Yâ Hâbib Yâ Sâhib al-Qadam

Last night in a dream- Like a idol i sat- Whilst from me away you wandered..

The caravan of the world intoxicated carried you away in your pallequin-

While my world around me crumbled- In the emptiness of myself i seeked you-

But what i found was a shattered heart- Attacked by so many tumults

I looked towards the heavens and consoled myself the moon has gone,

remains in your lap falling stars-

The dust particiles around me said:

The Idol Always sits stunned,

Chained unable to move Beneath God’s magnficent power.

It is essential for the heart’s coronation

For the Idol to to realise,

There is nothing but Divine movement

In this word-

Words of verse flow from my pen,
and turn into flowers of ink.
I write and read without any care,
and new meanings spring and sink.

The verse brings heavens to the ground,
and angels to the rank of man.
He denies his heart the freedom to write,
although it screams that it can.

But why this urge to make black marks,
on pristine parchment white?
Why does the star twinkle in the sky,
or the bird delight in flight?

Oh burning hand, rest you now,
lest you kill me whole.
An artless heart and inkless pen,
are bodies without a soul.

To hell with you, you vagrant heart,
from today, face not me!
To which it with blood scarlet writes,
reams of finest poetry.

I have read lot’s of beautiful literature on the blessed sandal, poetry in praise and honourary literature. But My masters stood heightened above all. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami had this unique quality of expressing his love and veneeration in poetry which we shall highlight in a bit.

The prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam wore a special kind of sandal, the two strings of which were drawn between the blessed toes. These sandals (na’l, became likewise an amulet full of baraka particularly strong against the evil eye. Were they not worthy of all admiration and veneration, for the prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam had touched the Divine Throne with them during his heavenly journey, so that they became "the vertex of the crown of the Throne" (1)

Our master Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami for example further writes that all heavenly beings rubbed "forhead of their intention" on RasulAllah’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam "Throne rubbing Sandals"(2) He also writes that the heavenly tree ‘Tuba’ had rubbed its head at the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam sandal and thus reached highest honour, and he repeatedily expresses the feeling that ‘the thread of the soul is nothing but the string of RasulAllah’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam sandals and that cheek of the longing lover resembles the fine Ta’ifi leather of which these sandals were made: do the lover’s cheeks not hope to be touched by the Prophet’s holy feet thus to obtain every conceivable bliss.    

The poets, many of them from North Africa and Spain, described these blessed sandals or expressed their longing for them. Thus an Andalusian poetess, Sa’duna Umm Sa’d bint Isam al Himyarriya begins one of her poems with the words;

‘I shall kiss the image if I do not find

A way to kiss the Prophet’s sandal.

Perhap’s the good fortune of kissing it 

Will be granted to me in Paradise in the most radiant place,

And i rub my heart on it so that perhaps

The burning thirst which rages in it maybe quenched. (3)   

The North African historian al Maqarri devoted a voluminous book to the subject of the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam sandals, its more then 500 pages contain not only prose and poetical texts but also drawings of the blessed sandals as they were used by people as a protective talisman, for it protected one’s house from fire, caravans from hostile attacks, ships from disaster at sea and property from loss.’ Around the turn of the present century Hazrat Yusuf Nabhani, the collector of eulogies for the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam, sang in one of his poems:

"Verily i serve the image of the sandal of Mustafa

So that i may live in both worlds under its protection"

Popular songs in honour of the Nalain Sharif (Noble Sandals) have persisted down to the present, according to a Iraqi friend who remembered such songs from childhood in Baghdad.

In addition to the sandals, another relic that became widely accepted was the impression of the beloved Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam blessed foot. According to historians RasulAllah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam foot left a trace on the rock in Jerusalem where he alighted during his (night journey) before ascending into the Divine Presence. The dome of the rock was built in honour and protect that site, which is greatly revered.

At various times and places other large stones have been found with an impression in them that came to be regarded as the trace of the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam foot, and hence worthy of veneration. It is also believed that the Abbasid caliph recieved as a gift a pair of sandals attributed to the beloved prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and paid a hefty and handsome amount even though he did not believe in their authenticity.

People for centuries gained blessings and veneered anything connceted to the blessed feet of RasulAllah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. In the year 1304, the reformist theologian Ibn Taimiyya, who tried to remove such a stone in Damascus to stop the percieved superstitious practices with it, was driven away by the enraged masses and even accused of impiety.            

From the middle ages onward such stones and relics were bought to India by credulous pilgrims. One of the first known instances is connected with the name of a Suharwardi saint ‘Hazrat Makhdoom Jahaniyan’ from Uchh, who deposited such a qadam e rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam (Footprint of the prophet) in Delhi.

It must have been this very qadam mubarak (holy footprint) that Sultan Feroz Ghazi Malik placed on his son’s tomb. As late as the early nineteenth century, an annual fair also was held on the 12th Rabi ul Awwal at that very site: one observer in 1840 reported that ‘thousands upon thousands thronged and assemble and perform ecstasies in front of its gate.’ (5)  

Soon a number of places between Nayanganj (Bangladesh), Gaur (West Bengal) and Gujrat boasted of owning such a relic.

The veneration for the qadam e rasul mubarak SallAllahu alaihi wasallam was so deeply rooted that even the Mughal emperor Akbar waited upon such a blessed stone that one of his grandees had bought back from Makkah in 1589. Because this happened after the ruler had promulgated the deen e Elahi, his eclectic religious order, the critical chronicler Badaoni notes the event with great amazement: how such respect for the Prophet’s footprint SallAllahu alaihi wasallam compatible with the ruler’s otherwise so "unIslamic" attitude. (6)     

A great Urdu poet whose name i cannot recall writes;

‘The trace of his foot has the rank of Mount Sinai’ that is, it is the place where Divine Light becomes visible, and therefore, Mustafa’s footprint is the place where the bearers of the Divine Throne prostrate.’

Syedina Muhammad Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam is the colour of the rose of Love,

And his curls are the spring of the hyacinths Love,

Certainly, he, he alone is the most radiant sun of Love,

And through him are illuminated the luminous stars of Love 

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Notes:

1-Jami- ‘Laila u Majnun’ in haft aurang pg 756 - S.B Bukhari ‘Jawahir al auliya’ pg 233 Nizami in his ‘khausrau u shirin’ had addressed the blessed sandal as ‘The crown of the throne’ also in Khaqanis he sings in his hilya pg 11 ‘the Divine throne throne gained honour from kissing these sandals.        

2- Jami- ‘Tarji-Band’ Diwan pg 95 (Silsilat ad dhahab)   

3- Hazrat Yusuf Nabhani- ‘Al majmua an nabhaniya’ pg 386 

4- Memon- ‘Ibn taimiyyas struggle against popular religion’ pg 362 (This book also contains veneration of other relics that taimiyya objected to)

5- Nath- ‘Monuments of Delhi’  pg 39

6- Badioni- ‘Munthakab at tawarikh’ [translated] 

In a Dot the whole mystery is solved.

‘A’- Allah my heart recites- I have no interest in the following letter ‘B’- When i recite B i feel i have no understanding of it, nor do i have the desire to learn about it, as i am so consumed with the letter ’A’. The letter ‘A’ explains all the mysteries of the other preceding letters Bulla Shah only those who have cleansed their heart know of what i speak.  

I never understand of other letters, neither the following C or D or E. But why in all the following that boast the dot they stand so clear with the dot upon them?   

Why does the dot on the ‘i’ and the ‘j’ look the same? Why do these letters tainted with the dot stand out so clear? 

My beloved has educated me about the mystery of the dot.  

Read and study the dot- Contemplate the Dot and forsake other affairs. Close the chapters of Negation. Save yourself from agonies of Hell and tortures of the grave.

Cleanse the favorite dreams of your heart. That is the admirable way of solving your problems.

In a dot the whole mystery is solved.

In vain, you rub your forehead on the ground and you display a long visible mark on your forehead (Mihraab) You pray but your interest is with the reward?  

You memorise the Quran and continously recite, to purify your tongue and mind, yet your heart remains tainted.

You carry a weight of books and claim to be scholar, yet upon your head lies the burden of sin, and your physique and face resemble that of hypocrites.       

When you recite holy verses, you make people listen to you in a melodious voice, but you have no understanding of it, You pay attention to the outer forms but you do not actually comprehend the reality. Would truth ever be concealed?

In a dot the whole mystery is solved.

Many return from pilgrimage as pilgrims. They wear elegant *blue dresses. They exploit their Hajj (Piligirimage) and virtually sell it. Well, who can appreciate such acts? Can truth ever be concealed?              

In a dot the whole mystery is solved.

Hold the tress of your beloved, Seek a true saintly guide, and become a genuine being of God, All along there should be ecstacy, fearlessness, and in difference. Have no desire, no ambition, no expectation. Have a clean and purified heart.

Bulle Shah says: ‘Truth can never be surpressed’ My beloved had made me realise the reality of the dot- Don’t ask of my cast i am my (guide) murshid.

[In a dot the whole mystery is solved. Why did God not place a dot on the name of His beloved Muhammad? My beloved has unvealed to me the secret of the dot]

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Notes:

Mihraab- Is a mark attained by continous bowing in prayer by placing the forehead on the ground.

*Generally, blue colour symbolises peace, truth and spiritual understanding. In Islam, blue or turquoise is the faith of colour and community.    

The above verses were translated by myself, so they may not be wholely accurate but i have made my best attempt.   

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

Peace be with you.

Alhamdulilah- Hopefully many of you can maybe benefit from the following research. I will try and keep it brief and to the point so it can benefit all.

Firstly, let me state i am completely heart-broken at the lack of research and educational information available through various Islamic institutes so people can benefit from the deeper principles of sufism and show how they are beneficial and in harmony with Islamic teachings. It is sad how such vital and important issues are brushed aside. Do any of the critiques of this practice of sema (whirling) realise how many people are coming into the fold of Islam through this? Many of you may have read the numerous defences of this act today we shall see how Allah has made this act manifest in His creation for a reason.  

Traditional Muslims themselves get caught in the web of deceit layed down by those that wish to label every Islamic practice as a innovation, or association with Oneness of Allah only because they are people who are ill informed. It’s not their fault in my opinion but due to the lack of literature on the subject. People are not sure of, what, how? and why? this practice takes place. But often the critques of this practice are those laden with books and do not see betond the circle their imagination has percieved for them.    

Before we can emphasise on the actual whirling (sema) practiced by the melvelis it is vital that we look at practices that already exist in Islam and in general the environment around us.

This orthodox Muslim faith is characterized by the Five Pillars, which include the confession of faith (“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”), prayer, charity, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. As with all Muslims, most Sufis embrace these tenets, but venture beyond them to esoteric practices as well sometimes subtly reinterpreting them in the process. Put another way, Islam may be (though does not have to be) viewed as a primarily external path of devotion to Allah, whereas virtually all forms of mysticism, including Sufism, are overtly internal in their focus, desiring nothing short of complete union with God: God and the soul united as one. Sufism, then, is not content to follow the external path of devotion to Allah, but desires spiritual union with him in a life centered primarily inward such that the invisible is always brought to bear upon the visible.

Lets begin with Islam as the critics of this act are mainly muslims; where as the non muslims are fascintated

Historically, Sufism grew as a corrective both to the excessive legalism emphasized by the mullahs (Muslim clerics) on the one hand and the increasing decadence of the Muslim empire on the other; it also formed a middle ground between those parts of the Qu’ran that characterize Allah as an omnipotent ruler and judge and those that describe him as being nearer to humanity than breath, within the human hearthirling.

Islamically- One the main pillers of our religion is Hajj.

Your hajj is incomplete if you do not perform the final tawaaf (circumblation around the Kaaba) what does this circumblation consist of?

Tawaf - one of the rites of the Hajj, in which pilgrims move in a circular, counter-clockwise procession around the Ka’bah.

Circumumbulating the Ka’bah and kissing the stone are in fact considered the Tawaf’s outer aspects, apart from its inner significance. They resemble something like the standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting postures observed in the daily Islamic prayers. Yet, the prayer postures, as well as the circling around the Ka’bah coupled with kissing, both form the outward shell of the chaff, which preserves the grain. The grain of the Tawaf lies in the lofty meanings of the Pilgrim’s recitation and prayers, in the soul-stirring emotions surging in his heart - such as his extreme love for Allah, his awe of Him, and his high hopes in Him.

It is firmly established when the dervishes enter the sacred space, they are wearing black outer robes signifying the “tomb of the ego”; their “tall camel-hair hat . . . the tombstone”  While performances may differ, often a sole ney, or flute, accompanies the dance, suggestive of the very soul of the universe (ibid.). Three times the dervishes circle counterclockwise—the direction pilgrims encircle the Kaaba and the planets orbit the sun—and then receive a blessing and a kiss from the shaykh or teacher. Rotations complete, they cast aside their black cloaks—the nafs or ego to which they must die—to reveal the purity of white floor-length robes beneath that began to swell into graceful bells as first the right foot steps across the left and then the left circles to meet the right, right, then left, right, then left, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Their right hand is open, palm upward; their left hand is open, palm downward: “From God we receive,” it is explained of the upturned hand, “to humankind we give” of the other: “we keep nothing for ourselves” This is not to symbolise us but the message of RasulAllah as it was he who was instructed ‘my beloved take ask from me, and distribute amongst creation as my viceregent’  

Let it be clear to all that this is solely for Allah- Swiftly moving on.

Now let’s take a minute and look at it from a scientfic and natural prospective.

Lets begin with the earth where we mere specks of dust dwell upon with the will of Allah.

When viewed from above the north pole, does the Earth rotate clockwise or counterclockwise?

Do you see it?

Counterclockwise. When it is 12 o’clock in New York and that part of the Earth directly faces the Sun, it is only 9 o’clock in California. In 3 hours California will have rotated to the position where New York was.

One may explain that "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" is relative, it depends on the place from which one views the motion–it is not something absolute.

Viewed from the far south, the Earth seems to rotate clockwise. To demonstrate: Hold a plate vertically in your left hand, on your left side, with the top of the plate facing the class, Slowly circle a finger around it in a clockwise direction. Then gradually swing the arm to your right, with the finger continuing in the same circle. The class now watches the bottom of the plate, and the same motion seems to be counterclockwise. You guys following me?

Shall we move on to the cosmos?

Nearly everything in the Solar system revolves around the Sun in the plane of the ecliptic—and rotates on its axis within that orbit—in the direction that we call counterclockwise. This counterclockwise orientation is so universal that the few bodies (the planets Venus, Uranus and Pluto, about half of the Jovian outer moons, the Saturnian moon Phoebe and the Neptunian moon Triton) that do not conform to it are usually referred to as "retrograde" motion—they’re literally moving backward relative to everything else.

We call this direction also counterclockwise because the first clocks were sundials and the time was read by watching the shadow of the gnomon, which of necessity moves conversely opposite to the apparent motion of the Sun.

The Earth revolves counterclockwise around the Sun and rotates counterclockwise on its axis.

Hey don’t you see it? Maybe the following diagram can put things into a better prespective?

Air we breath?

How about the stars?

The most interesting bit was not the counter clockwise of the stars in the sky, but their movement towards earth itself;

Please check the following diagram for a star path how it appears to us here on earth on each day; (You can go to any reliable star gazer and he will confirm it with you.

There are so many other natural process ranging from the black hole above our solar system, the effect and travelling of light in its form, how solar energy and energy in general is formed,  the shape and form unique to molecules, DNA. The ripples formed in the ocean ;     

Now here is someone who experimented with using counter-clockwise spinning to raise energy:

http://www.saltcube.com/out-of-body/chat-forum/viewTopic.jsp?t=7345

One of the most interesting things about the whirling to me is the part where they form a ‘top’ using their clothes:

Mentioned is the top shape the Dervishes form is probably related to a wormhole from physics:

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Henry also discussed a whirling dervish performance he saw in Luxor. He labeled the spinning mystic prayer the "Wormhole Dance." Dervish, he explained means doorway, and the dancer’s movement with 2 skirts took on the resemblance of saucer-shaped UFOs and interconnected wormholes, he said.
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Here’s his web site:
http://site.williamhenry.net/

Here’s some more interpretation of the top shape:

http://www.soulsofdistortion.nl/SODA_chapter6.html

Now Islamically, naturally and scientfically it is proven and obvious to all needless to say the whirling of the dervish is also counter clockwise check it out for yourself.

Rotation and its effect on blood
http://www.harmonicsinternational.com/news_bloodrotation.htm

Summary so far- Tawwaf (pilgrim circling the Kaaba) is that the Earth rotates on its axis east to west. Since the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This movement is counter clockwise. So is the Tawwaf, taking the Kaaba as the axis. The pilgrims circulate the Kaaba counter clockwise. The earth itself orbits around the sun in a counter clockwise direction. There was a fifty-fifty chance of being right. Equally, there was a fifty-fifty chance of being wrong. Since the guidance was from Allah the Tawwaf is in perfect harmony with Allah’s creation of night and day. The Tawwaf is in perfect harmony with Allah’s creation of seasons of the sun.

Now, if we look at the clocks and watches, their movement is clockwise, which is left to right as the English language for example. Had the inventor of the clock been a Muslim we would today have clocks with movement from right to left. Which is in counter clockwise direction with numbers also increasing in counter clockwise direction. Then the counter clockwise direction would have been clockwise direction. Therefore the inventors of the present day clocks were sub-consciously trying to master time by designing the clocks that go in the opposite direction to the rotation of the earth and its orbit. All this in order to avoid their meeting with their Maker.
Do be careful because it is some of these biased ‘Proffesors’ who actually oppose counter clockwise movement.

They overlooked two things. One, time waits for no man. Two, even if time went backwards, they would still meet their Maker. Because He existed at the beginning, He exists now. And He will exist always. Muhammad said: "Allah was and there was nothing besides Him". And Ali ibn Talib (ra) replied: "And Allah is now as He was before".

Which means ‘This moment is that same moment’

Now that we have seen the Tawwaf in macrocosm. Let us look at it in microcosm. Every atom of a body, whether human, plant, stone and even the hardest substances diamond and tungsten are performing continuous Tawwaf, day and night, night and day. They all have particles orbiting about an axis. The discovery of the atom was the scientific advancement in our time.

Alas i arrive at the final part;

What is this spinning i hear you say?

As i say, no matter from where they start, lovers have their smart practice of finally ending it in their beloved’s favor! I think many of you will now have a gist of exactly what i am trying to get at, and if not well i well not quench the thirst of your intellect by penning the thought of the heart, please dwell upon what is presented and contemplate deep.    

O Lord!
I knew this world through him
‘I am’ is through the light of ‘Meem’

‘Laila’ was proven via Majnun’s eyes
Without him, the cosmos were deaf and blind

Angels, Books, Hereafter…
All I believed through him

This slave reached his Rabb
Through the paths of Yatrib

Today if I have names and ways-
To call upon You is he my only means

Indeed all these acts and practices are to bear testimony to the One Lord who created everything with His will and all will come to a end at His will. But Allah says to his beloved in the Quraan Sharif;

WarafaAAna laka thikraka

Surahe Al-Sharh(94) Ayat 4

Kanz-ul-Eeman
And We have exalted for you your remembrance.
English(Yusuf_Ali)
And raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held)?

The Meem in Ahmad is the door that leads to Ahad which is the Oneness of Allah.

He has no partners. That is Syedina Muhammad’s position in the creation must be acknowledged before Allah will allow anyone to get close to Him. Looking at it in Arabic:

Ahad is spelled

Ahmad is spelled

The difference between Ahad and Ahmad is the Arabic letter Meem also written as . { Semen is a meem goes into an egg after 9 months of seclusion Human being is born from the Meem}

It is not a coincidence that Allah revealed the Quran in Arabic without the Arabic language having some mystical superiority over the other languages.

Coming back to Ahad and Ahmad, the difference between the two words is the Meem of Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam this Meem in itself has so much that volumes could be written and why no one has? Allah and His Rasul know best.

To realize Allah’s Oneness a person must send blessings to Allah’s Beloved because he is the door and no one can pass that door without realizing Syedina Muhammad’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam position in closeness to Allah.

Only by acknowledging the superiority of Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallamcan a person have his/her prayers answered.

This is achieved by loving Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam more than any other person in this world.

Loving Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam more than his/her parents and/or children.

In order to have his/her prayer accepted by Allah, a person must send blessings (Darood) on the Prophet.

He is the key to Allah’s door.

Knowledge comes from Allah through Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam .

Not without Syedina Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

Now stop for a minute! What is the shape of the Meem which directon? Is the meaning of the most praised one of creation becoming clear?  

Hakim in Mustadrik and Abu as-Shaykh in Tabqat al-Isfahani’in report from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas that:

"Allah revealed to Syedina Isa that: O ‘Isa! Have Iman in Syedina Muhammad and order your ummah to do the same. If Syedina Muhammad was not in existence, I would not have created Adam nor would I have made heaven or hell". (Also from Shaykh Taqi ad-Din Subki in Shifa as-Siqam and Shaykh al-Islam al-Bulqini in his fatawa and ibn Hajar in Afdal al-Qur’an). .

Dailami in Musnad al-Firdaus reports from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas that:

"Rasoolallah said that Jibra’il came to me and said that Allah says: If you were not created, I would not have made the heaven or hell".

There are several hadiths but i think its enough that two are cited for this research and help to establish my point.

Finally closing with a verse from the gospal of barnabas:

A priest asked Jesus tell me something more about the coming messiah?"

Jesus (pbuh) answered: "The name of the messiah is admirable for God Himself gave him the name when he created his soul, and placed it in a celestial splendour. God said": "Wait Muhammad : For thy sake I will create paradise, the world, and great multitude of creatures, whereof i make thee present, in so much that whoso shall curse thee shall be accursed. When I shall send thee into the world i shall send thee as My messenger of salvation, and thy word shall be true, in so much that heaven and earth shall fail, but thy faith shall never fail"

The crowd lifted up their voices with the priest saying, "O God send us thy Messenger: O Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam come quickly for the salvation of the world…………

(Barnabas pg 105)

In essence Syedina Ali explained that everything lies in the dot. When one zooms in on the dot it resembles a Meem and if the the centre of the Meem is filled in, it resembles the ‘dot’ This is why Baba Bulle Shah said; Gal Ik Nukhte which mukh de eh (Everything and the whole mystery is in the dot) (Press link to hear in the voice of Late Great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan may Allah have mercy on his soul) 

Click for translation-

Finally: My question if God made in his creation manifest this counter clockwise movement why do you grunt and huff and puff of practices that you are ill educated about?

This is a grand topic and just leads from one spectrum to another- InshAllah i have presented it as far it has come and hopefully it will grow over time. Your supplications are also needed.

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(All good is from Allah Ta’ala  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good Ameen. And bless and reward our master Sheikh Assayid Muhammad Nazim al Haqqani and those selected to be in the circle of Syedina Khidar (as) Ameen