Bullhe Shah and His Veil of “Meem”

zee, I have (almost) completely abandoned activity on chowk (to think over some important matters first), but a few topics just reel me in, and you know what they are :)

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The way this article has been presented, it is a real credit to Gill Sahib. He sought an answer and having found it, he honestly accepted it for what it was. As you know, that is just not how novice sufi mind works. The first reaction would have been to find a way to criticize Mr. Parvez.

On the other hand, it is a bit surprising that so many very well-informed Muslims themselves are not clear on such matters. There is no harm being a sufi AFTER one understands what it is, and takes care to not fall through its deadly cracks.

#17 Posted by Eklavya,

it is a bit surprising that so many very well-informed Muslims themselves are not clear on such matters.

True. It's not easy being a Muslim. There're many convenient escapes.

Gill Sahib,

I remember your article from 4 years ago when you referred to 'purdah-e-meem' and other mystical stuff and called it all 'obfuscation'

http://www.chowk.com/articles/7194

Have your views changed?

a nice write-up Gill Sahib although one does get the feeling that perhaps here you are out of your depth with all due respect. The mystery of the Veil of Meem "Pardah e Meem" is one for the Saints to know the reality of. Anyway, it is actually based upon a hadith qudsi (these are extra-koranic revelations from Allah directly to his Beloved Prophet Muhammad i.e. Allah spoke through the tongue of His Messenger). Scholars have collected such Hadith Qudsi just as they have collected regular hadith (the collections of the Prophet's own words [although everything he said was 'divinely inspired' anyway: it is all wahy) .e.g. Imam Nawawi has a famous collection of Forty such extra-Koranic direct revelations.

In one of these Allah says through His Prophet's mouth:
"Ana Ahmad bila Meem"
I am Ahmad without the 'M' i.e. Ahad. (The One).

This hadith qudsi is the basis of the Mystery of Meem which all orthodox Sufis of Ahlus Sunnah have meditated and commented on since the time of the Prophet. It is not due to any Indian influence.

It can be an interesting discussion.

:-)

Haqq Bahu!

In the interests of scholarly honesty and integrity I should also add that this hadith qudsi is controversial in regards to its authenticity. ie. hadith experts are divided over it. Obviously saints like Bulleh Shah and Rumi believed it to be authentic.

To paraphrase, Allah says that the difference between Me and My Beloved Ahmad [Muhammad] (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) is the letter 'M'.

ummmmm .... let me see now: if we remove the two s's, one of the a's and the i from massadi, you are left with 'mad'! ..... damn!... so, same same

gill sahib ,

.... are you okay? ..... or do you just have a lot of time to burn ?

pyaray loko,

there is nothing heretical about what bulleh shah spoke of.

There is no mystery...

The difference between the infinite and the finite is that the finite assumes there is a difference.

When "me" is annihilated, all that is left is oneness.

I don't like to visit FP that much, so feel free to continue to discuss without me.

If I am needed, you can find me on UP.

thanks

BTW Gill sahib,

your curiosity on the "meem" is interesting, but the consequent article that you have written is tepid indeed.

kind regards and with utmost respect, I remain, sincerely,

hurricane

Various Interactors:

Did I write anything in the article to suggest that "purdah-e-meem" was real and not obfuscation? I wrote this article to show how apocryphal sufistic thought is, if you take it seriously.

Ahmad (Muhammed) can not be Ahad (God) by any stretch of human imagination. According to Chapter 112 (Unity0 of the Holy Quran, "He (Allah) begetteth not, nor is He begotten." On the other hand, Prophet Muhammed was begotten by his father, Abdullah. Ponder, Mr. Naqshbandi.

The trick of removing a letter from a word, transforms the word Arab into Rab, if A is removed from Arab. Does it mean that a piece of land is God?

In response to hamidm2, #23, I want to reassure him that I am okay (both mentally and physically). True, I have a lot of time at my disposal to burn.

Be well,

Mohammad Gill

Dear Freethinker,

The only difference between your thinking and the tally-ban thinking is that yours is consistent and repetitive.

Oh wait, the same is true of their thinking :o

"Lakir Kay Fakir"

Gill Sahib, the entire goal of Sufism may be to short-circuit human thinking (annihilation, in hurricane's terms) and create only human being in the service/'love' of Allah. Sufis are right in that in that state of 'annihilated being' it shouldn't logically matter whether Allah is Prophet Muhammad or Prophet Muhammad is Allah.

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Laddu, again, PLEASE don't confuse any of this for Hindu Yogic stuff, or with identity of Atma and Parmatma. Sufi 'elevation' is a very different effort, focused exclusively on 'man's love' for Allah/Prophet Muhammad.

Those who think "I am Ahmad without the M" means some sort of equivalence between Allah and His Beloved Prophet Ah(mad) (upon him and his Aal be peace) are totally lost and should give up trying to understand the concept of Fana fillah and Baqabillah. The Lord remains the Lord and the Slave remains the slave although both can be joined in Love--but it is NOT a physical union. It is a mystery which points towards Man as the Microcosm and since Prophet Muhammad was the Insan al Kamil [Perfect Man], the Raison d'Etre of Creation, Allah spoke these words through the mouth of His Habib.

Remember, there is no difference in true love between lover and beloved. Thus Baba Waris Shah Sahib has Heer say, "Ranjha Ranjha kehndi main aap Ranjha hoi!" [Saying "Ranjha, Ranjha" I myself became Ranjha!]. In the same way the great Sunni jurist, Hanafi mufti, faqih, mujaddid, scholar par excellence and Sufi, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan (d.1921) of Bareilly--who was very strict on the Sharian and an expert on Islamic Law--could write, addressing the Prophet:

Main tau malik hi kahoonga ke ho Malik kay Habib!
Ya'ani Muhibb o Mahboob mein nahin, 'mera, tera'!

I shall call you 'Lord' for thou art the Lord's Beloved!
That is, between Lover and Beloved there is no 'Yours and mine'.

If we interpret the hadith qudsi in these terms we arrive at an interpretation which is consistent with Islamic orthodoxy and Baba Bulleh Shah was a Hanafi scholar as well as a Sufi of the strictly Shariah-compliant Qadiri Order of Sufis.

This hadith qudsi is a declaration, by Allah, of the unimaginable proximity in love that exists between Him and Prophet Muhammad, his beloved Slave. It is naat of the Prophet NOT an excuse for incarnationism or any other doctrine against Islamic orthodoxy and has nothing to do with Allah being One and Unique.

Gill Sahib, it doesn't say, Ahmad IS Ahad (which would be against monotheism) it says 'that which separates Ahmad and I (Allah) is the Meem.

What a stupendous thing this Meem must be then. It is surely the Divine Secret which He discloses to those whom He Wills!
I'd suggest reading al-Ghazzali and then Ibn Arabi. Both available in excellent English translations.

Naqsh, #29 is one of the best thought-out posts on Islamic Sufism. Yes, sufism seems to be all about love for Allah (and his Prophet), which makes Islamic sainthood possible, with degrees of love defining gradation of the wali.

In short form, one can even define Islamic sufism as annihilation of the human self through love for and identification with allah (and his Prophet).

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Excuse the term Islamic sufism since there is a ton of unIslamic sufism that people like my friend laddu enthusiastically propound, in utter ignorance, IMHO.

Kaal chakra bhai,

you are trying to hold the ocean in a tea cup.

You are trying to examine the soul by dissecting the body.

Kaal chadd day ilm kitaban da.
tainay chayaee bar azaban da

your "logic", my friend, will not work. Alas. It is a sad fact. This strange world we live in. Where we feel that we can prove everything by logic, and then there is always that one thing that breaks all logic apart.

sigh.

but such is the mystery of existence.