Aphorisms by Shaykh Cherif Oulahcen
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Photo: Shaykh Cherif Oulahcen, a moqaddim of Shaykh Al Alawi and one of his closest fuqara.
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When a man's frustration over another person's faith boils over into anger, what does it mean? For if I curse you for not revering my God yet my God instructs me not to curse another, have I not then cursed myself?
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Though an individual knows beyond doubt what is good, what is possible and what is available, the fear of the unknown, of possibilities and calamity cause them to hesitate.
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Better pain with God than peace without.
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I know fear and the roots it can grow, the tenacity of its curse but I also know love, the roots it can grow and the tenacity of its blessing. Allah Akbar.
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Every single thing I had which was outside of the Friend; every single act performed outside of Creator's grace, has and does crush my soul; my own stupidity shocks me.
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What do I know, you ask? I know God is great and that of important things I know little.
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I know I've been proud. Sorry.
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If you have come to mock me, you have reached the right person. If you have come to accuse me, join in with the others. If you have come to shame me, you are justified in doing so. If you have come to accept me then you have my full allegiance.
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Jesus said to them, "what did you come to see?" and he was talking of John the Baptist [PBUH]. I don't know what I came to see but it holds me with invisible eyes.
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Take your time to answer; be still. Some of these (questioners) will be on their next question while you are still framing your reply.
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There are two religions: an internal one unconcerned with the world and an external faith fully engaged with the world. Me and mine are of the latter, for so did our Sheikh do.
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Blood, sweat and tears are quoted as the means necessary to achieving your desired ends. However, there are those who perform all three and do not meet their target. Failure can destroy a person and success can corrupt a person, but for the one who loves the One there is neither failure nor success, only constancy of spirit.
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Don't feel better - heal. Not all healing feels good but it is to be greatly desired over feelings.
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The world of a man is bound up within a woman: she is his desire, his support, his servant and his master. She is the mother of his children, the superior tree within the forest, without which he is given to baseness. The world without women does not exist for without women there is no world. Do we not even call the earth our Mother? Kings strut before their cohorts, a phalanx of armed guards either side, but though you double their numbers one woman can defeat them all. I shake my head in wonder.
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Salt flavours a meal and pepper adds taste. What do we flavour and add to in the world around us?
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We speak of fana, annihilation and being consumed by the One. Then we teach these are obtained solely through a living shaykh. What happens when all the shaykh's die at once and with them, their favored pupils? Shaykh Isa said "I am the way, the truth and the life" but the Way was before he was, and the Truth was and still is, and the Life existed before the world Isa walked on. No man, not even Jesus Christ, can claim monopoly over the Friend. To do so is foolish. Dear shaykh's, death comes for you as well, and God is not at your beck and call; we are only men, all of us, but God is greater.
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The truth is such that it can be flexible and bent; rigid and indestructible; smooth and gentle; vast and supreme. In whatever shape it resides it is - the shape itself does not contain it. You people, look to your religions, for they themselves do not contain truth but are themselves contained. Do not seek too deeply, you disciples, for in the doing so you'll dismantle your religions before you reach the truth, and what will you do with yourselves then?
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How should we summon up knowing the Friend? Total living in absolute reality. It is like the sun: a quick upward glimpse hurts the eyes but a held gaze is unbearable.
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O Lord! How lofty are your ways, how just are all your paths, how wholesome is your intention towards us.
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In our faith we do not persuade anyone; the Lord is more than capable of quickening those who can listen.
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Recommended Reading:
'The Universal Tree and the Four Birds'
By Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (Author), Angela Jaffray (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
Through the story of the universal tree, representing the complete human being, and the four birds, representing the four essential aspects of existence, Ibn 'Arabi explains his teaching on the nature and meaning of union with God. Providing an excellent initiation into the often complex works of Ibn 'Arabi, this brief, delightful tale is the first English translation of an important, early work, complete with Arabic text, commentary, and notes.
To visit Rumi's Garden online Islamic store click here.
'The Universal Tree and the Four Birds'
By Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (Author), Angela Jaffray (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
Through the story of the universal tree, representing the complete human being, and the four birds, representing the four essential aspects of existence, Ibn 'Arabi explains his teaching on the nature and meaning of union with God. Providing an excellent initiation into the often complex works of Ibn 'Arabi, this brief, delightful tale is the first English translation of an important, early work, complete with Arabic text, commentary, and notes.
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