Dearest Family,

Greetings of the Heart from California; I turned 79 last Thursday, September 3! 

And this Friday, September 11 is Jewish New Year! When you greet each other during the New Year there is a saying you repeat to each other “L’shana Tova”, "May you have a good year" and "L’shana Haba’ah B’yerushalayim” which translates loosely “May you awaken into the Heart of Peace”

Harvest season keeps unfolding, first peaches, then plums, zucchini, tomatoes, chard, kale, now apples, pears, figs with avocados and persimmons still to come. Took the time to make some 15 quarts of salsa.

Shibli Sam, Yasmin’s brother and one of Murshid SAM’s early mureeds passed away a few months ago. While she was cleaning out his home she found the flyer for the 1978 Mendocino Sufi Camp, attached below!

After an August with no travel, next week I travel to the Southwest Sufi Community for a 30 year in existence Celebration and Retreat offering with Darvesha, Gayan and Baqia! Then off to Japan in October, Mother India in late November. In January we celebrate the 22nd Annual Northern California Sufi Sesshin followed by a Pilgrimage to Mother India for the 100th Urs of Hazrat Inayat Khan.

For this month 's wazifa practice let's recite the trio of names the helps with the flow of life, having what you need and opening all doors for your life’s blessed mission: YA WAHHAB, YA RAZZAQ, YA FATTAH.

Much love,

Shabda

Wazifa Practice 

Recite 101x

YA WAHHAB ~ YA RAZZAQ ~ YA FATTAH

16. Ya Wahhab (yaa wah-HAAB)

Al-Wahhab gives divine blessings continually and universally. It is a flow that is without disruption and which is freely given without any expectation of return. It is the one who constantly refreshes. There is no restraint based on scarcity, as its source is super-abundant. A form from the same root, mawhibah, is a cloud that rains freely on everything. Another form, mawhoob, is a child or any blessing given to you by God.

By invoking Ya Wahhab you become identified with a stream flowing continuously from the divine source, and everything you need in life is already fully present and flowing in that stream. It is closely related to Ya Razzaq (17) and Ya Fattah (18). In the sound code of the Arabic language, all three share a form that conveys continuous activity.

There is a developmental aspect in considering these three Names together. Al-Wahhab is the free rain that is given to all. Ar-Razzaq is the water that flows into irrigation ditches. Al-Fattah is all the fruit you harvest from all the trees you've irrigated. In other words, Al-Wahhab is a free gift; ar-Razzaq offers the means for achieving abundance; al-Fattah is the continuing action of all that will be accomplished. See Chapters 16, 18, and 19 on the emanations of divine abundance and Chapter 4, The Sound Code.

17. Ya Razzaq (yaa raz-ZAAḲ) 

Ar-Razzaq is the one who continuously provides the means for each of us to get what we need for our daily sustenance, our bread and butter. The noun rizq, formed from its root, means a gift of blessing from which all can benefit. The adage “The bounty of the dates can be seen at the bottom of the well” illustrates the meaning of ar-Razzaq. If you make use of the water of the well and draw it up and irrigate your palm trees every day, you will get the dates.

There are endless opportunities to benefit from the divine gifts that are offered by ar-Razzaq, and endless ways to make them available to others. Ar-Razzaq is also seen in a person’s openness to receive divine provenance. The word al-arzaaq means “endless gifts.” The truly endless gifts are the gifts of rahma: compassion, mercy, and love. The one who always gives these gifts has an infinite supply in treasure houses of infinite love. See Ya Wahhab (16) and Ya Fattah (18). See also Chapters 16, 18, and 19 on the emanations of divine abundance.

18. Ya Fattah (yaa fat-TAAḤ)

Al-Fattah means both to begin and to open. Through it you begin to open your heart to the infinite possibilities of the divine presence. With al-Fattah, the opening is continuous. It is an enlightenment that keeps happening. Al-Fattah brings great power to clear the way of obstacles and open the path of your life for success. It is the one who opens the heart to love and ecstasy.

Al-Fattah means to open something with something else, a key. It is the key to opening the heart to Allah, the key to finding the God within. Reciting Ya Fattah is a very powerful practice because, even in the midst of despair, it brings the possibility of awakening to love and ecstasy. Its activity in us is opening up the veils of darkness over the heart to uncover the light within. Al-Fattah is the continuous action of all that will be accomplished. Invocation of Ya Fattah sets up the dynamic of going deeper and deeper in the process of opening.

To hear the pronunciation:  Ya Wahhab ~ Ya Razzaq ~ Ya Fattah

Text and Commentary to Study

This month we continue studying the The Bestowal of Blessing by Murshid Samuel Lewis. Read and contemplate

Chapters 11 - 13 pages 41 - 52

Click below to download

THE BESTOWAL OF BLESSING