بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

So long as we do not die to ourselves,
and so long as we identify with someone or something,
we shall never be free.
The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.

     Al-'Attar
~~

Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you.
If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself,
how will you be able to understand
the secret of your existence when you die?

     Al-'Attar

Farid al-Din al-'Attar (1119 - 1221) saint and mystic, one of the most voluminous authors in Persian literature on religious topics. Two of his several shaykhs (teachers) were the Saint of the Martyrs Najmuddin al-Kubra al-Khawarizmi and Quthbuddin Haydar. His best-known work "Mantiq al-Tayr" (Conference of the Birds) is an elaborate allegory of the soul's quest for reunion with God.

~~

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.

     Sana'i, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'        

Abu'l-Majd Majdud bin Adam Sana'i al-Ghaznawi (died 1152) is revered as one of the first great mystical poets of Persia. In Mathnawi, Jalal'uddin al-Rumi quoted some of his poems. He produced many lyrical poems and a religious epic, The Walled Garden of Truth or the Enclosed Garden of Truth (HADIIQATU'L-HAQIIQAT).

~~

Oh!  Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I'm sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the shaykhs and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

     Rumi - 'The Love Poems of Rumi' - Deepak Chopra & Fereydoun Kia


Jalal'uddin Muhammad bin Baha' al-Din Balkhi Maulawi al-Rumi (1207-1273) saint and mystic, inspiration for the Mevlevi Order of the whirling dervishes, highly revered for the great Mathnawi which is a majestic tribute to the depth of spiritual life. His father Baha' al-Din Walad was one of the eminent students of the Great Saint Najmuddin al-Kubra al-Khawarizmi.

~~

O bird of the morning, learn love from the moth
Because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice.
These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him,
Because he who obtained knowledge has not returned.

    Muslih'uddin Sa'di al-Shirazi - The Gulistan of Sa'di

Sa'di of Shiraz (1184-1292), a great poet of Persia, author of the Gulistan (Rose-Garden) and the Bostan (Orchard), who also wrote many odes and lyrics.

~~

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, Qur'an-
what these books have to say,
we found in the body.


    Yunus Emre, translated by Kabir Helminski and Refik Algan - 'The Drop That Became Sea'

Yunus Emre - AD1240-1241 to 1320-21. Yunus' poetry made a great impact on Turkish culture.

~~

Go sweep out the chamber of your heart.
Make it ready to be the dwelling place of the Beloved.
When you depart out, He will enter it.
In you, void of yourself, will He display His beauties.

     Mahmud Shabistari - 'Rose Garden of Mystery'

Sa'd al-din Mahmud Shabistari (1288 - 1320) is one of the most celebrated poets of Persia. Because of his gift for expressing the Sufi mystical vision with extraordinary clarity, his Gulshan-i-Raz or 'Secret Rose Garden' rapidly became one of the most popular works of Persian Sufi poetry.

~~

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.

     'Abd al-Rahman al-Jami, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'

Nur al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Jami (1414-92) commonly called the last great classical poet of Persia, saint and mystic, composed numerous lyrics and idylls, as well as many works in prose. His Salaman and Absal is an allegory of profane and sacred love. Some of his other works include Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wa Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawa'ih, al-Durrah.

~~

O God
You know why I am happy:
         It is because I seek Your company,
         not through my own (efforts).

O God,
You decided and I did not.
        I found the Friend beside me
        when I woke up!

    Khajeh Ansari - Kashf al-Asrar, Vol. 5, p. 407 - 'Munajat - The Intimate Invocations' - A.G. Farhadi

Khajeh Jabir bin 'Abdullah al-Ansari (1006-1089) He was called Shaykh al-Islam and he was also given the title Zayn al-'Ulama (Ornament of the Scholars) and Nasir al-Sunnah (Supporter of the Prophetic Tradition). Later on in Persian texts he was called "Pir-al-Herat" (the Shaykh of Herat).  

Some of Ansari works include Kashf al-Asrar "Unveiling of the Secrets" (Commentary of the Qur'an), "Tabaquat al-Sufiyya" (The Generations of the Sufis), "Munajat" (Intimate Invocations) which is incorporated into the Kashf al-Asrar and in the Tabaqat.  

~~

Rabi'a was once asked, "How did you attain that which you have attained?"
"By often praying, 'I take refuge in You, O' Allah, from everything that distracts me from You, and from every obstacle that prevents me from reaching You.'"

    Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'

Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya (717 - 801 AD) was born in Basra. As a child, after the death of her parents, Rabi'a was sold into slavery. After years of service to her slavemaster, Rabi'a began to serve only the Beloved with her actions and thoughts. Since she was no longer useful to the slaveowner, Rabi'a was then set free to continue her devotion to the Beloved.

Rabi'a held that the true lover, whose consciousness is unwaveringly centered on the Beloved, is unattached to conditions such as pleasure or pain, not from sensory dullness but from ceaseless rapture in Divine Love.

~~

If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved,
love everyone.
Whether in their presence or absence,
see only their good.


If you want to be as clear and refreshing as
the breath of the morning breeze,
like the sun, have nothing but warmth and light
for everyone.

   Abu-Sa'id Ab'il-Khayr - 'Nobody, Son of Nobody' - Vraje Abramian

Until you become an unbeliever in your own self,
you cannot become a believer in God.

  Abu-Sa'id Ab'il-Khayr - 'Nobody, Son of Nobody' - Vraje Abramian

Abu Sa'id bin Ab'il Khayr al-Nayshapuri (967 - 1049) referring to himself as "nobody, son of nobody" he expressed the reality that his life had disappeared in the heart of God. This renowned, but lesser known, Sufi mystic from Khurasan preceded by the great poet Jalal'uddin Rumi by over two hundred years on the same path of annihilation in Love.

~~

Those who enshrine the Lord in their hearts, O Bahu,
have both the worlds at their command.
Lovers remain completely intoxicated
in the ecstasy of their love for the Beloved.


They offer their souls to the Beloved
while still living
and thus immortalize themselves
in this life and the hereafter.

    Sultan Bahu, translated by J.R. Puri and K.S. Khak

Sultan Bahu (1630 - 1691 AD) belonged to the Qaderi Order of Sufis and is known by the title of Sultan-ul-'Arifin (king of the Gnostics). He is acknowledged as one of the most prominent Sufi poets of the Indo-Pak subcontinent.  

~~

Where is He?
Find Him through your hearts while serving people sincerely, humbly and honestly.

    Wiyoso Hadi al-Jawi, Diary of Opening the Spiritual Heart.

Wiyoso Hadi al-Jawi (1975 - ) is also known as Brother Yos Hadi. He is the author of "Catatan Harian Membuka Hati" (Journal of Opening the Spiritual Heart). He lives in Jakarta, Indonesia.

~~

Excerpts from:
Sufis and Saints' lectures and quotes from received e-mails.

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Thank you for yet, another great post and Praise be to God. Happy Holidays.

Beautiful contribution........thanks.......please do continue posting in praise of the Lord.