On Sufism
Zan-noon Al-Masri (Egyptian)
was asked about the character
of a Sufi and responded, “Sufi is the one that the ‘seeking’ (of the
Lord) does
not tire him and anything taken away from him does not faze him. They
are a
nation that chose the Lord above all and the Lord has chosen them above
all”.
He has said in other
occasions, “Sufi is the one whose words
are the truth within him i.e. says nothing that is not within him and
if he is
silent the way of his dealings are indicative of what is within him and
(his
actions) speak of his cut-off desires.”
(Source: Al-Lama’)
Zan-noon said, “The one who
loves the Lord avoids lowering
himself in front of others. The needlessness is the decisive sign of a
friend
of the Lord”.
(Source: Helyatol Awlia)
Befriending the Lord
Yusuf Bin Hussein Razzi quoted
Zan-noon saying, “If the Lord
loves you, has Qayrat (Divine Sole Vigilance: wants no other than
Itself
around) for you and once you love It, brings you much fame and calls
out the
people to come to you”. (When Beloved loves and closeness of Qorb
(Divine
Nearness) is felt, then due to the nature of Tawhid (Oneness) less and
less people are left (thus approaching 1) so your are betrayed,
forgotten… But
when you love the Beloved the perpetual force of Jazb (gravitation)
between you
& Beloved, pulls others in and many come to you…)
Moreover he said, “There is
nothing more endearing than the
love of Lord but within the heart fits not this Love and the love of
something
else”.
Sincerity in Friendship of the
Lord
Zan-noon said, “Once I met an
ailing person and in the
midst of the discussion I said, “It is not sincere not being patient
enduring
Its (Lord’s) Dharb (beat or hit)” and he replied immediately, “It is
not
sincere to befriend It and not to revel within Its Dharb (beat or
hit)”. (Dharb
here means the beating or impact of the hardship and afflictions. When
the
hardships come your way and your heart is strained, you find the
Beloved midst
the troubles in close proximity)
(Source: Sharh Ta’r-rof)
The Goblet of Mahab-bat
(Divine Love)
Zan-noon said, “The lover of
the Divine Lord is not given
the goblet of Mahab-bat (Divine Love) unless & until the blood
within his
heart is smoldered (sever heartbreak}”.
(Source: Tazkeratol Awlia”,
Attar)
And again said, “The lover of
the Divine Lord tastes not the
goblet of Mahab-bat (Divine Loving) until the Khawf (Affright) boils
his heart
(hurt his feelings)”.
(Source: The Lantern of
Guidance, Kashani)
Ons (Divine Intimacy) with the
Lord
Zan-noon has said on Ons
(Divine Intimacy), “If the Lord
makes you intimate with people really means you are scared away from
Itself,
and if you are scared of the people then It has brought you to Its Ons
(Divine
Intimacy)”.
(Source: Al-Lama’)
Zan-noon said, “Whoever is in
Ons (Divine Intimacy) with the
Lord, finds himself intimate and drawn to pleasant and beautiful
things. But
within this there are secrets for the Aref (Divine Cognoscenti) and
they should
not be divulged to people at large in fear of evil-end and
afflictions”. (I
guess he means to become intimate with beautiful things may misguide a
person
into lewdness or lusts)
Zan-noon said, “If you are
intimate with people, if you are
not greedy then you are becoming intimate with the Lord”. (Indeed it is
the Ons
the Divine feeling of intimacy that draws us to other people, as long
as you do
not abuse them with greed & lust, and then you are becoming more
and more
intimate with the Lord)
(Source: Tazkeratol Awlia)
On Intimacy with People
Zan-noon said, “Whomsoever is
intimate (Ons) with people
shall reside upon the throne of Pharaoh, vice-a-versa if left people
alone and
contained his Self then resides upon Ikhlaas (Sincerity). Whomsoever
receives
his due portion and not more than what he needs fears nothing and if
all is
lost still has the Lord. Once the Divine Presence of the Lord is felt
how can
there be fear of loss (or poverty)?”
(Source: Tazkeratol Awlia)
© 2004-2002,
Dara O. Shayda