Bismillah ar Rehman ir Rahim
A short speech given on the occasion of the Urs Fatiha for Dr
Zahurul Hassan Sharib
Given in Zahuri Manzil, Southampton, April 8th 2008 by Jamiluddin
Morris Zahuri.
Today we recall especially our philosopher, friend and guide, Dr
Zahurul Hasan Sharib Gudri Shah Baba.
He was a man of great spiritual enthusiasm and an intimate of that
great quality of Divine Love, which alone can give purpose and
meaning to life. If we have learnt to love we have learnt to live.
To live means not merely to breathe and eat or perform other
functions of the body, or to be engrossed in transient sensations
or pleasures; but to be alive to the Divine Secret which Almighty
Allah has placed deep within us. It requires patience, fortitude,
determination, and humility to discover this Secret within us. It
requires above all that Almighty Allah bestows on us His guidance,
for in the end Love is a gift, pure and simple. God alone is the
Guide, but the spiritual guide is our Qibla. In the Sufi Way the
disciples turn outwardly towards the Kaaba for their prayers, but in
the matter of Love they turn their heart towards the guide.
For many seekers from different parts of the world Zahurmian was
that Qibla. Through his innate inspired wisdom he turned round the
lives of so many people. They were lost – they became found.
They lacked purpose – they found purpose. They doubted and
they became certain. They were ignorant and they became
knowing. They disbelieved and they found belief. They were proud
and they found a lowly spirit and submitted to the Divine Will.
The holy Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was the final expounder of
the religion of Truth which has always existed and exists now,
unsullied in its pristine purity by the opinions of the intellectuals or
the ignorant. It is his light that is reflected in the lives of the great
saints, saints such as Khawaja Muinuddin Hassan Chishti, Hazrat
Abdul Qadir al-Jillani, Hazrat Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and many
other great souls. This was the tradition to which Zahurmian
belonged. – a tradition which valued service to God through
service to man.
Mankind has passed through many stages and phases in its
history, are we to believe that ar-Rahman has neglected to provide
us with guidance appropriate to our own age and condition? I think
not. The Sufis have been a great inner bulwark against extremism
either in worldliness or in matters of religion. They have
emphasised tolerance, mutual respect, and the dignity of man.
True followers of the Sufi tradition have sought to bring to the
attention of men and women of all caste, colour, nationality or
religion, that through mutual love and mutual help better living is
possible. They sought and found how to integrate the personality
so that individuals could reach their potential. Their wisdom was
divine - not of this world.
Zahurmian was a great expounder of this tradition and he still is,
for, as Hafiz says, ‘he who is alive with Love does not die’. May
the spirit of Hazrat Zahurul Hasan Sharib be with us today; and
may he ever enjoy the blessings of Almighty Allah.
Amin.
April 2008 Southampton
A short speech given on the occasion of the Urs Fatiha for Dr
Zahurul Hassan Sharib
Given in Zahuri Manzil, Southampton, April 8th 2008 by Jamiluddin
Morris Zahuri.
Today we recall especially our philosopher, friend and guide, Dr
Zahurul Hasan Sharib Gudri Shah Baba.
He was a man of great spiritual enthusiasm and an intimate of that
great quality of Divine Love, which alone can give purpose and
meaning to life. If we have learnt to love we have learnt to live.
To live means not merely to breathe and eat or perform other
functions of the body, or to be engrossed in transient sensations
or pleasures; but to be alive to the Divine Secret which Almighty
Allah has placed deep within us. It requires patience, fortitude,
determination, and humility to discover this Secret within us. It
requires above all that Almighty Allah bestows on us His guidance,
for in the end Love is a gift, pure and simple. God alone is the
Guide, but the spiritual guide is our Qibla. In the Sufi Way the
disciples turn outwardly towards the Kaaba for their prayers, but in
the matter of Love they turn their heart towards the guide.
For many seekers from different parts of the world Zahurmian was
that Qibla. Through his innate inspired wisdom he turned round the
lives of so many people. They were lost – they became found.
They lacked purpose – they found purpose. They doubted and
they became certain. They were ignorant and they became
knowing. They disbelieved and they found belief. They were proud
and they found a lowly spirit and submitted to the Divine Will.
The holy Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was the final expounder of
the religion of Truth which has always existed and exists now,
unsullied in its pristine purity by the opinions of the intellectuals or
the ignorant. It is his light that is reflected in the lives of the great
saints, saints such as Khawaja Muinuddin Hassan Chishti, Hazrat
Abdul Qadir al-Jillani, Hazrat Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and many
other great souls. This was the tradition to which Zahurmian
belonged. – a tradition which valued service to God through
service to man.
Mankind has passed through many stages and phases in its
history, are we to believe that ar-Rahman has neglected to provide
us with guidance appropriate to our own age and condition? I think
not. The Sufis have been a great inner bulwark against extremism
either in worldliness or in matters of religion. They have
emphasised tolerance, mutual respect, and the dignity of man.
True followers of the Sufi tradition have sought to bring to the
attention of men and women of all caste, colour, nationality or
religion, that through mutual love and mutual help better living is
possible. They sought and found how to integrate the personality
so that individuals could reach their potential. Their wisdom was
divine - not of this world.
Zahurmian was a great expounder of this tradition and he still is,
for, as Hafiz says, ‘he who is alive with Love does not die’. May
the spirit of Hazrat Zahurul Hasan Sharib be with us today; and
may he ever enjoy the blessings of Almighty Allah.
Amin.
April 2008 Southampton
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