From The Muslim Jesus, edited and translated by Tarif Khalidi and a Poem from Kabir:
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From The Muslim Jesus, edited and translated by Tarif Khalidi
“ 52 The disciples said, “O Jesus, who are ‘the friends of God Almighty upon whom no fear shall come nor shall they grieve?’” Jesus replied, “They are the ones who look into the heart of this world while the rest of mankind looks at its surface, who look forward to the end of the world while the rest of mankind looks at the fleeting present. They kill of the world what they fear might kill them and abandon what they know will abandon them. Hence, what once they considered of much worldly account they now consider negligible. When they make mention of it, this is only in passing, and their joy at what they gain from it is sadness. They reject every chance of worldly gain and disdain every chance of worldly glory without just cause. For them, the world is grown old and tattered but they do not renew it. It has fallen into ruin around them, but they do not rebuild it. It has died in their hearts but they do not resurrect it. They destroy it in order to rebuild their afterlife with it. They sell it in exchange for that which lasts. They reject it and are thus the truly happy in it. They look at its people, fallen dead and disfigured upon the earth, and renew the mention of death and kill the mention of life. They love God and the mention of God, seeking His light and shining through His light. Wonders are related of them and they relate wondrous things. The Book of God is known through them and they act in accordance with it. The Book of God makes mention of them and they make mention of the Book. Knowledge of the Book comes through them and through it they themselves acquire knowledge. They expect no gain greater than what they have gained, no peace other than what they hope for, no fear other than what they shun.”
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855), al-Zuhd, pp. 100–101 (no. 339). Cf. al-Jahiz, al-Bayan, 3:140; Ibn Abd Rabbihi, al-Iqd, 3:144 (Mansur, no. 13); Abu Nuaym, Hilyat, 1:10 (Mansur, no. 63); al-Mawardi, Adab, p. 112; Ibn Asakir, Sirat, p. 199, no. 245.
The term “friends of God” (Arabic awliya Allah) was a technical term for early ascetics and Sufis.
The phrase “the friends . . . grieve” is from Quran 10:62. Jesus is thus made to comment on this verse of the Quran; see, e.g., Saying 9, above.
In the Arabic, the balanced phrases, the contrasts, the parallelisms all indicate a great deal of care in the literary crafting of this saying, in order to make the eloquence worthy of a prophet who is, in the Quran, a Word from God. Among his other attributes, Jesus is an eloquent prophet. The “ruin” theme, the “killing of desire” theme, and the “appearance and reality” theme are all well represented in the Muslim gospel.”
A Poem from Kabir:
Abandon seeking attention from others.
How long will you seek a buyer for your words?
Give your attention to the practice of loving God.
Your followers nod their heads at your posts,
but you waste your time in your compulsion
to accumulate likes and shares.
The clock of life is tik-tocking.
Your face on Facebook is not your real Face.
The life online is like sketching in dust.
Instruct yourself in love of God and spiritual insight—
Let your heart be like the signet ring,
upon which is inscribed the name of God.
Your own essence is your only faithful pupil.
All the others vanish: where will you seek them, where?
While trying to impress others, you are ruining yourself,
and wasting what substance you have.
But when your heart is one with Reality,
you may speak, and Truth will be at your side.