O son, no doubt, it is one of the hardest things to do - for me to be absent from 'myself' and you to be absent from 'yourself'. These I-ness and you-ness diseases strike all and leave none.
Ibn al-Farid says:
My intellect, through being attached to my presence
(with myself),
was separating me from God,
while my deprivation (of individuality),
through the ravishing of my self,
by my absence from myself,
was uniting me with God.
Abu Said says:
There is no worse affectation than your 'you-ness'
since whenever you are occupied with selfhood,
you are held back from God.
O son, we all want God and at the same time, we all want to stay glued to ourselves too. No, we cannot do that. You ought to deny your you-ness and I, my I-ness. Deny!
La!
La ilaha!
La ilaha illAllah!
That is why, according to Shaykh Abdul Aziz, we do zikr and repeat Allah...Allah...Allah... because we deny ourselves, deny everything else and testify only Allah.
Read Lisan al-Din related post: I still exist? A note on self-transformation
References: The Reflections of the Mystics of Islam. The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path Of Transformation
Reading about a Wali Allah is also an opportunity for Zikr of Allah, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteWell Wisher of one and all,
Love and Best wishes!
Salam! Thank you, I never thought of that but you are absolutely right, reading about a wali is zikr as they make us remember Allah.
ReplyDeleteLove and best wishes to you too.