Islam and Sufism an introduction

And this delightful Herb whose tender Green Fledges the River's Lip on which we lean--- Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen! Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears--- To-morrow?---Why, To-morrow I may be Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. ***** Sufi poetry has lot of references  to wine and love, more so in Hafiz(1325–1389) and Omar Khayyam. However their wine did not come from a bottle but a mystical experience.  Love is Love of God (Ishque Allah).

Beyond the star and Stars in which there is no combust no sinister aspects, Stars moving in other Heavens, not the seven heavens known to all, Star immanent in the radiance of the Light of God, Neither joined to each other nor separate. Whoso hath his fortune from these Stars, his soul drives off and consumes the unbelievers. God sprinkled His Light over all sprits, but only the blest held up their skirts to receive it. And, having gained that language of light, they turned their faces away from all but God. That which is of the sea is going to the sea: it is going to the place where it came— From the mountain the swift-rushing torrent, and from our body, the soul whose motion is inspired by love.

link to a lecture by professor Omid Safi of Duke University on how to read Rumi. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=CN6O1p2x6TE&t=817s

Khwaja Shamshuddin Mohammed  Hafiz was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1325. A being, formed like thee, of clay, Destroys thy peace from day to day; Excites thy waking hours with pain; Consumes thy sleep with visions vain. Thy mind is rapt, thy sense betrayed; Thy head upon her foot is laid. The teeming earth, the glowing sky, Is nothing to her faintest sigh. Thine eye sees only her; thy heart Feels only her in every part. Careless of censure, restless, lost, By ceaseless wild emotions tossed; If she demand thy soul, 'tis given--- She is thy life, thy death, thy heaven. Since a vain passion, based on air, Subdues thee with a power so rare, How canst thou marvel those who stray Tow'rd the true path are led away, 'Till, scarce the goal they can descry, Whelmed in adoring mystery? Life they regard not; for they live In Him whose hands all being give: The world they quit for Him, who made Its wondrous light, its wondrous shade: For Him all pleasures they resign...

Since Wisdom is the true believers stray camel, he knows with certainty, From whomsover he may have heard it. And when he finds himself face to face with it, How should there be doubt? How can he make mistake? If you tell a thirsty man—“Here is a cup of water; drink!”— Will he reply?-“This is mere assertion: let me alone, O liar go away.” Or suppose a mother cries to her babe, ”Come, I am mother; hark my child!” Will it say? Prove this to me, so that I may take comfort in thy milk.” When in the heart of people there is a spiritual perception, the face and voice of the prophet (SAWS) are as an evidentiary miracle. When the prophet (SAWS) utters a cry from without, the soul of people falls to worship within. Because never in the world will soul’s ear have heard a cry of the same kind as his. That wondrous voice is heard by the soul in exile-the voice of God calling , “lo, I am nigh.”                ...

The faithful are many, but their faith is one; their bodies Are numerous, but their soul is one. Besides the understanding and soul which is in the ox and the ass, Man has another intelligence and soul. Again in the owner of the Divine breath, there is a soul other than the human soul. The animal soul does not possess oneness: do not seek oneness from that airy spirit. If its owner eat bread , his neighbor is not filled; if he bears a load, His neighbor does not become laden; Nay, but he rejoices at his neighbor’s death and dies of envy when he sees his neighbor prosperous. The soul of wolfs and dogs are separate; the souls of Lions of God are united. I speak nominally of their souls in the plural, for that single Soul is A hundred in relation to the body. Just as single light of sun in heaven

We and our existences are non-existent; Thou art the Absolute appearing in the guise of mortality. That which moves us is Thy Gift; Our whole being is Thy creation, Thou didst show the beauty of Being unto not-being, after Thou hadst caused not being to fall in love with Thee. Take not away the delight of Thy beauty; take not away Thy dessert and wine and wine cup! But if Thou take it away, who will question thee? Does the picture quarrel with the painter? Look not on us, look on Thine Own loving-kindness and Generosity! We were not; there was no demand on our part; yet Thy Grace heard our silent prayer and called us into existence. In the Divine court of audience all are helpless as tapestry before the needle. Now He makes the portrait of the Devil, now of Adam; now He depicts joy, now sorrow. None can raise a hand in defence; none dare utter a word concerning injury or benefit.

The waves are wild, the whirlpool dreadful, the shadow of the night steals o'er, How can my fate excite compassion in the light-burdened of the shore? Each action of my froward spirit has won me an opprobrious name; Can any one conceal the secret which the assembled crowds proclaim? If Joy be thy desire, O Hafiz, From Him far distant never dwell. "As soon as thou hast found thy Loved one, Bid to the world a last farewell."

Farid Uddin Attar is best known for his Conference of birds. Here is a link to beautiful  video  presentation with explanation called canticles of birds (You Tube about 10 minutes). https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=QwkbxtgrC6g

He who is from head to foot a perfect rose or lily, To him spring brings rejoicing. The useless thorn desires the autumn, That autumn may associate itself with the garden; And hide the rose's beauty and the thorn's shame, That men may not see the bloom of the one and the other's shame; That common stone and pure ruby may appear all as one. True, the Gardener knows the difference in the autumn, But the sight of One is better than the world's sight.

Divine Wisdom created the world in order that all things in His Knowledge should be revealed.God laid upon the world the throes of parturition for the purpose of making manifest that which He Knew, You cannot sit inactive for a moment, you cannot rest till some good or evil has issued from you. All these cravings for action were ordained to the end, That your inward consciousness should come clearly into sight. How can the real, which is the body, be at rest when the thread , which is the mind is pulling it? This world and yonder world are incessantly giving birth; every cause is a mother, its effect, the child. When the effect is born, it too becomes a cause and gives birth to wondrous effects. These causes are generation on generation, but it needs a very well lighted eye to see the link in their chain.

Their expressions are manifold and Your  loveliness is one And everyone points to that beauty

When my bier moves on the day of death, Think not my heart is in this world. Do not weep for me and cry "Woe, woe!" You will fall in the devil's snare: that is woe. When you see my hearse, cry not "Parted, parted!" Union and meeting are mine in that hour. If you commit me to the grave, say not "Farewell, farewell!" For the grave is a curtain hiding the communion of Paradise. After beholding descent, consider resurrection; Why should setting be injurious to the sun and moon? To you it seems a setting, but 'tis a rising; Tho' the vault seems a prison, 'tis the release of the soul. What seed went down into the earth but it grew? Why this doubt of yours as regards the seed of man? What bucket was lowered but it came out brimful? Why should the Joseph of the spirit complain of the well? Shut your mouth on this side and open it beyond, For in placeless air will be your triumphal song.

Why should possessors of enjoyment and luck Bear sorrow for fear of distress? Go, be merry, my heart-rejoicing friend. The pain of tomorrow must not be eaten today.

Khwaja Shamshuddin Mohammed(1325-1398). Pen name Hafiz. Thou whose features clearly beaming make the moon of Beauty bright, Thou whose chin contains a well-pit which to Loveliness gives light. When, O Lord! shall kindly Fortune, sating my ambition, pair This my heart of tranquil nature and thy wild and ruffled hair? Pining for thy sight my spirit trembling on my lip doth wait: Forth to speed it, back to lead it, speak the sentence of its fate. Pass me with thy skirt uplifted from the dusty bloody ground: Many who have been thy victims dead upon this path are found.

"Be sure that, someday you'll praise and thank God for your unanswered prayers that once you had wept for them."

Sometimes the action of God appears like this, sometimes the contrary; (true) religion is nothing but bewilderment. (I mean) not one bewildered in such wise that his back is turned on Him; nay, but one bewildered and drowned and drunken with the Beloved. His face is set toward (devoted to) the Beloved, while the other’s face is just his own. Look long on the face of everyone, watch attentively; it may be That by doing service you will come to know the face (of the saint). Since many a devil hath the face of Adam, you should not put a hand in every hand; For as the fowler whistles to decoy a bird he is bent on catching, Which hears the notes of its mate and comes down from the air and find s itself entrapped, So does a vile man steals the language of dervishes To fascinate and deceive one who is simple. The work of holy men is as light and heat; The work of the ungodly is trickery and shamelessness .

Prayed to God for three things; 1. To bless you 2.. To guide you 3. To always protect you.

All these (various persons) are not in the right; nor again this herd is entirely astray, Because nothing false is shown without the True, The fool bought spurious coins in the hope of (it being) gold. If there were no current (genuine) coins in the world, how would it be possible to issue a false coin. Unless there be truth, how should there be falsehood? That falsehood receives brilliance from the truth.. Do not say, then, that all these utterance are false… Do not say, then, that all (this) is fantasy and error: Without truth fantasy exists not in the world. Truth is the Night of Power (which) is hidden among the other nights… Not all nights are (the Night of) Power.

Go find yourself first, So you can also find Me

God calls Himself ‘Seeing ’to the end that His eyes may every moment scare you from sinning God calls Himself ‘Hearing’ to the end that You may close your lips against foul discourse. God calls himself ‘knowing’ to the end that You may be afraid to plot evil. These names are not mere accidental names of God. They are names derived from God’s essential attributes. Not mere vain titles of the first cause.

O Reader, how many an evil that you see in others is but your own nature reflected in them! In them appears all that you are your hypocrisy, iniquity, and insolence, You do not see clearly the evil in yourself, else you would hate yourself with all your soul. Like the lion who sprang at his image in the water, you are only hurting yourself, O foolish man. When you reach the bottom of the well of your own nature, Then you will know that the wickedness is in you.

From the very thorn you see wonderful blossom, From the very stone you see that it is the treasure of Korah (full of jewels), For Grace is eternal, and out of it a thousand keys are hidden between kaf and the boat nun (The divine Grace is concealed behind the letters of ‘kun’ ‘Be’}

I asked the heart. ."Do you know, foolish heart, Of whose service you are deprived?" "You read me wrong", the heart replied. I am constant in service. It is you who have gone astray."