Sufi Story - Tests in Life - Beautiful Teapot

Life is full of moments that pass us by. Sometimes we hardly notice when something really significant is happening and at other times we catch hold of it and learn and grow from it. These stories are everyday occurences that perhaps each one of us has faced at some time, they all hold some truth; some lessons that we can benefit from InshAllah!

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke.

"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Let me alone', but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and said,'Not yet.'

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.'

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better', I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'

Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and I couldn't believe it was me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you would have dried up.

I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any colour in your life.

And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you'.

Allah knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will, which we can never escape.

Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it~~~

It's strange how the seemingly unimportant things in life can often prove to be significant trials~~~

*Allahumma inna na'oodhoo bika min ilmin laa yanfa'
O Allah, we seek your protection from knowledge that brings no benefit
... wa min qalbin laa yakhsha'
and from a heart which does not fear you
... wa min 'aynin laa tadma'
and from an eye which does not tear
...wa min dua'aain laa yusma'
and from a dua which is not heard... Ameen

May Allah (S) bring you out of the darkness of illusion into the light of knowledge, adorn your manners with gentleness, and grant you deeds that are accepted in HIS Presence. Ameen

InnaAllah ma'as sabireen
Fountains Of Noor Team

Power of Thinking

I received this in an email, loved it. Decided to share it with all of you. Post your thoughts! Bare the translation as I think it was not in English originally.

Power of Thinking - Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani

April 27th, 2008 in Thoughts by yursil

Whoever acts without thinking never reaches this real life. Everyone must try to reach real life in this life. It is an important responsibility. We promised to our Lord on the day of spirits that we would try. This is our aim in all actions and all worshippings. Allah is not needing worship. He ordered it to help us. Who reaches this real life has completed his responsibility. We must think for every action, it is a way to reach real life.

What is the highest teaching of the Naqshbandi Tariqat? It is to teach everyone how he can carry disliked things, how to face difficulties. We cannot face them without thinking; thinking that it is the will of our Lord. We are weak and cannot endure difficulties by our own power, but that thinking and surrendering allows His will to carry us. With His Will, we are powerful
to face all difficulties. This point is reached only by thinking about everything.

The plane of thinking is as wide as you can imagine. Thinking is the key to reality. Everything we have now, is the fruit of thinking. Of all religions, the one giving the most value to thinking is Islam. This is by the hadith: «One hour of thinking is worth 70 years of worship.»

The perfection of man is hidden in his words. This hadith is enough for thinking people to know that the one who said it is perfect, of high personality. Our Prophet’s words are worth writing in gold letters everywhere.


Our Grandsheikh is asking: who can understand? Everyone? In an assembly of 1000 people, how many do really understand the speaker? Who is listening and who is understanding?
You may say: «Oh we are listening». Man has two kinds of ears, on the head and on the heart. One only listening with his head, is not listening, Understanding is in the heart. If your heart is in action, you can listen.

-Mercy Oceans

"When i learn to trust in myself,
give love with no need to receive,
to believe without seeing before my eyes,
even then, i need to take a Guide."

Forever Haqqani

Problems and Struggles in life are good for us

By: Salma Remani

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Allah's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If Allah allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and make us die as those who have surrendered themselves unto You.
~The Holy Quran (7:126)

Being Tried and Tested!

By the Great Master Shaikh Muhyi'd-Diin Abdul Qadir Jilani al-Hasanii al-Husainii(ra)

When the servant [of the Lord] is tested with a trial, his first impulse is to cope with it in and by himself. If his own efforts get him nowhere he looks for help from other human beings, such as people in power, important officials, men of influence and means, or medical experts where diseases and physical ailments are involved. If he still obtains no relief, he then resorts to his Lord through prayers of supplication, humble entreaty and offering of praise.

As long he finds it possible to manage on his own, he will not turn to other people, and while human help is available he will not turn to the Creator.

[Having finally applied to Him], only to find no help forthcoming from the Creator, he throws himself down in his presence, incessantly begging, pleading, entreating, offering praise and submitting his needs in fear and hope. But the creator (Almighty and Glorious is He) now renders him incapable of supplication, and ignores him until he has reached the end of his tether. Only then does he experience the effect of the Lord's decree and the action of His work, and so this servant passes beyond material needs and behavior, to survive as spirit alone.

Since he now sees nothing but the Truth [al-Haqq] in action, he becomes, of necessity, a totally convinced believer in the divine Unity [muwahhid], affirming that in reality there is no agent but Allah, no dynamics or static force apart from Allah,and no good or evil, no loss or gain, no giving or withholding, no opening or closing, no death or life, no honor or disgrace except in the hand of Allah. His status comes to resemble that of a suckling babe in its nurse's arms, of a corpse in the hand of a washer of the dead, or of a ball on the receiving end of a polo-player's mallet-rolled and spun and knocked around, though inert in itself and imparting no motion to other bodies.

Gone forth from his own self, out into his Master's work,he now sees nothing but that Master and His work, and neither hears nor comprehends from any other source. If he perceives at all, if he does hear and learn, His speech is what he listens to, and his knowledge is what he comes to know. His favor he enjoys, through His nearness he prospers, through His proximity he is graced and honored, by His promise he is pleased and reassured. With Him he feels at peace, and His discourse he takes delight, while from all others he recoils and shrinks away.

In remembrance of Him he finds refuge and support. In Him, the Almighty and Glorious, he puts his faith and in Him he place his trust. By the light of His awareness he is guided, as he wraps and clothes himself therein. Strange marvels of His science he discovers, and the secret of His power he is apprised. To Him he listens and from him he learns, then for all this he offers praise, gives thanks, and turns to prayer.

How to let go of guilt and learn to forgive

How to let go of guilt and learn to forgive

From the Qur'an
{It is part of the Mercy of Allah that you deal gently
with them. Were you severe or harsh-hearted, they would have
gone away from you: so pass over (their faults), and
ask for (Allah's) forgiveness for them; and consult them in the
affairs (of the moment). Then, when you have taken a decision, place
your trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who place their trust
(in Him).} 3:159

[Lessons from this verse] It is not the snake bite that kills,
it's the venom that flows through the blood. The antidote is
forgiving people. Don't let anger rent space in your mind and
heart. Forgive and pass over people's faults.

"Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against
others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly."

"To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the
unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when
everything seems hopeless."

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was
you."

"Do everything. Love as much as you can. it may hurt but it helps us grow.
Give all you have...you may be poor but you will be content. Always
forgive....your heart can not afford not to. Teach what you know and learn
what you don't. Stay open to all"

"Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give."

"Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than
believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive:
forget. Do more than dream: work."

A kindergarten teacher decided to let her class play a game. The teacher
told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few
potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates,
so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will
depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the
people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5
potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes
in the plastic bag wherever they go for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the
unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5
potatoes also had to carry heavier bags.

After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you
for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining
of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and
smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.

The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred
for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your
heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate
the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it
like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"

Moral:
Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry
sins for a life time. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take! Forget
& Forgive!!!

WE HAVE ALL DONE THINGS THAT WE ARE NOT PROUD OF. Perhaps we were not there
for a friend when they needed us, or we may have been responsible for
unhappiness in our family. These sorts of past actions can leave us feeling
ashamed and guilty, and we can end up carrying our guilt for years.

Guilt is probably one of the most debilitating and negative emotions there
is - one that can, and often does, destroy a person's life. But if we want
to live happy lives, we need to deal with the consequences of our past
actions and move on, rather than allowing our lives to be wracked with
guilt.

Feeling guilty should not be confused with taking responsibility for our
past. Responsibility means "the ability to respond", and therefore taking
responsibility means that we actively address the consequences of our
actions in whatever way we can, in particular by changing our behavior
patterns. Taking responsibility also includes moving on by making peace with
the past.

Unlike taking responsibility, which is redeeming and positive, guilt has
absolutely no value. Guilt does not encourage us to change in positive ways
but debilitates us, leaving us unable to take the action we need to bring
about change.

Breaking out of the guilt cycle
As a behavior pattern, guilt often becomes a self-perpetuating cycle: we do
something, we feel guilty about it, we punish ourselves and, because we feel
bad, we end up repeating our behavior at the next available opportunity.

This debilitating cycle continues largely because we do not take full
responsibility for our actions or for changing our behavior. So how do we
start the process of taking responsibility? By considering, with complete
honesty, the part we play in any situation and by accepting our role in
creating the events.

The purpose of this self-examination is to evaluate truthfully whatever
occurred so that we can learn how we contributed. Through learning and
honest self-assessment, we change our thinking and behavior. We can also
forgive ourselves and move on with experience and wisdom.

Real forgiveness
In this process, forgiveness is vital. However, forgiveness is not what we
generally believe it to be.

Real forgiveness has nothing to do with feeling of "sorry or apologizing" -
neither of which actually changes anything. True forgiveness is contained in
its literal meaning. The word "forgive" is very old, and the prefix "for"
means literally "to reject." So the word as a whole means "to reject the
giving".

We need "to reject the giving" because, if we think we have wronged someone,
we use our sense of guilt to "give" to that person. By giving, we hope to
make it better, and to exonerate ourselves from our actions. Conversely, if
we feel that someone has wronged us, we will continue to demand payment for
that offense, and thus want the other person to "give" to us.

But giving from a sense of guilt can never lead us to forgiveness. Neither
can forgiveness be bestowed by another; it has to be brought about by
ourselves. In the end, unless we can reject all this giving and truly
forgive ourselves, we can never really move on and be free of the past.

How does forgiveness work in practice? Say that you have had a history of
being abusive towards others, but have started to take responsibility for
your past by changing your behavior. The reality is that you can still have
unresolved feelings about what you have done. The process of forgiveness
enables you to resolve these unresolved feelings so that you can move on.

It is important to remember that feeling bad about the past never really
allows us to move on. What's more, if we indulge in feeling bad, this
implies that we view our past as meaningless and of no value. What a waste!
For, if we have caused harm, surely we should try to learn from our actions
rather than living with a heap of regrets?

Forgiving ourselves involves finding value in our experiences. Instead of
just writing off an experience as a painful episode, and trying to forget
it, we should look for the value in that experience and try to take out of
the experience whatever we can learn.

Toltecs look upon life as a journey of learning, and say that all true
learning or knowledge is experiential. Because we are stubborn and tend to
avoid change, much of our learning does come about through painful
experiences. However, if we wish to grow and to use our experiences as a
learning curve, it is vital that we focus on what we have learned, rather
than the pain.

By searching for learning and value from our past, we ensure that there is
no more need to give or demand payment - we can, indeed, "reject the giving"
and so forgive.

To take meaning and value out of any situation, simply ask, "What has this
taught me? What lessons can I learn: about myself, about others and about my
life? How can I use this new knowledge to change my thinking and behavior
and help others avoid the same trap?"

In this light our past, instead of being meaningless and shameful, has a
positive and life-enhancing value. By learning to handle our past, and by
taking the steps to forgive ourselves in the true sense of the word, we can
let go of the debilitating consequences of guilt, and finally move on.

"Say: 'O my servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not
of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins for He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful." Surah Al-Zumar, chapter 39 verse 53-55

Seeing Events As Tests

From the teachings of Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani,

"Years ago as I was walking with my Grandsheikh in Damascus, a football that some boys were playing with hit me on the head and knocked off my turban. I got very angry and turned around, shouting; “Oh you miserable, misbehaved brat!” Grandsheihk said; “Oh Nazim Effendi, you have just lost your faith. How can you claim to believe that everything comes from Allah Almighty when you are ready to blame someone for something that hits you on the head? Do you not know that Allah is the Original Cause of that event? So why are you blinded by secondary causes? When that ball hit you why did you look to see which one threw it in order to quarrel with him? Do you not know that it is from Allah?”

Then I recited the confession of faith to renew my faith.

The level of faith that our Grandsheikh was referring to is the level of prophets and saints. We are trying to attain to that level, and when men reach that level, peace will reign on earth. The reason for all trouble on earth, for all wars and suffering is that people have lost sight of their Lord’s Will behind all events. They have lost sight of the hand of the One who is testing them through those events. They have stopped seeing events as tests from their Lord. Therefore they continue failing those tests."