Book 5. Rajjab-Shabaan 1426 #

Sept-Oct 2005

Contents

1. Excerpts from 'The Holy Quran' 1-11

2. Sheikh Saadi of Shiraz by Idris Shah 12-30

3. Excerpts from A way of the Sufi by Idris Shah

4. Hazreth Hasan of Basra by H2 Fariduddin Attar

5. The beginning of Guidance by Imam Al-Ghazali

6. Excerpts from Kitab Adab al-Muridin

by Abial Najib al-suhra wardi

7. Excerpts from Futuh Al Ghaib

by Hazreth Ghouse ul Azam

8. Is Silence Golden by Dr.S.L.Peeran

9. A poem from Divani Shams Tabriz

by Moulana Rumi

10. Poems by Dr. S.L.Peeran

11. Shorts Story by Dr. S.L.Peeran

Published by Mrs Shaista Yusuf on behalf of International Sufi Centre, 3/28, Ist Floor,

V.R.Puram, Palace Guttahalli, Bangalore - 560 003 , INDIA. Ph : 23444594

Book -5

SEPT-OCT 2005

Issue dedicated to Hazreth

Shaik Saadi

A Journal on Sufi Culture Philosophy and Literature

(Islamic Spiritualism)

Tasawwuf

International Sufi Centre(R) C/o Mr. A.A.Khatib,

Managing Trustee,

# 3/28, 1st Cross, V.R.Puram, Palace Guttahalli, Bangalore - 560 003,

Karnataka, INDIA.

Ph : 23444594

International Sufi Centre

Bangalore

Board of Trustees (Regd)

1. Moulana Moulvi Syed Chairman

Shah Anwar Hussaini

2. Mr. A.A.Khatib Managing Trustee

3. Mr. Mohammed Kamaluddin Trustee

4. Dr. S.L.Peeran Trustee

5. Mr. Khaleel Mamoon Trustee

6. Mr. Azeez ulla Baig Trustee

7. Mr. Shaista Yusuff Saheb Trustee

EDITORS

Dr. Syed Liaquath Peeran

Aims and Objectives 1. To propogate the ideals and practice of Sufism

2. To achieve Cosmic harmony through preachings of Sufi Tradition and Culture.

3. To carry out publications of books on sufies, their lives and preachings.

4. To hold lectures, seminars on Sufi thought.

5. To Unite Sufies and members of Sufi orders all over India and abroad for achieving

universal love and brother-hood.

Fore word

Hazreth Sheikh Saadi of Shiraz needs no introduction to Sufies, world over. Two of

his classical works 'The Gulistan' (Rose Garden) and Bustan (Orchard in Persian is read

by one and all, not only for its moral and ethical precepts brut also for deep Spiritual

meaning. We have extracted from the works of Idris Shah a writing on Hz. Sheik Saadi

(RAU) in this issue.

From this issue on words we will be serialising on the lift of saints as written by

Hazreth Friduddin Attar in his famous work Tazkiratul qwaliya.'

Every beginner (Mureed) in the path of 'Tasawwaf' )Sufism) requires a master

(Marshid). We are extracting the Rules for the 'Mureedeens' (Novice) from the 'Kitab

Adabal-Maridin' by Hz. Abu. Al Najib al-Suhrawardi for our readers benefit.

We hope that all other regular features in this book will also be appreciated by our

readers.

Syed Liaqath Peeran

Editors

Bangalore

Sept 2005

Sora LXXIII.

Muzzammil, or Folden in Garments.

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. O thou folded

In garments!

2. Stand (to prayer) by night,

But not all night,

3. Half of it, -

Or a little less,

4. Or a little more ;

And recite the Qur-an

In show, measured rhythmic tones.

5. Soon shall We send down

To thee a weighty Message.

6. Truly the rising by night

Is most potent for governing

(The Soul), and most suitable

For (Framing) the Word

(Of Prayer and Praise).

7. True, there is for thee

By day prolonged occupation

With ordinary duties :

8. But keep in remembrance

The name of thy Lord

And devote thyself

To Him whole-heartedly.

9. (He is) Lord of the East

And the West : there is

No god but He :

Take Him therefore

For (thy) Disposer of Affairs.

10. And have patience with what

They say, and leave them

With noble (dignity)

11. And leave Me

(Alone to deal with)

Those in possession of

The good things of life,

Who (yet) deny the Truth;

And bear with them

For a little while.

12. With Us are Fetters

(To bind them), and a Fire

(To burn them),

13. And a Food that chokes,

And a Penalty Grievous.

14. One Day the earth

And the mountains

Will be in violent commotion.

And the mountains will be

As a heap of sand

Poured out and flowing down.

15. We have sent to you,

(O men!) an apostle,

To be a witness concerning you,

An apostle to Pharaoh.

16. But Pharaoh disobeyed

The apostle ; so We

Seized him with

A heavy Punishment.

17. Then how shall ye,

If ye deny (God),

Guard yourselves against

A Day that will make

Children hoary - headed ?

18. Whereon the sky will be

Cleft asunder ?

His Promise needs must

Be accomplished

19. Verily this is an Admonition :

Therefore, whose will, let him

Take a (straight) path

To his Lord !

SECTION - 2

20. The Lord doth know

That thou standest forth

(To prayer) night two-thirds

Of the night, or half

The night, or a third

Of the night, and so doth

A party of those with thee.

But God doth appoint Night

And Day in due measure.

He knoweth that ye are

unable to keep count thereof.

So He hath turned to you

(In mercy) : read ye,

Therefore, of the Qur-an

As much as may be

Easy for you. He knoweth

That there may be (some)

Among you in ill-health ;

Others travelling through the land,

Seeking of God's bounty ;

Yet others fighting

In God's Cause. Read ye,

Therefore, as much of the Qur-an

As may be easy (for you) ;

And establish regular Prayer

And give regular Charity ;

And loan to God

A Beautiful Loan.

And whatever good

Ye send forth

For your souls,

Ye shall find it

In God's Presence,

Yea, better and

Greater, in Reward,

And seek ye the Grace

Of God : for God is

Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Excerpts from the book the Sufies

by Idris Shah

SHEIKH SAADI OF SHIRAZ

He who sleeps on the Road will lose either

his hat or his head.

(Nizami, Treasury of Mysteries)

The Gulistan (Rose Garden) and Bustan (Orchard) of Saadi of Shiraz (1184 - 2191)

are two classics of Sufism which provide the moral and ethical basis of the reading the

millions, in India, Persia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Saadi was at times a

wandering dervish, was captured by the Crusaders and made to dig ditches until

ransomed; visited the centers of learning of the East and wrote poetry and literature

which has not been surpassed. He was educated in Baghdad at the great college founded

by Nizam, the friend of Khayyam and Minister of Court of the Shah. His affiliation was

with the Naqshbandi Order of Sufis, and he was closely associated with Sheikh

Shahabudin Suhrawardi, the founder of the Suhrawardi School, and also Najmuddin

Kubra, the "Pillar of the Age", one of the greatest Sufis of all time.

Saadi's influence upon European literature is acknowledegly very considerable. He is

one of the group whose writings gave substance to the Gesta Romanorum, source book

for many Western legends and allegories. Scholars have traced many of Saadi's

influences in literatures such as that of Germany. Translations of his works are first found

in the West in the seventeenth century. Like most other Sufi work, however, the interior

meaning of Saadi is hardly known at all through his literary interpreters. A typical

comment by a recent commentator shows this clearly. It is not so much an opinion of

Saadi as an indication of the mind of the author : "It is exceedingly doubtful whether he

was a Sufi by temperament. In him the didactic subordinates the mystic".

In actual fact, the cautionary tales, rhymes, soulful analogies used by Saadi are

multifunctional. On the ordinary level they do indeed contribute toward the ordinary

stabilization of ethic. But Professor Codrington almost alone among Western

commentators sees deeper :

It is not in the West alone that people expect esoteric knowledge to be handed to them

upon a plate. Saadi himself points this out in one of his stories.

He was traveling with some devout companions toward the Hejaz in Arabia. A boy

near Beni Hilal Oasis started to sing in such a way that the camel of a scoffer of

mysticism began to dance, then ran off into the desert. "I commented," says the Sheikh,

"good Sir, you remain unmoved, but that song has affected even an animal."

His teaching about self-examination refers not only to the ordinary need to practice

what one preaches. On the Sufi Way there must be a certain kind of self-examination.

This comes at a stage earlier than that at which one can understand the admonitions of a

teacher. "If you will not reprove yourself," Saadi says, "you will not welcome reproof

from another."

Such is the persistence of mechanical adulation of the retired life that a candidate for

Sufi studies must first be informed as to the place of retirement. "Fettered feet in the

presence of friends is better than living in a garden with strangers," he remarks. Only

under certain circumstances is withdrawal from the world needed. Anchorites, who are

nothing more than professional obsessives, have given the impression that the desert or

mountains are the places where the mystic must spend his whole life. They have mistaken

a thread for the whole carpet.

The importance of time and place in Sufi exercises is another matter which Saadi

stresses. Ordinary intellectuals will be unable to believe that thought varies in quality and

effectiveness in accordance with circumstances. They will plan a meeting for a certain

time and place, will start an academic conversation and keep it going under any

circumstances, insensitive to the Sufi cognition that only on "occasion," according to the

Sufi, can the human mind escape from the machine within which it revolves.

This principle, familiar in ordinary life under the guise of "There is a time and a place

for everything," is stressed by the Gulistan in a typical manner. Tale thirty-six of the

chapter on the manners of dervishes seems to be a mere exercise in moral instruction or

etiquette. When expounded in the Sufi atmosphere, it reveals fresh dimensions.

A dervish entered a house of a generous man, and found an assembly of literati there.

There was a constant interchange of pleasantries and the air was thick with the results of

intellectual exercise. Someone invited him to contribute. "You must accept from a

smaller intellect only one couplet," said the dervish. The company implored him to speak.

Like a bachelor before the women's bathhouse

door, I face the table, hungry for food.

The couplet means not only that this was a time for food, not talk; it also conveys that

the intellectual prattling was merely a setting for real understand.

The story continues that the host at once said that very soon meatballs would be

provided. "For the starving man," replied the dervish, "plain bread is meatball enough."

Those who are impatient to learn without knowing that they are not fitted for learning

Sufism in their crude state are often reprimanded by the Gulistan, in stories and poetry.

"How can the sleeper arouse the sleeper?" Saadi asks in a familiar Sufi phrase. While it

may be true that a man's actions should accord with his words, it is also most true that the

observer himself must be in a position to assess these actions. Most people are not. "A

conference of the wise is like the bazaar of the cloth sellers. In the letter place you cannot

take away anything unless you pay money. In the former, you can only carry away that

for which you have the capacity"/

The selfishness of the would-be disciple in seeking his own development and interests

is another subject that is stressed among the Sufis. A balance has to be struck between

wanting something for oneself and wanting it for the community as well. The link

between the Sufis and the Brethren of Sincerity, hardly noticed by outside observers, is

stressed in Saadi's section on this problem. The Brethren were a society of savants who

prepared recessions of available knowledge and published them anonymously, in the

cause of education, none desirous of increasing his own repute through this dedication.

Because they were a secret society, little was known about them; because "sincerity" is

associated with the Sufis, Sufi teachers were often asked about them. Saadi gives this

lesson about the mysterious Brethren in tale forty-three :

A wise man was asked about the Brethren of Sincerity. He said, "Even the least among

them honors the wishes of his companions above his own. As the wise say: A man

engrossed in himself is neither brother nor kinsman."

The place won by the Gulistan as a book of moral uplift invariably given to the literate

young has had the effect of establishing a basic Sufic potential in the minds of its readers.

Saadi is read, and enjoyed, because of his thoughts, his poems, the entertainment value of

his books. In later years, when he comes to be affiliated to a Sufi teaching school, the

inner dimensions of the tales can be revealed to the student. He has something upon

which to build. This preparatory material is almost nonexistent in other cultures.

Secrets revealed prematurely - and there are some in Sufism which can actually be

communicated without the whole of the teaching can cause more harm than good. Unless

the recipient is prepared, he can misuse the power of which the Sufis are guardians. Saadi

explains this in a story which, overtly, is little more than the amplification of a well-worn

proverb:

A man had an ugly daughter. He married her to a blind man because nobody else

would have her. A doctor offered to restore the blind man's sight. But the father would

not allow him, for fear that he would divorce his daughter. "The husband of an ugly

woman," concludes Saadi, "is best blind."

Generosity and liberality are two of the important factors which, when applied

energetically and correctly, go to prepare the candidate for Sufihood. When it is said,

"You get nothing free," there is very much more to it than that. The manner of giving, the

thing which is given, the effect of the giving upon the individual- these are the factors

which determine the progress of the Sufi. There is a strong link between the concept of

persistence and bravery with that of liberality. In ordinary discipleship as known in other

systems where the inner understanding of the mechanism of progress is in disarray, the

disciple will think in terms of struggle. He gets nothing without struggle, he thinks, and

he is encouraged to think in this way.

But Saadi pinpoints the problem in one of his smaller aphorisms. A person, he says,

went to a sage and asked whether it was better to be valorous or liberal. He answered,

"He who is liberal does not have to be valorous." This is a most important aspect of Sufi

training. It will also be noticed that the form in which the teaching is couched gives Saadi

the extra possibility of pointing out (through the mouth of the sage) the questions put in a

certain way - either / or - are not necessarily to be answered in that way.

In his chapter on the advantages of contentment, Saadi conceals Sufi teachings in

several stories which are seemingly aimed at those who do not exercise correct etiquette.

A number of dervishes, reduced to an extremity of hunger, wanted to accept some food

from an evil man, known for his liberality. Saadi himself advises them, in a famous poem

:

The lion does not eat the dog's leavings

Though he die of hunger in his lair.

Besign your bodies to starvation :

Do not beg the base for favors.

The way and position in which this story is given shows to the Sufi that Saadi is

warning against the dervish following any attractive creed outside of his own, while he is

in a period of trial consequent upon his Sufi dedication.

The real Sufi has something within him which cannot be reduced in value by

association with lesser men. Saadi has made this theme most attractive in one of his

elegant moral tales, showing where real dignity resides :

A king was hunting in a wilderness with some courtiers when it became very cold. He

announced that they would sleep in a peasant's hovel until morning. The courtiers insisted

that the monarch's dignity would suffer if he were to enter such a place. The peasant,

however, said, "It is not your Majesty who will lose; but I who will gain in dignity from

being so honored," The peasant received a robe of honor.

Excerpts from 'Away of the Sufi

SAADI OF SHIRAZ

by Idris Shah

It is hard to find words to approach a description of the achievement of the thirteenth

century classical author Saadi. Western critics are amazed that Saadi could write The

Orchard (Bostan) and The Rose Garden (Gulistan), the two great classics, in the space of

two or three years. These major works, known to every Persian and regarded as supreme

accomplishments, contain a richness of material and beauty of poetry which are almost

unparalleled. Saadi was a man of no resources, and spent most of his time as a wanderer

on the face of the earth. He was instructed by the Sufi masters Gilani and Suhrawardi.

In the case of The Rose Garden, Saadi has accomplished the feat (still not attained in

any Western language) of writing a book which is so simple in vocabulary and structure

that it is used as a first textbook for students of Persian, and appears to contain only

moralistic aphorisms and stories; while at the same time it is recognized by the most

eminent Sufis as concealing the whole range of the deepest Sufi knowledge which can be

committed to writing.

The sense of wonderment at this achievement, when one sees the different levels of

material interlocked in this manner, cannot be expressed.

These two books are not only mines of quotations, proverbs and practical wisdom and

texts of states of mind; they are written in such a way as to be accepted by the most

blinkered of religious bigots. In this way did Saadi receive, shape and transmit the Sufi

lore. His choice of the format of classical literature ensured for all time the preservation

and communication of his message; for nobody could ever cut Saadi out of Persian

literature, and hence Sufism is protected in this manner.

The following extracts are translated literally, to show how the texts look to the

ordinary reader.

Pluck the cotton wool of heedlessness from the ear of awareness, So that the wisdom

of dead men may reach your ear.

The Door

The unfortunate one is he who averts his head from this door.

For he will not find another door.

Jewels and Dust

If a gem falls into mud it is still valuable.

If dust ascends to heaven, it remains valueless.

The Day of Battle

On the day of battle it is the slender horse - not the lumbering ox- that will be of

use.

The Alchemist and the Fool

The alchemist dies in pain and frustration - while the fool finds treasure in a ruin.

The Pearl

A raindrop, dripping from a cloud,

Was ashamed when it saw the sea.

'Who am I where there is a sea?' it said.

When it saw itself with the eye of humility,

A shell nurtured it in its embrace.

Dominion

Dominion of the world from end to end

Is worth less than a drip of blood upon the earth.

The Thief and the Blanket

A thief entered the house of a Sufi, and found nothing there. As he was leaving, the

dervish perceived his disappointment and threw him the blanket in which he was

sleeping, so that he should not go away empty-handed.

Learning

None learned the art of archery from me

Who did not make me, in the end, the target.

The Unshaped One

For one unshaped one in the community

The hearts of the Wise will suffer pain -

As if a pool had been filled with rose-water,

And a dog fell in, polluting it.

Scholars and Recluses

Give money to the scholars, so that they can study more.

Give nothing to the recluses, that they may remain recluses.

The Scorpion

A scorpion was asked :

'Why do you not come out in winter?'

It said :

'What treatment do I get in summer, that I should go out in

winter as well?'

Green wood can be bent ;

When it is dry, it is only straightened by fire.

The Ark

When Noah is the captain, what is there to fear ?

The Destiny of a Wolf-Cub

The destiny of a wolf-cub is to become a wolf, even if it is reared among the sons

of men.

The Barren Tree

No one throws a stone at a barren tree.

Conceit

He who has self-conceit in his head

Do not imagine that he will ever her the truth.

The Straight Path

I have never seen a man lost who was on a straight path.

Cages

When a parrot has been shut up with a crow,

He thinks it a stroke of luck to get out of the cage.

Butting

You who play at butting with a ram;

You will soon see a broken head.

A Tree Freshly Rooted

A tree, freshly rooted, may be pulled up by one man on his own. Give it time, and it will

not be moved, even with a crane.

Doing Good to the Evil

Merely doing good to the evil may be equivalent to doing evil to the good.

Reward

Child, look for no reward from A,

If you are working in the house of B.

To Know One's Faults

In the eyes of the wise, the seeker of combat with an elephant is not really brave.

Brave is he who says nothing unbecoming in wrath.

A lout abused a man who patiently said :

'O you of bright prospects ; I am worse even than you say.

I know all my faults, while you do not know them.'

The alternatives

The sanctuary is in front of you and the thief is behind you.

If you go on, you will win; if you sleep, you die.

The Unfed Dervish

When I see the poor dervish unfed

My won food is pain and poison to me.

That building without a firm base : do not build it high ;

Or, if you do - be afraid.

Asleep and Awake

When a man's sleep is better than his waking -

It is better that he should die.

The Harvest

You will know at the harvest

That laziness is not planting.

Relative

A Lamp has no rays at all in the face of the sun ;

And a high minaret even in the foothills of a mountain

looks low.

When you burn the woods, if you are wise

You will avoid the tigers.

Information and Knowledge

However much you study, you cannot know without action.

A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man.

Empty of essence, what learning has he -

Whether upon him is firewood or book ?

The Elephant - Keeper

Make no friendship with an elephant keeper

If you have no room to entertain an elephant.

The Dervish under a Vow of Solitude

A dervish under a vow of solitude sat in a desert as a king passed with his retinue. Being

in a special state of mind he took no notice, not even raising his head as the procession

passed.

The king, emotionally overcome by his regal pretensions, was angry and said : 'These

wearers of the patchwork robe are as impassive as animals, possessing neither politeness

nor due humility.'

His vizier approached the dervish, saying : 'O dervish ! The Sultan of the whole of the

Earth has just passed by you. Why did you not pay the required homage ?'

The dervish answered : 'Let the Sultan look for homage from those who seek to benefit

from his goodwill. Tell him, too, that kings are created for the protection of their subjects.

Subjects are not created for the service of kings.'

Safety and Riches

Deep in the sea are riches beyond compare.

But if you seek safety, it is on the shore.

The Fox and the Camels

A fox was seen running away in terror. Someone asked what was troubling it. The fox

answered : 'They are taking camels for forced labour. ' 'Fool !' he was told, ' the fate of

camels has nothing to do with you, who do not even look like one.' 'Silence!' said the fox,

'for if an intriguer were to state that I was a camel, who would work for my release?'

Gold Coins called Nobles

He who has a purse full of gold has a place like the light of men's eyes.

As the goldsmith’s son so well put it :

'The noble is the man who has gold nobles.'

Talk

The learned man who only talks will never

Penetrate to the inner heart of man.

Disciples and Sages

Disciples in power are less than children ;

Sages are like a firm wall.

Fools have been endowed with such a provision

That a hundred scholars would be amazed by it.

Horse and Camel

The Arab horse speeds fast. The camel plods slowly, but it goes by day and night.

Where the Leopard May Lurk

What may appear to you a group of bushes could well be a place wherein a leopard lurks.

The Foundation of Tyranny

The foundation of tyranny in the world was trifling at first.

Everyone added to it until it attained its present magnitude.

For the half-egg that the Sultan considers right to take by force, his troops will put a

thousand fowls on the spit.

Personal Appearance

Have the essential qualities of a dervish -

Then you can sport a Tartar shako !

If You Cannot Stand a Sting

If you cannot stand a sting, do not put your finger in a scorpion's nest.

Ambition

Ten dervishes can sleep beneath one blanket; but two kings cannot reign in one land. A

devoted man will eat half his bread, and give the other half to dervishes. A ruler may

have a realm, but yet plot to overcome the world.

The Danger of Ecstasy

If a dervish remained in a state of ecstasy,

He would be fragmented in both worlds.

The Dervish and the Camel Rider

When we were heading for southern Arabia, a barefooted and bareheaded dervish joined

our caravan at Kufa (in the north).

I saw that he was penniless, but he strode along purposefully, reciting as he walked:

Neither do I burden a camel

Nor do I carry a camel's burden;

Neither do I rule, nor am I ruled.

Neither have I anxieties about the

Past, the Present or the Future.

Fully I breathe, fully I live life.

A certain merchant, mounted on a camel, advised him to turn back. Otherwise, he said,

the dervish would certainly die of hardship and lack of nourishment.

Ignoring this advice, the dervish marched on.

When we reached Beni Hamud oasis the merchant died. The dervish, standing by the

bier, exclaimed :

I did not die of my hardships ;

But you, on your camel, have died.

Fools burn lamps during the day. At night they wonder why they have no light.

The Sick Man

Throughout the long night a man wept

At the bedside of a sick man.

When day dawned the visitor was dead -

And the patient was alive.

The Dirvish in Hell

One night a king dreamt that he saw a king in paradise and a dervish in hell.

The dreamer exclaimed : 'What is the meaning of this ? I should have thought that the

positions would be reversed.'

A voice answered : 'The king is in heaven because he respected dervishes. The dervish is

in hell because he compromised with kings.'

Heedless Man

Whoever gives advice to a heedless man is himself in need of advice

The Poor Man's Yoghurt

If a poor man brings you a gift of yoghurt, he will have bought it at such a price that it

will be two parts of water to one of real yoghurt.

The Tiger's Prey

What can the tiger catch in the dark recesses of his own lair ?

The Fool and the Donkey

A foolish man was raving at a donkey. It took no notice. A wiser man who was watching

said : 'Idiot ! The donkey will never learn your language - better that you should observe

silence and instead master the tongue of the donkey.'

The Road

I fear that you will not reach Mecca, O Nomad !

For the road which you war following leads to Turkestan !

HASAN OF BASRA

by Hazreth Faridal-Din Attar

Al-Hasan ibn Abi 'l Hasan al-Basri was born at Medina in 21(642), the son of a slave

captured in Maisan who afterwards became a client of the Prophet Mohammad's secretary

Zaid ibn Thabet. Brought up in Basra, he met many Companions of the Prophet

including, it is said, seventy of those who fought at the Battle of Badr. He grew up to

become one of the most prominent figures of his generation, being famous for his

uncompromising piety and outspoken condemnation of worldliness in high places. Whilst

the Mo'tazelite theologians claim him as the founder of their movement (and 'amr ibn

'Obaid and Wasel ibn 'Ata' are counted amongst his pupils), in Sufi hagiography he is

revered as one of the greatest saints of early Islam. He died at Basra in 110 (728). Many

of his speeches - he was a brilliant orator - and sayings are quoted by Arab authors and

not a few of his letters have been preserved.

Bibliography

L.Massignon, Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane

(Paris, 1922), pp. 152-79.

H. Ritter, "Studien zur Geschichte der islamischen Frommigkeit.

I. Hasan el-Basri," Der Islam, XXI (1933), i-83. (Includes an edition of a lengthy

correspondence attributed to al-Hasan al-Basri.)

Abu No'aim, Helyat al-auliya' (Cairo, 1932-38), II, 131-61. Ibn al-Jauzi, al-Hasan al-

Basri (Cairo, 1931).

Hojwiri, Kashf al-mahjub (trans. R.A. Nicholson, London, 1991), pp 86-87

al-Yafe'i, Mer'at al-janan (Hyderabad, 1337-39 (A.H.), I, 229-32.

Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Iahdhib, (Hyderabad, 1325-27) (A.H.) II, 263-70.

"The Conversion of Hasan of Basra." : Tadhkerat al-auliya (ed.by R.A.Nicholson,

London and Leiden, 1905-07-hereafter referred to as T.A.), I. 25-27. This funciful legend

is based on "Syntipas" and occurs in the Arabian Nights; see Massignon, Essai, p.158,

n.5.

"Hasan of Basra and Abu 'Amt": T.A., I, 32. Abu 'Amribn al-Ala, celebrated authority

on the "readings" of the Koran, was born. 70(689) at Mecca, lived many years in Basra,

and died at Kufa in 154 (770); he was admired by al-Hasan al-Basri, see Encyclopaedia

of Islam (new edition, Leiden, 1908-34), I, 105-06. The mosque of Khaif stood at the

pilgrim point of Mena outside Mecca.

"Hasan of Basra and the Fire-worshipper": T.A., I, 33-34. Attar retells this story in his

Elahi-nama, pp.146-48 of Fo'ad Ruhani's edition (Teheran, 1339) (A.H.S.) and pp. 231-

34 of his French translation (Paris, 1961).

The Conversion of Hasan of Basra

The beginning of Hasan of Basra's conversion was as follows. He was a jewel

merchant and was called Hasan of the Pearls. He traded with Byzantium, and had to do

with the generals and ministers of Caesar. On one occasion, going to Byzantium he called

on the prime minister and conversed with him a while. "We will not to a certain place,"

the minister told him, "if you are agreeable."

"It is for you to say, " Hasan replied. "I agree".

So the minister commanded a horse to be brought for Hasan. He mounted with the

minister, and they set out. When they reached the desert Hasan perceived a tent of

Byzantine brocade, fastened with ropes of silk and golden pegs, set firm in the ground.

He stood to one side. Then a mighty army, all accoutered in the panoply of war, came

out; they circled the tent, said a few words, and departed. Philosophers and scholars to the

number of nigh four hundred arrived on the scene; they circled the tent, said a few words,

and departed. After that three hundred illumined elders with white beards approached the

tent, circled it, said a few words, and departed. Thereafter more than two hundred moon-

fair maidens, each bearing a plate of gold and silver and precious stones, circled the tent,

said a few words, and departed.

Hasan relates that, astonished and filled with wonder, he asked himself what this

might be.

"When we alighted," he went on, "I asked the minister. He said that the Caesar had a

son of unsurpassable beauty, perfect in all the branches of learning and unrivalled in the

arena of manly prowess. His father loved him with all his heart."

Suddenly he fell ill-so Hasan reiated on the authority of the minister. All the skilled

physicians proved powerless to cure him. Finally he died, and was buried in that tent.

Once every year people come out to visit him. First an immense army circles the tent, and

they say: "O prince, if this circumstance that has befallen thee had come about in war, we

would have all sacrificed our lives for thee, to ransom thee back. But the circumstance

that has befallen thee is at the hand of one against whom we cannot fight, whom we

cannot challenge." This they say, and then return.

The philosophers and the scholars come forward, and say: "This circumstance has

been brought about by one against whom we cannot do anything by means of learning

and philosophy, science and sophistry. For all the philosophers of the world are

powerless before him, and all the learned are ignorant beside his knowledge. Otherwise

we would have contrived devices and spoken words which all in creation could not have

withstood." This they say, and then return.

Next the venerable elders advance, and say : "O prince, if this circumstance that has

befallen thee could have been set right by the intercession of elders, we would all have

interceded with humble petitions, and would not have abandoned thee there. But his

circumstance has been brought upon thee by one against whom no mortal man's

intercession profits anything." This they say, and depart.

Now the moon-fair maidens with their plates of gold and precious stones advance,

circle the tent, and say: "Son of Caesar, if this circumstance that has befallen thee could

have been set right by wealth and beauty, we would have sacrificed ourselves and given

great moneys, and would not have abandoned thee. But this circumstance has been

brought upon thee by one on whom wealth and beauty have no effect. " This they say,

and return.

Then Caesar himself with his chief minister enters the tent, and says: "O eye and lamp

of thy father, O fruit of the heart of thy father, O dearest beloved of thy father, what is in

thy father's hand to perform? Thy father brought a mighty army, he brought philosophers

and scholars, intercessors and advisers, beautiful maidens, wealth and all manner of

luxuries; and he came himself. If all this could have been of avail, thy father would have

done all that lay in his power. But this circumstance has been brought about by one

before whom thy father, with all this apparatus, this army and retinue, this luxury and

wealth and treasure, is powerless. Peace be upon you, till next year!" This he says, and

returns.

These words of the minister so affected Hasan that he was beside himself. At once he

made arrangements to return. Coming to Basra, he took an oath never to laugh again in

this world, till his ultimate destiny became clear to him. He flung himself into all manner

of devotions and austerities, such that no man in his time could exceed that discipline.

Hasan of Basra and Abu Amr

It is related that Abu Amr, the leading authority on the reading of the Koran, was

teaching the Koran one day when suddenly a handsome boy arrived to join his class. Abu

Amr gazed at the child improperly, and immediately he forgot the whole Koran, from the

p of "Praise" to the n of "jinn and men". A fire possessed him, and he lost all self-control.

In this state he called on Hasan of Basra and described to him his predicament.

"Master," he wept bitterly, "such is the situation. I have forgotten the whole Koran."

Hasan was most distressed to hear of his situation.

"Now is the season of the pilgrimage," he said. "Go and perform the pilgrimage.

When you have done that, repair to the mosque of Khaif. There you will see an old man

seated in the prayer-niche. Do not spoil his time, but let him be until he is disengaged.

Then ask him to say a prayer for you."

Abut Amr acted accordingly. Seated in a corner of the mosque, he observed a

venerable elder and about him a circle of people seated. Some time passed; then a man

entered, clad in spotless white robes. The people made way before him, greeted him, and

conversed together. When the hour of prayer arrived, the man departed and the people

departed with him, so that the elder remained alone.

Abut Amr then approached and saluted him.

"In Allah's name, help me," he cried.

And he described his predicament. The elder, much concerned, raised his eyes to

heaven.

"He had not yet lowered his head," But Amr recounted, "when the Koran came back to

me. I fell down before him for you."

"Who recommended me to you?" the elder asked.

"Hasan of Basra," Abu Amr replied.

"Anyone who has an imam like Hasan," the old man commented, "what need has he

of another? Well, Hasan has exposed me. Now I will expose him. He rent my veil, and I

will rend his as well. That man," he went on, "in the white robes who entered after the

afternoon prayer and left before the rest, and the others did him reverence - that man was

Hasan. Every day he prays the afternoon prayer in Basra and then comes here, converses

with me, and returns to Basra for the evening prayer. Anyone who has an imam like

Hasan, why should he ask me for a prayer?"

Hasan of Basra and the fire - worshipper

Hasan had a neighbour named Simeon who was a fire worshipper. Simeon fell ill and

was at death's door. Friends begged Hasan to visit him; he called, to find him in bed,

blackened with fire and smoke.

"Fear God," Hasan counseled him. "You have passed all your life amid fire and

smoke. Accept Islam, that God may have mercy on you."

"Three things hold me back from becoming a Muslim," the fire-worshipper replied.

"The first is, that you speak ill of the world, yet night and day you pressure worldly

things. Secondly, you say that death is a fact to be faced, yet you make no preparation for

death. In the third place, you say that God's face shall be seen, yet today you do

everything contrary to His good pleasure."

"This is the token of those who know truly," Hasan commented. "Now if believers act

as you describe, what have you to say ? They acknowledge the unity of God; whereas

you have spent your lift in the worship of fire. You who have worshipped fire for seventy

years, and I who have never worshipped fire-we are both carried off to Hell. Hell will

consume you and me. God will not dare so much as to burn one hair of my body. For fire

is a thing created by God; and the creature is subject to the Creator's command. Come

now, you who have worshipped fire for seventy years; let us both put our hands into the

fire, then you will see with your own eyes the impotence of fire and the omnipotence of

God."

So saying, Hasan thrust his hand into the fire and held it there. Not a particle of his

body was affected or burnt. When Simeon saw this he was amazed. The down of true

knowledge began to break.

"For seventy years I have worshipped fire," he groaned.

"Now only a breath or two remains to me. What am I to do?"

"Become a Muslim," was Hasan's reply.

"If you give it me in writing that God will not punish me," said Simeon, "then I will

believe. But until I have it in writing, I will not believe."

Hasan wrote it down.

'Now order just witnesses of Basra to append their testimony."

The witnesses endorsed the document. Then Simeon wept many tears and proclaimed

the faith. He spoke his last testament to Hasan.

"When I die, bid them wash me, then commit me to the earth, with your own hands,

and place this document in my hand. This document will be my proof."

Having charged Hasan thus he spoke the attestation of faith and died. They washed his

body, said the prayer over him, and buried him with the document in his hand. That night

Hasan went to sleep pondering what he had done.

"How could I help a drowning man, seeing that I am drowning myself? Since I have

no control over my own fate, why did I venture to prescribe how God should act ?"

With this thought he fell asleep. He saw Simeon in a dream glowing like a candle; on

his head a crown, robed in fine raiment, he was walking with a smile in the garden of

Paradise.

"How are you, Simeon ?" Hasan enquired.

"Why do you ask ? You can see for yourself," Simeon answered. "God Almighty of

His bounty brought me nigh His presence and graciously showed me His face. The

favours He showered upon me surpass all description. You have honoured your

guarantee; so take your document. I have no further need of it."

When Hasan awoke, he saw that parchment in his hand.

"Lord God," he cried, "I know well that what Thou doest is without cause, save of Thy

bounty. Who shall suffer loss at Thy door ? Thou grantest a Guebre of seventy years to

come into Thy near presence because of a single utterance. How then wilt Thou exclude a

believer of seventy years?"

THE BEGINNING OF GUIDANCE

by Imam At Ghazali

In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate !

The words of the Shaykh, the Imam, the learned Scholar, the Proof of Islam and the

Blessing of Manking, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-

Ghazail at-Tusi-may God sanctify his rest and lighten the darkness of his tomb :

Praise be to God as is His right, and blessing and peace be upon the best of His

creatures, Muhammad, and on his house and Companions after him!

With eager desire you are setting out to acquire knowledge, my friend ; for yourself

you are making clear how genuine is your longing and how passionate your thirst for it.

Be sure that, if in your quest for knowledge your aim is to gain something for yourself

and to surpass your fellows, to attract men's attention to yourself and to amass this

worldly vanities, then you are on the way to bring your religion to nothing and destroy

yourself, to sell your eternal life for this present one; your bargain is dead loss, your

trading without profit. Your teacher abets you in your disobedience and is partner in

your loss. He is like one who sells a sword to a highwayman, for in the words of the

Prophet (God bless and preserve him), 'whoever aids and abets a sin, even by half a word,

is partner with the sinner in it.'

On the other hand, if in seeking knowledge your intention and purpose between God

most high and yourself is to receive guidance and not merely to acquire information, then

rejoice. The angels will spread out their wings for you when you walk, and the denizens

of the sea will ask pardon form God for you when you run. Above all, however, you

must realize that the guidance which is the fruit of knowledge has a beginning and an

ending, an outward until he has completed the beginning ; no one can discover the inward

aspect until he has mastered the outward.

Here, then, I give you counsel about the Beginning of Guidance, so that thereby you

may test yourself and examine your heart. If you find your heart drawn towards it and

your soul docile and receptive, go ahead, make for the end, launch out into the oceans of

knowledge. If, on the other hand, you find that when you turn to the matter seriously,

your heart tends to procrastinate and to put off actually doing anything about it, then you

may be sure that the part of your soul which is drawn to seek knowledge is the evil

inclined irrational soul. It has been roused in obedience to Satan, the accursed, in order

that he may lower you into the well by the rope of his deception, and by his wiles lure

you to the abyss of destruction. His aim is to press his evil wares upon you in the place

where good were are sold, so that he may unite you with those 'who most lose their

works, whose effort goes astray in this present life though they think they are doing well'

(Q.18,103f)

Moreover Satan, to impress you, rehearses the excellence of knowledge, the high rank

of scholars and the Traditions about knowledge from the Prophet and others. He thus

diverts your attention from sayings of the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) such as

the following : 'Whoever increases in knowledge and does not increase in guidance, only

increases in distance from God'; 'the most severe punishment on the day of Resurrection

is that of the scholar to whom God gave no benefit from his knowledge'; 'O God, I take

refuge with Thee from knowledge which does not benefit, from the heart which does not

humble itself, from the act which is not lifted up to God, and from the prayer which is not

heard' ; 'during my night-journey I passed some groups of people whose lips were cut by

fiery scissors, and I said to them, Who are you? and they replied, We used to command

others to do good and yet ourselves did not do it, and to prohibit others from doing evil

and yet ourselves did it.'

Beware then, unfortunate man, of listening to his fair words, lest he lower you into the

well by the rope of his deception. Woe to the ignorant man, when he has not learned even

once, and woe to the learned man when he has not put into practice what he learned a

thousand times !

People who seek knowledge are of three types. There is the man who seeks knowledge

to take it as his travelling - provision for the life to come ; he seeks thereby only the

Countenance of God and the mansion of eternity; such a man is saved. Then there is the

man who seeks it for the help it gives in his transitory life in obtaining power, influence

and wealth, and at the same time is aware of that ultimate truth and in his heart has some

perception of the worthlessness of his condition and the vileness of his aim. Such a man

is in jeopardy, for if his appointed term comes upon him suddenly before he repents, a

bad end of life is to be feared for him and his fate will depend upon the will (of God) ;

yet, if he is given grace to repent before the arrival of the appointed term, and adds

practice to theory, and makes up for the matters he has neglected, he will join the ranks of

the saved, for 'the man who repents of sin is like the man who has none'.

A third man has been overcome by Satan. He has taken his knowledge as a means to

increase his wealth, the boast of his influence and to pride himself on his numerous

following. By his knowledge he explores every avenue which offers a prospect of

realizing what he hopes for from this world. Moreover he believes in himself that he has

an important place in God's eyes because with his garb and jargon he bears the brand and

stamp of the scholar despite his mad desire of this world both openly and in secret. Such

men will perish, being stupid and easily deceived, for there is no hope of their repentance

since they fancy that they are acting well. They are unmindful of the words of God most

high, 'O ye who have believed, why do ye say what ye do not do'? (Q.61,2), To them may

be applied the saying of the Messenger of God (God bless and preserve him), 'I fear on

your account one who is not the Dajjal (or Anti Christ) more than I fear the Dajjal, and

when someone said to him, 'Who is that ?' he replied, 'An evil scholar'.

The point of this is that the aim of the Dajjal is to lead men astray. The scholar is

similar. If he turns men from this world by what he says, that he calls them to it by what

he is and what he does. A man's conduct speaks more eloquently than his worlds. Human

nature is more inclined to share in what is done than to follow what is said. The

corruption caused by the acts of this misguided man is greater than the improvement

effected by his words, for the ignorant man does not venture to set his desire on this

world till the scholars have done so. Thus this man's knowledge has become a cause of

God's servants venturing to disobey Him. Despite that his ignorant soul remains

confident; it fills him with desire and hope, and urges him to expect a reward from God

for his knowledge. It suggests to him that he is better than many of God's servants.

Be of the first group, then, O seeker of knowledge. Avoid being of the second group,

for many a procrastinator is suddenly overtaken by his appointed term before repenting,

and is lost. But beware, above all beware, of being in the third group and perishing utterly

without any hope or expectation of salvation.

If, then, you ask, What is the Beginning of Guidance in order that I may test my soul

thereby? know that the beginning of guidance is outward piety and the end of guidance is

inward piety. Only through piety is anything really achieved; only the pious are guided.

Piety designates carrying out the commands of God most high and turning aside from

what He prohibits, and thus has two parts. In what follows I expound to you briefly the

outward aspect of the science of piety in both its parts.

PART 1. ACTS OF OBEDIENCE

The commands of God most high prescribe obligatory works and supererogatory

works. The obligatory work is the capital on which the trading activities are based and

through which man comes to safety (or salvation). The supererogatory work is the profit

which gives a man a higher degree of success. The Prophet (God bless and preserve him)

said : God most blessed and most high says, 'Nothing brings men near to Me like the

performance of what I made obligatory for them; and through works of supererogation

My servant comes ever nearer to Me until I love him, and when I have bestowed My love

on him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his

tongue with which he speaks, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he

walks'.

You will never arrive at fulfilling the commands of God, my dear student, unless you

watch over your heart and your members every single moment from morning to night.

God most high is aware of your secret being ; He observes your inner and your outer man

; He comprehends your every glance, your every thought, your every step, and whatever

else you do, moving or resting. Alike in company and in solitude you live constantly in

His presence. Throughout celestial and terrestrial regions nothing is at rest and nothing

moves without the Governor of the heavens and the earth being aware of it. 'He knoweth

the treachery of the eyes, and what is concealed in the breasts' (Q.40, 20); 'He knoweth

the secret and what is still more hidden' (Q.20,6)

So, miserable man, your behaviour both inward and outward in the presence of God

most high must be that of the lowly and erring slave in the presence of the powerful and

victorious king. Let your endeavour be that you master may not see you where he forbade

you to be and may not miss you where he commanded you to be. You will not manage to

do this, however, unless you plan out your time and order your activities from morning to

evening. From the moment you wake from sleep until the time when you return to your

bed be diligent in performing the commands God most high lays upon you.

1. On waking from Sleep.

In waking from sleep endeavour to be awake before daybreak. Let the first activity of

heart and tongue be the mention of God most high. Say here : 'Praise be to God Who has

made us alive after making us dead; to Him are we raised up again. It is for God that we

and all creation have come to this day. His is the greatness and the authority. His is the

might and the power, Lord of the worlds. In the disposition of surrender to God (islam)

have we come to this day, and in the word of sincerity, in the religion of our prophet

Muhammad (God bless and preserve him) and in the community of our father Abraham,

a hanif, surrendered to god (Muslim), not one of the idolaters. O God we beseech Thee

that Thou wouldest direct us this day to all good. I take refuge with Thee from

committing evil this day and from bringing evil upon a Muslim. O God, through Thee

have we come to this day, and through Thee have we come to the night; through Thee do

we live, through Thee do we die, and the Thee are we raised up. We beseech Thee for the

good of this day and of what is in it; we take refuge with Thee from the evil of this day

and of what is in it'.

When you put on your clothes make the intention of fulfilling the commands of God

about covering your nakedness. Do not let your purpose in wearing clothes be to

dissemble before creatures, so that you go astray.

RULES FOR THE NOVICE

Kitab Adab al-Muridin

AN ABRIDGED TRANSLATION

by Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi.

1. A blessing on the Prophet and his family.

2. Everyone who seeks a thing should know its essence and true nature so that his

desire for it may be fulfilled. No one can properly know the way of the Sufis until he

knows their fundamental beliefs, their rules of conduct (Adab) and their technical terms.

Because of the great number of false pretenders, the state of the true Sufis has been

ignored. However, the corruption of the former should not impugn the upright.

The word adab (plural of Adab) is rendered in this translation as 'Ethics" or "rules of

conduct".

(It is difficult to convey the exact connotations of these terms for they have different

meanings that are interrelated and partially overlapping. Adab means rules of conduct

and adab (sing). consequently somethings means proper conduct. In a different context,

adab or adab can mean belles - lettres. One could perhaps say that either the singular or

the plural form can be rendered approximately as culture in two senses: (a) the contents

of a certain culture and (b) the literature intended to transmit this cultural content and to

educate. Sections 42 and 43 below offer examples of this interrelationship and

overlapping. For further details on these terms, see Meir, "Ein Knigge fur Sufis'"

The need to distinguish between genuine Sufis and those who arrogate this title to

themselves is a recurrent theme in Sufi works; see parallels in my edition of the Arabic

text, sec.2.a.) 3. Kawn is the Arabic equivalent of the philosophical term "generation".

4. This is the opinion of Ash ari's school; see on this question Shaykh - Zadeh, p. 68,

and cf. Kalabadhi, Kitab al-Ta'rruf li-Madhhab Ahl al-Tasawwuf (Cairo, 1960), pp. 68-

69, or its English translation in Arberry, Doctrine of the sufis, p.53, Kalabadhi states that

it cannot be determined whether the prophets are superior to the angels or vice versa.

5. This article is rather typical of Abu al -Najib's approach to ethics in general. It

differs quite radically from the more ascetic Sufi attitude - to shun even what is

permitted.

6. The word 'faith' is used here as an approximate rendering of iman, which signifies

the sum total of attributes that qualify a man as a true Muslim (mu'min)

7. See Introduction above n.65.

Hasan al-Basri is making a distinction here between two aspeacts of iman: (a) a formal

- legal aspect, which is the condition of membership in the community of Islam, and (b) a

mysterious mode of being which involves the final bliss, Hasan uses the "conditional

expression" with respect to the latter aspect of iman.

9. The Malamati attempts to demonstrate in this manner that he is free from

ostentation.

10. It is noteworthy that in the corresponding chapter in Kalabadhi's Ta'arruf there is

no such statement concerning God's wrath and pleasure. The Maturidites did not agree

that God's pleasure and wrath cannot be affected by the acts of man. On this difference

between the Ash' arites and the Maturidites, see Shaykh Zadeh, pp. 62-63

11. The concept of rida has two aspects : when used in reference to God, it signifies

His benevolence; when used in reference to man, it means acceptance of and contentment

with the divine decree.

12. I.e. fear of punishment and hope for reward in the hereafter.

13. He 'whose heart becomes pure" is undoubtedly the Sufi. Thisphrase seems to

allude to the popular etymology of Sufi from gafa, i.e., to be pure (ef. Sarraj, p. 26, and

Eng. abstract, p.9; ef. also Kalabadhi, p.21, and its Eng. trans, Arberry, Doctrine of the

Sufis, p.5)

14. The expression fi allah used and elsewhere means that social relations should be

motivated not by worldly considerations but by religious motives. See the use of this

expression in ses. 103, 106 below.

15. Sections 20-22 are linked to section 19; in the arabic text this is evident, since

these sections are syntactically dependent on the introductory phrase of section 19, wa-

ajma u, " they all agree." Section 19 presents the dogma that all the acts of man are

predestined by God. This theological dogma may have disruptive effects on moral

attitudes; it is therefore counterbalanced in sections 20-22 by stressing the psychological

attitude (fear - hope) and legal and social obligations.

16. This section is intended to justify the Sufi practice of wearing clothes in special

colors, which was considered by some as a deviation from the custom (sunna) of the

Prophet. See parallels in my edition of the Arabic text.

17. This section justifies the Sufi practice of mystical audition (sama)

18. This is an interesting explanation of the mental origin of the mystical dance. See a

similar explanation by Ahmad al-Ghazali in Robson, Tracts on Listening to Music, p. 159

(and Eng. trans, pp. 55-100)

19. On the significance of himma, see F. Meier, Die Fawa ih al-Gamal, pp.233 ff.

PART 1

3. God (allah) is one, having no partner, no rival, no equal. He is described by the

terms in which He described Himself. He is not a body nor a substance nor an accident.

He cannot be encompassed by thought, His reality cannot be truly expressed, and sight

cannot perceive Him. Everything said in relation to Him is only by supposition. We do

not say "His being (kawnuhu)" but rather "His existence" (wujuduhu), because not every

existent (mawjud) is a (generated) being (ka'in), but every generated being is existent.

God is unlike anything that can be imagined or understood. The questions when ? how ?

Where? cannot be asked with regard to God, for He existed before time ; His essence is

concealed from description ; and He is beyond place. The cause of everything is His

creation, but there is no cause to His creation. His essence (dhat) is not like other

essences and His attributes (sifat) and not like other attributes.

4. All that is mentioned in the Quran and the Hadith concerning the Face, the Hand,

the Soul, the Hearing, and the Sight of God is affirmed. The doctrine of the Sufis

concerning "God is sitting on he throne" is, in conformity with the dictum of Malik b.

Anas on this matter, that belief in it is obligatory. Such is also their doctrine on the

descent of God.

5. The Quran is the uncreated speech of God.

6. The possibility of the beatific vision (ru'yat allah) in paradise by eyesight is

affirmed. (Hadith is quoted to prove this.)

7. All the details of eschatology included in the Quran and in the Hadith are affirmed.

The list is as follows : paradise, hell, the tablet, the pen, the basin, intercession, the sirat

bridge, the balance, the trumpet, the punishment in the tomb, the interrogation by the

angels Munkar and Nakir, the saving of some people from hell by intercession, the belief

that paradise and hell will exist forever and that their inhabitants will be in them forever;

however, Muslims who have committed grave sins will not be in hell forever.

8. God creates the actions of men, just as He creates men themselves. Also,

polytheism and disobedience occur by the judgment and predestination of God. Prayer is

permitted behind any imam, pious or impious.

9. The office of the Caliph belongs to Quraysh (the tribe of the Prophet). Revolt is

prohibited even if the ruler is unjust.

10. The hierarchy of excellence : prophets are the most excellent of manking,

Muhammad is the most excellent of prophets, then (after the prophets) come Abu Bakr,

'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali in this order, then the rest of the ten (Companions) about whom

Muhammad testified that they will enter paradise and all others about whom Muhammad

tistified, then (the rest of) the generation of the Prophet, then the 'ulama' who observe the

law, then those who are the most useful to others.

11. There is unanimous agreement that the Messengers are more excellent than angles,

but there is variance as to the order of priority between men and angels.

12. It is a religious duty to seek that which is permitted. Whoever appears to be good

should not be suspected with regard to his property and gain.

13. Compete faith (iman) consists of confirmation by the tongue, belief withing the

heart, and performance of the basic duties of Islam (al-arkan). He who does not fulfil the

first requirement is unbeliever (kafir); he who does not fulfil the second is a hypocrite

(munafiq); he who abandons practice is a sinner (fasiq), and whoever does not follow the

custom of the Prophet is an innovator (mubtadi).

14. It is considered proper to use the conditional expression (istithna) in regard to the

declaration of belief. Hasan al-Basri was asked, "Are you truly a mu'min (believer)?" He

answered, "If you ask me about that (attribute) by virtue of which I may not be slain with

impunity by another Muslim, and what I slaughter is lawfully edible, and I may marry a

Muslim woman - then I am truly a believer. If, however, you ask me about that (attribute)

by virtue of which I may enter paradise and be saved from hell and gain His pleasure -

then I am truly a believer, if Allah will it." (Quran and Hadith are quoted in support of the

use of istithna)

15. It is permitted to occupy oneself in commerce and crafts. The lowest way of

earning one's livelihood is begging.

16. Poverty (faqr) is better than riches. Gabriel advised the Prophet not to accept the

treasures of the earth. (Quotations from Quran and Hadith are adduced to prove the

preferability of poverty).

17. Poverty is not identical with Sufism (tasawwuf); rather, the completion of the

former stage is the beginning of the latter. The Sufi is different from the Malamati, for the

Malamati is one who would not demonstrate a good work nor conceal a bad one, whereas

the Sufi does not concern himself at all with the opinion that other people have of him.

18. It is preferable not to be occupied with commerce and crafts but rather to devote

oneself to acts of piety; this rule is applicable to such people who, having complete trust

in God's providence, are not concerned with worldly matters.

19. They all agree that the acts of men are not the cause of bliss or damnation, because

pleasure and wrath (rida and suc\kht) are eternal attributes of God which are not changed

by the acts of men. God causes man to act according to His decree, and men should

accept the divine decree with pleasure (rida).

20. Fear and hope are both necessary to prevent bad conduct.

21. Observance of the laws is necessary. God may remove the sense of burden arising

from the legal duties from him whose heart becomes pure but not the obligations

themselves, because the human qualities do not cease in anyone. Some classes of men are

freed in various degrees from human weaknesses ; these are, in declining order : siddiqun

(saints), arifun (knowers, or Sufis who have achieved the esoteric knowledge), muridun

(novices).

22. Love for the sake of God (al-hubb fi allah) and hate for the sake of God (al-budhd

fi allah) are among the firmest ties of the faith. It is obligatory, within the limits of

capability, to commend the good and forbid evil (al-amr bil-ma'ruf wal-nahy an al-

munkar)

23. They all agree in affirming the belief if the miracles of saints. The difference

between the miracles of saints (karamat) and the miracles of prophets (mu-jizat) is that

the prophet is required to publish the miracle, whereas the saint should conceal the grace

(karama) which God vouchsafed to him, unless God causes it to be publicly known.

24. They disapprove of disputes on matters of theology and recommend that one be

occupied in legal and ethical matters.

25. They all agree on the permissibility of wearing all clothes except what is

prohibited by the shari a, namely, what is made mostly of silk. The Sufis prefer worn

clothes and patched frocks (muraqqa'at), and they choose to wear patched frocks for a

number of reasons.

26. The color preferred by the Prophet was green. The Prophet also said, "Your best

clothes are white." But this means "your most beautiful clothes and those most suitable

for other people."

27. They all agree that it is commendable to recite the Quran in a beautiful voice or

melody, as long as this does not violate the meaning.

28. As for listening. (in the course of sama) to poems and songs (one should apply to it

the dictum of the Prophet): having been asked about poetry, the Prophet said, "It is a kind

of speech, some of it is (morally) good and hence commedable, some is repugnant and

hence reprehensible." Poetry should therefore be judged on the basis of its subject matter

and classified as commendable, permissible, disapproved, or forbidden. He who has

divine knowledge may listen to such poems as are disapproved of for other people,

because he can distinguish between natural inclination and reprehensible desire, between

divine inspiration and satanic temptation.

29. (A number of saying on the subject of sama)

30. (People who attend the Sufi audition differ as to their state (hal) while listening.

Some are overcome by fear (khawf) or grief (huzn) or yearning (shawq); it may cause

them to weep and groan and tear their clothes and become unconscious. Other are

overcome with hope (raja) and joy (farah) and delight (istibshar), and this may induce

them to rejoice and dance and clap their hands.)

31. The sama may arouse in the participant a desire for the Beloved, and consequently

he will jump and turn about, moved by the spirit (ruh) desiring to ascend back to its

heavenly origin. Or this dance may be performed by the Sufis in order to divert or relieve

themselves while in the state of sama. The latter practice is not forbidden; however it is

not one of the qualities of those who attain to the "reality."

32. Abu 'Abdallah al-Rudhabari on sama. "The secret (sirr) of him who is truthful in

the sama consists of three things: knowledge of God, fulfillment of what is required by

his spiritual state, and concentration of religious ambition (jam al-himma)." He stipulates

three conditions with regard to the place where the sama may properly be held. The

listeners may be in three inner states : love, fear, and hope (mahabba, khawf, raja).

Movement in the course of sama may be inspired by three inner states : repture (taarab),

ecstatic yearning (wajd), and fear. Each of these has three characteristic symptoms:

repture - dancing, clapping, and joy; ecstatic yearning - absence of selfhood (ghayba),

loss of personal will and consciousness (istilam), and screaming; fear - weeping ,

slapping oneself, and moaning.

Note : Please read 'Peace be upon after the name of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)

EXCERTPS FROM 'FUTUH AL-GHAIB

By Ghouse al Azam

THE NINTH DISCOURSE

In the name of the Allah the most Beneficial and the Most Merciful

He (Allah be pleased with him) said :

Such acts of Allah are manifested to the Awliya and the Abdal in the course of Kashf

(spiritual vision) and Mushahida (spiritual experiences) as overwhelm the reasoning

power of man and shatter into pieces all habits and customs. This manifestation is of two

kinds - one of them is called Jalal (majesty and glory), and the other Jamal (gracefulness).

The Jalal produces a disquieting fear and creates a disturbing apprehension and

overpower the heart in such an awful manner that its symptoms become visible on the

physical body. Thus it is narrated of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings

of Allah be upon him) that during prayer a simmer very much like that of a boiling

cauldron could be heard from his heart and this on account of the intensity of fear caused

by his observing the Majesty of Allah, an experience which also revealed to Him glory.

And similar things are reported from Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) alaihissalam the friend

of Allah and Caliph Hazrat Umar (peace of Allah be on both.)

The experience of Allah's graceful manifestation, however, is His reflection on the

heart of man producing light, joy, elegance and sweet words and loving conversation and

glad tidings with regard to great gifts and high position and closeness to Himself, whereto

all their affairs are eventually to return, and in the allotment of which in the beginning of

time the pen of destiny became dried and which were appointed in the remote past. This

is a favour from Him and mercy and a confirmation meant for them is this world till the

completion of time which is appointed. This is done so that they may not exceed the

limits of appropriate love in the sheer intensity of their desire for it and thereby their

hearts may not break and they meet with destruction or become weakened by their

standing in servitude till the time there comes to them certainly by which we mean death.

He does this with them just out of kindness and mercy and regard and also by way of

training their hearts our of affection because. He is wise, knowing, gentle towards them

and kind. So it is that it is related to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be

upon him) that he used to say to Hazrat Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) who used

to sound the call for prayers : "Cheer our heart, O Bilal." What he meant was that he

should sound the call of prayer so that the Holy Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings

be upon him) might enter the state of prayer to experience those graceful manifestations

of Allah which we have already discussed. This is why the Holy Prophet (may Allah's

peace and blessings be upon him) said. "And the coolness of my eyes has been reposed in

prayer.

THE TENTH DISCOURSE

He (Allah be pleased with him) said :

Verily there is nothing excepting Allah and your self and you are the addresser, and

the self of man is opposed to Allah and inimical to Him and all things are subordinate to

Allah and the self of man really belongs to Allah as a creation and as a possession and the

self of man entertains presumptions where from arise false hopes and passions and

sensual pleasure. So if you ally yourself with belong to Allah and become inimical to

your self. Thus Allah said to Prophet Dawood (David) (peace be on him); "O Dawood

(David), I am your unavoidable resort, so hold firmly to this resort; true servitude consists

in your becoming inimical to your own self for My sake." It is then that your friendliness

towards. Allah and servitude of Him will become a proved fact. and it is then that you

will get your share of things holy, wholesome and pleasant. You will then become dear

and honourable and everything will become your servant and render you homage and will

be afraid of you, because all of them are subordinate to their Allah and in harmony with

Him, since He is their Creater and Originator and they acknowledge their servitude to

Him. Allah says :

"And there is nothing that does not glorify Him with praises, but you do not

understand their prayer".

This means that everything in this universe is conscious of His presence and obeys His

commands. And Allah of might and glory said:

Then He said to it and to the world : "Come you both willingly or unwillingly," and

they both said: "We come willingly".

Thus all servitude consists in opposing your self and your carnal desires. Allah says :

"Do not follow your low desires because they will lead you astray from the path of

Allah.(xxxvii-26)

He has also said:

"Shun your low desires because there is nothing that contends with Me in My

kingdom excepting the carnal desire of man."

And there is a famous incident related of Abu Yazid Bustami (may Allah's mercy be

upon him) that when he saw Allah the Almightily in his dream, he asked Him, "How is

one to get to You?" Allah said, "Discard yourself and come to Me." "Then," continues the

Saint, "I got out of my self as a snake gets out of its slough." Thus all good lies in

fighting one's self in everything and in all conditions of life. If, therefore you are in a

state of piety oppose your self so much so that you may keep away from the forbidden

things of the people and their doubtful things and from their acts of help and from

depending on them and putting any reliance on them or from any fear from them or from

coveting what they possess of the vanities of the world. Thus you should not expect any

gift from them by way of present or alms or charity or by way of redemption for certain

lapses in a fulfillment of some vow. You should, therefore, free your self from all

concern about the means of the world in all their various aspects so much so that if you

have got a relation who is wealthy do not desire his death with a view to inheriting his

wealth. Thus you should get out of the creation with a strenuous effort and consider them

like a gate that closes and opens and like a tree which sometimes yields fruit and at other

times remains barren and (know that ) every such event is the doing of a doer and

planned by a planner and He is Allah, so that you may be believer in the oneness of

Allah.

And do not forget at the same time the position of human efforts so as not to fall a

victim to the creed of the fatalists (Jabariyya), and believe that no action attains its

fulfillment but in Allah, the Exalted. You should not, therefore, worship them and thus

forget Allah nor should you say that the actions of men proceed from anything but from

Allah because if you say so you will become an unbeliever and belongs to the category of

people known as Qadriya (believers in the doctrine that men have absolute control over

the origin and cause of actions.) You should rather say that actions belong to Allah in

points of creation and to men in point of effort, and this is the view that has been handed

down to us by traditions which relate to the discussion on rewards and punishments.

And execute the commandment of Allah pertaining to them (people) and set apart your

own share from them by His commandment and do not exceed this limit because the

order of Allah will stand and it will judge you as well as them; do not be the judge

yourself. And your being with them (people) is a decree of Allah and this decree of Allah

is in darkness, so enter this darkness with a lamp which is also the judge and this is the

Book of Allah and the practice of His Holy Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be

upon him). Do not go beyond these two. But if there arises in your mind any thought or

you receive any revelation, submit them before the Book of Allah and the practice of His

Holy Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

And if you find in these (authorities) a prohibition against what has occurred to you or

been received by you through revelation, such as if it is revealed to you that you should

commit fornication or take to usury to keep company with immoral people or something

else in the line of sinfulness, keep away from such a course of action and abstain from it

and do not accept it and do not act upon it and remain firm in your it and do not accept it

and do not act upon it and remain firm in your conviction that this must be from devil the

accursed and if you find in these two authorities just an allowance for the things revealed

to you such as fulfillment of lawful desires like eating, drinking, dressing or marrying,

etc. abstain from it likewise and do not accept it and know that it is a suggestion of your

animal self and its desires and that you are commanded to oppose it and be hostile to it.

And if you find in the Book of Allah and in the practice of the Holy Prophet (may

Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) neither any prohibition nor a mere permission

for the thing received through revelation but is a thing which you cannot understand, such

for instance as that you are asked to go to a certain place or meet such and such a

righteous person whereas through the blessings of Allah bestowed on you in the from of

knowledge and illumination you do not stand in need of going to that place or meeting

the person mentioned, hold your patience in the matter and do not be in any hurry about

it, so as to ask yourself: "Is it a revelation from Allah and should I act upon it ?" Rather

wait do decide on any step in the matter. And it is a practice of Allah of power and glory

to repeat such a revelation and to command you to be quick in your efforts in the matter

or to reveal such a sign which is revealed to the people of knowledge of Allah - a sign

which is understandable only by the intelligent among the Awliya and the confirmed

among the Abdal, and you should by no means be in any hurry matter and the ultimate

purpose of the affair, nor are you aware of where lies a trail and a path of ruin, and a

subtle planning contrived by Allah and an examination for you.

So you should be patient till Allah Himself becomes the doer of the thing in you. So

when the act becomes distinctively of Allah and you are carried to such a position, if now

any trial confronts you, you will be safely carried through it because Allah the Exalted

will not chastise you for an action which is His own and it is certain that chastisement

comes to you for your active participation in the happening of a thing.

And if you are in the state of reality and it is the state of Wilayat (Saintliness), then

stand opposed to your passions and obey the commandments fully. And obedience to

commandments is of two kinds. One is that you should take from the world means of

subsistence to the extent of the just demands of yourself and that you should avoid

indulging in sensual pleasures and perform your duties and engage yourself in warding

off sins, open and secret. And the second kind relates to the hidden commandment; and it

is the commandment of Allah with which He either enjoins His servant to do or forbids

him doing anything. And this hidden commandment applies to things permissible, for

which there is no positive injunction in the Law, in the sense that they neither belong to

the class of prohibited things, nor to the class of things specified as obligatory, but are

rather of an obscure nature wherein the servant is given complete freedom to act, and

these are called Mubah. In these the servant should not take any initiative, but wait for an

order concerning them. When he receives an order he obeys it. Thus all his movements

and restful conditions become dedicated to Allah. If there is an injunction in Law with

regard to a certain thing, he acts in accordance with it, but if there is no injunction in the

Law, he acts on the hidden commandment. It is through these that he becomes confirmed

as a man attaining reality.

And where there is not (even) this hidden commandment, and is just an act of Allah, it

entails a state of resignation. And if you have attained the truth of truth which is

otherwise called the state of immersion (mahw) or annihilator (fana) it is the state of the

Abdal who are broken-hearted on account of Him, a state belonging to pure monotheists,

to men of spiritual enlightenment; to men of knowledge and (higher) intelligence (who

are) chief of the chiefs, the wardens and protectors of people, the vicegerents of the

Beneficient, and His friends and confidants, peace be on them. To pay obedience to the

commandment in such matters is to go against your own self and to be free from reliance

on any ability and power and to be absolutely devoid of all will and purpose with regard

to anything of this world and the hereafter. Thus you will become the servant of the King,

and not of the Kingdom, of Divine commandment and not of the desires of the flesh and

will become like a baby in the care of a nature or a dead body at the time of funeral wash

in the hands of the washer or an unconscious patient laying before the physician, in all

matters that are outside the range of injunctions and prohibition.

IS SILENCE GOLDEN?

By Dr. S.L.Peeran

It is commonly observed that people make loud thinking and express their anxieties.

Sometimes abuses are also uttered.

Persons hearing this talk, need not participate or take notice of this or interfere; as the

person, who has formulated his loud talk, might have been influenced by many factors,

and hence any person hearing this, should not take notice at all. The loud talk is in the

realm of imagination and not a reality.

There is an unwritten law in morals and customs as well as in religious ethics that a

person should be cautions about their utterances, as such utterances will have serious

consequences.

Silence, patience and prayers are suggested remedies. It is a golden remedy. It

prevents many complications that crop up due to such loud thinking, as many persons do

not have capacity to make distinction between loud talk, vain talk or outburst of emotions

or about cold calculated thought, which is crystallised for execution and action.

Persons of high maturity which is attained due to experience in life, religious influence

and spirituality concentrate on the Almighty and ponder His creation. Some persons, who

have not cultivated their manners and are bereft or high thinking and spiritual life, tend to

comment on others, with a view to cause injury and hurt.

In such circumstances as well, the person exposed to such vain talk, should not react

and by remaining calm and aloof, he wards of much evil, mischief and wrong. He should

not express his hurt or react to such vain and inglorious person's activities. Totally

neglecting such persons and keeping distance is the best remedy. Spiritual people

maintain calm and total distance from such vain, inglorious and vulgar talk and do not

participate or react to such people's behaviour.

Spiritual people's aim is to elevate their self to high goals of ultimate goodness.

Goodness is achieved by purifying thought, mind and action, for which silence is

essential and to remain totally aloof and in non-participation in such talks and being in

such company.

Just as an innocuous remarks or loud thinking does not call for reaction or comments by

persons hearing it, likewise, praise of one's personality may have arisen out of some

motive to please the person in question. It may be misleading and not arising out of

genuine reasons or the praise may not be a real one. A person may be applauded today,

but at the same time, his other deeds might have been overlooked or not taken notice of.

It quite often happens that the real nature of a praised person is never revealed. His dark

deeds are camouflaged and when it gets exposed, the very praised person is denigrated.

Praise is like a poison to personal spiritual growth. It may encourage and enliven the

person for some time, if it has been made for some genuine achievement, but praise for

praise's sake, damages the person's perspective and the praised one begins to live in a

"fools paradise", and due to this consistent feeling of elation, he develops ego and

personality disorder. Therefore, it is philosopher's advice to avoid praise or flattery.

A Poem from Divani Shams Tabriz

By Moulana Rumi

A garden - may its rose be in flower to Resurrection !

An idol-may the two worlds be scattered o'er his beauty!

The prince of the fair goes goes proudly forth to the chase at morning ;

May our hearts fall a prey to the arrow of his glance !

From his eye what messages are passing continually to mine!

May my eyes be gladdened and filled with intoxication by his message !

I broke an ascetic's door : with a prayer he banned me,

Saying, 'Go may all thy life be without peace !'

No peace, no heart is left me, on account of his prayer, by the Friend

Who thirsts for our blood - may God befriend him !

My body is like the moon which is melting for love,

My heart like Zuhra's lute - may its strings be broken !

Look not on the moon's waning nor on Zuhra's broken state;

Behold the sweetness of his affliction - may it was a thousandfold !

What a bride is in the soul ! By the reflection of her face

May the world be freshened and coloured like the hands of the newly - married !

Look not on the fleshly cheek which corrupts and decays;

Look on the spiritual cheek - may it be sweet and agreeable!

The dark body resembles a raven, and the body's world winter;

Oh, in spite of these two unpleasants may there be eternal spring !

For these two unpleasants subsist by the four elements :

May the subsistence of thy servants depend on something other than these four !

SIMPLICITY

By Dr. S.L.Peeran

Isn't Simplicity Divinity profound ?

In it is sincerity found.

Shining Truth radiates its glory;

It's lustrous light tells its own story.

It admits not an iota of lie;

It lets not calmness ever die,

It gives Tranquility its due,

And patience is its main virtue.

Profound it is in goodness,

And quick in its forgiveness.

Steady and straight is its path,

Its thoughts, in purity take a bath.

All promises made, it keeps up,

With knowledge it fills its cup.

Simplicity is humble and modest

But never bows to pride's behest.

It always remains without rear;

To everyone it's always dear.

CHARITY

By Dr. S.L.Peeran

Isn't charity beyond filial relationship ?

To cut across all barriers, of colour and race

Beyond self, but with warmth and cheer,

Isn't it like a diamond reflecting glorious colours ?

The stillness of night brings eerie silence,

Shrouded in mystery and fears abound.

Lift's rumblings draws in its bosom dark clouds,

But, charity shines like a sliver lining

Doesn't divinity sparkle in charity ?

Its brilliance surrounds saintly beings.

Permeating every aspect of their lives.

Gushing forth from their bosom as love.

Charity purifies mind, enlightens the soul,

And lightens the burden of craving,

The burning greed vanishes from the heart,

Raising goodness to a Divine Path.

THE DREAMS ON THE HORIZON

By Dr. S.L.Peeran

The mirth and joys of life are so attractive that they create dreams even among the

rustics living for ages in the remotest villages in our countryside. The fast

industrialisation, the improvements in the towns and cities and political consciousness,

enthuse people to spread their tentacles to the last man of a village. The lure created in

the minds of these villagers for the purpose of a single precious vote, has awakened the

sleeping giant.

In one such remotest village of Kotegenahalli in Channapatna Taluk of Bangalore

District lived the poorest of the poor. The young mother yellamma had just returned

from the farm of Dasare Gowda, after completing her daily farm work. She had just

crossed fifteen and the severe labour pains and her yellings attracted the attention of the

village elderly lady, Kuppamma, a benign mid-wife. In the thatched shed, her husband,

Prasada, a youth of twenty with his aged parents were in panic and couldn’t think of what

to do. He was blabbering and yelling with tears trickling uncontrollably and his sobbings

attracted all the neighbours. The women gathered round the hut and Prasada anxiously

waited outside praying for Deviyamma, his village goddess to bless his wife and show

mercy to Yellamma. Then he heard the cry of the baby and all the men surrounding the

small hut let out a cry hailing Deviyamma for blessing them. The mid-wife Kuppamma

held the bonny child, who was licking the honey placed on the lips by her.

Prasada’s fear turned to joy. Every one gathered there jumped in joy and called out

“Ananda, Ananda”. Prasada rushed inside the hut, his mother was holding the head of

Yellamma. A pot with water was in a corner and blood smeared all over. Yellamma’s

saree and petty coat were in blood. A cloth had been tied around her stomach. Prasada’s

sweet tone brought Yellamma to senses. She opened her eyes and looked enquiringly at

Prasada. She felt relieved to see smiles all around. Prasada yelled “Maga” “Maga” (son,

son). Yellamma uttered a big sign and looked at Prasada. Prasada’s mother quickly

brought sugarcane bits, with groundnuts and jaggery in a basket and gave it to Prasada to

distribute it to the villagers gathered outside. He rushed out and distributed handfuls to

all the villagers. The bony child was named Ananda.

Ananda had bright shiny eyes. Prasada would rush to his hut on the slightest pretext

and would pick up the suckling Ananda in his arms. He would break into folk dance and

sing mirthful songs. Yellamma sometimes would refuse to give the child to Prasada. She

would make Prasada to take oath on Deviyamma to send Ananda to school.

Everyday Yellamma would bathe Dasare Gowda’s children and would dress them in

school uniform and carry them to the nearby hobbli’s school, the only school for 20

villages spread over a radius of 20 kms. Yellamma dreamt of Ananda also going to

school. But being a tribal, she feared the higher caste people. Would they allow her

child to learn alphabets and lisp numbers? Couldn’t she dream of educating her child?

Her mind was filled with umpteen fears and doubts. She was an ardent devotee of

goddess Deviyamma and she knew that Prasada also dreamt like her of educating her

little diamond Ananda.

Prasada would turn bitter and would let out a curse on the higher caste “ajamanas”,

who never let him peep at the classrooms or even go near the school, let alone hold a

slate and a pencil. Yellamma would taunt Prasada. She would sometimes break into

loud cries and sob uncontrollably, when Prasada would express his doubts and fears.

Prasada always felt that they were born to live a life of wretchedness and shackled

slavery. How could Deviyamma change their fate when for ages they had lived in chill

penury?

Yellamma wouldn’t have it any of the mutterings of Prasada. She was determined to

fulfill her dreams.

Yellamma, as soon as she resumed her farm work, took her bonny Ananda with her.

At every given opportunity, she would make Ananda, mix with the children of Dasare

Gowda. When Ananda reached five years of age, he had picked up very fast all the

alphabets and could count till hundred. The youngest son of Dasare Gowda, Vignesh

Gowda, was two years older than Ananda. He became very fond of Ananda and would

play with him. He refused to heed to his parents’ scoldings and reprimand, not to mingle

with the tribal boys. Vidnesh was mischievous and a dare devil too. He became the

monitor of his class and he instinct of leadership was sown in him. As a seed sprouts, it

develops into a healthy sapling and such a good one would always get the tender care of

the farmer. The plant would be disinfected regularly, watered, mannered and pruned.

Likewise, Vignesh got all he wanted from Dasare Gowda. He became adamant and

wouldn’t go to school unless Ananda accompanied him.

Dasare Gowda was a kind man and the chief of the village panchayat. The Congress

Party’s slogan of untouchability had reached the innermost corner of his heart. He

readily yielded to the insistence of Vignesh to allow Ananda to be put to school. But his

wife, Kamalamma knew that Vignesh had been brainwashed by Yellamma. Vignesh was

brought up by Yellamma. They would leave Vignesh in her care, whenever they had to

go to the neighbouring village for festivals or weddings. Kamalamma blamed Dasare

Gowda for spoiling Vidnesh and allowing him to be corrupted in Ananda’s company.

One fine day Kamalamma threw out Yellamma from the work accusing her of theft of

valuables. By now Ananda had completed the 5th

Standard. Prasada fell seriously ill

with T.B. her world fell apart and so also her dreams. She could not dare to go near the

farm house of “Dasare Gowda nor walk to the Hobbli’s school. She had to be content

with picking dead wood from the nearby forest, collection various roots and seeds of jack

fruit, su n flower, poppy and other grains and selling them. She would collect flowers,

make a garland and sell it at the nearest b us stand, which was 10 kms away. She would

sell seasonal fruits. She would forego her lunch and dinner and lived on a single meal of

“Ragi balls” (millet) and tamarind chuttney. Tamarind was collected from the road side

trees.

She would not fail to go to the temple of Deviyamma and pray with all her heart and

soul to bless her son Ananda with the light of knowledge.

Vignesh was a clever boy. He never liked his mother and her scoldings. The more he

heard his mother speaking ill of untouchability, the more he would become determined to

help Ananda. He did not like his uncles brutally assaulting and beating the farm

labourers and refusing to pay their wages. He grew to be a strong lad. He would beat and

thrash any fellow teasing and hurting the untouchables. Vidnesh became an eye sore for

the other landlords’ children.

Vignesh was not alone. He slowly gained friends. As a village chief’s son, he could

not be ignored. The village school Teacher Narayana Rao secretly hated the landlords.

He knew that the village school was being used by the landlords’ sons during night hours

for committing illicit acts with adivasies and tribal innocent girls. Narayana Rao found a

golden opportunity to secretly support Vignesh and his friends. He went to the District

School and met the Asst. Education Officer and begged him to allow him to start “Seva

Dal” and scouts work in the school. Being a single teacher school, he did not find any

opposition and soon Vignesh was chosen as a leader for all these works.

Vignesh met Ananda accidentally in the village weekly fair, where he had gone to sell

the farm produce. He was overcome with joy to see Ananda. Yellamma hugged Vidnesh

and poured out her heart to Vignesh and begged him to help Ananda join the school.

Vignesh did not promise, nor said anything. Next day, he went to Narayana Rao and

expressed his desire to bring Ananda. Narayana Rao got up from his old chair and was

about to slap Vignesh, but withheld at the last moment realising the consequences.

Vignesh and his gang refused to join the scout and seva dal work. Narayana Rao had

already informed AEO and invited him for Independence Day function to hoist the flag.

He feared Vignesh. By now Vignesh had gained notoriety as a bully. Narayana Rao had

no choice but to pacify Vignesh and yield to his request.

The AEO was Khader Sheriff, son of Moulvi Azam Saheb. Kh ader Sheriff was

deeply interested in the welfare of downtrodden and had managed to get funds sanctioned

to award free ship and scholarship for his poor boys. Narayana Rao was keen to get the

scholarship for his nephews. Dasare Gowda was pleading for his neighbouring

panchayat members’ children. There were several claimants who were vying to please

Khader Sheriff.

The entire school had been decorated with mango leaves and flowers of gulmuhar, red

bracts of fire of the forest. A special jasmine and rose garland was obtained form

Chennapatna. Toys were purchased to gift to Khader Sheriff’s children. The visit of

AEO was like the visit of a Maharaja. He was the highest official to visit the village after

several years. At the most only a School Inspector would visit, who was given the best of

treatment. The visit of a gazetted officer was like the visit of a Minister or a Governor.

The scout and seva dal boys were given a new set of uniforms and had memorised a

song in praise of Khader Sheriff.

Prasada and Yellamma had hardly any good dress to wear. Presada could manage

to borrow shirt and a vest from a fellow villager. Yellamma begged the mid-wife

Kuppamma to spare her only good cotton saree and a patched blouse. Yellamma as usual

had her bath and before break of light went to goddess Deviyamma wept and pleaded for

help. There was no dress available for Ananda and she did not know what to do. When

she returned to her hut, she was overjoyed to see a pair of old dress left in the hut by

Vidnesh.

Ananda was jubilant. By now he had memorised the National Anthem and was

determined to sing the same. He knew that none of the boys could completely sing the

anthem correctly.

The decorated buggy of Khader Sheriff reached half an hour before the scheduled

time. Khader Sheriff was in a suit with a white turban and a cane in his hand and highly

polished brown shoes with brown military socks. He wore glasses and had a majestic and

benign look with well groomed black beard.

The Head Master Narayana Rao, Dasare Gowda and all the Mandal Chiefs were in

their best dresses; in sparkling white dhoties and shirts with towels hung on their

shoulders. They all greeted Khader Sheriff. A sweet young girl had been chosen to

present the garland. Every one shouted “Bharat Mata Ki Jay”, “Sheriff Saheb Zindabad”.

All the landlords and parents were lined on one side. A few were holding petitions

written in Kannada by Narayana Rao for freeship and scholarship. In a distant corner

stood Ananda, Prasada and Yellamma.

Khader Sheriff was taken round the school and shown the classes. He felt sad to see

the p light of the school. He promised to get for the school a black board, coir mats,

table and chair for the Head Master and other sundry items. He spoke little and conveyed

every thing through his eyes and gestures. Dasare Gowda spoke welcoming the AEO and

pleaded for posting more teachers as the strength of the only classroom was over flowing,

particularly after the admission of downtrodden tribal. When he spoke these words, there

was hushed silence. Narayana Rao was taken aback. He did not expect Dasare Gowda to

mention about downtrodden tribals. What if the free ship and scholarship were given to

them. The elderly panchayat members feared that Dasare Gowda, a sympathiser of

oppressed, would expose their cause. They were cursing him.

After Khader Sheriff hoisted the flag. His eyes met on the sparkling eyes of Ananda.

In a moment, he summoned him and asked him to sing the National Anthem. It was a

most unexpected shock for Narayana Rao and others. They had all trained their own

favorites to do so. But how could they interfere now? They only hoped that Ananda

would not open his mouth and they would get a chance to belittle the untouchable.

Ananda had became bold in the company of Vidnesh and his gang. He was bright,

enthusiastic and intelligent. He wished to fulfill his parents’ dreams and efforts taken to

bring him u p to the primary class. Now was his moment. If he sang the anthem well and

succeeded in getting the scholarship, he could join VII standard at Chennapatna and

complete his SSLC, which was more than a degree for the villagers.

Ananda broke into a broad smile and giving a smart salute to the National Flag, stood

in attention and sand loudly the National Anthem, perfectly. It was most impressive.

The entire gathering was stunned.

Khader Sheriff was extremely impressed. He enquired about Ananda and his parents.

Ananda turned and looked at his parents. Khader Sheriff immediately gathered that the

lone poor couple in tattered clothes were his parents.

Narayana Rao immediately went forward and p resented the petitions of the gathered

parents. Dasare Gowda offered tender coconut and the toys. Khader Sheriff distributed

the toys among the poor children. He took one or two sips of tender coconut and after

raising his hand in salaam, got into his buggy and left.

After two days, a messenger arrived with a cover addressed to Narayana Rao from the

AEO’s office. Narayana Rao took it and rushed to Dasare Gowda. Both called for an

urgent meeting of the village heads and its members. They all opened the cover

anxiously. The letter was a sanction letter granting full freeship and scholarship for the

entire education and free uniform for Ananda.

Prasad, Yellamma, Ananda and all other tribals were jubilant and held a special pooja for

goddess Deviyamma, as thanksgiving.