Salaam
Peace of heart comes from a heart free of anxiety. Anxiety is caused by the weight of all that is material.
The weight of possessions, love of family, children, this world etc.
These all weigh the heart down and prevent it from soaring. The way to purify and free it is to remember Allah (swt).
Remembering Allah (swt) internally/secretly by making inward supplications is one of the principle qualities of identifying the true believer.
Wasalaam
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If u could describe sufism in a few words what would they be?
Back in BLACK
It's a huge topic, but in a nutshell I'd say its the purification of the soul in order to gain the love and proximity of Allah (swt).
One can not get closer to Allah (swt) if their heart is impure.
The weakening of the negative aspects of the human soul and the strengthening of its positive aspects.
....like Islamic psychology?
I've heard it described in precisely those two words by a Shaykh.
Imam Ghazali has also described it as such.
Doing dhikr destroys all anxiety because I have tried it.
"Purity is half of faith.......Prayer is the light...patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin." Muslim
Salam
Sufism means to get drunk. Wine is important in for Sufis. Very important.
Sufis say that those who do not drink the wine, they will forever be addicted to harmful things.
If you have not yet tasted it, then you have not lived.
Its the wine that Sufi say gives TRUE happiness.
Omrow
Very True!
(But I hope you're referring to the wine of love?)
And he calls my sister a binger :roll:
Yeah, lets hope that.
"Purity is half of faith.......Prayer is the light...patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin." Muslim
I doubt it though.
Its obvious the binger is referring to alcohol. He's trying to give Sufi's a bad name
yea im beginning to think why he bothers to come on an Islamic forum if all he chats about is nonsense thats going to get a bad reaction
Salam
Kuri. Are you actually capable of giving a reaction ?
Or, do you just lie back and take it like a dumbed up patient ?
Omrow
Salaam
In order to get closer to Allah (swt) Sufi’s recommend four practices.
- Talk less
- Sleep less
- Eat less
- Associate with people less
“Eating less” is a practice that is not emphasised in our community as much as it should be.
The stomach is the source of key impulse of people. If a person can control their food they can control all other weaknesses as well. This is because over eating is the root cause of all sins.
If Satan can not attack through matters of belief he does so through the door of desire which is food.
According to Islamic tradition too much food harms the spiritual heart and can in fact kill it. Those who eat in abundance become hard hearted.
A glutton is hateful to God; a sign of those who are closer to God is that they often willingly go hungry.
Overeating is also a sign of lack of Iman (faith).
Wasalaam
following on from the hard hearted thread i feel that its time to ask for some advice
given that the soul craves for Allah and His beloved why does the daily grind of life slacken that tenuous thread
we cant choose our family members and breaking family ties is a sin in Islam how does then the individual avoid these ple who mean to do your soul harm, by way of enticing you into petty rivalries and malicious gossip and anger
the petty rivalries and gossip i have avoided but the continual sniping does lead to major anger outbreaks for me. so even those i've manged to cut down and now i feel myself drawn towards sarcasm and making cutting remarks i havent fully utilised this urge as yet but i feel so close to it
i do feel it is so easy to step into the dark side and never see the light of my soul again
how can i avoid this?
do u live with ur extended family?
I've noticed that thats where most problems occur
it must be a test of charcacter to keep u mouth shut in such circumstances
seems
I've always beleived that people with Sufi like characters always get left behind in life
even if they are really popular and have characters that are loved by everyone
your very kind lil sis i wish i did have a more sufi like character then i would just cross over to the light and be safe. as it is i stand on the bridge half way and can go either way. the steps forward are so hard and tiring and scary too
I wish some people I knew had LESS of a sufi-like character
u seem to have one too-
it's cool-but sumtimes it means that people take u for a ride
yes lil sis you're right but if i had a true sufi like character i would say such ple only take themselves for a ride if only they knew
Tasawwuf according to one explanation is the obedience to shariah by the heart.
Fiqh deals with the apparent outward actions, how to be pure, how to pray how to fast etc.
Tasawwuf deals with the hidden and inward actions dealing with the heart. Just as purifying body with wudu and ghusl is a must, similarly purifying heart from its evil is a must.
In regard to true sufis i strongly believe that a true sufi wud be looked upon as mad by people today and a true sufi will be shunned by people because he will not be able to tolerate sitting in the baseless functions we have today.
Example:
in paki culture if invited somewhere and u dont go then the inviter becomes upset and naraaz. Now among the invites are birthdays, 40th khatams, mehndi etc which a true sufi would not attend due to them being anti sunnat.
Similarly a true sufi wont attend the majority of wedding invites because of anti sunnat activites such as intermingling, music, discardance of salah etc.
Hence he will slowly but surely become a social outcast by the majority of ppl.
If we look the great Awliya of past were thought mad by the common muslims and only the great ulama recognised their piety.
Hazrat UWAIS QARNI was thought of as a mad man during the era just after Nubuwwat and it was leading companions like Sayyidina Umar and Sayyidina Ali who knew that this man was not mad but rather extremely pious.
Become obedient to the Chief, Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam, so ALL chiefs become obedient to you.
yes abdussalam that is your opinion and may be right of some sufi's but others lived their lives as fathers and brothers completing all family and societal functions and that my brother is truly hard
but i do get your point about appearing mad in todays society and how one could easily be shunned
infact you only have to mention religion in some gatherings and everybody is looking towards the door and yawning and avoiding eye contact with you
Salaam
Seema,
In our society “quiet people” are perceived as being “stupid”.
People who don’t argue, would rather let things go, don’t seek revenge etc are frequently told to “stick up for themselves” and told not to let “people take them for a ride”.
I have a grandmother who lectures me 24/7 about “sticking up for myself”. My uncle and sister regularly tell me to “do my own thing-and to not give a crap about others”….
You probably know that Sufi’s used to appoint harsh/rude people to abuse them in public so that their characters would improve and they’d learn how to be tolerant and forbearing…
And whilst I’m not disputing the fact that an “eye for an eye” concept is permissible in Islam….we all know that the person who “forgives and lets things go” has a higher and more honourable status in the eyes of Allah (swt).
If we allow ourselves to be controlled by the ever- changing norms of society then this shows that we are being controlled by people, whereas in actual fact we should only be controlled by the wishes of our Almighty Creator.
Only a bigger person can forgive, let things go, not bear grudges, not seek revenge etc And this is something that not everyone can do…no wonder there is such a severe shortage of Sufi’s in our day and age.
Wasalaam
so true Muslim Sister, but i do feel that reducing contact with ple that do not help your soul can be beneficial.
because you are young now and the world has only just started its onslaught wait another 10 years and some of the family/friends attitude will have rubbed off on you and one day without realising it you'll be in my perdicament where you can bearly see the light of your soul and the pull of the these ple has turned you like them - hope not
but it would be a good idea to have self help lessons on how to keep your soul untainted from these destructive elements i'd like some.
infact i would really like a support group which does exactly this - help you keep your soul pure and happy.
i can just see my friends faces as i write this and the rolling of eyes but i dont know how else to put it
was he the sahabi who broke all his teeth when he heard the Prophet (s.a.w) had broken a tooth in battle? (this sahabi had stayed behind to look after his mother i think).
[size=9]I NEVER WORE IT BECAUSE OF THE TALIBAN, MOTHER. I LIKE THE [b]MODESTY[/b] AND [b]PROTECTION[/b] IT AFFORDS ME FROM THE EYES OF MEN.[/size] [url=http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Dust.html]Dust, X-Men[/url]
Hazrat Uwais Qarni was not Sahabi because he did not visit Holy Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam.
the reason for this is because of his extreme adherence to shariah. The believeing mother of Hazrat was extremely old. Hazrat tended camels and used his income to support and care for his mother hence he could not visit Holy Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Yes he did break all his teeth after Uhud.
He was given the jubbah of Holy Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam aftre Nubuwwat left this world by command of Holy Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam himself.
I read that on Day of Judgment ALLAH will send 70,000 angels into paradise in the form of Hazrat Uwais Qarni. This is to guard his identity from the masses in paradise aswell because Hazrat loved seclusion and disocciation from ppl.
Become obedient to the Chief, Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam, so ALL chiefs become obedient to you.
Definitely!
Good/bad Company has a phenomenal effect on a person.
It’s so much easier to be good if the people around you are also as such.
good point!
jazakallah for that explanation.
[size=9]I NEVER WORE IT BECAUSE OF THE TALIBAN, MOTHER. I LIKE THE [b]MODESTY[/b] AND [b]PROTECTION[/b] IT AFFORDS ME FROM THE EYES OF MEN.[/size] [url=http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Dust.html]Dust, X-Men[/url]
[size=18]Pakistan's mystical Islam thrives[/size]
[b]By Asim Butt, Karachi[/b]
The mystical form of Islam espoused by Sufi saints for hundreds of years continues to thrive in Pakistan despite opposition from religious hardliners and the authorities.
[img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9509/41379903shrine6ue.jpg[/img]
As the sun sets on a Thursday evening, hundreds of working class people descend on a shrine to the eighth-century mystic, Abdullah Shah Ghazi, in Karachi.
The shrine is located on a hill in the upmarket Clifton district of Pakistan's financial capital, flanked by swanky shopping malls and the posh residential area of Defence.
In the grounds below the shrine gather electricians, plumbers, construction workers, vagabonds, transvestites, prostitutes. Encircled by a cheering crowd, men take turns in a weightlifting competition.
Another circle dances to the drumbeat of the shrine's dhol players.
Devotional singing, or "qawali", emanates from an enclosure adjacent to the open grounds, yet another crowd swaying under its spell.
[b]
Holy nights[/b]
The men, for this public space is overwhelmingly male-dominated, belong to all the ethnicities and sects that make up Pakistan, mixing freely in a city rife with divisions.
[img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8864/41379901asleep7yi.jpg[/img]
Food stalls, bonfires, stereo-players, huddles of ganja-smoking men, smaller ones of heroin users, others swigging local brews, make up this multi-ethnic weekly party that rocks into the early hours of the morning.
Although Thursdays are traditionally holy nights when devotees pray at Sufi shrines, the revelry at Shah Ghazi seems to have little to do with prayer.
Music, dance and drugs, though proscribed by orthodox Islam, are the traditional vehicles of devotion here - as they are at most shrines in Pakistan.
Sufism has historically provided Islam with an alternative to orthodoxy and has won it most of its converts.
Sufi saints created mass appeal through their merging with pre-existing faiths of the region and their ability to align themselves with popular interests.
The mass appeal of saints like Shah Ghazi and others persists in spite of 200 years of opposition from puritanical reformers and the state.
From the late 19th century on, reformers sought to purify Islam by rejecting elements they believe had crept in through Sufism.
[b]Exiled[/b]
Under the colonial regime, although landed Sufis were used as intermediaries between government and subjects, ascetics were seen as a threat and criminalised.
[img]http://img331.imageshack.us/img331/1492/41379911trinx9el.jpg[/img]
Similarly, while ancient Sufis were viewed as genuine agents of spirituality, living mystics were dismissed as frauds.
The 19th Century Sufi, Mewa Shah, also buried in Karachi, was jailed and eventually exiled by the British.
According to legend, Mewa Shah alighted the ship taking him into exile, said his prayers on the waves of the Arabian Sea and mounted a large fish which took him back to the shores of Karachi.
Post-colonial Pakistan has had a schizophrenic policy towards Sufi shrines.
By subsuming them under the Auqaf department, the state has sought to weaken the powers of the spiritual heirs of the saints.
Established under Ayub Khan in 1959, the Auqaf department received its charter from Javed Iqbal, the son of Pakistan's founding visionary poet, Mohammad Iqbal, who actually bemoaned the superstitions of Indian Muslims.
[img]http://img331.imageshack.us/img331/5319/41379915drinx1xj.jpg[/img]
The pamphlets published by the department expunged the miraculous from the legends, repainting the lives of Sufi saints in a modernist light.
The powers of the department were expanded further under the pseudo-socialist government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1976 and have persisted through Zia ul-Haq's Islamist dictatorship and Pervez Musharraf's rule of "enlightened moderation".
Meanwhile, state functionaries and politicians have continued to seek legitimacy from the shrines by turning prayer visits into public appearances and photo opportunities.
Although tributes paid by devotees are siphoned through the Auqaf department, alms are also received by the dozen or so kitchens that run along the front of the shrine.
The money is used to provide two daily meals to anyone in need. The most destitute thus encamp outside the shrine, among them glue-sniffing runaway children, heroin addicts and other homeless men and women.
The Sufi shrines offer the underclass spiritual sustenance, a social valve of entertainment, and a safety net of free rations.
It is a bond that has not been loosened by militant Islam.
[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4746019.stm]BBC[/url]
What do you make of this article?
[img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7290/thinking3gx.gif[/img]
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