A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, about the Prophet ( s.a.w. ):   “It is with a stricken heart and anguished soul That, in longing for You, I rain tears like a cloud.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote:   “O Lord of the Worlds, I have foundered, Drowned in tears of blood, My ship driven ashore.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manthiq ath-Thayr , “How can I travel when my heart must stay lapped here in blood?  And on that weary way, how many empty valleys lie ahead, how many horrors wait for us?  I dread one moment absent from her lovely face; how could I seek the way and leave this place?  My pain exceeds all cure or remedy; I have passed beyond both faith and blasphemy - my blasphemy and faith are for her; my soul is her abject idolater - and through companionless, I weep and groan; my friend is sorrow; I am not alone.  My love has brought me countless miseries, but in her hair, lie countless mysteries; without her face, blood chokes me, I am drowned, I am dust blown aimlessly across the ground.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Tadzkirat al-Awliya’ , that Shaykh Abu Sa ’ id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) arrived at Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri’s ( q.s. ) meditation cell at the time for ‘isha’ .   Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) continued praying.   He pronounced “praise” as “phrase”.   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) thought to himself, “It is not right to pray behind him," and he performed his prayers by himself.” That night, Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) saw the Most Glorious Lord in a dream.   “My God, what is Your Pleasure?” he asked. “You had found what Pleases Me, but you did not recognise its worth.” “O Lord!   What was that?” “Praying behind Habib.   That prayer was to be the seal on your lifetime of prayers, but correct expression held you back from sound intention.” Shaykh ‘Aththar ( q.s. ) concluded by saying, “There is...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote:   “So long as we do not die to ourselves, And so long as we identify with someone or something, We shall never be free. The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manthiq ath-Thayr , “One day, Majnun was sifting earth in the middle of a road.  A pious man said to him, ‘O Majnun, what are you seeking here?’   ‘I seek Layla,’ replied Majnun.   ‘How can you find Layla here?’ said the other.  ‘Could a pearl so pure be found in such dirt?’   Majnun said, ‘I seek her everywhere, so that one day I may find her somewhere.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim (q.s.) wrote, in his Tadzkirat al-Awliya’ , that Shaykh Malik ibn Dinar ( q.s. ) once went to visit a person who was close to his death.  Shaykh Malik ibn Dinar ( q.s. ) repeatedly advised him to recite the kalimah shahadah , the testification of faith, but he continued to say, “Ten, eleven!  Ten, eleven!”   When the man was asked as to why he continued to say this, he replied, “There is a mountain of fire in front of me; whenever I try to recite the kalimah shahadah , the mountain of fire approaches to burn me."   Shaykh Malik ibn Dinar ( q.s. ) then asked people as to what deeds the dying person used to do in the world.  They replied that he was an usurer, and would weigh things dishonestly.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote:   “He who would know the secret of both worlds, Will find that the secret of them both is Love.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) said, “Strive to discover the mystery before life is Taken from you.   If, while living, you fail to find yourself, to know yourself, how will you be able to understand the secret of your existence after you die?”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote:   “It is with a stricken heart and anguished soul, That, in longing for You, I rain tears like a cloud.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote: “If you are not a lover of fire, Then leave, Because a true lover is one with fire, A true lover ignites, Sizzles and chars like fire.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) said, “What you most want, what you travel around wishing to find; lose yourself as lovers lose themselves, and you will be that.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) said, “The pain of love became the medicine for every heart.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote: “During his Ascent, Heaven’s veil was Rent, Because he was God’s Intimate forever. The very firmament wished to offer him a gift, So, God Adorned the sky with stars forever.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manthiq ath-Thayr , “He who has become a lover should never think of his life.  Your soul is an obstacle in your way.  Sacrifice it.  If you are required to sacrifice your faith also, together with your soul, do so by all means, and if anyone brands you as an infidel, tell him that love occupies a position more exalted than religion, and has nothing to do with faith or heresy.  Whoever sets his feet firmly in the abiding-place of love, transcends the bounds of infidelity and faith as well.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is recorded, in Tadzkirat al-Awliya’ of Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ), that Imam Malik ibn Anas ( r.a. ) said, “I spent a long time serving Imam Ja’far asw-Swadiq, and I always found him in one of three acts of ‘ibadah : either he was engaged in swalah , engrossed in reciting the Qur’an, or he would be fasting.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in Manthiq ath-Thayr :   “A girl fell in a river – in a flash, Her lover dived in with a mighty splash, And fought the current until he reached her side. When they are safe again, the poor girl cried, ‘By chance I tumbled in, but why should you, Come after me and hazard your life too?’ He said, ‘I dived because the difference Of ‘I’ and ‘you’ to lovers make no sense – A long time passed when we were separate, But now that we have reached this single state, When you are me and I am wholly you. What use is to talk of us two?’ All talk of two implies plurality – When  ‘two’  has gone, there will be Unity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) said, “When Mary had taken Jesus from school, she handed him over to various trades, and the last to which she entrusted him was to the dyers.  She handed him over to their chief that he might learn from him.  Now, the man had various clothes with him and he had to go on a journey, so he said to Jesus, ‘You have learned this trade and I am going on a journey from which I shall not return for ten days.  These clothes are of different colours and I have marked every one of them with the colour with which it is to be dyed.  So, I want you to be finished with them when I return.’  Then he left.   Jesus prepared one receptacle with one colour and put all the clothes in it and said to them, ‘Be, by Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Permission, according to what is expected of you.’   Then a dyer came and saw all the clothes were in one receptacle.  He said,...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote that a dervish who had traveled long and hard through the desert finally came to civilisation after a long journey.  It was dry and hot.  The dervish politely asked where he could find food and lodging for the night.   “Well,” said the man, scratching his head, “we don’t have such a place in our village, but I am sure Shakir would be happy to provide for you tonight.”   Then the man gave directions to the ranch owned by Shakir, whose name means “one who thanks the Lord constantly.”  As it turned out, Shakir was a very hospitable and kind person.  He insisted that the dervish stay a couple of days in his house.  At the end of his stay, they even supplied him with plenty of food and water for the journey.  On his way back to the desert, the dervish could not help puzzling over the meaning of Shakir’s last words at the time of farewel...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) mentioned, in his Tadzkirat al-Awliya’ , the famous instance when three aqthab visited Shaykha Rabi’ah al-‘Adawiyyah al-Qaysiyyah al-Baswri ( q.s. ) when she fell ill.  It is related that Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ), Shaykh Malik ibn Dinar ( q.s. ), and Shaykh Abu ‘Ali Shaqiq ibn Ibrahim al-Azdi al-Balkhi ( q.s. ) went to visit Shaykha Rabi’ah ( q.s. ).  The conversation turned to the question of sincerity as they attempted to offer her solace.   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) said, “None is sincere is his claim to love God, unless he patiently endures the Blows of his Lord.”   Shaykha Rabi’ah ( q.s. ) said, “This talk stinks of egotism.”   Shaykh Shaqiq ( q.s. ), attempting to elevate the answer and definition, said, “None is sincere in his claim to love God unless he is not grateful for the Blows of his Master.”   Shay...