Divine Love
“The essence of God is love and The Sufi Path is
path of love. Love is to see what is good and
beautiful in everything. It is to learn from everything,
to see the gifts of God and the generosity of God in
everything. It is to be thankful for all all God's
bounties.
This is the first step on the road to the love of God.
This is just a seed of love. In time, the seed will grow
and become a tree and bear fruit. Then, whoever
tastes of that fruit will know what real love is. It will
be differently for those who have tasted to tell of it to
those who have not”.
Muzaffer Ashki al-Halveti al-Jerrahi (1916-1985)
Premordial Covent
And when your Lord brought forth from the
children of Adam, from their backs, their
descendants, and made them bear
witness against their own souls: Am I not
your Lord? They said: Yes! we bear
witness. Lest you should say on the day of
resurrection: Surely we were heedless of
this”. Quran 7:172,Shakir
Hadith Qudsi
“I was a HIdden Treasure,
and loved to be known intimately,
so I created the Heavens and the
Earth, so that they may come to
InTImaTely know me”.
Sufis:Love of God&Mankind
• All people are the children of God on earth
“ Oh God! I bear witness that all Thy creatures
are brothers”Hadith
“ Why this meaningless talk about the believer,
the kafir, the obedient, the sinner,
the rightly guided, the misdirected, the Muslim,
the pious, the infidel, the fire worshipper?
All are like beads in a rosary.” Abdul Quddus of
Gangoh
Sufis:Love of God&Mankind
• Adopt the ways of God
• To reflect in one’s own thought and activity
the attributes of God.
“ Higher spiritual life is nothing but service
of humanity, It is not (chanting) the rosary,
(remaining on the) prayer carpet or
(wearing) coarse garments.”Nizamuddin
To identy service of God with the service
of man
Sufis:Love of God&Mankind
• Unity of Divine Revelation. “Say: We make
no difference between them (prophets of
God)”Quran:3:78
• “All these religions and faiths are branches of
the same tree,They have sprouted from one and
the same root.”Shah Niaz Ahmad
• “Learn from the eyes the way to develop,unity
and oneness.The two eyes appear different
but their vision is one.”
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya (c.717-801).
• One of the most famous Sufi Woman.
was born around 717 in Basra(Iraq) and
died in 801. Her biographer,the great
Sufi Poet Attar, tells us that she was
"on fire with love and longing" and that
men accepted her "as a second
spotless Mary". She was, he continues,
“an unquestioned authority to her
contemporaries"
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya
•
Rabia a Sufi saint woman, was asked,
"Do you love God?"
She answered, "Yes."
"Do you hate the devils?"
She answered, "No, my love of God
leaves me no time to hate the devil.“
• “You talk about loving God while you disobey Him;
I swear by my life that this is something very
strange.
If you were truthful in your love, you would obey
Him,
For a lover obeys whom he loves.”
Mansur al-Hallaj
858-922
More controversial figures of Sufism.Great
Poet-Saint.al-Hallaj means "wool carder,"
was born in the province of Fars,
Persia,later moved to Iraq, where he took
up Religious Studies& Sufi way.
Orthodox religious authorities took offense
to "Ana 'l-Haqq," "I am the Real,"
translated as "I am the Truth" or "I am
God." He was condemned by a council of
theologians&was executed for blasphemy
and sorcery.
Al-Hallaj
• Kill me, my faithful friends,
For in my being killed is my life.
Love is that you remain standing
In front of your Beloved
When you are stripped of all your attributes;
Then His attributes become your qualities.
Between me and You, there is only me.
Take away the me, so only You remain
Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
(967 - 1049)
• “Piousness and the
• Abu Said referred to
himself as “Nobody,
path of love
Son of Nobody,” to
are two different
convey the mystic's
roads.
sense of having
Love is the fire that
completely merged or
disappeared into the
burns both belief
Divine, leaving no
and non-belief.
trace of the ego
Those who practice
behind.He died in
Love have neither
Mayhana,Turkmenist
an,
religion nor caste”
Khwajah Abdullah Ansari
(1006-1088)
• Famous Persian poet and Sufi.
• He was born and died in Heart,known as Pious
of Heart’"Shaikul Mashayekh" [Master of (Sufi)
Masters] and "Shaikhul Islam". He wrote several
books on Islamic mysticism and philosophy in
Persian and Arabic. His most famous work is
"Munajat Namah" (literally 'Litanies or dialogues
with God'), which is considered a masterpiece of
Persian literature.
Shaykh Abdullah Ansari
(1006 - 1088)
• Life in my body pulsates only for Thee,
My heart beats in resignation to Thy will.
If on my dust a tuft of grass were to grow
Every blade would tremble with my
devotion for Thee
'Abdullah al-Ansari (1006-1089)
• 'Where Are You?'
• O God,
You are the aim of the
call of the sincere,
You enlighten the
souls of the friends,
(and)
You are the
comfort of the hearts of
the travellers--because You are
present in the very soul.
• I call out, from emotion:
"Where are you?"
• You are the life of the
soul,
You are the rule
(ayin) of speech, (and)
You are Your own
interpreter (tarjaman).
• For the sake of Your
obligation to Yourself,
do not enter us
into the shade of
deception, (but)
make us reach
union (wisal) with You.
Farid ud-Din Attar
(1119- 1220)
•
About thirty works by Attar survive, but his
masterpiece is the Mantic at-Tayr (Conference of
the Birds).A group of birds (individual human
souls) under the leadership of a hoopoe
(spiritual master) who determine to search for
the legendary Simurgh bird (God). The birds
must confront their own individual limitations and
fears while journeying through seven valleys
before they ultimately find the Simurgh and
complete their quest..
His tomb is in Nishapur,Iran.
Attar (1119 - 1230)
From each, Love
demands a mystic
silence.
What do all seek so
earnestly? Tis Love.
Love is the subject of
their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer
"Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed
away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside
the veil from Love,
And in the temple of
mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend,
Incomparable Love.
He who would know the
secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret
of them both is Love
Sanai
1118-1152
• Don't speak of your
suffering -- He is
speaking.
Don't look for Him
everywhere -- He's
looking for you.
An ant's foot touches a
leaf, He senses it;
A pebble shifts in a
streambed, He knows it.
If there's a worm hidden
deep in a rock,
• He'll know its body,
tinier than an atom,
The sound of its praise,
its secret ecstasy -All this He knows by
divine knowing.
He has given the tiniest
worm its food;
He has opened to you
the Way of the Holy
Ones.
Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165 -1240)
Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage,one of the world's great
spiritual teachers.Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion)
Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master),was born in 1165
AD in Andalusian Spain, the centre of an extraordinary
flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish, Christian and
Islamic thought, through which the major scientific and
philosophical works of antiquity were transmitted to
Northern Europe. Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual attainments were
evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his
great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative
teacher. He travelled extensively in the Islamic world and
died in Damascus in 1240 AD. (The Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi
Society)
Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi
(1165-1240)
It is He who is revealed in
every face, sought in
every sign, gazed upon
by every eye, worshipped
in every object of
worship, and pursued in
the unseen and the
visible. Not a single one
of His creatures can fail
to find Him in its
primordial and original
nature
The movement which is
the existence of the
universe is the movement
of love.
Fakhruddin Iraqi
1213 - 1289
Born in Kamajan near Hamadan.
a month before his birth, 'Iraqi's father had a
dream vision in which Imam 'Ali handed him the
child and said, "Take our 'Iraqi and raise him
well, for he will be a world conqueror!"
The young 'Iraqi eventually ended up in Multan
Pakistan. Initiated in the Sufi way under Shaykh
Baha'uddin, the head of the Suhrawardiyya
,'Iraqi lived in Multan for 25 years, composing
poetry. As Shaykh Baha'uddin was dying, he
named Fakhruddin 'Iraqi to be his successor
Fakhruddin Iraqi
When it became known that 'Iraqi had been
named head of the Suhrawardi Order,Local
Sultan sought to have him arrested,fled to
Mecca and Medina. Later moved to Konya. 'Iraqi
often listened to Rumi teach and recite poetry,
and attended Rumi's funeral.Became disciple of
Sadruddin Qunawi, step-son of Ibn 'Arabi,was
deeply devoted to the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi &
was inspired to compose his own
masterpiece“Lama'at” Divine Flashes.
He is buried near Ibn 'Arabi's tomb.
Fakhruddin Iraqi
1213 - 1289
• Every word of every tongue is
Love telling a story to her own ears.
Every thought in every mind,
She whispers a secret to her own Self.
Every vision in every eye,
She shows her beauty to her own sight.
Every smile on every face,
She reveals her own joy for herself to enjoy.
Love courses through everything,
No, Love is everything.
How can you say, there is no love,
when nothing but Love exists?
All that you see has appeared because of Love.
All shines from Love,
All pulses with Love,
All flows from Love-No, once again, all IS Love!
Divine Flashes
Lama’at:Divine Flashes
La ilaha illa'l-'ishq
– There is no god but Love.
• Before this there was one heart
but a thousand thoughts
Now all is reduced to
"There is no love but Love."
Fakhruddin 'Iraqi
Saadi
(1207-1291)
• Sheikh Muslihu'd-Din, known as Saadi, was born and
died in Shiraz,
First twenty-five years he spent studying in various
countries, going to university at Baghdad. next thirty
years he travelled widely made pilgrimage to Mecca
fourteen times. Finally, Sadi returned to Shiraz where he
devoted himself to writing and to teaching.
Was disciple of Shaykh Shahabud-Din Suhrawardi.
• Books:
Bustan (the Garden), composed entirely in verse
• Gulistan (the Rose Garden), in both prose and verse.
Sadi is probably the first Persian poet to have been
translated into European languages. A German version
of the Gulistan appeared in 1654.
Saadi
(1207- 1291)
“All Adam's race are members
of one frame;
Since all, at first, from the
same essence came.
When by hard fortune one limb
is oppressed,
The other members lose their
wonted rest:
If thou feel'st not for others'
misery,
A son of Adam is no name for
thee”
Poem is used to grace the
entrance to the Hall of Nations
of the UN building in New York
with this call for breaking all
barriers
Saadi Shirazi (1215-1292)
• His infinite glory lays all
• How could I ever thank
praise waste.
my Friend?
Look, He has graced you
No thanks could ever
a robe of splendor
begin to be worthy.
Every hair of my body is a >From childhood's first
cries to old age!
gift from Him;
He made you pure in His
How could I thank Him for
own image; stay pure.
each hair?
It is horrible to die
Praise that lavish Lord
blackened by sin.
forever
Never let dust settle on
Who from nothing
your mirror's shining;
conjures all living beings!
Let it once grow dull and
Who could ever describe
it will never polish.
His goodness?
Saadi
• Don't claim the credit all
for yourself;
• When you work in the
It is fate that decides who
world to earn your living
wins and who loses
Do not, for one moment,
And all success streams
rely on your own strength.
only from the grace of
Self-worshiper, don't you
God.
understand anything yet?
In this world you never
It is God alone that gives
stand by your own
your arms their power.
strength;
If, by your striving, you
It is the Invisible that
achieve something good,
sustains you every
moment.
Hafiz(1320 – 1389)
• Shams-ud-din Muhammad,most beloved poet of
Persia. Born in Shiraz,a famous Sufi Master.Has
written 5,000 poems, of which 500 to 700 have
survived. His Divan (collected poems) is a classic in
the literature of Sufism. The work of Hafiz became
known to the West largely through the efforts of
Goethe, whose enthusiasm rubbed off on Ralph
Waldo Emerson, who translated Hafiz in the
nineteenth century. Hafiz's poems were also
admired by Nietzsche, Pushkin, Turgenev, Carlyle,
and Garcia Lorka; even Sherlock Holmes.
The Gift: Poems of Hafiz the Great Sufi Master
Hafiz of Shiraz (1230-91)
•
We are the guardians of His
Beauty
We are the protectors
Of the Sun.
There is only one reason
We have followed God into this
world:
To encourage laughter,
freedom, dance
And love.
Let a noble cry inside of you
speak to me
Saying,
"Hafiz,
Don't just sit there on the moon
tonight
Doing nothing -
•
Help unfurl my heart into the
Friend's Mind,
Help, Old Man, to heal my
wounded wings!"
We are the companions of His
Beauty
We are the guardians
Of Truth.
Every man, plant and creature
in Existence,
Every woman, child, vein and
note
Is a servant of our Beloved -
A harbinger of joy,
The harbinger of
Light.
Yunus Emre
(1238 - 1320)
• One of the most important Turkish poets. Sufi dervish of
Anatolia.
His poetry expresses a deep personal mysticism and
humanism and love for God.
He was a contemporary of Rumi, who lived in the same
region. A story is told of a meeting between the two great
souls: Rumi asked Yunus Emre what he thought of his
great work the Mathnawi. Yunus Emre said, "Excellent,
excellent! But I would have done it differently." Surprised,
Rumi asked how. Yunus replied, "I would have written, 'I
came from the eternal, clothed myself in flesh, and took
the name Yunus.'" That story perfectly illustrates Yunus
Emre's simple, direct approach that has made him so
beloved.
.
Yunus Emre
1240- 1320
• We entered the house of
realization,
we witnessed the body.
The whirling skies, the
many-layered earth,
the seventy-thousand veils,
we found in the body.
The night and the day, the
planets,
the words inscribed on the
Holy Tablets,
• the hill that Moses climbed,
the Temple,
and Israfil's trumpet, we
observed in the body.
Torah, Psalms, Gospel,
Quranwhat these books have to
say,
we found in the body.
Everybody says these words
of Yunus
are true. Truth is wherever
you want it.
We found it all within the
body.
Sa'd al-din Mahmud
Shabistari(1250 - 1320)
• 'One Light'
• What are "I" and
"You"?
Just lattices
In the niches of a
lamp
Through which the
One Light radiates.
• "I" and "You" are
the veil
Between heaven
and earth;
• Lift this veil and you
will see
How all sects and
religions are one.
• Lift this veil and you
will ask--When "I" and "You"
do not exist
What is mosque?
What is synagogue?
What is fire temple?
Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A
(1173 – 1266)
Sufi saint who is
considered by many to be
the first major poet of the
Punjabi language. He
was born in the Multan
district of what is today
Pakistan.
Later, when the Sikh holy
book the Adi Granth
Sahib was compiled,
many of Baba Sheikh
Farid's poems and
couplets were included,
alongside the poetry of
Kabir and Ravidas
Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A
(1173 – 1266)
• Do not speak a hurtful word,
for in everyone lives the true Lord.
Do not break anyone's heart,
for each heart
is a priceless pearl.
• Says Farid,
Why do you roam the jungles with thorns
pricking your feet?
Your Lord dwells in your heart.
And you wander about in search of Him.
Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A
• Farida
Kalle Mainde Kaparre
Kalle Mainda Ves
Ghunhi Bhariyan Main
Firaa
Lok Kahain Darves
•
• Farid
My Clothes Are Black
My Outfit Is Black
I Am Full of Sin
And Yet People Call Me A
Dervish
AMIR KHUSRO: (Parrot of Hind)
(1253 A.D. to 1325 A.D.)
Amir Khusro was a great
Sufi, a wealthy merchant
who once exchanged all
his wealth for a pair of
Nizamuddin’s
shoes,Liguist,artist,prolific
author,musician,inventor(
sitar),composer and a
true devoted disciple.He
was "All-in-One" mixture
of Divine gifts.
Amir Khusro&Love of Prophet
I wonder what was the place
where I was last night,
All around me were halfslaughtered victims of love,
tossing about in agony.
There was a nymph-like
beloved with cypress-like form
and tulip-like face,
Ruthlessly playing havoc with
the hearts of the lovers.
God himself was the master of
ceremonies in that heavenly
court,
oh Khusro, where (the face of)
the Prophet too was shedding
light
Like a candle.
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi
• Great philosopher and mystic of Islam, His doctrine
advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning,
goodness, charity and awareness through love.
• Mevlana was born on 30 September 1207 in Balkh He
died on 17 December 1273 in Konya . He was laid to
rest beside his father and a splendid shrine was erected.
The 13th century Mevlana Mausoleum with its mosque,
dance hall, dervish living quarters, school and tombs of
some leaders of the Mevlevi Order continues to this day
to draw pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim and nonMuslim world.(mevlana.net)
Rumi ,The Poet of Love
Gamble everything for love,
if you’re a true human being.
If not, leave this gathering.
Half-heartedness doesn’t reach into
majesty.
You set out to find God,
but then you keep stopping for long
periods
at mean-spirited roadhouses.
Ahmad Jami
(1048 - 1141)
• Born 440/1048 in Namaq, settled in Jam, Afghanistan.
After a dissolute youth, he underwent a conversion
experience and became famous for his austerity and
love of seclusion; he spent eighteen years alone in the
mountains near Jam studying the Quran and religious
sciences. At age forty he began to initiate disciples, write
books, and travel around Khorasan. He made the
pilgrimage to Mecca late in life, and died on his return in
536/1141. He was buried in his khaneqah in Jam, which
is today a center of pilgrimage
The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi
Poetry, by Peter Lamborn Wilson and Nasrollah
Pourjavady
Jami (1414-92)
• Whether your destiny is glory or disgrace,
Purify yourself of hatred and love of self.
Polish your mirror; and that sublime Beauty
From the regions of mystery
Will flame out in your heart
As it did for the saints and prophets.
Then, with your heart on fire with that
Splendor,
The secret of the Beloved will no longer be
hidden.
Jami (1414-92)
• Whether your destiny is
glory or disgrace,
Purify yourself of hatred
and love of self.
Polish your mirror; and
that sublime Beauty
From the regions of
mystery
Will flame out in your
heart
As it did for the saints and
prophets.
Then, with your heart on
fire with that Splendor,
• The secret of the Beloved
will no longer be hidden.
Jami
If Love manifests itself
within you,
it has its origins in beauty.
You are nothing but a
mirror
in which beauty is
reflected
.
Because beauty and its
reflection are both from
that One Source,
it is both treasure and
treasure-house.
Sultan Bahu (d. 1691)
One of Subcontinent’s most enduringly beloved
and influential Sufi poets. A respected scholar
from what is today the nation of Pakistan, Bahu
became famous worldwide for his eloquent and
inspirational Punjabi poetry and prose, which
constitute a central pillar of the Sufi religious and
literary tradition of northern India. So popular is
his poetry in Pakistan and India today that
illiterate Punjabis can recite it by heart.
Death before Dying: Sufi Poetry of Sultan Bahu,
by Jamal Elias
Sultan Bahu
I knew God well when
love flashed before me.
It gives me strength by
night and day, and shows
what lies ahead.
In me are flames, in me is
fuel, in me is smoke.
I only found my Beloved,
Bahu, when love made
me aware.
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
(1689 - 1752)
Shah Abdul Latif
Bhitai was a devout
Muslim Sufi, but his
spirituality was broad
and welcoming,
making room for
Muslim and Hindu
alike. He is one of the
most revered poets
and saints of the
Sindh ,Pakistan.
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
(1689 - 1752)
• If you are seeking Allah,
Then keep clear of religious
formalities.
Those who have seen Allah
Are away from all religions!
Those who do not see Allah
here,
How will they see Him
beyond?
Let us go the land of Kak
Where love flows in
abundance,
There are no entrances, no
exits,
Every one can see the Lord!
• There is no light nor day
Every one can see the Lord!
Those who love the Lord
The world cannot hold them.
Palaces do not attract them,
Nor women nor servants
Nothing binds them:
The renouncers leave
everything behind.
Baba Bulleh Shah (1680-1758)
Great humanist,
philosopher, rebel,
internationalist, teacher
sufi poet of all times,was
the disciple of Enayat
Shah Lahori, who himself
was a great Sufi of his
time
Masjid dha de, mandir dha de,
dha de jo kucch dainda
Par kisi da dil na dhain, Rab
dilan vich rehnda.
“ Tear down the mosque and
the temple
break everything in sight
But do not break a person’s
heart
it is there that God resides”
Bulleh shah
• paRh paRh ilm hazaar kitaabaN
qaddi apnay aap nou paRhiya naee
jaaN jaaN waRhday mandir maseedi
qaddi mann apnay wich waRhiya naee
aa-vaiN laRda aye shaitan de naal bandeaa
qaddi nafss apnay naal laRiya naee
• [yes, yes, you have read thousands of books
but you have never tried to read your own self
you rush in, into your Mandirs, into your Mosques
but you have never tried to enter your own heart
futile are all your battles with Satan
for you have never tried to fight your own desires]
Bulleh Shah
• Parh parh masley roz sunaavey
Khaanaa shak shubey da khaweyn
Daseyn hor te hor kamaaweyn
Ander khot baahir suchyaar
• You deliver sermons everyday
You eat the food of suspicion and doubt
You preach something and act inversly
Inwardly you are corrupt but outwardly you
are pious
Frithjof Schuon
• German by birth and
Swiss by nationality and
lived many years in
France. He is a wellrespected European
mystic and philosopher of
a universalist form of
Sufism that has been
called the Perennial
Philosophy.
• Frithjof Schuon: Life and
Teachings (Suny Series in
Western Esoteric Traditions)
SpaceThemes: Frithjof Schuon
The North, the South; the East and then the West:
Their mysteries we carry in our breast.
Zenith, Nadir, Spirit and Earth, 'tis we:
Purity, Love, Strength and Serenity.
Each value in the universal frame
Within our soul and spirit is the same.
Each quarter or each quality of Space
Shows a divine and cosmic Beauty's face.
So let us hear Eternal Wisdom's call:
By thyself truly, and thou art the All.
Frithjof Schuon
(1907 – 1998)
• It was within yourself, what Heaven brought.
What comes from God is in your heart the wine
Of Bliss and Wisdom. It will ne'er be found
By those who do not stand on sacred ground.
The singing of the flute came from Above;
The flute was in my heart; the song was Love.
It was the Ocean's endless melody:
A song of God and of Eternity
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
• Sufi Muslim saint from Sri
Lanka (Ceylon) He
gained a reputation early
on as a holy man, and
many people from all
faiths on the island would
come to receive his
teachings.
In the early 1970s, he
came to the United States
and settled in
Philadelphia. There, he
continued to teach a
universal understanding
of all religions.
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
(1900? - 1986)
• The things that change are not our real life.
Within us there is another body, another beauty.
It belongs to that ray of Light which never changes.
We must discover how to mingle with It and become one
with that Unchanging thing.
We must realize and understand this treasure of Truth.
That is why we have come to the world.
Within your heart in a space no bigger than an atom,
God has placed the 18,000 universes.
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
(1900? - 1986)
There is One God.
He created all beings,
And He exists beyond the beyond of religions,
Beyond the separations of race,
Religion, and philosophies.
He is beyond mind, desire, and physical vision
He is beyond the world, lust, torpor, and illusion.
God resides in that spotlessly pure place known
as the heart
And sees and knows everything.
He sees each and every heart and mind and
understands all things