Sunday, July 19, 2009

Selections from the Aphorisms of Abu Madyan No.4

Al-Ghawth Abū Madyan: When the heart forgets its passions, it is cured.

Sheikh al-Alawi’s commentary:

The heart has a secret illness, the symptom of which is its inclination to things beloved to the lower self. If it forgets these things and is purified and cleansed from the presence of animal passions, this is a sign that it is cured of its psychological ailments and satanic impulses, and this wellbeing allows it to bear secrets and theophanic illuminations. But as long as any of these impurities remain within it, it is not yet cured, and therefore requires a physician to treat it until it is cured of its sickness and turns once more to its Lord; otherwise, it will inevitably be veiled from Him. Someone once said:


Many ailments pained my heart, and all stemmed from
Its yearning for ephemeral things when it saw them;
But when my heart was cleansed by mention of its Lord,
It turned away from all that fades, and saw them not.

* * * *

Editorial note added by translator (Khalid):

O Rose, Thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.


William Blake.

15 comments:

darqawi said...

as-salaamu alaykum. i am a student of Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller, so your blog is very beneficial for me, wa billahi tawfiq...may Allah ta'ala increase you and bless you...Sidi, did you publish a book about Sidi Muhammad al-Hashimi al-Tilmisani? if so, do you you know how one might procure it in the states or online? wassalaam, abdulmatin dolan,walnut creek,california,usa

Khalid Williams said...

Assalam Sidi.

I did not publish a book, but I translated a short biography of the Sheikh for the website marifah.net
http://www.marifah.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=46
Is this what you were thinking of?

Shaik Abdul Khafid said...

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Alhamdulillah, I'm a student of Shaykh Shukri al-Lahfi of Sham, whose sanad reaches Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi through Shaykh Muhammad al-Hashimi, and this blog is of tremendous benefit to me. May Allah bless you Sidi Khalid.

Sidi Abdul Matin, I think the book that you're looking for can be found here: http://kitaabun.com/shopping3/product_info.php?products_id=2766

I have the book alhamdulillah. It's fantastic.

Wassalam
Shaik Abdul Khafid

Nafahāt said...

Alsalam alaikum Sidi,

is this (the aphorisms of Shaykh Abu Madyan al-Ghawth and the commentary of Shaykh al-Alawi) available in English as a book?

Ma salam

Nafahāt said...

Alsalam alaikum Sidi,

Is this available as a book in English? (the aphorisms and/or the commentary)

Ma salam

Khalid Williams said...

Not as far as I know. The Aphorims may have been, but I'm pretty sure the commentary has not. These are just my own translations of selected passages whenever I have time - you are seeing them here first!

Naqshbandi said...

Assalaamu Alaykum. Alhumdullilah i am a murid of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani of cyprus. I always been fascinated by awliya of shaam, such as Ahmad Habbal ra and Shaykh Shukri al-Lahfi and many others. Shaykh nazim also stayed in damascus for many years as a disciple of Grandshaykh Abdullah daghestani on Mount Qasiyoun. I have travelled to shaam and Alhamdullilah met Awliya in Aleppo and one of the Abdal Saints. Could the student of Shaykh Shukri al-Lahfi tell me more about this blessed awliya and his experiences, you can see much noor on the face of Shaykh Shukri al-Lahfi.

Lorena said...

As salam alaykum,
there is a translation of the aphorisms of Abu Madyan into Spanish,
I only know that one

Salma

Lorena said...

As salamu alaykum Sidi Khalid,
I would be interested in asking you personally something.
would it be possible writing to you to your personal email address?
im living next to Morocco
and am very interested in the
Tariqa Alawiya
Ramadam Mubarak
Salma

Khalid Williams said...

khalidgarethwilliams@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Assalamu alaykum Sidi. Keep it up (good job). Allah bless you. Mustafa

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Rafael said...

As salam `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Sidi.

Tasawwuf and Blake? SubhanAllah.

Khalid Williams said...

Sidi Shaik, someone's trying to contact you, I'll post her message below; if you see this, please get back to her. Barak Allah fik.

"Salam alakum Khalid,

I am planning to visit Damascus and pay a visit to Shaykh Shukri,
I read in one of the commets to
"Selections from the Aphorisms of Abu Madyan No.4"

one comment of Shaik (Abdul Hafid) and that he is one of his murîd,
could you please give me his email to ask him for the details of the address of the zawiya of Shukri's and other informations?

or forward to him this email?"

Imam Ahmad Ridha Khan Al-Barelwi RA said...

Any one who would like to meet Sayyidi Shaykh Shukri ibn Ahmad Al Luhafi one of the Abdaals of Damishq and without a doubt a shining star from the Awliya Allah of our time, you can attend his Friday Hadrah at Jamia Nooriyah near the Gran Ommayad Mosque (Ummawi). Also you can meet Sayyidi Al-Shaykh on Fridays after Maghrib at Jamia Ridha, and on Sundays after maghrib at Jamia Shamiya and on Monday after Fajar at Jamia Tawba, and on Wednasday at a designated mosuqe predominantly Jamia Zaid.

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