Two short but very poignant Invocations “Oh Allah, I ask You for certainty, for Your pardon, and for well-being in this world and the Hereafter.”
Then this one which I find most dear. “Oh Allah! I hope for your Mercy, so do not leave me to myself for (even) the blink of an eye, and rectify all of my affairs for me. There is no God but You.”
The definition of dear used in this context: regarded with deep affection; cherished by someone. Some synonyms: treasured, valued,, cherished, precious. special, favored. .
Chris and I correspond on a daily fashion – have been for almost ten years as I write the flog, sent it to him in an email and he arranged to put it on the internet for the world to see. I began to delve into Sufism – he asked.
Chris: What does Sufi relate to (I know its a type of islam but I forget which one!)
Well Chris, here is a partial answer coming to you from the pages of Idries Shah’s book The Sufis. The front cover announces: A seminal book of the century. Washington Post.
the Sufis appear in historical times mainly within the pale of Islam. They have produced great theologians, poets, scientists. They accepted atomic theory and formulated a science of evolution over six hundred years before Darwin. They have been hailed as saints, executed, and persecuted as heretics. They teach that there is only one underlying truth within everything that is called religion.
Sone have said:” I believe in nothing “ others, “ I believe in everything.” Some say: “Let there by no levity among Sufis” others, “There is no Sufi without humor.” Scholasticism and mysticism are opposed to on another, But the Sufis give rise to, among others, a school of each. Were these Muslim schools? No, they were Christian associated with the Augustinians and St. John of the Cross, as Professor Palacios and others have established. From being an Oriental mystic the Sufi now appears at the intercessor of Catholic mystics and philosophers. Let us add a few more fact. The coffee which we drink was traditionally first used by Sufis to heighten awareness.. We wear their clothes (Shirt, belt, trousers); we listen to their music (Andalusian, measured music, love songs), dance their dances (waltz, Morris dancing); read their stories ( Dante, Robinson, Crusoe, Chaucer, William Tell); employ their esoteric phrases, “moment of truth,” “human spirit,” “ideal man”) and play their games (cards). We even belong to derivations of their societies, such as Freemasonry, and certain chivalric orders. Such Sufic elements are examined at a later stage in this book.
The monk in his cell, the Fakir on the mountaintop, the merchant in his shop, the king on his throne—these can be Sufis, but this is not Sufism. The Sufi tradition has it that Sufism is a leaven (“Sufism is yeast”) within all human society.
If it has never been removed from the field of academic study this is because it was never made available to scholasticism as a subject of investigation Its very diversity prevents it from systemized in the in the semi-permanent manner which would make it static enough to investigate. “Sufism,” according to the Sufi, “is an adventure in living, Necessary adventure.”
If Sufism is an adventure, a goal of human perfection attained by reviewing and awakening within humanity a higher organ of fulfillment, completion, destiny, why is it so difficult to access, to locate in time, to pin down? It is precisely because Sufism is carried out in every community and at every time that it has such diversity—and this is one of its secrets. The Sufi does not need a mosque, the Arabic language, litanies, books of philosophy, even social stability. The relationship with humanity is evolutionary and adaptive. The Sufi does not depend upon his repute of being able to perform magic or miracles—this is less than incidental, though he may have that reputation. The magico-religious practitioner of other systems starts from the other end of the scale; his reputation is built upon his miracles, and probably sustained by them. The Sufi has a reputation, but this is secondary to his work, his being part of the Sufi organism.
The moral ascendancy, or the magnetic personality, which the Sufi attains is not his goal but the by-product of his inner attainment, the reflection of his development.” — Idries Shah, The Sufis (2015 American Ed.), pp. 61-62.
This the most meaningful sentence in all of the words and sentences you have just read: “The Sufi does not need a mosque, the Arabic language, litanies, books of philosophy, even social stability.” — Idries Shah,The Sufis, p. 61.
In this dense and seminal work Idries Shah describes a state of being that resonates deeply with my current journey….but when you think (as do Hahahaha ) – it is no wonder. I reverted to the Islamic Faith during those lockdown covid days. At the moment I am have the distinct impression that I am graduating to Sufism but instead it has been a natural evolution.
It’s the ultimate “Necessity is the mother of invention” story. Since the traditional structures (mosques, community gatherings, physical classes) were physically unavailable when I first reverted I had find the faith within the four walls of my San Francisco apartment. There I was e practicing “Socially Distanced Sufism” before I knew the term for it! Not needing the mosque of the Arabic language isn’t a radical new idea—it’s a confirmation of the self-reliance I developed during a time of global silence and isolation.
But this is the strange thing about it – I am most extroverted, not really a contradiction of my faith because when I am with people are am fully there. When I am alone I am fully within.
I went for a late breakfast at Mojo and decided to order Classic Toad-in- the-hole. I guess one could say it was a mistake. I sent the photo to my WhatsApp friends. Weirdest breakfast ever Classic-Toad-in -a -Hole at Mojo. Wonder where it got its name. It is yummy. Gonna look it up.
Well I did: I asked Gemini” The name Toad-in-the-Hole is one of those great linguistic mysteries of British cuisine, but here is the general consensus on how it hopped onto the menu: The most common theory is purely visual. When the batter (the same stuff used for Yorkshire pudding) rises and puffs up around the sausages, the meat often peeps out of the golden crust. To 18th-century diners, these little bits of sausage looked like toads peering out from a burrow or a hole in the mud. Historically, it wasn’t always sausages. In the late 1700s, it was often made with cheaper “leftover” scraps of meat to make a small amount of protein go further for a large family. The hole referred to the batter, which was a cheap filler. The toad was a somewhat derogatory (but playful) term for the low-quality meat tucked inside
Back then, the word “toad” was occasionally used as a slang term for things that were hidden or tucked away. There is an old 1787 reference in a book called A Provincial Glossary that describes the dish specifically as “meat boiled in a crust.” There was a culinary evolution.By the time the legendary Mrs. Beeton wrote her Book of Household Management in 1861, she had standardized the recipe. She actually suggested using beef skirt or kidney, but eventually, the humble pork sausage won the popular vote and became the “toad” we know and love today.It’s a wonderful contrast to your Sufi studies—a very “grounded,” earthy name for a dish that is basically just “cake” (the batter) and “substance” (the meat)
Me: I found out. Lengthily so I will write about it on the blog. That and Sufism. Hahaha A great combination.
She: ❤️
Ordering the toad-in-a-hole was a mistake because I had not collected my teeth from the dentist so it was difficult to chew and there was a lot of it. I did a takeaway so I can have it again for breakfast warming it in the microwave. Oh such fun. Haha
Back to Sufism for a minute. As you can tell by your reading of Shah’s Sufism that the writing is very dense. I can only read about three pages at a time as it requires total concentration. I am at page 150. I am determined to have the book thoroughly digested by June 3, 2026 as I am attending a conference and decided to have some knowledge so I could hit the ground running – so to speak. Found the explanation for the idiom, of course.
Gemini: To “hit the ground running” means to start a new activity or project with immediate energy, speed, and full effectiveness.The idiom evokes the image of someone jumping from a moving vehicle or a parachute—if they don’t start running the moment their feet touch the earth, they’ll fall. No “Warm-up” Needed: You won’t be arriving as a passive observer or spending the first few days trying to find your footing.You will be ready to contribute. There is immediate momentum implying you are entering the event with a specific purpose and the momentum to carry it out right away. It is a very “thorough” way to approach an event—ensuring the preparation is done so the execution is seamless.
Me: Thanks
Two photos. One is me and the other the toad-in-a-hole. Hope you can figure out which one is which. Hahaha
