To reflect on in the hours before Ramadan...

To contemplate on during these last few hours before the start of Ramadan:

The Prophet, may Allah immerse him in continuous peace, said,

"An hour's worth of contemplation is better than

sixty years of worship."

The soul's true happiness lies in experiencing the inner joy, and it will never be fully satisfied with outer, seeming pleasures. Its connection is with God, and nothing short of perfection will ever satisfy it.

                        Bowl of Saki, July 19, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

R A M A D A N

I S

G E N E R O U S

Muhammad ibn Ya`qub (al-Kulayni), from `Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Nawfali, 

from al-Sakuni, from Abu 'Abd Allah (al-'Imam al Sadiq) (A) that he said: 

"Amir al-Mu'minin (A) used to say: `Arouse your heart to contemplation;

 keep your side clear off the night; and be heedful towards your Lord."

(Usul al-Kafi, II, 5)

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The most superior form of worship is perpetual contemplation on God and His Power.

(Usul al-Kafi, II, 55)

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"GOD IN EVERY HEART"

Snatam Kaur

(make it your mantra)

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“Say: 'I give you only one admonition, 

That you stand before Allah either two by two, or one by one and reflect.” 

34:46 Quran

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IN THE HOURS BEFORE RAMADAN

One woman realizes

the universe

is engaged in wazifa.

A new mother

looks into her infants eyes

and notices

even a baby knows God.

A little boy

tells his grandpa,

"My imaginary friend is the Real.

My imaginary friend is God."

A cat naps in the sun,

using purrs for tasbeh,

dreaming, "Ya Nur!"

A flower bud waits to open,

hoping for Life to witness it.

Ten people die

on a day of war

when it all would stop

if they would gather

together

and chant "Ya Salaam!"

(by K.Nur)

My People Are Rising by Mohja Kahf

It Is Your Turn Now

It is your turn now,

you waited, you were patient.

The time has come

for us to polish you.

We will transform your inner  pearl

into a house of fire.

You're a god mine.

Did you know that,

hidden in the dirt of the earth?

It is your turn now,

to be placed in fire.

Let us cremate your impurities.

-Rumi

translation by Shahram Shiva, 

Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi


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Once man has thus comprehended the essence of existence 
there remains for him the duty,
since he knows the value of his own soul, 
of making himself a direct path which will constantly lead
his individual soul to and bind it with the universal Soul
of which the Universe, 
as much of it as we perceive with our limited vision,
is one of the infinite manifestations.
Thus Islam's basic principle can only be defined
as monorealism and not as monotheism.
-Aga Khan III (Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah)
Learn more about the Shia Ismailis

Love Poem by Irving Karchmar

Love Poem

Gladly then did the world arise
By that one mighty word of power… Love!
From any other word quite apart
It rejoices in the willing heart
And binds the planets to their skies
And shines in You the brighter to my eyes

Night, come bring the dippers and Orion’s belt
To gird the firmament and bind us to His boundless will
That my heart, which has never felt such sentiment
May feel it then the deeper still

Give it not to chance then, nor say instead ’twas fate
That we have met in time who might have met too late
In the understanding of two hearts that may for earlier years amend
As our time flows like a river, unfelt til journeys end

– Irving Karchmar, 1986

Master of the Jinn, a novel by Irving Karchmar. 
Irving is a Sufi from the Nimatullahi Sufi Order
 His blog is Darvish.