A Man in Love - Sheikh Nuh Keller

Very frequently one wonders how people of Ma`rifa pray and perhaps conduct themselves-generally.They must have something very visibly different in their manners,and surely their prayers.

It was precisely for these reasons and thoughts that over the last few months one longed to see the Sheikh pray.At the recent UK Suhba in Leeds one could sit on the stairs in the gallery and watch the Sheikh pray.Subhan Allah, surely this was a man clearly "out of his mind" in his love for the Divine.It is difficult to put in words how differently he prayed.With single minded attention , he seemed so focused on what he was doing.His qayaam and sujood were quite long -yet it seemed that he thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing.

He began with everyone else and was always the last to finish.

The Sheikh once said that one should sometimes try and pray next to someone who hasn`t missed a single salah in the masjid in the last 30 years and one can feel the difference in their prayers.He also says that prayer is a barometer of one`s state or hal.Seeing him pray , showed me exactly how that might be the case.

And yes , we heard him give the Adan as well.He gives Adan in a quiet ,unique but extremely melodious voice.One just yearns for the Adan to go on and on.Some of us cried out of love for the Divine when we heard him give the Adan.


There were other things as well that one noticed.When he approached the stage for a lecture his colour would change , or so it seemed.His lectures were all in a very quiet and gentle tone.While delivering a lecture he would frequently and repeatedly keep lifting his right index finger,as one does in prayer.He was very gentle, relaxed but extremely focused in his manners.He was happy answering questions covering topics like pornography and music.He would sometimes relate an interesting incident or a quote and make the audience smile.

At the end of the Suhba, he stood up and tried kissing the hands of all the men.Some were new to the tariq and didn`t know exactly how to go about it.During all of this one could see the Sheikh smiling and meeting strangers with so much warmth and enthusiasm , like one would meet one`s family.

He spoke of Allah quite differently too, as someone who knew Him and someone who was simply "out of his mind" in his love for Him.

May Allah swt preserve him.