Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Hajj and the heart


Bismillah.

Hujwiri cites two kinds of Hajj: in absence from God and in the presence of God;
remarking that in his view, which followed that of Junayd,
"anyone who is present with God in his own house is on the same position as if he were present with God in Mecca," and that "Hajj is self-mortification for the sake of contemplation as a means to knowledge of God."

O son, by all means be present with God. Never let your heart sleep but be in constant shuhud which according to Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Shafie (Baba Aziz), it means constantly witnessing in our hearts that we own nothing.

Furthermore, Baba Aziz said, "witness Him as the Maker of all actions (wahdatul af'al);
witness Him as possessing all attributes (wahdatul sifat) which He generously manifests (tajalli) in you such as your beauty, your intelligence, your skills etc.;
and witness Him as the ultimate Essence (wahdatul zat), that in each and every thing resides His right (haq) and that the essence of each and every thing depends on His Essence. So bow to Him and glorify His Essence whose name is Allah. His Essence consists of sifat hayyat, the 'living' attribute. Therefore, do not look at anything without seeing God."

"Let your heart be void of everything else save Allah, for everything else shall perish. And cleanse your heart by saying Allah, Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar for your heart is in fact Baitillah (His House) and Arshillah (His Throne)."

"Irji'i (come back) to His shari'at, do not wander, come back to loving Allah."
Ya ayyatuhal nafsul mutma'inna, irji'i ila rabbika, raziyatan marziya.
O you, appeased soul, come back to your Lord, satisfying and satisfied.

"You only have one heart so only let the One occupies it and no one else. Let your love be only for the One!"
O son,
True indeed, "Qalbu mukmin baitullah."
The heart of a mukmin is the House of Allah.
References:
1. Baba Aziz's lectures on Qatrul Ghaisiah at KL Ba'Alawi Kemensah, 13-15 Nov 2009
2. H. Mason's essay on 'Hallaj and the Baghdad School of Sufism'

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