So a month ago I was still sulking at my desk at work contemplating the meaning of life. Since then, I have taken actions to rectify this including going to Quranic class and making the intention of going on a journey to find God. My Quranic teacher decided to go on a trip to see Sheikh Nazim in Cyprus next month and asked if I would like to join. Having heard of this great sufi sheikh and what he did for the Chillean Miners, I said yes without hesitation even though I know I am extremely low on holidays. This morning, I had a sudden text from a friend who told me that his sister told him that his second-in-line is in London and would be in Tarawih prayers – the prayer which I mentioned in my previous post. Hisham Kabbani has been a disciple of Shekh Nazim for over 50 years. After doing some research I realised that he has been here for 5 days now and tonight was the last night he was in town. He was leading prayers in Feltham. Those who hang out with me knows I love going to Feltham – for Nandos! So, a great sufi master was 15 minutes down the road from me: I thought I had to pay him a visit.
One thing I first notice when I got there was that this is not a normal Muslim meeting. You have White English kids, boys and girls, running around, you have Africans sitting next to white English woman next to Pakistani lady on the floor eating. Then you’ve got a man who looks like a great sufi master himself but spoke like a posh Oxford Englishman. Somehow it reminded me of the likes of Cat Stevens, Martin Lings (the great shakespearean scholar from Oxford Univeristy) and Rene Guenon (The French Orientalist philosopher) who converted into Islam and became great sufi masters themselves.
I manage to greet Kabbani at the car when he arrived and then subsequently shook his hand, I can’t help but notice, he is just a man. However, there is this feeling of being ‘in awe’ which I cannot explain when I met him. I almost wanted to hide in shame for I know so little of how to conduct myself in front of him, and adhab or manners is so important in Sufi-Islam. Anyway, after the prayers he gave us some sweets and chocolates so it was all good!