Spiritual Self-Combat & Edge of Chaos

A life of a believer can be more of a roller coaster; an epic war of ups and downs. The bottom line is to have hopes alive while constantly hitting back enemy posts with reinforcements and counter-attacks. And to die in this frenzy and chaos, perhaps is the main objective... I can easily recall the lessons of edge of chaos theory [see, Competing on Edge, by K. Eisenhardt, et al]. You can't have a well-thought plan or strategy to cope with unpredictable change that can give you pace and stability, helping to stay ahead of the competition, 1-to-1 or 1-to-many. It won't work; because things are out of your control. All you have to have is a semi-coherent vision/strategy with multiple lines of attacks or moves, with a loose underlying structure (of processes and systems, boundaries, rules, regulations, constraints, etc.) - to help you cope with change or an enemy who can usher chaos on you 24/365*n [where n = your life years].

Similarly (more or less), we face an infinitely experience enemy: Shaitan, or satan, which has spread today beyond our wildest imagination. He is the best chess player in the world; has the ability to calculate thousands of moves. We are, however, not powerless. Our biggest weapons are hope and repentance. These two weapons remain the same; the add-ons can vary. We have a large array of weapons at our disposal which can be used randomly to counter-attacks. One exception: one big move can work to please Allah. However, due to low information availability, rapidly changing skies, and veils of creation that make reality confusing should caution us not to fall prey to over confidence. We cannot know the outcome of this epic war until we die. Hence, the basic axiom or golden principle is to keep worshiping (maneuvering and bombing enemies ground and air targets) till we die and achieve certainty. "Hope, I've confused you" (and myself), in words of Sal.

Anonymity: A Way of Life

Qairouan (about 800AD)

One of the characteristics of this age is that people no more want to live a secluded and anonymous life. Social networking sites have dissolved this spirit completely even for those who lack the 'genius' to engage in relationship with others in the real world. If you read the Sufis of Anduslia by Shaykh Ibn e Arabi, r.a., you'd come across many stories of men and women who're very successful, because Allah noticed them, and disdained worldly pomp, caprice and self-projections.

i've been on holidays for a while and been cut off from distant friends after deactivating my Facebook account during ramadan. Some of my closest friends complained where had i been for so long?! Why am i leading a gumnaam (anonymous or secluded) life? May be i wanted them to say so, thanks to the whisperings of my carnal soul. I confess i had not been on a spiritual quest seeking the company of Allah that i've confined myself to the home, but such a lifestyle is very enjoyable to say the least... i've not really practised khalwa (seclusion) at all - i've spent lot of time on internet, watching videos and playing an online strategy game while ending up spending negligible time on reading books...

Nonetheless, like all others i want to have a certain way of life when i start earning inshaAllah. i wish to be economically independent. i like to be like one of my neighbors, a reporter - (about whose house i'd talk about in the next post inshaAllah) - who's living a seemingly comfortable yet a simple life with beautiful and intelligent kids... A life dedicated to travelling to gain knowledge for the sake of Allah and to quench the thirst of curiosity, may it never die. A life of seclusion with least mixing with people. A life of least activity and most reflection, study, chores, and routine cyclical daily activities that keep adding more and more spiritual light to my home and its dwellers in a mosque-like environment... A life not dedicated to competition with people in riches but in knowledge; not dedicated to piling gold and worldly things, but spreading excessive wealth to those in need... A life of labour and hardship yet peace and serenity in close proximity with natural things, like mud. A life of least acceleration yet tiresome...

The Seeds of Knolwedge

A Sufi Saint of twentieth century, Shaykh A. al-Alawi, writes:

Knowledge without any support to lean on may cause remoteness.

(Hikmatu-hu, 39.)

Martin Lings, who write the work on Shaykh Alawi, interprets this aphorism of the Shaykh referring it as the seed of knowledge, i like this term very much...

What am I reading?

In these turbulent times of mass killings, predicted in the Prophetic Traditions as signs of end of times, "we need to more religious than ever," says Yasir Qadhi, a Traditionalist Muslim Scholar, Ph.D candidate for Islamic Studies @ Yale University. I'm reading following lecture of Hikhim-ul-Ummat, Hazrat Ashraf Ali Thanwi (r.a): On leaving sins (click to open). Unfortunately, the transcript is available in Urdu, which is, also, difficult to read for people less proficient in Urdu, although footnotes are quite helpful. You can also download it by clicking on "Title" on right panel and then click on "Download".

Perennial Quest of Soul

There's an element in our soul, perennial, that wants to seek out Al-Haqq, Allah, and to experience Him, because it yearns to bow before, worship this Supreme Being. It is so beautiful that all beauties of world combined cannot match its serenity. And Allah does not look at our physical outlook, or we can say at our beauties, wealth, etc., but on our heart is His eye fixed!

(Sources: Living Sufism, by S. Hossein Nasr. Iqbal and Quranic Wisdom (?), by Prof. M. Munawar. Al-Quran.)