Ramadan- A Month of Contemplation and Devotion

The holy month Ramadan (also pronounced as Ramazan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the blessed month in which Quranic Revelation started. It’s a special month of prayer, meditation, contemplation and devotion.

I’m not a scholar of any creed but a wanderer who quests for understanding of the Holy Message. To my understanding Ramadan is a blessed month to celebrate the spirituality in which one remembers the creator, contemplate their life,  imprison all their senses,  sacrifice the ego and  remove all the barriers that cloud the mirror of Perfection.

Fasting (restraining oneself from food) for the day and feasting at night isn’t the real essence of this month. To abstain ONLY  from food and drink  is child’s play, one must abstain from sins, from unlawful pleasures and acts, not eating ONLY  from lawful foods. Abstinence involves many obligations  which are beyond a cetain period.  For the ones who know, it is the month of union with the Universal Soul. The wise ones seek the inner self, they relinquish all the worldly desires and pleasures because they know the’ hidden self’ is behind the veil of ones own physical, emotional and mental bodies.

As Kabir says:

Within this body

Are enchanted landscape and woods,

The seven seas and the innumerable stars.

Within this body

The Eternal keeps singing

And its spring goes on and on flowing.

If you ever get a chance to read Rumi’s Mathnavi, you will be touched by  amazing experiences and you will realize why he compares the human body with the reed flute. To connect oneself with the Divine Spirit, first we need to become hollow like a reed.

In Rumi’s language again:

There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.

We are lutes, no more, no less.

 If the soundboxes stuffed full of anything, no music.

If the brain and belly are burning clean with fasting,

every moment a new song comes out of the fire.

The fog clears, and new energy makes you run

up the steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.

 

Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.

When you’re full of food and drink,

Satan sits where your spirit should,

an ugly metal statue in place of the Kaaba.

When you fast, good habits gather

like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Solomon’s ring.

 

Don’t give into some illusion and lose your power,

but even if you have, if you’ve lost all will and control,

they come back when you fast,

like soldiers appearing out of the ground,

pennants flying above them.

 

A table descends to your tents, Jesus’ table.

Expect to see it, when you fast,

this tablespread with other food,

better than the broth of cabbages.

Masters of the truth have said that our physical strength depends on food and drink while, our spiritual strength depends on going hungry and thirsty. Our spiritual masters used to mediate without food and drink for many days. In Allah’s dominion, hunger is a divine food -according to them. Even in the holy scriptures of the Prophet Mosses and the Prophet Jesus you will find the similar wisdom.

Here is selection to share with you from the book Discourses on the Sufi path :

A Bedouin was walking with his dog in the desert, carrying a leather skin of water on his shoulder, and crying pitifully as he went along. When asked why he was crying, he replied,

“Because my dog is dying of thirst!” 

“Why don’t you give him some of your water, then?” the person said.

“Because I might need it for myself.”

 

So it depends on ones spiritual station, revelations by Universal Wisdom to discern between the two “Fanna and  Nafs.” I have seen many pseudo figures, who seem to be very genuine in their speech but when it comes to practice their nafs appear and unfortunately our land is full of such heretics who rule not from a place of highest Truth.

As Nasir Khusraw Says:

By day you fast and moan and finger your rosary,

By night you’re enjoying music and wine.

You’ve memorized the Book of con quite smoothly,

So now you’re grand mufti of Balkh, Nishapur and Herat.

Your words are very heavy with fruits as a date palm

But when it comes to action your thorn appear.

 Baba Bulleh Shah, the mystic of Punjab also alludes the same notion  and criticize  religious orthodoxy of his time.

“Parh nafal namaaz guzaarey

Uchiyaan baangaa chaaagaa maarey

Mimbar te charh waz pukaarey

Keetaa teynoo hirs khawaar”

 You say prayers upon prayers 

You scream and yell loudly 

Sitting on the pulpit, you deliver sermons 

Greed has brought disgrace upon you 

Those who are successful in unfreezing their heart from worldly desires will recognize soon the Divine reality as confirmed by Mustafa and His progeny. May Allah Almighty bless us all , may He fulfil our prayers and wishes and may He makes us understand the spirit of Ramadan . Ameen

In service to the Real,

 Nooru

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Nasir Khusraw – The Splendour of Wisdom

(He who seeks- shall find)- Sufi Proverb

The area of Badakhshan (Eastern Afghanistan, Southern Tajikistan and Northern Pakistan) is blessed with the highest mountain peaks: Lenin Peak, Tirichmir Peak, Pamir Peaks and so on but there is no Mountain high enough to praise Nasir khusraw’s personality, even writers find themselves dumb whilst praising him. Ocean too before his great wisdom shrinks into a single drop; his words are lamp of enlightenment for the heart. It’s hardly possible in such a brief introduction to deal with the facts of Khusraw’s thoughts as he deserves to be discussed, to be loved and to be infused in today’s knowledge society. His poetry is full of wisdom, of reason, of the right meaning and the right faith.

Nasir Khusraw famously known as “The Ruby Of Badakhshan,”  and was born in Khurasan 1004 C.E. He ranked among the greatest mystic of Persia and was the early link in the chain of meta physical poetry, which was continued later by such figures as Rumi, Attar, Sa’di and Hafiz. Unlike others he was also a master of the science of the time and was a preacher of philosophical wisdom but unfortunately we have not given high accolade to this mystic poet in our school of thoughts.

A Sufi proverb: “One who seeks shall find”- Nasir Khusraw’s wandering ceased after his search for wisdom amongst all school of thoughts culminated in his meeting with the Imam of the time Mustansir Bil’lah (a.s) the 18th Imam of Shi’a Ismaili Muslims and 8th Fatimid Caliph who ruled from (1035-1094) in Cairo Egypt. The meeting was similar as Rumi’s to Shams. The era of Fatimid’s was the golden era of inventions, scholars, thinkers, philosophers and scientists.

In praise of Fatimid’s He says:

“The sun shines forth, like Fatimid’s as it ascends the slope from its winter exile, It’s rays as bright as Zulfiqar (Sword Of Ali) giving vigor to the rose as to the pearl-white steed of Ali “

He pours out his devotional songs to the Beloved of the time as Nightingale to the Rose. His poetry is based on intellect, which distinguishes human being from other animals. He enforces us to contemplate and to comprehend the manifestation of God through intellect and search.

 

“The world is a deep ocean, its water is time;
Your body is like a shell, your soul the pearl.
If you wish to have the value of a pearl,
Raise up the pearl of your soul by learning.”

And

“What did God give us alone of all the other creatures?
The intellect, by which we lord o’er all the beasts.
But note, that virtue and intellect which makes us lords of donkeys,
Are the very same trait which binds us as slaves of the Lord
With intellect, we can seek out all the hows and whys,
Without it, we are but trees without fruit.”

His teaching was not well received in his native land ‘Balkh’. His opponents incited a mob to sack his house and even attempted to assassinate him. Finding his native land uncomfortable he fled to remote valley of ‘Yamgan- now eastern part of Afganistan.

“The wise man wastes no words on a horde of idiots-

They call me ‘unorthodox’-bah!-

What do they know of Islam except the name? “

Divan-e Khusraw is full of wisdom, each time when I open the Divan, it blossoms. Perhaps it is my intense curiosity and restless wandering heart that have instilled love of Khusraw’s theology. During the study of his Divan I acquired an almost physical picture of him and if I’m questioned, how Khusraw influenced me? Almost every time when I hear his Qasidas( devotional songs) I can imagine him singing and dancing to praise and please the beloved in the valley of Yamgan.

Nasir says:

“O Beloved! When I proclaim your name

 Roses spring up from your blessings

When your servant speaks your name

 The vale of Yamgan feels with dancing stars”.

Fariduddin Attar wrote a six-line poem entitled, “The Tale of Nasir Khusraw and His Seclusion”

The cry of Nasir Khusraw when he dwelt in Yumgan,
Arched even past heaven’s nine-storied vault,
A little corner he took to hide himself away
Hearing the Prophet himself had named that very spot,
Not a man to enter into the fighting fields of dogs,
Like a Ruby in Badakhshan he hid himself away

Mid the hidden hearts of mountain he chose the corner of Yumgan,
So as not to have to look upon the horrid faces of his foes,
Now I, too, like that great Prince have found a little corner for myself,
Since in the search for deeper meaning
He provided the provisions.

Khusraw’s poetry reflects his rejection of orthodox hold of Mullahs over Islam. One consistent theme is his scorn for hypocritical religious leaders:

From pulpit-tops they preach to the common folk,
Dazzling them about paradise and the food to be had there.
They crow and cry in hope of food;
Asses always bray when you speak of barley.

 And

 By day you fast and moan and finger your rosary,

By night you’re enjoying music and wine.

You’ve memorized the Book of con quite smoothly,
So now you’re grand mufti of Balkh, Nishapur and Herat.

Your words are very heavy with fruits as a date palm

But when it comes to action your thorn appear.”

 

In the poems, he asks, if those who pledged their allegiance to Muhammad are assured a place in heaven, what is the justice for those who live at a later time, to whom should they stretch out their hand?  He asks, have you not heard to whom Prophet entrusted his dominion of the sermon by the ditch? The one before whose courage the boldness of unbelievers faded like lantern held up to Sun?

 

In Praise of Ahle-Bait (Progeny of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he says:

“I choose the friendship of Ali, whose swords brings dark nights to his foes bright day to his partisans. Light is far superior to a smoke, even if both come from fire. Black smoke may arise high as clouds but gives no rain. Not every child whose father called him Noah owns an ark to ride out the Flood- Only prophet family has the power to decipher.”

For more on Khusraw’s poetry:

http://nooru.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/i-choose-the-deen-of-muhammad-by-hakim-nasir-khisraw/

 (http://www.amaana.org/khusraw/khusrawali.htm)

 http://www.amaana.org/ISWEB/ismpoet2.htm

Today’s knowledge society needs someone like Khusraw to lit the fire of reason and to show the true spirit of Islam. We have to reclaim Khusraw and introduce the rich, plural heritage of Islam to the world.  This age is the time for exploration of truth and confusion. Pick up guns and spread the message of Islam was never a motive of Muslims, Islam spread by the message of love by deeds, by the weight  of the inks not the way Talibans enforce it or the ones who sees everything through blurred lens-practicing it.

 In service to the Real

Nooruddin Jalal

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