[Poetry Chaikhana] Ibn Ata' Illah - How can you imagine that something else veils Him

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How can you imagine that something else veils Him By Ibn Ata' Illah (1250 - 1309) English version by Victor Danner   How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is the One who is manifest by everything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is the One who is made manifest in everything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is the One who is manifest to everything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He was the One who was Manifest before there was anything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is more manifest than anything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is the One with whom there is nothing else? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when He is the One who is nearer to you than anything? How can you imagine that something else veils Him           when if it had not been for Him, there would not have been anything? A marvel! See how existence becomes manifest in non-existence! How the in-time holds firm alongside Him whose attribute is eternal!   -- from Ibn 'Ata' Illah the Book of Wisdom/Kwaja Abdullah Ansari Intimate Conversations, Translated by Victor Danner / Translated by Wheeler M. Thackston Amazon.com / Photo by Muhammad Ghafari /

============ Thought for the Day: Outwardly, determined effort is necessary. But within, nothing is needed except to yield. ============

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Hi Omss -

Something today in honor of the many souls striving for a more just and representational government in Egypt. It's a complex dynamic right now... a militarized and often repressive government; a wide spectrum of citizens who want change, the majority seeking honest democracy, but some fringe extremist elements pushing too; and several major nations (including the US) with strong interests in maintaining the status quo. That's not a combination that bodes well for the activists. But a suppressed population not only results in suffering, it also leads to an unstable nation. When peaceful change becomes impossible, violent change becomes inevitable. Sadly, the violent sorts of change leads to violent sorts of people gaining power.

So prayers of protection and support for the many courageous people seeking honest representation and non-violent changes in the Egyptian government...

And may the whole world move one more step in recognizing the eternal alongside the in-time.

A marvel!
See how existence becomes manifest in non-existence!
How the in-time holds firm alongside Him whose attribute is eternal!

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Shaykh Ibn Ata' Illah was a Sufi saint and master in 13th century Egypt. This was a time of philosophical flowering in the Islamic world, and in particular within the Sufi spiritual traditions. Several new and long-lasting Sufi lineages were forming to retain and channel the great spiritual outpouring of the time.

Ibn Ata' Illah was an early spiritual leader of the Shadhiliyyah Sufi order, which is a prominent and widespread Sufi order today.

His Kitab al-Hikam (The Book of Aphorisms) is his most widely read and memorized work, a rich, poetic collection of spiritual maxims composed in majestic Arabic.

Ivan

 

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