Category: Words of Wisdom
What is Sufism? By Shaykh Taner Ansari
LOVE AND HATE
Urs of Shaykh Muhyddin Ansari – Grand Shaykh of Ansari Qadiri Rifai Order
Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Tariqa celebrates the Urs (union of the devotee with his Beloved) of Shaykh Muhyiddin Ansari, who is our Grand Shaykh, and the Shaykh of our Shaykh, Murshid Shaykh Taner Ansari.
Below is a chapter from the book, “What About My Wood?” by Murshid Shaykh Taner Ansari.
Chapter: Shaykh Muhyiddin’s Treasure
For Shaykh Muhyiddin Ansari, it was very important not to break anyone’s heart, as it should be for all Sufis. Sufis should be able to get along with everyone. When Muhyiddin Baba was with children, he acted as a child. When he was with adults, he acted as an adult. He went along with the mentality of the person with whom he happened to be keeping company.
One day, a friend of his invited him to go on a treasure hunt. He thought that since Muhyiddin Baba was a shaykh, he would be able to help find the treasure with his special powers. Shaykh Muhyiddin consented to go and took one of his young dervishes along.
While they were digging here and there, the young dervish thought, “Why is my shaykh looking for treasure?”
The shaykh was able to read the dervish’s thoughts and said, “My Son, I don’t do this to get rich. Come here, son, let me show you something.” He grabbed a handful of earth and said, “Be gold.” The dirt instantly became a handful of gold.
Shaykh Muhyiddin said, “If I want, I can do this. But I will not. I came here only because I didn’t want to break my friend’s heart. If I want, I can turn anything to gold, just like that. But we obey Allah’s decrees. We don’t try to override them. We want to be natural, simple, and to not do anything against the laws of nature.”
An AQRT Holy Day, Mother’s Day (8th May 2016)
Dearest all,
Every year we include Mother’s Day as an AQRT Holy Day.
Sha’ban 1, 1437 / May 8, 2016 — Mother’s Day is celebrated the second Sunday in May. On this day we celebrate all our mothers, wives of our prophets, mothers of our Pirs, and all the important ladies in Islam. We have to give what is due to them. Mention them in your celebration name by name, person by person, then do a Fatiha.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Ya Wadud Ya Salaam Ya Jami Ya Nafi
(Love, Peace, Togetherness, Betterment)
Choosing Allah consciously
Excerpt from a talk by Shaykh Taner Ansari:
All humans have nafs (ego), brain and a line to God. We have to find the correct way. Allah is Rahman (The Most Merciful) and Rahim (The Most Compassionate), so He helps us find the right course by logic, by contemplating, deduction and induction.
The first thing is this: you have to accept it – there is a God, but it’s not you. Our job is to find our essence through contemplation. Islam is acknowledgment of the fact that there is a God, and don’t try to be God yourself. You have to accept that there are rules and regulations. You have to be in sync with this.
Do we have any will power? Yes, if we didn’t have any will power, Allah wouldn’t have created us. Why? Because Allah wants to be chosen scientifically with our own free will, with no force. If Allah wanted to force (people to believe), everybody would believe.
Making the choice of choosing Allah has to be the beginning of your life. Everything has to be based on this. This is the truth and this is what we have to make peace with. Islam is making peace with Allah’s decrees and Allah’s systems. This is physics. If you think you have power too, show it to me. I am not going to ask you to make a galaxy. I am going to ask you not to eat, and don’t go to the bathroom. If you think you have power, do this.
One of the rules of being a Sufi is that you have to be on the lookout for Allah’s signs. Listen to my advice. Surrender and learn the easy way. My students have to be conscious of what they are doing. Each action has to be willing (voluntary and conscious). I don’t want you to do habitual actions – habitual actions is the killer of all faiths. Mean what you say each time.
The Sufis
“Sufis live and let live. They learn and they learn. They enjoy life, and they help others enjoy life. They give space for others to live their own experiences. Sufis do not judge, they help. They do not stress people, they give relief!”
Shaykh Taner Ansari
