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Al-Hajj
[You
people, Al-Hajj is for the night traveler
(to Allah)
And
he whose heart
is dead will not be
fond of my melodies]
(qasida
33:1).
This precious diamond is a unique
composition of Al-Sheikh Fakhraddin
AAH.
It is the first verse of Al-Hajj Qasida [33rd]
in Sharab Al-Wasl volume. This verse composes of forty-six
Arabic letters and talks about Al-Hajj. It
was strange that
the date of this Qasida is 14th
of Zul-Hajja.
The question is why Mawlana talks about Al-Hajj after the end of its
rituals and also after the end of Eid Al-Adha (or Sacrifice Feast).
This is as if Mawlana is telling us
that he is not talking about Al-Hajj as the
religious obligation, since its time has ended. He is,
however, teaching us about a different type of Hajj that is not
time-restrained. This
type is welcomed at any time. It is the Hajj of the living
hearts. We found out
that the forty-six letters of this verse match the number of
the Quranic verse in
(Al-Hajj
22)
sura where Allah incites us
to walk with Dhikr
(recitation or remembrance) through
the land of the body in order for the
hearts to
revive;
[Have they not travelled in the
land, so that they may have hearts wherewith to understand, or ears
wherewith to hear? But the
fact is that it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts
which are in the breasts that are blind].
(Al-Hajj, 22: 42)
The point of
this verse is that Allah is addressing those who deny His promised
punishment: [Have you not traveled
in the land] to learn a lesson,
when you see the end of whom Allah has ruined for their disbelief
and witness their effaced ruins, empty palaces and destroyed houses.
Allah incites them to travel to witness so that they
develop through these
lessons [hearts wherewith to
understand] the Oneness
of Allah and develop [ears
wherewith to hear] what they
should hear from the Messages
and the news of the old nations whom Allah
has ruined because of their denial and disbelief.
[But the
fact is that it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts
which are in the breasts that are blind].
Eyes do not turn blind, but hearts do, when they stop thinking and
learning. Ibn Katheer [AAH]
said that true blindness is not that of eyes but of hearts.
 This
all sounds good, but does it mean that the
meanings of the Holy book stop at this or
any specific limit? Of course not. The words of Allah are rich in
meanings. Let's examine some of the signals Ibn Ajiba
[AAH] has seen in this verse,
he said that:
The blindness of hearts means the absence of foresight. The signs of
its absence are the involvement of all organs in sins, the
inattention to Allah, and the offence to the
Awliya (saints). On the
other hand, The signs of the opening of
the the heart's eyes are hastily obeying Allah, working hard
to learn about Him through accompanying Awliya, desertion
of the Duniya
(this world)
and its people, and enjoying the company
of Allah and forgetting about
anything other than Him. Vision and foresight are opposite. Vision
does not see but physical objects, whereas foresight sees old
eternal meanings.
Sheikh Fakhraddin
guides us to the fact that in order for the eyes of heart to open,
the physical eyes should be shut. So, in
Hadra (Sufi chant) or in
Muraqaba (meditation), we find
that the Murid
(the seeker) shuts his
eyes. In this regard, our masters-
who know Allah and lead us to Him- say:
[Shut your
eyes and look through your heart at
The meaning of the
majesty, be straight and
get your gain]
They also said:
[Cleanse your
heart and enter with tranquility in
The fort of Dhikr (remembrance/recitation)
to gain an aid]
[Shut your
eyes during Dhikr
out of politeness
Switch off the lamp and witness the
secret of the Awrad (daily prayers)]
They had foresight which is indicated
by the eyes of heart. It is polite to shut your eyes
(physical eyes) while in
Dhikr and Hadra. Sidi Ibn Ajiba continued:
When foresight opens, it overcomes
physical vision, so the worshiper does not see but the secrets of
eternal meanings. The remedy of this foresight is by the hand of a
professional expert who knows Allah. He
keeps treating it with the kohl stick of
the Oneness. He first uses the kohl of the
Oneness of the actions, then the kohl of
the Oneness of the attributes and finally
the kohl of the Oneness of the Self
(as they all belong to Allah). At
the end, it opens so that it can see the closeness of the Truth to
the worshiper in the the state of the
Oneness of the attributes. Then, it
witnesses its fana' (or loss of self) due to the existence of the
Truth in the the state of the Oneness of
the Self. All of these can not be possible
without a Sheikh - aware of Allah
- who revives our hearts so that they go
to the Kaaba of the truth, longing to
Allah, with hearts full of knowledge of
Him, and full of divine lights which Allah reveals
continuously. So, the ears
start to hear the call of truth and obey
Allah's orders. They start to hear the
words of the saints and righteous persons
and their advices. This is the most truthful remedy in all ages, and
this is called the walking to Allah.
Allah benefits us from
this sheikh and gives
His prayers and peace to the
prophet Mohammad and
his Family.
Written by Mohammad Makbool
Translated by Nahed
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