The Miracles and Wonders of Dr. Dahesh by Loutfi Radwan

[Mario]

In 1980, a book authored by a former chief-editor of the Egyptian magazine "al-Musawwar" was given to me by Doctor Dahesh, at the NYC apartment. Titled "The Miracles and Wonders of Dr. Dahesh" I consider this book perhaps one of the most important we have in Daheshism, and yet, to date, it has not been translated into English.

Another aspect of this book that had fascinated me (beside the amazing first-hand accounts of incredible miracles) was that its introduction was written by Youssef (Yussuf) Wahbi, leading star and master of the Arabic Theater.

Now, I know that those of you who are not of Middle-Eastern origin are probably saying "Who...?"

So I thought it would be useful to review Youssef Wahbi's carrer (he's fairly easy to find on Google) and here the info right off the Egypt's State Information Service web page .

Youssef Wahbi

Youssef Wahbi was born on 14/7/1900 to an aristocratic family. His father, Abd Allah Pasha Wahbi, was an outstanding irrigation engineer in Egypt. When his father saw him acting he got very angry that Youssef Wahbi escaped to Italy where he worked for some time, then traveled to France with his colleagues Mokhtar Osman and Aziz Eid and joined its theatres. After his father'sdeath, Wahbi returned to Cairo and used the great fortune he inherited to establish a theatrical troupe named "Ramses", the Pharaonic name given to Youssef Wahbi during his stay in Europe. On May 10, 1923, the troupe premiered with a play called "AI Majnoon", (The insane) which was highly welcomed.

Youssef Wahbi was the first artist to establish an artistic city, Ramses Complex in Zamalek. It consisted of a large cinema studio, an amphitheatre, an open cinema, and a show theatre. He ridiculed, in his plays, many of the old customs and attacked colonialism. He was the first to call for delimiting agricultural land ownership, such as in "Ragol AI-Saa'a" (Man of the moment).

On the social level, his theatre played a great role. He was the first to call for the abolition of the mandatory requirement for a married woman to live, against her will, with her husband at the house he chooses, commonly called "House of obedience" and the equality of man and woman in work and rights. Despite his long suffering from diseases, he continued his artistic career and fulfilled his ambitions for 50 years rich of achievements in fields of theatre and cinema. He performed more than 302 plays, of which 100 international, 60 written by him, about 185 plays, directed by him. In cinema, he acted about 50 films starting with "Zeinab", 1930 to "AI-Salkhana" (The Slaughterhouse) 1982.

On October 17, 1982 Egypt bade farewell to Youssef Wahbi, the pioneer of the Egyptian theatre.

Before I cede the stage to Mr. Wahbi, I would like to point out that you'll notice in the introduction his mentioning of Farid Al Atrash. Everyone growing up in the Middle East knew who he was. He was a gifted singer, songwriter, as well as a great ud player. Plus, he was a movie star.

I had the distinct honor of knowing him personally being that my dad was a close friend of his, as well as his sister Asmahan, also a talented singer—much beloved in the Arab world. I also knew that Farid loved gambling a lot... which makes me cringe everytime I read Wahbi's introduction...

So, here is the plan: after I share with you this translation of the introduction (which I've done to the best of my abilities, or lack thereof...) we will begin, together, a journey through this amazing piece of history—that the Doctor himself once gave me as a gift.

I am not going to translate word for word... simply summarize the stories, and when appropriate, post images. However, I humbly present you with a translation of Youssef Wahbi's introduction. I hope you enjoy reading this piece of history as much as I enjoyed digging through the Arabic Dictionary! Also, if you happen to have the original Arabic version as well and notice any mistakes in my translation, please let me know.

Lastly, I tried to remain true to the eloquent tone in Mr. Wahbi's writing.

Introduction

By the pen of the People's ArtistDoctor Youssef Wabi

When my dear friend, the great journalist Mr. Loutfi Radwan, editor in chief of Helal publishing' magazine division, asked me to write an introduction to this book, I did not hesitate one second after I read some of its content. That is because I am — as my friend Loutfi Radwan as well as tens of thousands of my friends and children in the Arab motherland in its entirety know — one of the most avid enthusiasts of the world of the spirit, and one of the firm believers in those who say that that the spirit is eternal and perform miracles, many of which I've seen, something that no mind can believe and which remains for ever a subject of debate between the believers and the non-believers.

I have met the man whom Mr. Loutfi Radwan had prepared book about as well as about his miracles. I was in Beirut in 1970, and my friend Loutfi Radwan had told me a great deal about Doctor Dahesh and of the miracles he performed in front of him and many of his friends, so I asked him if he would introduce me to him.

Mr. Loutfi Radwan contacted Doctor Dahesh by telephone and he informed him of my wish and he immediately agreed that I visit him at his residence. And as I saw this man—upon whose face was drawn a peaceful, tender smile—I felt as if I was seeing a personality in which stood out guidance, righteousness, and goodness. And all these attributes were mixed in with unrelenting strength.

After Doctor Dahesh had greeted me and informed me that he was an admirer of my theatre and a follower of my news in the world of the arts, he performed a few miracles which, according to him, were a mere gesture of welcome to my arrival, and of which consisted his reading whatever papers I had in my pockets without my taking them out— without even knowing they were in my pocket in the first place—including answering the questions I had written on a sheet of paper which I had placed in my pocket, and upon which the answers were written, in writing that is clear, and in red ink, plus the transformation of a regular piece of paper into a bank note, of other such truly wondrous miracles.

Doctor Dahesh had asked me about the losses I had suffered during engaging in my hobby of betting on the horse races and card games and I said to him: "About a quarter of a million pounds."

So he smiled and said to me: "If I returned that amount to you would you give up this hobby?"

Of course my answer was in affirmative.

He said: " Then no need to play the cards anymore starting from when you leave here."

And I agreed.

I must admit that I was very impressed in what Doctor Dahesh did and I was impressed with his calm personality.

The day during which I visited Doctor Dahesh went by. And on that same day, I had an appointment with the late artist Farid El Atrash, and I went to his house, and I sat at the table with some friends, and I had forgotten my promise to Doctor Dahesh, and I tried my luck at the game.

And when I went back home I remembered what had happened, but I reassured myself that no one would tell Doctor Dahesh what I had done.

I contacted him via telephone on the following day. He said the following to me:

"Oh Youssef Bey, you sat at the game table last night, and that was your test in that you were not able to resist yourself, and consequently you will lose and lose any amount of money. And for that, my promise to you is dissolved. And let's not talk about this matter."

I was amazed that Doctor Dahesh knew what I have done last night. And that incident marked the last time contact with him until I left Beirut.

I remembered that story while I was in the process of writing the introduction to my friend Loutfi Radwan's book about Daheshism, in other words the miracles of Doctor Dahesh.

And I must confess that when my friend Loutfi Radwan told me what Doctor Dahesh had performed in front of him, and what he had heard from some of his friends, I believed him on the spot because it is impossible for the world that God has created—that Earthly world in which we live—to be the only one. In other words, where do all the spirits that rise from human bodies, ever since God has created humanity, go?!

It is without doubt that God had created other worlds beside this here world, where spirits would assemble, and that these spirits vary in their level of loftiness and degradation, just as when they are on Earth, or just like when they were on Earth.

For that I totally believe that as God has created the Earth and who is on it, he also created other worlds teeming with creatures and life forms, and that the spirits of our fathers and forefathers assemble in other worlds where they pursue their activities...

And for that, I think that some of these activities might have a link with us the children of this earthly planet, and that God orders them to lend a helping hand, and to guide us towards the straight path.

And based on that belief, or rather on these improvised thoughts, I'll leave to the reader the task of weighing what is between the two sides of this book, from strange happenings to miracles, knowing full well that some of what had come to be known had occurred to me personally, and I believe that I was awake and not dreaming.

And knowledge, from beginning to end... is with God

YOUSSEF WAHBI





Caption: "Mister Youssef Wahbi shown with the an "x" participates with the Daheshists in celebrating the Birthday of the founder of Daheshism in Beirut, and to his right Doctor Farid Abu Suleiman, and to his left Judge Mahmood Nemaani"

Then we see this image of a personal thank you note from Youssef Wahbi to Doctor Dahesh, dated February 29, 1970. To the best of my abilities, I will decifer and translate what it says:

Sir Doctor Dahesh the magnificent
To a spiritual leader and a personality
of the most beloved personalities from which I have witnessed
what made me believe in the power of the LORD
insofar his granting mighty gifts to whomever he wishes

I wish for you a long life in the service of people and faith

Youssef Wahbi
29/3/1970 (March 29, 1970)

[Loup Solitaire]

The Mystery of Feb 1970

Then we see this image of a personal thank you note from Youssef Wahbi to Doctor Dahesh, dated February 29, 1970. To the best of my abilities, I will decifer and translate what it says:
Sir Doctor Dahesh the magnificent
To a spiritual leader and a personality
of the most beloved personalities from which I have witnessed
what made me believe in the power of the LORD
insofar his granting mighty gifts to whomever he wishes

I wish for you a long life in the service of people and faith

Youssef Wahbi
29/2/1970 (Feb 29, 1970)

I couldn't avoid being struck by the date from the quote above. That would need to be a leap year in the US. Is the middle eastern calendar different then the US. Leap years must be evenly diviseable by four?

[Mario]

I couldn't avoid being struck by the date from the quote above. That would need to be a leap year in the US. Is the middle eastern calendar different then the US. Leap years must be evenly diviseable by four?

Well played! It's probably March (the only record we have is that handwritten note).

[Y.S.]

Thanks so much for presenting a great testimony for this great book that includes many spiritual valuable testimonies about our guiding beloved prophet. It includes also a beautiful explanation of the spiritual fluids' fact, and a summarized idea about Daheshism as well. God bless you all. With all respects, Youssef Salameh