Some recent news. (A question is raised about Tablighi Jamaat.)

Bismi'llah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim...for the sake of Prophet Muhammad saws and Sheikh Nazim may Allah protect his secret.

Today I recieved the following e.mail from an old and very dear friend of mine in Sheffield. Bilquis and I grew very fond of him and his Italian wife and family when we lived in Sheffield for a while a few years back.
I'm including it here (I hope he won't mind.) as it caused me to write him a newsy e.mail which covers recent events and puts any of my readers who are interested, "in the picture" so to speak.

Dear Uthman,
Recently I have spent time just trying to put myself in your place all I can imagine is confusion and desperation but looking at your Sufistuff Blog I see a reassuring calmness in your thoughts. I have struggled to put the right words down since I first saw your email and still feel incapable. Every word seems inappropriate and clumsy. I read your writings and think of you each day. At a time when I feel I should be giving support to you, I am the one taking from you. I dreamt of you recently, smiling. The warmth of that smile stayed with me through the day.I pray that smile stays with you.
Love and Salaams Ahmed.

Here's my reply.

"Some recent news."

Salaamu alaykum,
How are you ? How are things ? Everything O.K. with the family ? I assume so and hope so.
Thanks so much for your e.mail. Very sweet, very kind, very thoughtful. I think I'm still too close to it all to be able to say anything. At the moment I am here in my house again in Orgiva and very pleased to be back after a time in Catalunya . I have a young fella called Abdl Ali with me for a few days which is from Allah's generosity and kindness to me.It has helped greatly in facing what I was dreading,all the memories connected with this place and the surroundings and the people to face on my own.
Shortly after Bilquis's death I went to visit Mariam who is the widow of Ashraf who also died of cancer of the lung last year.She had sent me many messages of support and encouragement during the last phase of Bilquis's illness, as apparently in her turn, Bilquis had done for her.We were able to share and compare experiences and I realised that though mine was terrible, here was someone else who had had it even harder.I had had the support of family and friends and the doctors and nurses of the hospitals. She had managed her story with her husband almost completely alone and with three small children to look after. She now weighs 43 kilos and ended up in hospital after Ashraf died.(Interestingly enough she is Italian too btw.)
When I arrived in Catalunya Abdl Ali came out to meet me to guide me to her place which is in a country village. He was there for a couple of days with his wife Summaya and his son Amaan.

The next day was my birthday and we celebrated it with a picnic near the beach with the four children followed by games and flying a kite amongst the dunes.
I stayed a couple of days with them and then went to Abdl Salaam's house which is on the coast in Calonge.He is the guy I started markets with and Bilquis had worked various times in his shop in Lanjaron.When we came back to Spain the intention was to go into business with him but a bypass entrance was put right through the site of the shop and we went to run the "Fonda" Naqshbandi centre in Orgiva instead. (We are planning and He is planning and He is the best of planners.)
I was looking for opportunities to start a new life in Catalunya and put all the memories behind me,but, though there are many opportunities and possibilities for me there, it is not really my place.Andalucia and especially the Alpujarras seems to have so much barakah which is palpably missing in Pais Vasco and Catalunya.
Summaya now wants to go to see Sheikh in Cyprus with Mariam and her children at easter time, it seems that she and abdl Ali have split up though still living in the same house, which I find very sad.They were in Tablighi Jamaat together and have a lot of knowledge and discipline but somehow I miss the lightness and humour which happens around Naqshbandi tariqat.Perhaps Summaya also experiences something like that.
I have heard that Sheikh sometimes mentions Tablighi Jamat in the same context as the Wahabis.I'm not sure why but I think they are denying the necessity for a sheikh, though they often cite and praise sufis in their Bayans or lectures and have a goodly section about dhikr in their "big blue book" which a tablighi muslim in Hove gave me years ago when I first became Naqshbandi.
If you know anything specific on the subject I'd be very interested to know.
The last couple of days we have been to lunch on Sunday and supper last night at my freind Ahmad's house who lives just down the track from me.His step son and two step daughters just happen to be the nephew and nieces of abdl Ali and they were over the moon to see him. He is quite gifted artistically and they had a wonderful time ordering pictures from him for their drawing books, and playing games in the garden.
I finally bought a digital camera while I was in Barcelona, a Canon Power Shot S2 IS. I'm pretty pleased with it and hopefully some pics will start to appear on my blog (and/or "Flickr") quite soon. About four years ago Sheikh suggested that I travel between Spain and Marrocco and England and Damascus writing down what I see and taking photos ,it's taken me until now to get the money together for a suitable lap top and camera (I bought an Acer Aspire 3500 after this summer's work) .. now I'll see wether I'm still supposed to do this or not. I need to go and see the Sheikh and really would like to go before Easter when I may have a few days work with the silver stall.
Apparently Sheikh has some land and wants to build rammed earth houses on it. Years ago when I lived in Cyprus with Bilquis he suggested that I build a house like his with no cement and no metal in it, now apparently he wants no electricity either.
There is a slight possibility I might end up doing that for a while. Who knows, Hu knows.Sulayman from the west of Spain has been to advise a bit on the project and apparently in March a guy is going to start who already knows how to build these dwellings. Could be fun, at least I could write down what I see an take photographs!
Perhaps that'll do for now, stay in touch please and, if you see Ahmad Hisham send him my love and tell him it's now time to stop playing about and put his talents where his heart knows he should.(Literally give him that message if you can.) It's too close to the end to keep sulking like that, silly billy!
All my love and best wishes to you and all yours,
Salaams, love peace and faith power,
Uthman.

Breakfast the day we left. (As the Prophet pbuh said, "In the beginnings are the endings." Abdl Ali was the first person I met in Catalunya, and the one I left with.)

The day we left it was his son's birthday and he opened his presents just before we set off.