A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( r.a. ) said:   “O Distracter of Lovers, arise and openly proclaim! Fill us to the brim and refresh us with the Name of the Beloved.”  

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) said:   “When souls tremble, desirous of reunion Even phantoms dance, O uncomprehending one!”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) said, “He who knows himself is not fooled by the praise of people about him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “A people with noble characteristics – wherever they sit, The place continues to be fragrant with their traces. Sufism presents gifts from their manners and traits. The perfect harmony from them delights the eye. They are the people I love and my loved ones who, Proudly boast dragging the tails of honour. I am still united with and connected to them in Allah, And our sins by Him will be Forgiven and Pardoned. And then prayers upon the selected one, Sayyidina Muhammad, the best of whoever fulfilled and whoever pledged.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) said, “The most harmful of things is companionship with a heedless scholar, an ignorant Sufi, or an insincere preacher.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As translated by Shaykh Mukhtar Holland, it is recorded in Qala’id al-Jawahir that once, Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Maghribi ( q.s. ) asked Khidhr ( a.s. ) about Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ), to which he replied, “He is the leader of the champions of truth, and the competent authority of those who know by direct experience.  He is a breath of life in the sphere of direct knowledge, and his business is intimate converse between all the saints, may Allah be Well Pleased with them all.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ This is the poem of Shaykh Abu Madyan Shu’ayb al-Maghribi ( q.s. ), and a poem around it in five-line verse by Shaykh al-Akbar , Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Arabi ( q.s. ).   Below the poems, the notes are adapted from the commentary, “The Model of Success in the Courtesies of the Thariq ”, by the ‘Arif bi Allah , Shaykh Taj ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari ( q.s. ).   “In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate O you who seek the pleasure of drawing Near, If you wish all good to be seen upon you, The one who is consulted is honest, so listen to the news. The pleasure of life is only in the company of the fuqara’ ; They are the  salathin , the masters, and the princes. People who are content with the simplest clothing and diet, They never think about this world.   Their chests are free of waswas . Therefore, keep their compan...