Spiritual Photography

For my true sustenance, I must turn to the Light and to His Light ﷺ!

Allāhummu ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalā as-sirāj al-wahhāj.

O Allāh, send blessings, peace, and honor upon the blazing lamp.

More @ https://shaykhmokhtar.com/category/remembrances/photography

Qalbic Listening

Assalaamu’alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh dearest companions,

We pray that you are well.

The brothers were on a hike with Shaykh Mokhtar.  He paused at a stream and so did the others.  He informed the brothers that there were actually two streams if they listened closely as one was not in direct view.

Shaykh Mokhtar and the brothers walked to another spot and Shaykh Mokhtar pointed out that he could now hear three streams.

One of the brothers could not hear all three.  Shaykh  Mokhtar took a step forward.  That same brother, standing behind Shaykh Mokhtar, did so as well and he could also then hear all three distinctly when he listened intently for each one.

This brother remarked in a midday majlis with the Shaykh how he learned so much from the Shaykh by his actions and without any spoken instruction, walhamdullillaah.

The brother said he struggles to hear the different calls inside of him.  He struggles to differentiate them – nafs, qalb, ruh and shaytan… Often, it is only that which makes the loudest sound inside of him that he hears and follows, he asserted.

How, he asked, can we learn to hear and differentiate what is hidden within our inner world to then act only on what pleases Allah?

Below, you’ll find the response from Shaykh Mokhtar as well as a recording of one of the streams.  Please forgive the poor quality of the recording.

May Allah open up for us the hearing channels of our hearts and may we learn to shun the negative discourse inside us, fight the incessant calls to what He does not have hubb-love for and listen and take heed to the messages He sends inside of us.  Amin.

Response by Shaykh Mokhtar:

The sound of the stream:

Sometimes I am stuck in a whirlpool of my own making.  It is a whirlpool that pulls me down and keeps my heart imprisoned to that which Allah does not have hubb-love for.  

It is only through the arrival of my true companions (ashāb) and the guidance and example that they set that I am gifted to exit that centripetal force.

Oh Allah!  Alllow us to always be in the companionship of those that elevate us to greater and greater spiritual heights and freedom.  Oh Allah! Make us from truthful – the siddiqīn…

The classes from the Summer Program have been recorded and are available through Al-Madina Institute.

This is an opening du’a from a class that took place on a Friday…

This was recorded in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Interesting how in the middle of a reminder about death, He teaches us about our resurrection as well…

Some images clearly speak for themselves.

May Allah keep the gaze of our heart always directed to Him and His Beloved (ﷺ).

Empty, Empty, Empty

Most prayer niches are stark affairs.  To the best of my recollection, I could not remember one that had anything except perhaps some ornamentation.

I never really thought about why that was the case but perhaps it is a subtle reminder to empty my self when turning to the Divine.  Don’t come with a full cup.

But, at last, I came upon this masjid with a special calligraphic panel inside of the mihrab.  Perhaps if I empty, empty, empty, Allah will fill me up with that which He loves.

This is the spot where the janaza (funeral) prayer is prayed at the Yeni Valide Cami (masjid) in Üsküdar.

The aya states that every soul shall taste death (21:35).

Sitting behind the sign and fence is a bright yellow-coloured generator.  One wonders that if it had a tongue to speak, what it might state as admonition.

Perhaps, “Don’t forget!  When the light of life is turned off, He will bring them back on.  Surely, that is a promise from the All-Powerful”

May Allah grant us life, the life of the one He loves to live and may He grant us death, the death of the one He loves to meet.

We are all in a constant journey back to Allah. Even when we are still, we are actually moving towards Him.

May Allah allow us to always keep focused on Him and His Nabi (ﷺ).

May our gazes never swerve to what Shaytan the dunya or our lower-selves beckon us towards…