Sunday, June 7, 2009

How did you spend your Saturday eve?

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah ala kulli hal. Praise be to Allah in all circumstances. Ten, fifteen years ago, Saturday eve for me was literally dark, not that there was no light but my dark heart had chosen to be at dark places. La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz zolimin.

Alhamdulillah, I now know that an enlightened heart would choose to spend a Saturday eve reflecting and meditating on this du'a composed by the honorable Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi (1165 - 1240 CE) in his Al-Awrad al-Yawmiyya (Daily Prayers). I wish I could tell this to those queueing to get into the night clubs that there are better places they could go to, that there are better things they could do. Praise be to the One who carried all from the dance floor and taught them to prostrate on the floor instead. And yes we still dance but we dance to a different beat!

Subhanallah, let those who do not believe in God and His Power to guide, speak to me. I am no saint, but suffice that I say to them 'there is no power and no strength save with Allah the High, the Great'. May Allah guide them aright as He has guided me and others and keep all of us on the Straight Path. Ameen.

In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate and Most Merciful.

O, my Master, Your Subsistence endures forever; Your Decree is executed throughout creation. You have sanctified Yourself in Your sublimity; You have elevated Yourself in Your Holiness. Preserving created beings does not burden You, and what is unveiled to the eye of (every being) is never hidden from You. You invite whomsoever You wish to Yourself, and through Yourself, You direct them to Yourself. To You belongs eternal Praise and most glorious Everlastingness.

I ask of You that each instant I may be devoted to Your Will, acting in proper conformity, whose (only) goal is Your Closeness, coming from the fruits of works which are dependent upon Your Satisfaction. Grant me the gift of a radiant secret which will unveil to me the realities of works. Distinguish me with wisdom coupled with authority, and an ability to allude accompanied by understanding. Indeed You are the Friend and Patron of one who asks for Your Patronage; and the Answerer of one who calls upon You!

O my God, may Your permanent Bounty be constant upon me, and may my contemplation of You be ever mine. Let me contemplate my essence from Your standpoint, not from mine, so that I may be through You, and not me. Grant me from Your own Presence a total knowledge in which all the knowledgable spirits are guided to me. Indeed, you are All-Knowing, the Knower (of the Unseen)!

O my Lord, bathe me in the radiance of Your Light, unveiling for me all that is concealed within me, so that I may witness my existence in all its true perfection from Your standpoint, not from mine. Let me thus come close to You by my own attribute being dispelled from me, as You come close to me by the effulgence of Your Light upon me.

O my Lord, possibility is my true attribute, non-existence my very substance and poverty my real abode; Your Existence is my sole cause, Your Power my very agent and You, my only goal! Your Knowledge is all that I need from You in my not-knowing. You are just as I know You and yet far beyond what I know! You are with everything, and yet with You, there is nothing!

Grant me the gift of a tongue of veracity that can give expression to the witnessing of Truth, and distinguish me with clarity and eloquence from the all-inclusive Words. Protect me in all my utterances from claiming that which is not mine by rights, and make me speak according to the inner vision, I and those who follow me.

O God, I take refuge in You from any speech that creates confusion or results in discord or sows doubt. It is from You that all words are received; it is from You that all wisdom is obtained.
Allahumma solli ala Saidina Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad. Alhamdulillahi Robbil Alamin.
__________________________________________
Translated by Pablo Beneito and Stephen Hirtenstein, Anqa Publishing 2000.
Related Lisan al-Din posts:

2 comments:

  1. Salam,


    Bi hamdika yâ ilâhî

    O God, I begin my entreaties by praising your goodness.
    In humility and acceptance I turn to Thee.
    If Thou dost not grant me forgiveness, who else could do so?
    Thou art Allah, our generous Lord,
    I have entrusted my earthly fate to Thy heavenly powers.
    Grant me Thy succour, relieve my worried breast.
    Thou knowest my intimate secrets just as my outward acts,
    O Thou, my God, forgiving and full of Mercy.


    Allah, Allah, lâ ilâha illâ-Allâh, Ataynâka bi-l-faqr

    Allah, Allah, there is no other God but Allah
    We come to Thee, poor and bereft,
    Thou who holdest all riches
    And constantly pours Thy blessings down on us.
    May Thy generosity last forever,
    God, may this prayer on the Chosen One, mean for us
    Protection and serenity.
    With Thee at my side at all times
    I can renounce all worldly goods.

    O Lord! What kind of fountain is the fountain of Thy love
    Of which I tasted but a drop and wept a river?

    (From Al-Kindi website).

    hazbu.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Salam, thank you for introducing me to Al Kindi.

    ReplyDelete