An Article by Shaykha Fariha
The Prophet, from whom no shadow falls on the earth, is the shade for humanity from the burning nature of the limited world and from the transcendent glory of Reality. In his light—and the light shining within all prophets—our earthly natures are transformed into light, our limited conscience is opened to unlimited awareness. In his light we are able to ascend through the 70,000 veils of light which radiate from the Glorious Countenance of Reality—for they are all his light.
Every aspect of the Beloved of Allah is sacred and brings blessings to creation. Sheyk Muzaffer, may Allah exalt his soul, reports from oral tradition that the blessed head of the Prophet is created from Divine Guidance (Ya Hadi), his blessed neck from the humility of the Most Compassionate, his blessed eyes from Divine Modesty, his blessed face from the certitude of the Eternal, his blessed mouth from Divine Patience, his blessed tongue from Divine Veracity, his blessed brow from Holy Love, his blessed breast from the Lordly counsel of Allah Most High to creation, his blessed heart from piety and and love solely for the sake of Allah, his blessed belly from asceticism, his blessed knees from awe of Allah, and his blessed feet from unswerving integrity, avoiding the paths of error.
When the soul of Muhammad, may Allah embrace him in His own peace, entered this world many miracles were manifested through his holy person. When he was asked to prove through a miracle that he was truly a Prophet, he inwardly received the Divine Command to simply raise finger and point at the moon. The full moon split into two. Once, when there was no food available, milk poured forth from his fingers for his companions to drink. His entire body was fragrant like musk and he imparted a sweet smell to those whom he touched—the heads of children whom he caressed remained fragrant for days. His hands of power could plant a date seed which would grow within the hour. Allah Most High said in Holy Quran that His Hand is over the Prophet’s hand, in the original pledge of the companions under the tree at Hudaybia. Once beofore a holy battle, when Hazreti Ali was suffering from an illness in the eye, the Prophet simiply placed his saliva onto the eye and it healed. In the world of dreams to receive his saliva is to receive his transmission. The sight of his face would fill the hearts of the believers with joy, as though they had seen the face of God. His body was the best of bodies, life bearing, healing, and powerful to bear his mission. His luminous body is still transmitting Allah’s blessing and pleasure in the exact place where his soul departed from it, once the humble dwelling of his precious wife Aisha, now the vast Mosque of Medina where millions of lovers of Allah gather on pilgrimage. Outside of his holy tomb, the only relics that remain of his miraculous body are pieces of his blessed beard. These were gathered by members of his family and his companions whenever he would trim it. A number of these relics have been preserved until today in the keeping of religious institutions, tariqats, and special families. They are considered to be great treasures of Islam.
At the time of Sheyk Muzaffer, may Allah sanctify his secret, the Jerrahi Order in Istanbul held 3 relics of the holy beard. Effendi brought 2 of these to the U.S. at the opening of the Masjid al Farah in 1980. One he gave to the Spring Valley Tekke in the keeping of Sheyk Tosun, and one he gave to the Masjid in the keeping of Sheyk Nur. After Sheyk Nur passed, the relic mysteriously disappeared. Last year, through the grace of our brother Mujtaba Ali, the head of the Atlanta Circle, we received another holy relic of the beard. It had been held in his family, through his mother’s line, and at some point it split into two. Mujtaba was given the new beard. After holding it for a precious few months—he reports that it was like the sun shining in his house—he was moved to give it to the Nur Ashki Tariqat in replacement of the earlier relic, so that it could be shared and held by all of us. May our gratitude be multiplied by the Divine gratitude, and fill his life, and that of his family with constant blessing.
We are amazed that we hold part of the Prophet’s body of light. This trust represents a responsibility for our Tariqat in manifesting the way of the Prophets, and in particular his way which reveals the essence of the La ilaha ilallah. His way is all-embracing unity, luminous gnosis and pure love. His way as the Nur Muhammad includes all paths of return. His way encompasses every level of realization available to humanity. May we deepen our knowledge of his way and increase our capacity to be this knowledge. May passionate love of Allah Most Exalted, ignite our hearts and may these hearts be servants for humanity.
The night before our travel with Ali through the Western circles and Mexico City, I was given the inspiration to take the relic of the holy beard onto the journey. After the original beard had come from Istanbul to NY, it only traveled once when Sheyk Nur took it with him to Mexico City on the 7th anniversary of the circle. His inspiration was to bring the beard to the holy shrine of Mariam Guadalupana, thus mystically bringing together the traditions of Islam and Christianity. In our visit to Mexico City this time with the beard we followed his footsteps back to the shrine of Hazreti Mariam. She is a great bridge between these two revelations, as she is revered in both as the Virgin Mother who brought forth the living Word, the Spirit of God. There is also a mystical tradition stating that in the realm of Paradise the Blessed Mariam will be the bride of the Beloved Muhammad, may Allah’s peace shine upon them eternally for all to see.
As we began our travel the power of the beard was immediately manifest. Going to the airport and boarding the plane to Kansas City was no longer just ordinary steps to come to our destination. It was a sacred journey in extraordinary companionship. We were in a caravan of light moving with the companions and lovers of Allah. Taxi drivers, travelers on the airplanes, people in airports, hotel receptionists and residents all participated in this sacred companionship and bearing of the prophetic trust embodied in the relic of the blessed beard. This is the radiant nature of our life together on earth. We are sharing the journey as travelers in one caravan returning to the Source. The Circles of Nur are the places of special awareness within this journey, sites of accelerated transmutation. It is here, in these vortexes of light, that we leave the horizontal journeying of limited consciousness, with its leaps and falls, to ascend directly and immediately into our Source.