S piritual practice without knowledge is like a wide open garden. It may yield fruit and flowers, but nothing will stop the animals from devouring the fruit and trampling the flowers. Unless they are surrounded by a wall of knowledge, devotion and inspiration are easily lost, or can even turn into hypocrisy, spiritual pride or arrogance. In a sense the religious law and the mystical Sufi path are like a pair of wings. One alone can accomplish nothing. You need both. You must cleanse yourself of outward material impurities and also purify your inner being of impurities like pride, hypocrisy, dishonesty, anger, greed and love of fame and status.

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quote 3495  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Love is the Wine edited by Dr. Robert Frager.

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T here is the essence of God and there are the attributes of God. The essence is impossible for us to understand. We can begin to understand the attributes. In fact, part of a Sufi education is to understand those attributes in yourself. God has said, "My servants will find Me as they see Me." This does not mean if you think of God as a tree or as a mountain that God will be that tree or mountain. If you think of God as merciful, or loving, or as angry or vengeful, that is how you will find God.

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quote 3494  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Love is the Wine edited by Dr. Robert Frager.

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T here is a famous saying, "He who knows himself [literally, "He who knows his nafs"] knows his Lord." There are two meanings to this. The first is that we can come to know our needs, desires and weaknesses, and also come to realize the existence of a majestic power. Then we know that we need a protector -- someone who feeds us, clothes us and shelters us in this world. The second is a mystical explanation. God said, "I am closer to you than your own jugular vein." In knowing ourselves we will discover this deep connection with our Lord. By following this cord we can reach God.

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quote 3493  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Love is the Wine edited by Dr. Robert Frager.

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I t is easy to know God. But to find the way to God is painfully hard. You cannot find God without passing beyond your own being. A Sufi does not become a Sufi by sitting on a prayer mat. The dervish way is not just the donning of a special turban and cloak. A Sufi is one who annihilates himself in the Truth, one whose heart is purified. The Sufi is someone who needs neither the sun by day nor the moon by night. For the Sufi is one who walks night and day by the Light of Truth. Sufism is poverty that can dispense with property. How is one to know one's degree of saintliness and vigilance? Only if all parts of one's body join in the Remembrance of God can one be aware of such things. This is the kind of person who is called a Sufi.

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quote 2953  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.213

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Y ou cannot find God without passing beyond your own being.

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quote 2952  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.213

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A ll creation is calling upon God. You cannot hear or see it on the outside, but the essence in everything is continuously remembering and calling upon God.

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quote 2951  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.210

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O nce, one of Jesus' apostles was preaching in a small town. The people asked him to perform a miracle, by raising the dead, as Jesus had done. They went to the town cemetery and stopped before a grave. The apostle prayed to God to bring the dead back to life. The dead man rose from his grave, looked around him, and cried, "My donkey, where is my donkey?" In life, he had been a poor man whose most cherished possession was his donkey. The same is true for you. Whatever you care about most will determine what happens to you at resurrection. You will be together in the Hereafter with the ones you love.

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quote 2950  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.205

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T he prophet Abraham grew up among idol worshipers. He sought to find God. He looked at the brightest stars and said, "You are my Lord." Then the full moon came out. It was far bigger and brighter than any of the stars. Abraham looked at the moon and said, "You are my Lord . ' Then the sun came up, and the moon and stars disappeared. Abraham said, "You are the greatest, You are my Lord.' Then night came, and the sun disappeared. Abraham said, "My Lord is the One who changes things and who brings them back. My Lord is the One who is behind all changes.'

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quote 2949  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.199

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T he disciples of Abu al-Bistami once complained to him about the Devil. They said, "The Devil takes away our faith.' The sheikh then summoned the Devil and questioned him. The Devil said, I cannot force anyone to do anything. I fear God too much to dare to try that. Actually, most people throw their faith away for all sorts of trivial reasons. I simply pick up the faith they throw away.

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quote 2948  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.172

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I t is therefore a necessary prerequisite for lovers that they correct their lower selves by means of worship, spiritual exercises, and Remembrance of God. Through these, the self may attain a tranquil character, the heart purified, and the spirit burnished.

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quote 2947  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.160

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A fter this, he should close his eyes and think of himself as having died. They have stripped his corpse, laid it on the bench, washed it and wrapped it in the shroud, prayed over it, and put it to rest in the grave. He should reflect on each stage in this process, for this meditation, which we call recollecting death, is one of the practices of the Mystic Orders. To ponder one's death is not to cause it, but it is harmful to avoid the thought of death. For no one can or will escape the sure and destined end that comes sooner or later to every mortal being. This meditation is therefore an essential necessity for every lover of God.

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quote 2946  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.159

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Y ou do see some people at peace, saved from the disease of ambition though they have less than you do while you are in pain and oppressed by all that you have.

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quote 2945  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.144

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A person often remembers the object of his love. One lover of God also remembers Him, always and everywhere. On the bough of the beloved's rosebush, love's nightingale sings its love incessantly.

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quote 2944  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.121

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L ove is a special, pleasurable pain. Whoever has this in the heart will know the secret. They will see that everything is Truth, and that everything leads to Truth. There is nothing but Truth. In the realization of that, they will be overcome. They will sink into the sea of Truth.

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quote 2943  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.117

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L ove makes us speak; love makes us moan; love makes us die; love brings us to life; love makes us drunk and bewildered; it sometimes makes one a king. Love and the lover have no rigid doctrine. Whichever direction the lover takes, he turns toward his beloved. Wherever he may be, he is with his beloved. Wherever he goes, he goes with his beloved. He cannot do anything, cannot survive for even one moment, without his beloved. He constantly recalls his beloved, as his beloved re members him. Lover and beloved, rememberer and remembered, are ever in each other's company, always together.

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quote 2942  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.117

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L ove is to see what is good and beautiful in everything. It is to learn from everything, to see the gifts of God and the generosity of God in everything. It is to be thankful for all God's bounties. This is the first step on the road to the love of God. This is just a seed of love. In time, the seed will grow and become a tree and bear fruit. Then, whoever tastes of that fruit will know what real love is. It will be difficult for those who have tasted to tell of it to those who have not.

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quote 2941  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.114

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L eave everything and cleave to love! Turn your heart from all else; feel love in your whole being! Take love as your guide to the land of being so that you may reach the True Beloved, enter the Paradise of God's essence, behold the beauty of the Friend, gather the roses of the garden of Union. In the way of love, the lover sacrifices himself but finds the dear one. All the saints who have drunk of the wine of love have sacrificed themselves thus in the way of love.

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quote 2940  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.114

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L overs converse with people only as much as they need to. For the most part, they prefer to be alone and by themselves. For they yearn for intimate communion with the Beloved. They are constantly in meditation. They do not enjoy excessive conversation and always prefer not to talk. They do not understand conversation about anything other than God. When they encounter misfortune, they do not grumble and complain. They know that misfortune comes from the Friend, they see the benefits contained in seeming misfortune. Divine love has possessed them, and they have plunged lovingly into the fire of love. Going barefoot, bareheaded, and poorly clad does not worry them at all. They hear no word but the words of God. They never cease from the remembrance of God. Everywhere they behold God's Beauty. Their aim is God alone, and their desire is God's good pleasure.

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quote 2939  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.98

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B ahlul, the wise fool, happened to meet the caliph Harun al Rashid. "Where are you coming from like this, Bahlul?" the ruler asked him. "From Hell," was the prompt reply. "What were you doing there?" Bahlul explained, "Fire was needed, Sire, so I thought of going to Hell to ask if they could spare a little. But the fellow in charge there said, 'We have no fire here.' Of course I asked him, 'How come? Isn’t Hell the place of fire?' He answered, 'I tell you, there really is no fire down here. Everybody brings his own fire with him when he comes.

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quote 2896  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.75

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T his man's state is similar to the condition of people who live in this world without faith. What they see is nothing but a dream. When the angels of death come for these people's souls, then they will realize they have nothing real!

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quote 2874  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.54

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T here is a battle between the self, the lower self, and the soul. This battle will continue through life. The question is, Who will educate whom? Who will become the master of whom? If the soul becomes the master, then you will be a believer, one who embraces Truth. If the lower self becomes master of the soul, you will be one who denies Truth.

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quote 2859  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.21

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T he self is not bad in itself. Never blame your self. Part of the work of Sufism is to change the state of your self. The lowest state is that of being completely dominated by your wants and desires. The next state is to struggle with yourself, to seek to act according to reason and higher ideals and to criticize yourself when you fail. A much higher state is to be satisfied with whatever God provides for you, whether it means comfort or discomfort, fulfillment of physical needs or not.

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quote 2858  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.20

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T he eyes of the dervish who is a true lover see nought but God; his heart knows nought but Him. God is the eye by which he sees, the hand with which he holds, and the tongue with which he speaks…. Were he not in love, he would pass away. If his heart should be devoid of love for as much as a single moment, the dervish could not stay alive. Love is the dervish's life, his health, his comfort. Love ruins the dervish, makes him weep; union makes him flourish, brings him to life.

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quote 2857  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.15

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T he essence of God is love and the Sufi path is a path of love…. Love is to see what is good and beautiful in everything. It is to learn from everything, to see the gifts of God and the generosity of God in everything. It is to be thankful for all God's bounties.

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quote 2855  |   Sheikh Muzaffer Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.14

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