Cardiff Sufi Group

Weeky Readngs
Snge-Mnded Remembrance
Wth ths weeks readngs, we move to consder the theme of
remembrance.
We suggest ths four step approach to workng wth ths seecton:
Read ths seecton, out oud f possbe, seven tmes.
Dwe upon the phrase or sentence that touches you.
Ask yoursef what reevance or appcaton ths has for you
Fnay, st n the aftergow of these refectons and open yoursef to
whatever new nsght or message the Dvne mght have for you.
Text One
The Beoved s a, the over |ust a ve
The Beoved s vng, the over wth no fe of ts own.
If Love wthhods ts strengthenng care,
The over s eft ke a brd wthout wngs.
How w I be awake and aware
If the ght of the Beoved s absent?
Love ws that ths Word be brought forth.
If you fnd the mrror of the heart s du,
The rust has not been ceared from ts face
(1. 34)
Text Two
The |esus of your sprt s wthn you:
ask hs ad, for he s a good heper.
Don't seek from your |esus the comforts of the body.
Don't ask from your Moses the wsh of a Pharoah.
Don't burden your heart wth thoughts
of vehood; vehood w not fa.
Be constant n attendance at the Dvne court
(2. 450; 453-1)
Cardiff Sufi Group
Snge-Mnded Remembrance from a Suf perspectve:
A persona account by Zakuddn McNuty
In the name of God, the infinitely compassionate and infinitely merciful
The Suf sants, and Rum n partcuar, contnuay pont us back to God. It s a
constant theme n the Suf wrtngs to emphasze Gods omnpresence and our
dependence upon the favor of God for every manner of sustenance. In the Hoy
Our'an, God says "Remember me, I w remember you." |2:152|. How are we to
understand ths advce and the recprocty mped?
We a know how easy t s to be ed astray by our outer crcumstances and
thoughts, vng our days n what appears to be a bengn state of preoccupaton
or n the grp of reactve, unhepfu patterns. Such thnkng and behavor s
governed by what Sufs ca our ower sef, n a Pharaoh-ke desre to contro and
manpuate. Growng up n an affuent socety, moreover, we may have grown
compacent through the excessve consumpton of Gods bounty, or dm n our
awareness of the reatonshp we have wth our Creator.
Remembrance s cang out to God. It takes us back to our orgna covenant of
acknowedgement, and re-estabshes and affrms our prmorda, ntmate
reatonshp wth God. Rum often ctes exampes from the Our'an and from the
ves of Prophets to show how God s aways watchng out for us, and how payng
attenton s rewarded. The nature of ths reward s not |ust n the hereafter, but
n our mmedate apprehenson of recprocty, that s, our potenta knowng of
God as He remembers us. Gods remembrance, unke ours, s ongong.
Such snge-mnded Remembrance s a centra practce of the sufs, known as
dhikr (or zikr, n the Turksh pronuncaton). Lke rtua prayer, t s practced both
prvatey and n communty. "La illaha il Allah s typcay transated "there s no
god, but God." We can expand ths expanaton by affrmng that our word of
manfestaton and mutpcty has a Single Source of Beng, upon whch t s
uttery dependent. In the practce of dhkr, a of our concerns become a snge
concern as we endeavor to stay aware of our connecton to our Source.
Rememberng God can keep us attuned to Hs benevoence and other Ouates,
seen and unseen, and can purfy our motves and our deeds.
Rememberng God snge-mndedy mpes abandonng every agenda for the
sake of ths return to our prmary reatonshp, meetng wth our Source face-to-
face durng our busy, short ves. In so dong, we resume our speca reatonshp
as a most beoved creature, partcpatng n the concert of Prase that a of
creaton contnuay sngs to ts Creator. Ths s perpetua communon,
recprocty, sustenance, and gudance of the created by a most-ovng Creator:
"Everythng pershes except Hs Face." |28:88|.
Cardiff Sufi Group
Remembrance can brng us face to face wth our Creator, as n our begnnng,
and as n our end.