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Dhul-Nun
al-Misri
Tomb of Dhul-Nun al-Misri (AD 796-859) in Cairo's City of
the dead. Dhul-Nun al-Misri was a famous Egyptian Sufi (full
name, Dhul-Nun Abu Faid Thawban ibn Ibrahim al-Misri).
Life
Born in Akhmim in upper Egypt in AD 796, al-Misri is considered
among the most prominent figures of early Sufism and holds a
position in the Sufi chronicles as high as Junayd (d.910) and
Bayazid (d.874). He studied under various teachers and travelled
extensively in Arabia and Syria. In 829 he was arrested on a
charge of heresy and sent to prison in Baghdad, but after examination
he was released on the caliph's orders to return to Cairo, where
he died in 859; his tombstone has been preserved.
A legendary
alchemist and thaumaturage, he is supposed to have known the
secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. His sayings and poems, which
are extremely dense and rich in mystical imagery, emphasize
knowledge or gnosis (marifah) more than fear (makhafah) or love
(mahabbah), the other two major paths of spiritual realization
in Sufism. None of his written works have survived, but a vast
collection of poems, sayings, and aphorisms attributed to him
continues to live on in oral tradition.
More
About Dhul-Nun
al-Misri
As-salato
as-salamo alaika Ya Rasulallah
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
All Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may
Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final
Messenger of Islam,Hazrath Muhammad Mustafa his Family,Companions
the Noble order of Awliya Allah and all the Righteous Servants
of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat.
ALLAHUMMA
SALLI ALA SAYYIDINA MUHAMMADINIS SAABIQI LILKHALQI NURUHU WA
RAHMATUL LIL AALIMEENA ZUHURUHU ADADA MAMADA MIN KHALQIKA WAMAM
BAQIYA WAMAN SAIDA MINHUM WAMAN SHAQIYA SALAWAATAN TASTAGHRIQUL
ADDA WATUHEETU BIL HADDI SALAATAN LA GHAAYATA LAHA WALA MUNTAHA
WALAN QADAAA'A SALAWAATAN DAAA'IMATAN BIDAWAAMIKA WA ALAAA AALIHI
WASAHBIHI WA SALLIMA TASLEEMAM MISLA ZAALIKA.
YA GHAWTHU'L-A'ZAMU AGHITH-NI FI KULLI AHWALI WA'NSUR-NI FI
KULLI AMALI WA TAQALLAB-NI FI TARIQI-KA BI-HURMATI JADDI-KA
MUHAMMDIN WA BI-SHIFA'ATI-HI WA RUHI-HI WA SIRRI-H
He was a famous Qalandar and dervish, And came from Egypt, Sufis
say that the Qalandar order and the Malamati order comes from
him, He was very eminent in his spiritual statues and he walked
on the path of affliction and on blame (malamati). He spent
most of his life travelling and wandering in deserts
His interests in Sufism began when he had a remarkable change
when he saw a young Sufi who was hanging upside down on a tree
and was continuously saying to his Nafs (Ego) 'Until you dont
come to my side to pray to God and worship Him, I will continue
to punish you, until you die'.
After seeing this Zul Nun began to cry, The dervish asked him
about the reason of his crying. He said: 'I thought that you've
killed some one, that's why you are punishing yourself like
that.' The young dervish told him to go to a mountain where
a Sufi is staying, he should go and meet him Zul Nun went there
and saw that a dervish is sitting there and his one leg was
cut off and lying near him, Zun Nun asked him that how did he
lose his leg? The Sufi replied 'Once I was busy worshiping God
when suddenly i saw a beautiful woman passing through, I felt
attracted towards her and moved towards her with bad intention
while i was just about to move i heard the Divine voice saying
'O shameless After 30 years of worshipping Me, now you are going
to worship Satan',
After hearing that I cut off my leg as it was the first that
moved towards the woman', The dervish then told Zun Nun about
another dervish, who was living at the top of that mountain,
but beause it was impossible to climb over the mountain to go
to the top, the dervish decided instead to tell Zul Nun about
his story, He said 'That dervish once sweared that he will never
eat anything from the hands of humans, so for many months he
didn't eat anything, later God sent some bees to him, who regularly
provided him with honey. He is living by eating honey since
then.
After seeing this all, Zul Nun retired from this world and began
his journey on the Sufi path.
He kept his statues hidden and it was only when he passed away
that people repented and knew who he really was, It is known
that when he died 70 people saw the holy prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) who said that 'I have come to meet Zhul Nun the
friend of god', and on his forehead when he died was written
'This is the beloved of allah, who died in love of allah, slain
by allah, also on his funeral the birds were seen to shadow
his body with their wings.
After seeing this the egyptians repented and held remorse for
all the injustuce they had done to him, About his famous life
it is said that Zhul Nun and his disciples were in a boat and
were sailing down the River Nile when a boat came towards them
full of merry makers and sinners, The disciples seeing this
were disgusted and outraged they asked Zhul Nun to implore god
so that their boat sinks, instead he prayed to god to give them
a good life in this world and the next the disciple were astonished
by his prayer but as soon as the boat came near the merry makers
saw Zhul Nun and became emotional they broke their flutes and
began to cry and repented.
To this Zhul Nun said 'that a good life in the next world is
the repentance in this world, now you and them are all satisfyied
with no harm to anyone'.
While traveling Zhul Nun met an old woman in the desert he felt
intrigued to ask her a question , so when the woman came near
he asked her from where have you come from she replied 'From
god' where are you going 'To god', he then took out a peice
of gold and offered it to the woman who replied 'Oh Zhul Nun
the notion you have formed about me is from the feebleness of
your intelligence i work for god and accept nothing except from
god, I worship him alone and take from him alone'.
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The
Tomb of Abu Hasan As-Shadhilli (RA), Abu Hasan,
Egypt 140 km from Mirsa Alam, Red Sea.
Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli
This now is something of the story of the life and sayings of
the Shaykh and Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, whose full
name was `Ali ibn `Abdullah ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar, who, on his
father's side, descended from the Fatimid-Hasanid line, and
on his mother's side from the Fatimid-Husaynid line.
He was born in the year 593 A.H./1196 C.E., in the mountain
village of Ghumara in the Rif area of the northern Atlas mountains
of the Maghrib. The Berber tribe to which he belonged had virtually
separated itself from the rest of the Maghrib by refusing to
accept the Religion of Islam, which was otherwise universally
followed in this region. Sidi Abu Madyan had tried to teach
and guide this tribe to the Truth, but they had preferred to
live in their state of spiritual ignorance, relying mostly upon
witchcraft, magic and idols for their form of worship.
There is little recorded about the very early life of `Ali ibn
`Abdu 'l-Jabbar, but it is assumed that whilst he was still
very young he would have been taught the basic rites of the
Religion because he and his family were of the shurafa, that
is, people who are related in the body to the Prophet Muhammad,
prayers and peace be upon him. These are people who are untouched
by the desire for worldly power and office or for material gains.
Therefore, it could be expected that he would have studied,
first of all, at the famous madrasa of Qurrawiyyin in Fez (Fas)
which had been founded by the great grandson of Sayyidina al-Hasan,
the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon
him.
His first Shaykh and Master was Sidi `Abdullah ibn Harazim,
a follower of Sidi Abu Madyan, may Allah have mercy on them
both, through whose guidance he entered the Path of Allah, the
Way of Tasawwuf. It was also through him that he was later moved
to find the Qutb of his time.
It is known that in the year 615 A.H., at the age of twenty-five,
he travelled to the East and notably to al-`Iraq, searching
for the Master who possessed the complete knowledge of the Path
of the Truth of Allah, Praised and Exalted is He. There he was
led to the Shaykh Abu al-Fath al-Wasiti who was the inheritor
of the holy and renown Shaykh and waliy of Allah, Sidi Ahmad
ar-Rifa'i, may Allah be pleased with him, who had founded and
guided one of the first and largest tariq in the Way of Allah
in the southern marshes of `Iraq. Here `Ali `Abdu 'l-Jabbar
remained for a short time, until it became clear to the heart
of the Shaykh Abu al-Fath that this follower could only be satisfied
by the deepest Spring of the Knowledge (al-ma`rifa). Therefore
he said to him, "You have come here seeking for the Pole
(Qutb) of Islam, but you have left him in the Maghrib."
In this way the murid `Ali ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar returned to his
own country, until he was led to his true Master, Sidi `Abdu
's-Salam ibn Mashish on the mountain of Jabal `Alam in the Habt
region of the Maghrib. The account of the first meeting between
them has been given in the previous chapter in the story of
the life of `Abdu 's-Salam ibn Mashish, but one of the Knowers
of Allah, referring to such a meeting said: "Know that
in his beginning, the first of what the seeker of this Path
needs is that he casts himself on the Shaykh who is a Knower
of Allah, skilled in the journey of descent and ascent. Before
him he is like the corpse in the hands of the one who is washing
it. He does not resist the Shaykh when he understands something
to be lacking, even if it is not in the Law (ash-shari`a), as
the Shaykh Sidi `Abdu 'l-Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased
with him, said, "If I am a rebel in the judgement of the
shari`a, I am obedient in the knowledge of the Reality."
Therefore he must wash himself of all other knowledge and actions,
and turn in repentance (tawba) from his bad deeds. As one of
the Knowers of this Path said, "The tawba of the act of
rebellion is one tawba, but the tawba of the act of obedience
is a thousand."
Another of the Knowers said, "Make ablution with the Water
of the Unseen, if you carry the Secret. For with this he clings
to him and keeps him company until the Shaykh is dearer to him
than himself, his property and his children. Until if he commanded
him to do the impossible, which cannot be thought of in the
mind, he would do it without weariness or turning away."
In this way, everything that Allah revealed to them of the outside
and the inside knowledge passed between the Shaykh `Abdu 's-Salam
ibn Mashish and his follower, until `Ali ibn Abdu'l-Jabbar became
the true inheritor of his Master.
After a period of time, as Allah willed, Sidi `Abdu as-Salam
told his beloved son and follower to proceed to Ifriqiya, now
known as Tunisia, where he should settle in the village of Shadhila
until Allah would send His Order for him to move to the city
of Tunis, where he would meet with certain difficulty and opposition.
He was told nevertheless that he should remain in Tunis, until
the coming of an event which would permit him to leave this
city and to travel to the East where, as his Master said, "You
will become the Qutb of your time."
Before leaving Sidi `Abdu 's-Salam's presence, his young inheritor
asked him for parting words of guidance, so that he might receive
from him his message of the Order which Allah, Exalted is He,
intended for him at that moment. His Master, may Allah be pleased
with him, said, "O `Ali, Allah is Allah, and the people
are the people. Therefore, let Allah's remembrance live every
moment in your heart. Leave behind all dependence on people,
and keep your heart from inclining towards them. Perform your
duties and Allah's Guidance will always be with you. Do not
refer to people unless Allah, the All-Mighty, orders you to
do so. He has perfected for you your authority and friendship
(walaya) with Him. Say, "O Allah! I ask Your Mercy that
I do not incline or yearn for people. Protect me from their
evils, and provide for me by not seeking help from them. Set
me apart from them, for Thou art powerful over everything."
Then `Ali ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar set out for the village of Shadhila,
between Qayrawan and Tunis where, rather than looking for a
place to lodge, he retreated to a cave on the mountain of Jabal
Zaghwan, accompanied by his spiritual brother and companion,
one of the Knowers of Allah (ahli al-kashf), `Abdullah ibn Salama
al- Habibi. Here they both lived for a period of time, as Allah,
the All-mighty, willed of them. `Ali ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar chose
this seclusion because he had not yet received permission from
Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, to guide others, and he recognized
that a period of retreat from the world was necessary for him,
so as to strengthen his heart. He was shown that he still needed
to concentrate on the inner battle (jihad) with his self, which
he had embarked upon with his beloved holy Master Sidi `Abdu
's-Salam ibn Mashish. This he must do until he was certain that
he had emptied himself entirely of everything that was not for
Allah, and he had effaced himself in Him.
It was a very holy period of asceticism, seclusion and spiritual
practices during which the depth of his self-denial was accompanied
by the manifestation of many spiritual gifts (karamat) from
Allah, some of which were recorded by his companion, Abu Muhammad
al-Habibi, who said, "One day on Mount Zaghwan, the Shaykh
was reciting from the surat al-An`am until he reached the Words
of Allah: 'Remind hereby, lest a soul should be given up to
destruction for what it has earned. Apart from Allah it has
no protector and no intercessor; though it offer any equivalent
it shall not be accepted from it.' (6:69). (It, referring to
the self of the human being.) At this point the Shaykh became
absent as he repeated this aya again and again until his whole
body was shaken by the Word of his Lord, and as often as he
leaned to one side, so the mountain leaned in like manner, and
this continued until his Spirit returned to his body, when the
mountain also became still."
This same companion also recorded: After forty days of his keeping
company with Sidi `Ali ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar, feeding on nothing
but herbs of the fields and laurel leaves until the sides of
his two cheeks began to pain him, he, may Allah be pleased with
him, said to him, "O `Abdullah, is it that you wish for
food?" He replied, "O my Master, my looking at you
enables me to do without it." The Shaykh then said, "Tomorrow,
if Allah wills, we shall go down to Shadhila and some Gift from
Allah will come to us on our way."
`Abdullah al-Habibi continued: So the next morning we descended,
and while we were walking through a valley the Shaykh said to
me, "O `Abdullah, if I should leave this road do not follow
me." Then he became absent from the world, and he left
the way until he was some distance from me. Then I saw four
birds, about the size of a stork, come down from the sky and
fly over his head. Each one of them came and spoke with him
and then flew away. Amongst them were birds about the size of
swallows which surrounded him between the earth and the horizon,
hovering in circles about him. When they had disappeared from
sight, he returned to me saying, "O `Abdullah, did you
see anything." I told him of what I had seen and he said,
"The four birds were some of the angels of the fourth Heaven
who came to question me about Knowledge, and about this I spoke
with them. The birds resembling swallows were the spirits of
the Saints which came to receive a blessing from our arrival."
It is recorded that Sidi `Ali ibn `Abdu 'l-Jabbar said: In the
beginning of my travelling with the Path of Allah I was wont
to pursue the science of alchemy, and I would make petition
to Allah about it. I was told, "Alchemy is in your urine.
Put into it whatever you wish and it will become what you desire."
So I heated a pickaxe, quenched it therewith, and it turned
to gold. Then my presence of mind came back to me and I said,
"O lord, I asked Thee for a certain thing but I did not
attain it except by the use of unclean devices, and this is
not lawful." Then I was told, "O `Ali, the world is
full of impurity, and if you desire it, you will not attain
it except by impurity." I replied, "O my Lord, deliver
me from it." I was told, "Heat the pickaxe and it
will return to iron." I heated it, and it returned to iron."
After that he learnt that the basis of the search for, and the
realization of the Truth of the knowledge of all sciences coming
from Allah, Most High, lies in the truthfulness of the seeker's
intention.
About this he, may Allah be pleased with him, told the following
story: While I was in the Maghrib, a certain man came to me
and said, "I have been told that you possess a knowledge
of alchemy-so teach me." He replied, "I will teach
it to you without omitting a single particle, if you are able
to receive it."
"By Allah I am able to receive it," the man replied.
So I said to him, "Eliminate creatures from your heart,
and stop desiring that your Lord give you other than what He
had previously ordained for you."
He replied, "I am not able to do that." I said, "Did
I not tell you that you would not be able to receive it?"
Then he left me.
He, may Allah be pleased with him, told of another story: While
I was wandering one night in the beginning of my travelling
on the Path, I slept in a place where there were many wild animals.
These began to growl at me, so I went and sat down on a high
hill and said, by Allah, I will pray to His Prophet, prayers
and peace be upon him, for has he not said, "Whoever sends
blessings upon me, by that act the blessing of Allah, the All-Mighty,
will be upon him tenfold, and if the blessing of Allah is upon
me, I shall pass the night under His Protection." So I
did this and feared nothing. When the dawn appeared, I went
to a pool of water to make the ablution for the morning prayer
(al-fajr), and there was a mass of reeds from which partridges
broke forth with a great fluttering of wings. Fright overtook
me and I turned back. Then I heard a voice say, "O `Ali,
when you passed the night under the Care of Allah amongst the
growling animals, you did not fear, but when you arose today
under your own care, the fluttering of partridge feathers has
made you afraid."
It was at this time that he was given his title (nisba) of ash-Shadhdhuli.
He was shown that this name was not due to the fact that he
was an inhabitant of the village of Shadhila, but that Allah,
Praised and Exalted is He, said to him, "O `Ali, you are
ash-Shadhdhuli with a tashdid on the dhal, meaning one who is
set apart (shadhdhu-li) for Me."
Shortly after this the Order came to his heart, "Go down
to the people. They will benefit by you." When he heard
these words he said, "O my Lord and Sustainer, relieve
me of their company." Then he was told, "Go down `Ali.
Peace will be with you." He said, "Will You leave
me to the people to eat from their money?" He was told,
"Spend as you like, O `Ali, for I am your Financier. Spend
as you like from your pocket, or from the Unseen."
So it was that about the year 640 A.H./1242 C.E., the Shaykh
ash-Shadhdhuli went down to Tunisa and found lodgings near the
al-Balat (the Tiled Mosque) where he began calling people to
Allah, and teaching them His religion, receiving help and support
from the Sultan Abu Zakariyya. The Shadhdhuliyya Order was first
founded there around forty of his students who were known as
the forty friends (al-awliya' al-arba'un), and soon a great
number of people from all walks of life began to come to him
for inspiration and guidance, as the word spread of the great
learning, purity of heart and wisdom of the holy Shaykh.
Tunis in those days was a big city and a centre of commerce
and trade as well as a gathering place for those seeking both
religious and secular learning. Many people who were already
following the religion of Islam were seeking something purer,
more complete, and at the same time, simpler than what was being
taught in the institutions of religious learning. They were
also looking for a message which would speak to the hearts of
city-dwellers whose everyday life and occupations were an important
matter for them. Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli's Teachings gave
these people exactly what everybody was looking for.
Someone has said, looking at the outside of Sidi Abu al-Hasan's
message, and referring to some of his letters to his followers,
"This correspondence shows not only that Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhiuli
had a deep knowledge of the Sufi Teaching of the eastern doctors,
but also a personal experience of spiritual realities. If he
knew how to inspire his followers it was not so much that he
taught them a simple Sufism, but because he had the qualities
of a spiritual Master as is revealed in his letters. He certainly
formed no intellectual system, but he had qualities of spiritual
discernment, and he knew how to extract from his own experiences
what was valuable for others."
In the same manner, another person has said, "It is a fact
of basic importance that the Shadhdhuliyya was born out of an
urban surrounding, not necessarily in revolt against it, but
as an outcome of the existing patterns of political, religious
and economic life."
It was also Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli's message to his followers
to encourage them, unlike many of the shaykhs before him and
after his time, not to abandon their professions and trades
which they had been following before coming to the Path, and
to dress themselves in the same way as all the people with whom
he, may Allah be pleased with him, taught them to mix. It is
said, in fact, that he did not like to take any student into
his Way who did not have a trade or profession. This was from
the outer face of his Way, and it was as though it was the outer
key to the door of his Path which attracted many of those who
would have turned away from a more obviously ascetic Master.
>From the inner face of his Way, and for those who were searching
with the inner Eye, Abu al-Hasan's presence and Teachings carried
a certain power of the Spirit which was the Gift which Allah,
Praised and Exalted is He, had bestowed upon him, and which
came to him as the inheritor of the Spirit of his Father, the
Guide Sidi `Abdu 's-Salam ibn Mashish, Allah's mercy upon him.
It was known that the Love from his eyes was enough to bring
the wandering perplexed seeker into the Net of Allah. This was
a special Gift from Allah, Most High, for His beloved slave.
It is the same Gift of the bestowing of the Essence of the deep
Secret Love of Allah coming from the Prophet Muhammad, prayers
and peace be upon him, and which has been passed down through
this Shadhdhuliyya Line to this moment. May Allah be praised
and thanked in everything.
It was this relationship, springing from the deep Secret Love
of the Essence, which revealed to the orthodox Muslims the elite
bond between the Master and his followers-the Shaykh with his
beloveds. Although it had always existed, it was through Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, may Allah protect his secret, that
it took on a new spiritual depth. This added depth came from
the tasting of the true meaning of the annihilation (fana')
in the Shaykh, who is the living Spirit of the Prophet Muhammad,
prayers and peace be upon him, in his time. It is he who guides
Allah's lover from his perfect annihilation of himself in himself,
to the perfect annihilation of himself in Allah, Most High,
followed by the perfect subsistence (baqa') in his Spirit.
Abu al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Real
truthfulness (sidq) and piety (taqwa) are experiencing with
the Master what you desire. Allah Praised and Exalted is He
has said, "He who comes with the Truth and believes it
to be the Truth, they are the godfearing. They have with their
Lord what they desire."(39:34). This can be found only
with the true Master, he who gives the right intention to the
student's heart. The real intention means the absence of everything
except the act intended upon undertaking, and its perfection
is a holding fast to it until its completion."
This teaching and its practices seemed to the orthodox believers
to threaten the whole structure of Islam as they knew it. But
Sidi Abu al-Hasan, like his Master Sidi ibn Mashish and his
Master Muhyi-id-din ibn al-`Arabi before him, considered that
only the knowledge acquired through tasting could be true Knowledge.
In this way he was indicating that the knowledge of the inner
Sufi Path was of a degree above that of the jurists and the
people of the outside Law (ash-shari`a).
In fact a certain person of the government of the Maghrib went
to Sidi Abu al-Hasan and said to him, "I do not see that
you perform any great religious works. So tell me how it is
that you have reached such an elevated place amongst the people
that they regard you so highly?"
He, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, "I have a single
work that Allah, the All-Mighty, has prescribed to His People,
and to which I cleave."
"What is that?" he asked.
I replied, "Withdrawal from you, and your world. Allah,
Most High, has said: So turn thou from him who turns away from
Our remembrance and desires only the present life." (53:29).
Sidi Abu al-Hasan then said, "Vision of the Truth came
upon me and would not leave me, and it was stronger than I could
bear, so I asked Allah, the All-Mighty, to set a veil between
me and It. Then a voice called out to me saying, 'If you besought
Him as only His Prophets and Saints and Muhammad His Beloved
know how to beseech Him, yet would He not veil you from It.
But ask Him to strengthen you for It.' So I asked for strength,
and He strengthened me, Praise be to Allah."
One day when one of his followers asked him, may Allah be pleased
with him, to speak about Union and Separation, he said, "My
son, when you want that in which there is no censure, Union
is witnessed in your Secret, and Separation exists in your tongue."
In other words, the beloved of Allah is he who travels through
things, recognizing them and their Orders, and seeing the Face
of Allah in everything. The knower, as Sidi Abu al-Hasan indicated,
is he who travels joyfully and happily obtaining the good of
all things, and because he trusts in Allah, the evil of things
passes him by. But he who does not know and does not trust,
travels through things fearfully, anxious, restrained and imprisoned,
and so he attracts their evils, and their good misses him."
Has not Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, said, "Are they
equal, those who know and those who do not know?"(39:9).
Sidi Abu al-Hasan said, "Know that the Secret of all the
ranks is gathered together in a rank, and it is the noblest,
the highest, the greatest and the most immense. It is that your
inward is truly with Allah and your outward with the Creation
by Allah. When your outward is with the Creation and your inward
is with Allah, then all your states are pure, from the side
of the outward. So the Creation does not reject you. From the
inward side there is no intermediary between you and Allah."
For that he, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Make
us Your slaves in all states, and teach us knowledge from You
by which we may become perfect both in our life and in our death."
Again and again he, may Allah hallow his secret, returned to
this Truth of the relationship between the Knowledge of Allah
and the state of being His slave. He said, "Allah, Praised
and Mighty is He, has said, "Only those of His servants
who have knowledge fear Allah."(35:28).
Then Sidi Abu al-Hasan also said, "The slave of this world
is a prisoner, the slave of the Hereafter is a hireling, but
the slave of Allah is an `amir."
He, may Allah be pleased with him, counselled his beloveds as
he said to them, "If you desire to look towards Allah with
the eyes of faith and firm belief at all times, then be thankful
for His favors, and be content with His Decrees. Whatever favor
you have is from Allah. Then, whenever evil touches you, call
upon Him. If you desire it to turn away from you, or yourself
to turn away from it, worship Allah lovingly, not bargaining
with Him, but knowingly, with due respect and modesty."
A Knower who understood Sidi Abu al-Hasan's Secret said: "Allah
made selves incline to freedom and to love it, and He made them
flee from bondsmanship and hate it. Whoever is a knower and
who entrusts himself to a Knower, only finds ease in bondsmanship.
He who is ignorant, or who entrusts himself to one who is ignorant,
only finds ease in freedom." For which he said, "Only
the giving of the Perfect is perfect."
It was in this way that Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli taught
his followers and students and always reminded them, "Whatever
Allah has willed will be, and whatever He has not willed is
not. There is no strength and power except with Allah."
However the Master's presence, and his continually growing influence
amongst all manner of people in Tunis, began to stir up envy
and apprehension in the heart of a certain lawyer (faqih) known
as Abu 'l-Qasim ibn Bara. This person tried to bring legal charges
against him, and when this proved unsuccessful, he then sought
to get the Sultan Abu Zakariyya's ear by declaring that Abu
al-Hasan was a fraud and an imposter who claimed to be of the
Fatimid line. He also charged Sidi Abu al-Hasan of being a potential
agitator who was stirring up trouble amongst the people against
Abu Zakariyya's rule and authority.
Although the Sultan was generally speaking a just man, the charge
of possible insurrection to his rule brought apprehension to
his heart, so he called a gathering of the `ulama and fuqaha
to question the Shaykh about his belief and intentions, while
he himself sat listening, but hidden from sight behind a screen.
The outcome of this meeting was that none of the charges brought
by Ibn al-Bara' were in any way proved to exist, and the Sultan
said to him, "This man is one of the greatest Saints, and
you have no power over him." He therefore dismissed all
those who had been gathered together to question Abu al-Hasan,
except the Shaykh himself whom he still retained in his presence.
Then Abu al-Hasan asked of him only to be allowed to have a
jug of water to make ablution, a carpet for praying, and to
be able to speak to one of his muridun who was anxiously waiting
outside. He, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the Sultan,
"By Allah, were it not that my Way teaches us to act in
accordance with the Law (ash-shari`a) I would surely walk out
from here, or there." As he said this, he pointed to one
wall of the room, and then another which immediately opened
for him. He told his student to inform all his followers that
he would be absent from them for that day, but that, if Allah
willed, he would pray the night prayer together with them.
After he had finished his prayer, Abu al-Hasan was about to
make a du`a to Allah, the All-Mighty, asking him to bring some
judgement upon Ibn al-Bara' and the Sultan for their opposition
to him, but then he heard the words. "Truly Allah will
not be pleased with you if you ask Him in anger towards a fellow
creature." So he offered up the following du`a, which later
became a part of his well-known Invocation of the Earth (Hizb
al-Barr): "O You Whose Throne is spread over the heavens
and the earth, the preservation of which is no burden, the Sublime,
the All-Mighty (2:256), I ask You for faith in Your Care, a
faith by which my heart will remain undisturbed from anxiety
for my sustenance, and from fear of creatures. Draw me near
to You in a way that tears away the veils as You did with Ibrahim,
Your Friend and Messenger, who spoke to You and thereby did
not need to ask You, for You kept him safe from the fire of
his enemy. How can anyone be in need of a veil to shroud him
from the harm of his enemies when You have made him not to be
in need of the help of Friends? I pray that You will conceal
me in Your Nearness until I cannot see or feel the nearness
nor the distance of any other thing. You have the power over
everything." (2:19).
One of Sidi Abu al-Hasan's students told about a certain incident
relating to this lawyer, Ibn al-Bara: One day the Shaykh met
Ibn al-Bara and greeted him, but he turned away from him and
did not return his salutation. Shortly afterwards the canon
lawyer, Abu `Abdullah ibn Abi 'l-Husayn, the Sultan's chamberlain,
passed by. When he saw the Shaykh, he dismounted from his she-mule
and hastened towards him greeting him by kissing his hands,
weeping and begging him for his intercession on his behalf.
So the Shaykh interceded for him and then continued on his way.
When Abu al-Hasan entered his house he said, "Allah, Praised
and Exalted is He, has just revealed to me concerning these
two men, for I have been told, 'O `Ali, the marking (wasm) of
a person (`abd) with ill-fortune is in accordance with the fore-knowledge
of Allah, and he is blind to it, though he be very learned,
and the marking of a person with good fortune is according to
the fore-knowledge of Allah, and it comes to him, do what he
may.'"
On another occasion he, may Allah be pleased with him, told
of an incident, once more involving iIbn al-Bara', which he
recounted saying: I came upon a group of jurists among the companions
of the Chief Qadi of Tunis, Ibn al-Bara, a man with whom Allah,
the All-Mighty, was not well-pleased, and I greeted them and
they turned away from me. That was a painful experience. Then
I heard the voice saying to me: "O `Ali, indeed you have
exaggerated your own importance and overestimated your worth,
since you were sensitive to their turning away from you. But
who are they when they turn towards you, and how is it when
they turn their back? If you were one helped by Allah, you would
be distracted through your turning to Allah from their turning
away from you. If you were under right guidance, you would be
distracted through Allah's turning to you from your turning
towards Him."
In His Wisdom, Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, sent ibn
al-Bara as a deep blessing for Abu al-Hasan at a time when he,
may Allah be pleased with him, was testing him and teaching
him the deep Knowledge of His Path. He said, I heard someone
say, "He who is sensitive to the first shock of misfortune
is not patient. He who burdens himself with trouble has not
resigned his affair to Allah. He who asks is not content with
Allah. He who manages his own affairs has not committed them
to Allah. He who calls for help has not trusted. These are five
things, and how great is your need to be attentive to these
five!" Say: "My Lord, I stand in need of the good
that You have sent down to me. So increase for me Your Bounty
and Beneficence, and make me one of those who are thankful for
Your Favors."
Shortly after this, Abu al-Hasan decided to leave Tunis to make
the Pilgrimage (Hajj ) if Allah willed, and for this purpose
he set out with his followers to the East. When the Sultan Zakariyya
heard of this he was very troubled and sent a message begging
the Shaykh to remain in Tunis. But he, may Allah be pleased
with him, said to him. "I am not leaving except with the
intention of making the Hajj if Allah, Exalted is He, wills,
but when He, Most High, will have fulfilled for me my intention
I shall, if He wills, return again."
Accordingly, Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, together with some
of his followers, journeyed to Egypt, arriving in Iskandariya
(Alexandria) where they were greeted with being detained in
the military camp by an order of the Sultan of Egypt. This was
because Ibn al-Bara had sent a message warning the Sultan that
the Shaykh was a dangerous man who would stir up trouble in
his country. However, Allah, the All-Mighty, intervened, bringing
proof to him and all those around him, that the Shaykh, far
from being a troublemaker, was a person of great spiritual power,
intent only to make peace for all the people wherever Allah,
the All-Mighty, sent him to be.
One of his students who was accompanying Abu al-Hasan said that
he did not hear the Shaykh pray against Ibn al-Bara, and he
did not even mention him in any way until they were by `Arafat,
and this was on the Pilgrimage after leaving Egypt, when he
said, "Say Amin to my du`a, for just now I have been commanded
to pray against Ibn al-Bara." Then he said, "O Allah,
lengthen his life, make his knowledge to be of no avail to him.
Bring him tribulation through his offspring. Assign him, at
the end of his life, to be a slave of oppression." And
to Allah belongs the Order before and after (30:4).
Then after a few days Sidi Abu al-Hasan was able to leave Egypt
with his followers, and to fulfill the Pilgrimage, after which
he returned to Tunis. There he remained for a number of years
until one day Allah, Praised and Exalted is He, brought him
the young man who was to become his successor and the inheritor
of his station and his holy line. This was Abu 'l-`Abbas al-Mursi.
As soon as the Shaykh looked at the face of this young man from
Spain, he said, "Truly no one has brought me back to Tunis
except this person."
Soon after this, Abu al-Hasan was given the Order to move to
Egypt, which would be his final home, about which he, may Allah
be pleased with him, said: I saw the Prophet, prayers and peace
be upon him in a dream and he said to me, "Ya `Ali, go
to Egypt and raise up forty true followers (siddiqun) there."
It was summer time and intensely hot and I said, "Ya Rasul
Allah, the heat is very great." He said, "Lo, the
clouds will give you shade." I said, "I fear thirst."
He replied, "Lo, the sky will rain for you every day."
He promised me many miraculous gifts (karamat) on my journey.
So I instructed my followers to prepare to depart to Egypt."
One of the gifts which he had been promised and was shown was
that he had become the Qutb of his time.
So it was that in the year 646 A.H./1246 C.E., when he was fifty
years old, Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli entered Egypt and
took up his residence in al-Iskandariya where he lived for the
rest of his life. He set himself up with his family and followers
in one of the great towers rising from the walls surrounding
the city. The tower was well equipped for this purpose since
it comprised several stories which provided accommodation for
his family, a Mosque, a zawiya for his students where the Shaykh
gave teachings, and rooms for other guests.
Meanwhile in Ifriqiya his Spirit was kept alive by a small group
of his students with whom he kept up correspondence. Two of
them wrote a book about the life of their Master. One of these
two students, Muhammad ibn as-Sabbagh was the author of The
Pearl of the Secrets and the Treasure of the Righteous (Durrat
al-Asrar wa Tuhafat al Abrar), the source book for the greater
part of the life and sayings of his Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli.
Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli, may Allah have mercy upon
him, was the founder of what became a great Sufi Order, and
which is still one of the biggest of the Sufi Orders to this
day. Yet he left no manual of instruction for his students,
no handbook of practices, and no treatise to follow. He used
to say, "My companions are my books." What do exist
however are several Litanies which he composed including his
Litany of the Ocean (Hizb al-Bahr), Litany of the Light (Hizb
an-Nur) and Litany of Victory (Hizb al-Fath) which he used to
like to recite, and which he urged his students to learn by
heart, and to make their recitation a regular part of their
spiritual practices. In the same way as the Wazifa of Sidi `Abdu
's-Salam ibn Mashish is known to carry many unseen blessings,
so are the Litanies of Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli. It
is recommended by our Shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rifa`i,
that these should be read and recited by his followers in this
holy Way, so that our souls may be purified by them, and that
our spirits may find inspiration and benefit from them, with
the lifting of veils from our hearts. One of the Knowers of
Allah said about the Way which our Master Abu al-Hasan set out
for his followers: This Path of ours is the pure Shadhdhuli
Path. Its seeker must be based on its 'Imam. He is the Pole
of the Poles (Qutb al-Aqtab), Abu al-Hasan who when he first
met his Shaykh said, "O Allah! I have washed myself of
my knowledge and my actions so that I do not possess any knowledge
or action except what comes to me from this Shaykh." This
example became a condition for the follower of the Path, that
he should leave his own knowledge of existence, and judge by
that of the existence of the Shaykh, without turning away or
dissatisfaction." It was also said, "One of this Shadhdhuli
Path is approached, and he does not go to anyone. He is needed
and does not need anyone. He is always desired by everyone but
does not desire anyone, except the One, the Unique, the Self-Subsisting
(samad)." Another of them said about the Way of Abu al-Hasan,
"Know that this annihilation (fana') to which the people
of the Shadhdhuli Path refer, is like death, no more no less.
The dead, annihilated one in Allah, only dies by the self which
emerges and enters by the mouth, and no more, because he is
like a corpse in the Essence without Attributes." And this
is what our Master Sidi `Abdu 's-Salam ibn Mashish, may Allah
have mercy upon him, said, "Drown me in the Spring of the
Sea of Oneness, until I only see, only hear, only find and only
feel by It." Abu al-Hasan said, "When Allah wishes
him to reach Him, He eases it in this way: He makes manifest
to him some of the Sublime Attributes and Holy Qualities whose
Divine Nature hid his own attributes and qualities from the
soul of the slave. This serves as a sign that Allah loves him,
as the Prophet, may prayers and peace be upon him, said in the
hadith al-qudsi from his Lord: When I love him I am the hearing
by which he hears, and the sight by which he sees, and the hand
by which he strikes, and the foot whereon he walks." For
he, may Allah have mercy upon him said, "If He did not
love you, He would not make you to witness the Unity. The sign
of His Love for His beloveds is that He puts the love of His
remembrance in our hearts." Then Abu al-Hasan said, in
speaking about the meaning of the quality of dhikr, "It
is that you are making mention with the tongue and gazing with
the heart.
"
The remembrance of Allah (dhikr), as he, may Allah be pleased
with him, said, is one of the essential means of walking with
success and fulfillment on His Path. Therefore he counselled
his students: "Know that it is important for the student
of the Sufi Path for reaching the goal of attaining Union (wusul)
with Allah, to ask Allah's help, and to sit upon the carpet
of truthfulness (sidq), contemplating him by truthful dhikr.
Also one's heart must be bound to the practice of pure bondsmanship
(`ubudiya) so as to reach the knowledge of Allah (ma`rifa).
Then continue in remembrance, thankfulness, watchfulness (muraqab),
repentance and seeking forgiveness." When Sidi Abu al-Hasan
spoke about his Path, the Shadhdhuliyya Way, he said, "Its
confirmation is Sainthood (wilaya)." By this he meant the
witnessing of the knowledge of the Love of the Essence, through
tasting and sincerity (ikhlas). And he said, "The People
of this Path seek the benefit of evil just as they seek the
benefit of good." In the same way he said, and may Allah
protect his secret, "O Allah! People are sentenced to abasement
until they become mighty, and they are sentenced to loss until
they find. The one who has no abasement becomes the one who
has no might, and the one who has no loss becomes the one who
does not find. The one who lays claim to finding without loss
is a liar." In one of the prayers which he, may Allah be
pleased with him, liked to use, he said: "My God, if I
ask You for help, I have asked for something beside You. If
I ask for what You have guaranteed me, I show suspicion of You.
If my heart rests in anything but You, I have been guilty Of
the sin of associating something with You. Your Attributes in
their Majesty are above contingency. How then can I be with
You? They are beyond the reach of causes, How then can I be
near You? They are exalted beyond the dust of earth, How then
can my stay be other than You?" He, may Allah be pleased
with him, also said that so long as the seeker stops with his
own attributes, he is still with his self (nafs), and one of
the attributes of the self is the desire to have vision and
eye-witnessing of Allah. He said, "The desire for Union
with God is one of the things that most effectually separates
from Him." And he said, "Scrupulousness has to do
with what goes out and enters here (he pointed to his mouth)
and with the heart, that there should enter it nothing except
what Allah and His Messenger love." Then he followed that,
and said, "Whenever the spirit is abundantly watered with
the showers of sciences, and the self (nafs) is firmly rooted
in good works, then all good results. But whenever the self
has power over the spirit, then drought and sterility result,
the Order is overturned and every evil befalls. So take heed
of the guidance of the Book of Allah and the healing words of
His Messenger, prayers and peace be upon him, for you will never
cease to enjoy the good as long as you love these two the most.
But evil has already come to him who turns away from them."
The People of the Truth upon hearing vain talk, turn from it
(28:55), and upon hearing the Truth welcome it. Allah, Praised
and Exalted is He, says, "Whoever performs a good deed,
for him will We increase it with goodness." (42:23). Then
he, may Allah be pleased with him, added to that, "Make
us Your slaves in all Your Revelations (tajalliyat) so that
we do not become too proud for Your bondsmanship (`ibada) in
Your Revelations." One of his followers said about the
nature of Sidi Abu al-Hasan's Teachings: Listen to these words
of a Discourse coming from Allah in the Unseen through our Shaykh:
"The Cup of Allah is full of the knowledge (ma`rifa) of
the Truth (al-Haqq), whose clear Water is given to whom He wishes
of His chosen slaves amongst the Creation. Sometimes it is in
a material image, sometimes as meaning (ma1nawiya), sometimes
as knowledge (`ilmiya). In its material picture it is bestowed
for bodies and selves (anfus). In the form of meaning it is
for hearts and minds, and in the form of knowledge it is for
spirits (arhah) and for the Secret of the Secret Selves (asrar).
Sometimes a group of Lovers will come together and they are
given to drink from a single Cup, or it may be that they are
given to drink from many Cups. Sometimes a person is given to
drink from a Cup, and more than one Cup. It may be that the
drinks will vary according to the number of Cups. Or it may
be that the drinking from any one Cup will vary, even though
a great number of lovers drink from the same Cup." When
he, may Allah have mercy upon him, was questioned another time
about Love he said, "Love is granted by Allah to the heart
of His slave, and it is that which distracts him from everything
else other than Him, so that he will see his Spirit enfolded
in His Presence, and his Secret Heart overwhelmed in contemplation
of Him. Thus the slave asks for more, and more is given, so
that he enters into the sweetest of joys in the Union of his
spirit with Him. He is dressed in garments fitting for him who
sits in proximity to him, and he reaches to the knowledge of
the Hidden Reality and the Revealed faces of Allah."
For
that reason, it is said that the Saints are the Brides of Allah.
The same questioner said to the Shaykh, "Now that I have
come to know of Love, tell me what the Drink (sharab) of Love
is, what the Cup of Love is, who is the Bearer of the Cup (saqi),
what the meaning of tasting (dhawq) is, what the drinking (shurb)
is, what the quenching of thirst (riyy) is, what intoxication
(sukr) is and what sobriety (sahw) is?" He, may Allah hallow
his Secret, replied, "The Drink is the Light radiating
from the Beauty of the Beloved. The Cup is the Essence of the
Subtlety of the Mercy which is in the tasting of the heart.
The Cupbearer is he who is the Friend of the Greatest of the
Chosen Ones and the Righteous among His slaves. He is Allah,
the One Who knows the capacities and capabilities of His Friends.
If that Beauty is revealed to a person, and he enjoys it even
for one breath or two, and then the veil covers it again, he
becomes the yearning taster. If he continues drinking for an
hour or more, he is the drinker. If this state continues and
lasts until his very veins and all his members become filled
with the treasures of the Lights of Allah, then this is known
as the quenching of thirst. When a person is absent from his
senses and his mind has left him, so that he does not know what
he says or what is said, that is known as intoxication. Sometimes
when the Cups go round, the states differ, and the knower is
returned back to remembrance (dhikr) and religious duties of
the Law (ash-shari`a), or to subsistence (baqa') after intoxication,
and that is the time of their sobriety. This is when their vision
is strengthened and enlarged and their actions are increased."
Allah Praised and Exalted is He, has said, "These are of
the Party of Allah ... and lo, is it not those of the Party
of Allah who are the victorious ones." (58:22). When Abu
al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy upon him, once became ill in
Qayrawan, as he said: The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon
him, came to me in a dream and said, "Cleanse your garments
of all impurities and then with every breath you breathe you
will enjoy Allah's Help." I asked, "What are my garments,
Oh Rasul Allah?" He said, "Allah has clothed you with
the robe of knowledge (ma`rifa), with the robe of Love (mahabba),
with the robe of Unity (tawhid), with the robe of Faith (iman),
and with the robe of Surrender (islam). Whoever has spiritual
knowledge, for him everything becomes of little importance.
Whoever loves Allah, for him all things become easy. Whoever
affirms the Oneness of Allah, nothing is associated with Him.
Whoever has faith in Allah is safe (amina) from everything.
Whoever is surrendered to Allah does not disobey Him, and if
he does so, he returns repentant, asking to be forgiven, and
finding forgiveness." As he, may Allah be pleased with
him, said: I knew then the meaning of the Words of Allah, "Your
robe, cleanse." (74:4). Another time he, may Allah be pleased
with him, was explaining the meaning of the Prophet's saying,
prayers and peace be upon him, Prayer is the link of union (silsila)
of the slave to his Lord, and he said: "The sign of Union
is the outpouring of Mercy with the manifestations of Love.
The manifestations of Love are the removal of the Veil and the
happiness in communion." On another occasion he said: I
saw Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, in a
dream and he asked me, "Do you know what the sign is for
the love of the world leaving the heart?" I replied, "No."
He said, "Forsaking it upon finding it, and finding relief
upon losing it." He, may Allah be pleased with him, then
said, "The practices (awrad) of the faithful (saddiqun)
are fasting, prayer, recitation of dhikr, reading of Qur'an,
guarding of the private parts, the turning of the lower self
from desires, enjoining what is halal, and forbidding what is
prohibited, according to four principles, which are: abstinence
from worldly things, trust in Allah, submission to Allah's Decrees,
and patience in His testing. Sincere love is built on four corner-stones,
the first one being faith, then comes the belief in the Oneness
of Allah, thirdly comes right intention, and fourthly high himma.
Also if a person does not have four virtues in himself, let
him abandon hope of happiness, these virtues being: knowledge
(ilm), scrupulousness (wara), fear of Allah (hayba), and humility
towards the slaves of Allah. The principles, corner-stones and
virtues are all necessary for the seeker.
"
Sidi Abu al-Hasan also said, "The bondsmanship (`ibada)
of those who are trustworthy consists of twenty things: eat,
drink, clothe yourselves, travel, marry, settle down, do everything
that Allah has commanded. Do not be neglectful but serve Allah.
Do not associate anyone or anything with Him. Be thankful to
Him. Avoid injuring others, and spend generously. This is one-half.
The other is performing prescribed duties, avoiding what is
unlawful and being content with whatever Allah decrees. Truly
serving Him consists in reflecting upon His Orders and thoroughly
understanding the Religion (ad-din). The best kind of service
is asceticism towards the world which comes from an absolute
trust in Allah. This is the bondsmanship of the best of the
believers. If you are ill, seek for a remedy. Listen carefully
to the Knowers and choose the holy ones from amongst them, the
true Guides, who put their trust in Allah."
When
Sidi Abu al-Hasan had once asked his own Master, Sidi Ibn Mashish,
concerning the Well, or Spring (wird) of the People of the Reality,
he said that Sidi `Abdu 's-Salam, may Allah be pleased with
him, had replied, "It is essential for you to have destroyed
passion and desires (hawa) and to love the Friend of Allah (al-waliy).
The sure sign of Love is that the lover is occupied with nothing
except his Beloved." By this question he, Abu al-Hasan
ash-Shadhdhuli was in truth asking about the holy bond between
Master and student. The answer came to him, without any doubt,
that only in the total surrender of the student's complete being
could he receive the perfect blessings which Allah had set aside
for him. Therefore Sidi Abu al-Hasan himself said, "If
anyone is satisfied by his possessions he is poor; if anyone
is satisfied by his high reputation he is to be despised, if
anyone is satisfied with his kinsmen he is worthy of contempt
and if anyone is satisfied with Allah he is truly rich."
Then he, may Allah be pleased with him, added, "The sign
of commitment (tafwid) is a lack of distress when distasteful
things befall." In addition to his verbal Teachings Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli also kept an extensive correspondence
going with his followers, especially those who had remained
behind in Tunis. In particular, many letters passed between
him and Shaykh Abu al-Hasan as-Saqalli, and also with his companion
and friend of the cave of Jabal Zaghwan, the Shaykh `Abdu 's-Salama
al-Habibi, who had remained in Ifriqiyya keeping up a zawiya
for the muridun of the village of Masruqin. As was said, "These
letters are considered to be of great importance for an understanding
of his Way, since his love and compassion for all his followers
was well-known. He considered it to be a duty for the Shaykh,
as the Father (rabib), to know his beloveds intimately, and
to help them wherever they might be."
Abu
al-Hasan's follower, Ibn Sabbagh, recorded many stories about
the karamat (gifts or spiritual attainment) of Sidi Abu al-Hasan,
a number of them having been related to him by the follower,
Abu 'l-`Aza'im Madi who kept company with the Master in the
latter part of his life in Egypt. One such story is as follows,
as Abu 'l-`Azaim Madi said: The Shaykh sent me from Iskandariyya
to Dumyat for something that he needed. There was a man with
us of the people of Dumyat who asked the Shaykh's permission
to accompany me and to travel with me, and permission was granted
him for this. On approaching the Gate of the Lotus Tree (one
of the Gates of Iskandariyya), the man took out some money to
buy bread and condiments. I said to him, "You do not need
anything." He said to me, "We shall find the shop
of a certain person in the desert." He mentioned the shop
of a man from Halwan in Iskandariyya. I said to him, "It
is better, if Allah wills, to do as I say." Now I had been
accustomed, whenever I travelled, to take no provision of food
with me, but when I became hungry I would hear the voice of
the Shaykh saying to me, "O Madi, go over to your right
and you will find something to eat."
In
like manner, when I was thirsty I would find fresh water and
cooked food. We left Iskandariyya and walked, hastening on our
journey until the day was well advanced. Then my travelling
companion said, "O Madi, give me something to eat for I
am hungry." Immediately I heard the Shaykh's voice saying
to me, "O Madi, your guest is hungry. Go over to your right
and you will find wherewith to feed him." I went over to
the right-hand side of the road and we found a pot full of sweet
cakes perfumed with musk and rose-water, and we ate them until
we were filled. The man was amazed and wept at what he saw.
I asked him, "Which of the two is more tasty, this food
or that in the shop of the man from Halwan of whom you spoke?"
The man said, "By Allah, I have certainly not seen the
like of this before, and such as this has never been made in
the palace of a king." The man wanted to gather up the
remnants of the holy food, but I prevented him from doing this,
and I left them as they were. When we had walked on a short
distance we became thirsty. Instantly my beloved Shaykh's voice
came to me saying, "O Madi, go over to your right-hand
and you will find water."
Thereupon
we found in the sand a pool of fresh water, from which we drank,
and beside which we rested for a while. On arising we found
not a drop of water to be seen. Thereupon the man said, "Where
is the water which was here in this place?" I said, "I
know nothing about it." Then the man said, "By Allah,
this Shaykh is truly endowed with great powers. By Allah, I
will not return to my people until I shall have obtained what
this Master has obtained, or I will die in Allah." So he
left his fur-lined cloak with me and walked off into the desert
exclaiming, Allah! Allah! Abu 'l-`Azaim Madi continued: When
I had finished my journey and returned to my Master, he said
to me, "O Madi, you have lost your guest." I said
to him, "You are the one who has lost him whom you fed
with the sweet cakes in the desert, and whose thirst you quenched
with the water in the sand." Then he, may Allah be pleased
with him, said to me, "He has passed along with those who
are betaking themselves to Allah." Abu 'l-`Aza'im Madi
also related: One day the Shaykh was talking to his assembly
of followers on the subject of asceticism (az-zuhd) regarding
worldly goods. In the group assembled to listen to him was a
poor man wearing worn out clothes while his teacher wore fine-looking
garments. The poor man said, "How is it that the Shaykh
talks about asceticim while wearing these clothes? I am the
ascetic with regard to worldly goods." Our Master Abu al-Hasan
said, "O you disputer, your clothes are the garments of
worldly desire (raghba ad-dunya) which are crying out with the
tongue of effort and poverty, but our garments cry out with
the tongue of abstinence (ta`affuf) and sufficiency (ghina).
As soon as he heard these words, the poor man stood up before
all those assembled, and said, "I, by Allah, the Mighty,
am the one who says likewise in my heart, and I ask for forgiveness
of Allah, and turn to Him in repentance." Then the Master
told Madi to clothe the poor man in fine garments. It was related
that when Sidi Abu 'l-`Abbas' son, who was called Ahmad Shahabu-id-din,
reached puberty, his mother said to Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash -Shadhdhuli,
"O my Master, my son Ahmad has come to manhood.
"
Then he, may Allah be pleased with him, said to her, "Bring
him to me so that I may give him my final injunction, and teach
him those rights of Allah which are required of him." So
his mother brought her son to the Shaykh's presence. He, may
Allah be pleased with him, looked intently at the young boy,
for a moment, then he turned his eyes away from him. Then he
said to him, "Arise, O my son, may Allah always guide you",
and he made du`a to Allah for him. When the youth had left the
Shaykh's presence, his mother said to the Master, "Sidi,
indeed I did not hear you give him your final message, or even
address a word to him." He, may Allah be pleased with him,
said to her, "When he was sitting in front of me, Allah
allowed me to see the outcome of his life, and I found nothing
in his actions against which to warn or counsel him, so I felt
ashamed before Allah to speak to him.
"
There is also a story about the Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli,
which was related by a man named Abu `Ali `Umar whose father
told him that two of his friends had told him of how Sidi Abu
al-Hasan had drawn near to them one night while they were in
a small fort. Abu `Ali `Umar said: We had ten sheep which we
had received on credit for the purpose of making a profit from
them. We had killed one of the choicest of our small flock for
the Shaykh, who asked us, "Why have you done this?"
We said to him, "This is for the blessing, if Allah wills.
"
One of the two men said to the Shaykh, "By it (the blessing)
will a thousand measures of grain be stored up for us?"
He said, "And by it a thousand measures of grain, if Allah
wills." They then told of how, after only a short time,
they had acquired a thousand sheep and had stored up a thousand
measures of grain. Abu Ali `Umar added: I was present at the
time of their counting, and I ate of their offspring. Finally,
many stories are told about the Battle of al-Mansurah in the
year 1250 C.E., when the Crusader King Louis of France invaded
Egypt, and in which the Shaykh took part fighting in the front
line with his followers. When Sidi Abu al-Hasan and many of
his beloveds, as well as his friends amongst the `ulama and
the awliya, heard that the Muslim community was under attack,
they immediately made their way to al-Mansurah to join in the
battle for Victory or Paradise (an-nasr aw al-janna), knowing
full well that Paradise is under the shadow of the sword. On
the day of the battle the Shaykh mounted his best horse, one
of his followers then handing him his sword. When he clasped
it in his right hand he asked for another, and with one in each
hand he rode out into battle. When he was asked afterwards how
he could fight so marvelously, because at that time his eyesight
was very weak, he pointed to his heart saying, "If the
Eye of the heart sees clearly, what is the need for the eyes
of the body?" The Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli had
made it his custom that every other year he would travel to
Mecca for the Pilgrimage. Likewise in the year 656 A.H./1258
C.E., the very year in which a few weeks earlier the Mongol
ruler Hulugu Jenghiz Khan had sacked Baghdad, he made preparations
to go on the Pilgrimage as usual. However, this time he asked
that a pickaxe, shovel, and a shroud should be included in their
baggage. As was his custom he set out on the southern route,
known as the spice route, overland to Damanhur, then via Qahira,
up the Nile to 'Idfu in Upper Egypt. From there he would cross
the Red Sea to Jiddah, and finally make the two-day camel ride
to Mecca. At Damanhur, a young boy, who was a student of the
Qur'an, begged his mother to let him go with the Shaykh and
his party to make the Pilgrimage. His mother, who was a widow,
earnestly requested the Shaykh for her son that he be allowed
to travel with his party, to which he replied, "We will
look after him as far as Humaythira.
"
And so it happened. It was related that Abu al-Hasan, may Allah
have mercy upon him, had said, "When I entered the land
of Egypt and established my dwelling there, I prayed to Allah,
the Most High, saying: Ya Rabb, have You caused me to dwell
in the land of the Copts, to be buried amongst them, until my
flesh becomes mingled with their flesh and my bones with theirs?
A reply then came to me: No `Ali, you will be buried in a land
which Allah has never oppressed." It is also recorded that
in the year of his death Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli was heard
to say, "Once when I fell ill, I said: Allah, O Allah,
when will the encounter with You take place? I was told: Ya
`Ali, when you reach Humaythira, then the encounter will come."
He said, may Allah have mercy upon him, "I saw as if I
were buried at the base of a mountain before a well containing
a little salty water, which became more abundant and sweet."
And he said to his beloveds, "This year I shall perform
the Pilgrimage of substitution (hajjat an-niyaba).
"
One of Abu al-Hasan's followers recorded what happened: Soon
after entering the desert of `Aydhab, both the young boy and
the Shaykh fell ill, the boy dying the day before we reached
the watering-place of Humaythira. The followers wanted to bury
the youth where he had died, but the Shaykh said, "Carry
him to Humaythira." When we arrived at this resting-place
we washed the boy, and the Shaykh prayed over him before we
buried him. That evening the Shaykh, who was also very sick,
called his companions around him and spoke to us, counselling
us to recite his Litany of the Sea (Hizb al-Bakhr) often, and
he said, "Teach it to your children for the Greatest Name
of Allah (al-ismu 'l-`azam) is in it." Then he talked privately
to Sidi Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi, giving him his orders as his
successor with his special blessing. He, may Allah have mercy
upon him, said to his followers, "When I am dead, look
to Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi for he is the Caliph (Khalifa) to
come after me. He will have an exalted station amongst you for
he is one of the Doors (abwab) of Allah, Praised and Exalted
is He." Later that evening he called for a jar of water
to be filled from the well of Humaythira. When he was told,
"Ya Sidi, its water is salty and bitter, but the water
we have is fresh and sweet," he replied, "Give me
some of it for my intention is not what you think." When
we brought him the well-water he drank a little of it, rinsed
his mouth with it and spat into the jar. Then he said, "Pour
the water into the well.
"
Immediately the well-water turned sweet and fresh to taste,
and it was abundant enough to refresh all the travellers who
stopped to replenish themselves at this place. His followers
said, "The Shaykh passed the night in holy preparation
and discourse with his Beloved God, continually mentioning His
Name until the dawn came when he was still." Thus the words
of Sidi Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli became true, because he
had said, "This year I shall perform the Pilgrimage of
substitution." By this he informed his followers of the
hadith of the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, "If
anyone leaves his home for the purpose of performing the Pilgrimage
and dies before accomplishing it, Allah deputizes an angel to
take his place in performing the Hajj each year until the Day
of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama)." Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli,
the Beloved and Friend of Allah, had asked Him to allow him
to die in a place without sin, and in this Allah, Praised and
Exalted is He, granted him his wish. He, may Allah have mercy
upon him, had told his son-in-law and successor, Abu al-`Abbas
al-Mursi, that he should give his body to a veiled man on horseback
who would appear, wash him and bury him, leaving then by a path
up a steep hill where Abu al-`Abbas should not follow him. Everything
happened as Abu al-Hasan, may Allah protect his secret, had
said.
However,
Abu al-`Abbas did follow the veiled horseman up the hill, and
he saw his face, which was that of Abu al-Hasan himself, who
told him to return to the valley again. Then the veiled man
disappeared. From this sign Abu al-`Abbas understood that, in
fact, it was the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon
him, himself who had appeared in the face of his Master. There
is now said to be a handsome Mosque at the tomb which is visited
by pilgrims every year going and returning from Mecca. From
the hill above the Mosque the beloveds of the Way of Allah can
see the light shining from the tomb of the Prophet, may prayers
and peace be upon him, lying to the East across the Red Sea.
Our Shaykh and Master, `Ali ibn `Abdullah Abu al-Hasan, the
founder of this great Shadhdhuliyya Way, left behind him, as
he did for many people of his time, so also for us today, a
spiritual Path within the Religion of Islam, which gives to
those who follow it in sincerity and humility, deep meaning
and purpose to our lives in this material world. It is the Straight
Path to God, so that the Order which he founded still lives
and flourishes in many parts of the world, and especially in
the West. There is the well-known saying amongst the People
of Allah, "The Last Days will fall on the Shadhdhuliyya
Path.
"
Above everything else, the Master Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhdhuli
left the transmission of the Highest Essence (ad-dhat al-1aliya)
to all his successors, the Guides who inherit from him, and
who have kept the Spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and
peace be upon him, alive in every time. With the complete and
perfect annihilation (fana'), and the complete and perfect return
to subsistence (baqa') in and through the presence of the Master,
the follower of this Path can receive the knowledge of this
highest Essence, which is that of the Spirit of the Prophet
Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, the Last of Allah's
Messengers for the world. None of the deep meaning of this holy
knowledge can be passed on through learned treatises, nor does
it live in any books, except in the Book of Allah, Praised and
Exalted is He, the Holy Qur'an. It is only through the Good
Pleasure and Grace of Allah and for the fulfillment of His Order
that He bestows this blessing upon whom He wills of His slaves.
He,
the Most High, said, "The People of the Book know that
they have no power over anything of the Bounty of Allah, and
that the Bounty is in the Hand of Allah, and He gives it to
whomsoever He wills, and Allah is of Mighty Bounty." (57:29).
May Allah, the All-Mighty, cause the blessing of our Master
to be repeated, and may He gather us together with him in the
assembly of our Prophet, our Mediator, our Intercessor, our
Beloved Muhammad, may prayers and peace be upon him. May Allah
bless him and give him abundant peace so long as the Sovereignty
of Allah shall endure." All Praise is to Allah the Lord
of all the Worlds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imâm
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Razzâq
al-Husayni al-Zabîdî, Abul Fayd and is widely
known as Murtadâ al-Zabîdi. [1145-1205 AH/ 1732-1790
CE] He was a Hanafî scholar, lexicographer, linguist,
a grandmaster in Hadîth, genealogy, biographies and personal
histories [Hadîth, ansâb, rijâl]. He was a
prolific writer. Apart from Arabic, he was proficient in Turkish,
Persian and a language of Karaj.
Click here for more details :
http://www.marifah.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=46
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Click
here for More Mazaars in Egypt
1.
Great Pyramid, Sphynx, Sphynx temple
2. Tell el Amarna
3. Abydos; Temple of Seti I and Osireion
4. Dendera; Temple of Hathor
5. Luxor and Karnak
6. Edfu; Temple of Horus
7. Kom Ombu
8. Philae; Temple of Isis
9. Almuharraq Coptic monastery
10. Deir el Qaddis Antwan; Monastery of St. Antony
11. Deir Mari Bolos; Monastery of St. Paul
12. Mt. Sinai and Monastery of St Catherine
13. Siwa oasis; Temple of Amun
14. Cairo; Coptic church of Our Lady of Zeitoun
15. Mt. Serabit-el-Khadem; ruins of temple complex
16. Wadi el Natrun desert; monasteries of Deir el Soriani,
Deir Amba Bshoi,
Deir Abu Markaryus, Deir Amba Baramus
17. Abu Mena; ruins of early Christian city
18. Dashur; Red Pyramid |
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