They who died for the love of the Truth

Bismillah.

Today is the 17th of December, so we remember once again the demise of a great Persian Sufi mystic, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi who died on this day 738 years ago, in the year 1273. Great people are often remembered for their good deeds and inspiring words, both of which moved people to act in the way of truth, simply because their very being is for the love of the Truth.

For the same reason, we remember the demise of a prominent Al-Azhar scholar, Shaykh Emad Effat who yesterday died as a martyr, at riotous Tahrir Square in Cairo. His remarkable final roles were as a cleric at a religious authority on Islamic fatwa -  Dar al-Ifta, and fighter of haq together with Egypt's brave young men.

An AFP Pic of the Shaykh's last passage from Al-Azhar Mosque

Al Fatihah
Shaykh Emad Effat died on a Friday, a blessed day;
died amidst a sacred fight for the truth.

We Are In His Hands In Anger And In Peace
If we come to (a state of) ignorance,
that is His prison.
And if we come to (a state of) knowledge,
that is His (lofty) balcony.
If we come to (a state of) sleep,
we are His drowsy-drunken ones.
And if we come to (a state of) wakeful alertness,
we are in His Hands.

If we come to (a state of) weeping,
we are His cloud full of glistening (raindrops).
And if we come to (a state of) laughing,
we are His lightning at that moment.
If we come to (a state of) anger and battle,
it is the reflection of His Wrath.
And if we come to (a state of) peace and pardon,
it is the reflection of His Love.

The above are couplets attributed to Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, translated from the Persian by our brother Dr. Ibrahim Gamard of Darul Masnavi, the co-translator of 'The Quatrains of Rumi'.

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Purchase 'The Quatrains of Rumi' here:
http://www.amazon.com/Quatrains-Rumi-Jalaluddin-Muhammad-Balkhi-Rumi/dp/1597314501
Reference: http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/n.a-I-1510.html
Pic Credit: Rumi Tomb by Jens Helmstedt