NCIC
Issue 1
May 2012
By: Reshma Sankar
The Morning Wind Spreads
The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.
We must get up and take that in,
that wind that lets us live.
Breathe before it's gone.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Rumi)
As Yoga is to Hinduism, so is Sufism to
Islam; a mystical journey of love and
spirituality, the Sufi path strives for ecstatic ego annihilation in the fires of
Divine Love. There is no better way to
understand the Sufi path and philosophy like the description once offered
by Qushayri - disciple of Sufi master
Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq and author of the
‘Risala ila al-sufiyya’ which is widely
read by those engaged in Sufism and
the Sufi path.
Qushayri said,
“Sufism is entry into exemplary behavior and departure from unworthy behaviour. Sufism means that God makes
you die to yourself and live within Him.
The Sufi is the single essence; nothing
changes him, nor does he change anything. The sign of the sincere Sufi is that
he feels poor when he has wealth, is
humble when he has power, and is hidden when he has fame. Sufism means
that you own nothing and are owned
by nothing. Sufism means entrusting the
soul to God most high for whatever He
wishes. Sufism means seizing kneeling
at the door of the Beloved, even if he
turns you away. Sufism is a state in
which the conditions of humanity disappear. Sufism is a blazing lightning
bolt.”
We can agree that poetry is an artform in itself; but poetry in Suf