Diwan

By: Shaykh Muhammad ibn al Habib

Reflection

Reflect upon the wondrous skill with which both land and sea are made and contemplate

the Attributes of Allah outwardly and inwardly.

The greatest testimony to the limitless perfections of Allah can be found deep within the self and on the distant horizon as well.

If you were to reflect on physical bodies and their marvelous forms and how they are arranged with great precision, like a string of pearls;

And if you were to think about the mysteries of the tongue and speech with it, and how it articulates and conveys what you conceal in your breast;

And if you were to think about the secrets of all the limbs and how easily they are subject and in thrall to the heart's command;

And if you were to reflect on how the hearts are moved to obey Allah and how at other times they creep in darkness towards disobedience;

And if you were to think about the earth and the diversity of its plants and the great variety of all the smooth and rugged land in it;

And if you were to think about the secrets of the seas and all their fish and their endless waves held back by an unconquerable barrier,

And if you were to think about the mysteries of the manifold winds and how they convey the mist and fog and clouds which release the rain;

And if you were to reflect about all the mysteries of the heavens –the Throne, the Footstool and the Spirit sent by Divine command.

Then you would accept the reality of tawhid with all your being, and you would turn away from illusions, uncertainty and other than Allah;

And you would say, "My God, You are my desire and the goal of my quest and my impregnable fortress against evil, injustice, and deceit.

You are the One I hope will provide for me and take care of all my needs, and

You are the One who rescues us from all evil and wickedness.

You are the Compassionate, the One who answers all who call upon You.

And You are the One who relieves the poverty of the poor faqir.

It is to You, O High Exalted, that I have raised all my requests, so hasten to me the Opening, relief and the Secret, O my God.

By the rank of the one in whom we hope on the day of distress and grief that terrible day when people come to the Place of Gathering.

May Allah's blessings be upon him as long as there is a Gnostic who reflects on the lights of His Essence in every manifest thing,

And upon his family and Companions and everyone who follows his resplendent Sunna and all its prohibitions and commands.

Withdrawal from all that is other-than-Allah

My spirit now addresses me and says that my reality

Is God's pure light so therefore look to no one else but Him.

If I were not a light then I would surely be other than He

But otherness is nothing and will never satisfy.

When, with the eye of your own secret, you look out you will not find

In heaven or in earth a trace of other than Allah.

And yet the binding fantasy of otherness conceals Him,

So combat your own whims if you desire to see His face.

And climb aboard the sound ship of the Sunna and be saved in it,

And tread its captain's path in that you follow his desire.

Unite the goblet with the wine and you will disappear in him,

And gain subsistence by his secret and exalted state.

Thereafter will your inner eye see nothing but His unity,

But Shari'ah means separation - this do not forget.

And make your problems one in Him then He will be enough for you

For all of them and you will enter His protected place.

Hand over your affairs to Him who is the One that knows them best,

For He is the Aware and knows our hearts and their desires.

O Lord pour countless blessings on the noble Prophet Muhammad,

The secret of existence and its source and radiant light.

Another Song

I wander enraptured, remembering my Lord.

Remembrance of my Lord is the cure.

I have loved a Lord in whom I place all my trust

In every single thing He decrees.

Torment and misery abounds in love

for anything other than Him

O victory of the one annihilated to annihilation!

He will have life! And going on!

O my Lord, bless Muhammad! From his essence

come light and radiance too,

And bless his family and noble Companions,

They have pledges, which they kept.

The Departure of Illusion

I had a deep illusion.

When it was put to flight

My heart looked out, ennobled,

On pre-eternal light.

It rode the mount of longing,

And up and up it flew.

It drew near its Beloved

Till they were one, not two.

It saw created beings

As fading images.

The grid of all existence

Went blank and disappeared.

It came back into being,

Confirmed and going on,

Uniting with creation

From which it had been gone.

In witnessing His presence

The opposites combined,

It unified Allah and

Yet acted unconfined.

It gained a lasting secret,

A level path, and true,

And the people of perfection

To taste it are but few.

Our Lord pour down Your blessings

Upon the shining light.

Every slave to reach him

Obtains his heart's delight.

Be pleased with his whole family,

Of understanding, all,

And also his companions,

The Qutb and the Badal.