Die before you die. The sufi way of life!                                                                                              

QUTUB BAWA MUHAIYADEEN

in one of his famous sayings our beloved prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) said ”die before you die.” This death before death is the way of the sufi and all true mystics. This death is the death of the ego, desires, duality and ultimately the false self. This teaching is found in the Holy Bible where John says “I die daily.” You may ask what is the purpose of this death? The purpose of this death is to die to all that is related to ILLUSION and let the REALITY of God live in you as You.

In the exalted way of the sufi there are 3 deaths. It is said that the masonic mythological figure Hiram Abif was hit in the head 3x and buried in a shallow grave. This is symbolic of the 3 deaths of the sufi. The word for death used by the Sufis is “fana”. Not only does “fana” mean death, it also means extinction. in Sufism the first, and most difficult death-extinction is called “fana fe cheikh”(death/extinction in the cheikh). It is said on the sufi path “the devil is the cheikh/teacher of one who has no teacher.” Death in the cheikh is difficult because this means that the disciple must give up all of their false qualities and become extinct in the true qualities of the cheikh.

A true cheikh is an inheritor of Nur Muhammad (the Light of Muhammad). The second death is called “fana fe Rasool”( death/extinction in the Prophet.) Once a disciple has died in the cheikh, it is the duty of the cheikh to lead the disciple in the ways of Prophet Muhammad until the disciple actually experiences death in Muhammad’s qualities and characteristics. Once when Aiesha was asked how would you describe Muhammad she said that he was the Holy Quran walking. This implies that when a disciple has reached death in the prophet they too will manifest the truth of the Holy Quran in thought, word, and deed.

The third and final death on the sufi path is called “fana fe Allah”(death in God).  it is trough a complete death in the prophet Muhammad, that the disciple achieves extinction/death in God. The result of death in God is eternal Life(baqa) with God. When the disciple reaches the station of “fana fe Allah” God becomes the eyes they see with, the ears they hear with, the tongue they speak with, the hands they grasp with, and the feet they walk with! Qutub Bawa Muhaiyadeen teaches “when you are there, God is not there. When you are not there, God is there.” This is the level of death in God on the sufi path. The goal of the sufi is death in God which results in eternal life as God…… living in the light of love….sufi

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