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"Anger is a poison that contaminates the blood. It diminishes the stored up Spiritual Energy within you. You'll never be able to become spiritual unless you overcome anger and resentment."

Shaykh Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi
Patriarch of the Sufi Order of Azeemia.



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MURAQABA
The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation

MURQABA: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation, is the English translation of the bestselling Urdu book about Sufi Meditation and Healing by Sufi-Master Shaykh Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi, 81.

Besides Sufi Meditation Muraqaba also includes practical methods for Breathing exercises (pranayama), Sungazing for enhancing Energy levels, as well as exercises designed to improve Concentration (dhayana)and Memory.

These exercises help combat Depression and Anxiety , lower High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), cure Insomnia and ease and lessen chronic pain as well as other common ailments of our time.

Learn how Muraqaba can help you develop paranormal abilities (siddhis) like clairvoyance, clairvision and telepathy as well.

For those who are more interested in practicing Sufi Meditation for spiritual growth, Sufi-Master Azeemi has created a 16-week step-by-step program of Sufi Meditation and respiratory exercises with Dhikr (Zikr) .

Also included in Muraqaba are Sufi stories, and case reports of Muraqaba students and of those who used healing methods given in this book.

For well over four decades, Sufi-Master Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi has been helping millions of people through his unique style of Spiritual Self-Healing in which he blends Parapsychology with centuries old Sufi Meditation methods.

It all began with his advise column in a newspaper and a weekly class on Sufi Meditation at his home in the 60's. Within a few years that small class on Sufi Meditation transformed into a huge gathering where people from all walks of life, age, gender and ethnic and religious background gather twice daily for Muraqaba (Sufi Meditation) session and through more that 35 books that he has written so far, including Telepathy, Parapsychology, Qalandar Consciousness, Color Therapy , Tasawwuf and others, many of them have been translated into English, Russian, Arabic and Farsi languages.

Shaykh Azeemi firmly believes that the fruits of Spiritual knowledge are not confined to one group or a faith and hence many of his students as well as those who benefited from his advice and his teachings of Sufi meditation as well as Sufi healing methods come from different backgrounds and faiths. Even at the advanced age of 80, he still sees hundreds of people daily at the main convent of the Sufi Order of Azeemia.

Thanks to his efforts, there are now well over 50 Meditation Halls in Pakistan as well as over 26 others around the world including The Unites States, Canada, UK, Russian Federation, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Bahrain, Thailand and UAE.

Sufi Master Shaykh Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi is the Patriarch of the Sufi Order of Azeemia and a renowned Spiritual scholar and best-selling author from South Asia. Besides being the author of over 35 books, he has written numerous articles on Parapsychology, Telepathy, ESP, Color therapy and on meditation.

He has spent most of his life guiding the serious seekers of Self-awareness from all walks of life and also in dispelling the ignorance of the orthodox Muslims by awakening the higher consciousness of the Ultimate Reality.

Born Khwaja Shamsuddin Ansari on October 17, 1927 in Siharanpur, U.P., India into a radical Sunni cleric household; young Shamsuddin saw firsthand the superficiality of the legalistic outward religion. Growing up he had several encounters that provoked his interests in the esoteric side of religion.

At the young age of twenty, he set out on the quest of finding a true murshid (Sufi Master). That nine-year journey took him from his native city to places like the Patiala State, India and then to Lahore and then later Sadiqabad, Pakistan.

Finally in Karachi, he arrived at the doorsteps of the Syed Muhammad Azeem a.k.a. Qalandar Baba Awliya (1896-1979), founder of the Sufi Order of Azeemia and grandson of the famous Indian Sufi, Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur (1852?-1929).

The next fourteen years under his tutelage saw his transformation from an undereducated and functionally illiterate person into the respected author, advisor, healer and spiritual teacher.

In 1962, Shaykh Azeemi started writing articles on spirituality in various Pakistani newspapers and magazines. The most famous of them was his advice column Roohani Daak, in Urdu Daily Jung. People from all walks of life and faith would write to him for his advice on their problems.

On average, Shaykh Azeemi received 3,000 mails a day. Because of its huge success, a monthly magazine Roohani Digest was launched in 1978. Shaykh Azeemi is the Editor in Chief of the magazine.

In 1979 before his physical death, Qalandar Baba Awliya designated Shaykh Azeemi as the Patriarch of the Sufi Order of Azeemia. What sets this Sufi Order apart from most of the other Orders is that it is available to people from all the faiths. Hence, a number of Shaykh Azeemi's students are Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians as well as members of other faiths.

The main headquarters of the Sufi Order of Azeemia is its convent (khanqah) at Surjani Town, subdivision of Karachi, where Shaykh Azeemi still receives and gives free advice to people daily. The convent holds weekly Muraqaba sessions as well as training classes and lungar.

Since 2001, Shaykh Azeemi has delegated most of his editorial responsibilities to his eldest son and shaykh-designate Dr. Waqar Yousuf Azeemi. Mr Waqar Yousuf Azeemi, Ph.D. himself an author, was recently elected the Finance-Secretary of the prestigious All-Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), an organization credited with upholding and striving for the freedom of press in that country.







Books of Shaykh-ul-Tariqat,
Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi

  1. Aik So Aik Auliya-AlLah Khwateen, (101 Sufi Women, Urdu)
  2. Al Salaat-ul-Miraj Al Momineen (Spiritual Prayer, Arabic)
  3. AlLah Kay Mehboob (Gods Beloved, Urdu)
  4. Awaz-e-Dost (Voice of a Friend, Urdu)
  5. Baray Bachon Kay Liye (For grown-up kids, Urdu)
  6. Chotay Bachon Kay Liye (For kiddos, Urdu)
  7. Color Therapy (Urdu)
  8. Hamaray Bachay (Our Children, Urdu)
  9. Hazrat Adam (A Biography of Prophet Adam, Urdu)
  10. Ism-e-Azam (Divine Name, Urdu)
  11. Jannat Ki Sair (Journey to Heaven, Urdu)
  12. Kashkol (Beggars bowl, Urdu)
  13. Khwab Aur Tabeer (Dream and Intrepretation, Urdu)
  14. Learn Telepathy (Urdu)
  15. Lectures on Loh-o-Qalum (Urdu)
  16. Parapsychology (Urdu)
  17. Maloomaat-e-Matab (Urdu)
  18. Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) (Urdu, translated in English, Russian)
  19. Muhammad Rasul AlLah (Vol. I, II, III, IV)
  20. Nazariya Rang-o-Nur (Urdu)
  21. Qalandar Shaoor (Urdu)
  22. Rang-o-Roshni Sey Elaj (Urdu)
  23. Roohani Elaj (Spiritual Healing)
  24. Roohani Daak Vol. I, II, III, IV (collection of his advise-column letters, Urdu)
  25. Roohani Hajj-o-Umrah (Spiritual Hajj and Umra, Urdu)
  26. Roohani Namaz (Spiritual Prayer, Urdu)
  27. Tadjaliyaat (Divine Light, Urdu)
  28. Tazkira Qalandar Baba Auliya (Biography of the Founder of Azeemia Sufi Order, Urdu- translated in Russian)
  29. Taujeehat (Logic, Urdu)

    What is Muraqaba?


    By
    Shaykh Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi
    Patriarch,
    Sufi Order of Azeemia

    When we try to learn a new skill or try to gain knowledge about a specific subject, we follow a guideline or a system, which demands that we pay attention to the subject to fully understand it. Our mind becomes curious to know the where, how and what of it. When we pay attention to the minor details, that minor point itself gains value. However, when we ignore the most important part and do not pay any cognitive attention to it then even that major point loses its value and importance. Through contemplation we gain knowledge about any object and the deeper that knowledge, the more we learn about that object and its qualities.

    Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) is the name of that contemplation through which man is able to gain the knowledge which is the primordial knowledge of his Ego, Self, or Soul. After gaining that knowledge, any man can gain access to his Ego or Soul.

    It appears that the person performing Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) is simply sitting in a pose with his or her eyes closed. However, merely shutting the eyes and assuming a specific pose does not serve the purpose. Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) is in fact an angle of perception through which the person doing the Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) frees himself or herself from outward senses and begins their journey in the inward senses.

    Now we are going to look into whether or not the Muraqaba (Sufi meditation)-like conditions or states exist in us, without adopting the specific pose of Muraqaba (Sufi meditation).

    Freedom from outward senses happens in our daily life, both involuntarily and voluntarily. For example, we go to sleep and while sleeping our brain disconnects from outward senses. It is true that this disconnection is temporary however; this condition could not be termed as anything but disconnection from outward senses. Hence, we can say that Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) is in fact a way of imposing a state of sleeping without going to sleep.

    Every human being, from the time of birth to death spends life in two states. In other words, in the human mind there are two types of conditions that prevail every moment of our life. One of these conditions or state is wakening and the other sleeping or dreaming. In the wakening state, they are trapped in Time and Space while during dreaming they are free from the confines of spatiotemporal limitations. This freedom of Time and Space is sought through Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) by converting the state of sleeping or dreaming into an awakened state. Because during Muraqaba (Sufi meditation), a person goes through the same conditions that he or she goes through while sleeping or dreaming.

    The notion that dreams are nothing but thoughts is not correct. In all scriptures including the Quran (Koran), dreams have been mentioned. The dreams that were mentioned in the Quran show that the realm of dream is free from the restrictions imposed by Time and Space. When a person tries to impose the state of dreaming through Muraqaba (Sufi meditation), they free themselves from that spatiotemporal boundaries and they journey through the realm of dream the way they travel while fully wake. All existing things need foundation; without it they could not survive. This is not something that is hard to comprehend. For example the foundation of a chair is its legs. A house remains erect only when inside the earth its foundation is laid. Similarly, we can only learn a subject or a branch of knowledge when we know its basics. These basics (or formulas) are considered as the foundation of any branch of knowledge. God has revealed it in the Quran,

    Al-Lah is the Light of the heavens and earth.


    In this Universe, there are several worlds and galaxies. The Essence and Reality of God is something only God knows or those with whom He has shared His Secrets. How much of this information God has shared with His chosen servants is not our concern. However, we do know that God created this entire universe for us humans. It is stated on several occasions in the Quran that the foundation of this universe is the Light (nur) of God. Based on this fact it is imperative that Man and all of his abilities be centered on one foundation.

    It is our daily observation that not all of our actions, motions, whims, thoughts, imaginations, and feelings are dependent on the body of bones and flesh. Because when the Spirit disconnects its link with the physical body then this body of bones and flesh is unable to act on its own. As long as the Spirit is attached with the body, all the needs, and functions necessary for life are present. In other words, Spirit (ruh) is the foundation of the body.

    According to the Quran(Koran), a limited knowledge of the Spirit is given. Nevertheless even this limited knowledge is still knowledge. What we are trying to emphasize is that what we consider Man is a body of bones and flesh, though that Man is nothing but fiction. The real Man is the one that protects that skeleton of flesh and keeps it in motion, whom the Quran calls ruh (Spirit). This ruh, in order to fulfill the needs of life uses a medium. We call this medium, chromosomes. In the Quran, God has said that, We poured Our ruh in him (Adam). In other words, ruh created a medium and after that gave him the senses. ruh is in fact a component of the Divine and in it all the knowledge of Divine Discretions and Attributes are present, which God so Willed. Just how this knowledge was acquired by the component, is a Divine Mystery, which could never be explained.

    There are eleven thousand generators (latifa, plural lataif) at work inside the Man. According to Sufism, there are eleven thousand Divine Names as well. Every Divine Name is an Attribute and every Divine Attribute is knowledge (ilm). This knowledge further expands into more and more spheres to become a manifestation of the Divine Attributes.

    To enter the unseen world (al-ghayb) or to behold anything beyond Time and Space, we have to first free ourselves from the clutches of spatiotemporal restrictions. This is only possible when the vision that sees Time and Space frees itself from its boundaries. To activate that vision, certain exercises have been created through which even if the human mind is not totally free at least it is able to come close to it.

    Now the next question is to how and when the human senses could be freed from that restriction. One example is the state of dreaming. Sleeping actually is getting freedom from the diurnal senses, which are Time and Space. When we go to sleep then our senses are transferred to a realm where the state of Time and Space do exist but not in the chronological order in which we spend our life. The Second way is that while wake human mind could focus on any object with full concentration. For example when we read an interesting book, we often lost track of the time. When we finally look at our watch, we then realized that so much time had elapsed, though we were not aware of it.
    In the Quran, the event of Moses receiving the Torah is mentioned in the following verse,
    And We promised Moses thirty nights and fulfilled it in forty nights.

    Day and night are mentioned in Quran in the following verses,

    And We enter night into the day and let the day enter into the night.

    We take the night out of the day and take the day out of the night.

    We cover the day onto night and night into the day
    When we contemplate these verses of Quran, we realized that day and night are in fact two senses. In other words, our life is divided into two senses. One of the senses is day the other one is night. During the day senses (diurnal senses) restricted with Time and Space while during night senses (nocturnal senses) we are free from these restrictions.
    The Divine Statement that We promised Moses thirty nights and fulfilled it in forty nights, is interesting. Because Moses did not simply spend forty nights there, his entire stay was forty days and forty nights. It was not that he was spending the nights at the place and coming back during the day. He did spend his entire stay at the Mount. Interestingly God did not mention days in the verse instead mentions only night. It clearly suggests that during those forty days and forty nights, Moses was under the influence of nocturnal senses. The same nocturnal senses, which free us from the restrictions of Time and Space.
    Hence, anyone who would impose the nocturnal senses during the period of day and night on themselves would be free from the confinement of Time and Space. This freedom from spatiotemporal restriction is the way to exploring the unseen realm and getting intuitive information.
    During a battle, an arrow injured Amirul Momineen Ali ibn abi Talib. It had entered his thigh and the pain was excruciating. The surgeons could not operate on it. Because of extreme pain he would not let them even touch it. One of his companions suggested to surgeons that they wait until Imam Ali began his prayer. When Imam Ali began his prayer, the surgeons were able to operate on him without him showing any sign of pain. By the time he was done with his prayers, Imam Ali realized that the surgeon had already performed the surgery and the wound had already been stitched. This event is another example of the negation of Time and Space. When Imam Ali started his prayers, his senses went from diurnal state into nocturnal state. The moment his mind entered the nocturnal senses his focus was shifted away from the diurnal senses (restriction and pain). The foundation of Spirituality is based on the reality that Man has two senses, two brains, and two lives. Just like the two sides of a coin, it has two sides.One life is restricted; the other one is free. Constrained life is day, wakefulness, and consciousness. On the other hand, free life is the name of night, joy, peace and the contentment of the heart.
    To gain that life the easiest method in Spirituality is Muraqaba (Sufi meditation). Muraqaba (Sufi meditation) is in fact the name of an exercise, effort and the angle of perception. Through it, anyone can enter the nocturnal senses while keeping the diurnal senses active as well.