He was a very pious 'Alim, who gathered the mutūn (texts of the Ahādith) and the Asānīd (the chains of narrators). He was a master in the analysis of Hadith and he wrote many books, one of which is ‘Tārīkh Dimashq’ in 80 volumes in which he has included some very amazing and rare facts. It is a biography of all the 'Ulamā who lived in or came to Damascus. Once my (Ibn Khallikān) Ustādh , Hāfiz Abū Muhammad Al-Munzhirī (رحمه الله), while … [Read more...]

  So actually the herdsman, in the troubled state of his excessive love for Allah, was opening his heart as I have further mentioned in my urdu Mathnavi  (Hakim Akhtar). "This is the story of a herdsman In the time of Nabi Moosa (A.S.). In a sincere search for his Lord, While on the fringe of the desert plains And while weeping sadly and distressed With burning Divine Love from within. One day the herdsman, while remembering his … [Read more...]

It is said that when Bayazid Bestami was asked who his master was, he explained: She was an old woman. One day, I was possessed by such ecstasy and yearning and sense of unity that not even a hair of anything else could be found in me. In this selfless mood, I went for a stroll in the desert, where I happened to meet an elderly lady burdened with a bag of flour. She asked me to carry the flour for her, but I was incapable of taking it, so … [Read more...]

  Maulana Rumi (R.A.) says: "Create the bounty of madness in your heart (of His love) Not by intelligence alone will you reach to the truth." (For if the mind is not enlightened by revelation, It is better to remain an ignorant one.) A special quality of this Love is that one desires to sit down in solitude, remembering his Beloved, which brings great ecstasy. For this reason the silence of the desert is so well-sought … [Read more...]

THE STORY OF HAZRAT ZUN NOON MISRY (R.A.)   "Free from the sorrows of both worlds will you be quickly, If one atom of sorrow from Allah's love touches you." (Akhtar) The heart, which up to now had only been aware of the transitory worldly pleasures and which only reached up to this transitory world, now through the blessings of true Divine Love has flown up to the heavens and up to the Throne of Allah. The true devotee of Allah, … [Read more...]

Humble Beginnings When Ayaz first arrived at the court of Mahmud, he possessed only a tattered shawl and an old piece of fur. After donning the clothing of the court, he kept his old clothing locked in a room. Everyday, he would enter the room by himself for a few moments and look at his old clothing, while addressing himself, "Ayaz, not long ago you arrived here with these tattered clothes, but today you are closely attached to the King. Never … [Read more...]