Reawakening the Heart: Bahraq's The Firm Grasp Explained
Reawakening the Heart: Bahraq's The Firm Grasp Explained
This course looks at a manual of spiritual counsels, The Firm Grasp (al-‘Urwa al-Wathiqa) by Imam Bahraq. This is a beautiful poem in 44 lines on the path of turning to Allah, living with mindfulness of Allah (taqwa), and beautifying one’s heart–by ridding oneself of blameworthy character traits, and acquiring praiseworthy traits of character. Widely considered one of the most beneficial spiritual counsels, especially in the Hadhrami tradition, this text is truly a means of making one’s heart “A Beautiful Garden” (al-Hadiqa al-Nadiyya), which is what the author himself named his commentary. Shaykh Faraz covers the poem, explaining its key lessons from the author’s commentary—which dips into the oceans of wisdom in the Islamic tradition, from Imam Ghazali, Imam Nawawi, and many others—and contextualizes this guidance to our times, so that we can bring these wisdoms into our lives. The purpose of this course is to give us both the reminders and practical tools to consistently and systematically turn our hearts and lives to Allah Most High. As one of the great giants of Hadhrami scholarship, Habib Ahmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Sumayt said, “The Garden of Bahraq is a gift from Allah Most High to the Muslims. I wish for it to be in every home; and that every heart memorize it—because it is a pure call to Allah Most High. It is the essence of the essence, and truly worthy of reliance.”