About Us
This page includes the following selected articles:

•Sufism- the Spiritual
Psychological Teaching of Islam
•Colour Your Life with Love for the Prophet Muhammad (saw)
•The Geography of Paradise
•The Development of the Self and the States of Consciousness According to The Word of Allah

Contact Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre/Almiraj Sufi Books

The Purpose of the Centre/Membership Application


Articles

Adab at Tariqa - Spiritual Courtesy of the Path of Allah

Silence on the Path of Knowledge

The Meaning of the Hajj

The Mother of the Book

Hadith an Nur - The Descent of Light

Islamic Prayer
The seven diagrammatical prayer movements are taken from The Door of Prayer, Treasure No. 9

The Merging of Aikido in the Sufi Path

The Seven Treasures of the Heart

Some Advice from Mevlana Rumi


The Vehicle of Light- Door of Prayer
Door of Purification, Door of Good and Bad (The Seven Deadly Sins and other articles)


Photo Gallery

Things the seeker should know
Some useful links.

The Treasure Magazine

Unity Aikido

Website History Page



 

The information contained within this website is subject to copyright. Permission
is granted to use the information for research, study purposes and reprinting in
appropriate use articles. If you reprint anything from this website,
please include an acknowledgement of your source
and forward a copy of the work to the centre.

 

Nasihah

(An Arabic word for Sincere Advice)


Do not blame your parents, or your personality, or your society, or your geographical location in this world, or your so called 'karma', or anybody else for what you are.

The Merciful Allah (God) gave every man and woman the chance to undo what has been done through genuine exercise of determination; to have access to the ultimate realisation of the Truth within yourself.

Determined will is Allah's gift to you - when you tune your will to the will of Allah.

In a nutshell - when you learn the art of surrendering your will to Allah.

So, now is the time to decide, my dear brothers and sisters, about your purpose in this life. Are you going to be part of the problem? Or part of the solution to the crisis of this beautiful earth that the Beloved Allah has entrusted us with?

 

Alhamdulillah, Our Shopping Cart is now Active! Click here
and visit often as we are continually adding more items from the bookshop to the online store.

Almiraj Sufi Books
Subject index of book catalogue, how to order, postal information.

Solution Graphics



The Chart of Knowledge
This diagram by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi is a means of meditation, contemplation and most importantly, visualisation.

Centre Publications

Recommended Reading
Sufism studies. Our Murshid highly recommends reading the following selection of books for those who are serious in travelling the path of enlightenment and those seeking and approaching the realisation of Allah.

The Treasure Magazine
Australia's Magazine on Sufism produced by Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre. Available by individual issues or by subscription. Back issues available. Current issue is Number 21 and is available for purchase on the shopping cart.

What is Sufism?

The Spiritual Psychological Teaching of Islam

Sufism is the esoteric teaching of Islam. We are living in the 21st Century, the age of mass communications and the internet and so would hope by now that Sufism does not require too much explanation. This teaching has been made more accessible around the world by means of Sufi Books, Sufi music (qawwali), and Sufi poetry. We are not surprised when we discover that the best-selling books on poetry in the USA are by the great Sufi mystical poet, Jalaluddin Rumi. For the sake of clarification and explanation, and as an introduction to our web site, we will give details of this teaching.

It has been said that Sufism or Tasawwuf has taken its name from many different sources. One is "suf" – wool. It has been said in the Traditions of the Holy Prophet that the Prophet Musa (Moses) was wearing wool when he went to speak with God on Mount Sinai . In the early days wool was a very cheap commodity, worn by ascetics as a sign of humility and detachment. Wool is the opposite of silk. In some Traditions the Sufis are connected with the Companions of the Holy Prophet÷ . There was a group of very highly devoted and sincere seekers of God named Ahl as-Suffa, the People of the Bench. They spent their lives in a state of remembrance of God and complete detachment from this world.

"The goal of self-transformation is to remove all the veils between us and God.  The final veil is the "I", the sense of separateness we each carry.  To remove this is far from easy.  Ask yourself, "How can I take the "I" out of me?"

It has also been said, that Sufism is related to the root of the word "safa" – to purify – here meaning to purify the heart of other-than-God. There are many names attached to this particular teaching. The Sufis nonetheless say: "If one says he is a Sufi, he is not a Sufi". To be a Sufi is to be in a state of complete awareness of the self and complete awareness of the Divinity.

The Sufis take as their starting point the Unity of God – La ilaha ill Allah – There is no god but One God; There is no reality but One Reality. It is not that we have to acknowledge the Unity of God. God does not need our confirmation of His Oneness. It is for our own benefit. When one starts with Unity it is easy to integrate all the different "I’s" which have no function except to confuse and mislead us. For this reason the Sufis use the remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) and His Names, in various forms, to awaken the subtle centres of the self.

In Sufism there are seven states of consciousness. When we progress through them we will reach the Ultimate Truth and the Ultimate Unity of Realization of God. It is hard; and at the same time it is easy. If we are sincere and if we desire and really wish to be with God then, as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, He is closer to us than our jugular vein.

"The Sufis are people who prefer God to everything and God prefers them to everything else."

So the first step, as we mentioned, is the acknowledgment of God, which includes the acceptance of 124,000 prophets and messengers of God who have been sent to humanity and to the entire creation at large.

The last Prophet and Messenger of God is the Holy Prophet Muhammad÷ . If we acknowledge this then the second step is to worship, because there is no point in acknowledging God if we do not obey Him. As a Sufi poet said: "You disobey Allah and you claim His Love. That is indeed a very strange kind of love!" If you are truly a lover of God you will obey Him because the lover is in a state of total surrender to his Beloved. So – worship you must! However, worship is not just the movements of the body. It is a state of knowledge, because in the true sense you cannot worship something that you do not know. So, the Sufis say: "Worship!" Worship in the Arabic traditions is called ibadat. Ibadat should take us to ubudiyya meaning slavehood. If worship does not produce this result then it has not been done properly. The highest state of consciousness is to be completely and totally submitted to our Beloved, Allah.

There are four stages of practice and understanding in Sufism -

Shariah (The Law), 
Tariqah (The mystical Path),
Haqiqah (Truth),
and Ma'rifah (Gnosis).
Each is built upon the stages that go before.

There are other steps. It is highly recommended to observe the one month of fasting every year (the Holy month of Ramadhan) in order to experience something of hunger and to tame the animal self. The Murshid, or Teacher, of a Sufi order or school to whom one attaches oneself, may recommend other fasts if they are required.

There is also zakat, which deals with material wealth. When we practise zakat, which requires 2.5% of our wealth to be given to the needy, then, according to the esoteric Teaching, we are learning detachment and generosity and many other qualities. We must know that the best gift one can give to others is a heart full of love and respect for all the creations of God.

Additionally there is the Hajj or pilgrimage. The Holy Prophet÷ said: "Whoever dies without the intention to go on the Pilgrimage, may die on a different faith than that of surrender to Allah". One must strive to perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah once in a lifetime. However, the real pilgrimage is to travel to one’s heart because it is the Real House of Allah.

Die before you die.

The Sufis use all of these methods and more to transform the self. It is common knowledge that the ego-self cannot surrender to itself. From day one we are learning from our parents, our peers, schoolteachers, our university lecturers, and the masters of whatever trade we undertake. There is always someone at the beginning who must show us how to learn. The Sufi is no exception. In Tasawwuf there is something called Spiritual Genealogy. In some parts of the world it is called Mukafaf – People of the hand. That is, you must take the hand of the one nearest to you to link you to the chain which goes back to the First Teacher who brought this Teaching to us, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who links us to the Archangel Gabriel, who links us to God Himself. It is like a magnetic circle. The one who attaches himself becomes like a magnet, receiving the barakah, spiritual blessings , and participating in the Universal Remembrance of God, because this Teaching is for all humanity. It is Universal. It is fresh and unadulterated and it gives you access to everything that your heart desires.

The Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre  was established about fifteen years ago in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It provides all those who want to know – and who really want to know – with a large range of books on Sufi traditions and their original sources and other traditions as well. So, I hope this introduction helps to give you some idea, but if you want more than the menu - the kitchen and the Cook are here on the Web. May your search bring you success in this life and the next.

And may Allah fill our hearts and yours with Peace, Love and Knowledge and Guide us all to Him, by Him. Ameen.

Sufism is but a name; when it is finished, only God remains.

Written by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi- Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre

Go to: Almiraj Sufi Books


Murshid F. A. Ali ElSenossi

 

Almiraj Sufi and Islamic Study Centre Inc.
Incorporated in the State of Tasmania, Australia

Page last updated 27-Feb-2008