Thursday, March 11, 2010

The rhythm of the Naqshbandi

Bismillah.

"When (by means of music) the various limbs of the body become properly collected, hatred and aversion is removed and concordance (hukm al-tawafuq) appears." - says Ahmad Tusi in Bawariq.

O son,
Limbs sway nimble as hearts and souls danced to the tunes of  qasidah and hadrah for nights on end. That's what the Naqshbandis of this land have been up to since 10 Rabi'ul Awal. The Tariqa's Mawlid series of celebration is graced by the presence of Shaykh Adnan Kabbani and wife Hajjah Halima. (pic below)

So how do we explain the effects melodies could have on one's soul? 
"What causes mystical states to appear in the heart when listening to music (Sama') is a divine mystery (sirr Allah) found within the concordant relationship of measured tones (of music) to the (human) spirits and in the spirit's becoming overwhelmed by the strains of these melodies and stirred by them..." - says Imam al-Ghazali. 

Yes, stirred, we all Naqshbandis have been for many glorious nights - all for the love of Rasulullah s.a.w. Overwhelmed by feelings for him that one's own self dissipates in the praise for the Beloved of Allah and unite as one voice of adoration - prince and paupers alike. 


To quote Ahmad Tusi again:
"When many melodic arrangements and spiritual harmonies
- that is to say music -
are evoked within someone,
his nature comes to prefer them
over all else."

And the preference over all else is that of attuning to the spiritual harmony of none other than Muhammad al Mustafa!
Allahumma salli wasallim wabarik alaih wa ala alaih.

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