A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski wrote, in her article, “Women & Sufism”, that when Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami ( q.s. ), was asked who his master was, he said it was an old woman whom he had met in the desert.   This woman had called him a vain tyrant, and showed him why: by requiring a lion to carry a sack of flour, he was oppressing a creature Allah   ( s.w.t. ) himself had left unburdened, and by wanting recognition for such miracles, he was showing his vanity.   Her words gave him spiritual guidance for some time.   Another woman for whom Shaykh Bayazid ( q.s. ) had great regard for was Shaykha Fathimah an-Nishaburi (q.s.), of whom he said, “There was no station about which I told her that she had not already undergone.”   Someone once asked the great Egyptian Sufi master, Shaykh Dzu an-Nun Abu al-Faydh Tsawban ibn Ibrahim al-Miswri (q.s.), “Who, in your opinion, is the highest among the Sufis?” ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski wrote, in her article, “Women & Sufism”, that among the women who followed the Way of Love and Truth, there were some who rejoiced and some who continually wept.   Shaykha Sha’wana ( q.s. ), a Persian, was one of those who wept.   Men and women gathered around her to hear her songs and discourses.   She used to say, “The eyes which are prevented from beholding the Beloved, and yet are desirous of looking upon Him, cannot be fit for that vision without weeping.”   Shaykh Sha’wana ( q.s. ) was not only “blinded by tears of penitence, but dazzled by the Radiant Glory of the Beloved.”   During her life, she experienced intimate Closeness with Allah ( s.w.t. ).   This profoundly influenced her devout husband, and her son, who became a saint himself.   She became one of the best-known teachers of her time.   One of those who rejoiced was Shaykha Fidha’ ( q.s. ), who was...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is from Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi’s ( q.s. ), Matsnawi I, 866-867, and was translated by Shaykh Kabir Edmund Helminski and Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski:   “Water and clay, when fed on the breath of Jesus, Spread wings, became a bird and flew. Your praise of God is a Breath From Your body of water and clay. Make it a Bird of Paradise By breathing into it your Heart ’ s sincerity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following was translated by Shaykh Kabir Edmund Helminski, and Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski.   Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Matsnawi :   “When your heart becomes the grave of your secret, That desire of yours will be gained more quickly.   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said that anyone, Who keeps secret his inmost thought, Will soon attain the object of his desire.   When seeds are buried in the earth, Their inward secrets become the flourishing garden.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is from Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi’s ( q.s. ) Matsnawi , as translated by Shaykh Kabir Helminski and Shaykha Camille Helminski.   “Whatever it is you wish to marry, Go; absorb yourself in that Beloved, Assume its shape and qualities. If you wish for the Light, prepare yourself to receive it, If you wish to be far from God, nourish your egoism and drive yourself away. If you wish to find a way out of this ruined prison, don't turn your head away from the Beloved, But bow in worship and draw near.”   Whatever we love in this world, we reflect it.   But only to eyes that discern.   The truth is, what do we see?   When we see the rose bud, and it has not bloomed, do we see the Hand of the Creator?   Do we understand that it blooms in its own time, and to force it would tear it?   For surely, He is the Best of Planners, and He is al-Lathif, the Subtle One.   We look around...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following was translated by Shaykh Kabir Edmund Helminski, and Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski.   Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Matsnawi I, 217-219, 221:   “Love of the dead does not last Because the dead will not return, But love of the living, Is in every moment fresher than a bud, Both to the inward and the outward eye. Choose the love of that Living One, Who is Everlasting, Who Offers you, The wine that increases life. Do not say, ‘We have no entrance to that King.’ Dealings with the generous are not difficult.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following article is taken from Women & Sufism by Shaykha Camille Adams Helminski.   This article first appeared in Gnosis #30.   Since the beginning of consciousness, human beings, both female and male, have walked the path of reunion with the Source of Being.   Though in this world of duality we may find ourselves in different forms, ultimately there is no male or female, only Being.   Within the Sufi traditions, the recognition of this truth has encouraged the spiritual maturation of women in a way that has not always been possible in the West.   From the earliest days onward, women have played an important role in the development of Sufism, which is classically understood to have begun with the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) brought a message of integration of spirit and matter, of essence and everyday life, of recognition of the feminine as well as the masculine.   Th...