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| The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| Maliha |
| 03/27/03 at 08:44:52 |
| [slm] Anyone read "The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled"" translation by Syed Hujweri/Wahid Rabbani? Someone recommended it to me, and since I am broke i wanted to find out if I should spend me money on it or not? Please let me know, plus your views on it....worth the buy? Jazakumu Allahu Khayran, Sis, Maliha. [wlm] |
| 03/27/03 at 09:39:18 |
| Maliha |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| jaihoon |
| 04/01/03 at 04:56:35 |
| [wlm] I have read this classical work .... but only after going thru a critical evaluation of it by contemporary scholars. One has to understand that this work was written for an age different from ours... and so there are high risks that we misunderstand its message and style. The book contains mystic' experiences... some of which may be objectionable in our modern understanding, at least to some of us. For those intersted in self-purification readings, this may be recommendable. For personal reasons, i found some chapters in the first half of the book interesting. |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| lightningatnite |
| 04/01/03 at 18:55:28 |
| [wlm] Alhamdulillah, I have not read the book myself, but in general texts like these are very high level works. Many concepts can be difficult to understand and even harder to implement. Imagine having never taken Algebra, and jumping directly into Calculus! There are certainly prerequisites that are required before one can or should read advanced texts. For things related to tasawwuf, its important to remember that spiritual progress is attained through endeavor and sacrifice. Many texts help point out shortcomings in our sincerity or in the completeness of our acts of ibaadah. To benefit from this knowledge, one must be in a constant state of muraqaba--analyizing the state of the heart at all times, and striving to rectify it. One should avoid hearty foods, vainful talk, and eating in restaurants. A good text that enumerates the prerequisites for one seeking Sacred Knowledge is Imam Zarnuji's the Instruction of the Student. I apologize if these things sound basic to you :) Another invaluable tool in rectifying one's heart is a firm foundation in knowledge. This includes a good understanding of all of one's 'ma3loom min a deen bi daroora' [what is known from the Deen by necessity] according to an authentic school or madhab. This includes proper understanding of the fard and wajib acts of salat, fasting, zakat, hajj, and a firm comprehension of akeedah, such as from the text Akeedah Tahawiyya. It is preferable to learn these things from a shaykh or other knowledgeable source. Our deen is one of isnaad. Traditional seekers of Islamic knowledge learn from this chain, from Allah to His Messenger, to the Ulama, all the way down to us. The Ulama do not guide our hearts, but they interpret the sources of knowledge and help us understand the Quran and Sunnah better. When in Rome, ask the Romans for directions! A shaykh recently narrated a story about the great ascetic Abdul Qadir al Jilaani, who narrated about himself: One day I was journeying in a vast desert. There was nothing in any direction around me. As I stared into the distance, a beautiful, ethereal cloud filled with light descended from the sky and a voice emerged from within it: " I have made halal for you all things." I replied "Audhubillahi min a shaytan nir rajeem! I take refuge with Allah, be gone from me shaitan!" At that moment, the cloud of light folded up and returned to the heavens. I heard a voice: "Oh Abdul Qadir, I have deceived 1000 zuhaad with that lie." Shaykh Abdul Qadir's knowledge saved him from falling into the trap of the shaitan. Knowledge is indeed foundational for one's spiritual progress. Otherwise, we may be affected by shaitan's whispers. A more basic text that I found profoundly beneficial is "The Invocation of God", by Imam Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya. It provided me with a good reminder about the benefits of remembering Allah all the time. It didn't seem too advanced :) By the way, I heard that the translator's daughter is on this message board...maybe she can get us some courtesy copies ;) |
| 04/01/03 at 19:02:37 |
| lightningatnite |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| Maliha |
| 04/02/03 at 08:18:07 |
| [slm] Jazakumu Allahu Khayran for taking the time to reply. Maybe I'll tackle some more basics before I attempt this one :-[ I just started reading "The invocation of God", Mashaallah so far its great. Take care, Sis, Maliha :-) [wlm] |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| deenb4dunya |
| 04/02/03 at 15:33:44 |
| Assalamu Alaikum Sr.Maliha; [quote]I just started reading "The invocation of God", Mashaallah so far its great. [/quote] Does that mean we should expect a new thread in the taqwaa library for summaries of The Invocation of God? ;) Come on... pleeeezzzzzzeeeeeeeee :-X.....? Wassalamu Alaikum Deen :-) |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| bhaloo |
| 04/02/03 at 22:26:41 |
| [slm] I too would definitely be interested in the summaries, Maliha. |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| panjul |
| 04/02/03 at 22:31:22 |
| [slm] Maybe i should start another thread..... but i'm going to post here anyway. I hope you don't mind Malhia, i'm not trying to hijack your discussion. Just to let you guys know there's a book put up on this website about Khalid Bin Walid (Ibn?) i always mix the bin and ibn. so anyway, not that i have read it, i have skimmed it and it looks pretty interesting, it would be a good read in light of the war going on. we can learn how muslims in the old days fought wars. Thinking of the behavior of our troops, i keep thinking of the inccident where Ali was about to kill this man who had spit on him during the battle, but stoped since he remembered that the Prophet(S) forbade them to kill while in a state of anger. a world of difference huh? so here it is, the entire book. the set up is nice. I will inshallah read it after the exams! I have such a hectic month coming ahead. [url]http://www.swordofallah.com/front.htm[/url] |
| Re: The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled" |
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| Maliha |
| 04/03/03 at 08:39:30 |
| [quote author=deenb4dunya link=board=kabob;num=1048772692;start=0#4 date=04/02/03 at 15:33:44]Assalamu Alaikum Sr.Maliha; Does that mean we should expect a new thread in the taqwaa library for summaries of The Invocation of God? ;) [quote] [slm] I am an aweful summarizer ::) With a book so eloquently written Mashaallah, I will end up copying the whole text onto the board :) I find everything awesome in there Mashaallah. Maybe, I'll do something, like running quotes from the book or something like that... no promises though :P Sis, Maliha :-) [wlm] |
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