Thirteenth droplet

O fellow traveler! Does what you have so far seen not yet suffice you? If you desire to acquire complete knowledge of that illustrious person, even if we stay in this peninsula a hundred years, we will still not be able to comprehend fully even a single one of the dimensions of his mission and accomplishments. Let us return and, travelling back through centuries, see how each century "flourished" [with his Message] and to what extent it benefited from that Age of Happiness.

We see that in each century we passed through innumerable "flowers" opened in the "sun" of that Age of Happiness and that through the light of guidance that noble being diffused, each century yielded thousands of illustrious fruits such as Abu Ha-nifa⁶ ,Shaifi'i,⁷ Abu Yazid al-Bistami,⁸ Junayd al-Baghdadi,⁹ Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani,¹⁰ Imam al-Ghazali,¹¹ Muhyi al-Din ibn al-'Arabi,¹² Abu'l-Hasan al-Shadhili,¹³ Shah Naqsh-band,¹⁴ Imam Rabbani¹⁵ and others. Postponing to another occasion the detail of our observations, let us call God's peace and blessings upon that illustrious, miracle-working being, namely our master Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings:

O God! Bestow peace and blessings on that illustrious being, on whom the wise Qur'an was sent down from the Supreme Throne of God by the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. He is our master Muhammad, upon whom be peace and blessings to the number of a thousand thousand and the good deeds of his Ummah. Peace be upon him whose Messengership was predicted in the Torah, the Gospels, the Psalms, and other Divine Scriptures. His Prophethood was prophesied by the miraculous events before his Prophethood and the foretellers among jinn and mankind and by saints of humankind; and by his gesture the moon split into two. He is our master and lord Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings to the number of a thousand thousand and the breaths of his Ummah. Peace and blessings be upon him whose call trees answered, and at whose prayer rain came speedily, and whom the cloud shaded from heat. Hundreds of men were satisfied with a gallon of his food, and water flowed abundantly from his fingers. For him God made speak the lizard, the gazelle, the wolf, the camel, the mountain, the rock, and the tree. He ascended as far as the seventh heaven and the Supreme Throne of God and his eyes did not swerve. He is our master and intercessor Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings to the number of a thousand thousand and the letters of the words of the Qur'an that have had forms by the All-Merciful's leave in the "mirrors" of air molecules during their recitation by every reciter from the first day of its revelation to the end of time. O God, for the sake of every blessing and peace called upon him, forgive us and have mercy on us. Amen! Amen! Amen!



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6. Abu Hanifa, Nu'man ibn Thabit (700-768): The founder of the Hanafi School of Law. He is one of the greatest Muslim faqihs—scholars of jurisprudence able to exercise ijtihad, that is, to deduce new laws from the Qur'an and Sunnah and was also well-versed in kalam (theology). He lived in Kufa and died in Baghdad. He trained many students.

7. Shafi'i (767-820). The founder of the Shafi'i School of Law. Born in Ghazza in Palestine and visited Mecca, Baghdad and Egypt to study Islamic sciences. Died in Egypt. Besides fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), he was also well-versed in hadith, language and poetry. Al-Umm and Ahkam al-Qur'an are only two of his several works.

8. Abu Yazid al-Bistami (802-873). One of the most famous of Muslim spiritual masters and saints. He was born in Bistam, between Iraq and Khorasan, and died there.

9. Junayd al-Baghdadi (d.910). One of the most famous of early Sufis—Muslim spiritual masters. He was a disciple of Sirri al-Saqati and learned fiqh from Sufyan al-Thawri. He was widely respected to the point of being known as sultan al-'arifin (the prince of knowers of God).

10. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1166). One of the most celebrated Sufi masters in Islam. Born in Jilan but lived in Baghdad. He also studied hadith and fiqh. He was called the qutb (spiritual axis) of his age, and even the ghawth al-a'zam (the greatest succour). At his hand innumerable straying Muslims found the true way and numerous Christians and Jews became Muslims. Kitab al-Ghunyah, Futuh al-Ghayb and al-Fath al-Rabbani are only a few among his books.

11. Imam al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad (1058-1111). Theologian, jurist, sage, and one of those known as Mujaddid (revivers promised to come every century to restore Islam to its original purity and vitality). He was known in Europe as Alga-zel. An extraordinary figure, al-Ghazali was the architect of the later development of Islam. He left behind a vast collection of books, the most famous of which is lhya al-'Uluin al-Dht (Reviving the Islamic Sciences).

12. Muhiy al-Din ibn al-'Arabi (1165-1240). Born in Andalusia and died in Damascus. He was known as shaykh al-akbar (the greatest Sufi master). Because of his doctrine of the Transcendental Unity of Existence, which most people have mistaken for monism and pantheism, he has become the target of unending polemics. He wrote numerous books, among which Fusus al-Hikam and al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah are the best known.

13. al-Shadhili (1196-1258). The founder of the Shadhiliyah, one of the most important brotherhoods. Born in Ghumara, Tunisia, and buried in Humaithra, a village near the Red Sea, where he died while returning from the pilgrimage. He made Egypt the center of his activity and teaching.

14. Shah al-Naqshband (1316-1389). One of the most prominent spiritual masters in the history of Islam, and the founder of the Sufi order of Naqshbandiyyah. Born in Bukhara and studied in Samarqand. His order is still widespread in Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia. He died in Bukhara. Among his books are Risalat al-Warida, al-Awrad al-Baha'iyya, Hayat-nama, and Tanbih al-Ghafilin.

15. Imam Rabbani (1563-1624). Born in Sarhand, India. Known as the "reviver of the second millennium." Well-versed in Islamic sciences, he brought up many students and removed many elements of corruption from the Sufism of his time. He brought up Shah Alamgir or Awrangzeb (1618-1707), the ruler of Babur Muslim State in India, who had a committee of scholars to prepare the most comprehensive compendium of Islamic Law according to the Hanafi School.