Shining Eyes, Ecstatic in Mecca, Engrossed in Prayer and Zikr

By Tooba Masood - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Friday, November 30, 2007

Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri enthralls a Karachi crowd with the simple answers

Karachi: First discover the truth within and then attempt the journey of life, said renowned Sufi Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri to a mesmerized crowd gathered at coffee house slash bookstore, The Second Floor, Thursday evening.

Haeri’s masterful voice completely entranced all those present and his beady little eyes shone like jewels as he talked about the concepts of the inner and outer self.

One of the most pressing spiritual problems faced by people today is the inability to separate the inner and outer self, he said. The inner and outer selves are co-existing phenomena of one being. To understand the cosmic effect on our daily lives we should learn to differentiate the identity from the self.

Giving his own example, he said that from the outside he maybe Fadhlalla, son of Naseer, but on the inside he is a man who is ecstatic at Mecca, engrossed in prayer and zikr.

On the inside, man is an animal waiting to be unleashed; faith is what helps you gain control. It is intangible, just like our souls.The soul is an expression of something much deeper; it can be described as a “spark of the cosmic bonfire”.

People today are lost in the pursuit of freedom, Haeri said. A child is born free, he runs around without any worldly restriction and as he grows up he has to face the harsh realities of life. Then, he is forever running after the illusion of freedom - an illusion, a fanciful illusion created by Allah to protect him.

“Hinduism created the concept of reincarnation that is nothing but an irrelevant illusion.”

Haeri argued that there is an eternal conflict between the “pursuit of freedom” and the “strait-jacket fanatic”. “Now people preach! There is no transmission of the love of God.”

For example shariah is almost always taken out of context, he said. In essence, shariah is flexible, it maybe a set of rules and regulations but can easily adapt to any situation. Many of the “half-witted mullahs” translate Holy Scriptures in their own context and promote something that could be labeled as tradition as ‘sunnah’, he said.

We are all part of Allah’s grand plan. As Muslims we can easily pretend to ignore Islamic values and faith and fool those around us, but what about Allah? Can we fool him?

“I was born a Muslim, must’ve done something to deserve it,” laughed Haeri.

Sufism is a way of expressing love for Allah. The Almighty created us to love and adore Him.

And then, the Sufi master concluded the session by saying that we are who we are although it is Allah who prescribes our destiny.