Mathnavi of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (133 pages, 12/18)
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e the trader went on a journey to India, he asked all his servants: "What shall I bring for you from India?" In this way he also inquired from the parrot as to what he shall bring for it from India. He asked the parrot what message it wanted delivered to the parrots of India..
The parrot replied: "In India when you shall pass any meadow and see any group of parrots, give them my salaams and pass this message onto them:
"A certain parrot longs to meet you
But through the decree of Allah, he is a captive in a cage". The parrot said further:
"After passing my salaams to them, say:
Is this acceptable to you that he should be restless in longing for you And that he should in this restless state come to the end of his life." He also said:
"And tell them: 'For how long is it going to be acceptable to you That he should continue to be imprisoned
While you can fly about in the greenery and from tree to tree?
Is this the faithfulness of friends that he should remain a captive? While you are free to roam among the gardens? .
The remembrance of friends by friends is a blessed thing
Especially when between them lies the relationship of Layla and Majnoon".
When the trader passed ,the message onto the parrots of India, they also gave him their regards. When one of the parrots heard the message, she started shaking. She fell down from the branch of the tree and landed on the ground dead. The trader felt great grief that the parrot had died. He felt that if he did not pass on the message it would have been better.
After having seen to hi~ business, he returned from India. He distributed the presents which he had bought for the servants. Then the parrot asked him: "And what message did the parrots from the forests of India have for me? Whatever you have seen or heard, you should tell me".
The trader replied:
"I passed your complaints onto your parrot friends Who shared in your sorrows.
But there was one parrot among them who was greatly affected, So much so that it could not bear it and started trembling and died. When the parrot heard what happened to the one parrot,
He also began trembling and fell down cold".
When the trader" saw this, he began crying: "Oh, what is this? What has happened?"
The trader said:
"Alas! O melodious voiced bird,
Alas! O my Companion, my Confidant!"
Thereafter when the trader imagined that the parrot had died of sorrow, he took it out of the cage and threw it outside. The parrot flew away and sat on a high branch of a tree. The trader looked up towards it and asked: "Tell me what is this? Explain to me the meaning of this".
The parrot replied: "That parrot has through its action made itself dead and taught me a lesson, that my freedom and deliverance can be attained in this manner i.e. pretend to be a dead one. Then the parrot greeted the trader and said to him: "Farewell".
The parrot said:
"O master, I have taken the direction to my home-land.
I now leave you. May God free you also from the chains of your nafs like me. So that like me you too will fly around in the nearness of God".
The trader said:
"Go in the safety of Allah, go to your home-land. You have taught me also the way towards freedom.
Is my life inferior to the parrots that I be a captive in a prison And a slave in the chains of my desires.
And deprived of Allah's nearness. Thus my life should be such
That it flies to its true garden, free from bonds". LESSON:
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) has mentioned this story to inform us that the parrot did not find freedom from the prison of his cage through long speeches and high shouting, nor through a claim of arrogance. He found his freedom through annihilating himself and through self sacrifice: Thus when someone wishes to free himself from the cage of his 'nafs' and from Shaytaan, he will have to learn to become annihilated and to learn the process of self- annihilation from one who is annihilated in Allah. This is so because the one who is himself imprisoned cannot set free another prisoner. The Saints of Allah are people who have been released from the cage. By choosing their companionship and company, others can also find freedom and relief.
THE ROMANS AND THE CHINESE IN DECORATING
Once some Chinese told a King: "We are very well known for our ability to decorate and adorn buildings". Then some Romans said: "We are able to produce more splendid decorations and adornments". Thereupon the King said: "All right, we shall test your abilities to see who is best".
"The Romans and the Chinese came before the King,
While the Romans were noted for being more knowledgeable".
Then the Chinese told the King: "Give us a house so that we may decorate it. Let the house be hidden. behind a curtain so that these Romans cannot copy or imitate our decorations" . According to these conditions they started decorating the house in their own excellent manner.
Then the Romans said: "We shall prepare a decorated house of our own, just opposite the spot where the Chinese shall work, so that you may easily ascertain by comparing the two houses, as to whose work is better".
The Romans also started working behind a curtain in a secret way. However, they did not make any decorated paintings. They merely started cleaning and polishing the wall of the house until in the end the wall of the house started shining like a mirror.
Then came the time of the test. The curtains were removed and the result was that the beautiful paintings and pictures in the house of the Chinese became reflected on the wall of the Romans so that their art appeared more beautiful. The King came along. .
"He saw the decorations made by the Chinese.
So beautiful were they that they drove the mind away. Thereafter the King inspected the Romans' decorations And was astonished at what he saw.
Whatever the king saw on the other side, here appeared more beautiful.
So that through the efforts of decorating, the eyes were popping out of their sockets".
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) compared the work of the Romans to that done by the Saintly ones because these Saintly ones place great emphasis upon cleansing the heart and through the blessings of that, without studying books and revision, they become decorated with beautiful character.
"However, the Saintly ones cleanse and polish their hearts profusely Whereby greed, stinginess and enmity is removed from it.
One Saint says:
Our law is to keep the heart like a mirror, clean and free of dust. And our way is this, that to retain malice therein, is a major crime".
LESSON:
It was always the way of our elders to pay much attention to "takhliyah" - to keep the heart free of the love of anyone other than Allah. Thereafter it becomes easier to reform and rectify bad characteristics in one's self. This they placed before the acquisition of good characteristics. Hence, they first inculcated the making of Zikr and by lighting. the fire of Divine Love, they caused all other entities to become burnt from the heart. Thereafter it became easier to .act upon every command of Allah and to discard all sinful activities. This is the easy and quick way to success.
THE STORY OF THE REPENTANCE OF HAZRAT NASOOH
There was once a man called Nasooh. Although a man, but his outward form and voice was like that of a woman. In the King's palaces, he was appointed to wash the ladies and daughters of the King and to cleanse them. He always used to dress in woman's clothing and was accepted as a maid servant and worker.
Because he was a man and had all the lustful passions of a man, he used, to enjoy all these passions and desires while massaging and washing the ladies of the King's household. On various occasions he repented of his acts and lifestyle, but soon after, his 'self' used to coerce him into breaking his towbah. One day he heard that a certain holy man had arrived and he also went to meet him. He went into the presence of the holy man and asked him to also remember him in his prayers. The saintly man made duah.
"The duah of the holy man reached above the seven heavens. And through that Nasooh was successful.
The Lord of Glory and Honour created a means for his salvation"
It so happened that Nasooh and all the other female servants had to be searched. In the female section of the King's palace, a very precious and costly pearl was lost. The door to the female section of the house was closed and the search began. When the pearl was not found, an announcement was made:
"That all the maid servants should become undressed, Whether they were young maidens or old women ".
As he heard this announcement, Nasooh started trembling, as he was in actual fact a man, who for a long time had been acting as a woman, with no one knowing about it. The thought went through his mind: "Today I am going to be disgraced. The King will surely out of his sense of honour and shame, take revenge upon me. That means he will punish me with death. My crime is a very serious one.
"Out of fear, Nasooh went into privacy.
His face became pale, his lips turned blue from fear. Nasooh saw death in front of his eyes
And shaking like a leaf, he fell down into prostration.
He said: O Lord, many times have I chosen the wrong path.
Many times did I repent and many times did I break my repentance. O Lord, do that which is suitable for Your High Rank.
For from every hole, snakes are biting me.
If the search for the pearl passes the servants and reaches me, Then how great will be the calamity that will befall me?
This time cover me up O! Allah. I seek forgiveness and repent From every improper act of mine. "
Nasooh was talking to Allah thus and said:
"O, my Lord, in my heart numerous flames of sorrow are burning And You see the blood of my liver in my supplication to You.
And see in which state of destitution and pain I pray to You".
Nasooh was busy crying before Allah in this manner when he heard a voice saying to him: "All have been searched. O Nasooh, come forward and undress, that
we may search you ".
As Nasooh heard this announcement he realised, by becoming undressed his secret will be exposed. He was so struck by fear that he fell down unconscious and his soul started flying about in the celestial regions. His soul went near to Allah while he was unconscious. At that time the mercy of Allah started boiling and through the command of Allah the pearl was found, before Nasooh could be searched. This saved Nasooh from any humiliation and disgrace.
Nasooh regained consciousness and his eyes appeared much more enlightened than before. In other words, while he was unconscious, the mercy of Allah caused his soul to experience the nearness of Allah and the light shining in his eyes was from that experience.
The ladies of the King's household came to him and apologised to him and in soft terms begged his pardon for having had suspicions about him. They said: "Pardon our suspicions. We are sorry for having caused you so much trouble. We had a wrong suspicion about you and have in our conversation back- bited you. Pardon us".
Nasooh replied:
"This is the grace of God upon me, O0 my benefactors. Whatever was said about me, I am worse than that".
Thereafter one of the King's daughters asked him to bath her. Nasooh had repented and promised to lead a life of righteousness. He had during his unconscious state reached a high place of nearness with Allah. How could he after such contact with Allah and after attaining such Yaqeen in Allah, return to the darkness of sin. He realised that darkness after light was deplorable. He told the King's daughter:
"O daughter, now the strength of my hand has gone, And I have become indisposed."
In this manner, he saved himself from further sin. Thereafter he said to himself:
"My crime and fault has proceeded beyond the limit. How can the fear and sorrow ever leave my heart?
I have made true repentance to my Lord, which I will never break Even though my life should separate from my body".
LESSON:
From this story the following points of advise are extracted:
1.One should never lose hope over his evil deeds. The Mercy of Allah is powerful enough to bring about rectification in all cases.
2.One should also seek the duahs of the saintly ones, just as Nasooh did. He was successful in his request.
3.In this story there is a great lesson in how at the time of extreme emergency, Nasooh turned to Allah and how he cried lamentfully before Him in dire circumstances.
4.We also see how Nasooh spent a large part of his life in sin. This was a very dangerous situation but Allah in His Mercy, arranged a way out for him, by creating a way towards guidance and granted him the ability to make true and sincere towbah. Then the rank of his towbah, which appears in the last couplet, contains a great lesson for repenters. Nasooh promised that even if it should mean his death, he will not break his towbah. Subhaanallah! What a great promise from Allah's sincere servant, that even if life should be removed from his body, yet he will not in future break his towbah. This is something which points to great rank, great courage and great ambitious nature. May Allah grant us all such towbah and may He guide us to that which He loves and to what pleases Him.
THE STORY OF THE DEBATE OF HAZRAT ALI WITH A REJECTER
Once an irreligious one, a rejecter of faith in Allah started a debate with Hazrat Ali who was sitting on the top storey of a house. The rejecter, a Jew, said to him from below: "0 Ali Murtuza, have you got faith in Allah as your Protector?"
Hazrat Ali replied: Yes, definitely. He is our Protector". The Jew said:
"O Murtuza, throw yourself down from the top storey. And depend on Allah as Protector to save you from harm.
Do that so that your deep faith may be a means towards my faith And so that your act become the cause of my sincere belief".
Hazrat Ali replied:
"Since when has a slave the right To put his Lord to the test?
And since when has a slave the courage. o Foolish One, to test his Lord?
This is a right due to Allah alone
That at all times, He can test His servants.
If an atom on the side of a mountain, looking at the height of the mountain says: 'I shall weigh you'.
Such atom should think that if it places the mountain on a scale, the scale itself will split. In this manner foolish ones having pride,
In their foolish notions try to weigh the Saints of Allah on their scale.
When the high rank of the saints cannot be contained in the scales of these fools, Then because of their behaviour, Allah destroys those scales
And makes them involved with further foolishness".
It is a point of experience that those people who act insultingly to these saints of Allah and object against them, their rational powers become daily deficient and their practical acts become less and less. May Allah protect us against that.
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) says: "When such thoughts and whisperings enter the heart, one should consider it as a sign of ill-fortune and a sign of destruction. In such a case, the following line of action should be followed:
"Immediately fall into prostration and begin crying lament fully And seek refuge in Allah: 0 Allah, save me from such thoughts".
LESSON:
If after towbah and crying before Allah, these thoughts still do not leave the mind, look upon them as whisperings from the Shaytaan. It is necessary that you consider them as bad. Purposely do not turn attention to these thoughts. Within a short while, Insha-Allah, those thoughts will disappear. However, you should always make duah and complain to Allah and ask the saintly ones to pray on your behalf.
THE STORY OF THE CONVERSATION OF HAZRAT MU'AWIYA AND IBLEES
One night Hazrat Mu'awiya was resting at home fast asleep. Suddenly someone woke him up for prayers. He looked around to find the person who got him up, but the person had disappeared. In surprise he said: "No one can enter my house at this time. I wonder who could have been so brave".
Then suddenly a person appeared at the door with his face hidden. He asked him: "Who are you?" The person replied: "I am known by the notorious name of lblees, the one of ill-fortune".
Hazrat Mu'awiya asked: "0 Iblees, tell me, why did you wake me up? Tell me the whole truth".
He replied: "The time for salaah was running out and was nearly finished. You should hurry to go to the mosque".
Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "That can never be your object. Since when do you guide towards righteousness? You enter my house like a thief and then you come and tell me that you are a watchman over me. How can that be from you, especially you, who is a well-known highway robber. Why would you have so much sympathy for me?"
Thereupon Iblees replied:
"Previously I was an angel (in my actions) And gave my life in the path of obedience.
Can a previous profession become removed from the heart Can previous love be removed from the heart.
I point out for righteous ones the path of righteousness And welcome evil ones towards the path of evil.
If I awakened you up for the sake of deen, Then know that that is my original nature".
Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "O thief, do not dispute with me! You will not be able to find a way towards leading me astray. So do not search for a way to lead me on the path of evil. Tell me the truth! Why did you wake me up for salaah? You are an inviter towards evil and you are one misguiding people. What is the purpose of your calling towards good?"
Iblees replied: "Sire, the truth of the matter is this. If you should have missed your salaah, you would show so much remorse and sorrow before Allah and through this exhibition of sorrow you would become so raised in rank, that I would be burning up with envy and jealousy. For that reason, I thought, it would be better for me to wake you up for salaah ".
"If your salaah should have been missed,
You would with great pain in your heart, sighed in sorrow. And your sorrow, crying, grief and sadness would make you Nearer to Allah than two hundred nafal prayers.
For this reason, fearing your attaining such nearness to Allah, I decided to wake you up.
I 'woke you up due to this fear
So that your sighing in sorrow and grief will not burn me. I am jealous of man and this I did through that jealousy
And I am man's enemy and my work is enmity and malice",
Then Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "Now you have spoken the
truth and the jealousy and enmity you have shown are things that are fitting for you" LESSON:
This story teaches us how much sorrow Shaytaan feels when a person shows grief and sorrow after having committed sins and faults. It also shows how much Allah's Mercy is directed to His bondsmen. May Allah grant us the ability to cry to Him out of grief and sorrow for our sins, Ameen!
THE STORY OF THE GRAMMARIAN AND THE SAILOR
In the Mathnavi, Moulana Rumi (R.A.) tells the story of a grammarian. A certain man noted for his knowledge of grammar once boarded a boat for a voyage. The captain of the boat asked him: "Sir, in which subject are you an expert?" He replied: "I am an expert in the knowledge of grammar. It is a great pity that you have spent your whole life in learning how to sail a boat but did not learn anything about grammar".
At this reply, the boats man remained silent. It so happened that according to the decree of Allah, the boat was caught up in a storm in the middle of the ocean. The captain told the grammarian: "Sir, make use of your knowledge of grammer and save yourself from drowning. The boat is in danger of sinking".
The grammarian remained silent. Of what use was grammar in such a situation? The sailor also said: "This is not a time for grammar. It is time to be a swimmer. There is at this time no use of expert knowledge of grammar. It is time to swim your way out of trouble.
"The water of the ocean carries a corpse on its head While living ones it drowns"
In other words, by annihilating your 'self' the road to Allah is discovered. Those who act proudly and arrogantly become destroyed. .
Hence in the path of Allah, self-annihilation is most useful. It is of no great benefit to become involved with arguments and debates. Sometimes these debates create arrogance, which prevents one from building a close contact with the saintly ones. May Allah protect us against such deprivation and grant us
perfect annihilation of the self, Ameen!
I once asked my Sheikh and Murshid: "What is annihilation?" He replied: "The meaning of the term' destruction of the self', and to 'annihilate your self' and to become 'annihilated to Allah' means that a person will discard all his pleasures and desires which are against the commands of Allah. That is what is called I annihilation of the self'. When a person initially takes the first steps on the path of sulook, this annihilation is accomplished through strenuous spiritual exercises and great difficulty. But in the end, the pleasure of Allah and the acquisition thereof becomes like second nature to a person - much more easy to attain ".
THE REJECTION BY A PHILOSOPHER
A certain Qari recited a verse from the Holy Quran:
"If the water of your fountain should disappear deep into the ground who has the power to bring it up?"
Allah Taala informs us that He alone has the power to bring back that water after it has sunk to the underground.
"I cause water to become hidden in the depths of the earth. And cause fountains to dry up, causing water scarcity.
Who else, except Me, can bring back water to the fountains?"
Hearing this verse being recited, a philosopher and logician said: "I am able to bring back the water". That night he saw in a dream a strong man give him a heavy blow in his eyes, as a result of which both eyes were struck with blindness. In the dream,
the man said to him:
"O wretched one, bring back the light into the fountains of your eyes If you are truthful in your claim ".
When he awoke from his dream, he found that he was really blind in both eyes. "If this man sought Allah's pardon and cried before Him,
Then Allah's Mercy would have returned the light to his eyes.
However, the ability to seek pardon and repent does not lie in his hands And the taste of repentance is not food for every drunken one".
From this story we learn the following lessons:
1.Casting doubt in the words of Allah and His Rasoolcan besides punishment in the hereafter, sometimes be the cause of worldly punishment. This is something that one should greatly fear.
2.One should never commit sins with this idea in mind that afterwards one is going to repent, because the ability to repent does not lie in our hands. It is possible that because
of our boldness and audacity and our insulting attitude, the ability and guidance towards repentance can be taken away from us. That could mean that without repentance for sins committed, one can become and remain rejected.
The example of towbah (repentance) is like a person saying: "This ointment is very beneficial and good for burns." Relying on this ointment, will a person place his hand in fire? No. The ointment is to be used for accidents. Not that one should purposely burn his hand in fire and then test the ointment. Similarly, for sins and their darkness and the fire which causes damage to the heart, distances one from Allah and causes His displeasure, towbah makes amends. Towbah is the ointment and antidote for the wounds caused by the fire of sins. But to reckon that I am purposely going to commit sin, is just like putting your hand in the fire to test the beneficial nature of the ointment. This is foolish indeed.
One should avoid all sins, even at the cost of his life. To retain this resolute intention, one should make contact with the saints of Allah, choose a good environment and inculcate within oneself the habit of performing Zikr profusely. If in spite of all these efforts to avoid sin, due to human weakness, a sin does occur, then in such a case crying in grief and sorrow and repentance are two very beneficial ointments.
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) says in one place:
"The vehicle of repentance is a wonderful means of conveyance. Within a moment it moves us from the lowliness of sin
And takes us for a tour of the celestial bodies.
And he who repents to Allah becomes Allah's beloved, Reaching Him, cleansed and forgiven".
THE STORY OF HAKEEM JALINOOS
Once Hakeem Jalinoos requested some of his friends to bring a certain medicine from the chemist. The friends told him: "That is a medicine which is given to mad people to drink. What is wrong with you that you now ask for medicine for madness?"
Jalinoos replied:
"A mad one stared at me.
For a whole hour that mad one looked at me and was very pleased Then he winked his eyes and tore his sleeve to pieces.
If I was not of his nature and temperament and if I had no madness in me, Then why would this ugly one continue to stare at me?
When does a bird fly except with other birds of the same feather? The company of a contrasting kind, is like a live one in a grave".
Jalinoos said that when a specific attribute becomes a common factor in two different people, then it becomes a cause for
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6111
e the trader went on a journey to India, he asked all his servants: "What shall I bring for you from India?" In this way he also inquired from the parrot as to what he shall bring for it from India. He asked the parrot what message it wanted delivered to the parrots of India..
The parrot replied: "In India when you shall pass any meadow and see any group of parrots, give them my salaams and pass this message onto them:
"A certain parrot longs to meet you
But through the decree of Allah, he is a captive in a cage". The parrot said further:
"After passing my salaams to them, say:
Is this acceptable to you that he should be restless in longing for you And that he should in this restless state come to the end of his life." He also said:
"And tell them: 'For how long is it going to be acceptable to you That he should continue to be imprisoned
While you can fly about in the greenery and from tree to tree?
Is this the faithfulness of friends that he should remain a captive? While you are free to roam among the gardens? .
The remembrance of friends by friends is a blessed thing
Especially when between them lies the relationship of Layla and Majnoon".
When the trader passed ,the message onto the parrots of India, they also gave him their regards. When one of the parrots heard the message, she started shaking. She fell down from the branch of the tree and landed on the ground dead. The trader felt great grief that the parrot had died. He felt that if he did not pass on the message it would have been better.
After having seen to hi~ business, he returned from India. He distributed the presents which he had bought for the servants. Then the parrot asked him: "And what message did the parrots from the forests of India have for me? Whatever you have seen or heard, you should tell me".
The trader replied:
"I passed your complaints onto your parrot friends Who shared in your sorrows.
But there was one parrot among them who was greatly affected, So much so that it could not bear it and started trembling and died. When the parrot heard what happened to the one parrot,
He also began trembling and fell down cold".
When the trader" saw this, he began crying: "Oh, what is this? What has happened?"
The trader said:
"Alas! O melodious voiced bird,
Alas! O my Companion, my Confidant!"
Thereafter when the trader imagined that the parrot had died of sorrow, he took it out of the cage and threw it outside. The parrot flew away and sat on a high branch of a tree. The trader looked up towards it and asked: "Tell me what is this? Explain to me the meaning of this".
The parrot replied: "That parrot has through its action made itself dead and taught me a lesson, that my freedom and deliverance can be attained in this manner i.e. pretend to be a dead one. Then the parrot greeted the trader and said to him: "Farewell".
The parrot said:
"O master, I have taken the direction to my home-land.
I now leave you. May God free you also from the chains of your nafs like me. So that like me you too will fly around in the nearness of God".
The trader said:
"Go in the safety of Allah, go to your home-land. You have taught me also the way towards freedom.
Is my life inferior to the parrots that I be a captive in a prison And a slave in the chains of my desires.
And deprived of Allah's nearness. Thus my life should be such
That it flies to its true garden, free from bonds". LESSON:
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) has mentioned this story to inform us that the parrot did not find freedom from the prison of his cage through long speeches and high shouting, nor through a claim of arrogance. He found his freedom through annihilating himself and through self sacrifice: Thus when someone wishes to free himself from the cage of his 'nafs' and from Shaytaan, he will have to learn to become annihilated and to learn the process of self- annihilation from one who is annihilated in Allah. This is so because the one who is himself imprisoned cannot set free another prisoner. The Saints of Allah are people who have been released from the cage. By choosing their companionship and company, others can also find freedom and relief.
THE ROMANS AND THE CHINESE IN DECORATING
Once some Chinese told a King: "We are very well known for our ability to decorate and adorn buildings". Then some Romans said: "We are able to produce more splendid decorations and adornments". Thereupon the King said: "All right, we shall test your abilities to see who is best".
"The Romans and the Chinese came before the King,
While the Romans were noted for being more knowledgeable".
Then the Chinese told the King: "Give us a house so that we may decorate it. Let the house be hidden. behind a curtain so that these Romans cannot copy or imitate our decorations" . According to these conditions they started decorating the house in their own excellent manner.
Then the Romans said: "We shall prepare a decorated house of our own, just opposite the spot where the Chinese shall work, so that you may easily ascertain by comparing the two houses, as to whose work is better".
The Romans also started working behind a curtain in a secret way. However, they did not make any decorated paintings. They merely started cleaning and polishing the wall of the house until in the end the wall of the house started shining like a mirror.
Then came the time of the test. The curtains were removed and the result was that the beautiful paintings and pictures in the house of the Chinese became reflected on the wall of the Romans so that their art appeared more beautiful. The King came along. .
"He saw the decorations made by the Chinese.
So beautiful were they that they drove the mind away. Thereafter the King inspected the Romans' decorations And was astonished at what he saw.
Whatever the king saw on the other side, here appeared more beautiful.
So that through the efforts of decorating, the eyes were popping out of their sockets".
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) compared the work of the Romans to that done by the Saintly ones because these Saintly ones place great emphasis upon cleansing the heart and through the blessings of that, without studying books and revision, they become decorated with beautiful character.
"However, the Saintly ones cleanse and polish their hearts profusely Whereby greed, stinginess and enmity is removed from it.
One Saint says:
Our law is to keep the heart like a mirror, clean and free of dust. And our way is this, that to retain malice therein, is a major crime".
LESSON:
It was always the way of our elders to pay much attention to "takhliyah" - to keep the heart free of the love of anyone other than Allah. Thereafter it becomes easier to reform and rectify bad characteristics in one's self. This they placed before the acquisition of good characteristics. Hence, they first inculcated the making of Zikr and by lighting. the fire of Divine Love, they caused all other entities to become burnt from the heart. Thereafter it became easier to .act upon every command of Allah and to discard all sinful activities. This is the easy and quick way to success.
THE STORY OF THE REPENTANCE OF HAZRAT NASOOH
There was once a man called Nasooh. Although a man, but his outward form and voice was like that of a woman. In the King's palaces, he was appointed to wash the ladies and daughters of the King and to cleanse them. He always used to dress in woman's clothing and was accepted as a maid servant and worker.
Because he was a man and had all the lustful passions of a man, he used, to enjoy all these passions and desires while massaging and washing the ladies of the King's household. On various occasions he repented of his acts and lifestyle, but soon after, his 'self' used to coerce him into breaking his towbah. One day he heard that a certain holy man had arrived and he also went to meet him. He went into the presence of the holy man and asked him to also remember him in his prayers. The saintly man made duah.
"The duah of the holy man reached above the seven heavens. And through that Nasooh was successful.
The Lord of Glory and Honour created a means for his salvation"
It so happened that Nasooh and all the other female servants had to be searched. In the female section of the King's palace, a very precious and costly pearl was lost. The door to the female section of the house was closed and the search began. When the pearl was not found, an announcement was made:
"That all the maid servants should become undressed, Whether they were young maidens or old women ".
As he heard this announcement, Nasooh started trembling, as he was in actual fact a man, who for a long time had been acting as a woman, with no one knowing about it. The thought went through his mind: "Today I am going to be disgraced. The King will surely out of his sense of honour and shame, take revenge upon me. That means he will punish me with death. My crime is a very serious one.
"Out of fear, Nasooh went into privacy.
His face became pale, his lips turned blue from fear. Nasooh saw death in front of his eyes
And shaking like a leaf, he fell down into prostration.
He said: O Lord, many times have I chosen the wrong path.
Many times did I repent and many times did I break my repentance. O Lord, do that which is suitable for Your High Rank.
For from every hole, snakes are biting me.
If the search for the pearl passes the servants and reaches me, Then how great will be the calamity that will befall me?
This time cover me up O! Allah. I seek forgiveness and repent From every improper act of mine. "
Nasooh was talking to Allah thus and said:
"O, my Lord, in my heart numerous flames of sorrow are burning And You see the blood of my liver in my supplication to You.
And see in which state of destitution and pain I pray to You".
Nasooh was busy crying before Allah in this manner when he heard a voice saying to him: "All have been searched. O Nasooh, come forward and undress, that
we may search you ".
As Nasooh heard this announcement he realised, by becoming undressed his secret will be exposed. He was so struck by fear that he fell down unconscious and his soul started flying about in the celestial regions. His soul went near to Allah while he was unconscious. At that time the mercy of Allah started boiling and through the command of Allah the pearl was found, before Nasooh could be searched. This saved Nasooh from any humiliation and disgrace.
Nasooh regained consciousness and his eyes appeared much more enlightened than before. In other words, while he was unconscious, the mercy of Allah caused his soul to experience the nearness of Allah and the light shining in his eyes was from that experience.
The ladies of the King's household came to him and apologised to him and in soft terms begged his pardon for having had suspicions about him. They said: "Pardon our suspicions. We are sorry for having caused you so much trouble. We had a wrong suspicion about you and have in our conversation back- bited you. Pardon us".
Nasooh replied:
"This is the grace of God upon me, O0 my benefactors. Whatever was said about me, I am worse than that".
Thereafter one of the King's daughters asked him to bath her. Nasooh had repented and promised to lead a life of righteousness. He had during his unconscious state reached a high place of nearness with Allah. How could he after such contact with Allah and after attaining such Yaqeen in Allah, return to the darkness of sin. He realised that darkness after light was deplorable. He told the King's daughter:
"O daughter, now the strength of my hand has gone, And I have become indisposed."
In this manner, he saved himself from further sin. Thereafter he said to himself:
"My crime and fault has proceeded beyond the limit. How can the fear and sorrow ever leave my heart?
I have made true repentance to my Lord, which I will never break Even though my life should separate from my body".
LESSON:
From this story the following points of advise are extracted:
1.One should never lose hope over his evil deeds. The Mercy of Allah is powerful enough to bring about rectification in all cases.
2.One should also seek the duahs of the saintly ones, just as Nasooh did. He was successful in his request.
3.In this story there is a great lesson in how at the time of extreme emergency, Nasooh turned to Allah and how he cried lamentfully before Him in dire circumstances.
4.We also see how Nasooh spent a large part of his life in sin. This was a very dangerous situation but Allah in His Mercy, arranged a way out for him, by creating a way towards guidance and granted him the ability to make true and sincere towbah. Then the rank of his towbah, which appears in the last couplet, contains a great lesson for repenters. Nasooh promised that even if it should mean his death, he will not break his towbah. Subhaanallah! What a great promise from Allah's sincere servant, that even if life should be removed from his body, yet he will not in future break his towbah. This is something which points to great rank, great courage and great ambitious nature. May Allah grant us all such towbah and may He guide us to that which He loves and to what pleases Him.
THE STORY OF THE DEBATE OF HAZRAT ALI WITH A REJECTER
Once an irreligious one, a rejecter of faith in Allah started a debate with Hazrat Ali who was sitting on the top storey of a house. The rejecter, a Jew, said to him from below: "0 Ali Murtuza, have you got faith in Allah as your Protector?"
Hazrat Ali replied: Yes, definitely. He is our Protector". The Jew said:
"O Murtuza, throw yourself down from the top storey. And depend on Allah as Protector to save you from harm.
Do that so that your deep faith may be a means towards my faith And so that your act become the cause of my sincere belief".
Hazrat Ali replied:
"Since when has a slave the right To put his Lord to the test?
And since when has a slave the courage. o Foolish One, to test his Lord?
This is a right due to Allah alone
That at all times, He can test His servants.
If an atom on the side of a mountain, looking at the height of the mountain says: 'I shall weigh you'.
Such atom should think that if it places the mountain on a scale, the scale itself will split. In this manner foolish ones having pride,
In their foolish notions try to weigh the Saints of Allah on their scale.
When the high rank of the saints cannot be contained in the scales of these fools, Then because of their behaviour, Allah destroys those scales
And makes them involved with further foolishness".
It is a point of experience that those people who act insultingly to these saints of Allah and object against them, their rational powers become daily deficient and their practical acts become less and less. May Allah protect us against that.
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) says: "When such thoughts and whisperings enter the heart, one should consider it as a sign of ill-fortune and a sign of destruction. In such a case, the following line of action should be followed:
"Immediately fall into prostration and begin crying lament fully And seek refuge in Allah: 0 Allah, save me from such thoughts".
LESSON:
If after towbah and crying before Allah, these thoughts still do not leave the mind, look upon them as whisperings from the Shaytaan. It is necessary that you consider them as bad. Purposely do not turn attention to these thoughts. Within a short while, Insha-Allah, those thoughts will disappear. However, you should always make duah and complain to Allah and ask the saintly ones to pray on your behalf.
THE STORY OF THE CONVERSATION OF HAZRAT MU'AWIYA AND IBLEES
One night Hazrat Mu'awiya was resting at home fast asleep. Suddenly someone woke him up for prayers. He looked around to find the person who got him up, but the person had disappeared. In surprise he said: "No one can enter my house at this time. I wonder who could have been so brave".
Then suddenly a person appeared at the door with his face hidden. He asked him: "Who are you?" The person replied: "I am known by the notorious name of lblees, the one of ill-fortune".
Hazrat Mu'awiya asked: "0 Iblees, tell me, why did you wake me up? Tell me the whole truth".
He replied: "The time for salaah was running out and was nearly finished. You should hurry to go to the mosque".
Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "That can never be your object. Since when do you guide towards righteousness? You enter my house like a thief and then you come and tell me that you are a watchman over me. How can that be from you, especially you, who is a well-known highway robber. Why would you have so much sympathy for me?"
Thereupon Iblees replied:
"Previously I was an angel (in my actions) And gave my life in the path of obedience.
Can a previous profession become removed from the heart Can previous love be removed from the heart.
I point out for righteous ones the path of righteousness And welcome evil ones towards the path of evil.
If I awakened you up for the sake of deen, Then know that that is my original nature".
Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "O thief, do not dispute with me! You will not be able to find a way towards leading me astray. So do not search for a way to lead me on the path of evil. Tell me the truth! Why did you wake me up for salaah? You are an inviter towards evil and you are one misguiding people. What is the purpose of your calling towards good?"
Iblees replied: "Sire, the truth of the matter is this. If you should have missed your salaah, you would show so much remorse and sorrow before Allah and through this exhibition of sorrow you would become so raised in rank, that I would be burning up with envy and jealousy. For that reason, I thought, it would be better for me to wake you up for salaah ".
"If your salaah should have been missed,
You would with great pain in your heart, sighed in sorrow. And your sorrow, crying, grief and sadness would make you Nearer to Allah than two hundred nafal prayers.
For this reason, fearing your attaining such nearness to Allah, I decided to wake you up.
I 'woke you up due to this fear
So that your sighing in sorrow and grief will not burn me. I am jealous of man and this I did through that jealousy
And I am man's enemy and my work is enmity and malice",
Then Hazrat Mu'awiya said: "Now you have spoken the
truth and the jealousy and enmity you have shown are things that are fitting for you" LESSON:
This story teaches us how much sorrow Shaytaan feels when a person shows grief and sorrow after having committed sins and faults. It also shows how much Allah's Mercy is directed to His bondsmen. May Allah grant us the ability to cry to Him out of grief and sorrow for our sins, Ameen!
THE STORY OF THE GRAMMARIAN AND THE SAILOR
In the Mathnavi, Moulana Rumi (R.A.) tells the story of a grammarian. A certain man noted for his knowledge of grammar once boarded a boat for a voyage. The captain of the boat asked him: "Sir, in which subject are you an expert?" He replied: "I am an expert in the knowledge of grammar. It is a great pity that you have spent your whole life in learning how to sail a boat but did not learn anything about grammar".
At this reply, the boats man remained silent. It so happened that according to the decree of Allah, the boat was caught up in a storm in the middle of the ocean. The captain told the grammarian: "Sir, make use of your knowledge of grammer and save yourself from drowning. The boat is in danger of sinking".
The grammarian remained silent. Of what use was grammar in such a situation? The sailor also said: "This is not a time for grammar. It is time to be a swimmer. There is at this time no use of expert knowledge of grammar. It is time to swim your way out of trouble.
"The water of the ocean carries a corpse on its head While living ones it drowns"
In other words, by annihilating your 'self' the road to Allah is discovered. Those who act proudly and arrogantly become destroyed. .
Hence in the path of Allah, self-annihilation is most useful. It is of no great benefit to become involved with arguments and debates. Sometimes these debates create arrogance, which prevents one from building a close contact with the saintly ones. May Allah protect us against such deprivation and grant us
perfect annihilation of the self, Ameen!
I once asked my Sheikh and Murshid: "What is annihilation?" He replied: "The meaning of the term' destruction of the self', and to 'annihilate your self' and to become 'annihilated to Allah' means that a person will discard all his pleasures and desires which are against the commands of Allah. That is what is called I annihilation of the self'. When a person initially takes the first steps on the path of sulook, this annihilation is accomplished through strenuous spiritual exercises and great difficulty. But in the end, the pleasure of Allah and the acquisition thereof becomes like second nature to a person - much more easy to attain ".
THE REJECTION BY A PHILOSOPHER
A certain Qari recited a verse from the Holy Quran:
"If the water of your fountain should disappear deep into the ground who has the power to bring it up?"
Allah Taala informs us that He alone has the power to bring back that water after it has sunk to the underground.
"I cause water to become hidden in the depths of the earth. And cause fountains to dry up, causing water scarcity.
Who else, except Me, can bring back water to the fountains?"
Hearing this verse being recited, a philosopher and logician said: "I am able to bring back the water". That night he saw in a dream a strong man give him a heavy blow in his eyes, as a result of which both eyes were struck with blindness. In the dream,
the man said to him:
"O wretched one, bring back the light into the fountains of your eyes If you are truthful in your claim ".
When he awoke from his dream, he found that he was really blind in both eyes. "If this man sought Allah's pardon and cried before Him,
Then Allah's Mercy would have returned the light to his eyes.
However, the ability to seek pardon and repent does not lie in his hands And the taste of repentance is not food for every drunken one".
From this story we learn the following lessons:
1.Casting doubt in the words of Allah and His Rasoolcan besides punishment in the hereafter, sometimes be the cause of worldly punishment. This is something that one should greatly fear.
2.One should never commit sins with this idea in mind that afterwards one is going to repent, because the ability to repent does not lie in our hands. It is possible that because
of our boldness and audacity and our insulting attitude, the ability and guidance towards repentance can be taken away from us. That could mean that without repentance for sins committed, one can become and remain rejected.
The example of towbah (repentance) is like a person saying: "This ointment is very beneficial and good for burns." Relying on this ointment, will a person place his hand in fire? No. The ointment is to be used for accidents. Not that one should purposely burn his hand in fire and then test the ointment. Similarly, for sins and their darkness and the fire which causes damage to the heart, distances one from Allah and causes His displeasure, towbah makes amends. Towbah is the ointment and antidote for the wounds caused by the fire of sins. But to reckon that I am purposely going to commit sin, is just like putting your hand in the fire to test the beneficial nature of the ointment. This is foolish indeed.
One should avoid all sins, even at the cost of his life. To retain this resolute intention, one should make contact with the saints of Allah, choose a good environment and inculcate within oneself the habit of performing Zikr profusely. If in spite of all these efforts to avoid sin, due to human weakness, a sin does occur, then in such a case crying in grief and sorrow and repentance are two very beneficial ointments.
Moulana Rumi (R.A.) says in one place:
"The vehicle of repentance is a wonderful means of conveyance. Within a moment it moves us from the lowliness of sin
And takes us for a tour of the celestial bodies.
And he who repents to Allah becomes Allah's beloved, Reaching Him, cleansed and forgiven".
THE STORY OF HAKEEM JALINOOS
Once Hakeem Jalinoos requested some of his friends to bring a certain medicine from the chemist. The friends told him: "That is a medicine which is given to mad people to drink. What is wrong with you that you now ask for medicine for madness?"
Jalinoos replied:
"A mad one stared at me.
For a whole hour that mad one looked at me and was very pleased Then he winked his eyes and tore his sleeve to pieces.
If I was not of his nature and temperament and if I had no madness in me, Then why would this ugly one continue to stare at me?
When does a bird fly except with other birds of the same feather? The company of a contrasting kind, is like a live one in a grave".
Jalinoos said that when a specific attribute becomes a common factor in two different people, then it becomes a cause for
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