabi~

From his Futuhat al-Makkiyyah II.326.18

Translated by William Chittick

Quoted in the Sufi Path of Knowledge, p 181

The Sublime Spirits, Where are they?

The loved ones1 of my heart--where are they? Say, by God, where are they?

As thou sawest their apparition2, wilt thou show to me their reality?

How long, how long was I seeking them! and how often did I beg to be united with them,

Until I had no fear of being parted from them, and yet I feared to be amongst them3,

Perchance my happy star4 will hinder their going afar from me,

That mine eye may be blest with them, and that I may not ask, 'Where are they?'

~Ibn al-`Arabi~
The Tarujman al-Ashwaq, XLV

 Mount Fuji’s Sea of Trees

Aokigahra Forest

Mount Fuji

Japan

NOTES on the Text:
1. the sublime spirits
2. their manifestation in the world of similitude
3. lest their radiance should consume me
4. the Divine favor predestined to me