Category Archives: Spiritual Practice
The Magic Formula
The Magic Formula
The Magic Formula is UPR– Understanding, Practice, Realization. This book(the upcoming one) is primarily about understanding. In order for it to work, however, you have to put the understanding into practice. That requires intention and effort and even courage. Then your internal state will change (realization).Happy trails to you!
Human Love and Divine Love
Rabia al Basra was one of the greatest female Sufi saints.Besides being pious she was also very beautiful and of good character so she had many suitors- including the wealthy governor of Baghdad and the Sufi saint Hassan al Basri.She always refused their hand in marriage.When asked why she responded: “Whenever I love anything other than Him(her Lord) he sends me a test in that very area”.In telling us this, she is not simply recounting her own experience.She is instructing us on the nature of the “dunniya”(the world).
Almost every day,either in my professional life or my personal life,I encounter people suffering from human love.It can be a mother lamenting the behaviour of one of her children,a sister feeling betrayed by one of her own sisters,or a lover being rejected or mistreated by his beloved.These are not exceptions but rather they are the custom in this world.God designed it this way so that we are obliged to turn to him. Even those relatively rare ideal relationships-husband and wife living together in a loving and respectful way for 50 years,turn into tragedy towards the end when one gets sick and dies or develops Alzheimers and can no longer recognize their spouse.Such is the way of the world.
“So what is Divine Love ,the one that doesn’t disappoint,you may ask?”. Interesting question, no doubt.There are two dimensions to the answer here.The first and perhaps most important is the Love of the Creator for His creation.I have experienced this and nothing can be more wonderful- although it usually does not last that long as we inevitably return to our human state.Immersed in the love of the Creator everything is Peace and Compassion and Knowledge and Acceptance.There is nothing more beautiful!
Then there is the love of the creature,the relative being for the Absolute.That can take several forms.One is “the quest”-the search for the Holy Presence and it involves considerable energy and commitment.What can be more valuable than that as a way to expend our efforts?! The other is the love of His qualities-the love of Beauty,the love of Justice,the love of Kindness,etc., etc.But the love of these qualities, to be complete, needs to realize that these qualities belong to a Being-the Absolute.And that Being is our Lord.Otherwise,those who love Justice are regularly confronted with injustice and thus disappointed.And those who love beauty in its worldly form,eventually see the beauty tarnished and corrupted.
So you are now confronted with a choice.You can follow the Hollywood scenarios and the Romantic poets and search for the love of a companion and thus be guaranteed grief or you can choose the love of your Lord as did Rabia al-Basra .If you choose the latter,you will be tested for sure.At the same time,you may well be given the former as a bonus.As,for example,in the case of Ibrahim who loved his son or Mohammed saws who deeply loved his first wife,Khadija.But those two great ones were always conscious of their priorities and their overwhelmimg priority was serving their Lord.And from that comes all goodness.Salaams,ibrahim
The Wisdom Lecture-Part 1
The Purpose of Life
The Purpose of Life
Hamza Yusuf, the well-known American Islamic scholar, looks into the question of life’s purpose via the Quranic text. He concludes that there are three main purposes, which he defines by the Arabic words Imarat, (cultivation),Khilafat(stewardship) and Ibadat(worship).The first term Imarat is somewhat ambiguous. What kind of cultivation? Does this refer only to agriculture, which seems unlikely, or to personal cultivation? Since this idea was new to me as a purpose of life, I looked into the Quranic references and came to the conclusion that what it is really about is something like ”maintenance” not dissimilar to the goal of the ecological movements we see arguing for sustainabilty or the Native America ideas about honoring and caring for the Earth. If that is indeed the case, then it is really contained already in the idea of khilafat. So we are left with two purposes-Ibadat and Khilafat.
Khilafat, that some Quranic translators translate awkwardly as vice-regency, is a very important concept. Broken down to its essence, it means that man has a managerial role in the Universe .In simple terms we could say God is the Boss and we are the Managers ,answerable to him. Clearly, we are not doing a very good job of this- as we witness environmental pollution and destruction on a scale never seen before on the planet. We, alone, are responsible for that.
The term’ ibadat’ is often translated as worship. But the root word a-b-d is related to service. And there are hadith that mention that service to man is an elevated form of worship. So ,in this term, we have service to man and duties towards God ,two distinct entities but also inter-related ones.
Now if we switch gears and look at the nde (near-death experiences) literature, we get a somewhat different picture. If we take an over-view of the nde accounts, we would come to the conclusion that there are three major purposes to life- learning to love, acquiring fundamental knowledge, which could also be termed ‘understanding’ or ‘wisdom’ and realizing one’s mission in life. That, too, makes perfect, intuitive sense.
Now these two models, at first glance, appear to be different but they are not really contradictory. The Quranic analysis tends to look at the outer aspects while the nders are reporting more of the inner aspects.This is not too difficult to understand as the Islamic scholars, almost by definition, are looking mostly at the outward.
If we now take the Sufis, who are the people of the inner, they begin to understand and unravel the inner Quran. And so they, the Sufis, speak regularly and systematically about love and knowledge .In that way they bridge the divide and complete our understanding of the purposes of life. Briefly stated here are the purposes: Behave well towards your fellow man and your environment, honour your Lord, cultivate Love and seek knowledge. Ah! As I am a stickler for complete understanding, my heart is now,finally, at peace.
N.B Please notice, here, that two erroneous views that are popular nowadays have not been mentioned. The first is the viewpoint promoted by the Hindu-Buddhist traditions that the purpose of life is to attain enlightenment. If you think about this one carefully it makes no sense! That we come from nothing and return to be nothing without anything else being accomplished in the interim is an absurd idea. Yet that is exactly what the Buddhists are proposing. The way I understand this distortion is that the Indian religious traditions are imbalanced in the direction of the other-worldly. They see no point to relative existence, except to escape from it back to where we started.
The other erroneous position is even more popular in the modern world. It says that the purpose of existence is to enjoy oneself and have a good time. Another absurdity but in this case imbalanced in the direction of worldliness. With all the suffering that life entails (the Buddhists got that one right!) and all the tests, how could the purpose possibly be enjoyment?! I can still remember Sheikh Nazim, the Sufi teacher I spent most time with, commenting on a New Age group dancing to rock music in the Swiss Alps: ”They think they are free” he said, “but they are like fish in a net”. Well-spoken, Sheikh. That is the net of dunniya (worldliness).
So I urge everyone to stay on the straight path (of virtue) and the Real Middle Way (of faith and moderation).May Allah help us all!.
Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness Practice
(adapted from the teachings of Jack Kornfield –Insight Meditation Society)
This article is being written because of popular demand. Several people have asked me to explain this meditative practice which is now part of the nine-fold practice of Pilgrims’ Progress. Please give us some feedback, on this blog, after you have tried it out for a while.
The acronym, we are going to use is RAIN-b. The. ‘b’ is my addition but also comes from basic Buddhist practice. This practice is most useful when you come up against negative emotional states , which we inevitably do in our daily lives. It can also be used to deal with stressful situations and overloaded, restless mindsets. As well, it can be built into a daily practice and used to follow our ’normal’ states of mind which , if we observe carefully, can be seen to be constantly changing throughout the day or throughout the period of meditation. Ok. Let’s get going!
R stands for Recognition or even better, Recognize and Name. Let’s say your issue is a boss or supervisor who has criticized you and you are afraid of meeting him again. We could call this state “Boss Phobia” or “Boss Anxiety”(Of course ,you will have to adapt this exercise to whatever issue you, yourself, are confronting but this example should serve as a model.)
A stands for acceptance. You are not accepting the contents of the thoughts. You are accepting the fact that you are in this state. After all, this state was ordained for you to be in by your Creator. This is ,often, the most difficult step as we have a reflex to try to push away the negative state, as with everything else unpleasant in our lives. That will only make it worse. Bawa Muhayiddeen, one of my teachers from Sri Lanka, told us that there wss a plant that grew near the shores in his homeland which was like a thistle. If an animal got it in its skin or foot and tried to shake it off, the more it shook the more the plant dug in deeper. That is a metaphor for our unpleasant thoughts. So don’t try to push them away and don’t try to feed them either. Let them be.
I stands for investigate. Here,we investigate in three dimensions: 1) Thoughts. They may sound like this:”I hate that boss. I wish he’d just leave me alone” or ”That’s so unfair. I really did a good job this time” or “That boss is such an unpleasant person. He’s always negative and critical .I’m glad I’m not his wife or his child ” etc. etc. Don’t argue with the thoughts. Just notice them. 2) Feelings. These may be anger or fear (of being fired) or disappointment( that I always have to work with these difficult people). Then 3) actually the most important-the physical sensations. They are most important because they are the easiest to objectify and thus give you the best possibility of dis-identifying with the state. So you may feel a pressure in the chest, a tightness in the shoulders, queasiness in the abdomen or a clenching of the jaw. There is no right answer. Just notice what you feel in your body.
N is for non-identification. It is the result of doing the first three steps correctly. You are then in the observer or witness position. And the pain is already diminished. Don’t worry if that is not the case immediately. This is a learning process and it may take some time to master it. When you do, you can see the suffering leaving your psyche more and more quickly .So states that may have lasted for days may now leave in hours and eventually even in minutes. Don’t, however, get too attached to the results. Just practice the process.
b is for breathing. Often, by the end of the process, there is still lingering pain especially of the physical sensation source. So now you breathe into the painful area. A long nasal in-breath followed by a more rapid outbreath via the mouth in which you release the tension.
You can do this practice as often as you like-for whatever state you find yourself in. You can even use it for positive states if they are too intense or inappropriate for the context you find yourself in (ecstasy at the workplace lol).Try it out and get back to me. Enjoy your meditation.
The Reflexology of the Face
I have been thinking about this for a long-time,wondering if it was possible to systematize and teach in any way,the reading of the face.Reflexologists have developed a map of the foot where each organ in the body is represented by an area of the foot.They claim to be able to diagnose physical ailments in this manner.So I wondered if we can do the same with the Face and spiritual ailments.Here is what I have discovered so far.
- The eyes: Most of us know the expression”The eyes are the mirror of the soul” or “the window to the soul” This is largely true -with some caveats.An important one is to distinguish between light (nur) and fire (nar) in the eyes.As opposed to light, which is almost always a good sign,fire can indicate excessive emotion or, even more often, in spiritual matters fanaticism.At that point it becomes dangerous.At other times,like in schizophrenia, but by no means limited to psychosis, the eyes can have a far-away look.You can notice this,for example,in people who have used a lot of psychedelic drugs like LSD.These people are no longer in this world but the world they are in is shadowy and dark rather than luminous.You can also find this in esotericists and magicians.I remember the time I entered a bookstore specializing in Alistair Crowley,the famous magician.I had to leave quickly.The vibe was too dark and even scary..Many of the psychics and clairvoyants and Tarot card-readers have the same other-worldly darkness about them.
- The face-1:One of the interesting phenomenon I have encountered,that puzzled me at first ,was people who have light in their eyes but not in their face.Many of the people I have labelled spiritual illuminati have this constellation.It is common in the community of non-dualists or Advaita Vedantists. This tells me they are ungrounded-in contact with the light but not the manifestation of the light on the Earthly plane.This un-groundedness can and will play havoc with their Earthly relations.Just ask their partners lol.
- The Face-2 At the opposite extreme, you have the spiritual materialists like the Wahhabbi.They have no light either in their eyes nor in their facer.Stay away from them! I remember an event in Jordan when I was invited to dinner by one of them.They,of course,were very critical of Sufism and my Sheikh there.We began by discussing their ideas but the exercise was useless.At one point,I just had to get up and leave as there was clearly no point in discussing. .I said to them frankly ” How can I accept your reasoning when I see no nur(spiritual light) on your faces?” I had the same reaction to a similar group of Shia people trying to convince me that they had the right interpretation of Islam.Islam without nur?! That makes no sense to me.
- The face -3. I have also noticed in many converts,on the point of conversion,a light illuminate their entire face ,even if they apparently seemed to be converting only to get married.This could only serve to confirm my faith that this religion,Islam, is pure and true.My apologies to the liberals who may see this as sectarian but this is what I see, not what I think!
- The mouth:Another really important area.One can see a lot of character traits in the mouth.One ignores them at one’s own peril.I began this article as I watched the tennis finals in Paris.Although I don’t want to personalize this analysis,I think it does help to be specific, at times.If you examine the mouth of the number one tennis player in the world,Novak Djokovic,you will see that there is something seriously wrong on the level of character.I am not sure how to label it but it is somewhere in the range of ‘dishonest’,’hypocritical’ and ‘smug’. Maybe one of the readers of this article will find a more apt term for it.You are more than welcome to share this.Then there is Donald Trump.Shut off the volume on your TV or laptop and observe his mouth-not the words,the expression.It will be very hard to vote for him after you see that. If you think all politicians are the same look at Hilary whose expression is much more subtle and Obama who has none of this.For those who know me,you may be surprised at the positive slant on Obama lol. I have always maintained,throughout my criticism, he has good character!.
So this is a beginning.I hope to pursue this line of investigation to deepen and refine it in the future as time permits inshallah.We all have an obligation to develop our discernment.It is in that perspective that I present this material.
A Good Idea vs. a Perfect Idea
Many years ago a dynamic Sufi activist named Nurrideen had a good idea.He wanted to build a Muslim commune in New Mexico.He managed to raise a substantial amount of money from rich Arabs in Saudi and the Gulf states who liked his idea.He worked with architectural plans from the famous Egyptian architect Hassan Fathi and built a multi-million dollar complex with local adobe materials.It was truly beautiful.I visited it early on in its inception and it was indeed impressive.
When people came to ask our sheikh of the time-Sheikh Nazim about it, he gave a somewhat cryptic answer.He said”Yes,this is a good idea,but it is not a perfect one.” I understood immediately what he meant.This was a good idea in the mind of Nurrideen but not a Divine inspiration-i.e. not really the will of God.
The project began well with Muslim converts flocking to the Centre in small numbers to live and have their children educated in a “true Muslim environment”.It wasn’t long however,before problems began to emerge.The environment was not propitious for recruiting.The locals were mostly Mexican and they had little interest in the project.The people who would naturally have been attracted to the project were from all over America but had no roots in New Mexico and no way ,often,to earn their living. The Arabic and Islamic teachers had to be imported from the East and there were often inter-cultural problems that had to be addressed.
Eventually the project failed.People started drifting away.The Saudis found out that most of the people there were Sufis and pulled their funding.Now the centre is only used for summer retreats.It was a good idea ,not a Perfect one!
How many times, in our own lives,do we have good ideas that are not Perfect ones?This is a cause of enormous sufferings.May Allah guide us to avoid these self-made plans!
Thought and Reality
Plus ca change plus c’est pareil (the more it changes,the more it’s the same).A Professor Emeritus is visiting from France.He is presenting “A Theory of Cancer”.Aha.That’s going to do it! Another Theory!At least since Descartes the French intellectuals have been producing theories.What’s more is the iconic theory of Descartes”Je pense donc je suis” is the opposite of the Truth! In fact ,it is only when you stop thinking that you discover who you really are.The world is falling apart but not for lack of theories?! It would be much more effective to teach people to see,hear and feel rather than to spin out theories like spiders spin webs.We are like the insects caught in these thought webs.Let’s become humans(insan in Arabic) once again.
The Istikhara Prayer
(This is an answer to a request from an old friend for guidance. I have now added an important addendum at the end of the article. Be sure you read it before acting on this guidance! )
This is where Istighara is so important! We can’t figure this out with our mind that knows so little in reality .I am not referring to the usual perfunctory(habitual but superficial) Istikhara.Rather to the deep,soul-searching convinced Istighara. I remember having a discussion about this with a Sheik in Jordan. He was of the belief,and I gather that this is the usual alim position,that no matter what happened after the Istighara prayer, it was the will of Allah so all was fine.! All due respect to Shekh ——,I strongly disagree.That is like taking a hammer and saying no matter how I swing it the nail will go in properly.Wrong! Istighara is a skill we have to develop.
So here’s the teaching.I’m sure you know or can find the dua.That’s the thing the ulema teach first and the part that is least important.What is important is the attitude”Oh,Allah.I am weak.You are All-Powerful.I am relatively ignorant.You are all-Knowing.Guide me in this matter.” It is also very important, if you ask this question to Allah, that you remain open to the answer.If you have already decided what you are doing,don’t do Istighara! Because then if Allah shows you the opposite and you go ahead with your intention,you are in disobedience- “massiya”,big time! So first,humility and open-mindedness.
Then the answer may come in 4 ways(the last one I only discovered in the last few years):
1) Dream symbolism(sometimes people need help with dream interpretation.Be careful who you consult on that level because consultants are often full of prior convictions-no good).
2) Feelings in the heart.Sheikh Nuh seemed to use this one a lot.You ask a yes or no question.If you wake up feeling anxious and constricted,it’s a no.If you wake up feeling expanded and peaceful it’s a yes.Some interpreters feel it’s the same for colours in the dream-green and white are yes ;black and red are no.The heart can give many ,more subtle answers as well.You then need to listen to its soft voice.
3) Facts on the ground.These are the ayats(signs) of Allah.When I was at the beginning of my search and trying to get to India ,I ended up in Sweden visiting some old friends.I was lost because India was under flood alert everywhere.I was watching TV with my friends and a documentary came up about Jerusalem.I knew immediately that was my next step.That’s how I became Muslim.Don’t let the scholars diss TV to you lol.
4) And most recent-third parties sayings or dreams especially if the sayings are out of character for the person.That is a sure sign they are from Allah. In one of my more recent situations a cousin of mine called pleading with me to mediate a quarrel with his sister.I wanted to do it to help the family out and I did Istighara.My brother in NYC had a dream in which I was in an ugly fight with one of the family members and he felt worried about me.I pulled out of the offer and over time it was proven that I had made the right decision.I’ll spare you the details for now.
So do this carefully and follow the Guidance.It will save you a lot of grief.
Salaams,Ibrahim
Addendum: There are actually three types of Istikhara dreams! The first is a dream indicating our desires or wishes. These are the Freudian dreams and should only be used to understand your weaknesses. The second kind of dream is the fear dreams. This represents the projection of your fear-driven psyche.T hey are the dreams our Prophet saws told us to ignore. The third type and the one we can rely on are the Guidance dreams. Those are the truly useful ones. Now, admittedly, the distinction between these three is not always obvious.It takes a certain amount of intuitive discernment to make the distinctions.If you can’t figure it out, you can consult but be advised that the usual Muslim sources of guidance(Imams and scholars) are usually unreliable in this area as they do not understand the components of psychology involved. Psychologists and psychoanalysts are equally unreliable as they usually believe everything in a dream is a projection of our egos! Wrong! So proceed cautiously! Salaams, Sufi Ibrahim
