On the Union

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the words of Al-Junayd (RA), as quoted in Risalah of Qushayri:

وتحققتك في سري فناجاك لساني
فاجتمعنا لمعاني وافترقنا لمعاني
إن يكن غيبك التعظيم عن لحظ عياني
فقد صيرك الوجد من الأحشاء داني

I have attained a true realization of You in my innermost Heart and I conversed with You with my own tongue.
We were united in one sense and separated in the other.
At one moment my awe [of You] makes me absent from Seeing You directly,
Yet at the next moment my ecstasy makes You close to my very core!

In the words of Bu Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati (R.A):

منم محوِ خیال او نمی دانم کُجا رفتم

شُدم غرقِ وصال او  نمی دانم کُجا رفتم

I am lost in the thoughts of my beloved
I know not where I am going.
I find myself obliterated in the ecstasy of union,
I know not where I am going.

غلامِ روئے او بودم اسیرموئے او بودم

غبارِ کوئے او بودم نمی دانم کُجا رفتم

I am the slave of that beauteous face
I am the prisoner of those long tresses.
I am like the dust swirling around my beloved's street
I know not where I am going.

بہ عام آشنا گشم زجان و دل فدا گشتم

فنا گشتم فنا گشتم نمی دانم کُجا رفتم

I am known by my relationship to my beloved where ever I roam
I have sacrificed my heart and soul for my love.
I have been destroyed, lo I have been destroyed
I know not where I am going.

قلندر بو علی ہستم بنام دوست سر مستم

دل اندر عشق او بستم  نمی دانم کُجا رفتم

I am Bu Ali Qalandar
My beloved's name has intoxicated me.
Inside my heart resides my love
I know not where I am going.

Shaykh Sharaf Ad Din Bu Ali Shah Qalandar Panipati
شیخ شرف الدین بو علی قلندر پانی پتی

Rumi: Na Man Behooda

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

This is a poem of Maulana Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), popularly known as Mowlānā (Persian: مولانا) and as Rumi (رومی) was a 13th-century poet (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.

In my opinion, this poem probably referring to one of the elements of Tasawwuf as mentioned by Junaid (May Allah be Pleased with him) which is the strange-hood of Yahya (May Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him  :

نه من بيهوده گرد کوچه و بازار می گردم

Naman behuda girde koocha o bazaar mi gardam,
Neither foolishly nor frivolously, in the lane and the market, I roam'

 مذاق عاشقی دارم پی ديدار ميگردم

Mazaq-e-aashiqui daaram paey didar mi gardam,
Possessed by the temperament of the lover I am, to have a glimpse, I roam

خدايا رحم کن بر من پريشان وار می گردم

Khudaya reham kun bar mann pareeshaan waar mi gardam,
O, God, the Almighty! Shower Your mercy upon me, disturbed and distracted, I roam

خطا کارم گناهکارم به حال زار می گردم

Khataa kaaram gunah gaaram bahaal e zaar mi gardam,
I am guilty, I am sinful and in this wretched condition, I roam

شراب شوق می نوشم به گرد يار می گردم

Sharaab-e-shouq mi nousham bagirde yaar mi gardam,
The wine of fondness I drink and round the Friend, I roam

سخن مستانه می گويم ولی هوشيار می گردم

Sukhan mastana mi goyam waley hushyaar mi gardam,
Like the intoxicated I talk, but like the wise, I roam

گهی خندم گهی گريم گهی افتم گهی خيزم

Gahe khandam gahe giriyam gahe uftam gahe khezam,
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I weep, sometimes I fall, sometimes I rise

مسيحا در دلم پيدا و من بيمار می گردم

Maseeha dar dilam paida ho mann bimaar mi gardam,
The Messiah is within my heart and like an invalid, I roam

بیا جانا عنایت کن تو مولانای رومی را

Bayaan jaanan inayat kun to molana-e-rumi ra,
Come, O My Beloved! Come! Help your Maulana Rumi

غلام شمس تبریزم قلندروار می گردم

Ghulam-e-shams tabrezam qalandar war mi gardam
I am a slave of Shams Tabrizi and like a qalandar, I roam

Junaid's Take on Tasawwuf

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Hazrat Junaid ibn Muhammad Abu al-Qasim al-Khazzaz al-Baghdadi (May Allah Be Pleased with Him) (830-910 AD) was one of the great early Persian Muslim Sufis and is a central figure in the golden chain of many Sufi orders. He laid the groundwork for sober mysticism in contrast to that of God-intoxicated Sufis like al-Hallaj, Bayazid Bastami and Abusaeid Abolkheir. The following statement of his is recorded in the "Kashf Al Mahjub", by Abul Hassan Ali Ibn Usman al-Jullabi al-Hajvery al-Ghaznawi (May Allah Be Pleased with Him):

اَلتصوّف مبنیٌّ علی ثمانِ خصالٍ

السَّخاءِ، و الرِّضاءِ، و الصّبرِ و الإشارةِ و الغربة و لُبْسِ الصُّوفِ و السیّاحة و الفقرِ

اماّ السخّاءُ فلاِبراهیمَ
  و اماّ الرضّاءُ فَلإسحاق
و اماّالصبّر فلأیوّبَ
و اما الإشارةِ فلِزَکریاّ
و اما الغربةِ فَلِیحیی
و اماّ لُبسُ الصوّف فلِموسی
و اماّ السیّاحةُ فلِعیسی
و اماّ الفقرُ فَلِمحمّدٍ
صلواتُ اللّهِ علیهم اجمعينَ

Tasawwuf is founded on eight qualities, generosity, acquiescence, patience, symbolism, traveling(strange hood), woolen dress, pilgrimage hood and faqr (poverty).

1. the generosity of Abraham (may blessings of Allah be on him), who offered his son for sacrifice;
2. the acquiescence of Ishaq (may blessings of Allah be on him), who submitted to the command of Allah to give up his life
3. the patience of Ayub (may blessings of Allah be on him),who patiently endured the affliction of worms and the jealousy of the Merciful;
4. the symbolism of Zakarriya (may blessings of Allah beon him), to whom Allah said,“thou shalt speak to no man for three days but with signal.”  (Q3:41) and again to the same effect, “Behold! He cried to his Lord in secret.”  (Q 19:3):
5. the traveling (strange hood) of Yahya (may blessings of Allah be on him), who was a stranger in his own country and an alien to his own kin;
6. the wearing of wool by Moses (may blessings of Allah be on him), who wore woolen garment throughout;
7. the pilgrimage hood of Jesus (may blessings of Allah be on him), who was so detached therein from worldly things that he kept only a cup and a comb. He threw away his cup when he saw a man drinking water through use of palms of his hands, and the comb likewise when he saw another man using his fingers to dress his hair;
8. the poverty of Muhammad (peace be upon him), to whom Allah Almighty had given the keys of all the worldly treasures saying: “Lay no trouble on you, but procure every luxury by means of these treasures;” and he answered: “Lord, I desire them not, keep me one day full-fed and one day hungry.” 

Acronym : Tasawwuf

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

فظ كلمة التصوف أربعة أحرف

فالتاء: من التوبة
والصاد: من الصفاء
والواو : من الولاية
والفاء: من الفناء

Tasawwuf (Sufism) could be thought of as an acronym made up of the four consonant letters: t, s, w, and f.
t stands for tawbah, repentance
s stands for safa, purity, peace and joy
w stands for wilayah, the sanctity of the lovers and friends of Allah
f stands for fana, the annihilation of self into the nothingness.

from 'The Secret of Secrets' by Hadhrat Abdul Qadir Jilani (May Allah be pleased with him).

A word of caution about Tasawwuf (Sufism).

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

أبي الحسن البوشنجي علي بن أحمد

التصوف اليوم
اسم بلا حقيقة
وقد كان من قبل
حقيقة بلا اسم

More than a thousand years ago, a teacher called Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali b. Ahmad b. Sahl al-Bushanji (died in 348 H), who hailed from the town of Bushanj in eastern Persia, complained that few people had any idea of what "Sufism" was all about. "Today," he said, "Sufism is a name without a reality, but it used to be a reality without a name." A profound quote,reflecting the unfortunate situation even to this day.

Sufism was never a separate sect of Islam. It was mainstream Islam, without any labels associated with it. However due to the prevalent political (and hence religious) situation of the time, Sufism started to become a distinct approach towards Islam in "spirit", as opposed to "form".

In most original and authentic Islamic sources, the concept of Tasawwuf is connected with an extensive range of methodologies aiming to achieve human perfection by closely following the model of the prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wasallam).

Keeping this in mind, it is imperative to understand that Sufism cannot contravene principles of the Qur'an, and way of the Beloved Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam). Any Sufi practices that deviate from the essence of Islam, no matter how well intentioned, can and do lead to misguidance.

This is a screen capture from one of my presentations:

Sarmaya e Iman (سرمايۀ ايمان‌)

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The name "Sarmaya e Iman" (سرمایه ایمان ) is a Persian phrase which roughly translates as "Capital/Investment of Iman (Faith)".


In a poem by Maulana (Mevlana) Rumi, the expression goes like this:

يادِ‌ اُو سرمايۀ ايمان‌ بود

هر گدا از يادِ‌ اُو سلطان بود

His Remembrance is the foundation/capital of faith.
Beggars are transformed into kings due to His remembrance.

Profile Picture

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The profile picture is a calligraphic rendering of a the quote:

 أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

 which means,

"Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find peace"

which is part of the following verse of Al-Qur'an (Ar-R'ad, 13:28):

  الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
 "those who believe, and whose hearts find their peace in the remembrance of God - for, verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find peace"