6 Quotes by Michael Sugich

If you do not believe that God can take you at this moment and make you one of His friends (Awliya) then you are ignorant of His power. - Ibn Ata‘illah Al-Iskandari (p. 334)

In my experience an insane person (and I have met a few) is someone who believes that the entire universe and everything in it is conspiring against him. The sane person, on the other hand, is the one who believes that the entire universe and everything in it is conspiring for him. I, fortunately, am a denizen of the latter category. (p. 283)

In Fez Yasmin had another dream. „I saw myself in a shower. Water poured over me, washing and purifying me and I was told ‚All your sins have been washed away by that water. You‘ve been cleansed. Your sins have been washed away and you‘re blessed.‘ „I feel that Allah has been knocking on my door for some time now, perhaps all my life. ‚But you just haven‘t recognized Me‘, He says, ‚You haven‘t recognized Me. You keep waiting but I have been there all along.‘“ (p.195)

But then Yasmin changed her mind and hopped a flight to Fez. „I knew I had to go. I didn‘t know why but I had to go. And I was really quite scared because I was going alone and I‘d never been to Morocco. I didn‘t know anyone. I traveled at night so I call it my ‚isra‘, my Night Journey. I landed late. I was really scared but I prayed to Allah, „I trust in You to look after me and protect me. I‘m here for whatever the purpose You‘ve planned for me. (p. 193)

In „The Secret of Secrets“, al-Jilani refers to the Hadith Qudsi, where God speaks through His Messenger, peace be upon him: „Man is My secret and I am his secret. The inner knowledge of the spiritual essence (ilm al-batin) is a secret of My secrets. Only I put this into the heart of My good servant, and none may know his state other than Me.“ (p. 192)

He was what I would call one of the Hidden Ones (Saints). His patience with me was extraordinary. He was connected with Allah. That was the only important thing for him, nanosecond to nanosecond. There was nothing else that mattered. And all the spiritual courtesy (adab) of the conventional Muslim – don‘t waste time, don‘t talk about trivia, all of these things – it came from the fact that he was connected. He didn‘t have to make the effort. He wouldn‘t involve himself in trivia. (p. 206)