On Dzikr

On Dzikr

In the Name of AllaaHu, the Presence of Love, the Desire of Love, the Aim of Love

Let this Faqir ramble a little bit on Dzikr.

The journey towards Allaahu SWT is a journey to the heart of life, the Presence of the Great Silence, and it is necessary that all thoughts, all forms, all realities, all mental constructs, all voices be silenced along the way. A traveler (salik) will always meet hindrances of all kinds on the path of loving surrender. Know that the main reason for your Dzikr should be none other than the sweetness of it. When you taste the sweetness, the scent of nearness with the Beloved SWT, you will know the mysteries of the heart, and that makes the heart a repository of life's secrets. A Sufi once said: "In the Bridal Chamber, there's none to be seen except Hu!" Note the word Bridal Chamber, which is nothing else than the Great Silence. This is for the very special (khawash e khawash) among Allaahu's servants. Always look toward Allaahu, the Beloved Sweetheart, and care for nothing else that might distract you from or interfere with this very high and essentially sacred relationship, whatever that may be.

Without Dzikr, we are lost in ourselves. This is exactly what happened to 'Adam. Let me relate a secret to you which lies deep beneath the surface of the story of 'Adam and Hawa (Eve). Originally, 'Adam simply means the Void, an essential part of Hu on which Hu sees Hu's Self. This is the Mirror of Existence. And that Void is Human (the Perfect Man, al-Insan al-Kamil). Hawa simply means Life (with feminine emphasis, or else it can be alternatively read "Huwa" or simply "Hu"). When 'Adam was separated from Hawa, Human was separated from Life. Here, we speak of separation as a mental state, of course. That is why, marriage with the Beloved, with Hu, is a must should you desire Life. What I mean by Life is simply Life that is Whole, not mere life. Without Hawa, 'Adam is lost in emptiness which really just feels plain empty. That is because he cannot know himself without knowing the Transcendent Reality. It is like looking in the mirror and not being able to find your own reflection there, just nothingness. This is the result of forgetfulness for nothingness (that-which-is-not) is but an illusion. For this reason the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW said: "He who knows himself, knows Hu."

Please draw inspiration from this very short story. Rabi'ah al-Adawiyya RA was once asked: "Do you love Allaahu?" "Yes," she replied. When asked "Do you hate Shaytan?", she said: "There is no room for hate in the Kingdom of Love where only my Beloved, Lover, and Love reigns. My love of Allaahu has given me no time to hate the cursed Shaytan."

Why should we concentrate only on Allaahu SWT? Let me again impart the core of Ma'rifat to you, namely, that only Allaahu exists. Hu is the One, Limitless, Aware, underlying many and is the Essence and Sustainer of the existence of many. In the Sole Power that belongs only to Hu, Hu is the Cause of everything. Allaahu alone Is. Hu is One without the necessity to attribute oneness to Hu's Reality and Hu is Single without the necessity to assign attributes to Hu's Singularity. Hu is the Very Existence of the First and the Very Existence of the Last, and Hu alone is the Reality beyond sequence, pattern, time and space. As such Hu is the Inward and the Outward; the Hidden and the Manifest at the same time, Real without becoming, Whose Essence is Being. By Hu's Self, Hu sees Hu's Self, and by Hu's Self, Hu knows Hu's Self. Nothing phenomenal can attain to al-Haqq SWT without admitting and realizing that there is no existence other than Hu.

Let the Light of Love and Knowledge be your beacon, O salik. Know that with every such light, there is a mirror and flow. The mirror is your heart. The flow is your being in complete awareness of Hu's Presence. Let everything else that is not of Love and Knowledge that tries to shatter your Dzikr burn, burn and burn when it sees itself reflected as nothingness in the Void ('Adam) of your heart. Know that disturbances happen in the realms of the nafs. So that the state of Intimacy and Great Silence can only be self-realized if you can lose yourself in the Presence of the Beloved, Allaahu SWT.

And Allaahu knows best.

May Allaahu SWT guide you through patience with that which comes directly from the Inexhaustable Source, the Spring of Abundance, al-Kautsar. In patience, the doors to the Presence are opened. As Mawlana Rumi RA said, with wandering thoughts and undisciplined talks, they close. May Hu do so for the glory of the Sweet Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW, the Opener of what had been sealed, and the Seal of what had been opened.

Salaam e Ishq,

{Dani}