Divine%20Love

1
Divine Love

• The essence of God is love and The Sufi Path
  is path of love.  Love is to see what is good and
  beautiful in everything. It is to learn from
  everything, to see the gifts of God and the
  generosity of God in everything. It is to be
  thankful for all all God's bounties.This is the
  first step on the road to the love of God. This
  is just a seed of love. In time, the seed will
  grow and become a tree and bear fruit. Then,
  whoever tastes of that fruit will know what real
  love is. It will be differently for those who
  have tasted to tell of it to those who have not.
• Muzaffer Ashki al-Halveti
  al-Jerrahi (1916-1985)

2
Premordial Covent

• And when your Lord brought forth from the
  children of Adam, from their backs, their
  descendants, and made them bear witness against
  their own souls Am I not your Lord? They said
  Yes! we bear witness. Lest you should say on the
  day of resurrection Surely we were heedless of
  this. Quran 7172,Shakir

3
Hadith Qudsi

• I was a Hidden Treasure, and loved to be
  known intimately, so I created the Heavens and
  the Earth, so that they may come to intimately
  know me.

4
SufisLove of GodMankind

• All people are the children of God on earth
• Oh God! I bear witness that all Thy 
  creatures are brothersHadith 
• Why this meaningless talk about the believer,
• the kafir, the obedient, the sinner,
• the rightly guided, the misdirected, the
  Muslim,
• the pious, the infidel, the fire worshipper?
• All are like beads in a rosary. Abdul Quddus
  of Gangoh

5
SufisLove of GodMankind

• Adopt the ways of God
• To reflect in ones own thought and activity the
  attributes of God.
• Higher spiritual life is nothing but service
  of humanity, It is not (chanting) the rosary,
  (remaining on the) prayer carpet or (wearing)
  coarse garments.Nizamuddin
• To identy service of God with the service of
  man

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SufisLove of GodMankind

• Unity of Divine Revelation. Say We make no
  difference between them (prophets of
  God)Quran378
• All these religions and faiths are branches of
  the same tree,They have sprouted from one and the
  same root.Shah Niaz Ahmad
• Learn from the eyes the way to develop,unity and
  oneness.The two eyes appear different
• but their vision is one.

8
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya (c.717-801).

• One of the most famous Sufi Woman. was born
  around 717 in Basra(Iraq) and died in 801.  Her
  biographer,the great Sufi Poet Attar, tells us
  that she was "on fire with love and longing" and
  that men accepted her "as a second spotless
  Mary".  She was, he continues, an unquestioned
  authority to her contemporaries"

9
Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya

•  Rabia a Sufi saint woman, was asked, "Do you
  love God?"She answered, "Yes.""Do you hate the
  devils?"She answered, "No, my love of God
  leaves me no time to hate the devil.
• You talk about loving God while you disobey
  HimI swear by my life that this is something
  very strange.If you were truthful in your love,
  you would obey Him,For a lover obeys whom he
  loves.

10
Mansur al-Hallaj 858-922

• More controversial figures of Sufism.Great
  Poet-Saint.al-Hallaj means "wool carder," was
  born in the province of Fars, Persia,later moved
  to Iraq, where he took up Religious Studies Sufi
  way.Orthodox religious authorities took offense
  to "Ana 'l-Haqq," "I am the Real," translated as
  "I am the Truth" or "I am God." He was condemned
  by a council of theologianswas executed for
  blasphemy and sorcery.

11
Al-Hallaj

• Kill me, my faithful friends,For in my being
  killed is my life.Love is that you remain
  standingIn front of your BelovedWhen you are
  stripped of all your attributesThen His
  attributes become your qualities.Between me and
  You, there is only me.Take away the me, so only
  You remain

12
Abu-Said Abil-Kheir (967 - 1049)

• Piousness and the path of loveare two different
  roads.Love is the fire that burns both
  beliefand non-belief.Those who practice Love
  have neitherreligion nor caste

• Abu Said referred to himself as Nobody, Son of
  Nobody, to convey the mystic's sense of having
  completely merged or disappeared into the Divine,
  leaving no trace of the ego behind.He died in
  Mayhana,Turkmenistan,

13
Khwajah Abdullah Ansari (1006-1088)

• Famous Persian poet and Sufi.
• He was born and died in Heart,known as Pious of
  Heart"Shaikul Mashayekh" Master of (Sufi)
  Masters and "Shaikhul Islam". He wrote several
  books on Islamic mysticism and philosophy in
  Persian and Arabic. His most famous work is
  "Munajat Namah" (literally 'Litanies or dialogues
  with God'), which is considered a masterpiece of
  Persian literature.

14
Shaykh Abdullah Ansari (1006 - 1088)

• Life in my body pulsates only for Thee,My heart
  beats in resignation to Thy will.If on my dust a
  tuft of grass were to growEvery blade would
  tremble with my devotion for Thee

15
'Abdullah al-Ansari (1006-1089)

• 'Where Are You?'
• O God,You are the aim of the call of the
  sincere,          You enlighten the souls of the
  friends, (and)          You are the comfort of
  the hearts of the travellers---          because
  You are present in the very soul.
• I call out, from emotion          "Where are
  you?"

• You are the life of the soul,          You are
  the rule (ayin) of speech, (and)          You
  are Your own interpreter (tarjaman).
• For the sake of Your obligation to
  Yourself,          do not enter us into the
  shade of deception, (but)           make us
  reach union (wisal) with You.

16
Farid ud-Din Attar (1119- 1220)

• About thirty works by Attar survive, but his
  masterpiece is the Mantic at-Tayr (Conference of
  the Birds).A group of birds (individual human
  souls) under the leadership of a hoopoe
  (spiritual master) who determine to search for
  the legendary Simurgh bird (God). The birds must
  confront their own individual limitations and
  fears while journeying through seven valleys
  before they ultimately find the Simurgh and
  complete their quest..His tomb is in
  Nishapur,Iran.

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Attar (1119 - 1230)

• From each, Love demands a mystic silence. What
  do all seek so earnestly? Tis Love. Love is the
  subject of their inmost thoughts, In Love no
  longer "Thou" and "I" exist, For self has passed
  away in the Beloved.

• Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
  And in the temple of mine inmost soul Behold
  the Friend, Incomparable Love. He who would know
  the secret of both worlds Will find that the
  secret of them both is Love

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Sanai1118-1152

• Don't speak of your suffering -- He is
  speaking.Don't look for Him everywhere -- He's
  looking for you.An ant's foot touches a leaf,
  He senses itA pebble shifts in a streambed, He
  knows it.If there's a worm hidden deep in a
  rock,

• He'll know its body, tinier than an atom,The
  sound of its praise, its secret ecstasy --All
  this He knows by divine knowing.He has given
  the tiniest worm its foodHe has opened to you
  the Way of the Holy Ones.

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Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165 -1240)

• Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage,one of the
  world's great spiritual teachers.Muhyiddin (the
  Revivifier of Religion) Shaykh al-Akbar (the
  Greatest Master),was born in 1165 AD in
  Andalusian Spain, the centre of an extraordinary
  flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish,
  Christian and Islamic thought, through which the
  major scientific and philosophical works of
  antiquity were transmitted to Northern Europe.
  Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual attainments were evident
  from an early age, and he was renowned for his
  great visionary capacity as well as being a
  superlative teacher. He travelled extensively in
  the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240
  AD. (The Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society)

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Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi(1165-1240)

• It is He who is revealed in every face,
  sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye,
  worshipped in every object of worship, and
  pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a
  single one of His creatures can fail to find Him
  in its primordial and original nature

• The movement which is the existence of the
  universe is the movement of love.

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Fakhruddin Iraqi1213 - 1289

• Born in Kamajan near Hamadan. a month before
  his birth, 'Iraqi's father had a dream vision in
  which Imam 'Ali handed him the child and said,
  "Take our 'Iraqi and raise him well, for he will
  be a world conqueror!"The young 'Iraqi
  eventually ended up in Multan Pakistan. Initiated
  in the Sufi way under Shaykh Baha'uddin, the head
  of the Suhrawardiyya ,'Iraqi lived in Multan for
  25 years, composing poetry. As Shaykh Baha'uddin
  was dying, he named Fakhruddin 'Iraqi to be his
  successor

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Fakhruddin Iraqi

• When it became known that 'Iraqi had been
  named head of the Suhrawardi Order,Local Sultan
  sought to have him arrested,fled to Mecca and
  Medina. Later moved to Konya. 'Iraqi often
  listened to Rumi teach and recite poetry, and
  attended Rumi's funeral.Became disciple of
  Sadruddin Qunawi, step-son of Ibn 'Arabi,was
  deeply devoted to the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi
  was inspired to compose his own
  masterpieceLama'at Divine Flashes.He is buried
  near Ibn 'Arabi's tomb.

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Fakhruddin Iraqi1213 - 1289

• Every word of every tongue isLove telling a
  story to her own ears.Every thought in every
  mind,She whispers a secret to her own Self.
  Every vision in every eye,She shows her beauty
  to her own sight.Every smile on every face,She
  reveals her own joy for herself to enjoy.Love
  courses through everything,No, Love is
  everything.How can you say, there is no
  love,when nothing but Love exists?All that you
  see has appeared because of Love.All shines from
  Love,All pulses with Love,All flows from
  Love--No, once again, all IS Love!
  Divine Flashes

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LamaatDivine Flashes

• La ilaha illa'l-'ishq
• There is no god but Love.
• Before this there was one heartbut a thousand
  thoughtsNow all is reduced to"There is no love
  but Love."
• Fakhruddin 'Iraqi

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Saadi (1207-1291)

• Sheikh Muslihu'd-Din, known as Saadi, was born
  and died in Shiraz, First twenty-five years he
  spent studying in various countries, going to
  university at Baghdad. next thirty years he
  travelled widely made pilgrimage to Mecca
  fourteen times. Finally, Sadi returned to Shiraz
  where he devoted himself to writing and to
  teaching.Was disciple of Shaykh Shahabud-Din
  Suhrawardi.
• BooksBustan (the Garden), composed entirely in
  verse
• Gulistan (the Rose Garden), in both prose and
  verse.Sadi is probably the first Persian poet to
  have been translated into European languages. A
  German version of the Gulistan appeared in 1654.

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Saadi (1207- 1291)

• All Adam's race are members of one
  frameSince all, at first, from the same essence
  came.When by hard fortune one limb is
  oppressed,The other members lose their wonted
  restIf thou feel'st not for others' misery,A
  son of Adam is no name for thee
• Poem is used to grace the entrance to the
  Hall of Nations of the UN building in New York
  with this call for breaking all barriers

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Saadi Shirazi (1215-1292)

• His infinite glory lays all praise waste.Look,
  He has graced you a robe of splendorgtFrom
  childhood's first cries to old age!He made you
  pure in His own image stay pure.It is horrible
  to die blackened by sin.Never let dust settle on
  your mirror's shiningLet it once grow dull and
  it will never polish.

• How could I ever thank my Friend?No thanks could
  ever begin to be worthy.Every hair of my body is
  a gift from HimHow could I thank Him for each
  hair?Praise that lavish Lord foreverWho from
  nothing conjures all living beings!Who could
  ever describe His goodness?

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Saadi

• Don't claim the credit all for yourselfIt is
  fate that decides who wins and who losesAnd all
  success streams only from the grace of God.In
  this world you never stand by your own
  strengthIt is the Invisible that sustains you
  every moment.

• When you work in the world to earn your livingDo
  not, for one moment, rely on your own
  strength.Self-worshiper, don't you understand
  anything yet?It is God alone that gives your
  arms their power.If, by your striving, you
  achieve something good,

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Hafiz(1320 1389)

• Shams-ud-din Muhammad,most beloved poet of
  Persia. Born in Shiraz,a famous Sufi Master.Has
  written 5,000 poems, of which 500 to 700 have
  survived. His Divan (collected poems) is a
  classic in the literature of Sufism. The work of
  Hafiz became known to the West largely through
  the efforts of Goethe, whose enthusiasm rubbed
  off on Ralph Waldo Emerson, who translated Hafiz
  in the nineteenth century. Hafiz's poems were
  also admired by Nietzsche, Pushkin, Turgenev,
  Carlyle, and Garcia Lorka even Sherlock
  Holmes.The Gift Poems of Hafiz the Great Sufi
  Master

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Hafiz of Shiraz (1230-91)

• We are the guardians of His Beauty We are the
  protectorsOf the Sun.There is only one
  reasonWe have followed God into this worldTo
  encourage laughter, freedom, danceAnd love.Let
  a noble cry inside of you speak to
  meSaying,"Hafiz,Don't just sit there on the
  moon tonightDoing nothing -

• Help unfurl my heart into the Friend's
  Mind,Help, Old Man, to heal my wounded
  wings!"We are the companions of His BeautyWe
  are the guardiansOf Truth.Every man, plant and
  creature in Existence,Every woman, child, vein
  and noteIs a servant of our Beloved -A
  harbinger of joy,The harbinger ofLight.

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Yunus Emre (1238 - 1320)

• One of the most important Turkish poets. Sufi
  dervish of Anatolia. His poetry expresses a deep
  personal mysticism and humanism and love for
  God.He was a contemporary of Rumi, who lived in
  the same region. A story is told of a meeting
  between the two great souls Rumi asked Yunus
  Emre what he thought of his great work the
  Mathnawi. Yunus Emre said, "Excellent, excellent!
  But I would have done it differently." Surprised,
  Rumi asked how. Yunus replied, "I would have
  written, 'I came from the eternal, clothed myself
  in flesh, and took the name Yunus.'" That story
  perfectly illustrates Yunus Emre's simple, direct
  approach that has made him so beloved..

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Yunus Emre 1240- 1320

• the hill that Moses climbed, the Temple,and
  Israfil's trumpet, we observed in the
  body. Torah, Psalms, Gospel, Quran- what these
  books have to say, we found in the
  body. Everybody says these words of Yunus are
  true. Truth is wherever you want it.We found it
  all within the body.

• We entered the house of realization, we
  witnessed the body.The whirling skies, the
  many-layered earth,the seventy-thousand
  veils, we found in the body.The night and the
  day, the planets, the words inscribed on the
  Holy Tablets,

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Sa'd al-din Mahmud Shabistari(1250 - 1320)

• 'One Light'
• What are "I" and "You"?Just latticesIn the
  niches of a lampThrough which the One Light
  radiates.
• "I" and "You" are the veilBetween heaven and
  earth

• Lift this veil and you will see How all sects
  and religions are one.
• Lift this veil and you will ask---When "I" and
  "You" do not existWhat is mosque?What is
  synagogue?What is fire temple?

34
Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A (1173 1266)

• Sufi saint who is considered by many to be
  the first major poet of the Punjabi language. He
  was born in the Multan district of what is today
  Pakistan.Later, when the Sikh holy book the Adi
  Granth Sahib was compiled, many of Baba Sheikh
  Farid's poems and couplets were included,
  alongside the poetry of Kabir and Ravidas

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Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A (1173 1266)

• Do not speak a hurtful word,for in everyone
  lives the true Lord.Do not break anyone's
  heart,for each heartis a priceless pearl.
• Says Farid,Why do you roam the jungles with
  thorns pricking your feet?Your Lord dwells in
  your heart.And you wander about in search of
  Him.

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Baba Farid Gunjshakar R.A

• FaridaKalle Mainde KaparreKalle Mainda
  VesGhunhi Bhariyan MainFiraaLok Kahain Darves
•  
• FaridMy Clothes Are BlackMy Outfit Is BlackI
  Am Full of SinAnd Yet People Call Me A Dervish

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AMIR KHUSRO (Parrot of Hind) (1253 A.D. to
1325 A.D.)

• Amir Khusro was a great Sufi, a wealthy
  merchant who once exchanged all his wealth for a
  pair of Nizamuddins shoes,Liguist,artist,prolific
  author,musician,inventor(sitar),composer and a
  true devoted disciple.He was "All-in-One" mixture
  of Divine gifts.

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Amir KhusroLove of Prophet

• I wonder what was the place where I was last
  night,All around me were half-slaughtered
  victims of love,tossing about in agony.There
  was a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like
  formand tulip-like face,Ruthlessly playing
  havoc with the hearts of the lovers.God himself
  was the master of ceremonies in that heavenly
  court,oh Khusro, where (the face of) the Prophet
  too was shedding lightLike a candle.

39
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

• Great philosopher and mystic of Islam, His
  doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive
  reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness
  through love.
• Mevlana was born on 30 September 1207 in Balkh He
  died on 17 December 1273 in Konya . He was laid
  to rest beside his father and a splendid shrine
  was erected. The 13th century Mevlana Mausoleum
  with its mosque, dance hall, dervish living
  quarters, school and tombs of some leaders of the
  Mevlevi Order continues to this day to draw
  pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim and
  non-Muslim world.(mevlana.net)

40
Rumi ,The Poet of Love

• Gamble everything for love,if youre a true
  human being.If not, leave this
  gathering.Half-heartedness doesnt reach into
  majesty.You set out to find God,but then you
  keep stopping for long periodsat mean-spirited
  roadhouses.

41
Ahmad Jami (1048 - 1141)

• Born 440/1048 in Namaq, settled in Jam,
  Afghanistan. After a dissolute youth, he
  underwent a conversion experience and became
  famous for his austerity and love of seclusion
  he spent eighteen years alone in the mountains
  near Jam studying the Quran and religious
  sciences. At age forty he began to initiate
  disciples, write books, and travel around
  Khorasan. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca late in
  life, and died on his return in 536/1141. He was
  buried in his khaneqah in Jam, which is today a
  center of pilgrimage The Drunken Universe An
  Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, by Peter
  Lamborn Wilson and Nasrollah Pourjavady

42
Jami (1414-92)

• Whether your destiny is glory or disgrace,Purify
  yourself of hatred and love of self.Polish your
  mirror and that sublime BeautyFrom the regions
  of mysteryWill flame out in your heartAs it did
  for the saints and prophets.Then, with your
  heart on fire with that Splendor, The secret of
  the Beloved will no longer be hidden.

43
Jami (1414-92)

• Whether your destiny is glory or disgrace,Purify
  yourself of hatred and love of self.Polish your
  mirror and that sublime BeautyFrom the regions
  of mysteryWill flame out in your heartAs it did
  for the saints and prophets.Then, with your
  heart on fire with that Splendor, 

• The secret of the Beloved will no longer be
  hidden.

44
Jami

•   If Love manifests itself within you,
• it has its origins in beauty.
• You are nothing but a mirrorin which beauty
  is reflected .
• Because beauty and its reflection are both
  from that One Source,it is both treasure and
  treasure-house.                                 
                  

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Sultan Bahu (d. 1691)

• One of Subcontinents most enduringly beloved
  and influential Sufi poets. A respected scholar
  from what is today the nation of Pakistan, Bahu
  became famous worldwide for his eloquent and
  inspirational Punjabi poetry and prose, which
  constitute a central pillar of the Sufi religious
  and literary tradition of northern India. So
  popular is his poetry in Pakistan and India today
  that illiterate Punjabis can recite it by
  heart.Death before Dying Sufi Poetry of Sultan
  Bahu, by Jamal Elias

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Sultan Bahu

• I knew God well when love flashed before
  me.It gives me strength by night and day, and
  shows what lies ahead.In me are flames, in me is
  fuel, in me is smoke.I only found my Beloved,
  Bahu, when love made me aware.

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Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689 - 1752)

• Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was a devout Muslim
  Sufi, but his spirituality was broad and
  welcoming, making room for Muslim and Hindu
  alike. He is one of the most revered poets and
  saints of the Sindh ,Pakistan.

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Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689 - 1752)

• If you are seeking Allah,Then keep clear of
  religious formalities.Those who have seen
  AllahAre away from all religions!Those who do
  not see Allah here,How will they see Him
  beyond?Let us go the land of KakWhere love
  flows in abundance,There are no entrances, no
  exits,Every one can see the Lord!

• There is no light nor dayEvery one can see the
  Lord!Those who love the LordThe world cannot
  hold them.Palaces do not attract them,Nor women
  nor servantsNothing binds themThe renouncers
  leave everything behind.

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Baba Bulleh Shah (1680-1758)

• Masjid dha de, mandir dha de, dha de jo kucch
  dainda Par kisi da dil na dhain, Rab dilan vich
  rehnda.
• Tear down the mosque and the temple
• break everything in sight
• But do not break a persons heart
• it is there that God resides

• Great humanist, philosopher, rebel,
  internationalist, teacher sufi poet of all
  times,was the disciple of Enayat Shah Lahori, who
  himself was a great Sufi of his time

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Bulleh shah

• paRh paRh ilm hazaar kitaabaNqaddi apnay aap nou
  paRhiya naeejaaN jaaN waRhday mandir
  maseediqaddi mann apnay wich waRhiya
  naeeaa-vaiN laRda aye shaitan de naal
  bandeaaqaddi nafss apnay naal laRiya naee
• yes, yes, you have read thousands of booksbut
  you have never tried to read your own selfyou
  rush in, into your Mandirs, into your Mosquesbut
  you have never tried to enter your own
  heartfutile are all your battles with Satanfor
  you have never tried to fight your own desires

51
Bulleh Shah

• Parh parh masley roz sunaaveyKhaanaa shak shubey
  da khaweynDaseyn hor te hor kamaaweynAnder khot
  baahir suchyaar
• You deliver sermons everydayYou eat the food of
  suspicion and doubtYou preach something and act
  inverslyInwardly you are corrupt but outwardly
  you are pious

52
Frithjof Schuon

• German by birth and Swiss by nationality and
  lived many years in France. He is a
  well-respected European mystic and philosopher of
  a universalist form of Sufism that has been
  called the Perennial Philosophy.
• Frithjof Schuon Life and Teachings (Suny Series
  in Western Esoteric Traditions)

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SpaceThemes Frithjof Schuon  

• The North, the South the East and then the
  WestTheir mysteries we carry in our
  breast.Zenith, Nadir, Spirit and Earth, 'tis
  wePurity, Love, Strength and Serenity.Each
  value in the universal frameWithin our soul and
  spirit is the same.Each quarter or each quality
  of SpaceShows a divine and cosmic Beauty's
  face.So let us hear Eternal Wisdom's callBy
  thyself truly, and thou art the All.

54
Frithjof Schuon (1907 1998)

• It was within yourself, what Heaven brought.What
  comes from God is in your heart the wineOf Bliss
  and Wisdom. It will ne'er be foundBy those who
  do not stand on sacred ground.The singing of the
  flute came from AboveThe flute was in my heart
  the song was Love.It was the Ocean's endless
  melodyA song of God and of Eternity

55
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

• Sufi Muslim saint from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) He
  gained a reputation early on as a holy man, and
  many people from all faiths on the island would
  come to receive his teachings.In the early
  1970s, he came to the United States and settled
  in Philadelphia. There, he continued to teach a
  universal understanding of all religions.

56
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1900? - 1986)

• The things that change are not our real
  life.Within us there is another body, another
  beauty.It belongs to that ray of Light which
  never changes.We must discover how to mingle
  with It and become onewith that Unchanging
  thing.We must realize and understand this
  treasure of Truth.That is why we have come to
  the world.Within your heart in a space no bigger
  than an atom,God has placed the 18,000
  universes.

57
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1900? - 1986)

• There is One God.He created all beings,And
  He exists beyond the beyond of religions,Beyond
  the separations of race,Religion, and
  philosophies.He is beyond mind, desire, and
  physical visionHe is beyond the world, lust,
  torpor, and illusion.God resides in that
  spotlessly pure place known as the heartAnd sees
  and knows everything.He sees each and every
  heart and mind and understands all things