You don't have....

I was hungry

and you gave me food.

I was thirsty

and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger

and you welcomed me.

(Injeel* Matthew 25:35)

*Injeel is the New Testament Gospels of the Christian Bible.

Muslims are taught to make no distinction

between any of the Beloved's Revealed Books.

You don't have
(the first three words
of this poem
are the meaning
of Ramadan Kareem).
It means Ramadan
is generous,
it means Ramadan heals.
It means Ramadan feeds.
It means Ramadan clothes.

You don't have
to be Muslim
to have a blissful Ramadan.
There is room for everyone
at the table where we fast,
that place in the hearts,
where the prayer is:
"May my hunger
empty my wallet

into your hands."

You don't have
to be Muslim
to call out to your Beloved,
"What can I do?
What can I do?"

You don't have
to be Muslim
to make sure
everyone has food.
May all creation
know the meaning
of Ramadan Karim.
Amin

by K. Nur

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)

***** ****** *****

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

(Usul al-Kafi, II, 55)

****** ****** *****

"GOD IN EVERY HEART"

Snatam Kaur

(make it your mantra)

***** ***** ******

“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

***** ***** *****

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)

Unbreakable, O Lord by Mirabai

Mirabai image from Wikipedia

Unbreakable, O Lord,

Is the love

That binds me to You:

Like a diamond,

It breaks the hammer that strikes it.

My heart goes into You

As the polish goes into the gold.

As the lotus lives in its water,

I live in You.

Like the bird

That gazes all night

At the passing moon,

I have lost myself dwelling in You.

O my Beloved --

Return.

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


*********************************


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.  

Upon watching Ode to Great Mother

The Prophet, peace be upon him said, 

"Allah loves us more than 70 mothers love their children."

*** *** ***

Grant Us Union With Her Always

Has the light of the sun appeared from the world of the Unseen,
or have the veils of Layla been lifted from Her essence?

Yes. The longing of Layla for Her beloved friend has grown
until She has revealed Her love,

So that he has become a captive of Her ardent desire and the
longing which are Her goblets called out to him.

She did not leave until She had given him a drink from Her
goblet. There is no blame. Drink! for the wine is Her speech.

And She is naught but the presence of Truth (hadratul-haqq), alone, who
manifests Herself through forms whose every light varies.

She has manifested the unique beauty of the form design in the
depth of Her being. Look at the attributes of the Beloved manifested in you.

By Allah none have attained complete bliss except the one who
becomes a humble slave and seeks Her out.

And thus, She immersed the ugliness of his nature in the beauty
of Hers, and lights shone from him, their rays appearing -

So that he withdrew from the sensory which was a barrier and
embraced a meaning from which it is unlawful to separate.

Therefore let your goal be to commit yourself, oh my brother,
and avoid otherness and Her gentle breeze will waft over
beloved ones from you.

You will open the hearing of the wayfarer's heart (fu'aadi min saalikin) because the
subtle knowledge of Her is Her proof.

Grant us union with Her always and cause us to withdraw from
every sensory existence.

- Songs of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, may Allah sanctify his Sirr

Woman is a beam of the divine Light
She is not the being 
whom sensual desire takes as its object.
She is Creator, it should be said.
She is not a Creature. 

 ~~Rumi  

The Prophet, sal allahu wa salaam, said,

 "Paradise lies at the feet of the Mother."

Ibn ‘Arabi says that Rahman and Rahim are connected to Rahem, the womb of an expecting mother. He says it’s “as if” the whole cosmos, all of us, each and every single being and all of the beings, are contained inside God’s womb. It’s “as if” we are being nurtured, protected, guided, loved, and provided for every instant from That Beloved. May God open our hearts and souls and mind to the beauties. 

---Omid Safi

"And when the angels said: 
O Mary! Lo! God hath chosen thee 
and made thee pure, 
and hath preferred thee 
above (all) the women of creation."
(Quran 3:42)

My very precious children, let us speak further about the language and qualities of the child. My precious children, when a baby emerges from its mother, it cries, "Amma, Amma!" That sound gladdens the mother's heart and brings joy to all those nearby. Isn't it a sound which makes everyone want to pick up the child and kiss it? Isn't it a sound which makes everyone happy? Does it make people cry? Certainly not. In fact, the same kind of sound is also made by sheep, by cows, and by many other animals. No matter what language you speak, that sound brings coolness, comfort, and gladness to the heart. Even though a mother may suffer and scream in pain and torment, even though she may come close to death when giving birth, as soon as she hears the sound of the baby's cry, she is soothed, she forgets all her pain, and her heart is comforted. She lifts the child to her heart, embraces it, and kisses it as soon as she hears that sound.

In just the same way God is both our Father and our Mother.

-- Bawa Muhaiyaddeen --

 List of Shia titles for Fatima

Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa salam, said, 

"Fatima, alayhi salaam, is the Mother of her father."

One of Fatima's Names is Fatima-Fatir.

She is Fatima-Creatrix.

 A Sufi Ode to the Divine Mother

On the face of the earth there is no one more beautiful than You
Wherever I go I wear your image in my heart
Whenever I fall in a despondent mood I remember your image
And my spirit rises a thousand fold
Your advent is the blossom time of the Universe
O Mother you have showered your choicest blessings upon me
Also remember me on the Day of Judgement
I don’t know if I will go to heaven or hell
But wherever I go, please always abide in me.

One day the Prophet was in one of the markets of Medina. He left the market and so did I. Then he asked thrice, “Where is the small child?” Then he said, “Call Hasan.” So Hasan got up and started walking with a necklace of beads around his neck. The Prophet stretched his hand out like this, and Hasan did the same. The Prophet embraced him and said, “O Allah! I love him, so please love him and love those who love him.” Since Allah’s Apostle said that, nothing has been dearer to me than Hasan. 
(Bukhari, Libas) 

One day a person from the desert came to the Prophet Muhammad and said, “You are kissing children but traditionally we don’t kiss them.” The Prophet replied, “What can I do if God removed mercy from your heart?” 

(Bukhari, Ahlaq; Muslim, Kitab al-Fadail) 

A man once came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) carrying a wrapped-up piece of cloth. He told the Prophet: "I saw a group of trees and heard the sound of young birds. I took them and put them in my garment. Their mother then came and began to hover around my head. I showed (the baby birds) to her, and she fell on them. I wrapped them (all) in my garment." The Prophet then said to his companions: "Are you surprised at the affection of the mother for her young?...God is more affectionate to His servants than a mother to her young." The Prophet told the man to put the baby birds back where he got them.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1359