A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Ahmad ibn Abu al-Husayn an-Nuri ( q.s. ) wrote, in his classic text, Maqamat al-Qulub , using the Qurʾanic text as his basis, about the four stages of the spiritual heart.   Firstly, there is swadr , literally, “chest”, which is expanded from the pain of constriction and becomes joyful, the first part of something.   Shaykh an-Nuri ( q.s. ) quoted:   سُوۡرَةُ الزُّمَر أَفَمَن شَرَحَ ٱللَّهُ صَدۡرَهُ ۥ لِلۡإِسۡلَـٰمِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ‌ۚ فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلۡقَـٰسِيَةِ قُلُوبُہُم مِّن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ (٢٢)   Is one whose heart Allah has Opened to Islam, so that he has received enlightenment from Allah, (no better than one hard-hearted)?   Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against celebrating the praises of Allah!   They are manifestly wandering (in error)! (Surah az-Zumar:22)   This expansion suggests that in the Islamic tradition, it is t...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Ahmad ibn Abu al-Husayn an-Nuri ( q.s. ), one of the great early Sufis in Baghdad, and a companion of Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi ( q.s. ), was known as Amir al-Qulub , “Prince of Hearts.”  He defined Sufism as “the abandonment of everything that pleases the soul”.  He was quoted in Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri’s ( q.s. ) Risalah as saying, “When dawn breaks, one no longer needs a lamp.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from The Mystic’s Ka’bah , the cubic wisdom of the heart according to Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Arabi ( q.s. ) by Shaykh Stephen Hirtenstein.   The original paper is reproduced from the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society, Volume 48, 2010.   Shaykh Ahmad ibn Abu al-Husayn an-Nuri ( q.s. ), one of the great early Sufis in Baghdad, and a companion of Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi ( q.s. ), was known as amir al-qulub , “Prince of Hearts.”   He defined Sufism as “the abandonment of everything that pleases the soul”.   He was quoted in Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri’s ( q.s. ) Risalah as saying, “When dawn breaks, one no longer needs a lamp.”   The Ka’bah must surely rank as one of the most iconic places on earth.   In this paper, Shaykh Stephen Hirtenstein explores less the physical, historical and social dim...