The Invocations of Sheikh Abdullah Ansari of Herat

by Abdullah Ansari of Herat

Ansari was born in the Kohandez, the old citadel of Herat, on 4 May 1006. He was the disciple of Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani, and a direct descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, being the ninth in line from him. Ansari excelled in the knowledge of Hadith, history, and ʻilm al-ansāb. He used to avoid the company of the rich, powerful and the influential. His yearly majlis-e wa'az was attended by people from far and wide. Whatever his disciples and followers used to present to him was handed over to the poor and the needy.

He wrote several books on Islamic mysticism and philosophy in Persian and Arabic. His most famous work is "Munajat Namah" (literally 'Litanies or dialogues with God' and usually traduced as 'The Incantations'), which is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature. After his death, many of his sayings that had been transmitted by his students along with others that were in his written works were included in the Tafsir of Maybudi, "Kashf al-Asrar" (The Unveiling of Secrets).

Genres: Mysticism, Religion

100 pages, hardcover

First published January 1, 1070

About the author

One of the earliest Sufi masters, Ansari was born in the Kohandez, the old citadel of Herat, on 4 May 1006. He was the disciple of Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani, and a direct descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, being the ninth in line from him. Ansari excelled in the knowledge of Hadith, history, and ʻilm al-ansāb. He used to avoid the company of the rich, powerful and the influential. His yearly majlis-e wa'az was attended by people from far and wide. Whatever his disciples and followers used to present to him was handed over to the poor and the needy.

Reviews

[ZaRi]

بلا از دوست عطاست و از بلا نالیدن خطاست .
الهی ! آتش دوری داشتی ، با آتش دوزخ چه کار داشتی ؟
الهی ! به بهشت و حور چه نازم ، مرا نظری ده که از هر نظر بهشتی سازم .
الهی ! همچون بید می لرزم که نباید به هیچ نیارزم .
الهی ! همه از تو ترسند و من از خود ، از تو همه نیکی دیده ام و از خویش همه بد .
انتظار را طاقت باید و مارا نیست ، صبر را فراغت باید و ما را نیست .
الهی ! در دل های ما جز تخم محبّت مکار و برتن و جان های ما جز الطاف و مرحمت خود منگار و بر کشته های ما جز باران رحمت خود مبار .
عیبی که در شماست ، دیگران را ملامت نکنید ، داد طاعت ناداده ، دعوی کرامت نکنید .
عذر بسیار خواستن بی مروّتی است ، عذر قبول ناکردن بی فتوّتی است .
دوستی را آن شاید که در وقت خشم بر تو ببخشاید .
محبّت در بزد ، محنت آواز داد ، دست در عشق زدم ، هرچه بادا باد !
دوستی او ما را مست کرد و رها کرد ، نشانی فراداد و نشانه بلا کرد .
زنده نشدم تا نسوختم ، دانی که این جامه نه من دوختم .
من چه دانستم که این دود آتش داغ است ! من پنداشتم که هرجا آتشی است ، چراغ است .
روزگاری او را می جستم ، خود را می یافتم . اکنون خود را می جویم ، او را می یابم ...

[KhanomZahra Amjadi]

در عجبم از کسی که کوه را می شکافد تا به معدن جواهر برسد،ولی خویش را نمی کاود تا به درون خود راه یابد.

[Hasanul Banna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book I've ever read of Master Abdullah Ansari May Allahu put His ennoble soul to the stations of nearness. Ameeen. Words are not enough to describe the feelings that this book gave me. Master Abdullah Ansari made me a slave of His passionate love for the Creator of worlds. Let His poetry make us silent:

O Lord, give me a heart
Free from the flames of desire.
Give me a mind
Free from the waves of dissimulation

O Lord, give me eyes
Which see nothing but Thy glory.
Give me a mind
That finds delight in Thy service
Give me a soul
Drunk in the wine of Thy wisdom.

...........
The flame of Thy love glows
In the darkness of my night.

[Jacob Bornheimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writings of a mystic from Islam's classical period. I expect mystics to present a deconstructed view on their traditions, but that's not what I got here. It's mostly what you'd expect - some fairly dry prayer. The best parts anticipate Rumi's love poetry, the worst parts strike a grovelling tone. To its credit, it does have a little Buddhist flavour. Unfortunately, that's not enough to impress 1500 years after the Buddha's death. All told, this failed to move me but was interesting from a historical perspective.

[Farzin S · Rating 5 out of 5]

هر وقت احساس غرور کردین، این کتاب بهترین نسخه ی درمانه

هر وقت احساس گناه کردین، بهترین گزینه س

اگه خواستین به خدا نزدیک بشین، خودشه،
خالص ترین و مقدس ترین احساس ها رو این کتاب به سادگی بهتون می ده،
ای خواجه، ممنونم دعا و راز و نیازتو با ما هم به اشتراک گذاشتی، روحت شاد...

[Ehsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

بهترین کتاب است بعد از قرآن

[Navid Aliakbarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

خط آقای رواسانی در نگارش این کتاب بسیار نا مطبوع بوده و از حلاوت مطالعه آن اکیداً کاسته است.

[Mark David Vinzens · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Know that when you learn to lose yourself, you will reach the Beloved. There is no other secret to be learnt, and more than this is not known to me.” ― Ansari of Herat, The Invocations of Sheikh 'Abdullāh Ansāri of Herat

[Farzaneh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just I can say it is one of the bests

[Alireza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A honest and honorable book which is considered a masterpiece of Persian rhyming prose.