A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ), in his poem on Yusuf ( a.s. ) & Sayyidah Zulaykha ( q.s. ), wrote:   “Blest is the lover whose soul has fraught The zephyr of love with no selfish though; Whose heart is so full of its darling, there No room may be for a single hair; Whose absolute love through each vein is spread, In each drop of his blood, in each hair of his head; Who forgets his own form and his features, knows No love of friends and no hatred of foes; Who bids farewell to the world, looks down With scorn on ambition and thrown and crown. If he utters a word, it’s to her that he speaks, And would win for her only each thing that he seeks. He recks not of self, in all he desires, His love for his darling each thought inspires, His former self he has thrown aside, And each thought is ennobled and purified. Rise, Jami, thou! A new life begin; Seek the mansion eternal and...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) wrote:   “In every Veil you see, the Divine Beauty is concealed, Making every heart a slave to Him. In Love to him the heart finds its life; In Desire for him the soul finds its happiness. The heart which loves a fair one here, though It knows it not, is really His Lover.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) said:   “On the lute of my heart, plays only one song of love. Because of this melody, from head to foot, I am in love. Truly, for ages, I will never be able, To pay what I owe for one moment of love.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) said:   “Whether your destiny is glory or disgrace, Purify yourself of hatred and love of self. Polish your mirror; and that sublime Beauty, From the regions of mystery, Will flame out in your heart, As it did for the saints and prophets. Then, with your heart on fire with that Splendour, The secret of the Beloved will no longer be hidden.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) said, “The Path of taswawwuf leads beyond, to the practice, and the understanding, where there can be no hypocrisy.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) wrote, “If you have never trodden the path of love, go away and fall in love; then come back and see us.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) said, “O people, why do you so desperately seek the Night of Power?   Every night is the Night of Power, if you knew God’s Power.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s. ) wrote:   “The search of the crescent of the feast, Is the work of the common people. The crescent of the feast, Is for the elite the circling movement of the goblet.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’ ( q.s.) wrote:   “In every Veil you see, the Divine Beauty is Concealed, Making every heart a slave to Him. In Love to him the heart finds its life; In Desire for him the soul finds its happiness. The heart which loves a fair one here, though It knows it not, is really His Lover.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The tenth principle of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order is “Numerical Pause”, Wuquf-i Adadi .  Wuquf-i Adadi is an expression meaning the observation of the number of individual repetitions of the dzikr .  Mawlana Nur ad-Din ‘Abd ar-Rahman Muhammad Dashti Jami’’ ( q.s. ) said, “ Wuquf-i Adadi is the observation of the number of adzkar and of whether this yields results or not.”   According to Shah Baha’ ad-Din Muhammad an-Naqshband ( q.s. ), “The observation of the number of repetitions of the adzkar of the heart is for gathering thoughts which are scattered.”   According to Khwaja ‘Ala al-Din al-‘Aththar Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Bukhari ( q.s. ), “The important thing is not the number of repetitions but rather the composure and awareness with which one makes them.”  According to Shah an-Naqshband ( q.s. ), this awareness is the first stage of entry into the spiritual world.  This could also mean that for beg...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The ninth principle of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order is “Temporal Pause”, Wuquf-i Zamani .  Shah Muhammad Baha’ ad-Din an-Naqshband ( q.s. ) said that this consciousness is the maker and guide of the disciple.  It means to be attentive to one's state of mind at any given moment and to know whether it is a cause for giving thanks or for repenting.  Wuquf-i Zamani is to keep account of one’s temporal states, to distinguish presence, hudhur , from absence, ghaflah .  Shah an-Naqshband ( q.s. ) described this as self-possession or mindfulness.  He added that one should always be grateful when one returns to a state of presence.   In Wuquf-i Zaman , the seeker remains constantly aware of his changing states.  Shah an-Naqshband ( q.s. ) explained, “ Wuquf-i Zamani is the work of the traveller on the Path; to be attentive of his state, and to know whether it is a cause for giving thanks or for repenting, to give ...