On sin and the decay of nations

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak (726-797),  a famous scholar, noting the decline of morality in the Muslim societies  lamented:

رَأَيْت الذُّنُوبَ تُمِيتُ الْقُلُوبَ
وَقَدْ يُورِثُ الذُّلَّ إدْمَانُهَا

وَتَرْكُ الذُّنُوبِ حَيَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ
وَخَيْرٌ لِنَفْسِك عِصْيَانُهَا

وهل أفسد الدين إلا الملوكُ
وأحبارُ سوء ورهبانُها

وباعوا النفوس فلم يربحوا
ولم تغل في البيع أثمانها

لقد وقع القوم في جيفةٍ
يبين لذي اللب إنتانها

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

رَأَيْت الذُّنُوبَ تُمِيتُ الْقُلُوبَ
وَقَدْ يُورِثُ الذُّلَّ إدْمَانُهَا

I saw that sins do away with the hearts
And only disgrace is bequeathed by addiction to sin

وَتَرْكُ الذُّنُوبِ حَيَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ
وَخَيْرٌ لِنَفْسِك عِصْيَانُهَا

And abandoning sins is what brings the hearts to life
And it is better for your soul (نَفْسِ)  that you disobey it( do not give in to its desires )

وهل أفسد الدين إلا الملوكُ
وأحبارُ سوء ورهبانُها

And has religion been corrupted other than by the Kings
And evil scholars and its own monks?

وباعوا النفوس فلم يربحوا
ولم تغل في البيع أثمانها

They sold their souls, but gained no profit
The transaction fetched them but a measly sum

لقد وقع القوم في جيفةٍ
يبين لذي اللب إنتانها

People have fallen into rot and decay,
Its foul smell clear to one with discerning intellect.

You can listen to the recitation here:

Do not lose yourself

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Shahāb ad-Dīn" Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī  (1154-1191), the Shaikh al-Maqtul(Executed Master), warned us of the dangers of getting lost:

هان تا سر رشته خود گُم نکنی
خود را ز برای نیک و بد گم نکنی
رهرو تویی و راه تویی؛ منزل تو
هشدار که راه خود به خود گم نکنی

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

هان تا سر رشته خود گُم نکنی

Take care not to lose control of your self

خود را ز برای نیک و بد گم نکنی

Lest you lose yourself in the pursuit of "Good and Evil"

رهرو تویی و راه تویی؛ منزل تو

You are the traveler, and are also the road, and the destination is you as well

هشدار که راه خود به خود گم نکنی

Beware that you do not lose your way to yourself


There is also an alternate version for the first line:

هان تا سر رشته خِرَد گُم نکنی

Behold ! Never lose the "threads of wisdom"

Source of my honor

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Qadi ‘Iyad ibn Musa (1083–1149), a famous scholar is supposed to have said these verses, which should be the pride of every Muslim.

ومـما زادني شـرفـاً وتـيــهـاً
وكدت بأخمصي أطأ الـثريا
دخولي تحت قولك يا عبادي
وأن صـيَّرت أحمد لي نـبيـا

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

ومـما زادني شـرفـاً وتـيــهـاً

And among what increased my honor, pride and bewilderment

وكدت بأخمصي أطأ الـثريا

That my feet almost tread upon the stars

دخولي تحت قولك يا عبادي

Is my being embraced in your statement "O My slaves"

وأن صـيَّرت أحمد لي نـبيـا

And you chose Ahmad  (ﷺ)   as a prophet for me

Loving the Beloved

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Love of the Prophet (ﷺ) is an essential component of the faith of every Muslim, and there are innumerable anecdotes, poems and stories that essential revolve around it.

So much so that it is considered to be the foundation of faith itself, as stated in these verses from an anonymous poet, which connect to a well known hadith :

روح ایماں مغز قرآن اصل دین
ہست حب رحمة للعالمین

The spirit of faith, the essence of the Qur'an and the reality of religion is the love of the "Mercy to the Worlds" (ﷺ) 

مغزِ قرآں روح ایماں جان دیں
ہست حب رحمة اللعالمین

The essence of the Qur'an, the spirit of faith, and the life of religion is the love of the "Mercy to the Worlds" (ﷺ) 

I received these last verses via a messaging service, and were probably written by Abu Sulayman (عبدالله الخربوش):

كالغيثِ ذكرُكَ يا حبيبي لمْ يزلْ

 يسقي القلوبَ محبَّةً ونعيمَا

Remembering you o beloved (ﷺ) is like those rain showers that flood the heart with incessant love and joy 

 يا سيدَ الثقلينِ حُزتَ مكانةً
 ومقامَ عزٍّ في النفوسِ عظيمَا

O sayyid us thaqalayn (master of the two weighty things ﷺ), you possess the station of great glory amongst all souls

يا مَنْ سلكتُمْ نهجهُ وسبيلهُ
 "صلُّوا عليهِ وسلِّمُوا تسليمَا"

O you who travel his path and follow his way, send peace and blessings upon him ﷺ

How can one not love the beloved Prophet(ﷺ), when referring to a hadith, Allama Iqbal in this poem said even a dead piece of wood wept due to separation:

من چہ گوئم ازتولائش کہ چسیت
خشک چوبے در فراقِ او گریست

من چه گویم از تولایش که چیست
خشک چوبی در فراق او گریست

How shall I speak of the devotion he ﷺ inspires?
(Even) a dry block of wood wept on separation from himﷺ.

Numerous scholars wished they could reach Al-Medina just so they could die and be buried near the beloved.  This quatrain written supposedly by the nephew (Payami) of Shaykh Al Hind Mahmud ul Hasan :

گلستان میں جاکر ہر اک گل کو دیکھا
نہ تیری سی رنگت نہ تیری سی بو ہے
نکل جائے دم تیرے قدموں کے نیچے
یہی دل کی حسرت یہی آرزو ہے

I have looked at every flower in the rose-garden

None of them have your beauty or fragrance

I give up my life under your feet

Is the only desire of my heart, and my only wish

I would like to end here with a supplication, which in the books of hadith is known as the supplication of the Prophet Dawud :

اللَّهمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ، وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ، وَالعمَل الَّذِي يُبَلِّغُني حُبَّكَ

 اللَّهُمَّ اجْعل حُبَّكَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِن نَفسي، وأَهْلي، ومِن الماءِ البارِدِ

O Allah! I ask You for Your Love, the love of those who love You, and deeds which will cause me to attain Your Love. 
O Allah! Make Your Love dearer to me than myself, my family and cool water

All is Love

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Many Muslim thinkers have written extensively on love, and famous Sufis are seen as proponents of the doctrine of love.  Most famous among them is Rumi, who is seen as the epitome of love, says in this extract from his poem:

از محبت تلخها شیرین شود

Due to love, bitter becomes sweet

از محبت مسها زرین شود

Due to love copper becomes gold

از محبت دردها صافی شود

Due to love the pain becomes alleviated

از محبت دردها شافی شود

Due to love, sickness is healed

از محبت مرده زنده می‌کنند

Due to love the dead are revived

از محبت شاه بنده می‌کنند

Due to love kings become slaves


I also came across this interesting quatrain from either Saadi Shirazi or Khalilullah Khalili (hard to establish), which goes so far as to say that everything is love:

 در خرمن كاینات كردیم نگاه
 یك دانه محبت است و باقی همه كاه 

 Peering through the sheaf of the Universe
 I saw only the grain of love and rest was chaff

Do not sully his name

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Allamah Iqbal in his collection Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (What are we to do, O Nations of the East?) has a poem about present day politics, an extract of which is affected me deeply and I am sharing it below:

 چون بنام مصطفی خوانم درود
 از خجالت آب می گردد وجود

Whenever I recite durood(salawat) in the name of Mustafa ﷺ,
shame pervades my entire existence

 عشق میگوید که ای محکوم غیر
 سینهٔ تو از بتان مانند دیر

(it is as if) Love says (to me): “O slave of others, your breast is full of idols, much like a temple 

 تا نداری از محمد رنگ و بو
 از درود خود میالا نام او

So long as you are devoid of the fragrance and the hue of Muhammad ﷺ

do not pollute his name by your (empty) salutations.

Praising one who is beyond mortal praise

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

It is related by some that sidi Umar ibn `Alī ibn al-Fārid (may Allah bless him) was seen in a dream and was asked: "Why didn't you praise the Chosen Prophet ﷺ in your Diwan? He replied:

أَرَى كُلَّ مَدْحٍ فِي النَّبيِّ  مُقَصِّرًا

 وإِنْ بَـالَغَ الْمُثْنِي عَلَيْـهِ وَأَكْثَرَا
إذَا اللهُ أَثْنَى في الكِتَابِ المُنَـزَّل

 عَلَيْهِ فَمَا مِقْدَارُ ما  يَمْدَحُ الوَرَى

I think all praise of the Prophet ﷺ falls short
even if the exalter reaches the pinnacle of eulogy or surpasses it
(for) if God has praised him ﷺ in His revealed Book
What is the worth (by comparison) of praise by mortals?

Or in an alternate version:

أرى كل مـدح في النبي مقصـرا
وإن بالـغ المثني عليه وأكثرا
إذا الله أثنى بالذي هو أهله
عليه، فما مقدار ما يمدح الورى ؟

I think all praise of the Prophet ﷺ falls short
even if the exalter reaches the pinnacle of eulogy or surpasses it
(for) if God has praised himﷺ with what he is worthy of
What is the worth (by comparison) of praise by mortals?

Mirza Ghalib (1797 – 1869) was a classical Urdu and Persian poet from South Asia who said something similar in Farsi language:

حق جلوه‌گر ز طرز بیان محمد است‌
آری کلام حق بزبان محمد است‌‌
غالب ثناء خواجه به یزدان گذاشتیم‌
کان ذات پاک مرتبه دان محمد است

TRUTH Manifests Itself in Muhammad’s (ﷺ) Speech
Indeed the Utterances of Absolute Truth emanate from Muhammad’s (ﷺ) Tongue
Ghalib, I leave The Noble One’s(ﷺ) Praise to God Himself
For Truly HE Alone Knows the Status of Muhammad(ﷺ)