A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani, ( q.s. ) said, “The true saint goes in and out amongst the people and eats and sleeps with them and buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social intercourse, but never forgets God for a single moment.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   A man dressed as a Sufi was walking along one day when he saw a dog on the road, which he struck hard with his staff.   The dog, yelping with pain, ran to the great sage, Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani, ( q.s. ).   Throwing himself at his feet and holding up his injured paw, he called for justice against the Sufi who had maltreated him so cruelly.   The wise one called them together.   To the Sufi, he said, “O heedless one!   How is it possible for you to treat a dumb animal in this manner?   Look at what you have done!”   The Sufi answered, “Far from its being my fault, it is that of the dog.   I did not strike him from a mere whim, but for the reason that he had fouled my robe.”   But the dog persisted in his complaint.   Then the peerless one addressed the dog, “Rather than waiting for the Ultimate Compensation, allow me to give you a compensation for you...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The great 11 th century mystic of Khurasan, Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ), was once asked why he refused to perform the haj like all other good Muslims. Shaykh Abu Sa’id ( q.s. ) replied, “It is no great matter that you should tread, under your feet, a thousand miles of ground, in order to visit a stone house.   The true man of God sits where he is, and the Celestial House comes several times in a day and night to visit him and perform the circumambulation above his head.   Look and see!”   All who were present looked and saw it. On another occasion, he is reported to have said, “If God Sets the way to Makkah before anyone, that person has been cast out of the Way to the Truth.” This is recorded by his great, great-grandson, Shaykh Nur ad-Din Muhammad ibn Munawwar ( r.a. ), in his Asrar at-Tawhid fi Maqamat ash-Shaykh Abu Sa’id .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is said that Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) wrote :   “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of living, it does not matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a thousand times, Come, yet again, come, come.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) wrote:   “Love came, and flew as blood in my veins, Emptied me of myself, and Filled me with the Beloved. Each part of my being, She Conquered; Now, a mere name is left to me, and the rest is She.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said:   “And of all your affectations, none is weightier than your ‘you-ness’. When you are occupied with yourself, you remain far from Him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “To be a Sufi is to give up all worries, and there is no worse worry than yourself.   When you are occupied with yourself, you are separated from God.   The way to God is but one step: the step out of yourself.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “A hundred spiritual masters have spoken concerning Sufism.   The first said the same as the last.   The modes of expression were different, but the meaning was one: ‘Sufism is dropping all affectation.’   And there is no affectation that comes before your own you-ness.   The moment you become involved with your own self, you are Cut Off from Him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “The sum total of our life is a breath spent in the company of the Beloved.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved, love everyone.  Whether in their presence or absence, see only their good.  If you want to be as clear and refreshing as the breath of the morning breeze, like the Sun, have nothing but warmth and light for everyone.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said:   “When the desire for the Friend became real, All existence fell behind. The Beloved was not interested in my reasoning, I threw it away and became silent. The sanity I had been taught became a bore, It had to be ushered off. Insane, silent, and in bliss, I spend my days with my head, At the Feet of my Beloved.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved, love everyone.  Whether in their presence or absence; see only their good.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “Four thousand years before God Created these bodies, He Created the souls and Kept them beside Himself and Shed a Light upon them.  He Knew what quantity each soul received and He Showed Favour to each in proportion to its illumination.  The souls remained all that time in light, until they became fully nourished.  Those who in this world live in joy and agreement with one another must have been akin to one another in that place.  Here, they love one another and are called the friends of God, and they are brothers who love one another for God’s sake.  These souls know one another by smell, like horses.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa‘id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “A hundred spiritual masters have spoken concerning Sufism.  The first said the same as the last.  The modes of expression were different but the meaning was one: ‘Sufism is dropping all affectation.’  And there is no affectation that comes before your own you-ness.  The moment you become involved with your own self, you are Cut Off from Him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is an adapted from an excerpt from “The Grand Shaykh of Khurasan: Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Khayr.”   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) said, “Your biggest barrier on the Path is the same as everyone else’s – your self.  As long as ‘you’ exist, and ‘He’ Exists, there will be two and that is dualism.  You must put aside your ‘self’ completely.  Hell is where ‘you’ are, and Paradise is where ‘you’ are not.  Until you forget your self, you will never truly be a believer in God.”   He also said, “Seven hundred Sufi masters have spoken of the Path, and the last has said the same as the first.  Though their words may have differed, their meaning was one: Sufism is the abandonment of affectation.  And of all of your affectations, none is worse than your ‘you-ness’.  When you are occupied with yourself, you remain far from Him.  Your self leads you to dependenc...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Sa’id Fadhlullah ibn Abu al-Khayr Ahmad Mayhani ( q.s. ) wrote,   “Suppose you can recite a thousand holy, Verses from memory, What are you going to do with your ego, The true mark of the heretic? Every time your head touches the ground in prayers, remember, This was to teach you to put down that load of ego, Which bars you from entering, The Chamber of the Beloved.   To your mind, feed understanding; To your heart, tolerance and compassion. The simpler your life, the more meaningful. The less you desire of the world, The more room you will have in it, To fill with the Beloved.   The best use of your tongue, Is to repeat the Beloved’s Name in devotion. The best prayers are those in The solitude of the night. The shortest way to the Friend, Is through selfless service and, Generosity to His creatures.   Those with no sense of honour and dignity are best avoided. Those who...