Sacred Laughter of the Sufis: Awakening the Soul with the Mulla's Comic Teaching Stories and Other Islamic Wisdom by Imam Jamal Rahman

Author:Imam Jamal Rahman [Rahman, Imam Jamal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Jamal Rahman, Spiritual practices for personal growth, Wisdom of Islamic Sages, Mulla Nasruddin, Qur’an, Muhammad sayings, Islamic stories, Teaching Stories, Rumi, Hafiz, Sufi spirituality
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Published: 2014-03-31T21:00:00+00:00

Reflections

Remember with gratitude the blessings that God has bestowed upon you. (Qur’an 3:103)

Anyone who gives thanks does so to the profit of his own soul. (Qur’an 31:12)

Gratitude for the abundance you have received is the best insurance that the abundance will continue. (Hadith)

For sixty years I have been forgetful, every minute, but not for a second has this flowing toward me stopped or slowed. (Rumi)

I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow and said to it, “Tastes sweet, does it not?” Grief confessed, “You’ve caught me and ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow when you know it’s a blessing?” (Rumi)

When one continues to give thanks in times of affliction, one is giving thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. (Traditional Sufi saying)

Ayesha, wife of the Prophet Muhammad, reported that when the Prophet saw what pleased him, he said, “Praise be to God whose grace brings all goodness to perfection.” If he saw what he disliked, he said, “Praise be to God under all conditions.”

Practice

What are some hidden blessings from a difficult period of your life that have emerged from your own experience? How has that discernment changed your understanding of suffering?

What are some blessings you are thankful for in the course of your daily life? Make a list. Create a ritual of gratitude before sleeping. If you do this daily, Sufi teachers say that you are creating feathers and wings to the bird of Spirit within you.

Sufis make it a habit to touch their heart whenever they express thanks to someone. Over time the practice becomes natural and practitioners report feeling a sense of wholeness, inner peace, and sacred joy.

When someone gives you a gift, thank the giver, but also remember to thank the Giver. If someone presents you with a beautiful hat, you need to express thanks to the person who gave it to you. But shouldn’t you also be grateful to the Giver who gave you the head on which the hat will dwell?

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