A Muslim Convert Once Before

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Alan A. Godlas wrote that the Shafi’i jurist, and qadhi of Shiraz, Imam Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Surayj al-Baghdadi’s ( q.s. ) fatwa prohibiting takfir of Sufi expressions had saved Imam al-Mugits Husayn ibn Manswur al-Hallaj ( q.s. ), in 301 AH.   His death opened the way for Imam al-Hallaj ( q.s. ) to be condemned on political charges.   Imam ibn Surayj al-Baghdadi ( q.s. ) was asked, “What do you say about a man who enters a desert without provisions?”   He replied, “This is among the acts of the men of God.”   Then he was asked, “So, if he dies?”   He replied, “The blood money is the responsibility of the slayer.”    And he said, “Your anxiety about sustenance causes you to cease being aware of God, the Real and impoverishes you, making you dependent on people.”   Once, he was asked about knowledge of the Divine Qualities.   In response, Imam ibn Surayj al-Baghdadi ( q.s....

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Dr. Alan A. Godlas wrote, “ A friend asked about ‘ suluk ’.   ‘ Sayr ’ and ‘ suluk ’ are two complementary terms that, together, can be seen to comprise the entirety of the Sufi path.   Although both of these terms in ordinary discourse mean ‘travelling’, in Sufi discourse. they mean two different, but complementary aspects of following the Sufi path.   Hence, commonly, though not always, they are found together as ‘ sayr   as-suluk ’.   In such a context, on the one hand, ‘ sayr ’ refers to ‘inner work’, an inner, mystical journeying through the subtle planes, levels, or degrees of one’s consciousness, away from compulsive egoism and toward ever increasing Closeness with God or God’s unity.   On the other hand, in such a context, ‘ suluk ’ refer to the relatively more ‘outer work’, consisting of striving to relate harmoniously and wisely with people.   Since relating harmonious and wisely with people ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Dr. Alan A. Godlas said, “A friend raised the question about why God Permits injustice.   Here is my two cents worth on this subject, although I am not going to give a reason why God Permits injustice.   Rather I am going to address the question of how we can respond whenever something apparently unjust occurs.   Irrespective of whether or not God Permits injustice, whenever an apparent injustice occurs and we wonder whether or not God is Permitting it or if we feel depressed, angry, or confused, or have similar feelings concerning it; we can take it as an opportunity to make our loving approach to God, reality, and ourselves less conditional.   Namely, we can take it as an opportunity to make our love more unconditional.   Often, when apparent injustice happens, we stop appreciating God, reality, and ourselves, stopping our responding to these within ourselves in a nurturing manner.   This self-destructive a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Alan A. Godlas said, “If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say, ‘So and so is speaking from his heart’, I would be a rich man.   Here is William Blake’s perspective: ‘No man can think write or speak from his heart, but he must intend truth.’”

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As translated by Dr. Alan A. Godlas, Shaykh Abu Muhammad Ruzbihan al-Baqli ( q.s. ) said, “All Created things are created forms Cast into the vast space of Divine Power without a true spirit, waiting for the arrival of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).  So, when he arrives in the world, the world becomes alive by means of his being, because he is the spirit of all created beings.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Alan A. Godlas, commenting on Lisan al-‘Arab , said, “The literal meaning of the Arabic word, ‘ nabi ,’ ‘prophet’, although cognate with the Hebrew ‘ nabi ’ and ‘ navi ’, one etymology given by the grammarian, Shaykh al-Kasa’i is that originally, it meant ‘path’, ‘ thariq ’, with ‘ anbiya’ ’ being ‘paths of guidance.’  Shaykh Abu Mu’adz an-Nahwi said, ‘I heard Arabs saying, ‘Guide me on the nabi ’, meaning ‘on the path.’’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Nidal Malik Hasan, born 08 th September 1970, was a US Army Medical Corps psychiatrist.  He is convicted of fatally shooting 13 people and injuring more than 30 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on the 05 th November 2009.  Nidal is currently incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, awaiting execution while his case is reviewed by appellate courts.  He was a Wahhabi who even wrote to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, and requested to be made a citizen of the so-called Islamic State.   Dr. Alan A. Godlas wrote, on the 02 nd August 2013, about the Nidal Hasan incident, highlighting the incongruency in the spiritual understanding of shari’ah .  He wrote that the difference between referring to shari’ah , consisting of laws and regulations, as “Divine Law”, rather than “Divinely-Inspired law”, is that the former understanding should be considered shirk , a symptom o...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was adapted from translations by Dr. Alan A. Godlas, from a hadits in the canonical collections of Imam Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ash’ats as-Sijistani ( r.a. ), Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi ( r.a. ), and Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majah ( r.a. ).   بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ، فِي الْأَرْضِ، وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ   Bismillah al-ladzii laa yadhurru ma’a Asmihi shay’un al-ardh wa laa fii as-samaa’i wa Huwa as-Samii’u al-‘Aliim   In the Name of Allah (s.w.t.), in the Presence of Whose Name nothing is harmful, neither on the earth nor in the heavens.  And He is Infinitely Hearing and Knowing.   The hadits , in the collection of Imam Abu Dawud ( r.a. ), stated that Shaykh Abu Mawdud ( r.a.) reported that someone heard Shaykh Abu Sa’id Aban ibn ‘Utsman ( r.a. ), the son of the rightly-guided caliph and companion of the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As translated by Dr. Alan A. Godlas, Shaykh Baba Thahir ‘Aryan Hamadani ( q.s. ) wrote:   “I look at the desert, I see the desert to be You. I look at the ocean, I see the ocean to be You. Wherever I look, Be it mountains, Valleys, Or wastelands, I see the trace Of Your Beautiful Face.” به صحرا بنگرم صحرا ته وینم به دریا بنگرم دریا ته وینم بهر جا بنگرم کوه و در و دشت نشان روی زیبای ته وینم

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   As translated by Dr. Alan A. Godlas, Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “Ferment!   Ferment! Since we are brew people; Except love, except love, We have nothing else to do.   In this earth, in this earth, In this pure sacred field, Except affection, except love, We sow no other seed.   So drunk, we are so drunk Because of that king Who we are. Come!   Come! So in surrender, We can give our hands to you.   What do we know, what do we know About we drank last night? Since today, every day, We are continually drinking and hungover. Do not ask!   Do not ask About the states of true reality! Since we are wine worshippers, We do not count goblets.   If you did not get drunk, If you did not drink that wine, What can you know, what can you know About what we are hunting?   So, we will not fall into this earth, Grab us!   We are not m...