Love – Kutubía

Greetings to Life and Death (Transliteration from Urdu with minor Persian and Arabic)

Ya Ilahi, har jaga teri ata ka saath ho,
Jab pareh mushkil Shah-e-Mushkil Kusha ka saath ho,

Ya Ilahi, bhool jawoon naz’a ki takhleef ko,
Shaadi-E-deedar E husne Mustafa (SAW) ka Saath ho,

Ya Ilahi, garmeen-E-mehshar se jab bharkein badan,
Daaman-E-Mehboob (SAW) Ki Thandi Hawa Ka Saath Ho,

Ya Ilahi, Naam-E-Aamal jab khool ne lageh,
Aiyb Posh-E-Khalq Sattar-E-Khata ka sath ho,

Ya Ilahi jab chaleh tareeq raahein pul siraat,
Aftab-E-Hashmi Nur-ul Huda ka saath ho,

Ya Ilahi Jab Sar-E-Shamsheer par chalnah pareh,
Rab-E-Sallim Kehne Waleh Gham Zudah (SAW) Ka Saath Ho,

Shah-E-Mardan, Sher-E-Yazdaan, Kuwwateh Parwardigar,
La Fatah Illah Ali (AS), La Saif Illah Zulfiqar,

Shah-E-Man, Sultan-E- Alam, Syed Ahmad Kabir (RA),
Khataman Rajakum Ya Gauth Al Azam Dastageer (RA),

Shaykh Nazim (RA) Wa Ghauth Al Azam (RA), Ya Peer aana Peer,
Al Madad, Al Madad, Sawalana Munkir Nakeer,

Yeki Bood, Yeki Nabood, Ghayr-Az-Khuda, Hich Ki Nabood,

Ya Ilahi har jaga teri ata ka saath ho,
Jab pareh mushkil Shah-Eh-Mushkil Kusha ka saath ho.

Greetings to Life and Death (English)

Oh my Lord, may your benefaction and mercy always encompass us, in every sphere of life,
In times of hardship and distress may our companion be the King of the alleviators of all hardship and distress – Imam Ali (AS),

Oh My Lord, let me not be preoccupied by the Stupor of Death,
But instead on the pilgrimage and union with our beautiful and Beloved Prophet (SAW),

Oh My Lord, when my body shall tremble profusely from the intense heat on The Day of gathering,
May the cooling breeze emanating from the shade of the Beloved Prophet (SAW) be our Companion,

Oh My Lord, when our book of deeds is unveiled on The Day,
May our Companion be the one who is The Veiler for His Ummah – Our Beloved Prophet (SAW),

Oh My Lord, when we embark on the journey towards the Pul-Sirãt crossing (Bridge) on The Day,
May our companion be the radiant Sun of the Hashemite, our Guiding Light – The Beloved Prophet (SAW).

Oh My Lord, when we shall walk across the surface of the bridge of Al-Sirãt (Which shall be finer than a strand of hair and sharper than the sharpest blade),
May our Companion be the One who endlessly praises and seeks refuge with His Lord, the grief bearer for His Ummah – Our Beloved Prophet (SAW),

The King of Valiant Men, The Lion of God, The Might of God – Imam Ali (AS),
There is no victory without Ali (AS), There is no Sword other than Zulfiqar,

The King of Hearts and Souls, The Spiritual Sovereign of the world, Syed Ahmad Kabir Rifa’i (RA),
Oh Sealed one, we beseech you of your helping hand – Oh Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (RA),

Oh Maulana Shaykh Nazim (RA), Oh Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (RA) – Oh Saint of All Saints,
We beseech your intercession during the questioning of Munkir and Nakir (In the Grave),

There is One, there is No-one, Other than God there is No-one,

Notes

The main body of this recitation is from a poem written by the late great scholar and poet Imam Ahmad Raza Khan (RA), who is also fondly known as Ala Hazrat in the subcontinent. d.1921 Some other lines were given to me from various teachers along my spiritual journey. These have been passed down from saint to saint and from scholar to scholar and are of unknown origin. One verse was written through inspiration.

Compiled and recited by Feroz Yusuf

Audio and video production: Floorshapes

Images: open source content 9th photo used with kind permission of Rabi Al Jafari T

his project was made with kind collaboration from the Kutubia Cultural Centre in Orgiva.

En memoria de / in loving memory of:

Haji Ismail Maestro Yusuf Zikriwala
Haji Abdul Hadi Scott
Hajjah Salama Scott Achon
Mehmud Ismail Yusuf Zikriwala

Qasida Diawartou of Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba (ENG)

Recited and recorded by Ahmadou Bamba in Orgiva, March, 2021

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

I have been turned away from Iblis and all the germs of corruption and by the name of Allah, Benevolent the Merciful, I am attached to follow the Messenger of Allah (may Allah Bless and Salute him) and to work for the higher good.

There is no strength or power except Allah, The Most High, The Mighty.

May I reach Allah’s proximity through the intermediary of His Book (the Qur’an) for my entry into Paradise.

Thanks to the Qur’an, I reside with my Lord, the Incomparable Auxiliary; I acquired perfect mastery of my soul and cast out satan, the reprobate.

From this underworld, I am content to draw only my passage for Paradise; I tamed my passion and completely purified my heart.

In the Hearafter, the Virtuous will be my companions and I will be eternally given the means to honor them.

The Qur’an will certainly remain my Companion until the Three Heavens, as it chased satan, the accursed away from me.

My Shield against the cursed and the ungodly is the fact that I reside with the Creator of the Worlds. Allah, by His Book, Honors me and Protects me from any source of blame.

Thus I would not know, until my entry into Paradise, that Joy provided by the Sublime, the Benefactor.

Neither will I be the object of any kind of remonstrance or threat; and my existence will be, until paradise, only permanent rejoicing.

Allah hides in my favor the Well Guarded Mystery (Sirru-l-Mas’un), by Love and the formula: La ilaha ilLah May Allah be my guide, because He is the Creator and He endows me with all the recipes of good speech.

May the Creator free me from everything that is not His.

That One who has no equal position on the Right Path.

May the Book of my Lord be with me and I be with it so that it allows me to put all my trust in God.

My distance from all that causes evil constitutes my shield against troubles and misdeeds.

May Allah honor me for the recitation (of the Quran) so I that I will gain in my work.

May the multitudes flow towards me.

Notes – ENG

Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba is a great African Muslim Sufi master, bom in 1853 in Senegal (West Africa), during French colonization, just after the official abolition of slavery in the colonies. He was bom into a renowned Muslim clerical family, the Mbacke, well-known for their deep-rooted attachment to learning and teaching religious knowledge. Islam had then nearly a thousand years of history in Senegal. Known to followers as Khādimu ‘al-Rasūl (خادِم الرسول) or “The Servant of the Messenger” and Serigne Touba or “Sheikh of Tuubaa”, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba was a Sufi saint (Wali) and religious leader and the founder of the large Mouride Brotherhood (the Muridiyya).

Recitado y grabado por Ahmadou Bamba en Orgiva, marzo de 2021

En el nombre de Allah, el Más Misericordioso, el Más Compasivo.

Me alejo de Iblis y de todos los gérmenes de la corrupción y por el nombre de Allah, Benevolente el Misericordioso, estoy apegado a seguir el Mensajero de Allah (que Allah le bendiga y salude) y a trabajar por el bien.

No hay fuerza ni poder excepto Allah, el Altísimo, el Poderoso.

Puedo llegar a la proximidad de Allah a través de Su Libro (el Corán) para mi entrada al paraíso.

Gracias al Corán, resido con mi Señor el Auxiliar Incomparable; adquirí el dominio perfecto de mi alma y eché fuera a satanás, el réprobo.

De este inframundo, me contento con sacar sólo mi pasajé para el Paraíso; domé mi pasión y purifiqué completamente mi corazón.

En el Más Allá, los Virtuosos serán mis compañeros y se me darán eternamente los medios para honrarlos.

El Corán ciertamente seguirá siendo mi Compañero hasta que los Tres Cielos, como persiguio a satanás, el maldito, lejos de mí.

Mi escudo contra los malditos y los impíos es el hecho de que resido con el Creador de los mundos.

Allah, por Su Libro, Me honra y me protege de cualquier fuente de culpa.

Por eso no sabría, hasta mi entrada en el Paraíso, esa Alegría proporcionada por lo Sublime, el Benefactor.

Tampoco sería objeto de ningún tipo de protesta o amenaza; y mi existencia será, hasta el paraíso, sólo un regocijo permanente.

Dios esconde a mi favor el Misterio Bien Guardado (Sirru-l-Mas’un) por Amor y la fórmula: La ilaha ilaLah que Allah sea mi guía, porque Él es el Creador y me dota de todas las recetas del buen decir que el Creador me libere de todo lo que no es suyo.

Que uno que no tiene igual puesto en el camino correcto.

Que el libro de mi señor esté conmigo y yo esté con él para que me permita poner toda mi confianza en dios.

Mi distancia de todo lo que causa el mal constituye mi escudo contra los problemas y las fechorías.

Que Dios me honre por la recitación (del Corán) por lo que tendrá más en mi trabajo.

Deja que las multitudes fluyan hacia mí.

Notes – ESP

Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba es un gran maestro sufí musulmán africano, nacido en 1853 en Senegal (África Occidental), durante la colonización francesa, justo después de la abolición oficial de la esclavitud en las colonias. Se adentró en una reconocida familia clerical musulmana, el Mbacke, conocido por su profundo apego al aprendizaje y la enseñanza del conocimiento religioso. El Islam tenía entonces casi mil años de historia en Senegal. Conocido por seguidores como Khādimu ‘al-Rasūl (خادِم الرسول) o “El Siervo del Mensajero” y Serigne Touba o “Jeque de Tuubaa”, sheikh Ahmadou Bamba fue un santo sufí (Wali) y líder religioso y fundador de la gran Hermandad Mouride (los Muridiyya).

Greetings to Life and Death