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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