The Light of Sciences
 
Chapter 1
 
Question & Answer
 
 
 
Q: What is a Dervish?
A: A sea made from three rivers, first abstinence from sins, second generosity and third needlessness in people.
 
Q: Sheikh asked a Sufi, “Who do you call a Dervish?”
A: “The one that has nothing in this world” the Sufi answered. The Sheikh replied, “Absolutely not! Dervish is the one who has no thoughts worries or anxieties, talks but says nothing, sees but beholds nothing, listens but hears nothing and eats but tastes nothing. Has no movements or stillness, has no sorrow or happiness. This is the Dervish”.
 
Q: Sheikh asked a Morid (Seeker of the Divine Path), “Have you ever ingested poison?”
A: “No since whomever devours poison will die!” said the Morid (Seeker). Sheikh continued, “Therefore you have never consumed Halal (Lawful Provision), since every person who eats—not assuming that he is devouring poison—did not eat Halal (Lawful Provision)”. (You ate dinner but your neighbor’s kids went to bed hungry, you did not eat Halal (Lawful Provision) indeed you ate poison.)
 
Q: Who is a Gharib (Stranger)?
A: Gharib (Stranger) is not the person who is a stranger to the people or places in this life, indeed the Gharib (Stranger) is the one who is stranger within his own physical existence and his Serr (Observatory of Divine Secrets) is Gharib (Stranger) within his own heart.
 
Q: What is the characteristic of It’s lovers? (‘It’ refers to the Divine Beloved)
A: The love of this world has left their hearts.
 
Q: What should we do to awaken?
A: Grab your remaining life from behind in a chokehold and feel the last breath between your lips waiting to exhale. (Termites have eaten this part of the manuscript so this is the best I can do)
 
Q: What causes the whisper of temptations?
A: The heart busies with three things, eyes, ears and consumption. Eyes glance upon something that the heart should not be exposed to, ears listening to something that should not busy the heart and consuming Haram (Unlawful Provision) pollutes the heart and all these open the ways for temptations.
 
Q: Who is a true Morid (Seeker on the Divine Path)?
A: The one that speaks from the heart i.e. says that which is within his heart.
 
Q: Who is a Morid (Seeker of the Divine Path)?
A: He is the one upon stepping through the door does not make the Pir (Elder Sufi Sage) busy. Morid (Seeker) is the one, no matter where e.g. by the shoe racks, is happy to converse with the Pir (Elder Sufi Sage). Morid (Seeker) should not deceive people like a mother who butters up the burnt toast for her child! (Morid should not fool the Pir, he should show himself as he is, if he is burnt toast then that is what he is. Morid starts the Solook (Voyage) from where he is not from where he wants to fool people with.)
 
Sheikh said, “For Believer every place is a Masjid (Place of Prostration) and each day is the Eid (New Year’s Eve) and each month is Ramadan (Fasting devoted to worship). Everywhere his conduct is that of the Mosque and respects each month like Ramadan and he is generous and frolic everyday as though it is the New Year’s Eve.”
 
Q: What about dancing? (Samaa’ or Sufi dancing)
A: (Sufi) Dancing is for the person whose heels dig into the moist ground and his sleeves flutters aloft the Lord’s Throne, other than this any other dance is shame upon Bu Yazid, Jonaid & Shebly. (I guess he is talking about the art of Sufi Dance performances to be of vigorous nature otherwise is shameful)
 
Q: What is an advice free of falsehood & perfidiousness?
A: When you advise but do not stick your neck above the people i.e. holier than thou or I am better than you and also to advise without greed or personal gain.
 
Q: Who is the ‘Aref (Divine Cognoscente)?
A: ‘Aref is like a bird, left the nest with the greed for seeds but found nothing. While attempting to return got completely lost in Hayrat (Bewilderment) and yearning to go back home but he can no longer.
 
Q: What is the characteristic of the man whose heart is subdued & overwhelmed by the Divine?
A: From the follicles of his hair to the feet all confess to the Divine Beingness. His hands, feet and eyes during the washing walking or seeing, no matter what or where, all unisonous say ‘Allah’. Like the Majnoon that no matter whom he met or where he went or what he did what constantly said ‘Leily’, from the wall to the sea said, “I am Leily and Leily is I”. (Leily & Majnoon is the equivalent of the Romeo & Juliet in Sufism. Leily is the female and Majnoon the male)
 
Sheikh said there are moaners and there are the ones burdened. Some people are wounded and the lesions will never heal and there are some that are under the burden of time and they are in need of mercy. If the Lord inflicted the Awlia (Divine Patricians) with what It inflicted the Prophets with, there would not even be one soul uttering, “There is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah”. What transpired with Mustafa (The Chosen i.e. Mohammad) Peace Be Upon Him had it been inflicted upon the Mountain Qaaf it would have most certainly shattered.
 
Sheikh said, “Whomever travels the earth shall have blisters on his feet and whomever travels the heavens shall have blisters on his heart”.
 
Q: Who is the Brave & Spartan Sufi?
A: The ones that lose their hearts. There are oceans after oceans of distilled rose water of Mahab-bat (Divine Love) but not much is given to this world and no matter how much is allotted for this world is not enough for the Divine Lovers. In other words the seekers of the Divine Path shall take even more steps than necessary and shall go even further than needed until they satiate. Alas! They gallop themselves to certain parched death. Like a pilgrim in a hot desert whom a cup of water will not satiate his thirst so he dives into a well of water drowns while parched to death as well.
 
Q: What are the steps upon the path?
A: First step is: “There is Lord and no other”, second step is Ons (Divine Intimacy) and the third is burning afire.
 
Q: Where you were killed did you see your own blood? (This refers to the Self’s Fanaa (Evanesce))
A: Where I was slaughtered there was no trace of any creation (including my Self because of the Divine Presence) and spilling the blood of righteous men is just & fair in Its Divine Presence.
 
Q: Who is qualified to speak about Baqaa (Everlastingness) & Fanaa (Evanescence)?
A: The one that is hanging from the skies by a thread of a silkworm and gusts uproots trees destroy all buildings shatter the mountains vexing the seas but he is immovable against the gales, in such situation he is qualified to talk about Baqaa (Everlastingness) & Fanaa (Evanescence).
 
Q: How do we know deep within us it is united?
A: If the tongue is scattered all over the place then the heart is also scattered (not harmonious). The revered wise ones said, “The heart is a pot and the tongue is a ladle i.e. whatever is inside the pot ends up on the ladle. The heart is the sea and the tongue is the shore, therefore the sea billows upon the shores and whatever was within the sea will be washed upon the shores.
 
 The Sheikh said, “There are three kinds of Men on the path. First, the one that knows himself as the Lord knows him and there are few of those, second the man that feels his own existence and as well as the existence of the Lord and third the one who feels only the Lord’s presence and not anything of his own Self. If you grab the entire universe and turn it into a bite of food and place it in the mouth of a (needy) believer you did not impress the Lord (?), and if you traveled from the east to the west to visit a friend you did not travel anything towards the Lord.
 
End.
 
 
The Sufi Sheikh & Morid (Seeker) are in constant hand-to-hand battle! No weapons allowed and no movements motioned but violently Sufi Sheikh & Morid battle fiercely to destroy the Morid’s Self.
 
This is not a relationship of peace but that of a war with no compromise. And when the battle is won and the Morid’s (Seeker’s) Self is slaughtered, he bows in reverence and kisses the hand of his Sheikh.
 
When the steel strikes the rock there are sparks. Sparks are within the nature of both steel and the rock. But spark is only manifest when the two object strike violently at each other.
 
Goodness & Purity are the nature of both the Sufi Sheikh & the Morid (Seeker). But they are manifest only when the two battle vehemently.  
 
 
 
 
  © 2004-2002,  Dara O. Shayda