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THE SUFIS

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Bianca
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« Reply #60 on: September 12, 2007, 08:53:58 pm »

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/rumi/particulars.shtml





27:28) Rumi's Relationship with Shams
In his late 30s, Rumi met a wandering mystic called Shams al-Din Tabrizi. Many consider this the most important acquaintance in Rumi's spiritual life. Professor Jawid Mojaddedi writes, "The transformation of Rumi as a result of his relationship with Shams cannot be emphasized enough. Although he was already a respected religious authority in Konya and had trained in a tradition of Sufi piety under his father, whom he had even succeeded as master, Rumi was led by Shams to a far loftier level of Sufi mysticism."

In one version of the story of their initial encounter, Shams fainted upon hearing Rumi's response to the question of who was greater: Muhammad or Bestami, because Bestami (a ninth-century Sufi mystic) had said, "How great is my glory," whereas Muhammad had acknowledged in his prayer to God, "We do not know You as we should." Rumi fell to the ground beside Shams and responded by saying that Muhammad was the greater because the way was always revealing itself and unfolding whereas Bestami only took a single drink of the divine and then stopped. As a result, Rumi and Shams developed an instant, inseparable friendship.

Some saintly accounts of Rumi tell of his complete devotion to Shams, which resulted in jealousy and resentment among his followers. Many versions describe the followers of Rumi driving Shams away, Rumi sending his son to find Shams and bring him back, and then the final disappearance and murder of Shams by Rumi's jealous disciples. While the murder of Shams is disputed, many scholars accept that he disappeared and Rumi later believed the news of his death.

Shams-e Tabriz is gone and who
will weep for the best among men?
The world of meaning's gained in him a bride,
but shorn of him the world of forms just weeps



Rumi devoted his most extensive collection of ecstatic verses — the Diwan-i Shams-i Tabriz (the Divan) — to his teacher.
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« Reply #61 on: September 12, 2007, 08:55:31 pm »








(28:32–29:57) Music Element
"Naghme"
from Suite Rastpanjgah - Naghde Sufi,
performed by Ostad Mahmoud Zoufonoun




(30:05–32:05) Music Element
"Neyreez"
from Suite Rastpanjgah - Naghde Sufi,
performed by Ostad Mahmoud Zoufonoun




(32:10–34:00) Music Element
"Voyager"
from Sufi Music of Turkey,
performed by Kudsi and Suleyman Erguner




(32:20) Popularity of Rumi in the West
Poet and author Coleman Barks has sold more than half-a-million copies of his 17 books of Rumi translations. In a September 24, 2006 Houston Chronicle interview, Barks attributed those sales, in part, to heightened tensions between the United States and Islamic countries, which has sparked Americans' interest in ancient religions:

"Rumi is the bridge. … He is the Afghan national poet, and he is one of the most-read poets in the United States in the last 10 years. For a medieval, 13th-century Islamic mystic to be a favorite poet of American culture and Afghan culture when we're at war with them is something."

(32:26) International Rumi Year
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated 2007, the 800th anniversary of Rumi's birth, as the "Year of Rumi."

(32:39) The Popularizing of Rumi
In 1998, composer Philip Glass partnered with opera director Robert Wilson to produce Monsters of Grace — a multimedia chamber opera in 13 short acts with lyrics adapted from Coleman Barks' translations of the works of Rumi. Interestingly enough, the poem "Like This" appears in the sixth act of the digital opera; compare this translation to the version by Fatemeh Keshavarz in our "Poetry and Perplexity" page.

Deepak Chopra's 1998 CD compilation, A Gift of Love, features a host of celebrities reciting the poetry of Rumi, including Madonna, Goldie Hawn, Rosa Parks, and Martin Sheen.
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« Reply #62 on: September 12, 2007, 08:56:57 pm »








(32:57) Head of a Madrassa



Madrassas are centers of higher learning that grew out of Islam's expansion outside of the Arabian peninsula. The first known madrassa is thought to have been established in the early 11th century in Egypt. Before the spread of Islam, most learning was carried out in mosques. The combination of tribal traditions and mosque-based knowledge served as a functional governing structure. But, Islam's expansion introduced a variety of interpretations because of non-Arabic languages and new cultural customs. Initially, the madrassa tradition was established to create conformity and continuity through uniform teachings of Islam. And, eventually madrassas became centers of "earthly" learning in secular fields such as the sciences, philosophy, and public administration producing renowned scholars who contributed significant achievements to these fields.

In most parts of the Middle East and Asia, the number of madrassas and their influence declined (PDF) during European colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Western forms of education systems were introduced that courted attendance of the elite and a separation of state and religion — the wealthy and the elite received a secular education, and the poor and disenfranchised primarily received a religious education. As a result, more fundamentalist and radical forms of Islam commandeered new forms of madrassas, particular in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

(33:24) Faith as Zikr
The Arabic word zikr means "reminding oneself" or "mention." It is rooted in several Qur'anic passages, such as the Sura Al-Baqara (2:152):

"Then do you remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and reject not faith."
Zikr is the ritual prayer practiced by Sufis with the intent of glorifying Allah and striving to achieve oneness with God. It represents not only a ritual but a state of mind and a state of heart. The ceremony takes many forms but often includes whirling dances and transporting chants, which include la ilaha illa 'llah, "there is no god but God"; Allahu akbar, "God is greatest"; al-hamdu li'llah, "praise be to God"; astaghfiru 'llah, "I ask God's forgiveness." It can last anywhere from a few minutes to many hours. The various Sufi brotherhoods, or tariqahs, practice their own forms of zikr.
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« Reply #63 on: September 12, 2007, 08:58:14 pm »






(40:42–42:05) Music Element
"Neyreez"
from Suite Rastpanjgah - Naghde Sufi,
performed by Ostad Mahmoud Zoufonoun




(43:05) Windows on Iran
Keshavarz refers to "Windows on Iran" — a weekly listserv she sends out for the purpose of providing information and perspective on Iran that is not common in the media. The idea came to her after returning from a visit to Iran in May 2006 and feeling shocked by the disparity between the Iran she knows and the Iran presented in U.S. media. The American Muslim reprints each essay.

(44:28–45:49) Music Element
"Love's Tale"
from Pangea,
performed by the Liän Ensemble




(44:40) Reading from Rumi's Masnavi
The reading of the Keshavarz's translation of a selected passage from the Masnavi titled "On Language" (accompanied in Persian by Soleyman Vaseghi) can be read and heard in Persian and in English on our "Poetry and Perplexity" page.

(47:19–47:56) Music Element
"Desire for You"
from Pangea,
performed by the Liän Ensemble




(47:40) Krista Quotes Passage


Keshavarz says the vision of Rumi is that "all humanity is pregnant with God." She wrote an essay on this theme, title "Pregnant with God: The Poetic Art of Mothering the Sacred In Rumi's Fihi Ma Fih":

Indeed, our God-appointed feeders and guides often helped in the way that distant stars and silent road maps do. While they showed us the way to unravel the mystery, we were the ones who deciphered the message, read the map, penetrated the silence of ignorance, and ultimately found the way:

A traveler looks at the stars and finds the way. Do stars ever talk to him? No. As soon as he looks at them, though, he knows the right way from the wrong and arrives at his destination. Such are God's Friends, you may look at them and they may bring about a change of course [in your life journey]. Without a word, a discussion, or an argument, goals may be attained [and] destinations reached.

It is not hard to imagine audiences easing into the comfort of well-fed puppies falling asleep in the hope of finding a guiding star, or surrendering happily to the freedom of the clay/potter analogy, relinquishing agency for struggle and growth. Before that happened, however, came the shocking news of the pregnancy. Not only were the lost and hungry puppies close to their goal, but they also embodied it. To be precise, they were pregnant with it. If they could not see or feel the closeness, it was due to the closeness itself. The combination of joy and pain that accompanied the conflicting and mysterious condition led to confusion and the illusion of distance. Knowing that one was not just close but indeed at the destination, yet not able to live the closeness, was a triumph as well as a tragedy. How was one to nurture this God buried like a treasure in the ruin of one's being and let it permeate all of life? It required the ability to grapple with a paradox that overpowered the rational mind. This "being there" was so close to being lost.



49:19–50:29) Music Element
"Neyshaboorak"
from Suite Rastpanjgah - Naghde Sufi,
performed by Ostad Mahmoud Zoufonoun




(50:22–52:34) Music Element
"Chaharmezrab"
from Suite Rastpanjgah - Naghde Sufi,
performed by Ostad Mahmoud Zoufonoun


http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/rumi/particulars.shtml
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« Reply #64 on: September 12, 2007, 09:17:36 pm »








The visit to Mevlevihanesi began with a gift. (Later, as I checked into my hotel for the evening, I received a compliment: “That is a beautiful scarf. Very Turkish.”) Beautiful tiling and religious inscription adorn the entry, a long hallway with four windows opening onto several richly-embellished coffins: the lineage of teachers at this particular temple (architecturally it is not a mosque). Adherents pause at each window to offer greetings and respect.

The hall opens onto a small courtyard with trees and the obligatory public water spigots. Among the various decorative tiling is a symbol I have not seen before.

We remove our shoes and pass through two rooms before entering the place of worship. The singers have already begun. I am gestured to sit with a few women at the far end of the space. I settle down and observe the surroundings. The walls are dense with script.
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« Reply #65 on: September 12, 2007, 09:25:33 pm »








We remove our shoes and pass through two rooms before entering the place of worship. The singers have already begun. I am gestured to sit with a few women at the far end of the space. I settle down and observe the surroundings. The walls are dense with script.

Immediately in front of where I sit is a large open space. The man who welcomed me with his eyes, indicating where I should sit, is spreading small fuzzy carpets around the edges of the wooden floor. The singers are clustered at the other end, squeezed into another room separated from the dance space by pillars and a low wall. They face the same direction as I do, so their backs are toward the dance space. They sing in unison, striking the same notes but at various pitches: a melodic blend of tenor, bass, and baritone.

The sound is low and quiet yet it fills the space. It is pleasing, rhythmic, soothing. I continue to look around and realize there are onlookers in the balcony, women and children. They have the best seats in the house. :-)

More people enter. I am distracted by two women who sit in front of me (their male companion sits with them at first, then is directed to the men’s section). They talk. Is it instructional? Perhaps, but it interferes with the singing. The woman doing most of the talking checks her cell phone. I am annoyed by the disrespect to the service and the auditory interference. But people move continually in to and out of the worship space. Late arrivals filter in throughout the service: some join the singers, others the audience. Some people depart at irregular intervals. The annoyance is only mine. I let it go.

Suddenly the dancers enter. After the first three I am surprised when the fourth steps into the room, then realize I’ve seen many depictions of five…yet they keep coming. I count nine. The dance space seems small to me now: how will they manage? They line up in front of the audience space; I can’t see much. The singers are in their third or fourth song now. A very few times a single voice has deviated from the chorus, usually in a sharp or punctuated manner: obviously deliberate. Upon occasion a soloist would sing a prayer. These seem to have been short and subtle because I had not noticed when they began: my consciousness would gradually register their presence as “having been there for awhile.” I was oddly alert while simultaneously being lulled.

The dancers, individually, bow. There is no rhyme to it, no pattern. If there is a cue as to who should bow when, I cannot discern it. Are they being visually directed? My view is obscured. Some time passes. When will they begin? How will they start? The singing provides me no clue: the chants seem to vary yet the overall sound remains more or less the same. A dancer moves into view to my right. Ah, there has been a leader, someone whom (I assume) the dancers have been facing.

Now the line of dancers bow in unison and remove their black robes. Except the first one in line does not remove his. I count again, ten plus the leader, eleven in all. Two in black, nine in white. They kneel, prostrating themselves in the typical Muslim prayer position. Suddenly they strike the floor forcefully with their hands, startling a young woman near me. The volume of the singing also rises simultaneously, an accentuated coordination of the singers and dancers.
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« Reply #66 on: September 12, 2007, 09:27:02 pm »

                          








The friend who brought me had encouraged me to take pictures but I was uneasy about it. This was real worship, not a show. Still, I took some surreptitiously. Then, the first man in line - who had not removed his black robe - greeted the leader and moved to a more central place some two-three meters away from the leader, yet facing him (and me). I took a picture of them but our eye contact dissuaded me from taking many more.

The white-skirted and jacketed dancers now proceed in a line to greet the leader and begin. The gesture of greeting involves a bow, a nod and kiss to the chest of the leader (his heart?) who responds by a nod/kiss to each dancer's head, another bow, and then a slow step away into the first twirls. Each dancer follows in turn and they unravel their straight line into a graceful constellation across the floor.

The singing continues. I am surprised that the singers do not turn to watch the dancing. The coordination is managed on some other plane of sensation. The second leader walks the dance floor, presumably checking on each dancer. Satisfied, he stops near the leader and they watch. The dancers twirl for a long time. There is still only slight variation from the singers. Perhaps the content of the chant has changed, but the effect of the sound, its quality, remains steady, constant.

After what seems like both a long and a short time, a loud beat occurs and all singers and dancers stop. They are all prepared for it: there is no perceptible delay. Time has ceased to matter much, except I am hoping there will be more. :-)

Two more songs/dances ensue. For the second round there is a change of two dancers but the movement of the dance varies little. I notice more details: the slow raising of the arms with hands brushing one's own face before extension into uplifted, open arches. There is a rotation...I think it increases from dance to dance. One can't really see it happen, at least not from my angle. One just realizes the faces are different, in different positions than they were originally. The singing is more robust; the singers have begun to sway. Volume increases; the soloist is more marked. When it's over I am let down, but it is gentle. I have been privy to something quite special.
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« Reply #67 on: September 12, 2007, 09:28:34 pm »

                                





I linger, but am gestured to leave. They are preparing for the next service! I want to stay, but am told there is someone who speaks English who can explain and respond to questions. In a small room with half-a-dozen other English speakers, I realize I'm in a devotional group. I remember the feel of this - bible study! - from my Nazarene days. :-) They really are trying to convert me! (More on this later, smile.)


http://www.stephaniejokent.com/blog/archives/2006_08.html
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« Reply #68 on: September 12, 2007, 09:51:43 pm »









                                                                Whirling Dervish





By Jimmy Dunn
 
  You might run across a Whirling Dervish performance anywhere in the world, but your chances of doing so vastly improve in Egypt. Not only is there the dervish theater located near the Khan el-Khalili, but many belly dancing shows in nightclubs and dinner boats will also include Whirling Dervish. It is an entertaining performance that most will not want to miss. But most people who attend such performances have little idea of the nature of this dance, which is called the sema. It is a rare occurrence of religious ceremony transcending into performing art.
                                             
The dance has been performed for over 700 years by the Sufi, a rather mystic order of the Islamic faith. A story is told of a tradesman in a small village in the East who sat on his knees in his little shop, and with his left hand he pulled a strand of wool from the bale which was above his head. He twirled the wool into a thicker strand and passed it to his right hand as it came before his body. The right hand wound the wool around a large spindle. This was a continuous motion on the part of the old man who, each time his right hand spindled the wool, inaudibly said "la illaha illa'llah." There could be no uneven movement or the wool would break and he would have to tie a knot and begin again. The old man had to be present to every movement or he would break the wool. This is awareness. This is life. Sufi means awareness in life, awareness on a higher plan than on which we normally life.

The Persian word darwish (literally: the sill of the door) is accepted in Arabic and Turkish (dervish) to describe the Sufi who is the one who is at the door to enlightenment.

Some say the label Sufi (in Arabic suf means wool) grew from the wool cloaks worn by these holy beings. Others like to think that its origin is from the Greek word sophos that means wisdom.

But in fact, many of the dervish performers one sees in Egypt and elsewhere are performers and not truly of the Sufi order. There are some traveling Sufi, particularly from the Mevlana sect, who are indeed Sufi Dervish, and they perform the dance in a more or less traditional manner. But most of the more colorful performances are entertainers.

Originally, the dance, actually more accurately a "movement" was performed in tekkes that were dervish schools that existed in communal fashion and considered a prayer lodge. The sema began with the Sultan Veled Walk. The dervishes walk around the semahane three times wearing black cloaks which represent their tombs and their worldly attachments. Upon removing the cloaks, so to did they remove themselves from the world.

                                                                   
Like the weaver, traditional Sufi Dervish may be seen chanting a dhikr, which is the repetition of "la illaha illa'llah" (there is no god but God). However, some Dervish may only repeat "Allah" because they know man can die at any moment, and they want only the name of God on their lips and in their hearts. The left foot of the whirler should never be raised, but sometimes is in a fit of ecstasy.
                                
Whether the performance is by a true Sufi, or simply a performing artist, it is nevertheless entertaining, and even amazing. The performer "turns" or whirls endlessly while manipulating skirts in a colorful display and the concentration and training is obvious. Actually, both the quality of the performance and the abilities of the performer can very greatly, so look and ask around before deciding on the show you will attend.


http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/dervish.htm
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« Reply #69 on: September 12, 2007, 10:09:39 pm »






                                                     SUFI IS THE NEW BUZZWORD





March 26th, 2007
By Seeme Hasan 

The war on terrorism has changed many things and we may never go back to how things were. Our children won’t even know that there was a time family and friends could walk with you to the gate of the airplane. Airports were actually fun places, now they are like police states. At New York’s Grand Central Station one could get dropped off right in front of the station door; now train stations and airports all have ugly concrete pillars in the front, and cars are not allowed. Sometimes even people are not allowed. What really makes me laugh is the hair salon I visit when I am in NEW YORK. They actually have to see my license to let me in the building. In fact in most if not all buildings in New York, you can no longer just walk in to check out the lobby, you have to show an ID card and explain why you need to be in that building.

As the world is changing, even abstract items are up for reevaluation — among them, the word SUFI. All of a sudden the government of PAKISTAN and the government of UK are using the word to stress moderation in religion, to be exact the Muslim religion. SUFI is now synonymous with moderate.

I have always thought of SUFISM as a state-of-mind. I have always thought that SUFISM does not belong to any one religion; in fact it is interesting to see how different countries interpret the word SUFI. In PAKISTAN and INDIA the word SUFI right away brings up the SUFI SAINTS, and then their poetry and mysticism. In TURKEY people will say whirling dervishes is what it’s all about. IRAN has its own interpretation.

Regardless of interpretation, SUFISM boils down to being good — good to mankind and good to mother earth. A Sufi can whirl and get lost in spirituality, sing gospels to soothe their soul, or simply be positive in their daily work. SUFISM is fulfilled by whatever one does which either produces goodness or creates goodness.

We welcome the new SUFIS to our midst, and we will go on spreading good karma, and hope the rest of the world does the same.


http://muslimsforamerica.us/blog/?cat=3
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« Reply #70 on: September 12, 2007, 10:18:55 pm »

                                                                     
                                                                     








The Exalted Mevlana is a saint of love : gave his heart to the creator & he taught us to speak always of love & to love all creation as being from the Creator. UNESCO, United Nations' cultural body, aims to "build peace in the minds of men by promoting "the intellectual, cultural & moral solidarity of mankind." On its 60th year anniversary, UNESCO declared such cultural treasures of our planet as the Brazilian "Samba," Japanese "Kabuki" theatre,  Palestinian "Hikaye" narration & the Turkish "Sema" ceremony on its list of "Masterpieces of the Oral & Intangible Heritages of Humanity." 
   
UNESCO states that "wars begin in the minds of men and it is also in the minds of men that lasting peace must be constructed." In addition to building classrooms in devastated countries and publishing scientific breakthroughs, UNESCO also contributes to world peace by "promoting collaboration through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion."

UNESCO's objectives for our planet sound remarkably similar to the teachings of a Sufi mystic philosopher and poet who lived more than 700 years ago in the heartland of Anatolia. Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, welcomed all men and women, irrespective of religion, race or creed to the fundamental humanist ideals of peace, dialogue, mutual respect and fraternity for the mankind. Mevlana's doctrine advocates self development, awareness and knowledge through Love by observing unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness and charity. Here is one way in which Mevlana described himself:


My Mother is Love
My Father is Love
My Prophet is Love
My God is Love
I am a child of Love
I have come only to speak of Love


Mevlana and his dervish followers often practiced his Mevlevi Sufi philosophy in combination with a ceremonial whirling dance. This central ritual of the Mevlevi Sufi order, which is called a "Mevlevi Sema," is generally referred to in the West as the ceremony of "Whirling Dervishes." In a Sema ceremony, the whirling dervish becomes a rotating hypnotic blur, abandoning his earthly concerns to achieve spiritual union with God. His own Self and that of the Creator become one, just as the waves of an ocean are an inseparable part of a greater body.


Come, come again, whoever you are, come!
Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!
Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times,
Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are.


Sufism (tasawwuf) is the path followed by Sufis (adherents of Islamic mysticism) to reach the Truth—God. While this term usually expresses the theoretical or philosophical aspect of this search, its practical aspect is usually referred to as "being a dervish."

There are some who describe Sufism as seeing behind the "outer" or surface appearance of things and events and interpreting whatever happens in the world in relation to God. This means that a person regards every act of God as a window to "see" Him, lives his life as a continuous effort to view or "see" Him with a profound, spiritual "seeing" indescribable in physical terms, and with a profound awareness of being continually overseen by Him.

All of these definitions can be summarized as follows: Sufism is the path followed by an individual who is seeking to free himself or herself from human vices and weaknesses in order to acquire angelic qualities and conduct pleasing to God. Such a goal can be realized by living in accordance with the requirements of God's knowledge and love, and in the resulting spiritual delights that ensue. Sufism is based on observing even the most "trivial" rule of Shari'a in order to penetrate their inner meaning.

An initiate or traveler on the path (salik) never separates the outer observance of the Shari'a from its inner dimension, and therefore observes all of the requirements of both the outer and the inner dimensions of Islam. Through such observance, he or she travels toward the goal in utmost humility and submission.

Sufism, being a demanding path leading to knowledge of God, has no room for negligence or frivolity. It requires that the initiate should strive continuously, like a honeybee flying from the hive to flowers and from flowers to the hive, to acquire this knowledge. He should purify his heart from all other attachments, and resist all carnal inclinations, desires, and appetites. He should lead his life in a spiritual manner, always be ready to receive divine blessing and inspiration, and in strict observance of the example left behind by Prophet Muhammad. Convinced that attachment and adherence to God is the greatest merit and honor, he should renounce his own desires for the demands of God, the Truth.

Today, in Istanbul while the Tekkes and Tarikat's remain shut the whirling Derwish performance can be viewed at several locations such as the Sirkeci Train Station which is also where the Orient Express from Europe used to run. Other places such as Kusadasi, Cappadocia, Bursa, Konya also house the Whirling Dervishes. Please ask us for scheduled performances or if you are on a tour with us, ask your guide for performance times and places.

useful links:
http://www.mevlana800.info/index.html
http://www.rumi2007.net
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« Reply #71 on: September 13, 2007, 10:09:57 pm »

                                                       








                                                     W O M E N   A N D   S U F I S M





 Camille Adams Helminski

Since the beginning of consciousness, human beings, both female and male, have walked the path of reunion with the Source of Being. Though in this world of duality we may find ourselves in different forms, ultimately there is no male or female, only Being. Within the Sufi traditions, the recognition of this truth has encouraged the spiritual maturation of women in a way that has not always been possible in the West.

From the earliest days onward, women have played an important role in the development of Sufism, which is classically understood to have begun with the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad brought a message of integration of spirit and matter, of essence and everyday life, of recognition of the feminine as well as the masculine. Though cultural manifestations have covered over some of the original purity of intention, the words of the Qur'an convey the equality of women and men before the eyes of God. At a time when the goddess-worshiping Arabian tribes were still quite barbaric, even burying infant girls alive in favor of male offspring, this new voice of the Abrahamic tradition attempted to reestablish the recognition of the Unity of Being. It tried to address the imbalances that had arisen, advising respect and honor for the feminine as well as for the graciousness and harmony of nature.

In the early years of this new revelation, Muhammad's beloved wife, Khadija, filled a role of great importance. It was she who sustained, strengthened, and supported him against his own doubt and bewilderment. She stood beside him in the midst of extreme difficulty and anguish and helped carry the light of the new faith. It was to Muhammad's and Khadija's daughter, Fatimah, to whom the deeper mystical understanding of Islam was first conveyed, and indeed she is often recognized as the first Muslim mystic. Her marriage with Ali bound this new manifestation of mysticism into this world, and the seeds of their union began to blossom.
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« Reply #72 on: September 13, 2007, 10:15:02 pm »








As the mystical side of Islam developed, it was a woman, Rabi'a al-Adawiyya (717-801 A.D.), who first expressed the relationship with the divine in a language we have come to recognize as specifically Sufic by referring to God as the Beloved. Rabi'a was the first human being to speak of the realities of Sufism with a language that anyone could understand. Though she experienced many difficulties in her early years, Rabi'a's starting point was neither a fear of hell nor a desire for paradise, but only love. "God is God," she said, "for this I love God... not because of any gifts, but for Itself." Her aim was to melt her being in God. According to her, one could find God by turning within oneself. As Muhammad said, "He who knows himself knows his Lord." Ultimately it is through love that we are brought into the unity of Being.

Throughout the centuries, women as well as men have continued to carry the light of this love. For many reasons, women have often been less visible and less outspoken than men, but nevertheless they have been active participants. Within some Sufi circles, women were integrated with men in ceremonies; in other orders, women gathered in their own circles of remembrance and worshiped apart from men. Some women devoted themselves to Spirit ascetically, apart from society, as Rabi'a did; others chose the role of benefactress and fostered circles of worship and study. Many of the great masters with whom we in the West are familiar had female teachers, students, and spiritual friends who greatly influenced their thought and being. And wives and mothers gave support to their family members while continuing their own journey towards union with the Beloved.

Ibn Arabi, the great "Pole of Knowledge" (1165-1240 A.D.), tells of time he spent with two elderly women mystics who had a profound influence on him: Shams of Marchena, one of the "sighing ones," and Fatimah of Cordova. Of Fatimah, with whom he spent a great deal of time, he says:
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« Reply #73 on: September 13, 2007, 10:16:30 pm »








"I served as a disciple one of the lovers of God, a gnostic, a lady of Seville called Fatimah bint Ibn al-Muthanna of Cordova. I served her for several years, she being over ninety-five years of age... She used to play on the tambourine and show great pleasure in it. When I spoke to her about it she answered, 'I take joy in Him Who has turned to me and made me one of His Friends (Saints), using me for His own purposes. Who am I that He should choose me among mankind? He is jealous of me for, whenever I turn to something other than Him in heedlessness, He sends me some affliction concerning that thing.'... With my own hands I built for her a hut of reeds as high as she, in which she lived until she died. She used to say to me, 'I am your spiritual mother and the light of your earthly mother.' When my mother came to visit her, Fatimah said to her, 'O light, this is my son and he is your father, so treat him filially and dislike him not.'1
 

When Bayazid Bestami (d. 874), another well-known master, was asked who his master was, he said it was an old woman whom he had met in the desert. This woman had called him a vain tyrant and shoed him why: bey requiring a lion to carry a sack of flour, he was oppressing a creature God himself had left unburdened, and by wanting recognition for such miracles, he was showing his vanity. Her words gave him spiritual guidance for some time.

Another woman for whom Bestami had great regard was Fatimah Nishapuri (d. 838), of whom he said, "There was no station (on the Way) about which I told her that she had not already undergone." Someone once asked the great Egyptian Sufi master Dho'n-Nun Mesri, "Who, in your opinion, is the highest among the Sufis?" He replied, "A lady in Mecca, called Fatimah Nishapuri, whose discourse displayed a profound apprehension of the inner meanings of the Qur'an." Further pressed to comment on Fatimah, he added, "She is of the saints of God, and my teacher." She once counseled him, "In all your actions, watch that you act with sincerity and in opposition to your lower self (nafs(." She also said: "Whoever doesn't have God in his consciousness is erring and in delusion, whatever language he speaks, whatever company he keeps. Yet whoever holds God's company never speaks except with sincerity and assiduously adheres to a humble reserve and earnest devotion in his conduct."2
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« Reply #74 on: September 13, 2007, 10:18:43 pm »









The wife of the ninth-century Sufi Al-Hakim at-Tirmidhi was a mystic in her own right. She used to dream for her husband as well as for herself. Khidr, the mysterious one, would appear to her in her dreams. One night he told her to tell her husband to guard the purity of his house. Concerned that perhaps Khidr was referring to the lack of cleanliness that sometimes occurred because of their young children, she questioned him in her dream. He responded by pointing to his tongue: she was to tell her husband to be mindful of the purity of his speech.

Among the women who followed the Way of Love and Truth, there were some who rejoiced and some who continually wept. Sha'wana, a Persian, was one of those who wept. Men and women gathered around her to hear her songs and discourses. She used to say, "The eyes which are prevented from beholding the Beloved, and yet are desirous of looking upon Him, cannot be fit for that vision without weeping." Sha'wana was not only "blinded by tears of penitence, but dazzled by the radiant glory of the Beloved."3 During her life she experienced intimate closeness with Friend, or God. This profoundly influenced her devout husband and her son (who became a saint himself). She became one of the best-known teachers of her time.

One of those who rejoiced was Fedha, who was also a married woman. She taught that "joy of heart should be happiness based on what we inwardly sense; therefore we should always strive to rejoice within our heart, till everyone around us also rejoices."4
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