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I
have been a fan of Shaykh Azeemi's writing since my teen years. Early on when I
observed the hypocrisy and shallowness of the religious establishment and was
growing tired of the rhetoric, his writings on metaphysics, on parapsychology
as well as other social evils facing the Muslims Societies were a breath of
fresh air. His approach was very different; instead of being overly critical
or self-righteous, he always offered hope, introduced new ideas and optimism.
The first time that I attended the Urs ceremony of Qalandar Baba Awliya
(1896-1979) in Karachi was in 1990, I noticed that toward the end of the
ceremony people, young and old, male and female would line up just to get a
hug from the Shaykh. You could see their anxiousness as they wait their turn.
In a culture of least physical contact, where even parents do not hug their
adult children and public display of affection is limited to very young
children, that too was refreshing. Back then I was only familiar with his
writing and have not yet met the Shaykh in person. So I too joined the queue.
After a long wait, in which people of different economic and ethnic
backgrounds and from different parts of the world formed a single line, got
their hug, some cried on his shoulder, some asked him to pray for them, I too
got my turn. I then realized why people were waiting so anxiously for so long.
It was a very brief hug but I felt something. It wasn't that I hadn't hugged
anyone before but this was different.
Shaykh
Azeemi has since transformed many lives through his writings and his teaching
of spiritual awareness. When this book Muraqaba first came out in Urdu, I
almost had this urge that this book in particular need to be translated into
English. Fortunately, the Shaykh on his last visit to Houston granted me the
permission to translate it.
Anyone who has written or translated a book knows that it is not a one
man job. It is indeed a team effort. I could not have translated this book
without the support, encouragements, and advice of countless friends and
well-wishers. First, I would like to thank Dr. Harold Raley for the excellent
editing and David Raley of Kingsley Literary Services for the cover design and
layout setup. I could not have done without you. To Dr. Carl W. Ernst, Author
and Professor of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his advise on
uniformity of using the Sufi terms. To Shaykh Kabir Helminski for his kind
words for the project. To Syed M Azhar, founder of Sheikh Chilli Restaurant
of Houston, the first and only Pakistani-restaurant in the city hack in 70's
and a popular local radio personality, for his encouragements throughout the
project. Mr. Azhar is definitely the icon of the South Asian community of
Houston. I would also like to thank Brother Abdul Hafeez Butt of Manchester,
England, who last year lost his wife and life companion Syeda Saeeda Khatoon,
yet gracefully assisted in the project. To Naseem Burke of New Orleans and Rashida
Jilani of Toronto, Canada, both in charge of their local chapters of Azeemi
Order for wishing the project well. To Fasahat Mohiuddin of Modern Tribune and
to Urdu literary society of Houston, Gahwar-e-Adab's Attorney Syed Nayyer
Izfar, Syed Mohsin Zaidi, Arslan Usmani, Syed Ameerul Hasan, former labor
leader Ghulam Mohyuddin Chisti, Imtiaz Ahsan, Aman Khan, Aijaz Ahmed, Khalid
Ali, Shoaib Ahmed, Syed Athar Ali Kazmi, Moidul Hasan, Ali Hasan, Azam Akhtar,
City Councilman M J Khan and HPD officer Muzaffar Siddiqi and to Mr. Ashraf
Meghani of J&M for taking care of most of my accounting and other related
paper-work and to Mian Nazir of Rehmania for his kind wishes as well and to
anyone I missed, I apologize in advance. I thank all of you for your support
and kind words.
Last but not
least, I would like to show my gratitude for Shaykh Azeemi for entrusting me
with this task and giving me the permission to translate his book and to God
for giving me the ability to do and complete this job.
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI
In the current information age, the very question of what Man
is, and to what extent his abilities
go, has gained prominence. Metaphysical knowledge tells us
that Man is not just a mass of muscles and bones but in fact is a living
universe or microcosm (a'lam asghar) itself. His life is primarily relying on
information. As a matter of fact his life is nothing but a collection of
thoughts and imagination. His every movement is influenced by information and
thoughts. Every human achievement is circled around the unseen world of
cognition, imagination and creative thoughts. By giving new meaning to this
idea, Man creates and invents new things out of nothing.