Huu Door
Stories from the Shaykh
A real Devish will not look worldly.
Stories from the Shaykh
A real Devish will not look worldly.
786
As-salaam 'alaykum.
Enjoy this story which explains the appearance of a true Sufi.
Three Hapless Men
There were 3 men who were hanging out in a grove of trees. They resembled beggars and
all of them had beards and long hair and were dirty with disheveled clothing. They were
there in a state of detachment from the world, or so it seemed to the casual observer.
One guy was a sex addict. He had so many women in his time. He would dream of his
lovers and clutch his mementos and that was the only thing on his mind. As he had grown
older he had lost all his money to this lifestyle. As his influence fell, so did his success
with loving women. He had kept letters and pictures, so his practice was to read the
letters and look at the pictures, then relive the sexual episodes and feelings in his mind.
Just like an old worn out soldier, he would cry and cry over how things were in the “old
days”. This was his state. He had lost everything because he couldn’t undo his past
experiences. The amount of karma that had passed on to him was enough to last for
several rebirths, so he was lost. He had no idea how to pray or connect to God, so
forgiveness would come. All he would do was pine away over how strong and sexy he was
in the past. To him that was his reality, and all he wanted to do was relive all the blood
energy he had enjoyed with women in the past.
There was another guy that was a lifelong alcoholic and drug addict. His health was
wrecked and all his money was gone. Because he had spent all his life on riotous living,
that had produced poverty and profound depression. He also was living in the trees, all he
possessed were the drunken dreams and the songs that he had sunk. So he too had drawn
enough karma upon himself to last for several lifetimes, and his reality was all in the past
as well. So he just sat there dreaming and reliving all of the parties he had attended,
falling into torpor. That was what was real to him, the memories of the excitement that he
had enjoyed through intoxication, then singing and dancing his life away.
There was also another man. He had also fallen into this state of poverty. His poverty was
the poverty of prayer. For the sake of the feeling that he had in prayer he had given up
everything. He had found out that to retain anything in his heart other that God was folly.
So he was merely existing in world day by day with no external expectation, no goal to
accomplish but to enjoy the feeling of prayer. So in a way, he was a monk. He had
poverty, obedience, and chastity (faqr). Unlike a monk though, these were not disciplines
of will, or struggles with the ego. He was in a state of spiritual richness (ghaniy). He had
the state where he was in reality a saint.
So all of these 3 men were there in gross poverty (istafqar) of body, but the reasons were
different. While 2 men were looking to the past, 1 was looking to the future. Two were
waiting to be reborn so they could do it all over again, and one was looking to move on
from the prison of his body to the plane of eternity.
The normal people who look by mere appearances could not detect any difference
between the 3 men. They would pass by and exclaim, oh sinful, oh wretched people; go
away. In most ways, they were acting like the 2 sinners, and that was why they were
frightened. They saw the same fate written for themselves.
For the other man though, he was a mystery to them. They were saying: “We never seen
him do anything wrong, so why is he in this wretched state?” They never could understand
the type of sacrifice that had been done for the sake (maqsud) of God.
My Shaykh (rd) explained this as follows. “As you have been given strength for a time,
you must find this prayer that cuts your inherent sinfulness. As you struggle, you must
examine any spiritual force that comes and exalts itself as God. If you put it to the test,
then you will find that there is only 1 (ahad) that is a power source. All the balance will
use power, and they will seek to use you, and that will retard your progress. The only
benefit is that you learn what God is not. Know with certainty that your body and all of
your escapades in the world will die and return to where they came. There is a greater and
lesser patience (sabr-saboor), and a greater and lesser tolerance (mani’-imtinaa’). After
these there is reliance (tawwakal) and then the state of praise to God Almighty (al-
hamdulillaah). Know that He is the only One who has done this, and has the knowledge
and power to do this. He is a Judge to judges (ahkam al-hakimeen), that Power (qadir) is
the only way to reach this prayer. Don’t expect the worldly people to care about this or
help in any way. In fact, for various reasons, they will fight this and be afraid. Your only
help lies in God alone (an-nasrallaah al-wahidan)”
Top
As-salaam 'alaykum.
Enjoy this story which explains the appearance of a true Sufi.
Three Hapless Men
There were 3 men who were hanging out in a grove of trees. They resembled beggars and
all of them had beards and long hair and were dirty with disheveled clothing. They were
there in a state of detachment from the world, or so it seemed to the casual observer.
One guy was a sex addict. He had so many women in his time. He would dream of his
lovers and clutch his mementos and that was the only thing on his mind. As he had grown
older he had lost all his money to this lifestyle. As his influence fell, so did his success
with loving women. He had kept letters and pictures, so his practice was to read the
letters and look at the pictures, then relive the sexual episodes and feelings in his mind.
Just like an old worn out soldier, he would cry and cry over how things were in the “old
days”. This was his state. He had lost everything because he couldn’t undo his past
experiences. The amount of karma that had passed on to him was enough to last for
several rebirths, so he was lost. He had no idea how to pray or connect to God, so
forgiveness would come. All he would do was pine away over how strong and sexy he was
in the past. To him that was his reality, and all he wanted to do was relive all the blood
energy he had enjoyed with women in the past.
There was another guy that was a lifelong alcoholic and drug addict. His health was
wrecked and all his money was gone. Because he had spent all his life on riotous living,
that had produced poverty and profound depression. He also was living in the trees, all he
possessed were the drunken dreams and the songs that he had sunk. So he too had drawn
enough karma upon himself to last for several lifetimes, and his reality was all in the past
as well. So he just sat there dreaming and reliving all of the parties he had attended,
falling into torpor. That was what was real to him, the memories of the excitement that he
had enjoyed through intoxication, then singing and dancing his life away.
There was also another man. He had also fallen into this state of poverty. His poverty was
the poverty of prayer. For the sake of the feeling that he had in prayer he had given up
everything. He had found out that to retain anything in his heart other that God was folly.
So he was merely existing in world day by day with no external expectation, no goal to
accomplish but to enjoy the feeling of prayer. So in a way, he was a monk. He had
poverty, obedience, and chastity (faqr). Unlike a monk though, these were not disciplines
of will, or struggles with the ego. He was in a state of spiritual richness (ghaniy). He had
the state where he was in reality a saint.
So all of these 3 men were there in gross poverty (istafqar) of body, but the reasons were
different. While 2 men were looking to the past, 1 was looking to the future. Two were
waiting to be reborn so they could do it all over again, and one was looking to move on
from the prison of his body to the plane of eternity.
The normal people who look by mere appearances could not detect any difference
between the 3 men. They would pass by and exclaim, oh sinful, oh wretched people; go
away. In most ways, they were acting like the 2 sinners, and that was why they were
frightened. They saw the same fate written for themselves.
For the other man though, he was a mystery to them. They were saying: “We never seen
him do anything wrong, so why is he in this wretched state?” They never could understand
the type of sacrifice that had been done for the sake (maqsud) of God.
My Shaykh (rd) explained this as follows. “As you have been given strength for a time,
you must find this prayer that cuts your inherent sinfulness. As you struggle, you must
examine any spiritual force that comes and exalts itself as God. If you put it to the test,
then you will find that there is only 1 (ahad) that is a power source. All the balance will
use power, and they will seek to use you, and that will retard your progress. The only
benefit is that you learn what God is not. Know with certainty that your body and all of
your escapades in the world will die and return to where they came. There is a greater and
lesser patience (sabr-saboor), and a greater and lesser tolerance (mani’-imtinaa’). After
these there is reliance (tawwakal) and then the state of praise to God Almighty (al-
hamdulillaah). Know that He is the only One who has done this, and has the knowledge
and power to do this. He is a Judge to judges (ahkam al-hakimeen), that Power (qadir) is
the only way to reach this prayer. Don’t expect the worldly people to care about this or
help in any way. In fact, for various reasons, they will fight this and be afraid. Your only
help lies in God alone (an-nasrallaah al-wahidan)”
Top
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Hudoor Home