A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ After coming to power, the Mughal ruler, Emperor Alamgir, immediately paid a visit to pay homage to Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ), at Ajmer.  It was his routine to give salaam at the resting place of a saint.  If a reply to his salutation came from the concerned grave, he would believe that the real maqam was located there.  Otherwise, he would order the shrine to be demolished.  When he approached the shrine of Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ), he gave the salaam .  There was no reply.  He did so, again, after a few moments, but again there was no response.  He said that if his salutations were not answered one more time, he would demolish the shrine.   After a pause, a reply came from the maqam, returning his salaam : “ Wa ‘Alaykum as-Salaam , Ya Alamgir.  Is a reply essential when the wali is busy in his prayer with Allah?”   Shocked, Alamgir prostrated, and begg...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “The most prized Gift for a dervish is his association with other dervishes, while his greatest loss is to remain away from them.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “The more one learns about the reality of things, the more one wonders.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty  ( q.s. ) said, “He is hardened sinner who commits sin, and yet, simultaneously entertains the belief that he is one of God’s chosen few.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “He is a knower of the path of love who relinquishes attachment to both the worlds.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “The voice of the lover is only while he has not seen his Beloved.  Once he sees the Beloved, he become calm and quiet, just as the rivers are boisterous before they join the ocean, but when they do so, there are becalmed forever.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “Be a blazing fire of truth, be a beautiful blossom of love and be a soothing balm of peace.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan hishty ( q.s. ) said, “For an ‘arif , it is an ordinary miracle that he ascends beyond the Heavens by taking only one step, and reaches the Veil of Divine Glory.  But God Alone Knows the secret implications of that stage.  He cannot say where it leads him ultimately to, and what he perceives in that mysterious state when he returns.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “He is an ‘arif whom unseen wisdom enlightens to enable him to reveal mysteries to solve all thorny problems and meet all arguments successfully.  He is always swimming in the ocean of interpretation and is capable of extraction the pearl of secrets and of light and to present it to those who are competent enough to test its genuineness.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “There are no rituals to be performed in Sufism, nor are there academic dissertations which may be easily acquired by reading, but, according to men who are lovers of God and the shuyukh of thuruq , Sufism means scrupulously maintained moral behaviour which one must observe towards all he creatures of God.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu‘in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “It amounts to devotion and worship on the part of a son to cast a look on the faces of his parents.  All the sins committed by the son who kisses the feet of his parents are extinguished.  Bayazid al-Bisthami once said, ‘Whatever position of distinction I have attained, it is a legacy bestowed upon me by my parents.’”  He was referring to Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami ( q.s. ).

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “Patience is tested through resignation to sorrow, sufferings, and disaster, without murmur, or disclosing one’s pains to others.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As recorded in Dala’il al-‘Arifin , Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) narrated, “There was a man who hated the awliya’ .  When he died, and was placed in the grave, the people tried to turn his face towards the qiblah , but it would turn away from that direction.  The people were astonished.  There was a voice from nowhere announcing that it was an exercise in futility to try to turn his face towards the qiblah , because he used to turn his face away on seeing the awliya’ and that, ‘He who would turn his face in disgust from My friends, I will turn My Face on him.  He is a Condemned soul and on the Day of Judgement, such people will appear with faces of donkeys.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ One day, when Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) was absorbed in prayers in the Ka’bah, he heard a Voice Saying, “O, Mu’in ad-Din!  We are Greatly Pleased with you.  You are Granted Salvation.  Ask for anything you may like, so that We may Grant that to you.”   He respectfully replied, “O Great Lord!  Grant Salvation to the followers, and disciples, of Mu’in ad-Din.”   He received the Reply, “O, Mu’in ad-Din!  You are our Accepted.  I will Give Salvation to your followers, and disciples, and also to those who may enter your fold until the Day of Resurrection.”   After paying respects at the Ka’bah, and performing the haj , he reached Madina, and devoted himself to prayers in the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) mosque.  During his stay, he received a mandate from the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ): “O, Mu’in ad-Din!  You are a helper of my religion.  I entrust to you the country of Hind....

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “According to those well-versed in the doctrines of the seeker of true path, penitence assumes shape in the combination of three things: moderation in food with the resolve of fasting; moderation in speech in order to save time for singing the praises of the Beloved; and moderation in sleep in the interest of reserving more time and energy for his devotion.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “By attaining perfection in the observation of shari’ah through a pious conduct, one reaches the stage of the path leading to thariqa’ , and then onward he passes on to ma’rifat , and lastly to the attainment of haqiqat .”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “There are four cardinal virtues of the individual self; firstly, refraining from begging in the state of penury; secondly, showing the attitude of the well-fed when feeling hungry; thirdly, maintaining cheerfulness in the time of sorrow; and fourthly, befriending the enemy.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “When the ‘arif meditates over a thing, he attains a state of absorption in which even if thousands of angels assuming wonderful forms try to attract him, he would remain entirely undisturbed for the time being.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “It is a pious act to look at God’s Scripture, greater is the piety in reciting it even if it be but one letter.   It will banish ten vices and enable ten virtues being Recorded in lieu.   It improves the eyesight and will impart immunity to the eyes against all mishaps.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Khwaja Mu’in ad-Din Hasan Shishty ( q.s. ) said, “Three things are dearer than all other things in the world: Firstly, the savant who says according to what he has digested; secondly, the person who does not succumb to avarice; and thirdly, the gnostic who is always singing the Praises and Glory of his Beloved.”