Th.B,.,okI SffiI [IilA[,[Ilfi +h. pow.r of Love ^^.o^ditiov'ral to work U.t^n ,ni,nacles ''dito+'' o' d ^r:':l:: ::;2::i' ^ o theinfall;bl. o^.r.dy o th. rorl of th. rose Shovkh l-lak ivnMoi di" ehis hti "'id lnner Tradition$ Int€mational One Park Stleet Rochester, Vermont 05767 www.InnerTraditions,com Copyright @ 1991by Hakim abu-Abdullah Moinuddin al-Chishtiyya All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includint photocopying, recording, or by any information storate and ret eval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. LTBRARYoF CoNGREssCATALocTNG-rN-PuBLrcllTroN DATA Moinduddin, abu-Abdullah Ghulam. The book of Sufi healing / Moiruddin Chishti. P. cm. Reprint. Origrnally published: New York : Inner Tladitions Intemational, c1985. inlcudesbibliographical referencesand hdex. ISBN 0-89281-324-5 1. Sufism. 2. Spiritual healing. 3. Medicine,Arabic. 4.Metaphysics. I.Title 8P189.65.F35M65 t991 613-dc20 91-14595 CIP Printed and bound in the United States 1098 Text design by Studio 31 In the name oJ God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be m God, the Chefisher and Sustainer oJ the |Iorlds; Most Gracious, Most Mercifuli Master oJ the Day oJ Judgment. Thee do we wonhip and Thine aid we seeh, Show us the st,ruight waJl, the wql oJ those on whom thou hast bestowed Thy Gtace, those who have not eamed Thine anger and who go not astray. C-ontents Forewordby Abu AneesMuhammad Barkat Ali vii Shajarah,or Line of Succession,of Shaykh Moinuddin ix Notes on the Transliterationand Pronunciationof Arabic Words xiii Preface 1 Prologue 9 1 What Is Health? 11 2 The Hierarchy of Creation L7 3 The Stationsof the Soul 25 4 Food and Health 39 5 Akhlat: The Four Essencesof the Body 45 6 Foodsof the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) 51 7 Herbal Formulasfor Common Ailments 65 8 Fasting:The Best Medicine 85 9 9alet: The Posturesof the Prophets 9L 10 The Soul of the Rose LLL 11 The Universeof the Breath L23 12 Tacwidh:The Mericiful Prescriptions 131 13 Dhikr: Divine Remembrance L47 14 The Origin of Miracles L49 15 The Keys of the Treasuresof the Heavensand the Earth 155 16 The InfallibleRemedy 159 Appendixes I. The IslamicCalendar 165 II. SomeUseful Short Srlrahsof the Holy Qur'an 767 III. The Divine Attributes 771 IV. Glossary 179 V. Bibliography 183 Index 187 t I t [\ v , Therearc t*o *;ra, oJ Knowledge: the knowledge oJ rcligions and the hnowledge oJ the body, ,4 U At^Jld CEoVrbaul C^t God has not cteated any illness without creating ako its curc, except old age, Foreword Bismillah, ir-Rahmdn ir-Aahim Not eventhe highestdegree of dedicationto worshipmay earnanybody the claim of divine forgivenessor recompensein any other form, yet there is one thing that everybodyshould make sure of, which shall not go un- requited under any circumstanceby Allah the Almighty, and that is the selflessservice to the ailing humanity. There is no other human act more favorably acceptable to Allah than helping the sick and the suffering creaturesof His. That is what Shaykh Hakim Abu Abdullah Moinuddin Chishti has endeavoredto do in presenting this BooLof SufiHealing. The subject being a difficult and rare one, there are not very many books in this branchof knowledge.Nevertheless it is most hearteningto note that ' the author hastaken great pains in bringingout this commendablework by dint of his unshakabletrust in Allah and unswerving will to serve the humanity. He displaysample evidenceof his vast knowledgein fieldsof multifariouskinds-theology, mysticism,Islamic Sufism, medicine, hygiene, astronomy,and modernsciences. One wondersat the depthand insightof his knowledge,essentially the result of intensiveas well as extensivestudy in subiectsof diversenature. He takesup different subjectsseparately and then correlatesand coordinatesthem to convergeon a centralpoint, namely health,be it physicaland mental health or purificationof the soul.This he has done most logically and methodically.What part do snldt,fasting, tatuidh, or recitationof the Holy Qur'an or dhilcrof Allah the Almighty in any other form play in physicaland mental health or purificationof one'snafsT The answer is not very far to seek. The author has alsoendeavored to dispeldoubts and misgivingsabout IslamicSufism, a mostmisunderstood.subject in the West.It is a tremendous effort on the part of the author to vindicalethe causeof Islamand Sufism. The presentationof additionalinformation in the shapeof illustrations,list of herbswith their characteristicsand ailmentswith their treatment,glos- sary of mystical terms, Qur'anic versesaptly quoted, basicinformation about s.aldt,fasling, dhikr,and so on, has made the book still more beneficial for the ordinary reader. Indeed, TheBook of Sufi Healingis a blessingfor the English-readingworld population in general and fellow American and Muslim brethren of the author in particular.In creatingsuch a fine book, lx x I ThcBa,k ol SufiHnling the author has rendered a great service to the causeof Islam in the sense that, as Islam is the most natural faith, adherenceto its tenets and principles i. lir" o"fy course leading toward human perfection and establishingthe rule of Aliah the Almighiy on this earth' For Sufism in its purest form is nothing- else but Islam and Islam only. f *iL the author still more courage and determination to serve the causeof Islam and betterment of the ailing humanity' Abu Anees Muhammad Barkat Ali Dar-ul-Ehsan, Faisalabad, Pakistan ShajarahSharif of Shaykh Hakim Abu Abdullah Moinuddin *-)-;)$\';r, r f . lr- ,-" Allah, The Exalted, The AlmightY Huzw Sat-ilar-i-Ka'indt Mulammail Muglafd ' The Holy Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.s.) & Attfir al'Mu'minln Hazrat cAli (r.a.a') $ Hazrat Khtttdja Hasan Basti oir Khzttdiac Ab ilul-Wdhiil li' FuilaYl ibn AYad o'o Ibrahim ibn Adham oio Sailiq Mat cashi t: llta Namshdrt oto Abn Islhq Shami oal Abfr A\mail AbilEl Chishti ror Muhammail Zahiil Maqbal Chishfi caa xl xii I Tlu Buk S iufi Haling Abtl YusalChishti olr Nasiruililin Chishti 'lo Matoilild Chishtr r'o Shaif Zinilani ; Klwaia cVthrfldn Hatini olo Ktutaja MuclnuilifrnChishti of Ajmer tlr Khttt Aja Qutbu tlilin B akhtiy ht K-alci olo Shaykh FatTituitiEnMascttil Ganj'i Shakar ltr Haztat cAl:auititincAIi Atlmail Sdbit ol Kalyar Hazrat Shamsuililln Turk of Pa,tiqat ooo Hazrat laldlutlihn Mahrnltil of Panipat llo Hazrat Almad cAbilul'Haqq Ranilauli Inkeja oto Haztat ShaYkh cAif of Ranilauli r'o Hazrat ShaYkhMuhammail ata cAb ttttl - Qu ililit s of Gqngoh ola Kabit-ul-Aulia Jalhluilitin Farlt{t Thanesar oto ShniarehShedl I xlll N izdmudihn Balkh Rahnum ah & Abh Saciil Gangohi olr Muhammail Sailiq oto Mahammail Daciil otr ShahAbitl-Mac dli aol Muhammail Saciil oot Saciil Shah Mullammail Sallm .a Shah clnayanlldh oio cAbilul-Kafim o'o Ilafi4 cAbllul-Ralfm ooo Hazrut Shdh Hassdn r'r Hafiz Husayn Shah lo' Muhammail Husayn & Muhammail Murtaza Ahmail lol sacid Safdar cAIi Shah Chishti & Haztat Abu Abilullah Ghalam Moinuililin 'ol xiv I Thc Blr,kol Srfi Hulirg A shajarahis the record of the line of successionof a shaykh.It tracesthe spiritualgenealogy from the presentshaykh, back in the line to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.),who first transmittedthe spiritualpossessions. The Sufi genealogyis from the $dbiriyyahline of the ChishtiyyahOrder of Sufis, headquarteredat Ajmer, Ralasthan,India. Ones who carry on the Sufi teachingsare authorized by living shaykhs, who maintain a living link and authority over those below them. This authority is grantedby meansof formal initiation,and rights of succession are set forth in a KhildfaFNama,or Letter of Succession,duly signedand sealedby the seniorshaykhs of the order.Hazrat Ni46muddinAwliyi'(r.a.) explainedthe grantingof Khilifat: "Khilafat is the right of him who hasno aspiration in his mind to have it, and who possesses\7) caqlsalim lsound iudgmentlor maturedknowledge to judgeall intricatematters of the world with strict impartialityand forbearance;(z) who is an accomplishedscholar; and (3) whosechest is full of divine love and wisdom." The shaykh servesas an indirect link with the Divine Power. The tabarrukdtmuslafawl-the sacredrobes and relics coming down from the line of Chishti shaykhs-are conveyedto the shaykh upon KhilSfat. Hazrat Abu Abdullah Moinuddin is the twenty-sixth successorin the line of Hazrat Khwaia MucinuddinChishu (r.a.) Notes on the Transliteration and Pronunciation of Arabic lVords Arabic consonants are pronounced like English consonants,with the fol- lowing exceptions. ' A simplestop in the breath. f[ Pronouncedlike f] in tfrrr. klr Pronounced like rl in Scottish lochor Yiddish challah. b An h soundedwith a strong outbreath. dlr Pronounced like tl in tls. r A slightly rolled r. g An emphatics soundedwith the tongue at the roof of the mouth. I An emphaticd soundedwith the tongue at the roof of the mouth. { An emphaticf soundedwith the tongue at the roof of the mouth. 4 An emphaticsound betweenz anddh. f A consonantformed by constrictingthe backof the throat andpushing the breath outward. 3ft A sound like clearing the throat, or like a French r. .4 A t soundfrom the backof the throat, like the crn court as opposed toccf. Arabic vowels are divided into long and short. The short vowels a, i, u are pronouncedas in cat,fit, andduty. They are not indicatedin transliteration by any specialmarks. The long vowels are about twice as long ia durationas the short vowels, and are marked as follows: -aah as in father i eeas in seen 'u ooas in vou. xvi ! TheBook ol SuliHealing Arabic has two complex vowels: ay, often pronouncedlike eyebut some- times as in bay, and aa;,pronounced between cowand bost. All prayers and sacredphrases have been transliterated accordingto a specialiormat that may help the readerwith pronunciation.The Namesof iod are capitalizedso as to be easily recognized.z{llnfr begins with a letter *hose sound often vanisheswith elisions.In such casesthe Name is indi- cated by the capitalizationof its first soundedletter: Ufrh.