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Sunday, 17 June 2018

ABARQUN BADAA { Translation and Transliteration }


هذه القصيدة استملت على أوصاف الرسول صل الله عليه و سلم

"This poem comprehensively gives the attributes and qualities of the Prophet"
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أبرق بدى نحو المرابع يلمــــــــع ** فهبني امرءاً إذ يلمع البرق يدمــــــعُ
222. Abarqun badaa nahwa l maraabi‘i yalma‘u ** Fahabni-mra-an idh yalma‘u l barqu yadma‘u
222. O you brilliant light of streaking lightning shinning forth from the direction of the Maraabi‘ [1]. Consider me as one whose tears flow whenever the lightning sparks.

لمحت بوهن ويك هِجت صبابــــة ** ورقراقَ دمعٍ ساعة الحيِّ تهجـــــــعُ
223. Lamahta biwahnin wayka hijta sobaabatan ** Wa raqraaqa dam-‘in saa'ata l hayyi tahja‘u
223. You shined dimly, agitating my passionate desire and causing me to cry profusely while the neighbourhood is fast asleep.

تذكّر أيّام الصِّبا وهي قد مضتْ ** ولم يبق إلا لوعةٌ وتوجُّــــــــــــــــــــعُ
224. Tudhakkiru ayyaamas-sibaa wah-ya qad madot ** Wa lam yabqa illaa law‘atun wa tawajju‘u
224. You reminded (me) of childhood memories which have faded, leaving nothing but burning desire and throbbing pain.

سقى الله أرضاً بالمدينة إنَّهــــــا ** مـــــحطُّ رحالٍ فيه خرْقِيَ يُرْقَــــــــــعُ
225. Saqaa-llahu ar'don bil madeenati innahaa ** Mahattu rihaalin feehi kharqiya yurqa‘u
225. May Allah irrigate the land of Madeenah, verily, it is the terminus of (spiritual) travellers. It is where my brokenness was mended.

ديار حبيب الله وهو أمينُـــــــــــهُ ** ديارٌ بها تُلْفى المرافقُ أجمــــــــــــــع
226. Diyaaru habeebi-llahi wah-wa ameenuhu ** Diyaarun bihaa tulfaa l maraafiqu ajma‘u
226. The abode of the beloved of Allah who is the trustworthy one, an abode wherein all benefits are acquired.

ديار لمن هام الفؤاد بحبّـــــــــــه ** وتذكاره للقلبِ مرعىً ومرْتـــــــــــــعُ
227. Diyaarun li-man haama l fu’aadu bi-hubihi ** Wa tadh’kaaruhu lil-qalbi mar‘an wa marta‘u
227.  The abode of whom my heart is passionately in love with and whose commemoration is a pasturage and comfort for the heart.

ديار لأعلى الخلق خُلْقاً وخِلْقــــةً ** ديار لمن في الخلق يعطِى ويمنـــعُ
228. Diyaarun li-a‘la l khalqi khulqan wa khilqatan ** Diyaarun liman fi l khalqi yu‘utee wa yamna‘u
228. The abode of the most exalted (of all) creation, in innate character and outward disposition. The abode of the one who grants the creations and denies (at will).

وأكرمهِم نفساً وصِهراً ونِسْبــــةً ** وعِلْماً وآداباً وأتْقى وأخْشَـــــــــــــعُ
229. Wa akramihim nafsan wa sihran wa nisbatan ** Wa ‘ilman wa aadaban wa atqaa wa akh-sha‘u
229.  The noblest of them (all) in spirit, as an in-law, in ancestry, knowledge, manners, piety and obedience.

فقد كان خير الخلق فخماً مفخّماً ** وذو هيبةٍ والمشْيُ فيهِ تقلُّـــــــــــــعُ
230. Faqad kaana khayru l khalqi fakhman mufakh-khaman ** Wa dhu haybatin wa l mashyu feehi taqallu‘u
230. Indeed, the best of creation is a person of sublimity and magnificence. He is a person of awe[2] and when he walks, he advances outwards elegantly[3].

وأزْهرُ لونٍ أدعجُ العين تــزدري ** بعين مَهىً عند الخميلةِ ترْتـــــــــــعُ
231. Wa az-haru lawnin ad-‘aju l ‘ayni tazdaree ** Bi-‘ayni mahaa ‘inda l khamiilati tar-ta‘u
231. He has a fair-skin complexion[4]. His large eyes with jet-black pupils belittles the beauty of the eyes of the antelope that grazes in the woodland.

وأنجلُ عينٍ أهْدبُ الشَّفْرِ واســعٌ ** جبينُ رسول الله والخَلْقُ أوســــــعُ
232. Wa anjalu ‘aynin ahdabu sh-shafri waasi‘un ** Jabeenu rasuuli-llahi wa l khulqu aw-sa‘u
232. He has bold eyeballs and long eyelashes. The messenger of Allah has a broad brow and yet his character is more profound.

أزجُّ وأقنى وجه طه مـــــــــــدوّرٌ ** ولِحْيتهُ كثاً وصدرٌ موسَّـــــــــــــــعُ
233. Azajju wa aqnaa waj-hu Ta-ha mudawwarun ** Wa lihyatuhu kath-than wa sodrun muwassa‘u
233. His eyebrows are full[5], his nose is protracted and slender[6]. Ta-ha’s face is slightly oval [7] his beard is thick[8] and (his) chest is broad.

ومنكِبهُ أَعْظِمْ به وعِظامــــــــــهُ ** ضِخامٌ وربعُ القد طه المرفَّــــــــــعُ
234. Wa mankibuhu a‘zim bihi wa ‘izaamuhu ** Dikhaamun warab-‘u l qaddi Ta-ha l muraffa‘u
234. What a magnificent shoulder he has and strong bones. The exalted Ta-ha is of moderate height[9].

كذا عضُدٌ عبْلٌ وعبْلٌ ذِراعُـــــــهُ ** مُرحَّبُ راحاتٍ والانوار تلمــــــــــعُ
235. Kadhaa ‘adudun ‘ablun wa ‘ablun dhiraa‘uhu ** Murahhabu raahatin wa l anwaaru talma‘u
235. Thus, his arms were large and strong. He has wide palms and (his) light beams.

وسائِلُ أَطْرافٍ وغيرُ مشـــــــذّبٍ ** عظيمُ كرادِيسٍ من الخلْقِ أرْفـــــعُ
236. Wa saa’ilu atraafin wa ghayru mushadh-dhabin ** Azeemu karaadeesin mina l khalqi arfa‘u
236. His fingers are long and not pruned (or short). He has great joints, and is excellently moulded among all creation.

وأشنبُ ثغْرٍ إن تبسّمَ ينجَلــــــــي ** كحَبِّ غمامٍ أو لكالبرقِ يلمـــــــــعُ
237. Wa ashnabu thaghrin in-tabassama yanjalee ** Ka habbi gamaamin aw la ka l barqi yalma‘u
237. His teeth are very white. They glitter whenever he smiles, just like hailstones or like flashes of lightening.

وهامتهُ عُظمى لِشعرٍ ترجُّــــــــلٌ ** وخافض طرفٍ ساكتٌ فهو يخشـــعُ
238. Wa haamatuhu uzmaa li-sha‘rin tarajjulun ** Wa khaafidu tar'fin saakitun fah-wa yakh-sha‘u
238. He had a big head (not tiny) and his hair was wavy[10]. He lowers his gaze and is mostly silent in devotion (to God).

وأحزانهُ موصولةٌ بتفكُّـــــــــــــرٍ ** وإن قال قال الفصْلَ والحقَّ يرْجِــــعُ
239. Wa ah-zaanuhu mawsuulatun bi tafakkurin ** Wa in qaala qaala l fasla wal haqqa yar-ji‘u
239.  His sobriety is for contemplation (of God) and whenever he speaks, he speaks in an unambiguous, convincing and satisfactory manner. He reiterates the truth.

وينظر لحْظاً وهو للأرضِ غالبـا ** يسوقُ صِحاباً والملائكُ تتبـــــــــــعُ
240. Wa yanzuru lahzan wah-wa lil-ardi ghaaliban ** yasuuqu sihaaban wa l malaa’iku tatba‘u
240. He looks by casting a glance, but in most cases, towards the ground (lowering his gaze). He leads the companions and angels follow behind.

و جيد رسول الله يشبه دمية ** إذا فرق الأسعار يبدو و يلمـــــــــــــــــــع
241. Wa jeedu rasuuli-llahi yushbihu dumyatan ** Idhaa farraqa l ash‘aara yabduu wa yalma‘u
241. The neck of the Apostle of Allah was unparalleled in beauty whenever he parted his hairs, it shines and beams.

وكاللؤلؤِ المكنون والمسكِ عَرْقُهُ ** فمثْل رسولِ الله لم يحظَ مَجمَــــــــــعُ
242. Wa kal-lu’-lu’i l maknuuni wal miski ‘arquhu ** Fa-mithla rasuuli-llahi lam yahza majma‘u
242. He resembles well-guarded pearls and his sweat smells musk. The like of the messenger of Allah, no place or person has ever hosted.

وأحلم خلق الله أعدل خلقه ** من الناس أسخى بل من الناس أشجــــــــــع
243. Wa ahlamu khalqi-llahi a‘dalu khalqihi ** Mina n-naasi askhaa bal mina n-naasi ashja‘u
243. He is the most forbearing of all men, the fairest among the creation, the most generous and the bravest of all.

ويخدُمُ للأهلين يخصِفُ نعلـــــــــهُ ** ويقطع لحماً وهو للثّوب يرقَــــــــعُ
244. Wa yakhdumu li l ahleena yakhsifu na‘lahu ** Wa yaqta‘u lahman wah-wa li'th-thawbi yarqa‘u
244. He was always at the service of his household, repaired his own shoes. He helped to butcher the meat and mended his clothes.

أشدُّ حياءً وهو يأتي لمن دعــــــا ** ويغضب للمولى إلى الحقّ يرجــــــعُ
245. Ashaddu hayaa-an wah-wa ya'tee liman da-‘aa ** Wa yaghdobu lil-mawlaa ilaa-l haqqi yarji‘u
245. He is highly bashful (much more than a maiden), nevertheless he did honour invitations. His anger is for Allah and he returns to Allah in all affairs.

ولم يتورّع عن حلالٍ ولو حــــــلاَ ** ولم تُلفهِ في غالب الوقت يشْبـــــــعُ
246. Wa lam yatawarra‘ ‘an halaalin wa law halaa ** Wa lam tulfihi fee ghaalibi l waqti yashba‘u

246. He is modest in seeking from lawful things even when they are alluring. You never find him most times eating to his fill.

ويركب أحيانا جوادا ومـــــــــــرَّةً ** حماراً وحيناً راجلاً يتقلَّـــــــــــــــعُ
247. Wa yarkabu ah-yaanan jawaadan wa marratan ** Himaaran wa heenan raajilan yataqalla‘u
247. At times, he rode on a steed and sometimes on a donkey. In some cases, he trekked[11].

كذلك في الملبوس والطِّيبُ فائحٌ ** يجالسُ أقواماً والأصواتُ ترفـــــــــعُ
248. Kadhaalika fil malbuusi wat-teebu faahihun ** Yujaalisu aqwaaman wa l aswaatu turfa‘u
248. He is moderate (and humble) in his dressing and he always applies scent (perfume). He sits amidst people while their voices are raised loudly.

ويمزحُ أحياناً يولِّفُ مــــــــــــرَةً ** وما هاب مُلكاً قطُّ فالشّانُ أرفــــــــعُ
249. Wa yamzahu ahyaanan yu-allifu marratan ** Wa maa haaba mulkan qattu fash-sha'nu arfa‘u
249. At times he joked with good sense of humour and forged relationship (with people). He never stood for once, in awe of any tyrant. His affair[12] is indeed greater.

وما حقّرَ المسكينَ يدعو جميعَهم ** وبالله مولى الخلقِ ذا الخلْقَ يجمـــــعُ
250. Wa maa haqqara l miskeena yad-‘uu jemee‘a-hum ** Wa billahi mawla l khalqi dha l khalqi yaj'ma‘u
250. He never looked down upon the indigent, he associated with them. By Allah, The Lord of creation, all creation was assembled (under his banner).

وأكرمه المولى أجلّ كرامــــــــةٍ ** وخصّصه من للخلائقِ ينفــــــــــــعُ
251.  Wa akramahu l mawlaa ajalla karaamatin ** Wa khassasahu man li l khalaa’iqi yanfa‘u
251. (Allah) The Absolute Master dignified and earmarked him as a sole benefactor for creation.

عليه صلاة الله ما ذرّ شــــــارِقٌ ** وغنّتْ حماماتٌ على الغُصْنِ تسْجَــعُ
252. Alayhi salaatul-laahi maa dharra shaariqun ** Wa gannat hamaamaatun ala l ghusni tasja‘u
252. May blessing and peace of Allah be upon him whenever the sun shines and whenever pigeons chant and coo on tree branches.

وما رُدَّ ضيمُ الدَّهْرِ عن ساحة الذي ** يزخرف أمداحاً ويشدو ويسجــــعُ
253.  Wa maa rudda daymu d-dahri ‘an saahatil-ladhee ** Yuzakhrifu amdaahan wa yashduu wa yasja‘u
253. And whenever evil continues to be repelled from the domain of the one who composes and sings beautiful eulogy (of the prophet SAW)[13].

وآلٍ وأصحابٍ مدى قول شيِّـــــــــقٍ ** أبرقٌ بدا نحو المرابعِ يلمــــــــــعُ
254. Wa aalin wa as-haabin madaa qawli shayyiqin ** Abarqun badaa nah'wa l maraabi‘i yalma‘u
254. May the blessing include his household and his companion as long as an ardent lover says: O you brilliant light of streaking lightning shinning forth in the direction of the Maraabi ‘.


[1] Pl. of Marba‘u. Meaning places where people resided during spring.
[2] When seen from a distance. Aliy bn Abi Talib (RA) said: “Whoever unexpectedly saw him, would stand in awe of him. And whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him. And those who described him would always say “I have never seen anyone before him or after him, who was like him”.
[3] Lowering his head as if descending from a height.
[4] Whitish skin with a reddish tinge.
[5] Also extended like bows.
[6] Upraised in the middle with an accurate tip.
[7] Not long nor round.
[8] Dense with hair well levelled - not scattered here and there.
[9] Neither is he boringly tall nor is he repulsively short but tends towards tallness in an appropriate manner.
[10] Neither curly nor straight.
[11] With strides like someone descending from a height not too slow and not too fast.
[12] His status and spiritual state (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallama) is greater than that of someone who can be frightened by anybody.
[13] The author of this poetic piece- Shaykh Ibrahim Nyass (d.1975)


Published in:
Dawaaween As-sitt (Six Anthologies), Ikseerus-sa‘aadat fee mad-hi sayyidis-saadaat (The Elixir of Good Fortune on Extolling the Leader of Leaders) – Harful ‘ayn, by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse


Translated with comments by: Abdulwahab Olukade (Kishky)


Reference: http://bayeniasse.blogspot.com/2018/06/abarqun-badaa-brightest-flash-of.html

Saturday, 14 October 2017

SAYR WA SULUK (WAYFARING AND MENTORING) Presented by ABDUR RAHEEM ABDULHAFEEZ (FAA)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise and eulogies belong to the Mainspring of Being. And may benedictions be upon him who stands in the stations of epiphany and upon his Progeny, the Trustees of the Worshipped One.

INTRODUCTION
O!! fellow travellers of the realm of felicity and purity! O comrades on the oath of sincerity and fidelity! DO THEE WANT TO DIE BEFORE MEETING ALLAH … The Beloved SAW said in a beautiful narration that “Mon Ahabba Liqooallahi Ahabballahu Liqooahu Wa Man Karihallahu Liqoooallahi Karihallahu Liqooahu” – Whoever is willing to meet Allah… Allah is open arms to meet him and whoever detests to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him.

I ask thee, WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF MAN? WHAT IS HIS DESTINATION? WHAT IS HIS PURPOSE HERE?

The answer to the first two questions is ALLAH and the third is TO JOURNEY BACK TO ALLAH. How do he accomplish this journey: Allah gave us an insight in the Qur’an “O! Mankind, indeed you are labouring toward your Lord with great exertion and will meet it” Al Inshiqaq” Chapter 84 verse 6.
And that is Sayr- Godward wayfaring , Suluk is threading the path with a guide. Sayr is like having getting readily set to embark on a journey to an unknown destination with all tools required in your disposition: say a car, clothing and feeds then Suluk is following a guide who does not only know all the routes to the destination but is always welcome and also permitted to bring people there.
  Definitely, all human do Sayr as we always find in the Qurán WA ILA LLAHI LIMASEER; ALA ILA ALLAH TASEERU LI UMUR to Allah is your journey
The Sufist cannot wait till the hereafter to meet Allah, they want to meet him now and they are choked with his Love alone as they’ve tasted everything and found it tasteless.
  A scenario is that of children who can perceive the beautiful aroma of mum’s sumptuous meal from a far, they’ve to race ahead of other children to get home and break into mama’s apartment, mama’s kitchen, YES …, mama’s pot NO they want to enter the pot. To achieve this, they’ve to break many barriers such as the gate, door and everything that obstructs them because they are being driven by SHAWQ- AN INESTIMABLE LOVE.
 THE Sufist actually die before death to experience what is beyond this physical realm, so they break the door, Well, that is not a crime because at the other end is their BELOVED waiting to receive them. So, their eternal journey starts here and now as they can’t wait.

SAYR - (GODWARD WAYFARING)
Sayr is a Godward journey or an inner journey as man is not a drop in an ocean rather he is an ocean in a drop. Hence, this journey is an inward one which requires only the wayfarer.
    To embark on this endless journey, the following measures are to be taken by the WAYFARER RADICAL RENUNCIATION: HE must first cast away social habits, customs, and conventions and to do away with fictitious values that hinder the wayfarer from traversing the path. This World as described by Shaykh Li Islam RTA is like a cinema hall, wherein you are engulfed in the movie and so you cry, laugh and feel sober BUT take your mind back; your wife is at home, exam is around the corner, job. If the light should go off suddenly then you will realise that it is just a screen before you. It is APPARENT BUT not REAL, another similitude is that of MIRAGE
SO, why would you keep yourself busy with it when the REALWORLD AWAITS U.
He should be convinced on the path (TARIQO) he chooses to follow strictly .
Then seek for a COMPETENT WALIYY or SHEIKH who is authorised to train on that path. He should seek for a Sheikh , he loves, respect , who has passed beyond the station of fana' and reached the station of baqa' billah and is informed about the things which are beneficial and harmful, those which lead to deliverance and those which lead to perdition, and who can take charge of the wayfarer's training and guide him to his sought goal.
  SHEIKH LI ISLAM RTA said in RUHU LI ADAB “Seek for a knowledgeable and experienced teacher with sound advice, Complete in knowledge of Divine Lord ( and of course) a righteous leader”
The Murid or disciple in reality seeks the countenance of Allah. This countenance of Allah has a gate which is the Prophet (SAWS), the countenance of the Prophet (SAWS) also has a gate which is the Shaykh. Allah says in the Qur`an 3:31" If you really love (to have the countenance of) Allah, follow me and Allah shall love you " and in the Qur`an 31:15" And follow the path of one that has turned towards. Thus if you love Allah and wish for His countenance you must start your journey by seeking a complete Shaykh. A complete Shaykh is one whom on one hand knows and observes the law (Shari`at) and on the other hand knows and observes the reality (Haqiqat). The Shari`at and the Haqiqat represent the two sides  of the coin.
  He should  THEN perform Bay’ah (oath of allegiance) with the Sheik,
Submit yourself completely to him and don't experiment (on your efforts), Be like a dead person before its washer and you shall be informed.
Complete Submission is very important in Islam. Allah says in the Qur`an 2:208
" Oh you believers, enter into Islam completely (i.e. whole-heartedly ".)
In another place Allah says, Qur`an (4:59 )" Obey Allah and obey the Prophet and the leaders among you ". Obedience must therefore be 100%, not 50/50 or 70/30 as done by many today.In submitting yourself to a Shaykh, sincerity is of utmost importance. Thus, if one finds himself in the hands of a false Shaykh who is camouflaged and a mischief doer. The answer is that as long as the disciple is sincere in his followership, Allah shall guide him as He promised in the Qur`an 29:69" And those that strive in Us (sincerely), We shall surely guide to Our paths ".
  However, one's journey through these stages depends on several matters, all of which must be observed in the best and most perfect manner.
In order to preserve that which is peripheral they forgo the very substance of life. Taking the common people's appreciation and blame as a criterion and standard, they waste their lives and lifetime trying to conform to these standards.
In order to attain his goal, the wayfarer must adopt a policy of moderation and assume a middle position between two groups, refraining from either extreme and moving on the straight path. This purpose is not attained without intercourse and dealings with the people to the extent of one's social needs. However, if there should arise an inevitable difference in sociability, in respect of quality and quantity, between a wayfarer and a nonwayfarer, it would not be harmful.Thus, the22 wayfarer is now ready for his eternal journey.

SULUK (SPIRITUAL ASCENSION)
   The eternal journey leads to fanaafillah (annihilation) and baqaabillah. Transversing between these two is Suluk.along the line, if one experience JADHBU;being fast tracked by Allah.. Sheikhi li ISLAM RTA said “he is not from us, a saleek who is not fasttracked in his journey and one who claims to be fast tracked without going through the journey…
The word Suluk means the journey, but it also means the manner of the journey, the art of journeying. And so Suluk means etiquette, a fine manner, because for the spiritual seeker on this path the journey itself is the destination. The journey is not a means to an end. The journey is the end. The One whom we seek is present at every way station along the way. So our manner of journeying must reflect the awareness of the presence of the divine in every moment. Suluk is seeking Allah with Allah for Allah to achieve ALLAH.
  This is not to say that we will not err, we will not make mistakes; we are human, it is natural that we will miss the mark. But we seek to learn from our mistakes; we seek always to increase our quality of presence, of awareness of our selves, awareness of our inner condition, awareness of each other, so that our manner can more and more reflect this greater, finer, deeper awareness.
  We are here not to add to the sum of our knowledge, nor to collect more facts, but to undergo a different kind of experience, an experience of travel, a journey within, moving through the terrain, the landscape within our own mind, within our own heart, within our own soul, to return to the center of ourselves. ( it’s a journey from one ALF:apparent to another ALF:real)
Jesus, peace be upon him, said, of all of the commandments of the Bible, two are paramount: Love the Lord with all of your mind and all your heart and all of your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. The vertical dimension, to love God, to approach God, and the horizontal dimension, to love one's neighbor. Ultimately the two are inextricable; the center of yourself, the divine center, is also the center of every being. As it is said in the old saying, God is a circle, whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.
Suluk is a journey to the center of that circle; a center that is already present but which is obscured by our identification with a dimension of our being which is true and yet it is incomplete. We are seeking completeness. We are seeking wholeness. We are seeking integration, the integration of the eternal and infinite, and the ephemeral—the integration of heaven and earth. So this is not a path of rejection, of turning away, but it is a path of inclusion, of affirming and uniting all dimensions of reality.

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD AND WAY OF GODWARD WAYFARING AND ASCENSION

1.STEADFASTNESS (‘AZM): As soon as the wayfarer puts his foot into the field of spiritual struggle (mujahadah) he is faced with difficult and unpleasant developments arising from the conduct of the people and the behaviour of acquaintances that have no purpose in life except their base desires and social aspirations. By word and action they reproach him, desiring to dissuade him from his path and purpose.

2. GENTLENESS AND LENIENCY (RIFQ WA MUDARA):This is the most important of matters which the wayfarer must observe, because even a small negligence in this regard, aside from the fact that it may halt the wayfarer's progress and advancement, may totally put an end to his journey forever. Do not force worship on yourself (making it unpleasant).

3. LOYALTY (WAFA) That consists of not committing again a wrong action after one has repented, and fulfilling the duty that one has committed oneself to carry out and not to neglect it. It also includes remaining faithful until the end to the promises and pledges one has given to one's aware Shaykh and trainer of the way of God.

4. STABILITY AND PERSEVERANCE (THUBAT WA DAWAM): Explanation of this notion requires an introduction. That which can be inferred from Qur'anic verses and sacred traditions is that whatever external entities we perceive by the means of our senses and whatever external acts we perform and which assume reality in the world of matter are accompanied with certain realities lying beyond the realm of material and physical bodies. And there is nothing but that its stores are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure. (15:21)

5. SELF‑VIGILANCE (MURAQABAH):Self‑vigilance means that the wayfarer must be watchful and on his guard in all conditions so that he is not guilty of misfeasance in respect of his duties and does neglect what he has resolved upon. Muraqabah has a common meaning and it differs according to the difference of stations, ranks and degrees of the wayfarers. At the beginning of wayfaring muraqabah consists of abstaining from anything that is of no benefit either for one's religion or one's world, and avoiding that which is of no concern to one, while trying not to say or do anything that is contrary to God's pleasure. But gradually this muraqabah becomes more intense and heightens degree by degree. At times muraqabah may consist of concentrating on one's silence and at other times on one's soul, and at other tines, at a higher plane, on the reality of the Universal Divine Names and Attributes.
Without muraqabah, contemplation and dhikr will remain fruitless. Muraqabah in relation to wayfaring is like the sick man's refraining from improper foods, while contemplation and dhikr are like medicines, and until the sick person does not purge his physiological condition and refrain from that which does not suit his condition the medicines will be ineffective, or they may even produce an opposite result. Hence the sages and the grand masters of this way forbid the wayfarer from contemplation and dhikr without muraqabah, and they prescribe contemplation and dhikr in accordance with the rank and degree of the wayfarer.

6. SELF‑ACCOUNTING (MUHASABAH) :This consists of fixing a certain time during day and night for oneself wherein one may scrutinize all one's actions during past twenty‑four hours. It is to this that the statement of Hadrat Musa ibn Ja’far, may Peace be upon him, refer“He who does not take account of him own soul once every day is not one of us.” And should it appear to the wayfarer during muhasabah that he has violated his duties, he must seek forgiveness (istighfar) and, in case he hasn't done any, he should thank God, die Exalted

7. SELF‑CENSURE (MU'AKHADHAH): It consists of the wayfarer's taking disciplinary measures against his lower soul in case of observance of any betrayal on its part and taking steps to discipline it and warn it in a manner that he himself deems fit.

8. SPEEDY ACTION (MUSARA’H) It means taking speedy action in carrying out one's resolve, for this path has havocs that may pose obstacles to the wayfarer at every station pertinent to his state. The wayfarer must be very clever and judicious and carry out his duty before any hindrance arises and spoils his poise, and he must leave no stone unturned in the way of achieving his goal.

9.AFFECTION (IRADAT):That is affection for the master of the Shari ‘ah and his true successors. This affection must be so pure and sincere as to be free of any kind of taint or impurity, and this stage must be raised to the frontier of perfection. Because iradat has a great role in the effect of actions, and the greater the intensity and excellence of one's iradat, the better and more enduring will be the effect of actions in the soul of the wayfarer.And since all existents are the creatures of God, the wayfarer must have affection for all of them and have respect for them in accordance with their rank and degree. Affection and kindness towards all creatures of the Lord, whether human beings or animals, all of them and each in accordance with its station and rank, are manifestations of the love for God. Hence it has been stated in traditions that the main product of faith is affection for God's creation: O my God, I beseech You to grant me Your love and the love of those who love You Her love makes me love the sand dunes of Najd, And why would they delight me were it not for her love?
In her longing, I humble myself for Layla's family, And bear with its humble and stately

10. REVERENCE AND ETIQUETTE (ADAB): ADAB is the greatest virtue.                This consists of veneration for the Sacred Lord of Honour and His vicegerents, and this is different from the affection and love mentioned above. For reverence consists of being careful of oneself lest one should trespass one's limits and commit some action contrary to the demands of servanthood. That is because there arc limits and bounds for the contingent in respect of the Necessary Being, and that which is implied by the observance of this reverence is the observance of the requirements of the world of plurality. But love and affection consist of attraction towards the threshold. of the One and that which is implied in it is attention to Unity.
The perfect degree of etiquette is that in all conditions the wayfarer must consider himself as being in the presence of God, the Glorious and the Exalted, and observe the rules of etiquette in his speech and silence, while eating and sleeping, while moving about and while resting, and in all his states, movements and pauses. Should the wayfarer's attention be always towards the Names and Attributes of God, he will inevitably be well‑mannered and humble

11. INTENTION (NIYYAT): It consists of the wayfarer not possessing any purpose in his wayfaring except the making of the spiritual journey itself and seeking annihilation in the Essence of the One (dhat al-ahadiyyat). Hence the wayfarer's quest must be sincere and pure: So call on God with pure allegiance to Him. (40:14)It is mentioned in many traditions that intention has three ranks. Among them is the one in which Imam Sadiq (‘a) says:The servants are of three kinds: a group worship God for fear, and that is the worship of slaves; another group worship God for the sake of greed, and that is the worship of merchants; yet there is another group that worships God for the sake of His love, and that is the worship of freemen.
…Some sages have said in defining the fourfold stages: "First, renouncing the world; second, renouncing the Hereafter third, renouncing the Master (mawla); fourth, renouncing renunciation." Reflect over these words. And it is this stage which is meant by the expression ‘renunciation of yearning' (qat al-tam’) used by the wayfarers, and this is a stage which is very great, as it is a valley most difficult to traverse and passing through which is a most formidable task.

12. SILENCE (SAMT) :Silence is of two kinds:
General and mixed (mudaj): consists of withholding the tongue from superfluous speech with people. Rather, the wayfarer must confine himself to the minimum that is possible, and this silence is essential at all times and throughout the course of wayfaring.
Special and pure (mutlaq): which consists of withholding the tongue from speech with people while being engaged in exclusive verbal dhikr, and it is not commendable in cases other than that.

13. HUNGER (JU’) AND EATING LITTLE: ‘Hunger' is to be to the extent that it does not lead to weakness and does not make one's state turbulent. Imam Sadiq (‘a) said: Hunger is the condiment of the believer, and the spirit's nourishment, and the heart's food. That is because hunger brings lightness and luminosity to the soul, and thought can soar high in the state of hunger. Overeating or eating to one's fill makes the soul heavy, tired, and weary and holds it back from soaring into the skies of gnosis. it is best achieved through FASTING

14. SECLUSION (KHALWAT) This is of two kinds: general and particular or special.
General seclusion consists of seclusion and withdrawal, except when demanded by necessity, from those who are not the people of God (ahl Allah), especially from the weak‑minded among the common people,
And leave alone those who have taken their religion as a sport and play and the life of the world has deceived them. (6:70)
As to the special seclusion, it consists of distancing oneself from all people. Although that is not devoid of excellence during all worship and dhikr, but in a group of verbal adhkar, or rather in all of them, it is considered essential by the masters (mashayikh) of the Way.

15. MORNING WAKEFULNESS (SAHAR): This means being awake at dawns to the extent permitted by the wayfarer's constitution. This statement of God, the Exalted, refers to the reprehensibility of sleeping at daybreak and the praiseworthiness of being awake during that time: Little of the night they would slumber, and in the mornings they would ask for forgiveness. (6:70)

16. PERPETUAL OBSERVANCE OF TAHARAH: That consists of always being with wudu', performing the wajib baths, the Friday bath, and all other mustahabb baths to the extent possible.

17 OUTPOURING HUMILITY (TADARRU'):. This consists of expressing lowliness and humility; making entreaty and lamentation.

18. REFRAINING FROM PLEASURES: This consists of refraining from pleasures and appetites to the extent of one's capacity; confining oneself to that which is necessary for the body and for survival.

19. SECRECY: This is one of the most important of the requirements of wayfaring, and the sages attached much importance to it and gave significant advices to their disciples, exhorting them in the extreme, whether tile matter was one that pertained to the acts of worship, awrad or adhkar, or to spiritual experiences, disclosures, and states.

20. WIRD: Wird consists of verbal adhkar and awrad, and their quality and quantity depends on the prescription of the teacher. For they are like medicines, which are beneficial for some people and harmful for some others. It is often seen that the wayfarer engages in two dhikrs, one which turns his attention toward plurality and the other toward Unity, and as they are said together they neutralize one another without yielding any result. However, the teacher's permission is required for awrad concerning which there is no general permission. But as for those for which a general permission exists, there is no problem.

PRACTICAL APPROACH TO  SAYR  WA SULUK
  Suluk is dedicated to cultivating the essential practice, the essential teachings that Murshid offered, and doing so according to the form that he taught. Murshid teaching is extraordinary in that it contains the freedom that each seeker may apply the teaching that is relevant to him or her at the particular moment of his or her passage through a certain stage of life.

CONCENTRATION
The first stage is dedicated to the practice of concentration. Concentration ( is the peace of mind) means learning to silence the tongue, to still the mind, to sit in a upright and yet relaxed position, and for the mind to begin to become calm and clear. When a body of water, a pond or lake, becomes calm and clear, it reflects an image clearly. If the water is turbulent, no clear reflection is possible. So, the first task is to calm the body and the mind and to cultivate the capacity to hold a single image, a single thought with clarity and precision. This is of course the development of a very natural capacity of mind, and yet for some reason we are not taught this method in our ordinary lives.  [FORM THE IMAGE]

CONTEMPLATION
The second stage is contemplation. This means that not only do we hold an image in our mind, but we hold with clarity, with focus, and with depth an inner process. Not a static image, but a dynamic inner process. Not an arbitrary, random process, conditioned by our continuous bombardment by random associations, but rather a process of internal deepening where we increasingly descend from the superficial level of consciousness into deeper and deeper strata of mind, discovering the undercurrents of our conscious thoughts. That is contemplation. Exploring the divine qualities in our thoughts, in our personalities. Finding the root of our motivations, finding that all of our impulses, however seemingly arbitrary or destructive, have a divinely ordained powerful and deep motive force. We discover this through the practice of contemplation. [FOCUSING THE IMAGE]

MEDITATION
Meditation goes still further. In meditation not only is there no image, there is no content whatsoever. Meditation is pure mind; mind witnessing itself, pure presence without object. In ordinary knowledge the knower confronts the known. In meditation the knower and the known are identical. This is the essence of peace, transcendence. But it is not the final stage of our journey. [RECEIVING THE MESSAGE FROM THE IMAGE]

REALIZATION
This is when we return to our outer senses. We return to relationships, commitments, our profession, our engagement in creating a beautiful world of beautiful people. And this is possible when the depths of meditative peace are united with the active use of the senses, the awakened conscience, and a fine sensitivity to every being who comes into our field of awareness.
So these four stages will be the landscape through which we move. Since, individual varies, the means of receiving the teachings will also be different.
Sufism, therefore, is the process of making life natural.... By this process of Sufism SAYR WA SULUK one realizes one's own nature, one's true nature.... Sufism means to know one's true being, to know the purpose of one's life and to know how to accomplish that purpose.
 Sufism is not any kind of escapism into an intricate metaphysics ”—“Sufism is entirely a fine manner” , a manner in which the divine is seen truly in every soul. . To see the humanity of a person and at the same time the divinity of a person, to be seen in one’s divinity and in one’s humanity, and to build a community from those perceptions.                                                                     VERILY TO ALLAH ALONE BELONG ALL PERFECTIONS

Sunday, 11 June 2017

HISTORY OF BATTLE OF BADR, 17th RAMADAN 624 A.D

Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the most Merciful)

  The Battle of Badr was a turning point in the chronicle of Islam in that the glorious acquisition of victory against grave probability established a benchmark of truth never dared to be argued against.
  The Battle of Badr was fought on the 17th of Ramadan in 624 A.D (the second year of the Hijra) about 50 miles south-west of Madina (or Yahtrib as it was then ascribed) near the point where the then Madina-Syria caravan route wound its way through a complex terrain.
  It was here that a group of 313 Muslims men, mostly without arms and with two horses and 70 camels amidst them, led by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), met a well-armed and well-equipped army of their pagan enemies of Makkah, numbered over a thousand, and won, by Allah's decree.
  The Makkan army had amid its influential some of the most skilled combatants of Arabia, including Abu Jahl, the persecutor of Islam. After individual contests, according to the traditions of Arabia, between Hamza, Ali and Obaidah on the side of the Muslims and three braves from the Makkan ranks, a pitched battle ensued. The stakes were great.
  Both the forces engaged in physical encounter valiantly but the Muslims were engrossed by holy zeal. During the peak of the battle, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was not unmindful of God and earnestly beseeched Him: "O Lord, forget not Thy promise of assistance. O Lord, if this little band were to perish, there will be none to offer unto Thee pure worship."
  It was unfeasible, devoid of the miraculous aid of God, for such a diminutive an unprepared force, as was the Muslim band, to trounce the outsized and well-equipped vigour of the adversary. But their firmness, zeal and obedience won them divine aid.
  The modest displaced community of Makkan Muslims, with their friends in Madina, had ordered themselves into a God-fearing centre of population, and for that very basis were in persistent danger of being attacked by their pagan enemies of Makkah, in alliance with some of the disaffected rudiments (hypocrites) in or near Madina itself. The desire of the Makkans was to congregate all the assets they could, and with an overpowering force, to compress and eradicate the divine messenger and his party.
  Abu Sufyan, a chief of pagan Makkah was leading an opulently laden caravan from Syria to Makkah, calling for armed aid at his most convenience, at a time where trade amongst them was at its richest. There were two alternatives before Muslims in Madina, to either have themselves being overwhelmed by the Makkans with all the resources from the rich Syrian trade, or to take direct action and stand unified in the face of adversity as prescribed by divine will, and the latter came to their benefit.
  The Muslims had no more than 300 men, ill equipped to resist the force. But if they could defeat it, it would shake the egocentric autocracy which was in tenure in Makkah.
  Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stretched forth his hand and supplicated to Allah until his cloak fell off his shoulders. Abu Bakr (Radhi' Allahu Anhu) came up to him, picked his cloak, and put it back on his shoulders and said:

"O Prophet of Allah! You have cried out enough to your Lord. He will surely fulfil what He has promised you."
- Saheeh al-Bukhari.

Immediately, Allah responded to the supplication and sent Angels for help, Allah says:

"(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you saying, 'I will help you with a thousand Angels each behind the other in succession."
- Surah al-Anfal V 8.9

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) raised his head and said cheeringly: "O Abu Bakr, glad tidings are there for you; Allah's victory has approached, by Allah I can see Jibrail on his mount in the thick of a sandstorm."

Then he recited the verse:

"Their multitude will be put to flight and they will show their backs."
- Surah Al-Qamar V 54.45
Ibn Abbas (Radhi' Allahu Anhu) said, "When the two armies drew closer to each other, Allah made the Muslims look fewer in the eyes of the idolaters and the idolaters look few in the eyes of the Muslims. The idolaters said: "These people (Muslims) are deceived by their religion."
  The significance of the triumph at Badr, was consequently far reaching. It gave the promising Muslim state of Madina the much essential moral strength to stand fearless at a time when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) had almost lost all anticipation of withstanding the persecution.

"And He caused rain to descend on you from the sky to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering, evil suggestions, etc.) of Shaytan, and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm thereby."
- Surah al-Anfal 8. 11.

  The Battle of Badr dealt a rigorous blow to the stature of agnostic Makkah, and won the right of life by divine decree for many a Muslims, who chose to defend their rights and opportunity to practise Islam freely in their desired land.
  'The war that a Muslim wages is not in order to accumulate worldly benefits. He resorts to it for the moral and social reform of the world and does so when the opposing forces make it impossible to bring about reform by means of persuasion and preaching.'
- Surah Al-Anfal, V 8.1

SAHABAH THAT FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF THE BADR

1. Sayyiduna Muhammad Rasulullah s.a.w.
2. Abu Bakar as-Shiddiq r.a.
3. Umar bin al-Khattab r.a.
4. Utsman bin Affan r.a.
5. Ali bin Abu Tholib r.a.
6. Talhah bin ‘Ubaidillah r.a.
7. Bilal bin Rabbah r.a.
8. Hamzah bin Abdul Muttolib r.a.
9. Abdullah bin Jahsyi r.a.
10. Al-Zubair bin al-Awwam r.a.
11. Mus’ab bin Umair bin Hasyim r.a.
12. Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf r.a.
13. Abdullah bin Mas’ud r.a.
14. Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas r.a.
15. Abu Kabsyah al-Faris r.a.
16. Anasah al-Habsyi r.a.
17. Zaid bin Harithah al-Kalbi r.a.
18. Marthad bin Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi r.a.
19. Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi r.a.
20. Al-Husain bin al-Harith bin Abdul Muttolib r.a.
21. ‘Ubaidah bin al-Harith bin Abdul Muttolib r.a.
22. Al-Tufail bin al-Harith bin Abdul Muttolib r.a.
23. Mistah bin Usasah bin ‘Ubbad bin Abdul Muttolib r.a.
24. Abu Huzaifah bin ‘Utbah bin Rabi’ah r.a.
25. Subaih (maula Abi ‘Asi bin Umaiyyah) r.a.
26. Salim (maula Abu Huzaifah) r.a.
27. Sinan bin Muhsin r.a.
28. ‘Ukasyah bin Muhsin r.a.
29. Sinan bin Abi Sinan r.a.
30. Abu Sinan bin Muhsin r.a.
31. Syuja’ bin Wahab r.a.
32. ‘Utbah bin Wahab r.a.
33. Yazid bin Ruqais r.a.
34. Muhriz bin Nadhlah r.a.
35. Rabi’ah bin Aksam r.a.
36. Thaqfu bin Amir r.a.
37. Malik bin Amir r.a.
38. Mudlij bin Amir r.a.
39. Abu Makhsyi Suwaid bin Makhsyi al-To’i r.a.
40. ‘Utbah bin Ghazwan r.a.
41. Khabbab (maula ‘Utbah bin Ghazwan) r.a.
42. Hathib bin Abi Balta’ah al-Lakhmi r.a.
43. Sa’ad al-Kalbi (maula Hathib) r.a.
44. Suwaibit bin Sa’ad bin Harmalah r.a.
45. Umair bin Abi Waqqas r.a.
46. Al-Miqdad bin ‘Amru r.a.
47. Mas’ud bin Rabi’ah r.a.
48. Zus Syimalain Amru bin Amru r.a.
49. Khabbab bin al-Arat al-Tamimi r.a.
50. Amir bin Fuhairah r.a.
51. Suhaib bin Sinan r.a.
52. Abu Salamah bin Abdul Asad r.a.
53. Syammas bin Uthman r.a.
54. Al-Arqam bin Abi al-Arqam r.a.
55. Ammar bin Yasir r.a.
56. Mu’attib bin ‘Auf al-Khuza’i r.a.
57. Zaid bin al-Khattab r.a.
58. Amru bin Suraqah r.a.
59. Abdullah bin Suraqah r.a.
60. Sa’id bin Zaid bin Amru r.a.
61. Mihja bin Akk (maula Umar bin al-Khattab) r.a.
62. Waqid bin Abdullah al-Tamimi r.a.
63. Khauli bin Abi Khauli al-Ijli r.a.
64. Malik bin Abi Khauli al-Ijli r.a.
65. Amir bin Rabi’ah r.a.
66. Amir bin al-Bukair r.a.
67. Aqil bin al-Bukair r.a.
68. Khalid bin al-Bukair r.a.
69. Iyas bin al-Bukair r.a.
70. Uthman bin Maz’un r.a.
71. Qudamah bin Maz’un r.a.
72. Abdullah bin Maz’un r.a.
73. Al-Saib bin Uthman bin Maz’un r.a.
74. Ma’mar bin al-Harith r.a.
75. Khunais bin Huzafah r.a.
76. Abu Sabrah bin Abi Ruhm r.a.
77. Abdullah bin Makhramah r.a.
78. Abdullah bin Suhail bin Amru r.a.
79. Wahab bin Sa’ad bin Abi Sarah r.a.
80. Hatib bin Amru r.a.
81. Umair bin Auf r.a.
82. Sa’ad bin Khaulah r.a.
83. Abu Ubaidah Amir al-Jarah r.a.
84. Amru bin al-Harith r.a.
85. Suhail bin Wahab bin Rabi’ah r.a.
86. Safwan bin Wahab r.a.
87. Amru bin Abi Sarah bin Rabi’ah r.a.
88. Sa’ad bin Muaz r.a.
89. Amru bin Muaz r.a.
90. Al-Harith bin Aus r.a.
91. Al-Harith bin Anas r.a.
92. Sa’ad bin Zaid bin Malik r.a.
93. Salamah bin Salamah bin Waqsyi r.a.
94. ‘Ubbad bin Waqsyi r.a.
95. Salamah bin Thabit bin Waqsyi r.a.
96. Rafi’ bin Yazid bin Kurz r.a.
97. Al-Harith bin Khazamah bin ‘Adi r.a.
98. Muhammad bin Maslamah al-Khazraj r.a.
99. Salamah bin Aslam bin Harisy r.a.
100. Abul Haitham bin al-Tayyihan r.a.
101. ‘Ubaid bin Tayyihan r.a.
102. Abdullah bin Sahl r.a.
103. Qatadah bin Nu’man bin Zaid r.a.
104. Ubaid bin Aus r.a.
105. Nasr bin al-Harith bin ‘Abd r.a.
106. Mu’attib bin ‘Ubaid r.a.
107. Abdullah bin Tariq al-Ba’lawi r.a.
108. Mas’ud bin Sa’ad r.a.
109. Abu Absi Jabr bin Amru r.a.
110. Abu Burdah Hani’ bin Niyyar al-Ba’lawi r.a.
111. Asim bin Thabit bin Abi al-Aqlah r.a.
112. Mu’attib bin Qusyair bin Mulail r.a.
113. Abu Mulail bin al-Az’ar bin Zaid r.a.
114. Umair bin Mab’ad bin al-Az’ar r.a.
115. Sahl bin Hunaif bin Wahib r.a.
116. Abu Lubabah Basyir bin Abdul Munzir r.a.
117. Mubasyir bin Abdul Munzir r.a.
118. Rifa’ah bin Abdul Munzir r.a.
119. Sa’ad bin ‘Ubaid bin al-Nu’man r.a.
120. ‘Uwaim bin Sa’dah bin ‘Aisy r.a.
121. Rafi’ bin Anjadah r.a.
122. ‘Ubaidah bin Abi ‘Ubaid r.a.
123. Tha’labah bin Hatib r.a.
124. Unais bin Qatadah bin Rabi’ah r.a.
125. Ma’ni bin Adi al-Ba’lawi r.a.
126. Thabit bin Akhram al-Ba’lawi r.a.
127. Zaid bin Aslam bin Tha’labah al-Ba’lawi r.a.
128. Rib’ie bin Rafi’ al-Ba’lawi r.a.
129. Asim bin Adi al-Ba’lawi r.a.
130. Jubr bin ‘Atik r.a.
131. Malik bin Numailah al-Muzani r.a.
132. Al-Nu’man bin ‘Asr al-Ba’lawi r.a.
133. Abdullah bin Jubair r.a.
134. Asim bin Qais bin Thabit r.a.
135. Abu Dhayyah bin Thabit bin al-Nu’man r.a.
136. Abu Hayyah bin Thabit bin al-Nu’man r.a.
137. Salim bin Amir bin Thabit r.a.
138. Al-Harith bin al-Nu’man bin Umayyah r.a.
139. Khawwat bin Jubair bin al-Nu’man r.a.
140. Al-Munzir bin Muhammad bin ‘Uqbah r.a.
141. Abu ‘Uqail bin Abdullah bin Tha’labah r.a.
142. Sa’ad bin Khaithamah r.a.
143. Munzir bin Qudamah bin Arfajah r.a.
144. Tamim (maula Sa’ad bin Khaithamah) r.a.
145. Al-Harith bin Arfajah r.a.
146. Kharijah bin Zaid bin Abi Zuhair r.a.
147. Sa’ad bin al-Rabi’ bin Amru r.a.
148. Abdullah bin Rawahah r.a.
149. Khallad bin Suwaid bin Tha’labah r.a.
150. Basyir bin Sa’ad bin Tha’labah r.a.
151. Sima’ bin Sa’ad bin Tha’labah r.a.
152. Subai bin Qais bin ‘Isyah r.a.
153. ‘Ubbad bin Qais bin ‘Isyah r.a.
154. Abdullah bin Abbas r.a.
155. Yazid bin al-Harith bin Qais r.a.
156. Khubaib bin Isaf bin ‘Atabah r.a.
157. Abdullah bin Zaid bin Tha’labah r.a.
158. Huraith bin Zaid bin Tha’labah r.a.
159. Sufyan bin Bisyr bin Amru r.a.
160. Tamim bin Ya’ar bin Qais r.a.
161. Abdullah bin Umair r.a.
162. Zaid bin al-Marini bin Qais r.a.
163. Abdullah bin ‘Urfutah r.a.
164. Abdullah bin Rabi’ bin Qais r.a.
165. Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Ubai r.a.
166. Aus bin Khauli bin Abdullah r.a.
167. Zaid bin Wadi’ah bin Amru r.a.
168. ‘Uqbah bin Wahab bin Kaladah r.a.
169. Rifa’ah bin Amru bin Amru bin Zaid r.a.
170. Amir bin Salamah r.a.
171. Abu Khamishah Ma’bad bin Ubbad r.a.
172. Amir bin al-Bukair r.a.
173. Naufal bin Abdullah bin Nadhlah r.a.
174. ‘Utban bin Malik bin Amru bin al-Ajlan r.a.
175. ‘Ubadah bin al-Somit r.a.
176. Aus bin al-Somit r.a.
177. Al-Nu’man bin Malik bin Tha’labah r.a.
178. Thabit bin Huzal bin Amru bin Qarbus r.a.
179. Malik bin Dukhsyum bin Mirdhakhah r.a.
180. Al-Rabi’ bin Iyas bin Amru bin Ghanam r.a.
181. Waraqah bin Iyas bin Ghanam r.a.
182. Amru bin Iyas r.a.
183. Al-Mujazzar bin Ziyad bin Amru r.a.
184. ‘Ubadah bin al-Khasykhasy r.a.
185. Nahhab bin Tha’labah bin Khazamah r.a.
186. Abdullah bin Tha’labah bin Khazamah r.a.
187. Utbah bin Rabi’ah bin Khalid r.a.
188. Abu Dujanah Sima’ bin Kharasyah r.a.
189. Al-Munzir bin Amru bin Khunais r.a.
190. Abu Usaid bin Malik bin Rabi’ah r.a.
191. Malik bin Mas’ud bin al-Badan r.a.
192. Abu Rabbihi bin Haqqi bin Aus r.a.
193. Ka’ab bin Humar al-Juhani r.a.
194. Dhamrah bin Amru r.a.
195. Ziyad bin Amru r.a.
196. Basbas bin Amru r.a.
197. Abdullah bin Amir al-Ba’lawi r.a.
198. Khirasy bin al-Shimmah bin Amru r.a.
199. Al-Hubab bin al-Munzir bin al-Jamuh r.a.
200. Umair bin al-Humam bin al-Jamuh r.a.
201. Tamim (maula Khirasy bin al-Shimmah) r.a.
202. Abdullah bin Amru bin Haram r.a.
203. Muaz bin Amru bin al-Jamuh r.a.
204. Mu’awwiz bin Amru bin al-Jamuh r.a.
205. Khallad bin Amru bin al-Jamuh r.a.
206. ‘Uqbah bin Amir bin Nabi bin Zaid r.a.
207. Hubaib bin Aswad r.a.
208. Thabit bin al-Jiz’i r.a.
209. Umair bin al-Harith bin Labdah r.a.
210. Basyir bin al-Barra’ bin Ma’mur r.a.
211. Al-Tufail bin al-Nu’man bin Khansa’ r.a.
212. Sinan bin Saifi bin Sakhr bin Khansa’ r.a.
213. Abdullah bin al-Jaddi bin Qais r.a.
214. Atabah bin Abdullah bin Sakhr r.a.
215. Jabbar bin Umaiyah bin Sakhr r.a.
216. Kharijah bin Humayyir al-Asyja’i r.a.
217. Abdullah bin Humayyir al-Asyja’i r.a.
218. Yazid bin al-Munzir bin Sahr r.a.
219. Ma’qil bin al-Munzir bin Sahr r.a.
220. Abdullah bin al-Nu’man bin Baldumah r.a.
221. Al-Dhahlak bin Harithah bin Zaid r.a.
222. Sawad bin Razni bin Zaid r.a.
223. Ma’bad bin Qais bin Sakhr bin Haram r.a.
224. Abdullah bin Qais bin Sakhr bin Haram r.a.
225. Abdullah bin Abdi Manaf r.a.
226. Jabir bin Abdullah bin Riab r.a.
227. Khulaidah bin Qais bin al-Nu’man r.a.
228. An-Nu’man bin Yasar r.a.
229. Abu al-Munzir Yazid bin Amir r.a.
230. Qutbah bin Amir bin Hadidah r.a.
231. Sulaim bin Amru bin Hadidah r.a.
232. Antarah (maula Qutbah bin Amir) r.a.
233. Abbas bin Amir bin Adi r.a.
234. Abul Yasar Ka’ab bin Amru bin Abbad r.a.
235. Sahl bin Qais bin Abi Ka’ab bin al-Qais r.a.
236. Amru bin Talqi bin Zaid bin Umaiyah r.a.
237. Muaz bin Jabal bin Amru bin Aus r.a.
238. Qais bin Mihshan bin Khalid r.a.
239. Abu Khalid al-Harith bin Qais bin Khalid r.a.
240. Jubair bin Iyas bin Khalid r.a.
241. Abu Ubadah Sa’ad bin Uthman r.a.
242. ‘Uqbah bin Uthman bin Khaladah r.a.
243. Ubadah bin Qais bin Amir bin Khalid r.a.
244. As’ad bin Yazid bin al-Fakih r.a.
245. Al-Fakih bin Bisyr r.a.
246. Zakwan bin Abdu Qais bin Khaladah r.a.
247. Muaz bin Ma’ish bin Qais bin Khaladah r.a.
248. Aiz bin Ma’ish bin Qais bin Khaladah r.a.
249. Mas’ud bin Qais bin Khaladah r.a.
250. Rifa’ah bin Rafi’ bin al-Ajalan r.a.
251. Khallad bin Rafi’ bin al-Ajalan r.a.
252. Ubaid bin Yazid bin Amir bin al-Ajalan r.a.
253. Ziyad bin Lubaid bin Tha’labah r.a.
254. Khalid bin Qais bin al-Ajalan r.a.
255. Rujailah bin Tha’labah bin Khalid r.a.
256. Atiyyah bin Nuwairah bin Amir r.a.
257. Khalifah bin Adi bin Amru r.a.
258. Rafi’ bin al-Mu’alla bin Luzan r.a.
259. Abu Ayyub bin Khalid al-Ansari r.a.
260. Thabit bin Khalid bin al-Nu’man r.a.
261. ‘Umarah bin Hazmi bin Zaid r.a.
262. Suraqah bin Ka’ab bin Abdul Uzza r.a.
263. Suhail bin Rafi’ bin Abi Amru r.a.
264. Adi bin Abi al-Zaghba’ al-Juhani r.a.
265. Mas’ud bin Aus bin Zaid r.a.
266. Abu Khuzaimah bin Aus bin Zaid r.a.
267. Rafi’ bin al-Harith bin Sawad bin Zaid r.a.
268. Auf bin al-Harith bin Rifa’ah r.a.
269. Mu’awwaz bin al-Harith bin Rifa’ah r.a.
270. Muaz bin al-Harith bin Rifa’ah r.a.
271. An-Nu’man bin Amru bin Rifa’ah r.a.
272. Abdullah bin Qais bin Khalid r.a.
273. Wadi’ah bin Amru al-Juhani r.a.
274. Ishmah al-Asyja’i r.a.
275. Thabit bin Amru bin Zaid bin Adi r.a.
276. Sahl bin ‘Atik bin al-Nu’man r.a.
277. Tha’labah bin Amru bin Mihshan r.a.
278. Al-Harith bin al-Shimmah bin Amru r.a.
279. Ubai bin Ka’ab bin Qais r.a.
280. Anas bin Muaz bin Anas bin Qais r.a.
281. Aus bin Thabit bin al-Munzir bin Haram r.a.
282. Abu Syeikh bin Ubai bin Thabit r.a.
283. Abu Tolhah bin Zaid bin Sahl r.a.
284. Abu Syeikh Ubai bin Thabit r.a.
285. Harithah bin Suraqah bin al-Harith r.a.
286. Amru bin Tha’labah bin Wahb bin Adi r.a.
287. Salit bin Qais bin Amru bin ‘Atik r.a.
288. Abu Salit bin Usairah bin Amru r.a.
289. Thabit bin Khansa’ bin Amru bin Malik r.a.
290. Amir bin Umaiyyah bin Zaid r.a.
291. Muhriz bin Amir bin Malik r.a.
292. Sawad bin Ghaziyyah r.a.
293. Abu Zaid Qais bin Sakan r.a.
294. Abul A’war bin al-Harith bin Zalim r.a.
295. Sulaim bin Milhan r.a.
296. Haram bin Milhan r.a.
297. Qais bin Abi Sha’sha’ah r.a.
298. Abdullah bin Ka’ab bin Amru r.a.
299. ‘Ishmah al-Asadi r.a.
300. Abu Daud Umair bin Amir bin Malik r.a.
301. Suraqah bin Amru bin ‘Atiyyah r.a.
302. Qais bin Mukhallad bin Tha’labah r.a.
303. Al-Nu’man bin Abdi Amru bin Mas’ud r.a.
304. Al-Dhahhak bin Abdi Amru r.a.
305. Sulaim bin al-Harith bin Tha’labah r.a.
306. Jabir bin Khalid bin Mas’ud r.a.
307. Sa’ad bin Suhail bin Abdul Asyhal r.a.
308. Ka’ab bin Zaid bin Qais r.a.
309. Bujir bin Abi Bujir al-Abbasi r.a.
310. ‘Itban bin Malik bin Amru al-Ajalan r.a.
311. ‘Ismah bin al-Hushain bin Wabarah r.a.
312. Hilal bin al-Mu’alla al-Khazraj r.a.
313. Oleh bin Syuqrat r.a. (khadam Nabi s.a.w.)

Salatullah salamullah
ala Ta Ha Rasulillah
Salatullah salamullah
ala Ya Sin Habibillah

Tawassulna bi-bismillah
Wa bi’l Hādi Rasūlillah

Wa kulli mujāhidin lillah
Bi-Ahl il-Badri ya Allah

We seek a way with bismillah
And with the guide, Rasulillah
And all who strive in the way of Allah
The people of Badr ya Allah

Ilāhi sallim-il ummah
Min al-āfāti wa’n-niqma
Wa min hammin wa
min ghammin
Bi-Ahl il-Badri ya Allah

Oh my Lord! Keep your people free
From hardship and adversity

From fear and sorrow and anxiety
Through your love of the people of Badr ya Allah

Wa kam min rahmatin hasulat
Wa kam min zillatin fasulat
Wa kam min ni`matin wasulat
Bi-Ahl il-Badri ya Allah

And oh! What mercy we have acquired
How many misfortunes we’re made to avoid

How great the blessings that have entered our lives
Through your love of the people of Badr ya Allah

Wa salli `alā nabiyyil barr
Bi-lā `addin wa la hasrin
Wa āli sādatin ghurrin

Bi-Ahl il-Badri ya Allah

Upon the sinless prophet blessings send
Beyond all count, beyond all end
On the blessed ones who from him descend
Through your love of the people of Badr ya Allah.

Please remember to commemorate all our martyrs in your Dua's (Prayers) today.

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Questions_on_Wahabism with Shaykh Hisham Kabbani (Hafida'ullah)

#Questions_on_Wahabism with Shaykh Hisham Kabbani (Hafida'ullah). A must read post.


#Question). You say Wahabism is the primary source of extremism.

#Answer). Of course, Islam is peaceful in its history. Islam does not allow aggression.

But the Wahhabi sect spreads a radical ideology, financed by oil money. Today Wahhabism is everywhere, not just in Saudi Arabia. You go to any mosque, you will find literature from Saudi Arabia about Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab (the founder of Wahhabism). You will find on the shelves only books by scholars from Saudi Arabia. You cannot find books by other scholars in these mosques.

Q). Are Muslims ready to say that the Saudis are behind this extremism?

A). Ask the 19 hijackers (who flew the planes in the suicide attacks on the United States in 2001, several of whom were Saudi-born), do not ask me. That will give you a clear answer.

Q). How to stop the Wahhabis?

A). They have been around 40 years, so there is no quick fix. You have to plan for the next 40 years. But the first thing to do is stop sending your students to Saudi Arabia to study. Unfortunately, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, America, Arab countries are still doing that.

Send your students to where there are established mainstream Muslim ways that are currently eliminated from Wahhabi books. Bring back the traditions - the subcontinental traditions, the South-east Asian traditions.

Teach them Sufism, spirituality. They have to be taught to be peace-loving, to integrate and be part of the bigger community.

Wahhabism tells you, do not be part of a kafir (disbeliever) community. (But) you have to integrate with the system wherever you are; as in Singapore, you have to be part of this unique system that you have. You cannot say I am a Muslim, he is a Chinese. Both of you are subjects, citizens of one system. Your religion is between you and Allah. That is Islam.

I would also suggest humbly that you do not import scholars. They come from the Middle East and Africa and have a Middle Eastern and African mentality. My suggestion is to build in the universities an Islamic studies curriculum approved by modern, moderate scholars. These graduates can later teach others.

Q). Is this not something personal, the antagonism between your Sufism and Wahhabism?

A). This is the message we are sending if you want to change. We do not care much really. We live peacefully, live our own lives. But today, we see things are getting out of hand. Even the government has lost control. So we are giving a suggestion: To solve this problem, you have to go back to cultivating a love for the arts, the sciences, poetry, music - the essence of Sufism.

There is no poetry of love today. Only the poetry of vengeance... against the West, Europe, Muslims, Palestine. They are instilling in small kids the sense of hate; we have to change that hate to love.

If you think this is a problem you can solve through diplomacy, in 70 years, they will conquer you and finish you completely. People think there is one (Osama) bin Laden. Who says there is one bin Laden? Every extremist will become a bin Laden.

Q). The way you put it, they seem like a cancer...

A). They are not a cancer. They are an octopus, reaching everywhere.

Q). What is the purpose of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars to be held in Jakarta?

A). It is to establish, once and for all, the proper image of Islam and to empower moderate speakers or scholars to speak up.

Q). The conference flier here says that 'the moderates are struggling for access to the public square'. Why?

A). In my humble opinion, moderate scholars have no access to anything. The dominating voice today is the voice of the Wahhabi sect. They dominate everything: publishing, books, money. Everything is in their hands.

If one moderate scholar speaks up, the Wahhabis will bring hundreds of speakers from their side to speak. That is why there is no public square for the moderates. We are trying to establish a structure for these moderates to stand up and it is a challenge. But we are trying.

Q). Who are these moderates?

A). I give you one example. Mohd Maliki (Muhammad Ibn Alawi Abbas Ibn Al Aziz Al Maliki, a scholar) from Mecca. He was a moderate and tried to stand up against the Wahhabis in Mecca and Medina. Around 1980, he was exiled because he wanted to debate (a fatwa issued by the Saudi religious authorities). After intervention from many Arab Muslims, he was allowed to return, but his movements were curbed. Recently, he died. But to allow his jenazah (funeral) prayers to be done in the Kaabah, they had to declare publicly that he had repented before he died.

Q). What about the moderates in the United States?

A). Most of the mosques in the US are influenced by Saudi teachings. Check the mosques, you'll find Saudi books, Saudi curriculum for the schools. If you speak against Wahhabism, your mosque will not get more funds. The people in the mosques have been brainwashed.

Q). The conference statement also says that 'the struggle for ideological primacy within Islam is a fight that only Muslims themselves can wage'. Is this the position of the conference organiser?

A). Muslims have to come together and discuss these differences and put an end to what is going on, because if the Muslims cannot do that, no one can do it.

Q). Do you see this as a clash of civilisations instead?

A). I do not see a clash of civilisations. Sept 11 caused a clash of civilisation. But I say the clash of civilisation is among Muslims themselves. Muslims are fighting each other; they are killing each other. There are no human rights in Islamic countries. People are thrown in prisons, beaten to death.

Q). One American Muslim writer said that this talk that only Muslims themselves can solve this problem is actually divisive. It is dividing the ummah (community).

A). The Muslim community is already divided. You are telling me there is unity among the Muslims? The Prophet (pbuh) said: 'My ummah will be divided into 73 different groups.' It already exists. It has existed since the time of the Prophet (pbuh).

Today, there is one hegemony in the Muslim world, the hegemony of the Wahhabi sect that makes all Muslims look bad. Maybe the writer you mention is getting oil money. Many writers get oil money.

Q). I do not mean to be rude, but the same could also be said of those who espouse a line similar to what comes out of Washington. That they are being paid by the CIA.

A). I am not receiving anything from the US government. I practise the Sufi tradition - the purification of the self; to be peaceful at all times and not to create confusion. Obey God, obey the Prophet (pbuh), obey the authorities. We do not incite confusion. If we do not like something, we say it in a nice, diplomatic way. We debate. Today, there is no room for debate.
Published December 12, 2004,  Defend Democracy. http://www.defenddemocracy.org/research_topics/research_topics_show.htm?doc_id=252855

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOUL (NAFS) AND THE SPIRIT (RUH)

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOUL (NAFS) AND THE SPIRIT (RUH):

"As for your question concerning the difference between the nafs and the ruh--many scholars have given extensive commentary on the subject but most of their words have not
been convincing or persuasive concerning the difference between the two--and there is not really a 'difference' between the two.

The spirit (ruh) is Lahuti, while the soul (nafs) is Nasuti; The nafs is Khalqi and the ruh is Amri; The world of the nafs is the lower world (dunya), the Mulk, the world of appearances, forms and bodies: it is that which can be percieved by the 5 outward senses of hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

While the world of the ruh is the hereafter (akhira), the Malakut, the world of the unseen, of meanings, the Amr, the spirits and the inward realities: it is that which can percieved by the 5 inward senses of the intellect ('aql), the heart (qalb), the innermost mystery (sirr), the spirit (ruh), and the most hidden aspect of our being (khafi).

These two realms are what has been indicated in the Speech of Allah: "And to Him belongs the Khalq and the Amr" (Surah al-A'raf ayat 54); and His saying: "They ask you concerning the spirit. Say: 'The spirit is from the Amr of my Lord." (Surah al-Isra ayat 85).

Those who remain veiled (from the Real) suppose this reply to be obscure and elusive, but it is a very clear response (to those who know), so understand this well!

Ibn Abbas said: 'In the children of Adam is a soul (nafs) and a spirit (ruh). The nafs is that by which the intellect is able to make distinction and differention, and the ruh is that by which the breath and movement is actualized.'

The spirit of the human being is the Bearer of the Trust (amana), Divine Gnosis (ma'rifa) & Faith (iman); it is not eaten by the dust (at death), as Allah has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of the prophets, the truthful, and the righteous.

The spirit of animals does not bear the Amana, Ma'rifa or Iman, and the earth consumes its form. So the reality of the spirit (ruh) is that it is from the Amr of the Lord, and the realm of Amr is created out of nothing, while the world of Khalq is created out of something, as has been indicated (i.e., "He created everything from water.")

Allah is not created out of anything, and the first thing which He created before everything else is the Spirit of Muhammad (saw).

If you find some prophetic narrations (ahadith) mentioning the first things which Allah has created being the Angels, the Cherubs, the Pen, the Intellect, the Light, the Pearl, etc., know that all of these are only indications of the Spirit of Muhammad (saw), in as much as his attributes are as numerous as his names, but the named is one!

This should suffice as a reply."

~SHAYKH IBRAHIM NIASSE (ra), Jawahir ar-Rasa'il

{Interpreted from the Arabic by Muhammad Abdullahi}

AN ADVICE TO THE YOUTH BY SHEIKH ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEEKING SECULAR KNOWLEDGE

نصيحة الشيخ للشباب حول أهمية تحصيل العلم العلماني

قال صاحب الفيضة رضى الله عنه
فإن مستقبل كل وطن انما يتوقف على شبابه،لكن لا على كل الشباب بل على الشباب المثقفين ذوى الأخلاق الحميدة،والهمم العالية،فأما شباب بلا ثقافة فغرس بلا ثمر،فجدوا واجتهدوا فى تحصيل العلم،ليس علم الفرائض والنوافل فحسب،وليس علم الحساب فحسب،وليس علم اللغة والنحو والصرف والبلاغة بفروعها فحسب،ولكن شاركوا من ترقت هممهم الى علم اسرار الكون
قال الله تعالى
قل انظروا ماذا فى السموات والأرض"
أو لم ينظروا فى ملكوت السموات والارض وما خلق الله من شئ".

الحمدلله والعبدلله

AN ADVICE TO THE YOUTH BY SHEIKH ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEEKING SECULAR KNOWLEDGE

The Custodian of[Faydah] the Flood may Allah be pleased with him said:
The future of every country depends on the youth. But not on every youth. But the intellectuals among the youth, who possess commending morals and high enthusiasm.

However, the youth that have no [modern] education are like plant without seed. So strive and struggle in the quest to seek knowledge not only the knowledge of the obligatory acts of worship[fiqh],  and not only essential ones. Not only the knowledge of mathematics, not only the knowledge of Nahu, Saraf and Balagah with its branches, but you should participate towards promoting the knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of the universe(secular knowledge).
Allah says: “Say[O Muhammad to them] look at what is in the even and earth.”
He also said: “Don’t they look in the kingdom of the heavens and earth and of what Allah created?”

Praise be to Allah and servant belongs to Allah.

Analysis:

Folks, you all observe in this short advice that, Baye was encouraging us to seek secular education to enable us unlock the hidden secrets that Allah has destined for mankind to see through seeking modern knowledge, because he knows that obviously our own Islamic education is non negotiable and it is considered a basic necessity of life that helps us basically on our deen-oriented activities.

And by virtue of usual reading and reviewing of many of his books as i translate them, i come across many instances where our Sheikh, as a galaxy of intellectual even in modern sense, would talk about contemporary discourse in the areas of science; biology, chemistry, physics, as well as anthropology, geology, agricultural, political science, political economy, international affairs etc.

However, it is sad to see many of today's youth especially, in our Tariqah neglecting to learn basic islamic knowledge and even the fiqh of Tariqah. Last year, i was shocked to be inboxed by one of my readers from Ghana with a shocking question that says, "....please what is the meaning of Sheikh..."....lol....can u imagine???

Can you imagine, the Saudi/Wahabi scholars consulting Sheikh to give his opinion in regards to moving "Maqamu Ibrahim" from its original location? This was in 1964 when he happened to be the vice-president of the World Muslim League. And in his answer to them, he wrote a whole book within few days entitled:

"سبيل السلام في إبقاء المقام",

"Way to Peace is by Leaving the Standing Spot of Ibrahim" (where Prophet Ibrahim used to stand and rest when he was renovating Kabah with his son Ismael). So when Sheikh completed this book and sent to them, they were so fascinated and published and distributed it worldwide. And the intellectual discourse he had in the book convinced them to change their minds about moving it.

The point is that if Sheikh was not deeply rooted in Islamic knowledge by virtue of his learning under the tutoring and tutelage of his own father, how could he had answered them? how could he had written 75 books? how could he had embarked upon a global dawah trip where he had converted thousands into the deen???....I hope this will serve as a lesson to all of us.

Translated & Analyzed  By:
Husseini Yushau BabalWaiz, New York.

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

EXEMPLINARY LIFE OF IMAM LI HUDA, IMAM HASSAN ALI CISSE (RTA)

EXEMPLINARY LIFE OF IMAM LI HUDA, IMAM HASSAN ALI CISSE

WRITTEN BY; GIWA IBRAHIM BAYE (ADMIN MUHAMMADAN FAMILY)

                 LIFE BEFORE HIS BIRTH

    Sheikh Hassan Cisse was the grand son of Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, and his mother’s name is Seyyida Fatima popularly known as “ YAFATU” which happened to be first child of Sheikh Ibrahim. Sheikh gave birth to Nana Fatu when he was 24yrs of age after being married when he was 22yrs. When mother of Imam Hassan was about to marry, Sheikh Ibrahim intended to hand her in marriage to one of his closest disciples that showed interest in marrying her, which the disciples include: Sheikh Umar Toure, Sheikh Usman jai, Sheikh Abubakr and Seyyid Ali Cisse. Sheikh Ibrahim instructed them one by one to put the request of marrying his daughter in writing.
   Sheikh Ibrahim consulted his brother, Sheikh Muhammad Zaynab on marriage proposal of his first child, his brother replied that Sheikh should do istikhara on which one of them is the best for her, since they are all good and close disciple. Which Sheikh later replied that he saw the name “HABEEB”from the result of his prayer, but surprisingly, no one of them is bearing the name. His brother then replied that only one of them bears that name because of his charisma and love for Baye ,which the person is SEYYID ALI CISSE, sheikh Ibrahim replied to his brother that he passed, that’s was how our beloved Seyyid married the first daughter of Sheikh.
  After marriage, Shaykh Hassan's  mother Yafatu had lost 4 babies before through miscarriage or death in babyhood before the birth of Shaykh Hassan (RA). She was very sick when she became pregnant with Shaykh Hassan (RA). She went to her father, Shaykh Hassan's (RA) grandfather, Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) to make dua that she would have no more babies. Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) refused and told her that Allah had the power to give her a baby and good health. Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) rather gave Yafatu the Mubarak shoes of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which were in his possession to keep under her pillow for the safe delivery of Shaykh Hassan (RA), telling her that no one sleeping with those shoes under her pillow would lose a baby. Those shoes are still with YaFatu. Shaykh Hassan (RA) was born in an inner room of Shaykh Ibrahim (RA).

        HISTORY OF SEYYID ALI AND CISSE FAMILY

  Seyyid Ali Cisse (d. 1981), who had been the friend and spiritual successor (khalifa) of Sheikh Ibrahim, and Fatima Zahra Niasse, the first child of Shaykh Ibrahim.
 The Cisse lineage is thought to be one of the oldest Muslim scholarly families in West Africa, tracing their descent from the first converts to Islam in the ancient kingdom of Ghana in the eleventh century. Oral traditions in the Saloum region of Senegal say that the  Kaya Magha  (‘King of Gold’) at the ancient Ghanaian capital of Kumbi Saleh, who had converted to Islam by the time of the Almoravid expansion (1076), bore the name Cisse. This is not unlikely, since the original founder of the city was a certain Dyabe Sisse (or Cisse), the son of Dinga, from whom the oldest Mandinka lineages — Cisse, Kante, Sylla — trace descent. With the conversion of Kaya Magha Cisse to Islam, the Cisse family has since come to be closely associated with Islamic scholarship in the vast areas of West Africa influenced by Soninke and Mandinka clerical traditions. Muslim scholars bearing the name Cisse came to settle in the Saloum region of Senegal perhaps as early as the thirteenth or fourteenth century. By the early nineteenth century, the Cisse of the Saloum had become thoroughly Wolofized. Andal Mbouri Cisse gained some fame as a religious scholar in the region, hosting recruits for the Jihad of Ma (Muhammad) Ba Diakhou (d. 1869) in the Saloum region. His son Biram (Ibrahim) Cisse continued the Jihad with Ma Ba’s son, Saer Maty, before falling out with the latter and eventually being exiled by the French colonial authorities to Gabon. Here he met the well-known founder of the Muridiyya Sufi  order, and symbol of Senegalese anti-colonial resistance, Amadou Bamba (d. 1927). Biram’s grandson, Alassane (al-Hasan; d. 1922), was known as “Tafsir Hasan” for his expertise in Qur’anic exegesis. He became a disciple of al-Hajj Abd Allah Niasse (1845-1922), who had moved from the northern kingdom of Jolof to participate in the Jihad of Ma Ba Diakhou. Al-Hajj ‘Abd Allah, who was the father of Shaykh Ibrahim, would establish a famous network of Islamic scholarship in the SineSaloum region. Alassane helped found the town of Diossong, where his son Sayyid Ali was born in 1906.
  Sayyid Ali came to reside in the house of al-Hajj Abd Allah following the death of his father, and soon became the close friend of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. When the latter established the town of MedinaBaye following his 1929 declaration of being the “bringer of the  flood”  (sahib al-fayda), Sayyid Ali followed him. As Shaykh Ibrahim’s closest disciple, Sayyid Ali led the daily prayer in the grand mosque, supervised students in spiritual training (tarbiya), and taught Maliki jurisprudence (fiqh). Where another disciple, Ahmad Thiam, became known as “the school of Arabic grammar,” Sayyid Ali became known as “the school of jurisprudence.”

              LIFE OF IMAM HASSAN CISSE

   Shaykh Hasan b. Ali Sisi, more often known by the French spelling  Cissé  (1945-2008, Senegal) was a prominent Muslim scholar, humanitarian activist and spiritual guide of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. He was the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Medina-Baye Kaolack, Senegal, a position for which he had been designated by his grandfather, Shaykh al-Islam  Ibrahim Niasse (d. 1975). Shaykh Ibrahim was one of the most renowned Muslim leaders in twentieth century Africa, with millions of followers throughout Africa and beyond. Starting from the early 1930s, he had guided a revivalist network of the Tijaniyya known as ‘community of the flood’ (jama‘at al fayda), which had had a profound impact upon the transmission of religious knowledge (‘ulum) and mystical gnosis (ma‘rifa) throughout the West African region.
  As a young boy, Shaykh Hasan was sent to Mauritania, where he memorized the Qur’an under the tutelage of the Rabbani family. He then returned to Medina-Baye to study the rest of the Islamic sciences (jurisprudence, exegesis, literature, Prophetic traditions, Sufism) under his grandfather and father, as well as under other renowned scholars and associates of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, such as Ahmad Thiam. Later on, Sheikh Ibrahim took  Shaykh Hasan alongside with eleven of his children, among them are Sheikh Nasir, Sheikh Mamoon to hajj when Shaykh Hassan was 15years old, on their way back Sheikh Ibrahim took them all to Cairo to pursue higher education degrees at the personal invitation of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser. He obtained a BA in Islamic Studies  and Arabic Literature from ‘Ayn Shams University, after completed his study and returned back to Kaolack, though on his way back home, he got  mega offer job appointment from President of Libya Muhamar Ghadafi, which Sheikh rejected the offer after he wrote a letter to his grandfather on the appointment and Sheikh Ibrahim replied him to reject it . On returning to Kaolack, Shaykh Ibrahim still sent him to London to learn English Language. Here, he completed his MA in English from the University of London, and went on to pursue a PhD in Islamic Studies at Northwestern University (Evanston, US). Upon the death of his father Seyyid Ali in 1982, and before the completion of his PhD, Shaykh Hasan returned to Senegal to assume the imamate of the mosque in Medina-Baye.
   During the life of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, the fame of Medina-Baye had grown into that of an international center of Islamic scholarship, regularly visited by scholars and students from many West African countries (especially Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritania).  Throughout the year, visitors were coming to receive the spiritual training (tarbiya) that had become the hallmark of the ‘people of the Tijanifayda.’ The rhythm of didactic and devotional activities was particularly intense every year during the two months of Ramadan and Rabi‘ al-Awwal, when the town was overflowing with visitors attending Shaykh Ibrahim’s exegesis of the Qur’an (in the nights of Ramadan) and the communal celebrations dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad (in the nights of Rabi‘ al-Awwal). After the death of Shaykh Ibrahim in 1975, MedinaBaye had remained the center of gravity for the growing network of his followers and associates. From a university student in Cairo, London and Chicago, to the new imam of the Grand-Mosque of Medina-Baye, Shaykh Hasan was opening a profoundly new phase in his life. Gradually, in his new position at the center of an international network of scholarship, Shaykh Hasan’s fame as an Islamic scholar spread beyond Senegal, while he continued to gather personal diplomas (ijazat) from famous traditional hadith scholars such as Shaykh Yasin al-Fadani (d. 1990) of Indonesia and Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad ‘Abd al-Jawwad of Medina, Saudi Arabia. In all, Shaykh Hasan related that he had collected more than 600 ijazat from scholars around the world.
  In 2007, Azhar University in Egypt presented him with an honorary degree of “highest distinction.” It was especially his reputation for engaging the Islamic scholarly tradition with pressing humanitarian concerns that earned him the admiration of several international humanitarian organizations. In 1988, he founded the African American Islamic Institute to promote education, health care, women’s rights and cultural exchange between the Muslims of Senegal and America. Many, particularly among the African-American community, had converted to Islam and become affiliated to the Tijaniyya during his earlier stay in Chicago and subsequent visits to New York, Detroit and Atlanta.
   After assuming the imamship of Medina-Baye, Shaykh Hasan continued to cultivate links with his American students. The African American Islamic Institute has since received official recognition from the United Nations as an affiliated NGO, and has been successful in establishing clinics and schools in Senegal. Shaykh Hasan also worked closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Rotary International to promote projects dealing with issues such as polio immunization, breastfeeding, childhood and adult literacy and campaigns against female circumcision.
  In 1989, Muhasasatu Nasrul ilm started in Nigeria when some southwest Shuyukh went to Kaolack and made an official complain to Sheikh Hassan Cisse on how things are hard for Mureeds, Imam Hassan now gave the permission (izni) for them to establish Muhasasa Nasrul ilm in Nigeria.      In 2005, his role as an Islamic scholar committed to humanitarian ideals occasioned his election as president of the Network of African Islamic Organizations for Population and Development. Imam Hassan Cisse established first private University in Senegal which was affliated with one famous University in America and was named after Baye’s name, the University was started with faculty of medicine.    

 Shaykh Hasan’s scholarly credentials, international visibility and spiritual inheritance from Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse made him one of the preeminent spokesmen of his time for the Tijani Sufi order. Continuing the mission of his grandfather, he was influential in spreading Islam and the Tijaniyya in Africa. In places such as Chad, Cameroon and South Africa, he is reported to have converted thousands. Aside from West African diaspora groups of disciples in Europe and elsewhere, dispersed communities of Tijanis tracing their initiation through Shaykh Hasan have also emerged in Southeast Asia, Pakistan, Libya, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The birth and the expansion of a Tijani community in South Africa can also be traced back to his initiative.6 His routine teaching activities in Medina-Baye included giving exegesis of the Qur’an, explanation of Hadith collections, and teaching primary works of the Tijaniyya such as the  Jawahir al-Ma‘ani  by ‘Ali Harazim Barada (of which he was said to possess the original manuscript inherited from his grandfather), the  Kitab-al Jami‘  by Muhammad ibn al-Mishri (d. 1809) and Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse’s treatise titled  Kashif al-Ilbas.7  He also authored the  Kanz al-Masun  (2007), a collection of Shaykh Ibrahim’s supplications on which Shaykh Hasan provided commentary, and translated into English his grandfather’s  first work, the poem  Ruhal-Adab, which he published with extensive commentary as The Spirit of Good Morals  (1998).  He published a short biography of Shaykh Ibrahim called ‘Revivalist of the Sunnah’ (1984). Many of his speeches on Islamic and Sufi   principles have been recorded or transcribed and made available online.
  The life and career of Shaykh Hasan Cisse constitute a remarkable example of integration of traditional and modern knowledge by a West African Muslim scholar. The global reach of his network of disciples and associates challenges the notion that West African Sufi sm is mainly a ‘local’ manifestation of a ‘popular’ form of Islam. Moreover, the ease with which Shaykh Hasan integrated humanitarian activism into both Islamic and Western-based institutions defies the simplistic notion of an inevitable ‘clash of civilizations.
  Shaykh Baye Haiba said that Shaykh Hassan (RA) would say “Nobody will work for me except that Allah will give him blessing.” He recounted the story of a trip he made with Shaykh Hassan (RA) to Makkah along with Shaykh Hassan's (RA) son and others. On the trip, Shaykh Baye used to attend to all of Shaykh's (RA) needs. Shaykh Hassan (RA) rebuked his son saying that he had brought him on the trip to give him a chance to serve him as there were too many taalibes (students) around all the time competing for the chance at home, yet he wasn't utilizing that opportunity. Even his mother's relationship with him was that of a taalib to a big Shaykh. She would even kneel down on the ground and guide the shoes onto Shaykh's (RA) feet. This is an especially big deal in Senegal where the mother's role with her children is akin to that of a queen.
  Shaykh Hassan (RA) liked people to pray in the masjid, and he would give money as
encouragement to do this. He was known to often single out an individual student and say “I didn't see you in the masjid today” with great accuracy despite the fact that the Masjid was always full of people.
  One of the ways he used to encourage people to pray in jamaat was by promising to help anyone who read Fajr at the masjid for 40 consecutive days to travel to Mecca for Hajj.
  Shaykh Baye said the wisdom in this is knowing that after keeping a practice 40 days you will keep it forever.
Shaykh Hassan (RA) didn't like men to dress in red clothing as the Prophet (SAW) also disliked it. He liked truthfulness and sincerity and was prepared to cut ties with any dishonest person.
Shaykh Hassan (RA) loved to read Qur'an and he greatly respected the person who memorized the Qur'an. When by the Kabah, sometimes he would opt to read the Qur'an rather than making tawwaf.
  Once a university student asked Shaykh (RA) to tell them “Something that will increase us in our Journey to Allah” He advised them to be in a state of wudhu at all times and to increase the reading of Salatul Faatihi all the time. He often quoted the words of Imam Junaid: “All Tariqahs are closed except the one that follows the footsteps of the Prophet (SAW)

REFLECTIONS FROM SHAYKH IBRAHIM HAIBA ON IMAM HASSAN CISSE

On his visit to our country late last year Shaykh Ibrahim Ehaibah (also known as Shaykh Baye, may Allah preserve and increase him) of Mauritania, Shaykh Hassan Cisse’s (RA) nephew and
“offcial representative to South Africa”, shared some reflections on the life of Shaykh Hassan (RA). Shaykh Baye, in his usual humble manner, repeatedly expressed hesitation to speak on
the life of Shaykh Hassan (RA). “I feel I am not valuable enough to speak about Shaykh” said this modest man. “If I speak a whole day about Shaykh Hassan I would feel like I hadn’t said anything!”
  Nonetheless, the community was greatly enriched and grateful for the reflections that he shared. Below are excerpts of his valuable comments as related to AlFaydatul Tijani Gauteng community.

In 1983 Shaykh Baye Haiba memorized the Qur'an. On the occasion Shaykh Hassan (RA) asked a griot (historian/praise singer) to read his lineage back to the Prophet (SAW). He jokingly said to Shaykh Baye “You think you are the only Sharif?” Shaykh Baye used to sit in a chair when in the presence of Shaykh Hassan (RA) Hand Shaykh Hassan (RA) never asked him to come down from the chair.
  One day, 1 or 2 months after memorizing the Quran, Shaykh Baye came down from the chair and sat on the floor. He felt something within himself that he cannot explain that made him submit. From that day Shaykh Hassan (RA) was his Shaykh. Shaykh Baye would ask permission from Shaykh Hassan (RA) for everything he wanted to do. “To stay with him was more beloved to me than to travel back to Mauritania. He never told me anything that I wasn't happy with,” says Shaykh Baye.
In 1992 Shaykh Baye made Tarbiyyah with Shaykh Hassan (RA). In the same year he made Ziyarah with Shaykh Hassan (RA) to Shaykh Tijani (RA) in Morocco. Shaykh Baye's favorite memory of Shaykh Hassan (RA) is sleeping in the same bed with him on this trip at Shaykh Hassan's request as there was only one bed in the room. Shaykh Baye was scared, but very grateful. 
“If I needed to use the bathroom (even for Wudu) I would use someone else's bathroom,” says Shaykh Baye with a laugh.
  In 1994 when Shaykh Hassan (RA) was travelling he put Shaykh Baye in charge of his house for two months. Shaykh Hassan (RA) said to him “After Allah, I put my house in your hands” While guarding the house Shaykh Baye says he wasn't able to sleep due to the weight of the responsibility and would so stay awake and pray. “When Shaykh Hassan came back then I was
able to sleep because the responsibility was lifted.”
Shaykh Baye remembered that on the great occasion of opening the clinic in Madina Baye, Senegal, Shaykh Hassan (RA) recounted that his father and grandfather were forced to travel outside of the country (to France and London) when they were sick so he built the clinic so that people wouldn't have to travel out of the country for treatment.

In 1998 Shaykh Baye met Shaykh Hassan (RA) in Mecca and made umrah with him.
Shaykh Baye said that if you were blessed to travel with Shaykh Hassan (RA), you knew you were trav-elling with a special man. He travelled only to do Allah's work and he could pay for his own stay anywhere, although Allah would often provide someone willing to pay the full expenses of Shaykh and all those travelling with him. When travelling, “Shaykh Hassan didn't
return to anyone, only to Allah.
Sheikh Hassan would also often quote the poems of Shaykh Ibrahim (RA). He especially liked to quote the lines “When the best of mankind moves, I follow behind him and if he stops for a day, there is no going further” and “When they ask me regarding my beloved and my Madhab my reply will be ... 'It is the messenger of Allah.'” (from the Diwan of Shaykh Ibrahim).
Shaykh Hassan (RA) used to advise that in front of the Mubarak graves of the Prophet (SAW), Shaykh Ahmed Tijani (RA), and Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) one should read Sirrul Ziyara. Shaykh Hassan (RA) used to recount an incident that occurred when he was returning home from his studies in Cairo. Shaykh's father Sidi Ali (RA) was supposed to be leading Salaat but for some reason wasn't present. Shaykh Hassan (RA) had on a suit and felt hesitant to lead dressed in that way but Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) pushed him to the front noting that the outward
doesn't matter as long as your inside is good. Shaykh Baye said that in reality, “All of his life was teaching.” But he would often teach without talking; he would teach with action. “His moving was teaching, his staying was teaching.”

            DEALTH OF IMAM HASSAN CISSE

On the dealth of Sheikh Hassan, Shaykh Baye remarked that when Allah wishes to take the lives of His beloveds, He sometimes takes their lives very suddenly without giving the people at large the chance to make dua to beg for the avoidance of their death, which duas He might otherwise grant. He further remarks that Allah uses any means that please Him to take the lives of any of His slaves (such as the use of poison in the case of Rasullullah [SAW] ), and therefore it should not matter what the cause of Shaykh's (RA) death was because there should be no humiliation attached to it.
When he was about to pass away, Shaykh (RA) continued with all of his activities just as though things were normal. He had no fear of death and he didn't sit still waiting for death. “I believe he knew he was going to die but he carried on as normal. We should try to do this,” Shaykh Baye said.  Shaykh Baye also noted that before he left for his last trip, Shaykh Hassan (RA) left instructions of what should be done if he should pass away while on that trip.
Shaykh Hassan's (RA) mother, Yafatu also noticed that on his return from that trip there was a huge amount of Nur on his face.. Shaykh Baye said that when Yafatu heard of his passing, she said that Allah did not ask anybody's permission to give Shaykh Hassan (RA) to us and hence he did not need anybody's permission to take him. She said that she simply thanked Allah for
Shaykh Hassan.
  At the end of his life, Shaykh Hassan (RA) spoke a lot about Salaat. On his last day, Shaykh (RA) obseved all of his prayers in jamaat and made all of his adhkaar.
Imam Hassan Ali Cisse (RA), passed away before fajr on the 14th August 2008 in his native village of Medina-Kaolack, Senegal. His age was that of the Prophet (SAW), 63. This suited him well, after spending his life as a genuine representative of the Prophet (SAW) in our times. Shaykh Hassan's (RA) janazah salaah was attended by approximately 2 million people at the Mosque in which he was the Imam for 3 decades. He has been succeeded by his younger brother and closest companion Shaykh Tijani Cisse.


References: 
1. Shaykh Hasan Cisse (1945-2008), Imam of the  Fayda Tijaniyya 
By Zachary Wright (Northwestern University in Qatar)

2. Sheikh Usman Giwa Lecture on Exemplinary Life of Imam Hassan Cisse
At Imam Hassan Cisse Day sponsored by Muhasasa Nasrul ilm ,Ogbomoso branch.
 
3. Reflections of Sheikh Baye Haiba on Imam Hassan Cisse.