“Those who remember God, standing, sitting, lying on their sides and who contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth, [thinking and saying to themselves], O our Lord-Sustainer, you have not created this in utter falseness! Glory be to You [You are transcendent!], so save us from the suffering of the fire! (Qur’an Surat Al ‘Imran, 3:191)
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ alladhina yadhkurunallaha qiyaman wa-qu’udan wa-‘ala junubihim wa-yatafakkaruna fi khalqi s-samawati wa l-ardi rabbana ma khalaqta hadha batilan, subhanaka fa-qina ‘adhaba n-nar

Hallaj:
I am
the One
Whom I love.
And the One
Whom I love
is I.
We are two spirits
who have alighted
in a body.
انا من اهوى ومن اهوى انا نحن روحان حللنا بدنا
Ana man ahwa, wa-man ahwa ana, nahnu ruhani halalna badana

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Love speaks to me
silently,
then in words,
with winks
of eyes**
then by rending
the veils.

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Remember Me, and I will remember you. Be thankful to Me, and do not ungratefully deny” (Qur’an, Surat al-Baqara 2:153) فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ Fa-dhkuruni adhkurkum wa-shkuru li wa-la takfuruni

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Love speaks to me
silently,
then in words,
with winks
of eyes
then by rending
the veils.

Shah Ni’matullah Vali’s commentary on Fakhr al-Din ‘Iraqi’s *Flashes*

Iraqi: So he [i.e., Muhammad, namely, the Muhammadan Reality or image of God that is at the core of everyone] is the treasury of the treasure of Being, and key to the treasuries of generosity, the Qiblih[i.e., direction of prayer] of (both) the perceiver of existence and the existent.

Shah Ni’matullah’s commentary: He is the master of both realms
The manifestation of the Essence and the Attributes of Majesty
Allah (تعالى) by means of his [i.e. the Prophet’s] tongue said, “I was a hidden treasure and I loved that I be known, so I created creation, in order to be known.”

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Know that God’s friends (awliya’), fear does not overwhelm them nor are they immersed in grief” (Qur’an, Surat Yunus 10:62) أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ Ala inna awliya Allah la khawfun ‘alayhim wa-la hum yahzanun. “¿No es cierto que los amigos de Allah no tendrán que temer ni se entristecerán?” (Spanish translation by Suleyman Ernesto Geddes )

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Say: All is from God’s presence” (Qur’an, Surat al-Nisa’ 4:78) قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ Qul kullun min ‘indallah. “Di: Todo proviene de Allah” (Spanish translation by Suleyman Ernesto Geddes ).

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

“Loving is among the qualities of those who are generously noble” (Stated by Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Washshāʼ in al-Washsha’) الحب من شيم الكرام Al-Hubbu min shiyam il-kiram. Calligraphed by Osman Özçay.

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

 

The religion of the youthful and energetic involves expending great effort to do lots acts of worship and pious actions and to learn lots of rules and doctrines, since young and energetic people can do such things. The religion of the old and debilitated, who in worst case scenarios do not have a lot of energy and may even be physically disabled, is a simple straightforward or straight path: remember Allah, gratefully and lovingly surrendering to your Beloved, at this moment; for they know it may be their last opportunity to do so. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, in his Qur’an commentary, Mafatih al-ghayb, wrote that “What is meant by it is nothing other than entrusting all of one’s affairs to God and relying upon God in all matters” فَلَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ، إِلَّا تَفْوِيضَ الْأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالِاعْتِمَادَ فِي كُلِّ الْأُمُورِ عَلَى اللَّهِ

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.

Make me more bewildered
about You,
by giving me
almost more love
than I can stand!

I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.